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"Greetings, Trickster and friends. I see you've brought guests with you this time." Philemon greeted.
~hey Phil. Hey Igor.~
"Pleasure's all mine. I'd like to introduce you to Ryuji and Morgana." Akira greeted back, gesturing to both Persona users.
"Dude… who're these guys?" Ryuji questioned, looking around the room. "And why is everything... blue?"
"And why doe that butterfly feel… familiar…?" Morgana added, advancing forward to the damaged butterfly on the desk.
"Ah, Morgana… I am glad to see you safe and sound, though I fear you may not remember who I am." Igor lamented solemnly "I wish to speak to you personally, if I may…" he weakly fluttered to another area of the room, with Morgana following behind.
"While Igor talks with your guide, I have much to tell you upon this visit." Philemon continued, snapping his fingers and a book appearing on the desk in front of him. "The first of what I shall be discussing with you will be an ability called Social Links. This is how we will combat the Demiurge."
"...demi...urge?" Ryuji repeats, looking between the masked man and the two other people he does know in this room. "what's he talkin' about?"
"Ah… it appears that Chariot has yet to know about your… predicament."
~yeah, sorry about that Phil. We've just brought them here.~
"It is fine. I shall provide an abridged explanation then. The Demiurge, a false god by the name of Yaldabaoth, has created a game of sorts, rigged to his favor. And Trickster here is needed to win for the sake of humanity, or else, everyone will suffer for it."
~...wow, I didn't know you can be blunt…~ Arata said, a deadpanned look on his face with the cliché anime sweatdrop and everything.
"Wait...So Akira's being used in a game with a god who's cheating to win?" Ryuji clarified.
~And you managed to Catch on quickly too! Nice!~
"SHUT-"
"Not used, forced. Sadly, Trickster has no say in the matter, which is why Igor and I shall aid him in this game, as well as various others, such as Beldirever."
"Who?"
~sup.~
"Ah..." Ryuji said simply, nodding at that.
"In fact, I was about to discuss the method we'll use to defeat the demiurge, and you're a key component to it, Chariot." opening the book, Philemon settled on a page with a picture of Ryuji Posing in a Tarot card, on the bottom has a picture of a chariot, alongside with a Roman numeral and name pertaining to said image. "Your bond just needs a slight nudge left to form what we call a Confidant, or Social Link if you will."
~these bonds will empower both you and Kira, along with anyone else who makes one, strengthening both you and the persona accordingly.~
"Correct. The stronger the bonds Trickster makes, the stronger you become."
"That's... actually pretty useful." Akira smirked, but then frowns. "But... isn't that, like... taking advantage of people?"
"You are not the first to ask such a thing, and I shall say that no, that is NOT the case as you may think." Philemon explained, chuckling at the wildcard's train of thought. "While yes, the more connections you make with likeminded individuals will make you stronger in turn. by the end of the day, it all settles back to the genuine bond you share with them. only genuine connections you make will strengthen your heart. So no; you aren't taking advantage of them. think of these more as a boon gifted to you from said friendship."
"Hang on… Trickster? Confidants? Why the hell is he callin' you guys that?" Ryuji butted in... "And why am I Chariot!?"
~like Phil said, give your bond a nudge, and it'll be explained. And that's what he always called us that.~
"Right… well, I may not be the smartest guy here… but think I get the gist of it..." Ryuji said, scratching his head as he points at Akira. "I know damn well i ain't just gonna sit back and let you get toyed around like this. Nobody deserves that, period... I should know."
"Ryuji…" Akira trailed off.
"Hell, you helped me out back there, I'd at least gotta pay you back for that, and besides… you're the closest I've ever had to… a friend before in a long ass while…"
~aww… Sakamoto's a softy.~
"C-Cut it out man, d-don't make this weird!" he yells out, but then smiles warmly. "A friend… well, I can't say no to that, and hey, if anything else, I don't mind helping ya out even if this shit didn't Happen, so Count me in!" just then, a warm feeling overtook the two as a soft feminine voice echoed in their ears.
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 Arcana,
I have obtained the winds of blessing that
Shall lead to freedom and a new power…
The very page with Ryuji and the Chariot cards, glowed white before dissolving completely, now gaining text and pictures. Looking at the page, Akira found that it explains Ryuji in general, as well as a bio and an odd chariot shaped rune on the back page.
"And here is the first Confidant of your journey." Philemon commented. "The Chariot stands for victory, conquest, and courage. Beldirever, I do believe this is where you come in."
"Huh?"
~yeah, yeah, I know. Come here Ryuji.~ Arata answered, grabbing Ryuji's hand and placing one of his on his chest.
~I am Thou… Thou Art I…
I grant thou the key of thy soul…
Thine unlocked potential shall bring forth a new power…
I grant thou the reigns of the Chariot,
to which thou shall lead others to victory…
A gold veil of light shone around Ryuji's body, sparks of electricity danced across his hands as it tensed and clenched around his muscles, hardening and strengthening them to their limit, yet not causing any pain. When the light faded, Ryuji blinks several times as he looks down at the electricity coursing through him.
"WHOA! What the hell happened to me!?" Ryuji exclaimed excitedly. "This feels freakin' amazing!"
~I have unlocked a portion of your true potential. congrats, kid, you now have access to something called Rage. I'll have to train you how to use it though.~
"HUH!? You mean I can cast magic and do that crazy shit myself?"
~specifically lightning magic, and you're more of a physical fighter..., but pretty much. You have Kira to thank for that.~
"Awesome! I'll be able to help out twice as much now!"
"Are you done shouting your lungs out?" Morgana said, rejoining the group with Igor beside him.
"yeah... So… Igor told you?" Akira asked.
"...yeah."
"And you're okay with it?"
