? – The interrogation room
"The school turned into an old castle? And there was a talking cat?" Sae summarized after hearing Akira's story. "…Are you hallucinating from an overdose? I won't put up with you if you're simply joking around."
"I'm not," Akira shook his head, protesting.
"I'm going to have you continue the story. The one who received a 'calling card' from the Phantom Thieves was an Olympic medalist…," Sae pulled out a photo of a familiar face. "...An alumnus from Shujin Academy- the PE teacher, Suguru Kamoshida. It all came out in his confession. He was guilty of everything – the abuse, the…violations… But there should've been no connections between the two of you since you had just transferred. Why did you target him?"
"I don't know what to say," Akira began. "But there's a reason for that."
"That's unacceptable!" Sae exclaimed. "Try and recall it once again!"
"I am!" Akira replied as he continued the story…
4/11 – Monday
"Seriously?" Ms. Kawakami sighed once Akira already arrived at the faculty office. "Being over half a day late on your first day? Can you explain yourself?"
"I just got lost," Akira tried to explain.
"Will you pull yourself together? You were given a fair warning yesterday. More importantly… I heard that you were caught along with that Sakamoto-kun?"
"Wait… That Sakamoto?" Akira blinked as he remembered being with Ryuji a while later.
"Don't get involved with him, okay? He's nothing but trouble," Kawakami said. "He wasn't like that when he was devoting his time to track and field, though…"
Kawakami sighed as she continued, "...Anyway. Break's almost over. Classes will end after the fifth period today because of the subway accident. I'll have you introduce yourself when class resumes. Follow me."
As Akira followed his homeroom teacher, Kawakami also added, "By the way, when you introduce yourself, be serious about it even if you're lying to the class, okay? Do NOT say anything unnecessary."
"I won't," Akira said.
As they went to their homeroom class, two female students noticed Akira.
"…You think that's him?"
"Huh? The one in the rumors?"
Moments later, Akira finds himself in a classroom labeled Class 2-D, unsurprised to be greeted by students who give him looks of distrust.
"Being super late on his first day? He is insane…"
"He looks normal, though."
"But he might slug us if we look him in the eye..."
"Settle down," Kawakami called out to the students, introducing them to Akira. "...Well, I'd like to introduce a transfer student: Akira Kurusu. Today, we had him attend from the afternoon on since he wasn't feeling well." She then turned to Akira. "All right, please say something to the class."
"Nice to meet you all," Akira greeted the students. "Looking forward to getting to know you."
More students murmured even more.
"He seems quite quiet… but I bet when he loses it..."
"I mean, he was arrested for assault, right?"
"...Uhh, so… Your seat will be… Hmm…," Kawakami pondered before she pointed to an empty spot by the window. "Over there. The opened one. Sorry, but can the people nearby please share your textbooks with him for today?"
Akira walked to his assigned seat, trying to ignore the students' murmurs. Just then, he noticed a solemn, blue-haired boy, all covered in bruises and a bandage on his cheek.
What happened to you? Akira thought as he looked at the blue-haired boy.
Just then, Akira heard a familiar voice. "…Lies."
Akira turned to see a flashy female student – the same blonde girl from this morning. She glared at him with an intense look before turning away.
"Huh? You're that girl…," Akira focused on her before sitting down on his new desk behind her. "And I'm not lying. You don't know what happened to me."
"I saw you at the station this morning. You liar."
"For your information, it was just a bit of a detour," Akira said, just as he overheard two female students gossiping.
"…Did you catch that? Do those two know each other?"
"Does that mean he hit on her before transferring here?"
"That means she's cheating on him with Mr. Kamoshida. Then again, this is Takamaki-san we're talking about..."
"For real. That side of the room is totally awful."
"Oh, right! The volleyball rally's in two days…," Kawakami spoke while getting the students to quiet down. "Everyone's just changed classes, so make sure you use that time to get to know each other. Well then, let's get the class started. Who's on duty today?"
"Everyone, please rise..." The young, well-behaved blue-haired boy in bruises spoke up as he and everyone else stood up.
Rumors, huh? Akira thought. Well, it's not like I can tell them that I was only late because I was warped into a castle and nearly got killed by a fake Kamoshida in a kingly robe. But that power I have in that castle…my Persona… I feel like it was no dream at all.
Akira, overhearing the students judging him, sighed. "Ugh, this is so rough…"
After school, Akira exited the homeroom class. He sees the school fading out, revealing to be the castle with red carpets and green couches, before returning to normal. He didn't know it, but it felt like both the school and the castle are the same thing – as if they are a connection.
Between what happened this morning and everyone badmouthing me, Akira thought. There's no way things will be standard.
Akira groaned. "Ugh, I can't even catch a break… Why do I have to deal with this?"
"Hey, that's my line," Kawakami spoke up when she walked up to Akira. "Also… it seems like people are already talking about you, but I'm not the one who told them. It would be best if you headed straight home without stopping by anywhere. Sakura-san sounded pretty angry. Oh, and about Sakamoto-kun. Don't get involved—"
But Kawakami's sentence got cut when she noticed Ryuji walking by. "Speak of the devil…" She muttered as she turned to Ryuji. "What do you want? I heard the police caught you cutting classes today."
Ryuji scoffed. "Ugh… It was nothin'."
"And you haven't dyed your hair back to black either..."
"Sorry 'bout that," Ryuji apologized as he then whispered to Akira before walking off. "…I'll be waitin' on the rooftop."
Kawakami sighed as she turned to Akira. "See? That's why I don't want you to get involved. Understood?"
"Understood," Akira answered.
As Kawakami left, Akira turned toward the direction Ryuji went. "I should probably meet him on the rooftop," he muttered to himself as he was about to follow Ryuji while hearing two figures talking.
"Why did you allow a student like Akira-kun to transfer here?" Kamoshida asked Principal Kobayakawa. "He's already started associating with Sakamoto. A student with a criminal record and the culprit of an assault case. At this rate, it'd be pointless how much I contribute to the school."
"Now, don't be like that…" Principal Kobayakawa replied, reassuring the gym teacher. "This school is counting on you, Kamoshida-kun. You are our star. Still, a steady build-up is necessary behind such brilliance as well."
"...Your troubles never seem to end, do they, Principal Kobayakawa?" Kamoshida sighed before he smiled at the principal. "All right, I understand. I'll continue to do my best to answer your expectations of me."
A moment later, Akira had already met up with Ryuji at the school rooftop.
"…There you are," Ryuji noticed as he turned to Akira. "Sorry for callin' you up here like this. I bet Kawakami already told you stuff like 'don't get involved with him,' huh?"
"She said you were trouble," Akira replied.
"Heh, we're pretty much in the same boat," Ryuji said. "I heard you got a criminal record. Everyone's talkin' about it. No wonder you were so gutsy."
Akira slowly nodded. "It's mutual."
But Ryuji had something on his mind. "…What was all that that happened? You know, how we almost got killed at that castle… It wasn't a dream, right? You remember it too, yeah?"
"Yeah," Akira answered.
"Well, just because we both remember it doesn't mean much, though…," Ryuji said. "I mean, even if it was a dream, you saved me from Kamoshida. So yeah… Thanks, Akira."
"It was nothing."
"But man, that Kamoshida we saw there…," Ryuji muttered as he turned to Akira. "You probably don't know about it, but there are some rumors about him."
"Kamoshida…," Akira repeated. "The guy we met earlier?"
"Yeah, the ripped mophead," Ryuji answered. "That asshole who was all full of himself at the castle. No one says anything against him because he's some medalist who took the volleyball team to nationals. But the way Kamoshida was king of that castle felt crazy real 'cause of that…" He then pondered for a moment. "...I wonder if we can go back to that castle again..."
"Really? After what happened back there?" Akira blinked at that response.
But Ryuji shook his head at that idea as he rubbed his head in confusion and frustration. "Ugh, forget it. I don't understand what's going on! All that stuff must've all been a dream, right? It has to be!" He then turned to Akira. "Sorry to drag you out here like this. That's all I had to say."
"It's okay," Akira reassured.
"You know, we might be pretty similar. I feel like we're going to get along simply fine as 'troublemakers.' I'm Ryuji Sakamoto."
"Akira Kurusu," Akira introduced as the two gave each other a high five.
"I'll come to talk if I see you around. Don't ignore me, all right? See 'ya."
After school, Akira returned to Leblanc, where Sojiro was doing dishes.
"Hey, I was on the phone earlier with your school," Sojiro said to Akira. "Couldn't spare me any grief on your first day."
"Sorry," Akira apologized.
"Geesh, here I thought you got up and left on time this morning. Look, just behave yourself and stay out of trouble. The only place you have to be in is school. You hear me?"
"Understood."
The following evening, Akira closed up the café, turned off all the lights, and locked the door once Sojiro went home. Then he put on his pajamas as he was getting ready for bed.
"I feel so exhausted, and it's because of all the weird stuff that's been happening to me...," Akira said to himself as he drifted himself fast asleep.
Just then, Akira woke up to a particular melody in the air and found himself in the Velvet Room once again. He got up and turned to see Igor and the twin wardens waiting for him.
"About time you've come to, " Caroline said to Akira as she slammed the prison bars with her baton. "On your feet, Inmate."
"Our master wishes to speak with you," Justine said to Akira. "It's for your own sake that you take his words to heart."
"O-okay," Akira nodded as he looked at Igor.
"First off, let us celebrate our reunion," Igor said. "Your powers have finally awakened – and they are quite special ones at that. It is finally time. Your rehabilitation can finally begin."
"My rehabilitation?" Akira repeated. "What are you talking about?"
"Worry not," Igor reassured Akira. "You will be gifted with understanding soon. You subconsciously heard the call to awaken and chose to follow the destiny of your inner voice, thereby enacting your glorious awakening to your power. You'll be training the power of Persona, which you have awakened to."
"What's a Persona?" Akira asked as he recalled Morgana mentioning Personas.
"Personas are, in other words, a 'mask'— an armor of the heart when confronting worldly matters," Igor explained. "It is a side of you that shows itself when you face the world around you. Perhaps you can think of it as...a facade of determination you wear to face various difficulties in life. I have high expectations for you."
"What do you mean?"
"When you forged a contract with your Persona, it was released from the sea of humanity's souls. Think of it more as the power to control one's own heart, and the heart is strengthened through bonds. As you form bonds by becoming involved with others, your own Confidants will gradually develop. The power of these Confidants is what will determine your Persona's abilities."
"I see," Akira nodded as he scratched his head. "I'm still a little surprised…"
"Your destiny will require you to hone your power, and for that, you will inevitably require our help," Igor continued. "But there is a price for this: You must abide by your contract and assume responsibility for all the decisions you may make."
"Abiding my contract, honing my abilities," Akira listed. "Assuming responsibility for all my decisions? I was already in deep trouble as it is, but there's more?"
"You have no choice but to hone your strength," Justine told Akira. "It's not because we're forcing you, but because this is your fate…"
"I-I see… Sorry…"
"You will know soon enough when the time comes," Igor said, reassuring Akira. "By the by, have you come to enjoy and appreciate the Metaverse Navigator? Using it will allow you to come and go between reality and Palaces."
"Metaverse Navigator?" Akira repeated. "You mean that app that was on my phone?"
"Then, you realized that it was I who bestowed it upon you as a means to train you as a thief."
"The Metaverse Navigator is a gift from our master!" Caroline said with a haughty tone. "You better take care in using it, Inmate!"
"Devote yourself to your training so that you may become a fine thief," Justine added.
"It must be disheartening to make use of the Metaverse Navigator alone," Igor said to Akira. "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... Continue down this path, and the future will be ruinous. But if you master the tools I have given, that may change."
Just then, the raucous sound of alarm rang again as Caroline said to Akira, "Hmph, it's time. Go back and enjoy whatever rest you might have..."
"Sure, I will," Akira said. "But mark my words, I will figure you out eventually…"
Suddenly, Akira's eyes felt heavy once again, and he closed his eyes to rest when everything fades to black. Then, he heard Igor's words once more from somewhere.
Where will your awakened power of the wild card take you...? I look forward to what lies in the future for you, Trickster. The next we meet, it shall be of your own accord.
Until we meet again...
When Akira opened his eyes, he was still in his pajamas on the bed in the attic above Leblanc. He turned around and see that it's still nighttime outside the window. Was he only summoned to the Velvet Room in spirit?
Akira had no way to find out what just happened, but he thinks back on what Igor and the twin wardens had told him as he muttered, "The power of the wild card, huh?"
Even though the Velvet Room people avoid saying much, what little they have to say always has meaning. It's true that they told strange stuff, but never anything meaningless.
Akira assumed that it would be the case… But for now, he may have to keep those words at heart and ease.
4/12 – Tuesday
The next day, after school, Akira went out to find Ryuji when he overheard two people.
"Hey there, Takamaki," Kamoshida greeted her cheerfully. "You looking for a ride home? Things have been pretty dangerous lately with all those accidents."
"Sorry, I have a photoshoot today," Takamaki replied tiredly. "It's for the special summer issue, so I can't afford to miss it..."
"Hey, now… Being a model's fine and dandy, but don't work your pretty little self to the bone. You mentioned you weren't feeling well, right? Something about appendicitis?"
"Yes, I keep planning to go to the hospital, but I've been too busy… Sorry to worry you."
"You must be lonely too. I feel bad for keeping your best friend at practice so often. That's why I asked you out in the first place," Kamoshida then added, "Oh, and… be careful around that transfer student. He's got a criminal record, after all. If something were to happen to you..."
"...Thank you. Please excuse me," Takamaki said as she left without another word.
Kamoshida scoffed a bit angrily as he walked up to the PE faculty office.
It looks like Ryuji was right about Kamoshida, Akira thought. All I did was showing up late, and yet he'd already gone and spread my record to everyone? He is no different from his…
But Akira shook his head. "Never mind, I gotta meet up with Ryuji."
A while later, Akira had finally met up with Ryuji at the school gate outside.
"Yo," Ryuji greeted.
"What's up?" Akira asked.
"I wanna talk about that castle from yesterday. I tried tellin' myself that it was all just a dream… but I couldn't do it. I can't act like nothing happened. We got to go back in there! I got a feeling there's a secret in that place we can use to finally bust Kamoshida. It's all connected to that bastard, after all."
"Well, that castle has something to do with Kamoshida…" Akira said, pondering.
"Yeah, I want to find out what's up with that place, no matter what. And you know, you're the only person I can rely on for this stuff. So, you in?"
Akira shrugged. "Okay, sure. What's next?"
"You serious!? It looks like I managed to talk some sense into you," Ryuji smiled. "I think we should try and retrace our steps from yesterday. In the meantime, you're walkin' to the station, right? Let's go together. Let me know if you notice any other weird buildings on the way. If a huge castle exists, I'm sure we'll find it in no time."
But a few minutes later, Akira and Ryuji returned to the school again as they tried to return to the castle. Still, one attempt after another, they failed.
How could such a grand structure of a castle be hidden away?
"For real?" Ryuji groaned. "Was it smaller than we think it is?"
"Are you sure it was around here? Check your phone," Akira suggested.
"I already did that. I didn't see anything like it around here…" Ryuji said, then he paused at the moment. "Huh? Phone… Hey, that reminds me—didn't you have a navigation app thingy from back then?"
"Yeah, I did," Akira answered. "Why?"
"I don't know if it was or not, but I heard stuff that sounded like one comin' from your phone. You know, didn't it say stuff like 'returned to the real world' or something like that? Let me see your phone for a bit."
"Sure," Akira showed his phone to Ryuji, who looked at the red app on its screen.
"What's this eyeball-looking thing?" Ryuji asked, confused.
"The Metaverse Navigator," Akira replied. "It appeared on my phone, and I can't delete it."
"What a weird app…," Ryuji mumbled.
As Akira pressed the app on his phone, Ryuji finally noticed it. "I knew it – it IS a navigation app! There's even your search history!" He clenched his pumped fist in excitement. "Oh man, I'm such a genius! Let's try usin' it."
"I dunno about this," Akira said, being wary about activating the Metaverse Navigator.
"Why? All we're doing is starting an app."
Just then, the Metaverse Navigator chimed in on Akira's phone. "Kamoshida… Shujin Academy… Pervert… Castle… Beginning navigation."
"There we go!" Ryuji exclaimed. "…Then, we went in a certain direction, and—"
But then, the unexpected happened as the atmosphere around Akira and Ryuji became darker.
"Hey, what are you—?" Ryuji started to ask Akira, but he noticed the scenery slowly shifting as the skies overhead turned into a deep shade of neither red nor purple. He then looked to see Akira's phone flickering like it was possessed, only to see that it was the Metaverse Navigator app and its odd static interference. "...Huh? What the hell!?"
Just then, the air changed around them, and the two turned to see Shujin Academy slowly warping like water in red and black ripples. When the warping stopped, it revealed a familiar sight – precisely what Akira and Ryuji were searching for.
"Look! It's the castle from yesterday!" Ryuji exclaimed as the two walked on ahead across the drawbridge and stood before the massive structure. "We made it back… That means what happened yesterday was for real too…"
"So, they are connected…," Akira said. "Well, fine. Since we're back here already, might as well investigate, right?" He then turned to a jaw-dropped Ryuji. "What?"
"…Yeargh!" Ryuji screamed, pointing at Akira's new attire. "Dude! Those clothes..."
Akira finally realized it by then as he looked at his new black attire and red gloves.
"That happened last time, too, huh!? What's with that outfit!?"
"I don't know," Akira said as he shrugged. "But it's not bad, huh?"
"You LIKE it!?"
"What? Don't tell me you're jelly because you didn't get a new look."
"I-I ain't jealous! What's going on here!? This makes no effin' sense at all…"
Just then, a familiar voice appeared. "Hey!"
Akira and Ryuji turned to see a familiar cat-like creature from before – Morgana.
"Stop making a commotion," Morgana scolded the two.
Akira blinked in surprise to see Morgana. "It's you…"
"Ah… You!?" Ryuji was surprised as well. "You're that thing from last time!"
"The Shadows started acting up, so I came here wondering what it could be…" Morgana said. "...But to think you guys would come back to the entrance when you barely managed to escape." He then looked up at Akira and Ryuji. "Speaking of which, why did you guys come back, anyway!? This is the second time you came here. Don't you remember? How I helped you guys escape?"
"We're sorry," Akira apologized to Morgana. "But we were just confused about all of this. We just want to find out for ourselves."
"I see…" Morgana nodded, slowly understanding Akira's reason.
"What is this place?" Ryuji asked Morgana. "...Is it the school?"
"That's right," Morgana answered.
"But it's a castle!"
"This castle IS the school," Morgana said. "...But only to this castle's ruler."
"The castle's ruler?" Ryuji repeated in confusion.
"I think you called him Kamoshida? It's how his distorted heart views the school."
"Kamoshida… Distorted…," Akira pondered. "Well, we were thinking about how this castle had something to do with Kamoshida. So, if that's the case..."
But Ryuji finds it way too complicated as he demanded Morgana, "Explain it in a way that makes sense! This isn't like the last time when we came here by accident. We're dead serious!"
Morgana sighed in disappointment. "I shouldn't have expected a moron to get it..."
That made Ryuji angry. "What'd you say!?"
Just then, the three heard a loud, horrific scream coming from inside the castle.
"What was that!?" Ryuji asked.
"It must be the slaves captive here," Morgana answered.
"Slaves!?" Akira repeated.
"For real!?" Ryuji blinked in surprise as he and Akira heard the continuing screams. "Oh, shit… It's for real! We saw other guys held captive here yesterday… I'm pretty sure they're from our school."
"They're most likely on Kamoshida's orders. It's nothing out of the ordinary; It's like that every day here," Morgana said as he turned to the two. "What's more, you two escaped yesterday. He must have lost his temper quite a bit."
"That son of a bitch!" Ryuji exclaimed angrily.
"Ryuji?" Morgana blinked when he noticed Ryuji's sudden anger.
"...This is bullshit!" Ryuji said, ramming himself into a large gate with gritted teeth like a raging bull and clinching his fists with a solid and potent force. "You hear me, Kamoshida!?"
"Doing that isn't going to open it, you know…," Morgana said with concern. "Still, it seems you have your reasons."
Ryuji then turned and walked up to Akira and Morgana. "Hey, Monamona!"
"It's Morgana!" Morgana corrected him with a narrowed look.
"Do you know where those voices are comin' from?"
"You want me to take you to them?" Morgana asked, getting to the point, as he then turned to Akira. "...Well, I guess I could guide you there. But only if he comes with us."
"Why me?" Akira asked, confused.
"I just want to get a better look at your powers. Even if you disagree, I bet Ryuji will go on even if he has to do it alone."
"OK, let's go!" Akira replied, adjusting his new look. "Besides, I am dressed for this."
Morgana nodded. "It's settled then!"
"For real!?" Ryuji grinned. "...Thanks, man."
"All right, let's do this. Follow me!" Morgana led the two to the same ventilation shaft they escaped out of yesterday. "This is our infiltration point."
"Ain't that where we escaped out of last time…?" Ryuji asked.
"That's right. Not barging in through the entrance is one of the basics of phantom thievery."
"How are we supposed to know about that stuff…?"
"I'll make sure to teach you as we go. Come on, follow me!"
Before Akira could follow Morgana, he turned to Ryuji. "What is it?"
"So, uh… sorry for draggin' you into all of this…," Ryuji apologized. "But I just can't forgive that bastard Kamoshida doin' whatever the hell he wants!" Then, he smiled at Akira. "Really though, thanks for comin' along. I owe you big time!"
"Sure thing," Akira nodded as he, Ryuji, and Morgana were both inside the castle and silently began to assess the situation as they looked around.
"Man, this place is as creepy as always...," Ryuji muttered.
Morgana nodded. "Mm-hmm. Now, make sure you do exactly as I say, all right? ...Follow me!"
Akira and Ryuji followed Morgana to the main hall, just when it suddenly shifted into the school's main entrance for a moment.
"What the…!?" Ryuji blinked in surprise. "I was seein' double or something just now…! Was that Shujin!?"
"I've told you before. This place is your school," Morgana said. "Regardless, we don't have the time to stand around. Who knows when a Shadow might show up? Come on, this way!"
Once they were in the underground prison, Morgana teaches Akira the battle basics.
Ryuji turned to see the prison cell from before, only to see it empty as he asked impatiently, "Why ain't anyone here…? Dammit, they were here before! Where'd they go!?"
"Quiet down!" Morgana hissed.
"Oh yeah, there were more of 'em further in too!"
Ryuji ran ahead, ignoring Morgana's warning.
Morgana, however, pondered his thoughts as he looked up to Akira. "They might have been transferred already..."
The two ran after Ryuji, who came to a halt when he heard metallic footsteps. "Crap, I can hear footsteps comin'! Lots of them!"
"It would be a problem if they spotted us now..." Morgana stated before looking at a door. "Hey, let's head into that room. We should be able to hide in there until they leave."
Akira, Ryuji, and Morgana quickly hid in an empty safe room.
"The Shadows probably won't come in here," Morgana said as he stood on a table while stretching his arms and surveying the room.
"How can you tell?" Ryuji asked while catching his breath.
"There's a lack of distortion here, meaning the ruler's control over this area is weak."
Just as Morgana pointed out, the area started to shift into yet another familiar sight, a classroom, right before it returned to its castle appearance.
It was just like when the castle's main lobby changed into the school's main entrance.
"Is this a classroom!?" Ryuji blinked in confusion once more.
Morgana nodded. "Now, do you understand? This place is another reality that the ruler's heart projects."
"This is Kamoshida's reality?" Ryuji asked. "Shit makes no sense at all!"
"One could say it's a world in which one's distorted desires have materialized. I call such a place a 'Palace.'"
"A Palace?" Akira repeated, remembering Igor's words. "Does that mean this was Kamoshida's reality when he fantasized about the school?"
"Exactly," Morgana said, nodding. "This is happening because he thinks the school is his own castle."
"So, it became like this because he just thought of it like that!?" Ryuji summarized while scratching his head. He clenched his fist as his anger returned. "That son of a bitch!"
"You must really hate this Kamoshida guy," Morgana said to Ryuji.
"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. Those lackeys of his are everywhere inside."
Morgana then turned to Akira. "You're curious about your outfit, aren't you?"
Akira nodded. "Yes, I am, now that you mention it."
"Yeah, I'm curious as hell about it too," Ryuji agreed, looking at Akira.
"That's also because of this world," Morgana quickly answered.
"More stuff that makes no sense..." Ryuji muttered in dismay.
"Anything distorted is according to how a ruler pleases within his Palace. A school can turn into a castle just like this one, after all. In order to prevent such distortions, one must hold a powerful will of rebellion. Your new appearance is a manifestation of that. It's the image of rebellion that you hold within."
"Oh, yeah…," Akira said as he looked at his new attire. "So, that's what it was."
"Uuugh, I'm so fed up with all this!" Ryuji angrily exclaimed as he turned to Morgana. "I'm more curious about you than Akira's new clothes! What the hell are you anyways!?"
"I'm a human – an honest-to-god human!" Morgana answered.
Ryuji wasn't convinced. "No, you're obviously more like a cat!"
"This is, well… It's because I lost my true form. ...I think."
"You think?" Ryuji repeated.
"But I do know how to regain my true form," Morgana continued. "The reason why I snuck in here was for a preliminary investigation of those means. Well, I ended up getting caught, though…" Then he got determined as ever. "Besides, I've been tortured by Kamoshida, too! I'm going to make him pay for sure!"
"What is this, a comic book? This is seriously crazy...," Ryuji groaned.
"If we're gonna keep going, we should hurry along," Morgana spoke up as he turned to Akira. "I'll be counting on your skills this time too, rookie. Got it?"
"Got it," Akira nodded, ready to continue their infiltration.
"Don't worry, I'm not gonna force it all on you," Ryuji said. "I thought it might help, so..." He then pulled out a gun in his hand, surprising Akira.
"What the—!? You brought a gun with you!?" Akira asked in shock.
"Why not? I only brought it just in case! It's a model gun, so it only makes sounds!"
Morgana narrowed his eyes at Ryuji. "That's a toy!"
"But it looks totally real, so it'll at least fake 'em out," Ryuji said as he also pulled out some medicine. "I brought some medicine too. You know what they say: 'Providin' is pre...something.' Huh? Huh?"
"So, you were planning this from the start…," Morgana sighed, shaking his head in disbelief. "Well, fine. If you're ready to go, we'll resume our infiltration."
