It seems you have awakened to your powers, yet they have not yet come to fruition

Ah, you again‒ Mr. mysterious voice in my head, how may I serve you today?

Mm… I see you're still fond of jokes.

Yeah… And hey, do you know what that thing that came out of me was? Still clueless here…

They are called Persona, a "mask" that will protect you when you confront other-worldly threats. Yet yours is cloaked in a veil, I can sense a potent power similar to that of my guest.

Guest? Who's this guest?

Unfortunately, I can not tell you about his identity. Just know that you are on the right path to aiding him in his journey.

What am I? A side piece?

No, nothing of the sort‒ My guest's destiny and yours are intertwined. By helping him will he help you.

That seems pretty sketchy but I guess I'll just go along with it…

I'm pleased with your cooperation, do not falter in your journey and please do find your true power.

April 12th: Tuesday

Early Morning

Location: Aoyama-Itchome Station

"Hey, Akira…" Kyotaro greeted the frizzy-haired teen at the Ginza Line, he gave a short wave of his hand before turning his attention back to the front of the railway. The two of them were in a small group of Shujin Students waiting for the train to school, of course, that meant that they got a few dirty looks‒ well Akira mostly did while they tried to ignore Kyotaro.

"Hey, that girl with the red ribbon..." A female student beside them mused at the sight of the girl in front of the group.

She was dressed in the standard winter Shujin uniform with black tights. The girl had snow-white skin and her crimson red hair was tied up into a ponytail by a red ribbon.

"That girl?" The male beside her asked, rubbing his chin in thought. Kyotaro could have sworn he saw his lips curl into a smile as he got a glance of her. "She popular or something? I don't remember her around Shujin, but dang..."

"I think she might be another transfer…" The girl clicked her tongue in annoyance. "She's so skinny… W-well, I have my hair tied up too. So she isn't anything special."

"What are you talking about?"

"N-nothing…"

"Another transfer huh?" Kyotaro nudged Akira by the arm with a wry smile. "Two of a kind, huh pal?"

"Uh… Sure? I guess, what are you getting at?" Akira's eyes glanced back and forth as he feared what Kyotaro was insinuating.

"Nothing, don't you think it's weird how we got two transfers here at Shujin. It's almost like… fate," Oh boy… Here it comes.

"This might be related to that weird reality thing!"

Yep, of course, he had‒What…

"What…" Akira asked incredulously, it was as if you went to the circus expecting clowns in a car then you immediately got an opera cast singing Barber of Seville. Basically, he wasn't expecting THAT of all things. He was expecting‒ Forget it…

"Think about it, what are the odds of two transfers in a row? It has to be‒ Why are you looking at me like that?"

"I… Forget it," Akira quickly said as he averted his eyes away.

He took a quick glance at the new transfer student who still had her eyes on the train‒ She seemed to have deafened her ears with how she paid next to no attention to the conversations centered around her. Her cherry-red eyes seemed to be devoid of life, contrasting their bright color. As soon as the train arrived, her eyes seemingly illuminated and she walked into the car with a small hop in her step

Akira said in a whispered breath as he walked into the car beside Kyotaro, "Strange girl…"

"I'm serious, what are the odds of that happening?" Kyotaro asked, still on the subject of two transfers at Shujin in the same week.

"Mm-hm…" Akira kept his eyes on the red-haired girl, unbeknownst to her as her eyes were dulled in a catatonic like gaze. But she woke up with a blink as she noticed that there was an elderly woman in front of her seat.

"Oh! You can take my seat, I'll be off anyway…" She dipped her head in a bow as she addressed the woman, the girl raised herself with her hands folded in front of her.

"Well, what a kind girl!" The lady cooed with a grateful smile. "Very well I'll‒"

And soon as she accepted the girl's offer, a well-suited man beside them took the seat she offered without uttering a single word. The red-haired girl flinched back in surprise, "S-so fast! Um… Mr? I think- um... Oh, dear‒"

"Hey come on, don't be a dick!" She flinched even further once Kyotaro jumped into the conversation, Akira held him back before he could talk further.

"What he meant to say, was that you shouldn't have‒"

"Zzzzz…" The man's head dipped and his body immediately went limp, causing the three Shujin students to sweatdrop.

"You're sleeping!?"

