How's it going, everyone? The 3rd Dragneel, returning with the third chapter of this crossover that I am surprised is getting a little more attention.
I know multi crossovers are a hit or miss, but with the Persona series, I feel like there's so much one can do. And because of my interest in the series, I hope to get more chapters released each month or so.
Enough of that, though. Here's a recap for new readers!
To recap: After a good night's sleep, Kinji awoke and prepared for his first day at Daiki High. On the way, he ran into a strange teen named Asta Staria, who offered him a shortcut to the school. Once they arrived, they ran into the security guard Sato, who seemed rather hostile towards Asta. Asta explained that Sato was rather strict, much like a warden in a prison. However, just before they could enter the school, reality itself warped and Daiki High was transformed into a strange supermax prison. Confused, the two entered and were arrested by strange men. Finding themselves in a cell, the two were shocked to find out the warden was in fact Sato, who seemed adamant to kill them. A voice spoke into Kinji's head and he summoned a strange creature called Holmes, who helped them escape and lock Sato in the cell. However, they were ambushed and were able to be attacked when a masked girl arrived, offering them a hand.
How will Kinji and Asta escape this prison? And who is this mysterious girl? Let's find out…
'Daiki High Teacher's Lounge'
In Daiki High, the students are encouraged to arrive at least twenty or so minutes before the first bell to avoid tardiness. Thit was to ensure that no one would miss out on any lectures or class assignments.
It is also one of the many reasons why Doppo Kunikida is feeling rather annoyed at this moment.
The blonde-haired teacher is finishing up yet another pile of paperwork, letting out a small sigh before looking over to the clock on the wall.
12:22. Over half the school day was already over, yet the newest student in his class, Kinji Tohyama, had still not shown up. Despite hearing from Sato that Tohyama had arrived at the school earlier that morning with Asta Staria, it seemed the two decided to skip out for the day.
'I'm aware of what had happened to him in his hometown, but that's still no excuse.' Kunikida thought with a disappointed frown. 'If he doesn't arrive within the next hour, I will need to speak with the principal.'
"Did you hear, Kunikida-kun? Another person was struck with a Psychotic Breakdown." One of the teachers, this one being a young woman, spoke up from across Kunikida, having looked at an article on her phone. "Oh dear. This time it was an elderly man. He left behind four grandkids."
"I see. That is unfortunate." Kunikida spoke up as he fixed his glasses. "This pandemic is growing much worse. I pray none of our students suffer the same fate."
Despite what he thought of the current transfer student, Kunikida silently hoped Tohyama and Staria didn't suffer a Psychotic Breakdown.
'With Kinji and Asta'
"Who the hell are you?!" That was definitely the question Kinji shared with Asta as they stared at the girl in front of them.
"Shhhh! Not so loud, you idiot!" The girl quickly said, looking around the area as if worried about something. "The Shadows could have heard that. You need to be more careful."
"S-Shadows? What are you talking about?" Kinji was the next to ask, albeit with a somewhat quieter tone than his friend.
"Look, we can't talk out in the open." The girl explained with a frown. "I can take you to the exit of the Palace. But stay close to me."
"Palace?" Asta and Kinji gave her a look, making her groan.
"I'll explain everything when there aren't Shadows coming. Let's go!" Grabbing their wrists, the girl began to drag them into the gated doors, moving them through another hallway. Despite being a little taller than her, Kinji and Asta were surprised at how strong this strange girl was. "Hold on." Bringing them up to a nearby wall, the girl glanced out, finding several spotlights blocking their path. "Damn. Too many spotlights."
"Psssssssss…" The three jumped a bit as they heard someone calling out to them from the cell next to them. Looking inside, Kinji and Asta gasped as they saw two females around their age inside.
However, what shocked them was their current attire.
The clothes were black with white stripes, yet they were very exposing. The shirt was cut up to the bottom of their chests, exposing their stomach. Their pants were also torn up, several bruises along their legs. Finally, their expression was rather odd given how they swayed back and forth like a pendulum.
"Heyyyyyy… do you have the stuff? I could really use it…" One of the girls asked in a slurry tone, leaning against the bars as she giggled. "I'll make sure you have a fun time~"
"What the hell are they talking about? And why are they dressed like that?!" Asta asked as he turned away out of respect.
"Come onnnnnnn. Don't you wanna play around?" The other girl added while cupping her breasts. "Give me a bit more and I'll let you do whatever you want to my girls."
"Are they… on something?" Kinji asked, somewhat recognizing the odd behavior the girls were exhibiting.
"We don't have time to waste. Come on." The masked girl reminded them.
"No way! We have to get them out!" Asta countered as he went to the door to pull it open, only for it to not budge. "Damnit! It needs a key." He then recalled what Kinji had. "Kinji, give me those keys!"
"Key?" Kinji widened his eyes as he took out the keys he took from Sato, handing it to Asta. He put one of them in and turned it, only for it to be the wrong key.
"Nope." He tried another key, only to fail. "No." Yet again, he tried a different key, yet the result was the same. "Damnit!"
"Look, there's no point. They aren't real." The girl informed them, making them look at her like she was crazy. "I said I'll explain everything when we're safe, but we aren't. So stop trying to act like heroes and move!"
Kinji was still thoroughly confused as to what the girl meant by the female prisoners not being real, but even he knew the urgency of the situation. As much as he wanted to help the prisoners escape, without the right key, their efforts would be for nothing.
Biting his lower lip, Kinji put a hand on Asta's shoulder. "She's right. We have to go for now." He explained as Asta gave him a look. "But we'll come back for them." He then looked at the other cells. "All of them."
Asta could see the conflicted look on his friend's face before he eventually nodded solemnly. The masked girl gave them a nod before the trio began to continue running through the hallway, avoiding the strange spotlights from above, as well as any guards nearby. As they ran, Kinji and Asta took note of more and more prisoners behind bars, many of them being females while a few actually had males. Unlike the girls, however, the boys looked worse for wear as they looked like they were on the verge of death.
'Seriously, what is this place? How did anyone miss this?' Kinji thought in disgust, his anger towards Sato slowly growing.
"Hey, I see the front hallway!" Asta's words snapped Kinji out of his thoughts as he looked ahead, noticing a somewhat familiar hallway.
"Wait." The girl stopped them as two guards walking in front of the entrance.
"Did those inmates come through here?" One of the guards asked.
"Not yet. I can't believe they did that to the Warden. I'll make sure they never do that again." The other guard answered as the two chuckled darkly.
"Great. What do we do?" Asta whispered in frustration. The masked girl saw a door nearby, making her smile.
"Follow me." She urged the two males to follow as they opened the door and snuck through. The room they entered looked much like a small library, completely with tall windows and for some reason, a chandelier. "Good. It looks like no one's in here."
"Which means we can finally talk." Kinji closed the door as quietly as he could as Asta and the masked girl sat down on a nearby table. "So, will you finally start answering some questions?"
"First, who the hell are you? I don't think I've seen you at Daiki." Asta added on before he looked under the table. "And second… WHAT'S WITH THE BUSHY TAIL?!"
"First, don't start screaming, idiot." The girl glared at Asta for a moment before she relaxed and removed her mask. "My name is Raphtalia. I'm a human. Or… at least I think I am."
"Raphtalia, huh? That's a pretty unique name." Kinji muttered before he raised a brow. "What do you mean by you THINK you're human? Neither of us." He gestured at himself and Asta. "Have a tail."
"I know I'm human!" Raphtalila shouted, her tail actually wagging to show her anger. She calmed down soon after. "You really don't know where you are, do you?"
"No, we don't! We were trying to get to school, but then this prison appeared out of nowhere!" Asta answered.
"I see. So you entered the Palace without meaning to. Strange…" Raphtalita crossed her arms in thought. "You're lucky I found you. Otherwise, who knows how long you would have been trapped in here for."
"You said something about a Palace. Is that what this place is?" Kinji asked, referring to their surroundings. "How did it appear?"
"A Palace is a place that is created by a person's warped distortion of reality." Raphtalia started to explain. "Usually, they aren't so massive. But this one in particular seems to be created by someone with a twisted view of the world." She then frowned deeply. "That man is disgusting…"
"Man? You mean Sato-san?" Asta chimed in, catching Raphtalia's attention. "You're saying he… made this place?"
"If we're thinking the same person, then yes." Raphtalia nodded before her top ears perked up. "I can hear more guards coming. We need to get you out of here."
"But how? I don't see another…" Kinji trailed off as he looked up at the windows and saw one of them was slightly open. "The window."
"Good. You're a lot more calm under pressure than shorty over there." Raphtalia complimented with a smile, though this made Asta glare at her.
"I'm not that short! And my name's Asta!" Asta shouted, only to cover his cover upon recalling what Raphtalia said. The trio then quickly ran to the window and opened it just enough so they could slip through, entering the front of the palace.