Akira nodded as he took some medicine and a Tkachev gun from Ryuji and put them in his coat's pocket to equip himself. "I think I know how to handle some firearm, just as I handled my knife."
"Hm, there are probably still sentries making their rounds out there," Morgana said. "Let's use this time to hash out our current situation."
"Any clue on where we should head next? There wasn't a single prisoner in that cell."
"They've probably been moved to another location."
As everything was ready, the three heard voices of the guards from outside.
"Hm, I thought I heard something move other there... Guess it was my imagination."
"And what of the slaves?"
"They're all in the training hall. I'd assume they're screaming in pain by now."
"Very well. By the way, I heard we might have intruders around. Stay on your guard."
Once the soldiers left, Akira, Ryuji, and Morgana walked out of the safe room.
"Did you hear that?" Morgana asked.
"They said trainin' hall, right?" Ryuji replied.
"I think that's just a little further ahead. Let's go!"
After one fight after another, Akira, Ryuji, and Morgana walked a few steps forward and noticed a strange banner overhead, making them feel uneasy.
"'Kamoshida's... Training Hall... of Love?'" Ryuji read the banner aloud. "What kinda bullshit is this!?"
"Only one way to find out," Akira replied as he slowly opened the door, and they quickly heard more screams from below.
"That voice… Where's it comin' from…?" Ryuji asked as he then pointed at something in the distance. "Is it coming from over there!?"
As they found the source coming from the giant cells up ahead, Akira, Ryuji, and Morgana saw something entirely unexpected.
The slaves are being whipped by guards using their sticks. Some are running on a treadmill, getting away from a spinning spiked mechanism. One slave was hanged upside down by a noose, repeatedly shot at by a cannon that fires volleyballs.
This was no training at all. It was pure, unadulterated torture.
"Training Hall of Love? More like the Training Hall of Torture," Akira said while Morgana sat on some barrels and crates.
"Dammit! This is bullshit!" Ryuji growled in anger, clenching his fist.
"How many times do I have to tell you to keep your voice down!?" Morgana scolded.
"But this is beyond messed up!" Ryuji said as he tried to open the bars. "How do I open this!?"
"Stop it…!" A faint beaten-up voice appeared, revealing to be a slave in shorts, wearing regular red and white gym clothes while covered in bandages. "Leave us alone… It's useless…"
"Huh!?" Ryuji blinked at that answer as his eyes grew wide in shock.
Another slave in long pants slowly appeared, covered in bandages as well. "If we stay obedient, we won't be executed like you guys!"
Ryuji gripped the bars, looking at the slaves. "You're tellin' me you wanna stay in a place like this!?"
That caught Morgana's attention as he looked at Ryuji with narrowed eyes. "Wait a minute… Were you planning on taking these guys out of here?"
"We can't just leave 'em here!"
Morgana shook his head in dismay. "How stupid can you be?"
"A lot than you think," Akira answered for Morgana.
"What!?" Ryuji grunted.
"These are only humans in Kamoshida's cognition," Morgana explained. "They aren't real humans that have entered from reality. They're different from you two."
"Cognition…?" Ryuji repeated in confusion.
"Cognition…," Akira pondered as he tried to suggest what Morgana is saying. "Wait a minute… Do you mean to say they're like beings made from someone's mental perception? Or maybe puppets?"
"Exactly," Morgana nodded. "They're a big old bunch of fakes... or something like that."
"What does that even mean!?" Ryuji asked impatiently.
"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!?" Ryuji complained as he started to summarize the situation. "So, the school's a castle, and the students are slaves… It's so on point that it makes me laugh." He then muttered under his breath, referring to Kamoshida. "This really is the inside of that asshole's head!"
Morgana jumped down to get a closer look at the tortured slaves. "But still, this is horrible. It must mean he treats them as slaves in the real world, too."
"In the real world, too?" Ryuji repeated in confusion as he blinked in surprise, finally remembering the slaves and their faces below. "Wait, I know these guys… They're members of the volleyball team—the one Kamoshida coaches for!"
"They must be physically abused every day…," Morgana said. "There's no way they would be so beaten up normally."
"Don't tell me…They're going through similar shit in reality!?"
"Most likely. I mean, this proves that Kamoshida thinks of them as slaves."
"So, it might be for real…," Ryuji muttered. "I heard that Kamoshida's using physical punishment. They're just rumors, but… If they're all true, wouldn't this be something to report to the police?" He then pulled out his phone. "I'll use these guys as evidence. If it all goes well, we can take down that asshole Kamoshida!"
But to Ryuji's surprise, the camera app didn't open up on his phone. "…Huh? It's not working!? We can use the navigation app, but the camera's a no-go!?"
"A navigation app?" Morgana repeatedly asked as he became curious.
"That's what we used to come here," Ryuji answered as he then turned to Akira. "What about yours?"
Akira took out his phone to check. "Huh? My camera app's not working either."
"Whatever you do is fine, but we're gonna get caught if we stand around like this," Morgana said. "We need to head back!"
"Hang on a sec!" Ryuji halted as he looked at the slaves one more time. "There's no other way… I'll just memorize their faces before going home!"
Just then, once Akira, Ryuji, and Morgana exited the training hall, they heard voices.
"The watch post near the training hall has ceased reporting!" The guard said. "The chances of intruder activity are extremely high! All personnel, increase security measures!"
"We've stayed here for too long…," Akira said. "We need to get out of here!"
"Good call. I like your thinking, rookie," Morgana nodded in agreement as they narrowly headed to the stairs leading to the main hall. "The exit's this way! Let's hurry!"
But before they could make it to the exit, Akira, Ryuji, and Morgana find themselves face-to-face with the fake Kamoshida, along with a few Shadows in the form of his knights and guards.
"It's Kamoshida!" Ryuji growled in anger. "Nasty…and he's in that bathrobe again!"
"That guy over there isn't the one you know in the real world," Morgana reminded Ryuji. "This one's a reflection of what the real Kamoshida tries to hide. Dark desires take physical form here." He then looked at Shadow Kamoshida. "And that thing, what you're looking at, is Kamoshida's Shadow."
"Kamoshida's…Shadow!?" Akira repeated, reminiscing. "So, that explains his yellow eyes and strange behavior yesterday…"
Shadow Kamoshida grunted annoyingly. "…You knaves again? To think you'd make the same mistake again. You're hopeless!"
"The school ain't your castle!" Ryuji retorted to Shadow Kamoshida. "I've memorized their faces real good. You're goin' down!"
"It seems it's true when they say 'barking dogs seldom bite,'" Shadow Kamoshida said with a smile. "It's so very tragic to see how far the star runner of the track team has fallen."
"What the hell are you gettin' at!?"
"I speak of the 'Track Traitor' who was so driven and acted in violence that he saw fit to ending his teammates' dreams. Oh, I can only imagine the pain of the others who were dragged on with your…selfish act."
Ryuji looked away in anger. "Ngh..."
"'Track Traitor'? Violence?" Akira repeated as he and Morgana turned to Ryuji. "Wait, what's he talking about?"
"What a surprise," Shadow Kamoshida taunted Akira as he then pointed at Ryuji. "So, you've been accompanying him without knowing anything at all? He betrayed his teammates and crushed their hopes, yet he still carries on as carefree as ever."
"That's not true!" Ryuji protested, trying to deny it.
"How unlucky of you…," Shadow Kamoshida grinned. "You blindly trusted this fool, and he has led you right to your death." He then ordered his guards. "Hurry up and dispose of them. I can't stand their stench."
The knights stepped toward the trio's direction while the golden knight guarded the king. Just then, they suddenly transformed into two large, horse-like creatures with horns.
"Goddammit…," Ryuji grumbled in anger.
"Ryuji, move!" Morgana told him as he and Akira raised their weapons, finding themselves facing more enemies. "Ngh... We're surrounded!"
"I'll kill you! I'll kill you 'cause King Kamoshida told us!" The Guard Shadow shouted. "I'll kill 'cause that's what he wants!"
"There's more of them? This is bad…," Morgana muttered once more as he and Akira tried to fight the Shadows. But they were no match for these hard-hitting opponents as the enemy's enormous impact cause the two to caught them off balance and fell to the ground.
"Rgh… You piece of—" Morgana hissed as Shadow Kamoshida was pressing him.
Akira tried to get up, but the golden knight took a chance to subdue him.
Ryuji watched as he was on his knees with a shocking expression on his face.
Shadow Kamoshida turned toward Ryuji with a grin on his face. "I bet you simply came here on a whim and ended up like this. Isn't that right?"
Ryuji shook his head. "No…"
Shadow Kamoshida began taunting Ryuji. "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?"
Ryuji angrily lowered himself to the ground in frustration. "That wasn't no practice - it was physical abuse! You just didn't like our team!"
Shadow Kamoshida shook his head. "It was nothing but an eyesore! The only one who needs to achieve results is me! That coach who got fired was hopeless too… Had he not better than to opposed me with a sound argument, I would've settled it with only breaking his star's leg."
Ryuji looked up in shock at that response. "...What?"
Shadow Kamoshida sneered at Ryuji. "Do you need me to deal with your other leg too? I'm sure the school will be more than fine calling it self-defense anyway!"
Ryuji lowered his head, muttering in despair. "Dammit… Am I going to lose again? Not only can I not run anymore…but the track team is gone too because of this asshole…"
"So, that's why…" Morgana said with a sympathetic look. He let out a painful groan because Shadow Kamoshida stepped on him even harder.
"Allow me to take care of our guests, then I'll come back to deal with you," Shadow Kamoshida said to Ryuji with a hysterical laugh. "Once these two are dealt with, you're next. Hahahaha…!"
"Ryuji!" Morgana called out to him.
Akira struggled to look up at Ryuji. "Ryuji… I know that not running anymore and the track team being gone is probably the worst thing that ever happened to you. But are you okay with this? Can you forgive him for what he's done? If you want what you had, you must take it back! So, don't let him win! Stand up for yourself!"
Encouraged by Akira's words, Ryuji looked at Akira and slowly nodded. "...You're right. I guess it doesn't matter. My reputation's already been ruined. Everything that was important to me was taken by him… I'll never get them back!"
"Defy me as much as you like," Shadow Kamoshida taunted Ryuji. "When you die, you'll still amount to nothing more than a traitor. Once that label's been swept on, it's impossible to remove. So, stay there and watch. Look on as these hopeless scum die for nothing because they sided with trash like you."
But just then, Ryuji got up slowly and raised his head to face Shadow Kamoshida. "No... that's what you are... All you think about is using people… You're the real scumbag, Kamoshida!" Then he pointed at Shadow Kamoshida accusingly and said in a wave of flaring anger, "So, stop lookin' down on me with that stupid smile on your face!"
Suddenly, a familiar feeling that happened to Akira was doing the same to Ryuji as a similar voice echoed from his head…and into his mind.
You made me wait quite a while.
That's when Ryuji's eyes suddenly turned yellow. Just like what happened to Akira, Ryuji began writhing in pain while subconsciously hearing the voice inside him – the call to awaken his power.
You seek power, correct? Then let us form a pact.
Since your name has been disgraced already, why not hoist the flag and wreak havoc?
The "other you" who exists within desires it thus...
I am thou, thou art I…
There's no turning back…
From this day forward, the skull of rebellion is your flag henceforth!
"I hear you…Captain," Ryuji said as blue flames soon engulfed him, and a dark, skull-shaped mask appeared on his face. "You're right! Time to raise some hell!"
"Hmph. What can you do?" The gold knight scoffed as it was about to raise its sword to strike down at Akira. "Cower in fear and watch!"
By removing his skull-like mask, blood was all over Ryuji's face as a vast spiraling vortex of blue flames engulfed and enveloped him. At the same time, its force caused the enemies to be off-balanced. When it died down, Ryuji stood in the middle of blue flames and chains.
Behind him was his very own Persona, Captain Kidd – a pirate riding a mobile boat.
After a couple of deep breaths, Ryuji looked up with a smile look on his face while his clothes changed into a black jacket with black pants, dark boots, a red ascot, and yellow gloves.
"This one as well!?" Shadow Kamoshida looked on.
"Right on… What's up, Persona…" Ryuji smiled, looking at his new look, enjoying the new strength within him. "This effin' rocks! Now that I got this power, it's time for payback…"
Akira and Morgana got up on their feet and stood by Ryuji as they are ready to fight once more with their weapons in hand.
"Yo, I'm ready...," Ryuji said, now equipped with a metal pipe. "Bring it!"
"Ngh… Don't mock me, you brat!" The gold knight exclaimed as it transformed into a red-armored knight riding a dark steed with white mane and green eyes. "What troublemakers that bother King Kamoshida with trifle matters!"
"Kamoshida's cognition ain't changin', right? Then I'll act like the troublemaker I am!" Ryuji said as he called out his Persona. "Let's do this, Captain Kidd!"
It wasn't easy, but the trio managed to defeat the transformed red-armored captain as it reverted into a gold knight and falling back down unconscious by Shadow Kamoshida's side. "I am... a loyal subject... of the glorious King Kamoshida... So why... have I lost!?"
"It just proves that Kamoshida ain't anything special," Ryuji said as his Persona vanished into the skull mask on his face. Then, taking a deep breath after the fight, he looked back up at Shadow Kamoshida. "How about that!?"
Morgana was surprised. "Whoa… So, Ryuji had the potential too..."
Ryuji looked at Shadow Kamoshida. "Even if you apologize now… I ain't forgivin' you!"
"I told you that this is my castle," Shadow Kamoshida said. "It seems you still don't understand your place..."
As if on cue, a blonde girl appeared, wearing a purple bikini and a headband pair of cat ears, making her way to Shadow Kamoshida.
But Ryuji recognized the girl's face and hairstyle in surprise. "Wh— Takamaki!?"
Morgana, however, was in awe. "Oh… Wha...What a meow-velous and beautiful girl..."
Ryuji shook his head in confusion. "What's going on!?"
"Something seems off," Akira said as he remembered what Morgana said.
These are only humans in Kamoshida's cognition. They aren't actual humans that have entered from reality. They're different from you two.
"Oh, I get it!" Akira remembered. "It's only her in Kamoshida's mental perception."
"Yeah, now that you mention it…," Ryuji replied. "But why is she even here!?"
"How should I know?" Akira shrugged.
Ryuji then noticed Shadow Kamoshida stroking the cognitive blonde girl's chin and exclaimed, "Hey! Let go of her, you perv!"
"How many times must I tell you until you understand?" Shadow Kamoshida said. "This is MY castle—a place in which I can do whatever I want. Everyone wishes to be loved by me." He then turned to the group. "...That is, everyone besides slow-witted thieves like you."
"Takamaki! Say somethin'!" Ryuji called out to the cognitive blonde.
"Calm down, Ryuji!" Morgana told him. "It seems that girl isn't the real one. She's the same as those slaves—a being made from Kamoshida's cognition of her!"
"Are you jealous?" Shadow Kamoshida smiled smugly. "Well, I'm not surprised. Women aren't drawn to problematic punks like you."
"I resent that remark," Akira said, unfazed.
"Dammit…" Ryuji growled in anger.
"Clean them up this instant!" Shadow Kamoshida commanded as multiple knights erupted from behind him. "Get them! I now sentenced you to death!"
"We're outnumbered…," Morgana said. "Let's scram before we get surrounded!"
"We're not gonna do anything and just run!?" Ryuji protested.
"I refuse to die like this!" Akira exclaimed. "Besides, we can't die here!"
Morgana agreed with Akira. "Thank god you've got a level head."
"Ngh… Fine," Ryuji sighed as he then turned to Shadow Kamoshida. "We'll expose what you really are, no matter what! You better be ready for us!"
"Hahaha! I was beginning to get bored of torturing the ones here!" Shadow Kamoshida laughed at that threat. "Come at me whenever you want if you don't care about your life! Haaaahahahaha!"
"Ignore him. Let's go!" Morgana yowled as the group makes a hasty retreat.
A moment later, at the castle entrance outside, Ryuji noticed his outfit had changed. "What happened to my clothes? I don't remember changing into this!"
"Looks good on you," Akira said.
"Uhh… Should I be happy about that? …Then again, it ain't as bad as yours."
"Quiet!" Morgana hissed as he and the others heard their pursuers from inside.
"Did you find them!?"
"No. Search that way!"
As the voices and footsteps faded, Akira, Ryuji, and Morgana sighed with relief.
Ryuji scratched his head. "So, what's goin' on? I'm completely lost, man!"
Morgana turned to Ryuji. "I told you before. When a Persona-user opposes a Palace's ruler and becomes a threat to them, this happens. It's to prevent you from being affected by distortions."
Ryuji touched his skull mask with his left hand. "Is this…a skull?"
"Your appearance reflects your inner self," Morgana continued. "It's the rebel that slumbers within… Not that you'll get it."
"Nope..."
"Then stop asking questions and accept what you see for what it is."
"Easy for you to say," Ryuji said, then gasped in realization. "Wait, we're in deep shit!"
"I said to be quiet!" Morgana scolded under his breath.
"We might've gotten away here, but we're still screwed with Kamoshida at the real school..."
"That's quite sharp of you! ...For being an idiot," Morgana said. "Relax. The Kamoshida in reality can't possibly know about what happens here. A Shadow is the true, suppressed self—a side of one's personality they don't want to see."
"Mind elaborating a bit?" Akira asked Morgana.
"A Shadow is the parts of you suppressed within your subconscious…," Morgana explained. "It's basically just your other self."
"Well, what about their main selves? Are they even aware of all this?"
Morgana shook his head. "No – the Shadow and the actual self are two sides of the same coin."
"So, this whole castle and the training hall we saw existed because Kamoshida fantasized about the school, and it becomes his reality? I did saw his real self earlier today, and he didn't mention anything about a castle. But if they really are cognitive beings and Shadows here in this castle, wouldn't there be a huge commotion at school in our world?"
"Exactly! You catch on pretty quick," Morgana nodded. "But it's only speculation."
"...So, we're okay?" Ryuji asked in confusion.
"Did the Kamoshida in your reality remember about the execution?"
Akira and Ryuji both shook their heads.
"There you have it," Morgana nodded.
"Well, until we find out how this castle is affecting Shujin, we can only know half of what's up," Akira said. "We need to get the whole story straight before we make any moves, or we'll just be making things…awkward."
"All right!" Ryuji said. "Now that we know all that, all we gotta do is—"
"Wait," Morgana halted the two boys. "I guided you as promised. It's your turn to cooperate with me. That's why I was super nice about teaching you idiots everything."
"Huh? Cooperate?" Ryuji repeated.
"Don't you remember? I originally came here for an investigation. I need to erase the distortion from my body and regain my real form! That's why we must delve deep into Mementos and find out what is the source of it all."
Just then, Ryuji interrupted Morgana. "Whoa, hold up. What're you goin' on and on about? We never said anything about helpin' you out."
Morgana's jaw dropped. "Huh? Don't tell me… Are you not going to repay the hospitality I showed you?" He then turned to Akira. "Especially you! You're going to up and leave, even though you're already part of my master plan!?"
Akira tried to be honest. "What master plan? You didn't explain some of that to us. At least let me think about it."
"Wha—the nerve!" Morgana blinked but then became angry. "Is it because I'm not human? Because I'm like a cat? Is that why you're making a fool of me!?"
"We were busy!" Ryuji said to Morgana. "We'll help you after we're finished with Kamoshida…if we see you again, that is."
"WHAT!?" Morgana yelled in anger.
Ryuji looked down at Morgana as he said with a smile, "But anyway, thanks for everything, cat. You've got guts, bein' a cat and all! See you around!"
And with that, Ryuji and Akira make their exit once again, leaving Morgana behind.
"Hey! What the hell!?" Morgana angrily called out. "Ugh, seriously!? Why're you wrapping this up like everything's all hunky-dory!? Oh, hell, no! Get back here! Grr... GRAAGGGHHH!"
A moment later, Akira and Ryuji were already warped back to reality as they landed in the alleyway like before. They were also back in their regular clothes.
The Metaverse Navigator chimed in on Akira's phone. "You have returned to the real world. Welcome back!"
"...Thank god. We're back," Ryuji said with relief as he turned to Akira. "I dragged you around a lot, huh? ...Sorry, man."
"It's okay," Akira nodded.
"Ugh, I'm dead tired… How are you holding up?"
"Eh, I'm fine," Akira answered. "I'm so exhausted I could use a nap."
"Me too…," Ryuji nodded in agreement. "I'm exhausted even though I used to do track. Man, I'm going to sleep like a rock when I get home."
Ryuji then smiled with determination. "But damn, if what we saw was for real, this is gonna get good! I totally remember the faces of the guys Kamoshida was treating like slaves. Once we make them fess up to any physical abuse, Kamoshida will be done." He then turned to Akira. "So… wanna help me look for those guys or any witnesses?"
"Sure. I'm in," Akira agreed. "If it'll make you feel any better."
"Now that's what I'm talkin' about!" Ryuji grinned, but then his smile faded. "Hey, so… If you're thinking of layin' low 'cause you got a record, I don't think that'll help… Everyone already knows. They totally got you pegged as an outcast or a criminal."
"How'd that happen?" Akira asked.
"Kamoshida opened his damn mouth!"
"Seriously? A teacher did that!? But why?"
"No one else 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!"
Ryuji then sighed as he crossed his arms. "No one will take anything I say seriously. Still, those rumors about him gettin' physical might be real. And after seeing Kamoshida's distorted-heart thing in person, there's no way I can just sit back!"
"Of course," Akira nodded.
"I'm countin' on you! Don't worry. I'm hyped about this too!"
Akira nodded, sensing a bond of trust coming from Ryuji.
I am thou, thou art I...Thou hast acquired a new vow.
It shall become the wings of rebellion that breaketh thy chains of captivity.
With the birth of the Chariot Persona, I have obtained the winds of blessing that shall lead to freedom and new power...
Hovering below Ryuji was the Chariot Arcana card, and it bursts into pearls of light.
After seeing that light, Akira then quickly recalled Igor's words.
The Persona ability is the power to control one's own heart, and the heart is strengthened through bonds. As you form bonds by becoming involved with others, your own Confidants will gradually develop. The power of these Confidants is what will determine your Persona's abilities.
Could my bond with Ryuji be what Igor was talking about? Akira thought.
Just then, Ryuji noticed that his stomach was growling. "Oh… Right. I haven't eaten anything since lunch. It'd be weird splittin' off now, so why don't we grab a bite somewhere?"
"Sure," Akira said. "What kind of food?"
"Just follow me. I mean, I totally gotta hear about your past!"
A while later, Akira and Ryuji were at Beef Bowl Place, eating their meals. At the same time, Ryuji listened to Akira's past life story – the reason why he was under a false accusation.
"WHAT!?" Ryuji exclaimed suddenly after listening to Akira's story. "The hell, man! How much shittier can that asshole get!?"
"Calm down, I'm still eating," Akira said as he looked down sadly. "Besides, it's all in the past…"
"Are you for real? If it were me, I wouldn't calm down until I punched that dick bastard in the face." Ryuji continued chowing down his food. "So… you left your hometown, and… you're livin' here now, huh? We might be more alike than I originally thought."
Akira nodded. "You might be right."
Ryuji turned to Akira. "You're the first guy that made me think that."
"So, what did you do?" Akira asked. "How did you end up being, you know, labeled?"
"Uh, it's not exactly how. And I don't got a record as you do. I guess it's how we're being treated like a pain in the ass by the people around us, like we don't belong. I did something stupid at school before, too."
Ryuji shovels the entire bowl into his mouth and slams it onto the counter as he turned to Akira, "The place you're livin' now is in…Yongen, right? It's rush hour on the subways. I suggest you kill some time before headin' home."
Ryuji noticed Akira's bowl still half full as he added some ginger to it. "What the hell, man? You barely touched your food!"
"…I can see that," Akira replied incredulously. "But I can do that myself."
"Just lemme do it. I got to thank you for helping me," Ryuji grinned. "Anyways, I got your back like you got mine from tomorrow on. As long as we do something about Kamoshida, I'm sure we'll both feel better about bein' at school."
"At least, that's the plan," Akira nodded, smiling.
"Oh, yeah! Tell me your number. Chat ID too!"
As the two pulled out their phones and exchanged numbers, Ryuji was now feeling determined than ever. "Just you wait, Kamoshida... We're going to start right away tomorrow. First, let's hit up those guys that were kept as slaves."
"If I recall correctly, wasn't there a volleyball rally going on tomorrow?" Akira asked.
"The volleyball rally's tomorrow, huh? Shit's recommended by Kamoshida. It makes me wanna gag. But thanks to that, we got no classes in the afternoon, and we can walk around unnoticed. Well, I guess we can work out the details tomorrow…"
Ryuji added more ginger into Akira's bowl again. "C'mon, you gotta eat more. There's tons of ginger here."
Once the two left Beef Bowl Shop a while later, Ryuji turned to Akira. "So, about this plan to take down Kamoshida…"
"How about speaking a little quieter?" Akira warned Ryuji. "Anyway, we've confirmed the presence of a Palace. Let's look into Kamoshida and any possible and potential victims of his."
Ruji nodded in agreement as he and Akira continued onward. "Right. We still have time to get to the bottom of this. Let's see if we can talk to some of them."
"With this other reality involved, we're the only ones who can stop this."
Elsewhere at Shujin, another conversation between friends took place in the courtyard.
"I-I haven't been sleeping well lately…," The downtrodden girl, Shiho Suzui, said to her best friend, Ann Takamaki. "Whenever I close my eyes, I keep thinking about too many things…"
"Shiho..." Ann sighed under her breath.
"Nationals are coming up soon, so I keep thinking…," Shiho said. "Should someone like me be really on the starting lineup?"
"Don't worry. Just be confident in yourself!" Ann told her. "Your skills have been recognized! It's all because you work harder than anyone else!"
"Yeah…," Shiho nodded. "Volleyball's all I have, after all."
"More importantly, was that injury okay? It looked swollen."
"No, it's nothing. It's normal… Especially because a meet's coming up..."
Just then, the blue-haired student from Akira and Ann's homeroom class appeared. "Sorry to interrupt, Suzui. Um… Mr. Kamoshida told me to get you."
"Huh? What does he want?" Shiho asked.
"He didn't say..."
Shiho turned to Ann with worry, "Ann, I…"
"It'll be fine! I bet it's a meeting about the starting lineup or something."
