With the first key in their possession, the group had a solid idea of what their time in this Kingdom was going to be like. When they returned. Toshiro recalled another memory with Eri: the time she managed to make someone as uptight as him to say 'thank you' instead of 'i'm sorry', after misplacing important Student Council documents. Because of his extremely strict upbringing with his father, he often found himself saying the latter whenever he made a mistake.
But Eri? She was able to get him to say thank you after a bit of a struggle. She couldn't hearing him apologize over and over.
"Sounds like she's a pretty good senpai." Ryuji said with a slight grin.
"Well, she certainly was a unique one. She was able to change my perspective and frame of mind so quickly." Toshiro said with a hint of fondness. "But she also taught me how to better communicate with others."
"..." Erina furrowed her brows.
"Something wrong, Erina? Morgana asked.
"Oh, it's nothing." Erina shook her head. "I do think we should start looking for those keys soon, right? It's not like we have a lot of time."
"Ah, you're right." Toshiro said. "I apologize for taking up everyone's time with such a long story."
"Don't worry, I wasn't listening." Mika was filing her nails. Toshiro just broke out into a cold sweat. While he was told to not mind Mika's remarks, something about her dismissive tone made it hard to do so. He really couldn't get even an inch with her.
"Er...Natsuhara-san...thank you." Toshiro mumbled under his breath. After all she did for him, how could he forget her? The least he could do was thank her for all she did do for him and with him. "I break out into a cold sweat and my ribs start hurting like I did a two mile sprint..."
"That sounds more like trauma..." Sumire said with a nervous smile. She felt like, that whatever Toshiro remembered about Eri dragging him all over the place was only the tip of the iceberg.
"Mm..." Hifumi stared at Erina. Everyone could tell that the revelation about Eri was weighing heavily on her mind. There wasn't much they could do about it, however. "I'm worried about Erina."
"Because she's in the middle of an identity crisis?" Ichinose said it bluntly. She didn't mean for it to come off so crass, but it couldn't be helped.
"Yes..." Hifumi said. "I didn't think much of her presence until we saw the memory of Eri. But now I'm confused. It's almost similar to what happened with Guernica, but not quite. I don't know what it means."
"We'll figure it out the more fight in this Kingdom." Ren said. He had the same questions. "There's no use thinking about it too much at this point. When we learn more, then we can put your noggin to use."
"He's right. Jumping to conclusions with little evidence does no one any favors." Zenkichi said. "Best we can do is business as usual."
"Yes, you're right. I shouldn't be getting ahead of myself." Hifumi shook it off. "That's unlike me. One step at a time."
"That's more like it." Ren said with a grin. "Sometimes you're a little too smart for your own good." It was a teasing comment. One to which Hfiumi replied with by smiling bashfully.
"Ehehe..." Hifumi gave a soft giggle.
With a bit of rest behind them, Makoto approached the leading Rebel. "So, what's next on the docket for this key hunt?"
"The next key is located in the cafeteria!" The rebel said.
Yusuke immediately closed the distance between them, grabbing the Rebel by the shoulders with an anxious look in his eyes. "The cafeteria you say!? How do the meal plans work here? If I can't enroll, could I at least start a tab!?" Hifumi grabbed Yusuke by the back of his shirt collar, prying him off of the poor, shaken Rebel.
"Rein it in, Inari..." Futaba rolled her eyes.
"And I'm sure your tab at Kosei's bad enough already." Ryuji added with a shake of his head.
"You have no idea." Hifumi used her free hand to pinch the bridge of her nose. "I've been making sure it doesn't get worse, but there's only so much I can do..." As a friend, she could help Yusuke so much...
"Considering how hostile this place can get, you better not think about sneaking food!" Ann warned.
"I don't remember much about my school cafeterias. I always ate alone." Ichinose said, absentmindedly. "...And will there even be food for us to eat?"
"I don't think we should try it." Zenkichi said. It was for the best they left that idea alone.
