They all sat around a table and waited for Lala-chan to drop off their water before discussing anything. As soon as they had their water, Evan decided to speak.
"So, who wants to go first?"
Everyone looked at one another before taking a big sigh.
"As I told you we were in a place called the metaverse" Ryuji started as he settled part of the tension between everyone. "Some people can have palaces in the metaverse when their desires in the real world become too distorted."
"Listen to you sounding so smart for a change" Morgana chirped in causing the blonde to growl at him.
"Can it whiskers, I can remember things when I want to" Ryuji spat out as he looked over at Lala-chan walking over with their waters.
"Here you all go!" Lala-chan exclaimed while looking around the table at all of them. "Dears you all looked exhausted. Did something happen?"
"Nothing that is really worth mentioning" Makoto interjected before Ryuji could say anything.
"I guess the stress of our upcoming tests are just getting to us" Ann followed up with as she took a sip from her water.
"You poor things" Lala-chan said as she rubbed Evan's shoulder and looked around at the group. "I saw you with the blonde one in here early, but I'm curious as to who the rest of you all know him."
"Akira and I are in the same class as Evan, so that was really how we all got along and got to know one another" Ann said trying to charm Lala-chan with her horrible acting.
"I met him while at the art museum, it would seem that Evan here as a very refined palate when it comes to art" Yusuke stated before Lala-chan could comment on Ann's behavior.
"Being that I am a year above all of them, I help them with issues at school and studying for their exams" Makoto finished while taking a sip from her water.
"Well it's nice to see Evan surrounded by people who treat him right."
Evan winced at Lala-chan's words remembering that he was going to have to head home at some point and face the wrath of Shikora. With that Lala-chan released Evan's shoulder and started heading back over to the bar to deal with a few of the regulars who were there.
Once Lala-chan was far enough away, Morgana popped up out of Akira's bag and started explaining everything further. "As Ryuji was saying, we were in a palace in the metaverse. That palace is owned by your boyfriend as we found out through the interaction that took place the other night while we were all here. How he perceives others in the real world is honestly displayed in his palace. In order for us to completely change him, we have to change his heart."
Evan nodded as he listened and took everything in. He inhaled deeply and closed his eyes as he sighed. There was a lingering question that was forming in his head that he was a little scared to ask, but he knew he needed to ask it.
"Is there a chance that we are going to see what his cognition truly thinks of me in his palace?"
Morgana was a little surprised and looked at everyone else. Ann reached over and grabbed onto Evan's hand knowing full well what it is like to encounter yourself in someone else's cognition. Ryuji leaned over and just nodded knowing that a simple nod would be just as good as a verbal response. Evan squeezed Ann's hand and gave Ryuji a nod.
"Well whatever it may be, I'll be ready for it" Evan responded before giving them a look of confidence.
"I think for now it would be best for us to all head home and meet up somewhere around here tomorrow before we head back into the palace" Makoto explained as she started grabbing her bag.
"Why don't we just meet up here at Crossroads?" Evan suggested knowing that Lala-chan will berate them a little but not kick them out.
"What if someone sees us" Ann asked as she looked around at everyone else.
"Hardly anyone is here around the time that we get out of school, so there would really be anyone here to see us" Evan replied easing some of Ann's fears.
"I can attest to that since we came here after school and it was pretty much just Evan, me, and the drunk reporter chick at the bar" Ryuji confirmed completely erasing any fear that Ann had.
"Well than I guess it is settled, we will be meeting here after school tomorrow" Makoto said as her and everyone started gathering their stuff to leave. Evan nodded and went to go and inform Lala-chan that he and the others would be hanging out in the bar after school to get work done.
"You and your friends better not cause any trouble" Lala-chan said as she puffed on her cigarette.
"If it makes you feel any better, you could allow us to use one of the side rooms so that we can do our work and not bother your patrons" Evan suggested innocently trying to persuade Lala-chan.
"That's a good point" Lala-chan stated as she put her cigarette out and thought about it.
"It's settled then, you kids can use the first side room to hangout and do your work" she said and smiled at Evan. She had no idea what Evan's intentions were, she was solely basing all of this off the fact that it would be good for Evan to start regularly hanging out with friends from school.
"Thank you so much Lala-chan" Evan said before turning around and realizing that everyone but Ryuji had left.
"I didn't even get to say goodbye" Evan stated as he sadly picked up his school bag.
"They were kind of worried about making their trains to get home" Ryuji said as he nervously scratched the back of his head.
"Thanks for waiting at least" Evan said to Ryuji with a slight smile.
"Well truth be told I need to get to my train as well, but I wanted to make sure that you would be okay heading back to your apartment." As Ryuji said this he looked straight at the floor. He didn't want Evan to see the look of worry on his face. Unfortunately, he failed because Evan didn't need to see his face to hear the worry in his words.
"In all honestly Ryuji, I'm scared to go back there tonight. I just don't know where else I could go for the night to let all of this blow over" Evan replied looking off into the distance. He was a bit better at hiding his emotions than Ryuji.
"You could stay at my place" Ryuji stated almost whispering as he rubbed his arm nervous of the reply that he would get.
"I don't know if your mom would be okay with you having someone over so late" Evan replied trying to elicit the response that he wanted from Ryuji.
"Well she wouldn't have a choice in the matter if we get there after all the trains are stopped for the night" Ryuji replied and looking over at Evan for his response.
Evan smiled hearing exactly what he wanted to hear. "Well than I guess we should get the trains before we are both stuck out here" Evan said smirking.
Ryuji nodded and led the way to the train station. Luckily, they did get there before the last train had left so they were going to make it to Ryuji's in time. While they were on their way, Evan sent a text to Shikora letting him know that he would be back tomorrow after his temper had subsided. All he got back from Shikora was a whatever. Evan put his phone down and felt something heavy on him. He looked over to see Ryuji had already passed out and due to his weight and how he was leaning landed on Evan. Evan stared off into space wondering what would have happened if he and Ryuji had not talked today. Images of Shikora feigning to hit him flashed through his mind and he shivered at the thought. His little body jerk didn't go unnoticed though. It woke Ryuji up, who wiped the drool from his mouth. He rubbed his eyes and tried to focus to see that they were both still on the train. He looked over to see Evan sitting there quietly waiting for the train to stop.
"You okay?" Ryuji asked with a slight gruff to his voice from waking up.
"Yeah, just a cold chill" Evan lied as he giggled at Ryuji's change in octave.
"Laugh it up while you can because you're going to hear it again tomorrow" Ryuji groaned out as he started to stretch. Evan watched him as he stretched before they heard a ding and a voice come over the intercom warning them of their approaching destination. Ryuji reached down and grabbed him bag before standing up and offering Evan his hand to help him up. Evan took it and stood up just in time for the train to stop and them to get off. Evan followed Ryuji off the train and too his place not really talking as he took in all of the different buildings that they past.
"So I uh didn't mention this before….but we only have two bedrooms so you can sleep in my room or on the couch" Ryuji stated as he opened up the door to the apartment and taking his shoes off at the door. Evan followed suit and looked around the darkened apartment.
"Whatever you think would be best" Evan replied as he took his shoes off as well and followed Ryuji into the kitchen.
"I'll just have you sleep in my room. It'll be easier because my mom will see the second set of shoes, but she won't bother me before she has to go to work" Ryuji said as he opened the fridge.
"Not bother you about what" came a calm and sweet voice from the other room.
"Mom!" Ryuji exclaimed as the room was illuminated and a slender woman made her way into the kitchen.
