Persona X TWEWY X Kingdom Hearts
Summary: Trapped in an unfair game? Fighting against society? Changing the hearts of evil adults? Save the world? Discovering oneself? Nothing out of the ordinary for these teenagers.
Chapter 9
Breaking Point
* Evening: 4/13: Wednesday*
*Sakuraba Residence*
With trepidation and nerves on fire, the plush carrying girl with a gentle heart follows quietly alongside her long-time crush to his place as the day darkens. Reeling from the blow up between herself and her best friend, combined with everything that's happened with their investigation hitting nothing but walls and lowering their chances of bringing a scum of a teacher to justice.
Reaching his house, Shiki quietly muses over how, well, normal his home looked. When you have Neku as an associate or a friend that you know well enough, you'd think his house would be something like an artist's residence or something closed off like a small apartment in a complex, yet his home looked so average and regular it was a bit jarring to see. It wasn't a massive house by any means, rather homely and even cosy looking to the girl, hanging trays of daisy flowers below the windows for example.
Yet inside, she could totally see this as his home.
The place just feels so empty half the time, like a museum exhibit that never sees people come in and explore its canvases or pieces. The walls were painted in such a grey dull colour, there were only a handful of photo frames on the table near the door alone with a houseline phone, the quietness of this place was eerie and just so unnatural. She wondered if this were partly why Neku wears headphones to often to just hear something other than the silence, maybe music was the only thing that could help him.
"Go make yourself comfortable in the living room, I'll make us come coffee," says the older teen, planting his bag near the stairs before heading into the kitchen.
She thanks him and enters the living room to settle in, resting at the small table in the centre of the room. Again like the hallway, it was so pure and plain in this room, lifeless colours on the walls with a few bits of furniture like a sofa and chair, a small TV on a drawer. With Mr Mew at her side, the girl rests her elbows on the table and ponders on her conflict with her friends. Eri hadn't texted her back and judging from how she never ignores her texts, Shiki worried she and her may have taken an unspoken break from each other, while Ann was likely keeping herself and Shiho away from them for a while.
A situation that could have been avoided if her best friend had just not lost her patience with Ann, and of course Shiki supported her regarding Ann's obliviousness regarding to Shiho's suffering from the volleyball club. If Eri hadn't lost her cool with Ann, she'd side with her and appeal to Ann to see the truth behind Shiho's weak assurances. But now all four of them were going to avoid each other, and it was entirely out of her hands. She stares at the table and sighs, defeated, taking her glasses off and rubbing her eyes when she feels the stinging sensation.
Eri's words toward her rang aloud in her mind, and she feels smaller just thinking on how true the words were. Yes she wasn't as out going as her best friend and while she had long accepted herself, she never did move pass on how her friend was better than her. Eri isn't afraid to speak up against people, couldn't care less what position they were in and tells it exactly as it is. She's socially outgoing and a beacon for others, can make friends so easily it was like magic, and her stubbornness made her admirable whenever someone tougher challenged her.
But that was Eri.
Shiki hates conflict, especially between friends and if she isn't the peacekeeper between them, she was the quiet one who'd support the one who was right. But in this situation, both Eri and Ann were right. Eri pointing out how Shiho's injuries were not just from regular training, how Ann was being blind to Kamoshida's abuse and pressuring Shiho to continue the volleyball training. But to accuse Ann of being close to that perv was uncalled for and completely out of line, especially when Shiki knows those are nothing, but rumours spread by students.
Shiho is dear to Ann, and Shiki knew without a doubt she had her best friend's well-being at the highest priority. There had to be a reason why she was so "close" to Kamoshida, and perhaps Shiho's position on the team was part of it. At least she really hoped so and that those rumours were just that. She looks at her glasses and sees herself thinly in the lens, frowning. The game had changed her for the better and made her faith in herself grow for sure, but sometimes whenever she looks at Eri and her in the reflection, she can't help but feel like she was still in her friend's body.
A cage she once thought was what she desired for so long…
"Really hope you like white coffee…" Neku says as he places hers before the girl.
She makes a quiet sound of gratitude and takes the cup handle, already in love with the aroma of the beverage. It is a simple drink, just regular black coffee with a pour of milk but somehow Neku made it taste better, like he secretly added an additional ingredient to it. But in truth it probably tasted so much better because it was made by him, and she had a luck to drink it herself. She sighed peacefully while Neku sipped his, hissing at the heat from his drink.
"I've still no clue how you can drink that stuff freshly made…" he comments as Shiki drank hers with ease. She teases she just knows to bare the pain to take delight from the taste. She smiles behind her cup, relaxed at this atmosphere Neku could create for them, a little peace from everything that's happening currently.
"So, what happened with you? You looked pretty bummed out," he asked.
Here she reveals to him her side of the investigation, and how poorly it had ended on her end. Neku groans in irritation, admitting he understood her frustrations with how Eri acted and how now they were going to have even more of a problem during this process. It was bad enough to hear that even the parents know about this and don't do anything to help. Then before he could continue, Shiki's frown catches his eyes and he stopped.
"What's wrong?".
"Eri…before she left, she says I'm not supposed to be her but me…but I don't…I don't get what she means," she confessed, "I know I've gotten over my jealousy over her but…it, sometimes it feels like I'm still there, you know? The time I was in her body, its like a cage of what I really am…".
"I remember that you said the real most important thing to you was really yourself, but really, that wasn't it," Neku assured, "You never had faith in yourself, always compared yourself to Eri. That's not you anymore, remember?".
"I do…but nowadays, after all this, I can't help it. She wants me to be me…but how can I be anyone else but me?" she asked.
She looks at her coffee, before facing Neku and asked him what he thought about all this. Quietly, Neku clasped his cup with both hands, humming in thought. He gently says Shiki is, while no longer a desperate girl trying to become her best friend, she was still in a way, in her shadow. Ever since they reconciled and reunited after the game, they had grown closer and started to work on their future fashion designer careers.
Yet he pointed out Eri was the one who was more out-going with their ideas, basically the face of their little careers and the one who is ready to grab for their dreams. Shiki was the one who'd stick into the background, let her friend be the face of their dream and she the quiet girl who did the equal amount of work for them. Her constantly letting herself stay in the back, play the role of the quiet girl who was more of a sidekick of the dream team, and that was her problem.
"Eri probably could have said it way better, but I can see what she means," Neku hummed.
"So…I should be more like her…" Shiki says, shoulders dropping.
"Nope. I think you need to be more Shiki Misaki," he says with a small smile, "But who that is? You tell me".
The girl in question looks back at her mug, seeing herself in the liquid. "Shiki Misaki…the mouse? Or someone I want to be?" she thinks to herself. Had she really grown from the game, or was it just the start of her personal self-discovery? Being shy around everyone she meets yet is always surrounded by people who are so outgoing and cheerful. The day she introduced herself to Neku, Beat and Rhyme on the day they first met up in the RG, the way Neku's eyes lit up, the large grin on Beat's face and the joyous look on Rhyme's face.