"Heheh, right?" Erina managed to snicker. "Well, I can understand getting hungry, but we've got a job waiting for us in that cafeteria."
"..." Toshiro said nothing. He was thinking. "If I had to wager...it's on the second floor, right?"
The rebels were surprised that Toshiro knew where it was. "That's right! Head up the nearest stairwell, continue on straight and you'll find it!"
"Sounds like you already knew that, though!" The female rebel said. "So you'd better not waste anymore time and get going!"
"No doubt that this is the school you went to, then." Akechi remarked. They didn't have to waste energy pretending this was a surprise, given the circumstances.
"Yeah..." Toshiro said. "I'll lead the way." This building was familiar to him, in the depths of his memory. Wandering it would be a breeze. With that, he led the Phantom Thieves out of the Rebel Club's hideout, and outside into the hallway.
.
.
The group made their way through the school with no trouble. It was nice to not have to be on guard the whole time, but that didn't mean they couldn't relax. "This whole building looks the same..." Sumire said quietly. At least wish Shujin, there were a few distinctive differences between floors. But when moving from the first to the second floor of this building, nothing changed.
"The cafeteria should be just up ahead." Toshiro told the others. "Let's hurry."
"Are you remembering how to navigate this building?" Sophia asked. It was easy to tell that he went to this school at some point in his life.
"Yes." Toshiro replied. "It may be distorted or inaccurate here and there, but I can say with absolute certainty that this is the same building from my high school years."
"Does that mean you have an idea as to who's in charge here?" Ichinose asked. It was as good a question as any.
"Can you remember anyone who caused problems for you? Maybe some of the students? Perhaps even a teacher..." Haru said.
"It's jumping the gun a lot, but if it was a teacher, I wouldn't be surprised." Ren shook his head a bit. He wasn't going to say anything yet, but he could already feel his blood boiling at the thought.
The conversation didn't get to continue for long, because the PA system fizzled to life. "You...scum..." A voice on the the other line spoke to them, causing them to go on alert. "I can't believe it's you. So you're the low lives disturbing my sacred place..."
"That voice...who is that!?" Toshiro couldn't figure it out...!
"Leave now, or suffer the consequences." The mysterious voice demanded.
"Speak of the devil!" Ryuji looked towards the ceiling. "So I guess I'm talkin' to the big cheese, yeah? Look, I dunno who you are, but you get in our way and we'll mess you up, got it!?"
"You...mess me up...?" The voice sounded as if it was holding in a laugh. "You fool. You have no idea what that would do."
"We don't do we?" Akechi lifted a brow. "Why don't you unlock that door so we can find out? Because all you can do is threaten us from your lofty throne."
"Ah, that's right...!" Ann's eyes were wide. At first she was wondering why Ryuji and Akechi were provoking this voice, but if they could've been attacked like this, they would've already. "If the door is locked, does that mean they can't leave either...?"
"Questions for later." Mika waved Ann's question aside, she was curious about this voice.
"Who are you, already!?" Toshiro demanded to know.
"Who am I? Hehehehehe! You mean, you've forgotten?" The voice laughed. "But you're the one who knows me best! I'm ***! Hehehe...Hahahahahahaha!"
"We can't hear it even now..." Zenkichi was mildly annoyed at this. Even when the ruler was taunting them, although that was probably why they did it, he figured.
"I guess that's it." Ryuji sighed.
"That felt pointless." Mika rolled her eyes. "I thought we were going to get something out of it! Instead, we just get a creepy voice that laughs at us. I still prefer that to Yoshiki."
"No arguments there." If Morgana and Mika could agree on something, it was really bad.
"Dammit, if only I could remember who that could be...!" It was frustrating for Toshiro. To be called out by all of these figures, only to have no memory of them for a while.
"I suppose this is the first unknown Kingdom ruler we've encountered." Makoto was one to glean whatever information they could.
