Inside of a dimly lit interrogation room, a young man with black hair wearing a school uniform was rudely awoken by a bucketload of water splashing onto him. The person responsible was a middle-aged man with black hair wearing a gray suit.
"No sleeping, motherfucker!" the man shouted as he looked around the room with a wild look in his eyes.
Another man with black hair wearing a similar blue suit and glasses who also had a wild look in his eyes stated, "Why are we even doing this!? We should just kill this shitstain and let the others sort it out!"
The door to the interrogation room opened to reveal a young man with brown hair and reddish-brown eyes wearing a tan peacoat with black buttons, striped black and white tie, black pants, black gloves and black loafers. He had an angry look on his face and was carrying a SIG-Sauer P230.
"To think that you all would stoop as low as to drug your suspects and physically assault them to get confessions from them... I knew that Japan's obscenely high conviction rate was odd, but to see firsthand the lengths that the prosecutors and police go to maintain it... calling yourselves defenders of the peace is an insult to honest officers." the young man coldly and calmly spoke just before firing a shot from his gun into the surveillance camera in the room, destroying it. He then fired two shots from his gun towards the head of the man wearing a gray suit.
"AGH!" the man screamed out as the bullets went straight into each of his eyes and exited out the back of his head, going through his brain and killing him. The man's body then fell forward, lower legs and knees making contact with the ground before the rest of the body continued on. A pool of blood then began to form under the head of the corpse.
"What is the mea- GAH!" the man in the blue suit began to shout, but was cut off by the brown-haired young man turning his gun to him and shooting him in the chest first before firing a second shot into his skull, killing him as well.
"Akechi Goro..." a third man with black hair and also wearing a blue suit said before the now-named Akechi fired two shots into his eyes, killing him before he could say more.
Akechi put his gun away, approached the black-haired young man and unlocked the handcuffs restraining his hands before he spoke, "We don't have much time, but I need you to tell me your name. The last man that I killed in here already spoke my name."
The young man in the chair thought for a few moments before calmly replying, "Akira Kurusu."
"Akira... I truly am sorry, but these circumstances ended up becoming unavoidable." Akechi stated as he pulled a thick notebook out of his peacoat and opened it to the first page, which had nothing written in it. He then continued, "I would like for you to tell me of how you managed to pull off all the things that you did as the leader of the Phantom Thieves of Hearts. Please start from the beginning, as I do not want to miss any details."
"It all started on the 9th of April, when I first moved here into Tokyo." Akira said as he began his tale.
Seven months earlier, on April 9th, 20XX.
Akira Kurusu got off the crowded train and exited the Yongen-Jaya Station to find himself in the backstreets. He headed down the street and just past an apartment with external stairs before turning right to see a house at the end of an alleyway. Approaching it, Akira saw that the nameplate on the wall surrounding the house had the name "Sakura" written on it.
'That's right, I'm going to be living with Sojiro Sakura for a whole year as part of my probation.' Akira thought as he rang the doorbell. A few moments passed by without anyone coming out of the house, at which point Akira thought, '...even after ringing the doorbell, it doesn't look like anyone will answer the door. Maybe he went out.'
A nearby deliveryman then stated, "Looks like no one's home."
Akira turned his head to the deliveryman and the man continued, "Oh yeah... Sakura-san is usually at his café around this time. Well, Leblanc's in the back alley, so I should make my other deliveries first... Mmm, I need to take this package to..."
Akira headed away from the deliveryman before he could hear more and back the way he came before coming across an alley that he had passed by. Down it, he could see a red and white decorative cover that read "Coffe & Curry" on the top and the word "Leblanc" on the bottom. Making his way there, Akira then thought, 'It looks like this place is Leblanc.' before going in. Inside the café, the TV was on and showing a tabloid show.
"A public transit bus was driven down an opposing lane with its customers still in it! The citizens can't live in peace if this keeps up." the host of the show spoke.
"How frightening." an elderly male customer commented.
"What could be going on? Didn't something similar happen just the other day?" an elderly female customer questioned.
