Chapter 2: The Pillager of Twilight
Ω • Ω • Ω
•Akira•
4/11, Monday
Akira huffed as the rain splattered down onto him, wetting his hair and clothes. It wasn't a true downpour, it wasn't heavy enough to chill him to the bone, but it was still slightly annoying. Normally he enjoyed the rain, and he would sometimes stand outside and let rain droplets run down his face to help calm him down when he was angered or upset, but that was when he didn't have somewhere to be or had to sit in one chair all day for several hours, feeling the uncomfortable squelch of his clothes.
He'd taken cover beneath an awning, hiding from the gray clouds above literally just a few minutes away from his school. The sudden rain had caught him in the open after he'd left the train station, and he had to wring out the ends of his blazer, before shaking his hands. Several students ran past, some thinking it'd be better to run to the school rather than wait it out, and others sharing an umbrella with a friend. He eyed them as they passed, weighing the pros and cons of asking another student to squeeze under their umbrella and maybe making a new friend, before leaning back against the store and crossing his arms and closing his eyes, waiting for the rain to stop pitter-pattering against the ground.
Footsteps reached his ears instead, and he cracked an eye open to see someone step under the awning next to him, shaking out his or her hands. They wore red tights, with the Shujin academy blazer over a sports hoodie. They reached up and pulled down their hoodie with light-colored hands, revealing flaxen-colored hair and—
He immediately stood ramrod straight, turning his gaze away. Holy shit! He felt heat rise along the back of his neck and flailed his hands around, not sure what to do with them, first waving them near his pockets, then moving to wrap them around the back of his neck, then moving to clasp them together, then simply sticking them in his pockets. He looked at her out of the corner of his eye, trying to see if she'd noticed— because it was a beautiful girl!— his mad flailing.
She hadn't, thankfully, instead looking out at the rain with a frown. Her eyes slid to his, and he was immediately lost in their cyan color, and just barely noticed the small smile she gave him, causing his heart to skip a beat. Keep your cool, keep your cool, keep your cool! Jesus, he probably looked like an elementary schooler who'd just seen his crush. Hell, he bet that he looked like an idiot! Wait, you're just standing there! SMILE BACK!
After he did so, the girl turned away, and he did the same, internally groaning about how childish he must have looked. He heard a chime in his pocket and frowned as he pulled out his phone, to see the odd eye app back on it. He let out a quiet sigh and made to delete it again before the girl spoke to him. "So… are you new to Shujin?"
Akira blinked and began speaking, remembering halfway through his sentence to speak in Japanese and not English. "Ah, yes, yeah, I am, yes." He blushed and cleared his throat, "I'm transferring, second year. What about you?"
"I'm a second year as well," she answered. He nodded at her answer, idly noting he was a few inches taller than the girl even when he stopped standing like he had a pole stuck up his ass. "Where are you from?"
"I'm from Onett, it's a small town in Eagleland."
"Wow, you speak great Japanese for someone from Eagleland."
"Yeah, I have an uncle who lives further east, he's fluent in English and Japanese, so he helped me learn both. And another uncle who lives in Winters… actually, a lot of my family is good with languages." He chuckled as he thought about them. They weren't related by blood, but they were such close friends with his father that they were essentially family.
"Your family sounds nice." He hesitated a moment when she said family, feeling himself become guarded before he attempted to shrug it off. No one here would know about that! Stop worrying about it! Before he could answer, she changed the subject, and he blinked in surprise. He was normally hard to read when it came to family stuff, so had she noticed him become closed off, or was she just randomly changing the subject? Either way, he rolled with it. "Well, how are you liking Japan?"
"It's… certainly an experience. Tokyo is much more crowded than my hometown. Honestly, I almost had a panic attack going through that one big intersection, ah, Shibuya Crossing?" He let out a shudder, partially faking it for comedy, and partially not, remembering how massive that crowd had been. When the girl giggled at him he grinned, pride swelling.
"Yeah, I guess that can be pretty confusing if you came from a small town."
He smiled, before thinking of something. He hadn't asked her name! Then again, he'd never really gone and asked someone their name. How did you go about doing it? What if he made it awkward? Gah! Whatever, as his father said, when in doubt, fall back onto humor and sarcasm! He adopted a rich person's tone, scrunching up his nose. "By the way, I must have forgotten my manners. I haven't even asked your name!"
She laughed at his tone and held a hand out. "I'm Ann Takamaki. It's nice to meet you." Ann Takamaki. Takamaki-san. Amazing.
He kept his smirk up, giving her a deep bow, crossing one arm in front of his chest and the other behind him back. "It's very nice to meet you, Milady."
She laughed. "Quit it!"
He prepared to give his name, a distant fear that she would recognize it surfacing before he squashed it down. "I'm Akira. Akira Starr."
"Starr? That's a fancy name." He watched her for a moment, hesitation melting into relief when she didn't say anything more.
"Yeah, well… Anyway, I guess I'm glad for the surprise rain, I got to meet a new schoolmate already, Takamaki-san."
"Yeah, funny how that works out."
"Must be fate," he suggested while giving an exaggerated eye-roll and snickering.