"Well I would hope it is just me" his mom said with a chuckle before turning and looking at Evan. She gave Evan a once over before asking who he was.
"I'm one of Ryuji's friends from school," Evan started as he turned his attention to Ryuji's mother, "I'm sorry to be a bother but I'm new around here and haven't gotten the train schedules down. I ended up missing mine and had no way to get home, so Ryuji offered to let me spend the night so that I would have some place to stay for the night."
Ryuji looked at Evan dumbfounded at the fact that he was able to come up with something on the fly like that. What surprised him even more was the hug that his mother wrapped him up in after hearing what Evan said.
"That's my Ryuji," she started before kissing his cheek, "he may be a troublemaker, but he always puts others before himself."
Ryuji blushed as Evan started to giggle. To diffuse the situation before it got more embarrassing for him, he asked his mother if she would be able to whip them up something to eat since they skipped out on dinner to study. Ryuji's mother gave him a look of suspicion considering it wasn't like his son to actually study for school. Instead she turned her attention to Evan and gave him an analytical look as she asked him if that was true.
Not knowing how well Ryuji's mother was at reading others, Evan decided to go the honest route. "Not entirely. It's been a little hard getting accustomed to school since I just recently started at Shujin Academy. I haven't really made any friends, so Ryuji went out of his way to hang out with me and we lost track of time. I'm sorry, but it was nice to actually connect with someone from school."
Ryuji's mother playfully hit him and berated him for lying to her. Before she told them to go and get washed up, she looked at Ryuji and said, "you know you could learn a thing or two from him in the honesty department." Ryuji just rolled his eyes and agreed with her before showing Evan to is room.
"Honesty my ass" Ryuji exclaimed as he closed the door behind them and shot Evan a look.
"Hey, don't hate the player, hate the game" Evan replied as he laughed and threw up his arms in his defense. This in turn caused Ryuji to laugh a little as well.
"But seriously though, how did you come up with all of that while being watched like a hawk. Didn't you feel nervous?"
"Well to be honest, I kind of went off of the truth and off some of the things that you told me. The whole train situation was the perfect cover because everyone knows that they stop after a certain time, and I am new to the area. As for the whole studying thing, I technically didn't lie because you did meet up with me after school to talk and what not."
"You might be the first person who has actually used my words in your favor, and that goes for me as well. I can't form a sentence to save my life without it usually backfiring in my face" Ryuji said as he stretched out on his bed and grabbing a gaming controller.
"Does this have to do with the belittling statement that the cat made earlier at Crossroads" Evan asked as he sat down next to Ryuji and grabbed a controller as well.
"It just always feels like everyone is shooting down my ideas and are quick to go with someone else's" Ryuji admitted not realizing how good it would feel to finally get that out in the open.
"Well I listened to you and trusted you" Evan reminded him hoping that it would cheer him up a little.
"You know what, you're right!" Ryuji exclaimed as he started to smile and turn on his gaming system.
"How are you with shooting game" Ryuji asked as he started up his video game.
"Well if my skills from the palace can translate over to this game, then I would have to say good" Evan replied as he gave another chuckle.
"That is true" Ryuji stated remembering back and playing the scene over in his head again of Evan sniping both shadows with a sniper rifle.
"Well, let us hope that they do translate over" Ryuji joked as he pushed start on the game and got them all set up for a co-op shooter. As the two got more and more engrossed in the game, they weren't ready for the knock-on Ryuji's door that made Evan practically jump out of his skin.
"Your food is done" Ryuji's mother said in her calm and sweet voice as she opened the door. When she looked in she was a little surprised to see Ryuji and Evan so close. Evan was about in Ryuji's lap and clutching his chest.
"My poor heart" Evan croaked out as Ryuji started laughing and moving away from him.
"Better hurry before I eat it all" Ryuji said looking back at Evan and approaching the door. Before Ryuji knew what was happening, he felt a strong sting at the back of his head and turned around to see his mother giving him the death stare.
"I made that for both of you so don't you go hogging it all" she lectured him before walking off towards her room. Now if was Evan's turn to chuckle as he snuck past Ryuji who was too busy rubbing the back of his head.
As they ate they decided to switch over to a movie and relax back on Ryuji's bed. Evan finished his food rather quickly and looked over at Ryuji who was chowing down on his noodles with his eyes glued to the screen. It took him a little bit until he finally look over and saw Evan staring at him.
"Can I help you?" Ryuji asked between chomps of his noodles. Evan giggled a little and waited for Ryuji to swallow before he decided to ask his question.
"So, I understand how the whole going to the metaverse and changing our looks and what not goes, but one thing they left out is how you change a person's heart. Would you mind explaining it before we head to bed?"
Ryuji gave Evan a look and decided to set down the rest of his food on his bedside desk. "To put it simply, you send the individual a calling card in which will make their treasure show up so that we can take it and eventually they will have their change of heart. Each person is different with how long it takes for them to have their change of heart."
"How does this calling card cause the treasure to materialize?" Evan asked sitting up a bit straighter now highly interested in the topic.
"I'm not exactly sure" Ryuji started as he grabbed his food again, "I just know I'm usually the one to write them. Since Makoto has joined the team she has helped me write them, and if I had to guess the initial threat of having their distorted desires taken away is what probably causes their treasure to appear." Once he finished talking he went back to eating his noodles and watching the movie.
"You know if you applied half of what you know about the metaverse to your school work, I think you'd do just fine in school." As Evan said this he closed his eyes and started to chuckle, so he never saw the pillow coming and was knocked right off of the bed.
"You know you can be a real pain in the ass sometimes" Ryuji grumbled out as Evan laid sprawled across the floor laughing harder than he was. After Ryuji finished his food he grabbed both his and Evan's dishes and took them out to the sink. Evan remained back in his room and took the opportunity to stripe down to just his boxers and shirt. Once he was finished he climbed into Ryuji's bed and curled up on the far side of the bed. Ryuji decided to make a quick pit stop in the bathroom before heading back to his room. As Evan waited for the Ryuji to get back and turn off the light, he felt his eye lids start to get heavy as the activities from the day started to take its toll on him.
Ryuji walked back into the room and was about to ask Evan what he wanted to do now, but was surprised to see him curled up on his bed and sleeping softly. Ryuji chuckled to himself and stripped down to his boxers and shirt before turning on the light and hopping into bed. As he laid there waiting to drift off to sleep, he thought about the first time that he went into the metaverse and how tired he had been afterwards. Evan was a pretty strong kid for him to last so long after going to the metaverse. Even Makoto felt like all of her energy was drained when she first went to the metaverse. There was something different about this kid and he couldn't quite put his finger on it, but he was happy that they had the chance to get a little closer. With that, Ryuji felt his eye lids start to fall, and instead of fighting it he let them fall until they were closed. The only thing he could hear as he drifted off was the soft breathing of Evan next to him and the low hum of the movie disk still in his game system.
Evan awoke the next morning feeling uncomfortably warm. When he tried to move out of the bed he felt a heavy weight keeping him down. He reached his hands up to his eyes to rub the sleep out of them. To his surprise there was a layer of sweat covering him from how hot he was. What was even more surprising was the mound of blonde hair laying on his chest. He looked around the room trying to get his survey where he was. He saw a few track trophies along the wall and continued looking around until his eyes landed on a photo of a teenager and his mom. Evan squinted at the photo and recognized Ryuji straight away and pieced together where he was. He couldn't believe he had forgotten where he was.
