A piano began playing, awakening Akira to jolt up and out of bed. Akira realises he is in that dream again, spotting the toilet in the dim blue lighting and feeling the heavy cuffs around his wrists.

"On your feet, inmate!" Caroline, the twin guard wearing an eye patch on her right eye, orders as she hits the cell bars with her baton. Akira obliges now standing right behind the black bars, his fingers curling around two bars.

The other twin guard Justine, sporting an eye patch on the opposite eye of her sisters, speaks up "Our master wishes to speak with you. It's for your own sake that you take his words to heart."

This master of theirs was sitting at a desk a few meters away from them. The old man had a long nose, pointed eyes and buldging bloodshot eyes "First off, let us celebrate our reunion. Oh..? You've awakened to your powers- and special ones at that. Your rehabilitation can finally begin." Akira questions this rehabilitation he must part-take in. "There is no need to understand it all for the time being. You will be training the power of Persona, which you have awakened to. Personas are, in other words, a mask- an armour of the heart when confronting worldly manners. I have high expectations for you."

Akira unsure of how to respond asks, "What do you mean?"

"There is no need to worry. You will learn when the time comes. By the by... have you come to appreciate the Metaverse Navigator?" Akira assumes this Navigator is the red-eye app on his phone but what is this Metaverse? Is the Metaverse related to the Cognition Pscience Rodin mentioned? "Using it will allow you to come and go between reality and Palaces." Akira repeats the last word in confusion. "... I bestowed to you as a means to train you as a thief."

Caroline speaks up, "The Metaverse Navigator is a gift from our master! You better take care in using it, inmate!"

The more composed twin comments, "Devote yourself to your training so that you may become a fine thief."

"It must be disheartening to make use of the Metaverse Navigator alone. Should there be others who would prove beneficial to you, I will grant it to them as well. This is all for you to grow as a most excellent thief..."

Then Caroline informs, "Hmph, it's time. Go back and enjoy whatever rest you might have..."

12 April 2018

Another strange dream... Fate and... awakening? These questions can be answered later, for now, Akira should hurry and get to school. This time the witch remembered to bring his umbrella as he left the cafe. While waiting for the train with a large group of Shujin students, Akira overhears two students gossip about a certain red-haired student wearing a red ribbon. Boarding the train, Akira finds himself standing close by the student with the ribbon sitting on the very few available seats. Yet she only stays seated for under a minute as she stands upon noticing an old woman standing in front of her. Providing the old woman somewhere to sit; what a generous act. Just as Akira's lips curve upwards, they quickly falter when a man in a business suit rushes to steal the seat. The student with the ribbon attempts to have the man move, only for him to look up at the girl and ignore her. Akira's eyebrows knit together, why are there so many rude adults in suits? Akira offers to make the man move only for the girl to reject his help politely. Instead, she holds the old woman's bag until the train makes it to their destination.

"Pardon me..." Akira stops in his tracks, turning around to view the redhead. She performs a respectful bow, "Thank you so much for earlier."

Why is she thanking him? "All I did was offer to remove the man."

She smiles, "Not many would offer to though, so thank you." She takes a quick peek at his blazer "You're a second year at Shujin Academy, correct? I'm a first-year there myself. Thanking you totally slipped my mind back on the train, and I didn't want to be rude to my senpai. Please, excuse me!" She takes one more bow before leaving. Akira does the same, walking to Shujin ready to start the day. Luckily no angels or that castle interrupted the day so time flew by for it to be the end of the day. As Akira left his classroom he heard Kamoshida talking. Staring at the teacher's voice, Kamoshida was talking to Takamaki san. It was obvious that she wanted to get out of the conversation as fast as she could, using some excuse about having a photoshoot. Akira lets out a small sigh, not only is Kamoshida a scoundrel but a creep as well. Hopefully, Uncle Luka can get some serious evidence of this man to get him fired. Leaving the school building, Akira pulls out his phone intending to try using this navigator. He wants to learn more about this so-called Metaverse and how exactly these palaces adapt. Though he should move to a more secluded area before-

"Yo." Ryuji was waiting by the school gates for him.

Akira smiles at the teen, "What's up?"

"I wanna talk about the castle from yesterday. I tried tellin' myself it was all just a dream... but I couldn't do it. I can't act like nothing happened. It's all connected to that bastard Kamoshida, after all. I wanna find out about that place, no matter what. And y'know, you're the only person I can rely on for this stuff. So you in?"

Of course Akira is in, he was about to use the Navigator to explore that castle. He just hopes Ryuji will be able to handle himself if multiple guards catch them; Akira wouldn't be able to fight them all at once while protecting the blonde. "Sure, I'm in."

Ryuji grins, relieved he is not in this alone, "Nice! Okay, glad we're in this together. I think we should just try and retrace our steps from yesterday."

"There's no need for that." This earns Akira a tilt of the head from Ryuji. Akira puts his hand outward to Ryuji, exposing the red-eye app to him, "While looking through my phone, I noticed this random app on my phone; it won't let me delete it."

"That's weird... Wait, couldn't this be a navigation app thingy? I swore I heard stuff that sounded like one comin' from your phone. Didn't it say stuff like 'returned to the real world' or something like that?" Ryuji asks.

Akira clicks the app, "It did... there's even this."

Ryuji peers at the screen, his eyes widen somewhat "I knew it- it IS a navigation app!" He takes the phone "There's even your search history! Let's try usin' it." Conscious of some students still lingering around the school's entrance, Akira stops the blonde from touching the phone.

"Not here. It's not a good idea to try this with people close by." Akira's head motions to a small alley, "Let's do it over there."

Looking around and noting the small groups of students, Ruyji agrees and the duo heads through the small opening between two buildings. Ryuji taps on the app three times triggering the voice to vocalize the words 'Kamoshida, Shujin Academy, Pervert, Castle' for the world to soon shift around them. A strange purple and red hue overlaps their vision, the school models its form to the castle from before.

The blonde's eyes stare in astonishment, "Look! It's the castle from yesterday!" They venture forward, stopping at the tall heavy doors of the castle. "We made it back... That means what happened yesterday was for real too... Yeargh! Those clothes..." Akira's head lowered to glance at his clothing; He didn't notice his attire changing to his battle uniform. "That happened last time too, huh?! What's with that outfit?!"

Ok, Akira won't take any offence to that unintentionally rude remark, "Not bad, huh?"

"You LIKE it?! What's goin' on here?! This makes no effin' sense at all..."

"Hey!" Instantaneously both turn their heads to the voice, being greeted with a familiar black kitten. Morgana edges forward and instructs the teens to stay quiet, along with commenting on how the 'shadows' have been acting up. Ryuji questions whether it was still the school or not, allowing Morgana to clarify what exactly is occurring. Thanks to Morgana, Akira begins to understand more about this Metaverse, Kamoshida is the reason for the castle's existence. His distorted desires seem to be the reason for the manifestation of this castle; this must be how he sees the school then... as his castle to rule over and do as he pleases.