"Maybe," she responded smiling back. She turned as a car, a gray, maybe silver sedan pulled up to the curb. The window rolled down and he could see some man wearing what looked to be gym clothes with a friendly smile on his face. But there was something there… he grasped for what the feeling was, but all he got was a weak warning that something wasn't right. Still, the man wasn't even looking at him, instead staring at Takamaki-san next to him.
"Hey, why don't I give you a lift? You're gonna be late!" He expected her to decline, as most people would. Instead, she calmly approached the car and climbed into the passenger side. Did they know each other? It was the most likely explanation since the girl didn't seem the type to just climb into a stranger's car. Then again, he didn't exactly know her for very long. He watched her with confusion, and he noticed her expression. Downcast. Tired. "Hey, what about you? Need a lift?" He blinked and turned back to the man, before shaking his head.
He kept his eyes locked on the man, still unsure of what was giving him the uneasy feeling in his stomach, as the man simply shrugged and began rolling up the window. "Well, don't be late!" He ignored the man, watching Takamaki-san as the window finished rolling up. For a moment, he wanted to change his answer, get into the backseat, just do something, because that look on her face… it was just like the one the woman all those nights ago had worn…
Stay out of trouble.
He clenched his hands, watching as the car drove away, hating himself. He was a coward. The sound of shoes slapping against pavement drew his gaze, and he watched as some kid with dyed blond hair skid to a stood glaring after the car. "Gah! Screw that pervy teacher!"
He blinked, feeling his heart sink for a second. "Pervy teacher?"
Ω • Ω • Ω
•Ann•
It had begun to rain. Just perfect. Well, it at least seemed to match her state of mind, wanting nothing to do with her school. Any excuse to not go would be amazing, but… she couldn't leave her friend on her own. She sighed and continued walking, ignoring the whispers of the girls she passed, hiding underneath their umbrellas, watching her go.
"Look, it's Takamaki-san…"
"She's all alone? Probably thinks she's better than the rest of us!"
She scoffed and continued walking, using her hood to hide from both the rain and the gazes. Some older student whistled at her, and she shot him a death glare, quickly making him turn away as his friends laughed at him. Damn them all… they could think whatever they wanted, but wasn't the point of talking behind someone's back that they couldn't hear you? If she was walking with someone, they thought she was fucking them, if she was alone, they thought that she assumed she was better than them… she just couldn't win.
The rain began coming down harder and she grimaced as her clothes began soaking through. She needed to find cover and wait out the rain. Hopefully, it would stop soon enough. She spotted an awning covering a boy wearing their school uniform who was looking out at the rain, bored, and quickly stepped under the awning next to him. Damnit, of course it would rain the one day she'd forgotten her umbrella! She shook her hands out to get rid of the rainwater, before pulling her hoodie back to let her hair out. She breathed out as she purposely ignored the boy next to her and looked up at the clouds, eyeing them. It looked like it might clear up soon enough, and that it had just been a brief shower. Already there were a few slivers of sunlight, so hopefully the rain would stop soon enough that she wouldn't be late.
She settled back and noticed the boy was staring at her. Damnit, she didn't want to deal with another boy who thought they could try their luck with her simply because of a few rumors… She turned to him to ask why exactly he was still staring and paused. Silver eyes? They must have been contacts of some sort because she'd never seen eyes of that shade before. Raven black hair sat messily atop his head, a few strands hanging down in front of thin-rimmed glasses, and those eyes were still staring at her. He must have been one of those boys, who thought simply because of a few rumors she'd give him a good time if he just swaggered over like—!
Breath, Ann. He hadn't even said anything. And looking closer, she realized that she didn't recognize him. He was probably new, maybe a transfer student. She'd never seen a boy with his eyes before, they seemed so sharp and piercing, but why was he staring at her if he didn't know about any of the rumors? She smiled at him, and he seemingly snapped out of his trance, offering a smile back. She turned away, and after a moment she saw him turn away out of the corner of her eye.
They stood in silence for a moment, which quickly began turning awkward. She cleared her throat and turned back to him, tilting her head. "So… are you new to Shujin?"
"Ah, yes, yeah, I am, yes." He cleared his throat and nodded, and she blinked as she heard some English in between the Japanese. "I'm transferring, second year. What about you?"
"I'm a second year as well." She noted that he seemed to be calming down some as they talked, his stance becoming more relaxed, yet he still stood straight. She noted in the back of her mind that he was a few inches taller than her, and his body, while at first glance seemed skinny, had a bit of muscle pushing against his sleeves and blazer. "Where are you from?"
"I'm from Onett, it's a small town in Eagleland."
She blinked, "Wow, you speak great Japanese for someone from Eagleland."
"Yeah, I have an uncle who lives further east, he's fluent in English and Japanese, so he helped me learn both. And another uncle who lives in Winters… actually, a lot of my family is good with languages."
She nodded. "Your family sounds nice." His gaze hardened for a brief moment, staring at nothing, and she blinked, before deciding to switch the subject. "Well, how are you liking Japan?"
"It's… certainly an experience. Tokyo is much more crowded than my hometown. Honestly, I almost had a panic attack going through that one big intersection, ah, Shibuya Crossing?" He shuddered, causing her to laugh and hold a hand over her mouth as she giggled. Wow. She hadn't giggled with someone besides Shiho for… a while. He brightened up, smiling at her as she did so.
