"Ugh, of all the days it could have rained it had to be today." I shuffled closer to Akira, soaking up his warmth.
The suddenness of the rain had caused the temperature to drop.
"I thought I deleted this yesterday…just what exactly is this app?" He mumbled to himself.
I leaned over to see what he was talking about, but turned as someone joined us in front of the store and nearly bumped into me.
"Hey…" My complaint died on my tongue as the girl pulled her hood off. "A foreigner?"
The girl was beautiful, on par with a model. She had pale blonde hair, teal eyes and wasn't afraid to defy conventions with her uniform. With how low her hoodie was, it was hard to tell she was even wearing a skirt.
Akira was awestruck by her looks as well. "Heh, there are beauties like this at Shujin, too."
I snickered at my brother's obvious ogling. The girl must have found his staring amusing or at least had enough manners not to chide Akira. She smiled kindly at us. Akira blushed and rapidly looked away. I returned her smile with a tentative one.
This girl wouldn't shame me like the others would she? Maybe…I could talk to her...and become friends.
A car pulled up and put a damper on my plan. The window rolled down to reveal an older man in gym wear, who zeroed in on the girl.
"Good morning. You want me to give you a ride to school? You're gonna be late."
"Um, sure. Thank you." The girl's tone indicated that she was unsure, but she got into the car.
Something about this bothered me. Why would she get into the car if she was uncomfortable? She could've said no.
But it's none of my business what she chooses to do. I can't get involved her drama, not with all the heat already on me.
"Do you two need a lift?" The man curiously looked at Akira and I.
His eyes lingered on me longer than necessary.
"Ah, no…we're fine." Akira politely turned down the man's offer.
"You sure?" The man posed the question more to me than Akira.
My eyebrow twitched.
My brother already said no, creep. Why would he think my answer would be any different? Was there a sign on my forehead that broadcasted that I was easy and would get in a car with a complete stranger?
"No thank you, sir. We're fine." I tilted my head, displaying my fake smile laced with hidden killer intent.
"Don't be late okay?"
The window rolled up and the car pulled off.
"Was it just me or was that man sketchy?"
Akira's grey eyes moved from the car to mine. "It was strange. Teachers don't normally give rides to students."
"That's one teacher I'll have to keep an eye out for."
Heavy footsteps and loud pants drew our focus.
"Shit!" A blonde boy cursed, stopping to glare in the direction of the car. "Screw that pervy teacher."
"Pervy teacher?" Akira repeated.
The boy faced us, scowling like we were the plague.
"What do you want? You planin' on rattin' me out to Kamoshida?"
"Kamoshida?"
"Huh? In that car just now. It was Kamoshida."
"So that guy's name is Kamoshida. Thanks, now I know who to avoid." The vulgar boy looked shocked to see me and did a double-take between Akira and I. "We're twins." I simplified for him.
The boy shook his head, the anger returned to his face. "Avoiding him's a smart move. Guy only ever invites girls into his car, does whatever the hell wants with them and then calls it 'career counseling' after that! Who does he think he is-the king of a castle? Don't you guys agree?"
"King of a castle?" Akira was dumfounded by the western expression.
I understood the expression from all the American shows I watched whenever Akira and I were left alone in the house. With that in mind I sarcastically asked. "Which castle?"
"Uh, no, I mean…" The boy stumbled on his words as he processed our questions. "Wait…you seriously don't know who Kamoshida is?" He looked at us and we shook our heads in sync. "Are you guys for real? You're both from Shujin, right?"
"You go to Shujin, too?" Akira asked.
His question was justifiable. The boy's outfit hardly followed regulation and was messily put together.
"Duh. No other high school's got a uniform like this." Blondie's brown eyes lowered to Akira's chest and he pointed to the badge. "That button there says you're a second-year. We're in the same grade then." He inspected mine too. "But I've never seen either of you before."
"We're transfers." I supplied.
"You don't say…no wonder you guys don't know him." The boy kicked the ground, muttering under his breath.
"He's cute for a delinquent." I shared airily with Akira.
He choked on air.
"The rain ain't too bad. We better hurry up or we'll be late. Here, I'll show you guys a shortcut." Blondie's bad mood evaporated and he grinned pleasantly.
