Authors notes:
I finally drew cover art for this story, a better look can be found on my DA here just close the spaces and connect the words by copy and pasting into the browser:
sta . sh/0tajvvrw3e
Review Replies:
Nightly: These chapters just keep balloning in size, this one was gonna be 10k but I cut it down to close 8k. Akira is indeed struggling here, he's still mad about being plucked from his home and spending a long time in the legal system. I haven't read much about what the JP system is like but I know in the US it can get brutal. As for Minato, he's good at playing dumb, but what he's selling won't be bought by everyone lmao.
GrimReaperJr1232: There will indeed be more of what you're chanting.
Guest (feb 11): Oh ho! Place your bets folks, who comes on top?
Jason Wu: Thanks!
Guest (feb 13): he'll only get better as he is a true showmen.
Hand moving rapidly across, a sharp pencil dug deep into sheets of thick notebook paper, enough pressure to snap its lead tip in two, generating a wealth of hastily written scribbles. Akira mumbled to himself at his desk.
"Possible leg fracture, bruise on the right arm, swelling of the ankle…"
Eyes darting from student to student, he recalled the mental snapshots he had taken from the castle. Swollen faces, black eyes, busted lips littered the class, all data compiled into a spreadsheet-like documentation hidden under his desk. Medical knowledge from his training back home greatly enhanced his detection abilities.
"Iha Norio and Mihara Hana right after the volleyball rally on Wednesday." Two students with bruises mysteriously appearing after the rally, one with a battered face, another constantly dragging her wrist. Sitting at his desk, the Fool could make out poor Hana struggling to use her left hand, replacing her usual right to catch up with the rest of the class, dropping her pen in frustration. Then, there was Norio, with a light makeup foundation coating his face, hiding a clear purple spot underneath his bruised cheek. In addition to his recording for that day, when Akira arrived at Shujin, he had vaguely noted the alarming amounts of injuries among the student body, with one or two usually being the maximum generated for the day. However, today was quite different.
"But this doesn't make sense…" Flipping a page to Thursday, the morning light illuminated his notebook page, hi-lighting the discrepancy like a search light in the deep ocean black. Staring baffled by the numbers, Akira raised a brow.
"This is way more than before, an increase?" Wondering what could have possibly made today's cases spike. Sometimes, students participating in sports were allowed inside the school early during tournament season to gain a little extra more experience, so the injuries reflected today should have come from that. Referencing Kamoshida's schedule, the gym instructor should have another meet up during lunch time for a coaching session, Akira frowned, knowing what was to come.
"You're focusing pretty hard on this, you sure you don't want to pay more attention to your class?" Feeling a furry sensation from inside his desk, Akira peered down to tiny blue eyes hidden away, Morgana gazed back at the Fool.
"Will this method of yours really work? It sounds like something out of a fantasy novel." Ignoring the cat's nagging, he cut straight to the point, clutching his notes tightly in his hand.
"Isn't the castle's existence enough evidence that this isn't just a made up ploy?" The black cat began, "I won't lie that you two might face risk in this endeavor, but it's better than sitting here and praying for a change, yea?" After meeting up with Akira in the real world, Morgana had stubbornly followed the Fool around with Ryuji in tow. At some point, the Wild Card had given up, letting the cat shelter with him for the time being. His explanation along with an offer to rid Kamoshida of his distorted desires weighed heavily on the teenager's hearts.
"I'm thinking about it…"
Could a change of heart really exist? If so, could he have benefited from this in the past? Burying himself in deep thought once more, Akira flipped through the pages in his notebook, until a dark blur flashed across his eyes; looking up, the Fool found himself briefly making eye contact with an irate Kamoshida from the windows. Raising his head from his desk, shifting his body, by the time Akira had turned, the man was gone, no akin to a ghost vanishing on sight. Tiny hairs stood on the back of his neck, a knot formed in his stomach from the eerie encounter, creating a palpable pressure in the air.
"Something wrong?" Morgana whispered, snapping the Wild Card out of his trance.
"No…" Someone peered at him from the unknown; the impression of being watched persisted throughout the day, with the paranoid Fool occasionally checking his peripherals in a subtle attempt to locate his stalker. By the time Kawakami had concluded her lecture, Akira was sure he could make out the same aggressive eyes of the lustful king on the gym instructor that had shown up at the classroom's door.
"Oh, Kamoshida? Are you picking up your students for practice?" Putting away her book, Kawakami packed her bag for lunch. A stream of Shujin students rushed by the two members of staff.
Kamoshida's vision shifted to the remaining members in the room, landing on one student in particular. "Sure, and can I borrow him for a second? Yesterday he expressed interest in our volleyball team so I just wanted to speak to him about it" Gesturing to the delinquent of the school, Akira Kusuru wore a neutral face.
"Him of people? Seriously…?" Sighing to herself, eyes rolling in exhaustion, Kawakami called the Fool over to follow Kamoshida with the rest of the volleyball team.
"It was only a passing comment. Are you sure you want someone like me on the team?"
