Chapter 4: Black Sheep

{R}

"You have returned to the real world. Welcome back."

What did that mean? Oh he knew the actual words meant they had traveled to some other world, likely some kind of parallel one, which would explain all the fantastical elements they encountered and experienced. No, he wondered what did it mean that it existed at all and why was it so distorted. How was it related to their world? Was it related at all? And how did just a little app enabled them to do what scientists only dreamed of?

Those questions, though, stopped when Sakamoto said,

"Huh? Returned...? Does that mean we got away?"

"Probably," he said.

And Aki said, "Yeah. I mean, we're not in the castle."

The blond slumped and groaned. "I dunno what to think anymore..."

"Not surprised," she said.

Sakamoto glared at her. "What's that supposed to mean?!"

"Exactly what I said," Aki said, smirk evident even with her mask.

"Ugh... Seriously, what was that all anyways...? That castle, and Kamoshida, and that weird cat!"

"Phantom thief," he was quick to say.

After all, if Morgana was a real phantom thief, then they should treat him with respect.

Unsurprisingly though, Sakamoto-san just said, "Whatever! The hell's goin' on?!"

And that attracted attention.

"What's with the yelling?" a man said. "Are you students of Shujin?"

The police officers walked up to them, one pushing a bicycle along.

"Cutting classes are we?" the officer without the bicycle said, his aura exuding aggression.

"Huh? No!" Sakamoto said. "We were tryin' to get to school and we ended up at this weird castle."

The officers stared.

"What?"

Ren would have to agree with them. That was the last thing he wanted them to hear.

"Hand over your bag," the aggressive bicycle officer said. "You better not be doing drugs."

Case in point.

So before the blond could say anything more, Ren said,

"My apologies, officer. He was helping me with my sister."

Aki nodded and, catching on, made herself look more tired.

"She was having an asthma attack but it turns out we forgot her medicine so I went to buy some while my friend kept an eye on her. But then I was yelling at him for thinking one of the medicines was a snack," he said.

"U-Uh yeah! What he said!" Sakamoto said. But then he realized what exactly were Ren's words. "Hey! I'm not that dumb!"

"Well it...looked like a candy...so don't blame ya," Aki said, her speech lethargic on purpose.

The blond glared at her. "Why you...!"

So Ren gave a bow, deep enough for a "sincere" apology but shallow enough that it wasn't condescending, and said, "We'll be going now. We don't want to be even more late."

"Very well then," the bicycle office said.

But the aggressive officer was doubtful.

"Really...?" he said.

But he and Aki just nodded before he took his sister's wrist and she took Sakamoto's, which made him yelp in surprise. Thankfully he still followed them even when Aki let go of him after a couple of meters. Though the blond still said,

"Seriously, what was that?! I'm not dumb enough to mix up medicine with food!"

Aki glared at him. "But you're dumb enough to mention the castle to them."

"But that's what happened!"

His sister's gaze softened at that. "Yeah, but do you really think they'd believe that?"

That considerably calmed the blond down, any and all anger dissipating, as he frowned and his demeanor slacked.

"Yeah, you gotta point."

"I will apologize though," Ren said. "I couldn't think of anything else that was reasonable to our circumstances."

"Nah, it's fine," Sakamoto said. "You said that so we could bail, right? No biggie."

Ren frowned. "Still..." He could've come up with something else.

But Sakamoto kept up his smile. "Come on, let's go! We don't wanna be late, right?"

And Aki said, "Wait what time is it?" She took out her phone. "Shit! It's almost lunch!"

Shit indeed.

"Let's run," Ren said, holding on Aki tighter.

Thankfully, not only did Sakamoto catch up to them, he actually overtook them and led them through the same shortcut they took before. But unlike earlier, instead of a castle gate, they were met with the sleek and almost lifeless school gates of Shujin Academy. They didn't go inside right away however as Aki stopped and caught her breath.

Ren and Sakamoto stopped as well, which touched him considering he could just ditch them to get to class as soon as possible. But he looked just as worried as he was over his sister's health.

