Finally, the revamped chapter 6!
just one more chapter before the END of the Kamoshida Arc. afterwards, there will be a small break as i work on more of the Blazblue fic as promised.
a bit more thicc than the previous chapters, somewhat due to the extra stuff added thanks to me fucking around with social links and filler...
as I finish this, it's Thanksgiving right jow, and on the chance that i can post this by then, I'd like to give thanks to everybody who stuck with me throughout the shitty fics that gell off and all the revamps, you guys really motivate me to keep at it.
if i posted it afterwards, then the same thing really, just late, i guess...
Continuing onwards!
"I can't believe you left your phone!" Ann shouted at the fellow blonde as he sat down with the group. Said blonde, instead of replying, simply glared at the two other males at the side.
"I can't believe you lost your Journal." Ryuji grumbled audibly. "What the hell man!? We almost got busted by ms. Prez!"
"Sorry, I didn't know I dropped it…" Akira said defensively. "It must've fell from my backpack when I was making my way over here!"
"You're lucky I fixed that shit before she started Grillin' me for answers, Here." Ryuji sighed, tossing the book at the bespectacled male. "If Ms. Prez asks, then it's a story for a videogame you're making."
"Hmm… not a bad idea Monkey-Brain." Morgana sniped, nearly dodging away from a wayward swipe from the offended party.
"Eff off with the monkey crap, catboy."
"Stop calling me a cat!"
"YOU Stop callin' me a damn monkey!"
"NEVER!"
"FOCUS YOU TWO!" Mishima yelled, silencing the two from the usual shouting match. "Now then, we have more or less 2-3 weeks left before we get expelled, so what do we know about the castle so far?"
"I… may have a small theory." Haru chimed in, gaining everyone's attention. "If this school is how Kamoshida sees as his castle and vice versa, then wouldn't it be somewhat logical that it shares the same layout? Or if not, then something similar?" everyone paused at those words, attempting to recall the terrain they've traveled thus far... some connecting the dots with what she said.
"That's actually not that bad of a theory…" Ann surmised. "That would explain why most of the safe rooms so far were class rooms..."
"We'll check over there the next time we get a chance to." Akira announced, rising from his seat as Arata floated over to him with Morgana in tow.
"Wait, we're not going this time?" Shiho asked, the others turning towards Akira, getting a few head shakes in return.
"No, we need supplies." Morgana clarified. "Who knows what's going to happen in the palace. It's better if we prepared beforehand instead of going in guns blazing."
~Trust me, Going in balls deep without the right equipment is a fastpass to a TPK.~ Arata chimed in. ~the more we have, the better.~
"We'll need more healing items and at the very least backup equipment in case our normal stuff breaks." Akira added, putting his journal in his bag. "We don't want you guys getting assaulted because your tools were destroyed."
~That reminds me, we need Codenames for you three.~ Arata said, looking at the new thieves. ~we can't just shout your names in there, especially since you three and Ryuji are the closest to him.~
"Oh, Right." Ryuji snapped his fingers. "Let's see…how abou-"
"If you say something inappropriate, Sakamoto, then I will slap the shit out of you." Ann warned.
"I was going to call you something CAT related, like Tiger or Panther or some shit!"
"Panther?"
"Yeah, because of your mask and outfit reminds me of one." Ryuji explained. "Is that not workin' for ya?"
~Ryuji's got a point.~
"Hmm... yeah..." musing over the thought for a minute, a resolute nod from the fellow blonde confirmed her approval. "Panther's Fine with me; I like the sound of that!"
"Well then what about me?" Shiho asked, getting silence for a few seconds before Arata answered.
~what about Shinobi? You kinda looked like a ninja with extra armor back there.~
"Shinobi… I like that.. Alright, I'll take it." Shiho nodded back, a warm smile adorned on her face.
~and for Mishima-~
"No need. I've already picked my name." said blunette answered, cutting off the spirit mid sentence.
"You did?" Akira replied.
"Yep. when we're in the palace, you can call me..." Mishima paused a bit, taking a calming deep breath before finishing his sentence." Akuma."
~Akuma… nice, it fits you… surprisingly.~
"Well with that out of the way." Ryuji clapped heads turning to him. "Let's get back to supplies. I think we should split up for buying stuff, some of us gets healing stuff, while the others get equipment."
"Wow, Ryuji, you're on fire with these ideas today." Akira complimented.
"Thanks!" the blonde grinned at the praise. "Anyways, there's 8 of us, so we'll split up into 2 groups. Akira, Arata, Morgana and I'll secure some gear. You four can buy provisions and healing items!"
"Healing… items?" Haru asked.
"Basically buy some generic medicine and first aid stuff." Morgana clarified. "They work a lot differently in the metaverse."
"Ah, I see."
~Just in case... Kira, I got an idea for a little project or two that we can work on as well...~ Arata added, getting a slight nod as confirmation.
"Well then, let's break for now. I'm beat." Ryuji yawned, "we'll start our gear hunt tomorrow, but First, Let's Get somethin' to eat! I'm just realizing that I'm a lot more hungry than I first thought."
With a chorus of agreement from the other members of the group, they all called their first meeting and went down from the roof, none of them noticing a certain Auburn haired Hider eavesdropping on the octet as she hastily hid herself from the posse.
"Videogame my ass. Just what are you lot up too…" Makoto mused with a frown. "I have to look more into this... but how?"
Sunday April 17th
Cloudy
Takemi Clinic
Evening
As the doors open, the lone occupant of the empty waiting room barely looked up from her clipboard with the roll of her eyes.
"Hello, sir and/or madam, how can I help you this... even..." looking up fully, the bluenette's words died at her throat at the sight of a familiar, albeit bleeding teenager in front of her. "Oh... Oh god..."
"Hello? I would like some bandages and some painkillers please?" the sheer Gall this bleeding teen had just said with a hand to his bleeding side nearly made her snort if it was any other scenario. As if this was some sort of daily occurrence to the man in front of her, he didn't even looked pained at all, just-
"Why the hell is he ANNOYED at the prospect of bleeding out!?" Tae thought, nearly falling off her chair as she made her way to the other room. "Check room, NOW. I don't care if you wanted to be in and out, you're getting that wound treated!" she shouts back, slamming the door from her office to the aforementioned medical room, the spectacled teen entering seconds later, taking residence on the bed, not bothered by the trail of red he drizzled on the way.
"Alright, kid. What the absolute hell happened that caused THIS-" Tae gestured to the bleeding torso, "-to happen, exactly?"
"Well..."
(flashback, a few minutes prior...)
"We need to figure out how exactly we can get our hands on some strong healing items, and I'm not talking about normal Band-Aids and cold medicine." Morgana addressed, he, Akira and Arata making their way down the way through the subway to Leblanc's. "any ideas?"
"I think I saw a small clinic while I was looking for Mr. Sakura's place..." Akira mentioned, making his way out to the streets. "don't know how to get in without an emergency though..."
"We could always... stretch the truth a bit to get what we need." Morgana mumbled, only for Arata to pipe up, picking up the cat creature.
~Don't worry, gang, I have a great way around that.~
"you do?" both retorted to the godling, getting a nod from said spiritual being.
~Morgana, think you can find anything interesting here that we can find or get? I got this.~
"um... alright, If you're sure this might work..."
~ Dude, I've got his back if shit hits the fan, and this chucklefuck can't lie for himself to save himself.~ ignoring the indignant squawk of his other self, Arata continued, ~If its for the sake of another, then he can be downright borderline manipulative to his wrongdoers, but he'll either fuck up the lie or give a bullshit response.~
"No I don't!" the ravenette shouted back.
~Interpretive Conga Rave. Ring any bells?~
"No comment."
"Well, if you guys truly have a way to do so..." Morgana hopped out of the spirit's grasp. "Then I'll leave it to you two. I'll see if I can find something useful around here!"
As the cat scampered off, the teen merely walked over to an unoccupied street near the direction of the clinic, making sure nobody can see the two at all. once the coast is clear, the ravenette sighed, not even looking back to his bonded spirit before bracing himself.
"Try not to hit anything vital this time, last time I was out for days."
~don't give me that! this shit is Your idea!~ Arata answered, rearing up with his hands glowing a piercing white light.
(flashback end)
"I sort of... got stabbed saving someone from a thug on the way here..." Akira spoke up, repeating what the spirit rehearsed with him seconds prior.
"Half of this side is practically sashimi at this point, what the hell did you get stabbed with!?" the doctor said back, inspecting the rather gruesome lacerations lining up his side. "and HOW exactly are you still conscious after this? Most would be bleeding out, dead, or at best knocked out from blood loss by now."
"...I heal quickly?"
After another minute shouting, threats and nearly dodging several medical tools lobbed at his head, as well as reassuring that he'll be truthful to the doctor once he saw her contemplate putting him in a coma herself, Akira pulled out a small vial of red liquid, and a glistening red and green herb, showing both to the doctor.