"...Yeah," Shiho nodded, "Well, I better go..."
"Yup. Good luck!" Ann said as Shiho and the quiet student left, but then she muttered to herself, "Hang in there, Shiho…"
That evening, Akira arrived home at Café Leblanc, where Sojiro waited.
"…You're home," Sojiro noticed Akira. "I take it you went to school today?"
"Of course," Akira answered.
Sojiro sighed. "I guess you learned your lesson after what happened yesterday. As long as you're not getting into trouble, it's fine by me." Then he narrowed his eyes. "I don't know what you've been up to, but trust me, you'll be gone if you start causing problems. In case you forget, your life's not a free one."
Sojiro then left the store for home.
A moment later, Akira was getting ready for bed when he got a phone call from Ryuji.
"Hey, I decided to go ahead and called you," Ryuji said. "Can you hear me?"
"Yep," Akira answered.
"Anyways, I'm gonna be countin' on you tomorrow, OK?"
"Got it. I was going to say the same thing to you."
"You're a bro, man… Let's save those guys who've been getting abused. You and me. By the way, that thingy on your phone was some red eyeball icon, right?"
"Right," Akira nodded as he sat down on the bed.
"We ended up at that weird place when we used this nav app, right? I found it on my phone too… I don't even remember installing it!"
"Well, delete it at once!"
"I deleted it earlier, but it came back… Think it's being downloaded on its own somehow? It's dangerous to use something without knowing what it is… But with it, we can go to that weird place, right?"
"Seems like it," Akira replied, nodding.
"It's going to depend on how we use it. But first, we have to find evidence for the beatings. I'm counting on you, all right? Don't go ditching school on me."
"I won't," Akira said, ending the phone call as he lay down on his bed to sleep.
Just then, Akira felt a tense sensation as he'd been summoned to the Velvet Room once again, where Igor and the twin wardens were waiting.
"Welcome to the Velvet Room," Igor greeted Akira. "I thought about resuming our previous conversation tonight. That is why I have summoned you. What are your thoughts? Are you becoming accustomed to this place?"
"Yeah," Akira answered.
"Glad to hear it. You have nerves of steel. Your rehabilitation determines if ruin can be stopped. Yet, such a feat cannot be done by you alone. Today, you entered a partnership with someone who awoke to the same power."
"A partnership? You mean with Ryuji?" Akira asked as he remembered. "Oh, that's right! You were talking about 'Confidants' earlier."
Igor nodded. "Involving yourself with others is an important foundation for your recovery. You've done well. That said, I'm not advising the formation of superficial relationships. It must not be of frivolity but a ring of those who would lend you their strength by morals or faith. In other words, they are bonds with those who have been robbed of their places to belong. The expansion of said ring will, in return, help you mature as well."
"Personas are the strength of heart…," Justine said to Akira. "The stronger the bonds that surround you, the more power your Personas will gain."
"There are countless people in the city who have talents that a weakling like you doesn't," Caroline added. "You better rack that noggin of yours and get them on your side. We'll change that into power."
"Indeed. You should be prepared to use even me, or your ambitions will not come to fruition," Igor chuckled. "We have a deal then."
I am thou, thou art I... Thou hast acquired a new vow.
It shall become the wings of rebellion that breaketh thy chains of captivity.
With the birth of the Fool Persona, I have obtained the winds of blessing that shall lead to freedom and new power...
"The Fool?" Akira repeated as the card of The Fool hovered toward Igor.
"Your Persona ability, however, is that of the wild card...," Igor explained. "Compared to that of others, it's extraordinary. It is like the number zero: empty yet holding infinite potential within itself. It will soon later become the power to change bonds into strength, for you are to continue fighting on to prevent ruin… It is a path of endless hardships." Then he chuckled. "You will understand it all in due time… Continue devoting yourself to your rehabilitation."
The grating sound of alarm rang again as Caroline said to Akira, "Now this conversation's over! Get lost, Inmate!"
As Akira fell asleep, a thought came to his mind. The power of the wild card that changes bonds into strength… A path of endless hardships. The Fool Arcana… It represents freedom, purity, possibility, and the beginning of a journey. It may be because my journey has already begun…
4/13 – Wednesday
The following day, as Akira headed to school, he overheard two students talking.
"How annoying—we've barely started high school, and they're already making us play in a volleyball rally?" A dissatisfied first-year complained. "And why are they pitting us against the teacher team? Kamoshida's going to crush us."
"We get to see his technique live and in person, though," Another first-year replied. "We should totally get spiked on!"
"Yeah, OK. You're going to get your face smashed in. Just look at how banged up the volleyball team is. What the hell going on during their practices?"
Several minutes later, the volleyball rally was already underway. The students changed into their gym clothes and headed to the gymnasium. As expected, when the match simply began, it was almost like a one-sided fight when the first serve came from the teacher's side, and the students fail to return.
"Nice toss!" Kamoshida exclaimed as he and the teacher team gave each other a high-five.
"Man, you still got it, coach!" Another teacher added.
Kamoshida grinned. "Thanks! Let's go for one more!"
As the match goes on, Akira noticed the scoreboard. "04 to 19… Some match, huh, Ryuji?"
But Ryuji didn't answer because he saw his classmate, Ann Takamaki, was sitting down at the chair, silently lacking optimism. "Still sticks out... Haven't changed a bit."
Akira turned to Ryuji as the vulgar blonde boy stretched and yawned.
"Pretty boring, right?" Ryuji asked Akira as he closed his eyes, placing his chin on his palm hands and letting out a sigh.
"Oh, do you think she's involved in this mess?" Akira asked when he saw Takamaki, then turned back to Ryuji. "Well, any input yet?"
Suddenly, the wild cheers from the students caught Akira and Ryuji's attention. The two see Kamoshida did yet another hard strike on the ball toward the other side…and it hit right into the blue-haired boy from Akira and Ann's homeroom as the ball's strong impact made him fell to the floor.
Many students and spectators looked on in shock as Kamoshida rushed over to the boy.
"Sorry!" Kamoshida hollered as he went to aid the blue-haired boy. "Hey, are you alright?" Then he called out. "Someone! Take him to the nurse's office!"
As the boy slowly been dragged out of the gym, Ryuji glared at Kamoshida. "He'll pay soon enough…"
"Alright, let's resume the match!" Kamoshida announced with a smile, unaware that Ann was staring at him with a blank expression.
Ten minutes later, in the afternoon, Akira and Ryuji were already at the Shujin courtyard near the vending machines while the volleyball rally is still going on.
"That asshole's actin' like a king over here too…," Ryuji said, muttering in anger. "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!"
"So that guy with the blue hair is named Mishima," Akira replied, thinking back to the same boy he met at his homeroom class and the volleyball rally.
Ryuji took a deep breath to relax. "...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."
"Yeah, about that…," Akira pondered. "What Morgana said about 'cognitive beings' is still bugging me. I thought those slaves have the same faces as the volleyball members. I wonder if the ones here in reality don't even remember the slavery, like Kamoshida doesn't even remember what we did in his distorted castle."
"Well, not sure yet," Ryuji replied. "But I'll be sure to find someone to spill about Kamoshida's physical abuse," He looked up with determination. "Just you wait, asshole."
Akira just shrugged. "Shouldn't be too hard, though. We need to find out from the volleyball team if what we saw in the Palace was true... Where to start?"
"The first one that popped out was a guy from Class D, so let's start from there. That's your class," Ryuji said. "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 sighed. "Let's just hurry up and focus on his potential victims."
A moment later, the two went up to Akira's homeroom to find a scared volleyball player. "What…? Are you skipping out on the volleyball rally? I guess I expect it from you, transfer."
"Hey, that's the guy who was over at the castle," Ryuji piped up.
The volleyball member noticed Ryuji. "You too, Sakamoto!? What do you guys want?"
"Are you being abused?" Akira asked.
"What!? Wh-What are you saying? No, of course not."
"It's Kamoshida, ain't it?" Ryuji said to the volleyball player. "Look, I ain't going to tell anyone that you squealed. Just tell us about how Kamoshida is abusing you."
But the volleyball member shook his head. "I-I don't know what you're talking about!"
"You're afraid, aren't you?" Akira asked, unfazed.
"I'm not! You guys are talking complete nonsense!"
"Don't try and hide it! We already know!" Ryuji protested.
"You…You know?" The volleyball member repeated. "You have proof?"
"Well, uh… I…," Ryuji stammered, couldn't think of the words.
The volleyball member sighed. "This is ridiculous. Please, leave me alone. You're bothering me!"
"But…!"
"...All right, that's enough," Akira said to Ryuji as the two left the classroom.
"That injury ain't normal! And he still won't fess up…," Ryuji said. "Crap. If we keep goin' at this pace, the ball game's going to end..."
"We should just split up and cover more ground."
"Yeah, that'd be faster. I'll check the Practice Building for people before their clubs start. You'll handle the Classroom Building. Anyways, I'll hit you up if I find anything. See 'ya!"
Akira and Ryuji split up in the hopes of finding answers about Kamoshida. But unfortunately, it turned into a fruitless effort as the students looked apprehensive toward them, refusing to reveal that Kamoshida abused them.
Suddenly, an announcement was made throughout the school that the last game has already ended and that everyone can go home.
Akira grabbed his phone to call Ryuji. "I didn't find any answers. No good on my end…"
"So, you didn't have any luck either…," Ryuji replied. "Okay, let's regroup for now. I'll see you in the courtyard?"
"I'll meet you there," Akira nodded, ending the phone call and put his phone back into his pocket when he accidentally bumped into someone.
"Wha—Sorry, I didn't see you there," Akira apologized.
"Oh no, it's okay! My apologies," A girl insisted, giving Akira a friendly smile. She had a cute face and fluffy auburn hair that Akira couldn't help but blush. "Oh, I forgot to introduce myself. I'm Haru Okumura, a third-year."
"Akira Kurusu, a second-year," Akira quickly introduced himself. "Sorry to hurt or bump into you, but I got to go rendezvous with my vulgar friend. See 'ya later."
Akira soon ran as fast as he could to the courtyard. He then thought to himself, That Okumura girl is so adorable. But I'll think of that later for now.
While Akira went out to the courtyard, Ann and Shiho were already talking.
"Everyone's saying a lot of bad stuff about that transfer student in your class, Ann…" Shiho said.
"I know. I hate rumors already," Ann replied. "but they're only getting more and more complex as time goes on."
"I wonder if he's all right… I hope he's not letting it get to him too much."
"That's just like you, Shiho," Ann said. "You were always worried about other people before yourself. Kinda like when you were there for me…" She then turned to where Akira was going with a suspicious look. "Speaking of that transfer…"
A moment later, Akira had already made it to the courtyard, waiting for Ryuji. But another, different blonde person beat him to it when her voice popped up. "Akira-kun, right? Can I talk to you for a sec?"
Akira looked up in surprise to see Ann walking up to him. "What is it?"
"It'll be quick," Ann replied as she crossed her arms and gave Akira a suspicious glare. "Anyway, what's with you? Like, how you were late the other day was a lie and all. …And there's that weird rumor about you too."
"Well, that's…," Akira tried to answer.
"What do you want with him?" Ryuji asked Ann as he made it to the courtyard.
Ann turned to Ryuji. "Right back at you. You're not even in our class."
"...We just happened to get to know each other better," Ryuji replied.
"What're you planning on doing to Mr. Kamoshida?" Ann asked Ryuji suspiciously. "I heard you were asking the volleyball team about him and got involved with the new transfer student, too. So, what're you up to?"
"Huh!? We just wanna…" Akira tried to explain as he looked surprised at Ann's suspicion.
Ryuji became irritated as he looked at Ann in an instant. "...I see. I getcha. You're all buddy-buddy with Kamoshida after all, aren't you?"
"This has nothing to do with you, Sakamoto!" Ann said to Ryuji.
"Oh, yes, it does!" Akira said. "He ruined Ryuji's chances of track and field back then."
Ryuji nodded at Akira in agreement as he turned back to Ann. "If you found out what Kamoshida's been doin' behind your back, you'd dump him right away."
"Behind my back…?" Ann repeated in surprise. "What's that supposed to mean?"
Akira and Ryuji looked at each other for a moment, then turned back to Ann.
"You'll find out for yourself soon enough," Akira assured.
"But right now, you wouldn't get it," Ryuji scoffed.
"Geesh! You two are a bit of a blonde couple," Akira said, teasing the two blondes.
"We are not!" Ryuji and Ann shouted in unison, but then they looked at each other.
"I see. It's just that you two know each other, so…," Akira shrugged as he then looked back at Ann. "Look, I'm sorry you came all this way, but we're just trying to find proof."
"Well, anyway, people are already talking about you two," Ann said. "I don't know what you're trying to pull, but no one's gonna help you."
"Who said we'd be pulling anything? We're just finding proof, is all."
Abruptly, Ann went up to Akira's face. "You think I'm kidding?"
Akira shook his head. "I didn't say that."
"Well, I'm warning you, just in case. That's all."
And with that, Ann left the two boys.
"Thanks for the advice," Akira called out to Ann as he then leaned over to Ryuji. "How are you so acquainted with this girl? It's like she reads minds."
Ryuji kicked his foot to the ground. "Why's she gotta be so aggressive all the time?"
"You know her?" Akira asked Ryuji. "She seemed annoyed as you, huh?"
Ryuji sighed in dismay. "We just went to the same middle school. Anyways, that's not what we're here to talk about. I had no luck on my end. What about you? Did anything like someone's name turn up?"
"Mishima," Akira answered. "You mentioned him earlier. He was in my homeroom class as Takamaki, and I heard that he had some special coaching from Kamoshida. I even bumped into a third-year cutie-pie with fluffy hair."
"...Special 'coaching,' huh?" Ryuji deduced. "True. I always see the guy covered in bruises. Let's go talk to him before he leaves then."
Akira and Ryuji made their way to the school entrance, just to see a poor and exhausted Mishima slowly making his way out of the school building.
"Hey, got a second?" Ryuji called out to Mishima, who turned to see the two boys.
"Sakamoto?" Mishima muttered as he turned to see Ryuji, then looked more surprised when he noticed that Akira is with him. "And you, too…!?"
"C'mon, we just wanna chat," Ryuji assured him before getting to the point. "Kamoshida's been 'coaching' you, huh? You sure it's not just physical abuse?"
"Certainly not!" Mishima quickly refused.
"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..."
"…Still, that doesn't explain all the other bruises you've got."
"They're from practice...!"
"Those injuries and bruises don't come from any sports practice," Akira told Mishima. "I saw those bruises like that the other day, and none of them are the result of practice."
"Is he forcin' you to keep quiet?" Ryuji asked.
"That's..." Mishima was about to answer.
Just then, a voice appeared. "What's going on here?"
Kamoshida walked up to the three as he turned to Mishima. "Mishima, isn't it time for practice?"
"I-I'm not feeling well today...," Mishima answered.
"What? Maybe you're better off quitting then," Kamoshida said, much to a pale Mishima's surprise. "You're never going to improve that crappy form unless you show up to practice."
Ryuji had heard enough of Kamoshida's condescending attitude as he went up to him with a heated scowl. "Didn't you hear? He ain't feeling well!"
Kamoshida, ignoring Ryuji, waited for Mishima to answer. "Well, Mishima? Are you coming to practice or not?"
"...I'll go." Mishima slowly answered.
Kamoshida turned to Ryuji with a glare. "As for you, any more trouble, and you'll be gone from the school for sure."
"Bastard..." Ryuji muttered under his breath.
Kamoshida turned to Akira. "Same goes for you. Didn't the principal tell you to keep in line?"
"I was just leaving," Akira responded.
Kamoshida scoffed. "Hmph. Just don't get in the way of my practice. All these unsettling rumors are making the students anxious, after all."
"That's your own goddamn fault," Ryuji growled.
"This won't get us anywhere. Let's go, Mishima," Kamoshida instructed Mishima as he turned away, then paused to make one statement. "Shujin Academy is a place where those with aspirations come to learn. Unworthy students like yourselves don't have any right to be here. Get with the program!"
"Yes, sir," Mishima nodded with a dead tone as Kamoshida walked away.
"That asshole…," Ryuji growled. "He's gonna pay for this!"
"...There's no point," Mishima spoke up. "Proving that he's physically abusing us…is meaningless. Everybody knows... The principal, our parents... They all know, and they all keep quiet about it."
"This has gotta be a joke!" A wide-eyed Ryuji said in shock.
"...Don't be a pain. You don't understand what I'm going through. Shouldn't you of all people know that nothing's going to help!?"
Ryuji didn't reply to that remark as Mishima ran off without another word.
"Dammit…," Ryuji kicked in frustration.
Akira patted Ryuji's back lightly. "So, what now?"
"...I'll try one more time to persuade the other guys. That's… all I can do."
"I'm so tired from all this stuff happening today…," Akira yawned. "I think I should head home and sleep soon." Then, he looked down. "But man, we were just about to find proof, and yet they already found out about it and kept quiet. I guess…Morgana was right about the ones enslaved in the castle being only their cognitive selves and not their human forms."
"This doesn't make any damn sense," Ryuji retorted. "The principal and even the parents know about the abuse. Why ain't anybody speaking up about this?"
"Maybe because of Kamoshida?" Akira guessed while pondering.
"Yeah…," Ryuji nodded. "That can't be the only thing keeping both the principal and the parents quiet, though… It's basically because Kamoshida made the volleyball team famous, yeah? Even so, that doesn't give him the right to do whatever he wants! He's beating kids up, and all they're allowed to do is endure it. And that follower of his doesn't give one single shit…"
"What follower?" Akira asked.
"Ann Takamaki," Ryuji answered. "You met her in the courtyard, remember? I mean, she's in your class, dude."
"Oh yeah, that reminds me – Why hasn't Takamaki seemed annoyed or depressed about all of this? It's almost like she's got no reason to do so!"
"How should I know?" Ryuji shrugged.
Akira pondered for a moment. "Before we went to that castle, I saw Kamoshida warning her about me and tried to offer her a ride home after school. But…Takamaki acted strangely and left. Is there may be a reason why we saw a cognitive version of her at the castle?"
But as he pondered some more, Akira just sighed and shook his head. "Never mind… Right when we were about to expose Kamoshida of his abusive actions, this happens?"
"Ugh! What a load of bull!" Ryuji groaned in frustration. "I can't let it end like this. I'm going to find someone who knows about what's going on with Kamoshida during break tomorrow. Just you watch. I ain't giving up!"
"Yeah, okay…," Akira nodded as he already left Shujin and headed straight back to Leblanc for a goodnight's sleep.
4/14 – Thursday
The next day at Shujin in the afternoon, Akira already got a call from Ryuji.
"So, about those witnesses," Ryuji spoke up on Akira's phone. "I was wondering if we can get some proof out of Takamaki."
"Since she's with Kamoshida?" Akira asked.
"No, that ain't why. Just hear me out. Do you know how we didn't get a thing out of the volleyball team? I figured it'd be a good idea to talk to someone who knows them."
"Who?"
"Takamaki's BFFs with a starter. A girl named Suzui. I tried to talk to that girl during break, but I got nothing. That's why we should have Takamaki talk to her."
"You think so? I mean, Takamaki did always got a ride to school from Kamoshida and stuff, but I just hope she's aware of his true nature. The reason I thought about that is that maybe Kamoshida has something on her…"
"Then again, I guess it'll be hard getting her to help us…," Ryuji replied. "Let me see what else I can come up with."
Elsewhere, after school, Ann and Shiho were sitting on a bench in the courtyard
"Shouldn't you be heading to volleyball?" Ann asked.
"Uh-huh…," An exhausted Shiho nodded.
"That bruise above your eye…," Ann noticed in shock. "Is that from practice, too?"
"Y-Yeah..."
Ann looked concerned. "Are you sure you're not pushing yourself too hard?"
"I'm OK… Volleyball's the only thing I can do right..."
Shiho then heard Ann's phone rang. "Shouldn't you take that?"
"It's probably just my part-time job… I think."
"I…should get going," Shiho said as she then got off the bench.
"Shiho… Are you sure you're OK?"
"Uh-huh..." Shiho nodded as she left.
Ann's phone continued to ring, and she already answered it. "…Yes? Today won't work… I'm… I'm not feeling so good… Sorry… Bye."
Ann hanged up her phone and left as two gossiping students enter the courtyard.
"Wasn't that Takamaki?"
"Rumor has it she's dating Kamoshida."
"Seriously?"
"I heard people saw them in his car together."
"You know… she seems pretty easy, huh? You think I'd have a chance, too?"
"C'mon, dude, you can't go after Kamoshida's bitch!"
At the same time, Akira went out to find Ryuji, hoping he'd find any luck of convincing someone to talk about Kamoshida. As he walked forward to the courtyard to meet Ryuji, he noticed another cute girl around his age looking over her phone while her eye had a bruise.
It was Shiho Suzui.
"Excuse me…," Akira called out to her.
"...What?" Shiho turned to Akira. "Oh… I'm in the way, aren't I? Sorry..."
"I'm sorry too. Don't worry about it," Akira apologized as he couldn't help feeling worried about another cute girl in trouble. "Are you…hurt?"
"I am sorry, though. I must have spaced out…," Shiho replied, then she looked at Akira. "Hm, you don't look familiar. Could you be that transfer student from Class D?"
"Yes, I am," Akira answered.
"Uh, this might not be any of my business, but don't let the rumors get to you, okay?"
Those words stunned Akira initially, but seeing how sweet and sad Shiho is, he just sighed. "Yeah, they don't bother me."
"I'm glad to hear that. ...My best friend is often misunderstood too, all because of her looks…"
"You're referring to Ann, right? You two were very close since middle school."
"We are. I don't know what I would do without Ann," Shiho said. "Ah, sorry. I didn't mean to drag on like that. Anyway, I have to go to practice. I'll see you around."
A moment later, Akira already made it to the courtyard and found Ryuji pacing around impatiently. "Dammit. What the hell…"
"Did you find anything?" Akira asked. "I take it you failed."
"Is that what it looks like? This ain't really going our way…," Ryuji replied. "All of them kept saying the same shit Mishima was talking about! Kamoshida had to have told them something! At this rate, it looks like we'll have to go to him directly..."
"I don't think we should've started with that. There's no point."
"I know…," Ryuji sighed. "But seriously, isn't there something we can do? No way I'm gonna give in like this! Can you think of anything?"
"We should at least call the cops…," Akira suggested but shook his head.
"So, you wanna tell them about the castle? They'd never believe us… Have any other ideas?"
"Then how about a sneak attack?"
"That'd be fine if we could do it without gettin' caught, but… if we did, we'd be seriously done for. You got any other ideas? What do we do?"
"Well, it's not like we can just punish the king or something," Akira muttered, but then he repeated the last part as an idea hit him. "Let's go punish the king!"
"The king…? You mean that other world's Kamoshida?" Ryuji asked in surprise. "I didn't think of that, but… Is there any meaning to do it?"
"Well, I can't say for sure myself, but I think the Kamoshida and his castle there and the real one here are linked. So…"
Suddenly, an unknown voice appeared. "I finally found you…"
Akira and Ryuji looked around frantically, finding the source of that voice.
"…You say something?" Ryuji asked Akira.
Akira shook his head.
Just then, Akira and Ryuji noticed a black cat with blue eyes, a white tail and paws, a muzzle, and a yellow collar…and it spoke out in a familiar, condescending voice. "Don't think you can get away with not paying me back for helping you."
"That voice…" Akira realized who it was by the voice. "Is that you, Morgana!?"
"How dare you, up and leaving me the other day!"
"The cat's talkin'!?" Ryuji exclaimed in surprise.
"I am NOT a cat!" Morgana protested. "This is just what happened when I came to this world! It was a lot of trouble finding you two."
"Wait… You came to our world!?" Ryuji gasped. "Does that mean you've got a phone!?"
"You don't need one when you're at my level," Morgana replied. "I did get pretty lost for making my escape, though..."
"That aside, why can you talk!? You're a cat!"
"How should I know!?"
Ryuji turned to Akira. "Are you hearing this too?"
"Yeah, I thought we'd be hallucinating," Akira replied. "But the cat does go meow, after all."
"This is no time to be jokin' around!" Ryuji yelled out.
"You guys are having a rough time of this, hm?" Morgana said to them. "I heard you mention something about witnesses."
"Oh, shuddup." Ryuji groaned.
"Something along those lines," Akira answered.
"You know, I could tell you a thing or two about what to do about Kamoshida," Morgana said. "You were pretty close just a moment ago."
"God, that condescending attitude!" Ryuji muttered. "This thing's gotta be Morgana!"
Morgana looked at Ryuji with a stern look. "You were still doubting me!?"
"Ack! Quiet down!" Ryuji told Morgana as the three heard voices from the Disciplinary Committee Teacher and one of its members.
"We really have to be looking for a cat in a busy time like this?" The Disciplinary Committee teacher asked one of the members.
"I just heard a meow somewhere near here. Didn't you hear it?"
"Make sure you check every nook and cranny around."
As the two left the courtyard, Ryuji was confused by what just happened as he turned to Morgana. "Meow? Does that mean only us two can understand what you're sayin'?"
"Looks like it," Morgana answered.
"What the hell's goin' on?" Ryuji scratched his head. "Anyways, what you were talkin' about earlier… Is it for real?"
"You're quite the skeptic for being an idiot."
"Hey, tell us more. Then again, this probably ain't the best place..." Ryuji then grabbed Morgana by the neck and raised him in front of Akira. "Here, stick him in your bag for now! It should be just small enough to fit!"
"Hey! How dare you treat me like—" Morgana hissed before being stuffed into Akira's schoolbag.
A while later, Akira, Ryuji, and Morgana were at the school rooftop.
"…Don't be so rough with me!" Morgana hissed.
"Enough of that!" Ryuji groaned, getting straight to the point. "You said you know how we can do something about Kamoshida, right?"
"It has to do with what Akira was talking about earlier. You'll need to attack his castle."
"What do you mean?" Ryuji asked.
"That castle is how Kamoshida views this school," Morgana explained. "He doesn't realize what happens in there, but it's deeply connected to the depths of his heart. Thus, if the castle disappears, it would naturally impact the real Kamoshida."
"What'd happen?"
"A Palace is a manifestation of a person's distorted desires. So, if that castle were no more..."
"Then, his desires would go too?" Akira asked, guessing.
"Precisely," Morgana nodded. "You sure pick up things fast!"