The manager of the café, a man with slicked-back dark hair with a receding hairline, gray eyes, a chinstrap beard with a goatee that flares out and wearing glasses along with a pale pink dress shirt with the sleeves rolled up, pale khakis held up with a white leather belt, white loafers, and a black apron with a white pinstripe design on it read on what was undeniably a newspaper, "And down is... the name of a shellfish used in pearl farming..."
Akira cleared his throat and then the manager said, "...Oh, right. They did say that was today." as he put the newspaper aside.
The elderly male customer got up and said, "We'll be going now. The payment's on the table."
"Thanks for coming." the manager replied.
"This place is in the back alley, so there's no worries of a car crashing in here."
"A what now?"
"There's been a strong of those rampage accidents, you know. I just hope that none happen around here."
"It's none of my concern."
"Haha, we'll see you next time." The elderly male customer spoke before he left along with the elderly female customer.
"...four hours for just a single cup of joe." the manager commented. He then looked in Akira's direction and asked, "So, you're Akira?"
"Is Sakura-san here?" Akira asked back.
"...Yeah. I'm Sojiro Sakura. You'll be in my custody over the next year. I was wondering what kind of unruly kid would show up, but you're the one, huh?" the manager stated.
Sojiro scratched the back of his head and continued, "Have you been told? A customer of mine and your parents know each other and- Well, that doesn't really matter. Follow me."
Akira followed Sojiro up a flight of stairs into a cluttered attic. "This is your room. I'll at least give you sheets for your bed." he stated.
Sojiro noticed a look from Akira and said, "You look like you wanna say something."
"It's big." Akira spoke.
"It will be on you to clean up the rest. I'll be leaving after I lock up each day. You'll be alone at night, but don't do anything stupid. I'll throw you out if you cause any trouble. Now then... I got the gist of your situation. You protected some woman from a man forcing himself on her, he got injured, then sued you, right? That is what you get for sticking your nose in a matter between two adults. You did injure him, yeah?"
"No, sir."
"Not that it matters what actually happened. Now you have a criminal record, you were expelled from your high school. The courts ordered you to transfer and move out here, which your parents also approved. In other words, they got rid of you for being a pain in the ass. It's best you not talk about anything unnecessary. I am in the restaurant business, you know."
"I understand."
"Good. You should behave yourself for the year. If nothing happens, your probation will be lifted."
"A whole year..." Akira stated.
Sojiro then remarked, "Cause any problems, and you'll be sent straight to juvie. We'll be going to Shujin tomorrow."
"Shujin?"
"Shujin Academy- the school you'll be attending. We'll introduce ourselves properly to the staff there. There's rarely a place that will accept someone like you, you know. What a waste of my Sunday... Your 'luggage' arrived a little while ago. I brought it up here for you." Sojiro said before heading back down to the first floor.
'I'll be living here starting today... I should check out what's in here...' Akira thought to himself. Checking a cardboard box, Akira thought, 'It's the cardboard box sent from back home... It's full of clothes and daily necessities. I'll change into more comfortable clothes for now.'
A few minutes later, Akira was wearing a black jacket, white shirt, and blue jeans. Looking at the junk-littered floor, Akira thought, 'There are all these unused household items lying here. It's not organized at all... I should start cleaning first...' before he started to clean the attic up. By the time he was done, it was already the evening.
'It's late... It seems that I've been cleaning for a while.' Akira thought as Sojiro came up and said, "What the heck? I heard you making all sorts of noise up here, but I didn't thinking you were actually cleaning."
Looking around the attic, Sojiro gave an approving look and stated, "Actually, the place doesn't look too bad now. Though it's only natural you'd want to keep your room tidy. Why don't you go to bed for tonight? You don't have anything better to be doing, right? I'm going to close up shop and get out of here myself. I won't be the one looking after you if you get sick from staying up too late, you got that?"