They saw the real her, the girl who hide her true self away in a shell of someone she cared deeply for. And accepted the real her, not Eri's best friend or her shadow, Shiki Misaki. She smiles behind her coffee and looks back at the smirking young man, who shrugged confidently at her before sipping his drink. Then his eyes shot open, and he nearly spilled his coffee in his haste to plant the coffee down, cringing and hissing in pain from the intense heat of his drink. He coughed and whined in pain, which made Shiki giggle profusely at him, his cool guy image tainted by his sensitive tongue.
He shot her a glare, then huffs and looked away, his cheeks taking a dusty red color. Then their phones vibrate, and both pluck them out of their pockets to find the team group chat has a message from Ryuji. They glance at each other with frowns, and then read the message together.
He was going on about how none of this made any sense, that the principal and even the parents know about what Kamoshida is doing to the students, frustratingly demanding why nobody would speak up about this. The teens shared the same look of equal measures of frustrations and knowing why, Neku texting back that they're either afraid of Kamoshida and what he could possibly do, or worse than that, some parents probably don't care about the abuse. Cruel as he may come across, a lot of the team agreed with him on the former part, more so out of hope.
Then Rhyme added that Kamoshida did make the volleyball team famous thanks to his "coaching" and considering the achievements the team accumulated since he was appointed, they have been far more successful in tournaments and matches than they ever were. She also added in the text that the success of the volleyball benefits the coach as well, and then it was only further supported when Ventus texted that he remembered that perv saying something about only he has to be the one to achieve anything.
But then Naminé texted her thoughts, reminding everyone that all the victims either stone walled them or refuse to comment on their predicaments. With no one willing to speak up and with both the parents and principal out of the question, virtually they were on their own to try and stop him.
"Naminé's right…" Shiki sighed, looking at Neku, "Everyone's so scared of that guy they'd rather deal with him abusing them then speak up".
"Probably because he'll do something worse than just beat the crap out of them if they squeal…" Neku grunts.
He texted the group for ideas, that if they can't use interrogations to get people to talk about it then there has to be another way around this. Ryuji texted that if his follower gave a crap, maybe they'd have a shot. Xion texted who was the follower and Ren responds to her, saying Ann Takamaki. He tells her she's in the same class as himself and the others. This makes Neku ponder on the girl and turned to Shiki.
"You think she actually knows what he's doing?" he asked.
"Ann's not the best student but she's hardly blind. I think there's more going on with her and that man," Shiki says thoughtfully. The final string of texts came from Ryuji going off on how bull this situation was and how Kamoshida was exploiting the students, refusing to let this end. He swears to the gang he'll ask around more at break, swearing he wasn't going to give up until that pervert gets what is coming to him. Riku finishes the conversation by agreeing that no one is giving up, that they just need to find another method to expose him before bidding everyone a good night.
"Man, Ryuji's really determined to bring that bastard down," Neku remarked, "Kinda reminds me of Beat back in the game…".
"Except Ryuji didn't rip an invisible reaper wall down with his bare hands…" Shiki says with a smirk before she giggled at the expression Neku made. Even after all this time it still terrified him how strong that blonde idiot was whenever he was fired up. He was slightly scared to see him get angry with her Persona. The orange haired rebel hums quietly while the raven checked her phone for the time, and then lets out a small yelp of surprise. Time had passed far quicker than either she or Neku had thought, it was long past time for the trains to stop running for the day, meaning she was stuck.
"Guess time flies when you're having fun…" Neku muses before sipping his coffee, "You could just crash here for the night".
"CRASH HERE!? NEKU'S PLACE!? WHERE HE SLEEPS AND LIVES!?" mentally screamed the girl, her cheeks going dark red like rubies. Her body shook with nerves, sweating slightly from the knowledge and offer while he gets up, saying he'll go sort the guest room out for her while she finishes her beverage. She couldn't even stammer a response to him, shaking like a building of nerves was made of brittle sticks while he exits the living room.
It wasn't a major secret among the previously small group of friends, bar Neku, that the girl had a massive crush on him. Who wouldn't have such feelings towards a person who helped her grow beyond what she deemed enough for herself or help her see the worth of her value to her friends? And yes she has been the closest to him among them all, for sure, because he allowed her in more than he'd ever let anyone else. But Neku never gave her an impression or even a hint of his views on romance, considering how much of an anti-social teenager he was back when they first met.
And if she were honest, no girl seemed to be willing to try and see if they could even get his attention. He was so stand-offish with the other students in Shujin, would speak quietly and lowly like it was a half effort attempt to assure them he was capable of speaking. Maybe he wasn't interested in dating and perhaps he's still not used to having friends to open up to. Part of her believed that theory because of how he acted around the girls in their group, and even the fact he has a girl staying over doesn't even seem to faze him.
Deciding she'd worry about it another time; the raven finishes her drink while secretly smiling at the thought of staying over at her crush's home.
Blissfully unaware of the crush's own realization of the situation. As he was just finishing putting Shiki's bed together after making the untouched bedroom look presentable and cosy, he held the sheets in his hand while his mental rambles reach the end of the rambling road, where it dawned onto him that the girl who first broke him free of the cage of his heart was staying at his home.
"Shiki's sleeping at my place…" he says quietly.
His cheeks turn bright red as his jaw falls and begins to twitch with a promise of a stammer about to rise from his throat. Before he buried his face into the sheet and yelled. Delighted.
* Afternoon: 4/14: Thursday*
*Classroom*
Listening to their teacher's lectures, Ren took down the notes while Sora seemed to have some issues about retaining the information and apparently has some problems with staying awake during the whole lecture. Not that Ren would blame him, the droning monotone voice of their teacher would put even the most energetic student to sleep. But while he was being the diligent student nobody expected him to be, his mind was far from the subject at hand. Rather he was fixed on the text last night, something that on his way here was greatly weighing on his mind.
On his way to school, he overheard a few girls gushing on Kamoshida's performance yesterday at the rally. It disturbed him greatly on how beloved that demon was, one of the girls was even wondering if she could get an autograph from him, but then the other girl seemed hesitant. She says her friend should just stay away from the PE faculty office, because some people swear they could hear weird sounds, like screaming, despite nobody being there.
The other girl chalked it up to just rumours, maybe to try and scare the competition. Except Ren knew damn well that was likely a ghostly imitation of the torture chambers in the Palace, and he doesn't even dare to imagine how he's tormenting the victims in the real world. But this only proves that he was indeed treating the students in the same way as the slaves in the Metaverse, and he fears people like Mishima was probably part of that regime.
Before they entered the classroom, Naminé and Rhyme texted their quick reports. According to the older blonde, the girl she and Xion had spoken wasn't attending school today due to a severe injury to the head. She managed to gleam that Kamoshida had spiked her "accidentally" and this time unlike Mishima, knocked her out. But of course, it was covered up and he wasn't under any suspicion for intentionally harming his student. Rhyme's report wasn't much better, another girl was in crutches now and seemed genuinely happy that she couldn't resume volleyball training for a while.
It scared the others to no end, that having such a severe wound would be seen as a positive outcome for a student.
"Even with all this, they're too scared of Kamoshida to confess…and if the parents can't or won't do anything, on top of that ball of lard of a principal turning the other way, we've got nothing to bring down that bastard," rambles Ren quietly. He glanced at Sora who subtly glanced back, his eyes speaking the same frustrations their leader was going through. Then the two's phones vibrated and while the teacher was going on, oblivious that most of the students had tuned him out, they sneak their phones below the desks.
