Heart of Justice Chapter 4
"Maaaaan! All this damn rain!" the blond boy whined. "Here, let's go through the alley, we'll get there sooner."
Holding her phone at her side, Kyoko looked down the fairly lit alley. "Very well, we wouldn't want to be late, after all."
As they walked through the alley, the boy leading the way, he finally spoke up. "So... uh... what's your story? Why come to Shujin?" he asked innocently.
"Is it important?" Kyoko asked. "Or are you just trying to bury silence with "small talk"?"
The boy raised an eyebrow. Clearly, he thought, this girl wasn't much of a talker. The way she always seemed to just stare right through him when she talked was a little bit off-putting as well. "Eh, just curious, I guess."
"Why?" Kyoko asked, staring.
" I mean, Shujin's okay I guess if it wasn't for that dirtbag... but DAMNIT!" the boy stomped his foot into the wet pavement, Kyoko could have sworn she heard an odd echo from it. "...And after what happened with the track team-"
The boy was suddenly left speechless when they reached the end of the alley. As Kyoko came up behind him, she could see why.
In front of them, where the school presumably should have been was an imposing medieval castle made of golden brick like something straight out of a European fantasy. The rain had since stopped, and the clouds above seemed to be slowly swirling around its highest towers, everything bathed in a pink light.
"Did we... go the wrong way?" the boy asked, looking at the alley behind them.
"No, the Shujin gate is right there," Kyoko answered, pointing to the gray walls just outside the drawbridge in front of the castle that beared the school's name. Pocketing her phone and folding her arms, Kyoko brought her hand to her chin in thought as she stared intently at what was before her. The gate clearly read that this was their destination, but this castle was completely out of place no matter how one looked at it. Also of note that the moment they'd come out of the alley, nothing else seemed to be around, no other buildings or anything other then the way back. "Very strange," she observed.
"You think?" the boy replied.
"Hm," Kyoko took her phone back out and turned it on, and sure enough the strange app had its presence completely on the screen. It made her wonder if the sudden appearance of a castle and the app had a connection. A few taps but the app went nowhere.
"Damnit, no bars! This is so weird!" the boy protested before looking back at her. "Hey, you comin' or what? Not gonna get any answers out here, may as well go in and ask around..."
"That may be best," Kyoko answered. "The doors appear to be open as well," she pointed ahead, past the drawbridge.
"Well, let's get goin' then!"
As they headed in, Kyoko noticed the inside looked nothing like the school, either, but rather exactly what one would expect the inside of a medieval European castle to look like, if the occasional film or images she'd seen were anything to go by, with black and white tile floors and lavish gold walls with pink velvet tapstries hanging from them. Chandeleirs hung from the high ceiling, providing illumination. Kyoko immediately wrinkled her nose in disgust. She couldn't put her finger on it, but the air smelt... wrong, somehow...
No, she thought, folding her arms as she took in their surroundings, her eyes slowly falling upon a portrait at the top of the nearby stairs of someone she immediately recognized as the man from the car. EVERYTHING about this place feels wrong...
"Seriously weird! I don't see anyone, do you?" the boy asked, looking about, interrupting her thoughts. "HEY! Anyone here?" he called out.
"Wait...!" Kyoko shouted in a hushed tone, not liking this place at all. Unfortunately, it seemed they had been heard, as a tromping sound came from the hall ahead, getting closer, and out emerged a tall figure wearing metal plate armor, a sword and shield in its hands and its face covered by an expressionless white mask with only vague features on it, its eyeholes leading into empty blackness.
"Whoa, man! You scared me!" the boy said, looking up at the tall, armored figure. "Hey, what's with the costume?" he asked, coming closer to look it over. "Nice cosplay, the armor even looks real!" The armored figure said nothing. Raising an eyebrow, the boy looked back at Kyoko. "What's up with him?"
Kyoko, however, was far more suspicious of the entity in front of them. Her suspicions were swiftly confirmed as the armored figure suddenly raised its shield. "LOOK OUT!" she shouted, rushing at the boy and pushing him out of the way, the both of them narrowly avoiding getting crushed under it as they tumbled across the floor, the armored figure's shield smashing into the floor as it missed them.
"Ow..." the boy suddenly blushed as he noticed Kyoko on top of him from having pushed him away. "Uhhh, thanks..." his surprise turned to anger as he looked back at the armored figure. "What the HELL, man?! You tryin' to kill me?!" he snapped angrily as the figured lifted its shield and turned towards them.
"Intruders!" the armored figure shouted in a low, booming voice that seemed to have an odd echo to it, banging its sword and shield together loudly.
Kyoko sat herself up as she heard the sound of more tromping and looked down the hall to see six more of the armored humanoids come charging into the room and surrounding them before they could even get up.
"What's going on here?!" the boy protested. "Answer me!"
WHUMP!
One of the armored beings smacked him on the head with its shield, knocking him out cold, and an instant later, Kyoko felt a sharp, painful blow to her own head and everything started to black as the floor came at her quickly.
"Take them to the dungeon, then alert the King!" she heard one say before she lost consciousness.
"Hey...!"
"Hey! Wake up!"
Kyoko's eyes fluttered open to the sound of a familiar voice and dripping water as she sat herself up, nursing her head as her vision cleared back up.