"Need anything?" Ren said.

"Just...short...on breath..." she said. It was then she noticed the other blazer on her and she handed it to Sakamoto. "Too...hot..."

Sakamoto laughed and took it.

"Don't worry 'bout it," Sakamoto said. "It ain't rainin' anymore anyway." His grin, however, left him as he looked at the school. "But still... I'm sure we came the same way. What's goin' on here...?"

Before either could give their suspicions that Ren felt they shared, a voice said,

"That's exactly what I wanted to ask you."

And they saw a man walk out of the school's front doors, arms crossed and his lips set in a frown.

"We recieved a call from the police," he said.

"Tch. That damn cop snitched on us after all!" Sakomoto said.

"It's rare to see you not alone," the man said. His gaze narrowed in accusation. "Where were you roaming until now?"

Before Sakamoto could say anything, Aki said, in a low voice, "Remember our cover."

"Ah, right..." he said, thankfully much more quiet.

And then his sister glanced at him, asking him to take over. He nodded then turned to the man.

"We were at the pharmacy and taking it easy on our way back," he said. "My little sister was having an asthma attack but the medicine we had wasn't enough and we ran out of the stronger one, so I went to get some after asking him to keep an eye on her. And I didn't want to push her too much after that attack."

The staff member locked his gaze with his, examining him and trying to make him crack. But Ren kept up his own, standing firm. It was a lie, but it wasn't as if the truth was any better, especially with his and Aki's background likely already known among the staff and faculty. He was sure they would've kept up the staring match if not for a now familiar voice saying,

"What's this about an 'attack'?"

And the "king" walked out to join them, except Ren felt something was different, and not just because he was wearing clothes expected of a gym teacher.

"Kamoshida?!" Sakamoto said.

The puffy haired man chuckled.

"You seem so carefree, Sakamoto," he said. "Quite the difference from when you did morning practice for the track team."

The blond gritted his teeth. "Shuddup! It's your fault that—"

But then the man said, "How dare you speak that way to Mr. Kamoshida!"

Ren narrowed his eyes. That was like...

Then he said, much calmer, "...there's not much leeway left for you, you know?"

"He's the one that provoked me!"

This wasn't good.

"Do you really want to be expelled? Anyways, you'll have to explain yourself! Follow me!"

"What? This is bullshit!"

So Ren said, "Sakamoto." The blond was surprised, along with Aki. "Just go. It's just as we said, right? Thank you for helping."

He looked reluctant, but after Aki sighed and gave him a sympathetic gaze, he too sighed.

"Fine... I'm comin'," he said.

Now it was the two men who were surprised, but theirs was quickly reigned in.

"Come now. I should have been more considerate too. Let's just say we were both to blame," Kamoshida said.

"Well, if you say so..." the man said, but he then glared at Sakamoto. "Still, you're coming with me. It's undeniable that you're extremely late."

"Yeah yeah, I get it..." Sakamoto said, following the man who went inside.

Though not before sending a quick glare to Kamoshida.

The puffy haired man seemingly ignored it in favor of him and his sister.

"By the way...you're the new transfer students, right? Ren and Akira Amamiya..." he said.

Rem just nodded and waited, Aki still catching her breath, which he could tell annoyed her.

Then Kamoshida said, "Have we met somewhere...?"

He and Aki glanced at each other. She was likely wondering if they should answer. But Ren saw no harm in it, since there was a truth he could give.

"You offered a ride to us after giving one to a blonde girl," he said.

Recognition flashed on his face.

"That's right. I remember now..." he said. "Well, I'll overlook this just for today. But..." The teacher glared and crossed his arms. "I'm sure you've heard this from the principal, but cause any trouble and you'll be expelled. Understand?"

"I understand," Ren said while Aki nodded.

Kamoshida seemed to contemplate their answers, checking their sincerity, before his earlier geniality returned.

"At any rate, hurry up and go to the faculty office," he said, tone light and teasing. "I'm sure Ms. Kawakami and Mr. Shimizu are tired of waiting." He smiled. "Good luck trying to enjoy your new school life."

