Well, I hope I did this part justice. Thanks to everyone who reads my work.
ILuvCupcakes2000: Thanks, I'll try my best.
Now here we go...
On her way to school, Namine found herself reflecting on recent events. If she understood what Igor was implying and she was almost sure she did, the Metaverse was intricately tied to his plans of rehabiliation. And maybe even this ruin he mentioned...He had made it clear that he was the one who gave her the Metaverse Navigator. The more she thought about it, the more she wondered if the Palace could really help them deal with Kamoshida after all.
Her thoughts came to a halt at the sight of the man in question near the school gate. Namine had to remind herself to keep calm and maintain a neutral expression as she went over.
''Oh, Hyakuya...'' He acknowledged, noticing her then. ''...for all your reputation, it seems like you're doing all right, huh?'' He hummed to himself as the girl replied positively. ''Good to hear. I was skeptic when you came in with Sakamoto before but it looks like you're sensible. That guy's nothing but trouble after all.''
Namine held back a retort, something hard to do now that she knew the truth about this man. She disliked having to sit back and do nothing when people badmouthed her friends and she really hated having to be polite now but it was necessary. There was enough trouble to go around.
''...If that's all, Kamoshida-sensei? I need to get to class.''
''Right, right, go on. I'm done.'' Kamoshida gestured to the gate. She went, missing how his eyes stayed on her retreating figure for a few seconds before her turned around.
'That couldn't have been easy.' Arsene commented.
'It wasn't, really.' Namine sighed. 'But you know why I did it, there's a lot we don't know and treating Kamoshida the way he deserves is only going to start problems now.'
'I suppose that's true.' He returned. 'Are they really that oblivious though? If those cognitive players from yesterday reflect what happens here...is it all hidden that well?'
'We're just going to have to find out.'
The girl was momentarily distracted upon noticing a boy walking nearby. He had blue hair and grey eyes, something about him seemed familiar. It took her a few moments to recall seeing him in her class yesterday, even then he had been so quiet and subdued...
''Hey, you all right?''
The boy looked back, his eyes widening ''Y-you...yes, I-I'm fine...''
Namine didn't buy it but the boy was already walking away, as if he couldn't leave fast enough. That kind of stung, she knew her reputation would just make things worse but it didn't make this any easier.
'It's safe to say that this is one of the fools who believes the rumors about you.' Arsene remarked as Namine let out another sigh. 'I wonder whether to call this arrogance or idiocy. You've hardly had anytime here and yet they think they know everything about you? You're truly kind to be this concerned.'
'Ah, far as I'm concerned, it's just decency.' Namine paused as she heard some commotion from the gym. There seemed to be quite the bit of activity.
''Hey, Namine!'' Ryuji walked over. ''What's up?''
''Nothing much...say, what's going on over there?'' She added with another glance at the gym.
''Oh, that?'' He looked unimpressed. ''They're preparing for the rally. We've got less classes today because of it.''
She blinked, having heard of the event in passing ''Right. I forgot about that...''
''Meh, it's nothing worth thinking about. Completely dull.'' Ryuji stated. ''But it might be useful. I remember the faces we saw yesterday, I'm gonna go talk to these guys. We've gotta do something about Kamoshida.''
Namine nodded ''Let's start from there then. How about we meet up when this thing kicks off?''
''Yeah!''
Namine glanced at her phone, seeing that it was almost time to their first class. Once more, she strove to ignore the looks and murmurs her presence seemed to have caused. The girl couldn't help but wonder how they were going to talk to the players, she didn't think just going straight into the topic would help. It might make things even worse if the cognitive players' fear reflected the real ones feelings over Kamoshida.
She briefly thought of Shiho, the friendly girl who had gone out of her way to encourage her. Namine really didn't want to leave her in such a situation. There had to be some way to change things...
RS: Hey, I ran into a couple of the guys but they just said nothing was wrong.
Namine bit her lip as she glanced at the message her phone displayed but she wasn't all that surprised. A little disappointed maybe, but she had guessed this would happen.
NH: I found one a few minutes ago. He didn't want to talk and he more or less dragged his friend away just like that.
Ryuji replied seconds later...
RS: Just great...I'm at the gym, the rally's about to start. Come on over.
Namine headed in the direction of said area, noticing Ann heading in the same way. The girl looked at her and smiled ''Hi, Hyakuya-san.''
The former returned the greeting in kind and went on ''What's the deal with this rally anyway? From what I've heard, people sound pretty excited over it.''
''It's not really all that.'' Ann replied as they entered the gym. ''I think it's just the students who really like sports that are looking forward to it. Trust me, if it wasn't for Shiho, I could care less.''
''Oh, how is Suzui-san?''
''Pretty good! I bet the team's growing better and better with all the practice they've been doing.''
''I hear you...''
The girls talked for a bit as a volley ball game got under way. Shortly afterwards, Namine noticed Ryuji and joined him. He looked at her ''Hey, some rotten luck, huh?''
''Yeah...we did try, remember? We can't force this-even Morgana warned us that they wouldn't be open to talking. It's hardly any different than what we saw yesterday.'' She pointed out.
''I know, but...'' Ryuji's fist clenched in frustration.
Namine patted his shoulder ''It isn't easy to bear. Let's just keep at it, okay? We've got to do what we can.''
He nodded back and the two looked forward as cheers resounded, letting them see that Kamoshida had scored a goal against the other team. A few bits of praise for his technique were heard and the man grinned before walking back to his place. The game kicked off again and he soon caught the ball, and made to move.
''See, pretty boring.'' Ryuji deadpanned. ''It's just a complete ego trip for Kamoshida...''
His voice trailed off as Kamoshida's next spike wound up hitting a student in the face, knocking him out. Both he and Namine cringed as some people went over.
''Sorry about that,'' Kamoshida grimaced. ''Someone get him to the infirmary!''
It was as another student volunteered to do so and picked up the boy that Namine got to see his face. He was the boy she ran into this morning. So he had been a team member after all...
Something else got her attention then though ''...Are you serious?''
Ryuji proved that he was thinking along similar lines ''He knocked a student out and they don't even care?''
'This is ridiculous...' Captain Kidd trailed off. '...Ryuji, why don't you try talking to that boy? You might be able to get something out of him.'
''It's worth a shot.'' The boy decided, taking a moment to fill Namine in.
The girl made to follow him, pausing as she noticed one of the players who had been switched out earlier standing outside the gym. He was still holding his arm rather gingerly and it clearly hurt him a great deal.
The boy looked unnerved as Namine approached him ''W-what do you want? I heard about what you and Sakamoto were doing-I don't want any part of this...''
He stopped when the girl shook her head ''Just thought of a little something to help.''
She bent to pick up the towel sticking out of the boy's bag ''Hold out you arm, please.''
The boy gave her a wary look but did so after a few moments, cringing. He was surprised when Namine wrapped the towel so that it functioned like a makeshift sling, stopping to make sure it was secure. ''That should work-I just thought you could at least hold it up like that if it hurts so much. You should get some help for that though.''
''Oh, yeah...t-thanks...'' He managed, clearly thrown for a loop. ''...but why would you...?''