"You alright?" Kyoko turned and saw the blond boy from before she'd lost consciousness was kneeling next to her, speaking to her. Looking down the young detective noticed she had been laying on an empty cot, in what appeared to be some kind of prison cell or a dungeon. Shackles hung from the ceiling and lay against the walls, and a barred gate lay just up ahead leading further into the dark tunnels ahead. The rank smell of mildew and moisture hung in the air.
"I'm fine. You?" she asked, looking back at the boy. He gave a nod.
"Yeah, more or less, I suppose," he replied, before turning and looking around at their dank surroundings. "Guess this ain't a dream... but what the hell's goin' on here?!"
Running over to the gates, the boy kicked at the door several times. "HEY! Let us outta here! I know there's someone there!" he shouted angrily. Grabbing the bars, he shook them a few times but the door didn't budge. "God-DAMNIT! Where the hell ARE we?! Some kinda movie set?!"
Kyoko's eyes darted to her left as a loud, agonized scream rang through the halls of the dungeon.
"What the hell was that?!" the boy asked, Kyoko hopping from the cot and rushing over to the gate as well, looking around for the source of the noise.
Another scream, as terrible and sounding in as much pain as the last came shortly after in the same direction, sending a chill down Kyoko's body, though she made her effort not to show it. If she had to guess, it sounded like whoever they came from was being tortured in some way...
As if to confirm that theory, the two heard a voice, begging someone to stop what they were doing, then pleading for mercy and then crying out for help... another horrible scream followed from down the hall.
"Whatever is happening down that hall, I believe it's quite real," Kyoko observed. "We need to find a way out of here."
"No shit!" the boy answered, looking around the cell. "But how do we get out? The door's locked an' everything!"
"...I don't think it's going to be for long," Kyoko remarked, staring down the hall as the chinking sound of armored feet came from down the hall, getting closer and closer.
"Damnit! What do we do?!" the boy demanded, looking for something, anything they could use to defend themselves but it was evident the cell was completely empty save for the cots, shackles, and some barrels, none of which likely to be of any use.
"Be glad that your punishment has been decided upon," a deep, echoing voice boomed in response as the armored figures from before approached the cell, the one at the front gazing at them through the empty holes of his vaguely human mask that covered where its face would normally be. "Your charge is unlawful entry. Thus, you shall be sentenced to death," it explained as it and the others came to a stop at the front of the cell door.
"Ridiculous. We only entered to ask for directions when we got lost," Kyoko replied, arms folded as she glared at the armored beings. "Why is it too much trouble to simply let us go?"
"...Because no one is allowed to do as they please in my castle!" a new voice declared, one Kyoko barely recognized but the mere sound of was all it took to make her companion go from frightened to absolutely seething with rage.
"Kamoshida?!" the boy snapped. "This your doing?! Come on out you son of a bitch!" he shouted, gripping the bars of the cell door furiously.
Needless to say, what came next neither the boy nor Kyoko were remotely prepared to see. The crowd of armored figures slowly parted, revealing none other then the man himself, only he looked noticeably different then the last time Kyoko had seen him. Instead of a tracksuit he was wearing a red, fur-trimmed king's cloak covered in pink hearts, a tight pink speedo and brown boots and not much else, save for the small gold crown on his head, making for a rather repulsive display that caused Kyoko want to look away in disgust. Another, notable thing about him was his strange, almost glowing golden eyes, and the fact his voice seemed to have a strange, reverberating effect to it when he spoke.
The boy found his voice first, also visibly taken aback by the teacher's strange and grotesque attire. "What the... Kamoshida?! Is that you?!"
The scantly-dressed teacher raised an eyebrow. "I'd thought it was some petty thief, but to think it'd be you, Sakamoto? You trying to disobey me again? Looks like you never learn, do you?" he sneered, a condescending grin spread across his face. It was then his gold gaze turned to Kyoko, and his grin spread wider. "Oh, and what's this? You brought a girl along? Here I thought the school's female population wouldn't touch a loser like you with a six foot pole after you screwed everything up for the track team!" he said with a laugh.
"Shut your mouth, asshole! That wasn't my fault and you goddamn know it!" the boy, Sakamoto, screamed out at the man, his face red with rage. Kyoko looked over at him, recalling him mention something about the track team earlier. Whatever the matter was, it was evident that it was a sore spot for the boy, and this teacher by her guess also had something to do with it.
"Is that how you speak to a king?" Kamoshida asked, his tone growing progressively angry. "I don't think you understand the position you're in! Not only do you and your little girlfriend here come sneaking into my castle but then you have the nerve to insult me, a king?!" he snapped, seething with every word. A dark smile spread to the man's face. "The sentence for that, is death... and I so do love an execution! Guards!"
Immediately the guards opened the door, the one in the front approaching Sakamoto with its sword pointed at him, the others filing in.
"What of the girl?" one asked.
"Make sure she doesn't go anywhere. I'm pretty pissed about this little intrusion on my castle, I could use a little... fun," Kamoshida said with a chuckle, grinning dangerously at Kyoko and licking his lips as the guards, blades drawn, cornered her against the wall. "You're a cute one, you know... Never woulda guessed you'd fall in with trash like Sakamoto! But don't worry, you're about to trade up... whether you like it or not!"
"No you don't you son of a bitch!" Sakamoto suddenly yelled, making a dash forward and ramming the nearest guard that was cornering Kyoko, knocking it off its feet. "C'mon! Let's get outta here!" he shouted.
Before Kyoko could move, the remaining guards crossed their blades in front of her, and another swung its shield at Sakamoto, winding him enough to knock him to the ground as the other started to get up.
