Chapter 2 / An Unwelcome Change
Monday / April 11th, 2016 / Cafe Leblanc: Attic / Early Morning
Ichihara Tadashi
I opened my eyes to the dark ceiling above my new bed. A bed that I had been surprised that I even had, with the changes in my life. Considering how I am typically treated by most people as of late. Honestly, how was I even allowed this comfort? Well, it was just a mattress on a bunch of plastic crates. How did Sakura Sojiro put it? Oh right, "It's what you get for sticking your nose where it doesn't belong." Yeah, good to know coming here wasn't really going to change anything. At the very least, I no longer had to see my parents and their hypocritical faces. I was supposed to do a lot with my life, apparently. Mother thought I had some chance to get into a good college and become something big… like a doctor or something. Hell if I know. My Mother didn't care why I had been arrested. None of that even mattered anymore. After all, the assault charges against that man would stick with me for the rest of my life. Even if I never touched him. I don't even have a clue as to who he is or what he looked like. It was too dark to really tell, and things happened so quickly.
Overnight I could no longer go to my High School… and only one school would even take me. Shujin Academy, a fancy ass college prep high school in Tokyo. And my bastard Father just shook his damn head, conveying how disappointed he was. Like I ever fucking sought his stupid ass opinion or approval. My parents never really cared about me. They never really allowed me to have hobbies that didn't relate to my studies, or didn't add anything meaningful to my future. That was all it had ever been about. Ichihara Tadashi was going to be something, worth something. Maybe a doctor, maybe a star baseball player. I had certainly been well rounded in my education and in participation in sports. Especially when it came to baseball. And now that is gone. Why? Because I decided to stand up to someone. Doing what I believe is right. Defending a woman who was being hurt by a self important asshole. I was on my way home from a party with the baseball club when I came across that scene… No, forget it.
Tch, I need to not think about shit that will piss me off right when I wake up. I sat up and put my legs over the side of the bed and put my feet to the ground. There was still a load of junk up here in the attic. Still I suppose it was nice to be alone. Sakura-san had his cafe business downstairs but his actual house was a block or so away. Not too far but still it meant I would be alone at night. There was some supplies for the cafe up here, but a lot of it I could likely get rid of. I had only cleaned up a minor portion of the room last night so that way I could have some semblance of a living area. I would say this is a step up from my room at my parents' house. Then again anything was better than staying with them.
I mindlessly reached over and picked up my phone and checked the time. I was fine on time. Hmm? It's that creepy red and black eyeball app that keeps showing up on my phone. I just uninstalled it last night. What the hell was this thing? I shook my head and dragged the icon to the trash on my phone's OS and then put my phone down. Well, whatever. I best get changed and maybe get something to eat before heading to school. I got to my feet and dragged the school uniform off a hangar I had put on the side of the shelves next to the bed and I quickly began to change into it.
Yesterday had certainly been… annoying. More useless adults that all wanted nothing to do with me. Obviously I was just a bad kid that had no hope for a future. No one cared to listen to me or even want to know why I was in this situation. Sakura Sojiro, the one who agreed to take me in, had more or less been the same way. And it sounded like he hadn't been in a position to really refuse taking me in. Maybe that was why he put me up here in an attic and far away from his home. The Principal seemed to think taking me was a way to boost the reputation of the school. Rehabilitation of a known criminal or something like that. I don't get it. My teacher… Kawakami I think it was. She looked like she wanted nothing to do with me. But she also looked tired. It didn't matter though. Everyone has their reasons for what they do. Even if it means not listening to people. I don't really give a shit about what people say about me, because I know what I did and I wasn't wrong. And nothing any of these idiotic people say is going to change that part of my mind.
I sighed as I finished buttoning up my jacket and then slipped on my glasses before heading to the stairs down to the cafe. Sojiro-san stood behind the counter and seemed to be finishing some morning preparations for his store to open. With my bag slung over my shoulder I stopped at the counter and looked at him.
He noticed me but didn't look up as he seemed to be prepping some coffee… or something. I wasn't paying that close attention to it.
"Oh, so you actually are going to school?" He looked at me and I just met his eyes with a blank stare. I hardly cared for what he thought about me or my situation. But I am grateful that he took me in. Even if he had his own situation that forced him to do so, or whatever that reason actually was, I didn't need to start off a year-long stay with him with ill will. At the very least I want to have a place I can come back to that is relatively peaceful. "Here, I'll feed you. Just make sure you finish it before the customers start coming in." Sojiro-san then put up a plate on the bar, and a glass of water.
I eyed the plate of food for a moment, "So...curry...?" I couldn't help but be somewhat amused as I sat down into the chair. I mean I basically had only had curry since I showed up a couple days ago.
"What's that reaction for? Just eat it," Sojiro turned away and went back to doing his morning prep work.
When was the last time I even had anything that wasn't reheated in a microwave or something like that? I picked up the spoon and took a bite. My eyes widened for a moment as I took time to enjoy it. It was really good, maybe some of the best curry I had ever had. The flavor was complex but it was also spicy but not overpowering that you couldn't taste the other flavors. That was often a mistake that a lot of people made. Sometimes they would make curry too spicy that it just masked any other flavor that could be there. But this...this curry made an amazing balance between it… adding just enough spice without losing the overall flavor. This had to be damn near perfection. Before I had realized it I had quickly devoured the curry and rice, not leaving a single thing behind. I downed the water and when I put it down he was coming over to take the plate and everything away.
"It's time for you to go," Sojiro said as I made note of the time on the clock on the wall.
"Guess so. Thanks for the meal, it was delicious," I spoke simply. Though those words hardly portrayed how much I had actually enjoyed the meal. "Better than any curry I've ever had."
"Thanks," Sojiro said, only pausing for a moment before taking the dishes to the sink. "Hurry over to school. You'll end up late if you get lost on your way."
"I think I have a general idea of how to get there, but if I get lost I'll just ask an officer," I say.
"Right, have a good day," he said and so without another word I moved to leave the cafe. "Oh, flip the sign outside to OPEN for me."
"Okay, got it," I opened the front door and left the cafe. Closing it behind me I flipped the sign to OPEN and stepped out into Yongen-Jaya's backstreets. I sighed as I looked up into the sky. Cloudy day huh? Feels like I haven't seen the sun in the sky for a long time. Maybe I was just paranoid. I shook my head and started walking down the alleyway towards the train station. I was surprised I had managed to find this place when I first got into town. I lived out in the middle of nowhere for most of my life. I guess my trips into the city for those baseball matches had made it a lot less overwhelming then it might have been otherwise.
"Another one happened. Just yesterday, there was that train accident. This could mess up the schedule again. If you're going out today, try to leave earlier than usual," I heard the voice from the radio. I stopped to notice an old man listening to an old boom box radio from a bench.
The old man shook his head, "Accident... That would never have happened if they weren't slacking off."
I kept moving towards Yongen-Jaya station. I did catch on the news that there was an incident in the subway. I didn't think it would still be affecting the schedule but I guess I should have thought about it a bit more. I made my way to the station and down into the subway. There were a lot of people here. I knew it would be crowded. I just didn't realize how crowded it would be. I really underestimated Tokyo and what I had heard.
Before long I was crammed into the subway train to the point that I was pressed up against the door and had no leeway in which to move. How can you even fit this many people into such a tiny car? Tokyo subway trips really are no joke. Well at least they have the news showing up on the LCD screens around the subway car. They are just covering the accident from yesterday though and how it's still affecting everything. Maybe I should have left earlier...I really might be late at this point. Then we were at Shibuya station. Thankfully this was my stop and I was glad to be able to get out. Now from here I have to transfer to the Ginza line to go the rest of the way to school.