"I have a friend, actually. They're a herbalist, you see, and they actually created a rather potent healing herb, they use as a minor cure all for wounds and stuff, as well as a few more plants for other things." he stated, gazing at the doctor staring at the items with intrigued interest. "The problem is that aside from not being able to grow much per harvest, they've been trying to find someone who could improve or make official medicine with it to no avail. they send me some they can spare as well as their little potions as both payment for helping them out and helping them finding a competent medic for the task."
"And you're saying that this is what's keeping you awake?" Tae said swirling the vial in her fingers.
"Well, I haven't really taken both needed to heal me mainly, I figured I find a doctor just in case..." Akira replied, taking the vial from the doctor and downing its contents.
"W-wait a second! Don't just drink something like...that..." for the second time that day, words died in her throat as her intrigue and worry melted away to shock, seeing the wound actively stop bleeding all over the bed and even seeing some of the minor cuts mending and healing over, leaving behind naught but small scars, the only real indicators of the previous wound were two large cuts on his side, now partially wrapped up in bandage. "Wait WHAT?"
"See? it works for their little potions. but its only good for minor wounds at the moment. Which brings me to the other reason why I'm here."
"Other? you mean you got stabbed on purpose-"
"No. no. THAT wasn't planned, I was gonna come to you to begin with, this was a minor setback."
"Kid, these wounds should've killed you by now."
"Minor. Setback. The point is... my colleague and I need help from a medical professional to develop better medicine from these herbs they grow, and, well, this was the first place I could think of..."
"And you couldn't go to an actual hospital with this because?" Tae retorted, nearly patching up what was left of the previous wound.
"They'd either hunt them down for the stuff, take full credit and leave them with none at BEST-" he took note of the hidden wince at that part. "or take it for granted. WORSE case scenario is they don't take it seriously and mess things up."
a long silence permeated the room, the two staying silent after what was just said, the patching finished and painkillers administered. sighing at the silence, the ravenette stood and prepared to leave.
"Well, thanks for at least-"
"How much?" Takemi's voice rang out, stopping him mid sentence.
"How... much?" he repeated in confusion, stopping mid-door pull.
"Your... friend... wanted someone to make medicine from their plants right? how much for some?"
smirking, Akira turned around, hand on the door now forgotten for the moment. "Well, how are you going to make sure it works? and what will I get out of it?" smiling past the slight twitch from the doctor, he continued. "I know this is for my friend, but I need some for my relatives and other friends, and I can't afford medicine for them at the moment. and I refuse to purchase faulty medicine."
"Well, if you want to make sure about the effectiveness of the medicine... you could assist in the testing? I've always needed a willing Guinea pig for my own creations. I can make the official meds from these as well as get some much needed results, and..." she paused at that, thinking for a moment before continuing, "I'll sell you some of my own medicine, much better than the bargain bin crap you can find in a drugstore or pharmacy."
"Jackpot." Akira mentally cheered, smothering his smirk from devious to just a small simpler variant. "well then, I guess I got a call or two to make then, they'll be ecstatic at the news."
"Perfect, pleasure working with you in the future." Tae nodded, extending out a handshake to seal the deal. as the two shook hands, a familiar voice rang out in his mind.
I am thou, thou art I...
thou has acquired a new vow...
it shall be the wings of rebellion,
that breaketh thy chains of captivity...
with the birth of the Death arcana,
i have obtained the winds of blessing that
shall lead to freedom and new power...
"I'll get to work on studying this little leaf for now, I'll expect more by the end of the month, don't stiff me or you'll live to regret it." Tae warned, getting a nod from the chuckling teen as an affirmative. Good, bow don't do anything else stupid that'll reopen those wounds, and you should be fine."
"Thanks Doc!"
Arriving at Leblanc's once more, Sojiro greeted the group with the same routine. before they make it up to the stairs, Sojiro piped up with a small cough.
"Hey, kid." the elder Barista started, "Just to let you know, the school called." slightly reveling in the frozen look of panic across the teenager's face, he sighed as he continued. "Don't worry, it's nothing you did; they just came to inform me that something came up with the school, and as such, there's no school tomorrow."
"R-Really?" Akira asked out, still shaking off a bit of the panic from his voice.
"Yup, you got a free day tomorrow. Of course, you know not to let that get to your head, right?" Sojiro added, grinning at the nod he got as a confirmation. "Good, now come over here, I wanna chat with you real quick."
fear giving way to curiosity, the ravenette complied, plopping his bag to the seat beside him as Sojiro began cleaning up the desk. Turning to the teen, the Barista takes a cursory glance before deciding to break the Ice.
"So, how's school been so far?" he started. "Y'know, aside from that little... tidbit... you brought up earlier?"
"W-well, it's been alright so far... unfortunately I figured out why the rumor mill's been extra brutal from day one."
"Oh?"
"yep... apparently someone leaked my records through the school-" a sudden slam makes the teen jump as Sojiro hits the table with a freshly wiped glass with a bit too much force.
"they did WHAT!?" Sojiro yelled out, nearly cracking the glass within his grasp. "I'm pretty sure that's not allowed at all-"
"-It's alright though!" Akira continues hastily, frantically waving his hands at the steadily fuming elder. "It was mostly just a slip up... I think. B-BUT that just means that I have to work harder to prove them wrong!"
"KID. that shit's not SUPPOSED to happen. what the hell were they thinking!?"
"like I said, it could've been-"
"Don't defend them, Kurusu! THEY'RE the ones in the wrong, not you!" Sojiro stated, shutting the teen up. "Do you know who did it?" Sojiro pressed on, sighing heavily after a minute of Akira fully clamming up after his outburst. "Okay, Okay... sorry for yelling. look, this shouldn't have happened to you, at all. That's a full on breach of privacy, there. If anything, you're liable to Sue them."
"I-I..." Akira stammered, avoiding the gaze of his guardian. "I'm fine, really... it's over and done with, so..."
A snort stopped their whispered mumbling as the teen looked over to the elder. "Alright, I'll... take your word for it, but I'm not letting it slide next time. if something like this happens again, you let me know immediately. I'll handle it."
"H-handle it?"
"well... I'll nark on them to the feds about it first, and if that doesn't work," Sojiro shrugged, raising an eyebrow as the teen whispered something to the side "Then I've got some connections, and at least one or two favors I can pull for it."
"...okay." huffing out a tired sigh, Sojiro beckoned the teen over to the other side of the counter, causing a look of confusion to stretch across Kurusu's face.
"Well, that wasn't the main reason why I wanted to talk, but I pressed on the wrong button there, My bad." Sojiro said, setting aside two mugs for the both of them. "How's about I teach ya how to make the perfect cup of Coffee? I'll need an extra pair of hands, and you need something to take your mind off of things every now and again, so how about we knock two birds with one stone?" He smirked, pointing at the teen's chest. "Plus, the ladies love a guy who can cook. do a good enough job and I'll drop some pointers on how to woo them, Deal?"
a few seconds lingered as the teen processed what the old man said, causing a light groan from the teen when he caught up. "oh, c'mon, Mr. Sakura. I'm not that oblivious..." standing up and making his way over, he did nod to the elder Barista, a glint of curiosity in his eyes. "but Sure, I'm down to learn if you'll have me." as the words left his mouth, the world seemed to slow as another chant from the familiar feminine voice echoed through his ears.
I am Thou, Thou art I...
Thou hast Acquired a new vow...
It shall become the wings of rebellion
that breaketh thy chains of captivity...
With the birth of the Hierophant Arcana,
I have obtained the winds of blessing that
Shal lead to freedom and a new power
"That's either Boss or Mr. Sojiro to you kid." The elder retorted, turning to the cabinet of beans behind him. "You're my pupil now, so might as well act like it. Now then, let's start with something basic."
After hanging out with Sojiro and learning the basics of working the counter and brewing stand, with a few minutes of practice later, the group of three arrived to their room and set off into sleep.
...
...
...
Waking up once more to the sounds of chains, Both Arata and Akira found themselves in the same prison like velvet room. The three residents stared at the two.
"We meet again, Trickster and friend." "Igor" greeted.
~so we did, hunchback.~
"Quiet you!" Caroline snarled.
"You may be wondering why I have summoned you here, correct? I have noticed that you have acquired a massive addition to your team. So allow me to congratulate you first and foremost." Igor spoke out "It seems you have remembered my words. You truly make it worth rehabilitating you."
"What do you mean- oh." Akira deadpanned. "you mean Ann, Shiho and Mishima..."
~We still have questions, by the way.~ Arata continued. ~I know we haven't been able to hold much of a conversation before, but now we can actually try before we black out again!~
"I am not attempting to withhold information from you." He chuckled. "The essence of the rehabilitation that you must complete will be explained in due time. Once you discover more allies who share your aesthetics and discover your place in reality… only then will I explain it all."
"And from the looks of it, you two may get that explanation sooner than you think." Caroline chimed in.
"We were quite surprised when it happened as well." Justine added. "It is pretty rare to experience multiple awakenings at once."
"It's kinda strange though… one of them didn't awaken yet."
"... that must be Haru…" Akira whispered, his spiritual other half nodding in unison.