And at last he left. He was going to just wait for Aki to catch her breath, but then she said,

"Let's go, Big Bro."

He turned to her and said, "You're sure?"

She nodded. He stared at her, making sure anyway, but as she returned his gaze with a challenging glare, it would have to be enough. So he nodded and led the way to the faculty office on the second floor, the chatter of students filling the background. Once inside, they saw Ms. Kawakami looking absolutely annoyed at her desk while Mr. Shimizu was pacing around, clearly worried, at least until he noticed them.

"Oh, Ren-kun, Akira-chan, you're here!" he said, making his way to them as they themselves walked up to Ms. Kawakami.

Ms. Kawakami, however, sighed and stayed in her seat.

"Unbelievable. Being over half a day late on your first day...?" she said under her breath, likely not intending for them to hear. She threw them a glare. "Can you explain yourself?"

Aki looked to him and he nodded and once again he gave their cover story. Ms. Kawakami softened only a tad while Mr. Shimizu's eyes widened.

"An attack?!" he said. "Are you all right, Akira-chan?"

Aki blinked in surprise and just nodded. The scarfed teacher sighed in relief and Ren's lips twitched, tempted to smile.

"I see," Ms. Kawakami said. "I heard that student happened to be that Sakamoto."

Ren and Aki's brows furrowed.

"That Sakamoto?" his sister said.

Ms. Kawakami sighed, exhaustion apparent in her frame, while Mr. Shimizu's worry returned.

"Ah, yes, well, he's..." he said.

But she said, "Don't get involved with him, okay? He's nothing but trouble."

"He was much different before however," Mr. Shimizu said.

"That was when he was devoting his time to the track and field team though..."

He was sure Aki was frowning behind her mask because he had turn his own expression blank, not wanting to hint at his worries and suspicions. Instead, he just nodded and said,

"Yes ma'am."

Once again, Ms. Kawakami sighed. "Anyways...break's almost over. Classes will end after fifth period because of the subway accident. I'll have you introduce yourself when class resumes. Follow me, Ren-kun," she said.

"You shall follow me, Akira-chan," Mr. Shimizu said.

Aki nodded but then faced him. He gave her a small smile and said,

"Good luck."

Though he couldn't see it, he knew Aki returned his smile. "You too, Big Bro."

And then she followed Mr. Shimizu out, who was smiling softly as well, while he trailed after Ms. Kawakami, whose expression hadn't changed. Before they went their seperate ways, however, Mr. Shimizu turned to him and said,

"Don't worry, Ren-kun. I'll be sure to keep an eye on her."

He wouldn't know for sure until later, but he was glad nonetheless so he nodded in reply and chuckled as Aki rolled her eyes but said nothing. After Mr. Shimizu left with his sister, they continued their way to their classroom. But instead of going inside right away, Ms. Kawakami stopped before the door and she said,

"By the way, when you introduce yourself..."

"Yes?"

"Be serious about it, even if you're lying to the class. Do [i]not[/i] say anything unnecessary."

Ren frowned. "You don't believe me?" he said.

It was true he was lying but it was true his sister's life had been in danger, and he didn't like the thought that she might not care even if she was indeed about to die from an attack. However, Ms. Kawakami said,

"No, I do. I just..." She sighed. "Never mind. But I mean it when I say 'do not say anything unecessary'. I don't want any trouble."

With that, Ms. Kawakami opened the door and entered. Ren followed her and was already greeted with yet more murmurs that weren't quiet at all.

"Being super late on his first day. He really is insane."

"He looks normal though."

"But he might slug us if we look him in the eye..."

It took a lot not to show his confusion on his face. What made them think that?

"Settle down," Ms. Kawakami said as he stood by her desk. To his surprise, the class actually obeyed. "Well, I'd like to introduce a transfer student: Ren Amamiya. He attended in the afternoon since his little sister's asthma acted up this morning."

Yet more murmurs occured.