"Shut up, Kyo!" Akira hissed out as he held a hand over Kyotaro's mouth.

"No, no! It's okay, let's not get worked up over this‒ please?" The red-haired girl bowed her head to the two of them before turning to the elderly lady. "I'm sorry, I don't think he's getting up."

"It's quite alright, dear." The old woman shook her head with a smile as he tightened her grip onto her bag over her shoulder. "I'm fine with standing until my stop."

"Well, at least let me carry your bag for you until I get off." The girl offered as if she wanted to make up for something that wasn't her fault. As the two began to talk about the offer, Akira and Kyotaro began to start up a conversation in the background.

"Nice girl, she's the transfer huh?" Akira rubbed his chin in muse, as he saw the girl hold the bag for the old woman with a smile.

"So what? You planning on asking her out or something?" Kyotaro tapped his temple with a wry smile as he asked in a playful tone.

"You son of a‒"

TAKE YOUR TIME

"Hey!" As they made their way out of Aoyama-Itchome station, the girl's voice rang behind them in a chipper tone, they turned around to see her practically skip over to them. "I wanted to thank you two for trying to get the seat back from that man. Oh? You guys go to Shujin as well?" The two nodded, eliciting a small titter from the girl.

"Right, I'm Kasumi Yoshizawa. I'm transferring to Shujin Academy as a first-year." She blinked a bit once she noticed the pins on their jackets. "Hm, so you two are second-years. I guess that would make you my senpais, huh?"

"Yep, the name's Kyotaro Watanabe and my buddy's name Akira Kurusu!" He jumped into a greeting fast, shaking the girl's slender hands. "Though you can call me Kyo-senpai if you want."

"What happened to not caring about formalities?" Akira hissed into his ear with a judgmental gaze as he pulled him back.

"Well, when a cute girl calls you senpai‒ you just kinda accept it." He rubbed his chin with his finger and thumb, an evil smile crept up onto his face. Akira sighed at his newest friend's… perverted side as he pinched the bridge of his nose. The two of them spun back around to face the girl who was currently folding her hands behind her back.

"I wanted to apologize for not introducing myself back on the train," She scratched the side of her cheek with an awkward giggle. "That was pretty rude of me."

"It's fine," Akira waved off with his brows raised in surprise as to how polite she was being to them. He held out a hand to which she immediately shook, "As a fellow transfer, I hope you have a good time at Shujin."

"O-Oh! Thank you, Akira-Senpai!" She bowed her head to the frizzy-haired teen before looking over to Kyotaro, only her eyes seemed to have dulled a bit in their gleam once her eyes landed on him but she still retained formality.

"And I hope to see you again as well, Kyo-Senpai."

She began walking out the station in front of them and slowly began pulling out her umbrella from her bag. Akira's eyes lingered on her with a slight glint of intrigued, Kyotaro rubbed his chin seeing this.

"Cute girl, she's sweet and polite." Kyotaro mused and scratched his cheek as they saw her walk up the stairs. "But I think she's a bit more interested in you than I."

"What are you saying?" Akira gave Kyotaro a death stare as they began walking out of Aoyama-Itchome station.

"I saw her get all flustered when you two shared a look and she stumbled a bit when she was talking to you," He shrugged, he looked over to Akira with an awkward glance as he pulled out his umbrella. Getting the signal, Akira held his umbrella higher to shield both of them from the rain.

Kyotaro continued with his little explanation as they began their trek to school, "If you act fast, you might be able to get a date."

"I'm not looking for a date, besides with everyone spreading around my criminal record‒ she's gonna end up hating me like the rest." He seemed a little downcasted at that, his eyes shifted to the side and a faint scowl could be seen from the side of his face.

"Aw, here lies poor Akira‒ His heart yearns for another yet society steps in the way and forbids him from love."

"Shut. Up. Kyo…"

April 12th: Tuesday

Afternoon

Location: Shujin Academy

"Welp, how was your second day at 'Prisoner-Academy'?" Kyotaro asked Akira as he made his way out from class 2-E with the two of them meeting up in the hallway in front of class 2-D.

"Could have gone worse," The transfer shrugged with his hands in his pockets. "I was actually able to impress most of the class when I was picked on by Mr. Ushimaru."