"He's nicer than he looks." Akira told me.
We followed the vulgar/nice boy.
I heard an odd noise before a wave of dizziness hit me. It appeared I wasn't the only one affected. Akira and the boy were hunched over, holding their heads.
"Uuuugh, my head hurts for some reason…dammit…I wanna go home…" Blondie recovered and unsteadily started walking. "C'mon this way."
"What is this feeling?" My brother rubbed his forehead. I grabbed his arm to keep him from tripping over his feet. "I'm alright, sis." He smiled reassuringly.
"I don't believe that." I looped my arm through his and helped him walk.
Stupid Akira, always trying to be cool. It was okay to depend on your twin.
The boy led us through an alleyway. For some reason our footsteps sounded louder than usual…and extremely splashy. Akira glanced behind. No one was following us.
Where was the noise coming from then?
"What the?!"
Akira and I caught up to Blondie.
"This is Shujin, right?" Akira took his glasses off and cleaned them.
"If it is, it's the most exotic school I've ever seen." My mind couldn't make sense of what I was seeing so I joked about it instead.
The school looked like an eery castle straight out of a fairytale.
Was this a nightmare I was having? I must have still been asleep. I'm guessing I'm more worried about school than I thought.
I pinched myself to make sure I wasn't dreaming. The pain reassured me that this was real.
Oh god.
"This place looks completely different from how it looked on the web." The glasses were back on Akira's face. As if they'd suddenly improve his vision.
"What's with the castle? We didn't…come the wrong way though…that's the same alley I go through everyday…yeah, this should be right." The boy freaked out the more he talked. He pulled his phone out. "Wha, out of service?! What's goin' on here?"
"Maybe we took a wrong turn?" Akira tried to soothe the panicked boy.
"N-No! This has to be it…I think…"
"Yeah, this is the place." I morosely pointed at the sign for Shujin High School.
"I guess we'll just have to go and ask." Blondie groaned in defeat.
"Wow, a boy actually wants to ask for help. That's a first." I joked again.
Humor would get me through this.
"S-Shut up! That's not what this is." Blondie stomped towards the castle/school.
"Should we follow him or just wait? This doesn't seem right."
Akira pursed his lips thoughtfully. "If something is up, we can't abandon him."
I was quiet for a moment. "Okay. But if this goes south, I told you so."
Didn't Mr. Sakura just tell us not to stick our noses in other people's business?
I loved Akira, but I wished he wasn't so nice to everyone. How were we supposed to know if this vulgar boy wasn't trouble? He looked, spoke, and acted like a total delinquent with that dyed hair, irregular uniform, and the cursing.
What if we got into serious trouble again? We'd already paid the price for being wannbe heroes.
If this boy turned out to be a problem for Akira and I, I'd kick his butt, no hesitation. I wasn't letting anyone else screw us over.
"What the hell…this is the school, right?"
Akira shrugged. "Why are you asking me? I'm vaguely familiar with the layout of the school."
"A-Anyway, we should look for someone." The boy looked around the room.
"This atmosphere feels different." I glanced around the large, decadent room. This place truly was a castle and it was creepy.
The place felt unnatural somehow.
I was reminded of a past Halloween where Akira and I went to a haunted house. Akira was calm on the outside, but his hand shook the whole time he was holding mine while we walked through the house. I was more vocal about my fear and jumped at every sound and appearance of zombies.
Again, my brother was desperately trying to hide his unease while I eased my way into panic.
"Yeah, it makes me…uncomfortable somehow." Akira pushed his glasses up, feigning a calm air.
Loud stomping startled us. The boy ran back to our side.
"What's that sound?"
"Something's coming!" Akira grabbed my hand, prepared to run.
His pretense of calm had vanished.
A large man in a suit of armor ran into the room, brandishing a shield and sword. Blondie sighed, visibly relieved for some reason despite the obvious weapons in the guy's hands.
"Geez, you freaked me out…who're you? A student?"
The person in armor didn't speak. The boy walked forward to inspect the suit.
"H-Hey, you shouldn't get too close…" Akira warned.
His grip on my hand tightened.
"What? You scared?" The boy mocked, going ahead and knocking on the armor. "Man, your costume's impressive…is that armor real?"