"D-damnit... let her go, you bastard! S-she's got nothing to do with this...!" the boy pleaded as he gasped for breath, the guards closing in around him. "RUN, GODDAMNIT!"
Kyoko tried to inch away, but Kamoshida saw her first, a lecherous sneer spread on his face. "Oh, running away are we?" he chuckled as he began to approach the young detective. "You're not going anywhere till I say you can..."
"Stay away from me," Kyoko hissed, backing away instinctively as she glared at him in disgust.
"Ooooh, I love it when they try to resist! You're simply adorable!" Kamoshida sneered as he got closer, licking his lips again. Kyoko grit her teeth and raised her hand to try and strike him, but he was too fast, grabbing her wrist with ease, then grabbing her other to slam her hard against the wall. The girl grunted in pain from the impact and the sting of her hands being grabbed so roughly as Kamoshida loomed over her.
"LEAVE HER ALONE!" Sakamoto screamed out, "I SWEAR TO GOD, KAMOSHIDA I'M GONNA FUCKING KILL YOU!"
Kamoshida only chuckled. "Empty threats from a dying piece of trash," he said, looking over at Sakamoto then glancing back at her. "Wanna watch? May as well get a show before I take my "fee" for your little indiscretion!"
The distraction was all she needed. Bringing her knee up as fast and hard as she could, the young detective slammed it between Kamoshida's legs. Kamoshida yelped in pain and doubled back, both hands between his legs as he struggled to stand. Even the guards looked a little surprised.
"Heh... serves ya right, pervert!" Sakamoto choked out, smirking a little despite the pain he was in.
"You little BITCH!" Kamoshida snarled as he nursed the blow. "I offer you a way out of this piss ant's fate and THIS is how you repay my kindness?!" Turning and facing Sakomoto, his face twisted into pure rage, he swung his leg hard into the boy's stomach. "And you, shut your damn mouth, worthless pest! Restrain them!"
Immediately Kyoko was held by the guards, her struggles to free herself were in vain as she watched the others hoist Sakamoto up and Kamoshida began punching the boy in the stomach, over and over, before finally sending a blow to his face, knocking him to the ground. The man turned and grinned at Kyoko. "Hope you're enjoying the show, 'cause you're gonna be next!" he sneered. Looking down at Sakamoto, Kamoshida spat on him. "Seems you're all talk after all. Barely worth beating! Execute him!"
Turning to face Kyoko again as she continued to struggle, the man walked towards her once more. "You really have no clue who I am, do you?" he asked, sneering in her face. "I'm the king of this place, and whether you choose to put out or not, I'll get what I want either way. But first, lemme return a favor!"
With that, Kamoshida swung his leg at her, striking Kyoko in the stomach, winding the girl and causing her to fall from the guards' grip to the floor as one of the guards began to advance on Sakamoto with its blade drawn while the others held him up.
Leaning down in front of the fallen Kyoko, Kamoshida ran his hand through her hair, the girl lacking the air or strength to slap it away. "Now you just stay right there like a good girl and wait your turn!"
"N-no... s-stop..." Sakamoto stammered, Kamoshida responded with a cruel, hearty laugh.
This is truly an unjust game... your chances of winning are most certainly none...
A soft voice spoke in Kyoko's mind as everything started to go dark, a silvery blue butterfly fluttering before her the only source of light.
"...But if my voice is reaching you, there may yet be a possibility open to you..."
Light returned, and she could see Kamoshida grinning down at her, sweat began to run down Kyoko's face as she struggled to think, to find some way to escape... Was this really how things were going to end?
"What's the matter?" a new female voice suddenly spoke into the girl's mind, this one stern and confident, and from what Kyoko could tell, it sounded very similar to her own...
"Are you, the great high-school detective, fallen from grace by falsehood, going to just give up so soon? Are you really going to let this entitled filth walk all over you and take this boy's life?" the female voice demanded. "Suffering, humiliation, death! Those are all that await you should you simply give in! Do you regret your past decision that sent you on this path?"
Kyoko remembered that moment, when she'd last chosen to intervene and paid dearly for it with everything she had in her life.
"...No..." she said aloud, confusing the man looming over her.
"What'd you say, brat?!" Kamoshida snapped. "Hold her down!" he demanded as the guards not focused on Sakamoto approached her.
"I said NO!" Kyoko snapped, feeling more fury then she ever had since that fateful evening as the memories of then and what she was hearing now blended together in her mind.
"Very well," the voice said. "I have heeded your resolve..."
Immediately the girl screamed out in pain as she was struck by a brutal migrane, like something clawing inside her head attempting to get free. The guards froze in place, confused as the girl fell to her side, clutching her head in pain as the migrane worsened.
"Vow to me!" the voice commanded. "I am thou! Thou art I! Thou who desires to seize control of thine life once more! Thou who shall defy society's oppressive lies, who shalt commit all sacreligious acts for thine own justice!"
The migrane grew worse, Kyoko's screams grew louder, Kamoshida even began to back away nervously, Sakamoto looking over in shock and horror as the girl continued to writhe in agony.
"CALL UPON MY NAME! RELEASE THY RAGE!" the voice screamed.
Kyoko threw her head back, screaming as loud as she possibly could before getting to her knees, her hands gripped to the sides of her head.
"SHOW THE STRENGTH OF THY CUNNING AND ASCERTAIN THE TRUTH AND WILL TO TOPPLE THE GUILTY, NO MATTER WHAT STANDS IN THY WAY!"