"Aw, good for you champ!" Kyotaro spoke in a voice similar to that of a proud father and patted Akira on the back. The spectacled teen sighed as people gave the two of them looks. "And how about we get some ice cream for your accomplishments?"

"Hey there Takamaki…" The two of them looked over to the stairs where they saw the blonde model of Shujin, Takamaki-san, with… Kamoshida.

The gym teacher gave an overly happy smile as he talked to the passive looking girl. "You looking for a ride home? Things have been pretty dangerous with all those accidents."

Right, those accidents… People going crazy like that conductor in Shibuya. Ever since those came into the light of the public, people have been extremely cautious around Tokyo. But even with that bit of information address, Takamaki-san seemed to be extremely against riding home with Kamoshida.

"Sorry, I have a photoshoot today." Nice excuse, pulling out the 'job' card. "It's for the special summer issue, so I can't afford to miss it…"

"Hey, now…" Eugh, the way he said that even seemed suggestive. "Being a model's fine and dandy, but don't work your pretty little self to the bone. You mentioned you weren't feeling well, right? Something about appendicitis?"

"Yes, I keep planning to go to the hospital, but I've been too busy…" She tried averting her gaze away from him, but he kept his eyes all over her. "Sorry to worry you."

"You must be lonely too. I feel bad for keeping your best friend at practice so often. That's why I asked you out in the first place." He paused for a bit, with his finger placed on his sharp chin before clicking his tongue. "Oh, and… be careful around that transfer student. He's got a criminal record, after all. If something were to happen to you…"

Douchebag…

"...Thank you. Please excuse me." Takamaki-san quickly walked away from the teacher, who was still wearing that exaggerated smile.

Only dropping it until she turned the corner, but once he turned around to see Kyotaro and Akira‒ He brought it back, faker than before as he walked over to the brown-haired teen. "Watanabe, how's it going?"

"Pretty good…" He shrugged, Kamoshida nodded with his plastered smile. But it faltered a bit when he glanced over to Akira. Seeing this, Kyotaro tried getting his attention onto him and away from the transfer. "So teach, how are you gonna prepare for the volleyball rally?"

"Prepare? Don't need to!" He laughed with his hands on his hips. "The students here are a bit rusty at best, I may be a teacher but that doesn't mean I'm gonna go easy on them."

Didn't expect you to do that even if you weren't, the two mentally sighed. If that other Kamoshida was an indicator‒ the one they had at Shujin probably wasn't too far off. As they were mentally shaking their heads, the PE teacher placed a hand onto Kyotaro's shoulder and moved him to face away from Akira and whispered into his ear.

"Don't forget that our little deal is still on the table, remember that I get you better company than a criminal. I'm still waiting for an answer, Watanabe…" He added that last part in a venomous hiss that contradicted his plastered smile. As Kyotaro averted his eyes and nodded‒ Kamoshida's smile crept up as he let the boy go.

"Stay out of trouble, alright?" He waved off as he walked away in the direction of the faculty office. Kyotaro brushed back his dark brown bangs and gave a hefty sign of relief seeing him out of sight.

"You okay?" Kyotaro flinched at Akira's voice, he turned around to see the frizzy-haired teen's raised brows. He placed a hand onto Kyotaro's shoulder as he spoke slowly, "Is… there something you need to talk about?"

"No…" He took a deep breath before regaining his closed-eyed smile, "Let's just head out." He waved for Akira to follow, but his head could be seen slightly panning back and forth as if he were looking out for something. Or, most likely, he was fearing for another visit from the 'king'.

So he shuts himself up whenever Kamoshida is around, huh? Kinda like how everyone else around Shujin… Akira figured. It was a difficult sight to see, a showcase of how much power Kamoshida had.

TAKE YOUR TIME

"Yo." Ryuji Sakamoto greeted the two of them at the front of the school gate with a drawstring bag slung over his shoulder.

"Were you waiting for us?" Akira asked with a slight tilt of his head, Sakamoto shrugged in response as he stepped forward in front of the two of them.

"Yeah, I wanna talk about that castle from yesterday. I tried tellin' myself it was all just a dream… but I couldn't do it. I can't act like nothing happened. It's all connected to that bastard Kamoshida, after all. I wanna find out what's up with that place, no matter what." Before Ryuji could finish his little speech, Kyotaro decided it was best to add his two cents

"Dude, we almost died. Ever heard of the phrase 'let sleeping dogs lie'?" He leaned forward with a clenched jaw, he jabbed a finger towards him in judgment. "It basically means we ignore it, or else we get ourselves up shit creek."