"Yeah, I guess that can be pretty confusing if you came from a small town."
The boy hesitated for a moment, and she thought she could see a hint of a blush, before he stamped it down and smirked down at her. "By the way, I must have forgotten my manners. I haven't even asked your name!"
She laughed at the snobbish tone he jokingly began talking in and held a hand out. "I'm Ann Takamaki. It's nice to meet you."
His smirk didn't fade and he gave a theatrical bow, "it's very nice to meet you, Milady."
"Quit it," she laughed, shaking her head.
"Anyway, I'm Akira. Akira Starr."
"Starr? That's a fancy name."
"Yeah, well," Starr-san's gaze became guarded for a second before he shook his head. "Anyway, I guess I'm glad for the surprise rain, I got to meet a new schoolmate already, Takamaki-san."
"Yeah, funny how that works out."
"Must be fate," Starr-san suggested with an eye roll and a snicker.
"Maybe," she laughed. Before she could continue, a familiar car rolled up to the curb, and her stomach dropped. No. It didn't just drop, it fucking dove straight into hell. The window rolled down, revealing the smiling face of Shujin's volleyball coach. The smile was for show, for the boy standing next to her.
"Hey, why don't I give you a lift? You're gonna be late!" She should have refused. Said no. Instead, she walked around the car and opened the passenger door, climbing in. She could see through the driver's side that Starr-san was looking at her in confusion, probably wondering why exactly she was getting into a car with who he saw as a stranger. "Hey, what about you? Need a lift?" It was just a nicety. They both knew a sane person wouldn't accept a ride from a stranger, and sure enough, Starr-san warily shook his head, his eyes watching Kamoshida.
The… the teacher nodded and began rolling up the window. "Well, don't be late!" However, Starr-san wasn't looking at him. The boy was looking at her now, clear worry and thought on his face. Sure, anyone would be concerned about someone else getting into a random car, but Shiho… she'd been the only person really to show concern about anything in her life recently. She wanted to swing open the door and run back to his side, tell him to get in, something!
But no, she couldn't work up the courage to defy Kamoshida. The window finally closed fully, and she looked down as she buckled herself in. But… even though he couldn't see her through the tinted window, she somehow knew that the boy was still watching her.
Kamoshida began driving away, and his smile quickly transformed back into that disgusting, lustful smirk he wore whenever they were alone. He took one hand off the wheel to run down her arm, towards her thigh, and she had to forcibly stop herself from shivering in pure disgust. This was all for Shido's sake… as long as she told herself that, then…
She internally sobbed, wishing for that boy to help her.
Ω • Ω • Ω
•Ryuji•
"Pervy teacher?" Ryuji turned back around to see the boy with the black hair and glasses looking at him in confusion.
"What, you gonna rat me out to Kamoshida?" He growled and looked him in the eye, adopting his normal slouch. The boy raised an eyebrow and held up his hands.
"First off, I'd have to know who the hell Kamoshida even is to rat you out."
"Wha… in the car just now, that was Kamoshida." The boy just nodded slowly, understanding who he was talking about now, but apparently, it didn't mean much to him. "Y'know, Suguru Kamoshida? Volleyball coach? Thinks he's the King of the Castle, people call him the Pride of Shujin?" He asked the last question with a sarcastic tone of voice, disgust clearly mixed in.
Neither of them heard the phone within Akira's bag give off a chime as the red and black app received several keywords.
"Sorry, I'm new here." The boy shrugged, grabbing his bag to adjust the strap. "Just transferred in, I don't know any of the teachers, or things similar to that. Although I'd love to see this castle."
"Uh, it's just a phr—" he spotted his smirk and caught on to his sarcasm. "Oh, gotcha. S-sorry 'bout that." He rubbed the back of his head, embarrassed, while the boy just chuckled.
"It's fine." Ryuji watched as he looked up and held a hand out. "Looks like the rain slowed down, or possibly stopped. We should get to Shujin."
"Yeah, right. Come on, I know a shortcut. It's just through this alley." He began leading the way, with the boy following him, unhesitatingly. It was a slight shock, since no one wanted anything to do with him anymore, but maybe… if he was new, they could…? He suddenly grunted and held his head as his vision went blurry and he felt dizzy, before he groaned and shook his head, dyed blond locks flailing. "Ugh, knew I shoulda stayed home today…"
"So," The boy behind him started, "anything I should know about Shujin? Any gangs I should watch out for?"
"Nah," he shook his head, hearing the sarcasm this time. "Shujin's your basic prep school, or whatever. Standard sports teams and stuff like that. You into any sports?"
"Eh, self-defense mostly, but I can play a few actual sports."
"Yeah?"
"Yeah. Baseball, basketball. And I do some basic training on my own, push-ups, jogging, stuff like that." Ryuji felt a small smile form when he heard jogging, before a familiar bolt of pain through his knee reminded him exactly why he shouldn't feel happy about that. He stumbled slightly and massaged his leg, before resuming his walk. He'd gotten pretty used to the pain, but he still had a slight limp. Barely noticeable, but it was there. And it seemed that his new companion had noticed it, considering he was eyeing his leg, but he kept quiet and decided to let him have his privacy.