"I really think you should step back, Blondie. Curiosity killed the cat, you know?" The stillness of the suit unnerved me.
Was that person even breathing? I couldn't see the chest moving.
"C'mon, don't just stand there. Say something." The boy continued poking the suit until another suited person came forward. Blondie cautiously backed up at the second suit's appearance. "H-Hey, what's goin' on?"
"What is this?" Akira pushed me behind him as the suits ganged up on us.
"Dude, I don't know!" One of the suits advanced on him. "This shit's real." Both suits leveled their swords at Blondie. "C-Calm down! Time out, man!" The boy ended up bumping into Akira. "We gotta run!"
"Got it." My brother immediately approved.
"Stop standin' around and run!" The boy ran for the entrance. Akira and I were right on his heels. Our escape was dashed by the arrival of more suits. They closed in us. "Ugh, what's with these guy?!"
"What're they trying to do?!" I yelled.
My back was to the boys. We were surrounded on all sides. My hands started shaking. I didn't have any way to fight off the suits.
"Gah!" The boy screamed as a suit rammed their shield into his back.
"Hey! What do you think you're doing? That was uncalled for!" I moved to the boy's aid, checking his back for any serious damage.
The boy was being an idiot, but he didn't deserve to be hit.
The same suit lifted his shield and slammed it into my arm and I fell to ground, choking back tears and cradling my stinging arm. I heard both Akira and the boy shout in anger.
Goddam it, that hurt! Why me?!
"Ow, ow, ow! What're you doing? Lemme go, dammit!" The suit dug its shield further into Blondie's back, keeping him pinned to the ground. "This guy's too strong! He's gonna break my back!"
"Get off him!" Akira tried to push the suit off.
"This is bad! Run! Just get your sister and run!"
"I'm not leavin-" Akira was struck by another suit and fell to the ground. The suit's foot came down on his back and he howled in pain.
"A-Akira…" I pushed myself up on my good arm, only to be shoved back down with a sword pressed against my neck.
"Take them away!" Was the last thing I heard before the butt of a sword hit me in the head and knocked me out.
Take your time
"An intruder, hmm? This one's at least nice to look at."
My eyes flew open as I felt something moving my bangs out of my face. I almost screamed.
The gross man I saw from the car was standing in front of me in nothing but a cape and a speedo. His disgusting, hairy body made my eyes burn.
"Very nice indeed." Kamoshida reached for my cheek. I recoiled away from the touch and he laughed. "Playing hard-to-get, eh? What do you think I should do about that, Princess Ann?"
A familiar pale-blonde girl sauntered up to Kamoshida and draped herself over the man.
"What is up with this? Don't you two have any decency?!" I exclaimed, cheeks enflamed from embarrassment for the two.
The foreigner was dressed in a skimpy, leopard bikini and a tiara with cat ears sat on her head.
"Ohhhh, she's totally outta control. You should like, punish her. Show her who's boss." She cooed with dopey eyes.
Her lovesick expression was sickening.
"I don't think so!" I tried to move my arm and realized that they were chained down to some cross. "What is this place?!"
The room was red with candles all over. It looked like some place out of the red-light district. A place where adult things transpired.
Mom would kill me if she knew I was in a place like this! She'd scream how unladylike and loose my behavior was!
Oh, god. What kind of situation had I gotten into?! Where was Akira and that boy? Where were the muscle heads when I needed them?!
"She's a feisty one. I like that, it'll be all the more fun to break her." Kamoshida lecherously gave me a once over. "Where should I start, hmm?"
"Her clothes need to go, they're so ugly."
"You're right. Getting rid of her clothes is the first obstacle." Kamoshida stalked up to me. "Ann, be a good girl and get the camera for me."
"Yes, King Kamoshida." Ann squealed, scurrying out the room and leaving me with the pervert focused on removing my clothes.
"S-Stay a-away from m-me." I warned, frantically rolling my wrists around to escape the cuffs. The pervert laughed again. He stood right in front of me, his filthy grin promised horrors for me. "N-No, g-get away from me."
I started hyperventilating. This was the same as that day!