While rattling on about the matter, a scream of desperation stops Morgana. "What was that?!" Ryuji asks, unsettled by the scream.

Morgana retorts, "It must be the slaves captive here."

"For real?!" Another scream confirms the blonde's uncertainty, "Oh, shit... It's for real! We saw other guys held captive here yesterday... I'm pretty sure they're from our school."

The cat crosses his arms, "Most likely on Kamoshida's orders. It's nothing out of the ordinary; it's like that every day here. What's more, you two escaped yesterday. He must have lost his temper quite a bit."

Ryuji scowls, "That son of a bitch!... This is bullshit!" Out of frustration, Ryuji rushes and bangs his body against the doors. "You hear me, Kamoshida?!" Aching to help those from the mistreatment by Kamoshida, Ryuji questions Morgana if he could take them to these slaves captured in the castle. Morgana agrees if Akira tags along; it's not like Akira came here just to stand around. He agrees which pleases Ryuji and makes him less nervous to return to the ground prison. Morgana leads the way, sneaking through the open vent the guards seem to not have noticed yet. It doesn't take long to encounter a guard in the underground cells, Akira waits for their back to be facing the group and surprise attacks the guard. Jumping on the enemy's shoulders, Akira rips the mask from their face while exclaiming 'Show me your true form!'. This form was a single Jack o lantern, the battle ends with two attacks of Eiha from Akira and a melee attack from Morgana. Moving across the draw bridge, they manage to find the cell that previously held a weary teen who no longer occupied the small dungeon. Ryuji -eager to save these people- runs ahead to hunt for the other slaves further in, only to return within 10 seconds and claim he hears guards approaching. Morgana suggests they hide in a room and wait until they leave; the room looks hazy as if you would pass through it when touched. Luckily, that hazy effect is the only thing odd about the room because once they enter it looks just to be a resting area.

The blonde hunches over, taking some deep breaths while Morgana stands on top of a table, "The shadows probably won't come in here."

Ryuji manages to gasp out, "How can you tell?"

"There's a lack of distortion here, meaning the ruler's control over this area is weak." Seemingly on cue, the room transforms into an empty classroom in seconds.

"Is this a classroom?!"

"Now do you understand?" Morgana asks, "This place is another reality that the ruler's heart projects." Ryuji was still confused with the situation which Akira couldn't blame him for; the Umbra witch was able to understand this easier thanks to the information from his Uncle. Morgana further explains, "One could say it's a world in which one's distorted desires have materialized. I call such a 'Palace'." Ryuji repeats the word, puzzled by everything. "This is happening because he thinks the school is his own castle."

In all honesty, Akira wasn't surprised that Kamoshida would think of the school as his terrain. The majority of faculty -debatably the students too- suck up to the man from what Akira's witnessed. "So, it became like this because 'cause he just thought of it like that?!" Ryuji stamps his right foot against the floor, "That son of a bitch!"

Morgana states the obvious, "You must really hate this Kamoshida guy."

"Hate doesn't even cover how I feel. Everything is that asshole's fault!"

"I don't know what happened between you two, but don't let your emotions get the better of you." Despite Akira being tempted to pry into Ryuji's business with Kamoshida, it wasn't the time to question the blonde's beef. "His lackeys are everywhere inside." Morgana then changes the conversation to centre their attention to Akira's outfit. Due to his powerful will of rebellion, Akira manifests his appearance to the image of what he sees as a rebel. It could be that or this new power flowing within helped him fully grasp the concept of constructing his Umbran battle uniform.

Ryuji wasn't taking the information as easily as Akira was, "Uugh, I'm so fed up with all this! I'm more curious about you than his clothes! What the hell are you anyways?!"

Morgana retorts, "I'm a human- an honest-to-god human!"

"No! You're obviously more like a cat!"

"This is well..." Morgana adverts his eyes to the side, "It's because I lost my true form... I think. But I do know how to regain my true form. The reason I snuck in here was for a preliminary investigation of those means. Well, I ended up getting caught though..." He then jumps and makes a resentful glare, "Besides I've been tortured by Kamoshida too! I'm gonna make him pay for sure!"

"What is this, a comic book? This is seriously crazy..."

Morgana ignores the blonde's comment, "If we're gonna keep going, we should hurry along." He eyes Akira, "I'll be counting on your skills this time too, rookie. Got it?"

Akira represses his snark from correcting the cat on calling him a rookie; they don't need to know how versed Akira was in combat and about his 'side job' yet. Ryuji says, "Don't worry, I'm not gonna force it all on you. I thought it might help, so..." Out of nowhere, he pulls out a gun. It was modelled as a Stiker-fired pistol. "I brought this just in case! It's a model hun though, so it only makes sounds!"

Then why bring it? "That's a toy!"

"But it looks totally real, so it'll at least fake 'em out." As long as they don't encounter enemies that aren't afraid of the look of the gun then this is a good idea. "I brought some medicine too. You know what they: 'Providin' is pre... something'. Huh? Huh?"

Akira takes the gun from Ryuji as Morgana remarks, "So you were planning this from the start... Well, fine. If you're ready to go, we'll resume our infiltration." Opening one of the doors an inch, Akira peeks out to see three armed soldiers facing one another. They mention the slaves and how they're being held captive in some training hall before leaving. Two guards run across the bridge while the single soldier heads in the opposite direction. The trio leave the safe room and follow the single guard, walking down a flight of stairs. Before stepping closer to the enemy -their back facing the three- Morgana mentions not to get noticed or the security level will rise. Akira ambushes the guard, ripping its mask to unravel two Mandrakes. Akira melee attacks the right Mandrake for Morgana to follow up with his persona using Garu. Both Mandrakes attack Morgana although it doesn't do much damage to the cat. Akria and Morgana perform the same attack; Akira slices and kills the right Mandrake as Morgana uses Garu on the remaining. The Mandrake attempts to kick Akira, only for him to gracefully dodge it activating witch time. He doesn't waste any time using a new skill Arsene has learned -Cleave- and slicing the enemy to ribbons.

Upon ending the battle, Akira catches sight of Morgana's confused expression. Though it's only there for a swift moment before a grin replaces his frown, "Wow... you were really fast then. It's like time went by so quickly." He comments with a little chuckle. It must've seemed like Akira's attacks were rapid for Morgana due to witch time.

Luckily, Akira already thought up an excuse for his quick reactions, "It's a skill my persona has; where if I am to dodge perfectly it offers me extra time to make another hit." This seems to convince Morgana enough since he merely nods. Ryuji opens the bar doors to the left, the trio jogging through getting closer to the training hall. When turning a corner, Akira pushes back once he sees two soldiers standing in the middle of the small hallway. They don't spot Akira since they are too fixated on their conversation. Ryuji refers to the pistol he brought, planting an idea in Morgana's head. When one guard was left to station in the hallway, Morgana ordered Akira to attack. He gladly does so, causing a Jack o lantern and Mandrake to appear. Trusting Morgana, Akira whips out the gun and pulls on the trigger for, remarkably, bullets to diverge out of the gun and hit the Jack o lantern. Was this like how bullets work with his No Place Like Home guns? If so, then why were there only 8 bullets inside the gun? With magic, his guns held endless bullets so he wouldn't have to worry about ammo. It had taken 5 shots to kill the Jack o lantern while the last two hit the Mandrake. Morgana takes out a slingshot, killing the Mandrake with two shots. Once the battle finishes, Ryuji walks over, his mouth slightly agape in shock.

