4/11/20XX
Monday: Morning
Aoyama Itchome
The next day, Miku and Hibiki took the train from Shibuya to Aoyama Itchome to get to Shujin on time. As they walked out of the train station, however, they soon found out that it was raining and quickly found an awning to use as protection from the rain. "Hibiki... Your mom warned you that it would rain today..."
"I know..." Hibiki sighed. "But I thought that she meant it would rain later on."
"...That doesn't excuse you from not bringing your own umbrella, Hibiki..." Miku said. "You can share mine for today, but we should get going befo-" Miku looked at her phone, originally to see what time it was, but instead was surprised to see the app that she had deleted several times already was still on her phone.
As she was focused on that, Miku did not notice the hooded woman stopping next to herself and Hibiki for respite from the rain. Once they were under the awning, they removed their hood and revealed two long blonde pigtails. "Morning, Ann-san!" Hibiki said, greeting the woman.
"Oh, hey Hibiki-chan." Ann replied, before looking at Miku. "Who's your friend?"
"I'm Miku Kohinata. I moved in with Hibiki just recently and now I'm going to school at Shujin." Miku answered.
"Well it's nice to meet you, Miku-chan." Ann said.
As the girls chatted for a moment, a man in a car stopped next to them. "You're gonna be late!" He said. "Need a lift?"
"Sure. Thank you." Ann said, getting in the man's car.
"Do you two need a lift too?" The man asked, turning his attention to Hibiki and Miku.
"No thank you." Hibiki answered for the both of them, getting a shrug from the man as he rolled the window up and left. Before they left however, Miku noticed the thousand yard stare coming from Ann compared to her neutral look before the man showed up. She decided to ignore it for now as someone else caught her attention, a boy with short blond hair running after the car, stopping right before the girls.
"Dammit... Screw that pervy teacher." The boy said, giving up his pursuit.
"Pervy teacher?" Miku asked aloud.
The boy heard Miku and turned to face her. At first, he had a hostile look towards her, before he noticed Hibiki. "Oh... Hey Hibiki. Friend of yours?"
"Morning Ryuji-san!" Hibiki replied. "Yeah. This is my best friend Miku I've told you about. She's starting classes at Shujin Academy today."
"Ah, so you're the chick Hibiki goes on and on about." Ryuji said. "For a minute I thought you were just some goody two-shoes that woulda rat me out to Kamoshida."
"Kamoshida?" Miku asked.
"In that car just now was Kamoshida, yeah?" Ryuji asked, receiving a nod from Miku. "He thinks he can do whatever the hell he wants... Who does that bastard think he is- the king of a castle? Don't you agree, Hibiki?"
"Yeah..." Hibiki replied, sharing Ryuji's distaste for Kamoshida.
"I'm confused, what did Kamoshida-san do?" Miku asked.
"It's... Complicated..." Hibiki said, noticing the time on her phone. "Crap! It's already that late?"
"This rain ain't too bad. We better hurry before we're late." Ryuji said, leading the way to the school, stopping briefly once he noticed the strange momentary red haze in the air. "That was weird... Oh well."
Unbeknownst to the trio, Miku's phone had heard the conversation, picking up on certain keywords, the result of which was about to be seen as they approached the school. "EEEH?!" Hibiki gasped.
"Did the school always look like this?" Miku asked. Compared to what she saw yesterday, Shujin looked like a medieval-era castle that was vastly taller than the school in question.
"No, but I know we went the right way." Ryuji answered. "Guess we'll just have to go in and ask."
Entering the "School," the three were surprised by how different it looked compared to normal: Instead of a basic school entrance, there was a foyer with a fancy staircase in the middle. The most notable thing in the room, however, was the painting of a familiar man in shining golden armor with a crown. "That's weird... Where's the school?" Hibiki asked aloud. "I know I've gotten lost a lot getting to the school before, but I'm sure that the sign out front said Shujin."