He walked through a puddle, letting the water splash out behind him, and heard the boy give a small hum at something, but he was preoccupied with something else. He exited the alleyway he stood in, and took a step back in shock as he looked up, and up, at some kind of castle. It was large, hell, it looked as big as Shujin, but there was a tower that rose above the rest of it, high into the sky. There was even a drawbridge and some kind of moat, but the oddest part was the sign that read 'Shujin' just outside. "What the…?"
The boy next to him blinked in shock, looking up at the tower as he walked out of the alleyway. "Uh… you… sure this is the place?"
"Well… I… we took the turns I usually take…"
"The sign says Shujin," the boy noted, nodding his head towards the wall. "So something's up, but it is Shujin."
"Should we check it out?"
"I think so," the boy nodded. Ryuji looked closer, and he could see a large amount of curiosity swimming in his eyes.
"Alright, let's get going." They walked up the drawbridge and approached several sets of massive doors. He grabbed one, grunting as he pulled on it and it barely budged. Although, it did budge, so it wasn't locked, just heavy. "Hey, help me out here."
His companion nodded, digging his fingers into the crack he'd created between the doors, and began pushing while he pulled. Eventually, the doors were open enough for the both of them to slip inside, and they were greeted with two large staircases that led up to a balcony overlooking the main hall, with several doors leading to different places. For a moment he thought that the place wavered, and the entrance to the school replaced it, before he shook his head and the castle was back. "The hell is this…?"
"No idea. I mean, I assumed that they did… something to the outside of the school, but to so quickly redecorate the interior? This can't be right."
He nodded, agreeing with the silver-eyes boy's words, looking around in amazement. "Hell, I've never even heard of a castle near here, so it's gotta be the school!"
The clanking of metal drew his eyes, and he turned to see somebody wearing a suit of armor with a shield the size of his body and a sword several feet long walk up to them. He jumped in surprise, before placing a hand on his heart. "Jeez, you scared the hell outta me." He closed in and tilted his head, observing the armor. "Hey, you a student? Maybe part of the drama club? That's one hell of a costume, I've gotta say." There was more clanking, and someone else walked up, dressed in the same armor. He wasn't sure why, but he was starting to sense some kind of danger from their situation. "Hey…"
The raven-haired boy suddenly grabbed his shoulder and eyed the armored people. "I think," he started, "we should get out of here…"
He just nodded, and before the knights could react, they turned and sprinted. They didn't get far. He felt something heavy slam into his back, and suddenly he was on his knees. He fell forward and saw the boy turn around, looking at him with wide eyes. "G-Get out of here!" He cried, waving the boy away.
Instead, his eyes narrowed, and he made to charge, before another knight came up and slammed the flat end of their sword into the boy's head, knocking him out. He watched him go down before something smashed into the back of his head, and he was knocked out.
Ω • Ω • Ω
•Akira•
Akira groaned, holding his head as he drifted back into consciousness. "…ey. Hey, you alright?" He opened his eyes to see the boy with the dyed hair and a limp kneeling next to whatever he was lying on.
"Just peachy," he groaned. He sat up and nursed his head, feeling the throbbing slow down, before looking around to see that they were trapped in some kind of stone cell. "What about you?"
"I'm fine," the faux-blond answered, watching as he looked around. He got up and saw that the bed he'd been on was a wooden slab attached to the wall with chains, and the cell itself was three decaying, wet, brick walls and one wall comprised of iron bars. Honestly, that Velvet Room place he'd visited that last night with the Loli Wardens and the Long-Nosed Creep was at least nicer to look at. This place was just depressing. "Dude, where the hell are we?!"
"It's not like I have any better of an idea than you do." He shook his head and approached the bars, trying to see down the mossy stone corridor.
"Damnit! There has to be a way out of here!" The blond began kicking at the walls, trying to find a weakness, while he knelt next to the door, feeling at the keyhole. If he had something to use as a lockpick he could try and bullshit his way through it, maybe jiggle the thing around and hope it opens. That's what happens in movies, right? "Agh, damnit!"
"I'd suggest not trying to break down a stone wall with your fists," he sighed, finished playing with the lock and finding no weakness.
"But we have to get out of here! Come on, aren't you freakin' out?!"
"Of course I am," he shot back, crossing his arms. "Panic, however, doesn't help us. We need to stay calm and rational. If we can't break out on our own, then we wait for an opportunity. Someone has to come down here eventually."
The boy clenched and unclenched his fists, before sighing. "You're right… sorry, man."
"It's not your fault," he shook his head. "As I said, I'm also freaking out. I'm just focusing on planning for now. I'll probably freak out when we're far away from this place."
"Ha," the blond chuckled, sticking his hands in his pockets and kicking the ground. "I wish I could be as calm as you. I'm always— wait, do you hear that?" He raised an eyebrow as the boy tilted his head, and he focused himself, trying to hear whatever the boy had heard.
Clank, clank, clank, clank…
Someone was approaching! Already?! Damn, he hadn't made any plans! A guard walked in front of their cell and looked at them with the blank mask that made up their helmet's face. It was honestly creepy, he couldn't see anything through the mask's eyeholes, like it was simply an empty shell…
"Hey man, the hell's going on here?!" his apparently quick to anger companion roared, gripping the bars and glaring at the knight.
"You have been caught trespassing upon the king's castle, and your sentence has been decided upon. You have been sentenced to be executed."