To rationalize why the gun suddenly has ammo, Morgana says, "This is the cognitive world. As long as our opponent sees it as real, it becomes such. It's a good thing it's realistic-looking."

Ryuji stays silent for a beat, "...I don't get it."

"Because they recognize it as a gun, your ammo capacity is limited in battle. But your enemies are expecting you to come at them with guns loaded, so your ammo's replenished in every new fight."

"What's this commotion over here...?" On the opposite end of the hall stood the previous soldier. "Wha-?! Why, you bastards!" The guard rushes the trio and Akira hits them before they can strike to release a single Mandrake. Akira concludes the fight within seconds using his gun. The group adventures onward going deeper into the tavern, encountering a guard stationed in front of the door they need to go through. Morgana saw this as an opportunity to introduce something special in their fighting. Akira thrashes the guard to form into a pixie. Akira uses Eiha to down the enemy, Morgana instructs them to rush in to do something called an 'All-Out Attack'. They surround the pixie and get information; repeatedly battering the enemy until it dies. With the soldier disposed of, the small team entered the training hall and was already met with the slaves' groans and what sounded to be like whips. Once they are close enough to the sounds, they look through the jet-black metal bars to witness four of the slaves forced up against a volleyball net. All the while guards would whip them with strong batons.

This infuriated Ryuji to the point of him shouting, "Dammit! This is bullshit!"

"How many times do I have to tell you to keep your voice down?!"

The teen shakes his head in frustration, "But this is beyond messed up!" Ryuji looks around, "How do I open this?!"

A faint voice suddenly cries out, "Stop it..!" Hunched over was a male teen with bandages covering half of his face, left leg and right hand. The teen was fatigued, barely standing, "Leave us alone... It's useless." Another teen limps over, his left hand is covered in white bandages.

"If we stay obedient, we won't be executed like you guys!"

Ryuji grasps two of the cell bars, leaning in closer "You're tellin' me you wanna stay in a place like this?!"

With a slight tilt of the head, Morgana asks, "Wait a minute... Were you planning on taking these guys out of here?"

"We can't just leave 'em here!"

Morgana shakes his head, "How stupid can you be? These are only humans in Kamoshida's cognition. They aren't really humans that have entered from reality. They're different from you two." Ryuji repeats the word 'cognition' with an inquisitive tone. "It means there's no point in saving them! they're different from the real ones in the real world. You could say that these are extremely similar-looking dolls."

"The hell?! Why's it gotta be so complicated?! So the school's a castle, and the students are slaves... It's so on point that it makes me laugh. This really is the inside of that asshole's head!"

Jumping off the wooden box, Morgana steps closer to the cell. He winces at the sight, "Still, this is horrible. It must mean he treats them as slaves in the real world too."

"In the real world too..?" Ryuji's eyes widen. "Wait, I know these guys... They're members of the volleyball team- the one Kamoshida coaches for!"

So he physically abuses them in reality... what a despicable man. Something must be done to stop this. Ryuji takes out his phone, intending to use the scene in front of him as evidence. Only for his phone camera to not respond. Akira does the same for his camera app to not open. Before leaving the training hall, Ryuji tries to memorize the slaves' faces. They observe the two next cells, one where three slaves are forced to run on a treadmill trying to reach a yellow jug of water. At this treadmill's end was a sideways spikes cylinder that would most likely pierce through flesh. The second cell had a slave hung up upside down, across from them was a cannon shooting volleyballs in his face every five seconds. They manage to escape the training hall and make it to the entrance hall. Where the king stood with three knights at his side. One of them wore some golden amour, most likely a higher-up soldier that would be stronger to beat.

Kamoshida grunts in annoyance, "...You knaves, again? To think you'd make the same mistake again. You're hopeless!"

"The school ain't your castle! I've memorized their faces real good. You're goin' down!"

"It seems it's true when they say' barking dogs seldom bite'. How far the star runner of the track team has fallen."

Star runner? Akira's eyebrow subtly raises in curiosity. "What the hell are you gettin' at?!" Ryuji snaps back.

"I speak of the 'track traitor' who acted in violence, ending his teammates' dreams. Oh, I can only imagine the pain of the others who were dragged under with your... selfish act." Akira repeats 'Track traitor' irresolutely, Ryuji doesn't seem to be the type of guy to betray others. There must be more to this. Kamoshida notices Akira's uncertainty, "What a surprise. So you're accompanying him without knowing anything at all? He betrayed his teammates and crushed their hopes, yet he still carries on as carefree as ever."

Ryuji holds his head in both hands, "That's not true!"

"What a tragedy... You blindly trusted this fool, and he's led you right to your death." Kamoshida turns his back to the group and glances at his guards, "Hurry up and dispose of them. I can't stand their stench." Two guards step forward, changing their forms to dark-coloured horses with greenhorns. Their eyes were pure red while their manes and tails were snow white.

Akira and Morgana move in front of Ryuji, getting into a battle with the enemies. They surround the duo, putting them at a disadvantage. They attack first, two lunges at Akira while the remaining lunges at Morgana. Akira summons Arsene, using Eiha on one of the two-horned beasts, they resist the attack which causes them not to take as much damage. Morgana uses garu on a different horse, barely getting their health halfway down.

Morgana sighs, "There's more of them? This is bad.." Before the cat can react, one of the beasts tackles him. Sending him face-first to the ground as he groans out 'Ah, failure'.

Akira tries to run toward the cat, "Morgana!" Only to perform a backward cartwheel to avoid a horse's back hooves from colliding with his face. Within the time duration of his Witch time, Akira pulls out his gun, unloading all of his ammo into one of the beats killing it. Two enemies left. One of the stallions charges at the Umbra witch, Akira raises his dagger to make three large slices across the enemy's face. It stumbles back as it howls in pain, then the other horse lunges at Akira. With a smirk, he jumps over the beast now standing behind it. Summoning Arsene to use Cleave to kill the beast; one enemy left. Akira makes haste and slices at the remaining horse ending the battle.

"T-That's enough!" Akira turns around, viewing Kamoshida harshly stepping on top of Morgana's body. Keeping the cat in place. "I won't hesitate to kill this thing if you don't surrender!" Although Akira can hear a hint of panic in his tone, he knows that Kamoshida is willing to hurt others for his own benefit. Concerned for his friend's safety, Akira stands frozen in place, beside Ryuji who is now on his knees. The golden soldier raises the tip of his sword towards Akira, guaranteeing his king's safety from the Umbra witch trying anything. Kamoshida focuses on Ryuji, "I bet you simply came here on a whim and ended up like this, Isn't that right?"

