Alright everybody, I know it was a wait, but I finally managed to get this done. Thankfully I had somebody give me an idea for how I could potentially have an easier time in writing these chapters, so we'll find out. Kind of want to do right by this story, you know?
Couple of notes. First, I went back and edited the chapter to try and make it easier to read. Hopefully. Second is that UnknownHero and JGResidentEvil have both given their permission to write this story. They're curious to see if I can do this justice, so you know. Fingers crossed I did this one well.
"Alright everybody, playing the next episode!" Barkeep called out. "You all ready?"
Sae nodded a moment after looking around the room. "It appears so. So I assume this is when things start to pick up?"
Akira nodded. "Yeah, this is pretty much where it really started to progress." He muttered. "Not sure if I should look back on this fondly or not, considering."
Chapter 2: The Start of Rebellion
(4/10, Early Morning)
(Shibuya, Shin Megami Apartment Complex)
The next morning came early for the two roommates as Asuka woke up with a yawn. "Mmm...sleepy..." She mumbled out as she sat up from her futon, her breasts bouncing at the action before she turned her head towards the clock. "6:12 AM..." She then added in a sleepy tone as she got to her feet. "Guess it's time to get ready..." She decided.
"Oh hey, I slept in that day!" Asuke realized cheerfully. "I guess I really was tired that night."
Homura shook her head. "I kinda wanna be upset at how lax you're being, but considering what we saw, I guess I can't blame you." She admitted. She paused as she caught sight of the Thieves group, staring at the screen in disbelief while every one of them had blushes, to varying degrees. "Okay, I'll bite. What are you guys staring at?"
Silence for a time filled the room as the other shinobi looked over in confusion before-
"Do you..." Ann started before having to cough in an attempt to collect herself. "Do you just...not wear a bra when you sleep Asuka?"
"Hm? I'm wearing a bra there."
"Okay, I think I speak for all of us when I ask this." Futaba said. "Are you saying that you bounce like that while wearing something that keeps your boobs from bouncing?"
Katsuragi nodded, a mischievous look in her eyes as she grinned at her flustered leader. "I can fully confirm that Asuka's amazing boobs would be bouncing three times as much if she wasn't wearing one. I should know, I was there when she freaked out about forgetting to grab one a few months back!"
"...Ohhhhh my god..." Ryuji got out before Ann punched his arm hard, frowning through her blush.
Meanwhile with Homura, she also just woke up as she sat up and stretched her back with a loud crack. "Mmm..." she moaned out as her breasts bounced as she got to her feet. "Wash up first... get dressed... make breakfast for me and Asuka-san..." She listed off to herself as she then started to take off her shirt as she walked into the bathroom.
"Let me guess," Makoto grunted. "You were wearing a bra as well, Homura-san?"
Homura shook her head in the negative. "Nah, I use wraps. Takes a bit longer to put on and take off, but at least I never have to go shopping for sizes. Only have to worry about 'too loose' or 'too tight'."
"Oh, morning!" Asuka greeted her new roommate from the bathroom as she turned the water on. "Wow, Homura-chan, you really do keep in shape, huh?" She soon asked as she was impressed with how developed her roommate was.
"Oh, thanks." Homura replied with a small grin before noticing her roommate had already undressed. "And you're not so bad yourself." She then admitted as she entered the bathroom. "Come on, I'll help you wash up." She soon offered.
"'Developed', huh?" Katsuragi cackled at the unintentional wordplay. "'Help wash you up'! Oh man, this is comedy go-OW!" She broke off, pouting at Ikaruga who'd chopped the top of her head.
"Knock. It. Off. Katsuragi-san." she scolded sternly. Katsu grumbled but acquiesced. For now. Across from them Makoto heaved a deep sigh, her head dropping.
"Somehow I get the feeling that this is going to be a repeating occurrence." She complained softly, Sae awkwardly rubbing her back in comfort.
Soon enough, the two found themselves washing each other's backs while getting to know each other, foam and steam covering their private parts conveniently enough as they both discreetly made sure to tell the other about being a shinobi.
"...Yeah, my friends are really good people if you know them long enough." Asuka continued, reminding herself to not say anything that would lead to the tan skinned girl figuring out that pretty much every person she knew was a shinobi. "Ikaruga-chan is pretty strict, but she's like a big sister to me like Katsu-nee. Oh, and there's Yagyū-chan and Hibari-chan. They're practically stuck together most of the time, to the point of being obsessive, but they're really kind and cool people to be with. And Katsu-nee..." She started before she then trailed off as she rubbed her bare breasts.
She swore she could still feel her usual gropes, even if she wasn't there.
"I kinda wanna call 'bull' here about that whole thing," Sojiro grumbled, "But I get the feeling-"
"That that's what's happening?" Ann finished. She groaned at the older man's nod. "Right, and proof incoming in three. Two. One."
(Hanzō National Academy)
"What are you doing, Katsuragi?" Ikaruga deadpanned as she saw the blonde grope the air.
"Trying to grope Asuka. I will not let distance stop me from feeling her boobs!" Katsuragi shouted out, causing the ravenette to facepalm…
FWOOSH!
Before both of them, as well as the pink haired Hibari and the white haired Yagyū, went into a coughing fit as their sensei made his usual entrqance.
"Why is it always smoke bombs?!" Hibari cried.
"…...yeahhh….." Ann sighed, dropping her head into her hands.
"Does your sensei always enter a room like that?" Makoto asked, puzzled. "I think he's rather lucky none of you have asthma, all that smoke could cause an attack."
"Oh, Yagyū has that!" Hibari informed cheerfully to the shock of the Thieves. "She's just really really good at working through it."
Beside her, Yagyū nodded softly. "You get used to it, after a while."
