Dedication: To Aunt Dana, thank you for showing me the magic of storytelling. You will be missed.
Disclaimer: The following contains discussions of sexual abuse and suicide. Viewer discretion is advised.
Chapter 24
Eve of Battle: A Fool's Reprieve
Days till Board Meeting: 2
Revland let out a stifled yawn while trying to pay attention to lecture. It'd been some time since he'd felt so drained. It also didn't help that his mind was currently elsewhere thinking of the battle to come. It was at this time that he felt his head begin to droop before thudding audibly on his desk.
Kawakami, for her part, looked up from her textbook to see the simi-conscious boy sit up right before fixing his glasses.
"Perhaps we should make the rest of our time a self-study." She suggested.
Hearing no complaints, she cleaned up her things before calling out to Revland.
"Mr. Antrie, could you come with me please?"
Recognizing that someone was talking to him, he nodded before standing to follow as the rest of the class started to whisper.
"Did you hear, he's about to be expelled…"
"I've heard that he beat up another student…"
"Really…?"
A cold glare from both Ann and Kawakami silenced their muttering.
I can still hear you ya know… Revland thought.
Kawakami opened the door to the faculty office and gestured for him to take a seat as she placed her materials at her desk.
"How are you feeling?" she asked, handing him a paper cup filled with cool water.
"I'm fine." He said, carefully taking the cup. "Just a little tired."
"Enough for you to fall asleep in my class?"
Feeling guilty, he lowered his head.
"Your grades haven't been slipping, but I can't excuse you being so blatant about it."
"Sorry…" he muttered.
"What's going on Antrie?" she asked, genuine worry in her eyes.
Not for the first time, he thought about explaining it to her but decided against it.
Best not to get her too involved than she already is.
"Honestly miss, I didn't get as much sleep last night." He said, scratching the back of his head.
Kawakami stared at the boy for some time, to the point that he may've found it uncomfortable. Letting out a sigh, she relaxed into her chair.
"Alright, if it's truly nothing, then I'll drop it for now." She admitted, all be it reluctantly. "But I want you to come straight to me if something comes up, understand?"
Nodding, Revland stood as someone knocked on the door.
At Kawakami word, a nervous looking Mishima walked in.
"Ma'am… oh." He stuttered, noticing Revland. "Sorry, I'll come back later."
"No, it's alright." she called, giving Revland the opportunity to leave. "What can I do for you?"
Watching Revland leave, Mishima fought the urge to pull him back since what he was about to share was mainly about him.
"Mishima?" Kawakami asked. "What is it?"
"Ma'am…" Mishima said, taking a seat while placing his face in his hands. "I… I don't even know where to start…"
"Take your time, my next class doesn't start for another hour."
Fighting back tears from a mixture of fear and guilt, he told her everything. From running suspicious errands to leaking Revland's criminal record online. The part that finally broke him was during the retelling of when he inadvertently mentioned seeing Shiho to Kamoshida the day before her incident and how he blamed himself for what happened to her. Handing the distraught young man a box of tissues, she excused herself to make an announcement to have Mr. Ushimaru report to the staff office and that it was urgent. After a moment, he entered along with the school nurse Moichi as moral support.
As the discussion continued, Kawakami could feel her blood go from cool ice to near boiling all while Mishima was struggling to maintain his composure.
"You've done a brave thing." Ushimaru said, placing a gentle hand on the boy's shoulder, causing him to flinch.
"Kawakami, would you please draft a 'excused' notice for the rest of the staff while I get in touch with his parents?" he asked, taking a breath at Mishima's reaction.
"Of course." Came her crisp reply while scribbling something on a notepad.
"Moichi, could you stay with the boy… I need to make a few phone calls…"
"Of course, he's in good hands." The elderly nurse nodded, replacing his hand with her own.
Excusing himself, he left the office, closing the door behind him to the sound of a small click. Trying to contain the fury that was building inside.
He's a teacher… a teacher for God's sake… no… he WAS a teacher… and won't be ever again once I'm through with him…
Revland stumbled through the halls in a bit of a daze. What he really needed was either a cup of Sojiro's coffee or, even better, a nap. He didn't care which, not caring about the order.
"Should've gone straight to bed once you returned home." Arséne scolded.
"Still had things that needed to be done…" Revland argued, "Now that we've found all the will seeds and located the treasure, we need to have a plan of attack and find a way to make that treasure materialize."
"Hmmm… I believe Morgana mentioned that he may know of such a method."
"And that he'd share it with us before too long." He continued, "But he's off running around somewhere and we're running out of time…"
"If what he says is true, he'll likely tell us once your classes have been dismissed for the evening."
"Right…" he droned, "One can hope…"
Continuing his walk, he could hear a faint melody if only bits and pieces of one. Following the sound, a couple students storm out of a nearby room complaining about the lack of any worthwhile talent at this school. Peeking inside, Revland found that the students had come from, and failed to lock up, the school's rather well-equipped music room. Curious, he decided to take a look around, if only to reminisce on a few memories to distract him.
A mismatched drum set sat in one corner while a school provided piano sat in the other. After testing a few keys, he could tell that it needed tuning. The room also had a small studio set up with a window that opened to a small, padded room with some more recording equipment.
"Wonder what they were working on?" he wondered aloud.
Sitting next to the mixer was an open laptop with two music charts open in the tool bar. One was for a recent cover of "Zombie" by Bad Wolves, which seemed to be the cause of their earlier outburst, and a duet version of "Dear Agony" originally by Breaking Benjerman.
"I really shouldn't…" he thought, looking from the door to the laptop, "But a little snooping shouldn't hurt…"
Picking up the head set, he hit play only to nearly wish he hadn't.
