The following day Akira began his first day at Shujin for a second time. Walking behind Kawakami on the first day was actually a new experience, especially considering the first time he'd been trapped in Kamoshida's castle till fourth period. Judging by how Kawakami had a frustrated look on her face and the lack of another transfer student, the Trickster was already making her way through the Palace and likely being captured by Kamoshida's guards at the moment.
As Akira passed through the halls, he found it interesting not being the one being talked about. At least for the most part.
"Is that the new transfer student?"
"I heard that there were three this semester."
"The one with the record? It's meant to be a transfer student in 2-D."
"He's kind of cute, isn't he?"
Akira's brow scrunched up at the second comment. A third transfer student? If he recalled, he'd been the only transfer student. He didn't have time to think on that, however, as Kawakami stopped before their classroom.
"I'm meant to have you and the other transfer student introduce yourselves but since she's not here yet, I'll have to have you introduce yourself first," Kawakami said before looking off to the side. "Where on earth is she?" she muttered to herself before shaking her head.
"Let's go inside."
Opening the door, the noise within the room quietened down slightly as she walked in and Akira followed. Everyone looked at the two of them as Kawakami came to a stop behind the podium, Akira at her side.
Once more rumours began running abound.
"I thought we were meant to have two transfer students in the class?"
"Is the delinquent chick already skipping?"
"I heard this guys' meant to be super-smart, got a perfect score on the transfer exam. Apparently Kobayakawa accepted his transfer without any questions asked."
"At least he won't stab us if we look at him the wrong way."
Akira noticed two desks empty off to the side of the classroom, and just before the two desks was-
COLD
A comforting coolness emanated from his pendant as he focused back on the present. Kawakami's eyes narrowed as she slammed the sheaf of documents in her hand with a loud smack.
"Settle down everyone!" she ordered as the rambunctious class settled into quietened murmurs, not completely quiet but within tolerable limits for the black-haired teacher. She looked over at Akira, "Well, I'd like to introduce a new transfer student to 2-D: Akira Kurusu. Do you have anything to say?" she asked.
"…It's a pleasure to join you," Akira eventually said.
"Wow… his voice is so deep…" a prim-haired student muttered.
"He seems nice enough."
"Quiet," Kawakami huffed and shook her head, looking around she pointed towards the two open tables. "Your seat is over there, the ones behind Takamaki-san. You can choose whichever one you want."
Akira nodded and hefted his shoulder-bag, making his way over to the table. Grey-eyes met with blue for a moment as his field of view met Ann's.
"Panther! NO!"
Shaking his head, he sat in the seat in the back corner of the classroom, leaving a seat open between the two of them. As class began, Akira took a deep breath, his world wavering for a moment as he slipped between two different layers of reality. His view of the classroom gave way to that of one of Kamoshida's safe rooms; if he focused he could feel the Magician's Arcana deep below along with the Chariot and that of the Trickster in the foyer of the castle.
Abruptly he was back in Kawakami's class, taking out his textbooks for the first period of class. He had to trust that some events would play out properly without his supervision.
Rem cursed her lack of foresight in bringing an umbrella as she followed the vulgar-looking blonde through the back-alleys of Aoyama, rain pouring down soaking her uniform. The skirt and her leggings already joining in getting soaked by the downpour. Something felt off for a moment as she walked through the alley-way but when she turned around nothing seemed amiss.
Neither noticed the rain had stopped.
"Wha-!?"
Rem looked back up quickly, the noise sounded like it had come from the blonde. She exited the alley-way and found the blonde looking up at a…
"Is… that a castle?" Rem murmured as both she and the blonde gawked.
"We didn't… come through the wrong way though…" the blonde turned around looking at the back alley they'd come through. He looked forward at the sign that said 'Shujin Academy', "Yeah, this is right… so what's goin' on here?"
He looked at the black-haired girl. "I guess we'll just have to go in and ask…" he said before moving into the building, Rem following suite.
The two entered some sort of foyer.
"Th-That's weird… where's the school?" the blonde teen muttered to himself as Rem looked around at the strange interior.
"I don't remember the school looking like a castle yesterday," Rem muttered, the blonde boy catching her words.
"This should be the school… I think so anyway…" he said, scratching the back of his head I confusion before pulling out his phone. "Out of service? Where the heck did we end up?"
Rem checked her own phone only to find a similar message in the top left corner of her phone where the mobile carrier would usually be.
"The sign was for the school, right?" the blonde asked worriedly.
"Yeah… It said Shujin Academy in kanji," Rem confirmed as she moved towards the blonde only to find him suddenly whirling on her.
"Right!? You saw it too!"
The two were stopped by the sound of metal clanking rhythmically against the floor. Both Rem and the blonde teen recoiled as a man in a suit of medieval armour along with a green face-mask walked towards them.
"Geez, you freaked me out…" The blonde exhaled in relief, "Who're you? You a student?"
Rem looked at the teen as if he was an idiot. What student wore full-body metal armour to school?
"Man, your costume's impressive… Is that armour real?" the blonde teen walked up to him before Rem could tell him to get back, the sword and shield the man wielded were definitely real.