Makoto stared at the ivory haired girl, an eyebrow raised. "That can't be a healthy mindset."
(Shibuya, Shin Megami Apartment Complex)
"This Katsu-nee chick sounds...interesting to say the least." Homura admitted as she scrubbed her back.
Asuka meanwhile noted that it took her new roommate at least 30 seconds to complete her sentence. "She may be a little too...physical at times, but she is one of my best friends and she's fun to be around." She admitted with a giggle as she thought back to her fellow shinobi classmates. "How about you? Do you have friends back home, Homura-chan?" She soon asked with curiosity.
The tan skinned girl in response rubbed the back of her head to that. "Er...yes…? Homura replied while not sounding too sure. I uh...hang out with them a lot, but they aren't exactly people I would see outside of my old school." She admitted as she thought of her two seniors, her fellow second year and her junior.
"So, what do you think, guys: as bad, worse or better than Asuka's group in terms of eccentricity?" Akira questioned, turning to his own group.
"Excuse me, but we aren't that-!" Ikaruga started up before Haru interrupted her.
"It's nothing like that, I assure you." She spoke gently. "It's just that, as Phantom Thieves, we learned how to read people a bit more than most. Not to say we can read your deepest and darkest secrets and emotions, we just learned to realize when there's more to somebody than meets the eye."
"Yeah!" Futaba spoke up before pointing to Mirai. "You, for example, have a metric butt-ton of self-confidence issues and want to fit, but also wanna be depended on!" At Mirai's shocked gaze, the Thieves' navigator shrugged. "I went through a lot of the same thing myself." She admitted, getting a one-armed hug from Sojiro and a comforting smile from Akira.
The one with an unhealthy obsession with bean sprouts.
The one who was pretty much a snake and was kind of a psychopath.
The one who would spray bullets everywhere as her solution to everything.
And the one who was a mad scientist who used her sexy body as a weapon as well.
Homura consciously decided to group them up and describe how she best thought about them.
"They're all nutjobs, but they're my friends." Homura deadpanned. "For reasons beyond my comprehension." She soon admitted.
While Mirai and Yumi glared at Homura for her (on-screen counterpart's) thoughts and words, Haruka took them as compliments while Hikage looked thoughtful. After a moment, the snake-girl leaned back and looked at Barkeep. "We haven't changed all that much from back then, have we?"
Barkeep shrugged, throwing her an easy smile. "If it makes you feel better, she learned not to question the weirdness and instead accepted it. True friendship right there, if you ask me."
(Hebijo Clandestine Girls' Academy)
Meanwhile at said school, the one with an unhealthy obsession with bean sprouts, the one who was pretty much a snake and was kind of a psychopath, the one who would spray bullets everywhere as her solution to everything, and the one who was a mad scientists who used her sexy body as a weapon as well all sneezed at the same time, for some reason feeling like they've been insulted.
"...Meh." Hikage got out with a shrug before Yomi continued force-feeding her bean sprouts, while Haruka petted Mirai like a cute kitty.
"I just realized somethin'."Ryuji spoke up, getting their attention. "We both got a black cat on our team who's also the shortest member. That's pretty freakin'-" He was silenced by the sight of an honest-to-god tommy gun being aimed right at him, the glare being sent at him promising pain.
"You were saying, Ryuji-kun~?" Haruka teased, though her lidded eyes and strained smile sent a shiver down his spine. "Something aboutmy adorable little kouhai and your cat?"
"….You don't also have a slingshot, do ya?" The blond instead got out nervously. "Because those are some really weird coince….somethings."
"'Coincidences', Ryuji." Barkeep supplied. "Now let's all calm down and get back to it." Mirai grumbled but put the gun away in a puff of smoke while Ryuji heaved a breath of relief.
(Shibuya, Shin Megami Apartment Complex)
Homura suddenly felt like she shouldn't care about something, and promptly did so.
"Oh. Well, I hope I can be considered one and hang out outside of school." Asuka happily replied before remembering. "Speaking of which, we better get ready soon…" She soon remembered.
"Right." Homura agreed with a nod before cleaning herself a little faster.
After finishing up their bath and eating their eggs and toast breakfast, they got dressed into their uniforms and left the apartment to make their way to Shujin Academy for their enrollment confirmation.
It wasn't a far journey to the school, but it was much quicker for them to take a train than go there by foot.
(4/10, Morning)
(Train)
Currently, Asuka was wishing that they walked there.
"Oh yeah, forgot how crowded those things can be at times." Akira casually noted. "Wasn't too uncommon to be smashed against a window or standing bar and spend the entire trip being uncomfortable and in pain."
"Nah man, the worst times were when you were squeezed right up near a door." Ryuji argued. "Either you try to get off at your stop and some d-bags smash you further in while getting on, or it ain't your stop and you get trampled by the creeps behind you while they try to get off."
Ann shook her head, sighing at that. "I wish I only got hit or stepped on. The number of times some jerk tried to slide their hands up my skirt or grope my chest…"
Makoto shrugged. "Honestly, I only had to deal with that twice. The first time I just showed them my sister's business card and they backed off. Second time, I broke their hand. I was left pretty much to myself after that." Sae nodded to that, crossing her arms. That was probably the only time she would ever condone her sister using violence to protect herself, she admitted privately.
"Oh my, I never had to deal with anything like that." Haru commented worryingly. "Father always had me driven by one of our drivers. Are the subways truly that bad?"
"Sometimes." Akira answered nonplussed. Across from them, the shinobi were a little uneasy at how nonchalant the Thieves were about the events that befell them on what they suspected was a daily basis.
From where he was, Barkeep chuckled. "Don't worry so much. That kind of thing is common the world over. It just so happens to occur a lot in Tokyo since it's one of the busiest places in Japan."