Evan looked down again and saw Ryuji still sound asleep on his chest. The heat radiating off Ryuji caused Evan to sweat more than he usually does in his sleep, but the warmth felt nice for a change. Evan laid his head back down and groaned a little bit not wanting to wake him up, but he knew they both needed to start getting ready for school. Evan reached down and started running his hands through the slightly damp hair and nudging him a little.
"Ryuji, we gotta get up and get ready" Evan said in a husky voice. His voice hadn't been that deep in a while, and he blamed it the fact that it was morning. He felt Ryuji start to stir and thought that he was getting up, but instead felt his arms wrap around him as Ryuji rolled over onto his stomach and nuzzled into his chest.
"Just five more minutes" the boy groaned out not ready to get out of bed yet. Evan giggled and told Ryuji if he wanted to stay in bed for five more minutes he could, but he wanted to go shower. Once Evan made that comment, Ryuji thought about how he worded it.
"Then go and get in the shower" Ryuji told him half-asleep.
"Well I would, but a certain someone has themselves wrapped around me" Evan laughed out as he watched Ryuji lift his head up and look up at him. It took a few seconds for Ryuji to realize that it wasn't his pillows that he was nuzzling into, and that it he pleasantly warm because his room was warm. He was nuzzling Evan's chest and was warmed by his body heat. Ryuji jumped back away from Evan and apologized as he blushed and hid his face in his pillows pretending to go back to bed.
"No need to apologize. Bodies travel in their sleep and yours just happened to roll over onto mine" Evan smiled at Ryuji before looking around and blushing. The room went silent for a little as Evan now felt more embarrassed trying to work up the courage to ask the question that made him fall silent.
"Uh Ryuji, my shirt and boxers are too soiled to wear to school," Evan could feel his ears starting to burn from the embarrassment as he continued, "so would it be okay if I borrowed some boxers and a shirt?"
As Evan asked his question Ryuji listened. It wasn't until he heard the last part of it that his eyes shot open. He had never really shared his clothes with someone else. He didn't know how he felt about Evan wearing his clothes, and if they would even fit because he was a bit taller than Evan. Ryuji rolled over and sat up in his bed and looked at Evan to see the boy was unable to make eye contact with him. Ryuji didn't need to see his face to know how embarrassed he was because he could clearly see just how red the tops of his ear were.
"Well we can't have you free balling at school, and if you sweat without and undershirt everyone will be able to make out your form so yeah go ahead."
Evan thanked Ryuji before pulling the first pair of boxers and the first shirt out of his dresser. He hurried out of the room and made his way to the bathroom where he could shower and be alone with his thoughts. Ryuji just laughed and stretched as he pulled himself out of bed. He reached down and scratched his washboard abs before walking out into the kitchen and grabbing himself some breakfast. Ryuji thought about how interesting it was going to be if anyone saw Evan's undershirt. Ryuji loved his shirts to have designs on them, and Evan was more of a plain shirt under his school uniform. He took care of his dishes before heading into his room to grab his clothes for the day.
Evan ran his fingers through his hair and he tried to shake away his embarrassment. 'You have nothing to worry about. It's not like Shikora is going to check your clothes when you get home' Evan thought to himself as he suds up his body and rinsed it. He had no problem wearing Ryuji's clothes because it wasn't his first time wearing someone else's clothes, but it was the first time it was someone's clothes that Shikora seemed threatened by. 'To think he would think Ryuji and I were doing stuff. That boy is as straight as straight comes' Evan thought to himself as he finished up his shower and started to dry off. He wiped off the mirror to look at his reflection and zoned in on a red mark that was a few centimeters about his left nipple. That mark wasn't there yesterday, and the only way it could've gotten there is if Ryuji had done it while he was dreaming.
Evan scratched at the mark and shook his head before splashing water on his face. He looked over at the boxers and shirt he grabbed from the dresser and blushed a little. The boxers were black and had little skulls on them, and the shirt was Ryuji's usual red shirt with the yellow star on it. Evan thought about giving it back, but didn't want Ryuji to see the mark on his chest. He quickly threw on the shirt and boxers, left his towel in the dirty clothes bin, and walked out of the bathroom right into something solid. Evan fell to the floor and landed with a soft thud. When he looked up he saw Ryuji standing there in nothing but his boxers and a towel over his shoulder.
"Fuck, are you okay?" Ryuji said as he offered Evan his hand. Evan could hardly articulate a sentence as he mumbled out a response and grabbed Ryuji's hand to help him up.
"Now I see why I couldn't find my favorite shirt" Ryuji said as he gave Evan a once over in it.
"I can take it off if you want me to" Evan apologetically said as he started reaching for the seams to pull it up over his head.
"Nah, leave it on," Ryuji said grabbing his hands and stopping him, "I know I'll get it back from you so no harm no foul." With that Ryuji went into the bathroom and started to shower and get ready. Evan went back to Ryuji's room and pulled on his pants and grabbed his bag. He looked around for his dress shirt and couldn't find it to save his life. He shook his head in dismay and thought about just how many eyes were going to be on him today at school. Everyone knew this was Ryuji's shirt, and what is worse is after the palace today he was going to have to go to his apartment. His stuff for work was still there from when Shikora had dragged him out of the bar.
He grabbed his jacket and started putting it on when Ryuji came in wearing his usual uniform. He grabbed his bag and turned to Evan and was looking at his reflection in Ryuji's television.
"Don't worry, you look fine" Ryuji said starting to laugh at Evan's dilemma.
"It's not how I look, I'm just nervous about what others will say, and what will happen if Shikora suspects that this is yours" Evan confessed realizing that he would have just been fine telling him about Shikora and not the other students.
"Who cares what the other students think Evan. You wear that shirt better than I do, granted it is a little big on you, but you still pull the look off. As for Shikora, if that lousy bastard sets his hands on you just give us a call and we will be over to help you. You may have just joined the phantom thieves, but the good thing about us is that you never have to feel alone. We will be there for you. Now we need to get going before we miss the only train that will get us to school on time."
Evan nodded and thanked Ryuji for lessening his fears. They got their shoes on and went to the train station and got the first train towards their school. Along the way, instead of pulling out his book and reading, Evan decided to talk to Ryuji about possibly spending the night again and playing video games. He was so used to just going to school, going to work, and going to sleep that it felt nice to hang out with someone his own age. Don't get him wrong, he loved the relationship he had with Lala-chan, but it wasn't the same as another teenager who enjoyed the same things as him. Ryuji told him that he would have to talk to his mom about it, but for the most part he didn't have a problem with it.
When they arrived at school, Evan said his farewell to Ryuji. Ryuji was a bit confused and asked him why he wasn't going with him to see the rest of the group. Evan told him that he had no problem with the rest of the group, but he wanted to go and see Mishima. Evan knew that this was partly the truth and Ryuji shrugged and bought it. What Evan was keeping from Ryuji was that he didn't want the others to see him in his clothes and question him about it all day. Once he saw that Ryuji was joined up with Ann, Akira, and Makoto, Evan made his way to his classroom and took his seat behind Mishima.
"Morning Mishima" Evan said in a rather cheery voice that surprised him.
"Isn't that Ryuji's shirt?" Mishima asked completely ignoring Evan's greeting and starring at Evan's shirt.
"Yeah, we were hanging out yesterday and I didn't want to go home. Stupid me forgot to pack an extra shirt for today and I couldn't find my dress shirt to put over it" Evan fidgeted with the sleeve as his jacket as he responded. Mishima just looked at Evan and say that he was a little red. Mishima took that as embarrassment for forgetting to pack extras instead of picking up on what was truly making him turn red. Deep down, Evan didn't know why, but he was happy that someone noticed that he was in Ryuji's clothes. Maybe it had to deal with the fact that he was the bad boy that everyone was supposed to steer clear off, or maybe it was because he got to wear it before some random bimbo Ryuji ended up with got to wear it. Regardless, he was happy for a change and smiled up at Mishima.
