"Whoa, what is this place? Holy shit!" Ryuji raced around the treasure room, greedily eyeing all the golden objects. "That Treasure thing's gotta be in here!"
The others were equally as transfixed by the luxurious items in the hidden room. I was drawn to the glimmering distortion floating in front of the window.
The distortion was a thing of beauty.
"You must resist it, child!"
Gloriana's voice stopped me from touching the light.
My heart pounded erratically as I remembered to breathe.
"Hey, what is that? It's floating in the air." Ann repeated my thoughts. She stepped next to me, unaware of the episode I'd just experienced.
The boys admired the mysterious light, poking at it like some eager kids. None of them were as afflicted as I was.
What happened to me?
Gloriana was strangely unresponsive to my inquiry.
"That's the Treasure. We finally found it!" Morgana jumped in the air, rivers of joyful tears cascading down his big eyes.
"That cloudy thing is what we tore this Palace apart for? That's kinda disappointing." Akira deflated, stuffing his hands in his pockets since he was done poking at the light.
My brother was being a big, nerdy, baby.
Exploring and fighting off Shadows hadn't been easy. Kamoshida's Palace pushed the group to its limits and Akira was bummed that we hadn't found something more exciting like an actual treasure chest from a video game.
Boys.
"Just hold on a second. I was planning to tell you guys more once we made it this far." Morgana hopped on top of a large trophy to be at eye-level with us. "Simply finding the Treasure isn't enough. We'll need to make it materialize before we can steal it."
A collective sigh was the group's response to that.
"Whaddya mean?" Ryuji sagged against the trophy.
He wasn't the only one giving into exhaustion.
Ann tilted, dizzy now that we weren't dungeon crawling. I leaned on my brother, who was close to tipping over from my dramatics.
"Desires have no physical form by nature. Hence, we'll first need to make the real person aware that their desires are in fact a Treasure. Once they're conscious that their desires might be stolen the Treasure will finally show itself."
"But how do we do that?" Ann asked.
"We warn them. Tell them, 'We're going to steal your heart'."
"So we're gonna send a calling card?! That's totally what a phantom thief would do!" Ryuji shot up, eyes glittering childishly.
"Once we do that, the Treasure will appear for certain!" The cat's confidence wavered. "I think…"
"Seriously? Are you ever certain or are we always going to be guinea pigs?" The level of sarcasm coming from me was acidic and Morgana's remaining confidence diminished.
"I'm sure Morgana wouldn't steer us wrong. He's the expert here, we should trust him." Akira interceded, bringing a happy smile back to our feline comrade.
"Sounds like it's worth givin' it a shot." Ryuji agreed.
"Yeah, yeah. Trust, faith, and pixies dust. That's all we need." I waved him off irritably. "I'm allowed to be skeptical with such shoddy information."
"Well, our infiltration route is secure." Morgana said cheerfully to get team morale back up. "All that's left is to pump out a calling card in reality, then come back to take the Treasure!"
"This is it, huh?" Ann's eyes sparkled with determination.
Akira met her stare with the same intensity. "Let's do this for all the people that have been hurt by this man."
"That's the spirit!" The cat almost fell off his perch were it not for Ryuji catching him by the back of his bandana and setting him on the ground. Morgana coughed loudly and pretended to be unbothered. "Once we send out the calling card, there will be no turning back. Let me know when you're ready. We'll head back to the hideout and send out the calling card!"
Akira nodded. "Let's leave now. Everyone go home, rest up, and prepare for the next move."
We all acknowledged the order with no resistance. My brother was still shaky with his new position, but he was gradually adjusting to the role of team leader.
The ripples surrounded the group, returning us to the real world.
After checking for injuries we went our separate ways, too tired to hang out. Akira and I grabbed burgers on the way to train and gorged on them while fighting off sleep.
The trek to Leblanc was a sluggish one. The bell chime for the coffee shop was music to my ears. Sojiro dragged his eyes away from the dishes to greet us.
"If you're up for it, why don't you guys learn how to work here…" The old man trailed off after noticing how worn out we looked.
"I feel like this would be a good opportunity to become closer to Sojiro, maybe improve his impression of us." Akira whispered to me.
"I hear you, but I'm sooo tired." I whined.
He nudged me, flashing the dreaded do-what-I-say-cause-I'm-the-older-brother look.
"Fine." My brother smiled at my answer.
"We'll help." We said.
Sojiro grinned. "Put your things down. It's about time one of the regulars arrives. She's a talkative one."
We stashed our things upstairs. Aprons were given to us once we came back downstairs.
