A/N Because I feel that it's only appropriate...
Warnings for: KAMOSHIDA (aka, Kamoshithead)
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...
Jun wakes up the next morning feeling like absolute shit. Her cellphone's alarm goes off just seconds afterwards, making her head throb with its loud noise. She mutters a few swears and reaches into her pocket for her cellphone so she could shut off its alarm.
"I have school starting today…" She stares up at the ceiling with bleary eyes. "Hopefully I can get there without getting lost…"
Her cellphone is fully charged—it better not die on her.
"Gotta…get up…" Jun struggles to get out of bed, feel far too sluggish to do anything right now. "Can't be late—need to change…"
It takes her a full six minutes to roll out of bed. She lands onto the floor and yawns loudly, not really caring much that she just fell.
"I hate waking up early…" Of course, there's not much she can do about it. It's just something she has to get used to—at least until she learns her way through Shibuya Station.
Jun gets up and stumbles over to her discarded tights on the floor. She picks them up to give them a quick look-over. After deciding that wearing the same tights two days in a row is a bit too much, she throws them into the laundry basket under the table that's by the sofa. She yawns again and then makes her way over to the cardboard box to pull out a pair of clean tights and a white camisole.
She changes into her school uniform afterwards, taking care to ensure her hair doesn't get trapped underneath her suspenders before buttoning up her blazer. It's as she is pulling on her tights that the smell of spices and coffee reaches her nose.
"Is Sakura-san here?" Jun didn't think he'd be here so early… "Whatever…"
She zips on her ankle boots and then grabs her schoolbag before heading downstairs. There, she sees Sōjirō working behind the counter, likely getting ready for another day of work.
"Oh, so you actually are going to school?" Sōjirō isn't at all surprised when Jun sticks her tongue out at him. He laughs when he hears her stomach growl and sets down a plate of curry and rice on the counter. "Here, I'll feed you. Just make sure you finish it before the customers start coming in."
Jun tilts her head to the side. "Curry for breakfast…?"
"What's that reaction for?" It's the last thing Sōjirō wants to hear from a girl who ate nothing but melon pan for breakfast yesterday. "Just sit down and eat."
Growl.
"Such a loud sound coming from a tiny girl…" Sōjirō can't help but laugh.
Jun feels her face heating up as she sits down to eat. She stares at the plate of curry, her mouth practically watering from the aroma that wafts from it. She doesn't waste any time in shoveling a spoonful of curry and rice into her mouth.
"Hope your tongue isn't too sensitive," Sōjirō says as he sets down a glass full of water for Jun. "Try not to make a mess."
He just cleaned that counter…
"It's good!" she suddenly exclaims, mouth still full of food. She can taste complex flavors within the bold spiciness—it's nothing like she's ever had before. She can't help but stuff another spoonful into her mouth.
"Hey—slow down!" Sōjirō scolds her. "There's no need to rush."
Despite Sōjirō's words, Jun continues eating at her current pace. As a result, it takes her less than five minutes to finish off the entire plate of curry. Sōjirō's jaw slackens in awe from the sight.
"Thanks for the meal!" Jun flashes Sōjirō a wide smile that shows off her catlike fangs. She seems a lot happier, especially in comparison to how she was yesterday… Though, she's still just as messy.
Sōjirō mutters under his breath and reaches out to brush off the grains of rice sticking to Jun's face. "Such a troublesome kid…there—now if only you brushed your hair."
As tempting as it is to stick out her tongue at him, Jun refrains from doing so and instead, starts downing the glass of water that was set down for her. A wave of contentment washes over her, leaving her rosy-cheeked and smiling.
"Hurry over to school," Sōjirō tells her before picking up her empty plate and glass. "You'll end up late if you get lost on the way."
"That's right!" Jun had almost forgotten why she had woken up so early. She grabs her schoolbag off the counter and jumps out of her chair. "I'll be going now."
"Make sure to flip the sign outside to OPEN for me," Sōjirō quickly tells her before she's completely out the door.
"We're open already?" Jun can't help but ask as she reaches up to flip the sign.
"Already…?" Sōjirō repeats. "If anything, we're running late—which is what you'll be if you don't hurry up and go, Ojou."
"Stop calling me that!" It's the last thing Jun says before the door shuts behind her. She doesn't stick around too much afterwards, her mood having somewhat soured. She's not mad—just annoyed. "Only Shibi, Shibe, and Shiba can call me Ojou…"
She sighs loudly and starts making her way to Yongen-Jaya Station. She at least recalls where that is, so she certainly doesn't need any help when that same police officer from Saturday asks her if she needs any when she passes by him.
"No thank you!" she quickly says before running off. She really doesn't want to deal with any police officers—especially during today, her first day of school… "The last thing I need is for people to spread rumors."
She's only lucky that she hasn't come across any other teenagers wearing the same uniform as hers.
…
…
It's when she gets on the train that she finally encounters other students from Shujin High School. They pay her no attention, being far too occupied in finding a spot as the train car quickly fills up with people. By the time the train shuts its doors, the car is crammed with so many people. Jun finds herself squashed against the door, surrounded by random people. There's a female Shujin High School student standing right behind her, but she's too busy going through her phone, so there goes any chances Jun has at striking up a conversation with someone.
"Looks like the rumors about the Tokyo subway are true…" How unfortunate… "Gotta get used to it, I guess…"
At least she'll be able to follow the female student that stands behind her to Shujin High… So there's no need for her to worry about getting lost. That would've been the case, except getting off the train turns out to be far more hectic than she expected and she quickly loses sight of the female student. So Jun stands in the middle of the Underground Walkway, minutes later, just watching as people pass her. Beads of sweat begin to roll down the sides of her face as she pulls out her phone from her pocket.
"Where the fuck am I supposed to go?" Jun can feel her heart racing as she waits for her phone to finish loading. "C'mon—okay!"
According to her phone, she has to transfer to the Ginza Line…wherever the hell that is. Jun resists the urge to groan as she shoves her phone back into her pocket.
"Stay calm—you can do this." She did it before…sort of. Well, she had help—but that's beside the point. "Okay, just keep going. You'll find it the Ginza Line eventually…"
…
It takes Jun until she's passing by shops in the Underground Mall ten minutes later to realize that she's lost. She stares blankly at the flower shop before her, almost ignoring the shopkeeper—a kind young woman—who asks her if she needs anything.
"Do I?" Jun furrows her brow. "…"
…
"How do I get to the Ginza Line?" she finally asks. She is done with going back and forth, just backtracking to avoid getting even more lost.
The young woman blinks a few times and then smiles. "Since they're cleaning the area right now, you have to take a different way to get to the Ginza Line. You want to head up the stairs into Station Square. Once you're there, keep going straight until you get to the other side. There, you'll see two sets of stairs—take the one going upstairs and that's where you can find the Ginza Line."
"Ah…" So it was that simple… "Th-Thank you…"
The young woman giggles. "Anytime—I like your tights, by the way. Very cute!"
"Cute?" Jun tilts her head to the side. "I guess black tights are cute…wait—"
Only now, does it occur to her—long after she's finished changing—that she just grabbed the first pair of tights she could find in that cardboard box. And she knows—she just knows—her luck isn't particularly good to begin with. So when she looks down and sees smiling cat faces decorating the tops of her faux thigh highs, she isn't that surprised to know that she grabbed the wrong pair of tights.
"Dammit!" She is, however, annoyed, because these were the one pair of tights that she didn't want to wear with her school uniform. Hell, she was saving these tights for a different outfit! "I even had it set aside for the occasion…"
It looks like she'll just have to deal with it…on her first day of school. Ohh, god, there goes her first impression on her classmates.
"Whatever…" She twirls a lock of her hair and mutters a quiet, "Thank you."
"It's nothing—do you want a flower?" Jun barely has time to react when the shopkeeper reaches out and places a red camellia blossom in her hair. "There—I thought it would suit you!"
"Ahhh…" Jun honestly has no idea how to react. Though, she feels oddly giddy—likely because she's being treated so nicely by a stranger. It's reassuring…
Of course, it slowly dawns on Jun, as she walks up the stairs into Station Square, that she's been mistaken for a child (again). She resists the urge she has to smack herself on the forehead.
"No wonder she was being so nice…" That certainly dimmed her mood… "Whatever."
It's her own fault for getting her hopes up so quickly. She should've just focused on getting to school…
"I should get going now…" She's wasted enough time already… "Just keep going straight and you'll find two sets of stairs…"
…
…
"Oh man…did it say it was going to rain today?"
Sōjirō looks at the man sitting at the counter. "Huh? It's raining outside?"
"It just started all of a sudden…" The man considers himself fortunate to have entered the café moments earlier. "This is why I hate the early spring…"
"That reminds me…" Sōjirō's thoughts drift over to the other glasses-wearing girl in his care. "Did she take an umbrella…?"
"Hm? Who're you talking about?" The man looks questioningly at Sōjirō.