"Are you sure no one'll follow us? If they see the window…" Kinji spoke up, only for Raphtalia to shake her head.
"No. The Shadows won't ever leave a Palace. You can say they're attached to them." Raphtalia explained before pointing to the front. "If you go through there, you'll be able to return to the real world."
"Thanks a lot, Raphtalia! No way we could've gotten out on our own, even with Kinji's weird power." Asta thanked her with a smile, though this seemed to confuse her.
"Power?" Raphtalita turned towards Kinji. "Kinji, right? What power is he talking about?"
"It's hard to explain. It was like I summoned a person." Kinji recalled, looking at his hand. "There was a mask like yours and my clothes changed. My clothes changed and that person was able to fight for me."
"Persona…" Raphtalia muttered under her breath, something that made Kinji raise a brow before she shook her head. "Anyways, you two should really get out of here now."
"What about you?" Kinji questioned with a frown. While he still had a lot of questions regarding Raphtalia and this Palace, he didn't feel like leaving her behind.
"I still have some business here. But once I feel like my stamina is low, I'll leave." Raphtalia reassured them. "Go."
As much as Kinji and Asta didn't want to leave her behind, they couldn't exactly force her to, given how much she seemingly knew about this Palace. Not to mention she had a sword with her to at least defend against those guards.
"We'll see you again, okay? Don't get hurt!" Asta yelled as he and Kinji rushed over to the entrance of the Palace. As soon as they crossed the gate, a strange distortion covered their bodies, causing them to disappear from Raphtalia's view.
"Kinji and Asta… they came here on their own. And Kinji even has a Persona…" A smile seemed to cross Raphtalia's face as she turned back towards the Palace. "They might be able to help after all."
'Kinji and Asta, the real world'
*Thud*
Kinji and Asta suddenly lost their footing the moment the distortion disappeared, causing them both to fall on their stomachs.
"Owww. That smarts." Asta muttered as he and Kinji managed to pick themselves up. Looking around, Asta's eyes widened as he noticed they were back in front of the school. "Hey. Everything's back to normal!" He quickly pulled out his phone and sighed in relief. "And I got bars."
Kinji decided to see if his phone also had a signal. However, the moment he turned it on, he noticed that the same weird app from before was on.
"You have returned to the Real World. Welcome back." The app's A.I informed him.
"What is with this thing?" Kinji muttered, even more confused than ever.
"Returned? What does that mean?" Asta asked with a head tilt. "Wait, your phone worked back in that Palace thing, right? How did that happen?"
Before Kinji could respond…
"Well, well. Look who finally decided to show up to school." Kinji and Asta widened their eyes as they looked at the front of the school, where Sato was looking at them with a deep frown.
"You?!" Asta suddenly got defensive as he looked at Sato, who raised a brow in confusion. "How did you get out of that cell?! We got rid of the key!"
"Cell? Key? What are you on about, Staria?" Sato questioned with narrowed eyes. "And you should watch your tone. The principal is already pissed that you skipped out for half the day."
"Hang on…" Kinji checked his phone and realized that is was 12:55. They had been in that Palace for over four hours! 'So time runs normally, even in a place like that.'
"I'm a little surprised you ditched, Staria. But dragging the transfer with you? That doesn't look good for your record." Sato shook his head in disappointment, only infuriating Asta as he prepared to speak up.
"Don't." Kinji quickly put a hand on Asta's shoulder, turning his attention away from the security guard. "Just relax for now, okay? Yelling might make things worse." Asta looked over to his new friend before he calmed down.
"At least one of you has some common sense." Sato admitted before crossing his arms. "You better get inside, Staria. I'm sure your teacher's got a few words for you."
"... Okay." Holding back his anger, Asta walked past Sato and entered the school.
"And you." Sato turned his attention towards Kinji. "It's not a good look to ditch on your first day of school, especially hanging out with that kid. Hope you remember that."
"Thanks for the advice. I appreciate it." Kinji replied with a neutral tone. Even though he told Asta to not fight Sato, Kinji still felt a bit of hostility towards the man in front of him. Especially with his twisted cognition. 'But why is he warning me about Asta?'
"Then get to the Faculty Office. Pretty sure Kunikida's boiling in there." Sato informed Kinji, who began to walk towards the school.
However, the moment he passed Sato, for a brief moment, Kinji saw the older man in the same outfit that he was in during his trip through the Palace. However, Sato then returned to his normal clothes, giving Kinji a raised brow.
"Something wrong?"
"No. Just my imagination." Kinji shook his head and went inside the school, all while Sato gave him a dirty look.
'That kid…'
It didn't take long for Kinji to eventually find the Faculty Office, where he found a few teachers inside, working on paperwork.
"Is Kunikida-sensei here?" Kinji asked out loud, causing a certain blonde-haired man to perk up as he turned towards him. As soon as he did, Kinji was able to get a better look at him. Kunikida-sensei. He had deep, green-gray eyes and neat golden-blond hair that ended with a ponytail. His attire consisted of a beige vest over a black long-sleeved dress shirt, a red ribbon tied into a bow around the collar, beige pants, and plain brown shoes. The older man then gave a stern look at Kinji, making him sweat a bit. 'He knows…'
"Kinji Tohyama, am I correct?" The man known as Kunikida asked with a rhetorical tone. Steeling himself a bit, Kinji gave a nod. "Tell me, do you know what time it is?"
"I… it's almost one?" Kinji replied back.
"Correct. The school day starts at eight, with a morning assembly, followed by homeroom. You are aware of this, given that you spoke with the principal the other day." Kunikida explained. "Imagine my disappointment when I found that you had indeed arrived at the school by Sato-san, only for you and Staria to skip class." He then hardened his eyes at the teen. "You can understand that this will have a negative effect on your record. Do you have anything to say for yourself?"
Kinji wanted to tell him that he and Asta did enter the school, only for it to turn into a warped prison run by Sato, but there was little hope Kunikida would actually believe him. Hell, he was still having a hard time processing this.
Still, the best thing he could do now is make up some lie.
"We were on our way to school… but someone called for help." Kinji lied. "I heard, so I went to go help them, and As-Staria went with me. There was an elderly woman who needed help with groceries and we volunteered, even though we knew we would be late. When we were done, it was already close to the afternoon, so we ran back." He then gave Kunikida a bow. "I'm sorry for being late, sensei."
"..." Kunikida didn't seem to really buy what Kinji was saying, yet there was clear regret in his voice. Besides, if he and Staria did help someone in need, that should be commendable, if only slightly. "Regardless, you still returned, albeit after half of today's classes are over. Since there was an accident nearby, the afternoon classes have been canceled. You will introduce yourself to the class. Follow me." Standing up, Kunikida gestured to Kinji to follow him.
'A few minutes later'
As soon as they reached the front of the classroom door, the bell rang, indicating that lunch had ended and classes would resume.
"Before we continue class, I'd like to introduce our new transfer student." Kunikida informed the class in a professional tone before nodding to Kinji.
"My name is Kinji Tohyama." Grabbing a piece of chalk, Kinji wrote his name on the board. Once he was done, he looked back at the class while bowing. "I'm pleased to meet all of you." He took the time to look at his new classmates and, much to his slight disappointment, Asta wasn't among them.
"Sheesh, late on your first day? Guess he didn't think he needed to show up."
"He looks kinda cute."
"You never know. He might be the silent, angry type."
Unfortunately, some of the students began to gossip a little in Kinji's presence, making him sweatdrop a bit.
"That's enough, everyone." Kunikida's stern tone caused many of the students to shut up, with a few sweating a bit in fear. "I will not tolerate baseless gossip to be conducted in my classroom. Am I understood?"
"Yes, Kunikida-sensei…" The teacher nodded in satisfaction as he looked around for an available seat…
"Oh! Sensei!" A cheery female voice called out from near the end of the classroom, with the owner of the voice raising a hand. "There's an open seat right over here!"
"Thank you, Nishikigi-san." Kunikida thanked the student before looking at Kinji. "Your seat will be over there." Kinji then proceeded to walk towards his new desk, doing his best to ignore the looks some of the students he passed by were giving him. Soon, he reached the desk, placing his bag on top.
"Hi." Taking a seat, Kinji turned towards the student who gave their teacher the idea and needless to say, she was quite the looker.
She definitely looked to be around his age, with red eyes and medium-length blonde hair, with a red ribbon tied in a bow on the left side of her hair. She wore a red uniform much like his own, with a skirt with a red front and a gray design on the side, as well as knee high black socks and brown shoes.
"A bit late to show up, isn't it?" The girl asked with a teasing tone before offering a friendly hand. "I'm Chisato. Chisato Nishigiki. Nice to meet you, Kinji-kun."