The man in armour said nothing.
"C'mon, don't just stand there. Say somethin'," the teen crossed his arm. Rem and the teen moved took a nervous step back as another suit of armour approached the two.
"…H-Hey, what's goin' on?" the teen asked nervously.
"What is this…?" Rem muttered as she pulled the teen back, taking several back herself for good measure.
"I don't know!" the blonde teen shouted as he pulled himself out of her grasp and stood protectively before her, "This shit's real though…"
The men in armour proceeded on the two, the two continuing to take regressive steps backwards. "C-Calm down! Time out, man!" the blonde teen said before whirling on Rem, "We've gotta run!"
Rem was more than down for that idea. "Got it," she nodded.
"Y-Yeah, we better not mess with 'em! Go!" he shouted but the two were quickly stopped by another pair of men in suits of armour. "Ugh, what's with these guys?" the vulgar boy cursed.
The man in the suit of armour slammed his shield into his back causing the blonde to crumple in pain. "Gah!" the blonde screamed, "Y-You're gonna break my bones, dammit! The hell do you think you're – Aagh!"
The four men in armour advanced on the two of them, a shield slammed into Rem's temple, crumpling to the floor unconscious.
"Hey… hey wake up!" a voice called causing Rem to lurch upright, narrowly missing slamming her forehead into someone's face.
"W-Woah!" the person calling her recoiled. Rem found herself waking up on an uncomfortable hard wooden surface, cradling her temple as she did so. She could feel a bruise welling.
Rem was shocked to find herself in some sort of dungeon, shackles and chains around littered around the walls of a tiny room. A metal door along with bars blocked any way out, and the only other person with her was the blonde from earlier. "You all right?" the teen asked looking at her in concern.
"I've been better…" Rem murmured as she shook away the pain to try and make sense of the situation.
"I see…" he said, turning around and taking in the dank dungeon-like cellar they were in. "Looks like this ain't no dream… Ugh... what's going on?!" he growled before rushing forward and slamming into the metal door with his shoulder.
"Hey, let us outta here! I know there's someone out there!" the blonde shouted kicking the door for one good measure before turning back. "Dammit, where are we? Is this some kinda movie set?!" the blonde rumbled, an undertone of panic hidden in his voice.
"AAAAAAAAAARGH!" a yell of pain howled through the dungeons, Rem's head shooting up along with the blonde teen.
"Th-The hell was that just now?!" the blonde teen said shocked. The two could hear pleas for help further into the dungeon. "Whoa… whoa whoa whoa whoa! You're shittin' me, right?" the teen was going into full-blown panic.
And admittedly, so was Rem. She could feel her heart beating faster and faster against her ribcage, beneath her breast.
"Isn't there some way outta here?! C'mon we gotta do something!" the teen turned around looking around the cell for any way to escape, Rem doing the same all the while struggling to get her breathing under control.
Even as they looked around the two were unable to find anything.
The blonde teen cocked his, however, as he heard the sounds of clanking metal footsteps. "Huh? You hear that?" he asked turning and running to the door. Rem could see it as men in metal armour approached the cell.
"Be glad your punishment has been decided upon," the leader of the group said as they arrived in front of their cell. "Your charge is 'unlawful entry'. For this, you will be sentenced to death."
Rem's blood ran cold.
"Say what!?" the blonde recoiled shocked but he was soon even more so as a vaguely familiar voice spoke up.
"No one's allowed to do as they please in my castle," a tall muscled man in a bathrobe and underwear appeared.
"Huh? Wait… is that you, Kamoshida?" the teen gripped the bars tightly in surprise.
"You…" Rem muttered, "You're the one from this morning." She remembered him offering her a ride in the morning since it was raining like he'd done with the blonde-haired girl but something about him had revulsed her so she'd declined. Looking at him now, she knew her feelings about him had some truth to them.
"I thought it was some petty thief, but to think it'd be you, Sakamoto…" the one the teen called Kamoshida leaned forward at the blonde, allowing Rem a look at his sickly glowing yellow eyes. "Are you trying to disobey me again? It looks like you haven't learned your lesson at all, huh?" Kamoshida jeered before he noticed her.
"And you brought a friend this time… because you can't do anything for yourself. But hmmm… you do look nice…" he leered at her, Rem flinching back at his lecherous gaze.
"The hell do you think you're saying, asshole?!" the blonde shouted angrily, his grip on the bars tightening.
"Is that how you speak to a king? It seems you don't understand the position you're in at all," Kamoshida looked down at the blonde, "Not only did you sneak into my castle, you committed the crime of insulting me – the king."
"The punishment for that is death," Kamoshida gave a dark smirk. "It's time for an execution! Take him out!" he ordered with a wave of his hand, the door swiftly unlocked as the lead guard pulled out a ring of keys.
"Wh-What!?" the blonde said as the guards entered the room. "Dammit," the teen cursed before taking a running tackle at one of them, shoulder-barging the shield causing one to stumble, "I ain't down for this shit! C'mon, we're outta here!" he yelled.
A guard walked up to him, and with a wind-up punched the teen in the stomach with a gauntleted fist, the blonde letting out a cry of pain as he crumpled against the wall.