Akira challenged, throwing out a declaration of war.
"Kurusu, as an instructor of Shujin, I am open to all students showing an interest in my team regardless of their social standing or background. Just because you have messed up in the past doesn't mean we can't help you create a better future."
"That's a very considerate offer, sir. However, I am still hesitant to taint the reputation of your team. I barely made it here my first day, I'm afraid my attendance alone would reflect my inability to keep up with your tutelage.
"No, no. You're far too kind. Besides, that was due to an accident was it not? Both you and Sakamooto were held back because of something out of your control. At least come along for our coaching session today, you can decide if you want to join us at a later date."
Smiling a sunny smile, padding the transfer on the back like they were old buddies, Kamoshida applied enough force to pull Akira along with him into the hall, isolating him from the rest of the student body. Practically being dragged against his will with the inevitable drawing near, he covered his mouth, whispering into his bag.
"Morgana, no matter what you hear in the next thirty minutes, do not come out."
Body being thrown against a wall, Akira held in the pain firing from every part of his body, gritting his teeth. Standing a few feet away from him was Kamoshida, dark eyes burning with malice as he shouted for the Fool to get up. Spinning a volleyball in his hand, a group of run down teens watched in the background, witnessing a deadly training match between student and instructor.
"So I heard you were asking around the school yesterday, something about my conduct, was it?" Side eyeing two boys in the stand, "those two told me you and Sakamoto were accusing me of abuse!" Throwing the volleyball high up, Kamoshida leaped into the air, targeting the blow right at the helpless Akira, who rolled out of the way at the last second, letting it slam into the ground at incredible speeds, threatening to break bone.
"The opposite actually. I was only trying to disprove those pesky rumors spread about you, Mr. Kamoshida." Wiping a blood trail from his lips, Akira readied himself to take another blow, the adrenaline rushing to his head, voice brimming with sarcasm. No way in hell was he getting a confession out of him, not here, not ever.
Hearing the disrespect, the instructor spat, swiftly lifting his ball, landing another hit on the snarky boy who braced the best he could, placing two arms in a cross, cutting the damage by half, yet it was still painful enough to force Akira to grimace, holding in a yelp.
"As if a criminal like you would ever have the sense to do such a thing! Just admit it already, you were trying to ruin the team's reputation, weren't you?" Taking this chance, running to grab the boy by the wrist, Kamoshida rammed a fist into his stomach, then threw him to the ground, crumpling like a ragdoll into the floorboards. "Pathetic, what a shitty waste of space. You think you can do anything about me? Huh?! Who the hell do you think you are?!"
Akira clutched his abdomen, once again fighting back the pain, as a certain madness brewed inside the mind of the Shujin instructor. Barely keeping his body going, taking in shallow breaths, the boy could make out an unusually aggressive, borderline paranoia swirling in Kamoshida's eyes, no akin to an animal cornered at the sight of a large beast. As he braced himself during the coaching session from broken bones and horrible agony, his intuition had picked up the growing anxiety in the other's mind. Although not apparent to the surrounding volley team, the persona inside his soul told him there was a supernatural force affecting the man. Deranged, wild, primal were the only words to describe his behavior, even frightening his normal victims, like death was slowly looming over his figure, ready to reap his soul at any second.
"Tch, not saying anything? Then I'm assuming you're admitting guilt!" The abrupt disturbance of his alarm halted his beratement, and waving a hand, Kamoshida dismissed everyone except for Akira. Standing alone in the empty gymnasium, the Shujin instructor frowned. "Come to the next practice unless you want to be expelled. And oh, Sakamoto will be joining you next time too."
Placing his hand against the side of a dumpster, wiping the sweat drops rolling down his face, Akira furiously types a row of memorized coordinates into his phone. Body aching, lungs burning, the special coaching from Kamoshida remained fresh in his mind, as he felt a familiar tingling sensation erupt from his senses. Reality distorted, skies darkened, and the same welcoming power flooded his soul, giving back some of his body's lost stamina. Slowly, he edged his way to a hidden entrance into the stone castle, first aid in hand.
"Pixie, Dia." frail blue light coursed through Akira's veins, filling them with a comforting warmth, reliving some discomfort. Casting the spell once again, it unfortunately only softened the blow, serving more of a numbing agent. Rubbing his sore arms, he already felt the formation of numerous bruises, both on his face and back. Yellow, red, purple and blue dotted his broken form, with his mental state remaining untouched. Doing his best to patch himself up in layers of bandages, applying the appropriate disinfectant, he cringed at his own healing process. Going back to the cafe now would warrant an explanation of his circumstances to Sojiro and he knew that would be impossible. At best, he could be called a liar, at worst, he might be dragged down to the police station to explain himself.
"A-are you ok? I can't believe that bastard did that to you!" Morgana sprung out his bag, now in his bipedal form. Fluffy black fur bristling up from sheer astonishment.
"Those students must have ratted me out. What horrible luck." Shaking his head, Akira grimaced at his pounding headache, no doubt a concussion from the abuse. Cracking open a bottle of painkillers, he downed two pills expecting the worse to come later.