The owner dropped a clipboard on the counter. Notes and instructions were neatly written on the paper.
"Now then, since both of you will be working in my store, I'll need to hammer home the basics. Get what I'm talking about?"
"Making coffee."
"Hitting on girls like a skeeze."
"Glad to see at least the boy understands." Sojiro gave me the stink-eye. "This store's not the busiest around, but I'm real particular about how we make coffee here. And I'll kick both of you out no questions asked if you serve a bad cup, got it?"
Wow. Mulish about coffee, much?
"Let me tell you, Soji definitely does things right with his coffee. It goes so well with his special curry, I can't help but order the set meal every time." A gaudy woman sitting in the last booth chimed in.
"When did she get here?!" I muttered, startled.
"She's been here. You're just blind." Akira deadpanned.
"Says the one wearing glasses."
"Says the theatre expert that's supposed to be aware of her surroundings."
The adults carried on, ignoring our bickering.
"What can I say, each one of my regulars gets an experience personally tailored to them." The barista rubbed his neck in a manner that was meant to be humble, but came off as flirtatious.
The woman picked up on this.
"Can you tell me the key to that wonderful flavor, Soji? I'd love to make it at home sometime." She fluttered her eyes coyly.
"Sorry, that's a trade secret. You're free to try and guess based on the taste though."
"Cheapskate. Keeping secrets from me even though you know your food's always stolen my heart."
I mimicked gagging to Akira. I was curious to know if adults flirted differently from teenagers, but this display was giving me the creeps. He laughed into his hand.
"How about a nice dessert then? It's only three-hundred yen." The old man closed the sale with a charming smirk that won the woman over.
We were shown how to utilize the cash register and other simple appliances while the last customer finished her meal.
It had gotten too late for Sojiro to show us any recipes and he ended up settling with showing us the menu and explaining what he would teach us to cook.
I dreaded the future cooking lessons.
The basic rundown concluded after the woman paid and left.
"When you run a shop, you get all sorts of customers. Knowing their personalities is absolutely vital. That's what being in food service is all about." The barista cut the lecture short as the bell chimed at another customer's entrance. He turned with a greeting on the tip of his lips, but gasped at the sight of an overly cheerful man.
"Hello there! It's been quite a while, Sakura!"
Why was this man being so loud and painfully fake?
"I heard you opened up a shop, so here I am! It wouldn't have hurt to mention it to me though." The man strutted around the shop. "Huh, you've got a real nice location here. Right by the station and everything."
"Your order?" Sojiro barked.
Our guardian was clearly displeased with the stranger's arrival, so why wasn't he doing anything about it?
What bad blood did they have going on?
"No small talk? That's cold. Oh, but this smell…sure brings back memories! You're still making that curry, huh?" The stranger's facade slipped, revealing a mocking leer. "I guess you haven't gotten over her yet."
"Your order, sir?" From how badly Sojiro was grinding his teeth, I thought he might break some dentures.
"Haha, so pushy. I just stopped in to say hi today…but I'll be back again soon!" He left the shop and the old man sighed heavily.
Sojiro looked his age in that moment.
"I don't know where he caught wind of this place."
Akira's eyes met mine. We both had questions.
"That guy seemed suspicious with his preppy attitude. No one is that happy for no reason, especially walking into a coffee shop at night." I voiced, knowing my brother was too polite to comment.
"Heh, I guess you have eye for some things after all, girl." The lack of reprisal prompted Akira to speak up.
"Who was he?"
"If you brats have time for questions, you have time to learn about bean types. You're no use to me if you two can't pick up on the ABC's sometime soon." He deflected and looked at my twin with a raised eyebrow. "Besides, ladies love a guy who knows his coffee. This isn't such a bad deal for you."
"I don't really care for that stuff." Akira shook his head, curls covering his rising blush.
"Liar, you want all the ladies to love you. My brother wants his very own harem." I teased.
"Homura!" His fingers pulled at my cheek and my fists jabbed his side.
Our guardian snickered at our antics. "Come on, boy. You're supposed to play along. That's one of the core tenets of customer service."
"And what tricks will you show me, Sojiro? I'm sure I could attract the male base."
"No." He flat out refused.
"That's not fair! You're offering to teach my brother." I groused.
Actual tips from a male could help me win over Goro.
"That's different. I only want to see good behavior from you. In fact, I better not catch you flirting with ANY customers, got it?"
"You're either being sexist or plain discriminatory cause of my record. I don't like either option!"
"Can it." His deep voice drowned out mine. "I'm gonna teach you brats right. That way I'll be able to sit back and relax while you guys work."