What a mad house this place is. Getting off the train was one thing but before long I'm going up stairs and trying to follow the signs to the Ginza line. What a pain in the ass. Fortunately the signs are somewhat easy enough to follow. That is until I realize part is blocked off. Hold on...don't tell me that is where the accident happened? Well there has to be another way around. Nothing can ever be simple, can it? I feel like the whole damn world won't be satisfied until it takes a giant shit on me. I mean what else in my life can go wrong? I end up having to go up another set of stairs. Fuck the escalators, that just takes longer with people in the damn way. Then I ended up going up and around again to the station square before I finally found a roundabout way to the Ginza line in the Teikyu Building. Fuck.
Thankfully it wasn't too long. I think. Who knows how much more I'll be delayed. Last thing I need is to be late on my first day of class. Getting lost is one thing… and I thought I had enough time in case I did but if the train schedules were delayed then that gave me less time to figure out where I was. I eventually got onto another train, although this one seemed more crowded then the last. And too late to get a seat...great I just enjoy being pressed up against the damn door. I don't know how but I managed to deal with it until we arrived at Aoyama-itchome. The doors opened and I stumbled out and felt free again. Please, just let me get to school without incident this morning. I could see a collection of girls from Shujin standing nearby so I had to be on the right track. I left the subway station and found myself looking at the rain.
I quickly rushed under one of the store covers, "Fuck me, rain… really?" I swore as I watched it coming down. I barely noticed that someone had moved next to me. I glanced over and noticed her wavy blonde hair that was split into pigtails. She also had on the Shujin Academy blazer, but she had on a hoodie underneath it. She also had vibrant red tights on her legs. She looked… in a word, beautiful. She noticed me and looked over and gave a small polite smile. Her eyes were blue. If I had to take a guess she seemed to be half Japanese. Probably too much postulating on my part though. But blonde hair and blue eyes were definitely not common Japanese traits.
I looked away and pulled up my phone. I didn't need to bother some girl that I just ran into. No point in trying to make friends, especially when they find out about me they likely want nothing to do with me. Just like my supposed 'friends' at my previous school. As I did so the sound of a car stopping pulled my attention.
"Hey, do you need a ride?" a man from the car called out. I glanced at him to the girl, knowing he wasn't talking to me.
"Sure," the girl said after a pause. She looked at me for a moment and then made her way to the car and into the passenger seat.
The man looked at me, "How about you?"
I shook my head, "No, I can manage."
The man nodded and started rolling up the window. I paused for a moment as I watched the girl before I lost sight of her completely. What was that look about? Thinking about it, maybe I should have gone and not let a girl that looked about my age go with some older guy.
"Get back here you damn pervy teacher," another individual came running up and stopping next to me, looking at the car that was now out of sight. "Tch."
"Pervy teacher?" I said, still holding my phone in my hand but looking at the new guy in front of me. He had short somewhat spiky bleached hair.
He turned to me, "...What do you want? You plannin' on rattin' me out to Kamoshida?"
"Kamoshida? Should I know that name or something?" I raise my eyebrows.
"Huh? In that car just now. It was Kamoshida," the guy said as if I should know this fact. "He does whatever the hell he wants. Who does he think he is-the king of a castle? Don't you agree?"
"The King of a Castle, huh? I don't know who he is, but he sounds like an ass," I say, wondering if this guy was going to get the hint that I was new to the area.
"No, I mean..." he stopped and finally looked at me. "Wait. You don't know Kamoshida? Are you for real? You're from Shujin, right?"
And he was so close to putting the dots together himself. Ah, well…
"Starting today, yeah. I take it you go to Shujin too," I was stating the obvious at this point considering his pants were the same as mine. Although this guy had on a bright yellow shirt with some sort of black and red star on it. And the bleached hair certainly gave a certain tone.
"What...? No other high school's got a uniform like this," he noted my uniform for a moment. "A second-year, huh... We're the same grade then. Never seen you before though."
"Did you miss the part where I said this is my first day?" I ask somewhat dryly.
"Oh, you a transfer student?" he shifted on his feet for a moment. "Then no wonder you don't know him. This rain ain't too bad. We better hurry up, or we'll be late."
At the very least I can follow him to school. As soon as he turned something happened and a pain shot through my head. "Ugh...God Dammit!" I swore again. Why did I feel lightheaded all of a sudden?
"Uuugh, my head hurts..." the guy next to me groans. Wait, him too? "Dammit... I wanna go home..."
Then he started moving. I had better keep up with him at the very least he knew where he was going. I sighed and put my phone back in my pocket as we took some back alleys which I assume was a shortcut to the school.
"What?" the guy stopped. I followed him and we were...in front of a castle? "What is going on? We didn't go the wrong way. The school should be right here."
Except there was no school...it was definitely a castle. It was like it should belong here. Wait...how is this even possible? "Don't tell me we got lost," I muttered under my breath.
"Only real thing to do is ask what's up. Come on, let's head inside," the guy motioned for me to follow. I had no real reason to do so, but something about this felt off. I had better stay with him for now. My body felt alert, like something was dangerous...I needed to be alarmed. Of course, why could anything go as it is supposed to go? No, just when you think you got it all figured out is when everything goes to shit. The inside of this place didn't offer any immediate answers either. My bleached hair companion looked more and more freaked out by our surroundings. "Th-That's weird... Where's the school...?"
"Okay so if this isn't the school...where does that leave us?" I asked as I stopped and looked around. Black and white tile floor, red carpet leading to a grand staircase and even a fancy chandelier over us. And the place wasn't lit with electricity but instead hundreds of candles. The design was European in nature. I didn't know much about castle interior design, but this was definitely out of place.
"This SHOULD be the school... I think..." he pulled out his phone but he frowned. "Out of service? Where'd we end up...? The sign out there was for the school, right?"
He's right, the sign at the entrance had absolutely said Shujin Academy. That just left the stupidly obvious question, "What's going on here?"
"I-I dunno! I wanna know!" he said somewhat defensively.
"Take it easy. I was being rhetorical. But you've been going to school at Shujin since your first year, right? I doubt you would make a mistake trying to come to school. Unless you are trying to pull a prank on the new kid," I gave a slight shrug.
"Why would I do that? I didn't even know you were a new kid until just a few moments ago," he was being defensive again.
"I know that. Let's just try to figure things out for now," I tried to diffuse the situation as in no way would it help to be agitated with each other. Though I had no idea what this guy's name was. But one thing at a time. As we spoke I noticed something moving from the doorway to the left of the staircase. It was... a knight? A knight in full armor? What the fuck? He even had a goddamn sword.
The bleached haired guy jumped back a bit but then it seemed his mind made a conclusion that there was a reason for all of this and calmed himself, "Geez, you freaked me out... Who're you? You a student?" He took a closer look, "Man, your costume's impressive... Is that armor real?" The knight stood there...there was no way to know where it was looking, it had some sort of mask on. "C'mon don't just stand there. Say somethin'."
Then another knight, identical to the first, stepped out towards us. Just what in the goddamned hell was going on here? This was not normal, no matter how you looked at it.
"...H-Hey, what's goin' on?" the guy nervously took a step back towards me.
"I don't think this is fake," I said as I glanced towards the door we had entered at. Could we make it if we ran? The knights had to be weighed down...so we should be able to beat them...right? "Shit."