Ryuji shakes his head, "No.."

Kamoshida forms a cocky grin, "What a worthless piece of trash, getting emotional so quickly... How dare you raise your hand at me. Though it was only temporary, have you forgotten my kindness in supervising track practice?"

Clenching his fists, Ryuji's upper body leaps forward to the ground, "Wasn't no practice- it was physical abuse! You just didn't like our team!"

"It was nothing but an eyesore! The only one who needs to achieve results is me!" Man does this guy think so highly of himself; Akira never wanted to punch a man more than ever at this moment. "That coach who got fired was hopeless too... Had he not opposed me with a sound argument, I would've settled it with only breaking his star's leg."

The blonde raises his head, looking at the man in disbelief, "..What?"

"Do you need me to deal with your other leg too? The school will call it self-defence anyway!"

"Dammit... Am I gonna lose again? Not only can I run anymore... The track team is gone too 'cause of this asshole..."

Morgana mutters out, "So that's why..." Kamoshida pushes his heel into Morgana's back,

"Once these two are dealt with, you're next." The king lets out malevolent laughter, causing Ryuji to feel even more defeated.

Akira needs to help him, he can't let this bastard get to Ryuji. "Don't let him win!"

Ryuji responds, "... You're right. Everything that was important to me was taken by him... I'll never get 'em back!"

The king ignores what the blonde says, "Stay there and watch. Look on as these hopeless scum die for nothing because they sided with trash like you."

Ryuji raises up to his feet, sternly staring at the man "No... That's what you are... All you think about is using people... You're the real scumbag, Kamoshida!"

He takes three steps forward, vexing Kamoshida at the teen's defiance, "What are you doing? Silence him!"

Ryuji points at Kamoshida, "Stop lookin' down on me with that stupid smile on your face!"

Unexpectedly, Ryuji's eyes almost look to bulge out. Sweat begins to drip down his face as he drops to the floor. His body tussles and turns all the while he screams in pain. Wait... is he now... attaining his own persona? Akira simply watches curiously, a steel skull mask manifesting on Ryuji's face. He pulls the mask off with an agonizing scream, blood splurting on the upper half of his face while large volumes of blue flames elope around his body; the flames propel the soldiers and Kamoshida away. Floating behind Ryuji was his persona... A large pirate ship carried a skeleton, riding the ship as if it were a skateboard. The persona wore: a blue shirt, a pair of black pants with gold trim, white boots and a long flowing red cape. Resting on his skull was a captain's pirate hat while an eyepatch covered his right socket.

"Right on... Wassup, persona... This effin' rocks!" With some help from Akira, Morgana gets back on his feet. They both stand by Ryuji's side, "Now that I got this power, it's time for payback..." Ryuji cracks his knuckles, "Yo, I'm ready... Bring it!"

Appearing in front of them was a evidently larger and stronger knight, riding a black horse. Two green-horned beasts stand on each side of the larger knight. Ryuji begins the fight, "Blast him away... Captain Kidd!" Using the only skill, Zio, he strikes one of the small horses' which hits its weakness. With his extra turn, Ryuji strikes the left-side colt downing the enemy; he repeats his Zio attack killing it. Akira is next, he assaults the remaining downed enemy with three slices of his dagger killing it. Morgana uses Garu on the guard captain. The last guard lunges at Ryuji and he takes some damage. Yet it doesn't deter him to smash his metal rod -his melee weapon- against the captain's armour. Akira makes the last attack, using Cleave to end the battle.

The blonde hunches over, his chest heaving up and down; that fight took a lot out of him surprisingly. He straightens his back to look at Kamoshida, standing beside his fallen guard, "... How 'bout that?!"

Morgana stares at him with amazement, "Whoa... So Ryuji had the potential too..."

Ryuji stares angrily at Kamoshida, "Even if you apologize now... I ain't forgivin' you!"

Kamoshida takes two steps closer to the trio, "I told you that this is my castle. It seems you still don't understand." Prancing to the king's side was Takamaki, wearing a fuchsia bikini, matching pink high heels and cat ears with a tiara on top of her head.

It's plainly another cognition version of her, although Akira doesn't personally know the girl, he could tell she wants nothing to do with this man based on their conversation in the hallway earlier. Takamaki leans closer to Kamoshida, earning his hand to be placed under her chin with his thumb ghosting her bottom lip. "Hey! Let go of her, you perv!"

"How many times must I tell you until you understand? This is MY castle - a place in which I can do whatever I want. Everybody wishes to be loved by me." Kamoshida removes his hand from the blonde's chin, scowling at the group. "...That is, everyone besides slow-witted thieves like you."

Ryuji ignores Kamoshida, "Takamaki! Say somethin'!" Before Akira can rectify what's happening, Morgana does it for him and explains to Ryuji that this isn't the real Takamaki. Kamoshida calls upon more guards to appear. Although Ryuji wanted to stay and fight, Morgana and Akira knew it wouldn't be good to continue and coerce him to escape. They make it outside the castle, each taking some deep breaths in and out.

Examining his new clothing, Ryuji speaks up, "I don't remember changin' into this!" He now wore a black jacket with matching elbow pads, on his back appeared to be a metal vertebral column. His black pants also had knee pads and a double-sided holster belt with shotgun shells on each side. The pop of colour in Ryuji's outfit was his red ascot and pair of yellow gloves.

It didn't look bad, Akira found it to make Ryuji into a rather attractive rebel. As in attractive in the bad boy sense, "It looks good on you."

"Uhh... Should I be happy about that?.. Then again, it ain't as bad as yours." Okay then, don't expect another compliment from Akira anymore. Through the open vent, they could hear the pursuers attempting to find them. They stay quiet until the guards' voices drown out. As expected, Ryuji is still confused about everything so Morgana tries to describe the security and how Ryuji's persona is his rebel within. He even explains how Kamoshida, in reality, isn't aware of what happens in the Metaverse. Before Ryuji and Akira can leave though, the cat stops in them to have his end of the bargain. The bargain neither teen has agreed upon. Morgana apparently had Akira play a bigger part in this plan of his. Not wanting to stay near the castle any longer, the teens run away leaving a displeased Morgana behind.

Returning to reality, the two stood in an alleyway a few inches from the school. The Navigator app enables its voice to confirm they have returned to the real world.

"...Thank God. We're back." Ryuji glances at the Umbra witch with contrite, "I dragged you around a lot, huh?... Sorry, man. Ugh, I'm dead tired... How you holdin' up?"

Akira didn't feel too drowsy, he felt the same way he would after slaying angels; it gave him a small rush of excitement. "Eh, I'm fine."