"I can't...I can't breathe!" Asuka thought as she tried to find an air pocket. The train was packed to the brim with people and she was stuffed between her roommate, her breasts squished against her back, and a really fat business man who was really sweaty from the humidity caused by all the people in the car and she had a feeling that he had beans for breakfast. She could barely even move her arms around. "When are we going to get there?" She wined in her head as she tried to pull out her phone. She took a picture of the subway map earlier and wondered how many stops there were until they arrived at their destination, only to pause when she saw that red eye app from earlier on her phone again.
"What the…" Asuka whispered under her breath before swiftly deleting it again. She quickly made a mental note to download anti-virus software onto her phone as she suffered the rest of the way to her stop.
"Hey Asuka." Joker spoke up. "Have you ever been told the definition of insanity?"
The brunette thought for a moment, a finger on her lips. "Um...I think it's doing something repeatedly the same way and it always ending up the same? I think, Jii-chan likes to pop that question up on me when I'm training hard-" She answered before stopping suddenly. "…That app isn't going away is it." She concluded with blank eyes.
"Looks like somebody else is going to know your pain, huh frizzy-hair?" Morgana teased Akira.
"Ugh...I hate city trains!" Homura meanwhile struggled out in annoyance. "We're gonna have to think of alternate routes just in case." She decided in her head.
"Always good to have those planned out." Miyabi nodded in approval alongside Yumi.
(4/10, Daytime)
(Aoyama-Itchome, Shujin Academy)
"Ooooh...can't they make them any bigger…" Asuka breathed out, sucking in as much air as she could. "I almost died back there...I don't think I can handle that every day." She soon admitted with another deep breath.
"It isn't that far of a walk so we should go on foot sometimes, especially with all those problems with public transportation lately." Homura muttered, though she did mentally agree with her roommate before looking at the school in front of them.
There wasn't anything inherently special about the school but it had this sort of atmosphere she couldn't put her finger on. Maybe it was the colours of grey, grey and more grey or maybe it was something else that gave off this...subtle oppressive atmosphere, but there was definitely something there that made her feel strangely uncomfortable, and she didn't know why.
"So this is our school, huh?" Asuka got out while also feeling slightly uncomfortable. "It looks...clean." She then awkwardly admitted.
"That sounds like a lie from the mouth." Muttered Ryuji, darkly.
"No, she's right." Ikaruga denied. "Just not in the right way." Next to her, Yumi and Miyabi nodded.
"You know what they say about fish and 'totally clean lakes'…" Haruka reminded, causing everybody to shift uncomfortably.
The tan skinned girl nodded in awkward agreement to that. "We better head inside." Homura informed. "The faster we do this, the more time we have to unpack the rest of our things." She then reminded.
Asuka nodded in agreement to that as she followed her tan skinned roommate. "I hope I can make friends here…" She then muttered to herself before they started walking up the steps, just as two other people arrived behind them. Asuka stopped and looked behind her.
It was someone with a beard dressed as if he was going out on a date and a boy with black hair wearing glasses and the Shujin uniform.
"Huh. Looks like we aren't the only ones transferring here." Asuka soon thought to herself.
Sojiro groaned as he saw who was on the screen. "Oh you've got to be kidding me. This is one hell of an introduction, I've gotta say."
Akira raised a brow as he gazed at the man. "….he says while in the same room as the guy with a record."
Sojiro had the good grace to look sheepish at that. "Oh, uh, sorry kid. Just thought I'd be introduced at my shop, ya know?" Akira shrugged and nodded to that. It wasn't an unreasonable thought.
The shinobi, on the other hand, had looks of confusion and shock on their faces. "Wait, you have a record? Like, a criminal record?!" Mirai cried in shock. Before anybody could say anything, a foam ball bounced off her head, the word 'Spoilers' printed upon it.
As all eyes turned to him, Barkeep held up a toy guy with a bucket of identical balls next to him. "Some of these are solid. And I don't know which ones." He explained simply.
Homura meanwhile stopped climbing the steps too as she saw her roommate eavesdropping on the conversation.
"Do me a favor and behave yourself, all right?" The man stated. He seemed a bit cold to the Good Shinobi. "Don't get me wrong- I don't care what happens to you. Just don't cause me any trouble." He then ordered.
"Yes, sir." The boy replied quietly with a nod, almost as if he was picking and choosing what to say.
Sae blinked, her face scrunching up in discomfort. "That was...rather unkind. Were you always like that?" The look of uncomfortable shame on the cafe owner's face served as her answer.
He looked familiar to both girls, but they decided to ignore it and continue walking.
Meanwhile, the glasses-wearing boy saw the girls in front of him and frowned a little before shaking his head and followed his guardian inside.
"Hm, didn't expect there would be other transfers…" The older man noted as they all entered the school. It was a little strange, especially since the girls didn't have their parents or guardians with them, but it wasn't his business to comment about it. When they reached the Principal's Office, there was a small problem about who would go first.
"Ladies first." The teenage boy spoke up, still rather quiet.
That statement meanwhile caused the man to get a little annoyed since he didn't want to be here any second longer than necessary, but let it go. At least the little punk was polite.
"So you were a criminal with manners?" Ryuji teased, causing the entire Thieves group to chuckle.
"To be fair, Sojiro did want me to try and be a model member of society during my stay." Akira defended himself jokingly.
"And that lasted, what?" Sae questioned, smirking. "Twenty-four hours?"
"I did say 'try'." Akira shrugged with a smile. "Never said anything about succeeding."
The two girls meanwhile could only shrug their shoulders and entered the office together.
"Ah, it seems a few of our new transfers are here." A morbidly obese man, probably the principal, said as the girls walked into the room.