"Don't mind me," Sōjirō assures him. "Just thinking out loud…so what'll it be?"
"One house blend, please," the man replies.
Sōjirō nods his head and gets to work.
"The effects of yesterday's subway accident continues on today as various lines suffer delays—"
"There's been a lot of nasty accidents lately," the man tries to strike up a conversation with Sōjirō as he waits for his coffee. "You know, I mean the subway accident that the news is talking about…My coworker got caught up in it and is in the hospital now…"
Sōjirō doesn't say much, being far too engrossed in his work. He rarely ever does talk with his customers much.
"But that aside, it's kinda creepy." The man grimaces. "The people who caused these accidents supposedly went crazy all of a sudden. I heard that some of them suffered from nervous breakdowns during interrogation."
"Huh…" is all Sōjirō can really say. He doesn't have much to contribute to the conversation, though he does wonder how Jun is doing right now. "She left early, so she should get there on time—even if she does get lost…"
…
…
It takes some time, but Jun finally makes it to Aoyama-Itchome. She feels at ease with where she's at and the sight of teenagers wearing the Shujin High uniform in the area only reassures her that she's in the right place. She pulls out her phone to check the clock and is pleased to see that she still has time to spare before school starts.
"That's a relief…" At least that's one thing that's going right for her. "I should keep going…"
She has no reason to loiter around—not like the female students that she passes by. She feels a little envious of them, just seeing those girls talk to each other. There is familiarity between them, shown through their interactions and the carefree laughter they share with each other.
"I really am alone…" It's a sobering thought, but Jun quickly shakes it off. She doesn't need this negativity so early in the morning… "Be positive!"
Less than a minute later, a shrill scream rips from her throat the instant Jun finds herself being pelted by raindrops. It's cold, wet, and she doesn't have a fucking umbrella on her. Screw being positive—it's gonna be nothing but negativity from here on out!
"Motherfucker!" Jun can't keep herself from shrieking. A string of obscenities leaves her mouth as she makes her way over to a nearby awning of a building for shelter from the rain. She shakes her head vigorously, sending drops of water flying into the air. Miraculously enough, the flower in her hair manages to stay in place—it's something she notices when she catches a quick glimpse of her reflection on the screen of her phone. "Figures…"
She opens up her GPS to check how much farther she is from Shujin High School. She wants an idea of how far she has to go without an umbrella. She chokes back a scream that wants to leave her mouth when she sees a very familiar icon pop up on her phone's screen.
"Fucking again?!" Jun scowls when the icon enlarges itself on its own and obstructs her view of the map she was looking at. "Auuugh—it's a freaking virus!"
Her temper is flaring up at the worst of times when she is far too frazzled to keep herself in check. She wants to scream—she really wants to scream. And she almost does, but Jun quickly stops herself when she sees that she's no longer alone.
Standing right next to her, is a girl far taller than she is. She wears a modified version of the Shujin High School uniform, with a white varsity-like hoodie underneath her blazer instead of a turtleneck shirt, bright red tights under a short skirt, and brown boots. She brushes the rain off of herself before pulling down her hood, revealing ash-blonde hair tied into two, fluffy pigtails.
"Gyaru?" Jun tilts her head to the side, taking note of the girl's warm complexion and pierced ears. Her mouth parts slightly in awe when she catches sight of the girl's eyes—it's a clear blue, framed by long eyelashes. "Hāfu?!"
The word slips out of Jun's mouth before she can even stop herself. The girl blinks and turns her head. Initially, her expression is stern, but it quickly softens when she looks at Jun. Glossy pink lips form into a smile that makes Jun's heart skip a beat.
"You?" she asks, blue eyes focused completely on Jun.
"Korean!" Jun blurts out, earning a small laugh from the girl. "You?"
The girl smiles wryly. "American—though it's a quarter, not half."
"Ahh…wh-what's your name?" It's hard for Jun to stay calm—she's just so excited. "I'm Kimura Jun!"
"Takamaki Ann—are you a first year?" Ann asks, blue eyes quickly looking over Jun. "I haven't seen you before…cute tights, by the way."
Jun resists the urge she has to tug down on her skirt. Instead, she focuses on trying to correct Ann—because she is not a first-year. She's about to point Ann towards the button on her blazer, but before she can do that, a car pulls up in front of them. The window rolls down, revealing a man with wavy black hair as the driver.
"Good morning!" he says with a smile on his face. "You want me to give you a ride to school? You're gonna be late."
It takes Jun a few seconds to realize that he's talking to Ann. She turns to Ann, who hesitates for a moment before saying, "Um, sure. Thank you…I guess I'll see you around, Kimura-san."
"I guess…" Jun was hoping she could talk to Ann a little longer. Though, it seems she'll have to wait until later… "Bye."
"Hey—do you need a lift?" the man suddenly asks Jun as Ann gets into the passenger seat. He almost didn't notice her standing there…
"N-No thank you!" Jun quickly answers, forcing a smile afterwards to avoid looking so nervous. She's been taught not to accept rides from random strangers and she sure isn't going to start now—even if it is raining.
"You sure?" He notices that she doesn't have an umbrella, but that does nothing in changing her answer. "Don't be late, okay?"
Jun only nods her head in response. She feels far too uncomfortable to say anything to that man, especially with how anxious Ann looks in the passenger seat. It's the last thing she sees before the window rolls up and the car drives off.
"Is she going to be okay?" Jun hopes so… "Hmm?"
It's not long after the car had left that a boy with blond hair, brown eyes, and tan skin runs past Jun. He slows to a stop, swearing loudly as he watches the car disappear into the distance.
"Dammit—screw that pervy teacher!" The boy hunches over, struggling to catch his breath.
"Pervy teacher?" Jun repeats—a little too loudly, from the way the boy turns to her.
He seems annoyed, but then he gets a good look at her and his expression softens somewhat. He wears the Shujin High uniform, though it's modified somewhat. His blazer is unbuttoned, revealing the yellow t-shirt he has underneath that's decorated with a star and reads "ZOMG!" on it. He wears pants with a similar pattern as Jun's skirt, with the ends rolled up above his ankles and suspenders hanging from his hips.
"Do you need something?" he asks. "You don't plan on rattin' me out to Kamoshida, yeah?"
"Kamoshida?" Jun tilts her head to the side.
"Huh?" The boy frowns. "In that car just now. It was Kamoshida."
"Ohhh…" So that's his name… "I see…"
"He does whatever the hell he wants." The boy scowls. "Who does he think he is—the king of a castle? Don't you agree?"
Jun furrows her brow. "Which castle?"
The boy runs his hand through his short, blond hair. "Uh, it's just a sayin'…Don't take it so literally, yeah?"
…
…
"Wait." The boy crosses his arms over his chest. "You don't know Kamoshida? Are you for real? You're from Shujin, right?"
He looks over Jun to make sure, taking note of her uniform. He nearly chokes on his spit when he sees the second-year button pinned to her blazer. She's just so small—he almost thought she was a first-year!
"You go to Shujin too?" Jun can't help but ask. She sees his uniform, but she wants to make sure.
"What…?" The boy shoves his hands into his pockets. "No other high school's got a uniform like this. A second-year, huh…"
Jun nods her head. "That's right."
"We're the same grade then." As baffling as it is to him. "Never seen you before though."
"Uhhh…" Jun nervously adjusts her glasses. "I'm not—today's my first day…"
"Oh, you a transfer student?" That would explain why he hasn't seen her before. He'd remember someone as short as her. It also explains why she seems so confused… "Then no wonder you don't know him."
"Y-Yeah…" Although, based on what the boy has said about him, Jun would prefer not to know Kamoshida.
"This rain ain't too bad," the boy says after walking a few steps forward. He looks over his shoulder at her and smiles, revealing two rows of sharp, triangular-shaped teeth that fit together perfectly like puzzle pieces. "We better hurry up, or we'll be late. Come with me—I'll take you to Shujin."
He acts like such a vulgar boy and looks like a delinquent, too, but Jun feels completely at ease around him—even more so after seeing his sharp teeth. It's a sight that's more calming than alarming to her.
"Reminds me of Eomma." Jun smiles warmly at the thought of her mother. "Thank you."
"Heh, you're kinda cute with those tights and that flower in your hair." The boy can't help himself. A light blush dusts his cheeks red. "Sorry…didn't mean to hit on you."
"It's fine." Jun doesn't mind—especially since he's so nice about it. "I'm Kimura Jun—you?"
"Sakamoto Ryuuji," he says without missing a beat. "C'mon, let's get going—Ngh…?!"
Ryuuji had barely taken a step forward when his head started throbbing with a sudden headache. He raises a hand to his head and waits for the pain to subside. Jun does the same, having suffered from a sudden headache as well.