The knight stepped closer, sword looking ready to strike.
"...This shit's real," the guy said after a moment. The two knights stepped closer again. "C-Calm down! Time out, man!" He glanced at me, "We gotta run!"
"Thanks for the idea, anything else?" I say only sparing a glare towards him.
"Fuck, man. C'mon let's run!" he made a dash towards the front door but the moment we both were moving, two more knights stood ready in front of the entrance. "Ugh, what's with these guys!?" Then a knight came behind him and knocked the bleached haired guy to the ground with his shield before either of us could react. "Oww... Y-You're gonna break my bones, dammit! Who the hell do you think you..."
Before he could do anything the knights closed in on us. And hit me from behind. I only had one thought before I blacked out. "Fuck."
Monday / April 11th, 2016 / Location Unknown / Time Unknown
Ichihara Tadashi
"...Hey. Hey! Wake up!" A voice was right next to my ears.
I groan as I sit up and grab my aching head, "Please don't yell. I don't think my head can take it right now."
He nodded as I looked up. Wait...now we're in some sort of prison cell? This place really was a castle after all. Even comes with a dungeon for prisoners. How lovely.
"You all right?" he asks after a moment.
"Mostly. How about you?" I asked, looking up at him.
He moves his arm a bit, "Yeah, more or less." He turns around and looks at our surroundings before shaking his head. "Looks like this ain't no dream... Ugh, what's goin' on!?" He then rushes over to the bars on a prison cell and starts banging on them. "Hey, let us outta here! I know there's someone out there!"
Understandable reaction but pointless. Still...what the fuck was going on? Castle's don't just suddenly replace a school overnight. "Cut it out. You're wasting your time," I call over to him which thankfully makes him stop. He turns and comes back towards me. Normal people aren't calm in a situation like this. So why the fuck wasn't I freaking out right now? No, screw that. This was precisely the time I needed to think, not panic. For the sake of the situation there was no point in discrediting what was happening. So let's look at the facts. The school was replaced by a castle...one with actual knights in full armor and swords. They had incapacitated us and thrown us here in a dungeon cell. The question is how did we get to a castle? It was from when we left the side of the road and cut through the back alleys to get to the school...so something crazy happened in transit right? And if there were no other people from school here...that had to mean only we had arrived at this place. Something seriously fucked up was responsible for this.
"Dammit, where are we!? Is this some kinda TV set...?" the guy suggested.
I shook my head, "It's far too elaborate and this material is too real. Even the smell is musty and damp like a dungeon would be."
"What the shit is..." he started but then we heard a loud and long scream. The two of us quickly moved to the end of the cage and looked around to find its source. But after a moment it stopped. "The hell was that just now?"
Wait, is that running water? This place...it was far too real. What the fuck? Then there was another scream...and maybe the sound of...Jesus, was someone being tortured down here?
"Whoa... Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa... You're shittin' me, right?" he was shaking his head. "This is real bad... Isn't there some way outta here!? C'mon, we gotta do something!"
"Yeah but what in the hell are we supposed to do?" I turned and looked at our prison cell. "That's brick and even if we could break through it, it just leads into another cell. And those chains on the wall aren't exactly there for relaxing measures. And that cell door looks to be made of cast iron and unless you got something like a flamethrower we aren't getting out without a key. Well maybe if we had something that could pick a lock. But you need to have some good solid tools to pick a lock on a cast iron cage like this."
"Well we have to be able to do something!" He wasn't really helping the situation.
"I'm open to suggestions. Feel free to chime in with something useful instead of fucking panicking," I said a little bit irritated.
"Wha-wait! You hear that?" he suddenly said before I realized that two guards approached our cell. they were knights...but because of their outfit it was hard to tell if they were the same ones that had captured us before. I doubt that mattered though.
"Be glad that your punishment has been decided upon," the guard spoke...and his voice had an odd echo to it. Strange. "Your charge is unlawful entry. Thus, you will be sentenced to death."
"Say what!?" my bleached haired companion's eyes widened.
I felt myself let out a sigh, "Yeah, sure. Why the fuck not!?"
"No one's allowed to do as they please in my castle," a new voice entered. They also seemed to have an echo-like quality to their voice but it had an air of authority to it. They approached the cell and I didn't know what to think. They had a golden crown on their head and had some sort of cloak? It had hearts all around it and looked much more elegant than it probably had any right to be.
"Huh? Wait..." the guy next to me seemed alarmed and obviously recognized the new individual. "Is that you, Kamoshida?"
"Hold on, you know this guy?" I asked him.
"Heh. I thought it was some petty thief, but to think it'd be you, Sakamoto," the golden crowned asshole spoke. "Are you trying to disobey me again? It looks like you haven't learned your lesson at all, huh? And you brought a friend this time... because you can't do anything for yourself."
"This ain't funny, you asshole," Sakamoto said. Funny, I thought the same thing about this guy with the crown. Well...Kamoshida was supposed to be a teacher at Shujin, right? I don't think that really helps me figure out anything more about this situation though. I mean, we're inside a fucking castle and as far as I know we hadn't left Tokyo. And with how authentic the armor of the knights were this would be way too much for some elaborate prank. Don't tell me that shit called the Velvet Room was actually real too? Just what kind of bullshit had I gotten myself into this time?
"Is that how you speak to a king? It seems you don't understand the position you're in at all. Not only did you sneak into my castle, you committed the crime of insulting me-the king," the one known as Kamoshida grinned. "The punishment for that is death."
"Wasn't his punishment already death?" I say dryly and pissed off.
"Shut it, commoner. It's time for an execution! Take him out!" Kamoshida ordered his knights.
"S-Stop it...!" Sakamoto backed up from the bars and so did I. They opened the door and we retreated to the far back of the cell. "...Goddammit...!"
Was this real? Were these knights really going to kill Sakamoto and I? All I wanted to do was to live out a fucking year in peace and put that garbage with that stupid man behind me. I can't change the past, especially when no one will listen to you. But was life really going to end here in some dungeon cell… in a place that shouldn't even fucking exist? I should be in school being bored out of my fucking mind with some piss poor teacher that treats me like garbage. Although I guess you could say the directness of this was an odd change of pace...but not a welcome one.
Sakamoto then charged one of the knights and surprisingly sent him flying onto his ass. I realized that these knights weren't using swords but spears. Not exactly smart choices for a confined space, "I ain't down for this shit! C'mon, we're outta here!" I'm surprised he looked at me. Even with all of this he was actually concerned for someone other than himself. That makes him a hell of a lot better than any of my 'friends' before I had come here. But before we could do anything another knight stepped up and hit Sakamoto hard in his gut with the hilt of his weapon. I couldn't do anything. I was in a bad position. "Nnngh... Owww..."
I grabbed one of the knights from behind as they tried to surround Sakamoto. This was such bullshit. And you think I'm just gonna sit by?
"Just go! Get outta here...! These guys are serious!" Sakamoto was yelling at me to run off.
"Fuck you! I'm not the kind of person that leaves someone behind to save their own skin," I called out somewhat angry.
"Forget me! We don't even know each other! C'mon! Hurry up and go!" He desperately called out for me to give up on him. Leave him to die? Save myself? Give me a break. I had the choice to do the same then too. Ignore the couple fighting, just pass by and head home like a good boy. Let a woman suffer because it isn't my business. Let something go on because it isn't your place...you don't have a personal stake in it. Fuck that. My morals aren't that Goddamn cheap.
"What's the matter? Too scared to run away?" The crown wearing Kamoshida taunted me. "Hmph, pathetic scum isn't worth my time... I'll focus on this one's execution..."