"W-What?!"
"Pretty harsh, don't you think?" He questioned, raising an eyebrow, keeping up a facade of calm. On the inside, he was panicking. Was there anything he could do? Self-defense couldn't do much against literal knights, considering their armor could hurt his fists. Maybe trip them? Their armor and weapons looked heavy enough to overbalance them…
He refocused as a new voice rang out. A familiar one, for some odd reason, with a weird undertone. "No one is allowed to do what they please in my castle." The man that walked up from behind the knight looked familiar, and it quickly clicked in his head. Kamoshida! His facial structure was the same, with the only difference was that his eyes were glowing a bright gold color, and instead of gym clothes, he wore some hideous red and pink robe with hearts on it, with a plain golden crown sitting atop his head. As he moved the robe shifted, and Akira grimaced when he saw that the man was wearing nothing beneath it besides some underwear. Well, at least he was wearing the underwear.
"Wha— Kamoshida?!"
"That's King Kamoshida to you, peasant," the man chuckled. His voice as well. There was a warbling undertone to it as he'd noted before, and it was why he hadn't recognized it right away. The man continued to smirk at them and shook his head. "I thought it had been some petty thief, but to think it had been you, Sakamoto… you should really know better by now!"
The blond— Sakamoto-san grit his teeth and shook the bars, glaring at the man. "What the hell is going on here Kamoshida?! Why is the school a castle?! What's with the knights?!"
Kamoshida ignored him, turning to him. "And you brought a friend! Did you not warn him about what happened last time you tried to defy me? Or is he just coming along for the ride?"
"Well, I do like to let the winds of fate blow me where they may," he sneered back, disgust rising in his core. There was something wrong with Kamoshida, and not just his gold eyes and ugly robe. It was like waves of disgust were exuding off of the man, and Akira very much wanted a shower when they got out of this situation.
"Heh, you've got some nerve." Kamoshida sneered back, shaking his head. "But I suppose Sakamoto needed some help for this… because he can't do anything by himself."
"This ain't funny, you asshole!"
Kamoshida snapped his golden gaze back at Sakamoto-san, glaring. "Is that how you speak to a king?! It seems you don't understand the position you're in at all. You not only snuck into my castle, but you insulted me! The king! And of course, the punishment for that is death."
"Weren't you going to execute us anyway for sneaking in? Not like you can kill us twice," he noted.
"Don't think I forgot about you," Kamoshida scoffed. "You'll be next to die." The man stepped back and nodded towards the cell door, ordering a knight to step forward and unlock the door with a set of keys. The guards quickly filed into the room and blocked the exit, while he and Sakamoto-san backed up. Sakamoto-san hissed through his teeth as he eyed the guards, before yelling and running forward, shoulder-bashing one to the ground.
"I ain't down for this," Sakamoto yelled, turning to him. "C'mon, let's get out of here!"
Before he could do anything, his eyes widened as another knight prepared to attack the blond. "Sakamoto-san, behind you!" The boy turned but was too late, the guard's sword handle smashed into his gut, knocking him to the floor and causing him to cough out his breath, spittle flying from his mouth. He was about to run forward, before Sakamoto-san shook his head.
"Just get out of here! These guys are serious!"
His eyes widened, and he turned to the door. Kamoshida had stepped into the cell, and with the guards surrounding Sakamoto, he had a clean route out of there.
"Oh, running away, are we? What a heartless friend you are!" Kamoshida laughed, walking closer to Sakamoto.
"He ain't a friend," Sakamoto-san spat, slowly trying to get up. He turned back to him and growled when he saw he hadn't moved. "C'mon, what the hell are you doing?! HURRY UP AND GO!"
Akira struggled for another moment, before the panic that he'd been suppressing ever since waking up in that cell exploded out and he began dashing out, scrambling around the cell door and running up the stone path. Sakamoto-san was right. If he'd stayed, they would have both died. It was better than… that one of them got away.
Right?
Screams echoed from the cell, and he winced, continuing to run. No, it was best. He… he wasn't selfish enough to think that if he'd had the chance he wouldn't sacrifice himself for Sakamoto-san, obviously, the boy had a kind heart even with how brash he seemed to be, and if anything he wished that Sakamoto-san was the one escaping right now. But that's not how it turned out. He was the one escaping, while…
What's the matter? Are you simply going to run?
Another scream.
Death awaits him if you do nothing.
Damnit, damnit… the last time he'd stuck his nose in business that wasn't his, he ended up with a fake criminal record and stuck in Japan! It was enough! He had to get out, and now!
Was your previous decision… a mistake then?
He flashed back to that night, as the mysterious voice continued. No… it was… it had been a mistake. He'd stuck his neck out onto the chopping block and then acted surprised when the ax came down. He should just keep his head down and follow what people said…
He noticed something. The screams had stopped. He slid to a halt and stared wide-eyed back at the cell. Was he…? No, it couldn't have happened that quickly, right? Sakamoto-san was… the boy had sacrificed himself, for…
You cannot lie to me… I see within you… I know what your true decision will be.
The voice, whether it be his conscious, or an outside force… it spurred him on. In the opposite direction. He had been lying to himself. That decision…
It had never been, nor would it ever be a mistake.