"Uuugh, my head hurts…" Ryuuji groans. "Dammit…I wanna go home…"
Jun feels similarly, especially with the rain splashing down on her and dampening her hair and clothes. It gets on her nerves, but she ignores it as she follows after Ryuuji. Going unnoticed, is her phone as it processes the terms it managed to pick up from her—Kamoshida, Shujin High, pervert, and castle. She shoves it into her pocket and follows Ryuuji through a narrow alleyway.
Splash!
"Hyeek!" An earsplitting shriek escapes from Jun's mouth.
Ryuuji flinches when he hears Jun's loud shriek. He turns to see what's up, only for a weight to suddenly latch itself onto his back. It's so sudden that it manages to disrupt his balance. He stumbles for a bit, but manages to avoid falling down. It's a close call, though, which is why he looks over his shoulder and scowls when he sees that it's Jun who's on his back. "What the fuck, dude?!"
She's not heavy by any means, but the least she could've done was give him a warning before jumping him. Her grip is tight and there is something rather awkward about having her legs wrapped around his waist.
"There's water on the ground—I'm not stepping on it!" she blurts out.
"Are you for real?!" Ryuuji can't believe the crap that he's hearing.
"I don't wanna get these tights wet!" She can deal with the rain, but puddles are out of the question. "Just keep going—I'll make it up to you!"
"I take it back—you're not so cute!" Ryuuji can only imagine the shit that people will say when they see him with Jun on his back. "Local troublemaker piggybacks a grade-schooler to school…"
He knows she's not a grade-schooler, but that still doesn't change the fact that she looks like one and even acts like one, too. Thinking of it now, that flower in her hair—it's likely from the flower shop in the Underground Mall. He's dropped by enough times to know that the owner, Hanasaki, likes to give out free flowers to grade-schoolers. He's tempted to share this information with Jun, but stops himself when he recalls the time Hanasaki mistook him for a grade-schooler. It was back while he was in middle school, during a time where he was shorter than a good chunk of people in his year because he was long overdue for a growth spurt.
"At least Ma liked the flower…" So it wasn't that bad…even if did take until his final year of middle school for that growth spurt to kick in. "Not important!"
…
Shujin High is only a short walk away from the station. It's something that Jun would consider as a good thing, had her and Ryuuji not come across a castle instead of a school building.
"Oh, what the hell?!" Jun was just here yesterday—what the hell is a castle doing here?!
"This is—this is the way I usually take…" Ryuuji is just as confused as she is. "We didn't come the wrong way, I know it! This should be right—it even says Shujin High right there!"
Ryuuji points at the plaque on the wall to their left. He's not wrong…but the giant castle just raises too many questions. He sighs and shakes his head.
"Screw it—let's just go inside and ask." It's better than staying out in the rain and doing nothing. And while Jun isn't being too much of a bother, he would prefer it if she got off his back. It's really awkward having a girl so close to him like this… "Hey, can you not, like…breathe into my ear?"
"Sorry…" Jun lowers her head and rests it on Ryuuji's shoulder. "Is this better?"
"…It's fine." Ryuuji says…like the liar he is, trying his best to ignore how hot his face feels and how fast his heart is beating.
…
…
Ryuuji tries not to sigh so loudly when Jun finally hops off his back. He adjusts his blazer and looks around, taking in the castle's interior. It's…far too extravagant than it's supposed to be—a lot like the European castles one would see in films.
"This is so weird…" Ryuuji scratches his head.
"Are you sure you didn't take a wrong turn?" Jun asks, flinching a moment later when Ryuuji raises his voice to respond.
"You saw it right there—it said Shujin High!" Ryuuji hates that he's so scared right now, especially with how loud he tends to get when he's freaking out. He's never been good with staying calm under pressure… "Hey—you okay?"
He only just noticed, but right now—Jun isn't looking so good, appearing far too tense for comfort. Did he…did he scare her just now?
"Shit—sorry Kimura!" He didn't mean for this to happen. "I'm not good when I'm…yeah."
"It's fine…it happens." Jun didn't think she could even talk so quietly… "It'll pass, just…give me a second."
Ryuuji frowns, guilt coiling unpleasantly in his stomach. He pulls out his phone to check his GPS and swears under his breath when he sees it's out of service.
"So much for that…" He shoves his phone back into his pocket. He pauses for a second when his ears pick up the sound of heavy footsteps. "Huh?"
"Uhh…" It seems Jun heard it as well—so he wasn't just hearing things. "It's getting closer…"
The two teenagers turn to face the source of the sound. They are treated to the sight of an imposing figure dressed in heavy metal armor, armed with both a massive shield and a longsword.
"Knight?" Jun tilts her head to the side. "I guess we are in a castle."
"Geez, you freaked me out…" Ryuuji sighs in relief. "Who're you? You a student?"
Jun considers Ryuuji's reaction somewhat…inappropriate. He's far too calm in approaching the armored knight, even reaching out to touch their shield.
"Man, your costume's impressive…" It looks way too real…and feels that way, too. "Is that armor real?"
No response.
"C'mon, don't just stand there!" Ryuuji crosses his arms over his chest. "Say somethin'."
"Watch out!" Jun suddenly shrieks. She barely allows Ryuuji any time to react when she rushes up to him and yanks him away by the back of his pants.
"Oh shit!" Ryuuji's eyes widen at the shield that narrowly avoids him. That almost hit him! It almost did, had Jun not pulled him out of the way in time. "What the fuck, yo?!"
If this is supposed to be a prank, then it's a pretty sick one, because this is going too far. Ryuuji bites back a whimper when he sees a second knight join the first one.
"C-Calm down!" he blurts out. "Time out, time out!"
"We should run." Jun doesn't think those knights will listen to anything they have to say.
"You're right—we shouldn't mess with 'em!" Ryuuji ignores the burning sensation he feels bubbling in the pit of his stomach. "We should be faster!"
The knights are dressed in heavy armor, so it shouldn't take Ryuuji and Jun too much effort to outrun them. But what the knights lacked in speed, they make up in numbers. More show up and block off any chances the two teenagers have to escape. Soon, they're surrounded and before Ryuuji can react, he feels a sharp, intense pain in his back.
"Aaugh!" The pain brings him down to his knees, making it difficult for him to move. He screams when the pain returns—this time, with a heavier weight pushing down on his back. "Gah!"
There's a knight pressing their shield down on his back. Their shield, plus their added weight, eventually pushes Ryuuji down onto the floor, effectively trapping him in place.
"Owowowowow!" Ryuuji cries out. "Y-You're gonna break my bones, dammit!"
It's a concern he has—one that brings back unpleasant memories. It's getting hard to breathe, his vision starting to fade.
"Kimura—just run!" he gasps out.
Jun ignores him and instead, tries pushing off the knight on his back. It doesn't work—she's far too small and weighs so much less to do anything more than a weak shove. That still doesn't stop her from trying, however.
"Get off him!" she yells out. Her anxiety's spiking up to uncomfortable, almost debilitating levels. She's seconds away from hyperventilating, but that still doesn't stop her from helping Ryuuji, despite his pleas for her to escape.
"Watch out!" he suddenly screams.
Jun never sees it coming. Pain explodes behind her eyes, rattling her head with its intensity. She drops to the floor and loses consciousness within seconds.
"K-Kimura!" Ryuuji gasps out, his vision growing darker with each passing second.
"Take them away!" a voice booms out.
It's the last thing Ryuuji hears before blacking out entirely.
…
…
An unknown amount of time passes before Ryuuji regains his consciousness. He wakes up on the cold, hard floor. It hurts to breathe, but he can still move his body without any notable issues. He groans as he sits up, taking a moment to nurse his sore head. He can feel a headache coming on…
"Gaah…" His body aches from lying against such a hard surface—for how long, he doesn't know. It's the least of his worries, though…because when he sees Jun's still form lying on top of a wooden bed, he panics. "Kimura!"
He scrambles over to her, ignoring the throbbing pain that resonates in his head from yelling so loudly. It's fine though, because while he is hurting, he's not so seriously injured. Jun, on the other hand—he saw her get bashed over the head with a metal shield. To someone so small, a hit like that could be fatal.
"H-Hey—say somethin'!" Ryuuji gently shakes Jun by the shoulder. "C'mon! Just show me you're alive!"
Almost as though in response, a soft moan escapes Jun's lips.
"Good—okay!" Ryuuji breathes out in relief. She had him worrying there for a second… "This is good…"
She's unconscious…but alive.
"What now?" Ryuuji runs his hand through his hair. "Shit…"
…
…
"Hey…wake up…"
"Huh?" Someone is calling out to her. Their voice is faint, so she can barely hear them… "Who?"
She sees nothing but pitch-black darkness. Her mind wavers between haziness and clarity, making it difficult for her to think at all. She almost drifts off…
"Hey! Wake up!" But then that voice calls out to her again—it sounds much louder and clearer this time. Gradually, the haziness begins to fade from her mind as the voice continues to pull her out of the darkness of her unconscious mind. "C'mon, Kimura, wake up!"