Suddenly, the sounds of metal clanking together could be heard approaching them, turning the trio's attention to a man fully clad in armor approaching them with a sword and shield. "Geez, you freaked me out... Gotta admit, that's a pretty impressive costume. That real armor?"
Before the armored stranger could answer, another one showed up, which made them start to worry. "What is this? Some kind of prank?" Miku asked.
"Hell if I know!" Ryuji said, not so sure himself. "Let's get outta here!" The girls followed Ryuji back to where they entered from, only to be ambushed by more armored guards, one of which bashed Ryuji with his shield.
"Ryuji-san!" Hibiki exclaimed, rushing over to the boy. "What's the big idea? You could've hurt him!"
Still being unresponsive to their questions, the guards held their swords at the trio, forcing them to surrender. "Take them away!" A voice finally called out from the crowd of guards, taking them to a dungeon beneath the "School"
The guards carried the trio far into the mysterious dungeon, which was lined wall to wall with jail cells. Once they reached a specific cell in the dungeon, the guards tossed the trio into said cell and locked the door. "Hey! Let us outta here!" Ryuji barked at the guard. "Listen, dammit! Hey!"
"Silence!" A familiar voice shouted, emerging from behind the guards. "No one is allowed to do as they please in my castle."
"Huh? Kamoshida?" Ryuji asked, recognizing the man.
"Why is he dressed like that?" Hibiki mumbled, noticing the man was wearing only a red robe that went down to his knees, revealing most of the man's nude body aside from a pair of pink underwear whenever he moved his arms.
"I thought the guards just caught some petty thief, but to think it'd be you, Sakamoto..." "Kamoshida" said. "Are you trying to disobey me again? It seems that you didn't learn your lesson at all, huh? And you brought friends this time... because you're useless by yourself."
"This ain't funny, you asshole!" Ryuji retorts. "And what's with your ridiculous outfit?"
"You dare speak to a king that way!" "Kamoshida" barked. "It seems you don't know the position you're in at all. Not only did you sneak into my castle, you committed the crime of insulting me-the king. The punishment for that is death."
"Death?!" The trio simultaneously shout in shock.
"Time for an execution! Take him out!" "Kamoshida" ordered.
The guards walked into the cell, punching Ryuji in the stomach before pushing the girls to the side with his shield. "R-Run!" Ryuji said, breathing heavily. "These guys are serious!"
"Oh? Leaving Sakamoto for dead, are we? What heartless friends you are." "Kamoshida" asked mockingly. Despite Ryuji's request, Miku was unable to leave. "What? Too scared to even move? How pathetic."
"Don't talk to my friend like that!" Hibiki shouted, rushing at Kamoshida to punch him, only to be bashed by one of the many guard's shields.
"Typical Tachibana... Caring more about others than herself to the bitter end..." "Kamoshida" scoffed. "Constrain her. She'll be executed once I'm done with Sakamoto." With his orders, one of the guards held Hibiki's arms behind her back and forced her to watch Ryuji get beaten to a pulp by "Kamoshida" while Miku watched in horror.
"Lowly Scum!" "Kamoshida" shouted as he pummeled Ryuji. "Useless pest!" As the beating went on, Miku started to clench her fists and grit her teeth, but remained silent. "Pathetic. You're not even worth beating. I'll have you killed right now."
"Kamoshida" drew the sword from one of the nearby guards' scabbards and placed it near Ryuji's face. But in the midst of her fear, Miku heard a voice in her head.
"What's the matter? Are you simply going to watch?"
A voice that sounded very similar to her own asked.
"Are you going to forsake them to save yourself? Death awaits them if you do nothing. Will you allow yourself to just sit idly and let someone else you care about die?"
"No. I won't!" Miku answered the voice's question.
"Very well. I have heeded your resolve. Vow to me!"
Suddenly, a burst of wind erupted from underneath Miku, followed immediately by a massive headache that left the girl reeling in pain. "Hold her down!" "Kamoshida" ordered to the two guards closest to Miku.