''Why not?'' Namine returned, knowing what he wanted to ask. ''I was trying to understand the situation in school but I think I might have gone about this all wrong. I won't pressure anyone if they don't want to talk-I just don't think things have to be this way. No one deserves this kind of treatment.''
The boy tried to speak before faltering and lowering his head, noting how Ryuji was watching the girl with a growing smile. Namine turned to catch up with the ex-athlete, leaving him to mull her words over.
The two wound up waiting at the infirmary for a bit before the boy, Mishima Yuuki, woke up. While he'd been surprised and soon afraid (for some reason he was particularly wary of Namine) they were able to calm him down enough to get some answers.
Unfortunately, finding the truth out made this all much worse. Why? They'd initially assumed that no one had known about what Kamoshida was pulling but it was the exact opposite.
Everyone knew the truth all along.
The members of the team, their parents and even a few of the teachers. The people involved just chose to turn a blind eye. Kamoshida was a famous former olympic player and he brought Shujin a lot of fame and reputation, which made him Principal Kobayakawa's favorite. The principal who clearly cared more about those things than the students' well fare.
All of which basically lead to the players believing that they had no choice but to bear it.
Frankly, Namine was appalled. She knew things were bad in the school but this? This was disgusting.
''He's just too powerful.'' Mishima went on. ''The situation's completely going his way, there's nothing we can do.''
''That's why he's powerful!'' Ryuji exclaimed, fed-up. ''You're all just letting him do whatever wants. You didn't even try to do anything!''
''It's pointless. Shouldn't you of all people know better? Standing up to him isn't going to do anything.''
Namine knew what he meant; the track team. Ryuji seemed to have understood too, because he ground his teeth and stormed out the infirmary. The remaining two sat in silence for a few moments.
''...You know, you're right.'' Namine said at last. ''Ryuji does know what it's like. That's just why he can't take this lying down. You guys shouldn't either, you deserve much better than this.''
When she found the blond, it was to see him kicking at a wall, more than a little angered at what they learned.
''Dammit, how the hell can he believe this stuff?!'' He exclaimed. ''It'll all messed up!''
''No kidding...'' Namine trailed off, idly thinking that Arsene was right. The Palace really did reflect the state of things here more than they imagined. ''...how could they do this? Why should the school's rep matter more than the students?''
''Got me, it's not even just the team.'' Ryuji grimaced. ''You missed Takamaki, she was here minutes ago and she basically said the same stuff Mishima did. She's just as convinced that Kamoshida's too strong.''
Well, that explained why Ann was putting up with him but it brought up another question for Namine ''Wait, you're not saying she knows about the abuse...?''
''I doubt it...'' He said after a moment, recalling what he knew about the girl. ''...I don't think she'd be so quiet if she did. She's real protective of Suzui, so I know she wouldn't be quiet about that. Takamaki's convinced that Kamoshida's in the principal's pocket so there's nothing we can do about him.''
''Not yet, that is.'' A new voice said, startling them.
A black cat with bright blue eyes and a yellow scarf around its neck walked over to the two.
''Did you just...'' Ryuji stopped when Namine shook her head before looking at the cat.
''She didn't say anything, I did.'' The cat returned, ignoring the shock this caused. ''I did say I could make sure we'd meet up sooner, right?''
This made something click for Namine ''Wait a sec, Morgana?''
''Yup!''
''The hell? Since when can you come here? And you look real different!'' Ryuji added.
''This happened when I arrived, guess my actual form works only in the Metaverse.'' Morgana stated nonchalantly. ''I thought I'd see what happened on you end. I heard part of what you were saying, guess your plans failed?''
Namine nodded while Ryuji grimaced at the reminder. Morgana then spoke ''Well, luckily for you, I have a way that can help. The Metaverse has what you need to take care of Kamoshida.''
''Wait, for real?'' Ryuji asked.
The cat nodded. ''Well, you might want to sit down. It's complicated...'' The two did so, waiting for him to begin. ''...see, I'm actually human.''
''Wait, so that's what you were on about before?'' Ryuji blinked, recalling how angry he was when called a cat. ''But this form...''
''This happened because of the distortions in the Metaverse. They cost me my memories and human form.'' Morgana explained. ''I just woke up to find myself in the Metaverse. I have no idea why I know so much about that world, I just do...I've been going around trying to find out who I am. Then I found out about Kamoshida's Palace and I started planning to take his treasure.''
He blinked ''Treasure?''
''That's the core of a Palace. Like I mentioned before, Palaces are actually created when a person's twisted desires grow greatly. If you take the treasure, the palace falls apart and it means you're effectively taking away that person's twisted desires.''
''Oh, so that's what you meant...'' Namine realized. ''...so without those desires, Kamoshida would really change and maybe even try to repent for his actions?''
''Exactly,'' Morgana affirmed. ''It's possible to even have him confess to everything. He'd never know what would happen in the metaverse either.''
''That sounds great!'' Ryuji exclaimed. ''So what else can you tell us?''
''Well...'' The cat sounded uncomfortable here. ''...there's one problem. There's a chance that Kamoshida could die.''
Now this made the two stop short.
''Wait, what?''
Morgana faltered ''Desires are an integral part of a person. A person who loses that could lose his life...''
''Okay, no.'' Ryuji cut him off.
The cat blinked ''What do you mean no?''
''I mean we're not doing this.'' The boy replied. ''We're not going to kill anyone.''
''What? But you can't...is this all it takes to shake your resolve?'' Morgana demanded.
Namine frowned. How could he even...? ''Morgana, are you listening to yourself? We might not like Kamoshida but that doesn't mean we can agree to having him die! Lives aren't something that can be treated so carelessly.''
The cat flinched and lowered his head while Ryuji nodded to her words. ''Is there some way we can make this work without the risk?''
''Well...the best way I can think of would be defeating Kamoshida's Shadow and taking the treasure.'' Morgana admitted. ''Like I said, the treasure's a part of the Palace. If we take it, the Palace falls apart and Kamoshida's wicked desires would disappear.''
''But you're not sure?'' Ryuji pressed, Morgana nodded after a moment.
Namine exhaled ''...I want to help. Just...not like this. I'd like some time to think this over.''
''That's probably for the best.'' Morgana conceded, relieved by her words. ''I think I could use some time too. I'll meet you guys up here later.''
''Sheesh, what's with that stupid cat? Acting like it's okay to consider him dying...'' Ryuji grunted as they made to leave the school.
Namine didn't respond but her expression proved that she was just as displeased at the thought. ''There's got to be a better way...''
''You're still here?''
The teens exchanged a curious look at the new voice and followed its source to their left where Kamoshida stood, facing a subdued Mishima.
''You're supposed to be in practice.'' The teacher went on.
''I-I don't feel well, Sensei...'' The boy stuttered ''...I was going to go home.''
Kamoshida sighed ''See, this is why you never improve, Mishima. You never even try. This is pathetic.''
Namine and Ryuji quickly decided to go and help ''Oi, lay off!'' The latter called ''He said he ain't feelin' well!''
''What, it's just you again?'' Kamoshida huffed. ''Stay out of this, Sakamoto.''
''No, you can't treat him like that!'' The blond pressed on.
''Who do you think you are, telling me what to do?'' The teacher retorted.
Namine's eyes narrowed ''He needs some time to rest or else he'll find up feeling even worse.''