That scumbag tried to force me into the car in place of that woman and I had to fight him off. The scratching and swatting I did barely fazed the drunk. The bastard tore my shirt open and groped me. Only when Akira yanked him off me did the man's groping finally stop.
When the cops arrived I was forced to face them half-nude from the top up, completely humiliated and miserable while Akira tried to defend us from the drunk's threats of suing us.
Those cops turned out to be just as bad as the drunk. They stared and touched me unnecessarily while shoving me into the back of the police car. Akira was brutalized for daring to speak up about my treatment.
I hated what happened that night! It ruined me!
"Are you going to allow that travesty to happen again?"
What? Whose voice was that?
"S-Stop it!" I cried, moving away from Kamoshida's groping hands.
Not again, not again, not again!
"Be quiet! You don't get to give me orders!" He snarled, backhanding me. His hands went back to yanking my shirt open.
"No!" Tears gathered in my eyes.
Was I going to be at the mercy of a man once again? Why did men get to do whatever they wanted and faced no consequences? It wasn't fair!
"That doesn't have to be the case. You can rise above your circumstances, that way, everyone will bow to you."
That voice again?!
Excruciating pain swept through my body. I screamed and convulsed from the sensation. Kamoshida jumped back in fright.
"To shine is the will of the other you…vow to me…I am thou, thou art I. Speak my name!"
From the depths of my soul an answer left my lips. "Come to my aid, Gloriana!"
Power surged within me. The chains were consumed by blue flames and I was released.
"Remove your mask and unleash my power!"
I obeyed the voice.
Removing the mask in one go was painful. Blood spurted out and covered my face. I wobbly stepped forward, feeling tingles all over. When I looked down my clothes were consumed by the flames, and I was covered in new garb.
My uniform had been replaced with a burgundy military-styled dress with frills on the sleeves and the coat flaps, accompanied by black leggings, golden gauntlet boots and matching gloves.
"H-How did you escape? What are you?!" Kamoshida backed away from me, sweating bullets.
"What shall we do with this despicable peasant?"
I turned to face my savior.
A regal woman in a rich gold gown with red hair and a crown, floated in the air. She thrummed with power. I could feel that power protectively extending towards me.
A feral grin worked it's way onto my face. With this power I could make this bastard pay for harassing me!
No one would ever force themselves on me again!
"Make him kneel, Gloriana!"
"As you command." She smirked, lifting her hand imperiously.
An explosion of light went off at Kamoshida's feet, making him fall flat on his face. The sight of terror on the pervert's face was thrilling.
"D-Damn you! Guards!" The man quickly scrambled out the room, shouting orders.
"G-Guards?!" My sense of invincibility faded and I panicked.
"Calm yourself, child. With me at your side you shall never fall to such weaklings." Gloriana boasted.
I believed her wholeheartedly, but I wasn't an experienced fighter. Besides, there were more important things to deal with. I ignored my urge to recklessly confront the guards and show them my new power.
"I have to find my brother and Blondie."
"Very well. Their slaughter shall have to wait." Gloriana vanished, but I could still feel her presence within me.
"Hold on bro, I'm coming." I wouldn't leave him to face the wolves alone.
Take your time
"The exist's this way!"
I ducked behind the staircase, greedily intaking air. "Not more suits."
At this point I was at my limit. It felt like I'd been running in circles looking for Akira. I'd somehow ended up back where we came in. Between navigating this castle and fighting, rescuing the boys seemed impossible on my own.
I could't give up. I had to find them.
Akira would do the same for me. He would never stop looking.
Determined to keep fighting, I waited for the enemy to enter my line of sight. A larger than average black cat sprinted through the hallway.
"D-Did I just imagine that?" I moved the mask up and rubbed my eyes. Not only was the cat running on two legs, it looked like something I'd see in a cartoon.
"Wait, we can't leave! I need to find my sister."
"Akira?" I incredulously peeked over the banister.
Lo and behold, there was my twin and the blonde boy. They both looked as banged up as me, but they were safe.
Maybe someone higher up took pity on me.
"I'm sorry, but there's no time! If you don't leave now those shadows will kill you." The cat insisted.
It talked!
"I'm not leaving without her!"
I stood up from my hiding spot. "Akira, I'm here!"
His head whipped around.
"Homura!" He beamed. "You're safe!"
