Heart of Justice Chapter 6
"Look! It's the castle from yesterday!" Ryuji cried out as it materialized and formed itself before him and Kyoko where Shujin Academy once stood.
Rushing through the opened gate, Ryuji looked around in shock at their surroundings. "You realize what this means? What happened yesterday, it was all real!" he said, looking back at Kyoko, only to jump back in surprise at what he saw. "K-Kyoko! Those clothes!"
The girl looked down at herself, surprised a little she hadn't noticed, presumably, she gathered, from the shock of finding the castle again. She was once more dressed in the outfit that had appeared on her when she had gained her persona, mask and all, she confirmed as she touched her face, finding the white mask was indeed fixed around her eyes once more.
"That happened last time, too, didn't it?" Ryuji asked, still staring. "Seriously, what's up with that outfit anyway?"
"Hm. Interesting," Kyoko said, folding her arms as she looked down at what she was wearing.
"Okay, THAT'S all you got to say?!" Ryuji asked. "How are you always able to stay so calm about stuff?" He looked at their surroundings once more in disbelief. "What the eff is going on here?!"
"Hey!" a familiar, childlike voice called out to them from behind the corner of the castle. Turning, the two discovered the strange catlike creature Morgana peering at them. "Stop making a commotion!" he ordered, approaching them and folding his arms as he glared up at Ryuji.
"You...?" Ryuji stammered out, practically dumbfounded by the cat creature's presence.
"The Shadows started acting up again, so I came here wondering what could be the cause," Morgana explained with a sigh. "I can't believe you two would think to come back here after you barely escaped with your lives last time!"
"He insisted," Kyoko replied dryly, looking over at Ryuji.
"You that thick-headed?!" Morgana asked indignantly. "You should know how dangerous this place is!"
"Hey, I got a lotta questions about this place and I need some answers!" Ryuji protested. "I know Kamoshida's connected to all of it and I wanna figure out how! Seriously, though, is this place supposed to be the school? Why the hell is it like this?"
"Because this castle is the school!" the cat replied.
"What?!" Ryuji asked, even more confused.
"To the castle's ruler, it is!" Morgana explained. "It's how his distorted heart views the school!"
Kyoko put her hand to her chin. "I think I get it," she said, before looking over at Ryuji. "When we met, you described Mr. Kamoshida as thinking he's "king of the castle" at school, correct?"
"Yeah?" Ryuji replied.
"So here, you said this castle is how his... distorted heart, as you explained it, views the school?" Kyoko asked. "Then if this place is connected to his thoughts and those views. He sees himself as king of the castle in our world because he gets away with so much, so here, it is a castle, with himself as its king, taking a figurative description to a more literal interpretation."
"You get it! For the most part, but you clearly get it!" Morgana replied with a happy nod.
"It's so crazy! I'm still tryin' to wrap my head around it," Ryuji said, shaking his head in frustration.
Their conversation was cut short, however, by a sudden loud and agonized scream coming from within the castle.
"What was that?" Ryuji asked, noticeably shook up, now.
"Must be the slaves captive here," Morgana replied.
Another horrible scream cried out from within the castle. Even Kyoko couldn't help but feel unsettled by it.
"Wait, you mean the other guys we saw being held captive, here? I'm pretty sure they're from our school!" Ryuji answered.
"On Kamoshida's orders most likely. It's nothing unusual, it's always like that every day here," Morgana replied matter-of-factly. "Not to mention the two of you escaping here? Kamoshida's temper is pretty flared up right now."
"That friggin' DOES IT!" Ryuji snapped. "He can't just keep doing this!"
Rushing at the closed doors, Ryuji slammed into them with his shoulder as hard as he could "OPEN UP! YOU HEAR ME, KAMOSHIDA?!" he shouted furiously.
"That's not gonna work, you know," Morgana replied. "...Though it seems you have your reasons."
Kyoko stared silently at Ryuji, Morgana's words making her wonder once again what had happened between Ryuji and Kamoshida to make him hate the man so much. Kamoshida was an absolutely vile person, that much she'd gathered, but whatever he'd done to Ryuji in particular made for a far more personal hatred of the man.
"Look, Monamona..." Ryuji began, storming over to the cat.
"It's MORGANA!" the cat corrected.
"Can you take us to where those voices are?" Ryuji asked.
"You seriously want to go down there?" Morgana asked. "I guess I can take you, but she's gotta come, too."
Kyoko simply stared at the cat when he gestured to her, then looked up at Ryuji. "This isn't a wise choice. You saw how we barely survived last time," she said.
"Something tells me this guy's gonna go on even if it means going by himself, you know. You really gonna leave him?" Morgana asked.
Kyoko stared at Ryuji, the cat was most likely right, and she'd already deduced as much now that he'd gotten them in here. It would seem there was little option other then to go along and at least watch his back till he found whatever he was looking for. Igor's words came to her as well, if this was what he'd been talking about regarding her so-called rehabilitation. Perhaps it was time to take a risk if it meant solving the mystery behind this place and its connection to Kamoshida. Perhaps even something that could be used against him in the real world if indeed her deductions were true that the place reflected his thoughts.
"Let's go, then," she said.
Morgana smiled widely. "Great! Then it's all settled!"
"For real?" Ryuji asked, smiling. "Thanks, Kyoko. This really means a lot."
"Well, we better get on with this!" Morgana said, his smile spreading into a cocky grin. "Just follow me!" he declared.
Leading them to the open vent they'd escaped from earlier, the cat gestured to it with his paw proudly. "This, right here, is our infiltration point!" Morgana explained.
"Um, ain't that the way we escaped last time?" Ryuji asked.
"That's right! Not barging in through the entrance is one of the basics of phantom thievery!" the cat explained as if the answer was obvious enough.
Thievery... Kyoko mused, bringing her hand to her chin in thought once more as she looked over the vent. More of what Igor had said went through her mind and it made her wonder if this cat creature was somehow connected to him, though Morgana had made no mention or inclination of it.
"Um, okay," Ryuji said, interrupting Kyoko from her thoughts. "How exactly were we supposed to know this?" he asked.
"Hey, don't worry, I'll teach you as we go! Now follow me!" Morgana replied, hopping into a nearby barrel and then disappearing into the vent, a rope falling out of it seconds later.
"Hey," Ryuji said as Kyoko started to climb up the rope left by the vent. "Sorry I dragged ya into all this," he said. His expression hardened however, gritting his teeth as he spoke again. "I just... I can't forgive that bastard Kamoshida doin' whatever the hell he wants!" he snarled. "The things he's done to others... what he did to me and the track team... I wanna just..." the boy let out an enraged growl before taking a deep breath and managing a smile. "Really, though... thanks for coming along. I really owe ya for this."
A slight, faint smile came to Kyoko's lips. "I'll remember that," she replied. "Now let's go..."
"Man, this place is as creepy as ever," Ryuji remarked, looking around the dimly-lit castle halls. Kamoshida's grinning face hung from every flag and tapestry, leaving his presence felt everywhere by him and by Kyoko and only further asserting that they were indeed in a place formed by a narcissistic bully who believed the school belonged to him.
"Creepy, sure, now just make sure you both do as I say, got it?" Morgana asked. "This way!" he said, making a dash through the door of the storage room and down the hall to the right, leading the two teens into the lobby area, the same place Kyoko recalled they'd first gotten attacked and captured in. The girl's gaze fell upon a massive portrait on the wall she'd gotten a glimpse of earlier, but now got a better look at. It was Kamoshida, donning a suit of armor and weilding a blade, like some perverse immortalization of him as some kind of knight from a fairy tale. Scowling, the teen looked away just in time to see everything start to blur and shift, and for a moment, they were standing in the lobby of Shujin again, only for it to shift back to the castle a second later.
"Whoa, was I seein' double just now? Wasn't that Shujin?" Kyoko heard Ryuji say behind her.