''Yeah, you'd think an athlete would know something that basic.'' Ryuji jibed.
Kamoshida glared at the two for a moment before turning to Mishima, who flinched and looked away.
''I-I'll go...''
''Wait, what?'' Ryuji looked at him, surprised.
''I...I said I'll go...I can't skip practice.'' Mishima muttered.
Kamoshida looked smug ''There, you see? It's a good thing some do know their place after all. Go on and mind your own buisness from now on.''
Mishima followed the man reluctantly, refusing to look at the two teens, who shared a glance. Both were thinking along the same lines.
Something had to be done, and soon.
Namine leaned back against a wall and sighed, wishing that their attempts hadn't failed on all accounts. As much as she had really wanted to do something about Kamoshida, she just couldn't bring herself to consider killing him. That was going too far. The risk was clearly poignant but it looked like the Palace might be their only way to do anything about this...
''...wait, what?''
She blinked at the familiar voice and looked to her near left, where Ann stood, talking to someone on the phone.
''I told you that I can't today, I'm busy!'' Ann went on, looking frustrated. ''What?! But you can't...!'' Her voice rose as the girl looked upset. ''No, wait...!'' Her fist clenched. ''...Shiho...''
''Takamaki-san?''
The girl started, looking up to see a worried Namine watching her. ''Are you okay?''
''...How much of that did you hear?''
''Part of it, that sort of just happened. I was just nearby when I happened to hear you.''
''Oh...well, never mind then, this has nothing to do with you.'' Ann said after a moment.
The burgundy haired girl paused ''...Actually, can we talk for a bit?''
The girls headed to a restaurant called Big Bang Burger and ordered water before taking their seats. They sat in silence for a bit before Namine kicked things off.
''Ryuji said you told him that there was nothing we could do about Kamoshida.''
''Oh, that...'' Ann recalled, nodding. ''...well, it's true.''
''...Was that him on the phone?'' Namine guessed. ''I just remembered he was talking to you a bit after class ended.''
''Yeah, it was...'' Ann looked down. ''...you heard the rumors, right? About me and Kamoshida-sensei...everyone thinks we're getting it on. But that's so not true...I only played along to help Shiho...''
''I know how messed up the rumors get. I'm another example of that, remember?'' Namine offered.
''Right...'' The blonde acknowledged the fact, knowing that the other girl wouldn't fall for that talk either. ''...well, back in school and a few minutes ago...he was telling me to go to his place.''
Namine's eyes widened a bit as she watched the upset girl with concern, the implication was clear as day. Kamoshida wanted to...
'Once again, the metaverse doesn't fall short of the real world.' Arsene remarked. 'It seems that the man is just as interested in her as the shadow was in that fake princess. He was forcing himself on her all along, what a disgusting human.'
Namine bit her lip as she held back her anger, in complete agreement with her Persona. She knew Ann faced some trouble in school but she never imagined how bad this went...Kamoshida really was a terrible person.
''I told myself it would be okay...for Shiho. But I can't take it anymore!'' They heard Ann continue. ''I hate him...but if I don't do something he's probably going to take her off the team. I can't let him...I can't let him hurt her...she's the only thing I've got in that sad excuse of a school!'' Tears fell down her face at this. ''Tell me, what should I do?''
Namine tried to speak but she couldn't think of much of anything to say. What could she say to help now?
''Sorry...'' Ann wiped her eyes. ''...just forget I said that...I was the one who said this didn't have to do with you.''
''...That's not something you need to be sorry for. Everyone could use a helping hand now and then...even if asking for help isn't easy.''
Ann gave a small smile ''I knew the talk about you was wrong. You really are kind, Hyakuya-san...''
''So are you.'' The girl returned. ''I don't get why you were trying to tell us to stop...you clearly haven't just given up, have you? Otherwise, we wouldn't be here.''
Ann blinked as the point sank in ''Heh, I didn't think of it like that...I guess you're right.''
''You know...I think he's going to get what he deserves, Takamaki-san.''
''I hope you're right, Hyakuya-san. I really hope you're right...''
''Wait, the news about your record is out? How'd that happen?'' Sojiro asked, making Namine pause as she realized that she had let that slip.
Truthfully, she hadn't really given the matter much thought in all that went down recently...the question still remained though. How did that happen?
''I have no idea...'' The girl admitted. ''...I've just been trying to keep busy. There's really not much to do about that now.''
''Guess that's true. I just thought they would have handled private information about students better than this...'' Sojiro paused. ''...I would have asked how you're doing in school but that seems pretty pointless now.''
Namine was moved by his concern ''It's not too bad...I've met some nice people and made a friend. He thinks that if they don't want to even talk to me because of some rumours then it's their loss.''
''You don't say? That sounds like some friend.'' The barista thought that she could use this kind of support.
While he was still getting to know the girl, what he did pick up so far was good in his book. He half expected the girl's grandparents to have embellished a few details but most of what he had seen was on point. Namine seemed to be a decent person, somewhat quiet but she was also caring. Some would say a little too much since it might be construed as what lead her to intervene that night but he didn't think that made her a bad kid. She'd gone out of her way to help him around with the cafe more than once and that was definitely appreciated.
As the girl excused herself and left, he could imagine how Yuri and Itsuki would take all this. The two had been indignant at what they called a fake trial and were adamantly supportive of their granddaughter, relieved that she had done something to stop that drunk. At least she had some solid support...
The thought made him pause as he realized that he hadn't ever heard anything about Namine's parents. Not from the girl herself or her grandparents. Why was that?
Since one of their teachers was absent, class 2-D had been given a free period. Namine took the chance to explore Shujin, wanting to get a feel of the area. This eventually lead her to the rooftop where took a moment to take in the view it offered before something caught her eye.
She took a moment to enjoy the surprising peace of the roof before looking around, noticing what looked like a few pots and boxes full of soil in a corner.
The curious teen approached it, finding a sprout visible through the soil. So someone took care of plants here? That was definitely unexpected. It seemed recent too, because by the looks of it, the soil was moist and the pots looked to be in good shape. Idly, she found herself wondering what kind of plants those were.
''Well, you definitely seem intrigued.'' A new voice said, making the teen start and looked back to find a girl with light brown hair and hazel eyes watching her with a growing smile. ''I'm sorry for startling you. I don't see people stop by to just look everyday.''
''Oh...ah, that's okay. I didn't expect to see this in the first place, so you're the one who planted these?''
''Right, the school lets me take some time between classes to check on them.'' The new girl went on to examine the shed, looking satisfied moments later.
''It's nice, what you're doing here.'' Namine remarked. ''I think things like these just remind you to take a moment and enjoy the little things in life.''
''Right?'' The girl looked pleased. ''I couldn't agree more, ah...'' She blinked. ''...I'm sorry, I'm Haru, it's nice to meet you.''
''Likewise, I'm Namine.''
''Ah...'' Haru appeared curious. ''...you're that transfer student everyone is talking about then?''
The latter nodded, wondering what she would say to that.
Haru gave a small smile, surprising her "Well, I don't usually participate in gossip but you don't seem to be anything like what people mention. Some of that talk gets quite ridiculous anyway, it must be rough...''
''Well, I'm holding up but thanks Senpai, I appreciate the concern.''