Whoever they had for lead vocals either wasn't up to the task or was borderline tone deaf.
"I could do better than this..." he complained, nearly smashing the pause button to bring an end to his torment as the record button caught his eye.
Thinking it over, and giving the door a second glance, he hit record to begin playback and starting the track before stepping inside the soundproof room to do a few practice takes. The first one was more to help familiarize himself with the words, and to set the pitch needed for certain parts. Second was to test his memory and to try his hand at the song, which didn't go well in multiple areas whether it was due to bad pitch or briefly forgetting the words. It was around the fifth when he started to have some fun, he found himself getting into the music and allowed himself to enjoy the music for once. It was during his last take that he noticed that his hairs had been standing on end and that he was smiling through its entirety.
"That felt really good." He muttered to himself.
"I'll say." One of the students said through the mixer's microphone.
The sudden voice cause Revland to let out an involuntary squeak.
"How long have you been there." He asked incredulously, annoyed at being startled.
"Around the third or fourth run through." He admitted.
Face beat red, Revland removed the headset and hung it on the stand before exiting the booth.
"Sorry…" he said sheepishly, "Kinda helped myself to your equipment."
The student wasn't paying attention as most of his focus was on the recording. Around the time of the chorus is where Revland saw the student's eyes widen as goosebumps rose along his arms.
"Dude…" he said faintly, "This is really good…"
Revland blushed, not knowing what to say.
"Wait… aren't you that transfer student?"
Well shit… there goes my good mood…
"Yes?" he admitted.
The student gave him a once over before giving him a small shrug and turning his attention back to the laptop.
"I don't see it." He said. "The way you were in there tells me you enjoy creating things, not the other way around."
"You can tell?" he asked, more than a little surprise at the sudden acceptance. "Just from that?"
"Say, what's your preferred genre?" he asked, ignoring the question. "Cause I'd like to get you back here sometime. I have another track on the list that I'm sure you'd knock out of the park."
"Beginning to think he didn't hear you." Arséne add with a hint of humor in his voice.
"Just about anything really, so long as I enjoy the song." He admitted.
"Excellent. Names Kohaku, but you can just call me Ko." He said with his hand out.
"Revland, pleasure." Taking it with a firm shake.
"You get what you needed off your chest, or do you need another round or two?"
Confused, the question apparently evident in his eyes.
"You're not the only one that uses this place to vent. You're welcome here anytime."
"Appreciate it…"
"Yeah-yeah, that's great. How do you feel about duets?"
Zenkichi tapped a pen as he sat at his desk, propping his head up with his hand. The case that they've managed to build against Shujin's P.E. teacher, Suguru Kamoshida, was good but could be better. Knowing the inner working of the justice system, he could see several potential weak points in their case that could jeopardize the entire investigation. Lack of witness testimony, for example, while not a complete necessity would only help strengthen their case. However, the only lead they've managed to find is an anonymous student, going by "M". She's given them more than enough damning evidence that would allow them to push the investigation forward, if they could prove it.
Make matters worse, the kid only has till the next school board meeting before action his taken against him. He thought, tapping his pen harder. If I can't bring a case up before then, I'll have to arrest him for breaking his probation… but what exactly would be the reason?
He wasn't privy to the goings on within the probationary department, but he liked to believe he knew what would get someone arrested. But for someone under probation, all they'd need to make an arrest is suspicion of activity.
"And getting his ass expelled would be enough to justify it…" he thought aloud, tossing his pen on the desk. "Even if it is based on bullshit…"
Glancing at his pad, it was a hodgepodge of random notes pertaining to his current case load. With most of them leading to a word in large, black letters: WITTNESS.
"One more try, I'll give it one more… hello…" the number on his mobile phone was from the Shujin Staff Building.
Unable to quell his excitement, he answered in a hurried tone, "H-h-hello?" after a moment and an attempt to clear his throat, "This is Officer Hasegawa."
Smooth Z… real smooth.
"Yes, this is Mr. Ushimaru of Shujin academy." Came a gruff, if not borderline hostile voice that cause him to stiffen.
"Y-y-yes sir, how can I help?" Zenkichi stammered.
"I'd like to report an ongoing incident that happening at this school." He continued, "It involves current staff and the safety of the student body."
"By all means, how can I help." He said, snatching his pen.
Ushimaru took a deep breath to steady his nerves. "I have a student here that would like to file a report of sexual misconduct against Suguru Kamoshida, a member of the faculty as well as the school's current volleyball coach."
This is it, exactly what I needed!
"Accusations this serious in nature with result in an investigation…" Zenkichi said, trying to contain his excitement. "Are you certain you wish to proceed?"
No sooner did Ushimaru confirm it before Zenkichi fired off question after question to the point that Ushimaru was having a hard time keeping up.
"Name of the student; is he safe; is he willing to testify; who else is involved; where is Kamoshida now; are there others?"
Zenkichi filled page after page of notes and was already building a case based on what he'd already knew.
"There's more…" Ushimaru continued in a low, melancholic tone that bordered on sorrow.
"Of course sir, take your time." He said in a calm professional tone.
"I also have reason to believe that he drove one of our students to attempt to hurt themselves…"
Digging through his notes, he found the name. "Could you be referring to incident involving Ms. Suzui?"
"I am…"
"And you believe that she's been victimized by Mr. Kamoshida?"
"While I have no proof…" he muttered, "I believe so, yes."
"If I remember correctly, the attempt was deemed inconclusive due to lack of any physical evidence."
"I know what I saw officer…"
Taking a moment to catch up on his notes and to pass information off to a runner, he continued.
