Inside a certain apartment building located in Shibuya, Ryuji Sakamoto was nearing the entrance to the apartment he lived at.
After everything that happened today, he desperately needed a long and peaceful rest to relax his mind.
"Phew, home sweet home." Ryuji commented in relief as he entered the apartment and closed the door behind him, ready to rush on over to his room.
"Good evening, Ryuji."
"Evenin' ma-!"
The blonde trailed off and his eyes widened in realization before they slowly darted toward the figure on the couch, who was none other than his mother herself, Mayumi Sakamoto.
"How was school today? I'm sure you have something interesting to tell me about it, don't you?" She was smiling at him with her eyes closed, although there was clearly an ominous aura behind her expression.
This caused Ryuji to smack his forehead in exasperation.
'Crap! I knew I was forgettin' sumthin!' He mentally cursed in frustration.
He'd been missing from school for three whole periods. Of course the first person they'd call about his disappearance was his mom!
"By the way... Mind explaining why I got a call from the school telling me that you skipped classes for three periods?" Mayumi questioned her son, her expression slowly shifting to a much more serious one that left no room for nonsense.
"I-I didn't do it on purpose! I swear!" Ryuji frantically tried to defend himself.
"Not on purpose?" The statement confused Mayumi and caused her to raise an eyebrow, "How on earth do you skip school on accident?"
"I-I... Uhhh..." The blonde stammered as he tried to rack up an answer to her question.
There's no way he could tell her exactly what happened. She definitely wouldn't believe something as crazy as him ending up in a strange "castle" after all.
His inability to answer only made his mom more suspicious.
"Ryuji... You're not trying to lie to me, are you?" She sternly questioned.
"N-No, I'm not!" He refuted, "I-It's just...!"
Ryuji stammered for a bit before he calmed himself down with a deep breath and finally gave a response.
"I was late because I was helpin' out a new student." He stated.
"... How so?" Mayumi asked with a raised eyebrow.
"When I was gettin' on the train to Aoyama-Itchome, I ran into a new student who had transferred to Shujin. Turns out it was his first day goin' to the school so I offered to show him where to go from the station." Ryuji explained further, "We actually ended up hittin' it off and started chattin' for a while. But we chatted so much that we didn't realize we had missed our train and were way far from our stop. And when we got off, it turned out that one of the trains we had to take to get back to Aoyama-Itchome was delayed for a few hours, sooo... Yeah, we pretty much had no choice but to hang around and wait..." He finished a bit sheepishly.
It wasn't too far from the truth. After all, it wasn't until he ran into Ren that they both went missing... Although he obviously had to leave out the real reason they went missing. He just hoped that she would believe him.
Meanwhile, Mayumi pondered over his words, as if she were debating whether the explanation was plausible or not.
"Well, I can understand how that'd make you late... Especially with the aftermath of that terrible accident..." She commented, "But are you absolutely sure you're telling the truth?"
"Yes!! I am!" Ryuji hastily affirmed as he threw his hands up in the air, "Why're ya doubtin' me so much??"
"*Sigh* I'm sorry, baby." Mayumi apologized with a bit of guilt, "You know I trust you... It's just that I don't want you getting into any more trouble."
"C'mon, ma. I already have enough problems as it is, you know I ain't dumb enough to do any more stupid crap." He assured her, crossing his arms and averting his gaze, "Besides, I ain't tryna stress you out even more."
"I know... And I appreciate that, dear." She replied with a small smile, "But remember, you shouldn't just do it for my sake. Your life is just as important too." She advised.
"Yeah yeah, I know." He replied, rubbing the back of his head.
Satisfied with his agreement, Mayumi stood up from her spot on the couch.
"Well, now that that's all been cleared up, I'll get back to working on dinner." She stated, walking toward the kitchen.
"Oh! We eatin' Salmon Avocado again, tonight?" Ryuji asked in curiosity.
"That's right!" She answered with a wink, "Mind setting up the table for me, Ryuji?"
"Of course not! I'll get right on it!" He hastily replied with a salute before getting to work.
He hadn't acknowledged it till now, but since he got back from that castle, he had been pretty 'effin hungry, and there's no way he'd miss the chance to eat some good food!
His actions caused his mom to shake her head with an affectionate smile as she continued to cook.
After he and his mom finished eating dinner, the blonde decided to retreat to his room for the rest of the night, already dressed in sleep attire and laying in bed.
However, rather than mindlessly browsing on his phone like usual, the teen was staring at the ceiling with his hands behind his head, and he appeared to be in deep thought.
Of course, his thought process mainly involved the events inside the castle.
'... It's no use...' He mentally stated, 'No matter how much I think about it, I just can't understand what that whole thing was!'
'I keep tryin' to tell myself it was just some kinda dream, yet there's somethin' inside that's makin' me doubt myself...' He furrowed his eyebrows pensively, '... This is almost like that weird dream I had where I was in that weird prison cell... What was it even called again...?' He scrunched his eyes in thought before letting out a groan and smacking his head.
'What the hell's goin' on with me?! My brain's been makin' me see all sorts of weird shit since Saturday... And I know damn well I ain't no druggie!' He ranted in frustration, 'If I'm flippin' out so much then, does that mean there's a chance... That everythin' was real...?'