Akira nodded in approval and then Sojiro went back down the stairs. Akira changed out of his clothes into a pair of green pants and a long sleeved black shirt. He then thought, 'Arrest... Trial... Criminal record... Still, I couldn't just let that go... That day... I ended up going home late...' before drifting off to an uneasy sleep. Only a few minutes passed before his cellphone beeped him awake. Taking it out of a pocket on his pants, Akira opened to the menu and thought, 'Hm, it's that weird app that somehow ended up on my phone... The icon looks almost like an eye... I thought I deleted it, but it's back now.' as he deleted the offending app again. He went back to sleep afterwards.
April 10th, 20XX.
Café Leblanc Attic, Early Morning.
'I had a strange dream. Ruin... Rehabilitation... What does it mean...?' Akira thought to himself after changing back into his school uniform.
"Looks like you're up." Sojiro's voice could be heard before he walked up into the attic. He then said, "Well then, let's go introduce ourselves properly to the staff about your transfer. The school you're attending is in the Aoyama district. It'll take a while to get there by train. The transfers are a real hassle, too. I'll drive you there, but just for today. Let's go. Sheesh... Men usually aren't allowed in my passenger seat."
Sojiro then walked back down and Akira followed him to a car. Sojiro got into the driver's seat and Akira got into the passenger's seat. Neither of them said anything as they buckled up and Sojiro drove to Shujin Academy. Outside the gate, Sojiro stopped and said, "Do me a favor and behave yourself, alright? Don't get me wrong- I don't care what happens to you. Just don't cause me any trouble."
Akira and Sojiro walked into the school and made their way to the Principal's office. While Sojiro was filling in paperwork, the Principal, a bald man who was quite fat, stated, "To reiterate, just so we're clear, you will immediately be expelled if you cause any problems. In my opinion, you're nothing but a liability, but we had our circumstances to consider... Whatever you might've gotten away with in your hometown... those days are over. If you are thrown out from our school, there will be no place for you to go. Keep that in mind."
The Principal then looked at a woman that was standing near him and said, "This is the teacher in charge of your class."
The woman then spoke, "I'm Sadayo Kawakami. Here's your student ID." as she put a card on the desk. Akira grabbed it and then she continued, "Be sure to read the school rules. Any violations will send you straight to the guidance office. And if by chance you cause any problems, I won't be able to protect you at all. That IS your promise, yes, Principal Kobayakawa?"
"He is responsible for all his actions."
"But really though, why me? There should've been better candidates."
"It was a sudden transfer, and your class was the only one that had an opening."
"If you're done explaining things, would you mind if we get going? I have a store to get back to." Sojiro asked.
A knock was heard on the door and then Kobayakawa barked, "Enter." before turning his attention back to Sojiro and said, "Sakura-san, please keep a close eye on him. Don't let him cause any trouble outside..."
The door was opened and a young man with brown hair and reddish-brown eyes wearing a tan peacoat with black buttons, striped black and white tie, black pants, black gloves and black loafers walked in. The young man spoke to Akira, "Greetings, good sirs and madams. I am Akechi Goro and will also be transferring to this prestigious academy."
Sojiro then stated, "Well, I'll be sure to have a serious talk about the situation Akira is in."
"Come to the faculty office when you arrive at school tomorrow, Kurusu-kun. I'll show you to your classroom." Kawakami stated before turning her attention to Goro and saying, Nice to see you here, Akechi-kun. The principal and I will be going over the rules and such with you soon."
Sojiro and Akira left the office and near the entrance, Sojiro said with a sigh, "Everyone's giving you the cold shoulder. That's what having a criminal record does to you. Turns out your past follows you wherever you go. By the way... If you get expelled now, I won't hesitate to kick you out. Got it?"
"Crystal clear." Akira stated.
"Hmph... School never changes, huh?" Sojiro said with a sigh. He then spoke, "Come on, we're going home."
During the drive back, Sojiro noticed the traffic and remarked, "Uuugh. Traffic's not moving at all... You're taking the train starting tomorrow. So how was it? The school, I mean. You think you can manage?"
"It'll be tough." Akira replied.
"You brought it on yourself though. Still, you were expelled once already. To think you'd re-enroll at a different one. It's not like anyone will be sympathetic with you. If that's what it was like at school, people might say stuff about me in the future too... What a troublesome kid I've taken in..."