The older girl shook her head ''It's hardly anything to be thanked for, I just stated the truth. I don't plan to treat you differently unless you give me a reason not to.''
Namine couldn't help but smile ''That's plenty-thank you.''
It was a short while after she left the rooftop that Namine knew something was up. Some students were gathered around in groups and talking among themselves, the atmosphere seemed very terse for some reason
She barely caught a bit of their talk...
''...she wants to kill herself...?'' Namine froze at this, hearing another student add.
''Yeah, I heard people say it...no one was sure though...Suzui's got a start up postion in the volley ball. Heck, she's...''
Namine tuned out the rest of the talk, her thoughts halting as she recognized the name.
Suzui-san wanted to what?!
Guess or not, she wasn't taking any chances. With that in mind, she hurried back to the roof.
As she soon found out, the worst suspicions were proven to be true.
Namine arrived in time to find Shiho beginning to climb the fence, her eyes widening as she quickly called out. ''STOP!''
Shiho did, though her expression made it clear that it was because she had never even seen this coming. ''H-Hyakuya-san...''
''Suzui-san, what happened? Why are you...'' Namine frowned, noting how the girl looked so...weary. Had she truly given up on everything?
''I have to...'' Her tone even sounded practically dead. ''...I can't take this anymore...''
Something was wrong, terribly wrong. She seemed defeated and it only made her wonder what on earth could've reduced her to this. Namine quickly shook the thought off, knowing she had to focus.
''Take what?'' Namine's tone softened as she walked over, Shiho backed away as if out of reflex. This gave the former an idea and she quickly stepped closer to make sure she could stop the girl if she tried to climb up the fence again.
''...I want to die...'' Shiho managed at last.
Namine paled ''You don't mean that...you shouldn't-I can help you!''
Around the same time...
Both girls were oblivious to the numerous eyes watching them. Students and teachers alike were watching the exchange, though as they were too far, none could be sure of what was going on.
''Why would Suzui do this?''
''You think this is bad? It'll just get worse, she's up there with Hyakuya!'' A student exclaimed. ''She's definitely going to ruin everything, if she doesn't try to hurt Suzui.''
'At least Namine's actually trying to help!' Ryuji wanted to tell the speakers off but he could barely find his voice as they watched. Really, they had some nerve. They had no business treating Namine like this. If they really did care so much, why didn't they try to do anything?
One look at Ann told him why she didn't. She was too shocked to do anything, that was one feeling he could relate to. What the hell happened to Suzui?
''Shiho...'' Ann breathed, hoping Namine would succeed. She prayed with all her heart that her best friend would come out all right.
''You don't understand!'' Shiho cried. ''There's...there's no helping it...not after yesterday...''
Namine blinked ''Yesterday?'' A thought occurred to her then. If Kamoshida went so far in his abuse against the players...he could always go worse. The idea lead her thoughts in a terrible new direction...
''...You had training again, right? What did he do you to?''
If her suspicions were true, that monster would pay dearly.
Trembling, Shiho finally answered "K-Kamo...shida...he took me off practice and...and...we went to his office...'' She took a few breaths. ''...I-I thought he...just wanted to talk for once...he hurt me before but I put up with it. Yesterday...he...he raped me!'' Namine's blood ran cold. ''I...I told myself it'd be all right, that I could take it but I was wrong! I want this to end! It has to...it's too much...I want to die!''
She stepped up, only fo find Namine in front of her. ''Move out of the way...''
The burgundy haired girl shook her head, her expression solemn. Kamoshida was scum of the highest order and she would be damned before she let the poor girl throw her life because of him.
''You have to...just let me die!'' Shiho snapped.
''No.'' She returned evenly.
''I-I'll make you!''
''Go ahead and try. You're not changing my mind.''
''Why?!'' Shiho demanded. ''You don't even know me! It doesn't matter if I live or die, so this is what I choose. The only thing I have is ruined...What do you care?''
Namine watched her evenly ''...He's not worth your life, Suzui-san. He never will be.''
Shiho froze at the vehement tone and the former continued. ''How do people go along with this in the first place? Something should have been done a long time ago! He's the reason you've been thinking in this messed up way for so long... Just as you want to die, I want to stop you. But if you really want a reason, you were one of the first people who actually looked past those ridiculous rumors and talked to me nicely. That's worth more than you'd imagine. It takes a really good person to do it. Of course it matters that you live. There's no way in hell volleyball's all you're good for.''
''Y-you don't know what you're talking about...'' Shiho was distracted as she took in her sad, compassionate gaze.
''...I don't expect you to believe me right away but it's the truth.''
''You don't...you have no idea what this is like!'' Shiho cut in.
''That's true.'' Namine's heart went out to the girl. ''I can't imagine how terrible that must be. But there are ways you can get past this. Not like this though...I know it seems inevitable but think, you still have your family and friends, like Takamaki-san. I bet she's desperately hoping that you don't go through with this. What do you think they're all going to say if you do jump? How do you think they'll feel? Even if you don't think you matter, that's wrong. You do, and especially to them.''
Namine didn't miss how she faltered at the mention of those people, but Shiho was far from calming down. Little did she know that the girl didn't blame her one bit. ''It...it doesn't matter! I'm going to...'' Her breath hitched. ''...Please move or I'll make you! I mean it!''
Namine's gaze remained firm ''Just like I meant it when I said I'll stop you.'' She kept her word even as the hysteric girl tackled her, knocking the two to a wall. Shiho struggled a bit in her hold, with Namine biting her lip to stop from crying out as the latter tried to hit her in her desperation to make her let go. No matter what pain she felt now, it couldn't possibly compare to Shiho's. Thus, she remained firm, she wouldn't fail the girl now.
It was true that she didn't know Shiho well but that wouldn't stop Namine from helping her. The girl had been among the very few not to heed the rumors and simply give her a chance. She was a good person and Namine had already made up her mind to help her.
''Why?!'' Shiho mumbled. ''I tried to hold on...I thought things could get better but...but they don't care...no one did...you're not even supposed to, so why?''
''He isn't worth your life.'' Namine repeated ''You're better than that, Suzui-san, you're better than him. I can't explain how yet but we're working on it, we're going to stop Kamoshida.''
Shiho stilled in her hold ''That...that can't be...''
''It can.'' Namine refuted gently. ''Nothing's going to change if people don't take action. Well, we've decided that it's high time someone does something about it. One way or another, we're going to make sure this doesn't happen again. Not all people are the same, Suzui-san. It's okay to ask for help every now and then. You both tried so hard to stay strong. Well, we're going to help you.''
Shiho broke down at this, burying her face in Namine's blazer as she sobbed. She was truly at her limit. Namine placed a hand on the back of her head, wishing she knew someway to make the poor girl feel better.
This..this was beyond messed up. How could a teacher...no, anybody be so cruel?
A few minutes later, she was distracted by the sound of footsteps and looked up to find Ryuji, Ann, Kawakami, Ushimaru and Chouno enter the rooftop.
''Shiho!'' The blonde cried, running to the two.
''It's okay, I think she needs to rest.'' Namine remarked as both glanced at the girl in question, who seemed to have blacked out. She must have been beyond exhausted.
Ann almost sagged in relief ''Thank you...I can't thank you enough for this...''