As the guards grabbed Miku by the shoulders, a mysterious mask appeared over her eyes. Miku felt the mask for a moment before immediately using all of her strength to remove it, which ripped the flesh from where the mask once sat as it fell to the ground, bursting into blue flames that knocked the guards close to her away as they engulfed Miku's form.
"I am thou... Thou art I. Thou who art willing to put aside thine own pain to ease those thy holds dear. Call upon my name, and release thy rage!"
The flames around Miku altered her school uniform into that of a pure black trench coat with purple accents on the inside along with matching gloves. The blood around her eyes vanished and the flesh around her eyes healed completely, but the meek expression that used to don her face was replaced with that of a wicked grin.
Lastly, a figure emerged from behind Miku: A woman whose face was covered completely by her cloak, but what little of her skin that was visible was not human at all.
"Show the strength of thy will to ascertain all on thine own, though thou be chained to Hell itself!"
"Come, Viviane!"
The figure behind Miku fully emerges from the flames, revealing a staff in one hand and a reflective shield in the other. "M-Miku?" Hibiki muttered, in awe of the sight before her.
"I am the Lady of the Lake, Viviane. I am the rebel's soul that resides within you. If you so desire, I shall consider granting you the power to break through this crisis."
"Give me... Your power!" Miku requested of Viviane, who swung her staff, casting a light that eviscerated all of the guards in the cell and left "Kamoshida" in shock, unaware of Hibiki and Ryuji preparing to tackle him to the ground as Viviane turned into blue flames and became the mask on Miku's face once more.
"C'mon! Hurry!" Ryuji shouted, picking up the keys one of the now dead guards dropped. Once they were out of the cell, Ryuji locked "Kamoshida" in the cell and threw the keys into the river behind him. "Let's get outta here!"
"Damn you!" "Kamoshida" cursed as the trio escaped. "Don't let them get away!"
The girls and Ryuji ran through the dungeon, looking for a way out while avoiding the guards at all costs. Eventually, they were met with dead end after dead end. "Dammit!" Ryuji cursed while he caught his breath. "How the hell're we supposed to get outta here?!"
"...Hey, you three dess!" A voice called out. "Blondie! Frizzy Hair! White Mask! Look over here!"
The trio look over to the cell the voice was coming from and were greeted by a girl who was wearing a green skin-tight suit with darker green accents that matched her mask, pointed tail, and horns. "Who the hell are you?!" Ryuji shouted in shock.
"You're not soldiers of this castle, right? Get me out of here dess!" The girl pleaded. "Look, the key's right there!"
"We're tryin' to get the hell outta here!" Ryuji replied. "I mean, you obviously look like an enemy too!"
The girl momentarily stopped to give a judgmental look to Ryuji. "I'm locked up here, so how can I be your enemy!? Just help me out dess!"
"What do you think we should do, Miku?" Hibiki asked her friend.
Miku was silently thinking, before the sound of guards approaching forced her to make a decision. "If we free you, will you help us find a way out of here?" She asked the girl.
"Gladly dess!" The girl replied. "You have my word that I'll get you out of here."
As the girl said this, Hibiki already grabbed the keys and unlocked the cell door. "If Miku's willing to trust you, then I trust you too."
"Freedom dess!" The girl cheered. "Man does it feel good!"
"Yeah, yeah. Now where's the exit, demon girl?!" Ryuji asked, losing his patience.
"I am not a demon!" The girl retorted. "I am Kirika Akatsuki dess!"
"Shuddup and hurry it up! Or do you wanna be locked up again?!" Ryuji said.
"N-No thanks..." Kirika answered, not wanting to be locked up again. "Follow me, and stay quiet."
The trio did as Kirika asked and followed her out of the dungeon, however, they were not out of the woods just yet. "Okay, the exit should just be up ahe-" Suddenly, a guard came out of nowhere and knocked Kirika unconscious with their shield.