Akira said nothing and then Sojiro stated, "I was asked to do it, and I just... happened to agree to it. I've already been paid for it too, after all."
The car's radio then brought up, "...And now back to today's top stories. A subway train has derailed, severely affecting the timetable across all the-" before Sojiro remarked, "Another accident? So that's why it's so crowded. There's been a lot of those lately. In fact, there was a pretty nasty one just last month. It happened before you came here. If I remember right, the girls involved were only fifteen. Their parents have gotta be just..."
The news continued, "...All traffic around Shibuya Station is being redirected due to the accident, so drivers should expect jam-packed streets."
"Oh, come on!" Sojiro shouted.
-Take Your Heart-
Café Leblanc, Evening.
"Damn, to think there'd be that much traffic... What a waste of time. I wasn't able to open the café today... Whatever. Just head upstars. There's something I need to give to you." Sojiro stated.
Akira headed up to the attic, noting that Sojiro was following him. Sojiro then spoke, "Talk about a gruesome accident... Eighty people were involved." before putting his phone away and pulling a small black book out of his coat pocket.
"Here is a diary. Make sure you keep it up to date. You may be under probation, but there's no special limitations on what you do in particular. Besides following the law, that is. However, I am obligated to report on you, which is why I'm having you record your daily activities."
Sojiro's phone began to beep and he answered it. "Hey, what's up?" he asked.
Mumbling was heard on the other end and Sojiro replied, "...I'm about to leave right now. Don't worry. I'll be there in no time. Uh-huh. I'll see you soon." before putting his phone away.
"Well, I'm off. I'll lock the place up, so do whatever you want for the rest of the night. Oh, but don't mess up my store. If something goes missing, I'll hand you right over to the cops. You got school tomorrow... You better head off to bed, alright?" Sojiro spoke.
"Crystal clear, Sakura-san." Akira replied.
Sojiro walked down the stairs and then Akira thought, 'I should do as I'm told for now... I should write down happened today in my diary... I need to get up early tomorrow... I should get plenty of rest today.' before he began to write in his new diary. As he approached the bed, he heard ringing that was not from his cellphone and went downstairs to the yellow payphone on the counter. Answering it, Akira said, "Kurusu Akira, moshi moshi."
"Hey, it's me." a voice on the other end said.
"Who is this?"
"Sheesh, have you forgotten my voice already? It's Sakura. Anyway... I closed up shop, but I forgot to flip the sign to 'Closed' when I left. It's too much trouble for me to come back just for that. Think you can do it for me?"
"Okay, got it."
"I doubt any customers are gonna come now even if the sign's flipped to 'Open.' And I have to say, this is quite a relief. It's a personal policy of mine not to save a guy's number in my phone. I'm glad you actually picked up. Anyway, I'll leave the shop sign to you." Sojiro stated before hanging up. Akira put the pay phone down and went outside. He then flipped the sign on the door to 'Closed' and went back in before going up to the attic and going to bed.
Back in the interrogation room, Akechi had finished writing down what Akira had told him when a woman with upper-back length ashen brown hair that is asymmetrically parted on her right side and brown eyes that are sometimes depicted with a hint of mauve red wearing a black business suit with a black turtleneck shirt opened the door to the room.
"Oh god... Akechi-kun... what had these men done to deserve this!?" The woman exclaimed in a panic upon seeing the bodies of the officers.
"I saw firsthand that they were assaulting Akira and even drugged him to try forcing a confession out of him, Niijima Sae. Speaking of which, this was difficult for me to get ahold of." Akechi spoke before he pulled out a needle that was filled with a black liquid out of a pocket on his peacoat.
"What the hell is that!?" Sae asked.
"An experimental drug made specifically to counteract what the police injected into him." Akechi answered as he fiddled with Akira's clothes to expose his upper right arm before injecting the needle into the exposed area.
"If the police find out about that drug, they'll try to outlaw the possession of it."
"They won't find out since it will wear off once it has fully counteracted what the police use, which can take some time depending on how much of their stuff was injected into a suspect."