"Right back at you, bro." I ran over and hugged him fiercely. His arms wrapped just as tightly around me.
Everything would be alright as long as we were together. The tension and worry in my body faded and I felt my clothes return back to normal.
"Dude, we were going crazy tryin' to find you. Where were you?"
I looked up from Akira's chest. Blondie scowled, but I could tell it wasn't from anger, but worry.
"Enough chitchat. You got what you wanted, now move it!" The cat pressed, surveying the room for enemies.
"I-It's really talking. How is it talking?"
"Homura, I'll explain after we get out of here." Akira grabbed my hand and ran after the cat.
"We're here." It stopped in the middle of a hallway.
"Finally! We're saved!" Blondie attempted to open a door. "It's not openin'! D'you trick us, you jerk?!"
"Don't jump to conclusions! Over here!" The cat hissed. It pushed open a door across from the one Blondie tried to open.
"H-Hey, wait up!"
We all chased after it.
"Where are we supposed to get out from here? There aren't even any windows!"
"Ugh, amateur…this is the most basic of basics." The cat huffed.
Akira looked up, indicating above the bookshelf. "A ventilation shaft?"
"I knew you were a sharp one." The cat complimented with a feline smirk. "You guys should be able to squeeze through it one at a time."
"I see…then we just gotta get that metal mesh off. And a one, and a…" Blondie ran for the bookshelf, vaulting up to the top and yanking off the bar. He fell backwards once the thing was off and crashed to the ground.
"Are you okay?" I held a hand out for the boy. "You're getting injured like crazy."
"That's an understatement." Akira held his hand out, too. The boy grabbed ahold of both our hands and we pulled him up.
For a moment we all registered how exhausted we were by our trembling hands. The boy was the first to jerk back his hand.
"Oww…crap! The enemy didn't hear us, did they?" The boy was unconcerned with the dust he'd accumulated. "Seriously, we're finally gettin' outta here!"
"You should wait on celebrating until you actually get out. Now get going." The cat crossed its arms impatiently.
"But…what about you?"
"There's something that I still have to do. We're going our separate ways."
The cat was saying goodbye to us? Why would it want to stay in this dangerous place?
"Umm…can I ask for your name? I'd like to thank you for helping my brother." I nervously approached the cat.
Everything in this place was beyond strange, but maybe there was one good thing here. For some reason this creature decided to lend a hand. It would be highly insensitive of me to not express gratitude since I failed to help the boys.
"Oh!" It perked up as its huge eyes landed on me. "A lady wishes to know my name, eh? Well it's Morgana, Lady Homura."
"M-Morg…" The name didn't sit well on my tongue, far too western.
It pouted and its ears dipped down.
It was kinda...cute.
"Ugh, I guess that's not as horrendous as Ryuji's first try."
"Ryuji?" I asked.
"Yo, that's me. Ryuji Sakamoto." Blondie, or Ryuji thumped his chest, spreading dust around him and making him break into a coughing fit.
"Pleasure to make your acquaintance." I offered robotically.
"Grr! We're getting off track here!" Morgana bounced around angrily.
"S-Sorry…"
Morgana sighed, reigning in its anger. Did it have a soft spot for girls? He/it didn't have a problem snapping at Ryuji. "Be careful on the way out."
"Right. Let's do this." Ryuji climbed up first and then held his had down towards me. "You first, Homura."
"Okay."
Akira needed to give me a boost since I was shorter and couldn't reach the middle shelf. Ryuji managed to pull me up with a grunt. Akira was the next to be pulled up with help from both Ryuji and I.
"You really gonna be okay on your own?" My brother checked a final time on Morgana.
"Nothing for you guys to worry about."
"Thanks for helping us." He expressed before ushering me into the vent.
"Whoa…hey don't push me!" Ryuji barked.
"I can't help it! We're all crammed in here." I retorted.
"Whoa, whoa!" Ryuji yelled first, followed by me and then Akira as we all abruptly began falling.
"Owwwww!" Our groans blended together as we landed in a dog pile.
"Did we make it…is this the real world?" Ryuji muttered.
"Looks like it…the people are normal and staring at us." I stood up, feeling like I was under a microscope with how hard the adults were staring judgmentally at us.