"Of course I am!" Morgana answered. "I may not be a human, or cat, but at least I know who I am now. That's all I've ever wanted. And if it means saving the world, then I'll do what I can to help!"
"And I'll readily accept it. Welcome to the team..." the same warm feeling washed over both Akira and Morgana, the same feminine voice called once more.
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 Arcana,
I have obtained the winds of blessing that
Shall lead to freedom and a new power
A light appeared on another page of the book on the desk, showing Morgana's picture, some text, and a magician shaped rune on the same spot on the back.
~alright, two for one. Come here cat.~ Arata said, picking up the guide in his hands.
~I am Thou… Thou art I…
I grant thou the key of thy soul…
Thine unlocked potential shall bring forth a new power…
I grant thou the wand of the Magician,
to which thou shall harness the power to unity…~
A green light flowed through Morgana as bursts of wind blew around him. When the light faded, Arata let go of the cat creature, who was somehow floating in the air before gliding down to the floor.
~there. Two confidants in one day…man, you'll be strong in no time if this keeps up.~
"Indeed. Now, I do believe some clarification of Morgana's proposal should be addressed." Igor said.
"Morgana has already told you about the Palace having a "treasure" so to speak, yes?" Philemon asked, gaining nods as an answer. "You've hesitated because of some notion that it might lead to death, but this is merely false detail. Think of this Treasure as a splinter to a person's skin. It causes "pain"-twisted desires in this case- to manifest and as long as it is there, it holds this pain for the person."
"Therefore, Taking away this "splinter"- the treasure- will alleviate said pain with little to no repercussions to the person." Nyx finishes.
"Holy Shit!…" Ryuji jumps at the sudden voice, turning back to a chuckling Nyx smirking at his reaction. "uuuhm... how long has she been there?"
~So you're basically saying that it won't kill the guy, correct?~
"Don't ignore me!"
"Correct. As long as the shadow ruler of said twisted desires stays alive, then the real variant will not suffer the fate of death."
"ugh... Well then, sign me up!" Ryuji proclaimed. "If it won't kill him, then we can make him pay without hesitation."
"I agree. This was practically half the reason why I've brought you here anyways." Akira agreed.
"I am glad to see your resolve… though I have grave news…" Philemon groaned in annoyance at that last part.
~...what?~
"He wishes to see you again."
"..." Akira blinks, staring blankly into space as he let the words settle in his mind, practically vibrating in place as the implications of the sentence sinks in.
"You needn't worry about us, Trickster, or anything within this realm. I have taken upon myself to shroud this dimension from view. He cannot see, hear or even know about what happens in this room."
"Though as a precaution." Igor warned. "Do try to keep this a secret, the last thing we need is for the Demiurge to find out about this place."
~oh trust me, we don't wanna sell you guys out for the world… literally.~
"I am glad to hear it, Beldirever." Philemon assured the group. "Another thing I wish to tell you are the facilities i wish to grant you."
"Unfortunately, He has taken access to most of the normal means to aid you with, but we have out own variations of the means to aid you, as well as a special thing that Nyx herself has decided to give you; the ability to synchronize."
"To What?" Akira said, blinking as he's brought back to reality...
"You will have to come back with other spirits before we can allow you access to these, however."
"That's fine. Well, if there's nothing else to talk about, then we'll see you guys soon." Akira nods, the two humans, the floating spirit and the Cat like Guide grouping together as they made their way to leave."
"One more thing, Boy." Nyx announced, tossing a black object at Akira, who catches it immediately with ease. "Keep that on you, you'll need that soon for how I plan on aiding you, and don't lose it."
"Y-y-yes Ma'am!" Akira nodded fearfully.
"Farewell, and good luck."
*you have returned to the real world. Welcome back.*
Warping back to reality the group of four, walked down the streets of Shibuya, new information weighing on their minds.
"...aw crap, I forgot to ask those guys about the app.." Ryuji moaned.
"Don't worry, we can go back anytime." Akira replied, pocketing the velvet room key and the black object, to which he felt out as a ring of some sort.
"Anyways, you three must be tired." Morgana stated, with the three nodding in confirmation. "Let's rest up first and plan things out tomorrow."
~oh, that reminds me! Hey Ryuji.~
"Yeah, what?" Ryuji mumbled, tilting to the side a bit instead of turning his head to the floating boy.
~I'll need small blank sheets of paper, as big as playing cards, and i need lots of them if possible.~
"...Any reason why?"
~You gave me an idea back then, and before you awakened. Just a precautionary measure. Think you can do it?~
"...Sure. I've got shit tons of copy paper at my place. Will that do?"
~perfect, bring 'em to me tomorrow and I can get to work.~
"Cool, Oh, I almost forgot." Taking out his phone, Ryuji typed a few things on it before showing it to Akira. "Here's my number, and chat I.D. We can text each other if we're separated and stuff."
Nodding at the rather clever idea, Akira registered Ryuji into his contacts, and added him into his chat.
"Welp, I'mma get home early, see ya guys." Ryuji waved off, departing from the group. "Hit me up, and we'll have some Ramen later!"
~later!~ "bye!"
Meanwhile… near the school, two girls are seen chatting nearby. One of them, a raven haired girl with a ponytail, and the other, a familiar blonde with pigtails. Unbeknownst to the two, a blue haired male was close by as well, listening in to their conversation.
"... to be honest with you, Ann…" the black haired girl lamented, "I...I haven't been sleeping well. Whenever I close my eyes, I keep thinking of... too many things…"
"Shiho…" the now dubbed Ann, whispered solemnly.
" Shiho..." the blue haired male repeated to himself, the same amount of sadness present with a hint of anger as well.
"I know nationals are a bit of a ways away, but I can't help but think… should someone like me really be on the starting lineup?"