"Crummy, old man."
"Why are your manner so horrible?" Akira tugged on my cheek again. "We won't disappoint you, sir."
"Sure. Let's start cleaning up. No slacking off, understood?"
Take your time
"Sir Suguru Kamoshida, the utter bastard of lust. We know how shitty you are, and that you put your twisted desires on students that can't fight back. That's why we have decided to steal away those desires and make you confess your sins. We hope you will be ready. From, the Phantom Thieves of Hearts." Ann finished reciting the message off a calling card she'd pulled off the bulletin board. Her excitement had all but dissolved and turned to disappointment. "Wow…"
Ryuji's exhilaration was palpable. He had put a lot of time and effort into the card.
Ann's next words were sure to dampen his spirit.
"Not bad, eh? I looked up a bunch of similar stuff online for reference."
"Um…yeah…" She struggled to be supportive without lying.
"Don't hold back now, it's your job as a friend to be honest." I goaded her with a playful nudge.
"I know what you wanted to say, but it sounded like an idiot trying to be an adult." I was honestly surprised that she took the plunge.
Morgana popped his head out of Akira's bag, all too eager to join in the critique. "Your logos a little lacking, too."
"Okay, y'know what…t-that ain't true!" He sputtered, face turning an angry red. I couldn't contain myself anymore and ended up laughing. "Not you, too!"
"Calm down, Ryuji. I'm not laughing at you. I actually thought the card was cute."
"C-Cute?! That's not what I was going for at all!" I tilted my head, wondering why the compliment didn't satisfy him. "Akira, dude. You at least liked it, right?!"
"It got the message across and is drawing lots of attention. It was an effective calling card." He answered without giving his actual opinion.
The noise level from the students rose as they speculated about the Phantom Thieves.
"It did get everyone excited, so I guess it's all good." Ryuji scoffed and kicked at the ground.
The hall became quiet as Kamoshida shoved students out the way to reach the bulletin board.
"Who's responsible for this?!" The gym teacher howled.
"Look at that. A predictable reaction for someone who knows what we mean by distorted desires." Morgana cackled.
"I think it's hittin' him pretty hard." Ryuji's pouting ceased.
Kamoshida whirled around, tossing accusations. "Did you do this?! Or was it you?!"
The students ran from the incensed teacher, leaving our group and a few stragglers as the only ones in the hallway. The man's rage increased as his eyes landed on us.
"Was it you two?!" The boys had become his focus now.
He gave Ann and I no consideration as he bumped us out of his path.
Akira had to stop Ryuji from doing something stupid by grabbing the blonde's shoulder. He wanted to take action himself, judging by how icy his eyes had become. They were both annoyed with the man's rude treatment towards Ann and I.
"What are you talking about?" My brother challenged, daring the man to show his true colors in front of witnesses.
Kamoshida realized this as he spotted some students still hovering and the ones poking their heads out of classrooms.
"So you're playing dumb?" He sneered. "Eh, it's not a problem. You'll be expelled soon enough anyway."
The atmosphere shifted suddenly. The world went black.
I sucked in a scream as I noticed the others were still with me and undergoing a similar state of panic.
"Come…steal it, if you can!" Shadow Kamoshida appeared in place of the real one.
The world went back to normal.
We all let out a relieved breath as the gym teacher walked away. No one commented on the bizarre couple seconds that just passed.
"Judging from Kamoshida's response…I'm sure we had an effect on his Palace!" Morgana surmised.
"Does that mean the Treasure's appeared? We'll be able to get it today, right?!" The model recovered first from the supernatural phenomena.
"It's not just 'today'. It's ONLY today. The impact of seeing a calling card doesn't last long and it cannot be repeated. This will be our one chance to steal the Treasure."
"One day's more than enough for us." The delinquent bragged.
"Let's go steal that bikini-wearing perv's desires!" The others laughed at my insult.
"Shadow Kamoshida really needs a fashion consultant, ASAP." Ann remarked.
Trash-talking both versions of Kamoshida continued till we made it to the school roof and into the Palace.
With the infiltration route already secured, our leader teleported the group to the last safe room for easy access to the Treasure.
"What the hell's going on here? The door's just sittin' open and there aren't any soldiers around…" Ryuji wearily entered the throne room, expecting a Shadow to ambush us.
"This place is probably undermanned now that they all got assigned elsewhere." Morgana waltzed in without a care. "Either way, we win as long as we can steal the Treasure. Let's keep going!"
The group moved to the final room. Kamoshida's desires had materialized into a giant crown.