"No big deal for the likes of us." Ren said calmly. "Still, I wonder who it is..."
"So the only thing we know is that we know nothing." Mika threw her arms up, slightly irritated.
"We're likely coming to blows with another eccentric character like Marie and Yoshiki were." Haru stated. That wasn't a poor assessment.
"The ruler of this place is the one making things hard for the Rebel Club, right?" Sophia kept her gaze on the ceiling. "If that's the case, what if they were making things hard for the whole school, too? This is a different area compared to Marie and Yoshiki's Kingdom. It involves a greater environment than those two..."
"Sophia could be right." Ichinose decided to piggyback off Sophia's hypothesis. "While I had far from a usual school experience, I do work at one. And things travel fast."
"Yeah..." Ann rubbed her arm for a moment. Hifumi placed a hand on her shoulder to comfort her.
"Whatever the case, it appears we can only exchange words with our new friend until we unlock the door." Hifumi stated. "So we should not get riled up by its empty taunts. But once we have those keys..."
"Once we get those keys, then we can get to punchin' that guy out!" Ryuji and Hifumi, on the same wavelength as usual.
"I'm picking up a big, open space ahead of us." Futaba reported. "Looks like Toshiro was right on the money!"
Toshiro knew the door. He opened it and walked them inside. It was a very spacious room, as one might expect. "So, this is the cafeteria? It's pretty huge." Ann commented.
"It certainly feels like the quintessential cafeteria. This room has the nicest vibe in the whole building." Haru smiled.
"The bar is in hell." Mika replied to that. Haru wasn't wrong, but given the rest of the area, it wasn't hard to achieve.
"I believe I'm remembering more now." Toshiro said as he looked around the room. "The food here was quite popular, especially for the price. I'd heard that this place was constantly packed with students."
"You 'heard'?" Erina tilted her head. "So you never actually ate here?"
"I was never one for crowded places like this." Toshiro replied. "From what I remember, I was always cooped up in the student council room with a homemade bento."
"Boy, do I relate to that." Ichinose and Futaba said at the same time. Even if their reasons for doing so were fairly different, it was a sentiment they could share all the same.
"Cafeterias are for normies- definitely not my kind of scene." Futaba added. "I'd probably explode if I got forced to eat in one...!"
"It's just a food room. Not life or death." Ryuji sighed. "Besides, you just eat with us at Shujin anyway..."
"It's the best place to be!" Futaba grinned.
"I just kept to myself." Ichinose shrugged. After the death of her parents, she was never around anyone, even if a few people did make the occasional attempt. "...I wonder what would've happened if I did accept." Just as she never forgot the cutting words of those around her, she never forgot those that actually did try to reach out to her either. She wondered how different things would be...
"This is a riveting conversation, but I think we've got more important things to deal with." Akechi pointed towards the door they were looking for.
"Door number 2." Ren slid his hands into his pockets. When they approached, the door opened for them, beckoning them inside. "Alright, everyone. Let's do this!"
.
.
Upon entering the cafeteria door, the Phantom Thieves came in swinging. They knew what to expect at this point, and with their power, the Legionnaires were having a tough time keeping up with them. Skull reveled in his ability to go all out once again, with William appearing in front of him. "Run 'em all down!" He pointed ahead, and William charged forward on his ship, completely barreling down any and everything that stood in his way.
"I gotta say, I like feeling like I got my own power again!" Wolf activated his Fury, while also still making use of a sub persona - King Frost. He swung his sword forward, imbuing it with the power of ice. This prompted a gigantic shockwave of ice to completely freeze over a large area in front of him. Numerous Legionnaires attempted to get out of the way, but were unable to and frozen.
Dragon elected to finish this off, leaping up from above. "The finishing blow!" She dropped her hand down, releasing her favorite Megidoloan onto the remaining Legionnaires. The massive dome of almighty magic consumed everything in its way. Once she landed on the ground, she let out a small exhale. "I almost feel nostalgic for the days that took a lot out of me. But I don't miss them that much."