And just like that—Jun regains consciousness. Her eyes flutter open, her vision blurring momentarily before clearing. The first thing she sees is Ryuuji's face, his expression that of concern.
"S-Sakamoto?" she sluggishly says. "Wha…nngh!"
A sharp pain jolts through her head. She curls up in a fetal position almost instinctively, tears welling up in the corners of her eyes. The pain is just too much to bear…
"Careful—you got knocked in the head pretty hard!" Ryuuji isn't surprised to see Jun react so negatively. She'll likely need to see a doctor after this. "You got lucky, Kimura—that could've killed you…"
"G-Good to hear…" Jun says through her teeth. She's being sarcastic, but Ryuuji fails to notice. He's far too busy trying to help her sit up. "Ahhh…"
"Slowly—slowly!" Ryuuji tells her, letting her lean against his chest to rest for a moment. It's awkward, and his torso feels oddly tender towards any physical contact—but he ignores it. "You want me to carry you again?"
"N-No…I'm fine…" It still hurts, yes…but not as much anymore. "You can let me go now."
"R-Right." Ryuuji tries not to seem too flustered when he releases Jun. It's hard to stay calm, anyways, while stuck in this cramped jail cell.
"Where are we?" Jun lifts up her glasses to rub her eye.
"How should I know?" Ryuuji scratches at his head. "I just woke up too…uuugh, this ain't a dream, huh?"
It's taken this long to set in, but it doesn't lessen the impact it has on Ryuuji when he looks at the cell he's trapped in with Jun.
"Ugh, what's goin' on?!" Ryuuji runs over to the bars and checks the door. It's locked—of course. "Dammit!"
Ryuuji lifts his leg up and starts kicking at the door. The metal clangs loudly, but the door doesn't budge at all.
"Hey, let us outta here!" he yells between each kick. "I know there's someone out there!"
Jun doesn't talk much—she's too busy looking at the pink-colored splotches on the floor. Each step Ryuuji just took a second ago was like stepping in a puddle of pink water. It rippled and splashed out, slowly fading within a matter of seconds.
"What is that?" Jun frowns. She winces a second later—it hurts too much to think right now.
"Dammit, where are we?!" Ryuuji ceases his kicking and walks back to Jun. "Is this some kinda TV set…?"
"I…don't know…" Jun grits her teeth. "Hurts…"
"Shit—we gotta take you to a doctor or somethin'." Ryuuji only wonders how he's going to explain it, though, because everyone's first thought will likely be that he's the one to blame for her injury. "She did get hurt because of me, though…"
But that's beside the point!
"GUAAAAAAAAAAAARGH!" Just now, a scream in the distance sends shivers down their spine with its abrupt timing. It is quickly followed up with another—sounding more pained and just as real as the one before it.
"Th-The hell is that just now…?" Ryuuji's eyes are wide with shock. He rushes back to the door, peering out through the cell bars for any sign of the source of the screams.
Jun follows right after him, ignoring the throbbing pain in her head. She reaches the bars just in time to listen in on yet another blood-curdling scream
"Whoa…" Ryuuji feels his heart racing. "Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa…You're shittin' me, right…?"
Denial has its limits and Ryuuji knows he's reached them. He breathes in deeply, grimacing afterwards at the pain he feels in his chest.
"Shit!" he swears loudly. He likely bruised a rib back there…maybe even more. "This is real bad…!"
They're both injured and stuck in a jail cell. The screams have not gotten any quieter, either, nor have they stopped. Ryuuji supposes he and Jun are lucky that they aren't bleeding out or something…but that's it!
"We gotta get outta here!" He looks frantically for any possible opening in the cell for them to escape. "There's gotta be some way out—we need to do something! C'mon, help me out!"
In the end, there's not much any of them can do. Their search of the cell resulted in no possible escape routes. Their only way out is through the door, which is locked.
"You know how to pick a lock?" Ryuuji looks at the keyhole. "Wait, we need something for that—you have a hairpin?"
"No, I…wait a second…" Jun reaches out for the flower that's still in her hair. She feels around it and comes across the familiar feel of a bobby pin. "So that's how it stayed in place!"
The shopkeeper didn't just put a flower in her hair—she pinned it.
"I do—I have one!" Jun carefully removes the hairpin from her hair, not wanting to accidentally pull out a few strands of her hair. "It came with the flower!"
"Holy shit, I am so buying a bouquet from Hanasaki after this!" Ryuuji has never felt so elated to learn that Hanasaki's habit has some lifesaving uses. "Give that to me!"
"Who's Hanasaki?" Jun asks as she hands Ryuuji the hairpin.
"The lady who runs the flower shop—that's where you got the flower, yeah?" Ryuuji almost wants to laugh at how the camellia has managed to stay this long in her unruly hair. It's a funny sight—because it's honestly the last thing he expected to be so damn useful in this situation. "She gives out flowers to grade-schoolers. She probably thought you were one."
"I fucking knew it." Jun sighs loudly in exasperation. "I knew there had to be more to her niceness…"
"Hey, it's what's gonna save our asses." Ryuuji feels that he's speaking too soon, since he's still in the process of picking the lock. "Grr, why do they make it seem so easy on TV?"
"Lemme try…" Jun gently shoves Ryuuji to the side, taking over for him. "It might take me a bit, though…"
"Just try not to take too long…" Ryuuji runs his fingers through his hair. "So…you know how to pick locks?"
"Kinda—been too long." Jun hasn't practice in such a long time that it has taken a toll on her proficiency. "Should've practiced more…"
"Why would you need to practice?" Ryuuji has no idea why such a tiny girl as Jun would need to know how to pick locks in the first place.
"In case I get into situations like these." Jun's face contorts into a scowl. "Come on…just a little more!"
Ryuuji stares at Jun for a moment…then asks, "Who even taught you?"
"An uncle of mine—learned how to pick locks because of manga." Jun hopes Shibe is doing fine without her around. "Thought it looked really cool and honestly, it's useful."
"Riiight…" Ryuuji isn't going to complain, though. "You sure are strange, Kimura…"
"Ha, right back at you." Jun can't help but smile. "Got it!"
And just in time, because the hairpin is beyond any use by now. Jun discards it shortly after pushing open the door. As annoyed as she is for being mistaken for a child again, she is really thankful that Hanasaki gave her that flower.
"I should buy something, too—like a plant." Jun feels that it'd be a nice way to connect to her Uncle Shiba, considering the love he has for gardening besides coffee and motorcycle maintenance. "Okay, let's go—whoa!"
"Sorry!" Ryuuji quickly apologizes as he pulls Jun away from the doorway. His timing is impeccable, as she barely avoids having the door slammed shut in front of her face. "Shit!"
Ryuuji bites back a yelp that wants to leave his mouth when he holds Jun close to his chest. He ignores it, his attention currently focused on the armored knight that slammed the door shut.
"We should have known that you two would try to escape." The knight speaks in a deep, masculine voice. He is not alone, as there are other knights with him. "Be glad that your punishment has already been decided upon. Your charge is 'unlawful entry.' Thus, you will be sentenced to death."
There is so much that's wrong with that statement. It sends shivers down Ryuuji's spine. He can feel how tense Jun is against his chest and unconsciously tightens his hold around her. It keeps him grounded, and likely helps her stay calm. For how long, though…he doesn't know, but it's better than just screaming or whimpering.
"No one's allowed to do as they please in my castle," a distorted voice speaks out. There is something eerily familiar about it, but it's only until the source of the voice walks up to the bars that Ryuuji finds out why.
The knights move out of the way to allow a tall, somewhat muscular man to walk to the front. He is dressed in only red-heart printed cape with white fur trimmings and a pair of pink briefs. A golden crown rests on top of his black, wavy hair, adding an air of arrogance to his already shameless appearance.
"Dude—what the fuck?!" Ryuuji places a hand over Jun's eyes. "Don't you have any shame?!"
"H-Hey!" Jun reaches up to tug at Ryuuji's hand over her eyes. It's uncomfortable, because it's pressing her glasses close to her face.
The man smirks at Ryuuji. "That's funny, coming from someone like you."
"This sure is some sick joke you're pulling, Kamoshida!" Ryuuji scowls at the man. "Even for you, this is going too far."
"Kamoshida?" Jun remembers hearing that name before. "Wait—that's him?!"
"Yeah…in all his pervy glory," Ryuuji practically spats. "Put some effin' pants on!"
"A king takes orders from no one," Kamoshida states. "Heh, I thought it was some petty thief, but to think it'd be you, Sakamoto…Are you trying to disobey me again?"
Ryuuji grits his teeth, resisting the urge he has to curse out Kamoshida.
"It looks like you haven't learned your lesson at all, huh?" Golden eyes glow eerily in the dim light. "Ohh, and it seems you're not alone this time—I didn't know you have a little sister, Sakamoto… "
Ryuuji stiffens. "She's—she's not my lil' sis!"