The knights picked him up as the one known as Kamoshida punched Sakamoto across his face. And then punched him a few more times, "Lowly scum! Useless pest!" His fist hammered down and caused Sakamoto to fall to the ground. I couldn't move as one of the knights now had a sword drawn on me.
I felt my hand curling into a fist. Was I really supposed to just stand here and watch this? Was there really absolutely nothing I could do?
"Hmph, where'd your energy from earlier go? A peasant like you isn't worth beating. I'll have you killed right now," Kamoshida tossed Sakamoto away from him.
"Stop it! You asshole."
"Hm? What?" Kamoshida turns to me and moves close to me. "Don't you dare tell me you don't know who I am. That look in your eyes irritates me!" He slams me back against the wall. "Hold him there..." Two knights quickly put their arms on me and constricted me to the wall. "After the peasant, it's his turn to die." Kamoshida laughs as he turns his attention to Sakamoto.
I blink and something happens...a voice enters my head. A voice of a young woman, "This is truly an unjust game... Your chances of winning are almost none. But if my voice is reaching you, there may yet be a possibility open to you..."
"What's the matter...? Are you simply going to watch? Are you forsaking him to save yourself?" Another voice...this one more mysterious than the last, provoked me. While I struggled to push myself away from the knights to help Sakamoto. "Death awaits him if you do nothing. Was your previous decision a mistake then?"
"Fuck that! I never made a mistake. I would make the same decision every fucking time!" I cried out.
"Yes, excellent! Very well... I have heeded your resolve," the voice said.
Something happened. I felt something in my head. It was like a pain but it wanted out.
"Vow to me!" The voice cried out. "I am thou, thou art I... Thou who art willing to perform all sacrilegious acts for thine own justice! Call upon my name, and release thy rage!" I felt it...it was painful..and all I could do was scream out as I tried to make sense of what this voice was telling me. "Show the strength of thy will to ascertain all on thine own, though thou be chained to Hell itself!"
It stopped and I finally understood.
"Execute him!" Kamoshida cried out, pointing at Sakamoto.
"That's enough!" I called out. And a wave of power seemed to roll off of me. I don't know what was going on, but it was my turn.
"What was that?" Kamoshida and one of the other guards turned to me, surprise apparent in Kamoshida's eyes. The guard let go of Sakamoto and they turned to me. "You desire to be killed that much...? Fine!"
The knight next to me slammed his shield across my head, causing my glasses to fall to the ground away from me. The guards pressed me against the wall again as the other knight grew closer, sword ready to strike. He brought his sword into the air but then I looked up and a rush of power came from me pushing the guards back so slightly. Then I realized something was different. I...could see? My glasses were on the ground but I had clear vision? I was near sighted so this was...weird. I put my hand up to my eyes and...huh? What was it on my face? A mask? Then I understood. I had to take the mask off.
"I have never ran away my whole life. I don't give a shit who or what you are!" I firmly gripped the side of this mask and started to pull. Then it started to give. God it hurt...it hurt like a Goddamn bitch. But it had to go...because this was who I am. I ripped it off and screamed as it came free and then looked up at Kamoshida...blood running down my face. But then something started surrounding my body.
"Hahahaha!" the voice returned as this strange blue like flame covered my whole body and then it changed my outfit. The guards were flung away from me...and the one called Kamoshida cowered and then immediately made his escape from the prison cell. Standing behind me was a being cloaked in crimson. "I am the pillager of twilight-'Arsène'!"
"What the...?" Sakamoto's eyes were wide. Couldn't blame him. It was hard for me to believe and I was the one it was happening to...and yet this felt right...it felt like...me.
"I am the rebel's soul that resides within you. If you so desire, I shall consider granting you the power to break through this crisis," Arsène glanced at me.
"Then grant me your power, because there is no way I'm going to let this shit continue," I said, meeting his gaze.
"Hmph, very well..." Arsène seemed amused.
"Who the hell are you!?" Kamoshida called out from the entrance of our cell. "Guards!" The Guards I had knocked to the ground got to their feet in response. "Start by killing that one!" He pointed at me. Wait hold on...was he really only wearing a pair of pink underwear? What the actual fuck? How did I not notice this before? No way in hell I'm dying because of someone dressed like that. The Guards then seemed to explode and turn into ...two jack o'lanterns. Each with a wizard looking hat and carrying a lantern. Whatever, bring it on.
"Defeat the enemies before you! Change that animosity into power... and unleash it!" Arsène spoke.
"Trust me, I have animosity to spare!" I growled. I spoke the name that came to me. "Persona!" Arsène then appeared before me to launch an attack that nearly devastated him immediately. I then realized...that up my sleeve...was a knife. Ohh...now this is good. It slipped out from my sleeve and into my hand as I spun its handle around my fingertips.
"Swing your blade!" Arsène spoke once more. I did so without hesitation, attacking the same creature again and this time utterly destroying it, as it disappeared into a black mist. "This power of mine is yours! Kill them however you want. Run wild to your heart's content!"
"Now you're speaking my language! Persona!" I hit the remaining creature with the ability from before, but this time it completely devastated it and it disappeared into the black mist and then there was nothing left behind.
"What..." Sakamoto was looking at me, completely baffled as to what to say.
Can't say I could blame him. Still, I mindlessly spun the knife in my hand. Wait...red gloves? Just what in the fuck was I wearing anyway? And I had the mask on again...I guess it was on when I wasn't using my Persona. whatever the fuck a Persona is. Whatever, it's power is something we need at the moment.
"What was that just now...?" Sakamoto was still looking at me. I put the knife back up the sleeve it had come from and I glared over at the one known as Kamoshida.
"You little...!" he came towards me but Sakamoto shook his stupor and got up and slammed his shoulder into Kamoshida causing him to fall to the ground.
"You like that, you son of a bitch?" Sakamoto gloated.
Wait he dropped something, "Quick grab those keys! Let's grab out stuff and go."
"Got it!" Sakamoto said as I snatched up our bags that were near the entrance and we got out. We pulled the gate to the cell closed and after a couple keys Sakamoto managed to find the right key and locked the gate. "OK, it's locked."
"Damn you!" Kamoshida yelled as he finally was able to recover and get to his feet.
"Hey...! What was that just now!? And... your clothes...!" Sakamoto said but just as he said that my strange new outfit disappeared and I reverted to my school outfit. "Whoa, it went back to normal."
"Dude, I don't fucking know," I shook my head. "But not about to complain."
"You bastards!" Kamoshida yelled from inside his cage.
"God, this's effin' nuts!" Sakamoto looked at me. "Anyways, let's scram! You lead the way!"
I had to agree with him. Whatever power I had was likely the only way we'd get out of here at this point. Though I'm not sure exactly what it was, it was better than where we had been a few moments ago. Sakamoto threw the keys away and we ran off.
"Goddamn thieves...! After them! Don't let them escape!" Kamoshida was calling out as loud as he could to any guards that might be in the area. "Y-You bastards!"
"Let's get the hell out of here," Sakamoto said and I was more than ready to comply. We both made our way away from the cell. "Any idea where to go?"
"Not really but I can take a guess. Come on we'll have to hop across that broken bridge," I said pointing up ahead of us.
"Just keep moving, I'll stick close behind. We don't know how long until more of those guards show up," Sakamoto cautioned. Yeah he was right. No time to stop and figure any of this shit out. Just needed to keep moving.