"Ummm, same." Kinji shook her hand in response, a bit surprised to receive such a kind greeting. Not that he minded, honestly. It beat having everyone make up some random crap about him.
Plus… this Chisato was a pretty cute girl.
'The hell? Why am I focusing on that?' Kinji thought in annoyance, trying to recompose himself.
"Now, let us resume our last lecture." Kunikida got everyone's attention as he took out the class textbook. However, a thought occurred. "Nishigiki-san? Are you willing to share your textbook with Tohyama-san for today?"
"Sure thing, sensei!" Chisato suddenly scooted her desk until it bumped into Kinji's, much to his surprise. She then took out her textbook and placed it between herself and Kinji. Kunikida then proceeded with the class' reading for the day, with Kinji doing his best to listen. "Hey…" However, Chisato didn't really give him a chance to focus as she decided to start a conversation. "What really happened to make you show up so late?"
"I'd rather not say." Kinji whispered as he wrote down some notes.
"People are already making stuff up about you. That you just ditched because you don't really care." Chisato tilted her head, making Kinji sweat a bit as he felt her gaze. "But… I don't think that's it."
"You don't?" This time, Kinji looked at Chisato, only for her to give him a cute smile.
"Nope. You seem like a good person. And cute." Her words actually made him blush a bit as he turned away.
"Nishigiki-san." Chisato jumped as Kunikida called her out, giving her a look. "If you are so inclined to start a conversation, then perhaps we can have one after class."
"N-No. That's okay. Sorry, sensei…" Chisato sank a bit in her seat as she kept reading along with the rest of her class.
'Later that afternoon'
Like Kunikida said, the rest of the afternoon classes were canceled, so the students were now getting ready to leave for the day, with a few staying behind to hang out.
'Not the best way to start the first day.' Kinji thought as he left the classroom, hands in his pockets. He was grateful Kunikida was able to help him get some notes from his other classes, but he expected him to show up on time from now on.
As he walked through the halls, a sudden headache crossed his mind and the hallway suddenly shifted to the prison from before. "Ahhh…"
"Tohyama-kun?" A familiar voice called out as Kinji felt a hand on his shoulder. Opening one eye, he looked at the person who was trying to get his attention, only to gasp a bit.
"Chiba-san?" True to his word, Kinji was staring at the concerned face of Erika Chiba, the girl he helped yesterday. Instead of the clothes she wore the other day, she wore a uniform much like Chisato's, only she wore a gray white skirt with black leggings.
"Are you okay? You look a little pale." Erika asked with a frown.
"Y-yeah. I'm fine." Kinji reassured her as his vision returned, the hallway returning to normal. "Did the hall look like… a prison just now?"
"Prison? I know people complain about coming to school, but that's a bit much." Erika jabbed lightly before raising a brow. "But seriously. Where did that come from?"
"It's not really important." Kinji should have expected this kind of answer, but he needed to make sure. "Anyways, this is a surprise. I didn't expect to see you so soon."
"Well, I was just passing by and I saw you. So I thought I'd say hi." Erika explained before the two went over to the side to continue their talk. "Actually, I wanted to ask you something." She then motioned him to come closer, which he complied. "People are saying you ditched half the school day. Is that true?"
'Seriously? How fast do these stupid rumors spread?' Kinji thought with clear frustration on his face. "It's not like I wanted to. It's just… something happened." Kinji explained while rubbing the back of his neck. Erika looked at him with a raised brow, wondering why he was so tense.
However, a thought soon crossed her mind as she smiled.
"Ohhhh. I get it." Erika whispered.
"Get what?" For some reason, Kinji had a bad feeling about this.
"You have a girlfriend, don't you?" Erika's words caused Kinji to widen his eyes in shock. "Hey, I'm not judging. But maybe keep the make out session for AFTER school, you know~"
"H-Hold on! That is NOT what happened!" Kinji didn't know where Erika was getting this idea, but he was not liking it.
"Okay, okay. I was just messing with you." Erika chuckled in amusement while nudging Kinji. Once she stopped, she gave him a soft smile. "You know, the stuff people are saying is really dumb. I don't think you're that bad."
"Thanks." Despite the teasing, Kinji was glad Erika wasn't as gullible as the others. Though, now that it was brought up, Kinji was wondering just how this dumb rumor spread.
Either it was from a student or… no… He wouldn't…
"Kinji!" He was brought out of his thoughts when he and Erika saw Asta rushing towards them.
"No yelling in the halls, please." One of the nearby teachers called out, making Asta slow down while giving a quick apology.
"Hey man." Asta greeted Kinji before noticing Erika. "And Erika too."
"What's up, Asta?" Erika lifted a fist up, which Asta bumped it. Kinji looked at them with curiosity.
"You know each other?"
"Yup. Since last year." Asta revealed with a grin. "I tried out for the kendo club, but I ended up losing."
"To me." Erika added with a cheeky smile. "Since then, we hung a bit here and there. Did you need something?"
"Actually, yeah. I wanted to talk to Kinji before he left." Asta went over to Kinji and placed a hand on his shoulder, leaning close to his ear. "Meet me on the roof." With that, he walked away, leaving Erika a bit confused.
"What was that about? You two have something going on?" Erika couldn't help but ask.
"No. It's nothing really." Kinji answered her. "I have to get going. See you later." Giving Erika one last nod, Kinji walked towards the stairs.
"Okay… now there's definitely something going on." Erika crossed her arms, her curiosity peaking a bit.
While she didn't want to pry, the way Kinji and Asta acted was very strange.
'Rooftop'
It didn't take Kinji long to reach the rooftop of Daiki High, where he saw Asta leaning against the wall, his bag next to his leg.
"Thanks for coming." Asta greeted him with a smile, happy to see Kinji would actually meet up with him. "I know I said I owed you a beef bowl, but I didn't want anyone else to hear this."
"No, I get it." Kinji went over to Asta sitting down on the floor while looking up at the sky. "This isn't a bad view."
"I know, right? The gardening club sometimes uses the roof to plant veggies." Asta said, gesturing towards the gardening beds nearby. "I haven't come up here since-" Before he could finish, Asta stopped himself.
"Asta?" Kinji looked at his friend and noticed a rare look of sadness in his eyes before he shook his head.
"Anyways, that's not why I called you here." Asta continued, now giving a serious look. "When you were in school, did you feel a weird headache? And did you see the hall turn into-"
"The Palace?" Kinji finished, now realizing that he wasn't the only one who was affected. "You saw it too?"
"It has to be that Palace thing, right? I mean the school did turn into one earlier." Asta looked down. "And… there was also this weird feeling I got when I passed by Sato earlier. Like there were two people instead of one."
"It might have to do with the fact he's the Palace Ruler. At least from what Raphtalia said." Kinji muttered, now thinking about the strange tanuki girl that rescued them.
"We left her, man. We just… we left her!" Asta punched the wall in frustration. "She could've come with us. Why didn't we drag her out?! She could be hurt or-"
"Hey, stop it." Getting back on his feet, Kinji grabbed Asta's wrist before he could punch the wall again. "We did try, but she wanted to stay. Even if it doesn't make sense, she knows more about this than we do." Though he said this, Kinji still felt like checking up on her.
"Do you…" Asta relaxed, allowing Kinji to let him go. "Do you think we can go back and check on her? I mean we did once. Maybe we can do it again?" Kinji was about to reject the idea when he recalled the strange app on his phone.
'It was on when we went inside and it even told us when we got out.' Kinji thought, looking down at his pocket. 'Could we?'
"Well, maybe it's better we do that tomorrow or something." Asta sighed while scratching his head. "After what happened, I'm kinda tired. Plus, I bet my mom found out I didn't come in this morning, so she's probably mad."
The mention of Asta's mother caused Kinji to freeze up as he forgot one vital thing.
If he showed up late to school, then his parents or guardian would be informed. And if the school called Asta's mom, then there was a high chance Kotetsu got the call as well.
'Oh crap…' Kinji rubbed the bridge of his nose, now dreading his eventual return to Cafe Midnight. While Kotetsu didn't seem like the angry type, he might still berate the teen for what happened.
"Sorry to call you up here." Asta apologized before his grin returned to his face. "I just wanted to talk a little about what happened. I'll see you tomorrow!" With that, Asta left the roof, leaving Kinji to his thoughts.
"Going back, huh?" Kinji took out his phone and looked at the weird eye app with a frown. "If I knew how to use that power, could I do something to help?"
Maybe he will try to go back tomorrow. Hopefully, Holmes would be there to back him up.
'Cafe Midnight, early evening'
Kinji was hoping the train ride back to the cafe would take longer, especially with that supposed accident that happened. Unfortunately, he managed to get back sooner than he expected, much to his dismay.