Sae put a hand up to her head and sighed before saying, "And you say that I'm too willing to take any advantage that I can get."
"Hey, I DID live for at least two years in America. You can blame their law enforcement for the sorts of crazy stuff that I regularly do to solve cases." Akechi shot back.
"That at least makes sense for how skilled you are with a gun, but why would the American police forces have any influence on you?"
"Hey, we're getting off topic here. Akira, please continue your story while Sae rearranges the room."
"That first day of school was also the day that I first encountered one of them as well..." Akira said as Sae and someone wearing a Hannya mask started moving the corpses out of the room.
April 11th, 20XX.
Aoyama-Itchome Station, Early Morning.
Akira got off the train when it stopped and looked around before thinking to himself, 'This is Aoyama-Itchome... It took some time, but I finally made it...'
"Hey..." a feminine voice called out. Akira looked to his right and saw a girl with white hair and wearing the standard girls uniform of Shujin Academy approaching him.
"The name's Miyabi Kurohebi. Who are you?" the white-haired girl asked.
"Akira Kurusu." Akira answered on auto-pilot.
"I see. It's gonna rain soon, so I would recommend that you walk with me to Shujin. You also might want to turn your phone off, Akira-san. Some schools are pretty goddamn strict about that, and I can't imagine that Shujin Academy would let its students walk around with their cellphones in hand."
"Alright then." Akira said before turning his phone off and walking out of the station along with Miyabi. As they exited, Myabi pulled out and deployed an umbrella and held it over both her and Akira's heads as they walked to Shujin Academy.
It didn't take long for them to reach the school, and upon entering the entrance area Miyabi said, "Well, looks like this is where we normally would part ways, but I need to visit the faculty office. You see, I'm transferring here as a third year student."
"I understand." Akira replied. The two of them walked in silence to the faculty office and then entered it.
Kawakami was sitting at a desk and noticed Akira before getting up and saying, "Looks like you got here early, and with the female third-year transfer student."
The sound of a door sliding open was heard before Akira could say anything and then he looked behind him to see Akechi standing there. "Ah, it seems that you've gotten acquainted with Miyabi-san, Akira-san." he said as he entered before closing the door after him.
"Just so you all know, classes will end after fifth period today because of the subway accident. Follow me." Kawakami said before getting up. Akira then followed her out of the room.
-Take Your Heart-
After School, classroom.
After the last bell rang for the day, Akira discreetly turned his phone on and left the classroom only to immediately encounter a boy with short spiky blond hair and dark brown eyes along with Akechi and Miyabi. "Um, am I supposed to know you? My name is Akira Kurusu." Akira said to the spiky haired boy.
"The name's Sakamoto. Ryuji Sakamoto. Are you planning to rat me out to Kamoshida!?" the boy replied.
"I don't know who this Kamoshida even is, so no."
"We should leave the school before I get into detail about something that I found out today. These walls probably have ears." Miyabi stated.
The group of four promptly left the school and went into an alleyway that was close by. Miyabi then pulled out her phone and held it up to display a flashing red app.
"That app... it's the same one that's been on my phone." Akira stated as he pulled his phone out and showed that the app was also flashing there.
"Then I guess that you realize that it keeps reinstalling itself every time you try to get rid of it. I once had the same issue myself about two years ago while I was living in America." Akechi said.
"And what is this about a Kamoshida, Sakamoto-san?" Miyabi asked with a raised eyebrow.
"The guy's full name is Suguru Kamoshida. He's the P. E. Teacher and supposedly is the star of Shujin Academy, but from my past interactions with him, he's just some big-headed piece of shit. The way he acts is more like the king of a castle than a teacher!" Ryuji answered.
"Candidate found. Beginning Navigation." a synthetic female voice chirped from the phones of Akira, Akechi, and Miyabi.
The world began to distort around the four as people also disappeared. Shujin Academy also began to transform into a gigantic castle.
-Take Your Heart-
"To think that an ordinary P.E. Teacher thinks of the school that he works at as his own castle... Suguru Kamoshida must have some heavily distorted desires." Akechi stated.
"So what are we going to do?" Ryuji asked.