"*Sigh* You know what? I've got school tomorrow, so I can't start losin' sleep over this shit." He uttered as he hastily covered himself with his bedsheet, "Future Ryuji can worry about all this tomorrow..."
Shuffling until he found just the right position, the teen miraculously was able to force himself to fall asleep, the only sound in the room being the light snores emitting from his mouth.
.
.
.
A gasp escaped Ryuji's mouth when he suddenly woke up in shock.
He noticed that he was in a very familiar blue-colored jail cell, and he hastily looked down to see that he was dressed in a vintage prisoner outfit he recognized.
"What... This dream again?" He uttered in surprise and confusion as he sat up.
"About time you've come to!"
Ryuji sharply turned to the source of the familiar feisty voice, which led to him seeing those two child-like wardens from before, Caroline and Justine, standing outside his cell.
"Wuh... These kids again?" He asked with furrowed eyebrows.
Of course, the question certainly didn't sit well with one of those supposed kids.
"Address your wardens properly, inmate!!" The one he remembered as Caroline angrily commanded as she slammed her baton at the bars.
Justine however, showed no visible reaction to his question and moved on.
"Our master wishes to speak with you." Justine calmly stated, "So kindly stand on your feet and listen to his words for your sake."
Her words made the blonde look in the centre of the room, which caused him to widen his eyes in shock as he saw a grinning figure he definitely recognized sitting at a table.
'Woah... It's that dude with the long-ass nose!' He mentally realized as he stood up and got close to the bars.
"It is truly a delight to see you once again, Buccaneer." Igor stated with his creepy grin, "... And it seems you've awakened to your powers, which I can sense are indeed special."
"My powers?" Ryuji repeated before he remembered what happened in Kamoshida's castle, "Wait, how do you even know about that??" He questioned with a raised eyebrow.
"That is insignificant." Igor dismissed with a wave, "What is more important is that your rehabilitation can finally begin."
Ryuji couldn't help but sweat a bit after hearing the word "rehabilitation", as it made him remember the eerie warning about the apparent end of the world.
"I-I still don't 'effin understand any of that shit you were talkin' about...! What the hell do you mean by rehabilitation?!" He hastily questioned the long-nosed man.
"There is no need to understand it all for the time being." Igor dodged his question once again.
"*Groan* Why do ya keep my dodgin' my 'effin questions!" Ryuji gripped the bars to the cell in frustration, "You can't just dump that kinda info on me and expect me to believe it so quickly!"
"Shut up and LISTEN, inmate!" Caroline aggressively instructed.
"I do not wish to withhold information from you, Buccaneer. I assure you in due time, you will begin to grasp the full picture." Igor assured him, "But for now, you must train the power of your Persona, which you have awakened to."
The blonde's eyes widened as he remembered the cat from Kamoshida's castle using the exact same word to describe his power.
'That's the same thing that cat back in the castle mentioned! But what does it mean...?'
"Okay, hold on a sec... If you're not gonna explain that whole rehabilitation crap, then at least tell me what the hell a Persona is...!" Ryuji outright demanded.
"Personas are, in other words, a "mask"- an armor of the heart when confronting worldly matters." Igor simply stated as if it were easy to understand.
Unfortunately for Ryuji, it was not easy to understand.
"... Are you for real?" He asked with narrowed eyes, "That literally explained like NOTHING!"
"Patience is a virtue, inmate." Justine interjected, "You'd be wise to keep that to heart."
"The hell is that supposed to mean?!"
"Regardless, it is only through strengthening your Persona that your rehabilitation can be successful." Igor got him back on track, "I truly have high expectations for you."
"Well gee, thanks, Pinocchio." The blonde sarcastically gave his thanks.
"By the by... Have you come to appreciate the Metaverse Navigator?" Igor asked, shocking Ryuji.
"What?! How do you kno-!" The blonde cut himself off as a sudden realization hit him, "... Wait a sec... Are you the one who put that shit on my phone?!" He questioned.
"Indeed." Igor confirmed with a grin, "I bestowed it to you as a means to come and go between palaces."
'No way... Then that means that castle was for real all along!' Ryuji mentally concluded with a hand on his forehead.
"But, why though...? Why give me that crazy ass app when you coulda given it to anyone else??" He curiously asked.
"Because you are the Buccaneer who shall defy fate." Igor stated, "And thus, you must use the Metaverse to train yourself as a thief."
"The metaverse?" Ryuji repeated with narrowed eyes, "Tch. That sounds like some kinda shitty virtual app."
"Quiet, inmate!" Caroline chastised, "The Metaverse Navigator is a gift from our master! You better take care in using it!"
"Devote yourself to your training so that you may become a fine thief." Justine instructed.
"It may seem like a privilege that is too much to handle but do not worry. I shall grant it to others who may prove beneficial to you." Igor assured, "This is all for you to grow as a most excellent thief."
Before Ryuji could question him on that last part, the alarm from last time blared once again.
"Hmph, it's time." Caroline suddenly stated, "Go back and enjoy whatever rest you may have...!"
He honestly wanted to argue against it, although he reluctantly refrained, mainly because:
A. The long-nosed weirdo would just dodge his questions anyway.
And B. He'd probably just pass out like he did last time.
"*Sigh* Fine then." He conceded in annoyance as lied back down on the bed in the cell.