The next thing he knew, he was back in the cell, and there was a blade pointed straight at Sakamoto's throat. He screamed and struck, landing a punch on the king's face, and launched him across the cell. Kamoshida slammed into the brick wall and grunted, before looking at him with hateful eyes. Sakamoto, who had been held up by his throat against the wall, slid down to the ground coughing. He was heavily bruised, familiar fist-shaped wounds on his face, and blood running from his lip. "D-Dude…? You came… back… no… you have to… run…"
"I'm not running!" He shouted back, squaring his feet, feeling his resolve well up within him. The guards backed up to check on the king, but he waved them away and snarled at him. "You were going to sacrifice yourself for me… I won't accept that! We're getting out of here, the both of us!" Sakamoto's eyes widened, and tears came to them.
"M… Man…"
Kamoshida waved his guards forward, and he smirked as he noted the new bruise on the king's face. "You dare attack me?! You had a chance to run, but you didn't take it. Now, face your punishment! Guards! EXECUTE HIM!"
"I'm not running anymore!" He shouted back. An urge to rebel swelled up inside him, and he grasped that energy, feeling it bubble up. Ever since that night, everything had been beating him down, the fucking politician that sued him and made sure he'd be stuck in Japan to spite him, Sakura-san talking down at him for trying to help someone, and now Kamoshida trying to kill someone who tried to sacrifice themself for him! He hadn't even tried to help Takamaki-san because of how big of a fucking coward he was! Well, that was it! He was done being a punching bag! It was time to break free and rebel! "You're fucking done, asshole!" There was a sudden chuckle within his head.
Hmhmhm… very well… I have heeded your resolve.
Akira suddenly stood ramrod straight, pain blossoming from inside his head. What… what was this?! This was not the time for a migraine! He clutched at his head and let out an ear-piercing shriek as the most horrible agony he'd ever felt in his life burst forth, like a raging fire from the pits of hell itself. He fell to his knees and felt tears come to his eyes as he squeezed them shut.
Vow to me… I am Thou, Thou art I…
Even Kamoshida and his guards had taken a step back, surprised at his screams, before the king smirked. "Well, whatever he's going through seems to be a bit traumatizing. Let's let him suffer before we put him out of his misery!"
Thou who art willing to perform all sacrilegious acts for thine own justice… Call upon my name, and RELEASE THY RAGE!
He let out his loudest shriek yet, feeling his throat tear from the constant screaming. But he had to fight! He stumbled as he attempted to get up, slamming into the cell wall and grasping at the stone, scrabbling for purchase. The stone cracked and shattered under his grip, falling out in chunks, not due to any wear or old age on its end, but the sheer strength that was coursing through his veins, even if he didn't notice it.
Show the strength of thy will to ascertain all on thine own, though thou be chained to HELL ITSELF!
He reared back and slammed his face into the wall, sending his glasses falling to the floor in shards. In one of those shards, before they vanished into wisps of blue flames, he could barely see a reflection of himself, and he noticed something, something that cut through even the unbearable pain. His silver eyes were brimming with untapped power.
All at once, the pain stopped. It was as if someone had flicked a light switch, the pain simply vanished. The room fell silent, except for his labored breathing as drool crawled down his chin. He made no movements at all, except for a slight tilt of his head upwards.
And with that, a burst of wind suddenly shot out of him, sending the guards and Kamoshida flying back, while leaving Sakamoto-san untouched. He breathed out heavily, releasing his grip on the wall and sending small chunks of ground-up rock fluttering away, as they had been crushed to dust. He felt something on his face… a mask? He reached up and grabbed it, confused. He could clearly see through it, and it felt like a domino mask, but he couldn't see the colors of it. Where had…?
Rip it off… unmask your true strength…
He steeled his gaze and gripped it. It felt like it had been glued… no, not even glued, engraved into his very flesh! It began slowly coming off, and while it did hurt, it was nothing like what had happened before. He grit his teeth as blood began spurting from where the mask tore at his skin, before letting out one final yell as he fully removed it, showering his face with warm blood.
He let his head hang down as he breathed for a moment, eyeing the mask in his hand. It was as he'd suspected, a birdlike domino mask, although one with a black and white design to it. But that didn't matter much as it quickly vanished, consumed by blue flames. He let a malicious, full-toothed grin settle onto his face, lifting his head so he could glare Kamoshida into submission. Where the mask and skin had been ripped away and blood leaked, blue flames burst forth, and though he couldn't see it, he somehow knew that his eyes were no longer silver. No, now they were bright gold.
"Ahahahahaha!"
The flames quickly consumed his entire face, and then his entire body as chains began erupting from the ground around him and eerie laughter echoed from nowhere. But to him… that laughter was comforting. The flames began subsiding, and his grin widened even further as his Shujin Academy uniform transformed, becoming some kind of dark black outfit, as several more chains erupted from around him.
He felt a presence appear behind him from the flames that had consumed his face and he quickly gripped two of the chains flying in front of him, throwing them apart and commanding the creature behind him to do the same. It did so, and from where he stood he could only see red arms and long, black fingers and nails, but he somehow knew what it did. Wings unfurled from its back, blasting out another shockwave of wind, this one even more powerful than the first. The guards were completely blasted through the stone wall, while Kamoshida was slammed into it, and he scrambled to run out.