"Of course you do. Just have confidence in yourself!" Ann reassured, patting the ravenette's back. "You worked harder than anyone else in the girl's volleyball team. That's got you recognized, so don't sell yourself short."
"Yeah… volleyball's all I have after all.."
"A shame, that you're shackled just like me…" the bluenette male whispered to himself, clenching his fists.
"More importantly, are you okay? That injury seemed pretty serious…"
"N-no, it's normal… especially when a meet's coming up."
"A meet? I though they usually do it in May?"
"Yeah… it was announced at the last second… something about more pep-rallies and publicity…"
"... I...I should probably get this over with…" the male whispered, before walking up to the two girls. "Sorry to interrupt, Suzui… Mr. Kamoshida told me to get you…"
"Huh?" she squeaked quietly, "what does he want?"
"He didn't say…" he answered, looking away from the girls with a downtrodden look.
Looking back to Ann for a brief moment… Shiho shuddered. "Ann, I…"
"... it'll be fine. I bet it's about the starting lineup or something like that."
"If only it were that simple…" the blue haired male growled lowly.
"Mishima?" Ann asked, looking slightly at the Blunette. "did you say something?"
"Nothing, just coughing."
"...y-yeah, maybe you're r-right…" she stammered, getting up from their seat. "Well, I'd better go."
"Good luck!" Ann said. "And… hang in there, Shiho…I'm rooting for you!"
Walking away from the blonde haired girl, Shiho, and the newly named Mishima parted ways.
"If only that were true…" Mishima hissed lowly in rage lightly stomping as he left the scene as well.
Later on in the evening, traveling back to Leblanc's went relatively peaceful, but it was short lived when Akira entered the door.
"Hmm? Oh you're back." Sojiro deadpanned, reading a magazine on the counter. "I take it you actually went to school today?"
"Of course." was his answer, curling in on himself at the older caretaker's gaze...
"Well good. Just to be clear, you're out of here if you so much as cause trouble."
~we know old man.~
"I understand." Akira whispered. Sojiro gave him a look at the timidness of the teen in front of him. for a brief moment, Akira sees... something twitch from the adult's features, a small crack in his otherwise cold visage, before blinking and nodding.
"Geez... no kid should be this skittish... what the hell happened to make him like this... it's starting to look a bit like-" Sojiro shakes his head, getting rid of his cigarette he was halfway through and sighing at the timid teen."Glad to hear that. Now don't mind me." Sojiro said, looking back to the paper. At this moment, Akira's phone vibrated, making him pull it out to reveal a text message from Ryuji.
Ryu: Hey, decided to message ya. Can you see this?
Looking for a bit, he shrugged and typed away.
RenRen: Yep.
Ryu: dude, your name's Renren!?
RenRen: bring it up in school, and you'll regret it.
Ryu: A'ight, it's cool. Anyways I'll be counting on you to help in the interrogating tomorrow. ok?
RenRen: no problem.
Ryuji: oh, and tell Arata that I've got some of those slips of paper done.
~cool. I can already picture them now…~
RenRen: will do.
Putting away his phone, the two headed up towards the room… and unzipped the bag that had Morgana inside.
"My god... this place if filthy." the cat shaped being said, stretching along the mattress. "You two actually live in this place?"
~eh, it's the best we've got, and we didn't really have much use for the whole room.~
"Still, wouldn't it be cool to at least clean all of it?" Morgana sighed, looking around. " There's still multiple trash bags around here-"
"WHAT'S GOING ON UP THERE!?" Sojiro yelled, climbing the stairs himself and seeing Morgana, who curled up at the sight of the miffed Barista. "Huh… so that's what it was! I knew I heard Meowing!"
"W-Wait, Mr. Sakura, Please let me keep him." Akira begged, stepping in front of Morgana. "he didn't have a place to stay."
"... no place to stay huh…" Sojiro said, deep in though for a few moments as he looks between the teen and the supposed stray before sighing. "Alright, fine. I guess it'll help you behave if you take care of a pet… just keep it away from downstairs. And he's entirely your responsibility. If it raises trouble, then it's gone."
"Thank you, sir." Akira sighed as the barista walked back downstairs.
After a quick reappearance of Sojiro giving the two curry, Arata and Morgana discussing a bit and a quick dinner, Akira fell into a deep slumber, anticipating the dreams waiting for them.
Waking up in a familiar cell, Akira and Arata were faces with "Igor", Caroline and Justine once again.
"Welcome back, Trickster and friend." "Igor" greets. "I thought about resuming our previous conversation tonight, that is why I summoned you here."
"Good to know.."
"What are your thoughts? Have you become accustomed to this place?"
"Something like that…" Akira agreed, shrugging within his barred chamber. "I could do without the prison theme though…"
~same here.. I'd prefer something more cozy, like a limo or an elevator or something.~
"Pipe down inmates!" Caroline snarled.
~Make me Carol.~
"C-Carol!?"
~yeah, Carol, and Justy. you two have nicknames now, so deal with it.~
"Why you-"
"Enough, Caroline." Justine droned. "he's just trying to get a reaction out of you."
"Glad to hear it. It seems you have nerves of steel." He chuckled. "Your rehabilitation determines if ruin can be stopped, yet such a feat cannot be done alone."
"I agree." Akira nods... hesitantly.
"Today, you have entered a partnership with not one, but two people, who have awoken a similar power to your own, haven't you?"
"A partnership?" Akira asked, acting like this is the first time he's heard of this. thankfully, it seemed to have worked, as the long nosed man continued.
"Involving yourself with others is a vital foundation for your recovery. You've done well. That said, I am not advising the formation of superficial relationships. It must not be by frivolity, but a ring of those who would, by morals or faith, lend you their strength. Proof of such a bond will form what is called a Social Link, and the partners who will aid you are called Confidants." Igor states. "The expansion of said ring will, in turn, help you mature as well."