"Nnngh… Owww…" the teen clutched his stomach in pain.
Rem seeing that the guards were surrounding him with swords raised tried to pull them back, but the effort was futile.
"Just go, get outta here! These guys are serious!" the blonde shouted even as he took another punch to the gut.
"Oh? Running away are we?" Kamoshida leered at her. "He mustn't have been a good friend if you'd leave him like that.
"She ain't a friend…" the blonde spat before looking straight at her, "C'mon! Hurry up and go!"
"What's the matter? Too scared to run away?" Kamoshida said. "Don't worry though, you can stay and be my plaything… but this one… I'll focus on this one's execution for the moment…" he said looking down at the blonde teen's crumpled form.
Two of the guards held the teen up by his arms, Kamoshida moving forward and punching him in the face. One held Rem against the wall at sword point as Kamoshida continued to punch the teen, blows rocking the teens form as he did so. One blow was strong enough to send the teen to the ground, his arms ripped from the guards' grasp from the force of the blow.
Kamoshida spat at him. "Hmph… where'd your energy from earlier go?" he mocked as a guard picked the teen up by the scruff of his neck before throwing him back on the ground. "A peasant like you isn't worth beating," Kamoshida sneered, "I'll have you killed right now."
That was it.
"Have you lost your mind!?" Rem shouted in disgust.
"Hm…?" Kamoshida looked over at her. "You want to die as well? Fine. I was going to have you be one of my toys, but I'll just have you killed," he kicked her in the gut sending her tumbling against the wall, the back of her head smacking against the stone. "Hold her there… after the peasant, it's her turn to die."
She felt as she was held against the wall, two spears crossing over her neck.
"No… I don't wanna die…" the blonde looked up at Kamoshida in despair.
A blue ethereal butterfly passed Rem's vision, even as the guards held her there.
"This truly is an unjust game. The chances of winning are almost none."
Rem could hear the voice of a young girl speak.
"But if my voice is reaching you, there may yet be a possibility open to you…"
The sound of tinkling chains rattled in her skull, a bead of sweat budding on her temple as pain blossomed.
Oh my… are you simply going to watch?
It's such a pity when pretty things get broken.
Of course, it's not like he's anything to us.
He'll simply die and we move on.
But do tell me, my dear, if you are to let him die…
was your previous decision a mistake then?
Rem remembered how she'd torn the man away from the woman he was trying to sexually assault back in her hometown. How the results of her actions had led her to this moment.
"It wasn't… I'd do it again in a heartbeat!"
She watched as the blonde was lifted by his neck, a sword poised to slice his throat. She struggled as the spears holding her bent and wavered.
Such ferocity my dear… very well…
Call my name and I shall come.
Live fast. Love hard. Die young.
Leave a good-smelling corpse.
Now… vow to me!
The pain that blossomed within her mind surged into an unbridled inferno.
I am thou, thou art I…
Thou who wouldst steal thine own justice,
unafraid of the consequences that awaits.
Thou who art willing to clad thyself in the night,
even if thy soul is to be blackened by hell itself.
Call my name and we shall show the world
that we play by our own rules, my dear.
"Execute him!"
"That's enough!" Rem yelled.
"What was that?" Kamoshida hissed turning over his shoulder to look at her in disdain, disbelieving someone was speaking up against him. "If you desire to be killed that much then so be it!" he nodded to the guard beside her.
A shield slammed into her face, the fake glasses she wore falling to the ground with a clatter. A hand grabbed her and yanked her up, sword against her neck as the guards awaited their king's orders.
A sword rose.
Rem's eyes snapped open, an otherworldly force pushing the guards away, the armour clattering to the ground empty and lifeless. She could feel something on her face, a white smooth domino mask, two connected ovals covering her face. She grasped at it and pulled.
Uncaring of the pain nor the blood that dripped down her face she tore off the mask, her body come alight in a blaze of blue fire.
A sultry giggle reverberated in the air.
The rattling of chains sounded as the blaze lifted from Rem, a being manifesting from the flames themselves, chains grasped within Rem's hands as it rose. Behind her, a feminine figure formed. Clad in clothing akin to skin-tight leather black as night, and hood that shadowed its face, the tips of it reminiscent of a feline it rose.
Rem let the chains fly free.
Black wings with white feathers flew from the figure's hips, gale winds rushing forward around the room.
Kamoshida and the blonde looked up at her. "Wha… what the…?" the blonde whispered.
"I am the thief of the shadowed night – 'Selina'!"
The figure said, a feminine voice sounding out.
"I am the rebel's soul that resides within you. If you so desire, I may deign to help you…"the voice crooned sultrily.
"I want to live…" Rem said nodding.
"A wise choice. Very well, my dear… my power is at your disposal…"
"Who the hell are you!?" Kamoshida roared looking at Rem and Selina. "Guards!" Like mannequins, the guards reassembled themselves from broken pieces of armour. "Start by killing that one! You'll learn the true strength of my men!" The guards shook violently before bursting into pools of red and black, forming into a fusion between a ghost and a pumpkin. Weapons formed in Rem's hands; a pair of long iron nails fastened on opposite ends to each other by a length of chain.