"That really is your favorite thing to do, isn't it?" Violet commented with a slight giggle. Everyone already knew not to get on Dragon's bad side. She could always be scary.
"That settles the matter nicely." Fox said, now taking the opportunity to look around. "Now, for this second so-called 'key'..."
Just as before, there was another shiny object off in the distance. "Look! Over there!" Noir pointed out. As they approached it, they saw that it was a box.
"That's a strange box..." Sophie tilted her head while looking at it.
"Oh! I learned about this in history class! Something in the Edo-period?" Panther said, excitedly.
"I...It's a suggestion box." Queen said with a sweat drop. She picked up the box and turned it around, where it had 'student council suggestion box' written on it. Panther felt embarrassed and glanced away. Viper laughed. "Basically, it's a way to collect people's complaints and requests anonymously." Being a former Student Council President, she would know all about this. "Although, this one appears to be empty..."
"Think this'll jog any memories, Toshiro?" Mona asked.
"I can't say for certain. But perhaps touching it like last time will bring back some memories." So, with that theory in mind, Toshiro reached out for the box. The moment his hand touched it, a familiar bright white light appeared.
"Yup! You called it!" Erina exclaimed. And once again, they were going to enter another of Toshiro's memories...
.
.
[Flashback]
The student council room. Eri yawned loudly. "I'm sooooo tired...I pulled an all-nighter on a mock exam. Entrance exams might be important, but that doesn't change the fact that they suck."
"Overnight cramming is actually counterproductive." Toshiro said in a matter of fact tone. "Sleep is necessary for committing what you've learned to memory. You might it by cramming for regular tests, but comprehensive ones like entrance exams requite long term memory for any chance."
"Oh, good, I can get some shut eye during this lecture." Eri replied with a teasing tone.
Toshiro narrowed his eyes bit. Always, with this girl...! "I don't give you lectures, I give you advice! If anything, I should lecture you on how to take advice properly."
"Yeah, yeah." Eri's tone dismissed his concern, as always. There was a moment of silence, before Eri glanced in the direction of the suggestion box. "By the way, I noticed earlier...the suggestion box has been awfully empty lately."
"If I had to guess, I'd say it's because we've taken care of everything by now." And Toshiro felt rather proud of that accomplishment. They did a lot together. "You're going to run yourself ragged if you're always looking for trouble to clean up, Eri."
"You're saying I should turn a blind eye to people in need?!" Eri replied. "That would run me even more ragged?"
Ugh, typical Eri. Always looking for something to do. "Can't you put yourself in my shoes for once?" Toshiro sighed, hoping that Eri could see the big picture for once. "Can't you just enjoy the peace and quiet as the fruits of your labor?"
"I sure hope you're right." Eri wanted to agree to that, she did. And yet... "But, something's still bugging me - isn't the vibe at school kinda...weird now?" She wasn't sure how to describe it. But something in the air felt wrong to her.
"Weird?" Toshiro didn't get it. The conversation stopped when there was a knock at the door.
Oh! A person to help! Just what Eri needed. "Come innnnn!"
A girl walked in, but she looked troubled. Hesitant. "Hi...um...someone said...that you guys hear out people in trouble..?"
"That's right!" Eri said, patting Toshiro on the back. "Whatever it is, you can tell mister future prime minster here!"
"Don't say such ridiculous things..." Toshiro grumbled in response.
"How come?" Eri tilted her head. "One day you'll be a Diet member, and then you'll make prime minster, yeah?"
Toshiro turned to roll his eyes at Eri. "I never said such a thing!"
"Whaaaat? You don't remember your speech?" Eri teased. "I'll never take favors from my father! I'll stand on my own two feet!" Her voice deepened, doing her best to impersonate Toshiro's voice.
"I've definitely never said THAT!" Toshiro spoke with a low, annoyed grumble in his throat. "You must do the worst impression I've ever seen."