"Oh yeah, I forgot he has a sister."

"I wonder if they look alike."

"I bet she's a cutie."

"Nah, don't think about goin' after her, dude."

Ren, thankfully, only felt his eye twitch instead of making his displeasure known, but he was glad when Ms. Kawakami spoke again.

"All right. Please say something to the class," she said.

Oh he wanted to tell them to shut up. But not only was that rude, Ms. Kawakami didn't want any trouble. Perhaps she wasn't as openly concerned as Mr. Shimizu, but it was still certainly better than what he expected from the faculty. So he settled on bowing a reasonable amount forward as he said,

"Nice to meet you all. I hope we can get along."

Once again, that just made the class gossip.

"He seems quiet...but I bet when he loses it..."

"I mean, he was arrested for assault, right?"

"And his sister too..."

"Wait really?"

"Uh huh. That's why don't even think about goin' after her."

"Yeah, if he doesn't get you for hittin' on her, she probably will."

Ren froze. Now he really was glad his polite mask was on. The last thing he wanted was to have them see him rattled. After all, only the faculty were supposed to know about his and Akira's stained record. How did they know?

And, of course, Ms. Kawakami ignored the gossip. Or at least tried to.

"Uh...so...your seat will be...hmm..." she said, scanning the room. "Over there. The one that's open." Then she added, "Sorry, but can the people nearby please share their textbooks with him for today?"

There were groans in the room as some voiced their dissent with "This sucks..." but Ren ignored that to see that his seat was one near the window. He internally chuckled as he made his way to it, imagining Aki snarking at the fact that he was a high school student by the window like so many anime protagonists. Before he took his seat though, the one seated in front of him said,

"Hey..."

And he realized it was the same girl from this morning, the platinum blonde girl that went inside Mr. Kamoshida's car.

"Is she okay?" she said, worry in her face.

He blinked, surprised, but allowed himself to give a small smile in gratitude for the concern.

"Yes. Thankfully."

And she returned his smile before slipping it off. He, too, followed suit as he took his seat. Unsurprisingly, that set off a new chain of gossip around him.

"Did you catch that? Do those two know each other?"

"Does that mean he hit on her before transferring?"

"That means she's cheating on him with Mr. Kamoshida."

"Then again, this is Takamaki-san we're talking about..."

"For real, that side of the room is totally awful."

No, the rest of the room is awful, he thought. And he was sure Aki would agree with the exact same wording. Either way, it was clear his class, if not all the students in school, knew about his and Aki's criminal record. No doubt it had been leaked. That begged the question on who did it. But he didn't know much of the faculty or staff to make a guess...except for Mr. Kamoshida, but that, he knew, was only because of what he saw in that strange castle in that "other world". So he dismissed the accusation, even when the part of himself that sounded like his gentleman thief guardian protested at the thought.

"Oh right! The volleyball rally's in two days..." Ms. Kawakami said, pulling him from his musing. "Everyone's just changed classes. So be sure to use that time to get to know each other."

Ren internally scoffed, keeping his face blank and bored. He doubted they would to get to know him. If this class was any indication, no one would want to even stand a meter away from him after today.

"Well then, let's get class started. Who's on duty today?"

"Everyone, please rise..." a boy with a beat up face said.

Despite his mask, Ren let himself sigh as he did as told. He hoped Aki was doing better but he doubted that as well.

He also hoped she wouldn't explode before the day ended.

(A)

Akira was glad she wore a mask because there was no way she had any energy to spare on resisting her frown on top of keeping her glare at bay. Her mood plummeting the moment she entered her classroom because everyone started talking, and it wasn't the usual "new student in class" talk.

"Hey, is that her?"

"The one with the assault charge?"

"Yeah that's her. I saw her with her brother earlier."

"She looks normal though."

"Normal? She's got a mask! She's gotta be a delinquent."

"Yeah, I mean, why else would she have an assault charge?"