Ryuji was surprised. "For real!? H-He's going to turn good!? But… is that really gettin' back at him?"
"Erasing a Palace essentially means forcing the owner to have a change of heart," Morgana explained. "However, even though their warped wants and desires disappear, the crimes they committed will remain. Kamoshida will become unable to bear the weight of those crimes, and he'll most likely confess them himself!"
Ryuji was surprised. "You for real!? That's possible!?"
"And since the Palace will no longer exist, he'll forget what we did there as well. Not only will we be able to bring Kamoshida down, but there won't even be a trace of our involvement."
"That's amazing!" Ryuji exclaimed excitedly. "You are one incredible cat!"
"True, except for the cat part!"
"So? How do we get rid of the Palace!?" Ryuji asked.
"By stealing the core of his desires held within – the Treasure."
"Stealing…?" Ryuji repeated, confused.
"I'll tell you more once you agree to go ahead with this. It IS my most valuable, secret plan, after all. If you want to help me out, I'll gladly teach you. What's your call?"
Ryuji turned to Akira. "Our luck's running dry lookin' for witnesses. Guess we have no choice but to go along…"
"You're right," Akira replied. "We've done all that we can from now and even yesterday."
"…Good," Morgana nodded, then he added something quite important. "Oh, right. There's one more thing I should tell you. If we erase a Palace, there is no doubt that the person's distorted desires will be erased as well. But desires are a necessity of what we all need in order to survive. The very will to sleep, eat, fall in love—those sorts of things. After all, it is a necessary virtue of life."
"What're you gettin' at?" Ryuji slowly asked.
"It's fine to get rid of his distorted desires, but if all of those yearnings were to vanish, they'd be no different than someone who has shut down entirely. They may even die if they're not given any proper care. So..."
"Shut down entirely?" Akira pondered. "Wait, couldn't this be about the mental shutdowns?"
"They might die!?" Ryuji exclaimed in fear, realizing the risk.
Morgana looked at Ryuji. "Will you listen to everything I have to say first?"
"Would their death be our fault?" Ryuji muttered, horrified.
"Aren't you determined enough to face those kinds of risks?"
Ryuji turned back to Akira. "Hey… What do you think?"
"I'm game," Akira said. "I mean, I don't want to kill him, so we'll have to risk it."
"For real!?" Ryuji was just stunned by the words.
Morgana sighed in utter disappointment. "Sheesh… I come all this way, and this is what I get. It's not like anyone will ever find out."
"That's not the point!" Ryuji angrily chimed in. "If we just go around secretly doin' whatever we want, we'd be no better than that effin' Kamoshida..."
Morgana groaned in dismay. "Isn't this your only option? ...I'll come back later. Make sure you've made your decision by then."
As Morgana left, Ryuji angrily muttered, "Man, we're getting all worked up for nothing… Dammit!"
"I don't think it's for nothing," Akira pondered. "If we do steal Kamoshida's distorted desires, I think that would be just the opposite."
"You mean they'll still be alive?" Ryuji sighed with relief.
"I can't say for sure."
"Well, I'll try and see if I can figure out another way… That reminds me, I heard something that got my attention."
"What is it?" Akira asked.
"It's about that Suzui girl… It looks like rumors are going around about her and Kamoshida. If they're true, it's no wonder I couldn't get her to talk. Still, something doesn't seem right."
"What do you mean?"
"It's nothing to clear now, but…it's just impossible. I've known Takamaki and Suzui since middle school. There's just no way Kamoshida's their type, you know?" Ryuji sighed. "So… I have to wonder where those rumors came from. Well, whatever. I'll try asking around some more."
"Sure. See 'ya."
One train ride later, Akira was about to head to Leblanc when he heard a familiar voice.
Ann Takamaki was arguing with someone on the phone. "Will you please give it a rest!? I told you, I'm not feeling up to it…," she retorted on the phone. "Wait, what!? That's not what you promised! And you call yourself a teacher!? This has nothing to do with Shiho!"
Just then, Ann got hung up on her phone as she curled herself up, hugging her knees while looking down in disbelief. "Shiho's…starting position…"
Suddenly, Ann looked up to see Akira. "Wait…were you listening?"
"Not on purpose. I was eavesdropping," Akira replied.
"Haven't you heard of privacy?" Ann snapped as she glared at him, making Akira winced, but then she let out a sigh. "…No, I was out of line. Sorry."
Ann tried to wipe away her tears. "So… How much did you hear?"
"Long enough to even care," Akira answered. "You were arguing something about Shiho."
"Shiho…," Ann muttered. "It's nothing at all. Nothing…"
Ann suddenly made her escape in tears to the underground walkway.
But Akira had already rushed in after her in worry. "Takamaki, wait!"
"Stop following me… Just leave me alone!" Ann shouted at Akira with a fiery glare.
"Will you please calm down? I just wanna talk," Akira said as he tried to assure her. "Are you even OK?"
"Why…? Why do you keep worrying about me?" Ann asked as she started to sob.
"Let's go somewhere," Akira insisted.
"What the heck…? I don't really get you…"
A moment later, Ann and Akira now find themselves in a fast-food restaurant called Big Bang Burger while sitting down at a table.
"I don't have anything to talk about with you," Ann said harshly to Akira.
"Then why are we here?" Akira asked, leaning forward with concern, playing therapist. "Look, I can tell you've been through a lot. But anything can happen in and out of Shujin…and I can't stop it. I may be the new transfer student, but I'm just involving myself with others and trying to help someone in need, even if that someone is you. If you don't want to talk, then don't talk. If you're going to turn away from me because of your problems, that's fine anyway. But I want to help, and I can't do that if you don't let me."
At that moment, Ann sighed in shame. "It was just an argument…"
"…With Kamoshida?" Akira guessed, knowing that Ann is feeling stressed.
Ann began to rest her head with her hand. "You've heard the rumors…haven't you? About Mr. Kamoshida? Everyone says we're getting it on."
"But…?"
"But… that's so not true…!" Ann continued. "That was him on the other line. I avoided giving him my number… for the longest time… He told me to go to his place after this..." She then crushed her napkin. "You know what it means."
"You couldn't go against him, could you? Because of your friend, right?" Akira asked.
"Well, if I turn him down, he said he'd take my friend off as a regular on the team..." Ann's voice slowly breaks as she continued. "I've been telling myself this is all for Shiho's sake… I can't take it anymore…"
Akira looked away, knowing that his words won't cheer up Ann.
"I've had enough of this… I hate him!" Ann cried in tears. "But still… Shiho's my best friend. She's all I have left at that sorry excuse of a school! Tell me… What should I do…?"
Akira couldn't think of the words. "Well…"
"Sorry… I shouldn't have asked. It's not your problem," Ann wiped away her tears while shaking her head. "What… What am I saying? I've barely even talked to you before…"
"Maybe that's why?" Akira answered. "It's fine, so sorry for butting in…"
"…You're so weird. Usually, everyone just ignores me," Ann looked up to Akira. "Are you really a bad person? I've heard people talking about you, but… I just don't see it."
"You aren't the only one being affected by rumors, you know," Akira said. "I think this is what happens when you're being treated like a pain by the people around you."
"Huh?" Ann blinked in surprise as she looked up to Akira.
Akira looked up at the ceiling as he began, "You've heard from Kamoshida, have you? About staying away from me because of my record? People have been saying I'm bad to the bone or something, as if being late the other day wasn't enough. But… that wasn't true…! That was the other way around. I did one good deed from back then, and look where it led me. I'm much of an outcast back there as I am here, so… You know what I mean."
Ann stared in surprise at Akira as he continued, "The next thing I knew, I moved here because of some circumstances due to my record. I've been telling and thinking to myself that this is all for my hometown's sake… But not anymore!"
Ann looked away sadly, wanting to say something, but she couldn't.
Akira sighed in frustration. "I had no one back there besides my parents. But still… It's just been one thing after another, and all I get is a cold shoulder no matter where I go!"
Hearing all that, Ann finally spoke up. "I kinda had a feeling they were all just exaggerations. You seemed lonely—almost like you didn't belong anywhere… We're the same in that regard. Maybe that's why it was so easy for me to talk to you." She then looked down with a contemplative expression. "Is there no way for me to help Shiho? I wish he'd just change his mind… Like, forget about me, and everything…"
But Ann pulled herself together with a giggle. "As if something like that would ever happen..."
"That's too convenient, but it could happen," Akira replied, thinking back to Morgana's plan.
"I wasn't asking for a serious response. But I do feel a bit better now," Ann said as she got up and grabbed her bag to leave. "...I'm going to head home. Don't tell anyone what I told you, OK? I'll try and think of a way to persuade Kamoshida. Well… thanks."
And with that, Ann left the Big Bang Burger restaurant, as did Akira.
Back at Shujin, Shiho was about to head home when Mishima appeared.
"Suzui," Mishima called out to her, "Are you leaving?"
"What is it?"
"Mr. Kamoshida's asking for you… He's in the PE faculty office."
"What did he say?"
"...I don't know. I'm just the messager," Mishima said. "Well… I have to go."
As Mishima runs off, Shiho sighed in depression about all the torture and pain in many ways than one, just when her phone rang. She pulled it out to see who's messaging, but…
"Ann…," Shiho sadly muttered as she ignored the call and walked to the PE office.
Later that evening, Akira returned to Leblanc, where Sojiro was doing crossword puzzles on the newspaper.
Sojiro looked up to see Akira. "You're late. Where have you been?"
"I just got lost," Akira answered.
"Is that supposed to be an excuse? How directionally challenged can you be? ...By the way, you haven't been hanging around any bad influences, have you?"
"I made a few friends," Akira answered, thinking back to Ryuji and Ann.
"They've gotta be pretty strange to want to spend time with you. Just make sure you're careful who your friends are if you don't want them ruining your life."
Just then, Sojiro yawned. "Look at the time. Seriously, think about how I feel having to stay up here waiting for you." Then, he put down the newspaper and was about to head for home as he added, "Hey, I'm leaving. In the future, try not to come back so damn late. Understood?"
"…Understood," Akira answered as he went upstairs, getting ready for bed.
A few minutes later, he and Ryuji were having a little phone conversation.
"So, whaddya think about Morgana told us?" Ryuji asked. "I dunno if I get all that stuff about stealing desires… And Kamoshida's going to turn like brain dead if we mess up, right? I mean, sure, I'm pissed at him… But I dunno if I really wanna kill the guy…"
"Yeah, that's too much."
"For sure. I mean, maybe I'm just freaking out, but I don't wanna end up a murderer because of this shit," Ryuji said. "Oh well… I'll try and see if I can come up with some other way tonight."
"If he has a change of heart, he'll probably stop abusing the students, but it is too risky…," Akira replied as he then ended the phone call.
As Akira changed and lay down in bed, a lingering thought came to him, Steal Kamoshida's distorted desires… Can we really do it?
4/15 – Friday
The following day, in Class 2-D at Shujin, the rest of the class listened to a teacher's lecture about government powers' separation. At the same time, Ann looked out the window in boredom.
"So, I assume all of you know about the separation of powers?" The teacher, Mr. Ushimaru, said. "There are three branches in our government. The National Diet is legislative, the Cabinet is executive, and the Supreme Court is the judiciary. This division of power provides checks and balances, which ensures no one branch becomes unstoppable."
"Have you made up your mind?" A familiar voice whispered, surprising Akira. He looked down to see Morgana hiding inside his desk.
"Not yet," Akira quietly replied.
"Well, no matter how much thinking you do, there's only one option. You'd be better off just listening to me."
"Don't talk! We still ain't doing it yet!"
"Hm? Did I just hear a cat just now?" Mr. Ushimaru spoke up as he and the other students looked around the room.
"M-Meow!" Morgana suddenly meowed.
"Hm… Could that rumored cat be somewhere nearby?" Mr. Ushimaru pondered before he turned to the other students, "Settle down! We're in the middle of an important lecture!"
Akira's phone suddenly rang. Grabbing it, he noticed that Ryuji called him, and the two chat through messages.
Ryuji: It's no use… I can't think of any other way…
Akira: No luck, huh? Just concentrate on class.
Ryuji: I can't deal with that shit right now. I mean, what're we gonna do about Kamoshida? Do we have to go along with what that cat says? Urgh, that damn furball…
"If he only knew I'm reading this too...," Morgana groaned at Ryuji's last message, just as Akira put his phone in his pocket.
Just then, one of the students suddenly stands up as he noticed something unexpected outside. "Hey… What's that…!?"
"Enough! This is a classroom!" Mr. Ushimaru scolded.
Another student noticed the scene outside. "Wait… She's going to jump!"
"Suzui…?" Mishima softly spoke up as he rose from his seat, noticing.
"Shiho…?" Ann noticed as well in shock when she rose from her seat too.
"Hey! Stay in your seats!" Mr. Ushimaru demanded as the students herded out of the classroom, ignoring him. "Do not step foot outside of this room!"
Every student rushed into the hallway and looked into the window that leads to the courtyard.
To Ann's horror, she can see Shiho near the roof's fence, more bruised than before. Suddenly, Shiho took the plunge as she jumped off the top, much to everyone's panic.
"No… Why?" Ann cried in shock. "Shiho…!"
Ann quickly ran off to the courtyard, followed by a large herd of crowding students and teachers. Simultaneously, Akira was nearly crumpled onto the ground when the colossal crowd almost ran over him like it was nothing.
Once the dust cleared out the empty hallway, Ryuji went over to Akira and helped him up. "H-Hey! What's goin' on!?"
"Shiho jumped off the roof," Akira answered while brushing himself off. "Why does something unexpected escalated so fast this morning?"
"I don't know, but we should head to the courtyard too!"
"…Right. We should," Akira nodded.
Luckily, it didn't take long for Akira and Ryuji to make their way to the courtyard through the Practice Building. However, multiple students were clamoring around as an ambulance truck made its way to the yard. They then noticed Ann stared at her best friend in a terrible state.
"Shiho!" Ann looked sadly at her injured friend in horror.
"What the hell's wrong with these people!?" Ryuji growled as he angrily looked at the speculating students.
"Morbid curiosity, I suppose," Akira replied.
Just then, one of the paramedics walked up to the crowd. "We need someone to go with her… Are there any teachers around?"
"I-I'm not in charge of her class, though…," One teacher said.
"We should leave this to Principal Kobayakawa," Another replied.
"I'll go!" Ann suddenly volunteered as she ran up to Shiho. "Shiho… Why?"
"Ann…?" Shiho spoke as she looked up at her. "I'm sorry. I… I can't take this… anymore..."
"Shiho?" Ann leaned closer to Shiho to hear what her friend is saying.
Shiho whispered something to Ann, and the words from her friend made Ann's eyes grew wide in realization as she rose instantly. "...Huh? ...Kamoshida!?"
"Ngh...," Shiho closed her eyes, succumbing to her fall.
"No… Shiho!?" Ann called out her name, but she accompanied Shiho anyway.
As the ambulance truck drove off, Akira and Ryuji looked on.
"The volleyball team again…" Ryuji muttered.
"Return to your classrooms at once!" A teacher demanded.
"Ah… Ah…" Mishima ran off from the scene just as Akira saw him.
"What the…?" Akira noticed as he turned to Ryuji. "Wasn't Mishima acting weird?"
"He knows something… And we're going to make him talk this time."
Akira and Ryuji ran toward where Mishima ran off to.
At the same time, Principal Kobayakawa walked into the scene. "Teachers, return to your classrooms for the time being! Please do not let any students go home yet!"
A moment later, Akira and Ryuji managed to reach Mishima to the Practice Building. At the same time, Mishima backed himself into a corner beside the chairs and lockers.
"That hurts!" Mishima cried.
"Why'd you run like that? Huh!?" Ryuji asked Mishima, playing bad cop.
"I didn't run..." Mishima said.
"Yes, you did. I saw you," Akira said to Mishima with a look of concern.
Ryuji slammed his fist in one of the lockers, making Mishima flinched, as he exclaimed angrily out of irritation, "She jumped and tried to kill herself!"
"…L-Leave me alone…," Mishima pleaded.
"Just tell us," Akira calmly said to Mishima, playing good cop. "Do you know something?"
"He's right!" Ryuji nodded in agreement as he calmed himself down as well. "We ain't tryin' to get you busted. We won't say you talked either!"
"Suzui…," Mishima began as he exclaimed in fear. "She was called out by Mr. Kamoshida!"
Ryuji blinked in shock, as did Akira. "Wait, what!?"
"I was called by him a number of times too…to the teacher's room," Mishima explained. "But it wasn't just Suzui or me either. He'd nominate someone when he was in a bad mood…and hit them."
"So, the physical punishment thing was for real...," Ryuji deduced.
"But yesterday, he called Suzui out of the blue. She didn't make any mistakes or anything… Mr. Kamoshida seemed really irritated that day, so it must've been…worse than usual..."
Back when he talked to Ann, Akira remembered that Kamoshida told her to come to his place after school. But she didn't, so Kamoshida must've called in Shiho instead.
"He didn't…!" Akira said in fearful dread.
"That son of a bitch!" Ryuji suddenly cried in anger as he ran out after Kamoshida.
"Ryuji, wait!" Akira cried, chasing after him. "Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait!"
Mishima followed suit, unaware that a particular black cat, Morgana, was following them as well. "Sakamoto went to the PE faculty office!" he said to Akira. "Let's hurry. We have to go after him!"
Akira and Mishima managed to find Ryuji in the PE Faculty Office on the second floor. He was already face-to-face with Kamoshida, who was just sitting down at his desk.
"You bastard!" Ryuji exclaimed angrily at Kamoshida. "The hell did you do to that girl!?"
"What are you talking about?" Kamoshida asked.
"Don't play dumb with me!" Ryuji kicked down a nearby chair in frustration.
"That is enough!" Kamoshida scolded him.
"What you did…wasn't coaching…!" Mishima said to Kamoshida, protesting.
Akira and Ryuji turned to Mishima in surprise.
"What did you say?" Kamoshida asked as he looked at Mishima with a glare.
"You… You ordered me to call Suzui here… I can only imagine what you did to her…!"
"You're going on and on about things you have no proof of…," Kamoshida said as he stood up with crossed arms. "Basically, you're simply making these claims because you can't be a regular on the team, right?"
"That's not what this is about…!" Mishima said.
"Even if it is exactly as you imagine it to be, hypothetically speaking, what can you do? We just received a call from a hospital. Suzui's in a coma, and her chances of recovery are slim… How would someone like that make a statement?"
The boys were shocked as Kamoshida continued with fake sympathy. "I hear there's no chance of her getting better… Ohh, the poor girl."
"No… That can't be…," Mishima muttered in disbelief.
"You goddamn…!" Ryuji growled in anger as his fist clenched in anger.
Kamoshida turned to Ryuji. "This again…? Does this mean we need to have yet another case of 'self-defense'?"
"You shut your mouth, you son of a bitch!" Ryuji exclaimed as he was about to throw a punch at the gym teacher when Akira grabbed him.
"Why are you stoppin' me…!?" Ryuji asked.
"Calm down. It's not worth it," Akira pleaded. "Don't let him get to you!"
"But still!" Ryuji pulled his arm away.
"Oh? You're stopping him? What a surprise," Kamoshida noticed Akira by surprise, then he turned Ryuji with a smirk on his face, taunting him. "There's no need to hold back. Why not attack me? ...Ohhh, you can't. Hahaha, but of course you can't."
Kamoshida moved back to his work desk as he added, "Consider the lot of you expelled once I'm reporting all of you at the next board meeting."
"Wha-!?" Ryuji was stunned by surprise.
"You can't make a decision like that…!" Mishima protested once more.
Kamoshida turned to face Mishima in his chair. "Who would seriously consider what scum like you say? You threatened me too, Mishima, so you're just as responsible."
"Huh…?" Mishima gasped.
"To think you didn't know why I kept someone as talentless as you on the team. You act like you're a victim, but you leaked Akira's criminal records, didn't you? It's all over the internet, correct? How terrible."
"What…?" Akira turned to Mishima in shock.
"Mishima…?" Ryuji was shocked as well.
"He told me to do it. I had no choice…" Mishima fell to the floor.
Kamoshida laughed sickeningly. "Now, are we finished here? You're done for; your futures are mine for the taking. Now get out of my sight."
"I can't believe this asshole's gettin' away with this…!" Ryuji growled in anger as he and Akira left the PE Faculty office.
A moment later, after school, Akira and Ryuji were in the courtyard while Morgana stood on the table.
Ryuji was the first to spoke. "OK, now hear me out, Akira."
"Yeah…?" Akira replied, waiting for a response.
"We may have to beat up Kamoshida."
Akira was surprised. "Ryuji, we don't have to! We could just—"
Ryuji halted Akira. "Listen, man! If you get expelled, you'll end up in juvie, right? You wouldn't last five minutes in there, so we gotta hurry up and go to that world and beat the shit out of that asshole!"
"Or we could just do what Morgana told us yesterday, and that should stop him WITHOUT killing him. I don't know how I feel about murder and all that."
"I ain't taking any chances!" Ryuji said.
"...We're not beating him up," Morgana chimed in. "We're simply stealing his distorted desires. Can I assume that you've made up your minds about this—about how he might suffer a mental shutdown?"
"...I have," Ryuji answered. "Someone almost died because of him! I don't give a rat's ass what happens to him anymore!"
Morgana then turned to Akira. "And you?"
"I agree," Akira nodded. "Kamoshida may not be in his right mind anymore. The longer we leave this be, the more victims will pile up. And it's already gotten a lot bigger."
Morgana smiled. "…Then, it's settled!"
"By the way, is gettin' rid of a Palace hard?" Ryuji asked Morgana. "You've tried it before, right?"
"...When did I ever say that?" Morgana asked.
"...Eh?" Ryuji blinked. "WHAT!? Were you just pretending to know!?"
"Is it true you're getting expelled?" A familiar voice appeared as the three turned to see Ann standing. "Everyone's talking about it…"
"That asshole's at again!" Ryuji muttered to himself, referring to Kamoshida. He then looked back at Ann. "So, you came all this way to tell us that?"
At that moment, Ann looked up with a fierce look of determination in her eyes. "If you're going to deal with Kamoshida… let me in on it too. I can't just sit back and do nothing after what happened to Shiho!"
"Takamaki…," Akira said under his breath, sadly.
"This has nothing to do with you…," Ryuji told Ann. "Don't butt your head into this…"
Ann refused. "But it does! Shiho's my friend, too!"
"Do you want to be expelled like us!? I just said, don't get in our way!"
"Ann, please don't do anything recklessly," Akira said to Ann with a sad, concerned look. "I know how close you were to Shiho, but I insist you leave this matter to us. Letting you run headfirst toward revenge on Kamoshida so soon after what happened to Shiho would be unbearable."
Ann stared at Akira defiantly by his words, but then she ran off, making Morgana worried.
"...That was harsh." Morgana pointed out to Ryuji.
"We can't take her to somewhere like that...," Ryuji said in agitation.
"I hope that she doesn't do anything too crazy, let alone tormenting herself over this. Women can be much bolder than men at times. When it comes down to it, they don't hesitate."
"We just gotta hurry up and deal with Kamoshida. Let's go already!"
It didn't take long for Akira, Ryuji, and Morgana to get to the alleyway, their path to Shujin, so they can get ready to enter Kamoshida's Palace without raising any suspicion.
"The moment we cross over, we'll treat each other like phantom thieves," Morgana said. "So, I hope you're ready."
"Phantom thieves?" Ryuji repeated.
"Those who covertly sneak in and stylishly steal Treasure—that is what we become!"
"I see. Not bad," Akira agreed.
"That sounds kinda cool!" Ryuji nodded as he pulled out his phone to activate the Metaverse Navigator. "So, we just gotta say the school, Kamoshida's name, and… 'castle'? Then we end up in bizarro world."
"Pretty much, yeah," Akira nodded.
Ryuji pulled out his phone to activate the Meta-Nav. "…How the hell's all this work? Someone make it?"
"I dunno…" Akira shrugged as he couldn't tell Ryuji and Morgana that Igor made the app.
"…That's kind of creepy, but…eh, it seems useful enough," Ryuji said, then added with determination. "We'll show that effin' Kamoshida!"
"Let's go!" Morgana said.
As they get to prepare, they were unaware that Ann had already followed them in suspicion. "They really are going to do something…," Ann whispered, watching the group. "They're doing something on their phone? A name… School?"
Just then, the Meta-Nav activated as the world around Ann was already warping…
Once Akira and Ryuji were in their new attire while Morgana warped into his Metaverse form, they were ready to storm the castle right in front of them.
"All right! Time to bust on through!" Ryuji exclaimed with determination.
Before they can continue forward, a familiar voice rang out. "What is this!?"
The three turned to see Ann standing there in shock.
Ryuji was shocked to see her. "T-Takamaki!?"
"That voice… Sakamoto!?" Ann blinked in surprise, recognizing Ryuji. Then, she turned to Akira. "And… are you Kurusu-kun!?"
"Yep, it's me," Akira answered, knowing he can't hide this secret from Ann.
"Wh-wh-why are you here!?" Ryuji asked in surprise, but he looked at her with narrowed eyes. "Wait a minute… Did you seriously followed us!? We never said you could tag along!"
"How should I know!?" Ann exclaimed, then she looked around the surroundings. "What's going on? Hey, where are we!? Isn't this the school!?"
Morgana just stared at Ann in a love-struck expression but then shook his head. "I see. Perhaps she was dragged in because of that app thing. If multiple people can enter with the person who uses it, it stands to reason it'll pull anyone nearby."
"For real?" Ryuji was surprised.
Akira looked at Ann. "Well, Takamaki, to answer all your questions… We're inside Kamoshida's heart."
"Inside… Kamoshida's heart?" Ann repeated as she blinked in confusion. "Wait, so THIS is related to Kamoshida!?"
"What else? This is what he truly feels. He's nothing but a victory obsessing pervert."
Ryuji went up to Ann. "Anyways, you gotta leave!"
"No!" Ann refused, much to the boys' annoyance.
"The Shadows are going to find us if you make a scene," Morgana spoke up.
Ann looked at Morgana in shock. "No way! It talked!? Oh my god, it's a monster cat!"
"Monster…?" Morgana repeated.
"Will you please calm down!?" Akira told Ann, trying to calm her down while gesturing her to Morgana. "He's not a monster cat! In fact, he's not a cat at all!"
"You better explain what's going on!" Ann demanded. "I won't leave until you do!"