"Indeed, all the more evident this place is imposed over it," Kyoko replied.
"Exactly!" Morgana answered. "This is your school, it's just how Kamoshida sees it!" he explained. "But regardless, we can't stand around or a Shadow might find us! Now come on!"
Soon enough, the three found themselves leaving the opulent main halls of the castle and descending the dank, bricked walls of a staircase leading down into the all too familiar underground dungeon they'd only just escaped from the other day.
"Oh crap!" Morgana yelped, ushering the two behind a crate as a guard was patrolling the path up ahead. "Should have guessed there'd be more guards! We're gonna have to fight this one, but listen, we can't do this head-on or it'll just alert more of them. Try and sneak up on them, if you can rip off their masks, then you'll momentarily break the hold the Palace's ruler has over them. Succeed, and we'll have enough time to get the attack pre-emptively!"
Kyoko stared down at the cat. "And how do I do that?" she asked.
The cat sighed. "Look, this world is different from the real world, the rules are different. You can do things you can't normally do in the real world. The more you focus and think you can ambush them like a silent and stealthy thief, the more likely you will! Try it, don't worry I'll be here if it goes wrong."
"For real? You sure about this?" Ryuji asked.
"I'm positive. Just do it and I'll help!" Morgana said with a smile.
Kyoko stared at the guard from their hiding spot, waiting for it to turn and resume patrol in the other direction. She'd learned how to be stealthy from her grandfather's training, even her share of basic self-defense moves, but this was different, as now she'd be making the first move. She was a detective, not an assassin, after all. Still, if she was going to get through this...
Moving silently along, Kyoko crept through the gate soon as the guard turned and got a few paces ahead. Sneaking towards it and noting its size and the fact it was quite tall, Kyoko formulated an idea and followed it, and when it paused to look left and right, the girl made her move, springing into the air and landing on its back, Kyoko reached over and grabbed the base of the guard's mask, pulling with all her might till it tore clean off, sending the young detective flying back and landing in a kneeling position as the guard convulsed and twisted before exploding into red and black ooze. From the puddle it left, emerged another jack-o-lantern creature in a pointed hat and cloak holding a fiery lantern.
"Nice work, the first move's ours!" Morgana cheered, rushing up to Kyoko's side. Kyoko then noticed she seemed to be holding something and brought her hand up, noticing she now held a dagger again. "Blondie, keep back where it's safe. Miss, show me what you got!" the cat ordered.
Kyoko felt a rush of energy as she turned the dagger and made a dash at the creature. Faster then she'd ever moved before she darted past it, striking right as she got close. The jack-o-lantern creature cried out in pain, black smoke spurting from where it'd been hit as Kyoko spun around and struck again as she flipped through the air, landing right next to Morgana, even looking a little surprised.
"Dude! That was awesome!" Ryuji cheered from the back.
Did I do that...? Kyoko mused to herself as she stood back up. No time to mull over it, the creature was starting to recover but Morgana was already on it.
"Zorro!" the cat shouted, and the top-heavy, mustachioed persona emerged, swinging its blade and a tornado formed from it, engulfing the enemy and causing it to explode in a burst of smoke as it let out one final agonized scream.
"Nice work, for a rookie!" Morgana praised.
"I've... never done that before," Kyoko said.
"I told you, things work differently in this world! You focused on winning the battle, you'd be amazed at the things you can do when you do that," Morgana explained.
"Seriously, it was like somethin' out of an anime!" Ryuji said, before smirking as he looked Kyoko over. "Then again, you do kinda look the part..."
Kyoko stared silently in response.
"Right, yeah... forget I said anything." Ryuji scratched the back of his head in embarrassment. "Alright, where to next, cat?"
"I am NOT a cat!" Morgana cried out indignantly. "Alright, across that bridge!"
Passing the grotesque statue of Kamoshida at the side of the bridge, the group ran across, where several cells lay ahead. Several empty cells.
"Dammit! Where is everyone?" Ryuji asked, looking around. "I coulda swore we saw 'em all here last time!"
"They must've been transferred," Morgana mused. His eyes widened suddenly. "Oh no! Sounds like a lot of them are coming! He looked around, his gaze falling on one wooden door that seemed to be... rippling. "Oh! In here!" he ordered, pushing the door open and revealing a small room inside.
"In there?" Kyoko asked. "We risk being trapped and cornered," she stated.
"No, trust me. They won't come in here!" Morgana said, gesturing inside with his paw. Ryuji offered Kyoko a shrug and ran inside, Kyoko taking one last look at the source of the footsteps approaching and ran inside as well, Morgana closing the door behind them.
Looking around, the catlike creature smiled. "Yup, as I thought. This'll do," he said.
"What're you talkin' about?" Ryuji asked, looking around the room as well.
"The Shadows aren't gonna come in here," Morgana replied matter-of-factly.
"You said that, explain why," Kyoko said, folding her arms.
"I can sense a serious lack of distortion in here, the ruler's control over this spot is a lot weaker. See for yourself," he said, gesturing around the room. Sure enough, Kyoko could see the faint image of a classroom fading in and out of the small room.
"So this is a classroom?" Ryuji asked, noticing it as well.
"Yes, this whole place, this castle, is a whole other reality that the ruler's heart projects," Morgana answered, then turned and looked over at Kyoko. "You were onto the nature of this place, earlier. Yes, it is connected to this Kamoshida person. It's his reality, basically. You could say... it's a world where one's distorted desires have manifested. I call it a "Palace"," he explained.
Palace. Kyoko immediately recalled Igor using that word.
"Palace?" Ryuji asked, still confused.
Morgana nodded. "You, pink-hair. You already got that part. Kamoshida thinks of the school as his castle."
Ryuji looked around at the medieval-looking surroundings once more. "And it... became like that here just because he thinks of it like that?" he growled. "That SON OF A BITCH!" Ryuji snapped. "It all makes perfect sense with how he always acts!"
Morgana blinked in surprise. "Wow, you really hate this Kamoshida guy, don't you?"
Ryuji grit his teeth hard as his expression tensed enough he started to turn red, his fists tightening hard. "Hate... doesn't even BEGIN to describe how I feel!" he snarled. "Everything is that asshole's fault!"
There it was again. Kyoko had deduced several things, namely that Kamoshida and Ryuji had some kind of altercation in the past. What Kawakami said, Ryuji used to be on the school's track team. He wasn't anymore, had gone from highly respected to friendless social pariah, and often had let slip his anger regarding it whenever Kamoshida was mentioned. It seemed very likely Kamoshida had something to do with both the fact Ryuji was no longer on the team as well as the drastic change to his reputation at school. She chose to keep quiet about it, however, and save it for another time.
"Look, whatever happened between you two," Morgana explained. "You can't let your emotions get the better of you, here. His lackeys are everywhere in this place and you're no match for them, like it or not."
The cat smiled and glanced over at Kyoko. "And you, you're curious about that outfit you got on, aren't you?"
"Yeah, I'm curious as hell about it, too," Ryuji remarked. Kyoko stared back at him, then at Morgana.
"I am," she replied.
"It's because of this world, as well," Morgana explained. "You see, anything distorts according to a ruler's desires within his or her Palace. I mean, look around you! A school turned into a castle, after all! Therefore, in order to prevent such distortions, one must hold on to a powerful will of rebellion. Your appearance? It's a manifestation of that. Your image of rebellion that you hold within!"
"Image of rebellion?" Kyoko asked, looking herself over and then staring at Morgana again. "This is hardly my normal approach on life," she said.
"But you had it in you," Morgana replied. "The desire for control in your life, the will to rebel against what forces you to repress that. Once that broke free, and you were willing to accept that, that's when you probably gained your power!"
Kyoko brought her hand to her chin, looking away as she thought it over. It all made sense to her, particularly once her life was turned upside-down and her goals derailed completely. Kyoko had become a detective because her grandfather wanted her to be one, but she would not have gotten where she was without the passion and drive for it. She had her wishes to put away wrongdoers and fight injustice no matter what, and the situation she was now in, seemed to have lent her that opportunity once more.