"Kirika-chan!" Miku exclaimed, ready to summon Viviane again to rescue her.
"Hold it right there!" A new voice called out. When Miku saw who was talking, she was met with the sight of Ryuji and Hibiki being held hostage by two guards while another one stood before them. "Don't make any sudden moves or else these two are dead!"
"Don't listen to him, Miku!" Hibiki pleaded. "Just summon that woman from earlier and show these guards who's boss!"
"Quiet you!" The lead guard shouted. "If your friend's as smart as she looks, she'll surrender here and now. That is, if she doesn't want to watch her useless friends die!"
Hibiki took that comment personally, breaking free of the guard's grasp and going to punch the leader. "Call this useless!" Her punch managed to knock the guard back slightly, but caused herself more pain than it did him.
"You stubborn brat!" The leader said, punching Hibiki in the stomach and knocking her to the ground.
"Hibiki!" Miku cried out, before being grabbed by another surprise guard, unable to break free.
"Darn... At this rate, we're all going to die." Hibiki thought to herself, trying to ignore the immense pain in her stomach.
"Lord Kamoshida no longer desires to capture you three, but instead wishes for your heads!" The leader said, motioning for some guards to pick up Hibiki by her arms. "And seeing such a pitiful display of rebellion, I've decided you'll die first!"
Hibiki struggled to break free from the guards' grasp, but she was too tired and injured to fight back. "Miku... Mom... I'm sorry..."
"Don't give up Hibiki!" Miku called out, catching the girl's partial attention.
"But I can't fight these guys, Miku..." Hibiki said, "Just trying to punch one of the guards nearly broke my wrist... How could I hope to win here?"
"The Hibiki I know wouldn't care how the odds were against her, she'd always find a way to win!" Miku continued. "Even when you were losing in boxing matches, you'd always say that!"
"Miku..." Hibiki was taken aback by Miku saying the words she'd always say to herself.
"Your friend's right, you know."
A voice that sounded much like her own called out to Hibiki.
"Why should an opponent like this be the one to break your fighting spirit where many have failed? What would Master think?"
"Master would be disappointed in me..." Hibiki said, clenching her fists so hard they started to bleed. "But no one would be more disappointed in me than myself if I die here. And I won't let that happen! I won't let Miku suffer alone, ever again!" Suddenly, Hibiki's eyes turned yellow and she had a massive headache.
"I can sense the fire in your heart burning brighter than ever. Let us now seal this contract."
Hibiki broke free of the grips of the two guards grabbing her arms before knocking them back with two simple punches. At the same time, a black mask that was sharper in appearance than Miku's white mask appeared on her face.
"I am thou... Thou art I. From this moment forth, your fists shall be the only tools you need to carve your own path. Use them as you see fit!"
Hibiki grabbed her mask with her bloodied fists and ripped it off without hesitation, being engulfed in blue flames that knocked back the guards holding Ryuji, Miku, and the unconscious Kirika. Once the flames simmered down, Hibiki's school uniform was replaced with an orange martial artist's gi with a black belt around her waist and similar colored fingerless gloves.
Much like Miku, Hibiki too had a figure emerge next to her upon ripping off her mask. The figure was that of a woman in a similar gi to Hibiki's, only hers was white in with black accents near the bottom of the pants. Aside from that, the figure's skin was a shade of purple with small extrusions on the legs and arms.
"With this power, I shall protect those I care about most!" Hibiki proclaimed.
The leader got to his feet once more, scoffing at Hibiki. "It doesn't matter how your appearance changes, your deaths shall be the same!"
Hibiki simply smirked at the leader as he said this. "I beg to differ! This shall be YOUR burial ground!"
"Let's finish them! Kazama!"
Within seconds, Hibiki and the figure that emerged with her decimate the guards with relative ease, leaving the leader for last. "What a pitiful display of control." Hibiki taunted, mocking the leader for his earlier comment.