Sakamoto-san was still lying on the ground, the winds once again having not affected him. The boy was looking up at him and his creature in shock, holding up a hand almost defensively. "W-Whoa… what the…?"
He smirked back down at him, stepping forward to look back at his creature. It was taller than him, by several feet. It seemed to wear a tall, black top hat on top of a black mask with horns poking out several feet from its head, with blood-red fire coming from where eyeholes would be. The collar of a cropped, open, eighteenth-century esque suit came up to the mask, giving the impression that the creature had no head, with two black wings coming from the small of its back. At the end of its hands were long, pointed fingers colored deep black, the same with its feet, making it almost look like it stood on high heels, with the heels having a similar look to daggers.
"I am the Pillager of Twilight— 'Arsène'!"
The demonic creature— Arsène, now spoke out loud, no longer just a voice in his head. Although where its mouth was, he had no idea. Sakamoto-san was still staring in shock, while he looked down at his new, bright red gloves. This new outfit was pretty nice~! He turned back to the creature as it spoke again, addressing him.
"I am the rebel's soul that resides within you. If you so desire, I shall consider granting you the power to break through this crisis."
He smirked up at the demon-like creature and nodded. "Give it to me. Give me your power, Arsène!" It chuckled back to him in response, as they both turned to see Kamoshida looking nervously at Arsène.
"Who the hell are you…!?" He took a step back, pointing at them as he retreated and began running away like a coward. He ignored the fact that he'd nearly done that himself just a minute beforehand. "Start by killing that one! You'll learn the true strength of my men!"
As he vanished, the knights began shaking, before disappearing into black ooze. The ooze swirled on the floor, before popping back up as two jack-o-lantern like creatures. They giggled at them as he motioned for Sakamoto to get behind him, and he smirked up at Arsène. "Shall we begin?" The demon did not have a mouth, but he somehow knew it was smirking back.
"We shall."
He let out a low chuckle, a dangerous glint entering his eyes as he adjusted his gloves. "Very well…" the monsters surged forward, and he grabbed a dagger that he instinctively knew was now on his hip. He charged at them, commanding Arsène to do the same. "Arsène! RAVAGE THEM!"
Ω • Ω • Ω
•Morgana•
There was a clang and voices to the right. More Shadows? Possibly. From what he'd heard earlier while waiting around, there were a few intruders. How they'd managed to get into the Palace he didn't know, but maybe if they'd managed to escape…
"Shit! How the hell are we supposed to get this thing to work?!" Oh ho! That voice definitely wasn't a Shadow!
"While Kamoshida does seem like a vain dick, I'm sure that there has to be some reason he put a statue of himself randomly next to an immovable bridge." Another voice! Also not a shadow! And he definitely sounded intelligent… there was a rumbling noise before the first voice whooped loudly.
"Holy shit, you were right! Let's get out of here!" Wait, they were leaving?! No! Not good!
"HEY!" The footsteps paused for a moment.
"Did you hear that?!"
"It could be more knights…" no no no! They couldn't leave him there! It hurt his pride, but…
"Hey, I could use some help here, please!"
"Come on, we should go…"
"I don't think that these… things can ask for help, or say please." No! They don't! Now come and get him out of that cell! The footsteps got nearer, and around the corner came two humans. One of them had blond hair and was staring at him dumbly, while the other had frizzy black hair and glasses and was staring at him with curiosity and wariness. That one seemed to be the smarter of the two.
"What the hell is that thing?!"
"Thing?!" He shouted back, glaring at the blond. "I am not a thing! I am Morgana!"
"Ah yes, the elusive Morgana. Scholars have been searching for the creatures for years." The smarter one rolled his eyes as sarcasm dripped from his words, though he still looked cautious. "You look like those things that come out of the knights, but you're locked up and asking us for help, so you're probably not one of those things… but what exactly are you?"
He frowned up at the black-haired boy, pulling at the bars. "I'm a human! An honest to god human!"
"You, uh, don't exactly look human." The blond scratched his head in confusion.
"That's because my form was stolen from— look, that isn't important! You need to get me out of here!"
"And why the hell should we?! You haven't given us any effin' proof that you aren't an enemy!"
Morgana felt his eye twitch at the human's idiocy. "Didn't your friend just explain why I couldn't be an enemy?!"
"He—"
The other boy cut in, shooting his friend a look. "Right now, we can at least say he isn't an enemy. But why should we help you? You might just slow us down."
At least this one was rational! "I can lead you to the exit!"
"Hm…" the boy glared down at him with an unreadable expression, and he felt himself begin to sweat as he worried that he'd be left behind. The sound of clanking armor caused the boy to turn away, before glaring back. "Fine. But betray us and I'll kill you."
Eep! "T-That won't be necessary!"
"I hope not. Sakamoto-san, get it open." Sakamoto grabbed a keychain from his belt and fit a key in, opening the cell. He bound out and stretched, letting out a short purr.
"So, are you some kinda monster cat then? 'Cause you just purred. Plus ya got the ears and tail and paws and stuff."
"No! I'm a human!"
"How about we argue about whether he's a cat or not when we're out of here," the smart one interrupted, glaring at both of them. He and Sakamoto wilted, embarrassed.