"...And what exactly are you?" Ryuji asked, staring at the catlike being and causing Kyoko to look over at the two of them.
"Why, I'm a human, of course!" Morgana replied. "An honest-to-god human!"
"Uh, no," Ryuji responded flatly. "You're obviously more like a cat."
Morgana looked away, his ears drooping in embarrassment. "This is... well... I-I lost my true form, okay? ...I think..."
"Right. I doubt Kamoshida's ever put much thought into cats," Ryuji replied.
"It wasn't in this place!" Morgana snapped. "But that doesn't matter! I do know how to regain my true form! The reason I snuck in here was for a preliminary investigation on those means! ...And I wound up getting caught." he said, looking down in embarrassment as he mentioned the last part.
"That said," Morgana continued. "I was tortured by Kamoshida, too! I wanna make him pay for sure!" He looked back at Kyoko. "Can I count on you to lend your skills as well, rookie?" he asked.
Kyoko's brow furrowed at being called that, but did not address it. She was admittedly still new to a lot of this. "Very well," she replied.
"Hang on!" Ryuji interrupted. "Here, I can't do much, so take this..." The boy reached into his blazer and pulled out what Kyoko observed to be a model gun of all things, causing her to stare.
"You had this in school?" she asked, a hint of astonishment she could not subdue entirely coming to her face.
"Yeah, well... hey! It's just a toy. Only makes fake sounds, doesn't fire anything!" Ryuji insisted.
"You're lucky no one searched you," Kyoko answered, staring at the model then at Ryuji again.
"Look, I sorta... I was plannin' this all out so figured I needed something to at least fake out anything I run into!" Ryuji replied. "I wasn't plannin' on forcin' this all on you but since you're the one who can fight you may as well keep it, alright?"
Morgana looked the toy over curiously. "You know, now that I think about it, that toy might actually come in handy! Just hold on to it till I say so, alright?" he asked. Kyoko raised an eyebrow and quietly took it, sliding it into her coat.
"Whatever, let's just hurry and find those guys who were locked up!" Ryuji said, going over to stand by the door.
"Wait, I hear something! Let's listen in!" Morgana said, pressing his ear against the door, joined by Ryuji and Kyoko.
"Thought I heard something over here," a deep, distorted voice said.
"Must've been your imagination," another deep voice said.
"And what of the slaves?" another asked.
"All rounded up and put in the Training Hall!" a fourth one stated. It let out a laugh. "They're probably screaming in agony right now!"
"Very well," the third one said. "By the way, I heard we may have intruders, so stay on guard at all times, understood?"
The three listened for when the sounds of the armored guards departing was heard and slowly opened the door.
"So, Training Hall, huh?" Ryuji asked.
"Any idea where that is?" Kyoko asked, looking down at Morgana.
"Yeah, it should be just further up ahead down this hallway!" he replied, gesturing with his paw. "Come on!"
Heading down the hall, however, the three quickly found themselves stopped by the sight of yet another armored guard, its back turned to them.
"Hm. Seems our way is blocked. We will have to fight, again," Kyoko quietly observed, staring down the stairs at the guard, who seemed to have not noticed them yet.
"Looks like," Morgana replied. "Just remember to ambush them. They spot us, that'll alert other Shadows and raise the Palace security and reinforcements will show up. If it gets too high, it'll be too dangerous to continue. The more we take out without anyone knowing, the safer the infiltration route will be!"
The cat's eyes widened. "Wait! This is perfect! That toy gun you gave her, Ryuji?" Morgana asked.
"Yeah, what about it? Doesn't fire anything." Ryuji replied, confused.
"I'm getting to that! Just trust me on this, alright? Now, pink-hair! Attack away and let's do this!" Morgana cheered.
Glaring down at the enemy, Kyoko darted down the stairs, the guard never saw it coming as Kyoko leaped onto its back and grabbed at its mask, tearing it off and leaping back to the ground. The guard groaned loudly as it burst into red and black ooze and smoke, reshaping into two separate entities: another cloaked jack-o-lantern with a burning lamp, and a humanoid figure with a flower growing from atop its head.
"Alright, you got the gun? Point it at a Shadow and pull the trigger! Just do it!" Morgana shouted.
Nodding, Kyoko whipped out the toy pistol, pointed it at the jack-o-lantern, then pulled the trigger. To her surprise, bullets came out, striking the jack-o-lantern creature and causing it to recoil in pain before she turned it on the flower-headed creature and fired at it as well, with the same effect.
"Hey, you're pretty good at that!" Morgana remarked.
"My grandfather taught me how to use a gun," she remarked, keeping her eyes on the Shadows before them attempted to recover from the attack.
"F-for REAL?!" Ryuji asked from the back. "Seriously, I gotta know your story, Kyoko!"
"Another time!" Kyoko replied sharply, noticing the Shadows were now on the attack. The jack-o-lantern creature flew at Morgana, swinging its lamp, but the cat dodged out of the way, swinging a comically large scimitar at it to parry the attack. Kyoko turned the gun to fire again, shooting the jack-o-lantern in the head and causing it to explode in a burst of smoke. Quickly whirling around, Kyoko aimed at the flower creature and pulled the trigger once more, only to hear a click.
"Huh?" Kyoko's eyes widened in surprise and concern as the flower creature promptly seized the opportunity to advance on her before she could react, spin-kicking her to the ground.
"I gotcha!" Morgana shouted, leaping into the air and whipping out a slingshot, launching a metal ball at the creature's head and dazing it enough, causing it to stumble back. "ZORRO!"
The swordsman Persona emerged, swinging his blade in a Z shape as a powerful tornado fired from it, engulfing the Shadow and causing it to explode into smoke as well.
"Damn, that was close!" Ryuji said, coming over to help Kyoko up. "You alright?"
"I'll be fine," the young detective replied, taking his hand and picking herself up.
"That's another thing, probably should have mentioned," Morgana said sheepishly. "You have limited ammo with those, like any real gun would."
"Okay, that aside, can we address the part a toy gun JUST SHOT REAL FRIGGIN' BULLETS?!" Ryuji asked.
"Well, this IS a cognitive world!" Morgana explained. "Basically, so long as the gun looks real, it becomes real, here! Good thing you picked out such a high-quality model there, Blondie."
"So, because it becomes a real gun, it has real ammunition," Kyoko replied, putting the gun back in her coat.
"Basically! But since guns have limited ammunition, your capacity in battle is limited as well. Luckily though, our enemies always expect us to come in guns loaded, and assume as much. As a result it becomes fully loaded again every time we run into more Shadows!"
Ryuji laughed. "Damn, you know I was kinda nervous about bringin' this thing at first, ya'know, havin' to keep it hidden at school and all, but man! I'm sure glad I did, now!"
"Indeed, it was fortunate you did, perhaps breaking the rules is not without benefit, is it, Ryuji?" Kyoko asked, giving him a faint smile before looking ahead at the hall as a scream could be heard in the distance. "Perhaps we should continue..."
"Damn right! Let's hurry!" Ryuji replied, clenching his fists as he heard another scream, and the three continued their journey deeper into the castle, till another door awaited them at the end. Unfortunately, however, so did another armored guard.
"Heh, this is perfect. This one doesn't seem like it's too tough so this'll be a chance for me to show you something else!" Morgana whispered as the group hid around the corner. "Now attack away!"
With that, Kyoko lead the charge as she jumped out into the open and took aim with her gun, firing a round at the guard. The guard stumbled back, convulsing as it exploded and a small, female humanoid with a purple bodysuit and insect-like wings rose out of the pool of ooze it left behind.
"Great! Now try and go for its weakness!" Morgana shouted.