We moved relatively quickly but at the same time we did our best to keep the noise down. It was a bit of a pain when we had to jump across the water on some steel cages. Especially since it was easy to lose your footing on something like that, especially since it was slick from water. We managed to make it to the other side though with no real injuries to speak of. Still it was hard to tell if we were making progress on getting out or we were going deeper in. At the very least, Kamoshida was no longer aware of where we were. We hid behind some boxes further along avoiding being seen by guards going by.
"Christ, you think they are looking for us?" Sakamoto whispered.
"Or looking to see where their precious King has gone. I think we are okay for the moment. Although this whole situation is a load of shit," I said as I let out a long sigh.
"Yeah, none of this makes any goddamn sense," Sakamoto nodded. "Still have any idea what happened to you back there?"
"Something called a Persona. I don't really know. Either way it saved our ass so I'm not exactly my number one concern," I said and took another deep breath. I pushed my glasses up...now that I think about it...did I put my glasses back on...or had they simply appeared there when that outfit was gone? This shit is really confusing.
We finally made our way to a staircase and managed to go up. Though it was disappointing when we went out the door at the top. It looked no different than the place we had come from. Just how massive was this place? But as we moved forward...we heard more cries like we had heard before.
"We really did hear people screamin'... So we ain't the only ones who got captured!" We saw a couple people over the top of running water...but that water wave moved with a powerful force. There was no way to get across safely...and those cages the people were in, they were hanging over top of it.
"I hate to say it but we can't do anything for them. We'll have to keep going for now. There might be some sort of mechanism up ahead," I say as I move past them. They were crying for help. God dammit...how am I supposed to just ignore this shit? There has to be some way to get them. There was a bridge ahead...but it was up. Fuck my life. I stopped in front of it and looked around. Just what the hell were we supposed to do? And we were at a damn dead end.
"Dammit! How the hell're we supposed to get outta here!?" Sakamoto kicked the wall. I don't blame him in the least. I was close to losing my cool too.
"...Hey, you there," Someone called out to us. "Blondie! Frizzy Hair! Look over here!" I looked to the source in the last prison cell and saw...a cat?
Wait, what? That wasn't right...it was standing on its hind legs and its eyes were comically big. And he had a yellow scarf around its neck. Just what in the hell? I've seen enough weird things today. I'm totally close to being completely checked out.
"What is that thing!?" Sakamoto came from next to me.
"You're not soldiers of this castle, right!? Get me out of here!" he...it is a he right? Anyway, it was definitely talking to us...and a pretty straight forward request. "Look, the key's right there!" He pointed to the wall.
"We're trying to get the hell out of here...! I mean, you obviously look like an enemy too!" Sakamoto was skeptical. I mean...we had seen a lot up to this point and who knows what to believe now.
"I'm locked up here, so how can I be your enemy!? Help me out!" he looked up at me.
"Quiet down, getting louder isn't going to help any of us," I said with a sigh.
"I'm begging you; you have to help me!" it spoke but we also could hear the sound of armor moving in the distance.
"They're catchin' up already...!" Sakamoto was alarmed but we were already at a dead end so we didn't have anywhere to go but backwards and this had been the only real path we had seen up to this point. Sakamoto pulled out his phone, "Shit, there's still no service. Ain't there any way to contact someone outside? How the hell do we get out...!?"
"Hey, you two! You want to know where the exit is? Let me out and I'll take you there. You don't want to get caught and executed, right?" The cat-like creature did seem to know something. Still it was better to be cautious.
"I don't think we have much of a choice, but you better not be lying," I said, eyeing him.
"I'm not lying! It's the truth!" he pleaded.
"This thing sounds like it's all talk..." Sakamoto sounded skeptical too. That's good. Still we were already cornered.
"If you guys think you can get out on your own, then be my guest!" he said after a moment.
"Whadda we do...?" Sakamoto looked at me. The sound of armor was getting louder. "Are you seriously not messin' with us!?"
"If you don't hurry, they'll catch you," the cat creature...thing said.
Sakamoto looked at me. "We don't exactly have many options. And trusting him might be a better chance than tryin' ourselves."
"Yeah, you're right," Sakamoto said as he went over to the keys on the wall and then unlocked the cage for the strange creature.
"Ahhhh... Freedom tastes so great..." the strange creature grinned.
"Now, where's the exit, you monster cat?" Sakamoto asked.
"Don't call me a cat! I am Morgana!" he said defensively.
"Shuddup and hurry it up! You wanna be locked up again!?" Sakamoto was hardly in a mood to get into particulars and I agreed with him.
"A-All right, sheesh!" Morgana then took a few steps. "Follow me, and stay quiet." We followed him back to the bridge and he pointed to the strange statue of Kamoshida. "Hey Frizzy Hair, you gotta have it figured out right? Check his jaw."
Well Morgana wasn't exactly tall so I understood why he asked for help. I moved up to the statue...and sure enough the jaw of the statue seemed off...so I gave it a pull and...the bridge moved down. "Son of a bitch. I should really take a closer look at this stuff."
"Let's get moving," Morgana said as he moved across the bridge and to a door.
We moved through and right in front of us were guards.
"A-Aah! Shit... Shit, it's them!" Sakamoto stumbled back.
"Tch... You amateur! Stay still!" Morgana jumped in front and I felt my clothes change again to that outfit I had on before. Morgana looked back at me and seemed impressed. "You can fight, right? Let's go! Come...! Zorro!" Then like the power I had shown Morgana had shown a power of his own. But he was mostly in monochrome and held a rapier in his hand.
"You got one of those things too!?" Sakamoto seemed like he couldn't get a break. Me either.
One thing at a time. But seriously if the crazy shit could settle down for just a fucking moment, it be great.
"We will promptly shut them up," Morgana said as he held a sword over his shoulder… wait… where did he get the sword from? Ah screw it...just focus on taking them out. "Damn Shadows... they've taken up intercept positions! It means they're holding nothing back and are serious about killing us! I'll back you up, so fight like your life depends on it! Let's go!"
"As if my life hadn't depended on it from the start! Arsène!" I said and blasted the jack o'lantern that had appeared.
"Hmph, I knew you were an amateur," Morgana seemed a bit smug. "This is how you fight!" He then used his Persona Zorro to smash wind against the same enemy, but this time he caused it to fall to the ground.
"I don't have time for a lecture," I said as Morgana launched another attack and obliterated the jack o'lantern enemy. I instead pulled out the knife from my sleeve and attacked the last enemy. Morgana followed me up and we quickly destroyed the enemy...which I tried not to think about its appearance...it had been some sort of red demon...thing. Not important.
"Not bad. Your Persona's pretty powerful," Morgana said as I put my knife back up the sleeve.
"Persona...?" Sakamoto repeated "Y'mean that thing that comes outta you guys all dramatic-like?"
"Yeah...it certainly is dramatic," I scratched my head.
"Yes. You saw how Frizzy Hair here ripped off his mask when he summoned it, right? Well, everybody wears a mask deep within their heart. By removing that..." Morgana was explaining but as he did my outfit reverted once more to my school uniform.
"Huh...? He turned back to normal..." Sakamoto noted.
"Hm, it looks like you don't have full control over your power yet. The transformation shouldn't normally dissolve like that. After all-" Morgana was obviously knowledgeable.
"Rrgh, that's enough! This crap doesn't make any sense!" Sakamoto shook his head.
"Morgana, you may know what you are talking about. But for the sake of our sanity can we keep moving please?" I pleaded.