Namine's expression softened ''Glad I could help.''
''...I think it's safe to say you've done plenty more than that, Hyakuya.'' Ushimaru remarked, picking Shiho up.
''That's right, Miss Hyakuya!'' Chouno agreed. ''I'm amazed. You saved Miss Suzui's life!''
''Yeah, that was great!'' Ryuji added.
Namine leaned back against the wall ''...Thank goodness it worked...''
She was unaware of the teachers watching her with clear wonder before their expressions softened. Safe to say, this incident impacted their opinions on the new student.
Ryuji grinned and helped her up ''Way to go, Namine!''
''That was really brave.'' Kawakami praised. ''Come on, I think it's time we get you both out of here.''
Nurse Akie, a middle aged woman with dark hair and green eyes, hummed as she finished examining Namine ''I think you're going to be just fine. Sore, I'm afraid, but that's fixable.''
Namine didn't respond, not even acknowledging the fact that she did feel sore. Her mind just kept drifting to what she'd just learned.
''...Hyakuya-chan?''
The nurse's voice snapped her out of her thoughts, making her look back. The woman seemed to understand the issue though. ''If this is about Suzui-chan, I would say she's going to be all right thanks to you.'' Namine appeared unconvinced. ''I've been wondering, you haven't said two words ever since you were brought here...Did Suzui-chan tell you why she tried to commit suicide?''
Namine nodded, missing Ann and Kawakami looking at her in surprise. ''She said...during their practice yesterday...Kamoshida...'' She was fine with pretending to treat the man respectfully before, but now? Not a chance in hell. ''...he took her to the office and raped her.''
''What?!''
''W-wait, he wouldn't...!'' Kawakami started.
''I'm telling you what I heard, Sensei.'' Namine pointed out. ''I don't see how it's so hard to believe considering what we're dealing with here.''
''Yes, but...''
''Enough already, Sensei!'' Ann interjected. ''That bastard doesn't deserve any defense. Why the hell would Shiho lie about this? You don't have any right to question this. She was the only one who tried to reach out to her! Something you guys should have done! You've heard the talk about the volleyball team, I thought it was just that, rumors, otherwise the teachers would've done something. Now I find out you just let Kamoshida get away with everything!''
''W-we were...'' Kawakami looked taken aback by her anger. She truly didn't want to believe that a teacher would do something so awful but...
''...You can just ask her!'' Ann pointed at the nurse, noticing that the woman's expression had only turned grim. ''You've noticed, right? You just finished patching Shiho up.''
Nurse Akie nodded, seeming troubled ''I couldn't be sure why...but she's in bad shape. I honestly don't even know how she came to school today. With all that's going...what Hyakuya-chan just said filled up the blanks for me.''
''Ryuji and I have been looking into the volleyball team's situation. We don't trust Kamoshida, not one bit.'' Namine stated. ''All today did was prove that we were right not to.''
Kawakami's voice broke the ensuing silence ''So this is what you and Sakamoto were up to? Why do you care?''
''Why shouldn't we?'' Namine returned. ''This whole thing's wrong on so many levels. We just couldn't find much of any lead when no one would speak up. Now it turns out the players were convinced no one would help them so they didn't try. The students spread loads of talk about me but I won't let that stop me. I'm not going to leave everyone to suffer like this, it's just cruel. That's why I went to stop Suzui-san and I'm only thankful that it worked.''
In a few minutes, Akie left with a newly arrived Chouno to talk to Kobayakawa and Ushimaru was busy helping the other teachers talk to the students.
Ann knew that Nurse Akie had only arrived at the end of the last year, and so she more than likely had no idea about Kamoshida. It said a lot for the woman that she acted after she learned the truth, but the other teachers and students at least suspected this...some people had seen evidence of the abuse...but they all just turned a blind eye.
She cursed herself for not recognizing the problem sooner, Shiho wouldn't have gone through it all if she had...
''...Why didn't they ever say anything?'' Kawakami muttered.
''...They were all so convinced that no one was going to help so they clammed up.'' She glared at the women. ''They clearly have good reason to. You picked some time to care! If you had just done your jobs, this could have been avoided!'' The woman looked away, acknowledging the fact.
Namine figured there was more to the situation than she knew so she kept quiet, understanding that Ann needed to let this out.
Her phone beeped, bringing her attention to it as the screen displayed a message from Ryuji. The blond ex-athlete wanted her to meet him near the second floor staircase, whatever the reason, it seemed important.
''...I have to go, Takamaki-san.'' She stood. ''Would you tell me if anything happens? I'd like to make sure she's okay.''
Ann's expression softened ''Sure thing, let's see your number now.'' The girls exchanged contact information before Namine left.
''This is all your damn fault! Don't say you didn't have a choice!''
''B-but I...''
Ryuji had noticed Mishima acting strangely as the word about Suzui got out and decided to see if he knew something. It had just been a gut feeling so it got him a lot more information than he expected.
For one thing, Mishima had been the last to see Shiho right before she went to Kamoshida. He had been sent to get her, he had been helping the man along. And he had finally found out why the boy was scared of Namine. It was just down to cowardice. For it had been him who spread the news about Namine's record at Kamoshida's orders.
They had tried confronting Kamoshida, but he seemed like he couldn't care less. Instead, the man had outed Mishima's role in his schemes before declaring that he would expel the boys and leaving.
The whole thing just wound up raising the already fiery boy's temper and it lead to this...
A third voice broke the argument ''Ryuji?''
The blond and Mishima started, finding a confused Namine watching them. He started bringing the girl up to speed.
''Wait, expel you guys?'' She repeated, bewildered. ''He can't do that, right?''
''Dunno, that's what I said...'' He admitted with a grunt. ''...then it turns out that he got Mishima spreading your record through out the school.'' Aforementioned boy flinched and lowered his head at this. ''He's been so desperate to stay on the team that he pretty much became Kamoshida's gopher!''
''It's not like that!'' Mishima tried to protest.
''Oh yeah? Then how else is it? You've just been playing along to his demands!''
Namine found that she really didn't care much about the record, not after what had just happened. She had more important questions in mind.
''...Is this really going to keep up?'' She asked, recalling what Mishima said earlier. ''No matter what happens, the school will just protect Kamoshida? Even after this?'' The boys looked at her. ''Suzui-san flat out told me that the reason she wanted to kill herself is because of him!''
Ryuji looked surprised for a moment before his expression darkened while Mishima lowered his head, feeling guilty.
''You just keep saying that it's pointless, Mishima-kun. That attitude is just going to make a bad situation even worse. How much pain and suffering does he have to cause before this school realizes how rotten Kamoshida really is?'' Namine demanded, her tone icy with the anger she'd been holding back earlier.
''See, this is why we're trying to do something about this and we're not giving up.'' Ryuji said firmly.
Ryuji stopped as he saw that the last person he expected to find at that moment had come, clearly looking for them.
''Morgana?''
The cat stood before them ''...I've been thinking about what Namine said. My opinion hasn't changed...I still really want to find the treasure but...I don't want to kill anyone either. I'd hardly be any better than the person we're targeting. That was really callous of me.''
''As long as you see that...'' Namine trailed off. ''...I was actually hoping we could find you.''