Ryuji: "So about witnesses…I was wondering if we could get something out of Takamaki."
Beat: "Why dude? She ain't on the VBT?".
Xion: "What's "VBT"?"
Beat: "It's an acornorn!"
Rhyme: "Acronym. Short for volleyball team".
Ryuji: "Hear me out! You guys know how we didn't get anything outta the sports team? I figured it'd be a good idea to talk to someone who knows them!".
Kairi: "And Takamaki is your go to? I dunno about that…we didn't exactly welcome her with open arms yesterday…".
Ryuji: "I mean yeah, but I ain't thinking her! She's got a BBF whose on the team, a girl named Suzui. I tried talking to her during break but got nothing".
Neku: "Not surprising. Shiki told me last night there's a bit of issue between her and Eri".
Ryuji: "FOR REAL!?".
Shiki: "Yeah…we tried asking about Kamoshida and…Eri and Ann kinda took a bite at each other…".
Riku: "Hate to say it guys but unless we're on Takamaki's good side, Suzui is off limits".
Ryuji: "Damn it…ok, sorry about that guys. I'll think of something else".
Ren and Sora both sighed as the conversation ended between the gang, another opportunity shutting down on them…
* After School: 4/13: Wednesday*
Kairi walks through the school halls during lunch time, sighing tiredly at this seemingly unsurmountable wall that the gang were facing. She walked into the courtyard with a juice box in hand, thinking on what other ways they could use to try and expose Kamoshida before she stuffed her hand in her pocket and felt some loose change jingle against her fingers. She then remembered Riku mentioning Naminé forgetting to bring a drink for school again and she knows the girl loves iced tea, so she decided to approach the vending machines for the drink.
As she approached the machine, she hears Ann's voice and turned her head slightly to see her and Shiho sitting down on a bench. She gasped quietly when she saw Shiho's face, a new bruise on her right eye that looked like it was about to swell up soon, but worst was her eyes. They were empty and just tired like her very soul had left the vessel that was her body. She overhears their conversation, Ann inquiring about heading to practice, that made the poor girl weakly admit she was supposed to but sounded like she'd rather date the devil than go.
Ann inquired about the bruise on her eye, and like everyone else Kairi and the others talked to, she confirmed it was from practice. The best friend asked if Shiho was just pushing herself too hard during the practice. To Kairi's dismay, Shiho just replied that volleyball was all she was good at anyway, that if she gave it up she'd have nothing. Was that because of that monster coach, he wasn't just happy with pummelling his students but now he's tearing their self-confidence down too?
Their talk was interrupted by a techno jingle from Ann's pocket, her phone Kairi figured. The girl says it was probably her part-time job, but Shiho only responds with her saying she should go. Ann tries once again to see if her best friend was okay. Like a robot, she merely offers a quarter-hearted "uh huh" before she walks off, as if she were approaching her end. Kairi watches in silence as the girl leaves her sight, her face frowning in sadness and sympathy for the poor girl. Meanwhile behind her she hears a little bit of Ann's conversation.
Like Shiho, she sounded so tired and too downtrodden to even muster up fake cheer, saying she just wasn't feeling great to do any work today before hanging up. She leaves the area just in time for two schoolboys to join the spot as Kairi's drink falls and when she reaches to pick it up, she overhears the boys conversing. One of them said he heard a rumour that she and Kamoshida were dating, which almost made Kairi snap her head towards those two.
The other student didn't buy it at first, until the instigator says he heard people say she and the coach were in the same car together. Kairi knew that sadly was true, only because that was when Ren met the others. Then the originally doubtful student hummed, saying Ann was easy and probably had a chance with her. The rumour loving student commented that he couldn't go after Kamoshida's "bitch", and that made Kairi's stomach churn with disgust. Her grip on the can tightened so much if she applied her keyblade training's results she'd crush it.
When they finally turned to acknowledge her, they both greeted her with fake kindness and manners. She coldly glared at them, they froze on the spot of her intense glare as she stomped off, calling them terrible people. Kairi looked towards Ann, walking into the school building and her eyes lose the cold glare, shifting into a gentle and sympathetic look, thinking that Ann might be as much of a victim as her friend.
Inside the building, Ren was walking to meet up with the others after Ryuji texted the group to meet up, but before he exited to the courtyard, he spotted Shiho by the door, looking at her phone. She glanced up to see the criminal, softly apologizing for standing in the way. He smiles gently and waved off her concern, saying he was just killing time and wanted to get some air while he does so. That's when she clutched her arm, remarking that she somewhat knew who he is, the student from Class-D. He reluctantly acknowledges her guess, sighing.
"I apologize if I'm bothering you or making you feel uncomfortable…so if you could just stand a bit to left, I'll get out of your hair," he promised.
"Oh…no, don't worry…" she says softly, before looking away and then back to him, "Um, this might not be any of my business, but don't let those rumours get to you, okay?".
He raised a brow behind his glasses, surprised she's offering rather sound advice over judgement or scrambling away from him like a frightened kitten. "Why would you say that? I mean…I don't have a record for the fun of it…" he asked.
"Because I understand…my best friend is often misunderstood because of her looks," she confides, "I guess…you and here are similar in a way".
"No offense but big difference between looks and records," he chuckles, "But thank you. I…appreciate the concern". There is a bit of renewed light within her eyes, like it was the first time someone listened to her and genuinely showed gratitude. Ren looked down at his feet, wondering if he should just ask her about Kamoshida or whatever her friend was going through. He can't help it, but looking at the hollow look in Shiho's eyes, he feels something within her is slowly cracking like flames poisoning a wooden body.
Before he can however, she apologies once more before she walks away, saying she had to go to practice. Ren watches her leave quietly, then continues his walk to the meet up. There at the courtyard near the vending machines, he sees Ryuji, Neku and Riku standing around. Ryuji has his arms crossed and looked ready to explode with frustration building up within his form. Ren looked to Riku who shakes his head, saying the guy wasn't having a good day.
It turns out Ryuji had been continuing the interrogations without the others but came up with nothing, but the exact same thing Mishima had told Riku and Sora yesterday. Every student recited what he said yesterday, meaning the coach must have threatened them to keep an even tighter lip if the others asked them anything. Neku chirped the punishment might have escalated to something even less forgiving then just a beating.
"At this point…we'll have to go to him directly!" Ryuji growled, punching the vending machine.
"And do what exactly? The hell kind of plan is that?" Neku asked incredulously, "He already knows we know something about his abuse and approaching him will do anything but help us".
"Then what about, I dunno, a sneak attack?" Ryuji offers.
"Oh yeah, that'll go even better! Lets attack our coach, that'll show him…and land US in a shit load of trouble!" Neku argued, then gestures to Ren, "And what do you think is gonna happen to him if we get caught?".
"We can't even go to the police…between how tight lip everyone is and with the principal as his back up, what can they do without proper cause, evidence or witnesses?" Riku added, "Hate to say it guys but we've got no way to take him down".
"…maybe, we don't have to go after Kamoshida…".