"You're pissin' me off, kid! Execute her first!" Kamoshida demanded, the guard raising its blade to behead her.
The blade never connected, the guards were immediately blown back by a powerful gust from an unseen force eminating from the fallen girl. Slowly, she looked up; a white domino mask had appeared around her eyes, covering the top half of her face. Kyoko's hands rose up to it, and slowly grabbed the ends, pulling as hard as she could. Pain came with it, as though it had been glued onto her face. She didn't stop, however, something in her mind telling her she had to do this. Closing her eyes and gritting her teeth, the girl pulled with all her might, tearing it clean off.
Kyoko cried out in pain as blood sprayed out from around where the mask had been, the intense, burning sensation as if she'd torn her own face off struck, but then just as quickly, it was gone.
"Excellent! The contract has been made!" the female voice spoke once more, letting out a sinister laugh as a smile spread on girl's bleeding face as a power she had never felt before but knew, deep down, to be hers and hers alone came to her in a great and invigorating surge of energy and strength, her eyes turning gold as blue flames suddenly formed from where she'd torn the mask away before they engulfed her completely as she began to stand up.
Sakamoto and the guards stared in speechless awe, Kamoshida covered his eyes and staggered away, the flames burning brightly before finally rising off of the girl in an almost humanoid, chained shape, a wide sneer of purple light forming a face within the flames as it loomed over her continuing to laugh before the flames suddenly burst away and revealed what lay underneath.
A fierce, eagle-like glare was present on Kyoko's face as she now stood proud and defiant, blue flames surging around her. The girl's clothes were now noticeably different, having transformed from Shujin's uniform to an odd costume consisting of a high-collared white dress shirt, purple necktie, and black pleated skirt and leggings, her braid tied in a black silken ribbon and black gloves similar to the ones she'd worn prior on her hands. Completing her new look were black thigh-high, heeled boots, and a dark purple, open peacoat that fell down to her knees adorned with wide, high lapels and gold buttons.
Hovering above her, wrapped in chains was a humanoid, feminine entity donning a long black victorian opera dress and purple coat, a white corset with a purple cravat, the side of the dress upraised to reveal tall purple boots that seemed to just end in pointed tips, the hands covered by purple gloves with spiked studs on the knuckles. The being's face, if one could call it such, was was a pure black mask with glowing purple flames soldered into it forming a pair of eyes and a smiling mouth and ending in long, curved horns, and pink hair in a braid bunned up under a purple opera hat. A pair of massive black wings fanned out from the figure's waist, shattering the chains apart in a burst of blue flames, Kyoko's arms moving in sync with it as fiery chains circling herself shattered apart as well. The resulting blast of power promptly sent the guards that had been near her flying into the nearest walls with tremendous force.
Kamoshida had gone from smug to confused to absolutely terrified in seconds and immediately scampered out of the cell, whimpering in fear while Sakamoto continued to stare.
"What the...?!" the boy stammered.
"I am Irene, carrying both beauty and resolution unparalleled. I am the rebel's soul that dwells within you," the apparition stated as she loomed over the girl. "If you desire it, my power shall be yours, and you may escape this crisis!"
"I desire it," Kyoko said, her glare growing more intense as she turned towards Kamoshida.
"Who the hell do you think you are?!" Kamoshida demanded, feeling more confident now that he was safely outside the dungeon cell. "GUARDS! KILL HER!" he shouted.
The fallen guards immediately stood, their armored forms convulsing as they suddenly burst apart into red and black ooze that splattered to the stone floor in wet splashes, and a pair of cloaked beings with jack-o-lantern heads carrying fiery lamps emerged from the puddles, wreathed in red smoke.
"This power of mine is yours to use," the entity, Irene, ordered. "Unleash your inner wrath upon them!
As if instinct was guiding her, Kyoko held out her hand, a dagger suddenly materializing in her grip and in a blur of motion, she dashed forward, slicing into one of the creatures before it could even make a move before leaping back in front of Sakomoto standing between him and the remaining enemy as the other burst apart in a cloud of dust and smoke.
The surviving jack-o-lantern creature cackled as it suddenly flew straight at her, swinging its lamp at the girl and striking her with it. Kyoko grunted in pain but somehow the impact was not nearly as forceful or painful as she expected.
"My power shall give you protection, now focus and you will realize what else you can do with it!" Irene urged.
Kyoko could feel her contempt for the man standing at the cell door, but the jack-o-lantern creature was getting ready to attack her once more. Touching her mask that had reappeared on her, the girl pointed at the enemy, and above her, Irene copied her actions, an explosion of red and black energy burst from the ground beneath the creature and exploded in a brilliant flash, leaving nothing behind.
As if satisfied and believing her work was done for now, the visage of Irene vanished, leaving only Kyoko and Sakamoto in the cell.
"Whoa... what WAS that just now?!" Sakamoto asked, still staring at the girl he had just witnessed summon some giant being and destroy a group of monsters.
"That does it!" Kamoshida snarled as he walked towards Kyoko, cracking his knuckles. "I'll show you what happens to those who defy a king!"
Before he could even reach her, Sakamoto had gotten up and rammed into him with all his might, knocking the man off his feet sending him tumbling across the floor. "You like that, you son of a bitch?" He shouted with a laugh.
"The keys!" Kyoko snapped.