"Huh, I guess she is too cute to be related to a pathetic welp like you." A twisted grin crosses Kamoshida's face. "Still can't do anything for yourself, huh?"
"This ain't funny, you asshole!" Ryuuji doesn't like the way Kamoshida looks at Jun. He releases Jun and quickly pushes her behind his back. "J-Just stay behind me!"
There is something about Ryuuji's protective stance that Jun finds so reassuring. Even though they've only just met, Jun feels that she can trust him with her life. It's why she wants to return the favor right back. She knows that she's not so strong to take on such heavily armored guards that are far larger than she is. She also knows that she's terrified beyond words, finding it difficult with each passing second to keep her breathing under control.
"But that doesn't mean you're useless…" Jun knows that she's still capable of doing something. "You did it once—and you can do it again…"
Right now, she just needs to stay calm and keep her guard up. Otherwise, it'll be difficult for her to act through her anxiety.
"Is that how you speak to a king?" Kamoshida twitches visibly. "It seems you don't understand the position you're in at all. Not only did you sneak into my castle, you committed the crime of insulting me—the king."
"Get bent!" Ryuuji snaps.
"The punishment for that is death." There's a disturbing look of glee in Kamoshida's eyes when he smirks just then. He waves his arm and yells, "It's time for the execution! Take him out!"
"S-Stop it…!" Ryuuji backs away from the door, taking care to gently push Jun to the side. He stands his ground, swallowing hard when the door swings open. The knights enter the jail cell one by one, soon surrounding Ryuuji and cornering him into a wall. "They're only after me…"
Jun stands at the side, ignored by everyone in the cell but him. Kamoshida is far too distracted with Ryuuji's incoming execution to even notice as well. There's an opening Ryuuji sees right now—one that's going to hurt a lot, but will help Jun escape. If he's lucky, he might be able to escape, too… He grits his teeth and lunges forward at knight that's in front of him, putting all his weight into that one action.
"Hraugh!" Pain courses through his torso when he slams into the heavily armored knight. It hurts—it really hurts, but he ignores it all when he sees the knight topple back onto the floor.
Thud!
"I ain't down for this shit!" Ryuuji turns to Jun. "C'mon, we're outta here!"
He doesn't expect the knight by Jun to move so quickly. It's an oversight he immediately regrets when a gauntlet-covered hand punches him forcefully in the gut. It knocks the wind right out of him, pain eventually bringing him down to his knees.
"Nnngh…" Ryuuji brings a hand over his stomach. "Owww…"
It looks like he's not going to be escaping then…but Jun might be able to.
"Y-Yeah…" Ryuuji lifts his head to look at Jun. He grits his teeth and tries to say something to her—anything that could get her to run. He never gets the chance, though…because Jun has decided that she's not running away.
Jun yells out when she jumps onto a knight and starts climbing up his back. The knight makes no noticeable effort to shake her off, deciding that she isn't much of a threat. She's more of a nuisance, but it's something he'll deal with later.
"Just go!" Ryuuji urges her. "Get outta here…! These guys are serious!"
"Oh? Running away, are we?" Kamoshida looks at Jun, appearing far too amused with the sight he sees before him. He takes note of how high up she is on that knight's shoulder and wonders how long she can keep her balance on such an unsteady surface. He guesses not long enough for her escape attempt to matter. "What a heartless friend you are."
"Not good…" Ryuuji didn't mean for Jun to catch Kamoshida's attention. Nor did he mean for her to be affiliated with him in such a way. "She ain't a friend!"
The last thing he needs is for Kamoshida to take it out on Jun because of something he did.
"C'mon!" he screams at Jun. "Hurry up and go!"
Jun says nothing and only ignores Ryuuji, making absolutely no attempt to escape as she stands up.
"What's the matter?" Kamoshida feigns concern to mock Jun. "Too scared to run away?"
"W-Wrong!" Jun clenches her teeth and jumps off the knight's shoulder. She only has one chance to do this right, so she takes it. She lands in such a way on the knight's spear that it breaks under her weight when the upper end of it hits the hard, stone floor. "Yes!"
She grabs the end she just broke off, taking care to avoid the metal blade that's attached to it. She quickly jumps to her feet and lunges forward, plunging her makeshift dagger of sorts into the knight's left wrist. She grins when the blade sinks into soft flesh instead of bouncing off metal plating.
"Perfect!" Laughter bubbles up in her throat when she sees the knight reacting the way she was hoping he would. He releases his hold on his shield and drops it. There's only a small amount of time for Jun to react, but she manages. She pulls out the dagger and shoves her weight against the falling shield so that it lands against a nearby knight. It pushes him roughly against the wall, having been caught off-guard by the sudden turn of events. "That's what you get for underestimating me!"
Jun understands that her appearance played a crucial role in helping her turn the tables against Kamoshida and his guards. She's thankful for it, yes, but at the same time, she's very annoyed. So she decides that she'll make sure that Kamoshida regrets ever underestimating her.
"This is for Sakamoto!" Jun rushes towards Kamoshida, makeshift dagger ready in her hands. She knows better than to attack Kamoshida outright—especially with Ryuuji still downed in front of an armed knight. She needs Kamoshida as a bargaining chip, so she grabs him by the cape and forcefully yanks him down to her level, her dagger pointed at his stomach. "Order your guards to let us go or I'll fucking gut you!"
Kamoshida whimpers almost pathetically, his expression no longer filled with arrogance but fear. Beads of sweat roll down his face as he's forced to look directly into Jun's eyes. "I-I'll do whatever you want—just don't hurt me!"
"Then do as I say!" Jun lightly jabs Kamoshida's stomach with the tip of her dagger. "Or else…"
Kamoshida hesitates at first, but fear eventually wins him over. "Y-You heard her."
"Are you sure, King Kamoshida?" a knight questions Kamoshida, his sword still pointed at Ryuuji. "How are we to know that she won't go back on her word?"
"Would you rather I castrate him instead?" Jun is far too aware of how close she is to Kamoshida's crotch, as well as the unwanted eyeful she got of it. "Because I can do that instead."
"How dare you threaten King Kamoshida like this, you wench!" The knight raises his sword, but doesn't move from his place.
"I don't think you understand the position you're in at all." Ryuuji's mouth forms into a toothy grin. Though he is still baffled with what he's seen so far, he can't ignore the irony that's there. "Or would you rather find out the hard way?"
"E-Enough!" Kamoshida gasps out. "That's enough…they're free to go. Lower your sword."
The knight hesitates for a moment, but does as he's told. He watches as Ryuuji gets up, the other two knights doing the same. It's embarrassing how such a tiny girl could get the best of them, though the fault lies entirely with them for underestimating her.
"Gyaaugh!" Of course, that just means they'll have to take better care this time, now that it's come to Jun's attention just how vulnerable she is with that long hair of hers. Her scalp burns and stings from how harshly Kamoshida yanked on her hair. She hisses when he roughly tangles his hand into her hair, gripping it tightly so as to restrict her movement.
Kamoshida uses his free hand to grab Jun by the wrist. He quickly twists her arm behind her back, forcing her to drop the blade in her hand. The second the blade hits the ground, Kamoshida's knights force Ryuuji back onto the floor.
"You son of a bitch!" Ryuuji should've known something like this could happen. He should've—but now it's too late to do anything about it. Their only chance to escape slipped through their fingers because of such an obvious oversight. "Dammit!"
"I guess this will teach me to underestimate any of my prisoners." Kamoshida twists his hand, eliciting another scream of pain from Jun's mouth. "A lesson learned…I should've figured that there had to be a reason why you were with someone like Sakamoto. Speaking of whom…I have an execution to perform. After his, you'll be next."
"N-No…!" Jun cries out. She chokes back a sob when Kamoshida yanks his fingers out of her hair. She's only lucky that he didn't pull out any hair, but it still doesn't make it any less painful.
"Just like this flower in your hair…" Kamoshida looks at the red camellia he's pulled out of Jun's hair. A menacing grin crosses his face when he closes his hand over the flower and crushes it. "I wonder how you'll look after I'm through with you…"
Red flower petals fall to the floor from Kamoshida's hand like drops of blood. It's an ominous sight, but it just shows that Kamoshida is done messing around.
…
…
There's not much Jun can do right now. A guard has a sword pointed at her, effectively cornering her. She watches as two guards hold Ryuuji up, locking him in place in front of Kamoshida.
"You have your little friend to thank for this, Sakamoto…" Kamoshida cracks his knuckles. "Because I am in a very bad mood…"
Ryuuji snorts. "Like I care—augh!"
Kamoshida grins widely when his fist smashes into Ryuuji's face, laughing when he hears the teenager yelp in pain. He throws a second punch, and then another and another. "Lowly scum!"
Jun can only watch as Kamoshida continues his brutal assault on Ryuuji. She can't look away—she's being forced to watch as punishment.