''Oh?'' His ears twitched. ''Did you make up your minds then?''
''Yeah...I'm going to the Palace with you.'' The girl stated. ''I can't stand the idea of staying back and doing nothing now...that's no better than what the rest of the school did.''
''Damn straight, the bastard can't get away with all he's done. We've gotta make sure he's stopped.'' Ryuji declared.
The cat smirked ''Then it's time we get to work. We'll become the phantom thieves who will take Kamoshida down.''
It was just after they entered the Metaverse that the trio encountered a problem. But it wasn't something any of them would have seen coming.
''Wha...what is this?!''
It was Ann. She happened to be nearby as Ryuji activated the Meta-nav and so happened to be dragged along with them as a result.
''What the-Takamaki?!''
''Wow...she really is a meow-velous girl...'' Morgana mumbled.
''?'' The girl blinked, stiffening as she took in her fellow students' apperances. ''Wait, Sakamoto? And...Hyakuya-chan? What the heck's going on?!''
''That's what we want to know! Why are you here?'' Ryuji demanded.
''I was looking for you two. You guys have some plan to get at Kamoshida, right? I want in!'' Ann declared.
''No way!'' Ryuji spoke before his companions could. ''You can't be here!''
''Why not?!''
''It's too dangerous, Takamaki-san.'' Namine tried to calm them down. ''We're still getting used to this place but you don't even have a way to defend yourself.''
Ann frowned, she wasn't about to be deterred now...
Namine tried to think, wondering how to convince the girl to leave this to them. She understood that Ann had every reason to want to take action but there wasn't much she could do.
Ryuji on the other hand, decided to take a different approach to things. He had good guess of what the blonde had in mind from prior experiences with her, thus he proceeded to drag her out ''Look, just go back. We can explain later, but you really shouldn't be here!''
''Wait...!'' She tried to speak but he had already activated the navigator to send her back.
''Did you have to do it that way?'' Namine frowned.
''...You really shouldn't talk to women like that.'' Morgana chided.
''Whatever! You don't know her. She definitely wouldn't have listened.'' Ryuji stated. ''We all know why she can't be here.''
The cat didn't respond but the fact was, the ex-athlete was right. Not only did Ann lack a Persona and soul armor, she was likely to be affected by the distortions of the palace since she was a key component in Kamoshida's heart. This really was the safest way for her.
''...Let's go.''
''Code names?'' At Morgana's behest, the three were trying to find a key for a locked door the cat had found beforehand.
''Yup.'' Morgana spoke up as his companions looked at him curiously. ''It's true that our target doesn't realize our actions here but we shouldn't take the chance. That's why I think we should use code names from here on.''
''Hey, sounds cool!'' Ryuji exclaimed. ''Then...I'll be Skull.''
''I see it didn't take you very long to think of that.'' Morgana looked at his mask pointedly.
''Shut up, I like it!'' The blond insisted. ''As for you...well, I did kind of use it before so how about Mona?''
''Hmm...I guess...''
''It's cute,'' Namine half-smiled.
''Well then, it's fine with me.'' The newly named Mona shrugged. ''Any preferences, Namine?''
''Not really...'' The girl looked pensive. ''...that aside for now, where do we start, Mona?''
''Glad you asked! First things first, we need to map out the castle.'' Mona replied. ''Once we have a good feel of the area, we can find the treasure room. We'll also have to secure an escape route in case things go really bad.''
He stopped walking, noticing some Shadows forming in the corridor before them. ''...I'll explain more as we go on. For now, let's focus on this.''
As the battle ended, the enemies were joined by another shadow, this one in the form of a girl in a blue outfit and bluish white fairy wings. Morgana identified it as a Pixie, tensing as he expected it to attack.
''Oh, so you're the intruders?'' Pixie spoke with disdain. ''Put those weapons away already, I'm not stupid enough to think I can beat you all now, especially seeing what you've done. Talk about annoying, why do I have to deal with this...''
''Looks like one nasty personality there...'' Skull trailed off. ''...you really think we're just going to let you off?''
''But I'm a slave too! Kamoshida-sama treats me horribly!'' Pixie exclaimed.
The boy was unsympathetic and for good reason ''Yeah? Well, I bet it's nothing like what those guys down in the cells get.''
Pixie's eyes narrowed ''That's not the point! What do you want anyway?''
''We're looking for the key to that door.'' Namine looked pointedly at the object in question.
''Oh that? Well here, then...'' She tossed the item to her.
''Thanks.''
Pixie blinked, before she began to look flustered ''W-what's with that? You're throwing me off...not that I mind. This is a first though...'' She blinked, a white light began to surround her.
''That's right, I remember now...I don't belong to Kamoshida-sama at all. I drifted here from the sea of souls, because of his strong desires...and they made me like this.'' Pixie paused, her eyes fell on Namine then. ''Ah, I see...so what I heard was true. I'll be with you from now on.''
Before anyone could make sense of that statement, she vanished within a burst of fire. A mask floated where she stood before it flew at Namine, who instinctively tried to cover her face as the mask flew and seemingly faded into the one she currently wore.
''What's going on?!'' Skull wondered.
''I don't know!'' Mona looked flabbergasted. ''I've never heard of something like this before...''
The girl in question was just as bewildered, moreso when she heard Pixie begin to giggle.
'Ah, I see you really don't know?' She mused. 'I guess that's no surprise, I never thought I'd see someone like you after all.'
Namine idly noted how talking to her felt how it did with Arsene 'Someone like me?'
'Yes, you're a Wild Card, child. What happened is that I chose to give you my power. I think your presence purified the Palace's taint on me, that's how I could remember my true self. I never imagined it could happen with the distortions.' Pixie informed. 'And before you ask, Wild Cards are vessels chosen to bear mystical powers. The name is because their very nature is unpredictable. You can wield the power of us spirits despite already being a Persona user.'
''Hey Namine, you okay?'' Skull inquired.
''Y-yeah, the thing is...'' She quickly relayed Pixie's words, leaving them stunned.
''So you can use the power of spirits and make them your own? That's incredible!'' Mona exclaimed.
Skull was in complete agreement ''Awesome!''
''You really are impressive, Namine! This'll give our team a huge boost!'' Mona added.
The girl smiled in return ''Glad to hear it. Come on, let's move.''
The formerly locked door had taken them to a hall where they found a map, which showed that they were close to the second tower of the Palace. The three went in the direction of the square and made for the new tower...
Mona had a thought ''I got it! On the subject of codenames, how does Joker sound?''
Namine hummed ''Joker?'' She thought it over. ''I guess that would fit...''
"Really?" Skull blinked.
''Don't you know? In card games, the joker is a wild card. The one card no one can expect.'' Mona stated.
''Oh, gotcha!'' He nodded, that definitely suited their female companion.
''Joker it is then.'' Namine acknowledged. ''Mona, any idea where we go from here?''
''No...but the treasure would be where the distorion is strongest.''
''Which would be where?'' Skull inquired.
''It's hard to say...I think I can sense it if we get close but well, you see how big this place is.'' The feline returned, making him nod back and they continued walking.
''Mona, I was wondering-Pixie mentioned something about the distortions tainting her into what we saw before. Is that like what you mentioned of how Kamoshida could twist anyone in the Palace because he's the ruler? Is that how those distortions take place?'' Joker wanted to know.