"That's impressive. I'm exhausted even though I used to do track..." Ryuji's face suddenly beams, "But damn, if what we saw was for real, this is gonna get good! I totally remember the faces of the guys Kamoshida was treatin' like slaves. Once we make 'em fess up to any physical abuse, Kamoshida will be done. So... wanna help me look for those guys or any witnesses?" If Akira assists Ryuji in searching for students who are willing to report this abuse, maybe he could inform Uncle Luka of these injured parties to write an article and notify the public of this horrendous man and his actions. When Akira complies to help, the blonde smiles, "Now that's what I'm talkin' about!" His smile quickly falters when he seems to think about something. "Hey so... If you're thinkin' of layin' low 'cause you got a record, I don't think that'll help... Everybody already knows. They totally got you pegged as a criminal." Akira stays silent, tilting his head to encourage Ryuji to explain further, "Kamoshida opened his damn mouth!" Does this man live to terrorize almost every teen he encounters? "No one besides a teacher could've leaked it that fast! It doesn't matter if it's a student or a club; that asshole just wrecks things he doesn't agree with. Just like he did with me!" He pauses for a beat, "No one'll take anything I say seriously. Still, those rumours about him gettin' physical might be real. And after seein' Kamoshida's distorted heart thing in person, there's no way I can just sit back!"

Akira nods his head, "Of course."

"I'm countin' on you! Don't worry- I'm hyped about this too!" It seems they have formed a bond of trust...

I am thou, thou art I...
Thou has acquired a new vow.

It shall become the wings of rebellion
that breaketh thy chain of captivity.

With the birth of the Chariot Persona,
I have obtained the winds of blessing that
shall lead to freedom and new power...

Since it would be weird for them to say goodbye, Ryuji recommends they go to eat somewhere. Akira's stomach is rather empty so why not? Ryuji leads the way, mentioning how they can talk about one another while they eat.

It must have been hitting five o'clock when Akira made it back to Leblanc, his belly full from that wonderful serving of beef with his new friend. During this hangout, they planned on scouting for victims tomorrow and exchanging numbers. Akira couldn't stop the subtle smile painting his face; it comforts the young witch to have a friend like Ryuji. Even though they've only known each other for about three days, Akira can tell they're going to be best friends. Hell maybe they could-

"Akira!" Once the teen sets foot inside the cafe, he is greeted by none other than the amazing Luka. He sat on one of the stools across from Sojiro who stood behind the counter. Eyeing the almost empty plate of curry and a half-full cup of coffee, it seems Luka has been here for a while. Luka waves the teen over and both offer a swift hug, "How are you doin' kid? An old birdie has told me you skipped most of your first day."

Sojiro's eyebrows knit together, expressing how mildly annoyed he was at being referred to as 'old birdie'. He then gazes over at Akira impassively, "I take it you actually went to school today?"

The Umbra witch simply answers, "Of course."

"I guess you learned your lesson after what happened yesterday. Eh, as long as you're getting into trouble, that's fine by me."

Luka gets off his stool, "Couldn't agree more!" Rumagging inside his right coat pocket, Luka takes out more yen than needed to pay for his meal. He flings the money on the counter, "Here's a little extra Sojiro; that curry is better than anything they serve at the hotel! You've got some talent when it comes to cooking."

Sojiro, slightly taken aback by the generous gesture, hesitantly picks up the yen, "T-thanks..." Akira's phone pings, stealing his attention to see a notification from his messages.

Ryuji: Hey, I decided to go ahead and message you.

Can you see this?

Akira decides to make a frivolous response. Akira: Nope.

Ryuji: You so CAN!

I'm gonna be counting on you tomorrow, OK?

Akira: Got it.

Ryuji: You're a bro, man...

Welp, see ya tomorrow!"

Let's save those guys who have been getting abused. You and me.

"Hey, kid!" Akira looks up to Sojiro, "I'm gonna lock up in 5 minutes," He motions between Luka and Akira, "If you both want to talk then make it quick, alright?"

The young witch nods briskly, grabbing his uncle's arm to drag him upstairs. Luka lets out a minor chuckle at the boy's eagerness, plopping onto the couch beside the lonely table. "Wow Kiki, I've never seen you so energetic. Did something interesting happen' today?"

With a bashful smile, Akira says "Something did... but we can talk about that later. I wanted to ask if you're still investigating Kamoshida."

Luka's eyebrows raise, "Why do you ask?" He then leans forward in his seat, "He isn't causing you any trouble is he?"

Akira scratches the back of his head, "Not necessarily. It's more of him causing serious trouble to others and needs to be stopped. A friend and I have stumbled upon some unsavoury things. If we manage to obtain some witnesses to confess, do you think you can include their accounts in your records?"

"If these witnesses are willing sure, I just need their contact info. I'll keep their identities confidential when it goes public of course." He stands up, placing his palms on the back of his head. "Are you planning to question these witnesses tomorrow?" Akira merely nods. "Okay then, I can meet you after school." Luka cooly grins at the teen, "We can maybe talk about other things as well."

"That would be great, thanks Chesshire."

Luka heads to the tip of the stairs, "No need to thank me. I've also been discussing this with another reporter... She said she's down to collaborate on writing a transcription together. Havin' a local join me in writing could help in catchin' the attention of the public." Luka's mouth forms an 'o' as he remembers a message he needs to give to his nephew. "Oh! I almost forgot!" He spins to face Akira, "Rodin wants me to tell you that your 'special items' will be given back on the sixteenth." He uses his fingers to make quotations. Akira is aware of what 'special items' he is referring to.

Well, that's some good news. Although Akira hasn't bumped into any of his feathery holy friends since he moved, he's itching to have his guns returned and have some fun with them. He doesn't mind using his dagger to defend himself, however, No Place Like Home are much more entertaining to use. When he has the chance Akira should return to that palace and see if his gun's damage stays consistent in the Metaverse. Akira performs a respectful bow, thanking his uncle for the information. They say their goodbyes, granting Akira his solitude.

13 April 2018

"That asshole's actin' like a king over here too... Get to know each other better, my ass. It's just a one-man show for him to stroke his ego. And how he acted like he was worried about Mishima? What an abusive d-bag!" Ryuji tirades while Akira nods in agreement. During that volleyball rally, Kamoshida was vicious with his serves to the point of harming a poor blue-haired boy in Akira's class. The volleyball served by Kamoshida wrecked his cute face; the man didn't even look sorry for hurting his student. Ryuji sighs, "... Well, anyways. Now's our chance to go look for the guys we saw were slaves yesterday. Let's look for the faces we saw at the castle. All the members of the team should be here today. I'll be sure to find someone to spill about Kamoshida's physical abuse. Just you wait, asshole."

"Where are you searching?" Akira doesn't know the full layout of the school yet so he is relying on Ryuji to lead them to the volleyball players.

Ryuji takes a couple of seconds to think about where they should start, "... The first one that popped out was a guy from Class D, so let's start from there. That's your class. Hopefully, you can get him to talk without any issues. People have been avoidin' me lately, so... Oh, but you're kinda in the same boat, huh." Akira ends the conversation with a shrug of his shoulders. Surely if they're blunt with the victims they will unfold how abusive Kamoshida is.