"That place is a living hell. No wonder…heh."
"Still, if this is what he's doing to everyone there each day, I can see why they would be pressured to tell on you like that…"
"Yea." Frowning to himself at one of the empty tables, Akira exhaled. "I can't stand that jackass. Theoe students don't deserve this crappy treatment and no one's doing anything about it." It reminded him of his time trapped in the legal system, alone in a jail cell awaiting trial, knowing he had no chance to fight back. Maybe it was less of him caring for the student body, but more of his own selfish desires for justice that ignited the flame in his heart.
"Even if they also betrayed you and called you out with all those labels?" Morgana's eyes fell.
Silence.
Akira had done nothing wrong, yet his life had been converted into a living circus where even the victims of abuse threw dirt his way.
"You resent them, don't you?" A stray voice rang out, prying the words straight from his mouth. A massive wave of blue flooded the room, washing away all suffering in an instant. Bruises faded, cuts closed, and his complexion returned to a healthy normal. Dropping his first aid kit to the floor, Akira shot up from his seat, a dagger aimed at the mysterious new arrival.
Tightly gripping the handle of his weapon, stabbing the air, his form shook, crushing pressure barreling down on him. The Wild Card braced himself, his primal instincts telling him to run.
"Akira, stop! He's with me, he's a friend!"
Stepping in front of him and the bluenetter, Morgana begged the Fool to stop. "He's only here to help…"
Peering at the man that just stepped inside the room, Akira noted his plain clothes and lack of a transformation, however, he could sense a vast power brimming from this individual, enough to overwhelm Arsene into retreating deeper into his soul without his input. Fighting the crushing pressure that originated from him, he was in the purest sense, overtaken by his presence.
"Are you a persona user like us…?"
"Yes. I healed your injuries did I not? You should be as good as new."
"That's impossible. It'd take weeks to hea-!" Moving his arms, touching his face, shaking his head, the Fool's eyes widened. "Are you kidding me?! Not even the best hospitals in the nation can do this! Just what are you…?"
Having grown up in a doctor's family, life as Akira knew it had been flipped upside down. Medicine was something he aspired to pursue in his life. Modern day technology combined with medical texts from years of accumulation had come together to save thousands of lives, antibiotics killed bacteria, antivirals eliminated viruses, and it took the time for the human body to recover from excessive force with proper treatment, this was his knowledge.
And yet…
He had made a full recovery.
"This…this is insane."
"Really? Awakening to a persona, discovering a huge castle, and this is what wrecks your brain?" Morgana placed a paw on the shaken boy, who now wore a complex mixture of both excitement and fear.
Once again taking a seat in the safe room, Akira relaxed, dropping onto a rough wooden bench. Morgana had explained the basics of what happened in the last few days in absence at the castle. He had met an amnesiac similar to himself roaming around and teamed up with this new person to map a route deeper into the stone fortress, hoping to locate the treasure being held within.
Minato sat across on an opposite bench, "What? Don't seem to believe our story?" Skepticism was the term the bluenette was looking for, as the raven haired Fool remained silent, a habit he noted to be his way of assessing a situation. Not bad, it reminded him a bit of himself in his younger days.
"You expect me to buy that he just so happened to come across a powerhouse the moment we left?"
"Are you calling me a liar?" Morgana squeaked, but neither paid attention to the cat.
Shaken by the encounter, Akira could feel the judging eyes of the man before him, although his face remained neutral, his time in the court system taught him people were always passing judgment. Not to mention there was just something about him that simply unnerved the Fool, yet he could not tell why.
"If you believe otherwise, then feel free to ask me more questions. As for who I was, and where I came from, I'm afraid I'am just as clueless as yourself…" Closing his eyes, face grim, Minato's head fell, his hands balling into fists in frustration.
"Like I'd be one to be tricked by just any amateur. Sure, his persona is a bit overwhelming at times, but that doesn't mean he's a bad guy."
"..." His reply appeared genuine, Akira thought, or at least Morgana backed him up. Alternating his gaze between the two, there was one question on his mind that nagged him to the core, an inkling that sparked his doubt in the first place. Rising from his seat, he confronted Minato.
"You'll answer me to your best knowledge, correct?"
"Yea. With my best ability."
Minato expected the Fool to interrogate him more on how he ended up at the castle, or his persona abilities, yet his next question would make him all the more intrigued.
"So tell me then. Why am I afraid of you?"
It was like a crawling sensation at the back of his mind, a shrill voice echoing in his head, telling him there was more to the story, a feeling of unease like when children irrationally hide from the dark, as if darkness itself blanketed the man. Waiting for a reply, Akira felt his heart rate skyrocket, anticipating for the monster under the bed to reveal itself.