"Useless pest!" Kamoshida knocks Ryuuji down onto the floor. He kneels down and grabs a handful of Ryuuji's short blond hair. Kamoshida pulls Ryuuji up so that they're looking eye to eye. "Hmph…Where'd your energy from earlier go? Huh?"
Ryuuji grits his teeth, but says nothing.
"Th-That's enough!" Jun can't take it anymore. "Please…"
"Please, huh?" Kamoshida turns his head to Jun, a twisted smile crossing his face. "Maybe if you two get down on all fours and beg me for your life, I will consider letting you live. How about it, Sakamoto?"
Kamoshida turns to look at Ryuuji, freezing still when a wad of spit hits his cheek. Golden eyes stare into a pair of defiant brown. Without even thinking twice about it, Ryuuji has just given Kamoshida his answer.
THUD!
"So be it," Kamoshida says after smashing Ryuuji's head into the floor. He releases Ryuuji's blond hair and gets up. "A peasant like you isn't worth beating…I'll have you killed right now."
"Stop it!" Jun screams, her hands balled up tightly into fists.
"Hm…?" Kamoshida turns to Jun, taking note of the look on her face. He starts walking towards her and suppresses the urge he has to laugh when he sees her tremble. "You still have it in you to talk back, huh?"
Jun bites back a scream when Kamoshida literally gets in her face. His hand shoots out and grabs her roughly by the chin. "Geh!"
"Look at you—you're trembling…" Kamoshida laughs. "You know, looking at you closely like this…you have such a pretty face."
Nausea bubbles up in the pit of Jun's stomach. She can feel bile rising in throat, the urge to gag growing stronger the longer Kamoshida looks her over like some sort of object. She swallows hard when Kamoshida lifts her glasses up for a moment.
"You look a lot better without these glasses." Kamoshida laughs when Jun shudders, roughly releasing her face afterwards. "But that look in your eyes—it really…pisses me off."
Still defiant despite her fear, Kamoshida raises his foot and kicks Jun right in the stomach, sending her back against the wall. He watches her gasp for air, having knocked the wind right out of her. A lecherous grin crosses his face when he notes the sight he can see from where he stands right now.
"Striped, huh?" A blush colors Kamoshida's cheeks red. "I didn't think you were the type to wear that."
Jun scowls at Kamoshida as she reaches down to adjust her skirt. Her face burns red with anger and shame. She really regrets not castrating him when she had the chance.
"Hold her there—after the peasant, it's her turn." Kamoshida turns his back to her, focusing his attention back on Ryuuji as the knight wielding the sword approaches him.
Jun gets up from the floor and tries to rush towards Ryuuji's side. She barely takes a few steps forward before she's pinned against the wall by the two remaining knights. All it takes is a single hand on her shoulders to keep her locked into place. Struggling is futile she quickly finds, her blood running cold when she hears Kamoshida start to laugh.
"This can't be how it ends…" Jun refuses to believe the inevitable. "There has to be a way…"
She can't just watch as Kamoshida kills Ryuuji—she just can't!
"H-Help…me…" Ryuuji croaks out, eyes glistening with unshed tears.
"But what can I do?!" She digs her fingernails into the palms of her hands. "What can I fucking do?!"
"This is truly an unjust game…" a soft, feminine voice speaks out. "Your chances of winning are almost none."
"Huh…?" Jun stares at the white butterfly that slowly flutters by. There's an iridescent glow emanating from it. With each flap of its wings, it sends out a small cloud of glittering scales out that sparkle like stars in the night sky.
"But if my voice is reaching you, there may yet be a possibility open to you…" The butterfly turns around and lands on Jun's face, tiny legs tickling her skin. "So don't give up just yet."
Jun blinks and almost immediately, the butterfly disappears from her sight. Her eyes look left to right for the butterfly, but there's no sign that it was ever in the cell to begin with. "What was…that?"
"What's the matter…?" a different voice speaks out. It's nothing like the first voice—deep and masculine, with a tone that's harshly provoking than gentle. "Are you simply going to watch?"
"Who—!" Jun's eyes widen.
"Are you forsaking him to save yourself?" the voice continues. It pulls no punches, striking first where it hurts the most to get Jun to react. "Death awaits him if you do nothing."
Anger builds up inside of Jun the longer she listens to that voice. Whomever it is that's speaking to her—can't they see she's trapped? She's tried everything that she can already. It's just no use…
"Was your previous decision a mistake then?" The question the voice asks Jun is like a slap to her face. It stings, making her burn with an uncomfortable heat.
Memories of that night flood her head, vividly reminding her of all that had happened. She clenches her teeth when she recalls the burst of courage she had to pull the drunk man away from the woman he was harassing. Under any normal circumstances, her actions wouldn't amount to anything that could seriously injure anyone. However, due to his intoxicated state, the man quickly lost his balance and fell.
And that's how he got hurt. It was a shocking sight to say the least. All Jun could do afterwards was stare at her hands as the woman behind her pulled her close, quickly putting distance between them and the fallen man. There were questions she was frantically asked, gentle hands keeping her grounded when she was seconds away from breaking down.
It's funny how much concern that woman had for Jun despite her distress. It's a shame that their encounter ended so differently, thanks to that lecherous drunkard. It pisses her off the more she thinks about it.
"Was it a mistake?" she asks herself. Her decision is what got her into this mess in the first place. She's all alone because she just had to get involved. "Still…"
Despite the outcome of her actions, Jun finds that she doesn't have any regrets. The look of relief on the woman's face and her words of gratitude—even if it was only for a brief moment, Jun still remembers it clearly. She helped someone that night, and though she got blamed for a crime she didn't commit to cover up the lecherous acts of a drunkard, she still doesn't regret a thing.
"It wasn't." If there is a chance she got to relive those events from last night—a chance in which she can change the past—she'd still repeat her actions. She'd do it as many times as possible, regardless of the outcome. There is nothing wrong that she did—because it's not her fault nor the woman's. No—it's all that man's fault. "Yeah…"
The sounds of Ryuuji's gasps snap Jun out of her thoughts. She looks at him, her heart nearly stopping when she sees him pinned against the wall by a knight. The knight holds Ryuuji up by his neck, making it difficult for the boy to breathe. Ryuuji scratches at the knight's hand, but his fingernails only scrape against the metal of a gauntlet. He's absolutely helpless as the knight raises his sword to strike.
"No!" Jun continues her struggles once more. She doesn't budge at all from her position, but that doesn't stop her from trying. At least she's doing something, instead of nothing.
"Very well…" the voice remarks, sounding oddly pleased. "I have heeded your resolve."
Th-Thump!
Tears spring to Jun's eyes from the indescribable pain that suddenly blossomed in her head. She begins to flail in agony, screams leaving her mouth as the pain only intensifies. It feels like knife has been jabbed into her brain, twisting and turning painfully with absolutely no intent on stopping. Tears roll down her face, beads of sweat soon following after.
"Vow to me!" the voice speaks to her again. Another sharp spike of pain elicits a scream from her, but the voice doesn't seem bothered by it at all. "I am thou, and thou art I…Thou who art willing to perform all sacrilegious acts for thine own justice!"
Saliva dribbles down the sides of her mouth as she convulses in pain.
"Call upon my name, and release thy rage!" the voice speaks fervently over an earsplitting scream of Jun's. "Show the strength of thy will to ascertain all on thine own, though thou be chained to Hell itself!"
Jun chokes back a sob when the pain finally resides after one last eruption. She swallows hard, her throat raw from screaming. She lifts her head, her expression hardening into a glare when she sees Kamoshida pointing at Ryuuji. Anger burns through her veins, coursing through her like fire.
"Execute him!" Kamoshida demands.
"That's enough!" Jun yells. Her voice cracks halfway through, her head throbbing in protest against her loud voice. It does nothing to shake the defiant look she has in her eyes as she glares at Kamoshida.
"What was that…?" He turns around to face Jun, his expression dark.
The knight behind Kamoshida releases Ryuuji from his hold. Ryuuji lands on his feet, coughing and gasping for air. He leans back against the wall for support, his vision slowly returning to him. He had almost passed out…
"You know, I was considering letting you live." Kamoshida's face contorts into a scowl. "A girl with your pretty face would make a worthy servant for a princess—amongst other things. But if that's how you're going to act, then fine! I guess I'll just let you die."
Kamoshida gives his guards a wordless signal and Jun is released from their hold. She stands on wobbly legs, her body still shaking from the intense pain she felt earlier. She turns her head, noticing a movement out of the corner of her eye. She chokes on a scream when a knight bashes her in the head with his shield, knocking her glasses onto the floor in the process.
It surprises her that she's still standing. Her vision swims and blurs, making it hard for her to see anything. For a moment, she sees white when she's suddenly pinned against the wall for a second time. Pain flares up in the back of her head, the abuse only worsening the state of her injury from earlier.