~seems like it, she's the only one without a persona…~ Arata whispered back.
"Indeed, I would suggest that you aid in her awakening, lest she becomes more of a liability than an ally." "Igor" addresses. "It would be a shame if one of your confidants met their demise so soon."
~we'll get right on that.~ Arata answered, holding back a growl at the implications that were subtly infused in such a sentence.
"Please see to it that you do. Now girls, bring out the equipment. It is time we introduce them to the aid we are providing." nodding at the command, the two tiny wardens left the room somehow, confusing the two inmates. That confusion grew with a slight hint of fear when they came back with two guillotines and a chainsaw.
~Oh Sweet Zorvha- What the FUCK is that!?~
"Uuh…" Akira stammered. "Is this the part where we get the death sentence or something?"
"You need not worry Trickster, this is purely for our method of the privilege I'm giving to you; the power of fusion." the hunchback clarified. "Due to your power of the wild card, you are able to wield more than one persona. That power holds infinite possibilities, we will assist you in nurturing that potential. Caroline will lead the charge for this facility for you. Caroline?"
"Yes sir." she saluted, turning to the two. "Alright listen up inmates, because I'm NOT repeating myself."
~fine, fine. What's all this for Carol?~
"Stop calling me- you know what, Forget it!" she shook her head frustratingly. "Fusion is pretty simple in execution; you take two persona and we'll merge them into a new one. Justine and I'll go over the basic rundown on the fused one before the fusion, so you won't be completely blind to what you'll get."
"Be aware though that the process is not guaranteed to work successfully. There is a chance that you may get a completely different one by accident." Justine added.
~oh great, so not even you guys know what we'll get completely…~
"Those odds are very rare, however, so you need not worry for the time being."
"Well that's reassuring... I guess." Akira mumbled out, still staring at the two guillotines.
"Let's do this already. You do have more persona, don't you?" Caroline said, looking expectantly. Opening up his hand, Akira focused on his palm as two white masks appeared above it, orbiting around each other.
"Will these do?" Akira asked, handing the two persona over to the wardens.
"Yeah, this'll work. Let's see… a pixie and a bicorn, huh?"
"This will grant you the persona Shiisaa." Justine walked over to the two inmates and showed them her clipboard, a flash of light later, and a picture of the persona in question, along with various information on it, appeared on the front page. "Hmm… this could work nicely… but."
"What's the problem!? You have the requirements, so what's stopping you?" Caroline shouts.
~we're a little put off by the instruments of death you're standing next to.~
"Are you two okay with this?" Akira asks.
"Of course we a-" a round of shushing and a finger from Arata's tail on her lips stopped the petite warden mid sentence.
~not you two; Pixie and Bicorn.~
"What? Of course they are!" Caroline Droned on, batting away the tail, with a look that screams 'are you THAT stupid?' to the both of them.
"I just want to make sure. I want their consent before I go through with this."
"Of course master. I told you I'd help out, and I'm gonna help no matter what." the voice of pixie echoed into his mind, followed by Bicorn's voice as well. "As I have said before, I'll do whatever it takes for master."
~looks like they agree.~
"See!? Now stop polyfoxing and bring them over here already!"
Taking both masks, Justine reunites with her twin as they prepared the fusion process.
~I can't watch…~ Arata covered his eyes, but then peeks out of one of them.
*SSHHHHHKK!*
The sound of metal sliding down and flaying flesh echoed throughout the room, but what shocked to two prisoners were the flash of lights, strong winds blowing through their cell, and a new voice echoing through Akira's mind.
"Me Shiisaa. You have mask... You and me... Don't worry, be happy!" the new voice yipped happily.
"Alright that's how it goes." Caroline shouts. "Simple and fast, so don't bother hesitating."
"A stronger persona has been born from the body and blood of the old, which shall become your new strength." "Igor" added in. "Gather personas and bring them here. Gather them, execute them, and continue to give birth to stronger personas. Developing these powers of your will play an integral role in your stand against ruin."
"So that your rehabilitation goes well, we have a variety of rituals to choose from regarding execution." Justine continued, Caroline followed soon after.
"And depending on your efforts our master might consider further development of new rituals for you to use. Go on and cry for joy inmates"
~yeah, we get it kid.~
"Who're you calling a KID!?" Caroline hissed ferally, somewhat triggered by the short jab.
~I'm callin' you a kid, Ya Blue midget!~
"WHAT DID YOU CALL ME, YOU PALE FACED PRICK!?"
~language, child! You deserve a time out little missy!~
"Oh you are DEAD YOU MOTHERFU-"
"CAROLINE!" "ARATA!" Both Akira and Justine shouted out, silencing the two bickering beings.
"Hmm, it seems that this might be more entertaining than I thought." "Igor" chuckled lightly at the events unfolding. "That being said, I have a gift that I have prepared a gift for you. I hope that you shall accept it." A black orb of light appeared in front of Akira and phased into his body, a feeling of unnerving strength coursed through his soul. "With this, You now have the ability to see things that are normally invisible to the common eye; a third eye, if you will. That is all I wish to speak to you about for now, there is one more thing I wish to say, but you'll find that out very soon."
"I don't like the sound of that…"
~I'm pretty sure that's an understatement…~
Both sighed as the world around them faded into darkness, the last they saw were three mischievous smirks.
Monday, April 18th
Cloudy
Shujin Academy
Mid-day
After spending the entirety of the morning eating over at a nearby ramen shop, getting model guns and weapons from a hidden shop on central street, some light armor and accessories, and reuniting with the others who got loads of their supplies, the group of eight survived through the seemingly endless traversal for the whole first half of their day. Now that school was cancelled, the group of eight stood by the entrance of the school, hiding to the side of the building. A few moments later, they were now back at the front of the palace.
"Alright, let's get to work!" Skull shouts, pumping his fist in the air, only to get dragged back by a hand on his shoulder.
~wait a minute!~ Draco said, grabbing Skull by the collar. ~aren't you forgetting something?~
"Huh… OH right!" Skull spins around, unzipping a duffle bag and handing over a tommy gun to Panther, much to her surprised squeak. "Here ya go."
"Wha!? D-Don't just pull something like that out of nowhere!"
~Nobody make a joke about that.~ Arata mumbled amused.
"We got these for surprisingly cheap." Joker added, handing Akuma a set of Tonfa and a set of throwing knives, Noir a battle axe and a grenade launcher, and Shinobi a spear and a small crossbow.
~now that you all are sufficiently armed… NOW we can get to work.~
"Just to be safe, we'll break off into two teams." Mona joined in. "it'll be a nightmare to manage eight people at once, so we'll split up into a vanguard and rearguard."
"So we're splitting up?" Panther asked getting a negative shake from the cat creature.
"Not entirely; four of us will lead the charge in exploration, while the others will follow behind a good distance away, picking up and finding anything the front missed the first time."
"Hmm… sounds good, So the question is; Who's going where?" Akuma nodded, a few minutes of deciding later, Joker, Skull, Mona and Draco decided to lead the vanguard since they knew more about the place than the others, whereas the ladies and Mishima, as the rearguard leader, sticks to the backrow.
"Alright, let's head on out." Joker said, the group now entering the palace ahead.
(Some time later...)
2 hours and 45 minutes in and the Group was more or less ready to burn the whole place to the ground. After going around solving random puzzles, obtaining more persona and loot, and fighting off a room full of Armored knights before managing to drag over to the nearest safe room, the group of 8 practically slumped over the table of the mini haven.
"Please tell me that we've made SOME sort of dent to this place!? Panther groaned out, stretching outwardly from the various cricks that locked her up.
"looking at the map we found from... that place." Shinobi shuddered, unable to even form words from what they saw. "We're most of the way there, we're near a large tower that should have where the treasure should be."
"Anyone else keeping track of what we got?" Skull moaned out. "I didn't think it'd be THIS much of a Grindfest."
~Med Stuff's still plentiful, especially with all the crap we got from shadows.~ Draco stated, sorting out some of the loot and medicinal stock they have. ~Plus, Kira's got a Cait sith and Silky, so if we're low on healing, we can swap over to that.~
"... I may have an idea. everyone get comfortable..." Joker announced, stretching a bit before whispering something in tongues, much to the odd looks of the others in the room.
"... you aren't gonna turn us into toads, are you?" Akuma drolled out, stretching himself over a nearby seat, with the others following suit.
"Please don't. I wouldn't be able to help as a frog..." Noir added, shuddering at the idea.
"Nope... but if it works, then I may have a solution for this..." Joker spoke, clapping his hands as a glyph formed in front of him. various cat like bubbles filled the room as a soothing scent filled their noses, lulling them into a more relaxed state.
"W-What The!?" The actual cat-like creature yelped out, brushing by one of the Neko orbs and popping on upon contact. "What is this? it feels... feels..." Mona barely got out, curling into himself as more bubbles brushed against him, purring contently as he drifted off, barely holding himself up.
"Bubbles? what the... hell..." Skull mumbled out, dropping not long after with light snoring. soon after he dropped, the remaining members fell one by one to light slumber, leaving just Joker and Draco as the only ones left awake.