"Well, I'm happy that you had fun. Ryuji can be a bit much for me sometimes" Mishima confessed as he thought about the time that he and Ryuji almost got caught with Akira when they decided to call the number of the maid service Ryuji found in the mail.
"It was change from the usual, and I know that you are aware of my usual" Evan said recounting seeing Mishima's face when Shikora stormed into the bar and dragged him out.
"Yeah I do" Mishima winced also recounting the incident and hearing the slap that connected with Evan's cheek that night still ringing in his ears.
Just as Evan was about to ask Mishima about his day yesterday, Ann and Akira walked into the classroom and looked over at him. He gave them a friendly wave which resulted in a nod from Akira and a wave back from Ann. They started to walk to their seats and Evan looked away, so he never saw Ann stop dead in her tracks and stare hard at Evan noticing the shirt that he was wearing. Ann made her way to her seat and pulled out her phone and decided to message Ryuji through the group chat since it was the first set of messages on her phone. She didn't have to worry digging through her messages to find when she last texted Ryuji.
Why the hell is Evan wearing your favorite shirt Ryuji!? (Ann)
Oooooh this is going to be good (Futaba)
He stayed the night last night because he didn't want to go home (Ryuji)
Is there something wrong with that? (Ryuji)
No, but you could have at least warned the rest of us! (Ann)
I can only imagine that conversation Kawakami is going to have with him when she sees! (Ann)
You remember how she was when Akira was hanging out with you when he first got her (Ann)
Well she can get over it! (Ryuji)
I was helping a friend out and he didn't have a change of clothes (Ryuji)
Ryuji being helpful? I never thought I'd see the day (Futaba)
That was nice of you Ryuji. I'm sure he appreciated it (Yusuke)
Now is not the time to be discussing this. (Makoto)
This chat is supposed to be for our phantom thieves stuff (Makoto)
Now pay attention to your classes we have our exams coming up and as the Student Council President I will not tolerate any of you failing (Makoto)
Oh man, do you have to remind us about that (Ryuji)
Yeah we all already know that you're going to have to talk to Ryuji (Futaba)
Can it you hermit! (Ryuji)
Ann put her phone away and looked over at Evan again who was deep in conversation with Mishima again. He looked so content and happy, which was different than what she normally saw. Sure, Evan was usually conversing with Mishima, but he always seemed a bit more reserved and didn't smile as much as he was now. She decided to drop the matter for now and would talk to him about it later either before or after they went to the palace. Evan watched as Kawakami walked into the classroom and sighed. She wasn't too thrilled to be teaching to them and looked more like she needed a couple more hours of sleep. Kawakami stared up from her desk and was about to talk when she saw a red shirt with a yellow star on it. She was about to yell at Ryuji to get out of her classroom and head to his own, but stopped when she looked up and saw that the body in the shirt was not the blonde-haired punk, but the red-headed newbie that had recently joined her class. She just shook her head and started her lecture reminding herself and pulled Evan aside to talk to him after class.
As the day dragged on, Evan seemed to lose his focus as he realized that he and everyone would be going to the palace again today. He was excited to learn more about the metaverse and dig deeper into Shikora's cognition in hopes of making the abuse stop that was happening to him. Before Evan knew it the bell had rung and he was putting his stuff in his bag to get ready to leave. As he stood up, he came face to face with Kawakami. He was nervous because the teacher never ever approached him before, not even at his old school. He looked over at Ann to see her staring back at him and giving him a reassuring look that made Evan feel a bit better.
"Can I talk to you in my office?" Kawakami asked in a very dull voice. To Evan it sounded almost as if she wasn't even human.
"Sure" Evan replied as he followed her to her office.
"Listen, I just happened to notice that you are wearing Ryuji's shirt. Now, I have no business knowing what is going on between you two, but I do want to warn you that he is nothing but trouble. Just make sure you are careful, okay?" Kawakami never made direct eye contact with Evan as she talked to him, preferring to stare at the clock instead.
"I understand Kawakami, and no need to worry. I just missed my train yesterday and he offered me a roof over my head for the night" Evan replied back checking to see if anyone was waiting for him and seeing Ryuji hanging back near the stairwell.
"Well, I'm happy to hear that he helped you out, but you really should be more responsible and learn the train schedule" Kawakami said as she shrugged and told Evan that he could go. Evan thanked her and made his way of the Ryuji telling him what happened. The two started laughing and making their way down the stairs. Hearing the laughing Kawakami looked over and saw Evan with Ryuji. 'I need a vacation away from all these kids' she thought to herself as she grabbed her stuff and started to head home.
When Ryuji and Evan arrived at Crossroads, Ann and Akira were already there with Makoto. Ryuji walked over to the others and was informed that Futaba and Yusuke were on their way there. They apparently missed their first train because Futaba had a small breakdown with how many people were at the station. Evan went over to Lala-chan and told her that they were going to be there for most of the afternoon.
"That's fine hunny, but what's up with the new look" Lala-chan stated as she pointed at the shirt that Evan was wearing.
"I forgot to take a change of clothes to Ryuji's, so he let me borrow a shirt. I didn't feel comfortable going back to the apartment last night so he let me stay with him for the night." Lala-chan listened intently as Evan spoke and shook her head causing Evan to make a face.
"Sweetheart be careful playing with fire" Lala-chan warned him as she started cleaning her glasses for later tonight.
"What do you mean?" Evan asked and took a seat at the bar.
"Hunny, I see the way you look at that boy. It's the same way I look at my patrons when I want them to pay a few extra tips so I make more money. Don't set yourself up to get hurt because it is going to be a lot harder to get over your feeling later-on. You need to nip them in the butt now."
Hearing this Evan looked over at the group of four as they chatted, and as if he felt his gaze watched as Ryuji looked over and gave him and Lala-chan a smile.
"I don't honestly know what I'm feeling Lala-chan, but to be completely honest, I'm happy that I can feel anything at all" Evan replied as he looked back at the purple-haired queen getting a small smirk from her.
"I don't know much about feeling either, unless it is a certain pain in my ass news reporter who never leaves" Lala-chan muttered as she glared over at Ohna.
"You know you love me" Ohna slurred as she giggled and took another sip from her drink.
"Sometimes I feel like her tolerance is higher than her tab" Evan said as he gazed over at the black-haired report and getting a chuckle from Lala-chan.
"Respect your elders" Ohna yelled at Evan before turning her attention to her phone. Evan took that as his cue to leave and went to go and join that others at the table. He decided that he would take them all to the room together so when they next meet up they can all get there separately. Once he got to the table he picked up on the moods of everyone very quickly. It was mostly tense between Ann and Ryuji because Evan didn't sense anything from Akira and Makoto. Evan didn't feel like talking much, so instead he moved closer to Makoto and laid his head down on her.
"What are you doing?" Makoto gasped out a bit frazzled by Evan's approach to laying on her.
"What does it look like I'm doing? I'm relaxing while we wait" Evan replied as he nuzzled into her. A part of him knew he was doing this to try and defuse the situation between Ann and Ryuji. Another part of him knew that he was also doing this to try and get a reaction from Ryuji. He opened his eyes slightly and looked over to see that it had indeed gotten a reaction from him because he was starring daggers at him.