"You have returned to the real world. Welcome back." A robotic voice announced.
"Huh? Returned? Does that mean we got away?" Ryuji looked around for the source of the voice.
"We got out, just like Morgana said…" Akira stuffed his hands in his pockets in a show of calm. A sign of his nerves getting to him again.
"That castle…and Kamoshida was the king…"
"And that weird cat helped us escape…" Akira added.
"I dunno what to think anymore…was it all a dream?" Ryuji kicked at the ground.
My brother's gaze roamed over me for injuries. "Homura, what happened to you in there? Kamoshida ranted about a disobedient girl when he had us locked up. Was that you?"
I stiffened at his questions.
I'd put the incident in the back of my mind to keep the hysteria at bay. Now it was all coming back…Kamoshida could have violated me if I hadn't stopped him. It was only because of Gloriana that I avoided that outcome.
"Homura, did he touch you?" Akira whispered, gently touching my shoulder. He wrapped his arm around me when I didn't respond and avoided his gaze. "I'm so sorry I wasn't there to stop him."
"H-He only unbuttoned my shirt…but it reminded me of that night." I mumbled brokenly.
"Hey, what's with the doom and gloom? I can literally see a cloud hanging over both of you." Ryuji mentioned, scratching his head.
"Nothing's wrong." Akira and I chimed.
Our problems weren't meant to be shared with a stranger.
"Geez, that's creepy." He dug out his phone and looked at it. "Wait, it's noon already?! Crap!"
"What?!" Akira retrieved his phone and grimaced as the screen read noon.
"We gotta hurry to school!" Ryuji jogged in place.
"What's with the yelling?! Are you students of Shujin?" Two cops stalked up to us.
"Cutting classes, are we?" The one with a bike, sneered.
"Oh great." I glared at the men in blue.
I'd had my fill of dealing with cops.
"Huh?! No! We were tryin' to get to school and we ended up at this weird castle!" Ryuji defended himself.
I covered my face, hiding my irritated frown.
Why would he say that? There was no way these aggressive officers were going to believe a story about a castle and suited monsters that turned into pixies and jack'o lanterns.
"Hand over your bag. You better not be doing any drugs." The officer reached for Ryuji's school bag.
"Why would you think that?!" He indignantly told the officer off.
"Why wouldn't he think that?" I remarked.
Cops always believed the worst of teenagers.
"Not helping." Ryuji growled.
"Are you two his friends?" The other officer interrogated us.
"Something like that." Akira provided.
"Then you should go to school. Take him with you."
"Like I'm tryin' to say…I don't know what's goin' on either!" Ryuji snatched his bag back after the officer concluded searching it.
"Stop making this worse for yourself." I chided Ryuji, pulling on his blazer.
The officer curled his lip at Ryuji. "We passed by Shujin on our way here. There was nothing out of the ordinary about it. If you spout anymore nonsense, I'll contact your school. Is that what you want?"
"C'mon, say something!" Ryuji urged Akira.
"Let's get going." He demurely offered.
"Uh, that's not what I meant…"
My brother took his leave of the confrontation, knowing that agitating the situation was a bad idea. Ryuji gaped at Akira's back.
"W-Wait a sec! Is that guy for real?"
"He is. Follow his lead before these cops change their minds." I tugged on his arm.
"Fine, I'm goin'."
Take your time
"That was some reception, huh? Can't believe we got the same homeroom teacher." Ryuji leaned back in his seat, balancing the odd angle with his foot on the desk.
"Pfft. Which one? The reception in front of the school was horrible and so was the one after I was introduced to the class." I rested my chin glumly on my knuckle.
Everyone whispered about me the entire time during class. It was so uncontrollable that the teacher couldn't continue his lesson.
Ryuji and I were waiting on the rooftop for my brother. This gathering was likely going to be about the castle. I still had so many questions.
"There you are. Sorry for callin' you up here like this. I bet Kawakami already told you stuff like 'don't get involved with him', huh?" Ryuji ranted to Akira.
"She said you're trouble."
"I don't think we need a teacher to tell us that. It's obvious Ryuji is a trouble magnet." I said.
Ryuji snorted at the jibe. "Heh, the way I see it we're all pretty much in the same boat."