Bringing her hand to her mask, Kyoko was wreathed in blue flames as Irene rose up behind her. The girl pointed at the enemy, Irene following her action and a beam of red and black energy burst from beneath the fairy-like creature. The Shadow cried out as it collapsed to the ground on its knees, dazed.
"Nice work! Now get your knife out and let's hit it with everything we got for an all-out attack!" Morgana explained.
Narrowing her eyes, Kyoko gripped her knife as it appeared in her hand, and she and Morgana, as one, darted straight at the enemy, leaping into the air and striking it over and over in a blur of motion, till the Shadow exploded in a smokey burst. Kyoko landed on one knee, before standing up and adjusting her gloves, looking back with a faint smirk of satisfaction at where the Shadow had once been. The experience had indeed given the normally stoic young detective a bit of a rush after all that had transpired in the last few weeks.
Morgana appeared pleased. "You're definitely a good fit for this, you know!" he said with a smile.
"Okay, what was that... that super-move that you two just pulled back there?!" Ryuji asked, still stunned out of his mind at what he'd just witnessed.
"I already said it! I call it an all-out attack! When you get knocked down, you aren't exactly in any shape to fight back, let alone stand, right? So when we do that to our enemies, we can rush in for the kill and take them out all at once before they can! With the abilities the cognitive world grants us, we can do it in a flash!" Morgana explained.
"In the barest terms, it's just a coordinated team attack on defenseless enemies?" Kyoko asked, folding her arms.
"Yes. Basically," Morgana replied. "Now, you seem pretty sharp, and it sounds like you have some experience in things like this, so I'm gonna let you take charge. I'll still navigate you two through this place, but I'll let you make the call in fights and leading from now on, okay?"
Kyoko blinked. It was like being trained by her grandfather when she was younger. He always expected her to handle things on her own, so taking charge wasn't an unfamiliar matter to her, having done it many times as he'd hoped she would. To become the greatest detective in Japan, perhaps the world, as her grandfather had been, and uphold the family name... things that had fallen apart for her so recently. This was another opportunity to use her skills she'd learned growing up, so she saw no reason to refuse.
"Very well," she replied. "Let's continue and find this "Training Hall" quickly."
"Should be up ahead!" Morgana replied. Kyoko lead the way as they continued through the door, finding themselves in a small room, a closed door ahead with a banner hanging over the front with writing on it.
"Kamoshida's Training Hall of Love?" Ryuji read aloud. "What the hell kinda bullshit is that?!"
"Perhaps we should find out," Kyoko replied, walking up to the wooden doors and pushing them open. The group was promptly greeted by the sounds of agonized cries and pained sobs coming from down a set of stairs up ahead.
"Dammit! What the hell...?!" Ryuji muttered as he heard them. Kyoko gave him a look, and nodded, Ryuji nodding in silent agreement as they continued onward, walking carefully down the stairs towards the source of the noises that awaited them in the dark halls below. A loud thumping noise could be heard from a barred window up ahead, prompting the group to get closer to investigate.
They immediately wished they hadn't.
Kyoko and Ryuji stared down in horror at what they saw in the room beyond. Down below, in a large cell designed to bear resemblance to a gymnasium had it not been for the many torture instruments that lined the walls, were four teenage boys in red Shujin gym uniforms, their hands bound together as they stood helplessly on either side of a volleyball net while several armored guards stood around them, flogging them with whips.
"TOO SLOW!" one snarled, striking a teenager as he struggled to stand.
"CAN'T YOU DO ANYTHING RIGHT?!" another bellowed, striking another teenager who cried out in pain between choked sobs.
"WE'LL TEACH YOU TO SCREW UP LIKE THAT!" another guard swung his whip hard, striking another boy hard across the back and causing him to double over.
"STAND UP!" the guard shouted, grabbing the boy by his hair and pulling him up.
Ryuji's grip tightened hard on the bars. "THIS IS BULLSHIT!" he shouted, his face red with pure rage.
"How many times do I have to tell you to keep your voice down?!" Morgana asked impatiently.
"We do risk discovery the louder we are," Kyoko added, though the disgust on her face at what she was witnessing was all too evident. No amount of training to suppress her emotions could have prepared her for something like what she saw before her.
"J-just leave us alone..." a student whimpered as he stood by the bars. The boy was covered in blood and bruises, barely concealed by the bandages he wore. "It's useless... it's what Kamoshida wants..."
"W-we just need to stay obedient..." another student, this one in a tracksuit, muttered, his eyes red from tears and just as badly roughed up as the first one. "...Th-then Kamoshida won't have us executed... like you guys..."
"Are you kidding me?!" Ryuji cried out. "Why would you wanna stay in a place like this?! C'mon! Tell me how to open this!"
"Are you seriously planning on taking these guys out of here?" Morgana asked, disbelief in his tone.
"In their condition, they need to be taken to a hospital," Kyoko answered, looking at the two students.
"Yeah! They got captured, too! It's not like we can just leave them here!" Ryuji protested.
"No, they didn't," Morgana replied. "They've always been here."
"Huh? What do you mean?!" Ryuji asked, visibly confused.
Morgana shook his head. "Haven't you figured this out already? They aren't real people. They're just cognitions of people Kamoshida knows," he explained. "They aren't people who entered this world like you did. There's no point in trying to save them! They're not real students from your school, they're just representations of how Kamoshida sees them! Like... extremely similar dolls, they're decoration, basically..."
"God... so the school's his castle, the students are slaves he just torments whenever the hell he wants?!" Ryuji growled, gritting his teeth. "It's so on point it makes me wanna laugh! This really is the inside of that asshole's head!"
"This is horrible," Morgana replied, walking over to the window and peering through. "The idea this Kamoshida guy treats people like this in the real world..."
"Wait, I knew these guys looked familiar!" Ryuji said. "They're from the volleyball team Kamoshida coaches for!"
"They must be physically abused every day. There's no way they'd be so beat up normally," Morgana remarked.
"No way... THEM TOO?!" Ryuji protested as he watched the brutality down below. "He's always braggin' about his volleyball team and he treats 'em like THIS?! They've been goin' through similar shit in reality, too?!"
"If this is how he sees them here, it stands to reason he is no different towards them in the real world," Kyoko said, bringing her hand to her chin. "He sees them as slaves here, they exist only for his benefit and when they don't meet his expectations that give him what he wants..."
"I heard the rumors about physical punishment on the volleyball team," Ryuji mused. The boy shook his head angrily. "But if all of this is true, why hasn't anyone taken this to the police?!"
"If no one reports it, no one investigates it," Kyoko replied flatly.
"Then we'll just need the evidence ourselves!" Ryuji replied, taking out his phone. "What?! The navigation app from your phone's here, but everything else is a no-go! Can't even use the camera!"
"Navigation app?" Morgana asked.
"It's how we got here," Ryuji explained. "How about your phone?" he asked Kyoko. The girl pulled out her phone, and after some fiddling to upload it, discovered quickly that her phone was faring no better.
"No luck," she replied.
"Alright, look, whatever you two do is fine, but we can't keep standing around or we'll get caught! We need to head back, like now!" Morgana protested.
"Just hang on a sec!" Ryuji replied, looking through the bars at the students being tortured within. "If there's no other way, I'll just memorize their faces before I go home."
A moment later, Ryuji seemed satisfied. "Okay, let's check the other cells. We need to identify as many of 'em as possible if we're gonna make this work!"
Kyoko nodded, leading the way further down the halls. Sure enough, there were more cells, leading into more torture chambers designed to be some sick mockery of a sport arena and activity, and each was worse then the last: Students being forced to run on high speed treadmills that ended in a wall of nails while a single bucket of water hung just out of reach as the students pleaded endlessly for a drink, students locked up in tiny prison cells they could barely move around in, and even students hung in place while a cannon on the wall fired volleyballs continuously at them as they cried out in pain from each shot. The sights were disgusting to the young detective, and the idea they existed in this man's mind made her despise him even more.