"Well, no point in stalling." Kinji sighed to himself as he opened the door and entered. Just as he expected, both Kotetsu and Anzu were inside, with the former reading his newspaper while the latter was cleaning the counter top. As the door closed, Anzu looked over and gave a small frown at Kinji.
"You're back." Anzu greeted though unlike her usual kind tone, there was a hint of disappointment in it.
"Hello." Kinji gave her a small bow as Kotetsu put down his paper, showing his own frown.
"Good first day, huh?" Kotetsu asked in a rhetorical tone. "Then again, maybe you wouldn't know since apparently, you ditched half the day."
'Here we go…" Kinji knew this would be the reaction and prepared to handle it.
"Kid, I know you're new to the area, but we just went to the school yesterday." Kotetsu continued as he crossed his arms.
"I wasn't trying to skip out." Kinji tried to reason.
"Right. That's what they all say." Kotetsu let out a sigh as he shook his head. "Look, I know what happened to your brother hurts, I do. But that doesn't mean you can just show up late at school. I made a promise to your grandpa that I'd look out for you. But I can't do that if you won't follow the rules."
"You're right. I'm sorry, Kotetsu-san." Kinji gave an apologetic bow. Even if he could tell Kotetsu what happened, that still wouldn't excuse the fact he missed out on his first day. And to think he and Kotetsu were just starting to get along earlier today.
Kotetsu continued to stare at the young man before his eyes softened. "Awww, alright. You can stop feeling sorry." Kotetsu told him while rubbing his neck. "I'm not that strict. Just promise you won't do that again, alright?"
"You're once to talk, Kotetsu." Anzu cut in with a knowing smile. "When you were his age, I remember you got in quite a bit of mischief like Kinji-kun."
Kotetsu looked at his mom like she ran him over with her car. All while Kinji gave him a surprised look.
"Mom, really? It was three times." Kotetsu groaned in embarrassment. He then looked back at Kinji. "Alright, go up to your room. I'm sure you got some homework or something."
"Right." Kinji began to walk past the Kaburagis when he turned back to Kotetsu. "It won't happen again, Kotetsu-san. I promise."
This caused Kotetsu to crack a smile as he nodded, allowing Kinji to go back to his room. "I'm not being too soft. Am I, mom?"
"Teenagers can be unpredictable." Anzu confessed before giving her son a reassuring look. "But even I can see Kinji-kun felt guilty about this. We should still give him the benefit of the doubt."
"Yeah." Kotetsu drank from his cup before sighing. "God, I hope Kaede won't cause any trouble when she's sixteen."
*Thud*
The moment he reached his room, Kinji dropped his bag and fell face first onto his bed, all the excitement of today finally hitting him.
"God, how tired was I?" Kinji muttered out loud as he turned over, looking at the ceiling as he recalled what happened.
He met Asta.
They went inside a weird prison called a Palace.
The school security guard Sato was apparently the ruler.
He summoned a person called Holmes, who kinda reminded him of the fictional detective.
And finally, he and Asta were saved by Raphtalia, who for some reason, had a tail and long ears.
"Sounds like something out of a manga or something. What the hell?" Kinji rubbed his face before letting out a breath. "Why'd this have to happen to me?" Either someone planted that app on his phone or this was God's twisted sense of humor.
Either way, what he saw in that Palace was something he couldn't simply ignore.
"Asta said we should try checking it out tomorrow." Now that he was thinking about it, since Asta went inside with him, did that mean he also got the app? He would definitely ask to see Asta's phone tomorrow. "Thank god we don't have homework tonight." A yawn escaped Kinji's mouth as his eyes got heavy. "Maybe I'll take a nap…"
With that, Kinji closed his eyes and went to sleep.
'Velvet Room'
Kinji should have known the wackiness wouldn't end as he found himself once again in the Velvet Room, where Igor and Vivy were patiently waiting for him.
"My master wishes to speak with you, inmate." Vivy spoke up with her usual monotone tone as Igor seemingly smiled at the young inmate.
"First off, we should celebrate our reunion." Igor started while tapping his fingers.
"Yeah, I didn't exactly expect to come back so soon." Kinji admitted as he went up to the bars, not feeling as tired as he was. "Listen, I have a question."
"Oh? And pray tell, what would that be?" Igor asked with a curious look.
"The app on my phone. Was it you who put it there?" Kinji asked with a serious tone, to which Igor openly chuckled.
"Ahhh. You're more perceptive than I expected, Trickster." Igor complimented. "As for your question, yes. I was the one who imparted the Metaverse Navigator into your phone."
"Metaverse Navigator?" Kinji raised a brow, wondering what that meant.
"It is the tool that you will need to counter the oncoming ruin. You have seen first hand the corruption of those influenced by it when you entered the Palace, correct?" Igor continued on.
"Sato… so that really was his view of the world? Or at least the school." Kinji tightened his grip on the bars, disgusted by Sato's warped view. "But how can I stop him?"
"With your newly acquired powers, of course." Igor told Kinji like it was obvious. "My, and what a special power indeed." He leaned forward, resting his chin on his hand. "With the power of your Persona, your rehabilitation can begin."
"Persona… that's what Raphtalia said earlier." Kinji added, recalling what Raphtalia muttered in the Palace. "What is it?"
"A Persona is, in other words, a mask - an armor of the heart when confronting worldly matters." Igor began to explain as Kinji listened closely. "For example, if one were to face death in the Metaverse, their Persona would manifest to protect them. I'm sure you are aware."
"Yeah. Holmes." Kinji recalled how that weird mask appeared on his face when he was about to be shot. How he heard Holmes' voice call out to him before he ripped off the mask.
How he felt so powerful when fighting those monsters.
"I have high expectations for you, Kinji Tohyama." Igor's words snapped Kinji out of his thoughts. "Ensure that you use the Metaverse Navigator to conquer the hearts of the corrupt. I give it to you as a means to train you as a thief."
"Hold on, thief?" Kinji asked with a frown. "I'm not stealing anything for you."
"The Navigator is a gift from my master. Use it to better yourself as a thief, inmate." Vivy joined in before reaching for her baton. "Should you use the gift poorly, I will punish you."
"However, even with the Metaverse Navigator, you are still one person." Igor said before his smile grew. "Should you find others who may be useful to your rehabilitation, I will grant them the Navigator as well. It will be needed to make you an exceptional thief."
*RING*
"It seems our time for discussion is over." Vivy called out as the alarm rang in the air.
"Hold on! Why do you want me to be a thief? I don't understand." Kinji tried to get an explanation, only to feel his body grow heavy.
"We will speak again, Trickster…" Igor's voice echoed as Kinji lost consciousness.
'Tuesday 4/12, morning'
Kinji opened his eyes and found himself back in his bedroom, though now, he was in the correct position. "Did Kotetsu-san help me?" Kinji asked in wonder as he pushed the sheets off his body, sitting up straight. Looking down, he noticed that he had slept in his school uniform, making him groan a bit. "At least I have a spare one."
This was the second time he was brought to the Velvet Room by Igor. While he did feel rested, it still didn't take away the information that he learned about yesterday.
Taking out his phone, Kinji found the Metaverse Navigator once again. "The Metaverse Navigator… a tool to enter a Palace." Kinji muttered as he was close to pressing the app. However, he then saw what time it was. "Crap. Better get going."
'Daiki High School, afternoon'
Much to Kinji's relief, the rest of the day went by without a hitch. He didn't end up entering the Palace, nor did he have any issue with Sato (although, he still got a suspicious glare from the older man). Not to mention now that he was able to participate in his morning classes, he was able to catch up rather quickly. He was also thankful that Chisato was more than willing to help him out in some of their classes, though this got him some glares from the other male students.
After the final bell rang, Kinji began to exit the classroom, rolling his neck a bit. "Finally, a normal day."
"Hey, Tohyama-kun!" Hearing his name, Kinji turned around and saw Chisato hopping over to him with a smile. "You heading home?"
"Yeah. You?" Kinji asked, deciding to have a friendly conversation since he didn't have much to do.
"Kinda. I was actually gonna ask if you wanted to study a bit." Chisato said with a slight sigh. "I'm kinda stuck with that last passage we had."
"English, huh? Well, I guess I can help a little." Kinji offered, even though he was okay with English. Before Chisato could answer…
"Is everything alright, Tsubaki?" He heard Sato's voice in front of him, making him look ahead. Sato was currently speaking with a male student, who seemed to be rather afraid of him.
"Y-Yes sir. Just going home." The student known as Tsubaki replied with a shaky smile. "I should-"
"Hang on." Sato put a hand on his shoulder, stopping him from moving. There was a flash of panic that crossed the student's face as Sato narrowed his eyes. "Are you still having problems?"
"No! Not at all. I'm p-peachy." Tsubaki chuckled nervously, hoping to get out of this situation. "T-Thank you for trying to help, but I really should be going."