Akira looked at Ann straight in the eyes. "Takamaki! Didn't it cross your mind that something wasn't right about Kamoshida? Or that Shiho got bruises from practice!?"
"But that's…" Ann tried to answer but couldn't as she looked away.
Akira took a deep breath. "You may not want to believe it, but this is another reality as viewed through Kamoshida's eyes. …This is his true nature."
Ann looked at the vast, majestic castle. "This insane world?" Then she looked back at Akira and Ryuji, noticing their new clothes. "And just what are you guys wearing!?"
"I guess you could say…we just happened to have a rebellious will inside of us."
Ann looked down sadly. "If everything you said is true, then Shiho almost died because of something like this…"
"You gotta get out of here," Akira insisted. "You don't know what's up ahead."
"But still… I thought there was a reason behind all this. I thought Shiho had fun with practice. She never told all of this to me..." Ann looked up to Akira while pointing at the castle. "And you're telling me THIS was how Kamoshida really saw things!?"
"Yep," Akira nodded. "What you see here is how he really views the school."
"Looks like we gotta force her," Ryuji said as he turned to Morgana. "But how're we supposed to do that?"
"Just take her back to where we came in. That's how it worked last time, right?"
"O-Oh, yeah," Ryuji nodded.
"Anyway, as I told you before, you should leave the rest to us now," Akira assured Ann while looking back at the castle. "We'll come back to explain everything to you, and—"
But when he looked back at her, Akira noticed that Ryuji and Morgana were sending Ann back to reality.
"What're you—" Ann began to ask.
"You heard Akira," Ryuji told her. "We'll explain after everything's over!"
"H-Hey! A-And just where are you touching!?"
"Whoa, sorry, I didn't mean—" Ryuji stammered. "...That's not important!"
"You guys seriously— Ah!?"
And with that, Ann was warped back to reality just when Morgana and Ryuji walked back to Akira, who just stands there, glaring at them.
"I feel bad, you know…," Akira told the two.
"We can't deal with Kamoshida if we didn't send her back!" Ryuji replied, then sighed with relief. "We better be careful from now on when we use that app..."
"You should've checked the tools you used!" Morgana scolded. "Why do I—the one who was just watching—know more about it than you two!?"
"Sh-Shuddup!" Ryuji said, then sighed with exasperation. "Ah geez, Takamaki found out right when we were startin' off… We gotta deal with this fast!"
"That girl's name is Ann Takamaki, right?" Morgana asked curiously. Then he looked down in contemplation. "Lady Ann…"
A few moments later, the three looked toward the drawbridge.
"The Shadows have noticed us," Morgana said. "You better brace yourselves, got it?" Then he turned to Akira. "We're counting on you, Joker!"
"Joker?" Akira repeated in surprise.
"Joker? That a nickname?" Ryuji asked, confused.
"Don't refer to it in such a lame way. It's a code name," Morgana said. "What kind of stupid phantom thief would use their real name!? I'm not down for that! And there's no telling what kind of effect yelling our real names will have on the Palace. It's just a precaution."
"So, uh, why is Akira Joker?"
"Because he's our trump card when it comes to fighting strength."
"Not bad!" Akira nodded, agreeing to that code name.
"It's settled then!" Morgana nodded, then he turned to Ryuji. "Next up is you, Ryuji. You'll be… Let's see… 'Thug.'"
"Are you picking a fight with me!? I'll choose it myself!" Ryuji exclaimed, then he touched his skull mask. "Hm… When it comes to me, it's got to be this mask. Honestly, I actually kind of like it. What if we named me after this?"
"Fine…," Morgana sighed. "Why not 'Skull' then?"
"Ooh! That sounds awesome! I'm Skull!" Ryuji exclaimed happily, then looked at Morgana and asked Akira, "What do we do about this one's code name?"
"Well, what do you think?"
"…How about 'Mona'?"
"Well, if Joker thinks it's easier to call me that, then I'll go with it," Morgana said. "All right. From here on out, we're Joker, Skull, and Mona. We need to be absolutely thorough about using those code names from now on!"
"Alright! Time to go steal this Treasure thing!" Ryuji said with determination.
With their newly dubbed code names, Akira, Ryuji, and Morgana – now known as Joker, Skull, and Mona – headed toward the castle.
Once the three were inside the castle and near the central hall, they saw an array of armored knights and guards and a certain king in the main lobby. Hence, they stay hidden on both sides of the doorway.
"Hey, look! Ain't that…," Skull pointed at Shadow Kamoshida.
"Those intruders the other day were quite entertaining," Shadow Kamoshida said to the assembled knights. "However, I can't allow that trash to ransack my castle! Strengthen the security! Kill them on sight! I'll reward whoever brings me their heads."
"Praise be to King Kamoshida! Death to the intruders!" The knights chanted.
Skull turned to Mona. "Hey, Mona. Can't we just beat the crap out of him and call it a day?"
"Look at all those soldiers, idiot! It'd be suicide," Mona scolded him, irritated. "And I'm sure you don't want a repeat of last time. Besides, don't you want him to confess his sins? There's no point beating him up. We need to steal his materialized desires… The Treasure."
"See? I knew we didn't have to kill anybody!" Joker said to Skull with a grin.
"Fine," Skull groaned in frustration. "So, where is it?"
"It has to be somewhere in the depths of this castle," Mona said. "Let's infiltrate further in while he's out here!"
And that's precisely what they did.
Along the way, Joker's potential allows him to hold multiple Personas as he negotiated the enemies without getting on their bad side. As a result, the enemy got sucked into Joker's mask. He can freely change which Persona he summoned, much to Skull and Mona's surprise during battles.
"Don't tell me…," Mona spoke up to Joker in shock. "Did you take in the Shadow's appearance and powers as a Persona!? Does that mean you can wield multiple Personas!?"
"I guess I can," Joker answered. "That's the power of the wild card for 'ya!"
"H-Hey, Mona! What was that about!?" Skull asked Mona. "What did Joker do?"
"He sealed the enemy's appearance and powers into his mask and made it his new Persona…," Mona answered. "I've never seen anyone do that before… I didn't even know it was possible!"
"Is this good?" Joker asked.
"Of course it is! Only one heart exists per person, so normally a person can only have one Persona! But this… this is incredible! That ability will give us a huge advantage in battle! Let's try to do that even more if the opportunity arises! You better help out too, Skull!"
"Hell yeah! We'll hold every last one of them up!" Skull exclaimed.
Outside the castle, a certain blonde crossed the bridge, making her way to the entrance.
"This is the place from earlier!" Ann muttered as she pulled out her phone, looking at a particular app that appeared on her phone. "…What's up with this app? I just said the words Sakamoto said, and I ended up back here."
Just then, an unfamiliar voice appeared. "Princess!?"
Ann turned in shock as a giant shadow loomed over her.
Back inside the castle, Joker, Skull, and Mona were already in one of the safe rooms, trying to figure out what to do next once they had relaxed for a few minutes.
"Aren't there even more Shadows here than before?" Skull asked. "Just gettin' this far's been a real pain in my ass!"
"It's all because you guys provoked Kamoshida, you know," Mona replied. "Still… he seems to be awfully on guard..."
"Anyways, how're we supposed to steal that Treasure thing?"
"Don't be so hasty. First, we'll need to secure an infiltration route."
"A what?" Skull asked in confusion.
"A path to the Treasure's location," Mona explained.
"You mean we need to secure our route to infiltrate the Treasure's location," Joker guessed. "Let alone avoiding any attention…"
"Exactly," Mona said, but then he pondered. "But honestly, I think we'll need a little more manpower in order to accomplish this. At the very least, one more person would be nice…"
"Gee, I wonder who…," Joker pondered as well but then stopped for a moment. "Wait, are you seriously suggesting that we need a fourth person to help us!?"
Skull looked at Mona. "Hey, you say you don't have your memories and all, but somehow you still know about that kinda stuff?" He then turned to Joker. "Do you think this thing's really got amnesia?"
"Look, it may be suspicious that Mona has some knowledge of this world," Joker replied. "He may be unaware of his past or how he became a cat in the first place, but I still believe him."
"That's what you think of me!?" Mona said to Joker, but he smiled while pointing at Skull. "But, at least you're a step above that moron."
"Don't call me a moron!" Skull yelled at Mona. "You sure talk big, but what if it turns out you're just some stray cat in the end?"
"That can't be..." Mona shook his head in denial.
Just then, the three heard voices of the guards from outside the safe room as one of them spoke up, "Still, why was the princess in such an odd place?"
"Princess…?" Skull repeated as Mona leaned in to eavesdrop more of the guards' conversation.
"I could've sworn we were pursuing the reading of an intruder…," One knight said.
"It doesn't matter now," Another knight replied. "We must take her back to King Kamoshida!"
As the guards' footsteps faded, Skull began to ask in confusion, "Who's this princess they're talking about?"
Mona left the safe room to investigate. "I should probably look into this!"
"And yet another question goes unanswered…," Skull sighed. "Stuff like the castle and that navigation app are mysterious… but Morgana's got 'em both beat."
"You mean Mona, right?" Joker replied.
"Crap, sorry! What was I again…? Oh yeah, Skull!"
Suddenly, Mona returned with a feared expression on his face. "This is bad!"
"That was fast!" Skull said.
"Your friend… Lady Ann!" Mona exclaimed. "She's been taken by Shadows!"
Skull blinked in shock. "Wait, what? I thought we sent her home earlier."
"Well, if Lady Ann does indeed have the app, it could be possible."
"The app…," Joker muttered as he then remembered Igor's words once more.
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.
"That Igor's at it again…," Joker muttered to himself. Going between reality and Palaces with the Meta-Nav could be part of his rehabilitation.
"Oh no… Don't tell me it got put on hers just like mine!?" Skull exclaimed in panic. "Dammit! We only let her out for her own safety, and she just came back in by herself!"
"We need to hurry and rescue Lady Ann! Let's go!" Mona said in determination.
Joker quickly snapped himself out of it, and he, Skull, and Mona went to the dining room-looking place as they heard Ann's voice. "Is this some kind of filming!? Who's in charge here!?"
"This way!" Mona exclaimed as they head further into the corridor.
They then heard Ann's voice from the other side of the door. "Look, I'll apologize for touching the armor without permission!"
"She totally doesn't get what's goin' on!" Skull sighed, feeling annoyed.
Joker shook his head. "…I had just been explaining things to Ann, and she still didn't understand it?"
"Let's hurry! We have to save her!" Mona exclaimed.
A moment prior, in the candle-lit chamber, Ann finds herself bound to an X-shaped cross and all chained up, struggling herself out to escape.
"What's all this about!?" Ann demanded. "Seriously, I'm gonna call the cops!"
"So, this is the intruder," A voice rang out as Ann looked up to see who it was.
"Kamoshida!?" Ann exclaimed, but she didn't realize that it was only Shadow Kamoshida. Then, she sees a cognitive replica of herself in a purple bikini and wearing a headband with cat ears. "Is that…ME!? More importantly, what is this place!? Why's the school turned into something like this!?"
"I can't believe you mistook my Ann for someone like her," Shadow Kamoshida laughed as he turned to Ann. "Are you afraid?"
Ann noticed Shadow Kamoshida's robe and crown. "What is that outfit? Have you lost your mind?"
"I do as I please here," Shadow Kamoshida said. "After all, this is my castle… The world of my desires."
Ann couldn't believe her ears. "What the—!? Wait… Is this some red-light district!?"
"What a lively slave," Shadow Kamoshida said, intrigued.
"This isn't funny!" Ann exclaimed angrily. "Enough of the bullshit, Kamoshida!"
Shadow Kamoshida scoffed as he then turned to the cognitive Ann. "The girl has decided to tell me off. What do you think of that?"
"Talking back is, like… totally unforgivable…," The cognitive Ann said, sounding airheaded.
"In that case…she should be executed," Shadow Kamoshida ordered as the golden knight walked toward the real Ann. "Now then, how should I play with you? Shall I tear you into little pieces?"
"Are you kidding me?" Ann muttered in horror.
Simultaneously, Joker, Skull, and Mona entered the chamber as they were greeted by pink silhouettes of girls wearing nothing but gym shorts while lying around in a harem manner.
"This is effed up," Skull said. "Is that what he thinks of the girls on the volleyball team!?"
Just then, Mona turned to see who they're looking for. "Hey, that's—!"
"Takamaki!" Skull rang out as the trio approached Ann, only to see Shadow Kamoshida, a few knights, and a cognitive Ann. "Hold it right there, perv!"
Shadow Kamoshida growled in anger. "Just when I was about to start enjoying myself..."
"What's the deal with this guy!?" Ann exclaimed, demanding answers while struggling.
Joker tried to warn Ann. "Calm down, Takamaki! That's not the real Kamoshida! That's only his Shadow – a reflection of what the real person tries to hide. His true, suppressed self."
"You little…" Skull growled in anger at Shadow Kamoshida.
"...How many times are you gonna come back?" Shadow Kamoshida asked in anger as he then turned to the real Ann. "I bet you're just like those thieves. You came because you're pissed at me, huh? But, ah… I forget that chick's name, but it's your fault she jumped, you know."
"Huh…?" Ann blinked in surprise. Was he talking about Shiho?
"You were so reluctant to throw yourself onto me that I had her take your place."
"You bastard! I'm going to rip your head off!" Ann angrily shouted at Shadow Kamoshida when the golden knight approached her, making her flinched in fear.
"No!" Skull exclaimed, just as the knights blocked him and the others.
"Take one more step, and I'll kill her on the spot," Shadow Kamoshida growled.
Skull growled in anger. "Dammit…!"
"You keep going on and on about your past victories and whatnot," Joker said to Shadow Kamoshida. "No wonder you ended up with this insanely castle!"
"Oh, I doubt it!" Shadow Kamoshida said. "Now, sit back and enjoy the dismantlement show!"
"No! Don't!" Ann begged in panic.
"Maybe I'll start with the clothes…," Shadow Kamoshida mused.
The cognitive Ann replica giggled. "You're such a perv!"
"H-Hey, what're we gonna do now!?" Skull asked Joker but then turned back to the real Ann. "Takamaki!"
"Is this… my punishment for what happened to Shiho?" Ann muttered sadly.
"That's more like it," Shadow Kamoshida said. "You should've looked like this from the start."
Ann whimpered in tears. "Shiho… I'm so sorry…"
Just then, Joker called out to Ann. "Are you really just going to listen? You're letting yourself get affected by distortions, and you're giving up? Don't you want revenge!?"
"Huh…?" Ann looked up to Joker, stunned.
"I know we may not have some ups and downs and that you've dealt with a lot before we met, but you just endured it! Did you ever stop to think that Shiho's all you have left? She's your friend, right? Your only one! But you also got Skull and me now, so it's high time you help yourself too. Do it for not just Shiho, but yourself too! Don't you want your own life to end!?"
Ann grew silent by Akira's words, but then she slowly answered, "No…I don't want that. …But you're right. Letting this piece of shit toy with me… What was I thinking!?"
Shadow Kamoshida, hearing all this, just scoffed. "It's like I always say. Slaves should just behave and stay silent."
"…Shut up!" Ann interrupted Shadow Kamoshida while glaring at him. "I've had enough of this… You have pissed me off for the last time, you son of a bitch!"
That's when the same sensation that happened to Ryuji was now happening to Ann as a similar voice echoed within her head and mind.
My… It's taken far too long.
Suddenly, Ann began to writhe in pain when her eyes turned golden yellow, all while she subconsciously heard the call to awaken her Persona.
Tell me… Who is going to avenge her if you don't?
Forgiving him was never the option…
Such is the scream of the other you that dwells within…
I am thou, thou art I…
We can now finally forge a contract…
"I hear you…Carmen," Ann muttered when blue flames engulfed her, and a red cat-like mask appeared on her face. "You're right. No more holding back!"
There you go… Nothing can be resolved by restraining yourself.
Understand? Then I'll gladly lend you my strength.
Ann ripped herself out of the binds of the cross, and just when she grabbed her mask to pull it off, the same blue, bright flames and chains engulfed and enveloped her. When it died down, Ann's clothes changed into a red bodysuit with red gloves and a clip-on tail, making her alluring and dangerous simultaneously as she makes a fierce expression.
Behind her was her Persona, Carmen, appearing as what seemed to be a flamenco dancer sporting two black pigtails and a cigar in her mouth, carrying two heart-shaped-headed men in tuxedos.
Ann kicked the guard's sword into the air and jumped up to catch it, and used it to slice down her cognitive self as it dispersed into dust, making Shadow Kamoshida frightened.
"You know what? I'm not some cheap girl you can toy with…you scumbag," Ann said as she glared at Shadow Kamoshida. "You stole everything from Shiho… You destroyed her… Now it's your turn! I will rob you of everything!"
"How dare you! Enough of your insolence!" The gold knight exclaimed, transforming into yet another powerful enemy – a horned devil with a fierce expression, Belphegor. "How dare you deny King Kamoshida's love, you selfish lass!?"
Ann growled in anger. "That dirtbag just sees women as sexual outlets! Don't make me laugh with that 'love' bullshit!" She then called out her Persona. "C'mon, Carmen! Let's give them hell!"
It wasn't easy, but Joker and friends managed to defeat the Shadow with ease.
"To think…there would be a woman…who could stand up to King Kamoshida," The transformed guard captain said weakly.
"Pff, outside of school, that guy's nothing but a pathetic loser!" Ann scoffed as her Persona vanished into the cat mask on her face. Then, taking a deep breath after the fight, she looked back up to Kamoshida's Shadow. "You're next…"
"Great… Now Ann got the potential as well," Joker sighed, as he then faced Shadow Kamoshida. "How'd you like that!? You're severely outnumbered."
"Oh shit…," Shadow Kamoshida, terrified of this outcome, made a hasty retreat.
"Wait…!" Ann tried to go after Shadow Kamoshida, but she fell on her knees.
"Takamaki!" Joker cried.
"Ugh, why can't I move!?"
"Listen, your stamina's drained. You can't fight much, even if you wanted to beat up Kamoshida so badly. And that won't solve the real problem."
Skull was surprised once he turned to Ann, "Why did you come here, man!? And more importantly, how!? I thought we told you to leave."
"Hey! Is that how you speak to a woman!?" Mona scolded Skull as he turned to Ann. "Are you all right, Lady Ann!?"
"Lady Ann…?" Ann repeated as she looked at Mona in surprise. "Wait, what is this thing? Is it alive? How can it talk? And… where in the world are we!?"
Joker was stunned. "Seriously? Did you not recall what I just said!? We're in another reality that Kamoshida's heart projects." He then gestured Ann to Morgana. "And that thing is Morgana – Mona for short. Yes, he's alive. And he only talks like a normal person when we're in this reality."
"J-Just calm down," Mona said to Ann. "Everything's going to be OK; don't worry."
"How am I supposed to calm down!?" Ann demanded angrily.
Joker shook his head in dismay. "I had just explained a few things to you, and you still didn't understand it?"
"Huh?" Ann noticed her new outfit and mask as she then tried to cover herself out of embarrassment. "Why am I dressed like this!? When did I— Ugh, what's with this!?"
"Mona told us about this before," Joker tells Ann. "When you opposed Kamoshida's Shadow and became a threat to him, this happens. It's to prevent you from being affected by distortions."
Ann looked at Joker. "What are you talking about!? What the hell are you thinking!?"
"I'm thinking that your new outfit should be helpful to you. Your new appearance reflects your inner self, the rebel that slumbers within… Not that you'll be calm about it."
"How can you expect me to be calm!?"
"Well, you should probably stop freaking out, asking questions, and accept what you'd just saw for what it is!"
Mona sighed. "Well, I'm stumped… A search party will be coming for us soon. There's no time to explain. We don't have a choice. Let's retreat for now!"
"We were just gettin' fired up, and you had to go and get in the way…," Skull complained.
"It's not my fault that I came back," Ann said to Skull angrily. "That app showed up on my phone and brought me back here!"
Skull let out a frustrated sigh. "Ugh, fine… Could you give me your hand? Joker, you take the other side."
It wasn't long before Akira and friends returned to the real world in their regular clothes and headed over to the Aoyama Itchome Subway Station. There, they slowly told Ann everything so far, and she managed to understand everything.
"Which one do you want?" Ryuji asked Ann, holding two sodas.
"Whichever's not carbonated," Ann answered.
"Uh, they're both actually."
"Then...," Ann pondered, then grabbed the cola from Ryuji's hand.
"Here ya go," Ryuji handed Akira a lemon-lime soda.
"Thanks," Akira quickly said.
"What about me?" Morgana popped out from Akira's shoulder.
"Huh? But you're a cat," Ryuji stated while Ann giggled a bit.
"…Have you calmed down, Lady Ann?" Morgana asked Ann.
"Um… Morgana, right?" Ann blinked in surprise, looking at Morgana. "I really am talking to a cat… This feels so strange… Oh, sorry! You're not a cat, right?"
"It's only natural that you're confused," Morgana replied. "Demanding that you understand all of this right after what you went through is asking too much."
"Honestly, I still can't believe what happened… And that power… my Persona..."
"It's the will of your rebellion, Lady Ann. With it, you'll be able to fight in that other world."
Ann turned to Akira and Ryuji for confirmation. "So if what you told me is true, we can make Kamoshida have a change of heart, right? Is it really possible? Can we actually force him to confess his crimes?"
"The volleyball team's keepin' quiet about this while teachers and parents turn a blind eye," Ryuji said. "If guys like us try and complain, they're just going to shoot us down. Goin' all in on this plan is the only choice we got."
"Then let me help too," Ann insisted. "I want to make Kamoshida pay for what happened to Shiho. He just keeps going like nothing happened, even after what he did to her… I'll never forgive him."
"Fine," Akira quickly answered with a shrug.
Morgana turned to Akira with glee. "You agree to it!?"
Ryuji turned to Ann in surprise. "Wait, did you just say, 'let me help?' You mean, you want us to take you along?"
Ann looked at Ryuji. "Don't act like I'm going to drag you down. Weren't you watching? I can fight too."
Ryuji turned to Akira and asked, "Hey, what should we do?"
"Let her join already," Akira replied. "It should be fine, and it'll be dangerous… Besides, she got dragged into our business, so now it's her turn to cooperate with us. That's why I was super honest about explaining Ann everything."
Morgana nodded in agreement. "I agree, as well. We are lacking in manpower, after all. Don't worry. I'll protect her."
"Even if you said, no, I'd just go in alone," Ann told Ryuji.
"Oh right, she can go by herself… I guess it'd be more dangerous turnin' her down…," Ryuji sighed. "Ugh, fine..."
"Then it's decided. Well, I hope we get along!" Ann said. "I'm going to make Kamoshida atone for what he did. Not just for Shiho's sake, but for everything he's done. I won't let any more people suffer because of him. I'll do whatever it takes!"
"Okay, then," Akira, sensing a firm fighting resolve from Ann, nodded.
I am thou, thou art I... Thou hast acquired a new vow.
It shall become the wings of rebellion that breaketh thy chains of captivity.
With the birth of the Lovers Persona, I have obtained the winds of blessing that shall lead to freedom and new power...
"The Lovers Arcana," Akira muttered as he saw a card of the Lovers Arcana hovering below an unnoticed Ann and burst into light. "It represents relationships, choices, but also disharmony and conflict." Then, he looked down and pondered to himself. "Ryuji has got the Chariot Arcana, and he didn't notice. This is…"
"Hm, you said something?" Ann asked when she noticed Akira spacing out.
"Oh, it's nothing," Akira said to Ann once he snapped himself out of it.
"Just let me know when you're heading back in…," Ann said. "Oh, wait! We don't have each other's info. Hey, give me your number and chat ID."
After exchanging phone numbers with the others, Ann then added, "I'll be counting on you, then. The same goes for you, Morgana."
"The pleasure is all mine, Lady Ann," Morgana replied.
As Ann left for home, Morgana sighed lovingly. "What a kind girl… Such admirable consideration for others… And the innocence to cast herself into the jaws of death to achieve her goal… She cares about her friends, and she's beautiful to boot… What a girl! She's captured my heart..."
"Dude," Ryuji said, already weirded out by Morgana's affection for Ann. "You know, it'd be better if this group could get together quick from now on…"
"True," Morgana agreed. "Our best option would be to make a secret hideout where we could discuss these things."
Ryuji smiled. "A hideout, huh? I like the sound of that."
"The school rooftop would work… It seems like nobody goes up there. For the time being, that will make the perfect hideout. I can't contact you from inside a Palace, so I'll stay in this world. That being said, I'll need someone to take care of me."
"You mean…," Akira blinked, knowing where this is going.
"I'm personally nominating you. You should feel honored."
"I'm more than honored, you know."
"…This is all on you," Ryuji said to Akira. "There's no way I can at my place. Well, we now have our hideout, so let's meet there tomorrow!"
As Ryuji left, Morgana turned to Akira. "Okay! Let's go look at my new residence for this world."
"Don't expect too much," Akira told Morgana. "It ain't a five-star living type of residence…"
Akira returned to Leblanc that evening. He was about to head upstairs when he sees a young woman with short hair, wearing a blue dress under a black jacket and a black choker around her neck, along with necklaces and high heels.
"…Thanks. I'll see you later," The woman, whose name was Tae Takemi, waved goodbye to Sojiro as she left the café.
"Come back again," Sojiro waved back, then sighed. "Phew… That's it for today."
"Who's she? Friend of yours?" Akira asked.
"That customer just now? She's the head doctor over at that clinic down the street," Sojiro answered. "Rumor has it she gives pretty crappy examinations and sells some weird homemade medicines on top of that. At least, that's what I've heard. I haven't been there myself. They should just leave her alone. It's not like she's getting in the way of their lives…" Then, he sighed. "Well, I've gotta get home and start making dinner..."
Akira was now upstairs when Morgana piped up, "Hey, are we there yet?"
"Hold your horses," Akira told him as he unzipped his bag, letting Morgana out.
Morgana surveys the attic right before he makes an opinion about his new crib. "What the… What is this place!? Is this some kind of abandoned house!?"
"This 'abandoned house' is where I live," Akira replied. "I told you it's not a five-star living type of residence you were expecting."
"It's, ah… pretty rustic."
"Well, I did clean up a bit. It's half-decent."
Just then, Sojiro walked up to Akira. "Hey, are you—" He paused when he noticed Morgana. "I was wondering why I heard meowing… What did you bring it here for!?"
"He doesn't have a home," Akira answered.