Justine then turned towards the two. "Personas are the strength of heart. The stronger the bonds that surround you, the more power your personas will gain."
"There are countless people in the city with access to talents a Shrimpy wuss like you doesn't." Caroling chimed in, also turning to the two. "You better rack that Brain of your and get them on your side. We'll change that into power."
"Alright…" Akira answered.
~fine..~
"Indeed. You should prepare to use even myself, lest your ambitions will never come to fruition." "Igor" chuckles. "If we are in agreement, then we have a deal."
A familiar feeling envelopes Akira as the female voice echoes once more however, this time it is a lot more faint to the point where they barely hear it..
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 Arcana,
I have obtained the winds of blessing that
Shall lead to freedom and a new power
"Well… you will understand in due time… Continue devoting yourself to your rehabilitation."
"Time's up. Get lost, Inmate!" Caroline shouts, as the world faded to black once more.
Wednesday, April 13th
Cloudy
Shujin Academy
Early Morning
"Hey, Arata." Akira asks, lugging around a bag with Morgana hidden inside.
~what.~
"How're my stats?"
~still small mostly, but here ya go…~
Akira R. Amamiya-Kurusu
Lv. 6
Current Class: Foreigner Pact Warlock/Soulknife Rogue
Hp: 324
Sp:270
Guts (Rnk 2): 6/10
Kind (Rnk 2): 1/10
Prof (Rnk 3): 1/10
Chrm (Rnk 2): 4/10
Intl (Rnk 1): 8/10
"Huh, not bad for a restarting spread. We'll get back up to our former glory soon." Akira whistled, "but I have to ask… what happened to you two last night? You look terrible." true to his claim, neither cat or spirit looked like they had any sleep at all. Before they could defend themselves however...
"Hey, Guys!" Ryuji yelled at the, running up the the group.
"Hey Ryuji."
~sup.~
"Hey man. Ready for the plan today?" Ryuji said, cracking his knuckles in anticipation for the next journey...
"Yep." Akira nods. "Though, I'm still hung up by one thing Philemon said... how do I get more "spirits" with me.. do I form pacts with them... like familiars?" he thinks to himself.
~got my slips of paper?~
"Yup, Right here." Ryuji pulled out several stacks of card sized paper, bound to small rubber bands.
~aw yeah! These'll do nicely~
"Say, what're these for anyway?" He asked, handing them to Akira, who absentmindedly pockets them.
~just in cast we somehow get in more people without persona, or when we're running low on energy, then they'll be used for defense instead. I'll show you later.~
"Let's just get through the day…" Akira announces. "Before we give people more reasons to gawk at us like were animals in a zoo."
"Right."
...
...
...
After several lectures, and having half of them cancelled for the sudden volleyball rally, both Akira and Ryuji looked on as the teachers and students played the treacherous sport, Arata floating close behind them.
~alright, so I've been thinking…~
"And?" Ryuji asked, tilting to the side as a softball nearly beans him in the head.
~I have another idea... and it MIGHT get some flak off of you guys in the process.~
"Oh this oughta be good…"
~how about we cover our tracks while we take the treasure?~
"...I'm sorry?"
~hear me out… people are gonna find it suspicious that he'll just randomly confess for no reason, and worst case scenario, the lemmings here will most likely blame you two.~ Arata gestures to the two humans of the group, getting sighs from both as a confirmation, ~So… we record real evidence, gain testimonies from the victims, and more of his misdeeds, and use that as a red herring. That way, when we DO steal that treasure thingies, people will believe that Kamoshita confessed from stress and guilt, instead of seemingly out of nowhere.~
"that's... actually a good idea." Akira nods, seeing ways as how this could benefit them in the long run. at least if this doesn't workout, the staggering evidence will at the very least be a form of "Safety net" for when they still might be able to get out of any consequences even if the stolen treasure doesn't fully work.
"So, to recap, let's get the interrogations first, that way, we'll have the testimonies ready-" as Ryuji says this, Mishima gets bludgeoned in the face with a Softball, calling the match as the now bleeding teen lies sprawled on the floor. "...and we just got out first target."
"We'll take him to the nurse's Office." Akira shouts, both he and Ryuji rushed in and carried the down blunette out the gymnasium, ignoring the whispers from the other people.
Once they were alone, the three made it to the infirmary, and patched the damaged boy up. Since they were alone now, Ryuji started the conversation.
"So… Mishima, right?"
"Y-yeah?" the boy in question stammered, shaking akin to a lamb on the verge of being pounced upon by a pack of dogs.
"Calm down, we just wanna ask some questions."
"About Kamoshida, I'd bet…"
"..."
"Look, you're wasting your time." Mishima utters out, gaining his bearings as he tries to stand up. "Even if I answered your questions, nobody will listen to you anyways…"
~hey guys… this kid looks familiar…~ Arata mumbles.
"All we're asking is if the Abuse rumors were true…"
"And if they were? Who'll you go to, huh!?" Mishima said, a bit louder than his usual tone from before.
~uuh... guys?~
"We'll bring the police, duh!" Ryuji shouted back, the two riling each other up with each yelled statement.
"Sakamoto, the police won't care either, if they did, then he'd be long gone by now."
~blue hair.. Short frame… maybe…~
"It's just a yes or no question." Akira said, attempting to calm the two bickering bellowers from their screaming match.
"And I'm telling you, You're wasting your TIME!" Mishima growled in anger, making the two step back slightly. Seeing their shocked expression, he became timid once more. "O-O- oh, sorry, I'm j-just… n-not in the mood."
~feral temper… I'm 80% sure…~
"Look, just drop it, okay." and with that, Mishima leaves, just as the two looked back, the bell rang, signifying the rally to be over.
"Well shit."