"Got 'em!" Sakamoto replied, snatching them off the ground from where a guard had left them and the two immediately rushed out of the cell as Kamoshida began to get back up, locking the door behind them.
"DAMNIT! YOU LITTLE BRATS! I SWEAR...!" Kamoshida snarled as he beat angrily against the bars of the door. "LET ME OUT RIGHT THIS SECOND OR I'LL-!"
"Get yourself out, asshole!" Sakamoto replied with a smirk, tossing the keys into an underground river flowing nearby just outside the dungeon cells.
"Let's go!" Kyoko replied sharply, leading the way. Soon as she took another step, however, the strange costume she'd found herself in suddenly burst into flame, disappearing off her and leaving her back in her school clothes.
"Your clothes!" Sakamoto pointed out.
Kyoko looked down, noticing she was indeed back in her Shujin uniform, schoolbag included. "Hm." she replied, before looking back at him. "...We should hurry."
"GUARDS! AFTER THEM! DON'T LET THEM ESCAPE!" Kamoshida's enraged voiced boomed from behind the two as they ran down the dark hall ahead in search of a way out.
"Goddamnit! Is there no way outta this place?!" Sakamoto protested as the duo found themselves on another floor littered with dungeon cells and a raised drawbridge that seemed to be blocking the path to the only other set of stairs available to them. This place seriously gives me the creeps, I'm tellin' ya..."
Screams of pain echoed around them, Kyoko looked about, seeing several hanging cages sway about, when they'd tilt into the light, she could see what looked to be Shujin students inside. "Seems we weren't the only ones captured, but there's no way we can get to them," she said, before looking back the way they came. Bringing her hand up to her chin in thought, the girl eyed the bridge, next to it was a bust of Kamoshida but there were no levels or switches to operate it.
"Any ideas? I'm sure the guards found that bastard by now they're probably lookin' for us!" Sakamoto replied.
"...Hey! You, there!" a high, boyish voice called out. "Girl! Blondie! Over here, you two!"
Kyoko turned, the voice having come from right behind her and Sakamoto. Needless to say, despite all they'd seen up to this point, nothing could have possibly prepared them for what they saw in the cell before them.
It appeared to be a two-foot-tall, anthropomorphic tuxedo cat. To be more precise, a very cartoonish depiction of one rather then any real living creature, with its head being disproportionately large and bulbous compared to its small body and tiny paws and feet, making it look rather top-heavy. Its huge blue eyes and pointed ears peered through a black bandanna on its head, and it wore a tiny yellow scarf around its neck and a utility belt around its waist.
Kyoko blinked at the strange sight before her. It was, despite the dire situation, absolutely adorable. "Cute..." she mused.
"W-what the hell is that thing?!" Sakamoto asked, backing away from it in shock.
"Y-you're not soldiers from this castle, are you? Get me outta here!" the cat-creature protested.
"We're tryin' to get outta this place! You look like an enemy, too!" Sakamoto replied.
The cat-thing sighed. "Come on! I'm locked up in here! How can I be your enemy? Just get those keys over there and let me out, already!" The creature looked down at the floor. "Look, I'm trying to escape, too, get me outta here and I promise I'll show you the way out!"
"Hey, what do you think? Should we trust the cat-thing?" Sakamoto asked, Kyoko looked back down the hall at the sound of more guards marching, and at the bridge that still remained inaccessible. When it came down to it, they didn't have much of a choice. Her decision made, the young detective took the nearby keys off the hanger and unlocked the door, ignoring the cat-creature's angry protest at Sakamoto that it was, in fact, not a cat, despite all visual confirmation otherwise.
"Ahhh, freedom at last!" the cat-creature said with a cheer.
"Yeah, yeah, now where's the way out, monster-cat?" Sakamoto asked, causing the small creature's fur to ruffle.
"I told you! I am NOT a cat! My name's Morgana!" it responded indignantly.
"Morgana?" Kyoko replied, staring down at their strange new companion with her hand to her chin.
"Can we go, now? I don't any of us wanna be locked up again!" Sakamoto insisted, glancing down the hall they came nervously.
"Oh! Right! Follow me!" the cat creature, Morgana, replied, rushing over to where the bridge was, stopping in front of the bust of Kamoshida.
"Okay, now what?" Sakamoto asked, raising an eyebrow at the cat.
"Hey! Girl! Think you can figure out how this statue works? You seem sharper then Blondie, here!"
"I'm right here, you know!" Sakamoto protested.
Ignoring him, Kyoko walked briskly up to the bust. Seeing Kamoshida's grinning face carved in stone repulsed her, but they had very little time to get a solution. Hm. The jaw looks unusual... she thought to herself as she grabbed the lower part of the mouth and pulled it down, causing it to stretch open. With the sound of gears and machinery grinding, the bridge came down and connected the side they were on with the other side, allowing safe passage across the underground river.
"Nice work!" Morgana cheered.
"If you consider minor observation of irregularity in a statue as such perhaps I've no reason to argue," Kyoko replied dryly as she turned and ran across the bridge, stopping at the other end to wait for the other two.
"Pfft! I coulda figured that out!" Sakamoto grumbled as he and Morgana followed across.
Back at Shujin, Kawakami was not having a good day.
"It's already fourth period! Sakura-san did say she'd left for school this morning," she mused, tapping a pencil against her chin as she did her paperwork. "Where could she be? No way the holdups from yesterday's incident would delay her this much!" she joked bitterly to herself.