"Let us be rid of these skittering nuisances, my dear. It's time to steal back our freedom," Selina crooned in Rem's ears. Rem could feel as the darkness within Selina wished to set the tear unrestricted. She grasped at her mask and tore it free, Selina giggling in delight as dark energy poured out.
"Eiha!"
The dark energy rendered one of the two pumpkin foes dust. Rem dashed forward, dodging a lantern swing as she did so and plunged the nails within her hands into where she assumed the eye-sockets of this thing were. Both nails struck true as they sunk into the two orbs of light that acted as eyes.
The pumpkin-ghost froze before disappearing into flakes of darkness, dissipating like a shadow in the light.
Rem relaxed as the immediate threat disappeared. She felt as Selina receded back into her mask, the white domino mask appearing once more on her face.
Sakamoto!
Rem whirled around only to find him looking up at her in shock and awe. "What… What was that just now?"
Kamoshida strutted forward, heavy steps as he approached Rem.
"You little…-"
He didn't get to finish as Sakamoto bull-rushed and shoulder-checked him to the ground. "Ha! You like that, you son of a bitch!?" Sakamoto cheered.
Rem swiped the ring of keys that were on the floor, "Lock the cell!" she shouted as she tossed the keys to the blonde who ran out of the cell, herself following close behind.
"Okay, it's locked!" Sakamoto said as he clicked the lock closed and threw away the keys.
"Damn you…!" Kamoshida roared as he staggered to his feet.
"What was that just now…" Sakamoto looked at her, but his eyes widened as he noticed her clothes. "And… your clothes…"
Rem's eyes drifted down as she noticed her clothes had changed.
She wore a very short red crop top that covered her breasts with a black underlayer that covered from underneath the crop-top all the way to her abdomen and led down into a pair of black shorts, the whole thing skin-tight and a belt over her hips. A pair of black thigh-high leggings covered her legs that led into white boots, complimenting her mask. Red gloves that extended into black sleeves hugged her all the way to her upper arms while a pair of studded metal pauldrons sat on her shoulders. If she shook her head she could feel that her hair was free of its braid and flowing free in a ponytail.
A flash of blue flames engulfed Rem before she was back in her school uniform, her clothes were miraculously dry while her hair was back in its braid.
"Whoa… they changed back to normal!"
"You bastards!" Kamoshida lunged at the bars of the cell, causing Rem and Sakamoto to recoil.
"God, this's effin' nuts!" Sakamoto cradled his head but turned to Rem. "Anyway, let's scram! You lead the way!"
Rem smirked. "With pleasure."
The two ran up the pathway but the door was locked and Sakamoto had already thrown the keys into the flowing waterway. Looking around Rem found a ledge that they could jump over easy enough. After they jumped over they found themselves needing to jump over a trio of precarious cages sitting in the water in order to get to the other side.
"Yeesh, can we really get across this?" Sakamoto asked as he looked at the rushing water that passed through the cages but gave a look back at where Kamoshida was yelling in the cell. "On the other hand, there's nowhere else we can try… alright, let's get hoppin'."
After running over the crates and reaching another locked door, the two realised the only way through was to pass through a small tunnel in one of the cells. "I'll, uh… I'll go first yeah?" Sakamoto said, not taking a no for an answer and something Rem was glad for since she was wearing a skirt.
"Is… this a drawbridge?" Sakamoto asked as they continued running passing over said drawbridge. "Seriously what is this place?"
"Ack!" Rem yelped as Sakamoto suddenly dragged her behind a mound of barrels and crates, looking over showed that on the other side of the waterway a pair of guards were looking for them. "We've gotta find a way outta this goddamn place!" Sakamoto hissed.
Rem agreed.
Ensuring that the guards wouldn't see them, the two ascended a nearby spiral staircase, eventually leading to a pair of wooden doors.
"Is this the exit?" Sakamoto huffed after running full-sprint up the stairs, "Let's get the hell outta this place!" He kicked the door open revealing that it was actually another set of dungeons, the one they'd been in most likely having been a lower level.
"You gotta be jokin'… this ain't an exit, where the hell is this place?" he muttered as the duo sprinted through the labyrinthine dungeon. The two came up across a drawbridge eventually with the bridge drawn and a statue of Kamoshida with a disgusting grin.
"Shit, this bridge's raised up! Ain't there some way to lower it!" Sakamoto cursed as he kicked as the bridge. Rem looked at the statue curiously, there was a line separating the jaw of the statue from the rest of its face.
"Hey, you there!"
"Did you say something?" Rem asked as she looked at Sakamoto only to get a confused look in return.
"Uh that wasn't me…" he shook his head.
"Blondie! Braided Hair! Look over here!" the voice called out once more, Rem and Sakamoto looking around cautiously. Rem saw in the corner of her eyes a tiny figure struggling against one of the jail cells, it looked like some sort of bipedal-
"Is that a cat?" Rem asked as she looked at it.
"What is that thing!?" Sakamoto shouted stunned.