"When are they going to get her" Ryuji bellowed out as he sank down in his chair.
"Who us?" Yusuke asked as he sat down next to Ryuji and Futaba sat down next to Evan.
"Is she really that comfortable?" Futbaba asked Evan as she looked how he was relaxing on Makoto.
"You have no idea, and her hair smells amazing" Evan replied as he sat up and looked over at Makoto who was blushing and trying to get everyone back on track.
"Okay so now that we are all hear would you care to lead us to our room" Makoto asked as she turned to Evan.
"No problem, just follow me" Evan said as he stood up and led everyone to their hideout. No one could hardly believe that they were going to have a hideout here in the Red Light District as they got themselves situated.
"Now then," Makoto started as she turned and addressed everyone, "our objective is to find where Shikora is hiding his treasure so that we can send him the calling card. We need to be able to secure our route and essentially retrieve his treasure."
"Sounds like a plan, but do we have a deadline?" asked Ann as she went over everything.
"Well this target isn't like our others where we would have a deadline, so I think it would be best if we do it before we leave for Hawaii" Makoto responded with a bit of hesitation in her voice.
"That only gives us like a week" Ryuji exclaimed and looked around the table at everyone.
"Well then I guess we better get started then" Evan replied as he stood up from the table.
"Hold on, nancy-boy here needs a code name before we take him in" Futaba said ushering towards Evan. Evan giggled having never been called a nancy-boy before, and oddly enough it didn't really phase him or upset him.
"Just call me Diva and call it good, we can't spend too long on this because we need to get going" Evan responded and looking around the table. Everyone looked at Morgana who just kind of shrugged and agreed with the code name. Ryuji pulled out his phone and put in the coordinates for the palace. Once they were there they all decided that it would be best if Ryuji, Morgana, and Evan went with Akira.
"Make sure you show Diva the ropes Joker, and Skull try not to do anything too reckless" Panther said her Fox and Queen stayed behind to make sure they weren't followed by any shadows. Skull was about to make a smart remark back at Panther when Diva grabbed him and pulled him away from her. They started making their way through the dungeon until they approached the stairs where they had encountered Shikora's shadow the first time. Once again there was a shadow blocking their way, so they were going to have to take it out in order to proceed. They decided to sneak up on the shadow and surprise it. After Joker had ripped off its mask, two shadows materialized and attacked. Joker and Skull made quick work of them and the group proceeded through the door.
"This place seems more like a sex prison than a sex dungeon" Mona stated as they made their way past jail cells of several different young men and women in different stages of undress.
"Is this his cognitions way of saying that he gets off on making them feeling like his prisoners" Diva asked as he peered into one of the cells frowning.
"I'm not sure, but I am sure that his cognition views them as his prisoners" Mona responded and turning his attention to Diva.
"Are you going to be okay?" Skull asked as he sets a hand on Diva's shoulder and squeezes it.
"I'll be fine, I'm just wondering what his cognition might think of me if his cognition views his clients as his sexual prisoners" Diva replied shaking off Skull's hand and continuing-on. As they made their way through the first floor of the dungeon they noticed that there wasn't a lot of shadows around.
"I guess these must be clients who he knows will never speak out in public so he feels he hardly needs any guards for this floor" Diva stated as they found a door that had a bit of distortion to it.
"You might be right assuming that" Mona said as they all heard Oracle state that there was a safe room next to them. When they entered the safe room, Diva's eyes got a little big.
"Why does this area look like my bedroom at the apartment?" Diva asked as he looked around and saw just how similar the two areas were.
"It looks like your bedroom because it is your bedroom. His cognition must not have distorted this area so it became a safe space" Mona replied and relaxed on Diva's bed.
"We can't stop now though. I can only imagine that the next level will have more guards than this area" Skull replied as he stretched out in a chair and looked around at the group. They all agreed and continued on down to the second floor of the dungeon and, just as Skull predicted there were a good amount of guards on the floor. Surprisingly enough there wasn't a lot of prisoners, but the ones that they saw were recognizable from some of their favorite shows that they watched. There was one that caused Skull and Mona to do a double take and walk over to her cell. Unfortunately, it was a trap and the two were quickly scooped up into a net. Diva and Joker jumped back, but Joker jumped too far and got himself shoved into a cell by a shadow. Panther, Fox and Queen heard the commotion and were making their way towards the room when spikes shot up from the ground keeping them from advancing.
"You're all such naïve fools to think that you could nonchalantly waltz through my dungeon without getting trapped" came a rather familiar eerie voice.
"I can hear him, but I can't see him" Diva exclaimed as he got into a defensive position facing the shadow.
"That's because this is his dungeon," Mona stated, "he probably has cameras and speakers all over this place. I should have seen this coming. I'm such an idiot."
"You're right" Skull agreed as he struggled against the net that he and Mona were trapped in.
"Can it Skull, you've been to just as many palaces as me and should have known too" Mona argued.
"Can we all stop arguing and focus on the problem at hand" Queen yelled from the doorway where the spikes were keeping her, Panther, and Fox from entering.
"Diva are you going to be okay?" Panther asked starting to worry that he had no backup.
"Yeah, I'll be fine. I guess it's time to show this asshole why you don't mess with a Diva" Evan exclaimed as he called out for his persona, Nataraja, to come to his aid. Seeing his persona made the shadow change into his actual form.
"Be careful Diva, this one is strong" Oracle warned reading the enemy and trying to get a feel for his attacks.
"He'll be ashes when I'm done with him," Diva growled as he pulled out his chakrams, "lets light'em up with agi Nataraja." With that Nataraja exploded his fire onto Diva's chakrams as he held them up. Once they were set a blaze, Diva prepared himself to attack.
"Launch me!" Diva yelled as he jumped back onto Nataraja's hand. Nataraja grabbed Diva and launched him towards the enemy. As he was flying through the air, Diva started spinning and held out his flaming chakrams, enveloping him in a ball of fire that clashed into the shadow causing him to cry out in pain as he was burned and sliced up by Diva's chakrams. Diva jumped away from the shadow laughing and standing up tall.
"Fuck I love this" Diva giggled with an evil glint in his eyes making Mona and Skull gulp.
"Mona how was that possible?" Skull asked having a hard time understanding how out of everyone there, Diva was the only one able to physically be grabbed and thrown by his persona.
"Your guess is as good as mine. I don't know everything" Mona bantered as he stared on to watch the fight.
The shadow recovered from Diva's assault and made a sneak attack knocking Diva back a little bit. The Shadow jumped back, and to his dismay, watched as Diva started laughing.
"You misunderstand me if you think a weak hit like that would do any damage to me" Diva spat out as he stared daggers at the shadow.
"Nataraja come to me and use hysterical slap" Diva exclaimed as with lightning speed his persona attacked the shadow knocking it back. Without giving the shadow time to counter, Diva jumped back onto Nataraja's hand again and was launched into the same fire ball he made the first time. The only difference now was that the shadow was weakened to the point where Diva tore threw him and caused the shadow to completely evaporate and disappear.
"God that is such a rush" Diva moaned out and blushed. Everyone just looked at him completely astonished. They have seen such an amazing display of power, with such a lewd appeal to it. Diva completely disregarded their stares and looked around until he found a switch. He hit it and the spikes keeping Panther, Fox, and Queen from entering retracted into the floor. As they were making their way over to Diva, he threw one of his flaming chakrams at the net and cut the ropes watching the two fall down to the floor with a loud thud.
"Get off of me you heavy ape" Mona yelled out as Skull landed on top of him.