The only one who hadn't mentioned anything was a red haired girl with a ponytail who was seated at the front. Everyone else just kept going on and on whenever they could. And as if to put the cherry on the top, the entire school just kept gossiping about her and her brother as she made her way to his classroom. Akira gritted her teeth, wondering who in the world let their criminal records leak. Only the teachers were supposed to know. But no, the entire school knew. She wondered if it was Mr. Kamoshida's fault. But she let that go as soon as she thought it. True, they had ended up in a weird world, but she had no proof that "King Kamoshida" had any relation to Mr. Kamoshida. It could simply be an alternate version of him that was evil after all.

Not only that, she was exhausted, every step felt like a chore, and she had occasional flashes of that castle they went to replacing the school around her. Now that worried her. Was she going insane? Or was she now being dragged into that world? She didn't like the thought of the latter happening. The last thing she wanted was disappearing mysteriously. Before she could give it more thought though, she stopped on her way down the stairs when she heard two familiar voices.

"Why did you allow a student like him to transfer? And not only that, his sister as well. They've already started associating with Sakamoto," the voice of Mr. Kamoshida said. "Two students with a criminal record and both of them culprits in an assualt case..." A pause. "At this rate, it'd be pointless how much I contribute to the school..."

Somehow she wasn't surprised the teacher version of Kamoshida also had a big ego like the king version.

"Now don't be like that. This school counts on you, Kamoshida-kun. You are our star," the voice of the principal said. "Still, a steady build-up is necessary behind such brilliance as well."

"Your troubles never seem to end, do they, Principal Kobayakawa?" Another pause. "All right, I'll continue to do my best to answer your expectations of me."

Akira waited until the footsteps faded before she went up the stairs. Thankfully, her brother was already at the top, so she didn't have to go too far.

"Are you okay?" he said when she reached him.

"That obvious, huh?" she said.

"To me? Yes." He frowned. "Do you want to go ahead?"

Akira's brow furrowed. "Ahead?"

"...Sakamoto asked if we could talk, you included. But if you're tired, I'll just tell him that."

She shook her head. "Nah, let's go talk to him."

"Aki..."

"I'm just tired, okay? A few minutes won't kill me. Besides, I want to make sure he's okay too."

He stared at her, gaze hard, but she just met it, daring him to say otherwise. As she hoped, Ren sighed and twirled one of his hairs as he said,

"Okay. But tell me if that changes, okay?"

Akira nodded. "Sure." Then she said, "So where's he want to meet us?"

"On the roof."

"Of course the roof."

Her brother smiled. "Any better ideas for privacy?"

"Okay, good point. But still, how'd he get to the roof? They're supposed to be locked.."

Ren chuckled and said, "Only one way to find out."

It was easy enough to find the way. They just kept going up thr stairs until they reached the highest floor. Though it was less of a floor and more a room. However, there was a sign on the door that said, in short, "off limits". Akira wondered if they got it wrong somehow, but considering he had told them to go to the roof, she just pushed the door. As she guessed, he had somehow unlocked it and the door gave way, showing the school roof. It wasn't anything spectacular, or clean for that matter. Farthest away from them were AC units and large fans. Before those seemed to be a simple, urban garden, with four rows of sprouts in long, rectangle pots. But most notably there were a bunch of tables and chairs all around them, particularly bunched up near the AC units on the right. And there, sitting on a chair, was their blond acquiantance, Ryuji Sakamoto.

"Sorry for callin' you up here like this," he said.

"It's okay," Ren said as they took their seats.

"Don't worry about it," she said.

"Really? But I bet Kawakami already told you stuff like 'don't get involved with him', huh?"

"Pretty much."

"She said you're trouble," her brother said.

The blond sighed and leaned back. "Figured as much," he said. "Then again, we're in the same boat."

She and Ren grew curious, though she had a guess on what he meant. And she was right.

"Heard you two got a criminal record. Everyone's talkin' about it," he said.

Akira groaned while Ren frowned.

"I know... That's all I've been hearing," she said.

"Do you have any idea how they know?" her brother said.