After spending an hour cleaning the gym for skipping the event, Akira and Arata hung out by a few machines conversing lightly with Morgana.
"What did you mean earlier when you said Mishima looked familiar?" Morgana asked.
~well I'm glad SOMEONE listened...~ Arata mumbled in annoyance. ~Akira was asleep for this back then, but I watched this show on TV that was essentially a broadcasted MMA tournament.~ Arata answered. ~there was this one kid with the nickname "Little Demon", barely double digits, he was an MMA prodigy, going toe to toe with both Rookie and veteran fighters alike. He even won the tournament too… but.~
"But what?"
~apparently there was this big Robbing incident after the tournament. When the cops arrived, the criminals were mauled half to death, crawling away from a crying, bleeding child hugging his mother. Nobody heard of Little Demon since…~
"Where are you going with this?"
~he's short, had blue hair, and had a short fuse… things that Mishima showed earlier.~
"So you think Mishima's this supposed "Little Demon" that you speak of?" Morgana asked skeptically. "sure, he's got a teeny bit of muscle on him at a first glance, but that's a bit of a stretch, isn't it?"
~I am 80% sure on that.~
"Why 80?" Akira asked, tilting to the side as Arata rested his head on his shoulder.
~Aside from not seeing him fight, Little Demon also had this bandage on his nose, something Mishima lacked.~
"Well, back to the evidence thing… Akira, there's something we need to tell you.."
"we'll look into that later." Akira interrupted, spotting Ann walking up to him. "We've got company…"
"Hey… Can I talk to you for a second?" Ann asked. "It'll be quick, promise."
"...fine."
"Anyway, what's with you? with that whole lateness lie and all… there's that weird rumor about you too…" Ann started, getting up close to Akira as he slowly backs up... into a corner... crap.
"What do you want with him?" the familiar voice of Ryuji stated, startling the girl.
~oh thank god.~
"Right back at you. You're not even in our class." Ann rebutted.
"We just happened to get to know each other, so what?" Ryuji retorted, earning a sigh of frustration from the fellow blonde.
"I'll cut to the chase… what do you plan on doing to Kamoshida?"
"H-huh!?" Ryuji stammered a bit before recomposing himself. " Oh, I see.. I getcha… You're all buddy-buddy with Kamoshita, after all."
"What?" Both Akira and Morgana mumbled in unison
~What?~ Arata deadpanned.
"This has nothing to do with you, Sakamoto!"
"If you'd found out half the stuff he's been doing behind your back, you'd dump his ass in a second."
"Behind my back? What's that supposed to mean?"
Looking at Akira and Arata, Ryuji shook his head in frustration. "...you wouldn't get it." he sighed, ending the arguement there.
"Anyways... people are already talking about you two…" Ann said, looking between the two humans. "I don't know what you're trying to do, but Nobody will help you. I'm just warning you, just in case." she finished, walking away.
"We know damn well nobody'll help, that's why we're doing it ourselves." he whispered, pounding a vending machine near him. "Why does she have to be so aggressive sometimes!?"
"You know her?" Akira asked, stepping out of the impromptu corner he backed into.
"Yeah… we were in middle school together, along with her best friend, Shiho. Since coming here, we barely talked much though. Anyways, what'd I miss?"
~I have a hunch that Mishima's the long lost "Little Demon" from way back when.~ Arata brought up, Ryuji perking up at that,
"Hold up… Little Demon? As in the Kid MMA Master Little Demon? Foreal!?"
~I'm only mostly sure… If I can see the boy fight, then I'll be able to confirm or deny it.~
"Back to the matter at hand. Since interrogation is out, I have another proposal." Morgana suggests. "If you give me one of your phones, then Arata and I can sneak in and record Kamoshida's "Special training" classes."
"That's perfect… but won't people freak out with a cat and a flying phone?"
~don't worry Ryu, anything smaller than I am turns invisible too, if I want it to. Watch.~ Arata said, grabbing Akira's glasses and putting them on himself. ~look at the reflection.~
Looking at the reflection, Ryuji smirked when he say that, true to his claim, Akira's glasses was nowhere to be seen.
"Awesome! let's see if we can scrounge up any more evidence left before calling it a day."
~Morgana and I actually did this earlier, but we didn't have a phone on us…~
"Was that why you two looked like shit?" Akira asked, looking between the two non humans of the group.
"Yeah… but it was well worth it." Morgana growled lowly.
"...what happened?"
"We wanted to see if we could find anything from Kamoshida's office himself, but.."
"But?"
~we saw him… attempting to force himself on a girl.~
"WHAT!?" both Akira and Ryuji shouts.
~from the looks of it, she was a girl with a black ponytail wearing the volleyball uniform. Thankfully, we stopped him in time to save her.~
"Black ponytail… volleyball unif- OH, Shiho Suzui!"
"Huh?"
~what you on about now Ryuji?~
"The girl you guys saved." Ryuji clarified. "That must've been Ann's friend that I mentioned."
~aw shit, that means he might be doing more than just abusing the team.~
"We just gotta look more into this later on."
After finishing up their "punishment" for the day, the group now were walking out of the school. However, Arata and Morgana picked up a rather unusual sound in the distance.
"Hey did you guys hear that?" Morgana asked, gaining the other's attention.
~I think it sounded like a gunshot…~
Hearing the noise again, the four looked around.
"It sounds like it's coming from the gym…" Ryuji commented.
"Let's check it out." Akira said, leading to the four investigating the sound echoing through the area. As the sound got louder and louder, the four managed to pinpoint the noise coming from the gym.
"Sweet, I called it." Ryuji said, slowly reaching for the handle.