The three looked at Ren, stepping forward. "Think about it, we can't do anything here because of all the reasons listed, but where can we be at our best? Where can we take the fight to Kamoshida on equal footing, where nobody knows but us?".
"The Palace…I get it but…" Neku starts before he was interrupted by a voice. A familiar yet unknown one to the team, looking around inquisitively for the source. The voice rambles on about not letting them off with skipping out on repaying somebodies' kindness. A black cat suddenly jumps onto the table in the centre of the group, glaring at them all with intense blue eyes while wearing a yellow scarf around its neck. But when the boys looked at the furball, Riku merely gasped "Morgana?" and the group's eyes widened.
"I can't believe you all just left me hanging like that!" he lectures, "After all I did for you!".
"What the hell is going on here?" Neku asked slowly, wondering if all the schoolwork load finally broke their minds. "Why the hell is this cat talking!?".
"I am NOT a cat! This is what just happened when I came into this world!" argued Morgana. Riku points out the irony in his statement, gesturing his feline form and even remarking on how this was the form he took when he came to the real world. Neku then asked him how he found them, which the cat admitted it took him some time to track them down but once he eavesdropped on a few students he heard them talk about Ren and the other transfer students. That was how he tracked them to Shujin, and when Neku asked him how he got out of the Metaverse, asking if he used a phone as well.
Except the furball bragged that he was well above using minor convivences to traverse between worlds like them, though he confessed he got lost a few times during his escape.
"So…why can you talk if you've got the body of a cat?" Riku asked.
"How should I know!?" shouts the cat.
"You are just chalk full of info aren't you?" sighed the master.
"That's not important! Anyways, I heard you guys are having some tough troubles right now. Something about witnesses?" he asked confidently. Ryuji barked a spiteful response to the confidence radiantly cat, who then offers a solution or two on how to deal with Kamoshida. He even praised that Ren was close to figuring it out on his own, even with that condescending attitude, which only convinced Ryuji that unfortunately this was indeed the same Morgana. The cat growls at him, frustrated that he doubted he was telling the truth.
Riku coyly reminds him his lack of info and his instance that he isn't a cat gave them all reasons to doubt.
Ren raises his hand for everyone to stop talking for a moment, gesturing the two teachers coming out of the building. Disciplinary members it seemed, but they were apparently ordered to find a cat that was seen on school grounds. All five tense up, wondering if their argument disturbed them enough to look here. But while one of them was complaining about the whole ordeal of wasting time looking for a cat at a time like this, the other one swore he heard a large amount of meowing nearby.
This gave him enough of a reason to believe the cat was at the very least nearby so if they hurried they could just find it, kick off the school grounds and call it a day. They walk ahead far enough for the team to resume their talk, but Ryuji points out they only heard meowing, nothing regarding a proper speaking voice like Morgana's. Ren asks the cat if it was possible that only they could understand what he was saying, and the cat was inclined to agree with the Trickster.
Bizarre as their situation is, Ryuji pressed the cat about his way to help them, questioning him if it was for real. The cat curtly replied he was severely sceptic for an idiot, and Riku comments he was very arrogant for someone with so little answers. Ren had a good feeling those three were gonna be the best of friends in the worst ways possible one day. He also says that if the disciplinary teachers were going to keep patrolling it'd be best if they take this conversation elsewhere and more importantly get Sora and the others to meet with them.
They agreed and Ryuji, whether it was genuine good thinking or just to punish Morgana, stuffed him into Ren's bag while Neku texted the others to meet them on the rooftop.
*Rooftop*
"Don't be so rough with me!" whined Morgana, glaring at the blonde punk.
"Stop you're whining, I wasn't that rough with you!" Ryuji scoffed, "You said you know a way to take down Kamoshida, right?".
Morgana rolled his blue eyes but does assure them that he does. Once everyone settled in, and after Xion was assured by Roxas Morgana wouldn't go anywhere near her (probably out of fear that she'd actually be the one to kick him), and after Kairi and Naminé cooing on how adorable he looked, he finally explains how they could take on Kamoshida. He mentions Ren's idea plays a part in it, that attacking his castle was their best shot. The castle is how Kamoshida views the school, as he explained before, and while he may not know what is happening, its connected deeply within the depths of his heart. Therefore if the castle disappeared, it would have a great impact on the Kamoshida of the real world.
Rhyme hums that he mentions the Palace is a manifestation from Kamoshida's distorted desires, and that was how the whole thing was constructed. So if she was right, if that Palace disappeared, IE the person's distorted heart, then they'd change. Morgana praised the girl while Ryuji questioned if it happen, would Kamoshida become a "good guy?". Neku voiced his doubts on the good guy thing, but also asked how was that payback?
Morgana added that by erasing a person's Palace essentially means forcing someone to have a change of heart. But even if their warped desires are gone, their crimes don't just magically disappear, which makes Kairi offer what she thinks the cat was implying. If the desires of the ruler go away and they have a change of heart while the crimes they committed in the real world remain, the guilt of such actions would be too much for them to bare.
"So you're saying he'd feel SO guilty, he'll confess his crimes?" Xion asked, tilting her head, "Like kinda how if Sora ate the last cookie that was Kairi's, he'd feel so super bad he'll confess?".
"Err…yeah, if that's how you wanna put it…" Roxas says.
"And here's the best part~ Since the Palace will no longer exists, he'll forget what we did there too," Morgana added with a cat like smirk.
"Meaning we can bring him down AND do it without any clues leading back to us? It sounds like we're pulling off the perfect crime!" Ventus says.
Ryuji laughed joyously as most of the gang were grinning, he even praised Morgana (something none of them ever thought to hear) for it. But Beat rubbed his neck, asking how they are gonna do it. Here Morgana explains the leg work of the grand plan, that for Kamoshida's heart to change, they must steal the treasure within the Palace. When asked about the "stealing" part, Morgana closed all information doors to the party and says if they want to hear the rest of the plan, they must commit to this plan. Only if they promise to help him, he'll help them.
Glances were shared and exchanged between the team, each of them having slight reservations about agreeing. While without a doubt Morgana has been up front with them and thanks to him they have escaped from some very close calls, plus his plan was their best way to bring down the perv, they still have no clue what he could possibly want from them. Rhyme voiced her opinion, that while she liked everything the cat said about the change of heart, she reminds Morgana the times where he wasn't sure on certain aspects on the Palace.
Naminé argued that they don't have anyone else who knew about the Metaverse, and Morgana likely has at least a smidge experience on the Palace than the rest of the gang. Roxas also reminds everyone that all their other plans have gone down the drain and with so much control and power, Kamoshida was virtually untouchable. Ryuji sighed and says they weren't having much luck on their own, and if they all want bring down Kamoshida, they have no choice but to go with Morgana's request.
"Okay…looks like-
"Hold it".
They all look at Neku, arms crossed and he was staring at Morgana. "You say we can change his heart, and he'll confess his crimes AND we can do it without risks of people finding out, yeah?" he asked.
"Weren't you listening to me? Of course we can!" Morgana says impatiently.
"Right…but what's the catch? This sounds WAY too good to be straight forward as your making it out to be," Neku challenged, "And no, I'm not talking about potentially fighting him, those knights, monsters or whatever the hell else he has, there's something you're not telling us".