"Aww yeeeeeeah! The Treasure has appeared!" The cat bounced around the floating object.
"Man, it's huge!" Ryuji exclaimed.
"What do you think?! It's just as I said. Now we steal it!" The cat's eyes became larger than I thought was physically possible. "Ahh…this sure brings tears to my eyes."
"It kinda pisses me off. Why's it so pretty? Isn't this Kamoshida's desires?" Ann complained, moodily crossing her arms. She chose to keep a distance from the Treasure.
As I approached it, that tugging feeling emerged once more.
Human desire given physical form, it was beyond beautiful. It was…enthralling.
I wanted to posses it…
"I will not continue to reiterate myself! You must control yourself. No paltry manifestation such as this should bewitch you!" Gloriana screeched from within.
My hand stopped just short of touching the crown.
"Everything okay, sis?" Akira's hand landed on top of my head, softly petting me.
"S-Sorry…I don't know what came over me." I stepped away from the tempting object. "Morg, on the other hand probably thinks its catnip."
The feline was sprawled over the Treasure, meowing like there was no tomorrow. Ryuji and Ann gapped at the display.
Why had the Treasure affected me as badly as it did Morgana? This was the second time it caught me off guard!
"All right, that's enough, you stupid cat!" Ryuji yanked Morgana off and tossed him to the ground.
He hissed at his aggressor before bowing his head shamefully to Ann. "Forgive me for displaying such an insolent sight in front of a lady."
The object of his affection politely smiled at him, still ignorant to the cat's fawning.
I huffed. Morgana was doing this on purpose. "It's like I'm not even female."
"You were completely out of character too. What was that about?" She inquired.
"I couldn't stop it either…to think I'd be drawn to human desires this much." Morgana moaned before perking up. "Doesn't that prove that I'm human?!"
"How should we know?" Ryuji retorted indignantly.
"A-Anyway, you guys need to carry it."
The boys groaned. The crown looked immensely heavy.
"All you do is bark orders." The delinquent grumbled, flanking one side of the object. "Still, this was easier than I thought. For sure thought there'd be some insane trap or something."
"Don't jinx us." Akira warned, taking the other side.
"This Palace will disappear if we take this back, right? And Kamoshida will change too..." Ann clenched her fists, mind probably going back to her friend lying unconscious in a hospital.
"That should be the case." Morgana glanced worriedly at her.
"Good. Now's our chance then." Ryuji pulled the Treasure down.
He and Akira struggled to hold its weight on their own. Ann and I had to assist them in carrying the crown out. Even with four of us transporting it, our pace was painfully slow.
"To think it'd go so well…I've even found four Persona in the process. My judgement was correct. I made the right choice in making a deal with Akira Kurusu. Nyahaha!" Morgana gloated and skipped next to us.
"Stupid, cat. Getting out of all the hard work. I should kick you." I cursed when the crown almost tipped over from Ryuji missing a step. "Watch out, some of us will be pancakes if this falls!"
"Dang it, I know!"
"Guys, shut up and move! This is heavy!" Ann shouted over us.
Once at the bottom of the stairs, we stopped for a breather.
Morgana's chipper actions desisted and he went still as his ears twitched. His warning came too late as the crown was knocked out of our grasp by something hitting it.
The ruler of the Palace descended from the upper floor, strolling up to his throne. He raised his hand. The crown shrunk and flew to its master. Princess Skimpy ran up the dais, hanging off the perv like a second limb.
"I won't let anyone take this! This proves that I am the king of this castle- it is the core of this world!" Shadow Kamoshida juggled the Treasure while glaring at us.
"That rat bastard." Ann hissed, eyes burning holes into the doppelgänger tracing circles on the king's bare chest. "That's how he sees me, isn't it?!"
"Yo, pervert. Were you waitin' to ambush us?" Ryuji yelled, keeping his eyes off Princess Skimpy out of respect for Ann and fear for what she might do to him for ogling her clone.
Akira scrambled to do the same, but his eyes furtively slid back to Princess Skimpy every few seconds.
I would have laughed and teased my brother if the situation were different.
"I just made it easier to find you. I'll dispose of you myself. Right here, right now."
"What? This creep tricked us?!" I was taken back by the brilliant plan. Stealing the Treasure was so easy because he allowed us to.
We left ourselves perfectly open for an ambush.
"No way! That's our line, you sexually-harassin' D-bag!" Ryuji refuted.
"What a selfish misunderstanding." Shadow Kamoshida shook his head, pity lacing his gold eyes.
Ann bristled. "How is it a misunderstanding?! You were doing things that you kept in secret from others!"