"I will infiltrate the place. You three can tag along, but stay out of my way if you do come with me. Out of the four of us, I am the only one who can fight the distortions within."
As Akechi walked towards the front door of the castle, his clothes were suddenly wreathed in blue fire and changed into a dark blue and black striped full body suit while the clothes of the other three did not change. Akechi then headed towards the left of the castle's front doors before he leapt up and forced open a ventilation shaft.
"Hmm... judging by that action, going through the front door is a bad idea." Miyabi stated.
"You catch on fast, Miyabi-san. Sakamoto-san, Kurusu-san, come to me." Akechi replied.
The other two boys obeyed and were helped up by Akechi. Akira then helped Miyabi get up to the vent before the boys went into the new opening. Miyabi then followed them into a small room.
The room's only door suddenly opened and a masked knight shouted, "Intruders!"
A small blue butterfly flew to Akira and then a female voice that only he could hear said, "Your upperclassman will be at a disadvantage if you don't take control of your fate. You must find your will of rebellion and overturn the unjust game that you will soon find yourself in."
'I won't let this be the end for Akechi-san!' Akira thought to himself before a white mask appeared on the upper half of his face. He then tried to pull it off with all of his strength and managed to do so, causing his face to bleed. Blue flames then materialized and cauterized the bleeding before spreading all over Akira, changing his clothing to a black ankle-length tailcoat, a high-necked waistcoat with gold accents, cinched black pants, brown-black winklepickers boots with taller heels and a pair of red gloves. Over his eyes is a white, birdlike domino mask with black designs around the eyes reminiscent of full eyeliner and sharp lashes.
The flames then leapt off of Akira and gathered together in a single mass before transforming into a being that wore a very tall top hat, a long-horned mask for its face, a cropped red eighteenth century-esque suit worn open with the collar popped, stitched heart designs on the shoulders, a white ruffle tie, a black, tailed corset running down its torso; large, black, feathery wings starting at around the small of its back; claws; red coverings on its legs resembling pants and boots with blade-like heels.
The being then spoke, "I am the pillager of twilight, Arsène. I am the rebel's soul that resides within you."
"Very well then, let's ravage them, Arsène!" Akira stated as the knight convulsed and black liquid emerged from it before bursting into the stuff. The liquid then gathered around and created two floating beings that consisted of just a blue cloak, a gloved hand that carried a lantern, and pumpkin for a head with a Jack-o'-Lantern face carved onto it.
"Let's keep our heads in the game. Robin Hood, Kouha!" Akechi said as he pulled off a red bird-like mask that was on his face and summoned a man wearing green clothing. The man fired an arrow and then a ball of white light flew into one of the beings and exploded, destroying it.
"Eiha!" Akira spoke before Arsène unleashed some red and black energy that destroyed the other Crypt-dwelling Pyromaniac.
After the last one disappeared, some money appeared on the ground which Akechi snatched up. He then said to Akira, "It seems that you have awoken your will as well now. I'm afraid that it is a terrible idea to use our real names in this... 'Cognitive World', so code names are in order for you and I. My mask is akin to a bird, so I will call myself Crow. I can tell that you'll be the trump card, so your code name should be Joker."
"Hmm... were those beings that you summoned the 'Persona' that I have heard about?" Miyabi asked.
"Persona? I don't get it." Ryuji spoke.
"It's something from Jungian Psychology, which you generally won't learn about unless you go to college." Miyabi said as she went through the open door, at which point a giant red boxing glove on a spring punched her into a wall and knocked her out.
Akechi suddenly held a hand up and said, "Wait... more guards will be coming. We need to hide."
Akechi, Akira, and Ryuji all hid themselves and after a moment, another knight came and saw the knocked out Miyabi before saying, "So this is one of the intruders, huh? Might as well take her down to the dungeons."
The knight picked up the unconscious Miyabi and hauled her away, not knowing that he was being followed.
-Take Your Heart-
Miyabi groaned as she woke up and found herself in a cell. "Ugh... my skills must have rusted a lot more than I thought..." she muttered under her breath.