However, before he could drift off, an idea popped up in his head, and he sneakily tore off a small part of the blue material on the walls of his cell.
He enclosed it in his fist before he closed his eyes and finally went back to sleep.
Tuesday, April 12th, 20XX
Ryuji finally awoke from his slumber to see that he was suddenly back in his bedroom once again.
He looked down to notice that his hand had opened up in his sleep, and there was no sign of the material in his hand.
"Huh. Well I ain't surprised." He commented as he got up and let out a yawn, "Still, it's pretty weird that I had the same kinda dream twi-"
His words died in his throat when his eyes trailed toward his bed, where he saw that the same blue material he had taken was on his bed.
"F-For real?!" He exclaimed in shock as he picked it up to inspect it.
There was no mistaking it. It's the same exact material he tore off in the Velvet Room.
"N-No 'effin way... If this thing's really here then there's no denyin' it..." He quietly stated, "That Velvet Room really does exist!"
Which would mean that everything that happened in the castle was also for real!
"Sure, villains can affect the course of history. But remember that this definition is a sardonic witticism, nothing more." Mr. Ushimaru explained to his class, "Here in the real world, villains don't pu-"
The ramblings of the middle-aged teacher fell on the deaf ears of Ryuji in particular as he was too absorbed in thought.
What exactly was he thinking about? The revelation he made this morning of course.
'I still can't believe that place wasn't just a dream... I know it felt kinda real to me but still...!' He mentally ranted, 'To think that that crazy caste was for real too...'
He suddenly perked up when he remembered a particular part of his last encounter in the Velvet Room.
'Hold on... If I really wasn't dreamin', then can't I go back into that castle just like that old guy said?'
Taking out his phone and hiding it under his desk, Ryuji didn't need to search long before he found the Metaverse Navigator, its eye logo staring right back at him.
'That damn stupid-ass logo...' He scoffed at the, in his own opinion, absolute eye-sore of a logo.
Although, his mind went back to the castle, and he suddenly remembered all the terrible things he witnessed there. The locked up students, the screams of those who were being tortured, and of course, the supposed "king".
For some reason, he had a very strong feeling in his gut that everything in that castle wasn't too far off from the real world.
After all, there were rumors about Kamoshida's physical abuse, not to mention that Ryuji swore he's seen some students on the volleyball team that looked pretty banged up. They lined up too well just to be a coincidence.
'Maybe there's somethin' else in that castle that can prove the rumors are for real...' He thought pensively, "If I go back there then-!'
"Hey! All smartphones off during class, Sakamoto!"
The aforementioned teen quickly looked up only to see a piece of chalk speeding right toward him at inhuman speed.
However, in a surprising display of proficiency, Ryuji swiftly moved and caught the object in his hand, shocking every other student in the classroom.
"Here ya go, teach." He said with a smirk as he threw the chalk back at Mr. Ushimaru, who didn't seem surprised as he caught the object.
"Whatever." The teacher scoffed before he turned back to the chalkboard, "Now, back to what I was saying..."
"Man, did you see how fast Sakamoto caught that piece of chalk?"
"Yeah. I thought for sure Mr. Ushimaru would hit him this time...!"
"Well,I guess since he's a former athlete it's no surprise his reflexes are pretty sharp."
As for Ryuji, he couldn't help but smirk while listening to the whispers of his classmates.
At least this was usually one of the moments where it seemed like his charm had increased.
School had finally ended for the day, and students were eagerly rushing over to their homes.
However, Ryuji himself was standing by the gate to Shujin as he was currently waiting patiently for a certain someone.
'If I'm gonna go back there then I might as well let him know too...'
Eventually, he finally spotted the individual he was looking for, who happened to be his new four-eyed pal.
"Yo." He called out, causing them to turn to him.
"Oh, Ryuji." Ren Amamiya noticed him before narrowing his eyes behind his glasses, "... You waiting to ambush me or something?" He questioned, taking Ryuji aback.
"A-Ambush?!" Ryuji repeated in bewilderment, "C'mon dude, don't say shit like that! I just wanna talk!" He tried to explain.
However, Ren let out a chuckle at his behavior.
"I know, man. I'm just pulling your leg." He explained with a smirk.
"*Groan* Not funny dude." Ryuji chided in annoyance, while Ren shrugged in response, "Anyway, I wanna talk about that castle from yesterday."
"What about it?" Ren asked in curiosity.
"I think I'm gonna try and go back there." Ryuji revealed.
"Really?" Amamiya questioned with raised eyebrows.
"Yeah." Sakamoto firmly answered with a nod, "I tried tellin' myself it was all just a dream but now I know for a fact that it ain't!"
"Hm? How so?" The spectacled teen asked with a raised eyebrow.
This caused Ryuji to stiffen as he realized he let that last part slip by mistake.
"I, uhh... I-It's just a gut feelin'...!" He quickly came up with an answer.
"Hmm... Okay." Ren conceded with a slight shrug rather quickly.
Something told him that he should probably keep the whole "long-nosed man in a knock-off red room" thing to himself as that would just be too hard for anyone to believe.
"A-Anyway... I can't just act like nothing happened. It's all connected to that bastard, Kamoshida, after all." Ryuji scowled as he explained his reasoning.