"A cat? A monster cat?" Rem hedged as she crouched down and poked it through the jail cell bars where she assumed its nose would be. The thing pulled back a bit but still looked at Rem and Sakamoto.
"You're not soldiers of this castle, right!? Get me out of here!" the strange creature pleaded, struggling against the cell bars. It pointed to a set of keys on the wall, "Look, the key's right there!"
"We're trying to get out of here!" Sakamoto growled, "I mean you obviously look like an enemy too-"
*click*
The cell door swung open as Rem unlocked the door and pulled the lever that held the door closed.
"What the hell?!" the blonde yelled incredulously at Rem.
"The enemy of our enemy is our friend," Rem replied when she noticed Sakamoto's incredulous stare, "Besides the longer we stay here, the more likely that sleazebag might get us."
"Ah, freedom tastes so great," the strange creature hissed in delight before looking at Rem, "Thanks for letting me go Braided Hair, now time to get out of here. Follow me if you wanna leave this place!" it said before scrambling off, Rem and Sakamoto following on its heels.
"What are you doing you damned Monster Cat," Sakamoto growled as it stopped by the statue of Kamoshida from earlier.
"What does it look like I'm doing? I'm lowering the bridge," the strange creature's eyes narrowed at Sakamoto, "And I am NOT a monster cat! Or a cat! My name is Morgana," the now-named Morgana said before turning to Rem.
"You noticed it earlier right? There's something off about this statue, see if you can figure out how to lower the bridge," Morgana said before she? he? it? moved to the side allowing her access to the statue.
Rem quickly moved forward, groping around the jaw area she'd noticed wasn't connected to the rest of the face. Her hand found purchase in the statue's mouth and to her surprise easily slid downwards and stopping with an audible click. The green jewels acting as the statue's eyes shone yellow as the drawbridge fell on both sides allowing the group passage.
"How were we supposed to know to do that!?" Sakamoto yelled causing Morgana to scowl at him.
"Hmph, amateur. Come on, if we want to get out of here we have to keep going!" Morgana shook his head before running forward before the two, taking the lead.
The three skid to a halt as a guard came out of one of the hallways.
"Ah, shit it's them!" the blonde cursed as he slid on his ass, beside him Rem burst into a flash of blue fire as her clothes changed once more.
"Tch, you amateur! Stay still!" Morgana said as he hopped onto Sakamoto's head before standing in front of him and turning to look at Rem who was once again looking at her clothes. "Hey, you! You could fight, right! Let's go!"
Rem nodded tearing off her mask and readying her twin chain-nails.
Morgana jumped forward.
"Come… Zorro!"
In a burst of flame a large being manifested behind Morgana. A black-clad being dressed to that of the nobleman vigilante with a cape, a sombrero cordobés and a mask covering its face and a rapier in hand. Its upper body was large and muscled as if it was constantly holding its breath while its legs were thin and spindly.
"Y-You got one of those things too!?" Sakamoto muttered as Selina materialised behind Rem the moment she'd torn of her mask.
The guard burst into that of the ghost-pumpkin from earlier and a red floating demon. "We shall promptly shut them up!" Morgana stated with a humph as he? he crossed his arms.
"The shadows have taken up intercept positions. It looks like it's not about capturing us anymore... they're out for blood!" Morgana stated as he hopped on his feet a western-style sword draped over his shoulder noticing their stances, "I'll back you up, so fight like your life depends on it! Let's go!"
Rem nodded, throwing one nail at the red demon impaling it before pulling it towards her with the chain. Selina released the build-up of dark energy she'd been preparing at the demon sending it reeling back as it tried to regain its footing, its wings flapping in the air.
"Hmph, I knew you were an amateur," Morgana smiled gleefully at Rem. "This is how you fight! Zorro, show your might!" he commanded, a strong gale wind surrounded the pumpkin-ghost cutting into its being. The ghost tumbled to the ground incapacitated with a pitched cry.
"Strike at an enemy's weakness to knock them down! Use that opening to strike again!" Morgana advised helpfully, "That's the most basic of basics, so remember it well!"
Rem nodded.
"Now let's hurry up and get through this! Garu!" Morgana ordered, Zorro sent another gust of wind at the pumpkin-ghost while Selina sent an Eiha at the demon finishing the two enemies off.
In the back of her mind, Rem could feel Selina strengthen with the gathered experience of their defeated enemies.
"Not bad," Morgana complimented as his sword disappeared, the same with Rem's chain-nails, "Your Persona's pretty powerful."
"Persona?" Sakamoto asked as he walked up to the two, "Y'mean that thing that comes outta you guys all dramatic-like?"
"Yes," Morgana nodded. "You saw how Braided Hair here ripped off her mark when she summoned it, right? Well everybody wears a mask deep within their heart. By removing that-"
He was cut off as Rem burst into flames once more, her outfit changing back into the academy uniform again.
Sakamoto took a step back "Huh? She turned back to normal again…"
"Hm, it looks like you don't have full control over your power yet…" Morgana theorized. "The transformation shouldn't normally dissolve like that. After all-" he was cut off by Sakamoto this time.