"Damn brat..." The leader said before contorting his body and morphing into an entirely different creature: A knight in armor on horseback. "You shall perish for your crimes!"
"Hibiki!" Miku said. "Let's finish this and get out of here!"
Hibiki nodded, getting into a fighting stance as Miku removed her mask and resummoned Viviane. The girls pointed at the knight together, signaling their otherworldly companions to attack him. Without hesitation, Viviane and Kazama let out bursts of light and dark magic that practically erased the knight from existence. The girls waited a moment for anything else to happen, but nothing did. "We won, Miku!" Hibiki cheered as their masks returned.
"I didn't realize you two had your own Personas dess." Kirika said, waking up, but still recovering from the surprise attack.
"Perso-whats?" Hibiki asked.
"Personas." Kirika reiterated. "Those spirits that you summoned by ripping off those masks on your faces." Kirika pointed to Miku and Hibiki's masks. "Though I guess that explains your strange outfits."
Hibiki looked down at herself when Kirika said that. "Wait, when did I get this?! I was wearing my Shujin uniform just a moment ago."
"That outfit represents your inner rebel that can only be seen in the metaverse." Kirika explained, gaining very confused looks from the group. "It's complicated... But I promise I'll explain later. Shall we get going?"
The group nodded as they followed Kirika out of the castle, suddenly reappearing in an alleyway outside of the school. "Wait, what happened to your outfits?" Ryuji asked, noticing the girls were back in their Shujin uniforms.
Miku and Hibiki noticed this as well and were speechless, but something else took their attention. "You have returned to the real world. Welcome back." A voice said from Miku's phone.
"Returned?" Ryuji thought, looking around and seeing Shujin Academy instead of the Castle on the other end of the alleyway. "Yep! We're definitely back!"
"That weird castle is gone." Hibiki added.
"What's this about a 'Castle'?" A familiar voice asked, waiting for the group at the front gate of the school with another adult.
"Kamoshida?!" Ryuji said.
"You seem so carefree, Sakamoto." Kamoshida commented. "Quite the difference from when you did morning practice for the track team."
"Shuddup! It's your fault tha-"
"How dare you speak that way to Mr. Kamoshida!" The second adult interjected.
"B-But he's the one that provoked me!" Ryuji retorted.
"Do you really want to be expelled?!" The second adult asked rhetorically. "In any case, you'll have to explain yourself! Follow me!"
"Come now. I should've been more considerate, too." Kamoshida said. "Let's just say that we were both to blame."
"Very well..." The adult said. "Still, it's undeniable that you're extremely late. You're coming with me."
"Wait!" Another familiar voice called out. "I'm the one to blame for him being late dess... I'm sorry..." The voice belonged to a girl wearing a Shujin uniform with short blond hair and a familiar set of demon horns and a tail. Judging by the button on her shirt, she was only a first year.
"And who are you?" The adult asked.
"Kirika Akatsuki dess. I'm supposed to start classes here today, but I was very lost." Kirika said, surprising the other three students.
"Not a great first impression to be missing your first day of school, Akatsuki-chan." The adult scolded. "You're going to have to join Sakamoto-kun in my office, same goes for you, Tachibana-chan."
Kirika and Hibiki sighed. "Yes, sir..."
As the three students walked into the school, Miku followed behind them. "You're that new transfer student, right? Miku Kohinata?" Kamoshida asked, stopping the girl momentarily.
"I am." Miku replied.
"Much like that Kirika girl, it's pretty ballsy to be late on your first day. However, I'm willing to overlook this just for today. Just don't pick up the same habits as Sakamoto and rack up absences." Kamoshida continued, "For now, just go to the faculty office and let Ms. Kawakami know you're here."
"Okay. Thank you." Miku replied, hurrying into the school to report to Kawakami. As she looked back at Kamoshida one last time, for a brief moment, she saw the man who called himself the king of the mysterious castle.