"GOOD GOD HE'S FAT!" Homura mentally exclaimed in disbelief at the sight of the man. "HOW IS HIS CLOTHES NOT EXPLODING RIGHT NOW!?" She thought...before suddenly becoming thankful that his clothes were strong enough to hold all that lard.
The entirety of the shinobi looked disgusted. "What the hell, man?!" Katsuragi yelled, looking worryingly green. "How did he get so fat?!"
"He looks like a living testicle." Miyabi muttered, pushing down the urge to heave with difficulty.
"And now that image is forever stuck in my brain, thanks for that." Ann groaned while Ryuji laughed.
It was then that they noticed that there was another person there, a woman with messy hair and an almost bored look on her face. They decided not to say anything about them and be polite.
"Welcome to Shujin Academy. I am Principal Kobayakawa, and this is a teacher here at our school." The principal politely introduced.
"I'm Sadayo Kawakami. I'll be your homeroom teacher for the year." The awfully youthful-looking middle-aged woman greeted, though she didn't seem...happy to be here.
"She wasn't." Akira confirmed before anybody could ask.
"We cannot explain the reason now, for obvious reasons." Yusuke continued, gesturing to where Barkeep stood with the toy gun. "But understand that at the time, matters she was dealing with were causing her undue stress and weighed heavily upon her soul."
"Thank you. I'm Asuka Shirokage." Asuka introduced herself with a bow.
"And I'm Homura Shinkukage." Homura concluded. "I assume our guardians did all the paperwork before our arrivals?" She then guessed more then asked.
The principal in turn nodded to that. "They did actually, but we do need your signatures to confirm the transfers." Kobayakawa revealed before presenting the two their forms. After a few seconds of signing their names, they were now officially students of Shujin Academy. "Good. Please remember to read the rules and most importantly be on your best behavior. You are not only students, but future representatives of our society. Remember that actions have consequences, and while I wish for you two to enjoy your tenure at Shujin Academy, causing trouble will get you punished. Your first day will be tomorrow." He then advised.
"Come to the faculty office when you arrive at school." Me. Kawakami said as she gave the two their Student ID cards. "I'll show you to your classroom then." She then informed.
The two girls in response nodded to that.
"At least she's kind to us?" Asuka awkwardly questioned, giving a weak smile. "That's something, right?"
"Now, there is another student that will be transferring in as well." The principal soon began. "Be aware that he has a record. If he breaks any of the school rules, report it to me immediately and he will be dealt with peacefully." He then revealed.
"Bastard…!" Akira growled out. "That wasn't his right to tell!"
"But didn't he do the right thing?" Hibari asked, puzzled. "I mean, he's telling new students to be careful of you, isn't that a good thing?"
"I can understand why you might think that, Hibari-san. And at a glance, it does seem like the right thing to do." Sae explained gently. "But in Japan, it is illegal to discuss the records of a minor on probation unless they're directly involved with the case. This is to give the person in question a chance at something of a normal life. The only other people he can legally talk about this with are attorneys like myself or a member of law enforcement."
"Not like that did him any good." Ryuji grumbled, crossing his arms. "Effin' school, effin' rumors..."
"Hm?" Asuka hummed out in confusion as both girls looked a little confused before remembering who was waiting in the hallway.
"Does he mean...the quiet guy with the glasses?" Asuka and Homura thought. He didn't seem dangerous at all, but decided to trust the principal with his judgment for the moment. And with that, they said good-bye and left the office without another word as the teenage boy and the man he was with entered the office.
"Okay, now here is where I'm upset with you Asuka-san." Ikaruga frowned. "You're a shinobi, trained to look for deceit everywhere and trust only what you yourself witness. And yet you immediately trust the words of a man simply because of his occupation?"
"Ikaruga-chan." Katsuragi spoke up. "You know who you're talking too, yeah? Asuka? The nicest shinobi aside from Hibari? Seriously doubt that's somethin' she's even physically capable of."
To that, Ikaruga could only sigh and nod in agreement, conceding the point. Neither realized that Asuka looked somewhat hurt by being seen like that, but agreed that she had a habit of trusting everybody.
(4/10, Afternoon)
(Shibuya Station)
The girls had nothing else to do other than unpack, which probably wouldn't take more than half of an hour, so they had decided to explore Tokyo a bit and get something to eat for lunch. Now, they were waiting for their train to arrive.
"So...Shujin seemed so...fun…" Asuka awkwardly got out, wanting to stop the awkwardness of just standing around in silence. "Don't you think so, Homura-chan?" She soon asked.
The tan skinned girl however scratched the back of her head to that. "I don't know about that." Homura admitted. "It didn't seem very-" she started, however…
"We're experiencing technical difficulties in the lower line." An announcement interrupted her. Now that they were snapped out of their thoughts, people were starting to notice there was a squealing coming from the tunnel including Asuka and Homura.
However it only took the two girls half a millisecond to realize the squealing was getting a lout louder fast.
"Oh shit!" Ryuji sat up, eyes wide with panic. "Are you sayin' they were there for-?!"
"Move, dammit! Get out of the way!" Miyabi shouted in urgency.
"EVERYONE! GET BACK!" Asuka shouted as she and her roommate dived out of the way of the off-rail train, just in time to save them from not getting hit by the out of control subway.
BOOM! CRASH!
There were some who reacted to Asuka's yell just in time to get out of the way while there were some who just didn't have the reflexes or reaction time to avoid injury or worse.
"My word…" Haru murmured, her hands covering her mouth.
"It's horrible enough to see afterwards on TV." Makoto spoke up, looking horrifed. "But to see it happen right in front of you…"
Mirai stared at the carnage on the screen, her face pale. "How….how many…?" She whispered softly.