"Because I believe I am, in some ways, cursed." Minato met eyes with his counterpart, cracking his index finger as he thought of a little demonstration. "Those who wander the world of the collective are bound to encounter forces beyond one's control. I personally carry a piece of this distortion." Suddenly, the ground trembled, rocking the wooden tables, displacing items in the room as the entire castle descended into a powerful earthquake, the fabric of abnormal time and space decaying under the crushing presence and aura of the veteran, as if reality itself was wailing in fear. Gray's eyes lit up in the space, turning a bright blue, followed by the release of a deathly aura that cut into the two other inhabitants, knocking them down to the ground.
"W-w-what's happening!?" Struggling to balance himself, Morgana's fur stood from the shock, "The palace is collapsing?!"
"Ok, ok! I believe you, now stop trying to take us down with that Kamoshida bastard!" Akira's shout was able to reach the bluenette, returning the castle back to a state of calm. Once he could move again, he let go of the pillar he was clinging to for safety.
"Satisfied?" Cracking his neck with one hand, Minato wore a cool smile. The panic in their faces was funny to watch, switching to Thanatos in the middle of their conversation had been an interesting choice, but he had to pull right back to Helel before any real damage could be done. Somehow, the man knew letting Death inside a person's psyche was bound to be a terrible idea.
"Never do that inside a place like this again."
Oh? Now this was new. Akira was pale, but in panic, he was trying to control the situation? This kid had guts. Had it been anyone else, Minato was sure he would have mauled them on the spot.
"Such is the curse I have been burdened with."
"And you're helping Morgana explore this place?" Now Akira was worried, what if Minato indirectly causes a mental shut down before he could even get to stealing the king's desires.
"Rest assured, this curse is stable as long as I don't release it. A hindrance as it may be."
The deathly atmosphere had returned to normal, leaving Akira to ponder what exactly triggered Minato's curse in the first place. But was it true he was able to stop it before it got bad, and so he was willing to believe him, for now.
Then, another moment of silence fell on the three, a growing tension festered before Akira opened his school bag, fishing for whatever was inside without a word. Morgana pawed at the boy, trying to get his attention, however he was ignored. Waiting a few minutes later, he offered Minato an item from his hand.
"Here, take it."
Minato was thrown a tuna sandwich, his mind blank.
"Huh? Why…?"
"You've been here for days, and I doubt the castle had anything resembling real food. The human body can only survive so long without it." Handing the bluenette a bottle of fresh water too, this was the other reason he had his suspicions about Minato. What normal human survives days without subsistence or water, yet remains this picture perfectly healthy.
"Thanks. This will make exploring the depths much easier." Minato faked a smile, "My supplies were running low. I only came with a few chocolate bars after all."
"And you didn't bring me anything!?"
"Want me to get you outta here for the time being? You must have people looking for you in the real world." Ignoring Morgana once more, Akira offered him an exit to the palace.
"As much as I'd like to go back, I want to at least explore the depths of this castle a bit more. I doubt I can come here on my own if Morgana's information was any true."
"Fine. If that's your choice then I won't hinder you."
Exiting the palace, returning to the real world, Akira left Morgana inside with Minato, giving him some time to himself. The cat was beginning to grind on his nerves, but thankfully he elected to stay behind to help secure a route to the treasure with his new friend. Perhaps that wasn't the right word, it was more like those two were somehow connected in a way that they formed an alliance with each other so quickly. There were still some things unexplained and Akira was not fully willing to believe the bluenette just yet. It happened all too quickly in his opinion. Recalling back to the conversation with Morgana of his desperation to recruit him and Ryuji, along with the mention of erasing his distortion, the Fool can't help but think those two were somehow using each other for their own benefits and he just so happened to be roped into the middle of their schemes. Emerging from the secluded alleyway, he made his way to the train station, still in deep thought.
Swiping his train pass absentmindedly, not paying attention, he ran into a certain blonde from his class.
"Are you alright…?" Pulling back, Akira was about to apologize, when saw the tears in the girl's eyes, her face red. Grabbing spare tissues from his bag, he offered them.
"O-oh it's just you…" Ann wiped away her tears, her voice shaking, "thanks. I'm doing well. It…it was just some personal stuff."
"I hope it boils over then." Akira said softly, "There's so much going on in the world at the moment, it's hard to always keep up with everything. Take a breather if you can."
Not wanting to step into someone's personal business, the Fool was ready to leave when he heard Ann call him back. Turning around, he felt her look him up and down.
"Hold on…" She began, "Are the rumors true? Did Kamoshida really force you to participate in one of his…coaching sessions?"
No bruises, no wounds, no broken bones to speak of. When Ann sat down with Shiho each time, she would notice the presence of new injuries, but her best friend always denied their origins. Sometimes she would claim they were accidents from practice, others from unrelated incidents. As time progressed throughout the school year, Ann's suspicions grew, so she decided to investigate it now, starting with Kamoshida's latest point of interest: one Akira Kurusu.
"Yes."
"Then, can you tell me what happened there?"
"Nothing to note, really. Just normal tryouts." How cruel, chuckling to himself, Akira wanted to laugh at his own cowardice. From questioning abuse victims to keeping quiet himself, it was truly ironic. However, there was no telling who would end up backstabbing him later on.