Sakamoto shared their frowned and hesitated. Akira almost thought he would say anything until he shook his head.

"Besides the internet? Nah. Not really," he said.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, people started talkin' about how some transfer students with criminal records were comin' to our school. I don't know who started it."

They both sighed at that. It had definitely leaked somehow. And they didn't really have much reason to spend a lot of time tracking down who leaked it, if they could even find out the source by normal searching.

And Sakamoto said, "Still. Even if they're rumors...it's no wonder you were so gutsy."

Akira glared at him. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Sakamoto was startled. "Uh, well, you know...how we almost got killed at a castle...?" he said, frowning. "I mean...It wasn't a dream...right? You remember it too, yeah?"

Oh. Now Akira felt bad for assuming he was about to insult her or something.

"Yeah," she said.

"We remember," her brother said, twirling a strand of his hair.

The blond sighed in relief. "Oh good..." he said, though he was soon somber again. "Though I guess just 'cause we remember it doesn't mean much though."

"I guess you have a point," Ren said.

"Well that just means we're all crazy!" she said.

The blond was surprised before he laughed. Akira, and Ren for that matter, couldn't help but smile at that. Even more so when he stopped and said,

"Well, even if it was a dream, you guys saved me from Kamoshida. So yeah. Thanks, Ren, Akira."

"You're welcome," they said.

But then they noticed something.

"How did you know my name?" they said.

Looking like a kid caught with their hand in a cookie jar, Sakamoto chuckled.

"Oh right, I forgot," he said. "I kinda...knew your names from the rumors, heh heh."

Akira rolled her eyes again. "Geez, how much do these rumors know?" But then she said, mostly to lighten the mood, "Actually, never mind. Probably don't wanna know."

"Agreed," her brother said.

But Sakamoto turned serious, if not brooding.

"Is something wrong?" Ren said.

"Nothin', it's just..." He sighed. "You prolly don't know about it, but there are some rumors about Kamoshida too."

"Kamoshida?" she said, foreboding feelings in her gut.

"The one we met at the gate, right?" her brother said.

"Yeah, the ripped mophead."

That was a moniker she liked more than poofy haired man or just Mr. Kamoshida. She would start calling him that, at least in her mind. But right now she had to focus.

"What about him?"

"The asshole who was all full of himself at the castle," Sakamoto said. "No one says anything against him cause he's some medalist who took the volleyball team to the nationals. The way Kamoshida was king of that castle felt crazy real 'cause of that."

Well that explained his big ego earlier. But if both had such an inflated head and the king version of Kamoshida acted exactly as Sakamoto described him... She glanced at her brother, who likely shared her thoughts. Did that mean he was not just another world's Kamoshida, but a parallel version? And if he was, and there were teens in those cells, did that mean there were students suffering in their world as well? The foreboding worsened.

Then Sakamoto said, "...I wonder if we can go back to that castle again..."

And she couldn't help but agree with him, even with the pit of fear deep in her stomach when remembering how they almost died meshing with her worry. But it wasn't like they even knew how they got there so they couldn't even try...

Could they?

She started to examine what had happened since she arrived until now but it seemed Sakamoto changed his mind as he stood up, startling them.

"Ugh. Forget it! It must've all been a dream! It has to be!" he said.

That just sounded like denial. But then he said, with an apologetic face and sincere tone,

"Sorry to drag you out here like this. That's all I had to say."

And Akira couldn't really get mad at him for wanting to forget it. After some thought, it made sense. They did just nearly die. And it was pretty strange. They would sound like they had been on drugs or something if they mentioned the truth.

So she said, "It's fine, dude."

Along with her brother nodding and saying, "Same."

"Good," he said, his cheer back for a moment. Then he crossed his arm. "You know, we might be pretty similar. I feel like we're gonna get along just fine as 'troublemakers'."

Akira gave him a flat stare. "Really?"

"Oh come on, Aki," Ren said, smug. "He's just being friendly."

"Yeah...right."

The blond laughed. "Anyways, I'm Ryuji Sakamoto," he said.