"…well…there is one thing…" Morgana confessed, "If we erase the Palace, there's no doubt the desires will be erased too".
"Yeah, you said that?" Sora reminds.
"Wait a second…if Kamoshida's desires are gone…what exactly happens?" Naminé asked, "Distorted or not, we all need desires to survive. To eat, fall in love, achieve, all sorts of things". Her eyes widen with a terrible realization, and slowly but certainly a vast majority of the party were starting to catch on…minus Ryuji.
Morgana explains that if all those wants and yearnings suddenly vanish, the person would be no different than someone who basically shut down entirely. He even mentions that without proper care, they could potentially die too.
"DIE!?" some yelled in horror.
"Will you let me finish?" Morgana asked impatiently, "I said it could happen…".
"Hold a second, you're saying that we do this, WE could possibly kill Kamoshida!" Roxas growls, "And you were gonna keep that from us if Neku didn't ask you!".
"Hold up, aren't you guys determined enough to take the risk? I mean you said it and saw for yourselves what a terrible human he is," Morgana argued, "Besides, nobody is ever gonna find out what we did".
"That's not the frigging point! If we just go around doing whatever we want, we'd be no different than Kamoshida! Besides, we're talking about possibly MURDER!" Ryuji shouts. Yet even with such a proclamation, Morgana reminds them that this was their only option if they really wanted to bring down Kamoshida. Each of the group argued and sided with Ryuji, that while absolutely Kamoshida was a monster for what he's doing, this was a step way over the line. None of them would stoop so low as to murder.
Morgana sighed, realizing that the party wasn't going to decide tonight, and says he'll come back later when the team makes a choice. He scurries off to wherever his feline heart desires, leaving the teenagers to contemplate what to do. Ryuji huffs, stressing himself and the others about the whole ordeal while many others were trying to figure out which course of action was the best to take.
"W-We're not actually considering this are we? I mean, we're talking about killing someone…" Shiki whispers.
"Hold on, he said it was possible without proper care. But Kamoshida's in the prime state of body, sounds unlikely he'll need proper care," Riku counters, "If he were an old man then yeah, but with his form?".
"But what if it isn't just physically? Emotionally and mentally, it could be too much for him," Naminé pipes, "If he suffers a mental breakdown, he could possibly shut down entirely and become brain dead".
"Yo, do we even got a choice here? Like Ryuji says, we ain't having luck with them witnesses," Beat groaned.
"Personally? I couldn't care less what happens to that pervy bastard but…like, we're still taking someone's life…are we really ready to have that scarlet letter for the rest of our lives?" Neku asked.
Everyone had no answer, each one providing an argument to one solution and eventually everyone came the conclusion that nobody was in the right mind to decide on whether to take this. Like Morgana said, he'll come back when they all are ready to decide and only when everyone was willing to agree to it, nothing was going to come from it. Ren suggests everyone to go home and clear their heads, that maybe when they all have some time to think then maybe they can come to an agreement.
At the school gates after bidding everyone a good day, Ren was about to make his own way home before Ryuji the group chat. According to him, he says he's heard some guys in his class talking about Suzui, there are rumours going around about her and Kamoshida. Ryuji says if it were true that would explain why he couldn't get her to talk but he doesn't believe because is made no sense to him. When prompt for an answer, Ryuji says he's known both Suzui and Takamaki since middle school, and that perv wasn't their type.
Then Sora asked about those rumours, wondering where they came from suddenly. He mentions Kairi overheard two students talking about Takamaki and Kamoshida were dating, so now there's talk of Suzui dating that pervert too. Everyone agreed this was bizarre, but nobody could really figure out where those rumours started from. Either way, the party reluctantly agreed to deal with it tomorrow while looking for another way to confront that man.
Ren stuffed his phone in his pocket, fixed on those rumours about the two girls. He decided since he was still in the school area, likely on his way back home he'll meet a few students or bump into a group gossiping about anything and everything. Perhaps it was time for him to practice his inner investigative journalist and see if he can get something on those rumours and even find the person spreading them.
First thing he learned was from two girls gossiping about Takamaki and her supposed relationship with Kamoshida. They comment that she always looks so unhappy whenever Kamoshida was talking to her, which Ren thought was completely understandable considering what a loathsome piece of garbage he was. Then the other girl says maybe she doesn't want to talk to him to show how she has him tied around her finger. And the other girl was wondering how far they in their relationship.
Ren did his best not run to the closest trash bin and vomit at the mere thought of those words.
How could they buy such garbage?
The next set of rumours he hears are from another set of girls, but this time regarding himself and Ryuji. Guess they were apparently scary, but oddly enough one of them was doubting he had a criminal record, that perhaps he was one of those people who've been suffering mental break downs and just attack people. He frowns as they go on about it, remembering the subway accident that happened a few days ago prior to his arrival. Maybe that's connected to the Metaverse…
The final students gave him nothing much apart from disdain for Ryuji and even commenting on the volleyball team's loyalty to Kamoshida. They weren't wrong on that, but not right either he thinks. Then they talked about Suzui, that she was Kamoshida's apparent new favourite if her bruises and swellings were any indication. "New favourite? Does Kamoshida have more than just Takamaki and Suzui? Have there been others we don't know about?" Ren thinks as he walked away.
He goes through his usual route him and leaves the subway, his mind swimming with thoughts. Everyone had so much reservations about Morgana's idea and rightfully so, but like they all repeatedly say, they don't have any other solid ways to go after Kamoshida without either getting into more trouble or worse.
"Will you please give it a rest!? I told you, I'm not feeling up to it…".
Ren stops and turns to see Ann on her phone, her eyes widened with obvious frustration and anger. Then her eyes shift in shock and horror, gasping in disgust. "Wait, what!? T-That's not what you promised! And you call yourself a teacher!?".
"This has nothing to do with Shiho!".
The phone goes dead, much to Ann's shock while she stares at the phone. Slowly she crouched and wrapped her arms around her knees, whispering something about Shiho. Ren could feel the tug on his heart and against past experiences, he approached the girl, who must have seen him and quickly stepped up and backed away in surprise. Her eyes were fixed and wide yet her expression was guarded like she was trying to hide.
"W-Were you listening?" she accused.
"Not intentionally," he confessed.
"Haven't you heard of privacy?" she asked.
"In public while raising your voice unfortunately doesn't allow you that much privacy", he rebuked.
She opened her mouth, but then relents with a sigh. He guessed his words might have stricken sensitive spot, but she even apologized to him, that she was out of line. She wipes her tears and asks how much he heard. With honesty, he says he heard bits and pieces, mostly about a friend that warranted such a response. Ann looks away whilst whispering about her friend, but then snaps back at him, saying it wasn't any of his business. Then, she runs away from.
But she couldn't get away from him without her tears flowing from her eyes.
He starts to follow her into the subway, trying to get her to stop running from him. Through the sea of people, the impatient jerks and rude ones Ren would have happily shoved aside, running around the giant round pillars and evading crashing into the stands carrying brochures and tabloids, Ann always in his sights as he races for her.