"Huh!? Objection, Your Honor!" Eri said. "Oh, wait...is that a prime minster, or a judge?"
The girl that was playing third wheel really had no idea what to do or say. "Um..."
And in that moment, they remembered she was there. "Oh, sorry, sorry! Here, grab a seat and hit us with the deets." Eri said with a slightly nervous sweat drop. She almost forgot about the girl because teasing Toshiro was just too much fun.
The girl did just that. The news the two received shocked them both.
"Vice Principal Nakabachi's been blackmailing students and staff here?" Toshiro needed a moment to digest this information.
"..." Eri clenched her hand into a fist. So that's why she felt like things were off...
"I was such an idiot!" The girl's name was Yuri Kurano. Yuri's face was buried in her hands as she felt the crushing grip of Nakabachi around her very being. "I thought my changes at college - my whole life - would be over if the school found out I'd been working at a nightclub."
"And when Nakabachi found your secret, he offered a deal to get you off the hook. He ordered you to dig up dirt on other students and report back to them, correct?" Toshiro asked, just to make sure.
"Then he'd use that information to pressure them into bringing him even more dirt on other people." Eri's fist lightly hit the table. Just uttering those words infuriated her! "He just kept creating more and more victims, until even the teachers were under his thumb!"
"There's no way to tell who's working for Nakabachi..." Yuri said with a quiver in her voice. "I didn't know who to trust with this..." If there was any glimmer of hope, it was the Student Council. This was the first they were hearing of it...which meant they were untouched by Nakabachi's rule. "And it's all my fault! I did something so stupid, just to pay my tuition! I'm sorry! I'm so sorry!" She couldn't take it anymore. She broke down into tears.
...
Toshiro and Eri could only watch. Eri, however, brought Yuri some tissues so she could blow her nose and dry her eyes.
A few moments passed, and Yuri was able to regain a little composure. "Sorry for breaking down like that. So, um...now what?" She told them the problem, but she wasn't really sure what happened next...
"Thank you for telling us. I know it wasn't easy." Eri said with a firm nod. "This is a pretty huge issue, so it's gonna take some time, but we'll handle it."
"I don't care what happens to me anymore..." Yuri could feel the tears welling up again. "So please...I'm begging you...!"
Toshiro nodded. He placed a hand on Yuri's back, and she was quick to exit the room before she lost more of her composure. Once he did that, he closed the door and turned back to Eri. "Nakabachi was hired here very recently, but he was promoted to vice principal right away. It may have been unexpected, but nobody would've been able to guess how he pulled it off. Any student here would be terrified to lose their college prospects. It's no wonder how he was able to exploit that."
"That's just sick! How could he use people and torture them like that?!" Eri was fuming.
"It sounds like the entire school's in a bizarre standoff, with everyone spying for Nakabachi..." Toshiro brought a hand to his chin. "This certainly explains why you felt something off here. That said, this is clearly beyond the scope of what the student council can do. If we make one wrong me, it could spell the end of us, too. What's your take, Eri?"
"..."
"Eri?" Toshiro called for her quietly.
"AGH! I am SOOOO pissed off right now!" Eri's fist hit the desk. "I don't care how badly Nakabachi wants to be in charge, he has NO RIGHT to put Yuri through such hell! I thought schools and the staff were supposed to PROTECT students! But not this messed up place! The way he's running this school now, it's like his own little dictatorship or something! He's done for if he's really doing this! Toshiro, you've gotta help me!"
Toshiro couldn't help the very faint smile on his lips. Even if he said no, he knew Eri would do something anyway. So, the only option was to do join her. "I thought you'd say as much. From the sounds of things, you're looking to assemble a full on rebellion."
Eri's eyes widened. "Toshiro, that's exactly it! We'll engage a full on rebellion!"
Annnnnd she took his wording seriously. "Please don't take my jokes so seriously. At any rate, we're going to investigate this! I have to know the truth!"