"Good idea. Come on, let's head this way," Morgana said as we headed onward...and hopefully closer to the exit. We ran past a bunch of doors as Morgana kept moving. So far he had seemed trustworthy. No reason to fight alongside us if he was just leading us to a trap. Still the sooner we got out of here the better.
"Hold on a sec," Sakamoto came to a stop. There was another cell...but there was someone inside. Whoever it was, they were wearing a jersey of some kind. "I feel like I've seen what this dude's wearin' before... Dammit! I'm too flustered! I can't remember a damn thing!"
"Come on, let's go," Morgana urged.
"Hold on, dammit!" Sakamoto said.
"We don't have time for this Blondie," Morgana pressed again.
"I have a name dammit, it's Ryuji!" he snapped back. I was regulated to frizzy hair but getting our names right was not high on my current list of things I give a shit about.
"What is it? We need to go, and fast!" Morgana was probably right. Staying out here for too long would only get us caught.
"But... who are these guys?" Ryuji indicated the guy in the cell.
"Do you really think you have time to worry about other people right now!?" Morgana was growing impatient.
From a logical standpoint he was certainly right. The smartest thing to do was to ensure our own safety.
"Besides they're..." Morgana started but was interrupted by the sounds of guards behind us.
"There!" A guard shouted.
"Time to move!" I called out.
"No time, we have to fight!" Morgana said and I couldn't get away. Dammit. My clothes changed again...and we were thrust into battle once more.
What was with this crap? I just wanted to go to school today. Why the fuck can't anything ever go the way it is supposed to? I guess my frustration was good because the power of my Persona completely obliterated one of the guards in an instant. Morgana didn't waste any time following suit and thankfully the threat was over before it had ever really begun.
"Alright, let's get away before more show up," Morgana urged us to leave.
"Hold on, we can't just leave these guys here..." Ryuji started.
"He's right, if people are trapped here then..."
"You guys don't get it do you? Look there isn't time to explain. I'm going. If you don't want to follow, be my guest!" Morgana then started taking off.
"Dammit... Fine, I'm coming!" Ryuji took off after Morgana. I hated to admit it but it seemed Morgana knew something...and maybe saving people here was more complicated than we knew. I looked at the guy in the cell before I jogged to catch up to them.
We made our way through a door and to a staircase.
"The entrance hall is right above here! The exit's nearby... Keep it up!" Morgana led us across the hall to a side room. "We're here!"
"Finally! We're saved...!" Ryuji let out a sigh of relief before rushing to the door to try and open it. "...It's not openin'! D'you trick us, you jerk!?"
"Don't jump to conclusions. Over here," Morgana opened a different door and led us inside. The room had several book shelves filled with various books. Wait, where did we need to go from here?
"How are we supposed to get out of here? There aren't even any windows," Ryuji was looking around.
"Ugh, amateur.." Morgana shook his head. "This is the most basic of basics."
I looked up to the top of the book shelf. Oh I see what he meant. "A ventilation shaft? Really? Why the fuck would a castle even have one of those?"
"Still you're right. I'm impressed. You seem to be a natural at this," Morgana grinned. I have no idea if I should take that as a compliment and I really don't care at this point.
"As long as it gets us out of here, I don't care what you say," I groan and shake my head.
"Well it does lead all the way outside," Morgana assured me.
"I see..." Ryuji nodded. "Then we just gotta get that metallic mesh off." Ryuji jumped to the top of the book shelf and gave a solid yank on the mesh and sure enough it came off...although Ryuji didn't have the most graceful of landings. "Seriously, we're finally gettin' outta here...!"
"You should wait on celebrating until you actually get out. Now get going," Morgana urged us once more.
"But... What about you?" Ryuji asked.
"There's something that I still have to do," Morgana answered. "We're going our separate ways."
"Well you held up your part of the bargain...so good luck in...whatever you are doing. Just don't get caught again," I said after a moment.
"Heh, you better be careful too. See ya," Morgana said as he watched us quickly move into the vent shaft and hopefully make our way out of this nightmare location. When we crawled out...we were no longer in the castle...as a matter of fact...we were exactly where we had started before.
Before we had even tried to make it to school.
"Did we make it...?" Ryuji asked.
I pulled out my phone to check the time...and I saw that damn app again. Except a female voice suddenly came from my phone. "You have returned to the real world. Welcome back."
"Huh? Returned...?" Ryuji looked just as confused as I was. "Does that mean we got away?"
"Man, I don't fucking know a damn thing. Look at the time...how in the hell am I going to explain this shit?" I shook my head.
"I don't know what to think anymore," Ryuji sighed. "What was all that anyways...? That castle, and Kamoshida, and that weird cat! The hell's goin' on?"
Naturally our confusion and raised voice got the attention of some officers. "What's with the yelling? Are you students of Shujin? Cutting classes, are we?"
Great, that's all I needed to do on my first day of school...miss half the day. And for a reason that no one in their right mind would ever fucking believe. Sure I get arrested and get charged with assault and no one believes me then. Like hell anyone would believe this bullshit happens. Whatever, I'm fucking done.
"Huh? No!" Ryuji said, although I had more or less given up on trying to fight it. "We were tryin' to get to school, and we ended up at this weird castle."
"...What?" The officer glared at Ryuji.
"Don't bother, Sakamoto," I said after a moment.
"Hand over your bag. You better not be doing any drugs," the officer seemed irritated. As if he was the unlucky one having to deal with us.
"Why would you think that!?" Ryuji was understandably annoyed by the accusation.
"Are you his friend?" The other officer asked me.
"Something like that," I said, unsure of what to say. I would say we are more than strangers at this point considering the shit we saw together.
"Then you should go to school. Take him with you," the other officer insisted.
"Like I'm tryin' to say... I don't know what's goin' on either!" Ryuji was still arguing with the other officer.
"We passed Shujin on our way here. There was nothing out of the ordinary about it. If you spout any more nonsense, I'll contact your school. Is that what you want?" the officer was raising the stakes...typical passive aggressive bullshit.
"C'mon, say somethin'!" Ryuji looked at me.
"Just drop it and let's get going, okay?" I said and walked off. There was no point in trying to explain ourselves to people that wouldn't listen to begin with. We would just have to figure out what happened later...on our own.
Monday / April 11th, 2016 / Shujin Academy / Lunchtime
Ichihara Tadashi
"Is this for real…?" Ryuji was flabbergasted when we arrived at the school.
Yeah this was definitely the place I came to yesterday. Only it took me forever to get home from this place. But this morning was the opposite. Great, good fucking impression to make on the first day. I suppose saying, "I got taken to a warped reality that was the school but actually a castle," wasn't going to go work on… literally anyone.
"I'm sure we came the same way… What's goin' on here?" Ryuji shook his head.
"That's exactly what I wanted to ask you," a man in a dark tan gray suit stood at the top of the stairs leading into Shujin. "We received a call from the police."
"That damn cop snitched on us after all," Ryuji muttered.
I tried to do as I was told and get to school on time. This was supposed to be the first day of many on time arrivals. But that can't fucking happen. Nope, some weird ass impossible to explain shit happened instead. Next thing I'm going to learn is that Igor and his damn Velvet Room wasn't a hallucinogenic nightmare. I'm sure today is only going to get better.
"It's rare not to see you alone," the man noted. "Where were you roaming around until this time?"
"Uhh..a ca-"
"Does it matter?" I spoke up. "Even if we have a reason for being late you have already decided not to listen to us."
The man glared at me, "So, you have no intention of giving an honest answer?"
"What's this all about?" a familiar sounding voice came before coming into view. Oh so it was him.