"Seriously, what the hell?!" Ryuji protested as they passed the last cells. "This ain't trainin' at all! It's just violence!" He balled his fists, growling lividly. "Then that means he's doing somethin' similar in the real world doesn't it?!"
"We should go," Kyoko replied, looking down the halls. The guards had not shown up yet, but Morgana was right: the longer they stayed, the more likely they'd get caught.
"It's fine, I got their faces memorized," Ryuji said. "Let's go."
"The Training Hall has not reported back! Chances of intruder activity is extremely high!" a voice boomed from behind the small group as they made it to the stairs that lead back to the castle's main lobby. "All personnel! Increase security!"
"We've been here too long!" Morgana whispered as the sound of armored footsteps drew closer. "This way! The exit's right up ahead, come on!" he ordered, rushing up the stairs, Kyoko and Ryuji following. No sooner had they reached the top of the steps and entered the main lobby did the group find themselves greeted by a very unwelcome sight.
Standing at the doors was a trio of armored guards, lead by one in much fancier gold armor weilding a larger blade and shield. Standing between them, a familiar smug sneer on his face and once more donning his unsightly "royal" attire, was Kamoshida's Shadow.
"Honestly, you knaves again?" Kamoshida asked with a loud groan. "To think you'd go and make the same mistake again? You are HOPELESS!"
"This school ain't your castle!" Ryuji snapped, stepping forward. "I memorized your prisoners' faces! Make no mistake, you asshole: YOU'RE GOING DOWN!"
Kamoshida only chuckled in response. "It's true what they say! Barking dogs seldom bite!" he grinned widely at Ryuji. "Oh, how far the star runner of the Shujin track team has fallen!" he said in a mocking tone.
Kyoko looked over at Ryuji, recalling what had been said of him in the past, as well as her earlier deductions. Scowling, the girl looked Kamoshida dead in the eyes with a livid glare. "What did you do to him?" she asked in a low, dangerous tone.
Kamoshida laughed out loud. "Me? I didn't do anything," he sneered. "The "Track Traitor" here who acted in violence and crushed his teammates dreams is the only wrongdoer! Wouldn't you agree, Sakamoto?"
Ryuji said nothing. Kyoko and Morgana turned and stared at him for a moment. Kamoshida smirked and let out another cruel, condescending laugh. "I thought as much! Oh, I can only imagine the pain of the others you dragged down with you thanks to your little... heh heh... selfish act."
"Track Traitor?" Kyoko inquired.
"Kamoshida, you bastard! I swear...!" Ryuji stammered.
"Wow, you're accompanying this loser when you don't know a thing about him?" Kamoshida asked, leering at Kyoko.
"I've suspected something happened between the two of you. Ryuji used to be on the track team. You did something to get him kicked off, and destroyed his reputation on top of it, didn't you?" Kyoko asked sternly.
"Nothing like that at all," Kamoshida said, his grin spreading further. "He betrayed his teammates, and crushed their hopes, and carries on as carefree as ever!"
"H-he's lying!" Ryuji protested.
"Such a tragedy you blindly trusted this fool..." Kamoshida taunted. "And now he's lead you to your death..." the Shadow looked over at the three normal guards. "Deal with this stench."
In an instant, the three normal armored guards approached, exploding into bursts of red and black ooze that reformed into three towering black horses with white manes and a pair of large, curved, ramlike horns growing from their heads. Before Kyoko or Morgana could even react, the creatures promptly surrounded them.
"IRENE!" Kyoko called, her Persona appearing behind her as she pointed to one of the creatures and the floating entity fired a blast of red and black energy at the creature, but it seemed to do very little.
"No, no, no! Not like this! ZORRO!" Morgana cried out, his own Persona appearing and swinging its blade to produce a gust of wind at the nearest creature. It, too, showed a resiliance to the attack.
Before either could react, the beasts charged forward, ramming into Kyoko and Morgana and knocking them to the ground. Kyoko cried out in pain, feeling like she'd just been hit by a car as she fell over, winded. Morgana struggled to get back up, only for Kamoshida to approach and grind his boot into his back. The horned horses whinnied and morphed back into armed guards, standing around them with their blades drawn. Kyoko felt the iron boot of the guard in the golden armor suddenly press into her back, forcing her back to the ground.
"You know something, Sakamoto?" Kamoshida sneered. "I bet you came here on a whim and just ended up like this, right?"
"N-no..." Ryuji stammered in response.
Kamoshida chuckled, smirking at him. "You worthless piece of trash. That's all you ever were! Always so prone to getting emotional at the drop of a hat! Especially when you had the nerve to raise your hand at me after my kindness in supervising the track team temporarily!"
"That was no "practice" you piece of shit! That was outright ABUSE!" Ryuji shouted, his fear growing into anger. "You just didn't like our team so you treated us like shit to get rid of us!"
Kamoshida grit his teeth. "That's right, it was nothing but an eyesore! The only one who needs to achieve results is ME! That coach I made sure got fired was hopeless, too! Had he not opposed me with a sound argument, I would have settled it with only breaking his star's leg!"
"W-what?!" Ryuji asked, staring at the man aghast. Kamoshida grinned down at him.
"Want me to deal with the other leg, too? It's not like you have any hope of getting to where you were, now so what do you need it for, anyway?" he said with a laugh. "Don't worry, the school will call it self-defense, anyway!"
"Heh..." Kyoko sneered as she lay on the ground. "I thought as much... I wondered "why" this whole time," she said, turning her head and glaring at Kamoshida. "...You were jealous, weren't you? Perhaps the fact that he had a future while you're just a pitiful, washed-up has-been who can't let go of his glory days didn't sit well with you-"
"SHUT YOUR GODDAMN MOUTH, BITCH!" Kamoshida snapped, glaring lividly at Kyoko with his fist raised. The guard in gold armor slammed its foot down hard into the girl's back, making her cry out, then gritting her teeth to try and hold back the pain. "For that little comment, you're gonna die slow, and he's gonna watch! Needs a little reminder of what associating with him leads to!" he declared with a triumphant laugh as he ground his boot into Morgana's back, causing him to cry out in pain.
"D-dammit... am I really gonna lose again?" Ryuji asked himself, tearing up as he fell to his hands and knees. "Can't run anymore, and the track team's gone... all thanks to this asshole..."
"Ryuji!" Kyoko snapped, looking up at Ryuji sternly from where she lay. "It wasn't your fault, it was HIS! Are you really going to let him win after you went through all this trouble?"
Ryuji nodded quietly as he looked up at his two friends. "Y-you're right," he said softly. "Everything..." He grit his teeth, his rage building. "EVERYTHING that was important to me was taken by him! I'll never be able to get 'em back!"
"Tch! You stay right there and watch!" Kamoshida taunted. "Watch as your failure costs two more everything for siding with worthless trash like you!"
"No..."
"What did you just say?!" Kamoshida snapped, glaring at the boy's defiant face.
"Worthless trash?! That's what YOU are!" Ryuji snapped, standing himself up and glaring back at the man. "All you ever think about is using people! You're the real scumbag, Kamoshida! A KING?! What a joke! You're a worthless, pathetic LOSER!"
"What do you just say to me?!" Kamoshida demanded, balling his fist and glaring dangerously. "Guards! Silence him!"
"STOP LOOKIN' DOWN ON ME WITH THAT STUPID SMILE ON YOUR FACE!" Ryuji shouted, his voice filled with pure hate and rage as he pointed furiously at the man before him.
As quickly as he'd spoken, Ryuji suddenly heard a voice in his head, one that sounded almost similar to his own...
"You made me wait quite a while..." the voice boomed within Ryuji's mind. The boy fell to his knees as a brutal migrane suddenly filled his head, like something was attempting to burst its way free of it. "You seek power, correct? Then let us form a pact!"