"Don't think about it." Haruka surprisingly told her firmly, pulling the smaller girl close. "Just be thankful that Homura-chan and Asuka-chan were there to warn them."
The brunette coughed out the dust in her lungs and got up before helping Homura up. "What *cough* what just happened?" Homura groaned, still a little dazed from the crashing train before they both checked if they had any major injuries. Luckily, it was only a few bruises and dirt on their clothes. "I knew we should've gone home on foot…" She then muttered.
"Homura-chan." Yomi scolded, glaring at her squad leader harshly. "That's not proper to say after such a horrible accident!"
"I get what you're saying, Yomi." Homura snapped, frowning. "But that ain't me now. And you know we've never celebrated when an innocent dies."
"It did say you were dazed." Hikage pointed out, tilting her head. "Maybe that played a part in what you said?"
"Possibly." Miyabi supplied.
The short haired girl meanwhile looked on at all the damage that was caused. "There… There might be people hurt…" Asuka got out as she saw people slowly recover from the crash. "We need to help them…" She then added as she moved towards the train.
The tan skinned girl on the other hand shook her head to that. "No. Let the public services do it." Homura got out with a serious tone while placing a hand on her roommate's shoulder. "We shouldn't get in their way." She then admitted. "Though I can't blame her, that shit was intense…" She meanwhile thought as she looked at the sudden destruction.
Though for Asuka, as much as she wanted to help, she remembered what her grandfather said to her before she left.
You must not flout your strength.
"A-Alright…" Asuka said as she sat on the ground as medical services, police and every news station in Tokyo arrived on the scene.
Futaba looked surprised at that. "Wait, but you're ninja! You could help so many people right there. Are you saying that you've gotta ignore them just to keep your cover?"
Yumi looked down sadly at that. "That is the proper choice, yes. But it never feels like the right one."
Interviews, medical checks and questions...it all blurred past her and before she realized it…
(4/10, Evening)
(Tokyo, Shibuya, Shin Megami Apartment Complex)
...They were back home and very tired.
"We have to go on foot from now on." Homura tiredly decided as she threw herself onto the couch. It was extremely annoying to talk to so many people, and now there was the possibility that she might end up on TV, which would draw way too much attention to herself. Hopefully, they would cut out her interview since she made it as incoherent as possible, like she suffered PTSD or something.
"Okay, under-handed as that is, that was really smart." Morgana admitted, nodding his head. "Something that catastrophic and shocking would definitely qualify for giving somebody PTSD at that age."
"All those people…" Asuka quietly muttered as she went to the kitchen to get a drink. "How many…" She then asked in a sad tone.
"You shouldn't be so hung up about it." Homura got out. "It isn't your fault that the train went out of control or that there were casualties. We survived, we can still walk. Get over it, Asuka-san." She harshly declared. "...She reminds me of how I used to be…" She admitted in her head.
"Okay." Homura spoke up, scowling. "I admit. That was dickish of me. Fuck you, me."
"I mean…" Ryuji scratched his head, an awkward expression on his face. "Ya didn't really say anything wrong. Just kinda… You said it poorly, I think?"
Homura blinked in surprise, her shock giving way to a kind smirk. "Heh. ...Thanks, blondie. You're good people."
"I aim to please!" Ryuji grinned smugly.
Asuka frowned a little at her roommate, disliking her harsh tone but shook her head. She's her roommate from now on, so she had to get used to her flaws as well.
That was the foundation of friendship after all.
"Called it~!" Katsuragi sang out.
"Let's...Let's just go to sleep." Asuka decided before yawning. "What a day…" She mumbled out.
"Yeah. We don't want to be late on our first day." Homura agreed before getting up. Both of them were too tired from the train incident from Shibuya to do anything and headed to bed a little earlier than they would usually after eating the rest of Asuka's sushi.
Within their room and with Asuka sound asleep, the tan skinned girl checked her phone to see if the news of the Shibuya train incident was up on the internet and sure enough, it was.
Homura read the article and noted that most of the blame was placed on the engineer and faulty railway lines, but ultimately wasn't clear about the real cause. The engineer on the train was unconscious but alive and would be interrogated soon. There were at least 70 to 75 casualties, probably more if it wasn't for Asuka's warning. Still, another incident…
"And that could have been so much worse…" Yumi said sadly. "Thank goodness Homura-chan and Asuka-san were there."
"Another psychotic breakdown…?" Homura guessed as she frowned. She soon started racking her brain for a cause but couldn't come up with anything concrete. Could it be drugs being secretly injected into the victims or could it be some disease that hasn't been detected yet? She sighed before putting away her phone and went to sleep. She promised herself to start investigating the cause on Sunday.
(4/11, Early Morning)
(Shibuya, Shin Megami Apartment Complex)
The two girls groaned as they woke up. They hadn't slept well last night as if they hadn't slept a wink, they were sore all over and they both had headaches.
"Do you feel like you've been hit by a train?" Asuka groaned out as she rolled onto her back.
"I feel like I wish I did yesterday." Homura moaned before stretching her muscles.
"Oh, that…." Akira winced.
"Too soon, Homura." Morgana tutted.
"By like, a year." Futaba scolded.
"That ain't me, dammit!" Homura cried, blushing in embarrassment.
An awkward moment of silence soon passed before…
"Let's go to school!" Asuka cheefully tried to say as she grabbed her uniform and headed into the bathroom.
Homura nodded to that but decided not to join in this time in bathing and just start on their breakfast, deciding to wash up after the other girl was done. They both didn't talk very much as they went through their morning routines before they began walking to school.
As they walked, they could definitely see the effects of yesterday's accident affect the public. There were people rushing around, some were asking directions and some just looked plain lost. There was also lots more traffic than there was yesterday.