"Where is Ms. Suzui now?"
"Home, I believe. She hasn't returned to school since the incident."
"I see, I believe I still have a way of contacting her… is there anything else?"
Giving it some thought, one more thing came to mind. "Yes… I believe Kamoshida is trying to have several students expelled under false allegations. One of which is a student under probation."
"Mr. Antrie…" he said, feigning ignorance "I've been made aware by several of my colleagues that he's been making quite the stir. Has he been causing trouble?"
"He's a good student and seems to have a presence about him." He said with confidence, "I have nothing but praise for the lad."
I'm sure the fact that he's also the one actively apposing Kamoshida doesn't hurt.
"How likely will this upcoming meeting result in the student's expulsion?" Zenkichi ask, fishing for details to Antrie's claims. It wasn't that he didn't believe him, but more that he could use it as an example of abuse of power.
"If no one comes to his defense or brings further evidence of his innocence." He began, "The school will likely file a case against Mr. Antrie on the grounds of suspected harassment again female students and staff."
"Are there other staff willing to oppose the allegation?"
"Myself as well as a few others." Ushimaru said after giving it some thought. "He's left quite the impression."
The runner returned from his errand to hand Zenkichi a scribbled note:
If you're certain, you're on point.
Don't take any short cuts and get it done.
"Sir…" he began, staring at the note with mischievous glee. "I can assure you; Mr. Antrie will be just fine."
"Alright, let's get to it." Revland called out to the small group. "First, let's review what we know about the target."
Everyone had gathered back at the den and sat in a simi-circle around a small wooden table arrayed with a myriad of snacks and drinks.
"What's there to know?" Ryuji offered, "I'd say we've got a pretty good understand of the guy."
"Think he's right." Ann seconded, "Though I hate to admit."
"What's that supposed to mean?!" he bristled, pride slightly singed.
"Stay on topic." Revland lectured, "Review can help with what we already know and help shed light on things we thought we knew."
"I agree with Revland; it wouldn't hurt to see if anything could be seen a different light." Morgana offered, perched in a recently purchased cat bed.
"Suck up…" Ryuji muttered.
"Teacher's pet…" Ann chuckled.
"Please continue Antrie." Shiho said to disrupt any further argument.
Turning on a weathered looking projector, he began.
"Our target's name is Suguru Kamoshida, a current staff member at Shujin Academy as well as their head volleyball coach."
"Not to mention the school's resident douche bag…" Ryuji muttered as Shiho shifted in her seat.
"His alter ego is currently being referred to as 'The King' based on his appearance and locale." He continued. "During our first visit; he captured myself and Ryuji with the intent of executing us. While under the impression that we weren't a threat, he treated us no differently than any other student."
"Became a big ol' pussy when Revland spanked him and tossed his ass in a cell." Ryuji added with amusement that earned him a slap on the shoulder from Ann.
"Vulgarity aside, he's right." Revland clarified, "As soon as we started showing some backbone, he folded and made a break for it."
"No different from your typical bully." Morgana chimed in.
"However, our investigation didn't truly begin until after our second visit involving Shiho." He continued, although hesitantly.
With her nod of consent, he continued.
"Despite several attempts to go about this legally, we were unable to avoid the worst possible outcome: one of our own got hurt."
Shiho flinched ever so slightly at the memory but remained calm with Ryuji hugging her on one side while Ann held the opposite.
"Without going into details, she was able to recover while within the Metaverse. Though it cost us a much-needed piece of evidence."
"While everyone saw her… no one can confirm it due to lack of injury." Ann continued.
"And without that, we couldn't do much else but point fingers." Ryuji finished.
"Which leads us to the issue at hand." Revland continued, "After our confrontation with the real Kamoshida outside the school, he's threatened to bring the case to the school board during their next meeting to have the lot of us expelled. Which I believe he is currently planning to follow through."
"Dick head couldn't just face us head on…?" Ryuji complained.
"Since he's gone to such lengths, I'd say it's safe to assume he's done this before."
"Meaning the likelihood of you guys being expelled is pretty high." Morgana finished the thought.
"How many do you think he's managed to expel in the past?" Ann asked.
"Too many." Revland replied. "Judging by the school's public records, he done this on at least seven separate occasions, resulting in ten students' being expelled. One of which was one of Monica's friends, Lukia, after publishing an article in the school paper trying to bring Kamoshida's actions to light. From what she's told me, it didn't end well for Lukia."
"What happened?" Ryuji asked.
Revland, however, shook his head. "Nothing good."
Feeling his phone buzz, Revland saw a message from Futaba with a wish to participate in the briefing.
Must've gotten bored of just listening in…
"Hold on… need a speaker…" he muttered, rummaging around his bag before producing a small Bluetooth speaker. "Someone would like to introduce themselves."
Turning on the speaker with a ding, all their phones immediately connected as a little black ball with cat ears and large white shark teeth began bouncing in the middle of their screens.
"Good evening… afternoon?" Came a distorted voice from the speaker.
"Afternoon." Revland corrected.
"Right, that."
"Uh…" Ryuji stared slack jawed. "Care to explain?"
"You still need to introduce yourself, don't be rude." Revland lectured.
"Right… my apologies, I am known as Alibaba and wish to offer my services."
"Alibaba?" Ann asked, looking at Revland.
"Long story that we don't have time for now. They're a skilled hacker and, with your permission, would like to update your phones so we could use them to communicate within the Metaverse."
"I'll also add a duress feature for those of you who don't wish to participate in active infiltration." Alibaba added. "Say the word and I'll install these features."