"Not like you're any better when we are in the palaces" Skull spat back as he helped himself up and dusted himself off. Diva made his way over to where the shadow was and found a key He picked it up and walked over to Joker's cell and unlocked it letting him out. With everyone free, Diva stood back and asked if they were all okay. Everyone just mumbled a response and nodded unable to make direct eye contact with Diva.
"I'm sorry if I got a little caught up in the moment" Diva apologized and blushed staring at the floor.
"Don't worry about it, I'm just happy you're on our side" Panther said as she gave Diva a smile. This in turn caused Diva to smile and the group decided to continue their way down the second floor of the dungeon. With more and more shadows popping up, the group felt it best to talk only when necessary. For Diva it was a bit too much because every second just felt like awkward silence.
"Hey Joker," Skull said breaking the silence and pointing off towards an open room, "a chest."
"A chest?" Diva asked as they entered the room and he saw a square box sitting on a bench.
"Yeah, they usually have items in them that come in handy during infiltrations" Mona responded and looked over Joker's shoulder as he popped the chest open.
"Anything good?" Skull asked as he approached the opened chest.
"Nah, just a few beads" Mona responded as he hopped off of Joker's shoulder and started heading back for the door. Skull looked at Diva, who was still wrapping his head around the whole chest thing, and gave him a shrug. Diva gave him a shrug back and started laughing. Apparently that was the wrong thing to do because a couple of shadows stormed into the room and surrounded them.
"What's the plan?" Skull asked out as he felt himself back up into something. He turned around to see that it was Joker. He looked around and spotted Mona off to his other side, but could not seem to spot Diva anywhere. As one of the shadows made a move at the group, they all heard a yell and then movement out of the corner of their eyes. Diva had gotten up on the bench and, with a running start, jumped off of the bench at the shadow. He wrapped his legs around the shadow and pulled out his Chakrams, thrusting them up into the shadow's jugular and slicing as he propelled himself backwards towards the rest of the group. To their surprise the shadow disappeared and turned the odds in their favor.
"Don't just stand there! Fight!" Diva yelled out as he whipped his chakrams at another shadow and started charging at it.
"Hell yeah!" Skull exclaimed as he pulled out his weapon and clobbered the shadow that Diva had struck with his chakrams. Joker looked over at Mona, who gave him a reassuring nod, before the two moved as fast as lightning striking to take out one of the other shadows. Soon enough, all the shadows were taken care of and everyone was putting their weapons away. Panther, Queen, and Fox showed up at the door breathing heavy.
"Oracle told us you were surrounded?" Ann started then ended as a question when she looked around the room and saw no one but the other four.
"Where the heck is the ambush?" Queen asked as she approached them.
"We took care of them" Skull said rather smugly.
"Don't flatter yourself stud, it took all of us to take them out" Diva nonchalantly stated causing Skull to stop his glorifying pose.
"If it wasn't for Diva thinking on his feet, we probably would have needed your help" Mona said as he smiled up at Diva. Diva gave him a reassuring nod before grabbing Skull and pulling him out of the room. Everyone watched them and were a little confused, but Diva, being the observant person that he was, saw the change in Skull's face and thought it best to not have him blow up on Mona and get them surrounded again. Once they were out in the hallway, Skull pulled and turned around to face Diva with his face still scrunched up full of attitude.
"I only pulled you out of the room because the last thing we need is everyone getting surrounded" Diva whispered making sure Skull knew that he wasn't fazed by his attitude.
"Yeah, well what does that cat know anyway" Skull said in defeat and kicking at the ground.
"He knows enough and has helped us get this far has he not?" Diva asked as he walked around refusing to let Skull sulk.
"I guess" Skull admitted as he looked up at the ceiling and then back down at Diva.
"So, are we good?" Diva asked giving Skull a little smile.
"Yeah" Skull chuckled as he and Diva headed back into the room. Ann noticed them and waved them over. Apparently while they were out of the room, the group had decided to change up who would be helping Joker.
"Skull and Diva, you guys are switching places with Queen and Panther" Joker told them as the two just looked at each other and shrugged. At least they get a chance to relax a little. With nothing else to really discuss, the groups changed up and they continued through the second floor of the dungeon. Skull made idle chat with Fox as Diva seemed to be off in his own world. Now that Diva was on stand-by and making his way through the dungeon with the second group, he was able to take the time to reflect on some of what he has seen.
From what he could tell, this dungeon was most likely going to be at least three floors. As they continued on through the second floor, Diva was able to recognize some of Shikora's different clients that had some pretty good roles on different television shows. Did that mean that everyone they encountered on the first floor were stars waiting to make it big and those that had given in but not received the parts they were promised? Is that why some of them looked like they were lined up outside of an office, and others were locked up in cells? It could also explain why there was hardly any guards on that level. Shikora didn't see any of those clients as threats because he probably figures if they do talk, no one is going to believe them because they have nothing on him. These clients down here are starting to become well-known though, so are these guards signifying the people in the industry who are keeping his secrets?
Diva was pulled from his thoughts when he heard his actual name being called. He looked around and saw no one and knew that it would be too risky for his companions to be calling his name. He shook it off and heard Oracle tell the others that they had found the stairs for the third floor. Diva was about to start heading to catch up with the others when he heard his name called again. He looked around again, and this time saw a suspicious hallway that hadn't been there the first time. He looked ahead and saw the others discussing something among themselves, so he decided to head into the hallway. Skull started looking around and noticed that they were missing one person. He began to look around when he saw movement from down the hallway. He tried to call out for Diva, but watched as he disappeared through one of the walls.
"Diva wait!" Skull cried out before he took off towards where he had disappeared. Skull being faster than everyone else, left them all behind to look at one another in confusion.
"We don't have time for this" Mona complained, "the treasure is close. I can feel it!"
Everyone chased after Skull to find that he had followed Diva down a surprise hallway. Ann questioned why they hadn't spotted it before, to which Mona had no answer but suggested that they follow to where ever it went. Diva continued down the hallway until he came to a stairwell. The stairwell led down to the next floor, but gave off a very creepy vibe. He folded his arms across his chest and hugged himself to not only protect himself, but to keep himself warm as he started to descend the stairs. Something was off about all of this, but he just could not shake this feeling that was stirring up in his gut. Once he finished descending the stairs, he found himself in a narrow hallway. He continued down that hallway until he approached a door. He reached for the knob and turned it feeling the entire palace shake as if something had moved.
Skull was continuing down the steps trying to catch up to Diva. He knew he hadn't known Diva for long, but it seemed out of character for him to go off on his own. Panther, Joker, Fox, Queen and Mona all stopped as the hallway they were going down started to turn and they were cut off from the path that skull had taken.
"What's happening?" Queen exclaimed as she froze and felt herself lock up.
"The floor is moving" Panther shrieked as she also froze and locked up.
"It's creating a new hallway that should still take us to the third floor" Oracle quickly mentioned to try and ease some of the panic from the others.
"How can this be happening?" Fox asked as he looked over at Joker and Mona.
"Now is not the time to worry about that, we have to get out of here and figure out where Skull and Diva went" Mona stated as he and Joker started to head down the new hall that had been created by the movement. Panther, Queen and Fox all shared a look before heading after them. Oracle stayed behind a little to try and work out the schematics of this new hallway.
Dive walked into the spaciously lit room and looked around. To his surprise there was no one in there, or so he thought. He made his way around the room and noticed that there was another set of doors on the far side of the room.