My brother and I suddenly felt like outsiders from the shouting match developing between the outcasts and their tormentor.
"The people around me were the ones who kept it a secret." The corrupt man defended himself. "Adults who want to share in my accomplishments, students who have the drive to become winners. They willingly protect me so that we all may profit from it."
"Profit?!" Ryuji almost bit his tongue from how quickly his teeth smashed together.
"There are too many imbeciles who don't understand that! Including naive brats like you and that girl who tried to kill herself."
"True, she's a total idiot…letting you manipulate her, trying to commit suicide…" Ann breathed in deeply, trading sadness for anger. "And I'm even more of a dumbass for not realizing that. But no matter what kind of fool someone might be…they don't need your permission to live their lives!"
"Drop the attitude, you mediocre peasant! There's no wrong in using my gifts for my gain!" In his burst of rage, Shadow Kamoshida slapped Princess Skimpy off. She pouted at the dismissal, but was otherwise unbothered. "I'm cut above all other humans!"
Ann curled her lip at the clone's continued fawning. "Above? You mean beneath. You're a goddam demon obsessed with your sick desires!"
"That's right. I'm not like you…" He chuckled, jerking Princess Skimpy into his side and lifting the Treasure up. "I am a demon who rules this world!"
Red flames enveloped the two and the king's chuckles became distorted. I shielded my eyes from the intensity of the flames.
"W-What the hell?!" Ryuji screamed in an uncharacteristically high-pitch.
I lowered my arm and shrieked just as bad as him.
The speedo-wearing ruler had morphed into a deformed pink monster with four arms, horns, and a long tongue.
"I'm allowed to do whatever the hell I want!" Shadow Kamoshida decreed.
I gagged and ended up bumping into Akira. He steadied me with a firm shoulder squeeze.
"You're wrong." Our leader stepped in front of me, pulling out his knife. "Let's finish this, guys."
We rallied behind him and aimed our weapons at the Palace Ruler.
"You goddam, no-good, shitty brats! Haven't you been taught not to point at people?!" The monster slashed at us with a baton.
We each dispersed, escaping the hit.
"Look! The Treasure's there!" Morgana pointed at the crown adorning the perv's head. "We should catch him off guard and steal it. Let's attack him and wait for that opportunity!"
"Got, it." Akira nodded. "Everyone be careful when attacking."
The battle proved tougher than any of our previous ones. Physical and magical attacks did minimal damage and avoiding a grizzly death by impaling was difficult when dealing with a four-armed creature that used three of those arms to attack with.
The boys were having an easier time than Ann and I.
Perverted tendencies had heightened with Shadow Kamoshida's transformation. If the red thief escaped his eyes then he focused on me. Whenever this happened both of us went into a frenzy of attacks to dissuade the creep from adding us to his collection of female captives in the trophy cup or with Princess Skimpy in the wine glass.
"Bro, look out!" I hollered, diving in front of him to block the assault of volleyballs. My broadsword blocked the attack, but left me wide-open for the monster's counterattack.
I was deaf to the world after hitting the wall.
"You must get up. Don't allow this heathen to beat you!" Gloriana roared, appearing over me protectively and launching a Kouha at Shadow Kamoshida.
The attack annoyed him enough that he stabbed his fork into the trophy, lifting up the lower half of a female's body and consuming it.
"Come at me, you pieces of shit! I ain't lettin' you sleep tonight!" He cried, reinvigorated.
I shook with revulsion.
"He healed himself?! It it because he ate those inside there?" Morgana rushed to my side, casting a Dia and providing cover for me to retreat to the back. "We've got to stop him from healing!"
"Everyone focus on destroying the trophy!" Akira switched Arsene for Berith.
The Persona rammed into the cup, chipping it.
"Hey! You don't know what this is worth, so stop touching it!" Shadow Kamoshida protested. "Don't do it anymore, got it? I've warned you!"
"When someone tells us not to do something, it makes us want to do it even more!" Morgana purred, calling on Zorro for a Guru.
"Look out for that nasty thing!" Ann yelped when the monster's long purple tongue came after us all.
"Time for some jump rope." I jested, jumping over it.
The others followed my example with the exception of the cat, who thought he was small enough to dodge the attack by ducking.
Morgana was proven wrong and paid the price. He rolled around, lamenting how violated he felt.
Poor cat.
The battle carried on with everyone attacking the trophy and doing their best to not get hit by any perverted attacks. The repetitiveness of dodge and attack went on until Akira devised for Ann and I to divert Shadow Kamoshida's attention long enough for them to destroy the cup.