Luckily for him, she somewhat stopped her attempts to escape him, and just settled on resting against the pillar. She snapped her head at him when he stood nearby, demanding him to just leave her alone. Yet again Ren refused, her tears running down now, and his eyes were unreadable. A victim like her, even if Kamoshida hasn't abused her like all the others, in a since she was like him. Helpless and all on her own to face the world's unfair cruelty. Maybe that was why helping her wasn't just a gut feeling or morally why he was doing it.
"Come with me, I think you need someone to talk to," he says, offering a hand to her.
*Café*
Settled in a relatively private booth, each with a cup of their selected beverages, Ren was patiently sitting before the girl who is the victim of so many disgusting rumours. She tried her best to evade his questions, all three of them, regarding the phone call was nothing more than an argument between herself and a teacher. He calmly revealed the person she was speaking too was none other than the coach, to which she lamented that he heard pretty much the whole thing.
"…you heard about those rumours…about me and Mr Kamoshida…getting it on…" she says, yet even poising it as a question seemed redundant based on her tone.
"I have from a few students here and there…along with other unpleasant ones," Ren admits, "But I want to hear the truth from you. And I'm guessing they're wrong?".
Ann confessed that he was on the other line, that she's been doing everything in her power to avoid giving him her number. Somehow he managed to get it, whether from the school methods of gaining information on their students or worst, someone had backstabbed her. She reveals that after school she was supposed to come to his place to possibly make those rumours grow fat with morsels of truth. Ren shook his head when she grabbed the tissue tightly in her hand, her anger seeping through her form.
"But you've been turning him down right? Surely you haven't given into these advances?" Ren asked, near pleads.
"Course I have! But…this time he says if I don't, he'll take my friend off the team…" she says.
Ren looked at the table, disgusted. Abusing students, physically, mentally and sexually, destroying the track team, breaking Ryuji's leg, and now Kamoshida is using blackmail to get with a student like Ann. Is there no end to that degenerate's depravity?
The girl shook, saying she was putting up with all this for Shiho's sake, that she believed if she could keep him focused on her, maybe Shiho would be spared from all his abuse. But from Ren had seen, the girl's best wasn't enough to stop Kamoshida, or worse he just didn't keep his word. Tears run down her cheeks, the girl crying she couldn't take it anymore, how she despised Kamoshida with all her heart and wanted to just escape from it all. But Shiho, Shiho was the only good thing she had in the trash heap of a school.
"Tell me…what should I do?" she begged with tears.
Grabbing his knees in anger yet keeping his face composed, his eyes narrowed with sympathy. What could she do? Like Ren and the others, Ann has no way out of this. She was just another tool for that coach to exploit, and both her and Shiho were toys to him. She apologized whilst wiping her tears, saying it wasn't his problem to deal with, but then he gently placed a hand on hers, making her face his steely grey eyes.
"I get it…you're trapped in this position, with no way out," he says, "Even with all the right intentions to help your friend, you're at your limit".
She looked at him, surprised while he continues. "When I first came here, I wasn't expecting people to find out about my record so quickly. I know what it is like to be under the eyes of pretty much everyone who knows, judging you for something other than the person you are. Worst of all, having no one to just be there, whether you can't find them, or worse".
He smiles softly and says to her that's why he was with Ryuji, Neku and the others, that they're somewhat like anchors to him. They saw through the troubled student and saw him for Ren, even with all of the garbage Kamoshida is throwing at them. He chuckled that for the most part, he was "kidnapped" by Ryuji and like the others, roped into all this madness. Ann even smiled softly back at him, wondering if he really was such a bad person. Commenting that she just can't get that feeling from him, even when she watched from afar.
He replied he was just a bad person, claiming to be a rebel. When she asked, he said he would pour milk into the bowl first then the cereal. She burst into laughter from that, shaking her head at him while he put on a smug "I'm a badass" look while crossing his arms. She wiped a tear from her eyes, smirked at his attitude, before it slipped into a look.
"What?" he asked.
"I…knew those rumours were exaggerated, I mean apart from the really stupid ones…but you didn't give off that vibe, you know?" she explains.
"And…how do you see me?" he inquired.
"You just seemed so…lonely. Like, you didn't belong anywhere," she clarifies.
Ren looked at the table, feeling the same feeling when Ryuji first mentioned it. In a way, they were right. All three of them were somewhat outcasts, Ryuji's history with Kamoshida, himself for his record and now Ann for those stupid baseless rumours. Do Neku and Sora's group feel like that some days? Or is it because of how tightknit of a group they are they didn't need others in their lives to feel like they belonged anywhere?
Ann even admits that they were in the same boat, maybe that was why talking to him was so much easier than she had thought. Their talks were coming to an end, with Ann wishing Kamoshida would just change on his own, just forget her and all this before laughing a sad laugh. Ren chuckled that anything can happen, yet Morgana's words purred in the back of his mind. Along with the possibilities of murder…
In the end, the two bid each other a good day, Ren offering her any time to talk if she needed, and her offering the same.
*Leblanc*
Like yesterday, Ren comes home to see Sojiro at the counter with the newspaper in his lap, and when he hears the jingle of his door going, he looked to Ren.
"You're late. Where have you been?" he asked.
"I met up with someone. Stayed back for a drink and talked about school, that's all," Ren revealed, "She just…really needed someone to listen, you know?".
Sojiro looks at him, searching for any lies in Ren's eyes before he shrugged and sighed, lecturing him about being late and not informing his guardian about it. Ren sheepishly reminds him they don't have each other's numbers, making the old man raise a black brow before he grunts out a "smartass" below his breath. Ren rolls his eyes and pushes his glasses up, hoping to get to bed and just get some sleep for tomorrow, only for Sojiro to inquire more about his day.
Namely asking if he had been hanging around any bad influences. Immediately he thinks of the group and considering what sort've troubles they may or may not be up to regarding the coach, he feels like he may fail that one request his guardian ordered.
"Well…I mean, one of them is a hot head yeah…the other one is stand off ish as hell and there's this girl who has more childish energy than all of us combined…do they count as bad influences?" he asked.
"…I…guess not," Sojiro sighed, "Still, they gotta be a bunch of weirdos if they wanna spend time with you".
"Well you're always so grumpy and smart, your customers are probably even bigger weirdos for coming here," Ren argued back.
Sojiro looked at him with a glare, before he chuckles from that jab, shaking his head. He then warns him to be careful about who he makes friends with, he doesn't need anyone to ruin his life. Wise advice Ren thinks, considering the students back in Shujin and how easy they are to believe any rumour they hear. But then he thinks about Ann and her situation, Kamoshida and their own predicament while Sojiro yawned and says he was about to head home. He stressed to Ren to think about him next time he's out late.
Before Sojiro left though, Ren stopped him.
"Sojiro…can I ask you something? Regarding a friend?".
"Oh god, what happened?" groaned the old man.
"…hypothetically, if someone was in trouble with someone whose got a lot of support, and you know a way to help someone but it's in a grey area, what would you do?" he asked, looking at him. Sojiro looked at him, surprised by the question itself and coming from a troubled student. He looked thoughtful and even contemplates what he's saying, before with a shake of his head, he says to Ren in his case, it's better to stay out of it.
"Anyone else? I'd say the same thing," he sighed.