The knights are the only reason Jun stays upright when her legs finally give out on her. Slowly, her consciousness fades and her body goes limp. Kamoshida laughs gleefully at the sight, taking great pleasure in finally snuffing out that last bit of fight Jun had in her.
Ryuuji tries to stay on his feet, his gaze focused on Kamoshida's back. Kamoshida is wide open for an attack. "I can save her, if I can only…nngh!"
His hand slips against the wall and he falls to the floor. His limbs feel heavy like lead, making it difficult for him to move without expending too much energy. He lacks the energy to keep going, having expended the last of it just mere seconds ago. He can only watch in horror as the knight raises his sword into the air, ready to strike down on Jun.
Th-Thump!
Jun's eyes suddenly snap open, consciousness immediately returning to her. An invisible force expels from her body like a gale of strong wind and pushes the knights back. Her hair flies wildly around her, as though it has a life of its own. The force intensifies, knocking down at least one of the knights onto the floor. Kamoshida braces himself from the knockback, shielding his eyes with his arm.
The air soon calms around them and Kamoshida lowers his arm, his eyes widening in shock at the sight of Jun standing on her feet. He can hear her labored breaths, her hands balled up into fists. Slowly, she lifts her head, revealing the white mask that now covers the upper half of her face. It has black markings around the eyes and a bird-like appearance to it. It's a lot like a mask one would wear at a masquerade.
Jun feels around at the mask on her face, wondering where it came from. She gasps when a thought pops into her head, telling her to pull it off immediately. She grasps the mask firmly with both hands and starts to tug. The action is met with resistance as the mask refuses to budge from her face. It clings to her skin as though it's been glued on.
"Pull it off," the thought returns. It echoes continuously in her head, urging her to do as it says. Panic rises in her chest as she continues to tug at the mask. Eventually, she decides to grasp it on one side and pull. This time, the mask finally budges.
That's when Jun starts screaming in agony. It feels as though she's ripping off her own skin, the pain only increasing as she continues to peel the mask off. The metallic scent of blood soon fills her nose, warm liquid spilling down her face from where the mask once was.
With one last yank, she rips off the mask and screams her throat raw. Blood drips from her face, somehow managing to avoid staining her clothes. She looks up at Kamoshida with her bloodied face, her eyes glowing an eerie gold as a manic grin creeps across her face.
Blue flames shoot up into the air around her, setting the blood on her face ablaze. For a moment, it almost looks as though she is wearing a mask made out of flames. Then the fire engulfs her face completely. At that moment, another face appears—one that's made out of red flames instead of blue. Its expression is completely identical to Jun's, though it is much more intimidating due to its eerie appearance.
A mischievous—almost malicious—laugh erupts from Jun, though it's not her who's laughing, but someone else. It is likely the owner of the fiery visage that stares out at Kamoshida and his guards. The fire spreads downward until Jun is completely enveloped in blue flames. There is no pain at all that she feels—no burning or nothing. The fire is completely harmless to her.
In fact—it's almost as though it's treating her with the utmost care. Gone is the pain in her head, no longer bothering her with its constant throbbing. Energy flows throughout her body, washing away her exhaustion and invigorating her. She stands on steady legs now, feeling far better than she ever has before.
The blue flames rise from Jun, maintaining a silhouette that seems oddly humanoid. Chains rise into the air, following after the humanoid silhouette as it takes on a much larger size. Its form soon gains a relatively masculine appearance that's dressed formally in a red suit. It's a suit that one would likely see a gentleman wearing during the Victorian era—with distinct modifications, of course.
The suit jacket is shortened in a style that makes it resemble a bolero jacket, revealing the black waistcoat that's worn underneath. Sharp, black nails extend outwards like claws from red, fingerless gloves. A tall, black top hat rests on top of the being's head and a black mask covers their face. On the upper ends of the mask are two large horns that point outwards. Heels made out of blades make the unnaturally tall being stand at an even taller height.
Chains are wrapped around the being's waist, restricting their movement. Their fiery red gaze is focused on Jun, who stands before them holding their chains in her hands. She is dressed in a different outfit now, no longer wearing her high school uniform. Instead, she now wears a gray, collared shirt underneath a black dress coat with red gloves, black pants, and brown, heeled boots.
Jun feels completely at ease despite the chains that are rattling noisily around her. She lifts her hands up and releases the chains that she holds, causing them loosen around the being behind her. With enough space given to them to escape their bindings, the being unfurls their wings with a force that sends the knights crashing into the walls and cell door.
Kamoshida cowers against the wall, scrambling away with a loud whimper like a dog with its tail tucked between its legs. Ryuuji stares wide-eyed at the sight before him, mouth open wide in awe.
"Wha…What the…?" Ryuuji is shocked at the expression Jun has on her face. Her eyes are wide and alert—a stark contrast to the sleepy, half-lidded look that she had when he first met her. The wide grin on her face is full of glee, but for reasons that disturbs Ryuuji slightly. "What happened to her?"
It's as though Jun has become an entirely different person.
"I am the pillager of twilight—Arsène Lupin!" the being introduces themself…no—himself (something in her head tells Jun that he's male and likes to be referred as such). Jun recognizes his voice as the one who had spoken to her earlier.
"What the…?" Ryuuji wasn't expecting the being—Arsène—to talk.
Jun doesn't say much as she looks herself over, taking in her new clothes. It's a nice look, even though she's not sure where it came from. She looks over her shoulder at Arsène, who just smiles at her through his mask.
"I am the rebel's soul that resides within you," he explains. "If you so desire, I shall consider granting you the power to break through this crisis."
Jun stares up at Arsène with a determined look in her eyes. "I don't want to die."
Arsène laughs, finding Jun's response amusing. "Hmph, very well…"
"Who the hell are you…?!" Kamoshida stands by the doorway, staring warily at Jun and Arsène. His face contorts into a scowl. "Guards! Start by killing that one!"
The knights melted into puddles of red slime that quickly transmogrified into two floating jack-o'-lanterns. They wore pointed hats and had a cape wrapped around their 'necks.' A single gloved hand hangs out in the open from their capes, grasping a lit lantern that glows the same color as their eyes.
"You'll learn the true strength of my men." Kamoshida smiles menacingly.
Jun slowly exhales and adjusts her gloves. "Stay calm…"
"Detest the enemies before you!" Arsène yells out, startling Jun out of her thoughts. "Change that animosity into power…and unleash it!"
Power surges through Jun, coursing through her body as a word pops into her head. She doesn't know the meaning of the word, but a part of her tells her to yell it out anyways—and so she does. "Eiha!"
Vibrant red energy strikes one of the jack-o'-lanterns, weakening it significantly with tangible negativity. The other jack-o'-lantern lunges towards Jun to attack, but is quickly blocked off by a large hand that gets in its way. Arsène glares at the jack-o'-lantern for attempting to harm Jun, causing it to cower away in fear.
A weight manifests into Jun's hand at that moment. When she looks down, she sees that she is holding a dagger. The blade is long and sharp—it is a weapon that Arsène has given to her for her own protection.
"Swing your blade!" Arsène commands her. He gives her a slight push towards the jack-o'-lanterns, not letting her waste any time to hesitate.
The action gives her a burst of courage that sends her rushing towards the weakened jack-o'-lantern. She swings the dagger a few times, eyes widening when the blade slices the jack-o'-lantern in half. The halves turn black and quickly dissolve out of existence.
"Good!" Arsène nods his head in approval. "This power of mine is yours! Kill them however you want. Run wild to your heart's content!"
There's something disturbing that Jun ought to find about a strange being telling her to have fun with killing stuff. And yet, all she does is smile instead. She says nothing this time, but Arsène can hear her tell him a command with her thoughts.
"Very well." Arsène tips his hat and unleashes a burst of negative red energy upon the remaining jack-o'-lantern. The attack kills the enemy in one hit, eliciting a pleased grunt from him. He reaches down afterwards to gently pat Jun on the head, having noticed her trembling. "You did well for your first battle. You pass."
Jun relaxes under his touch and almost leans into it like a cat. She catches herself though, but Arsène still laughs because he knows that she thought about it.
"What…" Ryuuji still doesn't know what to say. Just now—he watched Jun fight against floating pumpkins with that thing. "Seriously, what's goin' on?"
"You little bitch!" Kamoshida stumbles over to Jun, his hand formed into a fist. He tries to punch Jun while she's distracted, but Arsène intervenes by bringing his own fist down. Kamoshida freezes still, his eyes staring widely at Arsène's balled up fist that's in front of him. Had he moved any faster—just now, that would've hurt him… "Aahhh…"
"You will bring no harm to her at all!" Arsène growls, his mask glowing brightly with fiery red flames.
Kamoshida cowers under Arsène's harsh stare and slowly backs away. He is far too distracted with fear to notice that Ryuuji has gotten off the floor. He doesn't notice the boy rushing towards him until it's too late. Ryuuji tackles Kamoshida harshly, disrupting his sense of balance and sending him to the floor.