"Rrgh, that's enough! This crap doesn't make sense!" the teen growled in barely-concealed frustration.
"Can't you just sit still and listen for once, Blondie!?" Morgana asked in his own frustration because he was constantly being interrupted.
The blonde just growled back, "Don't call me Blondie! My name's Ryuji…"
"You know what, there's no time for me to lecture you! You wanna escape this place in one piece, right? Let's go already!" Morgana just shook his bobble-head before pushing his paw into the aether and pulling out some vials of medicine, handing them to Rem. "Oh, but before that- take these. Use them carefully, okay?"
Rem accepted the medicines, placing them into her shoulder bag.
"Come on, we should hurry. It's not much farther to the exit," Morgana stated, the three advancing upwards through the dank dungeons. The trio came across another set of drawbridges and statues, but this one came with cells adjacent to it.
"Woah, what the hell? Ain't this the volleyball team?" Sakamoto asked as he noticed a fallen teen inside the cell wearing a track uniform. "We need to get them outta here!" he said as he tried to find a set of keys to use.
"You idiot, they aren't real! They're just cognitions of the ruler of this place, the real ones are fine!" Morgana hissed as the blonde, "We need to get going already-"
The drawbridge lowered, a guard advancing on them.
Rem burst into flames, her rebel's outfit garbing her. "Grr, you should've listened to me!" Morgana winced as he drew his sword, Zorro appearing behind him.
"It's time to fight," Rem stated, tearing her ask and releasing Selina.
"Heh, I'm glad at least someone has their head on right out of the two of you," Morgana smirked, the guard bursting into a small woman flying in the air with a pair of wings on her back. "Heh looks like it's raring to go too."
Rem took the first move, "Eiha!" Darkness converged on one of the two pixie-like creatures, instantly decimating it from existence.
"Nice job, now the other one!" Morgana ordered, Rem tearing off her mask causing Selina to appear and sent another spout of dark energy to converge onto the second of the pixie-like creature killing it in the same manner as the first.
"All right! Let's get away before more show up!" Morgana said.
"Hold up, we can't just leave these guys here!" Sakamoto protested.
"Grr! I told you! They're not real! Whoever it is they are in the real world, they're fine!" Morgana bristled at the blonde. "If you want to stay here then be my guest, but I'm getting out of here!" he said before rushing on ahead.
Rem nodded. "We've been here long enough as it is. We need to leave, now."
"Dammit… Fine, I get it! Let's get out of here…" Sakamoto muttered, one more backwards glance at the fallen tracksuit-wearing teen before the two followed after Morgana.
"The entrance hall is right above here! The exit's close… Keep it up!" Morgana urged the two to hurry as they ascended the stairs, just beyond it Rem could make out the sight of the foyer they'd ben in earlier.
Running to the other end of the hall, Morgana stopped before a door. "We're here!" he said with finality, Rem and Sakamoto huffing slightly behind him.
"Finally! We're saved!" the blonde male groaned as he slumped with his hands on his knees. He rushed forward to the door that Morgana wasn't standing forward and tried to open it. "It's not opening, did'ya trick us you jerk?!" he whirled on Morgana.
Rem let out a suffering sigh as she shook her head. "If you'd stop rushing to conclusions and actually look, you can tell this is the exit," she said as she stepped over Morgana and opened the other door with a click. "This is the side we came in from, that door would most likely lead further in…"
"Heh, you catch on quick, don't you… unlike Blondie…" Morgana complimented as the two entered.
"H-Hey, wait up!" Sakamoto muttered as he rushed after the two as they entered a dead-end room, "Where are we supposed to get out from here!? There aren't even any windows!"
"Ugh, amateur…" Morgana groaned before looking at Rem, "You've been catching on quick, can you at least figure it out?"
Rem looked around, spotting a grate on the wall just above the bookshelves. Judging by the draft that came in, it likely led to the exterior of the place they were in. "Ventilation shaft," she finally said, pointing at the metal grate.
"That's right! As I thought, you're a natural at this," Morgana jumped with a nod. "It leads all the way outside."
"I see…" Sakamoto said, an understanding dawning in his eyes. "Then we just gotta get that metallic mesh off! And a one, and a-" he said jumping up the bookshelf, his hand grasping the metallic mesh before he lost his footing. As he fell backwards, the momentum generated by his fall and his grip on the mesh caused it to be pulled free.
"Whoa!" he shouted startled as he fell. He groaned as he got back up, covered in dust. "Owww… Crap! The enemy didn't hear is, did they?" he wondered as he dusted himself off before looking at Rem with a grin. "Seriously, we're finally getting outta here!"
"You should wait on celebrating until you actually get out," Morgana advised as he swung his arms/paws. "Now get going!"
"But…" In a rare moment of non-defiance, Sakamoto looked at Morgana in concern, "What about you?"
"There's still something I have to do. I'm going to check this place out," Morgana shook his head, "From here on, we're going our separate ways."
Rem looked at the cat gratefully, "Thank you for your help, Morgana," she bowed.
"Heh, at least someone's got manners," Morgana grinned, "Be careful on your way, okay?"