We went along with the plan grudgingly.
When the gaudy thing finally shattered, Ann and I remained paralyzed on the ground from the sacrifice we'd made for the boys.
I felt as though I would need to burn my thief attire. The exposure to the creature's tongue had left them moist and sticky and there were holes littered along my dress. Ann's clothing probably felt worse since it was actually skin tight.
I barely registered Morgana using multiple Dias and crying for us not to go into the light.
"The things we must do for victory. I applaud you, child, for your commendable courage and devotion."
"No way…this was from when I won the national." Shadow Kamoshida went sill, lazy eyes fixated on the fading fragments of his chalice.
"Now's our chance, people." Akira exchanged his knife for a gun.
Ann and I dragged ourselves up and joined the boys to surround the Palace Ruler in a hold-up.
"You think you can get away with doing such a thing? Do you realize who I am?! I am Kamoshida! Don't you get it?!"
"Yeah, we do, but so what?" Akira responded dispassionately.
"Like I keep saying. I am Kamoshida! I'm the King!"
"Ohhhh, my god! He's a broken record. Can we break his jaw already?!" My finger trembled over the trigger.
I was still reeling from the feeling of his tongue dragging across my body.
I freaking hated both versions of Kamoshida!
"You look down on everyone, but you're seriously lame right now." Ryuji spat.
"We came all this way to steal that!" Ann jabbed her gun at the crown. "Will you just give it up and hand it over?"
"Silence! I won't let the likes of you have this."
"You still have the energy to say things like that?" Morgana pulled his slingshot back. "Then we're going to up our game as well."
Shadow Kamoshida wasn't prepared for our all-out attack. As merciless as we were, it still wasn't enough to down the beast, but it did leave him dazed.
"I'm the king! If I'm not, then who is?!"
"I swear, if he goes on about this king nonsense one more time, I'm going to rip his tongue out and feed it to him!" I'd had it with the perv's mindless ranting.
"Damn, girl. That's dark." Ryuji shuffled away from me.
"You would have made a fine executioner or interrogator in my time. They thrived on violence."
"We won't get anywhere with brute force…" Morgana darted his big eyes elsewhere as I glared at him for the obvious attack on my fighting style. "What do we do?"
He looked to Akira.
"Let's go for the crown. We need to secure the Treasure. At this rate we won't last long."
"I see…in that case, time for Plan B! Look over at that terrance." The feline gestured up the next floor level. "While the others are drawing Kamoshida's attention, have someone go there. Let's steal the Treasure without him noticing!"
The time for talking was up. Shadow Kamoshida came out of his stupor and resumed trying to stab us all.
Who would Akira send for the plan?
Ann and I weren't options since the perv would notice our absence. My brother couldn't do it, he had to issue orders. Which left Morgana or Ryuji.
"Ryuji, you're up." He decided.
"You got it, man. I'm ready to take this douche-bag down!" The delinquent exited the battle and hid behind a column.
It was up to the rest of us to keep the creature preoccupied.
More ranting ensued until the pervert cackled about delivering his final attack. Our offensive assault became frenzied and sloppy as we tried to prevent the kill-shot.
Ryuji was nearly in place to steal the Treasure. We only needed to hold out a little longer.
"Here comes his ultimate move. Defend, child!" Gloriana's warning came right as the room darkened and Shadow Kamoshida pelted us with a giant volleyball.
The attack greatly damaged the throne room.
Dust and debris covered the area. Zorro cleared the dust with a Guru, revealing that Akira and Ann had been knocked out. Morgana and I were the last ones standing, but we were fighting to do even that.
"B-Bro…" I mumbled, falling to the ground and crawling to him. Slaps wouldn't wake him and the king was preparing for another attack.
Panic seized me.
This was why I hadn't wanted to come back to the Palace! I knew this place was dangerous!
My brother was out cold and likely to be killed because I couldn't protect him.
I failed him.
How would Dad react to this?
How would Mom? She'd be devastated about Akira, but unconcerned about me…
"Be calm and stand! Together, we can change the tide of battle. You only have to be willing to face the fight."
Gloriana appeared behind me, silencing the doubts infesting my mind.
"Morgana, take care of the healing and I'll cover you." I forced myself up, gathering the last of my strength for one last Kouha.
The bless skill deterred Shadow Kamoshida for only a moment. His fork knocked my sword out of my hands and it went spinning into the wall. Gloriana shoved me back and took the other hit meant for me.
NO!
Ryuji abruptly flew through the air, knocking the crown off the king's head. Without the Treasure, Shadow Kamoshida's power vanished and he slumped into another catatonic state.