"Are you talking about how he was a king over there and locked up a bunch of students?" Ren questioned.
"Yeah! Almost everythin' we saw perfectly matches up with all the rumors about him!" Ryuji exclaimed, "I need to find out what's up with that place, no matter what!"
After listening to his explanation, Ren brought a hand to his chin as he mulled over Ryuji's words for a few seconds before finally giving a response.
"Then, in that case, mind if I tag along?"
"You wanna come too?" Ryuji asked in surprise.
"Is there anything wrong?" Ren questioned.
"Well, I'm not exactly opposed to it but... You sure wanna go there again after what happened last time?" Ryuji asked with visible concern, "If we run into those weird monsters again you're pretty much screwed since you can't fight 'em."
"That's exactly why I'm not going in there alone." Ren replied with a smirk, "As long as you can still use that Persona thing to fight them then I'm sure not one of them can lay their gnarly hands on me."
"You make it sound like I'm some kinda bodyguard." Ryuji commented in exasperation.
"Plus, I have a hunch that what you said about him being perverted toward female students might be true." Amamiya suddenly stated.
"For real?" Ryuji asked in surprise, "Did you see sumthin'?"
"I think so. When I left my classroom I saw him acting friendly toward a girl in my class." Ren revealed, "I think her name was... Takamaki."
"*Gasp* Y-You mean Ann Takamaki?" Ryuji asked, silently hoping his suspicion was wrong.
"... Yeah! That was her name." Ren confirm, causing Ryuji to curse in frustration, "He was talking to her nicely, but even I could tell that it was nothing but an act, and it looked like she wanted to get away from him as quickly as possible." He revealed.
"So that bastard really is lustin' after her..." Ryuji concluded with an angry expression, "Dammit! Now I need to go back in there!"
"So is it okay if I come with you, then?" Ren asked.
"Yeah, sure." Ryuji answered, calming down a bit, "You and I are pretty much in this together, anyway."
"Thanks." Ren thanked, "So, how are we gonna find the castle? Should we try and retrace our steps from yesterday?"
"Actually, we don't need to." Ryuji answered with a grin as he pulled out his phone, "BAM!" He exclaimed as he showed the Metaverse Navigator to Ren.
"The Metaverse Navigator...?" Ren read the app's name with narrowed eyes, "Is this the navigation app that was on your phone last time we came back?"
"Yup!" Ryuji confirmed, "I checked it out this morning and there were some keywords in the search history that related to the castle, so we should totally be able to get in with this!"
"I see." Ren uttered with interest, "Is it a weird new app in the Play Store?"
"Nah, not really. It just popped up on my phone one day and I couldn't delete it no matter how many times I tried, and it ain't no virus either." Ryuji revealed as he tried to use the app.
"Huh. Weird... Cute logo, though." Ren joked.
"Yeah, no." Ryuji deadpanned before a noise came from the phone, "Ooh! I think this is it!" He ecstatically exclaimed.
"Kamoshida." The same virtual voice from the last time spoke.
"Shujin Academy."
"Pervert."
"Castle."
"Beginning navigation."
"Alright, here we go!" Ryuji exclaimed.
Suddenly, the world around the two boys began to distort, and it looked like everything was turning purple-pinkish.
"W-What the hell?!" Sakamoto uttered at the weird feeling.
"Hey... W-What's going on?" Amamiya questioned with uneasiness.
"I dunno, dude!" Ryuji retorted as he stared at the navigation app on his phone, which seemed to be glitching during the entire ordeal.
Then, as if it were magic, any other student nearby suddenly disappeared, and the building of Shujin Academy slowly transformed into a familiar golden castle in front of their very eyes.
"Woah, look, it's the castle from yesterday!" Ryuji exclaimed as he ran into the medieval gate.
"Yeah...!" Ren noted as he followed behind.
They stopped in front of the newly formed doors that led inside the castle.
"Wow... We really are back here." Ren uttered in a mixture of awe and surprise.
"Yeah..." Ryuji replied in a similar tone, 'Which means what happened yesterday was for real too...' He mentally concluded, so wrapped up in thought that he was unaware of-
"Hey, your outfit!" Ren exclaimed, which caused Ryuji to look at his clothes before widening his eyes.
"Woah, my clothes changed again!" He noticed.
Indeed, the blonde's school uniform had changed into the same thuggish outfit he wore yesterday as soon as the navigation had ended. He was even wearing that odd skull mask too.
"How is that even possible?" Ren questioned in confusion.
"I dunno..." Ryuji responded before he caught sight of his reflection in a window in the castle, "But... Now that I got a good look, these threads actually ain't that bad. In fact, they even make me pretty badass!" He stated with a wide grin as he inspected his figure.
"Oh, do they now?" Ren asked with a raised eyebrow.
"What's that? Is that jealousy I'm smellin'?" Ryuji cheekily asked as he turned around.
"Jealousy?"
"C'mon, just admit it. You're jelly of my cool-ass outfit ain't ya?" The blonde asked with crossed arms.
The spectacled teen stared at him with a blank expression for a few seconds before pushing up his glasses to conceal his eyes.
"No."
"Ha! You're totally jelly!"
"Hey! Stop making a commotion!"
The sound of a familiar voice caused both boys to turn to the source, which came from the side of the castle to reveal it was their cat-like guide from the last time.