~Huh... is this Catnap?~ the Godling looked over to the leader, smirking as he got a nod back. ~Ah, that makes sense. I got Lookout duty, so you go ahead and rest up.~ sharing a thumbs up, Joker strides over to a vacant chair and leaned back, sighing in whimsical bliss as he too joined his comrades.
"I hate this Place. SO! DAMN! MUCH!" Panther growled out every last syllable, the cracking of her whip reverberated with the impacts landing on the numerous Incubi and Redcaps stalking forwards, held at bay only be her flame touched weapon.
"Well, at least you're not Skull." Akuma shrugged over his shoulder, ignoring the glare the fire clad female gave him in favor of pointing over to the fellow blonde... literally being dragged by each arm by a group of Succubi and angels, each side pulling a side like a biblical game of tug-of-war.
"Somebody HELP! I can't feel my arms anymore!" Said Party member Shouts out, both sides tugging more and more intensively.
"I'm more worried about Aki- mean Joker..." Noir added, pointing over to the teen kicking a Berith off his horse before proceeding to run over said downed knight with the very steed it was on seconds prior. "when we found that room with that blue skull shaped gem, he's been kind of... off."
"How off?" Panther asked, ducking as her french dressed friend launched a bomb overhead and blowing up a charging Humanoid avian known as Harpy.
"You noticed too?" Shinobi asked, piercing out at a straggling elf mage, twirling the spear as the back mist faded from her attack. "Ever since that happened, he's been giving us... looks." she paused a bit, side-stepping a swipe from a redcap before punting it to the horde of succubi whilst shooting at the angels, freeing Skull. "At first he was looking with a twinge of... hunger? lust? something, I couldn't quite tell. but just as quickly, he shakes it off saying it's a minor headache or something..."
"I think he's trying to hold back something, but what, I don't know..." Noir continued, parrying an Archangel's Cleave attack and slapping a Skill Slip on its back, the angelic knight blowing up in a burst of force at her one worded command. "I tried asking beforehand, but he just brushes it off to fatigue catching up with him. something about spells and slots?"
"Well, Honestly, I don't blame him." Akuma said, snapping the neck of another elven enemy and brushing off the back mist it dissipated into. "If that weird spell thing he did in the last safe room was of any indication, I'd be hard pressed to think he's pushing himself to help us push through this place-"
A loud, inhumane Roar stopped the four rearguard members as Joker jumps back, a large hand gripping the golden knight that he finished off as a tear in the distortion began opening, revealing a large bullhead staring at the black clad rogue with animosity.
~HEY, THAT'S OUR KILL, YOU BULL-FACED FUCK!~ Draco roared back, whipping his tail at the beast clambering out the tear and scarring the face as it yanked out a large battleaxe. ~UM! GUYS, That's NOT A SHADOW!~
"WHAT!?" Skull shouted back, shooting the remaining angels and succubi trying to go for a round two of their pulling game. "What da shit do you mean that's not a shadow!? Also LANGUAGE!"
"Wait, How is that possible!? I don't sense it being a mere cognition either!" Mona shouts out, slashing away the redcap that's been throwing its sickle at him for the past few minutes on a sconce near the ceiling.
~Minotaur incoming! You remember how to drop this thing!?~ Draco shouts back, side by side with Joker as the two stare down the half Bovine Berserker roaring point blank in their face.
"You guys finish the rest of the stragglers! we'll handle the Big Guy here!" Joker shouts out, drawing his dagger and pistol in each hand, unintimidated by the towering titan before him.
looking to each other, the four rearguard members all gave a simultaneous nod in agreement, putting aside the conversation for later. their savior's in danger right this second, and they'd be hard pressed to ignore the chance to repay the favor.
"Okay, this is the last place we didn't check. Let's go on inside." Skull shouts, Mona climbing to his face and pulling his hair back to get him away from the door.
"Not through the front door, Monkeyboy! We need a different way in." the cat creature chastises the pirate themed thief.
"What about that opening above?" Noir suggested, pointing to the statue at the side, an opening on top of the platform.
"See, that's how a phantom thief thinks!"
"Yeah yeah, no need to rub it in cat." Skull complained, growling as the cat claws his ear. As the group climbed up the place, they found a hidden platform for them to stand on, looking down at the main hallway, they sighed in relief when they saw most of the hall littered with guards, the Shadow king yelling at them.
"Oh man, we sure dodged a bullet there." Skull whispered, "Can't believe I'm sayin' this to the cat of all things, but… thanks for stoppin' me."
"No problem, just try not to jump into stuff without thinking first, as impossible as that is for you." Mona quipped.
"Ya see… this is why I don't like complimenting ya." the blonde bruiser groaned out, shuffling ahead.
"We're almost there." Joker interrupted, pointing at the door behind the king. "That must be where it is."
~well let's get going then.~ Draco chimed in, the group sneaking past the army of guards and the bickering King. silently opening the door without alerting them, the group slinked inside, gobsmacked at the sight before them.
Gold, treasure, jewels, the whole room they were in was filled with the sea of valuables, and in the very middle was a weird glowing blob, floating in place at the very core of the room.
"Holy Crap!" Akuma shouts, awestruck by the amount of rare items around him. "we'd be set for life if I sell even a pocketful of this stuff!"
"It's amazing..." Shinobi added, kicking aside a gemstone the size of a kickball, a light scowl forming on her face seconds after that statement. "Yet oddly disgusting at the same time, I hope I'm not the only one to think we shouldn't take this stuff?" numerous vocal affirmatives was her answer.
"It's KamoSHITa's crap, remember!?" Skull argued. "Of course it's disgusting to look at. Pfft, I bet that some of it's fake anyways."
~I'm more curious about the blobby thing here than anything.~ Draco addressed, pointing at the obvious out of place object of the room. ~Hey, Mona? You know anything about this?~
"Ah HAH! This is it!" Said cat thief grinned cheekily. "This is what we've came for."
~a floating blob of nothing?~
"Wha- no! this IS the treasure we seek! now we can initiate phase 2."
"Phase 2?" everyone questioned in sync.
"Right now, we can't steal it since it's technically not here. Desires have no physical form by nature, but if we convince the person that their desire's are in fact a treasure, then we can make it so that we can steal it."
~right… and how do we do that exactly?~
"We warn him." Mona answered simply. "Once they're conscious that their desires might be stolen, the treasure will manifest and show itself in response. We'll tell them, "We're going to steal your heart." or something like that."
"Oooh, like a calling card?" Noir added in, Mona nodding eagerly.
"Precisely!"
"Aw hell yeah! That's totally what a phantom thief would do!" Skull whooped. "That shit'll cause it to be physical?"
"Once we do that, the treasure will appear for certain!"
"Then our infiltration route is secure!" Shinobi announced. "Let's head back and plan our next course of action for now."
"Right." the other members spoke out, turning back to head for the last safe room.
"Just be prepared for anything." Mona Piped up. "Once we send the calling card, there's no going back."
"..."
~You good, dude?~ Draco addressed, causing the others to turn back to the two stragglers. ~was slaying the minotaur filling you with nostalgia or did it... trigger something?~
"No, no... it's fine. just..." Joker reassured, clutching his head as he looks towards the floor. "I feel something... below us... something calling to me."
~hmm... you wanna check it out?~
"I would if I could, but we shouldn't make the others go through more of this crap than necessary." Joker sighed. "Plus, if a Minotaur somehow got through to this place, then anything can be brought here." Reminiscing back to an hour prior, the very memory of such a massive beatdown wasn't a pleasant sensation. Aside from Skull nearly dying in the fight, and Noir getting a bit too eager to hack away at the beast, actually being the one to slay it by slamming down it's own Battleaxe onto it's skull (frightening the group as she lifted up and slammed down a weapon nearly twice her size in the process).
"Hey man, if you wanna check things out, we can do it on the way back. let's get it now before we topple this place." Skull answered, walking up and patting Joker's back. looking over to the rest of the group giving their confirmation was reassuring to the teen, walking over to the rest of the party.
"Sorry about this-" Joker said, only to be stopped by Noir handing him one of the Snuff souls they procured earlier.
"It's quite aright. we're a Team, after all, we go together!" the french thief replied. "Now then, where to?"
"Below... near that painting at the foyer." Joker spoke out, taking a minute to sense the calling. "let's go then gang!"
After reaching down to the secret area they have found earlier, they managed to find a secondary elevator similar to the one they rode up to the treasure before, leading them to a waterfall laden chamber. a third resonating chamber blocked by a barrier greeted them on the other side. a rather... repugnant sight filled their vision as the gold knight guarding the door saw them, transforming... into a bulbous green slime of a certain phallic resemblance.
"...no." Joker deadpanned, whispering words in tongues as he stepped forward, pointing his palm to the approaching slimewad, shouting out three words brimming with power. "Cone of Cold." A torrent of dark blue slush and frost erupted from his palm, nearly knocking him over the edge if not for the aid of Skull and Noir holding him up. once the blast of blizzard ended, the rest of the group save for a certain floating spirit stared out in awe at the sight that now took place; the entire waterfall, the moat like body of water below them, and the slime beast in front of them was frozen entirely, forming a somewhat picturesque frozen scene that would've been mesmerizing without the wailing green shadow-turned ice sculpture in the way... that was just pushed off the side by Draco.