11/20/20XX
Interrogation Room
Maria looked at Miku with a doubtful expression. "The school turned into an old castle? Are you trying to mess with me?" Maria asked. Miku shook her head as a response. "It's true that Kamoshida acted like he was the king of the school, but behind the scenes, he indulged in his desires, committing deplorable crimes. But at that time, there should've been no connection between the two of you. Why did you target him?"
"It's... Complicated..." Miku replied.
"That's unacceptable!" Maria shouted. "Try and recall it once again!
4/11/20XX
Monday: Afternoon
Shujin Academy
After meeting up with Kawakami in the faculty office, Miku walked with the teacher to her classroom. "I'd like to introduce our new student, Miku Kohinata. Today, we... Had her attend from the afternoon on since she wasn't feeling well." Kawakami said, lying about the reason why Miku was late. "Alright, please say something to the class."
"It's nice to meet you all." Miku said, bowing respectfully.
"As for your seat, Kohinata-chan... You can take the one next to Tachibana-chan's in the back." Kawakami said, pointing to the overly ecstatic Hibiki waving at the empty seat next to her.
From that point on, class continued as normal. Once it ended, Hibiki rushed Miku out of the classroom. "Where are we going, Hibiki?" she asked.
"We gotta make it to the school store stand before they run out of food!" Hibiki said. "I can't go to my practice on an empty stomach!"
"Can you at least slow down before you run into someo-" Just as she was about to say it, Miku bumped into a girl holding a stack of papers. "I'm terribly sorry about that. Here, let me help." Miku said, apologizing to the girl as she picked up the scattered papers and put them back on the pile in the girl's hands.
"Thanks." The girl with long black hair in the style of two pigtails said.
"C'mon Miku!" Hibiki shouted.
"Coming!" Miku replied, sighing at her friend's childish behavior. "Have a good day."
With that, Miku left to join her friend as they approached the school store, where only one loaf of Showa-style fried dough remained. "I'll take it!" Hibiki and another student said, grabbing the dough at the same time. "Ryuji-san?"
"Well, this certainly works out..." Ryuji said, sheepishly laughing. "I've been meaning to ask you two something."
"Oh?" The girls thought aloud.
"But let's talk about this somewhere more private. Follow me." Ryuji said, leading the girls to the rooftop where there were several scattered desks and various buckets and chairs. Along the way, Hibiki and Ryuji decided to split the dough between themselves. "You sure you don't want any?" Ryuji asked Miku.
"It's fine." Miku replied. "I was going to get something on my way home today anyways."
Ryuji just shrugged. "Suit yourself I guess." Ryuji took a bite of his half of the dough before continuing the conversation. "Now then, what was up with that castle we all almost died in? Was that a dream?"
"I don't think so..." Miku answered. "But no one else seems to be talking about a castle, so I don't know."
"If it was a dream, then it's pretty weird that we all had that same dream..." Ryuji said, stopping for a moment to finish his bite of dough. "There's rumors about him, Kamoshida."
"Rumors?" Miku asked.
"No one says anything against him 'cause he's a medalist who took the volleyball team to nationals. Not to mention he pretends to be nice to everyone." Ryuji explained. "The way Kamoshida was king of that castle felt real 'cause of that."
While Ryuji said this, Hibiki could only think of one thing: "I wonder if we can go back to that castle..."
"It's possible dess." A voice called out from the doorway, which opened soon after and revealed Kirika once again.
"It's you!" Miku said, surprised to see Kirika.
"Hold on, what do you mean 'it's possible'?" Ryuji asked.
"Exactly that." Kirika answered. "There exists a way to go to and from the metaverse as you please, but before I tell you, I need to know why you want to go back."
"If what you're sayin' is true and that place is real, then I wanna find out what's up with it." Ryuji said. "Especially since this is all connected to that bastard Kamoshida, I can't act like nothing happened."