Entering the 2-D classroom, the Umbra witch scans the room to hunt for a teen wearing the volleyball team's uniform. At the front of the classroom -reading some pinned papers on the board- stood a brown-haired teen with bandages covering the right side of his face. Ryuji and Akira approach the teen to inquire how he had gotten his injuries; he claims it's from practice only for Ryuji to call his bluff. The panicked volleyball player asks if they have proof and tells the duo to leave him alone when Ryuji hesitates at his question. Since the volleyball game will eventually end, Akira suggests they split up. Ryuji complies with this and checks the practice building while Akira searches the classroom building floors for a third-year player in 3-C. Walking down to the first floor, Akira soon finds the player with noticeable injuries on his face. Alas, it results in the player becoming bothered by the witch's interrogation and won't fess up to Kamoshida's abuse. Akira's phone pings allowing him to leave without it seeming too awkward. Removing his phone from his PE pants pocket, Akira views a message from Ryuji, he was checking if Akira has convinced a volleyball player only to find out he had the same outcome. Ryuji informs the witch about the lead of a first-year volleyball member who has joined the recently. There's a chance he will be more willing to speak since Kamoshida's manipulation hasn't fully gotten to the boy yet. Travelling up to the third floor, Akira manages to spot this first year in time. He approaches the teen and gets straight to the point, asking if Kamoshida is abusing the team. Although the teen denies this abuse, he mentions how a Mishima gets special coaching that goes too far. Before Akira could push the volleyball player further in explaining this 'special coaching', the school speakers turn on, advising the students to get ready to go home since the matches have concluded. Ryuji texts him, stating they should regroup in the courtyard by a leisure area.

While patiently waiting for his friend, Akira stands in front of one of the two vending machines. There wasn't anything that Akira was interested in; eating most of these snacks may alter his diet. Then again, surely one snack couldn't hinder his many years of training and exercising to perfect his body.

"Can I talk to you for a sec?" Akira was surprised to see Ann Takamaki looming behind him. This was rather sudden, why does she want to talk to him?

Akira raises one brow, "What is it?"

"It'll be quick." Her eyes bast down for a mere second before she stares at Akira, "Anyways, what's with you? Like, how you were late the other day was a lie and all." Guess it was half of a lie, no matter the reason though he was late to school. "... There's that weird rumour about you too."

Akira notices Ryuji drawing near, the blonde's face becoming slightly sour, "Whaddya want with him?"

Ann counters back, "Right back at you. You're not even in our class."

"... We just happened to get to know each other."

Doubtful of the situation, Ann crosses her arms, "What're you planning on doing to Kamoshida?"

Ryuji is taken aback at first until he believes why she's questioning him, "... I see. I getcha. You're all buddy-buddy with Kamoshida after all."

The blonde girl sends a dirty look to Ryuji, "This has nothing to do with you, Sakamoto!"

"If you found out what he's been doin' behind your back, you'd dump him right away."

"Behind my back...? What's that supposed to mean?"

There's a bit of silence in the atmosphere, Ryuji looks over to his friend before stating "You wouldn't get it."

Ann sighs, "Anyways, people are already talking about you two. I don't know what you're trying to pull, but no one's gonna help you. I'm just warning you, just in case. That's all." She walks away, leaving Ryuji and Akira. Engrossed by the two blonde's interaction, Akira queries his friend on how he knows Ann. Ryuji briskly responds they have known one another since middle school and shifts the conversation to whether anyone's name popped up. The Umbra witch mentions this Mishima boy who's doing some special coaching. Sensing this is another opportunity to see if someone will spill, Ryuji suggests they look for this Mishima before he leaves. The duo are able to catch the teen near the entrance of the school. It turns out Mishima was the cute boy from the volleyball match.

Running towards the rather dishevelled teen, Ryuji requests for a quick chat with the blue-haired teen. "Kamoshida's been 'coaching' you, huh? You sure it's not physical abuse?"

Mishima steps back, "Certainly not!"

Ryuji crosses his arms, "What're you talkin' all polite for? Anyways... We saw him spike you today. Right in the face."

"That was just because I'm not good at the sport..." The teen meekly excuses. Akira couldn't help but feel sorrow from looking at his classmate. He can tell Mishima is discouraged, Kamoshida has crushed this poor boy's spirit.

The blonde responds, "... Still, that doesn't explain all the other bruises you got." Mishima urgers they're from practise, "Is he forcin' you to keep quiet?" Lamentably Mishima is unable to answer when Kamoshida joins the conversation. The older man makes a comment to the blue-haired teen on how it's time for practice; Mishima attempts to reason why he was leaving early only for Kamoshida to jab that the boy might as quit if he's not willing to improve his crappy form. Ryuji is quick to defend Mishima, getting right in front of Kamoshida. Who glares down at the blonde, not so subtlety threatening to expel Ryuji if he doesn't quit causing trouble. He soon leaves, commanding Mishima to follow. When Kamoshida is out of sight, Mishima reveals that everyone -students, principal, parents- knows about the abuse but won't do anything. No one is helping these mistreated teens. If only Akira's mother worked here; as soon as she finds out about Kamoshida she will most likely assemble her Cutie J identity to teach this man a VERY harsh lesson. Jeanne is devoted to protecting not only her family but her dear students too; to discover a fellow teacher is being unprofessional with their students will infuriate her to the point of violence.

Mishima goes forth in the same direction as Kamoshida, leaving Akira and a frustrated Ryuji. "I hope you're not going to quit." Akira comments, there's no way he is letting this go and he can't allow his friend to give up either.

"... No, I ain't givin' up... I'll try one more time to persuade the other guys. That's... all I can do." Ryuji answers with a tinge of grit.

Hanging close to the Shujin gates, Luka scans the small crowds of minors for his nephew. His eyes pause when he reaches the stairs, watching Akira exiting the school. With a loud whistle, it gains Akira's attention, who jogs over to Luka and greets him with a smile. They begin the route to the station as they discuss whether Akira has convinced the volleyball players to come out or not. Luka figured they should get business out of the way before lightening the mood by discussing Akira's school life. Upon Akira entailing none of these teens were willing to come forward, what made it more somber was that apparently the adults were aware and weren't doing anything. Damn... Luka may need to enlist an extra hand from Ichiko on finding ways to expose this Kamoshida asshole.

Luka tries to console his nephew, "Sorry you discovered that info kid; to know your principal isn't acting on this is messed up." Luka may not be the best when it comes to this, he wasn't fully sure how to respond to this news. The two stood on the train heading to Shibuya.

Akira nods, "But we're not giving up though, Ryuji said he'll try again before we parted."

"That's good your friend isn't giving up either." Luka gently nudges his shoulder against Akira's, "But hey, don't let this get you down... Let's talk about something else." It'll relax his nephew to focus on something else for a moment. "I wanna know more about this new friend of yours," Luka leans in closer to whisper, "Do you like him?"

From his tone and emphasis on the word, Akira could tell what type of 'like' Luka was referring to. Akira shrugs, "It might be too early to tell..." Luka pats his nephew's back, motioning to the train doors. Akira continues as they leave the train, "Even though he has a bit of a temper, I like how headstrong and honest he is with his feelings."