"Mona!" Ryuji uttered in surprise.
"It's the talking cat from yesterday!" Ren exclaimed.
"I'm not a damn-! *Groan* Nevermind..." Morgana groaned, "More importantly, what are you two doing back here?"
"We came to check out the castle one more time!" Ryuji answered.
"Huh? Why would you do that?" Morgana asked in disbelief.
"Because this is the only place where I can find proof for the rumors about Kamoshida!" Ryuji hastily explained.
"Kamoshida...?" Morgana repeated the name in confusion before sighing, "... I don't know what this is all about, but it seems like you two have no intention of leaving. To think you'd come back here when you barely managed to escape, anyway."
"You know, I've been wondering... What exactly is this place?" Ren asked with curiosity, "I know it's not the school but...
"No. It IS the school." Morgana refuted, confusing both Ryuji and Ren.
"Huh?" They uttered in unison.
"How the hell can this be the school? It's an 'effin castle!" Ryuji questioned in puzzlement.
"That's because only the ruler of this place sees the school as a castle." Morgana explained.
"The ruler?" Ryuji repeated with a raised eyebrow.
"You mean Kamoshida?" Ren asked.
"Yeah. I think that's what you called him." Morgana confirmed, "This is how his distorted heart views the school."
"Distorted heart...?" Ryuji repeated with a scrunched face, "... Explain it in a way that makes sense!"
"*Sigh* I had a feeling you guys wouldn't get it immediately..." Morgana sighed in disappointment.
Suddenly, a pained scream bellowed from the castle, alerting all three of them.
"H-Hey, do you think that's...?" Ren wearily trailed off.
"There's no doubt, man...! That must've come from one of those captured students we saw yesterday!" Ryuji shakily declared.
"They're most likely being punished on Kamoshida's orders." Morgana theorized, "It's nothing out of the ordinary; It's like that every day here."
"Seriously?" Ren asked incredulously.
"Mhm." Mona nodded, "What's more, you two escaped yesterday. He must've lost his temper quite a bit."
"... That son of a bitch!" Ryuji suddenly cursed as he clenched his fist.
"Blondie...?" Morgana noticed his attitude.
"This is bullshit!"
However, before he could do anything rash, Ren came over and placed a hand on his shoulder, gaining his attention.
"Don't act too hasty and forget why we came here." Ren advised, "You should save that anger for when we run into any enemies."
This caused Ryuji to simmer down a bit and let out a sigh.
"You're right..." He quietly agreed before turning back to Morgana, "Hey, Morgana. Do you know where those voices are comin' from?"
"You want me to take you to them?" Morgana asked in confusion.
"Yeah. I need to know if those students are really bein' tortured or not!" Ryuji exclaimed.
"... Well, I guess it should be fine for you since you have a Persona..." Morgana thought it over before motioning toward Ren, "But why bring this guy along?"
"I want to find out the truth too." Ren stated, "I should be fine as long as I stay back whenever there's a fight."
"Guess that settles it, doesn't it?" Ryuji asked with a grin.
"Hmm... Alright then, I guess can guide you guys." Morgana conceded, "C'mon, let's go!"
The three were about to head in before Morgana suddenly stopped them.
"Hold on!"
"Hm?"
"What is it?!" Ryuji questioned.
"I just realized that I told you two my name but I don't even know yours." He stated.
"Oh, yeah...!" Ryuji realized, "I guess with all that crazy shit that happened yesterday it slipped my mind. Name's Ryuji."
"And I'm Ren."
"Ryuji and Ren. Got it." Morgana nodded, "Now let's do this! Follow me!"
Keeping his word, Morgana had led the two students through the castle, making absolutely sure to be careful and avoid any confrontation.
The not-cat had stated that being sneaky was one of the basics of being a Phantom Thief, which Ryuji did not get for the life of him. Though Morgana seemed hellbent on teaching them the so-called basics, as long as it kept them from having to literally fight their way through the castle, then neither he nor Ren would complain.
Unfortunately for them, it didn't take long before they reached an opposition at their path, which they were currently hiding from behind a wall.
"Shoot... I had a feeling there would be guards here..." Morgana uttered in dismay, "It looks like we're going to have to start fighting our way forward..."
"Can't we just kick that thing's ass and call it a day?" Ryuji questioned.
"Don't be so reckless!" Morgana scolded, "You should always attack your enemies from behind instead of rushing headlong."
"From behind? Like an ambush or sumthin'?" Ryuji questioned.
"Exactly!" The not-cat grinned, "You see those masks they're wearing? You have to rip them off to momentarily break the control the Palace ruler has over them, which will reveal their true form."
"If you succeed, your opponent will be caught off guard, allowing us to jump in for a preemptive attack." He finished explaining.
"So we wanna get the jump on 'em and make the first strike..." Ryuji summarized, "Kay, got it!" He grinned confidently.
Keeping the information he gained in mind, Ryuji moved from his hiding spot, carefully sneaking toward the unsuspecting knight that had its back turned, and in a swift motion, he swiftly hoisted himself atop the guard's shoulders with monkey-like agility, startling it.
"Show me what's under there!" He demanded as he grabbed the guard's mask and tore it off with all his might.
The knight began to contort before morphing into one of those jack-o'lantern's again, still dazed by the ambush.