~OKAY!~ he clapped, gaining their attention. ~The big bad no-no monster's gone, So let's check behind Door number three now!~
Walking forward and breaking said barrier. the group found the last of the Will seeds, a vibrant green jewel of crystallized lust held within. before they could grab the last one, the three gemstones floated above joker, swirling in a blinding light before colliding together, the light fading to find the three gems fused together into a cluster of a clear colored crystal. upon touching said cluster of collective crystal corruption, Joker lurched forwards in pain, alerting the rest of the group.
"Whoa, Whoa! you alright man!?" Skull shouted back, reaching out, only for Joker to lightly shove him back, crawling away from the group. "Dude, what the-"
"G-Get the... Girls.. Out of here!... HURRY!" Joker growled out, black electricity coursing through his body as he held down his arm that attempted to reach out for Panther.
"W-What!? Panther shouted back, taken aback by the sudden swirl of emotions she can see on the teens face; unbridled lust, fear, concern, and determined resistance danced across the black clack male's face as he actively tried to push himself deeper into the room. Eyes widening at the scene before him, Draco, grabbed the group and led them outside the chamber, slamming the doors shut as Akira nearly lunged at them.
~lets... let's give him a minute...~ Draco spoke out, casting a glyph onto the door to seal it shut once more. ~maybe an hour even..~
"W-What happened, why are you locking him up?" Shinobi asked, pointing to the door. "is Akira going to be alright?!" with a sheepish chuckle and a side glance away from the group, Arata nodded.
~Oh yeah, he'll be fine. I just realized what was going on...~ he announced. ~he just needs some... ALONE time right now... get it out of his system.~
"Get it out of hi-EW!" Panther repeated, groaning in disgust upon realizing what he meant. "Seriously, Right here in the Palace!?"
~to be fair, we've been picking up the will seeds ourselves, that felt like literal lust in a rock whenever we touched them. collecting all three must've temporarily overwhelmed him with lust at that moment.~ Stopping a second before slightly raising his voice to continue as the sounds of rhythmic thumping echoed through the door. ~It's actively draining as we speak, so give it a bit and he'll be fine!~
"... I-Is he?" Noir stammered, now hearing the thumping as well, the rest of the group following suit.
~Yes.~
"OH WHAT THE HELL, MAN!?" Skull yelled out in embarrassment, Akuma turning away with a heavy tint of red on his face.
~Oh don't blow a gasket, it's more or less just Masturbation with extra steps and you know it!~
(one hour later...)
After finishing up with his little predicament, and another 30 minutes of heckling from the group, the party rose back from the elevator to the picturesque portrait that led out to the foyer, each of them shaking off what little tint of red from their faces they had left (Embarrassment from Joker and from laughing too hard from everyone else)
~Well then, Now that we're done with explaining the semantics on fucking your Tulpa-~ Draco stated, ignoring the punch to the face from a now crimson faced and growling Joker. ~Before we leave, Joker and I have ONE last thing we should do, right?~
"Huh?" Joker paused, looking over with confusion before realizing the spirit's words, "OH! Right! I nearly forgot." fiddling out a separate bag and handing Draco one for himself, the two made their way over to the portrait, the human phantom thief uttering out another phrase in tongues as the spirit phased through the portrait. "We came up with a last second idea..."
"Uhh... what are you two..." Mona spoke, words dying in his throat as Joker began to walk up the wall as he pulls out- "Is... Is that paint?"
"What the Hell?" Skull said, now seeing what they were doing, holding back snickers as the two then proceeded to scribble all over the picture, drawing obscene wordings and poorly drawn doodles all over the portraits "Oh my god, That's Hilarious! hey hang on, Lemme help!"
Seeing Skull and soon after, Panther and surprisingly Noir walk over to ask for their own instruments of defacement, Mona groaned in disappointment as the group of unruly brats began to tag the two sided set piece with grueling graffiti, Joker and Draco helping them reach the places they couldn't reach. "ARE YOU GUYS SERIOUS!?"
"There there, Mona-chan... let them have their fun." Shinobi patted the tiny guide's back. "We're almost finished with this place anyways, better now than never, right?"
"..." Akuma merely stares at the work the defacers were doing with a frustrated sigh, catching the two beside him.
"What?" both asked him simultaneously.
"I'm just sad our tech doesn't work here." Akuma huffed. "This would've made a good screenshot."
Back in the real world, the group decided to hang out in a local café nearby after their success in finding a route. Noticing Haru sitting a bit of a ways away from the group, Arata floated over to the girl.
~Hey, Haru, You alright?~ He asked, noting the wayward look of his friend.
"Hmm? Oh, I'm fine." Haru answered, waving off his question as she took another bite of her parfait.
~you sure? You could always tell us.~
"I know… it's just…" trailing off, she handed over a few skill slips to the godling, confusion grew on the boy's face. "I used most of them up again…"
~if that's what's bothering you, then I could always make more-~
"No, no, it's not that. It's…" Haru paused, looking aside and mumbling to herself.
~it's…..~
"Am I really providing for the team?" she repeated, loud enough that only he could hear. "With the limited amount of slips you give me, it's only a matter of time before…"
~hey, hey now! don't go beating yourself up from that.~ Arata cuts off, not liking the route she was going with that statement. ~you're still a vital part of this team, just like the rest of us.~
"But for how much longer!?" she whispered loudly, almost hissing, to the godling. "I'm not like you all, I-I don't have much to protect myself, let alone everyone else… Ryuji almost died because I ran out and had to get more…"
~...~ Saying nothing, the Silver haired spirit listened on as the teen rambled on about her doubts. taking a deep sigh after laying out her thoughts, she stared sadly at her dessert.
"If I'm just going to be a burden when I run out of usefulness, then I-" stopping mid sentence as Arata grabs her hand with his own.
~come with me.~ he announced, rising.
"W-wha?" Haru yelped, nearly toppling what was left of her parfait as she rose as well.
~hey, Kira. I'm taking Haru out for a tiny bit.~ he shouts at the group, the raven haired leader nodded. ~come on.~ He said simply, floating out the door with a confused (and slightly worried) Haru behind him. Once outside, Arata gestured for her to sit near one of the outer tables. Sitting down, Haru gazed expectantly, like an anxious child anticipating some sort of punishment.
~So, you think you're useless because we have powers and you don't?~
"What!? No, it's not exactly what I-"
~but you're not completely denying it either.~ Arata cut in, stopping her defense before she could finish. ~it's alright. I'm gonna fix that. Now, close your eyes.~
"what? how are you-"
~Please? just for a quick bit, alright?~ staring at the spirit, she sighed as she nodded and closing her eyes, unknowing of what's going on. Arata then placed his hand on her chest as he held one of hers on his chest.
~I am thou, Thou art I...
I grant thou the key to thy soul…
Thy potential shall bring forth a new power…
I grant though the tiara of the Empress…
To which thou shall create a new prosperous future…~
A pink light shone around her body as several objects, and even Haru herself, began to rise from the ground. Opening her eyes from such a sensation, her very irises glowed an eerie pink as several items orbited around the two. When the light faded, Haru looked up at the godling with a weirdly new feeling deep within herself.
"W-what just happened!?" she yells, looking around her.
~I have awakened a piece of your full potential; you now have power over psionics.~ Answered the godling, the light he was glowing from dimming down.
"Psionics?"
~you know… like telepathy, psychic energy, levitation. All that jazz. you're now able to control mind shenanigans.~
"Really?!" Haru asked, a twinge of hope flickering in her eyes at what she heard.
~yep, now you're one of us. Speaking of which, I'm gonna have to borrow you, Ryuji and Morgana this weekend…~
"... wow.." staring down at her hands, which still held a slight glow of pink to them. "T-This power... With this... maybe, I can look into..." she thought, nearly jumping as a whispered giggle echoed throughout her mind in response.
~all you have to do is ask, and we'll help. That's what friends do.~ Arata reassured her. ~Meet me on Saturday and I'll work with you on how to do things with your mind.~
"Friends… I… thank you. I know this might sound whiny... or manipulative. but from the bottom of my heart, I am grateful. For this power… for everything you and Akira did…"
~whoa there, I didn't save your life, I just improved it.~
"With this gift you gave me, you might as well have… so thank you… I'll make sure I won't be a burden anymore." she smiled at him, to which he smile back. A familiar feeling grew within himself and Arata heard a feminine voice.
I am thou, thou art I…
Thou has acquired a new vow…
It shall be the wings of rebellion,
That breaketh thy chain of captivity…
With the birth of the Empress arcana,
I have obtained the winds of blessing that
Shall lead to freedom and new power…
"And... Thank you. for listening to me, even though i mainly just rambled about my insecurity..."
"Hey Arata, we're just about ready to head out!" Akira shouts, the group joining the two outside.