"Kamoshida?" Ryuji was on guard. I sighed and stuffed my hands in my pocket.
This was the guy who saw this place as his castle huh? Judging by his rather dull reaction to seeing us, that place must be more of an unconscious existence. Still, he looked like a fucking asshole.
"You seem so carefree, Sakamoto. Quite a difference from when you did morning practice for the track team," Kamoshida looked at Ryuji.
"Shuddup! It's your fault that-"
"How dare you speak that way to Kamoshida-san," the other man cut in. "There's not much leeway left for you, you know?"
I raised an eyebrow. Ryuji seemed to definitely have personal reasons to hate Kamoshida's guts. Whatever they were.
"He's the one that provoked me," Ryuji defended his actions.
"Do you really want to be expelled? In any case, you'll have to explain yourself. Follow me," the man said.
"What? This is bullshit," Ryuji resisted.
"Come now. I should have been more considerate, too. Let's just say that we were both to blame," Kamoshida said.
"Well, if you say so," the other man relented. "Still, you're coming with me. It's undeniable that you're extremely late."
"Fine…" Ryuji relented.
"By the way…" Kamoshida looked towards me now. "You're that new transfer student, correct? Ichihara Tadashi?"
Ryuji followed the other man, but not before stopping to glare at Kamoshida before continuing into the school.
Kamoshida looked at me and then looked as if he was trying to remember something before he finally asked, "Have we met somewhere?"
"This morning near the subway exit. You gave a car ride to some girl," I prompted him. Weird that I would remember something like that. No, I mostly just remember the girl.
"That's right...I remember now," Kamoshida nodded to himself. "Well, I'll overlook this just for today. I'm sure you've heard from the principal, but cause any trouble and you'll be expelled. Understand?"
I wish I could take that threat seriously. But after that other version of himself had nearly executed Ryuji and I, it just didn't carry any real weight to it. I simply nodded to him.
"At any rate, hurry up and go to the faculty office. I'm sure Kawakami-san's tired of waiting," he turned to go back into the school, but then stopped and glanced back. "Good luck trying to enjoy your new school life."
I raised my eyebrow as he disappeared into the school building. Just what the fuck was that supposed to mean? Who knows with that asshole. I entered the school, seeing a lot of students out and about. Guess it was a break time? Maybe lunch? Either way I went in and hooked a left and then up the stairs to the second floor. Then straight ahead from the stairs were three rooms, the one in the center being the faculty office. I entered and saw Kawakami sitting there.
She sighed as she noticed me, "Unbelievable. Being over half a day late on your first day? Can you explain yourself?"
"Kawakami-sensei, is there any answer I can give you that you would accept? I'm from Takayama, which is small compared to the likes of Tokyo. And yeah I live in Yongen-Jaya, which is definitely not that close to here, and with the subway accident yesterday the schedules are all wonky. But that doesn't explain why I would be so late. And honestly, I don't have an answer that would be believable. I am sorry though. I should have gotten here with plenty of time, but things beyond my control got in the way," I said and gave her a respectful bow. She still looked exhausted, and seemed I was just a new source of stress to her. Man, life is really trying to make me disliked, isn't it?
"As long as you are aware," she blinked, surprised by my actions. "I heard you were caught along with that Sakamoto-kun?"
"I'm not sure what that has to do with it," I said.
She shrugged, "Don't get involved with him, okay? He's nothing but trouble. He wasn't like that when he was devoting his time to track and field though. Anyway, the break is almost over. Classes will end after fifth period today because of the subway accident. I'll have you introduce yourself when class resumes. Follow me."
So I did, and when we got to the door of the class she stopped and turned to me, "By the way, when you introduce yourself. Be serious about it even if you're lying to the class, okay? Do NOT say anything unnecessary."
If only I could just go without saying anything at all. Either way we entered the classroom on the second floor and as soon as I entered they were already chatting.
"Settle down," Kawakami grabbed their attention. "Well, I'd like to introduce a transfer student: Ichihara Tadashi. Today, we… had him attend from the afternoon on since he wasn't feeling well. All right, please say something to the class."
I raised an eyebrow. Really? I wasn't feeling well? All that shit from before and that's the best you got Kawakami-sensei? You might as well say that something else was happening but you have no intention of telling them. Well, whatever. I sighed, "Nice to meet you all." My tone was flat and I made it clear I didn't want to be here.
"Your seat will be… over there. The one that's open. Sorry, but can the people nearby please share your textbooks with him for today?" Kawakami-sensei said.
Don't know why everyone was whispering but I went to the empty seat near the back and behind… Huh? I knew her.
"...Lies," the girl said as she looked up at me. Our eyes met.
Well yeah, of course you know it's a lie. You saw me this morning. I think saying hi to her would give a much different reply than I cared for. I passed her and whispered, "You know it."
She glared back at me, and I stared right back. It was a long moment before she turned away and I slipped into the seat behind her.
The rest of the class was whispering and I didn't care to listen in. From the sounds of it, my criminal record wasn't exactly as secret as Sakura-san suggested it should be.
"Oh, right! The volleyball rally's in two days… Everyone's just changed classes, so make sure you use that time to get to know each other. Well then, let's get class started. Who's on duty today?" Kawakami-sensei did what she could to take control of the class. As I suspected though, the class did seem to know something about me. And because of that, no classmate was gonna share their textbook. Not a big deal, it was Japanese language class after all. And Kawakami-sensei didn't so much as look in my direction.
Class ended not long after and we were dismissed for the day. Seeing as everyone avoided me I just got up and exited the class. As I did I got out into the hall and stopped. I grabbed my head as I felt a pulse and for the slightest of moments the environment changed around me and it was like I was… in a castle.
"Hm? What's wrong?" Kawakami-sensei approached me from behind. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah, it's probably nothing. I'm more concerned about what my classmates seemed to be talking about," I said looking towards her.
"I noticed that too," she admitted. "I can promise you that it wasn't me. I can't even catch a break… Why do I have to deal with this? You should head straight home without stopping by anywhere. Sakura-san sounded pretty angry."
I nodded, "Yeah that was my plan."
Then the next moment, Ryuji was walking up.
"What do you want? I heard the police caught you cutting classes today," Kawakami asked him.
"Ugh… It was nothin'," Ryuji said. He was pretty bad with dealing with direct allegations wasn't he?
"And you haven't dyed your hair back to black either…" she further commented.
"Sorry 'bout that," Ryuji said before walking towards me. "I'll be waitin' on the rooftop." Then he walked away.
Kawakami shook her head as he walked off, "Remember what I said? You shouldn't get involved with him." She then walked off.
I found myself watching her leave, but then a second later, Kamoshida and Principal Kobayakawa came up the stairs. Also this school has a lot of people with last names that start with K.
"Why did you allow a student like him to transfer here? He's already started associating with Sakamoto. A student with a criminal record, and the culprit of an assault case. At this rate, it'd be pointless how much I contribute to the school," Kamoshida said.
"Now don't be like that. This school counts on you, Kamoshida-kun. You are our star. Still, a steady build-up is necessary behind such brilliance as well," the principal answered.
So, what? I'm a pet project to be reformed and be something they can brag about. Look at that criminal Ichihara and how he became a functional member of society after attending our school. Pfft, yeah right.
"All right, I understand. I'll continue to do my best to answer your expectations of me," Kamoshida said as I watched the two of them walk off.
I headed up the stairs and continued past the next floor and to the roof. I didn't hesitate to exit out onto the roof where I found Ryuji sitting there.