Taking the chance, she said, "We know."

The blond stared, his mouth hanging. "Wha—how?"

Now she grinned. "The castle," she said and nothing more.

And on cue, though also partially in concern, Ren said, "Shall we go? My little sister's tired from that."

"Uh, right," Sakamoto said. "Seeya then. I'll come talk if I see you around."

With that, the blond left, her and her brother watching him go. They just stared at the door where he went through for a while, gathering their thoughts.

Then Ren said, "Need any help?"

She was tempted to say no. But she very much wanted to lie down soon, so she said, "Yeah. I wanna nap."

"Okay," he said and wrapped an arm around her waist while she wrapped one around his. "We still have some cup noodles for dinner, right?"

"Think so. But hey, we forgot the umbrella, so who knows?"

Her brother chuckled. "True. Then let's get extra."

The time it took from school to the convenience store then the café passed surprisingly quick. By the time they made it back, Akira was able to walk on her own but still felt her eyes drooping. But what greeted them was a Sakura-san who looked annoyed.

Akira had a bad feeling as he said, "Hey, I got an interesting call from your school today." And she had been right as it followed with, "It's only your first day and you're already showing up hours late?"

Of course. The school had likely left out why they had been late, or rather their excuse as to why. Her brother expressed annoyance at that, not even bothering with being polite as he glared and frowned.

"Aki had an attack," he said.

To her surprise, Sakura-san's was shocked and he looked at her with worry. But just as quickly as it appeared, it was replaced with his usual grumpy expression. However, his tone was decidedly less harsh and had a hint of that concern from earlier.

"I...see..." The bespectacled man sighed. "Look, just...don't do that again, okay?" he said. "They're not gonna take that as an exucse every time if you don't behave yourselves. Your life's forfeit if anything happens. Both of you. You understand?"

Akira could only stare. She...hadn't expected that kindness, especially considering his track record thus far. She nearly didn't speak until her brother said,

"I do."

Then he glanced at her.

She tried not to look sleepy and nodded as she said, "Yeah, Sakura-san. We understand."

Another sigh, as if he was carrying the weight of the world.

"Okay then," he said.

Then the bearded man's phone rang and her brother took that as a cue to leave. He gestured to the stairs, she nodded and both walked to it. Though Akira still listened into the conversation. It was hard not to.

"Hey what's up?" Sakura-san said, his voice a whole lot warmer than anything she's heard from him before. "...Yeah, I just closed up shop. I'll be there in half an hour."

They were about to go up the stairs when he noticed them.

"Hey, don't forget to lock the door and turn all the lights off, okay?" he said.

Ren said, "Yes sir."

But the middle aged man was already back on his phone.

"No, I just hired a part-timer," he said. "Yup. I'm leaving now."

And with that, they finally went to their room and Aki just flopped on her bed. She knew she would have to get up to eat, change and take her medicine, and maybe even have to deal with a call from their parents, but right now she just let herself drift off.

However, her brother said,

"Aki?"

So she said, "Yeah?"

"What do you think about the castle?"

Oh she had a lot of thoughts. Like how they almost died, the "not-cat" phantom thief...and how they left a bunch of kids there...and how Morgana reacted to them. But most of all...

"You wanna do something about it, huh?"

"Mmhmm."

Aki groaned. "We don't know how we got there though and I'm way too tired to think about it... Can we just sleep on it?"

Her brother chuckled. "Okay, okay. You rest," he said, rubbing her head. "I'll get dinner ready and wake you when it's ready."

"Thanks Big Bro."

"Always, Aki."

{R}

Bang!

"On your feet, Inmates!" a girl's voice said.

Ren opened his eyes and was greeted with black and blue. Where was he? He had noodles for dinner with Aki taking her medicine, changed to more comfortable clothes for bed and went to sleep. And now he was in a prison cell?

Another girl said, "Our master wishes to speak with you. It's for your sakes that you take his words to heart."

And then he remembered the dream from before. The one who last spoke was Justine, the first one was Caroline, and this was the Velvet Room.