"As if I'd believe any of that." Ann paced herself in front of him, blocking the exit, cutting him off from his only escape. "You're telling me everything. I heard people talking about how terrible you looked when you got out."
Two drinks sat idle, neither one touched by their owner, as two figures sat secluded in the corner of a bustling cafe. Out of the window city life progressed, people emerged from the station, heading home while a minor traffic jam began to build on the busy roads. Despite the energy outside, inside the restaurant was a different matter as the Shujin students faced each other in an awkward stand still, neither welcoming the other's presence.
"I don't look like a mess, now do I?" Akira countered, his pure black coffee in hand. Evening light streamed in from the outside, giving the entire scene a sober mood.
"I heard your father was a famous doctor in your prefecture." Ann placed her soda aside.
"What does that have to do with practice?"
The pig-tailed blonde raised an eyebrow, frustration in her eyes, "You could have patched yourself up better than most."
"Oh? To the point where I appear unharmed, negating the rumors from this morning?" Smirking, Akira placed an arm to his chin to support his cheeky grin, his voice singing in amusement.
"Look just-! Just what are you hiding? Weren't you and Ryuji going around asking people about Kamoshida because you wanted justice?" She was holding it in, her anger was going to reach a critical boiling point in the next few minutes.
"..."
"Well? Don't tell me he beat you into submission!"
His next words caused her to break.
"Are you asking me because of Shiho?"
"W-Why would I do that? She already tells me everything!" Slamming her palm down, their drinks rattled, creating ripples across the surface.
"Then there you have it. Nothing happened."
Just because Akira had rumors spread about him doesn't mean he wasn't paying attention to the other flavor texts sampled around the academy. Among them, Ann Tamaki and her best friend on the volleyball team were among the second hottest topics at Shujin.
"Ugh, you're such a jackass."
Clenching some stray napkins on the cafe table, Ann cursed, her face red once again. Expecting the transfer to give a similar speech akin to the rest of the student body about Kamoshida being the school saint.
And then he didn't.
"But if you want to know if I oppose Kamoshida then yes." Leaning closer to the girl now, his back hunched, Akira spoke once more, "And I believe he will repent for his sins in the next few days."
"H-huh? Don't tell me you'll-"
"No. Of his own violation."
Finishing the last of his coffee, Akira rose up, picking up his bag, a thin smile on his face. "I apologize for earlier, Ann. There are only a few people I trust right now, so I have to be careful.
"Hey! At least tell me what you'll get up to! You'll be expelled if anyone finds out."
"I won't be."
Walking away from the bustling cafe, he had a game plan and with the rest of the pieces assembled, he would have all the clear conditions to win this first round. Morgana giving him information, Minato securing the treasure route, and finally him and Ryuji serving as backup would surely come out on top. Now he just needed to prepare and convince his friend. It would take a few more days, but he had time and so his next stop would be a certain shop, tacked in the back alley of the city.
Heavy rain poured down from the heavens, soaking the earth below accompanied by gray skies hanging overhead of a slowly gathering crowd. Concrete buildings towered above, serving as curtains to obscure the scene, as panicked voices erupted in unison at the horror, staring at the broken body laying on the ground. Dark hair splayed on hard concrete, hot tears mixed in with the rain. The ringing in her ears drowned all present, as her mind began to blur, shutting down.
"Everyone stay back!" rows of teachers blocked off the area, waiting for emergency services to arrive, among them Akira stood eyes a blank.
"Let go! She's my best friend!" Ann fought through the commotion, shoving people aside, brushing against the Fool to reach Shiho, broken on the ground. "Shiho! Shiho! Please stay with me!"
"Dude, are you kidding me…" Ryuji whispered, horrified, hidden among the chaos, his voice shaking.
"Ann…"
Weakly moving her eyes, unable to feel anymore, Shiho placed a hand on her friend's palm.
"Shiho, hold on ok? Help will be here soon you hear me…?" A knot formed in her throat as Ann found herself choking on her own voices. Sniffing, wiping away tears, her eyes softened when she saw a small smile form on Shiho's face. Rain drops showered down from the somber sky above, washing away the dirt and grim.
"You! You said you would do something about Kamoshida!"
Akira and Ryuji turned away from the castle. The distortions in the realm painted the world in a colorful kaleidoscope as they arrived in the other world. Ann emerged from the alleyway, pointing an accusatory finger at the Wild Card in particular.
"A-and what's with those ridiculous outfits!?"
"Bro, you told her about our plan!?" Ryuji jumped, fumbling for a proper reply.
Akira approached Ann, taking off his mask, revealing his true face. "The castle behind you, does it look out of place to you?" Drawing her attention away from the main topic, Ann reel back at the ridiculous scene.
"W-what's going?! Why is there a huge castle in the place of the school?" Now that she had proper time to process her temper, her body also felt heavy, taking more effort to move her limbs.
"Would you believe me if I said this was another world?" Colors twisting above in an eerie dance, buildings devoid of human presence aside, Ann found herself questioning the nature of reality. "Are you two some kinda super heroes or something? How is this going to help anything?"