Kyoko stared at Ryuji from where she lay, her eyes widening in surprise as she had her suspicions of what exactly was going on. Kamoshida and Morgana watched, dumbfounded by Ryuji as he writhed about before them.
"Since your name has been disgraced already, why not hoist the flag and wreak havoc?! The other you that exists within desires it thus!" the voice continued, Ryuji rolled onto his back, clutching his head in agony as the voice continued.
"I AM THOU! THOU ART I! THERE IS NO TURNING BACK! THE SKULL OF REBELLION IS YOUR FLAG, HENCEFORTH!"
In a flash of blue flame, a metal, skull-like mask formed over the upper half of the boy's face, a determined glare in the eyes behind it.
"Do it, Ryuji..." Kyoko urged. The gold guard scoffed as it looked down at her, grinding its foot into her back again before looking over at Ryuji.
"And what do you think you can do?" the guard asked mockingly. "Just cower in fear and watch!" it shouted as it raised its blade and preparing to bring it crashing down on where Kyoko's neck was.
Ryuji stood, his fingers digging into the corners of the mask. Remembering what he'd seen Kyoko do the last time they were here, when she'd awakened to her own power, he knew what he must do. With a fierce tug, Ryuji pulled with all his might and tore the mask clean off. With an agonized scream as blood sprayed from where the mask had been ripped off, Ryuji was engulfed in a column of bright blue flames that billowed high into the ceiling, the sheer force of the power emanating from it blasting the guards off their feet and into the walls while the golden knight and Kamoshida stumbled backwards, shielding their eyes.
The flames parted, Kyoko could see Ryuji standing there, in new attire consisting of a padded, high-collared leather jacket with a vertebral column and elbow pads, gray pants with knee pads and brown boots, with a red ascot and yellow gloves with knuckle pads on their backs. Above him loomed a skeletal pirate in a blue tattered dress coat with black cuffs and red lining, black pants with wide-cuffed boots, and a black captain's hat. Two belts with swords hung on the entity's chest and it sported a cannon in place of its right hand and stood atop a miniature black wooden Barque ship with a grinning face painted on the front as if it were a surfboard.
Ryuji's face, like his persona and the ship it stood upon, also sported a wide, confident grin as well.
"WHAT?! THIS ONE AS WELL?!" Kamoshida protested indignantly.
"Right on! Whassup, Persona!" Ryuji shouted, clenching his fists proudly. "This effin ROCKS!"
With Kamoshida and his guard off of them, Kyoko and Morgana immediately stood, approaching Ryuji and turning to face their foes alongside him. Ryuji smirked darkly at Kamoshida, who began to back away fearfully.
"Now that I got this power," Ryuji said, "It's time for some payback! Now BRING IT!"
"You dare to threaten our King?!" The golden guard demanded angrily. "Prepare to die!" It brought its sword down to the ground, melting into red and black goo that re-shaped itself into a towering, red-armored rider with a lance mounted atop a hellish black steed, the other guards once more transforming into a trio of horned stallions that joined it.
"Ha! Don't make me laugh! Blast 'em away, Captain Kidd!" Ryuji shouted, the demonic rider charging towards them. The skeletal pirate cackled as he reared his cannon arm back, then thrust it out mimicking Ryuji's pointing gesture as a massive bolt of lightning fired from it, striking the rider and its steed head-on and causing it to stumble back, interrupting its charge. "NOT DONE YET!" Ryuji shouted, pointing at the two lesser Shadows and both were swiftly struck down with two subsequent bolts of lightning as well.
"Allow me!" Morgana charged forward, swinging his scimitar and slicing one of the downed shadows in two, a burst of black smoke erupting from where it was while Kyoko touched her own mask, Irene appearing behind her as she pointed at the other, a blast of red and black energy erupting from where it stood and annihilating it as well.
"Fools! You think you can trifle with King Kamoshida?!" the rider shouted.
"If Kamoshida sees me as a troublemaker, then that's what I'll be!" Ryuji yelled back defiantly. "Nail 'em, Persona!"
Captain Kidd launched another bolt of lightning at the rider, causing it to stumble back before it suddenly charged again, the three quickly leaping out of the way and narrowly avoiding getting impaled on its sharp lance.
The rider growled and flung its lance at Ryuji, Kyoko dashing over and shoving him out of the way as the lance soared narrowly past her. The girl cried out in pain as she felt the force of it graze her back as the two fell to the floor.
"Don't worry! I got you!" Morgana shouted. "ZORRO!" the sword-wielding Persona emerged above the cat, waving its blade and Kyoko was engulfed in a green light, and she felt all the pain she'd just experienced fade away instantly, feeling noticeably refreshed as well as she and the others stared down the enemy rider.
"Let's hit him with everything we've got," Kyoko ordered as the rider's steed pawed the ground preparing to charge again as the lance reappeared in the rider's hand.
"On it!" Ryuji shouted, Captain Kidd firing a blast of lightning, Irene unleashing an explosion of dark energies, and Zorro summoning a powerful gale that struck the Shadow all at once, the entity screamed out as it was engulfed by the combined attacks, before bursting into smoke and reshaping itself into the golden knight before collapsing on its back.
"Guess it ain't anythin' special. Just like you, you bastard!" Ryuji sneered at the stunned Kamoshida as he took a moment to catch his breath. "Even if you apologize now... I ain't forgivin' ya!"
Kamoshida's fear, however, quickly disappeared and his cocky smirk returned. "You don't get it, do you? This is my castle! There's a lot you don't seem to understand..."
Kamoshida snapped his fingers, and out of the nearby hallway a new face emerged, though one Ryuji and Kyoko quickly recognized.
"T-Takamaki?!" Ryuji stammered, unable to believe what he was seeing. Kyoko was just as unable to as well.
It was Takamaki, the blonde girl from her class, only she was wearing what Kyoko could only describe as the single most immodest pink leopard-print string bikini she'd ever seen in her life, with matching pink pumps and a tiara-like headband with pink cat ears adorning it. The girl sauntered over to Kamoshida in a very sickeningly sensual manner and brushed up against him, smiling a big, glassy smile as she stroked the man's chest.
"Wh-what a meow-velous and beautiful girl!" Morgana cried out, staring in awe at who had just entered.
"What's going on?! Is she seriously...?!" Ryuji asked, staring in disbelief. "H-hey! Get away from her you pervert!" he shouted as Kamoshida stroked the scantly-clad girl's chin sensually.
Kyoko glared at Kamoshida in disgust, recalling the conversation she'd caught between him and Takamaki earlier. The whole sight and all it implied about how Kamoshida saw this girl was absolutely repulsive to her. "You're disgusting..."
"Now, now, this is my castle, I told you already! I do whatever I want, and everyone here loves me!" he sneered.
"Oh, Kamoshiiiidaaaa," a voice Kyoko quickly recognized cooed. A voice she knew to be her own but she'd never in her life speak in such a way. Kyoko's gaze narrowed as she saw a double of herself suddenly emerge from behind Kamoshida, wrapping her arms around him. The double wore an equally skimpy black studded leather bikini and cat-eared tiara, with matching black pumps and elbow-length leather gloves. Kyoko grimaced in revulsion as the double promptly brushed her body against Kamoshida and licked the side of his neck affectionately while the copy of Takamaki continued to nuzzle against him.
"Good girls," Kamoshida said with a chuckle. "Don't worry, there's plenty to go around!" He said, before looking up at the group standing before him in contempt. "Once I've dealt with these pesky thieves, of course!"
"I can't believe you... Kyoko, too, you sick bastard?!" Ryuji hissed.
"Awww, you jealous?" Kamoshida taunted. "You can't be too surprised. Women don't want problematic punks like you, Sakamoto. But they all, without exception, always strive for the real winners to put it in 'em! And who am I to turn that down?" he sneered, putting his arms around both of his would-be harem as they giggled playfully at Kamoshida's remark before giving the man very sickeningly aroused smiles.