"Uh oh. Looks like Sato-san's going at it again." Chisato whispered with a frown, something Kinji noticed.
"He's done this before?" Kinji asked her, not taking his eyes off the interaction.
"Kinda. He kinda acts like that to everyone. Like he thinks we're bad guys." Chisato explained.
"I-I really should go. Please." Tsubaki asked with a pleading look. Sato kept staring at him before he finally noticed Kinji and Chisato looking at him.
"Fine." Sato finally released Tsubaki, who quickly went down the stairs. The older man then glared at Kinji. "You got something to say, Tohyama?"
"No. Nothing at all." Kinji replied as he returned the glare, though not as intense. The two continued to look at one another before Chisato stepped in.
"A-Anyways, we should get going, Tohyama-kun." Chisato spoke up as she suddenly grabbed Kinji's left arm. "Who knows how full the library might be." She then gave Sato a smile. "Sorry, Sato-san. We didn't mean to bother you."
"Yeah. You watch yourself, Nishigiki-san." Sato informed her, giving Kinji another look. "This one's a troublemaker."
"Noted. Bye!" With that, Chisato dragged Kinji away, making their way towards the library. Once they turned the corner, Chisato let out a sigh. "That was close. I was worried he'd do something."
"Yeah. By the way, Nishigiki-san?" Kinji asked with a small blush. "Mind letting me go now?" Chisato blinked as she looked down and saw she was unintentionally hugging Kinji's arm. A small blush appeared on her face as she quickly let go.
"S-Sorry." She quickly apologized while playing with her hair a bit. "Anyways, do you still wanna study together?"
"Actually, I think I'll just head home." Kinji told her with an apologetic tone. He felt bad turning her down now, but given that Sato now had his eye on him, it didn't feel safe to stay around for today.
"Oh. That's fine." Chisato replied before a smile grew on her face. "Maybe next time. See you tomorrow!" She gave him a wave before leaving. Kinji let out a sigh before he shoved his hands in his pockets, walking the other direction.
Soon, Kinji began passing the front of the school, only for a familiar voice to call out to him.
"There you are!" Asta went up with Kinji, making sure no one was close enough to hear them. "You didn't get any headaches today, right?"
"Nope. You?"
"No. I'm kinda glad. It really hurt." Asta said with a small chuckle before he grew serious. "I tried to forget everything about yesterday, but it just stuck with me. I really think we need to go back. You can say no if-"
"We should go back." Kinji cut Asta off, causing the ash blonde male to widen his eyes.
"Wait… seriously?!" Asta's outburst got the attention of a few nearby students, causing Kinji to shush him. "Sorry. But are you sure? I mean I know you have that weird thing, but I don't want you getting hurt."
"After yesterday, seeing all those people in cells… I can't just ignore it." Kinji clenched his left hand. "Besides, Raphtalia might need help. It's not fair to leave her out there alone."
This caused Asta to grin broadly as he patted Kinji's shoulder, despite the height difference. "Awesome! I knew I could count on you! Now then…" Asta pointed a finger at the school with a determined look. "Weird Palace thing, here we come!"
However, after a few seconds, Asta looked over to Kinji. "How do we get back there again?"
Kinji sweatdropped at this. 'He's determined. I'll give him that.' However, a thought occurred as he spoke up. "Asta, did you get a weird app yesterday?"
"Huh? Weird how?" Asta asked while lowering his arm, confused.
"Well…" Deciding that he could trust Asta, Kinji took out his phone and opened it, showing his friend the Metaverse Navigator. "It looks like this."
"That is a weird app. But I don't think I have it." Reaching into his pocket, Asta took out his phone and opened it, only to blink in surprise. "What the? Look." He showed the screen towards Kinji.
And just as Kinji suspected, Asta also had the Metaverse Navigator.
"It's called the Metaverse Navigator and apparently, we can use it to go back to the Palace." Kinji explained, purposely leaving out Igor's involvement.
"Wait, for real?!" Curious to test this theory, Asta turned on the Navigator, allowing it to bring up a prompt with some information. "Subaru Sato. Warden. Prison?" He raised a brow as he said a button that said "Enter Palace." "So, I just press this?"
"Wait, Asta. I don't think we should-" Kinji tried to stop Asta, only for him to hit yes. As soon as this happened, the whole area around them began to warp and turn black before they completely disappeared.
'Prison'
"-Try it out here." Kinji finished. However, he and Asta soon noticed that they were back in front of Sato's Palace, the sky as dark as the other day.
"It really worked!" Asta cheered, happy to find the method rather simple. "But… I never downloaded this app." He then looked at Kinji. "How did you-"
"Ohhh… there you are." The two heard a familiar voice close by. Turning their heads, Kinji and Asta gasped as they saw Raphtalia, sitting against the wall of the Palace, looking a bit exhausted given how she was holding her left arm. "You sure took your time." She said jokingly.
"Raphtalia!" The two teens quickly rushed over to her side.
"What happened? Are you alright?" Kinji asked with a concerned tone.
"I'll live after I take this." Reaching into her pocket, Raphtalia took out what looked like a vial of green liquid. Popping the top open, she then took a swig of the contents, finishing it in seconds. Kinji and Asta watched as a green aura surrounded Raphtalia, whose expression changed from painful to content. Then, the aura disappeared and Raphtalia was able to open her eyes with a smile. "Good thing I found these before leaving."
"Was that medicine or something?" Asta was the next one to ask.
"Yup." Raphtalia pushed herself up, with the other two helping her. "I found it inside the Palace. From what I gather, any kind of medicine or food you bring in from the real world can be really useful in a Palace." She then looked over to Kinji and raised a brow. "Ahhh. Nice clothes, Kinji."
Kinji wondered what she meant before looking down, only to find that he was wearing the same clothes as when he summoned Holmes. "Wait, what?"
"Wow! Your clothes changed again!" Asta called out with awe as he looked over Kinji. "I didn't get a good look at it the first time, but it really looks awesome, Kinji! When'd you change?"
"It must have changed because the Palace Ruler sees you as an intruder." Raphtalia theorized before nodding at Kinji. "You definitely have the look of a thief."
'Great. Now she thinks I'm one.' Kinji thought with a groan. "Anyways, how'd you get hurt like that?"
"Well, after the two of you left yesterday, I noticed the Shadows were acting up. Mostly likely it had to do with the stunt you both pulled." Raphtaila informed them with a hand on her hip. "I tried to get deeper inside the Palace, but I got ambushed. I saw an opening and I ran. Though, not without taking a few hits." She then narrowed her eyes a bit. "But why are the two of you back?"
"We wanted to know more about why Sato sees the school like this." Asta explained with a frown. "He was even going to kill us for no good reason. It's kinda scary."
"Not to mention the way the prisoners acted. I don't like it." Kinji added on. "Not to mention, we were worried about you."
"Worried about me?" Raphtalia looked rather surprised by this. "We just met yesterday and you decided to risk your lives to come back?"
"Well yeah! If someone helps you, you should help them right back." Asta blurted out. "That's what my mom taught me."
"I see." Raphtalia closed her eyes for a moment before giving them a smile. "Thank you. I never really had anyone who worried about me, so this is nice."
"But there was something else." Kinji cut in, getting Raphtalia's attention. "You know a lot more about Palaces, right? We were wondering if you could help us through it. Just so we can learn more about Sato."
"Hmmm." Raphtalia put a hand under her chin in thought. "Going inside would be risky, but going as a group would help." She then focused her attention on Kinji. "Tell me, you have a Persona, right?"
"Per-what now?" Asta had a question mark over his head as he looked at Raphtalia.
"That's right. How'd you know?" Kinji asked in curiosity.
"For one, the way your clothes change suggests a unique power." Raphtalia raised one finger before raising another. "Two, Asta mentioned you used it yesterday." She then pointed to her nose. "But most importantly, I can tell by your scent."
"Like a dog or something?" Asta asked bluntly, getting a glare from Raphtalia.
"ANYWAYS, that's how I was able to track you before. Tell me, have you practiced how to use a Persona?" Raphtalia asked Kinji.
"Not really. But if you can teach me, I think I can learn." Kinji answered her.
"Hmmmm…" As risky as it was to bring in a newbie into a Palace, Raphtalia didn't know anyone else who had a Persona. Plus, since they were still standing, it meant that Kinji must have a lot of potential. Making up her mind, Raphtalia nodded. "Okay. Then follow my lead and I'll make you a proper Persona user."
"Alright! Then let's get going, team!" Asta declared proudly.
"You aren't going in there." Raphtalia immediately shot him down, making him gasp. "You don't have a Persona. If you went in there, you'd only get hurt."
"Yeah, but you two have one! Plus, I know more about the people in our school!" Asta countered. "If we find people who are being bullied by Sato, then we can find them in the real world!"