~why are you going TOWARDS the noise!?~
Opening up the door slightly, the four took a peek at what was going on, and the sight before them was astonishing. There stood Mishima, still having a few visible bruises, punching and kicking a punching bag with a crudely drawn Kamoshida face in repeated haste. Each hit impacted the bag like bangs from a gunshot, and with a final punch, Mishima knocked the whole bag off it's holder, sending it flying a few feet away from him as he pants and huffs at the downed sack of sand.
"Holy shit…" Ryuji mumbled.
~welp, now, I'm convinced. That's Little Demon alright.~
"HELL YEAH!"
"WHO'S THERE!?" Said boy in question yelled, hostility leaked out in a murderous intent.
"Oh shit…" after a few seconds, the door was fully opened, revealing the four eavesdroppers, and shocking the blunette.
"W-what? What are you doing here!?"
"That's a thing we should be asking you." Akira retorted.
"Yeah, and what the hell was that all about!" Ryuji added, gesturing to the now prone bag. "you practically murdered the damn thing, like it owed you money or somethin'!"
"Oh… you saw that…" Mishima whispers, looking away, "it's nothing, just a stress reliever, that's all."
"First off, A stress reliever doesn't required you to pull a 50 hit combo like that." Ryuji snorted, once again pointing to the bag.
"74- s-shut up!" Mishima stammered embarrassingly.
"Second, what the hell kind of "stress" makes you want to maul the punching bag apart!?"
"Just pent-up frustration."
"From…?"
"none of your business." Mishima hissed, clenching his fists.
"Fine, fine, no need to go all demon on u-" as Ryuji said this, he stopped when Mishima seemed to flinch hard at that sentence. "H-Hey, are you alright?"
"Yeah… yeah, I'm fine, just a bruise is all…"
"Which one?"
"What?"
"Which bruise? The ones from fighting, or the many from Kamoshita's abuse?"
"...so that's what this is all about, huh?" Mishima narrows his eyes at the group, only to raise an eyebrow at their head shakes.
"Not really," Akira clarified, "We thought we heard gunshots, and went to investigate, turns out we heard you and your "stress relief" instead."
"...you're wasting your time. Nobody will help you."
"We know, that's why we're doing it ourselves."
"No, I mean, NOBODY; everyone knows, but they all keep quiet."
"...what!?" both teens and cat exclaimed.
~WHAT!?~ Arata roared out, his voice echoing just a smidgen at the outrageous statement
"The teachers, the students, their parents… they don't say anything because of the results." Mishima said, clicking his tongue. "Otherwise that shit would've been reported on day 1..."
"So just because it benefits the adults, nobody will stand up to that prick's torture!?" Ryuji growled, unknowingly sparking a few bolts of electricity.
"It is how it is. Now if you'll excuse me…" Mishima said, picking up the punching bag with one arm, further surprising the four. "I have practice to go to…" and with that, he walked off.
"Goddammit. Everyone knows and not a damn person's doing anything about it!"
"Calm down Ryuji, this is good." Akira said, gaining incredulous looks from the blonde.
"What Da Hell do ya mean by THAT!?"
"This just means that it'll be all the more bittersweet when we bring him to justice ourselves."
"...oh yeah, you're right."
~alright, you two head back for now, Kira, gimme your phone.~ handing over the phone to the god, Akira unzipped his back completely, releasing Morgana. ~Morgana and I will follow Mishima. Let's go get some evidence.~
"Right. Akira, let's go see if there are any more people we might talk to." and with that, the team split up, the two students leaving the school, and the spirit and cat followed the blunette.
After an hour or two later, Akira finally managed to get to Leblanc's. After another bust on the interrogating, he sighed heavily, as Morgana and Arata came up to him and the three entered.
After a welcome back from Sojiro, the three decided to turn in for the night.
His phone vibrating, Akira took it out as the three read the latest chat from Ryuji.
Ryu: this doesn't make any damn sense.
Ryu: the principal, the teachers, even the parent know about the abuse.
Ryu: why ain't anyone speaking up!?
RenRen: they're all either scared or adore Kamoshida
Ryu: that can't be the only reason why though…
Ryu: most likely because that asshole made the volleyball team famous, right?
Ryu: even so, that doesn't mean he can do what he wants!
Ryu: he's torturing the students, and they could only endure in silence.
Ryu: and that follower of his doesn't give a shit…
RenRen: follower?
Ryu: Ann Takamaki, the girl we talked to earlier, remember? You should remember her, dude. She's in your class.
Ryu: ugh! This is bullshit!
Ryu: I can't let it end like this. I'll try to find someone who'll be able to talk during break tomorrow. I ain't give up!
Putting away his phone, Akira nodded before turning to the other two in the roo-
~so, have you acquired evidence to dethrone the false king?~ make that three-
~indeed we have amigo.~...four, make that four in the room.
"Yep, we got half an hour's worth of evidence from that one session alone." Morgana answered.
~torture's more or less the same. And we got full proof.~
"A few more of these, and he'll be arrested for sure."
"Perfect, Now, let's go to bed. We'll cover more ground tomorrow."
~indeed.~
~very well.~
~night man.~
"goodnight."
Thursday, April 14th
Cloudy
Shujin Academy
Morning
As classes were going on, Akira's phone vibrated in his pocket, gaining Akira's Morgana's and Arata's attention. Looking up to the teacher, he took out his phone when the teacher wasn't looking.
Ryu: so, I was thinking…
Ryu: maybe we can get something out of Takamaki?
RenRen: since she's supposedly with Kamoshida?
Ryu: something' like that. She's the closest we've got to him, and I can already tell that she'd wanna kick his ass just as much as we do. Plus, she knows about the volleyball team; Shiho's with them.
RenRen: alright, I'll see what I can do.
Ryu: I'll talk with an associate of mine to see of she knows anything too.
RenRen: ... you have a girlfriend?
Ryu: Eff off, man, I just help her out from time to time.
Ryu: anyways, gotta go, Imma bomb this class if I don't pay attention.