Sakamoto and Rem nodded, the blonde quickly scrambling up the bookcase and into the ventilation shaft.
"Hey!" Morgana called out to Rem causing her to pause just as she was about to ascend the bookcase. "If you ever come back here, I could use your help," Morgana said.
Rem thought it over for a moment, Selina silent but a quiet urging to accept rung throughout her form. "If I return… then perhaps I'll deign to help…" Rem eventually said before ambling up the bookcase and climbing through.
"Those two would certainly prove useful… especially that braided-haired one…" Morgana hummed as he watched them leave, before eventually making his way back into this castle with Zorro at his back.
Akira hummed as fourth period ended and the lunch bell rang. He packed up his stuff and made his way to the school cafeteria. He sat down taking out the lunch he'd prepared for the day, a box of white rice and kara-age chicken, one for both himself and Goro.
He'd felt throughout the day as his mind shifted between different layers of realities, between the real world and the metaverse without completely sinking through. As he felt Morgana, Ryuji and the Trickster make their way to the exit point of Kamoshida's castle he idly wondered if this was how Futaba had felt, constantly being connected on some level to every little thing that occurred within a palace.
It was strange being able to access Kamoshida's palace, like skimming through the surface of a pool. He theorized that since he was inside Shujin, the location of Kamoshida's palace he was able to slip through cracks within reality minutely. His consciousness could manifest within the metaverse and feel around but to actually do something he'd need to go in there properly.
!
Akira looked up and found himself surprised that someone had sat down across from him. He found himself moreso surprised that he actually knew the person.
"Sumire-san?" Akira asked hesitantly as he found a familiar red-headed girl with long flowing hair and black spectacles sitting across from him giving him a shy smile, a large container with her.
As far as he knew she didn't attend Shujin, so what was going on?
"Hello Akira-kun," Sumire gave him a small smile, "I didn't know you were attending school here…"
"Me? What about you?" Akira asked still stunned, sifting through his memories to figure out if he ever remembered seeing red-hair as vivid as Sumire's in his reality.
Sumire's smile turned slightly brittle. "Do you remember that conversation we had in the hospital? About making friends that would care about me for me?" she asked.
Akira nodded turning his full-attention towards the red-haired gymnast.
"Well, I realised when I went back to school that most people did want Kasumi over me… and then I remembered what you said, about changing schools," Sumire said her eyes shying slightly from his.
"And you decided to change schools just like that?" Akira said slightly surprised. He hadn't expected for an off-hand comment to result in something like this.
Sumire nodded. "For the most part, yes. My father around that time also suggested for me to go to a councillor… Councillor Maruki also suggested that sometimes if you can't solve your problems it's okay to run away… so I ended up transferring here to Shujin as an honours student with my gymnastics skill."
Akira nodded understandingly, it had tuned out that his words had affected her more than he'd realised. Judging by the way she seemed to sit up slightly straighter while darkness no longer seemed to fog her eyes it seemed to have been positive for the most part, something Akira was relieved to see.
"I'm glad you've found a path to follow Sumire," Akira gave her a happy smile earning him a shy one in return. "Have you made any friends on your first day so far?" he asked but immediately he could tell he'd accidentally stepped on a sensitive topic by how the skin around Sumire's eyes drooped.
She shook her head. "I'm afraid not. Most people here don't like the thought of me being an honour student… it seems even here people still know that Kasumi's talents are better than mine…"
Akira's eyes narrowed in annoyance at the thought that somehow for some reason the students of Shujin were bothering her. "Hey, forget about them yeah?" he said leaning forward with his elbows on the table. "Remember what I told you? The only person you should compare yourself to is the Sumire of yesterday. You remember, right?"
Sumire looked at him taken aback, eyes wide. "U-uh y-yes…"
"Good. Don't listen to whatever anyone says about you. You decide your worth…" Akira made sure she knew he was serious. "And if anyone bothers you, just come to me. I'll sort them straight."
Sumire just looked at him for a moment before breaking out into a small light giggle. "You're right, Akira-san… actually…" Sumire's eyes drifted down to his open blazer, at the collar that stated he was a second year, "Akira-senpai… If I ever forget… would you stay and remind me?"
Akira huffed in fake offence. "As if you'd even need to ask. I told you we're friends and I don't go back on my word," he held his hand to his chest earning him another light giggle.
Sumire stopped giggling and looked pointedly at Akira all of a sudden, "You still didn't tell me that you came to Shujin though. If I'd known sooner I would've talked to you about my transfer."
Akira shrugged, "I didn't have much time. I transferred on Saturday, it was a pretty sudden thing all thing considered. It was sort of a last-minute decision."
"Oh, you must be talented if you were accepted so quickly," Sumire complimented earning her a raised look.
"This coming from the girl with the honours," Akira gave Sumire a pointed look causing her to blush. "Come on, we only have twenty minutes before lunch ends and neither of us have touched our lunches."
Sumire nodded with a beaming smile.
Out of the corner of his hearing, he could hear students around the cafeteria talking about them. Judging from Sumire's lack of reaction, it didn't seem like she could hear as people talked.
"Those two know each other?"