With a nod from Revland, everyone agreed.
"Anyway, Officer Hasegawa has informed us Lukia has been placed under protective custody since the beginning of his investigation." Alibaba interjected, "Let's just say she's been very helpful."
Before continuing, Revland pulled out the three items they found that use to be Will Seeds and placed them on the table along with the list of victims he saved in a folder.
"Our official infiltration of the castle to with the objective of locating the King's treasure and any other information we could use to help his victims." He began, "First we have a participation trophy that use to be a red apple guarded by the Toady Priest representing the school's principal, Kobayakawa."
"You said that it represented his first real accomplishment, how does a crappy trophy add up to that?" Ryuji asked.
"Especially since we found in the chapel of all places?" Ann added.
"Like Shiho said before, it may have something to do with the amount of praise he received as a child, and it went to his head."
"Over inflating his ego to the point of malevolence." Morgana added with a yawn.
"Next is the engagement ring, formally the queens crown."
"Pretty straight forward, he intended to marry her but she ran out on him before he could propose." Ann said with a 'serves him right' tone.
"But is it so straight forward?" Shiho asked, "Ryuji said you all found the room torn apart, do you think they fought before she left?"
After giving it some thought, Revland continued.
"With what we know, as well as what the librarian told me, the queen always wanted more than the king could provide. She was using him and dumped him when she found something better. When he figured it out, he lost it."
"I couldn't imagine how he must've felt…" Shiho whispered.
Seeing Shiho show any kind of sympathy towards Kamoshida made Ryuji's hair stand on end, but Revland continued before he could interject.
"It doesn't give him the right to do as he pleases to other woman, student or otherwise."
Shiho nodded with a whispered apology.
"You have nothing to apologize for…" Ryuji whispered into her hair, kissing the side of her head.
"It's wasted on him…" Ann added.
"Finally…" he said, holding up a blank application. "An Olympic recruitment application, formally an imprisoned version of myself."
"This one confuses me…" Ryuji said, resting his chin on Shiho shoulder. "I get why he would want to keep you locked up, but why is that application represented by a prisoner?"
"Could it be that he wanted to keep something buried?" Ann offered.
"Maybe it's something he doesn't wish to face?" Morgana offered.
"If I were to guess, I'd say it represents his lost glory. Something he isn't willing to face but must acknowledge."
"How does that make any sense?" Ryuji asked.
"Suguru Kamoshida, is a thirty-three-year-old male and a former Olympic athlete. One could say he's beyond his prime and wishes to relieve his glory days."
"But why try to hide them?"
"Could be that he's embarrassed by his own ineptitude." Ann chided.
"I like her…"
"With that out of the way, we come to the treasure itself."
"OOoo, you didn't tell me you've already found the core." Alibaba said with excitement, "What did it look like?"
"Like a big cloud with a bunch of colors swirling around inside." Ryuji said while making swirls with his fingers.
"I see… could be that it has yet to materialize…"
"My thoughts exactly." Morgana offered.
"What do we have to do to make it appear then?" Ryuji asked.
Morgana took a moment to scratch behind an ear before continuing. "Like most things within the Metaverse, everything is based on a cognitive understanding of the 'thing' in question."
"Meaning, as Mona has put before: You think, therefore, it is."
"Which means… what exactly?" Ryuji questioned, at a complete loss.
"It means we have to make him believe that his desires are something that came be taken." Morgana said, letting out an irritable sigh.
"But how do we do that?" Ann asked.
Revland took a moment as a foreign memory played out in his mind. It was a dark night, tension thick in the air as the patrolling guards appeared on edge. He moved from shadow to shadow, matching his foot falls to those of the guards around him as he approached his prize, a sapphire trimmed with white gold attached to blackened gold link chain. Commonly referred to by the public as the Blue Rose of Desmond. With a deft hand, he lifted the gem, replacing it with a card with small familiar text written upon it: As promised, I have stolen Desmond's Blue Rose. The Phantom Thief Arséne.
"A calling card…" he whispered, more to himself.
"Revland, that's brilliant!" Morgana said, jumping to the table in his excitement. "We'll do this as proper Phantom Thieves should."
"Come again, I'm confused." Ryuji said, scratching the back of his head.
"By delivering a calling card, we'll be able to make him believe that his desires can be stolen from him. While making the treasure appear where we last saw it." Morgana continued.
"However, the shock value won't be as effective if at all. If we use this strategy, we'd only be able to use it once… If we retreat, we'll lose our chance."
"How should we go about doing this?" Ryuji asked, suddenly very interested, "Oo, can I help write it?"
"How should we design it?" Ann asked, "Can we make it cute?"
Think we're finally making head way, we don't have a lot of time to compose it, but we should be able to act tomorrow.
"How should we deliver it; he just has to see it right?" Ryuji asked after a about an hour of brainstorming.
"That's the idea." Morgana said. "But you bring up a good point."
"Couldn't we just spread it throughout the school…?" Shiho asked, "You know, like the way he used the rumor mill to go after Antrie."
Taking a moment to consider, Revland liked the idea of turning Kamoshida's greatest weapon against him.
"How would we be able to spread the card throughout the school?" he wondered aloud.
"I'll do it…" Ryuji said with nearly no hesitation. "It's about time this bastard gets what he deserves."
"Alright." Revland agreed, "Find every notice board you can find, I want his office door covered and I want the gym floor littered with 'em. Understand?"
"With pleasure…" Ryuji said with a sneer.
"Don't get your ass caught, you hear?"
"Yeah-yeah I hear ya…"
As the evening drug on, the final draft of the team's first calling card was completed.