"R-right… anyway, let's get going!" He sped down the stone path, and across the bridge that they'd lowered. "Alright, already figured out how to lower the bridge! Come on!"
"Shit, this is effin' nuts," the loud one muttered, trailing behind them.
"Keep up Sakamoto-san. We'll be out of here soon enough. Hopefully, then we can figure out just what the fuck is happening…" so, the frizzy-haired one wasn't actually calm? He was a very good liar then, he couldn't even tell that the boy was panicking, or perhaps he had been able to put it aside for a moment while interrogating him.
As they continued running, a door suddenly opened and a Shadow walked out directly into their path, and it was too late for them to stop and hide. It turned to them and Sakamoto-san fell back in a panicked frenzy, kicking at the ground to get back. "Ah shit, it's them!"
As he prepared to summon his Persona, he noticed a blue glare of light coming from next to him. He turned with wide-eyes as he watched the frizzy-haired boy step forward confidently, his clothes exploding into blue flame and becoming remarkably different. Instead of some kind of school uniform, he wore a black, ankle-length tailcoat over a dark gray waistcoat with gold accents and buttons. His pants were black, and he wore brown-black long-toed shoes with bright red gloves over his hands, and to top it off, a black and white domino mask. Thinking about it, he looked like a true Phantom Thief. Maybe…
"Hey, you can fight, right?"
The boy smirked, swiftly grabbing a dagger from his waist and twirling it. "Oh, I can fight. How about you?"
"Hmph!" He grinned back and jumped forward as the Shadow in front of them turned from ooze into a jack-o-lantern and an imp. "I say that you should watch and learn! I've been doing this for a lot longer than you have!" He placed his paws on his hips and reached within himself to summon his Persona. "Come forth, Zorro!"
He made sure to make it extra dramatic to create a lasting impression on the two of them, sending up a pillar of blue flames as Zorro formed behind him. He knew that his Persona was intimidating, with its muscular chest and arms, pointed rapier, and amazing clothes, so he proudly crossed his arms as Sakamoto crawled back, looking at it with wide eyes. "Y-You got one of those things too?!"
"Now, let's promptly shut them up!" Zorro slashed his blade out, creating a 'Z' in midair, before jabbing forward and sending a Garu out, sending the Jack-'O-Lantern flying back as he struck its elemental weakness with his wind attack. He turned to see if his companion was having any trouble, and was surprised to see him easily taking down the imp without summoning his Persona. The boy rolled underneath a strike, flipping to his feet and slashing the Shadow along its side, creating a gash that gushed black blood.
"Gah!" It hissed and attempted to attack him again, but frizzy-hair simply backflipped away, before reaching up and removing his mask, causing it to disappear in blue embers, while blue flames appeared where he'd ripped the mask from and formed a temporary mask as he summoned a black and red Persona. He felt his eyes widen in shock at the sight of it before the boy laughed and commanded it to attack with a snap of his fingers.
"Arsène! Eiha!" The Persona formed a ball of curse typed energy, flinging it at the Shadow. Even though the Shadow resisted the magic type, the attack was still powerful enough to defeat it in one blow. Impressive!
With the battle over, frizzy-hair's Persona, Arsène, vanished, along with his special clothes. "Impressive," he spoke up, rubbing his chin. "Your Persona's pretty powerful!"
"Per…sona?" Sakamoto looked at him with wide eyes. "Y'mean those things that come out of you guys all dramatic like?"
He sighed when he realized that neither of them knew what Personas were, and launched into a quick explanation. "Yes. You saw how he ripped off his mask when he summoned his, right? Well, everyone wears a mask like that, deep in their hearts. By removing it—"
"Wait, why does his clothing change back and forth like that?"
"If you would let me finish—"
"Let's do this later," Frizzy-hair sighed, massaging his temples. "I don't want to get caught in another ambush."
He sighed and nodded. "You're right. Come on, the exit's this way."
"Finally. Now let's get out of here..."
Jesus, Joker's Awakening is so badass. Definitely my favorite of the series, although Ryuji's is a close one with his voice-acting before the actual Awakening. Plus, Ryuji's Captain Kidd is just badass on his own. If you just play Earthbound and haven't played Persona, definitely look up Joker's Awakening. The music is awesome on its own. Also, this is gonna be one long story, I mean, Persona 5 on its own is, at the fastest I've beaten it, around 80 hours. My first time through? Easily over 100.
So, I wanted to try and show Joker's personality more, like how he's much more uncertain and quiet in the real world, but in the Metaverse as Joker, he becomes much more confident, a showoff, and a jokester due to the rebellious power of Personas in P5. Also, writing Kamoshida is great, I can finally write a scumbag asshole character! Atlus really makes you hate the guy, and that makes him one of the best antagonists.
Joker and Arsène talking is fun, even though each Persona talks during the Awakening and Fusions, Arsène actually talks later in the game, so that gave me the thought, 'what if Joker could speak with his equipped Personas?' It'll show up more, but Joker discussing things with Arsène is just one fun idea I had.
In any case, these will be sparingly released so I can work with what Royal gives me come March. Can't wait to use that Grappling Hook that they probably only added because Joker had it in Smash, lol. Anyway, leave a review on everything that you liked in the chapter, or maybe just a 'Nice,' both are always great to read. See y'all next time.