"Guards! Clean this mess up!" Kamoshida ordered, and in an explosion of red and black smoke, four armored guards suddenly appeared before him, standing between him and the three thieves.
"We gotta go! Now!" Morgana shouted.
"We're not gonna do anything and just run?!" Ryuji asked.
"Just shut up and go," Kyoko snapped, gesturing to the hallway they'd first come in from
"I swear, Kamoshida, this ain't over!" Ryuji snarled, glaring hatefully at the man.
"Oh trust me, I was getting bored torturing the ones already here!" he said with a laugh. "Come at me whenever you want, if you don't care about your lives!"
Without hesitating, Kyoko grabbed Ryuji's hand and pulled him away as she ran down the hall, Morgana following as they reached the room with the vent and were soon back outside.
"Phew!" Ryuji said as he caught his breath again. "Hey, I don't remember putting this on..." he remarked, looking down at his attire.
"It suits you," Kyoko replied in her normal impartial tone, folding her arms.
"Uhh... is that a compliment?" Ryuji asked, confused.
"DID YOU FIND THEM?!" A guard's voice bellowed from within the castle. "SEARCH EVERYWHERE!"
"So, what exactly happened in there?" Ryuji asked quietly.
"You awakened to your Persona, and are now a threat to this Palace's ruler, so you gained that look, reflective of your inner rebellion!" Morgana explained. "It prevents you from being affected by the distortions in this world."
"Right, but... why am I wearing a skull?" Ryuji asked, feeling his mask.
"It's a reflection of the rebel that slumbers within, your appearance reflects that," Morgana replied. "Not that I expect you to get it! Just don't ask questions and accept what you see for what it is."
"But what about Kamoshida? We got away, but isn't he gonna know what's going on in the real school if we've been in this place?" Ryuji asked.
"Don't worry," Morgana replied. "The Kamoshida in reality will remain unaware of what happens here. See, a Shadow is the repressed, true self of a person, a side of one's personality they don't want to see."
"Then they are not mentally connected?" Kyoko asked.
"The real Kamoshida won't share the Shadow's memories of what happened here, no. Did the Kamoshida in reality recall any executions or anything?" Morgana asked.
"No, he didn't. He saw me at the school when we arrived late, but he only seemed to recognize me because he'd seen me earlier in the morning," Kyoko replied.
"There you have it!" Morgana answered. "But since I helped you, now it's time I ask that you cooperate with me. I came here to investigate and find a way to remove the distortion from my body, and regain my true form! The only way that'll happen will be if I can find a way to get keep into Mementos, and-"
"Whoa, wait, we never said anything about helpin' ya!" Ryuji replied.
Morgana's eyes went wide. "W-what? You won't repay my kindness?!" He looked over at Kyoko in shock. "A-and you? After all I taught you your gonna abandon me when I need you for this?!"
"FIND THEM!" a golden guard's voice shouted, his voice booming from within the castle. "THEY MAY HAVE GOTTEN OUTSIDE!"
"We need to leave, now," Kyoko ordered sternly.
"Thanks for everything, cat!" Ryuji shouted, running towards the drawbridge, Kyoko following behind as she took out her phone again.
"H-hey! Come back here! Seriously?!" Morgana protested as he watched them leave. "No way! Hell no! Get back here!" he shouted, rushing after them.
"You have returned to the real world. Welcome back!" the female voice from the app on Kyoko's phone declared as the young detective slid her phone back into her school blazer. Her gaze turned towards Ryuji, who stood nearby with her in the alley, struggling to stand.
"Are you alright?" Kyoko asked.
"Yeah, just glad we're back!" he said, looking over at her. "Sorry to drag you along like that." He turned around, only to nearly stumble over. "Ugh, I'm dead tired! I think I'm gonna sleep like a rock, tonight!"
"Likewise," Kyoko answered, feeling fatigued, herself after what they'd just gone through.
"Still, now we have something!" Ryuji said with a smile. "I remembered every one of those faces in there! The guys Kamoshida was treating like slaves? We get 'em to fess up to the abuse, Kamoshida won't be able to hide it!"
Kyoko folded her arms, holding her chin in thought before glaring back at him. "For our sake, I certainly hope you're right. It all rests on if we are able to get them to testify against him."
"Yeah, good point. Think you can help me find 'em?" Ryuji asked.
"I'll do my best," Kyoko replied, her gaze no less intense. "...I can't promise anything, though. You'd be amazed how many victims of abuse are reluctant to come forward, let alone testify."
Ryuji hung his head. "Look, we gotta try, right? I can't... I can't just sit and do nothin' anymore, you get that?"
Kyoko looked the boy over, thoughts of that fateful night came by, when she'd chosen to act instead of do nothing. For her troubles she got a criminal record and had to transfer here, losing her chances of getting into her father's school and finally facing the man.
...Criminal record...
Kyoko looked down a moment, then glared at Ryuji. "How did it happen?" she asked.
"What are you talkin' about?" Ryuji asked.
"The whole school knows I've got a criminal record. They regard me with absurd notions like I'm some kind of violent troublemaker. How did this happen?" she asked coldly.
Ryuji sighed. "How do ya think?! Kamoshida opened his damn mouth! No one but a teacher could have leaked it so fast."
Kyoko gave it thought. Indeed, only a teacher could have. The Principal, as unpleasant as he was, would never have done so, with his fixation on the school's image. Kawakami, highly unlikely, and she had come off as perfectly honest when she'd insisted she'd not told anyone, and given how stressed she was with the class's behavior, it only stood to reason she would not have done anything that'd make her job harder. Kamoshida had offered to "help" her and spoke of it freely when he talked to her, as well as when he talked to the Principal and Takamaki...
Her glare grew more intense as she thought about what she'd seen in the Palace. "I suspect he wanted to make life difficult for me," she said, scowling and brushing back her hair. "...Likely so I'd go crying into his arms to make everything better and join his sports teams... or provide other favors..."
Ryuji grimaced in disgust. "Ugh! Sounds just like that bastard to pull something like that! Anyone, be it a student or club, that doesn't fall in line with him, he just goes out of his way to wreck it! Just like he did to me..." Ryuji looked down a moment. "But point is, we have to do something! If we don't stop him now, who knows when he'll prey on someone else, or just go and ruin their life and all they have!"
Kyoko looked down a moment as well, then at her friend. "I came here wishing to avoid any further trouble, for obvious reasons, but you are right, so long as Kamoshida is allowed to continue this nothing will change, and others will likely fall victim to him." Kyoko gave a nod. "I'll assist."
Ryuji smirked widely. "That's awesome. I'll be countin' on ya!"
She could sense the boy's strong drive to bring Kamoshida to justice, not just for his sake, but for others, no matter what...
I am thou, thou art I
Thou hast acquired a new vow
It shall becomes the wings of rebellion
that breaketh thy chains of captivity
With the birth of the Chariot Persona,
I have obtained the winds of blessing that
shall lead to freedom and new power
Kyoko was certain she'd heard the sound of a chain breaking in her mind.
It was quickly interrupted by a loud growl from Ryuji's stomach.
"Ohhhh, right... I haven't eaten anything since lunch, today..."
"That would be my observation as well," Kyoko replied.
"Hey, it'd be kinda weird just splittin' off right now. Why don't we go grab a bite before we call it a day, huh?" Ryuji offered.
"What did you have in mind?" Kyoko asked, staring.
"Just follow me, I know just the place. It'll be my treat," Ryuji replied. "Also, look, you kinda found out my story, I think it's only fair you share yours, alright? I'm kinda curious."
Kyoko merely stared for a moment. After what they'd just experienced, she had no reason not to trust him at this point, and having someone who was completely on her side now was a very refreshing change of pace for the young detective. "Very well."
"...Hey, just save it for when we get there and I got some ramen in my stomach," Ryuji said with a smirk.