To his highness Suguru Kamoshida, the sinful bastard of lust.
We are aware of your sins of desire, and how you only target students who can't defend themselves. As such, we've decided to steal those desires you hold so dear and have you confess to everything.
You have until tomorrow to make peace with yourself or admit to your faults of your own accord. The choice is yours.
From…
"Question…" Ryuji asked, "What are we calling ourselves?"
Morgana made to answer but hesitated.
"That's a good question… don't think any of us thought we were going to make it this far…" Ann admitted.
"Anyone have any ideas?" Revland asked the group as they began to brainstorm.
"Oo-Oo, how about… The Diamonds?" Ann suggested.
"Kinda sounds like a little league team…" Ryuji said, "Pass."
"How about…" Morgana thought for a moment, "Tilefish Poele"
"And what is that exactly?" Ryuji asked.
"Type of dish that he saw on the internet." Revland admitted, which earned the name a hard "No" from the team.
"Why not just keep it simple?" Shiho asked, "How about The Phantom Thieves of Hearts?"
They thought for a moment, but it didn't quite feel right.
"I think it's a good place holder for now… when this is over, we can decide if we want to push forward with this." Revland suggested to somewhat reluctant agreement.
"Everyone get some rest, tomorrow the big day… Ryuji, I want you to let me know as soon as you get home."
Ryuji nodded.
"Same goes for you two. Till this is over, I want you to periodically check in."
Both Ann and Shiho nodded in assurance.
"Don't forget yourself Bossman…" Alibaba added as he finished. "You have others who worry about you too…"
With the rest of the team adding similar sentiments, Revland felt a warmth spread throughout his chest that he found comforting.
"Don't worry, I haven't forgotten." He said, sending a feeling of warmth through his shared connection.
"We act at noon tomorrow." He reaffirmed, "Stay safe."
"Are we certain we should be interfering so soon?" came a familiar voice of annoyance.
"It was on the master's orders, so it shall be done." Answer the monotoned other.
Crap… think I know what's going on…
Revland sat up in his cramped velvet covered cell, dressed in the black and whites that symbolized his status within this place. Giving his chains a quick tug, he stood and walked towards the bars of his cell to find both Caroline and Justine arguing with one other over the necessity of his presence.
"All I'm saying is that we shouldn't have to keep bringing him here if it doesn't concern him." Caroline argued.
"As I have already stated…" Justine retorted, "If it's what the master wanted, so it was done."
"If he asks you to jump off a bridge you would?"
"Of course not, he would never ask that of us."
"Ummm…" Revland said, trying to get their attention.
"That's not the point and you know it!" Caroline continued, ignoring him.
I guess their personalities mimic their appearance…
"Ahh, it's good of you to join us Mr. Antrie. You appear well, that's most excellent." Igor said, allowing the girls to argue for a moment longer. "I've found that its beneficial for the two of them to release their frustrations whenever they deem it necessary in order to keep them content with their regular duties."
Remembering when he first arrived, he had snickered at Caroline for missing his hand with her baton only for her to electrify the bars for his trouble. From that point forward, he's made a conscious effort to not place his hands on the bars.
"Yeah… I get the idea…" he said as his hairs stood on end from the memory.
"Now, to the reason why I brought you here." Igor continued, "You're about to take the first big step in your rehabilitation and I wished to fully understand how you're feeling."
"And this needed to be done here?" Revland gestured to the room around him with his bound hands.
Caroline made to interject but Igor began to nod before he finished, "Much can be lost while communicating in the written word. Your expressions and tone, for example, can be hard to interpret without further context."
After giving it some thought, Revland gave voice to his fears.
"If I'm being honest… I'm absolutely terrified… I don't know what I'm about to drag everyone into and… I can't guarantee that we'll even make it out alive…" Revland said, resting his head against the bars. "I barely understand what I'm doing but they expect me to lead them… fuck, I've already gotten myself hurt on several occasions while somehow surviving by the skin of my teeth…"
"Then…" Igor asked while hiding a knowing smile. "Do you intend to give up?"
Justine heard a faint screeching of metal as Revland's clenched fist began to crush one of the metal bars of his cell as an aura of chilled fury emanated from his cell.
"Not in this lifetime…" he said with cool determination.
A surge of excitement ran through Igor, his smile widening to the point he nearly couldn't contain it.
"My-my… you humans are quite amusing… even when faced with an undeniable danger, you persevere."
"Was I able to answer your questions…?"
"One more, if you don't mind… then I'll leave you to your rest."
Standing up straight, he motioned for man with manic eyes to continue.
Igor clasped his hand under his chin as he made eye contact "Should be forced to make a choice… which one would you save?"
Before Revland could voice his outrage, Igor held up a hand to interrupt his outburst.
"I only ask due to the severe nature of the task you are about to undertake. It is not my intention to upset you, but to inform you of the possibility. Keep it in mind…"
"Alright…" he said, after taking a moment to calm himself.
"We shall speak again… once you've succeeded in you mission."
"Now go back to sleep." Caroline instructed.
"You need your rest." Justine added.
"We'll see you again once you've succeeded." They said in unison.
[…]
[…]
[To all concerned…]
[An operation will take place tomorrow at Noon…]
[A concerned party will intervene on behave to the students and faculty of Shujin Academy; however, their main concern is the safety of the student body…]
[If you are receiving this message, you're either a possible target or victim of the accused…]
[We ask that you remain calm and stay with those you trust…]
[Once the operation has concluded in success or failure, we ask the victims to step forward and contact the investigator via this number (XX) XXXX-XX05…]
[Once again, we ask you to remain vigilant and please… be safe…]
[-END MESSAGE-]
Unlocking his door, Ryuji had trouble catching his breath. Truth be told, he hadn't run that hard in a while and felt that he was more than a little out of shape despite all the extra training he'd been doing within the metaverse. He found a plastic wrap plate on the table from his mom with a short note on it with instruction on how to reheat it along with a small heart on the bottom that made him tear up.