"How so?" Akira took a seat on a desk.
"I heard you two got a criminal record. Everyone's talkin' about it."
"That shouldn't be public knowledge." I argued.
If everyone here already knew about the record then I had no chance. All the girls would hate me and the boys would terrorize me. It looked like optimism was out of the cards for me.
I knew this school wouldn't be a new beginning for us.
"Just ignore the rumors, they're all crazy. I for one, don't believe a word of it." Ryuji's nonchalance about the subject was unexpected, but refreshing. Everyone else treated us with disdain the moment they became aware of our records...maybe I wouldn't have to be on guard with him. "No wonder you were so gutsy, man."
"Gutsy isn't the word I'd use…" Akira was also surprised by Ryuji's acceptance and rubbed his neck bashfully.
Ryuji sat up in his seat. His game-face was on. "What was all that that happened? You know, how we almost got killed at a castle…it wasn't a dream…right? You remember it too, yeah?"
"Yeah…"
"Wait a second." I interjected. "What do you mean you were almost killed?"
While I was running around like a headless chicken, my brother was in mortal danger?
"That's right…you weren't there. Man, you should've seen your brother kick ass." Ryuji grinned, shooting Akira a thumbs up.
"Maybe we should swap stories so we're all on the same page." I suggested.
"Are you sure, Homura?" Akira's worriedly watched me for signs of a panic attack.
"Y-Yes, I'm okay with it." Of course my brother was more concerned about me than the fact he almost died...he was too compassionate.
Akira and Ryuji explained how they were imprisoned by Kamoshida and nearly killed until Akira summoned a demonic half-man, half-bird creature to help them escape and fight off the guards. While escaping they broke Morgana, the cat, out of a cell and made a deal with it to show them the way out while searching for me. The suits caught up to them and they were forced to flee for the exit, where they then bumped into me.
Their story was more interesting than mine.
The highlight of my tale was the part where I experienced a similar summoning as Akira and escaped Kamoshida. I glossed over the possible assault I suffered for Akira's sake, but his eyes still got that cold look in them. Ryuji got even more worked up than my brother after that piece of information, exclaiming how much of a perverted bastard Kamoshida was. After my escape I struggled to fight off the guards on my own and had to sneak through the castle till I reunited with the boys.
By the end of the exchange I felt a little better and had a basic understanding of some things. Morgana had told Akira that the creature he summoned was a "Persona" and that the castle was "Palace". Akira's summary of Morgana's information was jumbled and confused, but it gave me something to work with.
Gloriana was a Persona. I obtained her power by ripping off the mask that appeared.
Most importantly, she helped me get back at that disgusting man.
"Well, just cause we all remember that place doesn't mean much though…I mean, even if it was a dream, you saved me from Kamoshida. So yeah…thanks, Akira." Ryuji flashed my brother a wide, toothy grin.
"You're welcome." He blushed while twirling a strand of his hair.
"Don't go hero-worshipping my brother. He's already got a big head and zero regard for his personal safety. Don't make my job as the responsible sister harder." I stated.
Akira really had no sense of self-preservation.
"Dude, your sister's harsh. How can someone so innocent lookin' say stuff like that?"
"That's Homu's charm, she fools everyone with those doe-eyes." Akira lightly patted my head. He knew that my words weren't meant to insult him, but make him more aware of what I saw as his fatal flaws, even though kindness shouldn't be a flaw. That was the society we lived in though, a society where kindness was liabilty. "She's harmless though. Don't let her cutting words bother you."
"I don't see how Ryuji would be bothered by anything I say, considering how vulgar he is."
"What're you talking about?" He scowled at me.
"You were so rude to those girls in our class, not that they didn't deserve it." I recalled flippantly.
The girls were laughing at how bright Ryuji's dye was and teasing him about how he looked better with brown hair.
He scoffed. "Those girls don't know what they're talking about. My hair looks fine."
"Eh, it's alright on you. Adds to your bad boy charm." I shrugged.
"R-Really?" Ryuji stuttered, pink dusted his cheeks.
"Yeah. You're cute for a delinquent, but you're kinda dense…that brings your charm levels back down." I divulged teasingly.