Not wasting any time, Ryuji quickly rushed the creature and smashed it to pieces with one swing of his pipe.
"Pop goes the weasel!" He exclaimed with a gleeful laugh.
"Nice going, Ryuji!" Morgana praised as they and Ren rushed over to him, "Just like I thought, you're a natural!"
"Hell yeah! That was 'effin awesome!" The blonde exclaimed with a fist pump.
"How come you didn't just summon that Persona again?" Ren asked curiously.
"Eh, that pumpkin looked pretty weak, so I figured I didn't need to waste my powers on it." Ryuji shrugged.
"That's actually a good way of thinking." Morgana complimented, "Using your Persona's skills can tire you out if you quickly drain too much of your health and stamina, which is exactly what happened to you last time. So keep that in mind." They advised.
"Wait, for real?" Ryuji questioned in surprise, "So it's like an HP and SP kinda thing?"
"I don't exactly know what that means..." Morgana replied in confusion, "But if it refers to health and stamina as I mentioned then sure?"
"No way...!" Ryuji exclaimed in shock, "It's like I'm the MC in some kinda JRPG! That's totally kickass!" He gleefully jumped.
"... Well he sure seems happy..." Morgana noted with a sweatdrop.
"... Y-Yeah..." Ren agreed with a sweatdrop of his own.
"Quick, we can hide in here until they leave!" Morgana pointed at an odd warped door before heading inside, the two boys entering right after him.
During their navigation, the three had gone back to the cells where they found captured students, although to their surprise, except Morgana, they were nowhere to be found. Morgana had suggested that they'd probably been transferred, and so they resumed their search.
The room they were currently in resembled a dining area in a dungeon as it was stacked with various wooden tables, plates and cups, and there was a burning chandelier hanging from the ceiling.
"Okay, the shadows probably won't come in here." Morgana stated confidently as they stood on one of the tables.
"For real?" Ryuji asked curiously.
"How... Can you tell...?" Ren questioned through pants as he tried to steady his breathing, "Damn those stairs...!"
"... Are you doin' okay, man?" Ryuji asked with a raised eyebrow out of concern.
"I-I'm good..." Ren waved off, "I've just gained a newfound hatred for stairways..." He finally got his heart to calm down a little.
"Anyways, like I was saying... How do you know those shadows won't come in here, Morgana?"
"There's a lack of distortion here, meaning the ruler's control over this area is weak." They replied.
No sooner did Morgana explain than the room suddenly faded into an area resembling a classroom from Shujin before shifting back.
"W-What the...? The hell just happened?!" Ryuji questioned in shock.
"Didn't this place look like a classroom for a split second...?" Ren asked in confusion.
"Now do you guys get it?" Morgana asked, "This place is another reality that Kamoshida's heart projects."
"This is Kamoshida's reality...?" Ryuji repeated as he scratched his head in confusion, "*Sigh* Shit makes no sense at all..."
"Honestly, the more we learn about this place, the less better I get at understanding it." Ren deadpanned.
"No kiddin'..."
"One could say it's a world in which one's distorted desires have materialized. I call such a place a "Palace" Morgana stated.
"A palace?" Ryuji and Ren repeated in confusion.
"This is happening because he thinks the school is his own castle." Morgana explained.
"... So, you're sayin the school became like this cause he thinks it belongs to him or some shit?" Ryuji asked in surprise.
"Uhh, yeah. Pretty much."
"Huh. Hahaha..." The blonde seemed to let out a pleasant laugh before he suddenly punched the hard wall in anger and created a crack in it, leaving both Ren and Morgana flabbergasted, "That son of a bitch!"
"... You must really hate this Kamoshida guy." Morgana awkwardly commented.
"Trust me... Hate doesn't even cover how I feel!" Ryuji sneered with hardened eyes, "Everything is that asshole's fault!"
"... You know, now that I think about it, you never told me exactly why you hate Kamoshida." Ren realized, "I mean, I obviously get why you dislike him but did something particularly happen between you and him?"
The question caused Ryuji to wince a little, as if he remembered something unpleasant.
"Sorry. You don't have to tell me if you don't want to." Ren quickly assured.
"N-No no, it's fine!" Ryuji hastily comforted, "It's just... I-I'll tell you at a better time..." He quietly stated, earning a nod.
"Well, whatever beef you two have, try not to let your emotions get the better of you." Morgana advised, although they themselves looked a bit concerned, "His lackeys are everywhere inside."
"*Sigh* I know." Ryuji calmed himself down, "I'm good now."
"Anyways, I'm sure you're curios about the outfit you're wearing, right?" Morgana asked, switching to a less somber topic.
"Yeah...! I've been wonderin' why my clothes switched to these as soon as I got here!" Ryuji remembered, "Do you have an idea why or sumthin'?"
"Simple. That's also because of this world." Morgana simply stated.
"... What?"
"Anything distorts according to how a ruler pleases within his Palace. It's why the school can look like this after all." Morgana began, "In order to prevent such distortion, one must hold a powerful will of rebellion. Both your appearance and your Persona are a manifestation of that. It's the image of rebellion that you hold within."
"So you're sayin that I imagine myself as some kinda pirate thug?" Ryuji questioned.
"Well, I think it fits you pretty neatly." Ren stated with a grin.