"The same goes for me too." Hibiki added. "While I can't confirm most of what I've heard about Kamoshida, I know how he's treated Ryuji-san and I won't sit back while Kamoshida hurts more people."
Kirika was intrigued by their answers, but still turned to Miku. "And what about you?"
"I know nothing of what Kamoshida-san has done, but I can't lie and say I'm not curious to find out the truth after all of that." Miku replied. "So please, can you tell us how to get back there?"
Kirika remained silent for a moment, but a confident grin soon appeared on her face. "Alright. I'll help you dess." Kirika said, exciting the trio of second years. "But you need to do something for me as a trade."
"Name it, Kirika-chan." Hibiki said.
"As a fair trade for my assistance... Could I stay with one of you guys?" Kirika asked, going immediately from super confident to very embarrassed, which caused the trio to collectively facepalm.
"Wait. Hibiki, don't you have that spare room at your house that was originally going to be mine?" Miku asked her friend.
"Yeah? Why do you a-" Hibiki began to ask before realizing what Miku was getting at. "I can ask if my Mom will be okay with Kirika-chan staying over at our place, but she might say no."
"I can try and ask her." Miku said. "I mean, I was going to head home after class anyway, and I know you'll be busy with boxing club and probably forget."
"That's fair..." Hibiki said, slightly hurt by Miku's indirect insult. "Speaking of boxing club, I should probably get going before I'm late, see you later Miku!"
With that, Hibiki ran to the door on the roof and disappeared from sight. "I guess I'll help you three in that palace tomorrow then." Kirika said. "Should we just meet up here after school dess?"
"Works for me." Ryuji said as himself and the girls left the rooftop. "See you guys tomorrow."
4/11/20XX
Monday: Evening
Tachibana Residence
As they walked home together, Miku couldn't help but stare at Kirika's lack of concern for... Certain aspects of herself. "Is everything okay?" Kirika asked.
"I just have some questions is all." Miku replied.
"I'm happy to answer them if you'd like." Kirika said.
"For starters, your horns and tail. Aren't you worried people will freak out if they notice them?" Miku asked.
"At first, I was. But overtime I've learned that people are just unable to see them." Kirika explained. "My only guess as to why you and the other two can see them is probably since you saw the real me with them in the metaverse."
"What do you mean by 'metaverse'?" Miku asked.
"It's complicated dess..." Kirika said. "But to put it simply, it's a world formed by the collective unconscious."
Miku didn't fully understand what Kirika meant by that, but decided not to press further on that topic for now. "Now for my last question: How did a demon like you manage to get enrolled at Shujin?"
"I'm not a demon dess!" Kirika barked defensively, before realizing how she reacted. "Sorry... I just get very sensitive when people call me a demon."
"I should be the one apologizing, Kirika-chan." Miku said. "I shouldn't have assumed you were a demon based on your appearance."
"It's all good. In truth, I technically AM a demon right now, but that's thanks to my curse." Kirika explained.
"Who cursed you?"
"Well... I can't fully remember, but I know it was a curse that left me this way." Kirika said. "I'm pretty sure whoever cursed me also took my memories so I couldn't find them to break the curse."
"Kirika-chan... I'm so sorry." Miku said, feeling bad for Kirika.
"It's not your fault, so don't feel bad." Kirika replied. "Back to your question, ironically, that was thanks to one of the many things that's great about my curse, I used magic to convince the school I was a new student. I technically start tomorrow though, so they just told me to learn where everything was for today."
"And what if they find you don't belong at the school?"
"That's a question for IF I get caught." Kirika shrugged. Not to much longer after that, Miku stopped in front of the Tachibana Residence and took a deep breath. "Is this your house dess?"
"It's technically Hibiki's and her mother's, but they're letting me stay with them." Miku explained. "When we go in, leave all of the talking to me, okay?" Kirika gave Miku an enthusiastic thumbs-up as Miku opened the door. "I'm home!"
