Sae Niijima was, quite frankly, furious.
She had arrived a few minutes late to work since she had dropped off her sister, not to mention that she had missed a meeting yesterday because of the train incident.
While being a few minutes late didn't matter too much in the long run, her coworkers wasted no time in berating her about it.
Even when she had explained the situation, they still scoffed at her, pointing out any perceived flaw or weakness they could find.
Through her years of working, she quickly learned that she would have to go above and beyond to meet the standards of others.
People significantly less competent than her would succeed, earning promotions and bonuses, while she would have to fight tooth and nail for mere scraps.
Such was the reality of being a woman in a male dominated field...
They would look for any way they could to discredit her.
Many of them leered at her. Some maliciously, some lustfully.
They either thought she didn't belong or that she was just an object to them.
She wasn't which type she hated more…
"Makoto, are you home?" she called as she entered their apartment.
"Oh, sis." Makoto answered, studying at the table. "I made dinner, if you're hungry."
"I ate at work." she tersely answered.
"I suppose you did stay very late." Makoto said. "Did something happen at work?"
"Nothing to concern yourself with." Sae responded. "But I won't be able to give you any more rides to school. You'll have to ride the subway."
"O-Oh…"
Sae sighed. "I know that it's hard for you, but you need to be strong. What happened there was terrible, but it's very unlikely to happen again."
"I know, but-"
"You'll be fine." Sae promised, cutting her off. "You're a Niijima."
"Right." Makoto nodded. "I… hope I didn't cause you any trouble at work."
"It's… nothing." Sae lied. "Now it's getting late. You should head to bed soon if you want to catch the subway."
Makoto nodded, heading off to bed.
She, however, still had work to do. She pulled out her laptop, needing to look over more information on cases.
It would be at least another few hours before she went to bed…
Once again, she found herself in the same prison she was in last night.
"About time you've come to." Caroline scoffed. "Now on your feet, inmate!"
"Our master wanted to speak with you." Justine explained. "I would suggest you listen to what he says."
She rose from the bed, looking at Igor, who greeted her with a toothy grin.
"It is wonderful to see you again." Igor greeted. "And… it would appear that you've awakened to the powers of a Persona. Your rehabilitation can finally begin!"
"Begin? You mean it hasn't started yet?" she asked. "What more do I have to do?"
"There is no need for you to understand right away." Igor told her. "Simply continue to grow stronger with your Persona and use that MetaNav to come and go between reality and the Metaverse."
"So that is what it does." Makoto replied. "Were you the one who gave that to me?"
"Indeed." Igor chuckled. "But you needn't worry about going through rehabilitation alone. I shall grant the MetaNav to others who would prove useful to you."
"Amamiya-kun." she whispered. "He had it as well."
"This is all for you to become a great thief." Igor grinned.
A thief. She didn't exactly like the sound of that, but if it helped against Kamoshida…
An alarm suddenly rang, startling her.
"Time is nearly up." Justine whispered.
"Enjoy the little sleep you have left, inmate." Caroline muttered as Makoto went back to bed.
4/12 Tuesday
Awakened by her alarm, she quickly turned it off before rubbing at her eyes. Glancing at her phone, she saw that the Metaverse Navigator app was still there.
Well, at least that confirmed that she hadn't hallucinated what happened yesterday. A part of her was concerned she was going insane.
She packed her things and set off for the station.
She found herself thankful that her sister had drilled into her the habit of arriving early, because she needed a few moments to compose herself before riding the subway.
So she stood there, taking several deep breaths in order to calm herself down.
"Ah!"
Someone bumped into her, causing her to drop all of her things to the floor.
"Oh my God, I'm like, so sorry!"
She turned around, seeing a girl around her age with black hair and a Shujin uniform.
"I was looking at my phone and… say, aren't you the student council president?" the girl asked.
"Yes, that's me." she nodded. "And you're… Eiko Taeko, yes? We had a class together."
"Oh yeah, I guess we did." Eiko recalled. "I'm surprised you remembered that."
"It just came back to me." she responded, beginning to pick up her belongings.
"Here, let me help." Eiko offered.
Eiko moved to help her, only to let out a gasp.
"Is that a Buchimaru pencil case?!" Eiko exclaimed.
"You know Buchi-kun… I-I mean you know Buchimaru?"
"Of course I do!" Eiko beamed. "Buchimaru was my childhood! So you're into it too, Miss Prez?"
Miss Prez?
"I loved Buchimaru as a kid. I actually have a lot more merchandise at home." Makoto told her. "This pencil case was actually a gift from my father."
"It looks a little worn down." Eiko commented.
"I had it since I was in elementary school." Makoto replied. "I've been thinking of getting a new one, but they don't sell Buchimaru merchandise anymore."
Eiko nodded. "Yeah, it sucks. Buchimaru was so cute too… oh, but speaking of cute…"
"Hmm?"
"Have you seen the new transfer student?" Eiko grinned. "You think he's cute too, right?"
"W-W-What?!" she stammered.
"Don't think I didn't see you hanging out with him after school." Eiko pointed out, smirking.
"I-I'm his tutor!" she defended. "We were just studying."
"Riiiight… 'studying'." Eiko giggled, winking at her. "I didn't think you'd go for someone like that. You're like, a total badass! My opinion of you has done a total 360!"