"She's so lucky. The new guy's cute, I actually wanted to try my chances."
"Is that third transfer student still not here yet?"
Akira dug into his fried chicken and rice, slightly surprised to find Sumire with a gigantic lunch box of her own, it looked homemade. "Do you cook?" he asked conversationally.
Sumire looked up from her box and give him a smiling nod. "Yes. As a gymnast, I have to take care and look at the nutrition value of my food in order to stay at the best of my performance. I actually cook both mine and Kasumi's lunches."
Akira looked at her, "You're the cook between the two of you?" he asked earning him a nod. "Would you like to exchange recipes sometime then?" he offered.
"Between Goro and I, I'm the one that cooks for the both of us so it'd be nice to have something that's nutritious. As you can tell I just make whatever will fill us up and is easy to make if I'm on a tight schedule," he said motioning to his own food, which when compared to Sumire's was lacking significantly in the nutrition department.
"Hmm…" Sumire looked at Akira, almost studiously if he'd have to say looking him up and down, "I'd have to consider what you both do exercise-wise in your spare time but it would be my pleasure to. Just say when and I'd love to exchange recipes."
"Of course. It's a deal," Akira smiled.
Sumire beaming smile lit up the cafeteria. Figuratively.
"How is Kasumi-san by the way?" He wondered. If he'd remembered correctly she should've been awake from her coma by now.
Sumire's lips thinned by she didn't seem downcast as she spoke, "She's woken up actually, but the doctors said that it would take another three months before she's had a full recovery. They said she'd need to go through some short therapy to make sure that all the ligaments in her legs have healed completely."
"That's wonderful news," Akira said. "Did you tell her about your transfer?"
Sumire nodded, her lips evening out with the slightest hints at a happy smile tugging at the corner of her lips. "I did. Kasumi was sad when I told her but after I explained my reasoning, she was very supportive and understanding…" Sumire gained a wistful look in her eyes, "She was actually said she was sorry for not noticing that everyone talked to me only so that they could talk to her… I guess she really did understand…"
"You're twins, it's only natural that she'd want the best for you, and it's not like you don't see each other every evening," Akira said.
"That's right," Sumire said. "She said even if we're at different school it doesn't mean we can't reach our dream together. It just means we have to work twice as hard when we're not together."
Akira felt relief looking at Sumire. Over the course of their conversation, he'd seen as a hopeful light gleamed in her eyes, and her slight slouch straightened till she was sitting upright and smiling.
"I told you that there are people that care about you," Akira said. "Hold them close to you and never let go."
Sumire's head bobbled up and down with a smile, "It's thanks to you Akira-senpai that helped me realise that. So, thank you. Each day I'm slowly finding out who Sumire is, and it's because of you."
Faith Arcana – Rank 2!
Her eyes widened as she took out her phone. "Oh no, we only have ten minutes!" she said frantically before she dug into her giant food container, Akira just watched in amusement as she ploughed through it, the whole thing fitting into one tiny Sumire.
Akira watched as in fifth period Kawakami walked through the classroom door with a familiar black-haired girl with a long braid flowing down her back in tow. The two came to a stop in the same position he had that morning, with Kawakami behind the podium and the girl to her side.
Already people were talking.
"Being super late on her first day? She really is insane…"
"She looks normal though…"
"But she might slug us if we look her in the eye…"
Akira rose a brow. These seemed like the same rumours people had hurled at him almost four years ago.
"Settle down," Kawakami said with a huff. "Well, I'd like to introduce our other transfer student, Amamiya Rem. Today, we… had her attend from the afternoon on since she wasn't feeling well."
She looked at the Trickster, at Amamiya Rem. "All right, please say something to the class."
"Nice to meet you," Rem said impassively.
"She seems quiet… but I bet when he loses it…"
"I mean, she was arrested for assault, wasn't she?"
"Uh… so…" Kawakami tittered awkwardly as students began to talk, "Your seat will be… over there the one that's open. The one behind Takamaki-san and in front of Kurusu-san," she motioned to the empty seat in front of him. "Sorry, but can the people nearby please share your textbooks with her for today?"
Rem placed her hand into her blazer pocket as she walked over, pausing by Ann's desk for a moment.
Akira could hear Ann whisper "Lies…" as Rem approached, said girl flashing her a strange look. As Rem was about to sit down she noticed him and froze noticeably before remembering where she was.
Akira gave her a short wave.
She sat down.
"…Did you catch that? Does Takamaki-san know her?"
"Who cares about Takamaki-san? Did you see the new guy wave at her? Do they know each other?"
"You think she tried hitting on Kurusu-san before they transferred here?"
Already he could tell that more rumours were going to fly before the afternoon finished.
"Oh right! The volleyball rally's in two days…" Kawakami muttered as she looked at the class. "Everyone's just changed classes, so make sure you use that time to get to know each other. Well then, let's get class started. Who's on duty today?"
COLD
"Everyone, please rise…"
As Akira continued fifth period, for some reason he felt like he was forgetting something but for the life of him, he couldn't remember. If he felt like he was forgetting something, chances are it was important but he just couldn't figure it out.
Hopefully he'd remember.