Following the instructions, he took the plate back to his room along with a glass of ice water. On the table next to his bed was a battered copy of "Pride and Prejudice" by Jane Austin that Revland had been forcing him to read though Shiho had been helping him with it since the beginning. He was actually looking forward to the next time they'd be able to sit down and read it together which made it feel less like a punishment and more like a date… though he'd never admit that to Revland.
He's already threatened to make me act out Shakespeare to the whole group if I didn't start behaving…
"Bonified demon is what he is…" Kidd remark.
But he's helping us out in his own way, even admitted as much.
"Never liked romance… too… frilly…"
Guess it takes a perspective, would've never had bothered with it if it wasn't for Shiho.
"Ah such a good lass, soft body… pillowy lips… plump-"
"That's enough out of you, already going to have trouble sleeping as it is."
Kidd chuckle, "Just trying to lessen the tension, taught as mooring line is what you is."
"Hard not to be… with everything in place to go down tomorrow, can't help it."
"Think the lass is faring well?"
"I hope so…"
"I quick phone call couldn't hurt…"
"SHIT!" he screeched as he swiped his phone to send the message that he had made it home.
Alibaba was the first to acknowledge, which unnerved him a little, then Ann, followed by Shiho.
Ryuji relaxed seeing everyone reply and contemplated calling Shiho. As if she heard him, his phone started to ring with her number on the ID.
"Hello?"
"Hey… took a while for you to report in… started to get worried."
"Yeah… sorry. I kinda forgot for a second there."
She laughed a little, "I figured as much."
After a few seconds of silence, he continued. "You doing alright?"
"I should be asking you that, you're the one of the ones getting ready to go back into that place."
"I'll be fine, I have the others to back me up."
"Still…"
"I know…"
More silence.
"I miss you…" she said in a whisper.
"I miss you too."
"I love you…"
"I love you too, always will."
"No matter what…?"
"Of course."
"Thank you…"
"For?"
"Being here…"
Ever since the incident, Ryuji has made several trips to her home and on several occasions nearly spent the night. His excuse was that he was checking up on her and her parents excepted it, almost encouraged it.
"You need me to come over?"
"I wouldn't mind it… but, didn't you just get back?"
"Doesn't matter, you say the word and I'm there."
After giving it some thought, she relented with a slight quiver in her voice that had him put on the afterburners. He was hardly past the gate before she had him in a hug shaking so hard that he wasn't sure if she'd be able to keep herself together.
"I'm scared…" she managed to say.
"I know."
"I can't lose you too…"
"You won't." He said, pulling her closer. "I'm not going anywhere."
She pulled him down for a kiss to which he didn't resist before escorting her back up to her room.
Feeling his phone buzz, Revland looked up from his work to see that Ryuji had made it home safely. Letting out a breath he didn't know he was holding he laid back down only for his phone to buzz again only this one was from Futaba asking for him to come over.
[Isn't Sojiro home?]
[If he knew what you were doing, he'd understand… I want to see you before tomorrow.]
It didn't take much convincing on his part, he was already on edge from the question that Igor gave him. Grabbing his keys and his phone, he made his way to the Sakura residence to find a familiar orange haired girl hunched down on the other side of the gate.
"Didn't know Sojiro got a new lawn gnome…" he teased.
"Come on, I'm not that short!" she complained.
He tried to shush her with a barley concealed grin as he tried to keep his own voice down.
"You're perfect the way you are…" he admitted.
"That's better, compliment me more."
"Hight notwithstanding."
"That's not what I meant and you know it." She complained.
She halfheartedly tried to hit him to which he dodged, took her wrist and pulled her into a hug, making her squeak.
Seeing that her face had turned a bright shade of red, he decided to press the advantage he created.
"You know…" he began, "That sound you made was kinda cute…"
Her cheeks were on fire.
"Kinda makes me wonder what other kinds of sounds you can make."
Her mind was starting to go blank; he's never been this forward before.
Maybe he's just stressed… yeah, that's it… just stressed.
Lightly taking her chin in hand, he tilt her head to meet his deep grey eyes that seemed to shine in the dim light.
He started leaning in which her brain went into full panic mode.
Can't say I don't want this-but do I want this-more than anything really-is this really the time-does my breath smell funny-do I have anything on my face-
Unable to think of anything else, she closed her eyes and tried to lean in to make it easier for him. The solid thunk of her forehead hitting the floor was her reward as the dream began to fade.
"Ow…" what the only word she could find as her mind just about erupted in a fit of frustration.
"ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME?!" she screamed, "THE ONE TIME I DON'T WANT TO WAKE UP!"
Paper of all different subjects went into the air in her small fit as she sat in the middle of her room replaying the dream over and over in her head.
"Stupid, bullshit… not fair…"
Revland, waking up from his own dream, felt his heart trying desperately to escape through his ribcage.
What… was that…?
"Ah…" Arséne said wistfully, "To be young and in love again…"
Is that what she wants-wouldn't that be moving too fast-what would Sojiro think-she was asking for it, right-am I just projecting-
"Why not ask her yourself and find out?" Arséne asked in a playful tone.
Yeah, let's make this more complicated by telling her we can see into each other's dreams… didn't even think that was possible.
"Well… if you want my opinion, I'd do something before we leave for the palace. Never know if it'll be the last chance you get."