~Okay cool.~ Arata shouts back. ~And No problem, Haru, just let either of us know, and we'll come running! Just remember, you, Ryuji and Morgana. Meet me at the school roof on Saturday.~
"Okay…" Haru nodded, the group went their separate ways afterwards.
After making back to Leblanc's and following the same routine, Akira checked his phone for the new message that pinged him a few seconds prior.
Ryu: you guys home yet? I'm pooped.
Ryu: it hit me like a goddamn ton of bricks when I sat down…
Yuuki: same here. Mom thought I was in a fight when she saw me collapse in the living room.
Floof: are you alright?
Yuuki: yeah, I'm fine. Told her that I overworked myself.
Ann: well, we did do a whole bunch in the palace…
Shiho: it's no surprise that we're exhausted. I just never expected it to be this much…
Ann: glad we've found that treasure though…
Ryu: so, just to be clear, Kamoshita'll turn a new leaf if we steal the rainbow fart cloud?
Floof: rainbow fart cloud?
Yuuki: it's up to you when we send the card, Akira.
Ann: call us over to the hideout when you're ready.
RenRen: got it. Nice work everyone.
Yuuki: OH, one more thing I found out.
Floof, Ryu, and Ann: what?
Yuuki: there's gonna be a new student coming tomorrow, I think her name's Kasumi… something…
Shiho: oh no…
Ryu: shit, if this newcomer's a girl then that means Kamoshita's gonna have a NEW target if we don't hurry...
RenRen: we'll find out more on her, you guys just get ready for tomorrow.
Putting up his phone, the three now got ready for bed.
Tuesday, April 19th
Rainy
Shujin Academy
Noon
Akira, Arata and Morgana all have noticed something mainly off about today. first off, the godling noticed that they were being tailed by Makoto practically everywhere since they got to the building. The only time they managed to lose her was when they went to the restrooms. Second, when they got to the homeroom, Kawakami looked at them with this odd look of pity, worry and… admiration? They were stumped as to why she gave them that look in the first place, well, Morgana and Arata were talking about it in the corner of the room since Kawakami couldn't really see them.
"Alright students, listen up. We have a new student coming today." Kawakami announced, gaining everyone's attention and whispers began flooding the room. "Now I want you all be welcoming to our new addition; She may be in the same class as you all, but she's a year younger than you all, so don't overwhelm her. You may come in now." she said, the door sliding open seconds later. The newcomer was a sight to behold. A red haired female, whose hair was tied in a ponytail, walked up to the board and wrote her name on it, then turned and introduced herself.
"Hello everyone. I'm Kasumi Yoshizawa. I hope we can get along." the girl, now named Kasumi, stated. Even more whispers echoed around the room.
"Alright, alright. Settle down." Kawakami shouted, calming the growing rumor-storm. "You can take a seat next to… Kurusu's… desk." she then sweat-dropped at the fact that the ONLY other empty seat in the entire class was side by side with Akira's. This did nothing but start more rumors.
~Oh for fuck's sake, this is getting ridiculous.~ Arata groans, floating next to Akira. ~we get it, you lemmings hate our guts, get over yourselves.~
Walking over to the empty desk, Kasumi sat down and class continued as normal… well, as normal as you can get with the new girl slightly staring at the air a few times. Several classed later, Akira, Arata and Morgana was about to make it over to the rooftop, when Kasumi walked up to them.
"Hey, Kurusu-Senpai?" she asked, stopping the teen in his tracks. "May I have a moment of your time?"
"Uhh… sure?" Akira replied, curious at the new girl's sudden question. Following her to a higher floor, the two ended up stopping at the library.
~oh, that reminds me, hey kira, mind getting some books on wind, electricity and hypnotism?~
"Why do you need that?" Morgana whispered at the godling.
~you'll know why later on.~
"Okay, here we are." Kasumi stated, taking out a black book from the shelf and reading it.
"Uumm." Akira looked on in confusion, which grew when Kasumi gave him a bottle of water.
"It's not really holy water, but it might work." Kasumi announced, before taking out a piece of paper and copied symbols from the black book she was reading.
"What are yo-" was all Akira said before she slapped the slip of scribbles on his chest. Nothing happened.
~what is happening right now?~ Arata spoke out, a sudden pulse made shivers go up his spine, however. curiously, the paper merely faded into particles seconds after, eliciting a lightly panicked reaction from the redhead.
"I-it didn't work!?" she yipped, distraught that her two attempts failed so far. "Why is it still there.."
"Just what are you talking about?" Akira spoke back, eyebrow raised at her actions.
"You can see it too, right?" was her answer, pointing at Arata.
"See?" Akira asked, none of the three realizing who she was pointing at.
~it?~
"The ghost floating beside you… you can see it too, right?"
~ghost? What ghost?~ Arata questioned, looking over to Akira. ~Kira, did you summon ghosts behind my back?~
"I-It knows your name!?" She yelps, looking around and finding nobody staring back at them before flipping through her black book once more. "Oh... maybe This charm might work better..."
"What are you talking about-" Akira stopped abruptly, slowly turning to Arata as he slowly pointed to him. "You mean Arata?"
~hmm?~
"You... you named the ghost!?" She shrieked lightly. "That's not good, it might be too far deep... It'll probably take a full on Exorcism!"
~... WHAT!? I'm Not a Gho-oooooh crap.~ Arata yelled back, stopping as the implications finally registered in his mind.
Looking at her with wide eyes, Akira stood there stunned as Kasumi took his silence as a yes.
"So you can see the ghost! Oh thank god I wasn't going crazy."
~Hey, I resent that!~
"Okay, That makes this a bit easier... I may not know what kind he is, but I should be able to-"
"He's not a ghost." was all the male said to stop her in her tracks.
"W-What? I- It's not?" she replied back. " Impossible, How is it NOT a ghost? Just who and/or what is it then?"
~First off, I'm a boy. Second, I'm Arata, A-RA-TA.~
"And third, he's a godling." Akira added in, further confusing the girl in front of him.
"A… godling?" she repeated, flipping through her book back and forth, frantically searching for the term. "... I... I don't have any information on that type of Yokai."
~YOKAI!? what does that have to do with- Oooooh.~ Arata groaned out, nudging his bound brother. ~Fucking Onmyoji.~
"an Onmyoji? here? in the modern day?" he thought back, looking in amusement as the red head silently goes through a panic attack by herself.
~well, at least one in training, by the looks of things... but why's one here? the last one's back on the other side, right?~
"A Godling's a young god-" a sudden ping vibrated the phone in his pocket, cutting off his explanation. "Crap. I'll talk to you later about that. It was nice meeting you Yoshizawa."
~Don't Narc on us, you hear me!? You should know not to anger spirits!~ the two then fled the library quietly, leaving a stunned Kasumi pondering the current events. Unbeknownst to the three, a third person overheard everything.
"Arata… godling… what's going on…" Makoto whispered as she followed Akira out the library. soon after, waiting as the trio made their way to the roof. Opening the door, the three people reunited with the rest of the group.
"Took ya long enough. Where were you man?" Ryuji asked first.
"Sorry, we just had a… surprising visit with the new girl." Akira spoke back, taking up a vacant spot left for him.
~she thought I was a ghost…~ Arata grumbled to himself.
"We get it." Morgana groaned at the godling from the bag he was in.
"Wait, what happened?" Shiho asked, looking up from her book.
"Apparently, Kasumi, the new girl in our class, can see Arata… somehow…" Akira clarified, resulting in shocked and concerned looks from the others. "Arata believes she's an Onmyoji."
~That slip she slapped on you had a mix of Arcane and Divine energy. with a specific signature only found by those wielders.~ Arata clarified. ~She's definitely one, otherwise literally nothing would've happened.~
"Shit, that's bad. What if someone finds out because she snitched on him?" Ryuji asked.
"Don't worry, I'll focus on that later. Right now, Kamoshida takes priority." Akira answered with a sigh.
"Right! So, who's gonna send the calling card?" Morgana asked. "All that's left is to make it and send it. Then comes the hard part."
"Couldn't we have just sent one beforehand?" Ryuji asked, the cat shaking his head in response.
"It's not that simple. A treasure won't stay materialized for long, once the impressions gone, then the treasure will disappear for good." Morgana explained to the group. "I think it'll last around a day at most."
"That's going to be a tough spot, considering we have all this free time on our hands…" Shiho added.
"So we send it out in the morning, then at the end of the day, we carry out the plan… does that work?" Ann suggested.
"Correct, the effect won't last that long. Are any of you worried?" Morgana quipped, looking at Ryuji in particular.
"What'cha starin' at cat?"
"Stop it with the cat name, monkey!"
"Stop with the monkey crap, cat!"
"Not this again." Mishima said, bonking both of them on the head.
"We'll pull this off, no matter what!" Ann shouts, a firm resolve in her voice that echoed onto the other as well.
"So, who's gonna write it?" Morgana asked, nurturing the slight bump on his head.