"He's got a point, Raphtalia. I just transferred here, so I don't know a lot of people." Kinji joined in, agreeing with Asta. "I promise Asta won't try to fight any Shadows." He then looked over to said person. "Right?"
"Yeah. Even though I can wrestle…" Asta mumbled with a small pout. Raphtalia stared at the two for a few seconds before sighing.
"Fine. But if we run into any Shadows, you hide. And you STICK WITH US, okay?" Raphtalia practically ordered with a serious look, earning a nod from Asta. "Before we go in, you should have these, Kinji." Raphtalia took out three more medicine vials, handing them to Kinji. "You never know when you'll need it."
"Right." Kinji pocketed the medicine before the three went over to the window from yesterday, sneaking inside without a sound.
"The closest cell block should be this way." Raphtalia opened the door, checking to find any Shadows nearby. Seeing as there were none, she and the boys quickly rushed through the hall, reaching the door at the end.
'Cellblock A'
It didn't take long for the group to return to the cellblock from yesterday, with the prisoners locked behind their cells and spotlights shining from above.
"Damn. There's more spotlights than I thought." Raphtalia muttered with a click of her tongue.
"Why does this place have them?" Asta couldn't help but ask as he looked at the spotlights in wonder.
"Normally, prisons only have them outside to catch prisoners who try to escape, but having them inside is a bit much." Kinji added on. "Would the Shadows react if we stepped in front of one?"
"That's right." Raphtalia nodded, satisfied to see Kinji using his head. "If you get caught by a spotlight or if a Shadow sees you, it'll raise the security level of this whole Palace. Which means stronger Shadows might be more common."
"So do we just sneak by or what?" Asta questioned as he saw slight gaps between the light and the wall.
"Spotlights should be connected to something." Raphtalia narrowed her eyes before she caught sight of something. "There. I think that's a panel." Kinji and Asta looked at what Raphtalia was referring to and lo and behold, it was indeed a wall panel. "If we can break it, the spotlights should turn off. Stick close to the walls."
Following her instruction, Kinji quickly moved to the right, pressing his back against the wall, with just enough room to avoid being spotted. Shimming down as fast as possible, Kinji was able to get through the first two spotlights with no trouble. His eyes widened as he saw the third set of spotlights suddenly split open, both going towards the wall.
'Crap. I should've known they'd move.' Kinji thought with an irritated expression. However, because they moved, he saw a very small opening in the middle of each light. 'Better than nothing. Go!' Kinji then rushed forward and jumped, doing a flip in the air before landing on his feet with surprising finesse. "Did I do a flip?" The dark haired teen blinked in surprise at what he accomplished. However, he quickly got his barings and went over to the panel, only to see a lock on it. "Damn. It needs a key." Kinji sighed as he shoved his hand in his pocket, feeling something inside. "What the?"
Pulling his hand out, Kinji found the same knife from yesterday in his pocket. Realizing that it was summoned when his clothes changed, Kinji took out the blade before slamming the handle hard on the lock. It snapped in two as Kinji opened the panel, slashing the wires inside. As soon as he did that, the spotlights began to flick before turning off completely.
"Nice." Satisfied by this, Kinji closed the knife before pocketing it.
"That was so cool, Kinji!" Asta shouted with stars in his eyes. "You were like a ninja right now!"
"Shhh!" Raphtalita quickly covered his mouth with an annoyed look. "You need to keep it down, remember?" Asta mumbled an apology, allowing Raphtalia to remove her hand. "Does anyone here look familiar?"
"Hmmm. Let me see…" Asta went over to some of the cells and looked inside, only to shake his head. "No. We should keep going." The group complied and went towards the next fork in the road, only to find a Shadow nearby, its back facing the group.
"Just one Shadow. That's good." Raphtalia looked over to Kinji. "Okay, this is the perfect time to teach you how to Ambush a Shadow. Typically, you can start a battle by striking them first, but there's always a chance they can strike faster." She then pointed at the Shadow. "But if their back is turned, then you can Ambush them for an advantage. Go behind that Shadow and rip off its mask."
"The mask? Why that?" Kinji asked in confusion. Wouldn't it have been easier to just stab the Shadow with his knife?
"Because a Shadow's mask is used to connect it with the Palace ruler." Raphtalia told him. "If a Shadow transforms when it finds you, then the Security Level will rise. But, Ambushing a Shadow and ripping off its mask will momentarily break the ruler's control over it, which means no other Shadow will be on alert. Understand?"
While it was a bit of a complex explanation, Kinji believed he at least got the gist of it. And if Ambushing made things easier for them, how could he refuse?
Taking a deep breath, Kinji snuck towards the Shadow as quietly as he could, fortunately not getting the Shadow's attention. Once he was close enough, Kinji jumped onto the Shadow, grabbing its mask.
"What the?!" The Shadow began to flail around, trying to get Kinji off. However, he held on strong, pulling on the mask as hard as he could. Like his own mask, it was stuck on the Shadow's face. However, Kinji didn't stop as he pulled harder, tearing off the mask. Due to this, the Shadow began to spasm out, forcing Kinji to jump away. Soon, the Shadow turned into black liquid before taking on a new form.
The Shadow was now a large dark horse-like creature with curved green horns, a white mane and red eyes.
"Woah! It's a different one this time!" Asta called out in surprise.
"A Bicorn. Interesting." Raphtalia took out her sword and rushed over to Kinji's side. "This will be your first real opponent. Follow my lead. And Asta, don't try to help."
Bicorn started by rushing towards Kinji, tackling him hard. "Guah." Kinji grunted in pain from the attack as he slid back.
"Don't worry. I've got your back!" Raphtalia took a deep breath as she put a hand on her mask. "I need your help, old friend. We need to show them how to fight." Opening her eyes, Raphtalia waved her hand, causing her mask to disappear in blue flames. "AZEBAN!"
Appearing behind Raphtalia was a large raccoon-like creature in tribal clothes, several bead necklaces and a fan in each hand.
Azeban waved its fans before a small tornado struck Bicorn, doing a decent amount of damage.
'So each Persona's different based on the user.' Kinji thought as he looked at Raphtalia and Azeban.
"Your turn. Summon your Persona!" Raphtalia urged Kinji.
"She waved her hand and the mask disappeared." Recalling how his partner did it, Kinji put a hand on his mask before waving it. "Holmes, Straight Slash!" Much like how Azeban was summoned Holmes appeared behind Kinji and slashed Bicorn with his cane sword, causing it to recoil in pain.
Bicorn retaliated, its eyes glowing briefly. A dark aura soon surrounded Raphtalia, causing the strength of her attacks to decrease.
"Tarunda. Not a bad skill." Raphtalia then turned her attention towards Kinji. "Azeban, Dia!"
Much to Kinji's shock, Azeban turned its attention towards him before doing a small dance. "What are you-?" A green aura surrounded Kinji. His eyes widened as he felt the pain from Bicorn's first attack disappearing.
"Finish it, Kinji!" Raphtalia shouted as Bicorn looked ready to attack again.
"Right. Holmes, Kouha!" Kinji snapped his finger as Holmes blasted Bicorn with a sphere of light, causing it to disintegrate. Like before, a small light flew over to Kinji's hand, revealing it to be more Yen. However, Kinji also felt a bit stronger than before, even seeing a new skill being unlocked for Holmes. 'I guess the more we fight, the stronger I get.'
"Nice work, guys! That Shadow didn't know what hit him!" Asta cheered as he regrouped with them. "And Raph, that Persona was pretty cool."
"Thanks. Azeban's good for healing and-" Raphtalia stopped as she looked over to Kinji. "What did you call me?"
"Oh. I said Raph. You know, like a nickname." Asta scratched the back of his head. "Is that okay?"
Raphtalia's ears twitched a bit, her cheeks even growing warm as she looked away. "Well… I don't dislike it." She muttered before regaining her composure. "We should keep going."
"Help…" The three perked up when they heard a voice on the right. Going over to the cell, the trio gasped as they saw a familiar student on the floor, breathing heavily as drool ran down their mouth.
"Hang on. I think I've seen him before." Kinji kneeled down to get a better look at the student.
"Tsubaki?!" Asta grabbed onto the bars with wide eyes. "What happened?!"
"He isn't real. Everyone here is a part of Sato's cognition." Raphtalia reminded him, though this didn't stop her from frowning. "Still, this is too much."
"I… need…" Cognitive Tsubaki looked up at the three, his bloodshot eyes staring in desperation. "I need… another hit…" He then reached out to them. "Just… one more. I need it… to study…"
"He's just like those girls." Kinji muttered as he recalled the girls from yesterday acting a bit like Tsubaki. "Why would he think of them as addicts?"
"Well…" Asta turned away, something that his partners noticed. "Last year, Sato busted a few people at school for drugs. It was a really bad time for everyone."