"Really? Even if what they are going through is terrible and you could help?" Ren asked.
"Sometimes kid…its all you can do," his guardian admits before leaving the store yet again. Left alone in his new home, Ren sighs in disappointment before heading to bed.
But no sooner does he lie in his bed, Ryuji once again texted the group.
Ryuji: "So…anyone else thought about what Morgana said? Mean I dunno about stuff about stealing desires…and Kamoshida's gonna end up brain dead if we mess up, right?".
Xion: "That's what the evil kitty said!".
Riku: "He never mentioned "mess up" in his explanation. Meaning its possible even if we do it perfectly, we could potentially end up making him brain dead".
Beat: "Dudes…I mean, I know we all hate that guy but…killing him?".
Ren: "That isn't up for discussion. Killing is killing, no matter who the person is".
Kairi: "I'm on Ren's side on this one. I want to stop him but becoming a murderer isn't the way to do it".
Rhyme: "Agreed. And while I agree that this is sadly our only best option, are we really willing to take a life?".
Shiki: "I really don't wanna think about that…".
Sora: "Well we can't do anything today. How about we all just get some sleep and come back to it tomorrow? Maybe we'll come up with something else".
Everyone bids each other a good night, and all returned the realm of slumber…
*Morning: 4/15: Thursday*
Walking to the school under the bleak grey skies, Shiki quietly waltzes towards the school with Kairi and Naminé with her, spotting her after they got off the train. She interacts with them, chatting away about their afterschool activities and wondering if they adjusted to their new homes, which Kairi laments she was still trying to keep up with the schedules of the subways and the amount of stores in the city was somewhat intimidating to her. Naminé also confessing she was still uncomfortable with the amount of people in Shibuya.
As they chatted away, Naminé looked behind them and spots Eri approaching them, speed walking to them. She shyly waved at her, making her two friends look at the reddish pink haired teenager. Shiki opens her mouth to greet her, but the girl gestured them to keep walking, her face contorted into a really concerning look. With the four girls walking together, she tells them according to a few girls, Shiho never attended an important meeting with the team.
She then, after checking for eavesdroppers, says she's been hearing rumours that Shiho and Kamoshida had gotten together, which was based on the fact she was called into his office. Kairi looks disgusted but then added she heard about Mishima again, that he was the one who told her Kamoshida was looking for her. Much like the last time.
"Have you guys got a way to expose that pervy jerk yet?" she whispers.
"No…well, sort've…we're still trying to decide if that's the best course of action," Naminé explained, "All of our other plans have fallen through".
Eri sighed loudly, which was more of a groan than a sigh. She then mutters something about Shiho's health, that she seemed to be less and less of herself with each passing day, something the girls agreed upon.
If only they knew…
*Classroom*
Listening in to Mr Ushimaru's lessons, Ren quietly mulls over yesterday's conversations with Ann and Sojiro. The lesson was about the separation of powers, something that was completely lost on Sora and his fellow guardians. Luckily while the teacher was on one of his ramble rants, Ren took the chance to inform the boy about them. Basically there were three in total, the National Diet is legislative, the Cabinet is executive and finally the Supreme Court is judiciary. The reason for the division was just to balance out between the big three so that none of them are unstoppable.
Sora laments and buried his head into his arms on the desk, whining about not wanting to learn about politics. Ren couldn't fault his disdain, he wasn't thrilled with the subject either.
"So have you made up your mind yet?".
Ren jumps in his seat when from beneath his desk is Morgana, resting in the draw. Ren snapped his eyes to the teacher in a panic, but he was so wrapped up in his speech he completely failed to notice Ren's sudden outburst. He turned back to Morgana with a glare and whisper hissed at him for just appearing from nowhere. However Morgana ignores him, chastising him for his hesitance and coyly reminds him they have no other options, that it didn't matter how much they think, this was their best shot.
"You'd be better off just listening to me," bragged the cat.
"Listen to you? You are the one who is insisting murder is our only option!" hissed Ren, "None of us are okay with murder, furball!".
Unfortunately, their quiet argument got the teacher's attention, who heard a meow. Ren straightened up instantly while Morgana, stupidly, meowed. Now the other students were sure they heard meowing too, making Ren glare at Morgana with a look that screamed: "Now look at what you done", while the cat sheepishly grinned in response to this. This lack of thought only deepened his doubt in the cat's plan and himself in general.
Then the team's phones vibrated and of course it was Ryuji.
Ryuji: "Its no use…I can't think of any other way…".
Riku: "Are you cutting class or texting DURING class?".
Ryuji: "How can I focus on class when we still don't have a way to stop Kamoshida!?".
Neku: "Not like you ever focused on class to begin with…".
Ryuji: "Do we just gotta go with the cat's idea?".
"See, even the moron knows better~" Morgana bragged.
Ren: "Just try and focus on class for now, Ryuji".
He then turned to Morgana and was about to argue with him quietly, until a student randomly stood up from his seat, looking through the class window. He called out something was up, and when the teacher yelled at him to sit back down, Ventus stood up to see what the commotion was. Through the window, he could see somebody was standing on the other side of the railing and his eyes widened in utter terror when he identified the person on the other side.
"Suzui…" he gasped.
"She's gonna jump!" the other student shouts.
Everyone stood up at this proclamation, Mishima gasping her family name and Ann whispering her first name. She stood up and ran out of the class along with Ren's group, eventually followed by the other students. A lot of the students from various classes were populating the hall, eyes on the girl on the ledge while Ann reached the window and gasped in terror when she sees the girl was on the edge. Sora and Kairi watched in despair while voices rambled, and eyes glued to the windows.
And then…Shiho fell.
The whole hallway was full of screams of terror and shock from the students, the teacher trying to keep calm and gather them back into the classroom. Ann backed away from the window, shaking in disbelief before she ran down the hallway to the courtyard where more students were gathering up, Ren, Kairi and Sora quickly follow in suit while Ventus stands there, frozen like a statue. They bumped into Ryuji along the rushing students, quickly trying to weave through the sea of students to catch up to Ann and Shiho.
In the courtyard, almost every student that attended the school had gathered up to see her, an ambulance having been called by a teacher and after swimming through the students, the party see Shiho was already in a stretcher and a blanket, but she was as still as a corpse. Ann was by her side while a random teacher was on the side lines with the students, who most of them were recording or taking pictures of the ordeal with their phones.
"What are they doing?" Kairi hisses in disgust.
"Looks like they're just recording all of this…" Sora says in dismay, shaking his head.
One of the paramedics were requesting someone to come with them, likely for information on the girl in question and pleaded for a teacher or someone. But the teachers here backed out, excuses pouring from their mouths and responsibility passed onto the principal. Enraged and disgusted, Ann shouted she'd come with them, being her best friend and knowing her better than anyone else. The paramedic nodded and told his staff to get going, and while ordering them around, Ann took this chance to talk to Shiho.
Though the team couldn't hear her, they see her eyes and expression change in shock. All they could gleam from this was Shiho had finally confessed to Ann what that bastard Kamoshida was doing. The paramedics drove off, which meant the show was over for the students and the teacher and principal finally tried to regain some control over the students, ordering them all to finally go back to class. However the team just stood there.