"We barely just got here…" Asuka muttered to herself. She kept reminding herself about her mission as she walked, that she needed to complete it soon. The amount of chaos caused by these breakdowns was getting really out of hand.
"Well, not every day is going to go well. Even the first one." Homura admitted before looking at her phone. They still had a good hour or so before class started and they were only a few minutes away. When she looked back up, she saw that her roommate still had a sadden and downtrodden expression, causing her to sigh as she could already figure out what was wrong. "Hey Asuka-san…" She called out.
Asuka's eyes widened as she looked at her roommate in confusion. "Hmm? What's wrong, Homura-chan?" She then asked in an innocent tone.
Homura sighed as she rubbed the back of her head. "I...wanna apologize for the harsh words I said last night…" She started. "My guardian...she cares for me...but she can be a bit harsh too, so I got that from her." She revealed.
"Oh thank god!" Homura got out. "Seems I actually managed to remember how to being a decent fucking person!"
Asuka giggled at that, causing the tanned girl to blush. "You've always been a good person, Homura-chan." She assured, making Homura blush deeper in embarrassment. "It's why I wanted to be your friend in the first place!"
On hearing that, Asuka's expression slightly brightened up a little. "It's ok Homura-chan, it was a traumatic situation and you were saying what was basically true." She replied while rubbing the back of her head with a small giggle. "I can't let something like that get to me or I would just end up being some kind of depressed emo." She then joked out.
Homura in turn smiled at that. "Yeah, I can tell that you shouldn't be a doom and gloom girl." She remarked in amusement.
"She really shouldn't." Yagyū stated, glancing at her with a soft smile, making it Asuka's turn to blush.
As a result, the two had a small giggling session before they then looked up and noticed the cloudy sky.
"Looks like it's going to rain soon." Asuka soon noted.
"Didn't say anything about that on the weather report this morning…" Homura admitted. "We better hurry." She advised.
Asuka nodded before the two continued their commute to school at a faster pace.
(4/11, Early morning)
(Aoyama-Itchome)
It started raining as they neared the school. Using their bags as makeshift umbrellas, they looked around for some cover to dry themselves off a little. They didn't want their uniforms to be wet when they arrived, so maybe they could wait out the rain for a few minutes. Today was turning out to be pretty unlucky.
"I'm starting to miss home…" Asuka whined in her head before they took cover underneath the front of a shop, where another student had taken cover. "Jeez, sudden rain sucks…" She mumbled out.
"We should've been more prepared…" Homura sighed out while nodding in agreement before seeing the boy from yesterday look at them. "Hm? Wait, aren't you…" She started.
"From yesterday." The boy answered. "You transferred to Shujin Academy too?" He guessed.
"Welcome to the start of Hell! There is no room and board, you are not allowed to commit a single action that goes against the school's self-perceived image, and you are hated forever based off groundless rumors that are meant to fuck over your life for no other reason than because every single person who isn't a decent human being is a waste of space who gets enjoyment and a false sense of fulfillment out of your torment!"
The silence that followed after that was said hung heavily in the air, everybody staring at Akira who'd put that all out with a smile accompanied by lifeless eyes.
"….Holy shit." Hikage got out, her eyes fully open as she stared at him, everybody internally agreeing with her.
"Are….are you okay, Akira-san?" Yumi asked hesitantly.
Akira shook his head, looking depressed and resigned in equal measures. "I've got a lot of pent up frustrations and unresolved issues, Yumi. And it's been a long time since everything ended. So…no. No I am not."
"...Did...did you wish to talk about it?"
"Maybe later. But not right now, thank you." Yumi nodded in acceptance, still looking a bit worried
"Yeah." Asuka answered before holding out her hand. "I'm Asuka Shirokage. Nice to meet you!" She greeted with a bright smile.
"Akira Kurusu." Akira simply introduced himself as he shook her hand before looking at the girl with tan skin. If one had a sharp eye, they would notice him resisting the urge to look at how...well endowed the two girls were. "And you are?" He soon asked.
"Homura." Homura off-handedly answered before checking her phone again, but her eyes widened to see that the red and black eye app was back on her phone. "Again?" She muttered in annoyance.
"Hm?" Asuka hummed before checking her own phone while the boy pulled out his, only for them to see they all had the same app on their phones again.
"I tried to delete this thing three times already…" Akira mumbled to himself as the app icon expanded.
"And you're going to keep trying to delete it, and you're gonna like it!" Katsuragi laughed mirthfully. She calmed down after a second. "But in all seriousness, what the hell is that thing?"
Before all of them could get rid of the app on their phones again, another girl walked into their cover as she pulled off her hood.
Like a lot of people in the school, the girl seemed to embrace its lax uniform policy. The standard black blazer over a white varsity-like hoodie having a zipper, a red stripe between two blue stripes at the bottom, an S symbol near the front bottom on one side, and a green four-leaf-clover symbol on the back of the hood. She also wore red tights and brown boots with yellow laces. She also had a single yellow hair clip above her left ear, as well as small circular earrings on both ears.
But the most interesting thing about her was her features.
Bright sea-blue eyes and ash blonde wavy hair styled in bushy pigtails with parted side bangs on the right side of her face. It was very obvious that the girl was of foreign descent.
"If you don't mind my asking, Ann-san, what is your heritage?" Yumi asked, genuinely curious.
Ann waved it off with a smile. "No worries, really. I'm quarter-American, the rest is Japanese."
"Wow." Akira thought, ignoring his phone for the moment.
"She's really pretty…" Asuka admitted in her head.
Homura meanwhile said nothing to the newcomer as she looked at the rainy sky. "Now that I think about it, I didn't bring an umbrella here…" She realized, making sure to buy an umbrella after school.