Ryuji would have to get used to being teased if he was going to hang around me. I had a healthy appreciation of the male species at this age. Akira was just as bad about females, but he was more low-key about it than me.
"Geez…Homura insults and compliments me in one sentence…should I be mad or grateful?"
"Look what you started, minx." Akira poked me in the cheek.
I giggled, unrepentant for the strife I caused.
"That Kamoshida we saw there…" Ryuji brought us back on topic. "You two prolly don't know about it, but there are some rumors about him."
"What rumors?" Akira warily inquired.
"That ripped moped." I laughed at Ryuji's insult. "That asshole who was all full of himself at the castle. No one says anything against him cause he's some medalist who took the volleyball team to nationals. The way Kamoshida was king of that castle felt crazy real cause of that…" He crossed his arms and leaned back in the chair, eyes thoughtful. "I wonder if we can go back to that castle again…" Ryuji bolted out of his seat. "Ugh, forget it. Must've all been a dream! It has to be!"
Akira and I shared a look. Shared dreams appeared to be the consensus for all the weirdness in our lives.
"Sorry to drag both of you out here like this. That's all I had to say." Ryuji slapped Akira's shoulder. "You know, we might be pretty similar. I feel like we're gonna get along just fine as 'troublemakers'." He shot me a grin next. "You're pretty girly, but you're spunky…I'll come talk if I see either you around. Don't ignore me, all right?"
"Sure thing." Akira waved to a retreating Ryuji.
I sighed. "Now we just have to deal with Mr. Sakura's lecture and we're done for the day."
"I don't think he'll be as bad as the teachers."
So you think, bro. All the adults in our lives were turning out to be disappointments.
Take your time
"About time you've come to." Caroline's harsh tone was accompanied by her baton striking the cell next to mine.
"Not this place again…" I hunched forward on the bed, covering my face and counting to three.
I didn't know how much more my sanity could put up with all this.
"On your feet, Inmates!" Caroline slammed her baton on my cell next.
I languidly got up and leaned against the bars just to defy the high-strung little girl. Though I couldn't see him, I knew my brother was present by his deep exhale.
"Our master wishes to speak with both of you. It's for your own sakes that his words are taken to heart." Justine paid more attention to her clipboard than she did to us.
Talk about opposite ends of the spectrum with these twins. One girl was bent on being hellish to us and one was intent on ignoring us.
Igor clapped. "First off, let us celebrate our reunion." His apparent joy made my insides curl. I didn't think I'd ever get used to his presence. "Oh? You've both awakened to your powers. And special ones at that. The rehabilitation can finally begin."
"Rehabilitation? Can you explain what that is?" Respectful as ever, Akira.
"There is no need to understand it all for the time being. You two will be training the power of Persona, which has awakened."
"What is a Persona?" I questioned with a level of tact.
Caroline wouldn't think twice about turning the electricity on her baton and hitting my cell if I showed even a shred of disrespect to Igor.
With how obnoxiously cryptic Igor could be, he deserved more attitude from his "Inmates".
"Personas are, in other words, a 'mask'-an armor of the heart when confronting worldly matters. I have high expectations for both of you." Igor astonishingly gave me a straight answer.
"What do you mean?" Akira pushed for more information.
"There is no need to worry. You will learn when the time comes." He dismissed. "By the by…have you come to appreciate the Metaverse Navigator? Using it will allow you to come and go between reality and Palaces."
"Metaverse Navigator?"
"I bestowed it to you as a means to train you as a thief. Your other half is in possession of it as well."
"The Metaverse Navigator is a gift from our Master! You better take care in using it, Inmates!" Caroline threatened.
"Devote yourselves to training so that you both may become fine thieves." Justine looked up from her clipboard to stare at us.
"It must be disheartening to only make use of the Metaverse Navigator between yourselves. Should there be others who would prove beneficial to Akira, I will grant it to them as well. This all for your growth as thieves."
The ringing of a bell brought the discussion to an end. Anymore cryptic nonsense from them and my head might've exploded.
"Hmph, it's time. Go back and enjoy whatever rest you might have." Caroline's reported scathingly.
My body moved on its own and I ended up sprawled out on the cot, eyes drooping closed.
Why me? Why was this my life?