Luka hums approvingly, "Sounds like a good kid." They stroll up to Station Square, chatting about various things until Akira senses his holy friends close by. How nice of them to finally drop by, fighting some angels will let Akira blow off some steam.

"Hey Uncle Luka, can you wait here for a second?" Luka gives a questionable look at the teen, "It's some business I need to take care of real quick."

The older man realises what he meant, "Oh yeah, sure! I'll wait by the next train we have to take alright?" Akira nods and then turns to the direction where he can sense the angels are presenting themselves. He will have to make this quick; Akira doesn't want to risk making Sojiro annoyed if he is late going home. The Umbra witch enters Purgatorio, now spotting the angels ahead of him. It was a group of third-sphere angels: three Affinities, two enchants and three Acceptances. Akira disrobes into his birthday suit, allowing his hair to extend down his body. Arranging each strand of hair into his battle uniform.

Akira gets in the angels' line of view, he smirks as they react with squeals and squawks, "How nice of you boys to send a welcoming party. Though it is rather late by four days." Akira pulls out his Orichalcum dagger from his Umbra seal space along with his gun from Ryuji. The enchants begin to circle around the Umbra witch, two Affinites stay on the ground as one flies and the Acceptances stay back waiting for an opening to attack. Akira lets the Affinity swing their staff at the teen, he dodges by performing a three-sixty spin to the right activating Witch time. Choosing to get rid of the enchants first, Akira carries out various combos that end with infernal punches from Monsouir Charro. He is able to kill one enchant within Witch time while the remaining barely lives with parts of flesh exposed. As the Umbra witch continues his attack, occasionally switching from his dagger to his gun to execute new combos, he begins to wonder if he is able to use a persona while in Purgatorio. After all, he still has the mask so surely he can right? Purgatorio surely isn't that different from the Metaverse when it comes to inhabiting various creatures. Akira jumps back to give some space between him and the angels in case Arsene doesn't respond. Calling upon his persona's name, strikingly, for Arsene to ascend from an Umbran symbol and his mask to disintegrate. There was no need to control the persona through his hair, it turns out that Arsene doesn't need any commands to act. Arsene pounced at one Acceptance and used Cleave to daze them. Targeting an Affinity next with a single Eiha while Akira plunges the same angel closer to Central Street with Tetsuzanko. Arsene lets out a booming laugh, gleeful at these new enemies; The same thrill Akira feels is building within his persona making him eager to fight more.

One Acceptance charges at Akira, but unable to dodge in time Akira is pushed back from the impact of the enemy's weapon. With a thrash of his wings, Arsene forces himself to collide at the Acceptance's side before his body fades into thin air; the Umbra witch's magic has depleted. Thanks to Arsene's help, some of the angels were weakened so Akira didn't have to worry much about their attacks. Swiftly, Akira kills the Affinity by Central Street with two slices of his dagger and two kicks that end with Monsouir Charro infernal stomping on the angel. The rest of the holy creatures rush at Akira: A flying Affinity fires its trumpet, two Acceptances throw their weapons back ready to harshly swing them while the other is somehow still dazed, an enchant builds their holy sphere and the last Affinity stands back waiting for an opening. Both Acceptances strike but Akira cartwheels backwards, slowing down the fired holy sphere from the Affinity's trumpet. Executing an After-Burner kick, the sphere slowly travels in the opposite direction now intending to hit its sender. Akira shoots multiple times at the Enchant, eliminating the angel before it completes its attack. When Witch time no longer operates, the Affinity is slammed back into a building causing some chunks to collapse. Pinning the Affinity underneath the rubble. Akira continues to make various combos, during the battle he isn't able to avoid damage to the buildings; luckily though, it was only two buildings rather than the whole row. The two buildings looked to be some type of bookstore and a diner that was already closed; the damage wasn't severe as the building still stood. Akira is able to terminate the angels within five minutes, he mutters a sorry despite none of the translucent people being unable to hear him before heading back to the station. In spite of the battle ending quickly, Akira was able to discover a possible new form of combat; he can use his Persona when fighting angels.

14 April 2018

"Shouldn't you be heading to volleyball?" Inquires the blonde, gazing at her friend who was somewhat hunched over. She only answers with a nod. "That bruise above your eye... Is that from practice, too?"

Shiho mummurs, "Y-Yeah..."

Ann's eyebrows furrowed, "Are you sure you're not pushing yourself too hard?"

"I'm okay... Volleyball's the only thing I can do right..." Ann's phone begins to ring, she leaves it ringing to focus her attention on her friend. "I... should get going." The blonde asks if Shiho will be alright, only for the teen to stand muttering 'Uh-huh' before walking away. Passing through the Practice building to stand in front of a doorway. Shiho didn't know what to do; she felt lost in her life. Volleyball was something she once loved and was set on becoming an amazing player of the sport. Possibly have so much talent she would become a well-known professional... But now, she relinquishes the idea and forms a small debate in her head about quitting Volleyball. Quitting the sport could make everything stop, wouldn't it? Would he leave her alone? Who is she kidding; that man will torment her until graduation. Maybe she can endure it, endure it long enough until she graduates...

"Excuse me?"

Shiho glances to the left, viewing a striking black-haired boy. She soon realises why he is talking to her, "Oh... I'm in the way, aren't I? Sorry..."

The teen offers a reassuring smile, "Don't worry about it, I'm sorry too."

"Oh no, it's totally my fault. I shouldn't have been spacing out like that..." She couldn't help but feel pathetic in front of the student. Though he doesn't seem the type of judge... now she has a closer look at the boy. Shiho hasn't seen him at school before. "Hm, you don't look familiar. Could you be the transfer student from Class D?" The teen nods. Shiho has heard about the rumours about him, ranging from assault to something as ridiculous as elephant trafficking. "Um, this might not be any of my business, but don't let the rumours get you, okay?"

He seems to form a soft grin, "They don't bother me."

"I'm glad to hear that... My best friend is often misunderstood too, all because of her looks..." Shiho couldn't stop the words from spilling out, in all honestly doesn't know why she wanted to tell him that. Maybe so he could understand he isn't the only one people judge in this school? With a shake of her head, Shiho says goodbye to the teen and heads to practice. The teen watched Shiho leave before exiting the building to meet with Ryuji. Akira sees the blonde standing by the vending machines, his stance already had given Akira the answer on whether any victims are willing to come forward. The two go back and forth on what to do next until an interesting idea pops into Akira's head. What if they punish the king? If they confront the Kamoshida in the metaverse then couldn't that have some sort of effect in the real world? When Akira suggests the idea, Ryuji can barely question the idea when a familiar voice cuts in. The teens look around for the person only to see... a black cat? They position themselves on the table between Akira and Ryuji before they prattle on about how the teens can't get away with not paying them back for helping them. It was Morgana! Upon overhearing a teacher complain about searching for a cat, Ryuji picks up Morgana to stuff him into Akira's bag, proposing they talk somewhere more private.