"You're definitely right about that." a disembodied voice called to her.
"Hmm... would you perhaps... be my Shadow?"
"You are an oddly perceptive person. The guards will be here soon, and with your rusted skills, you won't be able to survive a fight against them without my help."
"Very well... I will use your power. We shall raise the banner and become a symbol of rebellion, Gwendoloena!" Miyabi declared just before a gray domino mask appeared on her face. She ripped it off with one hand and blue flames danced around her before forming into a woman who wore a black tunic carrying a dagger. Her clothes also changed from her Shujin uniform to a Café Noir (Black Coffee) colored cape with white markings at the top left while the cape is over a white and yellow, high collared coat with black linings held by a double strap with a buckle logo of some sort of a snake, a burgundy sash and two small brown leather straps crisscrossed at the bottom front. The coat exposed a large amount of her breasts. A portion of her thighs and bottom are exposed as well, revealing that she was wearing yellow panties, dark grey thigh-highs stockings socks and white boots with Café Noir top lining adorned with black straps. Also present were a black choker and a silver necklace while her left arm is covered by white bandages and black leather straps.
A knight then walked into view along with Kamoshida, although he was wearing a kingly cape, a pink speedo underneath, and a small crown.
"How the hell!? She's already manifested her power and become a threat! Kill her now!" 'Kamoshida' ordered.
"Yes, my lord." the knight spoke as he unlocked and opened the cell door before turning into a single Crypt-dwelling Pyromaniac.
"Time to see what this thing can do. Destroy him, Gwendoloena!" Miyabi called out.
"Atom Slicer!" Gwendoloena shouted as she slashed with her dagger, making a cyan light move over the enemy in front of her before the Crypt-dwelling Pyromaniac dissolved into black liquid.
Miyabi then rushed to 'Kamoshida' and punched him in the crotch, making him keel over in pain before she then threw him into the cell. She then noticed a ring of keys and locked the cell door before throwing the ring of keys away. Miyabi then moved to a barred door and leapt over a broken wooden bridge to her right before going through an open door on the left side and going to the right. She then hopped across several collapsed cages and headed left across an intact wooden bridge. Miyabi then went right and saw a small tunnel in the wall that she squeezed and crawled through before running into Joker, Crow, and Ryuji again.
"It seems that she has awakened to the potential as well, Crow." Joker spoke.
"That she has, Joker. A code name for her is in order." Crow replied.
"I think I shall be the one to decide my code name... how does 'Cobra' sound?" Miyabi remarked.
"Sounds good. Now let's go." Joker stated before walking across a bridge along with Crow and Ryuji. Cobra followed them and then the four went to the right before reaching another doorway. They then went up a stone spiral staircase before going through a wooden door at the top of it. They then went left down another hallway until they came across a raised drawbridge and several cells.
"How the hell are we supposed to leave these dungeons?" Cobra asked.
"...Hey, you there." a small voice called out.
Cobra turned to where the voice came from and saw a small anthropomorphic and biped tuxedo cat-like creature with a large spheroidal head looking at her from inside a cell.
"What in the heck? A talking humanoid cat?" Cobra asked.
"I AM NOT A CAT! My name's Morgana!" the anthropomorphic cat shouted.
"You might want to step away from the door, Morgana. Atom Slicer!" Cobra stated. Morgana backed away just in time for the skill to destroy the cell door.
"Holy crap... that was not a Fire skill..." Morgana said as he walked through the destroyed door.
"This statue should do something about the bridge." Joker stated before he pulled down the jaw of a stone statue of Kamoshida's face. The drawbridge then lowered itself.
"Let's move, Joker. The guards are probably headed this way." Crow remarked.
The four humans plus cat moved across only to run into a knight. Cobra focused and a seven-pronged sword appeared in her hands. She then swung it and knocked the knight down, making it turn into three Crypt-dwelling Pyromaniacs.
"Damn Shadows... they've taken up intercept positions! Looks like it's not about capturing us anymore... they're out for blood! I'll back you all up, so fight like your life depends on it! Let's go!"
"Cleave that one, Arsène!" Joker called out as he removed his mask while pointing at one of the enemies.