The blonde haired girl turned to see all of them staring at her, causing her to giggle and smile at them before looking forward. Looks like all of them were going to wait out the rain together.
That is before a white car stopped in front of them and had their windows rolled down to reveal that it was a man with a mop-like hair style wearing a dark blue tracksuit.
"Good morning." He greeted. "You want me to give you a ride to school? You're gonna be late." He advised before he then noticed the other two girls. "Come on, I'll even give your friends a ride." He soon offered.
"!" Upon hearing the offer, Homura didn't know why, but for some reason an inner voice screamed within her not to go with the man.
"Yeah, agreeing with my other self here." Homura said in a strained voice. "Not sure what it is, but every part of me is looking at that man and saying 'kill him with fire!'"
"Your instincts are serving you well. Yumi's too, from the looks of it." Miyabi confirmed, scowling at the man, as was Yumi. She glanced over at the Thieves side. "And judging by how they're looking…"
Indeed, most of the Thieves were looking downright murderous at the man. Akira looked furious, as did Makoto. Haru and Sae looked disgusted and Morgana was full-on hissing at him. The real stand-outs of the group were Ryuji and Ann, the former looking to be filled with pure rage while the latter...Miyabi didn't think she'd seen such hatred before in a civilian.
"That man…" Hikage muttered, a strange feeling running down her spine. "He looks wrong…"
Haruka nodded, all traces of her her flirty behavior gone. "Indeed. That man is not to be trusted.
"Um they aren't my friends." The blonde girl replied before glancing at the other girls. "But, um, sure. Thank you." She then added.
"We'll just wait out the rain...er...Mister..."Asuka started but trailed off at the end.
"Kamoshida. Suguru Kamoshida. The gym teacher at Shujin Academy." Kamoshida finished as the blonde girl got into the car before looking at the boy. "Do you need a lift too?" He then offered.
Akira looked surprised at the offer before shaking his head. "Nah, I'll wait out the rain too." He replied while waving the offer off.
Mr. Kamoshida only nodded as the blonde girl rolled up the window. For a split second, however, the smile she had towards the man was gone.
Homura however noticed that detail as she mentally narrowed her eyes with distrust.
"Okay, explain this shit to me." Ryuji growled. "Several girls were able to pick up on what a freakin' d-bag that asshole was at just a glance. So how in the hell did he effin' fool everybody for so long?!"
"Well, Ryuji, it's like you've said before." Akira started up, regaining some level of control over his emotions.
"People are really damn stupid." Morgana finished up and casting one last glare at Kamoshida.
"And to be honest, Ryuji, these girls are ninjas." Futaba added, adjusting her glasses. "Spying on people and picking 'em out is kinda their thing, you know?"
A few seconds later, the car then drove off to the school.
"Hm, he seems friendly." Asuka spoke up after a few seconds of silence as they heard footsteps splashing in the rain, another student in the Shujin uniform running past them before giving up, allowing them to clearly know who it was.
It was a boy with short spiky dyed blond hair and dark brown eyes wearing the standard black blazer, unbuttoned to reveal a yellow t-shirt with a comic style star symbol and the word 'ZOMG!' He also had the plaid trousers rolled up to reveal his ankles with his pants having black suspenders that hang down instead of being worn on his shoulders, a white belt and white sneakers with a rising sun flag motif. Overall, he had all the looks of a delinquent.
"Dammit…" The blond cursed. "Screw that pervy teacher!" He declared in anger.
"Oh okay, that actually explains part of it." Asuka got out. "But how bad-?"
"Remember how Katsuragi said she liked to 'grope' girls?" Makoto interrupted. At Asuka's confused nod she continued. "We'd have taken that happily in this-"
*BONK!*
"Ow!" She cried, rubbing her head as the ball bounced on the floor away from her.
"Looks like that one was a solid one." Barkeep got out calmly, reloading the toy gun.
This confused the group immensely to the accusation.
"...Pervy teacher?" Akira repeated not noticing his phone, as well as the girl's, recording his voice.
Hibari rubbed her eyes before focusing on the screen again. "Is that app-thingy running?" She asked Yagyū, who nodded while frowning at this.
Asuka on the other hand tilted her head while Homura had a serious expression on her face.
Meanwhile, the boy with blond hair noticed that there were others there as well before he turned around while he clenched his fists and approached the group.
They all quickly put their phones away just in case.
"...What do you want?" The vulgar boy asked. "You plan on rattin' me out to Kamoshida?" He soon accused.
The black haired boy soon blinked to that. "What do you mean exactly?" Akira questioned. He wanted to know about this guy's apparent animosity towards the guy.
"Huh? In that car just now. It was Kamoshida." The guy replied before letting out a sigh of frustration and looked to the side. "He does whatever the hell he wants. Who does he think he is, the king of the castle?" He grumbled before he then looked at the group. "Don't you agree?" He soon asked.
"I mean, maybe if we'd known what exactly was going on, maybe." Akira admitted. "But back then? Nope."
"What are you talking about?" Asuka spoke up in confusion. "He seemed like a nice guy." She soon admitted.
"What!? All of that is a front!" The guy growled out. "He's just an asshole through and through. You prolly be more careful around him." He then warned.
"King of the castle, though?" Homura repeated with a raised eyebrow. She...really didn't get where this guy was going and neither did the others.
"Um...what?" Akira then asked.
The guy just sighed. "No, I-I-I mean-" He then paused as he realized something. "...W-Wait, you people don't know Kamoshida? Are you for real? You're all from Shujin right?" He then asked.
"You go to Shujin too?" Akira soon asked. If he was wearing the school uniform, it was so heavily modified that it could easily pass off as his street clothes.