"It's going to be hard to explain, but this realm will help us change Kamoshida's heart."
"Come on man! She doesn't need to know! It's none of her business-"
Akira waved a hand, shuting Ryuji, "She deserves to know this much. We all suffered under the reign of that bastard, so it's better to give some closure before he goes down."
"Goes down…?"
Just as Ann was about to ask more questions, a stray blast of energy blew the three, throwing them off their feet, Akira shielded Ann with his body, both tumbling to the ground.
"What the hell?!"
Quickly dragging her behind an alley wall, reaching into his dark coat, Akira fired a flurry of bullets at their attacker, hitting several armored knights with heavy gun fire in rapid succession. Thousands of ammunition rounds cracked and popped through the air, taking down most of the weaker shadows, however they soon bounced off of the bigger, armored bastards which raised their shields in a protective fashion. He tossed the automatic in his hand, finally running out of bullets.
"Ryuji, provide cover fire, distract them while I get Ann out of here!"
"Don't take too long! I can only hold'em off for some long!" Jumping into the fray, striking his pipe into the concrete, summoning a pillar of thunder, ravaging the surrounding shadows in a nasty surprise as he pulled at his mask, summoning Captain Kidd, who rammed through the shielders, tearing them in two from the haul of his ship.
"Holy shit…" Ann's jaw dropped at the carnage, frozen. Her attention was torn between the raging battle and the gun Akira fired. All this was insane. Ryuji riding on the ship of the creature he just summoned, throwing down lightning bolts wherever he went, zooming across the front gates in circles, frying several monsters in armor who fought by sending their spears and swords his way.
Once again taking Ann's hand, Akira guided her to the entrance, not noticing her legs had moved at all watching the pandemonium unfold, her blue eyes still transfixed at the scene. Only when she caught the glimpse of a frightening familiar face among the war zone did she snap back to reality in a low, venomous whisper.
"Is that…Kamoshida?"
Time began to slow, the world drained of its vibrant colors, noise faded from her perception when she spotted a pair of hollow, golden eyes glaring back from the castle's entrance, consuming her attention, eating away at her very soul. And in that moment, his lips moved, mouthing something only she could make out. A name carried in the wind, where his face twisted in a sick smile, taunting her to come closer by crushing a volleyball to scraps in his hand.
"Shiho."
Fire burned bright, igniting a deep searing resentment that was buried for time now lost. Shaking off the Fool's hand, Ann bounded towards the king in a blinding sprinting, yanking the extra pistol stuffed in his coat pocket, aiming straight at the shadow hoard, gunning down multiple in the process.
"Kamoshida! You have a lot to answer for!"
"Ann! Wait! You can't handle that-"
"Outta my way, idiot! You promised things would be fine, but now look at them!" Pushing the Wild Card back, hitching a ride on Ryuji's persona, Ann sprung up, balancing herself on the boat rocking back and forth, aiming her gun downwards, leaping into the atmosphere, blue flames enshrouding her.
"How dare you use her name you disgusting pig headed, piece of shit!" Hair fluttering in the wind, loosening her pigtails which melted into one blonde mass, wild blue eyes gathered a ball of azure in the sky, forming a crimson wipe that tore through the ground just a few inches next to the king which caused him to step back when a fireball bombarded his current position, burning him in hellish flames, when he came to, the azure had condensed into a women in a grand gown, hovering above Ann, while he felt the metal of a cold pistol pressed against his head.
"Shiho isn't just some toy you can mess with! So you better answer me what the the fuck is going on and repent for the shit you pulled!" Digging the pistol deeper, Ann's finger pressed lightly on the trigger, the temptation drawing her closer and closer.
But Kamoshida did not budge.
"Heh, is that what you think?" Suddenly, a rough hand caught her arm with inhuman strength, strong as iron, Kamoshida threw the girl a few feet, where she used her persona to catch her in an improvised landing. "You're all pathetic, causing a commotion at the entrance of my castle. Learn your place and grovel before your king!."
The ground shook, ichor pooling from the fallen shadows laying on the floor, sucking them all into the shadow king who grew in size, his flesh reddening, eyes bulging like a frog with bloodshot veins, salvia coated tongue stretching out from the beast's mouth. Four arms mimicking that of a god sprouted from his back, armored with silverware and a two cups filled with questionable material.
Roaring, the king's aura flattening any opposition in its wake, Ann fought to stand up against its overwhelming presence, gritting her teeth, shielding herself with her weapon in hand. Both Akira and Ryuji hurried over, the skull masked boy looking worse for wear, also affected by the aura, with the Fool being the only one shrugging off its effects.
"Bow before me, you insolent brats! Trying to take me down?! You think you're all hot shit?! I'm going to make sure to execute all of you from your shitty peasant existence!" Raising one arm, he smashed down one of the silver forks, knocking vast amounts of debris into the atmosphere as all three persona users scurred out of the way. Rocks the size cars flung loose, heading in hundreds of directions, crushing numerous shadows.