"Oh shaddup!" Ryuji rolled his eyes before grinning, "But then again, I guess that kinda image does suit me nicely."
He remembered Captain Kidd giving him a pretty similar explanation during his first fight, and it seemed all too familiar. He had always secretly been a pretty big fan of pirates back when he was younger and had always admired the stuff they do. Well, except the thieving of course.
But more importantly, when he was younger and at least gave a bit of shit to read, he always read about pirates from the early years, and he remembered reading about how pirates were always rebelling against unfair laws and regulations that they saw as bullshit and followed their own rules, clearly showing no signs of restriction by society, which he found badass.
He had always longed to be someone like that, a rebel not afraid to break the chains society held them by. Hell, that was one of the main reasons he dyed his hair blonde.
But now, it seemed like this Metaverse would give him a chance to actually bring that dream to fruition...!
'Indeed... I am the manifestation of your righteous rebellion. Remember that well, Buccaneer...'
The familiar voice caused Ryuji to quietly gasp.
'Captain...!'
"Actually, there's one last question I wanna ask, and I believe it's very important." Ren uttered.
"Alright, what is it?" Morgana questioned.
"What in the hell even are you?"
"Yeah... I've been wonderin' that too!" Ryuji chimed in, "If you're not a cat then what at all are you supposed to be, Mona?" He asked with curiosity.
This caused Mona to weirdly chuckle and cross their arms.
"Why, I'm a marvelous human, of course!"
"..."
"..."
Unfortunately for them, their "revelation" was met with blank stares from Ryuji and Ren.
"Was that supposed to be a joke?" Ryuji questioned.
"Yeah, I'm not laughing." Ren added.
"Wha- W-What do you mean?!" Mona noticeably faltered, "I'm not joking! I'm an honest-to-god human!!" They insisted.
"Denial is not a healthy trait to have, Mr. Kitty." Ren deadpanned, "Wait, does it even have a gender?"
"Shut up! And of course I have a gender! I'm a male!" Morgana angrily revealed, "I only look like this because I lost my true form!"
"Your true form?" Ryuji repeated with a raised eyebrow, "You mean you really were a human but then you somehow got turned into a cat?"
"Yeah!" Morgana exclaimed in agreement before becoming a bit more sheepish, "I-I think..."
"You think?" Ren repeated.
"But, I do know how to regain my true form." Morgana picked himself up, "The reason why I snuck in here was for a preliminary investigation of those means."
"But then you ended up getting caught, right?" Ryuji remembered their first meeting.
"Well, yeah... But I've also been tortured by Kamoshida too!" Morgana stated in anger at the king, "So I wanna make him pay for sure!"
"Huh. It looks like we've both been screwed over by that asshole." Ryuji commented before smashing a fist into his palm, "Alright then, I'm more pumped than ever now! Let's keep goin'!"
"Well it sure sounds like you're fired up." Morgana chuckled, "In that case, let's resume our infiltration! I'll be counting on your skills this time too, rookie!"
"Got it!" Ryuji gave a thumbs up.
"*Sigh* I'm still the odd one out." Ren dropped his head in disappointment.
"Hey, I'm still your personal bodyguard, ain't I?" Ryuji nudged him playfully, "With me as your muscle, you ain't gotta lift a damn finger!"
"Heh, you're right." Ren smirked, "In that case, lead the way and I'll offer you a higher salary!"
"... And he's already back to jokin' around." Ryuji deadpanned.
"Shoot... I had a feeling there would be a lot of enemies." Morgana uttered as the three hid behind another wall leading to a path blocked by two knights, "It'd be impossible to dodge all of them."
"Then are you just gonna take them like you guys have been doing so far?" Ren asked.
"It's not that simple." Morgana replied, "We still have a long way to go, so we should be conserving energy."
"Then can't we just like, scare them off or sumthin'?" Ryuji suggested.
"Huh?" Morgana raised an eyebrow in confusion, "How could you possibly do that?"
"Maybe by usin' this?"
Suddenly, Ryuji pulled out a very realistic-looking pump action shotgun, shocking both Ren and Morgana.
"W-What the?!"
"Where the hell did you get that?!" Morgana questioned in bewilderment.
"I got it from a shop near my neighborhood just in case." Ryuji revealed with a grin, "But it ain't real though, it just makes sounds."
"However, Ren narrowed his eyes in confusion, "Wait, where did you pull that out o-?"
"Still, it looks real enough. If I just aim it at those monsters, shouldn't it be enough to make 'em run away?" Ryuji asked.
Morgana inspected the weapon closely, almost as if he were scrutinizing it before he suddenly gasped as if an idea had come to him.
"Actually... We may not even need to do that after all..." Morgana grinned mischievously with stars in his eyes.
"Uhhh, you good, dude?" Ryuji asked, not sure if he should be concerned or scared.
"Don't worry about me. For now, it seems like one of the guards are gone. Let's attack the remaining one!" Morgana replied.
"Alright then." Ryuji nodded before rushing toward the guard and violently slamming his pipe into the guard, causing it to transform into a strange flower-like creature.
"Good. Now shoot at that thing with your gun!" Morgana instructed, confusing Ryuji.
"Wha- Were you listenin' to me?! It don't even shoot pe-!"
"JUST DO IT!" The cat loudly demanded, startling Ryuji.