Akira gently places Morgana down on the rooftop floor as Ruji asks the cat how they can do something to Kamoshida in the other world. Morgana instructs the two that if they'd make the castle disappear then it would infect the real Kamoshida. When the castle vanishes so will Kamoshida's sick desires, he will be unable to bear the weight of his crimes and confess them himself. Even though there was more to educate the teens, Morgana only agreed to do so if they went ahead with this plan. Since they had no other choice the teens accept this deal until Ryuji becomes unsure when Morgana mentions that there's a chance Kamoshida could die if the job isn't properly done. Morgana leaves frustrated at the blonde's hesitation, the teens soon leave the rooftop with Ryuji claiming to try and find another way to this predicament. As Akira walks home, he manages to overhear some students gossip; talking about Takamaki and her relationship with Kamoshida, how the volleyball team are loyal to the Kamoshida, how Ryuji and Akira have been seen together and a player named Suzui is his favourite girl. The last one is rather concerning.

Exiting the Teikyu building, Akira overhears a familiar voice,

"Will you please give it a rest?! I told you, I'm not feeling up to it..." It was his classmate Ann talking with someone on her phone. Judging from her tone she was agitated by the other person attempting to urge her to do something. "Wait, what?! That's not what you promised! And you call yourself a teacher?!" She pauses for a beat, "This has nothing to do with Shiho!" She lets out a gasp as -who Akira assumes to be- Kamoshida hangs up. Ann curls into a ball on the ground, mumbling about her friend's starting position It's most likely Kamoshida is trying to blackmail Ann, using her friend's place in the team to get what he wants. Akira doesn't want to even speculate what Kamoshida wants Ann to do... He needs to help her. Akira goes to her side, she quickly takes notice of his close presence and stands up in surprise. She questions if he was eavesdropping to which Akira responds honestly. She asks how much he heard and his answer seems to prompt Ann to run away. Akira pursues the blonde, finding her in the underground walkway. The Umbra witch is able to calm her down and peacefully lead her to a safe location. Which was a fast-food restaurant.

Ann was initially reluctant to talk until Akira showed how he knew that argument was with Kamoshida. He could tell she was stressed with her situation, letting her vent to him might help her out. "You've heard the rumours... Haven't you?" Her right index finger begins to trail across a napkin on the table, "About Mr Kamoshida. Everybody says we're getting it on... But... that's so not true...! That was him on the other line. I avoided giving my number... For the longest time... He told me to go to his place after this.." Her hand elops around the napkin tightly, "You know what it means. If I turn him down, he said he'd take my friend off as a regular from the team..." She stares down at her lap, the tears rapidly building in the corner of her eyes. "I've been telling myself this is all for Shiho's sake... I can't take it anymore... I've had enough of this. I hate him! But still.. Shiho's my friend." Her head swings left to right as tears cascade down her cheeks, "She's all I have left at that sorry excuse of a school! Tell me..." She gazes at Akira, "What should I do?" Akira couldn't respond, his honest answer would be to tell him no and let's say 'correct' the man's behaviour with the help of his trusty set of No Place Like Home artillery. "Sorry..." She wipes her tears away with the back of her right hand, "I shouldn't have asked. It's not your problem." She lets out a sigh, "What.. What am I saying? I've barely even talked to you before..."

"It's fine." Ann looks at the teen surprised, aside from Shiho she hasn't had someone so attentive to her. A majority of people in school would ignore her all because of her looks.

The girl sighs, "... You're so weird. Usually, everyone just ignores me. Are you really a bad person? I've heard people talking about you, but... I just don't see it."

Akira couldn't stop the corner of his lips curving upwards, "I'm bad to the bone."

"Is that supposed to be a joke? I kinda had a feeling they were all just exaggerations." Her head turns to the left, avoiding eye contact with the Umbra witch, "You seemed lonely- almost like you didn't belong anywhere..." When Akira was in secondary school, he was greatly aware of how disconnected he was from his peers. Nobody knew about the Umbra or Lumen clan, not even his history teachers. When he had asked if his classmates knew about his clan or asked the teacher if they're learning about the witch hunts, he was given perplexed looks. It made Akira realise how detached he was from everyone; none of them were aware of the witch hunts decades ago, none of them knew the true form of angels and none of them knew about his family's 'side job'. Even though Akira had his parents to console him, he couldn't help but feel... lonely. Ann goes on, "We're the same in that regard. Maybe that's why it was so easy for me to talk to you." She eyes her water before resting her left cheek in her left palm, "Is there really no way for me to help Shiho? I wish he'd just change his mind... Like, forget about me, and everything..." The teen then falls back on her seat, "As if something like that would ever happen..."

Lowering his head, Akira says "It could happen." He expects Ryuji to be willing to make this palace disappear, if not then he will just execute this plan with Morgana. Akira can't let any more of these students suffer.

His response causes Ann to smile, "I wasn't asking for a serious response. But I do feel a bit better now... I'm gonna head home." The blonde stands, holding her bag in her right arm with her glass of water held in the opposite. Before leaving, she takes Akira seriously, "Don't tell anyone what I told you, okay? I'll try and think of a way to persuade Kamoshida. Well... Thanks."

Akira stayed seated for a couple of minutes, considering the very few options to take on this Kamoshida business before leaving the fast-food restaurant.

15 April 2018

The young witch couldn't focus on the lesson, he was too busy thinking about the recent events. Mainly whether Ryuji is willing to go back into the Metaverse or not. Ryuji didn't want to risk killing Kamoshida; Akira didn't care that much honestly... it wouldn't be that different from killing an angel or demon. Would he be able to convince Ryuji to make the palace vanish despite the risk?

"Have you made up your mind?" Akira is startled by a surprised Morgana hiding in his desk. Thankfully nobody notices the meowing cat, "No matter how much thinking you do, there's only one option. You'd be better off just listening to me."

Not wanting to earn Mr Ushimaru's attention potentially, Akira tells the cat to not talk. The teacher looks in Akira's direction with a confused look, "Hm? Did I just hear a cat just now?" The classroom eventually builds with whispers, "Hm... Could that rumoured cat be somewhere nearby? Settle down! We're in the middle of an important lecture!" He turns to the chalkboard as Akira feels his phone vibrate in his pocket. Extracting the phone from his pocket he begins to read a text from his friend.

Ryuji: It's no use... I can't think of any other way...

Akira: Concentrate on class.

Ryuji: I can't deal with that shit right now. I mean, what're we gonna do about Kamoshida?

Do we just go along with what that cat says?

Urgh, that damn furball...

Morgana sighs, "If he only knew I'm reading this too..."

A student stands up, catching not only Ushimaru's attention but also the whole class. Everyone begins to stand upon hearing a female student shout that she's going to jump. Ann stands out of her desk upon hearing Mishima gasp out Suzui. The teacher couldn't stop the multiple students who rushed out of the classroom to stare out of the windows. Everyone gawks at the sigh, multiple people expressing their worry and for someone to do something. Akira's eyes widen at the sight... It was Suzui standing on the edge of the rooftop...

Her body falls forward.