"Persona!" They all chanted in unison, colors of red, yellow, and black pierced through the dust, barely marking the pink skin of the monster when he deflected the next few shots with the flick of his golden knife. Shredding through a group of stone walls, Akira switched back and forth, dodging a flurry of volleyball strikes aimed at him, stepping right, jumping left, then flying into the air with Arsene's wings, charging a freezing blast of ice, switching persona mid air then zooming down on the beast, digging his dagger into one of its eyes.
"GAWARRHHHHHHH. Get off you brat!" Holding on for dear life, black ichor splattering onto the Fool's face, he twisted the knife, swiftly dashing away at the king trying to catch him with one of his hands, instead stabbing himself with his own fork.
"Nice one. We have the advantage for now!" Ann said, brandishing her wipe, coating it in a trail of hot flames, wrapping it around the beast king's huge form, yanking it toward her until lost his balance, toppling over, face planting into the earth.
Given this chance, Ryuji storms in, ramming with the full force of his persona behind him, straight into Kamoshida, throwing them both into the battered wall of the stone castle, decimating its outside in an earth shattering collision.
"He's down, he won't last long if we keep going-!"
Getting out of the way of the monster raising up again by eating from his cup, purple bodies wriggling inside, he roared to life once more.
"Fools, as if this would be enough to do anything! Do you know who I am? How much I did for all of you!?" Blue tongue coated in venomous salvia slid through the air, catching all off guard and slamming the three into the ground, a knife descending on Ann, rolling out of the way of a fatal stabbing through the chest. Pain flared up from their bodies, exhaustion threatening to shut them down completely, when Akira rose to his knee, casting a healing spell on all three.
"Everyone get up, we're not giving up now…" The fool could feel iron in the back of throat, yet he held on. "There's still so much more we can do." Akira gave a half smirk to his down companions, who rose, breaths ragged. Deep down he wanted to run, get away, retreat for a better day, but he knew that was impossible now.
"If it means dying right here, then I'm not gonna give up until I take this demon down with me!" Supporting herself on a side wall, Ann would stay even if the other two went for a full retreat.
"We actually don't have to deal with him per say…" Akira's eyes narrowed at the beast, "Someone told us if we steal this guy's desire for corruption then he'd be a changed man."
"It's true, he ain't lyin'." Ryuji added, breathing heavily, now suffering the consequences of his previous rampage.
"That still doesn't sit well with me knowing this thing is running free if we go back…"
"What's wrong? Finally had enough? Why don't you all just give in and die already?" Kamoshida taunted, drool now pooling the castle grounds, coating the battlefield in a sticky residue.
"Oh I wouldn't worry about us if I were you." Akira snapped back, enraging him even further, "I'd say you're even worse for wear than we are." Out of the corner of his eye, something made the trickster smile.
"What was that?! There's no way I'd be taken down by the likes of you! You're all just useless bra-"
Almighty light beamed down from the sky, parting the clouds.
BOOM
"God, you're an eyesore."
Kamoshida heard the snap of a finger, blinking to see he had lost an arm. "W-what's happening!?" Then, before he could think, his wine glass shattered in another needle of light, followed by his champion's chalice. "Noo! That was my trophy from n-nationals! How dare y-you!" Instantly, fear reared its ugly head on the once proud king, his heart dropped, vision clouding, entire frame trembling at an angelic presence descending from his own castle. Six holy wings adorned his back, godly blue eyes lit up, threatening to cave in his entire palace from the sheer energy emitted from his mere presence that distorted the dimensions, the instably threatening to shred the fabric of space and time into nothingness.
Minato pointed a finger at the demon, a thin blue veil coating his body, snapping his fingers again, letting tiny thin needles of megido rain down from the sky, tearing off the rest of the beast's arms, cutting them through like a knife to hot butter.
"WAHHHHH, stop it! Stop, stop, stop!" My arms! My legs!." Instead of seeing the angel before him, Kamoshida sensed death, retreating, shrinking back down to his human form and he resorted to desperately crawling on the ground, gathering his hacked off limbs in an attempt to save himself. Dark ichor leaking from every open wound, dying the grounds black, he reached for the exit when a drop of burning light scorched his path from escape. Turning to another way in, he was hit with another needle, forcing him to wriggle like a bug to get away.
"Revolting." Minato hissed in disgust as he had seen his true form and the memory motivated him to burn the wretched creature to ashes and he was well capable of doing so but after a look at the kids and the hatred in their eyes, the veteran llowered his hand but kept his stare on Kamoshida. Just one step forward and a little release of Thanatos' demonic essence and the peasant crumbled further, letting out a loud wail.
"P-please let me live! I-I'll do anything!" He begged, pressing his head against the stone floor, tears starting to stream down his ugly, beaten face. He felt it down to his core, his entire existence at the mercy of whoever that was. His body was flickering in and out of existence, struggling to exist in the same reality as the true demon king who was staring down at him with his eyes slightly widened but devoid of soul and humanity, just disgust and death shimmering violently.