"No home, huh? This place is a restaurant. Animals are a no-go… Though I guess you might stay on good behavior if you've got a pet to take care of…"
Sojiro sighed. "Fine… But keep it quiet when we're open for business. And don't let it roam downstairs, or I'll toss it out. Oh, and I'm not going to take care of it. That's all on you."
As Sojiro left to give Morgana some food, the cat turned to Akira. "Was that the ruler of this place? He seemed pretty understanding for someone who keeps you cramped up in this dump."
"He's in charge of the café here," Akira pointed out. "Or rather, the manager."
"Then again, I suppose to normal people I just sound like a meowing cat," Morgana muttered when he looked up to see Sojiro walking up with some sliced meat on a plate.
"Seriously… It had to keep calling out in that cute little voice…," Sojiro said, exasperated as he turned to Akira. "Make sure you wash that dish. By the way,… have you decided on a name?"
Akira nodded as he answered, "Morgana."
"Morgana? Huh… I was hoping I'd get to name it."
A moment later, when Sojiro left for home, Morgana was already stuffed after finishing his meal. "Looks like the chief likes me better than you," he said to Akira. "And to be honest, this place is heaven compared to Kamoshida's cells."
"Yeah, no kidding," Akira replied. "Anything can be compared to heaven. I lived here under some…circumstances."
Morgana had something else on his mind. "...Remember how you guys asked me before about what I am? To be honest… I don't remember anything about my birth. I think the Metaverse's distortions made me lose both my memories and my true form."
"Both memory and true form, you say? Is that form really human…?" Akira asked.
"It has to be!" Morgana answered. "I mean, if I were originally just a cat, how could I talk!? It doesn't make any sense! There's no doubt that the distortions were what caused me to lose my real self. I'm sure that once they're purged, I'll finally be able to get that self back. And I have a pretty good idea of how to do it too. That's why I was in the castle in the first place." Then he turned to his meal to eat. "You know, come to think of it, I didn't get hungry over in that world…"
After finishing his food, Morgana then turned to Akira. "Let me make myself clear: Your taking care of me won't be for nothing. It'll be given and take. Due to my knowledgeable and dexterous nature, I have a lot of intel on infiltration tools."
"Really?" Akira asked. "What are those?"
"I can't tell you more unless we settle on a deal. In exchange for you keeping me here, I'll teach you about these tools. How does that sound?"
"Let's do this," Akira nodded.
"I like that answer. Then, it's a deal." Morgana became happy.
I am thou, thou art I... Thou hast acquired a new vow.
It shall become the wings of rebellion that breaketh thy chains of captivity.
With the birth of the Magician Persona, I have obtained the winds of blessing that shall lead to freedom and new power...
Akira looked at the card of the Magician Arcana hovering below Morgana as it bursts into light.
Morgana continued talking to Akira. "By the way, the power you used in the Palace was seriously amazing. The stronger that power gets, the more reliable it'll be as a trump card."
"You can say I have an entirely different potential than Ryuji and Ann," Akira said.
"All right, I'm going to stick with you wherever you go from today on. Personas are the strength born from one's heart. Depending on what kind of life experience you gain, I bet it'll affect that power as well! And if you become acquainted with capable people, you might learn various useful skills too… This is all part of our deal."
"Sure thing," Akira nodded.
"Also, I'll accompany you when you go out," Morgana added. "Don't worry. It's free of charge. Getting around in cat form sounds pretty inconvenient, though… Well, it is what it is. I'll just have to deal with being carried in that bag of yours."
Akira changed into his pajamas and started to drift asleep.
4/16 – Saturday
The next day after school, Akira, Ryuji, Morgana, and the recently joined Ann Takamaki regroup at the rooftop, as Ryuji said with determination, "Look likes we're all here. Okay, let's get goin'!"
"Hold on," Morgana halted Ryuji. "It's still too early for us to head to the Palace."
"But why? Don't we just gotta steal that Treasure thing?"
"Don't underestimate the dangers of that place. We need to prepare."
"Ain't that Persona shit we got enough to deal with it?"
"That's exactly what I mean when I say don't underestimate it. You'll die if you mess up in there. So again, we need to prepare before we head in."
"But…," Ann started to ask. "how exactly are we supposed to do that?"
"I'm glad you asked, Lady Ann," Morgana answered. "First, we'll need to find better equipment for all of you."
"You talkin' about weapons?" Ryuji jumped. "I know a kick-ass place!"
"In that case, you can handle that side of things. The only other thing would be stocking up on medicine. Fatigue is unavoidable in a Palace..."
"And where can we get medicine?" Ann asked.
"Don't worry. I know just the place. I hope you look forward to it, Lady Ann! Now then, Akira and I have some business in Yongen, so let's head off for today!"
"Uh, what business…?" Akira asked Morgana in confusion.
"Remember that customer you met at Leblanc yesterday? The doctor who prescribes medication after the examination? She was sitting at the booth..."
"Yeah, I remember," Akira nodded, remembering Tae.
"If she's the kind doctor who gets sketchy rumors like that, maybe she'll help us out."
A moment later, after school, Akira arrived at the Takemi Medical Clinic.
"…Is this your visit?" Tae greeted Akira. "I feel like I've seen you somewhere before…"
"We met at Leblanc. I just move here," Akira replied. "Nice to meet you."
"Well, whatever… So, what're you here for today?"
"Let's just say my body's a little lethargic."
"...Fine. Please head to the exam room."
As the two head inside the exam room, Tae began to prescribe Akira some pain relievers but need to restock them. "Let's go with sleeping pills instead. Sleep is the best medicine, anyway. What type of pill do you want, a sweet-tasting one or a bitter one?"
"I would go for the sweet one, and I also want painkillers."
"Is that right? And I bet you think you should have a year-long supply of them too."
Just then, Tae leaned into Akira with a suspicious glare. "You're not sick at all, are you? I'm not as dumb as I look, you know. ...I'm guessing you're here because you heard the rumors about me, huh?"
"That's right."
"Who's to say?" Tae replied, then sighed at the moment. "You're one of those patients with ulterior motives, huh? What's the world coming to? I guess high school kids have it tough nowadays, too, huh? I'll prescribe you some medication. But the only medication that will help you recover your health."
Akira nodded, "That'll do."
"I guess it's fine. You seem pretty earnest, and you don't look like you'll be any trouble. This is my private practice. All the medicine I dispense is original. I have a license to make my formulas. You've likely seen them being sold at various hospitals. It's your responsibility to take care of yourself. So, if that's OK with you, stop by anytime."
"You're not a bad doctor."
"Saves me the hassle. You're a pretty weird kid, you know? I wonder what you're going to use the medicine for… Well, as long as you don't cause me any trouble, it's not my problem..."
As Akira left the clinic, he got a call from Ryuji.
"You know there's a shop in Shibuya that sells model guns," Ryuji said on the phone. "I'd be glad to take you there if you want."
"Sounds good," Akira answered.
"Sweet. Welp, let's figure out where to meet. You at least know how to get to Shibuya Station, yeah?"
"Hey, I can't make it," Ann said. "Can I trust you guys to check the place out for me?"
"You can't come?" Akira asked.
"Not tomorrow. I made plans to go see Shiho in the hospital."
"Ah, gotcha. Don't worry. We got this," Ryuji assured the others. "Well, see you in Shibuya, Akira! I'll be in front of the station!"
"We might be able to get our hands on some decent stuff if this store has model guns," Morgana said.
4/17 – Sunday
The next day, Akira and Ryuji were already at Shibuya, heading for a shop that sells model guns. Along the way, they ran into a nearby politician giving speeches.
"Everyone, wake up! This country is twisted!" A politician spoke up to the walking bystanders.
"This politician's saying some decent things, but not many people stop listening…," Morgana said.
"Eh, people give speeches all the time," Ryuji replied. "Plus, politics are pretty boring, anyway. We're almost there. Just don't get lost in the crowd."
A moment later, Akira followed Ryuji to the airsoft shop.
"This is it," Ryuji said. "Pretty legit, huh?"
"Yeah, really legit?" Akira answered. "Doesn't that seem weird to you!? Why would you know about a place like this anyway? You watched way too many flicks."
"Now that we're here… you know anything about military stuff? I guess worst comes to worst, we can ask the shopkeeper what they recommend. Come on, let's go."
As the two went inside the shop and turned to the manager, Ryuji muttered to himself, "Who'd have think model guns would shoot real bullets in that Palace?"
"…You're looking for recommendations?" The manager named Iwai spoke up. "...I dunno, just buy whatever looks interestin' to you."
"Ugh, some customer service...," Ryuji muttered angrily.
"Fine, whaddya want? An automatic? A revolver?"
"Uh, automatic…?" Ryuji answered. "Dude, why are you talkin' about cars now!?"
"Listen, this here's an enthusiast shop," Iwai said to the two. "My regulars will be mad if I let a casual as you hang around."
"I'm not a freakin' casual!" Ryuji said. "I bought shit from here like, last week!"
"Huh, can't remember you," Iwai then turned to Akira. "And you? Lookin' for somethin'?"
"Something that looks real," Akira responded usually. "Like a fancy model gun."
Iwai smiled with intrigue, "Oh? You're plannin' a robbery or somethin'?"
"Th-That ain't it!" Ryuji cried, "We just like how they look, is all!"
"Anyways… you should have said before you're enthusiasts," Iwai reminds them. "I'm always up for helpin' fresh faces. Some precautions first, though. Don't go around pointing them at other people. Keep them in a bag or somethin' if you're outside. Oh, and don't let the fuzz catch wind of you have them. I don't need them comin' around here."
"We'll be careful, promise. We know that stuff already," Akira nodded. "Besides, we hate cops."
"How about that? Me too. Now, if you look closely, you'll be able to tell these models. Real guns feel… different."
"We gotta go for some fancy shit, right?" Ryuji exclaimed happily at Akira. "I'll have you do the choosin' from now on."
That evening, Akira returned to Leblanc after school.
"Boss, did you hear?" A haughty regular asked Sojiro. "That subway driver from the accident was acting oddly during his testimony hearing."
"You're talking about that psychotic whatever thing people are going on about?" Sojiro asked.
"Yeah, I heard it completely alters your personality. The news is saying the driver couldn't even speak when they tried asking him questions."
"There's no way an unbelievable story like that could be true. Sorry, but we're closing soon."
"Hmph, how rude. This must be why you don't get many customers. Your coffee's not half bad. The beans must be lamenting the sorry state of this store…"
"Thanks for stopping in. Please come again."
"Hmph. I only say this out of politeness, but… thanks for the coffee."
As the arrogant man left, Sojiro sighed in relief. "Sheesh, what a pain…"
"How are you still open?" Akira asked Sojiro.
"It's all good as long as the shop doesn't fail. I'm not going to go wearing a fake smile."
"But what if it does?"
"Who knows? Maybe I'll end up living out on the streets. But as long as I'm here, the world leaves me be. No annoyances or troublesome people to deal with. It'd like my hideaway. I'd be screwed if I lost it, but I guess you would be too. So, you better at least try and be useful around here. Anyway, I'm leaving now. Don't cause any trouble."
"Okay…," Akira answered as he went upstairs for bed.
Just then, Akira got a phone call from Ann as he pulled out his phone to answer.
"Hey, Akira," Ann greeted. "So, I went to see Shiho in the hospital…"
"How was she?" Akira asked. "Did you talk to her?"
"Her condition is stable. They don't know when she'll regain consciousness, though…"
"That's scary. I'm sure she'll be fine."
Ann nodded. "Yeah. Shiho will get better, I know it. I just need to believe in her. But… I'll never forgive Kamoshida. He's going to pay for what he did, no matter what."
4/18 – Monday
The next day, after school, the four were already at the school rooftop once again.
"So, I saw Kamoshida at the school gate this morning," Ryuji spoke up first. "He was just standing there looking at me with this shit-eating grin on his face."
"Ugh, that's annoying…," Ann groaned. "he was probably mocking you."
"Honestly, seeing that got me even more fired up about this."
"Yeah. I'm worried about Shiho, but I want to concentrate on our operation too. And I won't let myself get exhausted like last time."
"You better not!" Akira said. "Even though I can't stay mad at you for being reckless like Ryuji from last time."
"H-Hey! I resent that!" Ryuji yelled. "Anyways, the board meeting is on May 2nd, right? We just gotta take care of him before then."
"I'm ready for this!" Akira said.
"Me too! I'll do my best," Ann nodded in agreement. "No going in without me, OK? I never thought it would end up like this… I'll never forgive myself for obeying them…" She then turned to Akira. "Hey, we're heading in today, right?"
"Yeah, let's do it."
"I want to make him pay as soon as possible now that we know the real story behind his actions…"
After school, Akira went to visit Tae Takemi at her clinic.
"...Do you consider yourself someone with a good amount of stamina?" Takemi asked.
"Yeah, now that you mention it," Akira answered.
"I admit I have been looking for a young person around your age to help me out. But I haven't been able to find one, even after putting up an ad. ...Are you up for it?"
"What would I be doing?" Akira asked.
"Let's just say it'll be worth it. You'll be participating in clinical trials for my medicine."
Tae Takemi pulled out a concoction from the cabinet and gave it to Akira. "...Worried about the side effects, huh? Well, you can relax. Rest assured, my autopsy is guaranteed to find out exactly what part of it killed you."
"Bottoms up," Akira said, gulping down the entire concoction.
"I can't believe you drank it..." Takemi said in shock and surprise.
"Bitter, yet sour. It's beyond description…," Akira said.
Tae was surprised. "Wow… Still doing OK, huh? Not bad for a high schooler. Uh, wait..."
But just before Takemi said anything, Akira suddenly passed out.
Sometime later, Akira woke up as Takemi watched while sitting at her desk.
"Wow… Are you out of your mind?" Tae said. "Only an idiot would've drank that."
"I'm not outta my mind," Akira protested. "It's for my exams."
"By the way, the reason you lost consciousness was because of the taste. It produces a foul smell when it mixes with gastric juices, similar to strumming. All that matters is that thanks to you, I was able to get some good data. Now it's my turn to make good on my part of the deal. That's why I waited until you woke up."
"A deal?" Akira repeated.
"I don't want the general public to know about my original medicines," Tae said. "So, you're strictly prohibited from disclosing what happens here to anyone… Understood?"
"Of course," Akira answered. "My lips are sealed."
"Then it's a deal," Takemi smiled. "As long as you come here for it, I'll give you the medicine at a good price whenever you want. I may even add additional selections in time. ...I look forward to your continued patronage." Then she added, "By the way, when can you come back for the next clinical trial?"
Akira blinked in surprise. "Wait, what?"
"Oh, you don't remember that part, either? Well, I was saying that teenage test subjects are quite valuable in the medical research industry. So, I'll provide you the medicine for your entrance exams, and in return, you'll be my guinea pig. If you're able to move now, you can go home."
"Um, thanks for the help. I'll visit every time."
I am thou, thou art I... Thou hast acquired a new vow.
It shall become the wings of rebellion that breaketh thy chains of captivity.
With the birth of the Death Persona, I have obtained the winds of blessing that shall lead to freedom and new power...
4/20 – Wednesday
The next day, the group was on the rooftop once again after school, just as they understand that their time limit is May 2nd, according to Morgana.
"We just have to go to that castle and steal the treasure from Kamoshida, right?" Ann summarized.
"But wait, what even is a Treasure? I wanna know that before we do anything," Ryuji asked.
"A Treasure is the physical form of the Palace ruler's distorted desires," Morgana explained. "In other words, it's the core of the Palace. Once we steal it, the Palace will crumble… I think. Having said all that, even I don't know what Kamoshida's Treasure is going to be."
"And where can we find it?" Ann asked.
"There's no way of knowing that until we go in and find out. But if I had to guess, I'd say he has it locked up somewhere in the depths of the Palace."
"That's why we're going there – to find the Treasure's location and secure our route to it," Akira explained to Ann. "We were going to do it, but we put it on hold because you got captured."
"Sorry…," Ann apologized.
"Eh, I think I get it now," Ryuji said. "We just gotta find the Treasure, yeah?"
Morgana nodded. "Pretty much. There's just a lot we won't know until we go in… In any case, our objective is to find the Treasure's location somewhere in the Palace. Make sure we go about this with time to spare so we can avoid any unforeseen circumstances. ...I expect great things from you guys."
Activating the Metaverse Navigator, the four entered Kamoshida's Palace once they're outside the entrance in their phantom thief attire.
"Oh, that reminds me…," Joker said. "Ann might need a code name, too."
Skull looked at Ann's phantom thief attire from top to bottom with a smile. "But daaamn…"
"What's up?" Ann noticed.
"N-Nothing. Joker here was just thinkin' that we should choose a code name for you."
"A code name?" Ann repeated.
"I'm Joker, Ryuji's Skull, and Morgana's Mona," Joker said.
"Judging by your costume...," Mona pondered.
"I mean, she's got that tail and stuff, so…," Skull looked at Joker. "What do you think?"
"'Catgirl,' 'Sexy cat'…," Joker tried to think. "Probably… Let's see…'Kitty Woman.'"
Ann looked at Joker in shock. "Is that what you're going to call me from now on!? I am SO not down with this!"
"Then, what do you want to be called?" Ryuji asked.
"Um, something better than just a little cat,…," Ann pondered. "Maybe… 'Panther'? That sounds pretty cool, doesn't it?"
"Huh? Why?" Skull asked.
"Because it sounds more… ferocious?"
"She's a cougar..." Mona said, amazed by Ann's new look.
"Don't call me that!" Ann yelled.
"Sorry, but you'll get used to it," Joker said. "More importantly, Kamoshida!"
"Oh, right. Let's go!" Skull nodded. "All right, let's start fresh and get going!"
"It's now game time from this point forward," Mona agreed.
Suddenly, as Joker was catching up with the others, a blue cell door appeared.
Joker had seen this before – it's the entrance to the Velvet Room.
At first, he didn't have time to deal with this… But when he considers the timing of its appearance, he can't help but feel that there must be a reason for it.
Just then, Justine appeared. "My master would like a word with you."
"Okay…," Joker nodded as he made up his mind and reach for the door. As he walked through the door, he felt a slight sense of lightheadedness and reflexively closed his eyes.
When Joker – reverting to Akira – opened his eyes, he was in his usual position and prisoner clothes. Igor smiled at him as usual, like nothing's different.
"The prisoner has returned," Caroline said.
"Well done," Igor said to Akira. "It seems you have remembered my words… You truly make it worth rehabilitating you."
"What's that mean?" Akira asked.
Akira thought he'd already figured out a few things about the Velvet Room, but it seems there's more for him to learn about it. If time doesn't pass while he's in the Velvet Room, he should concentrate on what Igor and the twins are about to tell him.
"I am not attempting to withhold information from you," Igor said. "The essence of the rehabilitation that you must complete will be explained in due time. Once you encounter allies who share your ideas and discover your place in reality… Only then will I explain it all. Such a day should not be far off. This time, I wish to introduce you to the aid we are providing."
"Aid?" Akira repeated. "What do you mean?"
"Due to your potential in wielding the power of the wild card, you can handle more than one Persona. That power holds infinite possibilities. We will assist you in nurturing that potential. ...To that end, we must execute your Persona."
"Execute it?" Akira repeated in shock.
"Do not be alarmed," Igor chuckled. "Personas are personalities that exist within you… Thus, you will only be discarding old personalities to have them be reborn as new ones. By discarding your old identity, you will give way to a new one. Hence, we call that process 'execution'. Think of it as the fusion of your Personas. Developing your powers as such will play an integral role in the stand against ruin."
"So that your rehabilitation goes well, we have a variety of rituals to choose in regard to executions," Justine said. "Your Persona ability is that of the wild card. If you strengthen your bonds properly, their power will help you overcome any ordeal. Our role is to facilitate that."
"And depending on the effort you put in, our master might consider further development of new rituals," Caroline said to Akira. "Cry your tears of joy, Inmate!"
"Your heart is steadily gaining the strength of rebellion," Igor said to Akira. "It seems your rehabilitation is proceeding smoothly—a joyous fact, indeed. May you continue devoting yourself to further rehabilitation."
Another slight feeling of lightheadedness passes, and Akira, now back in his phantom thief attire as Joker, returned to Kamoshida's Palace. As he turned around, the blue door was nowhere to be found, as if it had never been there, to begin with.
"Something wrong?" Mona asked when he, Skull, and Panther noticed Joker spacing out. "You were just standing around all of a sudden."
"I-I'm okay," Joker answered, rubbing his head. "Just a little lightheaded."
"Why are you spacing out like that?" Skull asked. "...It's kinda hard to tell what you're thinkin' sometimes."
"Let's just say he's a man of high caliber," Mona smiled. "We're counting on you, Joker!"
Joker nodded. "Okay, let's get right to it then!"
"In the meantime, let's get a grasp of our situation," Morgana said to the others.
"You think the Treasure's far?" Skull asked.
"Based on how the castle looks, we still have a way to go."
"I still can't believe a phone app took us somewhere like this," Panther said.
"Well, not all of us need that app, you know…," Skull replied as he gestured her to Mona. "The cat can just come in on his own."
"I am NOT a cat!" Mona angrily shouted.
"So, what's the deal with those soldier things that are serving Kamoshida?" Panther asked. "They transform into weird monsters whenever we fight them."
"Oh, you must be talking about the Shadows."
"What are Shadows…?"
"Yeah, I've been wonderin' about those guard dudes too," Skull said. "What's their deal?"
"Deep in the innermost depths of every human's heart lies their true personality – their Shadow," Mona explained. "So, it's not that the guards are transforming into those things… Those are their actual forms. The reason they look like gods and other mythical beings is that they spawn from the human psyche."
"But wait, what are they doing in Kamoshida's castle?" Panther asked.
"It seems like the distortion of the Palace draws them in," Mona continued. "Once they're here, their forms change, and they become underlings for the Palace's ruler. When you think about it, the Palace's ruler is just the Shadow of whoever owns the Palace… Maybe these places have something to do with the worlds in our minds or the collective unconscious…"
"Oh, OK…," Skull said but then blinked. "Wait, that doesn't make any sense."
Mona sighed, "I had a feeling you'd say that… Well, you don't need to think too hard about it. They're enemies, so don't let your guard down, OK?"
As the group went inside the castle, Joker looked back quickly to where the blue door was. He now realized that the Velvet Room is not a physical place. When he exited out, everyone else thought he was zoning out.
It wasn't long before Joker, Skull, Mona, and Panther delved deeper into Kamoshida's Palace and have seen some distorted areas of the castle. Luckily, with the map they found earlier, Kamoshida's Treasure was in the Throne Room's tower.
Once they made it to the tower's Treasure Room through a promising sturdy-looking door, the Treasure's form was a little amorphous.
"Hey, what's this?" Panther pointed. "It's…floating in the air."
"That's the Treasure," Mona exclaimed. "We finally found it."
"That cloudy thing…?" Joker asked. "Are you sure?"
"Just hold on a second. I was planning on telling you more once we made it this far. Simply finding the Treasure isn't enough. We'll need to make it materialize before we can steal it."
"Whaddya mean?" Skull asked in confusion.
"Desires have no physical form by nature," Mona explained. "Hence, we'll first need to make the real person aware that their desires are a Treasure. Once they're conscious that their desires might be stolen, the Treasure will finally show itself."
"But how do we do that?" Panther asked.
"We warn them," Mona answered. "Something that tells them, 'We're going to steal your heart.'"
"So, we're gonna send a calling card!?" Skull said in excitement. "That's totally what a phantom thief would do!"
"Once we do that, the Treasure will appear for certain!" Mona said, "…I think!"
"That again?" Skull sighed. "Either way sounds like it's worth givin' it a shot!"
"Our infiltration route is secure. All that's left now is to pump out a calling card in reality and then come back to take the Treasure!"
"This is it, huh?" Panther asked Joker.
"Of course, it is," Joker said. "It took so long… So, let's do this. We won't lose."
"That's the spirit!" Mona exclaimed. "Once we send out the calling card, there'll be no turning back."
The following evening, after exploring the Metaverse, Akira went straight to bed and got some rest after being exhausted.
4/21 – Thursday
"All right! All that's left now is to send out the calling card and take Kamoshida's heart!" Morgana told the others on the rooftop after school.
"Couldn't we have just sent one at the beginnin' of all this…?" Ryuji asked.
"It's not that simple. A Treasure won't stay materialized forever. Once the impression is gone, the Treasure will disappear. I think it'll last around a day, at most."
"The hell? That's like no time at all…," Ryuji sighed. "Anyways, we can send a callin' card right now, yeah? Tomorrow's finally the day. Let's do it and steal that bastard's heart!"
"So, we send the calling card in the morning…and carry out the plan by the end of the day, right?" Ann asked as she summarized.
"Correct. The effect won't last that long," Morgana replied. "...Are you worried?"
"Heh. Waited too long," Ann answered. "We're going to pull this off, no matter what!"
"So, who's going to write the card?" Morgana asked.
"Leave it to me!" Ryuji pointed at himself, volunteering.
"Why?" Akira and Ann asked in unison.
"Why?" Ryuji repeated. "Why wouldn't it be me!?"
"Because this is important," Ann said. "Are you sure you can handle the pressure?"
"I must agree," Morgana nodded.
"I really wanna get him good!" Ryuji turned to Akira. "Let me write it… Come on, please?"
"All right," Akira answered. "Write whatever you want."
"Yeah, I got this!" Ryuji exclaimed in excitement.
"Hey, are you sure about this?" Ann asked with concern. "If they find out our identities, all this work will be for nothing..."
"I know, I know!"
"All right, then! Tomorrow it is!" Morgana said. "You'd better not slack off on this."
4/22 – Friday
The following day, the fated day arrived as a dozen calling cards were already on the school bulletin board by the time everyone got here this morning.
"'Sir Suguru Kamoshida, the utter bastard of lust…'," Ann read the calling card aloud. "'We know how shitty you are and that you put your twisted desires on students that can't fight back. That's why we have decided to steal away those desires and make you confess your sins. This will be done tomorrow, so we hope you will be ready. From, the Phantom Thieves of Hearts.'"
Ann looked a little bit surprised as she went up to Akira and Ryuji. "Wow…"
"Not bad, eh?" Ryuji smiled in satisfaction. "I looked up a bunch of similar stuff online for reference."
Ann couldn't think of the words. "Um… Yeah… I know what you wanted to say, but it sounded like an idiot trying to be an adult."