[End flashback]
.
.
With the memory over, Toshiro's eyes snapped open. "That's right - Nakabachi! Ichiro Nakabachi - he was just a run of the mill music teacher who got promoted to Vice Principal out of the blue. After hearing Yuri's story, Eri and I went around the school investigating. Turning up leads wasn't easy, but Eri was persistent enough that we eventually had a grasp of the situation. Simply put, the results were jaw dropping." He glanced to the side as the memories all came back to him. "Sexual harassment, embezzlement, extortion, other abuses of power - all of it being covered up by the administration. And to top it all off, Nakabachi had been promised a promotion to principal. He essentially had full reign of the school."
Hearing all of this, Ann released a fireball off to the wall nearby. Hearing how a teacher abused his power pissed her off. The fireball exploded violently against the wall, catching everyone's attention. "Another piece of shit for a teacher." As if Kamoshida wasn't bad enough.
"Ann..." Hifumi took her hand to try and calm her down. She knew she was upset.
"World's a big place...and unfortunately that means a ton 'o schools people like them can take charge of." Ryuji scowled.
"Ah...that's right. Shujin went through something similar, didn't it?" Toshiro recalled the news from last year. No wonder Ann was so upset over it. Ren and Ryuji didn't look so thrilled either.
"And to blackmail his students...I can't imagine how Yuri must have felt." Makoto punched a wall. That helped her feel a lot better.
"...Sorry. Keep going." Ann felt a little better after letting her rage out. She had to remember that Kamoshida couldn't hurt anyone, and that Shiho was doing better too. "It's alright."
"...Okay." Toshiro nodded slowly. "Nakabachi covered his tracks pretty well. So, ultimately, we weren't able to collect any conclusive evidence. Without concrete proof, we had to put our hope in the victim's testimonies, but..." He trailed off.
"What is it? Did they testify?" Erina was on the edge of her seat.
Toshiro shook his head. "Sorry, I can't remember..."
"Ugh." Mika let out an annoyed groan, but it wasn't at Toshiro. "People like that really piss me off." She may not have been a great person, but she wasn't evil.
"Ichiro Nakabachi..." Zenkichi placed a hand on his chin. That name did sound vaguely familiar. However, without any way to connect to the internet and double check on some facts, all he had was a lingering name that may or may not have meant something.
"Did you know him, too?" Ichinose asked.
"No. I've never met the guy. I just feel like I've heard the name before." Zenkichi replied.
"If nothing else, I'd say we learned something." Akechi spoke. "The new friend we've made that spoke to us earlier, is most likely Nakabachi himself."
"I bet you're right." Ren said with a nod. "So now we finally have a target."
"We've got the second key as well." Sumire said. "At this rate, we'll be done in no time!"
"We should head back to the Rebel Club." Sophia suggested. "We need to know where the next key is!"
With that, the Phantom Thieves exited the cafeteria. Once they were out of the room, the shadowy figure from before, and the silver Jerri appeared. "Why don't we just break him and get it over with?" Jerri asked, growing impatient with all the watching and waiting. "Wipe his memory of her and start over!"
"It doesn't work when he's not ready." The figure responded. But they did understand Jerri's haste. Toshiro was getting far too comfortable... "Besides, that worked so well for you last time, didn't it?" When they said this, Jerri let out an annoyed chirp. "Memories of Eri are strong for him. Too strong. That's why he needs to remember."
"They grow stronger with his resolve. While they cannot hope to compare with the power of my Lord...they are still annoying brats who don't know their place." Jerri remarked. The might of Joker, Dragon, Fox, Crow, Violet, Viper, and Guernica were able to defeat her. There were many more of them now, with similar strength. "We need to nip their fruitless revolution at the bud."
"Those Phantom Thieves are indeed strong." The figure took a few steps forward, placing his hand on the door. "But they have a weakness as well. The same as Toshiro's, in fact. The moment his resolve crumbles, so too, will they..."