"But you two have those things right? We should be fine!" The blonde defended with a small smile as if the words 'almost die' didn't register in his brain. Kyotaro opened his mouth to bite back but was stopped once Akira stepped up into the conversation.

"We'll just check out the castle, then we'll leave as soon as possible. Alright?" Somehow, as if the frizzy-haired teen cast some weird spell on him‒ he began to see things Ryuji's way. With a hefty sigh, he nodded his head. Much to Sakamoto's elation.

"Well, with that settled‒ let's check that place out!"

"And how do you plan on doing that?" Kyotaro placed his hands on his hips and raised his brow, the blonde flinched in surprise at that little detail as he began to stammer for an answer.

"Wait… I think I know the way to get there." Akira pulled out his phone and gestured for the two to look at his screen. He swiped over to where that weird eye app was, the two beside him blinked at his statement before a wave of realization washed over them.

"Isn't that the app‒" Kyotaro cut himself off and pulled out his phone, showing off the same eye app as him.

He opened it up to see that it had very little features, just a blank map, and a search bar.

"Right, you have it too." Ryuji leaned over Kyotaro's shoulder to examine the app with him, but a sudden epiphany popped into his mind once he saw his screen.

"Wait… I think it might be a navigation app, gimme yours for a bit." The blonde took Akira's P.A.D. without proper permission, he opened up the app with a large smile on his face as he scrolled through the app. "Oh man, it is a navigation app! There's even a search history! Am I a genius or what?"

"Oh congrats, how about we give you a typewriter next and see how long until you can write Shakespeare?"

"Shuddup, Watanabe! Let's just try usin' it." Ryuji tapped the screen and pulled out what looked to be a map of the area, though all it showed was Shujin and no other surrounding places.

"Kamoshida… Shujin Academy… Pervert… Castle… Beginning navigation."

"Huh? What the heck was that?" Kyotaro's eyes widened at the strange list of words that the voice from the phone had uttered in its electronic voice.

Ryuji was about to take a guess of what it was, but he cut himself off once Akira's screen began to show a static image of that same eye logo in red. The three looked around to see their vision begging to darken in a filter of purple. Sakamoto gaped, "Huh? What the hell?"

In an odd sensation that felt like a ripple of water washing over their skin and distortions of red filled their sight, the school before them began to change.

Location: Other Kamoshida's Castle

"Look! It's that castle from yesterday!" Ryuji exclaimed as his eyes began scrolling over the stone walls of the fortress. He looked over to the two of them, "If that castle is here, then that meant that what happened yesterday was for real too‒ Huh? What happened to your guys' clothes!"

The two of them blinked before looking over to each other to see that their clothes did in fact change. Akira's clothing changed into that sort of gentleman-like outfit while Kyotaro's transformed into a ringmaster-esque costume. They both looked over their own clothes in subdued awe while Ryuji was still freaking out about it.

"This happened last time! What's up with those costumes?!"

"You jelly?" Akira quipped as he placed his hand in his pockets, while Kyotaro rubbed his chin with a large smile.

"I don't blame you if you do, we do look pretty cool." He swayed his head with a childish tone with Akira nodding his head in the last part of his sentence.

"You guys actually LIKE those?!" Ryuji widened his eyes and exclaimed, his eyes darted around the area at a frantic speed. "What's going on here?! This makes no effin' sense at all!"

"Hey!" A boyish voice called out to the three from behind a stone wall next to them. It was that Morgana thing, the creature peeked its head before moving over to them. He hissed to Ryuji, "Stop making a commotion!"

"Ah… You?!"

The cat explained with a slight grumble, "The shadows started acting up, so I came here wondering what it could be." He shook his head with a sigh, "To think you guys would come back when you barely managed to escape…"

"Wow, it's like we're on the same wavelength!" Kyotaro wryly said as he looked over to Ryuji, the blonde giving him a sharp glare and a scoff in response. He cut the act and looked over to Morgana with a serious gaze, "But, what is this place? Is this the school?"

The cat nodded, "That's right."