But then a third voice, also a girl and also familiar, said,

"What the hell?!"

And his breath stopped. That couldn't be...

"Aki...?" he said, sitting up.

"Huh? Big Bro? Is that you?" Aki said.

Bang!

Ren jumped as Caroline said, "Quiet, Inmates! Did you not hear us when we said our master wishes to speak with you?"

"Master?! What're you talking about?!" Aki said and he heard the bars beside his cell shake.

"Show some manners, Inmate!"

"I will when you explain why the hell I'm in a cell!"

"I will admit, I did not expect that you would awaken power, much less special ones," the long nosed bald man, Igor, said from the the desk before him, looking to his right. Then he looked back at him. "But, perhaps, because you have awakened your powers, ones that are special as well, it influenced her own." He chuckled, the noise as deep as his voice. "Now your rehabilitation can finally begin."

"My powers?" Ren said, frowning.

"Rehabilitation?" Aki said.

"There is no need to understand it all for the time being," Igor said. "You will be training the power of Persona, which you have awakened to. Personas are, in other words, a mask—an armor of the heart when confronting worldy matters."

"We already know that, baldy!" Aki said. "What I wanna know is why we're here!"

"Hey! What did I say about respecting our master?!" Caroline said as she hit Aki's cell bars again.

The old man himself looked shocked before his ever present grin got even wider.

"Is that so?" Igor said and chuckled. "Then I have high expectations for both of you."

"What do you mean?" he said.

Meanwhile Aki said, "I don't care about that! Answer me, damn it!"

"There is no need to worry. You will learn when the time comes," Igor said.

He heard Aki groan. He didn't blame her. She wanted answers but Igor wasn't forthcoming. They had no choice but to listen, like the prisoners they looked like.

Then Igor said, "By the by...have you come to appreciate the Metaverse Navigator?"

"Metaverse Navigator?" his sister said, curious but still annoyed.

The long nosed man nodded. "Using it will allow you to come and go between reality and Palaces."

"Palaces...?" Ren said.

"You mean that place we eneded up in?"

And then it clicked. That app, with its sinister eye, was how they were able to travel between the two worlds. But if that was the case...

"Why did you give it to me?"

And Igor said, "...I bestowed it to you as a means to train you as a thief."

Ren blinked. What?

"Thief?" Aki said, incredulous.

"Yes! The Metaverse Navigator is a gift from our master! You better take care in using it, Inmates!" Caroline said, harsh and high pitched.

"Devote yourself to your training so that you may become a fine thief," Justine said, cold and subdued.

And Aki was likely gripping the bars and glaring at them as she said, "Why you..."

Meanwhile, Ren frowned and gathered his thoughts. The dream from before wasn't a dream. Igor wanted him to be a thief and gave him the Metaverse Navigator for that. And he hadn't expected Aki to be here with him. In other words, he was still no closer to any answers for any of his questions, like what did Igor mean by "rehabilitation" or why was Aki here when she apparently wasn't supposed to be. He would have to settle for what Igor said...for now.

So he said, "What do you want me to do?"

The master of the room chuckled.

"Just continue your journey. You will reach it in time," he said.

And of course it was cryptic.

"No way am I gonna let him do it alone!" Aki said, rattling the bars once again.

The long nosed man stared at Ren's right for a moment. Then he said,

"I see. It must be disheartening to make use of the Metaverse Navigator alone." He chuckled. "Very well. I shall grant you the Navigator. And, as I have done with your kin, should you find anyone beneficial to you, I shall grant it to them as well." Igor's grin turned amused. "This is all for you to grow as a most excellent thief."

"Hey! Wait!" his sister said. "You still didn't—"

A alarm sounded, dinging repeatedly.

"Hmph. It's time," Caroline said, crossing her arms. "Go and enjoy what rest you might have..."

"I said wait!"

That was the last thing he heard before the blue faded completely from the black.

Author's Note: Fun fact: the school roof in Japanese schools is supposed to be closed off in real life (as far as I know).