"What…? No other high school's got a uniform like this." The guy just sighed before looking at their pins. "Second years, huh...that means we're all in the same grade." Ht then studied their faces. "Never seen your face before, though. And I would've definitely recognized you two." He noted as he looked at the two girls, noting down their figures. With bodies like that, Kamoshida would've definitely…
Homura's Squad, Yumi, Ikaruga and Miyabi all blinked as they all felt the dark emotions rise up from the Thieves' side again. "Gotta admit, kinda impressed. Not bad for guys not trained to be killers." Homura admitted in her mind.
"We're transfer students." Homura explained. "Me and Asuka-san here only arrived a couple of days ago." She revealed.
The blond in turn nodded to that. "Heh. Then no wonder you guys don't know him." The guy said before looking at the rain. It seemed a lot lighter than it was a few minutes ago. "This rain ain't too bad. We better hurry up, or we'll be late." He then advised.
"We still have a little time…" Asuka admitted as they started walking, only for all of them to suddenly feel light-headed at the same time. "Ah!" She got out.
The tan skinned girl's eyes then widened as she looked at her roommate. "Asuka-san?" Homura got out before she grabbed her own head in pain. "W-What the…" She groaned as she held her forehead before tensing.
Was someone about to attack them? Did an enemy shinobi put up a Shinobi Kekkai? Everything still looked normal, but now her guard was up. Something didn't...feel right.
"Ngh…!" The vulgar boy groaned in pain. "Uuugh, my head hurts…" He got out.
I-I'm not feeling so hot right now." Asuka moaned, using both of her hands to clutch her head while leaning against a wall.
"Dammit...I wanna go home…" The vulgar boy mumbled before he continued walking.
"You know, hindsight bein' what it is," Ryuji grumbled. "It's a good thing we did go, otherwise shit'd be a lost worse now. But a part of me really hates that we didn't just leave."
"Not like our Leader could, anyways." Yusuke reminded. "What with his record and all, any failure to show up at the school would have probably had him sent straight to juvie." Akira sighed again, unable to say anything against that. It was the truth, after all.
"We don't want to be late though…" Akira sighted out before following the guy.
Homura soon helped Asuka up before they followed the boys as well, unaware their phones were still on. They all turned a corner and into an alleyway, but to the girls, something was definitely off, but they couldn't put a finger on it.
While Asuka was cautious, Homura was ready for battle.
Homura actually had an old dagger she used to use hidden in her blazer just in case.
Akira then noticed a puddle that the vulgar boy just stepped into glow slightly red. He stopped before he ignored it, seeing that if he stood any longer he would interrupt the girls' stride.
"So you noticed something that Asuka-san and Homura-san did not, and the same holds true in reverse." Makoto pointed out, leaning forward. "Between the both of you, I'm surprised you kept going despite evidence being shown that you should have turned around."
"Wha-!?" The vulgar boy exclaimed. They snapped themselves out of their thoughts before walking over to the blond haired boy.
"Huh? Why did you…" Asuka started before trailing off as she saw what surprised the boy.
It was a large medieval castle, the sky now filled with sickly purple clouds swirling around the highest tower.
"What the-?!" Katsuragi sputtered.
"But- But there are no castles in Tokyo! How did that appear?!" Mirai yelled.
"Wh-Why is there a castle here in the middle of the city!?" Asuka exclaimed. Last time she checked, Tokyo didn't have castles like this, especially in highly populated areas.
"What in the…" Homura mumbled, staring in awe and confusion at the castle.
"We didn't...come the wrong way though…" The vulgar boy muttered, looking back at the alleyway. "Yeah, this should be right."
Akira just studied the castle a little before spotting something very peculiar. "Hmm?" He hummed out in confusion.
It was a sign near the entrance that clearly said Shujin Academy.
"What's going on here? The boy got out, now thoroughly confused.
"Not sure." Akira replied, still staring at what supposedly was their school.
"I guess we'll just have to go and ask." The guy suggested. This was either a really elaborate trick, a hallucination, a dream...or their school was haunted.
That would explain the screaming in the practice building…
Akira paused for a moment. "...Wait, how did we not notice that?"
"Hell if I know, man!" Ryuji declared. "I was more focused on the, you know, huge fuck-off castle where our school was!"
"I remember you telling about this before." Sae managed to get out, staring in shock at the image. "But now it just seems even more believable, now that I see it."
"We should keep our guard up though." Homura advised, sporting a serious expression on her face. "Something's going on here." She then admitted. She was tempted to use Shinobi Tenshin right then and there but there weren't any obvious threats to their lives yet and she didn't want these civilians to find out anytime soon.
But whatever this was, it might be connected to the power Hebijo wants if she was lucky.
"R-Right. There has to be a reason why our school is a giant...medieval...castle…" Asuka agreed, each word being pronounced more weakly than the previous. There was no way something like this would happen unless someone would create a Shinobi Kekkai, so she was on guard now. She would have to protect these boys and her roommate if push comes to shove, even if it means blowing her cover.
"I gotta at least make sure they are safe…" The two girls both thought in unison.
Anyway, they all nodded and walked across the drawbridge and into the castle unaware, to those who would've seen them, that they'd disappeared into thin air when they walked through that alleyway...and into the Metaverse.
"And that's it for that episode." Barkeep said. "So what'cha all think?"
"I think you should start the next one up." Sojiro answered. "This is some crazy stuff going on, here."
"Next episode, bitches! We're goin' in!" Futaba cheered, throwing a fist into the air.
Fun fact: giving myself a deadline stresses me out to the point I stumble around and end up missing the deadline. NOT having a deadline means I unintentionally end up putting it off as "I'll get to it tomorrow" which inevitably leads to later nights spent awake and less sleep. Not recommended. Here's to this new idea working.