Putting his phone away, Akira looked ahead, thinking on how to get Ann to talk.
~We can probably just corner her like she did us and ask.~
"But that's be suspicious at least…" Akira whispered.
~true… let's wait 'till free period to talk to her…~
A few classes later, after failing to get Takamaki's attention, the team had opted to talk to her after school. Now that the school day's over, the group of four walked over to find both Ann and Shiho talking to each other.
"...maybe we should wait 'till they're finished first." Ryuji suggested. Nodding at this, the group of four waited on as the two talked.
"Shouldn't you be practicing right now? What's wrong?" Ann asked.
"...uh-huh…" Shiho answered quietly.
"That bruise above your eye… that's from practice too?"
"...y-yeah.."
"Are you sure you're not pushing yourself too hard?"
"I'm ok, this is pretty much the only thing I can do right…"
Ann's phone vibrated in her pocket, causing the onlookers to silently panic for a brief moment.
"Shouldn't you take that?" Shiho asked, looking over at the phone to her friends' side.
"It's probably from my job… I think…" Ann waved off... "Probably for another update on my next shooting, is all.."
"I...I should get going…"
"Shiho… are you sure you're fine?" Ann asked, holding the bruised girl's hand.
"Uh-huh…" was her answer as the raven haired girl stood up and walked off.
"Shiho, Wai- augh I'm such a dumbass..." Sighing, the group nodded before walking into the scene, pretending that they heard nothing.
"Hey, An-" was what Ryuji started saying, but was promptly ignored as the girl walked off as well. "Crap. we missed our chance."
~split up. Kira and I'll go find Shiho, you and Morgana go with blondie!~
"Right. Catch ya later you two."
"Right."
Traversing through the school after hours was surprisingly hard, but at least they managed to find the girl they were looking for.
"Hey, Suzui, right?" Akira asked the girl, startling her a bit before she whipped around at talk.
"Y-yeah, who's asking?"
"Calm down, I just want to talk. I'm Akira."
"... what is it?" Shiho asked, looking around herself and seemingly put something together. "...oh, I'm in the way, aren't I? Sorry-"
"No, I'm sorry too. I wasn't really paying much attention… hey are you alright?" Akira asked, holding the door for Suzui to go through going through it himself afterwards.
"Huh..? um… well… this might not be any of my business, but don't let the rumors get to you, ok?" Shiho said.
~there were rumors?~
"They don't bother me, I know they're false." Akira said, nodding at the fellow revenette's words.
"It's just… I've helped with a similar case before… my best friend is often misunderstood too, just because she's pretty… oh, sorry, I shouldn't drag on like that."
~jeez, I'm starting to think she's on the verge of suicidal… I'm getting depressed just hearing her tone of voice...~
"A-anyway, I have practice… I'll see you around…" she finished, walking away from the two.
~Kira…~ Arata said suddenly, hand outstretched.
"Yeah?"
~phone time… I have a bad feeling about this…~
"Here." he hands the phone over to the floating teen, the small object phasing out of view upon contact.
~Alright, see you later, hopefully, I can get something good.~
A few minutes, later, Akira reunited with Ryuji and Morgana, both of which were exhausted and not pleased at all.
"Dammit. What the hell…" Ryuji mumbled out, kicking another vending machine.
"So close, yet so far... " Morgana sighed.
"what happened?" Akira asked, taking a seat on a nearby bench.
"We lost her in a crowd." Morgana groaned out from his perch.
"What's worst is that everyone else I went to was talking the same shit Mishima said earlier." Ryuji continued. "My friend didn't know much either."
"Who is this friend of yours anyway?"
"Hmm… Oh, her name's Haru." Ryuji answered, leaning against an open space on the wall. "I usually hang out with her by the roof, it just so happened that she goes up there to nurture her plants. I tend to help her out whenever I'm bored."
"Ooh, you'll have to introduce me to her sometime."
"Sure thing, but she couldn't help either; she doesn't really focus on sports here, so she didn't know much about anything at all."
"A shame…" Morgana mumbled. "But, at least we have someone to talk to, despite her lack of knowledge on this case, who'll at least talk to us."
"Crap!" Ryuji cursed, slamming his hand on the nearby vending machine releasing sparks unintentionally and short circuiting the machine for a brief moment. "Kamoshida probably forced them into silence or something. At this rate, we'll have to go to him directly…"
"Funny you should mention that…"
"Huh? why?"
"Remember the Palace?" Morgana reminded... it clicking in the blonde's mind a few seconds later.
"...OH, yeah, I almost forgot about that." Ryuji beamed.
"We'll need to find a secure route to the treasure first, wherever that is, and then we can initiate step two when we do find it."
"Let's discuss this at a safer place." Akira said, getting up from his spot and stretching a bit. "... After we get Arata back."
"Where to?" Akira's answer was a smirk from the blonde.
"So, Why are we on the roof again?" Morgana asks, jumping out of Akira's bag to stretch himself.
"Don't worry, barely anyone comes up here." Ryuji reassured, closing the door as he made sure they weren't followed.
"What about this Haru girl?"
"Nah, she's usually gone home at this hour. We're fine." Ryuji waved off. "So, what do we do about that Palace?"
"If we steal the treasure, then it'll erase the palace, which will essentially force the owner to have a change of heart." Morgana explained. "And without their warped wants, the crimes committed remain."
"And as long as we don't kill the shadow ruler, then it'll be fine to take it." Akira finished.
"precisely."
"Hey, I just noticed a minute ago, but where's Arata?" Ryuji said, looking around for the absent member of the team.
"He went to record more of those "special lessons" from the volleyball team." Akira answered, nearly spitting at the end of his sentence.
"Well, our lucks runnin' dry lookin' for witnesses… let's head on over to the other side and see if we can make progress."