"Ooh, Ooh, let me make it!" Ryuji exclaimed excitedly. "I've got just the thing to say for him!"
"Why?" slightly deflating as Ann, Shiho and Morgana asked simultaneously almost instantly.
"Why?... why wouldn't it be me!?"
"This is important. Are you sure you can handle the pressure?" Ann continued.
~Hey, have at least some faith in Ryuji.~
"Yeah, He may be a bit hot headed at times, but he knows what he's doing when he is focused." Haru defended as well.
"I must agree on Ann on this one." Morgana said.
~that's only because you have a cat boner for- AGH~ that was all Arata said before Morgana pounced on his head.
"I really wanna get him good! Lemme write it… c'mon, please?"
"...I'm counting on you Ryuji." Akira sighed, making the blonde male whoop with glee as the others looked to the leader in confusion.
"Really?" Ann asked.
"Yes, really, Ryuji's suffered just as much as we have, and this will act as some form of closure for him, as well as you three. if you want, you guys can help him."
"Hell yeah!" You can count on me!"
"You better not make it so that we'll get caught." Mishima added in, crossing his arms.
"I know, I know!"
"Alright then, tomorrow it is! You better not slack off on this, Monkey." Morgana warned.
"I'm in too good a mood to kick your cat ass off the roof for that, but yeah, I'll make this good!"
~Call Kira when you're done with it. Morgana and I'll post it up before school starts.~
"Cool."
"Alright, meeting adjourned." Akira said, closing the short meeting, none of them noticed the door slightly ajar, with a new face peeking through, that suddenly closed.
"Hey, Sakamoto?" Kawakami asked, gaining Ryuji's attention as the day closes out. "I wanted to speak with you for a minute."
"Huh… Oh sure thing, Ms. K. what's up?"
"I was wondering If you were interested in a proposition I'm willing to make."
"Hmm… depends, what type of proposition?"
"Extra credit for miscellaneous assignments."
"... huh?"
"Allow me to explain… you see, I've noticed that your grades, while still barely passable, are gradually increasing while you're with Akira, Ann and their friends…" Kawakami explained. "At first I thought you were gonna be a bad influence and turn them into delinquents, but it looks like the opposite is happening instead."
"Uh-huh…"
"I kinda felt bad for thinking that way, That's NO way for a teacher to act like that, excuse or no... So, I wanted to help you increase your grades even further, as a sort of half apology/half assignment."
"Hmm… to be honest, you didn't really have to go that far for an apology, Teach." Ryuji shrugged, not noticing the light wince from his elder. "I'm more than used to being on the short end of the stick, that sh- stuff's no skin off my back."
"But I want to help you out. If not for the apology, then will you do it for your education?" Thinking on it a bit more, Ryuji seemed contemplative of the idea, before once again shrugging, this time with a grin
"...Eh, Eff it, why not? it'll at least be worth it to rub it in everyone's face for a bit. What's the assignment, Ms. K?"
"Splendid! I want you to make an essay or detailed list on what you're strengths and weakness are. Like what are you good in and what do you lack. It should at least be one full page long, but you can add more if you like." she said, handing him a paper clip bounded sheet. "Once you're done with this, we can figure out what you need work on and I can get you some stuff to make them simpler to understand."
"Wow, Really!? thanks Ms. K!"
"No problem, Sakamoto, and sorry again… for being ignorant this whole time…"
"Nah, don't worry about it, I forgive you. At least you apologized for it." Ryuji answered, one more exchange of commentary and the two went their separate ways, Ryuji then looked at the sheet handed to him. "Now what do I add on here?"
Wednesday, April 20th
Cloudy
Shujin Academy
Morning
As soon as everyone came by this morning, they were confronted by a rather large crowd of students murmuring and whispering to each other. Looking at the red cards strewn about, Ann read it aloud for the group to hear.
"Suguru Kamoshida, the Impotent Lord of Lust. You torment those below you with an iron fist like a Maniacal Tyrant, defiling the innocent and forcing those you are obligated to guide to Suffer under your Egotistical Tirades. For such Acts on those who could never fight back, Consider your sins as proof, your Arrogance as your Seal of your fate, and your Desires forfeit as we steal the treasure you hold within. Signed, the Phantom thieves of hearts…" she read aloud.
"...What." Mishima started.
"The…" Shiho, continued.
~yeah, Morgana and I were just as impressed and confused.~ Arata spoke up, floating to the group with said cat beside him.
"Hey guys, over here." Ryuji shouts, gaining the group's attention.
"Alright, spill it Sakamoto, what exactly was that?" Ann said walking up the the blonde male.
"What? Did I do badly?"
~nope! quite the opposite in fact.~ Arata cheered, patting the blond on his back ~I knew you could do it man.~
"It's just… I wasn't expecting something like THAT coming from you of all people…" Mishima admitted, taking off one of the calling cards. "I'd expected half of it to be swears and bad grammar."
"Well, I had a bit of help…"
"Spill, Ryuji." Ann glared, immediately onto her fellow blonde's wayward glance.
"Truth be told..."
~oh god, what did you do?~
"Nothin' I swear! I don't know how, when or why but…"
"But what?" Akira prodded on.
"Well, I sorta finished it by myself, and it was... Fine, at first..." Ryuji stated. "but then Captain Kidd piped up and told me it was crap!"
~Kidd told you?~
"Yep, Well after bitching at each other for I thing a few minutes, I dared him to come up with something better, and..."
"and? did something happen, Ryuji?" Haru continued.
"Apparently, Our Persona can possess us... I think."
"They can WHAT!?" the three girls and Mishima yelled in unison.
~hmm... if they're similar to what Kira and I are like, then that isn't too much of a stretch, I suppose.~
"Okay, THAT'S a discussion for later, but yeah, he took control of my arms and well... you see the results."
"Let's focus on that later, about that calling card…" Akira said, diverting the conversation. "Even though you had help from Kidd, it's still impressive."
"Yeah, I didn't want to screw everyone over, so I had to restrain myself a bit." Ryuji nodded along, "Didn't really know I had it in me, to be honest, but I knew that it would've worked out in the end." he then turns to Morgana. "would this shit work for that mind fart thing now?"
"I'm surprised you even know what half of those words are monkey."
"Not today cat, this is serious!"
"But, yeah, this is more than enough for our objective. remember, we have until nightfall to claim the treasure, so we Have to reach the home stretch the second school ends!"
"Ok, enough razzin' on Ryuji." Mishima finished, shushing the group as he gestured forward. "The target just arrived."
"WHO IS RESPONSIBLE FOR THIS!?" on cue, Kamoshida stomped over to the pinned board and ripped one of the calling cards off, causing the crowd to scatter. "WAS IT YOU!? OR MAYBE YOU!"
~Geez, shout louder why don't you…~
"A predictable response." Morgana quipped quietly.
Looking at the group, who did a rather impressive job of acting like they just got here, the PE teacher stomped over to the group. Not noticing the godling slinking behind Mishima for a flashdrive in his pocket, Arata zipped past the group, leaving the furious man to Akira and friends.
"It was you lot, wasn't it?!" the teacher growled out, pointing a finger at Ryuji, who batted it away in disgust.
"What're you talking about, Old man?" Ryuji answered convincingly.
"We literally just got here and you're already blaming us for something we just found out about, Mr. Kamoshida?" Haru followed up, looking affronted. "That's not very courteous of you, Sir. we just made it to the front hall."
"So you're playing dumb, huh? Is THAT it!?" ignoring the peach haired student, Kamoshida continued, this time pointing at Akira.
"The only dumb one is the person assuming stuff for no reason." Mishima mumbled out.
"Grr… Forget it! it's not a problem. You'll all be expelled anyway." a sound of static filled the thieves ears as the world faded to black suddenly, Shadow Kamoshida taking the real one's place, which surprised the whole group.
"Come… steal it if you can!" Shadow Kamoshida hissed ferally.
The world returned to normal as Kamoshida stormed off. Just then, Arata reunited with the group, flash drive in hand.
~I'm back.~
"Where were you?" Haru asked. "we were being verbally harassed and you just disappeared on us?"
~5… 4...3...2..~ he counted down, just then, sounds of pings filled the area as many phone sounds went off. Taking out their phones, Akira and Ryuji smirked at the message with a video link.
"Is this…" Mishima trailed off. "HOLY CRAP!"
~Oooh yeah. Our red-herring's up and everyone in the school's got the message.~
"Cool! Just like we planned!" Ryuji exclaimed, "Now let's get this shit over with and get Going! that prick's got it a long time coming!" getting affirmative responses from the group.
Looking to the side from her notes and assignments that were half graded, Kawakami nearly slid out the seat she was in at the sight before her. Before she could finish preparing for her homeroom class, she noticed something poking out from one of the desks. Walking over to the desk itself, she looked over, only to find a stack of papers with various words and symbols bound by a rubber band inside. plucking the stack and taking out one of the slips, she inspected the contents.
"What the hell?" Kawakami spoke out. "What the hell is a Terazi? is it some form of car- OH GOD!" words ended mid sentence as a large crystal formed from the slip of paper itself, nearly making her drop the stack as she fumbled over to catch the newly formed jewel.