"Miku-chan!" Hibiki's mom said, hugging Miku without warning. "I received a call from the school saying you missed half of the day. Had me worried sick for you two!"
"I'm sorry to have scared you, Tachibana-san. We just had some... Difficulties... Getting to school today." Miku explained, deciding it was best to not say what actually happened.
"Well, as long as you two are okay, that's all that matters. Just don't scare me like that again, deal?" Hibiki's mom asked, to which Miku nodded. As she let go of Miku from her hug, she noticed Kirika. "Who's your friend?"
"Oh, this is Kirika Akatsuki, a first-year at Shujin." Miku explained.
"It's nice to meet you, Kirika-chan." Hibiki's mom said, shaking the girl's hand. "I'll leave you two to hang out for now. Just be sure you can still make it home in time before curfew."
"Well, you see, that's the issue... Kirika-chan doesn't exactly have a home..." Miku said, which shocked Hibiki's mom. "And I was wondering if it would be okay if Kirika-chan would be able to stay in the room that was supposed to be mine before Hibiki wanted to bunk together?"
Hibiki's mom turned to face Kirika, who looked back at her with puppy dog eyes. "I don't see why not." Hibiki's mom said, which made the two girls happy. "All I ask is that you keep your room clean and don't stay out past curfew. Do that, and you're more than welcome to say here until you're able to stand on your own two feet."
"Thank you, Tachibana-san dess!" Kirika exclaimed, hugging Hibiki's mom without a second thought.
Hibiki's mom chuckled at the sentiment. "I'll leave you two be for the night then." With that said, she left for her bedroom. "Good night girls."
"Goodnight Tachibana-san!" The girls replied.
"I guess we should be heading to bed ourselves dess. We've got a big day tomorrow, going back into the palace and all." Kirika said.
"I'm getting kinda sleepy myself." Miku said with a yawn. "I guess I'll show you your room and go to bed." True to her word, Miku lead Kirika to the guest bedroom, said goodnight, went to her room, and immediately passed out on the bed.
The Velvet Room
When Miku woke up, she was in that strange room from a couple nights ago, and Finé was very happy to see her. "My, my. You've awakened to your powers. And special ones, at that." She said. "The world may have a chance to avoid ruin after all."
"You said that before, but what did you mean by that?" Miku asked.
"Here we go again..." One of the women on the closer computers mumbled under their breath.
"I assure you, it'll all make sense when the time comes." Finé said. "On another note, have you come to appreciate the Metaverse Navigator? It's some of my finest work if I do say so myself."
"Metaverse Navigator...?" Miku thought aloud, before remembering a certain "app" that appeared on her phone. "Wait, that was you?!"
Finé chuckled at Miku's shock. "Indeed. The Navigator will allow you to come and go between reality and Palaces as you please. I bestowed it upon you as a means to train you as a thief."
"The Metaverse Navigator is a gift from our mistress." The more soft-spoken woman of the two said. "You would do well to be grateful for her consideration."
"Where are my manners? I've neglected giving a proper introduction to my attendants. On your left is Justine and on your right, Caroline. They will be here with me to assist you on your path to becoming a fine thief." Finé said. "Speaking of assistance, I'm sure it'll be lonely to use the Metaverse Navigator by yourself. No need to worry about that though, as I shall grant it to those who would prove to be beneficial to you."
"I-I'm still very lost on all of this." Miku said. "Me? A thief? Why? Why me of all peo.. ple..." Just like last time, Miku started to fall asleep before she could get anymore questions answered.
Finé chuckled as Miku's consciousness faded. "I have high hopes for you."
A/N: And with that, we end the chapter.
As for the origins of Miku and Hibiki's personas, after discussing it with EpicLinkSam, I have decided to explain them once their users' Code Names are properly introduced in the story. Not to mention it allows me to explain Kirika's persona at the same time, seeing it will be introduced in the coming chapters.
Regardless, thank you for reading this chapter, and I shall see you all in the next one!