Sighing loudly, the stressed-out teacher stared down at her paperwork, brushing back her hair in annoyance. "What did I do to deserve this? Wherever that girl is right now, I really hope she's not getting into any trouble..."
"CRAP! LOOK OUT!" Sakamoto shouted, pointing ahead as a guard suddenly emerged from the turn at the end of the hallway ahead and blocked their path, causing the three escapees to have to skid themselves to a stop. The guard turned and faced them, banging its sword and shield together.
Once more, Kyoko was engulfed in blue flames, and in a bright flash of light, she was once more in the costume she'd found herself in earlier.
"Whoa! Your clothes changed again!" Sakamoto shouted, pointing. Looking down, Kyoko could see that was indeed the case.
"Hm."
"Interesting! That means YOU can fight, right?" Morgana asked before putting one of his tiny paws to his forehead. "Watch and learn! Come, ZORRO!"
A column of blew light erupted from the cat, slowly condensing and revealing another hovering, spectral figure as what had happened with Kyoko earlier. This one was male and dressed in a black leather suit and cape, with a ridiculously top-heavy build flaunting a cartoonishly buff chest and arms and a skinny lower half with a golden belt bearing a large "Z" on the buckle. Its face was obscured by a black hat covering the top half of its face like mask with only its eyes and a huge mustache visible. In its right hand was a rapier, which it swung in a fashion that formed a "Z" in the air.
"Y-you got one of those things too?!" Sakamoto asked, staring in awe at the being the cat had just summoned.
"Of course!" Morgana replied matter-of-factly. "Now you stay back," he told Sakamoto, before looking over at Kyoko. "And you, let's shut this brute down!"
The guard let out an angry wail, exploding into black and red ooze before reshaping into a pink imp-like creature with a long, sharp... Kyoko immediately sighed in disgust at what it was holding in its hands like a dagger as it grinned at the group. The puddle of ooze beneath it, however, was not finished as its remaining mass spawned another jack-o-lantern creature like the ones Kyoko had destroyed earlier.
"IRENE!" the pink-haired girl shouted, touching her mask and thrusting her hand out as the apparition from before manifested behind her.
"Careful! I think these Shadows are out for blood, now!" Morgana explained before thrusting his tiny paw out, a comically huge scimitar appearing in it and pointed it at the monsters hovering in front of them. "Don't worry, I'll back you up! Watch this! ZORRO!"
The entity the cat had summoned promptly swung its blade, sending a miniature tornado at the jack-o-lantern creature. To Kyoko's surprise, the creature immediately fell to the floor in a daze. The cat cheered with glee. "Time to finish it!" he declared, raising his blade and leaping forward, slicing the enemy in half before it could get up.
"My turn," Kyoko stated, pointing at the remaining, implike monster. Irene thrust her own hand out, and a wave of black and red energy burst from the ground engulfing the monster, visibly wounding it but it was not beaten. In a rage, it darted at Kyoko, swiping at her with its claws and... extra horn. The girl dodged out of the way, narrowly avoiding the attack and preserving her dignity.
"Not bad for an amateur!" the cat said, leaping up behind the creature with his sword drawn and plunging it into the back of the monster's head before it could retreat, causing it to explode in a burst of smoke.
Kyoko scowled slightly, disappointed and annoyed at being called that. The cat didn't seem to mean it in a demeaning way, however.
"Don't take it hard. The key is finding an enemy's weakness. Shadows all have different weaknesses and once you find it they go down a lot easier!" the cat explained. "And on that note, your Persona is already pretty strong!"
"Wait, Persona?" Sakamoto asked, rejoining the group. "That thing that comes outta you guys all dramatic-like?"
"Yup!" the cat replied. "You saw her reach for her mask as she summoned it? See, everyone masks their heart, but removing it..."
FWOOSH! In another flash of blue flame, Kyoko was once more in her school uniform. "This is getting repetitive," she remarked dryly.
"Eh, it just means you don't have full control over your power, yet," Morgana replied with a shrug. "It shouldn't normally just come and go like that..."
"This is crazy! It makes no sense at all!" Sakamoto protested with a loud grumble.
"Try and listen for once, Blondie!"
"It ain't "Blondie, it's RYUJI, got it?!" Sakamoto replied, Kyoko took note of his name as she recalled having never gotten it until just now.
Kyoko looked back, the sound of steps marching again. "We don't have time for this. Let's get moving."
"Right, follow me!" Morgana replied, rushing down the hall ahead, Ryuji pausing as a cry of pain came from a cell they passed.
"W-wait! What the hell?!" Ryuji cried out as he saw the occupant. It was another student, though this one was wearing a red tracksuit. He was shackled to the floor of his cell, covered in bruises and whimpering in agony.
"Don't worry about him! Let's go!" Morgana snapped
"What?! We can't just leave him here!" Ryuji protested. The prisoner seemed to pay his words no mind and continued moaning like a broken recording.
"We have no means to free him," Kyoko replied, her arms folded as she stared sternly at the boy. "We try and find a way they'll just catch us."
"Exactly! Besides, they're only..." the cat sighed, rubbing his large head. "...Never mind. I'll explain another time! Let's just go, already! Come on!"
Up the next flight of stairs, the group finally found themselves back in the main lobby, though the front doors were now closed shut. Morgana continued to lead the way down the hall, opening a door to a small storage room where several large boxes and crates were stacked near a small window, some torches bearing red flags with Kamoshida's smug grimace providing the only illumination.