"Right. We'll wait for Arata, then we'll leave." the three nodded at this, and left, none of them noticing the peach haired girl hiding to the side beside them.
"... Palace? " the girl whispered, looking at the the retreating figures.
After waiting a short while, Akira, Ryuji and Morgana decided to reschedule their venture to the Palace for tomorrow, since Arata came by late, with little worse for wear.
~the bastard was being extra thorough with the torture today, and this time, he tried molesting multiple girls.~ he said. ~had to take up more time stopping him.~
Nodding at the answer, the group decided to call it a day, with Akira, Morgana, and Arata were heading back to Leblanc's….. Until they caught sight of Ann arguing with someone on the phone in the distance. Sneaking up to listen to her, the three hid as she continued to talk.
"I keep telling you, I'm not feeling up to it… will you give it a rest already!?" she yelled over the phone. "... wait, what!? That's not what you promised! And you call yourself a damn teacher!?…HELL NO... This has NOTHING to do with Shiho!... FUCK!" taking away her phone Ann was on the verge of breaking down at any moment. At this, Akira walked up to her, ignoring the protests from Morgana.
"Hey… are you alright?" He asked, startling the girl in front of him.
"Wha- were you listening?" Ann yelped back, glaring at the ravenette for the lack of privacy.
"Kind of hard not to when you were screaming in the phone."
"Haven't you heard of privacy-" Ann stopped, going over the scenario once more, then calmed a bit. "...wait. no, I was out of line. Sorry about that." she answered. "... how much did you hear exactly?"
"You were arguing with somebody…something about Shiho?"
"Shiho… it's nothing at all… nothing."
~nothing she say- HEY!~ Arata shouts as Ann suddenly runs off. ~after her!~
A few minutes of chasing later, Akira and friends finally caught up to the panting, worn out girl.
"Stop following me!" she wheezed. "Leave me alone!"
"Calm down, I just want to help."
"Why… w-why do you keep worrying about me?" she choked, breaking down into full blown crying.
"C'mon. Let's go somewhere safe to talk…" Akira said, holding out his hand for the blonde, who graciously took it
"What's with you… I can't tell anymore.."
...
...
...
After a few more exchanged words, we now see the new group of four sitting around at a residential café, alone in the corner to continue their complex conundrum.
"I don't have anything to talk about with you." she said. "It was… just an argument…"
"With Kamoshida, I presume?" Akira finished for her, her tense flinch answering the question before her lips could form words.
~wow, way to be blunt there Kira.~
"She seems to be stressed out with stuff. I might as well help out…" he thought back.
"You've heard the rumors, right?"
"...about you and Kamoshida being a thing?"
"...yeah.. Everyone says we're getting it on, but… that's so not true…"
"I hand a hunch that it wasn't…"
"That was him on the other line...I avoided him for as long as I can…"
~okay...this is getting a bit sad.~
"He told me to meet him after this… you know what that means…"
~...damn.~
"And... A-And... If I turn him down again, then he said, he'll take my friend off the team entirely…"
~Oh that self-centered fucktard!~
"I'm... sorry to hear that…" Akira said, sipping onto his drink at what was revealed to him...
"I've been telling myself that this is all for Shiho's sake…" Ann sobbed, tears running down her face. "But I can't take it anymore...I've had enough of this… I hate him! But Shiho's my best friend… she's all I have at this sorry excuse of a school!... please… tell me… what should I do?"
"..."
~say something man! Anything!~
"I'm sorry… I shouldn't have asked." she sniffed. "It's not your prob-"
"What about Ryuji?" Akira said, seeming getting a look of confusion as an answer this time, he continued.
"Huh?" she mumbled.
"Ryuji said that the both of you went to middle school together… why not let him be your friend?" Akira clarified. "And what about me? I'll be your friend too if you want me to."
"...Akira…"
"And as for Shiho, you just have to be there for her."
"R-really?"
"Yeah." he nodded. "it may not seem like much, but in times like these, letting them know that you're there can even make the bleakest times bearable."
"... you're so weird… usually everyone just ignores me. Are you really a bad person as the rumor says? You don't seem like that type of person…"
"Hey, I'm bad to the bone!" He quipped with a smirk, causing the girl to chuckle.
"Yeah, okay sure… I kinda had a feeling they were just exaggerations… you seemed lonely- like you didn't belong anywhere…"
"...eh, I got my connections, remember Ryuji?"
"We're the same in that regard… maybe that's why it was easy for me to talk to you…"
"Really…"
"Is there really no way for me to help Shiho? I wish he'd just forget everything… if only he'd just change his mind…"
~oh, sweetheart, you couldn't be anymore closer to the truth.~
"As if something like that would ever happen."
"...it could happen..."
"I wasn't asking for a serious response." she smiled. "But… I do feel a bit better now… thanks."
"No problem. Just remember to be there for Shiho. That'd be more than enough."
"Right… just don't tell anyone what I told you, okay?"
~heh, you wish.~
"I'll try to persuade Kamoshida somehow… see ya, and… thanks again." she finishes, heading out of the café, and leaving the three alone.
"well, now there's more on the table than just abuse and sexual assault." Morgana said from his bag.
~yeah, Now we can add blackmail and privilege abuse to the list.~
"Let's head back to Leblanc's. We'll talk it over with Ryuji tomorrow."
"Right." ~right.~
And with that, the three left as well, unknowingly missing the familiar blue haired male a few tables away.
Third chapter done!
Okay, I've made a little thing with Arata and the Persona talking, so here's a little chart for what's going to be their voices at the moment:
Arata = ~hello~
Arsene = ~hello~
Kidd = ~hello~
Zorro = ~hello~
More on that later. And now, the next chapter will have a certain surprise twist in there, so keep a look out for that.
TBC.