"And was Tsubaki one of them?" Kinji asked with a frown, earning a sad nod from his friend. "If he was caught smuggling before, then that must have been why Sato was so hard on him earlier."
"We can't stay. If you know his face, then it'll make it easier to get answers in the real world." Raphtalia stepped away from the cell.
"He won't get away with this, Tsubaki. I promise." Asta gave Cognitive Tsubaki a determined look before he and the others ran to find another witness.
"Wait…" Raphtalia's top ears twitched, her eyes widening. "There's more Shadows coming. A lot of them."
"Should we try fighting them?" Kinji asked as he took out his knife.
"No. It sounds like a group of them. Too many for us to fight." Raphtalia shook her head before looking around. Her eyes widened as she saw a nearby door, though for some reason, it looked rather distorted. "There. Inside, now." Kinji and Asta were a bit confused by the request, but they followed Raphtalia regardless, entering the strange room.
The room looked much like a security office, with a weapons locker, a table and several monitors on the wall.
"We should be safe here." Raphtalia went over to the table and sat down.
"Are you sure? This door doesn't have a lock." Kinji pointed out. As soon as he said this, the room briefly transformed into the teacher's lounge, much to his and Asta's shock.
"What the hell was that?!" Asta questioned as the room returned to normal.
"You saw how the door looked outside? It's because the ruler's control is weak here." Raphtalia explained. "Because of that, Shadows won't be able to enter rooms like this. Think of it like a safe zone or a safe room."
"Ohhhh. I think I get it." Asta crossed his arms and nodded a bit. "It's kinda like an RPG, where you find some places you can save your game, heal and all that."
"I… suppose?" Raphtalia raised a brow in confusion.
"This whole place is kinda like one, honestly." Kinji took out the Yen he got from the last battle. "I noticed whenever we beat a Shadow, I end up getting money from it. And I feel Holmes getting stronger. But how come Shadows carry money?"
"Well, Shadows are the manifestation of people's thoughts. And since everyone sees money as valuable, the Shadows mimic them." Raphtalia explained before she looked around the room, only to gasp. "No way…"
"What's up? Gotta pee?" Asta asked as Raphtalia stood up and went over to the back of the room.
On top of a small pedestal was what looked like a gold treasure chest, which for some reason had a small light emanating from it.
"A treasure chest. Perfect." Raphtalia had a smile on her face upon seeing it.
"There's even treasure in this place? Now that's just random." Kinji sweatdrop. At this point, anything was possible in a Palace.
"Go on and open it, Kinji. Treasure chests have good items in them." Raphtalia urged him. Seeing no issue with that, Kinji went over to the chest and opened it.
However, what was inside shocked him and Asta.
"H-Holy crap! Is that what I think it is?!" Asta shouted.
"I… think so." Reaching down, Kinji grabbed whatever was in the chest and pulled it out.
The item in question was a handgun.
"Ooh. A gun." Raphtalia pointed out with a calm tone.
"Ooh a gun? Is that all you can say?!" Asta stared at the weapon in concern. "Maybe we should put it back. I mean it doesn't feel right having one."
"Wait. Look at the front." Kinji showed Asta the gun, pointing at the barrel. Asta looked at where his friend was pointing, only to blink in surprise.
"Why's the front of it orange?" Asta asked with a head tilt. Kinji decided to check something and ejected the clip, only to sigh.
"Because it's a BB gun." Kinji showed Asta and Raphtalia the clip, which had several small pellets inside. Asta sighed in relief at this while Raphtalia hummed in wonder. "Why would this place have a toy in a chest? That just sounds like a waste of time."
"Kinji, hold onto it." She suggested, earning confused looks from the males. "Trust me. We can use this in a fight."
"Are you sure?" Seeing Raphtalia nod, Kinji shrugged and pocketed the gun before the group left the safe room. "Doesn't look like there are any Shadows."
"Then let's move." Raphtalia led the group down the rest of the cellblock, though there wasn't anyone Asta recognized. Eventually, they reached the door that led to the next cellblock, only for a Shadow to stand in front of it. "Damn. It doesn't look like we'll be able to get around this time."
"If we can't Ambush, then we'll have to fight it head on." Kinji suggested. Seeing as there wasn't any other option, Raphtalia nodded as the two rushed in front of the Shadow.
"Intruders! You won't get past me!" The Shadow soon transformed into two plant-like creatures, their bodies being a dirty white while they had a large red flower on their heads. Raphtalia drew her sword and slashed the flower Shadow on the left, dealing a good amount of damage.
"Okay. I want you to use that gun." Raphtalia told Kinji, who gave her a bewildered look.
"What? But it won't-"
"Believe me. It'll work." Raphtalia gave him a look that screamed 'trust me.' Kinji pull out the BB gun and aimed it at the right Shadow, who gasped in shock.
'This better do something.' With a deep breath, Kinji pulled the trigger…
*Bang*Bang*Bang*
However, neither him, nor Asta, expected the toy to fire REAL bullets, which struck the Shadow as it staggered.
"WHAT THE HELL?! IT WAS REAL!" Asta's eyes practically bugged out, completely caught off guard.
'Okay, how does that work?! I swear it was a BB gun!' Kinji stared at the toy.
"Look out!" Raphtalia called out as one of the Shadows kicked Kinji in the chest. The second decided to punish Raphtalia, doing a spin kick that made her grunt. "Fine. Try this!" Turning with her heel, Raphtalia reached into her tail and pulled out a wooden bow, with five arrows in her other hand. Taking aim, the tanuki girl fired three arrows into the left Shadow before firing the last two on the right one, disintegrating it. "Finish this!" Kinji obliged by rushing in and slashing the remaining Shadow with his knife, killing it.
"Okay, what was that?!" Asta went over to his friends. "I thought that gun was a toy."
"But it is. Raphtalia?" Kinji and Asta looked at Raphtalia for an explanation.
"This Palace is part of the cognitive world." Raphtalia told them. "As long as our opponents see something like that toy as the real thing, then it'll BECOME the real thing. The more realistic a weapon looks, the stronger it'll be."
"Umm… I think I get it." Asta scratched his head, trying to rattle his brain. "But wouldn't Kinji need more ammo?"
"No. The number of ammo in the gun will refill after a fight. But if you use it all during a fight, it'll run out. So make every shot count." Raphtalia then pointed at her bow. "The same can be said for my bow."
"And you just… pull arrows out of your tail? That's not weird at all." Kinji said with a flat tone. Ahh well. As long as he had another tool to use against Shadows, it was fine with him. As long as he doesn't flaunt it around school, that is.
"I have to admit you can handle yourself pretty well, Kinji." Raphtalia complimented with a smile."In fact, you're a natural born leader. Maybe you should be the one who takes charge of the fighting from now on."
"Are you sure? You know more about this place than me." Kinji said with a frown.
"Maybe. But I can tell there's more to you than meets the eye. Besides, your Persona is a little stronger than Azeban." Raphtalia walked up to him, offering a hand. "I'm willing to follow your lead. Is that alright?"
Kinji was a bit unsure at first. After all, he JUST unlocked his Persona yesterday. But, with all Raphtalia taught him, he was getting more and more used to the Palace and combat. And if she trusted him with her life, then he should repay it in full.
Raking a calm breath, Kinji shook Raphtalia's hand. "Okay. If you trust me that much."
Raphtalia seemed satisfied by this, having formed a deal with Kinji.
*SMASH*
Suddenly, Kinji heard the sound of chains breaking, as well as Vivy's voice in his head.
I am thou, thou art I…
Thou hast established a new bond..
It shall become the wings of rebellion that breakth thy chain of captivity…
With the birth of the Magician Arcana, thou has obtained the winds of blessing that shall lead to freedom and new power…
A glowing card with the image of the Magician Arcana appeared above Raphtalia. "Is there something wrong?" Raphtalia asked, noticing Kinji's odd expression.
"Do you guys see that?" Kinji asked while pointing to the card.
"See what?" Asta raised a brow as all Kinji was pointing at was thin air.
"N-Nevermind." Kinji wondered if this was due to Igor's power or something else. And all because he made a deal with Raphtalia. "Anyways, let's keep going."
With that, the group went on exploring the next cellblock.
'Sometime later, Cellblock B'
Once they entered cell block B, the trio began investigating the cells for more information. They had run into a few more Shadows, though Kinji and Raphtalia were able to take them out, gaining more power in the process. It seemed like taking charge of the battles proved beneficial for Kinji as he gained more money.
"AAAAAHHHHHH!"
"You hear that?!" Asta shouted as he and the others stopped, looking at the left hall of the cellblock.
"Sounds like another torture session." Raphtalia muttered as the group rushed over to the cry for help.
Once they reached the cell, the group was appalled by what they witnessed.