The blonde had no idea what his guide was planning but he let out a groan and conceded anyway.
Using both hands, he aimed the model gun at the creature and pulled the trigger, fully expecting it to only make a shooting noise...
... So imagine his surprise when an actual bullet shot out of it and hit the creature square in its chest.
"Woah!" Ren exclaimed in shock at the site.
"W-What the-?!"
"Shoot it again!" Morgana instructed.
At his instruction, Ryuji quickly fired two more bullets at the creature until it completed dissolved.
"Nyehaha! Just like I thought." Morgana sneakily laughed.
"Ryuji, why didn't you just tell us you bought a real gun?" Ren asked with a raised eyebrow.
"I-I didn't! It was a toy gun!" He insisted, "What the hell just happened, Mona?!"
"This is a cognitive world." Morgana stated, "As long as the enemy sees your toy gun and believes it to be real, it will become as such."
"... Seriously?!" Ryuji asked with wide eyes, "So in that moment, my shotgun turned into a real one 'cuz that flower thing thought it was?"
"That's right. Although because they recognize it as a gun, you'll have limited ammo in battle." Morgana informed them, "Buuut, because your enemies are expecting you to come at them fully loaded, every new fight you get into, your ammo will be fully replenished." He told them with a grin.
"For real?! So then I'll never have to worry about reloadin'?" Ryuji eagerly asked, "Hohooo! I'm lovin' this already!"
"Huh. That's a bit weird." Ren commented with a hand on his chin, "I would've thought that if you used up all your ammo at a certain point then you'd be stuck with no more bullets for the rest of the infiltration."
"Now that'd just be 'effin stupid." Ryuji deadpanned.
"You bastards... I won't let you through!" The guard blocking their current path bellowed as it morphed into a feminine-looking creature dressed in a purple leotard, thigh high socks, gloves, and had wings that made it resemble a fairy.
"You know what? I'm not even surprised there are female shadows now." Ryuji stated.
"Okay, now the first crucial step is knocking your enemies down like I said." Morgana spoke, "This one is weak to bullets, so you know what to do!"
"Hell yeah I do!" Ryuji grinned as he eagerly shot at the fairy, bringing it to its knees, "Gotem!"
"Alright, now let's rush on in for an All-Out Attack!" Morgana readied his sword.
"Got it! Let's tear 'em apart!" Ryuji also readied his pipe.
Suddenly, both Ryuji and Morgana turned into black silhouettes and a red background appeared behind them as they dashed at their enemy.
The two moved at inhuman speeds as they hit the fairy from almost every corner and angle possible as it writhed in immense pain.
Suddenly, Ryuji landed on his feet in front of the fairy and decided to flex on it by performing a rock-on hand sign as the creature dissolved behind him.
"SLAM!"
"Holy shit!" Ren exclaimed in a mixture of shock and awe at the flashy display.
"Hahahaaa!! That was so much more awesome than I thought it'd be!" Ryuji enthusiastically exclaimed, "It's like I just did a final smash outta Super Smash Bros or sumthin!"
"Mm, that went a lot better than I thought it'd be!" Morgana gleefully stated, "You're definitely fit for this!"
"Talk about ending a fight before it even starts...!" Ren uttered, "What was that just now?"
"It's called an All-Out Attack." Morgana answered, "Whenever you manage to knock all the enemies down, you can use it defeat them all at once."
"No kiddin'. We handled that shit real quick!" Ryuji commented.
"By the way, I want you to decide when to use this as the head of our command." Morgana stated.
"Wait, head of command?" Ryuji repeated before pointing at himself in surprise, "Me?"
"Yeah! Who else would it be?" Morgana asked as if it were obvious, "Not only are you strongest person here out of the three of us, judging from your persona, but you've also been following everything I taught you so far pretty quickly."
"I... I-I dunno..." The blonde sheepishly rubbed at his hair.
"No complaints here." Ren voiced out, "I don't even have a persona. Besides, since we're all still alive I'd say you've been doing a pretty good job so far. I'm sure you'll do great." He encouraged Ryuji with a smile.
His words surprised Ryuji, although ad he thought them over, he figured maybe him leading the operation wouldn't be too bad. He definitely wasn't the smartest guy around, and he never really saw himself as a leader, but if these two believed in him then maybe he could pull it off after all...
So, he took a deep breath and gave his answer.
"Alright then. I'll do my best to try and lead this group to a successful operation!" Ryuji declared with a fist pump, causing Ren to smirk and Morgana to grin.
"Alright! It's been settled!" Morgana exclaimed.
Ryuji nodded with a smile before heading to the front, "Now c'mon, let's get goin!" He moved to the door as the other two followed behind him.
He was feeling hopeful and ready to continue their infiltration, unaware of what he was about to witness as soon as he ventured past these doors...
Now before you guys yell at me for ending this chapter before it started getting good, just hear me out!
I didn't want this chapter to be too long(Even though it's already 7k words) So I decided to split it into two. The next chapter will definitely be out either tomorrow or the day after, so make sure you stay tuned until then!
Anyways, Ryuji is slowly being groomed into a proper Phantom Thief, but I wonder what awaits him as he ventures deeper into the castle?
That'll be of course answered very soon!
Until then, I'll see you next time!
RinOta, out!