"Your logo's a little lacking, too," Morgana agreed.
"OK, you know what? Th-that ain't true!" Ryuji denied.
A few students had already seen the calling card in reaction.
"Did Kamoshida do something wrong?"
"Does this mean the rumors are true!?"
"Wait a sec… Is someone going to take something from Mr. Kamoshida?"
"What's with this weird logo? And who're these Phantom Thieves of Hearts people?"
"...It got everyone excited, so it's all good, yeah?" Ryuji nodded.
When Kamoshida walked in and saw the calling card in person, he became incensed. "Who's responsible for this!?"
"...Look at that," Morgana noticed. "A predictable reaction for someone who knows what we mean by distorted desires."
"I think it's hitting him pretty hard," Ryuji replied.
"Did you do this!? Or was it you!?" Kamoshida asked the students as they scattered, then he turned to the gathered trio. "…Was it you two!?"
"What if it was?" Akira asked, dumbfounded.
"What garbage… Eh, it's not a problem. You'll be expelled soon enough, anyway."
And with that, it had caused Kamoshida's Shadow to raise his Palace's security level. "Come… Steal it if you can!"
As Kamoshida left, Morgana said to the others, "Judging from Kamoshida's response… I'm sure we affected his Palace!"
"Does that mean the Treasure's appeared!?" Ann asked. "We'll be able to get it today, right?"
"It's not just today. It's ONLY today," Morgana replied. "The impact of seeing a calling card doesn't last long, and it cannot be repeated. This will be our one chance to steal the Treasure."
"One day's more than enough for us!" Ryuji said.
With the calling card serving its purpose, Akira and the others went back to Kamoshida's Palace after school, using their infiltration route to the Treasure's location.
When they went inside, the core of Kamoshida's desires took the form of a giant crown.
"Aww yeeeeaaaaaaah! The Treasure has appeared!" Mona cheered happily.
"Man, it's huge!" Skull was stunned.
"What do you think!? It's just as I said! Now we can steal it!" Mona looked at the massive crown. "Ahh… this shine brings tears to my eyes..."
"...It kinda pisses me off," Panther said. "Why's it so pretty? Isn't this Kamoshida's desires?"
"Of course, it is," Joker replied. "Mona did say that distorted desires are, in fact, a Treasure, ain't that right, Mona?" Then, he noticed Mona acting oddly excited. "Mona?"
"T-Treasure…," Mona said as if being excitedly hypnotized.
"Uh, the cat's acting excited," Skull noticed as well.
"What's wrong?" Panther asked. "Is something…?"
Mona hopped on the giant floating crown and meowing at the same time.
"You're way too excited. It's not even catnip…" Joker said to him, giggling.
"All right, that's enough, you stupid cat!" Skull called out to Mona angrily.
"Oh, um, yeah…," Mona snapped out of an odd trace and jumped down, embarrassingly. "Forgive me for displaying such an insolent sight in front of a lady."
"You were completely out of character, too," Panther said. "What was that about?"
"I couldn't stop it either… To think I'd be drawn to human desires this much…" Mona gasped. "Doesn't that prove that I'm human!?"
"How should we know!?" Skull yelled angrily.
"A-Anyway, you guys need to carry it!"
"All you do is bark orders...," Skull grumbled as he looked at the colossal crown. "Still, that was easier than I thought! I thought for sure there'd be some insane trap or something."
"His Palace will disappear if we take this back, right?" Panther asked. "And Kamoshida will change too…"
"…That should be the case," Mona answered.
"Good. Now's our chance then." Skull said.
"It's heavy…" Panther said as they carried the massive crown with force.
"To think it'd go so well… I've even found three Persona users in the process…," Mona said to himself as he turned to Joker. "My judgment was correct. I made the right choice in making a deal with you!"
"Same goes to you," Joker replied as his bond with Morgana grows deeper.
But just as they reached the throne room, a voice that almost sounded like Ann popped out, "Go, go! Let's go! Ka-mo-shida!"
That's when Shadow Kamoshida appeared and hit the volleyball that slammed right into the massive crown out of the group's hands. He then did a magnificent spiral leap over them and landed right at the throne as the huge crown floated to his hand while it changed into a manageable size. Then, the cognitive Ann ran over, clinging to him.
"I won't let anyone take this!" Shadow Kamoshida said to the intruders. "This proves that I'm the king of this castle – it is the core of this world!"
"Did you just appeared out of nowhere!?" Joker asked Shadow Kamoshida as he then noticed the cognitive Ann. "Panther, your cognitive self is back! I thought you killed it!"
"I thought so, too!" Panther replied as she growled in anger, looking at her cognitive self. "That rat bastard… That's how he sees me, isn't it!?"
"Well, duh!"
Skull called out to Shadow Kamoshida. "Yo, pervert. Were you waitin' to ambush us?"
"I just made it easier to find you," Shadow Kamoshida said. "I'll dispose of you myself. Right here, right now."
"That's our line, you sexually harassing d-bag! The Phantom Thieves of Hearts are about to beat the distortion out of you."
Shadow Kamoshida scoffed as he grinned. "What a selfish misunderstanding…"
"How is it a misunderstanding!?" Panther replied. "You were the one who's been doing things you kept in secret from others!"
Shadow Kamoshida scoffed at that remark. "People around me were the ones who kept it secret. Adults who want to share in my accomplishments, students who have to strive to become winners… They willingly protect me so that we all may profit from it."
"Profit!?" Skull repeated in surprise.
"There are too many imbeciles who don't understand that!" Shadow Kamoshida continued. "Including naïve brats like you and that girl who tried to kill herself!"
"True, Shiho was a total idiot… for letting you manipulate her, trying to commit suicide…," Panther said. "And I'm even more of a dumbass for not realizing that."
Panther then glared back at Shadow Kamoshida. "But no matter what kind of fool someone might be… They don't need your permission to live their lives!"
Shadow Kamoshida scoffed. "Drop the attitude, you mediocre peasant! There's nothing wrong with using my gifts for my gain! I'm a cut above all other humans!"
"'Above'? Don't you mean beneath!? You're a goddamn demon obsessed with your sick desires!"
Suddenly, Shadow Kamoshida broke into laughter. "That's right! I'm not like you…," he said, clutching both the crown and the cognitive Ann while red and black aura-like flames swirled around as the room began to shake. "I am a demon who rules this world!"
The group watched the shadow's body began to twist around as he grew and transformed into a colossal monster.
"Wh-What the hell!?" Skull exclaimed in fear.
"Hahaha!" Shadow Kamoshida laughed. "I'm allowed to do whatever the hell I want!"
"As if! Let's finish this!" Joker proclaimed.
It wasn't easy, but Joker and the team managed to fight against Shadow Kamoshida's ultimate form of Asmodeus, a king of demons representing the deadly sin of lust. When they took the massive crown off his head, they used all their skills and engaged an all-out attack on Shadow Kamoshida.
When his ultimate form died down, Shadow Kamoshida did a diving somersault to grab the crown and tried to make a hasty retreat, only to be cornered.
"What's wrong? Not running away?" Panther asked Shadow Kamoshida coldly. "Why don't you run? Aren't you a great athlete?"
"It's always been like this… all those laughing hyenas forcing their expectations on me!" Shadow Kamoshida said. "I'm doing this all for them! What's wrong about demanding a reward for that!?"
"Now you're makin' excuses?" Skull said. "We'll do something about that distorted heart of yours."
"Scared? Right now, you see the same view that Shiho did," Panther said to Shadow Kamoshida. "I'm sure she was scared too… except she had no choice but to jump… What will you do? Will you jump? Or would you rather die here?"
Panther removed her mask, summoning Carmen as her Persona's hands were in flames while Shadow Kamoshida cowered in fear.
"Do you want to finish him off?" Mona asked Panther. "It's your call."
"No, please wait!" Shadow Kamoshida begged. "I beg you… Just forgive me!"
"Shut up!" Panther cut him off. "I bet everyone told you the same. But you…you took everything from them!"
Shadow Kamoshida shrieked as the flames slammed the wall. "I accept defeat… You want this? Take it," The Shadow said as he threw the crown to Joker, who caught it. "Go ahead and finish me off… You do that…and my real self will go down too…"
But for now, Panther hesitated. "If his mind shuts down, he can't admit his crimes."
"You're very kind, Lady Ann…," Mona said.
"I've lost," Shadow Kamoshida said slowly. "You're through when you lose… What am I…What am I supposed to do now?"
"Just figure it out for yourself," Joker quickly answered.
"All right…," Shadow Kamoshida nodded, just as he faded away. "I'll leave now and return to my real self... I'll make certain that I'll atone for what I've done."
With Shadow Kamoshida gone, everything in the Palace began to collapse, just as Mona said, so now everyone began to escape through the castle and headed for the exit.
"We're going to die! We're so going to die!" Panther screamed as Mona, who changed into his cat form, jumped on top of her head. "Hey, what the-?"
"No fair, you jerk!" Skull yelled out at Mona, who jumped off him and landed on Joker's shoulder.
But just when they were almost there, Skull started limping and fell.
"Ryuji!" Panther cried.
"It's been a while, so I just tripped, is all!"
As the gang ran further into a bright light, everything went white…
"That sucked," Ann panted, exhausted once she, Akira, Ryuji, and Morgana returned to reality and ended up right back at the alleyway.
Ryuji checked his phone and was in surprise, "Look at the Nav!"
"The destination has been deleted," The Metaverse Navigator chimed in.
Ann sighed in relief. "...It's true. We can't go there anymore."
"What about the Treasure!?" Morgana asked.
"Oh, right!" Akira fished around in his pocket and pulled out…
…an Olympic gold medal.
"What the…?" Ryuji blinked in surprise.
"...A medal?" Ann blinked in surprise. "Wait, where'd that crown go?"
"What's goin' on?" Ryuji asked Morgana.
"It means that was the source of Kamoshida's desires," Morgana replied. "To him, this medal is worth as much as that crown we saw in the Palace."
"An Olympic medal…," Ryuji pondered. "So, that perv kept clingin' to his past glory and couldn't let it go..."
"But… this means that Kamoshida's heart might have changed, right?" Ann asked.
"...Probably," Morgana replied.
"Our expulsion's on the line here!" Ryuji exclaimed.
"This is the first successful example for me, too. However, there's no doubt that this has affected Kamoshida's personality quite a lot. The entire Palace disappeared, after all."
"Ugh, I feel all antsy!" Ryuji groaned. "Ain't there a way to check now?"
"We'll know soon enough," Akira assured with a straight face.
"Right,…," Ann agreed.
"Come on, why the gloomy faces?" Morgana said. "Be happy! We completed this with great success, you know."
"We just don't know if everything's okay yet...," Ryuji said.
"I'm pretty sure it'll be fine," Morgana said, reassuring the others. "Remember how Kamoshida's Shadow said that he's returning to his real self in reality?"
Akira and the others nodded, remembering that.
"We all know Suguru Kamoshida was a scum," Morgana continued. "Still… He did seem to regain his conscience somewhat before he disappeared."
"It seemed so," Akira said. "I'm sure it worked."
"There are definitely those who have been saved thanks to what you've done."
"Yeah…" Ann nodded.
"Anyways, I guess we gotta wait," Ryuji suggested. "It all boils down to what's gonna happen to Kamoshida… or if we're gettin' expelled for real..."
"Let's go home," Akira said.
"…Yeah, let's go," Ann nodded in agreement. "By the way, thanks. I finally get to avenge Shiho because of you guys. I'm pretty sure there was no way I would've been able to do anything on my own. So seriously, thank you. I owe you a lot."
"No need to thank me," Akira blushed. "You helped, too."
"I'm glad to hear that…," Ann said. "Anyway, that cognitive world was pretty crazy, huh? What a mysterious place. I can't believe we stole someone's heart…" She then turned to Morgana. "Speaking of mysterious, there's also the matter of Morgana's transformation. When we were escaping, didn't he turn back into a cat even though we were still in the Palace?"
"You're sharp, Lady Ann. I'm impressed," Morgana smiled. "The Treasure changes of the shape of things. Once that's gone, the power no longer works. Though the real reason I changed quickly back then was that I'm so incredibly skilled! How's that? Isn't that amazing!?"
"OK…," Ann nodded at that statement. "I think I feel a little better after talking with you. Thanks. We still haven't seen any results, but it feels like a weight's been lifted off my shoulders. Well, see you tomorrow."
"Alrighty, then," Akira waved back as he and Morgana returned to Leblanc and went to sleep.
4/23 – Saturday
The next day at Shujin, Ryuji went up to Akira. "Have you seen Kamoshida?"
"Nope," Akira shook his head.
"You think he changed?" Ryuji asked.
"I hope so," Akira answered.
"Oh, perfect timing!" Ms. Kawakami walked up to them, telling the two boys. "Study hall will be held instead of PE today. I'm letting you know in case you haven't heard. Mr. Kamoshida has taken a day off."
"He ain't here?" Ryuji asked.
"Don't tell anyone you heard this from me…," Kawakami said. "But we received word that Mr. Kamoshida is placing himself under suspension. It's such an important time before the tournament too… Principal Kobayakawa went to talk to him about it, but he supposedly wasn't making any sense..."
"A suspension!?" Ryuji repeated.
"Not so loud!" Ms. Kawakami hissed. "The talks about your expulsions may be on hold too…" She then sighed and was about to take her to leave when she added, "I don't know too much about it, though… Anyway, I've relayed what's going on to you."
As Ms. Kawakami left, Ryuji muttered to Akira. "Looks like something happened… At least it sounds different from a mental shutdown… I guess all we can do is wait…"
"Yeah, talk about nerve-wracking. Let's hope for the best."
Just then, Akira got a phone call from Ann as he answered it.
"Hey, Takamaki," Ryuji spoke up. "We should go on a trip or something. Whaddya think?"
"Sorry, I'm gonna have to pass…" Ann answered.
"What, you busy?"
"Yeah, I'll be visiting Shiho in the hospital after school for the next few days. I can't do much to help her, but it'll be nice to see her face at least."
"Gotcha…," Ryuji nodded. "I hope she wakes up soon."
"I'm sure she's OK," Akira said to Ann. "Go cheer her up and be safe on your way there."
"Yeah, thanks. I'm down to go somewhere once things calm down, though."
After Akira hangs up, Morgana popped up, "It sounds like we won't be able to see Lady Ann after school for a while. How unfortunate."
That evening, when Akira got back to Leblanc from school, Sojiro was already waiting for him as always. "Hey, you got a minute?"
"Sure," Akira answered.
"There's something I wanna ask you," Sojiro began, getting to the point. "How's school? You're not causing any trouble, are you?"
"No, I'm not," Akira answered, shaking his head.
"Good. To think, I've got to report to your probation officer twice a month. It's already a pain in the ass as is."
"My what?" Akira blinked for a moment.
"You mean you didn't know?" Sojiro asked. "I don't know if you remember this, but…you're on probation."
"Probation?" Akira repeated as memories of his arrest hit him. "Oh, right… Now I remember."
"Sorry," Sojiro began to apologize. "Remember what I said before? About me getting the gist of your situation? Well, it's true. I knew what went down on your case…but I pretend I didn't. You protected some woman from a man forcing himself on her. He got injured, then sued you. Now that you've got a record, you were thrown out from your old high school. The courts ordered you to transfer and move out here, which your parents had no choice but to also approved."
"Yeah, no kidding," Akira said.
"Well, what did you expect when you started playing the hero? That's what you get for sticking your nose in a matter between two adults. You did injure him, yeah?"
"Hey, if anything, I saved her life. I did not injure the guy."
"I don't judge how you have fun."
"I, for one, do not have fun by committing a huge crime."
Sojiro shrugged. "Well, if nothing happens, your probation will be lifted. Got that?"
"Got it," Akira nodded.
"This society is kept in check by laws and authority figures," Sojiro sighed.
"By the way, why did you take me in?" Akira asked, curious.
"I was asked to do it, and I just…happened to agree to it," Sojiro answered. "I've already paid for it too, after all. Look, you can go and get yourself killed if you want, but don't go dragging other people into your mess. The last thing we need is more idiots like you roaming around."
"Harsh," Akira said.
Sojiro laughed for a bit. "And here I am telling you all this the minute or two you got back from school. While I was busy working, I thought to myself, 'I've been hiding this for a long while… As soon as he comes back, I'll just tell him the whole thing.'"
Just then, Sojiro had an idea. "I'm pretty much busy both at work and in my private life. If you could lend a hand, it would be of great help..."
"I'd be glad to," Akira nodded.
"Now we're talking. Either way, I won't ask you to work for free. If you agree to help me, then… I'll teach you how to make the perfect cup of coffee. Not a bad trade, eh?"
"Sounds interesting, I guess."
"All right. It looks like we've got ourselves a deal." Sojiro nodded.
I am thou, thou art I... Thou hast acquired a new vow.
It shall become the wings of rebellion that breaketh thy chains of captivity.
With the birth of the Hierophant Persona, I have obtained the winds of blessing that shall lead to freedom and new power...
"By the way, getting used to the city?" Sojiro asked.
"A little," Akira answered.
"...I see," Sojiro nodded. "You're the only one here at night, so I'm not going to bother setting a curfew or anything like that. So long as you're taking school seriously, I don't mind if you stroll the streets at night."
A moment later, as Akira got was in bed, he got a phone call from Ann.
"I went to see Shiho today," Ann spoke up. "And I told her we settled things with Kamoshida. She still hasn't regained consciousness… but I had to go make amends."
"Whaddya mean? You didn't do anything wrong, Ann," Ryuji called in.
"It's not your fault," Akira agreed.
"But I wasn't there when she needed help," Ann said. "I'm a failure as a friend… I have to do all I can to make up for that, starting now. Otherwise, I don't think I'll be able to move on."
Ryuji was surprised. "Man, I didn't know you were so passionate. I didn't notice that back in middle school."
"I think it's because of you guys. I'm a little embarrassed, though… Anyway, Ryuji, Akira… I hope we can keep helping each other out from now on too."
"You heard anything about stuff happening to Kamoshida?" Ryuji asked.
"Nope," Akira answered. "Did something happen?"
"I dunno, I'm just feeling kinda anxious. I keep thinking about how even with all you did… we might still end up getting expelled. My mom is going to suffer if that happens. Plus, if we couldn't even help Ann or Suzui…"
"We just have to believe, is all," Akira assured Ryuji.
"Sorry, I guess now's not the time to be getting down in the dumps. Anyway, I'm feeling a little better now that I talked to you about this. Thanks, man. Oh, and don't tell Ann I doubted us, okay? She won't have anyone to rely on if we're getting all worried about this shit."
"You're surprisingly mature, Ryuji," Ann said, overhearing their conversation. "Now that is something I didn't notice back in middle school."
"Oops…," Ryuji suddenly noticed.
5/2 – Monday
The following morning, a school-wide morning assembly occurred as Principal Kobayakawa stood on stage while the gathered student body murmured about things.
"What's with the sudden morning assembly…?" A student asked.
"I bet it's about that girl that jumped the other day."
"They don't have to tell us not to commit suicide."
"There was that weird calling card too, so I guess the teachers are freaking out?"
"We were lucky that morning practice got canceled, though."
"I feel like I may faint if this takes forever."
"Let's begin this school-wide morning assembly," Principal Kobayakawa spoke up. "As you all know, a tragic accident took place the other day. Thankfully, we've been informed that she has pulled through, but it'll take time 'til she recovers. I implore that everyone has a bright future ahead, so rethink the importance of life and—"
Just then, Principal Kobayakwa noticed someone arriving at the assembly already—Kamoshida. "Mr. Kamoshida, what's—"
"I…have been reborn," Kamoshida spoke up. "That is why I will confess everything to you all…"
That caught the students by surprise as Kamoshida got on stage.
"What's wrong with Mr. Kamoshida?"
"What's this about?"
"Confess? Did the volleyball team do something?"
"I have repeatedly done things that were... unbecoming of a teacher," Kamoshida began. "Verbally abusing students… physically abusing my team, and… sexually harassing female students. I am the reason why Shiho Suzui tried to kill herself!"
That shocked the whole student body.
"I thought of this school as my castle…," Kamoshida continued. "There were even students that I sentenced to expulsion simply because I didn't like them… I will, of course, rescind those… I am truly sorry for putting innocent youths through such horrible acts. I am an arrogant, shallow… and shameful person. No, I'm worse than that... I'll take responsibility and kill myself for it!"
"Mr. Kamoshida!" Principal Kobayakawa called out to him. "Please get off the stage for now!"
"Don't run, you bastard!" Ann spoke up angrily. "Shiho's still alive even after all the things that made her want to die! You have no right to run from this!"
"You're right… You are absolutely right… I should be punished under the law and atone for my crimes…," Kamoshida said. "I did horrible things to Takamaki-san, as well. In return for giving Suzui-san a position on the team… I tried to force her into having relations."
More students murmur in utter disgrace as one said, "Disgusting."
"Ugh, for a position on the team? That's horrible."
"I feel so bad for Takamaki-san."
"So, the rumors were true."
"As of today, I will resign from my position as an instructor and turn myself in," Kamoshida finished.
"Wow…," Ryuji looked around in surprise.
"Isn't this just like what that calling card said?"
"Does this mean the Phantom Thieves thing was for real!?"
"Was something done to Kamoshida!?"
"C'mon, there's no way you could steal someone's heart!"
"But why else would he start saying things like he'll kill himself or turn himself in?"
"Maybe because it almost got leaked? Don't they go easier on you if you turn yourself in?"
"I wonder what happened..."
"Who knows? But man, Kamoshida turned out to be one sick bastard."
"Hey, is this for real? He's turning himself in, just like that? This makes no sense!"
"What's going to happen to the volleyball team?"
A moment later, after the assembly ended and the students went to their classrooms, Akira, Ryuji, and Ann were the only ones left standing.
"Kamoshida's heart really did change…," Ann said, worried.
"Seems like it," Ryuji replied. "But was this really for the best?"
"Of course, it was," Akira answered. "I mean, I think so. Why are you guys still gloomy? This is what we wanted it to happen, right?"
"Yeah… It has to be. But things are happening way too fast."
"Come on. We should check if Morgana heard all of this."
Just then, Mishima and a few students appeared.
Ryuji noticed them. "Huh…? What the…?"
"Takamaki-san…I'm sorry!" Mishima bowed to Ann as he apologized. "We all knew… but we pretended we didn't."
"Takamaki-san, I had you all wrong…," One female student apologized. "I'm sorry that I spread rumors about you!"
"I didn't know at all…," Another female student said to Ann. "Kamoshida was forcefully pushing himself on you… It must've been so hard for you!"
"I'm sure there's a ton of people who want to apologize to you. We're so sorry!"
"No, it's OK. The same goes for me too…," Ann replied. "Besides, that's all in the past now."
Mishima then turned to Akira. "I can't apologize enough for what I did to you. ...I swear I'll make it up to you someday."
As Mishima and the other students left, Ryuji was surprised. "Looks like Kamoshida ain't the only one that had a change of heart," he said as he then turned to Ann. "Man, I'm glad for you. It looks like those weird rumors are going to go away."
"My thing doesn't really matter," Ann replied. "We made Kamoshida apologize about Shiho… That's more than enough for me."
"You should hurry and tell her about it then."
"...Yeah," Ann nodded.
"…And that's the way it happened," Akira finished as he told the whole thing to Morgana after school while they were on the rooftop, sitting down.
"I totally freaked out… He really did have a change of heart…," Ryuji said. "And we were lucky his mind didn't get messed up either! This was an A+ job!"
"Does this mean that they won't have a mental shutdown even if their Palace disappears?" Morgana asked. "I see… So, we need to persuade the Shadow without killing it and then send it back to its real self. Our targets won't undergo a cognitive collapse if we do that."
"So, we can get them to confess with no bad stuff? Hey! That works for me!"
Just then, Ann arrived. "Do you have to be so loud?"
"Don't worry about it," Ryuji assured her. "So… how'd it go? With Shiho, I mean..."
"She's regained consciousness!" Ann answered with joy.
"For real!?" Ryuji was surprised, as did Akira.
"It was only for a little bit, but I got to talk to her…!" Ann said, fighting tears. "I was able to tell her that Kamoshida admitted to what he did!" She then looked down sadly. "Shiho, she… she told me she was sorry… It looks like she found out that I was flirting with Kamoshida for her sake… And here I was, wanting to apologize to her."
"Kamoshida's the one at fault for all this," Morgana said.
"I know…," Ann nodded. "Shiho's mom is thinking of transferring her to another school after she recovers. The whole sexual harassment and attempted suicide… People will label her after that. It sounded like Shiho had the same idea too."
"It's gonna get lonely...," Ryuji sighed.
"But I think it's for the best…," Ann said. "I'm sure it'll be hard if she stays here."
"She's alive. You can see her anytime," Ryuji assured Ann.
"And on the bright side, you got us," Akira added.
Ann nodded. "...I need to change too."
"That aside, I was surprised you hold yourself back against Kamoshida's Shadow," Ryuji said.
"It wasn't like that…," Ann replied. "I just wanted Kamoshida to apologize."
"You're so kind, Lady Ann," Morgana said with grace.
Ryuji shrugged. "No matter how much of a shitbag he was, finishing him off would've left a bad aftertaste, huh?"
"Huh? That's not it," Ann shook her head. "I think revenge is better served if I make him repent. Realizing what he's done, he'll grovel for forgiveness for the rest of his life, you know? I just believe there are fates worse than death."
"Holy shit…," Ryuji exclaimed in shock as he and Akira looked at each other.
"Did you have to say it like that?" Akira asked Ann, sighing in dismay.
"A-Anyways, that's all settled…," Ryuji spoke up as he then turned to Morgana. "But you know, there was one more thing I was wondering about that castle. Why was Kamoshida the only one who had that Metaverse thing?"
"It isn't necessarily limited to him," Morgana answered. "It's something anyone could have if their heart became warped from their desires."
"Anyone...," Ann muttered.
"Wanna check it out?" Morgana asked.
"N-Not right now," Ryuji said, shaking his head. "We better lay low for a while. People are still going to be talkin' about Kamoshida. Then again, it's totally impossible for someone to find out what we did at his Palace."
Ann began to speak up. "Yeah, about that…Weird rumors about you guys are already going around. Stuff like you got together and threatened Kamoshida with something close to physical violence…"
"WHAT!?" Akira exclaimed in shock and surprise.
Ryuji was shocked as well. "The hell!?"