"Please… stop…" A male student was currently pinned to the wall, his hands bound by cuffs as his uniform was torn. His face was littered with bruises and marks, with a small amount of blood leaking out his mouth and a black left eye.
"What the actual hell?" Kinji said as he stared at the display in front of him with disgust and horror.
"Why would Sato think about this?!" Asta shouted in anger.
"Warden… are you there?" The student lifted his head, fear in his right eye. "Please… I'll get you your cut soon. Product needs time…"
This shocked the trio as they looked at him. "What did you say?" Kinji asked as he leaned in.
"I know I'm short this week, but give me time. Please! Don't hurt me!" The Cognitive student begged.
"Call me crazy, but I think Sato's taking bribes." Raphtalia theorized with a hum. "After all, Asta did say he busted some students who were dealing drugs."
"If that's true, then… Sato's using them to get money." Kinji realized, clenching his fist. "And I'm guessing if they don't pay up, he'll either bust them or worse."
*SLAM*
Kinji and Raphtalia jumped when Asta punched the bars of the cell, the sound echoing through the cellblock. Raphtalia was about to chastise him when he lifted his head, a deeply angry look on his face. "This is going too far." Asta said with a growl. "I'm not going to let him get away with this!"
"Asta…" Kinji gave his friend a concerned look, worried he might try something reckless.
"I think I know this guy's face." Asta stepped away, his anger slightly subsiding. "We should get out of here before we get caught."
"Smart plan. Given how many Shadows we've taken down, it won't take long for Sato to send more." Raphtalia added as the group began to hustle back towards the entrance of the Palace.
But as they entered the main hallway, a shutter door suddenly flew down and closed them off, much to their shock.
"What the?!" Kinji asked as two Shadows suddenly jumped from the ceiling, crashing on top of him and Raphtalia. "Ahhhh!"
"Guys!" Asta looked back in horror.
"I thought my sensors caught some rats." Coming from the main corridor was none other than Shadow Sato, who had two large Shadow guards behind him. "You really don't know when to step away, do you, Staria?"
"Let them go, Sato! We know what you're doing!" Asta shouted at Shadow Sato, who scoffed.
"Yeah? And how is that going to work out for you?" Shadow Sato asked tauntingly. "Didn't think that far ahead, did you? Then again, I don't expect a lot from you." This angered Asta. "Trespassers are to be dealt with accordingly. But…" A dark smirk grew on his face. "I MIGHT be more open to sparring your friends. If you beg."
"Asta, don't do it!" Kinji yelled, only for the Shadow to push him down.
"Do that and I won't kill you. How's that? A fair deal if I do say so myself." Shadow Sato told him with a chuckle.
"A fair deal… like what you did with those guys at the school?" Asta asked, making Shadow Sato stop. "You force them to give you money or else they get busted? Or you beat them up?!" He looked up and gave a deep glare. "How is that fair to anyone?! You're supposed to keep everyone safe, not make them scared!"
"Fair… I suppose you're right." Shadow Sato confessed, much to Asta's confusion. "Then again…" He looked at Asta with a knowing look. "It wasn't fair that Yuno-san died."
This caused Asta to widen his eyes, and a look of fear crossed his face.
"Yuno-san?" Raphtalia looked over to Kinji. "Who's that?"
"I don't know." Kinji answered before looking at Asta. 'But he sounds important to Asta if he's this shaken off.'
"T-That's… that's not fair." Asta muttered, his hand shaking.
"Life isn't fair, son." Shadow Sato replied. "Sometimes, we have things taken away from us. Positions. Titles. People. Yuno-san had so much going for him. But he passed, and you lived." The palace ruler shook his head. "What a damn shame. Someone like that dying so young while someone as boneheaded as you got to live."
"SHUT UP, YOU BASTARD!" Without a thought, Asta rushed Shadow Sato, only for one of his guards to knee the teen in the stomach, knocking him off his feet. "Don't use his name!"
"Why not? It's the truth. Everything thinks so." Shadow Sato went over and put his foot on Asta's head. "He could've been something. Anything. And you, you barely do shit in school. The only thing you're good for is an extra set of muscles. That's it." He pressed his foot down while grinning. "It's better if you just sat there and died. Doubt anyone would miss a worthless kid like you. In fact, it'll be poetic. So what do you say?"
"Asta…" Raphtalia looked at the ash blonde teen with a sympathetic frown.
Asta wanted to yell back. He wanted to let this piece of shit know that what he said was complete and utter bullshit.
Yet, he couldn't. A part of him, as messed up as it was, thought it was true. Why did he need to live when his friend could've been here, enjoying life? Getting into a good college and finding a good job? And then there was Asta, who was struggling with his grades, getting weird looks from people.
'Maybe it would've been better if I-'
"YOU'RE WRONG!" Kinji's voice snapped Asta out of it. "Asta isn't worthless! He's a good person!" He looked at Asta as best he could. "Listen, I don't know who this Yuno-san is, but I can tell you cared about him. And I know he wouldn't want you to die! DON'T LET THAT ASSHOLE TELL YOU HOW TO LIVE!"
"Kinji…" A tear fell down Asta's eye as he looked at his friend. He couldn't believe that the friend he made yesterday was standing up for him a second time. While it hurt to not be able to help Kinji and Raphtalia fight, just hearing the former's words was enough to motivate him.
"Tch. I've had enough of the peanut gallery." Shadow Sato clicked his tongue in annoyance. "Kill those two."
"No…" Feeling some movement under his foot, Shadow Sato looked down and saw Asta slowly lift his head. "You… aren't… going to..." His muscles began to bulge. "HURT MY FRIENDS!"
*WOOSH*
Shadow Sato and the Shadow holding Asta were suddenly blown back as a large burst of wind shot out, allowing the teen to stand up. "You're right about one thing. It is unfair that Yuno isn't here." Asta said before he looked up, a determined look on his face. "That's why I'm going to live! For me, for my parents, my friends, AND YUNO! I'M GOING TO LIVE MY WAY!"
"So. The bull has finally found his horns."
*Thump*Thump*
"GUAH!" Asta suddenly felt a sharp pain in his head as a new voice echoed within his mind.
"Are you done allowing yourself to be controlled by others? Will you run wild like the animal you are?"
"No way. Is he…?" Kinji felt somewhat hopeful as Asta kept throttling around.
"Men like this only want control. They see everyone like animals and they are the farmer. Well, time to prove him wrong."
"If you choose to fight back, then let's hurry up and form a contract."
"I am thou, thou art I…"
Asta fell on his knees, saliva dripping out of his mouth as he held his head tighter.
"Time to show how strong a bull's might really is!"
"AAAAAAHHHHHHHH!" A scream came out of Asta's mouth as a metal bull-like mask appeared over his eyes. Without saying a word, Asta grabbed the mask and pulled it hard, screaming even louder as he tore it clean off his face, blood splattering around.
Soon, a pillar of blue flames shot out, engulfing Asta's body. "Not again!" Shadow Sato shouted as he and his minions backed away.
The flames died down, allowing everyone to see Asta's new look.
He now wore a X-shaped chest piece over his bare chest, dark pants, long brown boots, a large brown belt that sagged on the left side, black gloves with a red color palette on his palms, a right shoulderguard, and a short black cape with gold outline. Behind his cape was a black greatsword that seemed to be almost as tall as Asta himself.
Hovering behind Asta was his Persona. It was human-like, with black and gold armor, a red ruby on its chest, a bull-like helmet with glowing red eyes, a metal collar around its neck, hooves for feet and a cape that matched Asta's, as well as a longsword.
"That's the stuff." Asta gave a confident grin as he extended his arm, allowing his Persona to draw its sword and cut down the Shadows holding Kinji and Raphtalia.
"He has a Persona!" Raphtalia blurted out in genuine shock.
"It's time to show you what I can really do, Sato!" Grabbing the handle of his greatsword, Asta drew it with both hands and aimed it at Shadow Sato. "Let's kick ass, Khalkotauroi!"
Freaking FINALLY! This chapter has been on the backburner for too long and I am happy to finally get it out here. And for those who are following my other stories, I WILL get back to those. It should not have taken so long.
For those wondering where Asta and Raphtalia's Personas come from…
Khalkotauroi is the bronze bull from Greece Mythology while Azeban is a low level trickster god from Norse Mythology. It took a while to figure out their Persona, but I'm overall happy with the final product. Next chapter, I will show their affinities, so look forward to that.
As for Sato's palace, I am trying to keep it as different from Kamoshida's Palace as possible. If you guys have any ideas for this, let me know.
Kinji was able to make his first contract with a Confidant and it's Raphtalia from The Rising of the Shield Hero. I know it seems random and while I should have ignored the whole 'mascot' aspect from P5, I figured there needed to be someone who can show them the ropes. More will be explained in due time.
Follow, Fav, Review and PM for anything.
Next time: Info Gathering!