"Ramen?" Kyoko asked.
"Oh, heh, so much for the surprise," Ryuji remarked, scratching the back of his head in embarrassment. "What, you don't like it?"
"I've only had cup ramen. Thinking about it makes me quite ill," Kyoko replied flatly.
"Well, this is nothing like that cheap-ass crap, I promise ya!" Ryuji said. "If I can't change your mind, they got other stuff, too. Just wait and see! I owe ya this for havin' my back today!"
Before Kyoko could answer, Ryuji had already begun to walk. Sighing, the girl decided to follow.
"The HELL?! How much shittier can this asshole get?!" Ryuji snapped angrily, taking a bite of his ramen after hearing the end of Kyoko's story. Kyoko herself had been rather pleasently surprised by how delicious the ramen bowl was that it was indeed absolutely nothing like the repulsive cheap product she'd had at home before. Her grandfather had never taken her to any of these places and it would appear that her judgement had been wrong. Her friend's anger had not gone unnoticed by her, however, his grip on his drink tightening as he grit his teeth over what she'd just told him, of how she'd stopped an intoxicated man from assaulting a woman, and got slapped with criminal charges for it.
"Seriously, how can you be this calm about it? If it were me I doubt I'd calm down till I punched that dick's face in!" Ryuji said.
"It's in the past. There's nothing more I can do about it," Kyoko replied in a reserved tone, though a thin hint of anger was present in it.
"Guess you're right. Still this sucks!" Ryuji replied, sighing and continuing to eat his ramen. "I mean, you had this big, bright future ahead of you! I mean, havin' a super detective for a Grandpa who was teachin' ya? That's pretty awesome! And top of your classes at like one of the most private schools in Japan?" He scowled. "And all of it, just... ripped away from you by some asshole who was totally in the wrong and he gets away with it?!"
Kyoko said nothing, staring down at her food a moment before deciding to take another bite. "Yes, the Kirigiri family comes from a long line of detectives, renowned throughout Japan. My father chose not to follow that path, becoming headmaster at Japan's most exclusive school... he left me after my mother passed away when I was young. Grandfather raised me from there, to succeed him. I'd hoped to get into my father's school, and confront him for leaving. He'd have no choice but to deal with me, then..." she took a sip of her broth. "...Or he would have..."
"And for that, you had to move down here. All because of what happened," Ryuji replied between bites. "I get it... guess we aren't so different in that regard, our dreams just right in our grasp, then havin' it all ruined by some piece of shit."
"Grandfather didn't see it that way. He told me I'd done something foolish and paid for it," Kyoko answered.
"Bullshit! What were you supposed to do? Just walk away and let that guy do who knows what to that poor woman?" Ryuji asked.
Kyoko remained silent. In her mind, it had been the right thing, yet it had come at the cost of everything she'd spent her whole life working for.
"Look, you wanna talk doin' somethin' foolish, I got that part covered," Ryuji said, staring down at his bowl, frowning. "I did somethin' stupid in school... no matter how you look at it, it gave Kamoshida exactly what he wanted, and..."
Ryuji went silent, and hurriedly finished off his bowl before Kyoko could ask more. The young detective watched him a moment, it seemed there was more to his story then what had been revealed at the Palace. "You owe it to me to tell me about this, though perhaps some other time," Kyoko stated, before turning to her own bowl and finishing it, getting no response from the boy.
"Hey, long as we do somethin' about Kamoshida..." Ryuji set down his empty bowl. "I think we'll both feel better about bein' at school," he said, clearly having turned the subject. Kyoko suspected whatever happened, it was something Ryuji felt deeply ashamed of, and likely was tied to the conflict he'd had with him and the degrading nickname Kamoshida's Shadow had called him.
"Hey, you're livin' in the Yongen area, right?" he remarked.
"Yes," Kyoko replied with a nod.
"Better be ready to kill time, the rush time is goin' on by now in the subways," Ryuji answered. His eyes widened as he remembered something. "Oh, right! I should probably get your number, too! Chat ID, all that. We're gonna do this, it'd be best to stay in touch and all."
Kyoko silently took her phone out, and after a small struggle figuring out how to set up a chat ID, and install the chat app in the first place that required Ryuji's help and Kyoko explaining how her grandfather had not permitted her a phone until she'd left to move to Yongen-Jaya, the two had successfully set up the chat box before getting ready to head out.
"Just you wait, Kamoshida..." Ryuji growled, mostly to himself and earning a stare from Kyoko. "Heh, right. Look, we'll start tomorrow. I remember every guys bein' kept as slaves' face so I'll check out the volleyball roster and we can track 'em down. We got that volleyball rally tomorrow, too... nothin' but Kamoshida's way of showin' off and all, makes me wanna hurl..."
"Yes, it's unfortunate we will have to endure that," Kyoko replied.
"Still, good news is classes won't be goin' on that afternoon, plenty'a time to ask around without bein' noticed." Ryuji answered, letting a yawn escape him. "...We can work out the details tomorrow. I should probably be gettin' home."
"Indeed, it is probably best we head back, now," Kyoko said with a nod. "I will look forward to tomorrow. Farewell." Kyoko turned and left for the subway, preparing for the journey back home.
Back at school, Takamaki was sharing a bench with a dark-haired girl. The blonde's attempts to get a cheerful conversation out of her, however, didn't seem to go anywhere.
"What's wrong, Shiho?" Takamaki asked, looking at her friend in concern.
"Ann... I-I..." the dark-haired girl, Shiho, looked away from the blonde. "I... haven't been sleeping well, lately. Whenever I close my eyes, I keep thinking about... t-too many things..."
The girl let out a sigh. "Nationals are coming up, soon, so I just keep thinking... should someone like me really be on the starting lineup? I just don't know anymore..."
Ann smiled at the girl. "Hey, don't worry about it! You just be confident in yourself, alright?" she asked cheerfully, hoping her optimism would do something for her friend. "Your skills have been recognized, after all! You work so hard! Harder then anyone else! You've earned that spot, Shiho!"
Her words, however, didn't seem to lift Shiho's spirits much. "Yeah," the girl said softly. "Volleyball's all I have, after all..."
Ann's eyes traced down to Shiho's right leg, which had been in a knee brace. "...More importantly, is that injury alright? Looked pretty swollen to me.."
"N-no!" Shiho replied defensively. "I-it's nothing! I swear! It's normal, especially with a meet coming up and all..."
Ann looked at her friend, deeply concerned, now, and wondering what Shiho was keeping from her. Before she had a chance to pry further, she noticed a familiar, if rather bruised boy approach them. "Mishima? What's up?" she asked.
Looking over at Shiho, the boy, Mishima, had a completely deflated look to him as he looked at the girl with pitying eyes. "Sorry to interrupt, Suzui," he said in a grave tone. "M-Mr. Kamoshida told me to get you."
"Wh-what does he want?" Shiho asked, looking at Mishima with worry on her face. Mishima just looked away, his grave expression still present.
"...He didn't say," he responded quietly.
Ann noticed Shiho trembling in her seat and her breathing getting more anxious.
"Ann... I..." Shiho stammered.
"It'll be fine!" Ann replied, trying her best to sound reassuring. "I bet it's a meeting about the starting lineup or something!"
"Y-yeah..." Shiho replied, forcing a smile as she stood up, though with some difficulty. "Well, I better go..." she said, looking away from Ann, who noticed the girl's eyes were starting to water.
"Good luck," Ann offered. Shiho gave a silent nod as she walked away, her head low as she and Mishima left, leaving Ann by herself. As she watched them leave, Ann's smile faded, worry growing more and more on her face as she felt less certain what more she could do. "...Hang in there, Shiho..."
A/N
Well, there's another chapter! Sooner then expected, too. And a helluva lot longer as dungeon crawls leave so little room for an appropriate stopping point, don't they? Hope you all enjoyed it as stuff starts to get only more serious next time...