"I knew you would come" came an eerily confidant voice. Diva turned around and came face to face with Shikora's shadow. "I should have known that by calling you by your real name, it would have led you here."
"Well it doesn't matter if this was a trap. I'm not as weak as you think I am" Evan spat out at him as he started to pull out his chakrams.
"Oh, how splendid," Shikora's shadow giggled as he clapped his hands together and his lips creeped up into an evil smile, "I've been needing a good show." With that Evan felt weak and the last thing he saw before black, was Shikora's shadow approaching him.
Skull had just reached the bottom of the stairs and without hesitating continued on down the narrow hallway. It was right at this time that Mona, Joker, Queen, Panther and Oracle had found themselves behind an air vent.
"It smells weird in here" Panther complained as they peered through the vent into a spacious room.
"Look!" Queen yelled as she pointed down towards the middle of the room where two beings were.
"It that Fox and Skull?" Panther asked as she got a little closer to the vent cover. Apparently, she hadn't realized how close she was because she bumped it open and almost fell out into the room. If it wasn't for Joker catching her, she would have been in trouble.
"Something's not right here" Oracle stated as her fingers started flying across her keyboard.
"Yeah, why are they just standing down there" Panther stated looking down at Skull and Diva.
"No, them standing there is not what I'm talking about. What I'm talking about are these scans that I'm picking up from Diva" Oracle stated as she turned her laptop around for everyone to see.
"His scans are going haywire" Queen stated before looking down at where their other two team members were.
"Every one of his senses is acting up and not accordingly" Oracle said as she turned her laptop back around and started striking her keys as quickly as she could. Fox looked over and noted that Diva had drawn his weapons.
"Guys we have bigger problems" Fox exclaimed pointing at the two as Skull was now drawing out his weapon.
"What the hell is going on down there" Panther shrieked as she watched the two charge at each other.
As if on cue they all heard chuckles ringing around the room. "Did you all like my surprise?" Shikora's shadow's voice asked through a com?
"What the hell did you do?" Queen asked as she averted her gaze from the scene that was taking place below them.
"Oh boo, you're not as enthusiastic about this as I am. As you can see, your dear Evan has been brainwashed. While you all were busy trying to find your way to me, I was busy concocting some lovely potions. What you see before you, is what happens when I leaked my pheromones potion out from the very vent you are standing in. You see, Evan is incredible strong and agile here in the metaverse, so close contact was not an option of getting the pheromones into his system. Once they are in though, they are highly potent; however, they are only potent to anyone who is sexually active. I knew they would take effect on Evan considering he's good for nothing but sex. The true question is if any of you are capable of defeating him. As he told me before it was lights out for him, he isn't as weak as he used to be."
"What does your pheromone potion do to people?" Oracle asked as she gritted her teeth.
"Oh my sweet dear I thought you would never ask" Shikora's shadow gleefully said. "Just one does has enough potency to cause a frenzy within its victim. The person will become belligerent and erotic. If you thought Evan was scary before when he took out my guard, wait until you see him jacked up on pheromones. He could level a semi-truck with the amount of rage that is courses through his system right now. The best part is, there is so much in his system, I'll be surprised if he'll ever calm back down."
"You're a monster" Panther spat out.
"I'll take that as a compliment" Shikora's shadow flatly responded before cheering back up. "I hope you all enjoy the show just as much as I do."
"We got to get him out of there and figure something out" Queen said with a bit of concern crossing over her face and turning to Joker. Joker gave her a nod as he started to formulate a plan.
Skull entered into a highly lit room and saw Diva standing in the middle of it staring at the floor. He quickly ran over to Diva.
"Diva are you okay?" He asked as he finally caught up to him.
"Get back!" Diva shouted as he sent Skull back towards the door.
"What the hell!" Skull yelled as he pulled himself up to his feet and looking over at Diva. It was at that moment at Diva looked up from the floor and Skull saw sweat and tears pouring down his face.
"Somethings happened to me, and I can't fight it anymore" Diva wailed out as he started to shake.
"What are you talking about?" Skull asked as he tried to slowly approach Diva.
"Shikora got me right where he wanted me. He did something to me and it caused me to black out. When I woke up I had this hot feeling spreading all over my body. I've been trying to fight it and I think I completely understand what he wanted." With that Diva dropped his head back down to the floor and started to reach for his chakrams. With what little bit of mental strength he had left he started to shake and speak to Skull again. "No matter what happens, please don't think differently of me. You need to win." Skull just looked on as he watched Diva's body start to convulse a little. As if a switch had been flipped, Skull watched as Diva's body jerked up right and the two were now making eye contact.
Skull saw the lustful haze shrouding Diva's eyes as he started to laugh and whip his chakrams around.
"I hope you brought your A-game stud, because baby's hungry for something more than a spanking" Diva laughed out as he started to crouch down. He looked as if he was getting ready to pounce onto his prey.
Skull looked on in disbelief before he shook his head and started to pull out his weapon. 'You're doing this for Evan' Skull told himself and he looked over at Diva's soulless form.
"Come at me!" Skull yelled out as he lunged at Diva, taking the first swing. Diva easily dodged it and dug one of his chakram's into a table to stop himself from sliding too far away from Skull. After he had stopped himself he threw the other chakram and nicked Skull's shoulder as he rolled out of the way. Skull thought the roll was a good maneuver until he felt himself get forcefully stopped. Unbeknownst to him, Diva had thrown his other chakram and it had pinned his ascot down to the floor keeping him stationary. Diva pounced on Skull and started to grind in him crushing his entire lower region and causing Skull to groan out in pain.
"Oh come now big boy, it can't be that bad" Diva hissed out as he leaned over and licked at Skull's cut where he was nicked. Diva bit his lip and groaned in pleasure. "You taste just as good as I thought you would."
Before anything else could happen, Skull found the energy and power to get his legs folded up in front of Diva. With as much force as he could muster, he kicked Diva as hard as he could and sent him flying into the nearby wall. Skull reached over and ripped the chakram out of the floor and unpinned his ascot. He rolled himself over and hopped up to his feet, but to his dismay Diva was already standing in front of him.
"I love it when my man gets a little rough" Diva moaned out as he started swinging at Skull and landing a few hits before landing a roundhouse kick and sending him up onto the table. Diva ran over and grabbed his chakram that Skull have removed from the floor and turned around as quickly as he could. Skull was still trying to recover when he heard a shriek and looked up to see Diva flying towards him. He quickly rolled out of the way and watched the chakram slice through the table where his chest had been.
"It's even sexier when they still have some fight in them" Diva called out as he rolled over onto Skull and wrapped his hands around his throat. Skull immediately reached for Diva's hands to try and pry them away, but to no avail as he felt his breathing start to slow. Determined to do what Diva had asked him, Skull frantically looked around for anything that was still on the table and in arms reach. The only thing he could find Diva's chakram, so he reached for it and desperately tried to pull it out of the table. He slowly started to feel himself getting lightheaded, but that was when he finally felt the chakram give and he jammed part of it into Diva's side. Diva immediately screamed out and removed his hands trying to reach for the chakram, but was thrown off when he felt a hand grab at his shirt and bunch it up. Before Diva knew what was happening, Skull he headbutted him and threw him onto the floor.
With the weight lifted off of his chest, and the hands off of his neck, Skull took a deep breath and got himself off of the table. He started to look around the room to see what he could do. Unfortunately, and without him realizing it, both doorways now have spikes sealing them shut. He was trapped in this room with a drugged-up friend who was trying to kill him.
"They're going to kill each other" Panther cried out as she watched in horror as Skull kicked Diva away and into a wall.