"..There you are," Ryuji seemed relieved. "Sorry for callin' you up here like this. I bet Kawakami already told you stuff like, 'don't get involved with him,' huh?"
"I get told to do a lot of things lately. But considering what we saw, you think I give a shit about what some teachers say?" I shook my head.
"I guess not," he shifted a bit in the chair he was sitting on. Actually there were a lot of desks up here too. People at this school can't even properly dispose of things? Then again Takayama was the opposite and often found itself lacking supplies. "I heard you got a criminal record. Everyone's talkin' about it. No wonder you were so gutsy."
I folded my arms and glared at him.
He seemed to ignore me, "What was all that that happened? You know, how we almost got killed at a castle. It wasn't a dream, right? You remember it too, yeah? Even if we both remember it doesn't mean much though."
"I'm sure you won't remember it as much of a dream if you wake up with a bruise where that guard hit you though," I pointed out.
"That's true. Even if it was a dream, you saved me from Kamoshida. So yeah… thanks, Ichihara," Ryuji said.
"Yeah, I guess so," I scratched my head.
"But man, that Kamoshida we saw there…" Ryuji shifted again. "You prolly don't know about it, but there are some rumors about him. No one says anything against him 'cause he's some medalist who took the volleyball team to nationals. The way Kamoshida was king of that castle felt crazy real 'cause of that. I wonder if we can go back to that castle again. Ugh, forget it. Must've all been a dream! It has to be! Sorry to drag you out here like this. That's all I had to say. You know, we might be pretty similar. I feel like we're gonna get along just fine as troublemakers. I'm Sakamoto Ryuji. I'll come talk if I see you around. Don't ignore me, all right? Seeya."
And just like that he was gone, leaving me alone on the roof. That was an overly one-sided conversation.
You want me to believe that what we experienced was some crazy dream? What did we do? Pass out in the alleyway together after inhaling some hallucinogenic gas? Yeah, right.
So… to summarize. I got pulled into some weird alternate dimension, got threatened by a pink underwear wearing Kamoshida with an overblown ego. Met a talking cat that helped us escape. Reappeared near the subway entrance, Got to school during the Lunchbreak. Somehow managed to only get a slap on the wrist for being so late, probably on account that no one wanted to deal with actually reporting me. And the entire student body seems to know about my assault charge, meaning that my chance for actually having a peaceful year with people not aware of my situation was absolutely zero.
All in all, this situation is just as fucked as my life has been since July. Time to go back to Leblanc and have Sakura-san be disappointed in me on my third day living in Tokyo. Oh joy, I can't wait for tomorrow.
Monday / April 11th, 2016 / The Velvet Room / Time Unknown
Ichihara Tadashi
My eyes blink open and I find myself in a familiar place once more. No, I wasn't in the attic of the cafe. Once more I find myself in a jail cell, but this one was notably different than the last. This was a place I had seen before.
"...About time you've come to," a young girl with a stern voice spoke to me and slammed something against the cell. "On your feet, Inmate!"
I can't even fucking sleep like a normal person. Am I just doomed to be tortured for the rest of my goddamn life?
"Our master wishes to speak with you. It's for your own sake that you take his words to heart," A similar yet somewhat emotionless voice spoke next. That's right, these two young girls were Caroline and Justine. Wardens of this place, called the Velvet Room. Though it was a prison, not much of a room.
Despite myself I got up from the prison bed and made my way over to the cell door and rested my hands against it...having to struggle a bit against the chain on my foot. This was a load of crap in my opinion. So this power I awakened to was connected to this place? Why the hell did it have anything to do with me? And I bet they likely knew all about the little adventure I had today with Ryuji and that talking creature named Morgana. I was supposed to just mind my own business and live a normal school life. The more things moved...the less it seemed possible to do that.
"First off, let us celebrate our reunion," The Master of this place, Igor, shuffled his positions and looked at me. His nose...was stupid long. Was that kind of length even possible without drooping down? It was oddly gravity defying in nature. "Oh...? You've awakened to your powers. And special ones at that. Your rehabilitation can finally begin."
"My rehabilitation?" I scoffed. Nothing was wrong with me so what was with this garbage? Another adult that thought he knew my life better than me? Maybe think I am making the wrong decisions? Fuck that.
This somehow amused Igor instead, his grin went lopsided as he gazed at me, "There is no need to understand it all for the time being. You will be training the power of Persona, which you have awakened to. Personas are, in other words, a 'mask'-an armor of the heart when confronting worldly matters. I have high expectations for you."
I've heard that line before. Whatever. Persona was that being Arsène that gave me power to fight right? But it was also a part of me. "How can you have high expectations for me when I don't even really know what you are talking about?" I shook my head.
"There is no need to worry," Igor shifted his posture. Though he did seem amused at my confusion. "You will learn when the time comes."
So this was on some sort of need to know basis kind of bullshit? Not that I expected anything less from any adults in my life.
"By the by...have you come to appreciate the Metaverse Navigator?" Igor asked, using a term I had never heard. But my mind immediately jumped to that app that kept fucking installing on my phone out of nowhere. "Using it will allow you to come and go between reality and Palaces."
"To what and what? I don't know anything about what you just said," I shook my head. "What is a palace? Or a Metaverse Navigator?"
"It is something I bestowed to you as a means to train you as a thief," Igor said using yet another term that I felt had no place in a conversation with me.
"I am not a goddamn thief," I was starting to feel pissed.
"The Metaverse Navigator is a gift from our master! You better take care in using it, inmate!" Caroline glared at me.
"I didn't ask for any goddamn gift," I met her glare head on.
"Devote yourself to your training so that you may become a fine thief," Justine added.
"Why do you keep saying that? I'm not a thief," I felt like I wasn't being listened to at all.
"It must be disheartening to make use of the Metaverse Navigator alone. Should there be others who would prove beneficial to you, I will grant it to them as well," Igor insisted, ignoring my words completely. However, my frustration only seemed to amuse Igor that much more. "This is all for you to grow as a most excellent thief..."
Then a bell went off somewhere. Caroline spoke next, "Hmpf, it's time. Go back and enjoy whatever rest you might have..."
I felt my surroundings going dark. You know what… fuck the Velvet room. Fuck Caroline and Justine...and especially fuck Igor. I have no reason to ever become a thief. None whatsoever.
A/N:
Tadashi has an aversion to the word thief. As someone that basically is roped into being a phantom thief, you can tell this can probably be a point of contention moving forward. Semantics aside, he has awakened to his Persona and the first dive into the Metaverse. This despite the fact that the only thing Tadashi really wanted was to quietly get through his school life, and holding on to his anger. Which only to find that any hope of a quiet school life was also out the window.
After getting to school and into class, he soon finds out that his criminal record got leaked to the student body, making him the center of unwanted attention from the beginning and essentially ruining any chance of having a normal life. Followed by his trip to the Velvet Room, Tadashi is just building up anger.
As like most of my other work, the main appeal I had for writing this work was giving the main protagonist a real background and more realistic emotions and reactions to what happened to him. This is why I stayed away from what might be considered his canon name for the story. It makes it easier to separate and accept that he's different. Tadashi has anger issues. Okay he didn't ALWAYS have anger issues, but after what he went thought,he does now. But there is a lot more layers than the main game ever offers. Like why his Parents just send him off to stay with someone they don't even know. And in a city that is far away. And at no point is the main character ever checked on by them. So we know that the parents basically wrote off their kid.
That is all for this update! See you all in the next month for Chapter 3!