"We're here!" the Morgana said, facing the others with a smile.
"How are we supposed to escape? There's no windows in here!" Ryuji pointed out. Kyoko's sharp gaze turned towards a pair of ventilation shafts on one of the walls, bringing her hand up to her chin.
"We crawl through up there?" she asked.
"Bingo!" Morgana replied. "You pick up on this quickly!"
"I have experience," Kyoko replied flatly.
"Okay, I gotta hear about this sometime," Ryuji remarked, raising an eyebrow at Kyoko's calm demeanor, perceptiveness, and her vague notions about her activities before coming here that had begun to add up to a lot of questions in the boy's head.
"Later, perhaps," the girl answered.
"Eh, I'll hold ya to that. Lemme just get that mesh off," Ryuji replied, climbing up the shelf beneath the shafts and giving one of the mesh grates a firm tug. Either the mesh was not well-attached, or Ryuji had underestimated his strength, as it gave way easily and sent the boy toppling to the floor flat on his back with a yelp. "Ow, crap!" Ryuji grumbled as he set the grating aside and stood himself back up. "...Hope none of the guards heard us."
"You two go on ahead. I still got something left to do, here!" Morgana explained.
Kyoko looked down at the cat. "We appreciate your help. Do try not to get caught again," she said, turning and climbing up the shelf and into the opened ventilation tunnel, followed quickly by Ryuji.
"...Those two could be useful," Morgana remarked to himself as they disappeared from sight. "That girl, especially." He rubbed his chin in thought, narrowing his large eyes. "I wonder..."
Fleeing from the castle gates, the pink haze suddenly lifted, and reality in front of the two teens suddenly cracked apart like glass, and they found themselves in the streets of the Aoyama district. The rain had since gone, and the sun was now out and shining high in the sky, only a few small puddles remaining here and there.
"You... think... we made it?" Ryuji asked, taking a moment to breathe.
As she caught her own breath, Kyoko felt her phone hum and she quickly pulled it out. Sure enough, the app still covered her screen, but a second later shrank down to a small icon.
"You have returned to the real world! Welcome back!" a female voice from her phone stated, and the icon promptly vanished, revealing her GPS screen once more where she'd left it.
Looking at her surroundings, the girl gave a nod. "It would seem so," she replied.
"Man, I dunno WHAT to think anymore! Real world? Then what the eff was that place?" Ryuji asked. "I mean... that castle, the monsters, Kamoshida lookin' like that, and that weird cat-thing?!"
"What's with all the yelling?!"
Before Kyoko could give a response, or even ponder it, a burly and very unfriendly-looking policeman approached them
"Are you two Shujin students?" he asked in an angry tone, looking them over and noting their uniforms.
"Cutting classes, are we?" another, slimmer officer on a bicycle said, coming over as well.
"No! Nothing like that!" Ryuji insisted frantically. "We were going to school then, suddenly we got lost when we ended up at this weird castle!" he explained, prompting a facepalm from Kyoko.
"Hand over your bags. Are you kids doing drugs or something?" the burly officer ordered.
"N-No! I'm telling you! It's nothing like that! We just got lost and-" the boy insisted.
"Hey, Miss!" the officer on the bike said, addressing Kyoko. "You his friend?"
Kyoko sighed and folded her arms, gazing at Ryuji with a hint of annoyance. "Something like that," she replied ignoring the indignant look her companion gave.
"Whatever. Look, just get to class, alright?" the officer on the bike said.
"Yeah, we just passed by Shujin on our way here. There was nothing out of the ordinary about it," the larger officer explained sternly. "You spout any more nonsense, I'll contact your school, understand?"
Kyoko simply gazed back at them, then at Ryuji, who looked like he wanted her to back up his claims, which she doubted was going to make things go remotely in their favor with two policemen who were clearly in no mood for a story as ludicris-sounding as the one they had. Furthermore she knew the absolute last thing she needed right now was to get arrested and taken to the station while on probation as that'd lead to a whole new mess of problems. Because of these reasons, Kyoko simply nodded at the policemen. "Very well. We don't want to be late. Let's go," she said, promptly turning and leaving down the alley they'd gone earlier.
"H-hey, wait up!" Ryuji called out, rushing after her. I swear, is this girl for real? he thought to himself as he followed.
No sooner did the two reach the gates of the school when they were greeted by Shujin Academy, exactly as Kyoko remembered it when she'd come yesterday. The castle was nowhere to be seen.
"What the hell?!" Ryuji asked, staring in disbelief. "What's going on here?! We came the same way I'm sure of it!"
"Then perhaps you'd like to give me an explanation," a counselor explained as he came to the top of the steps and looked down at the two teens, a look of suspicion and disapproval on his face as he glared down at them. "We just received a call from the police!"
"You kidding me?! That goddamn cop snitched on us anyway?!" Ryuji snapped angrily. Even Kyoko grimaced slightly, folding her arms and staring up at the counselor.
"We got lost," she said simply.
"For that long? Don't try to sell that to me," the counselor replied sternly, before looking at Ryuji. "I'm used to seeing you alone, Sakamoto. Did you lead this young lady somewhere she shouldn't have been? Where exactly did you two roam off to?"
Kyoko opened her mouth to speak, but Ryuji replied, or stammered out an answer first. "A-a castle, sir..."
The young detective's palm found her forehead once again.
"A castle?! So you don't feel like giving me an honest answer?" the counselor replied, growing angrier.