''Correct.'' Mona returned. ''The taint and the distortions are in fact connected, they all stem from Kamoshida's wicked desires. Those desires are so strong that they attracted many shadows here. I expect that this is why many of them serve that shadow.''
''Then if we beat that bastard fake king back, this'll all end, right?'' Skull clarified as they made their way through the plaza.
''Exactly. The way I see it, we'll have to make sure to defeat him and stop there. Things should proceed as we want if we can weaken and return him to his true self...'' Mona suddenly stopped.
''What's up?'' Skull blinked as the cat shushed him and headed to a wall, motioning them to follow.
The three came to find a pair of shadow knights coming from the second tower talking to each other.
''It sure was a surprise to find the princess there...''
''No kidding, she never left the palace before. I wonder why she was outside. At least we got her back before the intruders found her...''
''Agreed, I don't want to think of the king's reaction if we hadn't...Anyway, let's keep our guard up.'' They walked away.
''You didn't have to do that, Mona. We could have beat them.'' Skull remarked.
The cat rolled his eyes ''Not the point! We can't fight every single shadow we find. We'd wear ourselves out. Besides, we found some useful info.''
''How's that useful? There aren't any princesses here!''
No, that was wrong. They had seen one, Joker thought ''...Mona, you think...''
''Afraid so.'' The cat admitted, knowing she caught on. ''That's the only explanation I can see...she must have found a way back.''
''Found a...'' Skull blinked, realizing that this could really apply to only one person. ''...wait, you mean Takamaki?! But there's no way!''
''I wouldn't be too sure. Joker got the navigator and you have it now. There's a chance she found it on her phone too.''
He swore ''We've gotta save her!''
With that said, the three hurried onwards in the hopes that they would make it in time.
The trio battled and defeated more shadows along, during which Namine was able to acquire a Jack-o-Lantern spirit with her newfound power. Speaking of, said power turned out to be just as useful as they imagined with her able to switch between Personas and use them accordingly. Between Arsene, Pixie and Jack-o-Lantern, there were a good number of abilities to choose from.
''Not only did I meet two Persona users in a week but one of them is a Wild Card. This is brilliant.'' Mona chirped.
''Sure sounds like it. So people like Joker here are pretty rare, right?'' Skull inquired.
''Yup, I only just heard some talk about Wild Cards and it's a lot like what Pixie told Joker. Wild Cards are practically the stuff of legends.'' The feline informed.
''Cool!'' Skull smirked while Joker appeared intrigued. ''But man those Shadows sure do get messed up, huh? Most of them are so loyal to that asshole Kamoshida that it makes me sick.''
''It just goes to show you how strong human desire can really be.'' Mona stated.
''Even if the guy's rotten to the core?''
''Yup, that actually makes it all worse.'' The cat affirmed. ''It causes all that much more corruption...''
Mona paused after a moment, frowning at a door to their far right. ''...Watch yourselves. The distortions I sense here are strong.''
''All right, let's see what this is about...'' Skull pushed the door open.
Later on, the trio would come to agree that they wished they hadn't seen what was inside.
''W-what the?!''
It was a large, almost plain room. The disturbing part was the barely clothed, bare-chested girls who were near the walls. All were clearly drained as they went on moaning but lay in provocative positions.
Mona's jaw dropped ''You mean people are aware of how messed up this guy is and they let things go so badly? Why? He's clearly a menace!"
''You can say that again...I thought those prisoners were bad enough. How messed up can that asshole be?'' Skull growled.
Joker was too sickened to say anything. She could tell how bad their target could be after what happened earlier but nothing could have prepared her for this...
''Ah, look!'' Skull called.
Shadow Kamoshida was at the far end of the room with four knight shadows, facing the real Ann, who was tied to an x-shaped post. It looked like they hadn't noticed the new arrivals yet.
''What is this?! What's going on?!'' She demanded.
Shadow Kamoshida tuned her out ''I can't believe you mixed up my princess for her. They're worlds apart.''
'My apologies.' One of the shadows bowed.
''Don't ignore me, what're you playing?!'' Ann went on. ''Why're you doing all this?''
''Because I want to, of course. This is my palace, my word rules all. Everyone obeys me.'' The evil king returned. ''Now I think I better I show you how to respect your betters...''
''Get 'em, Captain!''
The two started at the battle cry and before they knew it, Captain Kidd floated up, unleashing a blast of lightning from his cannon that took down one of the knights. Shadow Kamoshida growled as he turned
''You again?!''
''Let her go!'' Mona demanded.
''Why should I?'' The evil king leered. ''I was just about to teach her a lesson actually. Although...'' His eyes fell on Joker as he continued. ''...I could always do with another way to have fun.''
The girl glared back, refusing to show how disgusted the statement left her. Skull and Mona stepped closer to her and glowered at him...
''Wow...'' A new, vaguely familiar voice giggled. ''...you're such a perve!''
Ann's eyes opened wide as she took in the sight of what appeared to be her double walking up to Shadow Kamoshida from the bed. ''What?! What is this?!''
''Ah, my princess...'' The Shadow purred, making her beam back. ''...I was just about to show those peasants my power. Can you imagine they dare to defy me?''
Fake Ann gasped ''Are you for real? That's like, unforgiveable!''
''Isn't it?'' He agreed, nodding sagely. ''And to think, those girls have the nerve to talk back and refuse me...''
''That's practically even worse. Can't they see how lucky they are to receive your attention?''
''That's just it...''
''Lucky?'' Joker's voice cut in. Her tone was icy, which as her teammates were getting to learn, proved that she was furious. ''Get over yourself! How does any of this...'' She gestured to the room at large. ''...make us lucky? You're a monster.''
''Yeah, you don't treat people like this!'' Mona exclaimed, looking aggravated.
''Is this some kind of joke?'' A shocked Ann muttered, keeping her eyes on her fake self. What was going on here? What was that supposed to be?
''What's wrong with that? I'm only getting what I deserve.'' Shadow Kamoshida stated.
''Not yet, you haven't.'' Skull corrected. ''You deserve nothing short of a beat down. We're going to make you pay for all you've done!'
The Shadow's face twisted in anger ''We'll see about that! Attack!''
The knights moved at his command, Mona summoned Zorro at once, throwing one off with a Garu. Joker summoned Jack-o-Lantern, having it cast an Agi that gained power from the conjured wind, damaging the enemy nearby.
''Nice work, Captain Kidd!'' Skull had the Persona tackle the two shadows to knock them down before he and Mona defeated them with a few more attacks.
Meanwhile, Joker had used the chaos of the fight to dart between them and get behind the third enemy. Her companions assumed that she had meant to follow another of Mona's lessons from earlier on how to ambush Shadows to weaken them, which was partly true. Instead of ripping the mask like what Mona taught them, Joker stabbed the Shadow from the side as it began to turn. The stunned enemy tried to get at her but she swiftly dodged and retaliated by calling on Pixie to blast it with lightning. A pair of swift strikes from her blade served to defeat the knight Shadow.
''Now that what I'm talking about!'' Skull exclaimed while Mona smirked, both impressed with her effort.
Their enemy glowered back, quickly summoning more shadows. ''You're not going to win!''