"Aagh!" Kamoshida grunts when he lands against the floor.
"You like that, you son of a bitch?!" Ryuuji feels a bit lightheaded when he laughs. Though, it's not anything bad—rather, it's from how oddly happy he feels. "Yeah, the shithead got what he deserved!"
"The key!" Jun suddenly yells out, pointing Ryuuji towards the ring of keys lying on the floor by Kamoshida.
"Y-You mean this?!" Ryuuji snatches the keys off the floor and runs out of the cell.
Jun trails after him, not noticing that a certain acquaintance of hers has disappeared on her. As soon as she left the cell, Ryuuji slams the door shut and starts looking for the right key to lock it. It takes him less than a minute, much to his relief.
Click!
"Okay, it's locked!" Ryuuji exclaims with a wide grin on his face. "Good!"
"Damn you!" Kamoshida loudly curses. He glares at the two teenagers, one hand held to his aching head. There's not much he can do now while locked behind bars, making him nothing more than a harmless nuisance…for the moment.
"Hey…!" Ryuuji turns to Jun. "What was that just now?!"
"I don't know…" Jun replies with a frown. She is just as confused as he is.
"And…your clothes…!" Ryuuji wonders what happened to her other clothes. It's something he finds out a second later when Jun's clothes revert back to her school uniform. "Whoa, it went back to normal…?!"
"My glasses…!" Jun is pleasantly surprised to find her glasses back on her face. For a second, she almost thought she'd have to buy a new pair—because there was no way she was going back inside that cell again.
"Forget about your glasses!" Ryuuji can't believe that reaction of hers. "You just took down a pair of floatin' pumpkins with that thing!"
Jun furrows her brow. "Arsène?"
"Whatever!" Ryuuji doesn't give a damn about that—he just wants answers. "Waaaaah!"
Of course, that will have to wait until later because Kamoshida just shook the cell bars, reminding Ryuuji and Jun that now is not a good time for them to stand around and talk.
"You bastards!" Kamoshida snarls at them.
Ryuuji runs his fingers through his hair. "God, this's fuckin' nuts!"
"You sure said it, Sakamoto…" Jun sighs in exasperation.
"Anyways, let's scram! You lead the way, Kimura!" Ryuuji throws the keys into a nearby stream of water before following after Jun. They quickly put some distance between them and Kamoshida, not wanting to stick around any longer as he curses them out.
"After them!" he yells out at the top of his lungs. "Don't let them escape!"
That…doesn't sound good.
"Shit, we really need to book it!" Ryuuji grimaces he feels a familiar pain in his leg. "Ngh…"
"Are you okay?" Jun quickly asks him.
Ryuuji nods his head. "I'm fine—just keep going! We can't afford to get caught again!"
"R-Right…" Jun understands. "We're fucked if we do."
"Ahaha, you know—you don't strike me as the type to swear like that." Ryuuji tries to lighten up the mood. "And back there, wow…just wow."
"Heh, you're not so bad yourself." Jun smiles at Ryuuji.
Ba-dump!
"H-Huh?!" Ryuuji feels his cheeks heat up. He's not sure why, but just now—there's something about Jun's smile that makes him feel…weird. "Gaaah, this makes no effin' sense!"
This sort of confusion is the last thing he needs…especially now, of all times.
"Fuck—we're gonna be late!" Jun suddenly yells.
Ryuuji almost stops running then. "Are you for real?!"
After all they've been through, Jun still considers that an actual concern? That's just so…unbelievable, Ryuuji wants to say, but the more he thinks about, the funnier it actually is to him. It's enough to make him laugh…which he does.
"Huh?" Jun looks perplexed at Ryuuji, wondering what's up with him. Just a second ago, he looked so annoyed and now he's laughing? "You're really weird, Sakamoto."
Her comment only spurs on even louder laughter from the blond. Eventually, she joins along, finding his laughter rather contagious. For a brief moment, the two teenagers forget the serious trouble that they're in. And that's fine, because even if it's just for a minute—it's enough to keep them grounded.
From here on out, their survival is on the line…and that's quite fine with Jun. Because she's no longer alone—she has Ryuuji.
And Ryuuji has her.
…
…
…
A/N Holy shit, here's Noa, back at it again with these long-ass chapters! I'm screaming, it's been ages since I've written so much I'M SO HAPPY AHHHHHHHHH.
So I want you guys to know that I've given Jun cat-like fangs, because it's just something that was decided to add even more to the cat inspiration. And just so she and Ryuuji (who's gonna say FUCK in this story when he's very upset) can be teeth buddies, since you know those sharp teeth he has in his all-out portrait? I consider those his actual teeth, like…HE HAS SHARP TEETH. You will have to pry that aspect of his out of my cold, dead hands…
Alongside an Ann who I envision as being not so pale as she's shown in the game. She's got a warmer skin tone, like a light tan of sorts. I just feels it goes a lot better with her blonde hair (and also, not every Japanese person is pale). And also, it kinda adds a bit of irony with the gyaru thought Jun had towards her. Because long before we got Ann's name confirmed, everyone was calling her Junko, because she looks like a certain Ultimate Fashionista from the DR series. And the thing about Junko is that her Japanese title is actually Super High School Level Gyaru—Gyaru being a type of subculture in Japan that revolves around fashion. Usually it can refer to those who tan their skin and bleach their hair, which in itself is an act of rebellion, going against the idea of bihaku, which means "beautifully white" and refers to skin tone. Of course, gyaru can also follow through with bihaku glamour style, too. It really depends…
But that's enough about that, let me get to explaining the term hāfu in case anyone is confused. Hāfu is used in Japanese to refer to someone who is biracial—more specifically, someone who is half-Japanese. Hāfu is what Jun is, since she is half-Korean. Ann, on the other hand, is quarter-American and a quarter does not equal a half. Most people like her would identify as being just Japanese, but considering the fact that she has blonde hair and blue eyes—that's rather difficult for her to do when most people would likely mistake her for a foreigner…
Except for Jun, who guessed correctly that Ann was still Japanese—just not fully. And like, I've watched the Hāfu documentary (get a chance to look at it if you can, it is VERY informative and education) and from what I know about Japan…is that they're pretty discriminatory to those who aren't fully Japanese. Fortunately, times are changing and one in forty-nine babies born in Japan are born into families with one non-Japanese parent…so like that's certainly something.
Should probably mention that being half-Korean, Jun is likely to be subjected to discrimination since Japan is…yeah, I'll just take an excerpt from the Hāfu documentary and make mention that a woman was warned, as a child, by her mother to be prepared for people who won't want to marry her because she's half-Korean. I'll let that speak for itself (it's not much, but it'll give you an idea)…yeah…
There's more to it, but I'll get into that later, for now, you can just consider Jun's outburst as her attempt to reach out to someone who isn't fully Japanese like her. It might've started as a slight misconception, but hey, Ann noticed her and the two certainly have something to bond over.
Moving on, can you believe that Jun wears kitty tights, because she sure does and that just started as a joke because I wanted to mess with her a little bit. Then I realized how much attention it'll grab and it ended up helping me make a reference to a favorite piece of Persona 5 fan art I've come across that revolves around the fact that Protag was based off a cat. Oh, and as for that camellia flower—would you believe me when I said it just started out as a sign of Jun's bad luck?
Camellia flowers, in the context of hospitals, are considered bad luck because part of the flower will fall after blooming, and it's thought to look like a head dropping. The bad luck association really depends on the context, but the point still stands that they can be considered unlucky…and Jun is rather unlucky, so the flower fits her well. Otherwise, it symbolizes the divine and represents the coming of spring in Japan. In Korea, the camellia flowers are a symbol of faithfulness and longevity—just thought I'd share that tidbit, ahaha…
Anyways that flower ended up being useful in providing Jun a hairpin to pick a lock and you have her uncle, Shibe, to thank for that. Also, Jun getting lost while looking for the Ginza Line is brought to you by my actual gameplay experience during the Fanfiction Run stream, in which I got lost because fast travel ruined me.
Also, Jun's smiles make the hearts go wild. Ryuuji is just the first of many who will have that reaction. By the by, should also mention—seeing as it's Pride month, by the by, happy Pride y'all—but like Yu in Facade, Jun isn't straight either (and neither is your writer, by the way, in case you haven't checked my profile). And unless I say so, like I will for Kamoshida and Sōjirō right now, don't assume anyone is straight. If this makes you uncomfortable, feel free to drop this fic! :D
If I make any mistakes, please tell me, I've been writing this chapter all week so I might've missed some things and yeah…
No shout outs this time, not a lot of reviews this time around. You guys sure are quiet… Do tell me if you enjoy this fic, seriously anything will do. I crave validation to almost obsessive levels that it's pathetic. (But I will say, it does encourage me to work harder, as I have done so far)
Anyways, that's it for now, hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! Until next time, everyone! KD out! XD