Akira groaned in shame. "It's just one weird rumor after another! Can't we catch a break!? How come the students apologize to Ann, but not us? We saved them too, you know!"
"Well, people aren't going to believe that phantom thieves really exist," Ann replied. "The calling card's being treated like it was a prank by someone who knew what Kamoshida was doing."
"B-But…," Akira stammered but lowered his head as Ryuji patted him on the back.
"Makes sense…," Ryuji sighed in dismay. "We're the ones who did it, and I still don't completely believe it myself."
Akira turned to Ryuji. "Right when you said that we would both feel better about being at school after exposing Kamoshida, this happens?"
"Let's wait for things to settle down for the time being," Ann assured an upset Akira.
"Anyways, let's check how much this medal can be sold for," Ryuji said as he pulled out his phone. "It'd be better if we pawned it off ASAP."
Just then, the phone dinged as Akira exclaimed, "Ooh, you got a hit!"
Ryuji looked at the price. "…Wait, 30,000 yen!? That's all the gold medal is worth!?"
Ann leaned on to Ryuji. "Remember that time in middle school? I lent you some money."
Ryuji tried to deny it. "There's no way I borrowed 30,000 yen from you!"
"Wouldn't it be around that much with compounded interest?"
"Interest, my ass!"
"I'm not saying that I'm taking all of it. I mean, it's your fault for not paying me back all these years! It's just common sense!"
"Dammit…," Ryuji groaned.
Akira turned to Morgana. "See what I have to put up with? They're acting a bit like a blonde couple. So…what now?"
"I agree on laying low and keeping an eye on the situation," Morgana replied. "However, you dragged me into this. It would be nonsense not to celebrate a successful mission."
"I guess we could blow this dirty money on something fun," Ryuji said.
"Discussions among phantom thieves are to take place over luxurious food. How about it?"
"Hey, wait—" Ann halted them but shook her head. "…Nah, I guess it's fine. There's somewhere I want to go then."
"Where's that?" Ryuji asked.
"It's a place that Shiho and I have wanted to go for a while."
"I owe money, so I can't complain…" Ryuji muttered as he turned to Akira. "You good with that?"
"Fine by me," Akira nodded. "Although we should save some money."
"We can eat something like that whenever we want."
"I'll leave it to your discretion as well, Lady Ann," Morgana said to her.
"I'll call and check the prices later then."
"When should we go?" Ryuji asked. "Wanna do it soon, like tomorrow?"
"Why don't we go on the last day of the holidays? It'll help energize us when school life starts up again the day after."
"Then… the 5th, on Children's Day."
"So, who's going to sell this?" Ann asked, looking at the medal.
"Leave that to us," Morgana said. "We know a store that'll buy anything. Don't we, Akira?"
"We sure do," Akira nodded.
"OK, I'll leave that to you guys," Ann smiled. "By the way, is that gold medal real? When did it get inside his Palace?"
"No, that one is a fake," Morgana said. "It's just a by-product of his cognition. The real medal should still be in his possession."
"What…? You're telling me Kamoshida still got the medal?" Ryuji cried.
"Who cares? What matters is that we changed his heart," Ann replied. "And anyway, if we had taken the real thing, that'd be stealing! I don't think he'll be proud of that medal anymore regardless."
"You let go of stuff pretty easy, huh? Wanna forget about my debt?"
"That's different. 500 yen is a lot of money for a middle schooler, you know. Do you even still have that dolphin anyway?"
"Dolphin?" Akira repeated. "What are you talking about?"
"Stop digging that up!" Ryuji told Ann angrily.
"Back in middle school, we went on a field trip to the aquarium," Ann said to Akira. "But Ryuji had to spend all his money on a souvenir, so I lent him some for the train fare."
"I said I was sorry… That was for my mom."
"Well, I guess I can call it even after all we've been through."
"Anyways, we don't gotta worry about selling that medal off if it's a fake! End of story!"
"Kamoshida will never be proud of that once-in-a-lifetime gold medal ever again," Morgana said. "Depending on how you look at it, that punishment might be even worse than death for him."
And with that, everyone went home for the evening.
5/3 – Tuesday
The next day, as Akira helped Sojiro out with the café, the news appeared on TV.
"And now to our next topic… Fall from Grace: The story of a dishonored Olympic medalist," The newscaster announced as Kamoshida's face was on the screen. "Just recently, a high school coach admitted to his school that he had been perpetually abusing students. Given his prior Olympic achievements, this has caused quite a stir. What caused this habitual offender to confess these heinous crimes to his entire school suddenly? The police are hoping that the upcoming interrogations will bring light to this question."
"I knew it," Sojiro muttered as he turned to Akira. "That's your school, right?"
"Seems like it," Akira answered.
"Things might be getting turbulent at school, but you need to keep your head down, all right? More importantly, I've got some more stuff I need you to do."
After a long day of helping Sojiro out, Akira and the others called each other on their phones.
"Did you see that!? It was on the news!" Ryuji exclaimed. "No way the school's gonna be able to play dumb after that."
"I saw it too. Shiho's name didn't come up, right?" Ann replied.
"Not that I saw. Bet they just wanted to keep that part quiet."
"I'm so glad..."
"It's finally over then… All we have to do now is eat some tasty shit and put all this crap behind us. I'm looking forward to this celebration party."
"I'll try not to let you guys down!" Ann nodded.
"All right, we need to go sell the gold medal tomorrow," Morgana told Akira. "Even if the chief wants your help, make sure you turn him down, OK?"
"Okay…," Akira nodded.
5/4 – Wednesday
The following day, as Akira was about to head out, Sojiro already reminded him, "Make sure you do the dishes."
Akira nodded. "Sure thing. When I get back, that is."
"Just do it by then already. Don't get cocky with me."
Just then, a voice appeared. "Am I interrupting something?"
Akira and Sojiro both turned around to see a tall woman in a black business suit with long, silver gray-colored hair and a black turtleneck.
"Not at all," Sojiro shook his head.
As the woman sat down, the news feed appeared on TV. "The cause of the runaway-train incident in the subway the other way has still not been found. Police are hurrying to solve the matter as it may relate to the rise in psychotic breakdown incidents."
"Oh, is that the thing everyone's been talking about?" Sojiro asked.
"Doesn't it make you curious?" The woman turned to Sojiro. "People who were living normal lives suddenly went mad or deranged out of the blue… Not to mention that it's happening one after another… Could they be coincidental?"
"Hmm… Leaving that aside… What'll you have?" Sojiro asked.
"...I'll have the house blend, please," The woman replied as she then turned to Akira. "Are you a part-timer? I'm surprised this place can afford one."
"Uhhh, no, not exactly…" Sojiro answered.
"Sojiro's my guardian, so I live here now," Akira said to the woman.
"Are you a high school student?" The woman asked. "Where do you attend?"
"Shujin Academy."
"Oh? Someone I know goes there as well. I've heard that things are rough right now. A teacher named Kamoshida confessed his crimes like he was a completely different person supposedly. And it happened all of a sudden one day… Can a person's mental state change so quickly?"
"Hehe… I have no idea how to respond to that," Akira giggled. "Who are you, anyway?"
"Sae Niijima. The public prosecutor of the Tokyo Division's Special Investigations Unit," The woman introduced herself, then she turned to Sojiro. "Is my drink ready yet?"
"…Coming right up!" Sojiro exclaimed.
Just as Akira left Leblanc, he turned to Morgana. "That woman is sharp!"
"I know," Morgana replied. "But don't worry about it. We'll turn in that medal for cash. We still got a big celebration tomorrow."
And that's precisely what Akira did when he visited Iwai's shop at Shibuya.
"…Huh? You again?" Iwai noticed Akira arriving. "What do you want?"
Akira showed Iwai the gold medal. "I want you to buy this!"
"A gold medal? Why do you have this? We don't buy any fake or stolen goods here, kid." Iwai looked at the fake medal to examine it. Then he looked back at Akira. "I'm just… not going to ask where you got this. How's 30,000-yen sound for it, though?"
"Works for me," Akira nodded as he was given 30,000 yen…and a paper bag with something inside. "What's this?"
"A thanks for sellin' me that medal. But best not open it. Bring it with you next time you come back."
"Got it."
"Glad you're so quick to understand," Iwai smiled, but it faded when he turned to two men coming into the shop. "…They're here."
"Munehisa Iwai, yes?" A stern man turned to Iwai, just as Akira was about to leave. "There are some matters we'd like to discuss with you. Do you know why we're here?"
"I dunno, lookin' for evidence? You tell me, Detective-san."
"Watch your attitude," A vulgar detective angrily told Iwai.
"Well, you guys going to search me? Go on, do what you gotta do."
"...What was that?"
"An upstanding citizen's supposed to cooperate with the cops, right?"
"Hey, you sure that lead was legitimate?" A stern man asked the detective.
"I could've sworn it was..." The vulgar detective shook.
"Can you two hurry it up? I got a business to run here," Iwai told the two men.
"Hey, you!" The vulgar detective spotted Akira. "What's in the bag, huh? Show me!"
"...The kid's just a regular old customer," Iwai said, "You can check the tapes if that'll convince you. They'll show everything that's gone down here today."
I don't want to be here when the detectives see the footage of me with that gold medal…, Akira thought. I should probably leave.
"I don't feel like it," Akira shook his head to the detective.
"Hey, you're talking to a kid, remember?" The stern man warned the detective. "Besides, he's not the one we're here to see."
"That's right, Detective-san," Iwai told them with a smile. "Maybe next time, try not harassin' my customers, see how that goes." Then, he turned to the door. "Safe trip home, kid."
"What were those detectives doing there?" Morgana asked Akira once he exited Iwai's shop. "More importantly… aren't you curious about what's in the bag?"
"Maybe a little…" Akira opened the bag, and to his surprise, it was a model gun.
"It's incredible, though! There's something weird about that place… Hey, I just had a great idea. We should totally buy this gun from him later!"
"You sure?"
"I mean, it's perfect. Something this real looking would work wonders in the Metaverse… Anyway, he did tell you to bring it back the next time you came, right? You should try striking a deal with him when we go to return it!"
That evening, as Akira returned to Leblanc, Ann was calling him on his cellphone.
"Hello, it's me…," Ann called. "I saw the news about Kamoshida. It's getting a lot of coverage..."
"How do you feel?" Akira asked.
"I don't know… The reaction's been bigger than what I was expecting… I guess I'm just… surprised. I don't think we did anything wrong, though. I wonder if we helped those people speak up about it..."
"I'm sure we did."
"That's pretty amazing, huh? I didn't think we'd actually be able to do it! And yet, look at us now!" Ann exclaimed happily. "This calls for a celebration! Let's meet in front of Shibuya Station at noon tomorrow. Don't be late! Oh, and did you pawn off that medal? You didn't forget, right?"
"Already taken care of!"
"Good to hear! I already made reservations! You should be excited about the place I chose, by the way. I'm sure everyone's going to love it! Well, see you guys tomorrow!"
"A restaurant of Lady Ann's choosing," Morgana said happily. "Finally, a decent meal! What do you think we're going to be eating?"
"Or maybe some barbeque?" Akira suggested.
"Ooh, I could go for some wagyu beef! It better be Grade-A!" Morgana said with excitement. "In any case, I'm surely looking forward to it! Mwehehehe!"
5/5 – Thursday
The next day, Akira, Ryuji, Ann, and Morgana were already at the Wilton Hotel, sitting down at a large table and eating delicious food around the buffet.
"Mmmm… So good…" Ryuji exclaimed, eating some delicious food.
"No wonder Lady Ann chose this place!" Morgana smiled.
"Of course, it's good. This is a famous hotel, after all," Ann said. "Oh yeah, I heard that the police are coming to interview some people at school."
"That's troublesome," Morgana said as he sighed.
"Our names are going to come up for sure," Ryuji said. "People are spreadin' all sorts of rumors about Kamoshida and us…" Then he smiled for some reason. "But we got them pumped up! I keep hearin' stuff like, 'The Phantom Thieves really stole his heart!' I think most people don't believe it, but some of them actually seem grateful."
Ryuji pulled out his phone to show Akira, Ann, and Morgana something.
"The Phantom Aficionado Website?" Ann blinked, then she read the comments. "'Well done, Phantom Thieves'… 'Now I can keep going too'… 'Thank you for giving us hope'..."
"Pretty cool, huh?" Ryuji said.
"I was just desperate to deal with my own problems," Ann said, smiling. "but seeing people saying all this feels… strange."
"Yeah…," Ryuji nodded as he turned to Akira. "Hey… What do we do now?"
"You sure we haven't taken a little too much?" Akira asked. "By the way, you plan on eating?"
Ryuji scoffed. "Well, of course, I'm gonna eat, but…"
Suddenly, Ann gasped as she realized in shock. "This place has a time limit!"
"Oh, crap!" Ryuji exclaimed. "We only got an hour to eat!"
"Just 50 minutes left!" Ann cried as she and Ryuji got up from their seats.
"I'm not gonna finish all the beef dishes at this pace!"
"I need to eat my way through the entire dessert menu!"
"Look after our stuff!" Ryuji told Akira. "We'll snag something for you guys, don't worry!"
As Ann and Ryuji left, Akira sighed. "This is the place, huh? Sojiro's going to flip."
A short while later, Ryuji and Ann got back with even more food.
"Aw man, it melts in my mouth!" Ryuji exclaimed happily as he ate some meat.
Morgana looked at Ryuji in surprise. "Seriously? Only meat?"
"Now, where should I start?" Ann smiled.
"And she's all about the cake…" Morgana shook his head.
"So happy…" Ann cried happily as she eats.
"Hey. Calories!" Ryuji reminded Ann with a smile.
"Shuddup!" Ann exclaimed. "How much do you think one of these costs!? I'll never get the chance to do this again! Mmm, the Wilton Hotel cake buffet…," Ann said happily as she tasted the cake. "I'd heard rumors, but I never thought it'd be so amazing!"
"And… where's our share?" Morgana asked while Akira nodded in agreement.
"I didn't know what you'd want… So, I just grabbed you some beans," Ryuji said.
"B-Beans?" Morgana repeated.
"There were some pretty bizarre things there too, so we got you a variety of those," Ann said. "Fried bananas, preserved eggs, and… some kind of beans."
"M-More beans? How come all I get are beans? I want delicious fish! Meat! Rice! Even dessert!"
"Will you shut it!?" Ryuji exclaimed. "I don't know what you want. You didn't ask!"
"We put so much on the plate that it got all mixed up," Ann said. "but it should probably still taste good."
"This is just plain grotesque…," Morgana groaned in dismay as he then turned to Akira. "Let's go. These two just don't know what fine dining means! We'll show them!"
"Fine dining, eh?" Akira nodded as he got up from his seat. "Leave it to me."
"That's reassuring!" Morgana smiled as he turned to Ryuji and Ann. "You guys watch our things while we're gone! Wait patiently for our return!"
"Ahhh, it's like a meaty explosion in my mouth…" Ryuji said in excitement, still eating.
"Ooh, this part's cream cheese!" Ann smiled as well.
"Are you two even listening!?" Akira and Morgana yelled in unison, annoyed.
As Akira and Morgana went to a table full of delicate foods, Morgana couldn't help but get excited. "As I'd expect from the buffet at a top-class hotel. The ingredients and variety of dishes are crazy good. There's a reason it costs 8,000 yen."
"8,000 yen?" Akira repeated in surprise.
"They have a lot here…but fish should come first! I'd prefer it raw, but grilled is great too! Let's fill our plate with all sorts of fish, along with the other variety of food."
Just then, as Akira gathered some food on the table, he overheard some guests talking.
"Have you heard? The news about that Kamoshida fellow was dreadful."
"Ah, right. That teacher at Shujin Academy caught doing such indecent acts. Shameful."
"And they still haven't managed to solve those horrible psychotic breakdown episodes, have they? I wish they wouldn't let themselves be distracted by such a tawdry scandal."
"It's not even an incident we can take seriously. The whole story is pretty ridiculous. We should probably look into it, but we can just let the low-ranking scrubs handle it."
"It seems most adults aren't very interested in the news about Kamoshida," Morgana said.
A moment later, Akira and Morgana brought more food on the plates.
"Ooh, you brought a ton back," Ryuji said with a smile. "What do you think about comin' up against such ritzy food?"
"I just want to eat," Akira replied.
"I was thinkin' that too. Usin' better ingredients make stuff taste way different!"
"Look at you, acting like you have a refined palate all of a sudden," Morgana said. "You're the last person I want to advise about that, Ryuji."
"Don't you think you're eatin' too much, Mona?"
"There's no knowing when we'll get to come here again."
"Sure, but you guys brought back loads of food…," Ann said. "It'd be a shame to let it all go to waste. Why don't you help them out, Ryuji?"
"We should both help."
Ann shook her face. "Oh, me? I'm wayyy too stuffed! I couldn't possibly help!"
"Yeah… stuffin' your face with cake...," Ryuji muttered as he then turned to Akira and Morgana. "Whatever. Let's deal with this ourselves!"
No matter how much they ate, the amount of food stays the same. Still, Akira and the others managed to eat everything a moment later, even a plate full of gamonbozia.
"W-We did it…," Morgana said, feeling complete.
"Y-Yeah… This is a victory… for all of us…," Ryuji agreed.
"Is this a game to you?" Akira asked Ryuji, while his belt feels multiple sizes too small.
"N-Not exactly…"
"But still, that was a breeze. Tough."
"Good job, you guys," Ann smiled. "How about one last dish to cleanse your palates? I recommend the seasonal tart! The grapefruit has both alluring sweetness and a tangy sourness!"
"Stop… I don't wanna hear about any bad, sour stuff…," Ryuji said, feeling queasy as he burped a bit. "This isn't good… I gotta go to the bathroom..."
"M-Me too…," Morgana groaned. "Please… carry me gently..."
As the two boys and Morgana were about to get up and head for the bathroom, two patrons saw their table full of empty plates.
"Look at that table…" An elegant woman muttered.
"Come now, pay no attention," A wealthy man replied. "I'm sure they must not normally have the opportunity to eat such exquisite food."
"I can only imagine what their parents must be like."
Ryuji turned to them angrily. "What was that?"
"Ignore them already! Let's go," Akira warned him.
"Right! We don't have time for that… Come on, let's go..."
A while later, after a quick trip to the bathroom, the boys feel relieved.
"Ughh, I am stuffed…," Morgana groaned.
"Aaah, much better!" Ryuji sighed with relief. "I totally panicked when I saw the 'Closed for Cleaning' sign at the bathrooms..."
Morgana looked at Ryuji with an unamused face. "You were talking big about eating until you puked, but you really did puke… Are you some kind of moron?"
"Hey, same goes for you!"
"Well, that's what happens when you had that much food in you," Akira told Ryuji.
"Hey, if you're gonna eat at a pricy joint, you gotta go for the meat," Ryuji replied. "So, what floor was that restaurant on?"
"We came up to get here, so it has to be on a lower floor, right?" Morgana said.
Just then, a group of suited bodyguards, escorting a bald, distinguished proper man wearing orange glasses, walked up to the elevator while shoving Ryuji aside.
"There's still no update on the case?" The bald man asked.
"Not yet…," A subordinate answered. "Excuse me, but why are you so involved? It's not something you should be concerned with…"
The bald man turned to his subordinate. "I don't care about your opinion, you incompetent buffoon! When I say pick up the pace, you do it!"
"Hey, you're cuttin' in line!" Ryuji called out angrily.
"…What'd you want?" A haughty subordinate asked Ryuji.
"We were here first," Akira said.
"We're in a hurry," The bodyguard told them.
"Oh, I'm sorry. So, you can butt in front of other people if you're in a hurry?" Ryuji barked.
"It seems the customer base has changed since I was here last," The bald man said, taunting. "Have they started a daycare or something?"
Ryuji heard those words. "What?"
"Sir, we don't have time for this," The subordinate told his boss.
"I know," The bald man said as he noticed another of his subordinate shoved Ryuji. "Don't bother with them!"
That voice just now…, Akira thought as the bald man and his subordinates entered the elevator.
"The hell was with that bossy guy?" Ryuji growled.
"Shouldn't we head back down?" Morgana asked.
"Yeah, but... That dick pissed me off. He wasn't even hidin' the fact that he looks down on everyone!"
"Don't lose your temper over this," Morgana warned Ryuji.
"I just can't forgive shitty adults like that!"
But Akira didn't listen as he thought to himself, That man's voice… It sounded almost like the one from back then…
"…What's wrong?" Ryuji asked, noticing Akira's silence.
"I'm okay," Akira replied. "Just a bit lightheaded. Don't worry about it."
"You're not feelin' good? That's just going to make me worry more, you know."
"I bet it's because he rarely eats well, after all…," Morgana said. "Plus, I'm always stuck eating canned cat food too…"
"Ugh, that 'sir' bullshit makes me sick!" Ryuji grumbled. "...Dammit!"
A moment later, Akira and Ryuji got back to their table, where Ann was sitting.
"What took you so long!?" Ann asked impatiently.
"Why're you all pissy?" Ryuji asked.
"Sorry…," Ann apologized. "I had a run-in with some woman a second ago. She bumped into me but then said it was all my fault when she dropped her plate..."
"Sounds like a real bitch..."
"Yeah… Thanks, though. But…the restaurant workers all looked at me with this disapproving expression…"
Ann then looked down sadly. "I wonder if we're out of place here..."
"We're not," Akira said. "But… It always feels like this."
There was a short silence when Ryuji thought of something. "Hey, Morgana."
Morgana turned to Ryuji. "What is it?"
"...Anyone could have a Palace, yeah?"
"Anyone with a strong, distorted desire."
"Same for them havin' a change of heart if their Treasure gets stolen?"
"That would be the case."
"Why are you bringing this up all of a sudden?" Ann asked.
"We had trouble earlier, too," Ryuji replied. "These selfish shitheads who just looked down on everyone else... I was just wondering if we'd be able to change those kinds of people too."
Ann's eyes grew wide in surprise. "You mean… you want to continue as the Phantom Thieves?"
Ryuji nodded. "...I've been thinking. We put a lot of work into changing Kamoshida's heart, but nobody believes in the Phantom Thieves. Plus, those guys who had no other choice but to just deal with it are thanking us. Us, of all people."
"You really want to keep going with this, huh?" Akira said as he turned to Ann. "What do you think, Ann?"
"I…I agree," Ann replied as she nodded in agreement. "If we ignore people who are in trouble, I'd go back to being the same as I was before…"
"Well… that's true," Morgana said, then he looked at the others with determination. "You're under my tutelage. There's nothing we can't accomplish as phantom thieves!"
"Shouldn't we be able to help 'em out?" Ryuji asked Akira.
Akira looked down and pondered for a moment. I didn't even think of that possibility… But it is true that with this power, we may be able to help people out… He then looked back at his friends as he answered, "Okay, then. Let's do it!"
Ann began to ask, "But… That means we'll have to fight Shadows again, doesn't it…?"
"Indeed," Morgana replied. "That can't be avoided."
"Eh, I'm sure we'll manage," Ryuji smiled as he turned to Akira. "Right?"
"Fine by me," Akira said. "If you're up for it."
Morgana giggled a bit. "Heh… Even if you guys are still just fledglings, this means we're an actual organization now."
"Fledglings?" Ann repeated as she giggled. "That's actually pretty fitting for us."
"All right, it's settled!" Ryuji said with a smile of determination. "We're gonna catch all these shitty adults by surprise and make ourselves known to the world!"
Ann turned to Akira. "...Are you okay being our leader?"
"Of course!" Akira answered.
"No objections here!" Ryuji agreed. "I can't handle all that responsibility stuff."
"Where's my say in this?" Morgana chimed in. "But Lady Ann made the recommendation, so I'll allow it."
"Well, should we decide on a name for our group?" Ryuji asked. "I just went with Phantom Thieves of Hearts last time, but don't you think a real name would be cooler?"
"Ooh, I've got it! I want it to be something both cute and luxurious sounding… Let me see…," Ann pondered as she suddenly suggested. "How about 'The Diamonds'?"
"…I'm getting a real little league baseball feeling from it," Ryuji said, feeling unease.
"Well, here's my suggestion," Morgana suggested. "How about 'Tilefish Poele'?"
"Tile… uh, what?" Ryuji asked in confusion.
"That's what I ate earlier. It's commemorative, no?"
"Hell no, you idiot!" Ryuji yelled, then he turned to Akira. "You decide for us..."
"Hmmm…," Akira pondered. "How about 'The Phantoms'?"
"That's not bad at all," Ann said.
"A good name…for a rookie," Morgana agreed.
"The Phantoms," Ryuji repeated the name as he loved Akira's suggestion. "Short, sweet, and right to the point. I like it! We're goin' with that?"
"If that's okay," Akira answered. "Definitely."
"Well, now that the name's set, who's our next target?" Ann asked.
"There are tons of rotten adults and all…," Ryuji said as he pondered for a moment. "...Why not just stick to targeting big names?"
"Like a celebrity or a CEO?" Akira asked.
"Yeah, something along those lines. If we go after some bigwig, it has got to get on the news, right? Don't you think more people would believe in us if we did that?"
"That's not a bad idea…for you, Ryuji," Morgana said to him.
"True," Ann nodded. "If we become better known…we might be able to give courage to a lot more people. I don't really like the idea of just picking someone out of the blue, though."
"Let's narrow it down to someone we can all agree on then," Ryuji said.
"Hm, so we need a bigwig we decide on unanimously," Morgana replied.
"I like that unanimous decision part!" Ann smiled. "It's like we're making some kind of pact!"
"Now then, this is the official formation of the Phantom Thieves organization!" Morgana declared with a smile.
Just then, Ann's eyes grew wide in surprise as she realized something. "Oh, no! Our time for the buffet ran out..."
"I guess we'll just have to talk more tomorrow," Ryuji shrugged.
"All right, then!" Akira said. "Today marks the origin story of the Phantom Thieves!"
"Origin story?" Ann repeated in surprise.
"Every hero or a group of heroes should have one, right?"
"Are you for real!? Is that something out of a comic book?" Ryuji said as he then smiled at that idea. "But then again, not a bad idea."
"Good. I mean, how many people with distorted desires can there be?"
That made Morgana's eyes grew wide in surprise, as did Ryuji's and Ann's.
From that moment forward, Akira, Ryuji, Ann, and Morgana have formed and become the Phantom Thieves of Hearts, formerly known as the Phantoms.