"This time, we finish it." A recovered Akira held his hand out to me.
I took it and let him tug me up.
"Do beat him senseless for me. He ruined my dress and no one is allowed to strike a queen."
Gloriana retreated back to my soul and for the final time we all attacked until the target fizzled into a shower of black and red flames, returning to the form of a speedo-wearing perv.
"We frickin' did it!" Ryuji whooped, bending down to claim the shrunken crown. He clenched air as it was snatched by Shadow Kamoshida.
The man paced erratically by the balcony, scanning for possible exits but finding none.
"What's wrong? Not running away?" Ann taunted, knowing the only escape route was off the ledge. "Why don't you run? Aren't you a great athlete?"
"It's always been like this…all those goddam hyenas forcing their expectations on me!" He sniveled. "I'm doing this all for them! What's wrong about demanding a reward for that?!"
"Now you're makin' excuses?" Ryuji growled. "We'll do something about that distorted heart of yours."
The ruler backed further into the balcony, chewing his lip as he looked between the ledge and us.
"Scared?" Ann's voice took on a deadly edge. "Right now, you're seeing the same view that Shiho did." She loomed over the fallen man. "I'm sure she was scared too…except she had no choice but to jump. What will you do? Will you jump? Or would you rather die here?"
Things were turning ugly. I didn't know if I should support Ann's line of thinking or stop it.
I knew what Akira's stance was. He was barely holding himself back from intervening.
Carmen materialized with Agis burning hotly in her hands.
"What is your command, dear?" She cooed, smirking cruelly at the sweaty ruler.
"Do you want to finish him off? It's your call." Morgana left the final verdict up to Ann.
Could she really do it? Could she kill Kamoshida's Shadow, knowing it might kill the real one?
Did she have that kind of darkness inside her soul?
My heart thumped painfully at the anticipation.
"No, please wait! I beg you…just forgive me!" The king pleaded.
"Shut up. I bet everyone told you the same. But you…you took everything from them!" She refused and Carmen sent one of the fireballs near Shadow Kamoshida's head.
"I accept defeat…you want this? Take it." He thew the crown to Akira. "Go ahead and finish me off. You do that…and my real self will go down too. You have that right since you've won."
That triggered Carmen's last fireball.
"Ann, stop!" Ryuji grabbed her hand.
The fire sailed past the sobbing Shadow and Carmen disappeared in a huff. Ann shook her head, ridding herself of the few tears that had escaped.
"If his mind shuts down, he can't admit his crimes." She muttered.
Ann didn't go through with it.
She had plenty of reasons to kill her tormentor and she didn't. Ryuji had the right as well and he tried to stop her…
I didn't like the uncomfortable apprehension their actions left me with.
Would I have made the same choice if the man who ruined my brother and I's futures was in front of me and just as defeated and pitiful as Kamoshida?
Gloriana didn't answer when I asked what she thought I might do.
"You're kind, Lady Ann…" Morgana swooned, but then hissed at the point of contact between Ryuji and Ann.
The two jerked their hands away like they'd been burned from the intimate moment. Too bad their masks covered most of their blushing faces.
"I've lost, you're through when you lose. What am I…what I am i supposed to do now?" Shadow Kamoshida whispered, head hung low.
"Atone for your sins. There are people that you've hurt. They deserve justice." Akira declared, glancing at the two blondes.
The Shadow looked like a different person without his old arrogant expressions as he stared at Ryuji and Ann. An air of resignation overtook him.
"All right…I will leave now and return to my real self." He almost seemed peaceful as he faded into flecks of white light. "I'll make certain that I-"
The sentiment went unfinished as the ruler vanished. Immediately after, the room began to shake.
It felt like the castle was falling apart.
"We don't have time to waste. This place is falling apart!" Morgana waved his tiny arms around.
"Can't we just teleport out?" I withdrew my phone and accessed the metaverse app. It read an error message when I tried to return us to the real world or at least the entrance.
"You've got to be joking! We gotta run out of here?!" Ryuji latched onto his bad leg.
"We don't have any other choice. This place must be too unstable for the app to work properly." Akira frowned at his phone also giving him an error message.
Ann screamed after the chandelier crashed nearby.
"Let's get out of here!" She took off.
"Right behind you!" I ran after her with the boys behind me.
"We're gonna die! We're so gonna die!" Ann bemoaned her bad luck. Despite being the first one to run, she'd ended up in the back. And I thought my stamina sucked. "Hey, what the?!"