"What's this about a castle?" a voice that sounded familiar and not the least bit welcome to hear by either teen spoke up, and appearing at the top of the stairs alongside the counselor was none other then Kamoshida himself, no longer in his repulsive "kingly" apparel but instead a simple t-shirt, track pants and trainers.
The man smirked down at stunned Ryuji. "Nice to see you so carefree, Sakamoto. Quite a far cry from how you were back on the track team," he said, Kyoko could practically smell the passive-aggression off the man as he spoke, causing her stare to grow more intense as she looked up at the man, recalling what he'd been like when they ran into him in that strange castle.
Ryuji grit his teeth at the man's remark. "Shut up! It's YOUR fault that-
"Don't you dare speak that way to Mr. Kamoshida!" the counselor snapped. "But then again, you don't have much leeway left, do you, Sakamoto?"
"Oh come ON! You KNOW he's the one that provoked me!" Ryuji protested, causing Kyoko to grow more intrigued on what exactly happened between the two of them. Kamoshida was clearly a despicable man if their past experience was anything to go by, but Ryuji seemed to have a very, very personal grudge with him.
"You really want to get expelled, Sakamoto? Then keep it up!" the counselor warned. "In any case, you'll have to explain your tardiness, so follow me!"
"That's total bullshit!" Ryuji snapped, absolutely livid, now.
"Hey, hey, now," Kamoshida said, holding up his hand in assurance. "I shoulda been more considerate, too. Let's just agree we're both to blame, alright?" he asked the counselor with a smirk. The counselor seemed to relax a bit.
"If you say so," the counselor replied, before looking back at the two. "Still, you're coming with me. It's undeniable you're extremely late!"
Ryuji sighed, knowing there was no getting out of this. "Fine," he muttered. Kyoko watched him sullenly head up the stairs, shooting a glare at Kamoshida on the way inside. As soon as they were both gone, Kamoshida looked back at Kyoko, raising an eyebrow in curiosity at the girl standing at the bottom of the stairs.
"Have we... met somewhere? You look familiar, Miss...?" he asked.
"Kirigiri," the girl responded plainly, arms folded and staring up at him. "I believe we met when I saw a girl get in your car."
"Oh, right, at the station!" the PE teacher replied, scratching the back of his head. Looking her over, the man smirked at her. "I understand the Principal's been pretty hard on you right from the get-go. Heard about the probation and all, that's gotta be pretty rough to deal with. Everyone here'll probably treat you like you got rabies or something, you know?"
Kyoko remained silent and stayed where she was, simply staring up at him.
"Look, long story short, Miss Kirigiri, one wrong move and you'd get expelled. Today would be a pretty big example being over four hours late on your first day and all!"
Again, Kyoko said nothing.
"Well, here's the deal. I'm gonna overlook it just for today, sound good?" he asked with a smile. "I know some see me as a real hardass but I'm still a teacher and looking after my students is my number one priority. No worries, my name carries a bit of weight around here, just stay outta trouble and I'm sure I won't regret my choice!"
Kyoko's stare remained in place, but this time she gave a silent nod. "Very well, I appreciate it, sir," she replied.
"Good, good. Now get on over to the Teacher's Lounge, Miss Kawakami's probably getting tired waiting for you!" He said, turning to leave, but then pausing and looking back at her. "Oh! If you wanna look into any of the girls' sports, we could use some members for the volleyball team. Dunno if you've ever played before but I personally coach it so if you make the cut I'm sure the principal and the others'll go a little easier on ya! I don't need an answer right away but come by the PE faculty office or just let me know if you see me in the halls if you're up for it. Good luck on your new school life!"
With a friendly grin that seemed a little too friendly, the man turned and opened the front door and disappeared inside. Taking a moment to gather her thoughts, Kyoko followed up the stairs and headed inside not long after, the thoughts of what had transpired earlier playing over and over in her head as she tried to make sense of it...
"The school turned into an old castle?" Niijima asked, raising an eyebrow in confusion at what she'd just been told. "And a talking cat?! Are you hallucinating from the overdose or something? This better not be a joke or you can consider this interview over."
Looking at her watch, the prosecutor glanced back at the girl before her. "I'll let you continue your story, for now." she explained. "Lets get down to the first supposed "heist" by the Phantom Thieves. The first one to receive a "calling card" from them was Suguru Kamoshida..."
Opening a file she took from her briefcase, Niijima took out a photo of the man, laying it on the table along with a red and black card, with a crudely-drawn logo with a grinning face under a top hat. "He was an alumnus from Shujin Academy who became an Olympic gold medalist, he turned to teaching PE at Shujin after retiring..."
Niijima looked down at the card, a look of disgust forming on her face. "It all came out in his confession... he was guilty of everything- the abuse, and the... violations..." Shaking her head, the prosecutor continued. "...But there should have been no connection between the two of you since you'd only just transferred. Why target him?"
Kyoko simply stared up at her. "...You'll... find out... later," she replied, nursing her temples as she continued to try and fend off the grogginess.
Immediately, Niijima noticed the girl looking on the verge of nodding off and slammed her hands on the table. "That's unacceptable!" she snapped, startling the girl a little. "You realize how important this is?! Try and recall it once again!"
Kyoko gave a nod, the injuries still ached, and the drugs still were having an effect on her thoughts, but she managed, from her years of detective training and deductive reasoning, was able to scrape her thoughts together and continue...