"Wha? what just happened?" Kawakami spoke out, gazing into the gemstone in her palms, a small headache beginning to form the longer she stared into it. "W-what's happening!?" she spoke, dropping the jewel on the desk, yet the headache persisted. In a flash, sudden images formed within her mind, herself being in a lot of them alongside several other, leading to the last of the images being that of a lone silver haired male staring at her eyes with his bespectacled heterochromatic pair. the male utters a multitude of phrases, yet she could hear almost none of them.
All... except for the last phrase
"SoOn, We WiLl, Be OnE AgAiN, My PaRtNeR..."
Hours later, the school was officially out, and the group of eight met outside the schoolyard, making sure that nobody saw them.
"Everyone Ready for this!?" Akira shouted out, bringing out his phone for the app.
"Let's go! We're running out of time! Right!" Ryuji replied, pumping the group up as they make their way to jump through.
Once through, the group began making their way to the nearest safe room... only for Joker and Draco to nearly be tackled by both the tiny wardens... much to everyone else's confusion.
"Hey man, you ain't getting cold feet on us here, right?" Skull yelped out, seeing both of them nearly stop in place.
~Yeah, we're fine, you go on ahead to the last SR, kira and I need to have a one on one chat right quick!~ Draco yelled back.
"You sure you'll be fine?" Panther added.
"You go on, guys. it'll only take a minute." Joker answered, giving a thumbs up to the group as they make their way to their objective. "now then..." he continued, looking down to Caroline and Justine.
~What the fuck, you two!? we were just about to start the last stretch and you two try to bowl us over!?~
"Shut it Inmate! You need to get inside, NOW!" Caroline shouted back.
"Our Master has something to tell you, inmates. it is indeed quite urgent!" Justine added, opening the jail door for the two.
~Oh for FUCK sake!~
"Alright, alright, just... don't try that again please, especially in front of out team."
~Isn't there a quicker way for him to give us a memo or something? no? yes? HEY don't ignore me dammit!~ Draco shouts out, floating inside when the other three stepped through the azure door.
Once through and in their familiarly trapped clothing, the two stared down the Faux master of the inner realm they resided in, scowls of light (Akira), and heavy (Arata) evident of their faces.
~Is there a Reason WHY you decided now of all times to stage a visit, old man!?~ Arata hissed out, voice ringing with a steadily loudening echo ~This Better Be important...~
"Indeed it is, tricksters. I shall not take up too much of your time with this, however, this matter is of utmost importance." "Igor" answered back, his grin never faltering as he stated such, however, the next words were spoken with a frown... something so uncharacteristically wrong, that it drained most of the anger from both trapped tricksters. "It seems, that a rather... Unorthodox... anomaly has formed. this anomaly roams the Metaverse, and from what I have sensed, it is near where you and your allies are."
"Anomaly?" Akira said, gripping the cage. "What kind of anomaly?"
"That, I do not know. however, due to this phenomena being outside our usual jurisdiction, certain... exceptions... can and are being made. as such, a deterrent shall accompany you from afar."
"What!?"
~WHAT!?~
"You needn't worry, they will not interfere with your endeavors, however, should this Anomaly make its way towards you, I would recommend against engagement immediately."
"We'll handle the deterrent and the Anomaly, inmates!" Caroline shouted back.
"You needn't worry about your goals being impeded, for we are only after that which doesn't belong." Justine continued.
"We wish you good luck, tricksters. we shall meet again."
In a Blinding flash of blue, both Akira and Arata, now back to the Palace in their Thieves gear. looking to each other, both nodded and went forwards, one thing on their mind from that whole debacle; "~We'll talk later~"
Backtracking through the castle, whilst thanking whoever or whatever managed to teleport them between saferooms, the group of eight all managed to make it to the treasure room.
"Alright, All tat's left is to go in and steal the treasure. If things get too hairy, then climb up here and alert us."
"Got it." the group nodded and slinked into the shadows.
~alright everyone, let's go!~ rounding the corner, the group was surprised that the throne room ahead was wide open, with seemingly nobody in sight.
"Red flag, Red flags everywhere!" Akuma shouts.
"The hell? Nobody's here!" Skull added.
"Let's just get what we came for and get out of here!" Mona answered, the thieves entering the treasure room behind the throne, only to gawk at the human sized crown that took the cloud blob's place.
"THIS is the treasure!?" Panther shouts. "It's Huge!"
~nobody make a joke about that.~
"There! The treasure revealed itself, now let's take it and get out of here." Mona proclaimed.
"We have to CARRY this thing?" Noir retorted.
"Ahh… this shine brings tears to my eyes…"
~eh… Mona? You ok there?~
"I-Is he purring?" Shinobi wondered at the practically vibrating cat creature in front of them.
"T-Treasure…"
~Mona?~
"Uh, the cat's acting awfully excited…" Skull says, said cat in question jumped up and grasped the giant crown, his purring louder than before.
"Meeeeooooow!" Mona meowed in his own little world as he glomped the treasure he was on. "Mrrrrow!"
~the damn crown's not catnip cat!~
"You're way too excited for this thing, Mona." Joker quipped, peeling the cat off the treasure and snapping him out of his trance.
"Alright, that's enough, stupid cat.." Skull added in.
"Nghh… huh? Oh umm..." Looking away embarrassed, Mons squeaked and stepped back a bit. "Um.. forgive me for doing such an insolent act in front of ladies…"
"You were completely out of character too, what just happened?" Panther asked.
"I couldn't stop it either… to think I'd be drawn to human desires so much…" Mona mumbled out, "A-anyways, you guys have to carry it."
~wait, why us!?~ Draco shouts out, face to face with the furball. ~Why don't you pitch it too then, Huh?~
"I'm too short to do it!"
~That's no excuse!~
"Let's just take it and go." Akuma said, lifting part of the crown with ease.
The others following suit, Joker, Skull, Akuma and reaper all carried the crown out the room.
"Go, go, Let's Go, Kamoshida!" a mysteriously familiar voice echoed behind them.
~the fuck was that?~ suddenly, something knocked the whole crown off the male's hands as it rolled over to none other than Shadow Kamoshida himself. ~Oh dear god no, it's Speedoman!~
"Kamoshita!" Skull yelled.
"I won't let you all take this, This proves that I am the king of this castle- it's the core of this world!" the shadow king sneered.
~Look, we took that thing fair and square, so it is now OURS. Just… shut up and give it back.~
"That Rat bastard… that's how he sees me isn't it?!" Panther yelled out, leering in disgust at his shadowy side piece.
"Yo, Pervert. You were waitin' to ambush us1?" Skull Yelled.
"I just made it easier to find you lot. I'll dispose of you myself. Right here, right now." Shadow Kamoshida answered.
"That's our line, you sexually harassing bastard!" Shinobi Shouts out in rage.
"What a selfish misunderstanding."
~how's this a misunderstanding!?~
"Everyone else kept it a secret, not me." he went on. "Adults who want to share in my accomplishments, students with the drive to become winners. They willingly protect me, so that we all profit from it."
"That's Bullcrap and you know it, Kamoshida!" Akuma growled out.
"There are too many imbeciles who don't understand that!, including you all."
"Yeah, well if the intellectuals are anything like you, then I'd rather not understand it. We don't need your tacky ass to live our lives!" Skull roared.
"Silence peasants! there's no wrong in using MY gifts for MY gain! I'm a cut above all others!"
"Above, you mean beneath!" Panther retorted. "You're a goddamn demon obsessed with your sick desires!"
Chuckling at this, Kamoshida slowly began to rise up from the floor, a dark aura forming around him. "That's right. I'm not like you…" He said, his voice distorting in a more demonic form. "I am a demon, who Rules this world!" He roared, morphing into a horrific monstrosity before them.
"Ah crap." Joker said, the demon thing whiplashed them all with its tongue, throwing them all back. Slowly rising up, he looked on as the demon cackles maniacally as it crawled towards the thieves.
(Ost: Battle Hymn of the Soul start)
"Hello." the sudden voice of Igor echoed in his mind before everything went white. Opening his eyes once more, he was face to face with Philemon and the grey butterfly on the desk in front of him.
"Greetings trickster… it seems that you are in quite the predicament." Philemon addressed.
"Yeah… we were just about to fight it actually." Akira replied.
"Well then, allow us to aid as well. Remember the Inhibitor Ring I gave you?" Nyx answered as Joker nodded. "Put it on, and repeat what I say."
Back to the rest of the group! Joker shot up suddenly, alerting the rest of the inhabitants, and raised his fist with the Inhibitor ring equipped and shouts.
"Reaper! Arsene! Synchronize!" all of a sudden, Reaper glowed a sheen of rainbow light as he was rapidly being sucked into the ring, Arsene, who materialized at the call of his name, followed suit, and both swirled into the piece of jewelry as a flash of black and red engulfed Joker.
Cliffhanger!
Like review and all that jazz, part 2's gonna take a while. I gotta give some of my other fics some love as well.
TBC