''You really are fools.'' Fake Ann stated, giggling. ''King Kamoshida's the best, no one can beat him.''
''What's with her?'' Skull couldn't help but ask.
''It's just like with the players.'' Mona offered. ''She's acting according to Kamoshida's cognition. That's what the shadow believes her to be.''
Ann decided to shove all her questions aside in favor of this one ''You mean that's what he wants me to be like?''
''From the looks of it, yes.'' There was more to it than that, but it wasn't the time to explain. Either way, Mona was sure that he was right too. The real Kamoshida more than likely wanted her to be so obedient.
''Well, while I did need some toys for an outlet, nothing compares to my princess.'' Shadow Kamoshida stated. ''Those girls are nothing...just like the one who wanted to kill herself. I forgot her name...''
Ann froze ''What?''
''Ah, yeah, your little friend?'' The shadow glanced back at her. ''What happened to her is your fault, you know. If you had just listened when you were told, I wouldn't have had to...play with her. It was kind of satisfying though...''
''Why that lousy, stinking...'' Skull grit his teeth. ''...so what he did to Suzui...''
Joker hadn't said much about what Shiho had told her on the roof but he knew what Kamoshida had done must have been terrible to reduce her to that. The ex-athlete glanced questioningly at Joker, who looked down before glancing at the girls on the sides of the room. He blanched, catching on to what she wasn't saying ''...that bastard!''
Mona scowled, he had seen the ambulance taking the girl earlier but it was after talking to his companions that he understood the full story. ''What a scumbag...''
''So Shiho went through all this pain...because of me?'' Ann whispered.
''That's right...'' Her doppelganger replied with an airy tone. ''...if you had just been a good girl, none of it would've happened. She held up against the king to protect you and look what you did. Way to waste her efforts, you're such a waste of space.''
''I couldn't have said it better, princess.'' Shadow Kamoshida smirked as he walked over to Ann, who lowered her head.
''Shiho...I'm so sorry...'' She breathed.
''Now there's no point in that kind of talk, is there?'' He remarked, one hand beginning to remove her clothes. ''I say it's about time you take responsibility.''
What he planned to do was awfully clear. Skull growled ''Stop!''
''We've gotta move!'' Mona raised his scimitar.
''Takamaki-san!'' Joker called, making the two look at her in surprise. ''Are you really going to take this lying down? Please listen to me, it's Kamoshida's fault. You can see what he's really like now, he doesn't care how many people he hurts as long as he gets his way. Don't listen to him. You might have thought we were wrong to fight back but it's not like you've rolled over and given up either so don't start now!''
''...Yeah...'' Ann spoke after a few moments. ''...you're right...I was the one in the wrong the whole time. I just pretended that there wasn't much to be done but I never should've done that...I'm not going to let him win!''
'My, it's been far too long...' The girl's eyes widened as the feminine voice resounded in her head, making her bend over as pain surged in her head '...Words can only do so much before they lose their power and the time for action comes. So you finally understand how useless passivity is...'
''You're right...Carmen...'' Ann breathed.
The voice laughed 'Indeed! You were never one to take things lying down. You just lacked the means to strike back. Come now, it's time we show this sickening man your true power!'
The blonde cried out as the pain doubled; soon she was surrounded in an azure blaze that destroyed the post...
''Again?!'' Shadow Kamoshida cried out.
''A Persona...'' Mona realized. A crimson cat mask appeared on Ann's face, which she quickly removed and soon the blaze engulfed her.
Standing behind Ann was a woman clad in a red and black dress, her black hair wound up in curly pig tails. She had a black mask that was similar to Ann's and a cigar in her mouth. She held a slave on a leash while stepping on another one.
Ann was now wearing a red cat suit with pink gloves, staring Shadow Kamoshida down. She raised a hand, a second later; her fake self was destroyed in a burst of flames.
''I'm not some brainless toy for you to flaunt around, you scum bag!'' She declared. ''You stole everything from Shiho...you destroyed her. I will rob you of everything! Now, Carmen!''
'As you wish.' The Persona smirked, sending out blasts of fire that damaged all the shadows in the area.
''That was amazing!'' Mona praised as they joined the girl.
''Hell yeah it was. Now let's do this!'' Skull exclaimed.
Shadow Kamoshida grimaced, eyeing them warily ''W-what're you waiting for? Go!''
Once again, the Shadows went at the order, gearing up to attack as they surrounded the group.
''Hah, you really never learn!'' Mona ducked from an attack and knocked the enemy before him down. Skull bashed one with his club twice, only for Carmen's flames to destroy it.
''Pixie!'' Joker called, the fairy flew up, unleashing a round of lightning at all the nearby enemies. It left them stunned and vulnerable from the next round of attacks from Skull and Captain Kidd, which took them out.
''Carmen!'' Ann cried, the dancer waved a hand, sending out more flames to defeat the enemies.
Soon they had wrapped up the fight, but Shadow Kamoshida was no where to be seen.
Ann scowled ''He ran away! I'm...''
''Hold on,'' she blinked and looked at Joker. ''We don't know where he could be right now, this isn't the time. How are you feeling? Awakening a persona is exhausting.''
''...Now that you mention it...'' Since she had stopped, Ann only just realized how tired she was.
''Come on, Takamaki. We want to get at the bastard but it can wait, you wanna know what's going on, right?'' Skull inquired.
''...Yeah, let's go...''
''Wow, that's...'' By the time the four arrived in the train station, Ann was left stunned with all the information they gave her.
''I know it's a lot to take in, Lady Ann but it's all true.'' Morgana said.
''I'm not denying it. Just...'' The girl shook her head. ''...whoa, I never even imagined something like this was possible...''
''Well, that's what we're going to use to stop Kamoshida. If we stop him there, the real one's going to come clean.'' Ryuji stated.
''I want in.'' The girl declared. ''I want to help. I can't stand not doing anything after all that went down.''
''Well then, you're welcome to join us, Lady Ann!'' Morgana enthused.
''Lady Ann?'' Deciding that wasn't important, she went on ''...I want to help stop him...I know it can't make up for what happened but...''
''Hey, let's not bringing ourselves down here.'' Namine interjected. ''It's okay, you'll be making sure he won't cause any more damage. No else will have to suffer because of him when we're done. Sound good?''
Ann smiled ''Yeah...''
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 Arcana,
I have obtained the winds of blessing that shall lead to freedom and a new power...
And that's that!
This one's a little longer than usual but I really didn't feel like breaking it into two chapters. I procrastinated a little because there were some parts I'm not so sure about. With some editing here and there, I feel it's turned out better than before.
Notes:
-I've honestly been a bit lost on how to handle the situation with Shiho for a bit so I kind of wound up just sticking with this in the end. Guess I just couldn't bring myself to repeat what happens in canon.
-Well, like I said, I didn't play the game so sorry if I missed some details and if the fights are lackluster. As much as I liked the game, I don't really want to just flat out get everything done the same way. I mean come on, what would be the point of writing this if I can't get a little creative?
From here on out, the focus will come to taking Kamoshida down. As nice as it might be to have them beat down his shadow quickly, I know that won't work so I won't rush things. Of course that doesn't mean I'll be putting excessive stuff here and there either, you'll see soon enough.