"This is terrible…why would she do this?" Kairi whispered, clutching her necklace as Sora comforts her.
"She was trapped…no way out but a permanent way," Ren says, clenching his fist. Behind them, they heard Mishima panting in a panic manner before he scrambled away. Ren growled and commanded the team to go after him, ignoring the teachers command.
Between the five of them, they were able to corner Mishima in the hall near some lockers. He tried to escape but gone was the team's patience and gentle natures, in their places were anger and even desperation. Ren interrogated him, demanding why ran away like that, and when Mishima tried to keep quiet, Ryuji slammed his fist against the locker, yelling at him. Not even Kairi was being gentle, she stepped forward and accused him of knowing what happened to Shiho and worst of all, knew why she had tried to take her life.
"If you're scared of something, then we won't tell anyone you blabbed or whatever! Just tell us!" Sora pleads. When Mishima still refused but even looked closer to breaking, Ren snapped. "Listen to me, Mishima! Someone almost died today, and you know damn well why this happened!" he bellowed, "If you don't want another student to go through what she went through then talk!". Mishima cowered under the normally cool headed Ren, and with more instance from Ryuji, he finally caved in.
"She was called out by Mr. Kamoshida!" he revealed.
The gang stared at him, horrified. He told them everything, that she, along with himself in the past, had been called to him. He'd nominate someone when he was in a bad mood, confirming the belief that the physical abuse was indeed real, but the worst part was Mishima says Suzui had done nothing to warrant being called out. It was completely out of the blue, and it must have been something that irritated Kamoshida because the punishment was worse than usual.
Livid, Ryuji cursed the teacher's name and then burst into a sprint after him, ignoring the others. Before Sora and Kairi gave chase, Ren stopped them. "I'll go after him…you guys tell the others and meet us on the rooftop," he says.
"But…" Kairi argued but Ren shakes his head.
"Trust me…there's no turning back after this…better it'd be just me and Ryuji," he says before chasing after the boy. Bravely or out of guilt, Mishima followed him in tow, leaving the two new commers to pick up the pieces.
Guided by Mishima, Ren and he come to the PE faculty office and stormed inside to see Ryuji staring down the teacher with every fibre of hatred in his body. While Kamoshida was simply at his desk, completely indifferent to him and likely to Shiho's fate. Immediately Ryuji demanded what the bastard had done to Shiho, yet Kamoshida waved him off like he was bothering him over something so trivial it barely warrant him to face him. With a shout, Ryuji kicked aside a chair and snapped at him, making the teacher finally snap back at him.
"Haven't you heard?" Ren asked, making the teacher face him, "Shiho had tried to take her own life not even an hour ago".
"Huh? Why's that? Heh, probably couldn't handle the pressure anymore," chuckled the teacher.
Mishima stammered, revealing what he did to them wasn't coaching at all, and that he was the one who ordered Mishima to bring Suzui here. This incensed Kamoshida, who finally had enough of them going on and on about things they had no proof on, even taunting them that they're only making these claims because they can't be regulars on the team. Mishima denies this, yet Kamoshida posed another question to the gang, that even hypothetically speaking, what could they possibly do to him?
He sneers that they just got a call from the hospital, that Shiho is currently in a coma and even her chances of recovering are slim, a person like that could never make a statement. This news disturbed the gang, and even more so when Kamoshida mocked her situation, that there is no chance of her getting better.
Mishima shook in despair, but Ryuji shakes in pure unbridled rage and hate for this man, and when Kamoshida saw this, he goads him. Mocking him, even referring to a possible repeat of another "self-defence lesson". But before Ryuji could do anything, Ren grabbed him and pulled him away without a word, making him nearly fall on his back. He stares at Ren's back as Kamoshida turned to him with disgust, but Ren's face is resolute, yet his eyes burned with steel and rebellious fire within.
"You're stopping him? What a surprise!" he mocks, "Why not let him attack me, he doesn't even need to hold back".
"Because I know what a piece of filth like you will do," Ren mocked, "But then again using such tactics? Perfect for a washed-up athlete". This made the teacher snarl at Ren, but the boy doesn't even flinch at him, even taunting him. "Go ahead, attack me, beat me like all the other students, because you know if this was someone else, ANYONE outside a student, they'd kick your ass all the way out of the school" mocks Ren, "You're a coward, Suguru, and you damn well know you are".
"You little…" seethes the teacher, before he smirked, "This sort of talking is unworthy of Shujin…and Sakamoto's behaviour is clearly rubbing off onto people…". He crossed his arms and says: "Everyone present here right now will be expelled. I'm reporting you all to the next board meeting".
Ryuji and Mishima looked at him with horror while Ren stares at him with disdain, but Mishima called him out, claiming he couldn't do this. Yet Kamoshida rebuked that his word has far more weight over the trio, especially given their records. He added that Mishima had threatened him too, he was as much of an accomplice as Sakamoto. He mocks the blue tinted boy, baffled as to how he never figured out why he was kept so close to the team despite how poor of a player he was. Cruelly, he mocked the poor boy for claiming to be a victim where in truth HE was the one who leaked Ren's criminal record to the school.
"So you were the one…" Ren muses quietly and then turned to Kamoshida, "What? Too much of a coward to do it yourself?".
But his words might have spited the coach, the fact remains unchanged. Kamoshida bragged that their futures were his to take, they were done for. He laughed cruelly and disgustingly, waving them off to get out of his sight. Mishima, like a beaten dog, crawls away in despair while Ryuji and Ren stand there, the former looking even more angry yet defeated, but Ren looked even more determined. He patted his friend's shoulder and said: "You heard him, lets go".
Leaving the laughing teacher, and no sooner did they slam the door, Ren stalked off with Ryuji, face contorting into anger just as Morgana, who was eavesdropping on them, trails behind them. Ryuji watched the leader quietly as he marched towards the rooftop. Soon he arrived on top of it to find the others waiting for the trio, all eyes were alit like his own. He quickly informs them the situation about him, Ryuji and Mishima, but more importantly informs them Kamoshida will likely get away with it because of Shiho's state.
"Kamoshida's gone too far this time. A student could possibly die because of him, and he's acting like he's already won. We all know if nothing changes, she won't be the last," speaks Ren, "And with everyone too scared of him, without any help from the adults, we've only ourselves to rely on".
"So…your minds made up?" Neku asked.
"Yeah…anyone objecting?" asks the Trickster.
He gets silence from everyone, yet their eyes spoke. Rebellious fire and raw determination.
"So what are we gonna do?" Sora questioned.
"We are going to take Kamoshida's heart," answers Ren.
A/N:
*Slams face into desk*
…so…tired…
Anyways, apologizes for the very late update! But you all know how work lives are, so here's the ninth chapter and the beginning of the heist!
I'll be posting and renaming the Possibilities chapter next, so keep an eye out for that for information. Along with next time, revealing the codenames.
Questions:
Q1: Thoughts?
Q2: Shiki and Neku?
Q3: Shiho?
Q4: How do you like Ren being portrayed?
Q5: More Sojiro and Ren time?
Q6: Eager for the heist?
Q7: What would you like to see next time?
As always everyone, thanks for reading! Stay awesome but more importantly stay safe!