"But it's a castle!" Ryuji exclaimed, his eyes scanned the large fort in a frantic shock.

"The castle IS the school," Morgana explained in a slightly condescending tone, "According to how its ruler sees it."

"Ruler huh? So because Kamoshida sees himself as some kind of king, the school becomes a castle?" Akira guessed with an uncertain voice, but he seemed to be correct based on the look of the cat's smirk. However, Ryuji wasn't as pleased as his nails dug into his palms and this revelation of Kamoshida's perception.

"Yep, the one you guys call Kamoshida‒ this is how his distorted heart views the school." Kyotaro raised a brow as to how this whole distorted heart turning the school into a castle works, but the cat hasn't given them a straight answer yet. But it looked like the one most upset about it was Ryuji.

"Kamoshida… Distorted…? This makes no effin' sense! How does Kamoshida turn the school into a castle?!" He stomped his foot in front of Morgana.

The cat opened his mouth, probably about to give him an answer in a snobbish tone based on how he glared at him, but he was stopped once the sounds of horrific screaming echoed out from the castle in front of them. The four of their eyes widened in shock at the blood-curdling screams of young men.

Ryuji was the one to ask the question all three of them had on their minds, "What was that?"

"It must be the slaves here…" Morgana answered with a sigh.

"F-for real?!" More screaming emerged from the castle, causing Ryuji to stagger backward.

"Oh, shit…" Ryuji cursed as his jaw was left agape. "It's for real! We saw other guys held captive here yesterday…"

"Most likely on Kamoshida's orders. It's nothing out of the ordinary; It's like that every day here. What's more, when you three escaped yesterday. He must have lost his temper quite a bit." And with that, Ryuji lost whatever cool he had, his jaw was clenched and his feet stomped against the ground with force.

"That son of a bitch!" The blonde ran over to one of the doors of the castle and began slamming into it. "This is bullshit!"

"Ryuji…?"

"You hear me, Kamoshida– You fuckin' asshole?! I ain't letting you off!"

"Doing that isn't going to open it, y' know!" The cat shook his head and sighed while Akira and Kyotaro looked upon Ryuji's enraged state in concern. "But it looks like you have your reasons."

"You have no idea… " Kyotaro scratched his cheek as he remembered why Ryuji hated Kamoshida's guts so much.

That fight, his leg getting broken, the school labeling it as self-defense, and the subsequent shut down of the track team. He wasn't there but from what he knew about that mop-head, it wasn't as simple as the school made it out to be.

"Hey, Monamona!" He growled at the cat, still unaware of how to pronounce his name.

"How many times do I have to tell you? It's Morgana!"

"Yeah, right… Do you know where those voices are coming from?" Ryuji asked, which meant one thing. Didn't it…?

"You want me to take you to them?" Of course, he did. "...Well, I guess I could guide you there. But only if those two come with us." He looked over to Akira and Kyotaro who's brows shot up in surprise, though it wasn't like they could be seen doing so with these masks over their eyes…

"Why? You need adult supervision or something?" Akira slipped his hands into his pockets and deadpanned, much to the annoyance of Morgana.

"No. I want to take a better look at your guys' powers since you two are the only other Persona users I've come across," The cat explained before looking over to Ryuji, "Even if you don't come with, I'm sure nothing's going to stop this guy from rushing on in. Are you really going to leave him?"

"And are you trying to guilt-trip us?" Kyotaro shot back causing Morgana to flinch, his large eyes darting back and forth as he stammered for a response but he didn't need to after what Kyotaro said, "But alright, I guess we could check out the place so long as we have a way to defend ourselves. What about you, Akira? You looking for some danger?"

"Sure," The frizzy-haired teen nodded with a smirk, "I'm actually pretty curious about this power and this whole place in general. Plus, we can't leave Ryuji out to dry."

"For real?" The blonde gave a grateful smile towards the two of them, "Thanks, you two…"

"Yeah, yeah." Kyotaro rubbed the back of his neck with a hefty sign, "But if we die, I'm pissing on your grave."

"Wait, but you would be dead‒ forget it…" Akira dropped acknowledging the contradiction and looked to Morgana with a stern nod and a glint in his eye.

He gave a mischievous smirk as he pulled his hands out from his pockets, "Where do we begin?"