"If we don't do something there is a good chance we are going to lose one of them" Queen stated as she looked over at Mona and Joker for assistance.
"Our best bet is to get Skull out of there while he still has the energy" Fox said as he tried to look around the room at anything they could use.
"Well there is a long table below us" Mona mentioned as he pointed at it to show everyone.
"Ryuji used to be on the track team. Do you think if it that table was broken down into a ramp?" Panther stated and asked looking at Mona and Joker.
"Our best bet is to get him to do that and with his momentum, jump up and grab for one of our hands so that we can get him out of that predicament" Joker said as he turned around to Oracle for assistance.
"Based off of Diva's recovery and speed, his best bet is to somehow find a way for Diva to break the legs and turn it into a ramp. If not he'll be a goner because it will take too much of his time and energy" Oracle told Joker as she finally looked up from her computer.
Their gaze was broken when they heard a scream come from below them. They all turned to look and saw a chakram sticking out of Diva's side, and preceded to watch as Skull pulled Diva close and headbutted him. They watched as Skull threw Diva to the side of the table and get off of it.
"Now or never" Mona said as they watched Skull look around the room. Joker nodded and prepared himself.
Skull was just about ready to give up, when he heard someone calling his code name. He looked around and didn't see anyone, so he decided to look up and that is when he saw everyone standing in a giant vent. He looked over to see Diva was still dazed from the headbutt and struggling to get up so he ran towards the vent and looked up.
"Skull you need to listen to me because we don't have much time" Joker started as he also looked over to see that Diva was still delirious but now had the chakram out of his side. "You need to get Diva to break the legs of this table so you can run up it like a ramp. Hopefully you'll have enough momentum to jump up and grab one of our hands."
Skull nodded and turned around to see that Diva was back up and now had both of his chakrams in his hands. Skull readied his weapon, and tried to think of how he could get Diva to throw one of his chakram's low enough to break the table legs. Diva made a move towards Skull, who in turn backed himself up to the table to rolled over it to the over side.
"Don't try and between things between us baby" Diva giggled as he jumped up onto the table effortlessly and dived onto Skull. Skull tried to make a run for it but was stopped and felt all of Diva's weight on top of his back. Diva started to grind himself into Skull's ass as he pulled his head backwards by his hair. Skull cried out and shivered a little when he felt Diva start to nibble on his earlobe.
"Don't tell me you're trying to leave already," Diva whispered into his ear, "there's so much more that I want to do to you." Skull screamed out as he felt Diva dig his teeth into his neck and start to bite and chew on it. Skull swung his arm back and elbowed Diva making him release his neck and fall down neck to him. Without skipping a beat Skull slid around and kicked Diva away from him, sending the boy sliding into a wall. Skull made his way onto shaky feet. He turned around to see that Diva had already made his way to his feet and was preparing his chakram. In a split-second decision Skull ran for the table and dived underneath it. Diva threw one of his chakram's and sliced the table legs off officially making the ramp, but charged after Skull. Skull thought that he was in the clear when he slid through onto the other side of the table, but to his dismay was trapped beneath his weight. Diva had landed on his chest and was now rubbing his crotch all over his face.
"Once I get a taste for battle, I don't want it to stop" Diva moaned out grinding his crotch deeper into Skull's face practically suffocating him. Skull apologized in his head for what he was about to do, but he needed to get out of that room. With all the movement that he had, Skull pulled his head back and butted into Diva's crotch as hard as he could. Once again, Diva screamed out and Skull pushed Diva off him. Skull knew this wasn't going to be enough though so he quickly pulled Diva too his feet and grabbed his weapon. He swung it around as hard as he could until he felt he had enough force and swung up under Diva's chin practically upper cutting him. Diva went flying backwards as Skull made his way to the far side of the room and looked over to see Diva scrambling to try and recover. Skull shook his head and apologized before running at full speed towards the ramp.
As he started to make his way up the ramp, he launched himself as far up the wall as he could and reached with both hands. Luckily someone grabbed his right hand and held onto him for dear life. Skull looked up to see that it was Panther as everyone started pulling on her to help get him out of the room. Once he was into the ventilation duck he couldn't bear to look at anyone and quickly just sat down with his head in his hands.
"Are you going to be okay?" Panther asked as she sat down next to him. Skull was unable to bring himself to answer instead he just settled on shaking his head. Panther looked up at Joker and gave him a look.
"We need to get back to the main hall of the third floor so we can continue you" Mona stated reminding everyone of what they were there for.
"Yeah, but we can't just leave him down there" Queen said ushering to Diva who was now thrashing around the room and destroying things looking for Skull.
"Someone will need to stay behind and wait for the pheromones to leave his system" Fox stated while crossing his arms.
"I'll do it" Skull said without lifting his head from his hands.
"You're in no condition to be left behind" Panther exclaimed as she tried to get Skull to look at him.
"I don't care about that" Skull said as he stood up and walked over to the ventilation entrance. "I promised him that I would win, and I failed." Skull just shook his head and looked away from the tattered room still not looking at his teammates.
"If you stay behind, someone else will be staying with you" Joker said with a firm tone in his voice letting Skull no that there was no point in arguing about it.
"Fine" Skull dejectedly said as he sulked back down in the ventilation duct.
"I'll do it" Panther offered as she looked over at Skull.
"No, you'll be needed with everyone else," Oracle stated, "I'll stay behind with him. When things are all settled I will be able to navigate us back to your location."
"That sounds like our best course of action" Mona said before starting to head back towards the main hall.
"It's up to you Oracle" Panther said before taking one last look at Skull and leaving with Mona and them.
"You guys can count on me" Oracle called after them because siding up next to Skull.
"I'm not going to force you to talk about it, but I just want to let you know that I'm here to listen" Oracle told Skull as she started to fiddle around with her laptop again.
"He has been through so much," Skull stated before he felt his voice crack a little. Hearing the crack in his voice caused Oracle to sit up and look over at him. Skull was looking off into the distance and shaking his head, but his head wasn't turned far enough away because Oracle could see the light from the room reflecting off something near Skull's eyes. "I don't know if I would have what it takes to continue on the way he has. He doesn't really have anyone but us, and yet he still finds a way to smile. His is able to take so much because he is used to it in real life. Shikora's cognition knew that and used it against him. Even in a place like this, he is still under Shikora's control. He's such a rat bastard. I cannot wait for him to have his change of heart because Diva deserves so much more than what he has right now."
Oracle looked over at Skull in disbelief. She said that she wasn't going to talk, but she couldn't help herself.
"You like him, don't you?" She asked in a hushed whisper.
"I don't know" Skull confessed as he finally looked over at Oracle. She could now see that what the light was reflecting off was his tears. "What I do know is I don't think I would have the same kind of strength as him if I was in his shoes."
Oracle, being new to human interactions, knew what she needed to do. She pulled herself away from her computer and wrapped Skull in an awkward hug. Skull surprised her by leaning into the hug and laying his head on her shoulder. Realizing that this had taken a turn that she was not prepared for, she quickly removed her hands from Skull and pushed him away. Skull chuckled a little and asked if it was too much, to which Oracle responded with a head nod.
"Thank you for listening to me" Skull said as he wiped at his eyes and stood up starting to stretch.
"You're welcome" Oracle said as she smiled up at Skull. Skull slowly made his way over to the ventilation duct opening and looked down to see Diva staring up at him with the lusty haze still shrouding his eyes. Deep down he knew that Diva was going to get through this. He just had to keep believing.