"Then crawl back to that dunghill you call a castle of yours and await your judgment!" Snapping, Kamoshida shook his head up and down, hurrying inside, but he was stopped at the last second by a final needle of light, he turned, frightened.
"Y-yyes sir…?"
Minato gestured to Akira's group, "And they'll be your jury, so prepare that treasure of yours, the next time we arrive."
"Whoa, who was that guy…he was crazy!"
"You said you found him in the castle somewhere?"
Ryuji and Ann waited outside an ice cream shop, bombarding Akira and his cat with all sorts of bizarre questions. Questions that only made the situation more confusing with the right answers.
"Something like it. When everyone left me, he just showed up and looked like we had similar goals." Morgana did his best to fill in the two, much to their bewilderment. From struggling to defeat Kamoshida in his mind palace, to steamrolling his entire army in under a few seconds, the teens were both zealous, yet shaken by the battle.
"Yo that's pretty sick! Glad he could help us out when we needed it."
"Unlike someone making false promises" Narrowing her eyes, Ann held her gaze towards a certain frizzy haired Fool.
Akira expected the grilling, anticipated even, especially after how the situation had gotten out of control. His plans ruined, he fought the urge to not look away, swallowing his pride. He thought he could handle it, he thought he had prepared the right materials, yet he grew arrogant.
"I'm sorry. "
"What was that?" Like a mother disciplining a stubborn child, she expected more than an apology.
"I'm sorry for making fast promises that I couldn't keep."
"Bro, you really promised her that without me?" Now it was Ryuji's turn to put him on the spot. "Though we agreed to at least put this off until we figured out if it'll be a sure bet or not."
"Regardless, this is the only way to stop Kamoshida now." Morgana said, "Akira was pulled into Kamoshida's training sessions and he threatened to take you with him next time or both of you will be expelled."
"W-wait up! Are you serious? Is that why you were so hellbent on stopping him?" The former track star freaked.
Akira nodded, "To tell you the truth, he beat me pretty badly." He looked to Ann and then at the blue haired man currently in the ice cream shop, "He was the one who healed all my wounds, in seconds no less."
"Are you serious?" Ann put a hand to her mouth, eyes wide. "He can do that?"
"You guys sure you didn't pick up some kinda god?" Ryuji added.
Deity or not, the teens were interrupted by their new friend.
"They ran out of blueberry ice cream…" Cutting into the conversation, sounding dejected, Minato exited the shop with a monster ice cream tower that reached a little beyond his head. He focused on the missing crowning flavor that should have topped his super ultra special awesome tartarus deluxe scoop.
"Holy shit man, that's huge!"
"Not big enough." The man pouted, "My day is ruined, and here I was so hungry too." Anticipating the sudden rush of sugar, Minato made sure to switch to a null ice persona to not hurt himself from the oncoming brain freeze. Ah such was the ability of a true Wild Card.
"The first thing you get out and you run straight to the ice cream store and order THAT!?" Ann was in no way a nutrition expert, but she knew the basics well enough to conclude that ice cream is not a part of a healthy diet, nor a necessity by anyone's standards.
"Hmmm, when I woke up in that place I couldn't remember anything about myself. Although I knew I had this crazy craving for sweets. Perhaps it's related to a past feeling, or memory?" Minato mused out loud, being side eyed by Akira.
"Now the more I look at it…" Morgana drooled, "I want one too."
"Mona, not you too…"
"That's gotta give ya the worst brain freeze later. Can cats even eat ice cream?"
"O-of course I can! I'm human after all!"
As Morgana shouted, a group of kids ran by, bumping into the three, chasing a dog on a lease that had sped ahead, causing him to shriek and knock the cone right out of Minato's hand before he could taste the first scope.
"EKKKKKK!"
"GAHHHHH"
Screams of a high pitched cat merged with the shouts of children tripping over each other clouded the air, tainting the sunny afternoon. In that brief moment, the tartarus tower fell, sinking deep into the depths known only as the dirty city street, completely ruining Minato's day.
"M-my ice cream." Dead eyes glue to the ground at the violent loss, flavors mixing, melting into one warm slope in the dirt with the afterimage of a child's shoe print imprinted on his second favorite flavor. Crushed ice cream cone scatter the floor to the shaking hands of the bluenette now kneeling.
It was then all three teenagers and their cat stepped exactly three feet away from the grieving man, all wanting to get away from the weirdo they had just picked up.
Authors Notes: I'll be cutting the chapter here, rip for Minato's ice cream cone, he'll never get it back.
This chapter is still focusing on the Kamoshida arc, I tried wrapping things up but the word count simply got too large. You'll notice Akira being dragged into Kamoshida's sessions because something did change due to Minato's presence. He appears less stable here compared to canon. It's also one of the reasons Akira is willing to speed up the process to change him too.
At the end of the chap, Akira's arrogance is also on display and the story shows him growing bit by bit. I envisioned him starting out as a slightly arrogant character that learns to use his pride for good and softens throughout the fic.
Once again, thank you for reading and pls review!