The minute I turned to see what the problem was, a heavy weight landed on my head and then lifted. The imbalance almost caused me to trip.
"No fair, you jerk!" Ryuji's cursing alerted me to where the mysterious assaulter was.
"Morgana, how did you become a cat?!" My question was answered with a meow as he settled on Akira's shoulder.
Next thing I knew, I went tumbling into the ground from Ryuji bumping into me. He ended up sprawled on top of me, clutching his leg.
"Ryuji, Homura!" Ann raced back for us.
"It's been awhile so I just tripped, is all." He tried to play it off by rolling off me like his leg wasn't causing him serious pain.
"Oh, shut up with that weak tough-guy act." I pulled him up and draped his arm over my shoulder, ignoring his flustered excuses as I supported his weight.
"It's not an act, I'm fine damn it!"
"Obviously not if you fell on top of me!"
Ryuji growled as he attempted to come up with a convincing rebuttal.
"Will the two of you stop it?! Just get moving before we're buried alive!" Ann yelled over us, brandishing her whip threateningly.
We shut our mouths and moved.
By the time the group made it outside the entire place was sinking into the moat. The return to reality was jarring as we all stopped panicking about drowning once we realized we were on concrete.
"That sucked…I've never gotten such a workout before." Ann keeled over and wiped the sweat from her brow.
Ryuji and I leaned against each other for a few more minutes before he removed his arm from my shoulder and slid to ground.
As tough as he tried to act, the guy wouldn't have made it without my help.
"The nav's changed." Akira held his phone out for everyone to see. A notification flashed on the screen.
"The destination has been deleted." The robotic voice informed us.
"Is it…really gone?" I asked.
Ann tried inputing the keywords for the Palace after failing to find it in the history.
"It's true…" She announced.
"What about the Treasure?!" Morgana wailed.
"You mean this?" Akira withdrew a large medal from his pocket.
"A medal? Wait, where'd the crown go?" Ann poked at the medal.
"What's goin' on?" Ryuji pushed himself off the ground.
Akira let me take the medal to observe it. It felt cold and heavy like a real medal would. There wasn't anything weird or enthralling about it either.
Was this thing really the Treasure? Why wasn't it affecting me like it did in the Palace?
"It means that was the source of Kamoshida's desires. To him, this medal is worth as much as that crown we saw in the Palace." The cat explained.
"An Olympic medal…" Ryuji's confusion turned bitter. "So, that perv kept clingin' to his past glory and couldn't let it go."
"But that means that Kamoshida's heart might have changed, right?" Ann pressed.
"Probably…" Morgana hesitated in the face of her hopeful face.
"Our expulsion's on the line here!" Ryuji shouted.
"This is the first successful example for me too." Morgana justified his inexperience with a casual flick of his tail. "However, there's no doubt that this has affected Kamoshida's personality quite a lot. The entire Palace disappeared after all."
"Ugh, I feel all antsy! Ain't there a way to check now?"
"We'll know soon enough." Akira took the optimistic approach. "What matters is that we took a shot at change. I'm sure it'll all work out."
"I hope you're right. Our lives don't need anymore drastic complications." I mumbled, a touch irritated with my brother's dismissal of the potential consequences of our failure.
His optimism could be aggravating at times.
Shujin was the only school to accept us with our records. If we got expelled from the school, then a poverty-riddled future awaited us.
Morgana sighed loudly. "Come on, why the gloomy faces? Be happy! We completed this with great success, you know?"
"We just don't know if everything's okay yet." Ryuji pointed out. "Some of us have a lot riding on this."
"Like our leader said, I'm pretty sure it'll be fine." The cat leaped onto Akira's shoulder once more. "Remember how Kamoshida's Shadow said that he's returning to his self in reality? Suguru Kamoshida was a scum."
"He…he didn't look a hundred percent wretched in the end. I mean, if you exclude all that sniveling and begging he looked kinda remorseful." I added. That flicker of peace as Shadow Kamoshida vanished had stuck with me.
That gave me more hope than Morgana's unsure promises.
"He did seem to regain his conscience somewhat at the end." He agreed.
"That alone should be proof that it worked." Akira asserted.
"There are definitely those who have been saved thanks to what you've all done."
Ryuji and Ann were mollified by that piece of news.
The volleyball players were safe from further harm and Suzui wouldn't have to live in fear when she awoke from her coma. At the very least some things had been accomplished.
"I guess we gotta wait." The delinquent conceded. "It all boils down to what's gonna happen to Kamoshida…or if we're gettin' expelled for real."
"Let's head home. I think we've had enough for the day." Akira suggested.
That was an understatement.