Got it… He thought, letting out a sigh. He could feel Futaba's frustration through their connection which only further complicated his feelings. It's not that he doesn't want to move forward, quite the opposite, it's more of a question of "should he".
Then there's the Pharoah, her other half. When compared to the real Futaba, they seem like completely different people while remaining remaining the same.
This is giving me a headache…
The event of the past few months started playing over in his mind, from his expulsion to his transfer then the discovery of the metaverse and meeting Ryuji. It all seemed so surreal.
Going through his morning rituals, he contemplated how he was going to approach Futaba about her dream, if at all. Sojiro noticed the contemplative look Revland was giving his coffee as he swirled it around the cup.
"Something on your mind?" he asked.
"Hmm?" he asked, breaking his trance.
"Have a bit fog upstairs?" he asked again, pointing his own head.
"I don't know, maybe a little…" he admitted, shaking his head.
"You have some time, I'm willing to listen?"
Giving his coffee a few swirls, Revland decided to get Sojiro up to speed with everything Kamoshida had been putting him and the other students through. Knowing Futaba's history, he knew that the news of another possible predator wouldn't sit well with his guardian. But, to his surprise, Sojiro sat patiently for him to finish before offering his advice.
"Just so I understand everything… this P.E. teacher at your school is going to expel you because you annoyed him?"
Revland nodded, "That would be the gist of it."
"And you're worried about this because…?" he asked, trying to understand his concern.
"He's done this to other students within the school and hasn't failed yet. He'll have an easy time dealing with me with my record and all."
Sojiro nodded, beginning to understand.
"Don't know about you Boss…" Revland started, "But I'm starting to like it here…"
"Really?" Sojiro asked, genuinely curious.
"I've made friends… school isn't too bad, then there's you, the Doc… also Futaba…"
"You don't want to lose everything again." Sojiro guessed, "Sound about right?"
After giving it some thought, Revland nodded.
Sojiro sighed, taking off his glasses to rub his eyes.
"Sounds like you've got yourself into quite the mess…"
"I tried going to the police first… Officer Hasegawa said he was building a case but it's taking longer due to lack of evidence." Revland defended, "Feel like my backs against a wall… then there's that damn dream last night…"
"Seems to be a common trend, Futaba was throwing a god awful fit this morning. Think it was the first time I've ever heard her curse, let alone raise her voice."
"She say what it was about?"
"Not really, all she told me is that it didn't matter."
"Figures…"
Sojiro's features went from suspicious, to concerned before giving Revland a knowing grin.
"It was about a girl, wasn't it?"
Revland nearly spit his coffee at the sudden accuracy of the question.
"You can tell?" he asked through a coughing fit.
"I was young once too you know."
Using a napkin to wipe his face, he still felt himself begin to relax.
"Right… how could I forget?" he said with a grin.
The clock chimed, causing the two of them to stare as determination fell over Revland. Sojiro noticed the subtle change come over the boy as he seemed older now than he was a few moments ago.
"I should get going, I need to take care of a few things before I head out."
For a moment, it seemed that Revland's shadow had spouted wings as he stood straight, causing Sojiro to do a double take.
Must be seeing things… he thought, removing his glasses to rub his eyes before taking a second look.
He decided to pay Futaba a quick visit before leaving which took some minor convincing, Revland managed to get Futaba to open the door to her room long enough for him to get a few words in.
"Hey, I don't have a lot of time."
"I know, you're going to miss your train if you don't hurry." She said, more than a little confused.
"I'm aware." He said with a hurried breath, "Still, with everything that about to happen… I need to take care of something… you know, just in case…"
The haunting memory of her finding him half dead in the hallway came rushing back as the beginnings of a panic attack began to form.
"In case of wha-"
Before she could finish, he placed a quick kiss on her cheek causing her to jump back at the sudden show of affection with all thoughts of panic quickly forgotten.
"Wh-wh-wh-whah?" she asked, her glasses crocked on a face a deep shade of red.
"I'll give you a proper one when I get back." He said with a quick wave before closing the door behind him.
"Smooth…" her other added as Futaba tried to process what just happened. "Think he may have actually caused a short circuit…"
The halls were a buzz with gossip as Revland entered through the front gate.
"Do you think it's true…?" one student asked.
"It can't be right?" another asked.
"Did Mr. Kamoshida do something wrong?"
More than you'd probably believe…
As planned, the calling card was on nearly every surface. On the walls, notice boards, even on some of the windows.
Might've gone a little overboard there Ryuji…
It was once he placed his bag on his desk that he began to feel that something was off. It wasn't something that was missing perse but something that was out of routine. It was then it dawned on him, he hadn't harassed on his way in. Kamoshida was missing.
"You hear what they did to his office?" Revland overheard.
"Yeah, that note was plastered all over the door. Think they managed to seal it shut."
"They're all over the gym too."
"You think any of it's true?"
"I don't know…"
"Now that I think about it… he always seemed to be around when I was alone… do you think…" she trailed off.
Revland had moved to the hall to see if he could find any of the other before he could hear her reply.
"Think everything's going to plan." Morgana whispered from Revland's bag.
"Almost too well…" Revland muttered, "I don't like the fact we haven't seen him yet."
"If I'd have to guess, I think he's on the verge of a freak out."
As if on cue, Kamoshida came barreling around the corner.
"Who what it, was it you?!" he questioned two first years who coward at his approach.
He scanned the hall as both Ryuji and Ann came into view.
"Or was it you?!" he bellowed, stomping towards the pair.
Revland, seeing the possibility of violence, stood between Kamoshida and his targets. Staring him down as he approached.