The Persona created an energy dagger before making a cutting motion with it, which damaged the Shadow, but did not defeat it.
"Joker, these enemies are not weak to either your Curse element or my Bless element, but they also don't resist Bless and Curse either. You should also take note that physical skills such as Cleave use your stamina to fuel their power." Crow stated.
"I don't know how you guys managed to figure that... wait a minute, you guys have fought a few battles before meeting me, haven't you?" Morgana started before realizing and asking.
"Guilty as charged, cat." Joker cheekily replied.
"I AM NOT A CAT! Besides, this is how you fight! Garu!" Morgana shouted as a top-heavy being armed with a rapier appeared before a gust of green wind destroyed one of the undamaged Crypt-dwelling Pyromaniacs.
"So you exploit weaknesses to win fights quickly... not bad." Crow replied as she slashed the already damaged enemy into black liquid with a lightsaber.
"Eiha!" Joker called out as the attack destroyed the last enemy. He then started to bend forward slightly and pant.
"We must have exhausted ourselves without realizing it. Let's return to the entrance and reinfiltrate this place tomorrow." Crow stated.
"Sounds like a good idea, everyone." Morgana spoke.
A few minutes later, Crow, Cobra, Joker, Morgana, and Ryuji were now at the entrance of the castle.
"Unfortunately, I still have a mission to attend to in this place, so I cannot leave. I was only caught because I got careless. If we meet again, we should team up." Morgana said before jumping up to the vent and going back inside.
"Well then... I suppose that we should head home and rest for today." Crow stated.
"Yes, although... I don't exactly have anywhere to go right now... Joker, do you mind if I accompany you to your place?" Cobra replied.
"We can only hope that my caretaker will allow it." Joker said as the four of them walked away from the castle and back to the real world.
-Take Your Heart-
Café Leblanc, evening.
Akira and Miyabi entered the place and then Sojiro gave Akira a look before starting, "You barely got here in ti- wait, am I seeing things or did you just bring a girl here to the Café with you?"
"She's another student at my school, Sakura-san." Akira replied.
"Greetings, Sojiro Sakura. I am Miyabi Kurohebi, a third year student of Shujin Academy. As his sempai, I will ensure that his grades are at least above average." Miyabi stated.
"Good to hear that from you, Miyabi-chan." Sojiro spoke as both his phone and Miyabi's phone rang.
"Code." Miyabi remarked while Sojiro asked, "Hello?"
"Good accepts few, Evil accepts all." was heard from Miyabi's phone.
"So my living situation has been confirmed, Suzune-sensei?"
"Yes. You'll be staying at the Café Leblanc for the year." Suzune answered over the phone.
"I understand. I'll be living in this place until I have to return."
"WHAT!? Y-You, staying here!? Then again, you seem like the type of girl who would kick Akira's ass if he were to try anything untoward you." Sojiro exclaimed before calming himself down.
"Yep." Miyabi replied.
"Alright, Akira. You've got a roommate with you in the attic. Miyabi, the same rules that I set down for Akira also apply to you." Sojiro said before exiting the café and flipping the sign from 'open' to 'closed'.
"Let's just go to bed for tonight." Akira spoke as he went up into the attic.
"Good idea, Akira-san." Miyabi replied as she followed him into the attic.
Persona tracking:
Joker
Level: 4
Cobra
Level: 4
Persona: Gwendoloena (resist: Fire, Nuke) (weak: Earth, Ice)
Skills: Atom Slicer, Micro Nova, Poisma, Back Slash
Crow
Level: 9
Persona: Robin Hood (resist: Bless, Gun) (weak: Curse)
Skills: Kouha, Dia, Dazzler
Skill Database
Atom Slicer: deals light physical-nuclear damage to one enemy, costs 6% HP to use
Micro Nova: deals light Almighty damage to all enemies, costs 10 SP to use
Poisma: 50% chance to inflict Poison on one enemy, costs 5 SP to use
Back Slash: deals light physical damage to one enemy, costs 3% HP to use, deals extra damage to downed enemies