"Nooo… it was you…" he growled.
"I don't think I understand what you mean." Revland said in a cold tone.
"You know DAMN WELL what I mean you little shit!" Kamoshida screeched, waving a torn piece of a calling card in Revland's face.
"Please…" he said calmly. "Enlighten me…"
"You…" Kamoshida pointed to the two behind him, "And all your little friends are responsible for this… this…"
"Come on… use your words…" Revland added, trying to force him to snap.
"You little!"
Kamoshida had taken Revland by the collar and lifted him in the air, "You think your better than me, huh?! HUH?! You know who the FUCK I am, WHO YOU'RE DEALING WITH?!"
Revland remained calm as he hung there because he'd already gotten what he wanted. He had forced Kamoshida to make a mistake, forgetting where he was.
The hall had gone silent at the outburst as Revland heard someone send for a teacher. At this point, he couldn't help but grin.
"YOU THINK THIS IS FUCKING FUNNY?!" fury bubbling over into a full meltdown.
"Not only that…" Revland slowly place his hands on Kamoshida's arms as his grin became sinister. "I find your little temper tantrum utterly amusing…"
He only had to apply a bit of pressure for Kamoshida's grip to loosen.
"You're finished… one way… or another…" he added as Mr. Ushimaru's hand clamped down on Kamoshida's shoulder.
"What do you think you're doing?!" he questioned as Revland removed himself from Kamoshida's grasp. Kawakami waiting to place herself between him and Kamoshida.
"That piece of trash was mocking me, he's responsible for all these slanderous notes!" he accused, pointing at Revland, "Him and all of his little friends!"
"You have any proof of that?" Ushimaru asked, his own grip tightening.
Kamoshida went to clarify but remained quiet after meeting Ushimaru's glare.
"All I see… is you putting hands on one of my students…" he growled, "And last I checked, under no circumstances are we to place children in harms way… The principal won't be able to protect you this time…"
"Are you alright?" Kawakami asked, checking his neck for any markings.
"I'm fine." He said in a tone that worried her, "He only got a hold of my jacket."
His calm, matter of fact tone, unnerved her to the point that she didn't want to let him out of her sight in fear he'd go looking for trouble.
"Doesn't matter anyway…" Kamoshida spat, "By this time tomorrow, you'll no longer be my problem…"
"This time tomorrow…" Revland retorted, "You'll be on the other side of an interrogation table…"
With a final tsk in his direction, Kamoshida turned and walked away.
"You good boss?" Ryuji asked, coming up to check on him with Ann not far behind.
"Yeah…" he answered, "More than good…"
Ann noticed that he was attempting to hide his amusement but gave up after he broke down into a fit of laughter.
"Soon…" he said a two-toned voice, "It's Showtime…"
Author's note:
Hello again, told you I'd be back.
Here we are on the eve of the climax that has been three years in the making. Truth be told, and I'm pretty sure I've said this before, I really didn't expect to make it this far. Thank you all for sticking with me and being patient while I work on this little project of mine.
So, I promised some answers and I hope I delivered some within the chapter itself, but I'll clarify just to be certain.
The second will seed and Kamoshida's past romance with the woman known as Meisha Joō.
There seemed to have sparked some confusion on what happened between her and Kamoshida. As explained, she was a gold digger that got her claws into him and tried to use him. However, as things started to turn serious, she got cold feet and bailed on him which caused him to lash out. Within the metaverse, this is represented by the state of the room and his order to remove all evidence of her existence from the castle. At no time did he manage to lay his hands on Meisha.
Money within and outside the Metaverse.
When it comes to the in-game currency, I tried to sprinkle little hints throughout each chapter on what might be going on. A couple chapters ago, Revland entered an agreement with Iwa of Untouchable. That way, he could start pawning off some of the things he's been finding throughout the palaces that he's explored so far. Matter of fact, I missed a zero and never got to my second editing run like I normally do after posting. I was also running off the understanding that 1 yen is equal to 10 cents (rough est.:$1,500 stateside), research everything from names of locations, even classroom times and seat placement and it's the currency I slip up on. The idea was to show that Revland had the intention of continuing before the others considered the idea, whether he'll turn it into a space for him and the others to hang around or a "Hideout" is still to be determined but I think we know which way he's leaning.
When it came to the currency specifically, I was always under the impression that the wealth that the team had come across, jewels or cash, would only amount to something the owner of the palace would consider valuable. In Kamoshida's case, it'd be tied to his reputation and in Madarame's case it'd probably be his business card or pictures of past students.
I think we have two chapters plus an epilogue left before the end of the first act. I've been kicking around the idea of how to proceed: first one was to consider this "Book" completed and create a new story for each arch or leave the story as incomplete and continue posting while adding "Part II chapter X" to the beginning. Still haven't decided yet, I like the idea of having separate Books, but I don't want those who're following to be left in the dark either.
I'd also remove all the author notes and place them in an Authors Corner chapter to improve the flow.
Pro's and Con's to everything.
One last thing before I go, I've already started work on "Showtime: Thieves vs. Asmodeus the Lustful" as well as the planed epilogue. Fun fact: I originally intended to introduce Yumi during the epilogue but having her be haunted by a vision of Revland in distress was too good to pass up even if it did show my hand a bit.
Alright, there's work to be done and a finale to write.
As always, you can go to my profile for updates on the chapter as I progress. As per a suggestion, I'll also be posting something there to keep y'all informed on any hiatus's I might be on and reasoning behind them.
Thank you for the continued support and the recent followers. Hope to see y'all again very soon and be safe out there!
JWS (2/24/2025)