She considered telling her that that was a full circle, but ultimately decided against it.
"I actually used to think that you were like a robot, but you're actually kinda cool!" Eiko admitted.
"Like a robot…" she thought to herself.
"Say, why don't we exchange contact info?" Eiko suggested. "That way, we can talk more about Buchimaru… and your crush."
"I-I don't…" she stammered, before letting out a sigh. "Well, I suppose I would like to talk about Buchimaru some more."
"Great!" Eiko beamed, showing her phone.
They exchanged their contact information right before the train arrived.
"Come on, we can talk more about it inside." Eiko called. "And I'll be sure to send you a picture of my collection, and when stuff goes on sale."
She smiled, joining Eiko on the train, her previous anxiety forgotten.
"Hey man, where were you?"
Ren looked around, seeing Ryuji waiting for him by the school gate.
The two of them had met on the first day of class, Ryuji telling him all about Kamoshida, and to stay clear of him. They had immediately hit it off, promising to talk more after class, although the Palace ultimately put a wrench in those plans.
"Sorry I couldn't meet up with you." Ren apologized. "The school's making me go through mandatory tutoring after school. Probably to 'reform' me or something."
"For real?" Ryuji groaned. "Man, that sucks. Who's tutoring you?"
"The student council president." he responded.
"Oh man, you're screwed." Ryuji laughed. "Niijima's gonna put you through the wringer. She's intense!"
He shrugged. "She hasn't been that bad so far. Maybe…"
"Maybe what?"
"Maybe you could… tell her about what's going on with Kamoshida." Ren suggested.
Ryuji scoffed, kicking over a rock near his feet. "Niijima doesn't give a shit about us. She'll always side with the teachers."
Ren frowned. "Is that what you think?"
Ryuji nodded. "That's how she's always been. Probably just lookin' for a letter of recommendation or whatever."
"There has to be someone we can talk to." Ren said.
"I tried talking to Ann before, but she wouldn't say anything." Ryuji sighed.
"Ann?" Ren repeated. "You mean Takamaki-san?"
"You know her?"
"She's in my class." Ren answered.
Ryuji nodded. "I think somethin' is going on between Ann and Kamoshida. I think that pervert's doing something to her or one of her friends!"
"Her friends?"
Ryuji shrugged. "I thought maybe she had a friend who was part of a sports team."
"And you said that Kamoshida's abusing the sports teams." Ren added.
"He's gotta be!" Ryuji yelled. "They all have bruises after practice."
"Sounds like a good lead." Ren said. "Anyway… did you get that thing I asked you to get?"
Ryuji frowned, holding out a brown paper bag "I did, but I don't know about this, man. If they catch you with this, you'll totally get expelled."
Ren took the bag from Ryuji.
"Don't worry, I promise that I won't threaten anyone at the school with this." Ren told him.
Someone in the castle, on the other hand...
"Maybe we should be asking those guys on the sports team about Kamoshida." Ren suggested.
Ryuji immediately perked up. "Hell yeah! Sounds like a plan, Renren."
"...What?"
"Renren!" Ryuji grinned. "It's my nickname for you. I think I'll be callin' you that from now on!"
"Please don't." Ren deadpanned.
Classes were rather uneventful today, but as Makoto walked to the student council room, she saw Kamoshida speaking with Ann Takamaki.
"Hey, Takamaki." Kamoshida greeted, the grin on his face now unnerving her. "You know, things have been really dangerous lately with all those accidents."
She narrowed her eyes. That was the same line he used on her.
"Sorry, but I have a photoshoot." Ann excused. "I can't afford to miss it."
And it seemed like Ann already had an idea of what he was going to ask…
Kamoshida frowned. "Well, being a model's fine and all, but don't work that pretty body of yours to the bone. And didn't you say that you weren't feeling well?"
"Yeah, I was planning to go to the hospital, but I've been… busy."
"Must be feeling awfully lonely too." Kamoshida mentioned. "I feel bad that I'm keeping Suzui-san at practice so often."
She noticed that the mention of Suzui-san made Ann very uncomfortable.
"That's-"
"Oh, and by the way, be careful around that new transfer student." Kamoshida warned. "He's got a criminal record. If something were to happen to you…"
She balled her fists in anger. How could he tell people?! He was supposed to keep it a secret!
"...Thank you. I'll be going now." Ann stressed.
She walked off, Kamoshida scowling as she did.
Trying not to be seen, she followed after Ann, hoping that she could catch up to her.
"Takamaki-san!" she called. "Please wait!"
Ann turned around, still frowning as she approached her.
"Oh, Niijima-senpai." Ann muttered. "Did you need something?"
"I noticed that you looked a little uncomfortable." Makoto brought up. "Is everything ok?"
"...Is this some kind of interrogation?" Ann asked.
"What? No!" Makoto denied. "I was just concerned, is all."
"Did Kamoshida put you up to this?" Ann wondered.
"Why would he- I'm just trying to help!" she insisted.
"Well, I'm fine." Ann told her. "I'm just… feeling a little under the weather."
"Well… if something ever happens, I'll always be willing to listen." Makoto offered.
Ann stood there for a few moments, as if she wanted to say something, but ultimately shook her head and excused herself.
"Why won't anyone tell me anything?" Makoto thought to herself.
She made her way to the student council room, seeing Ren already waiting for her, wagging his finger.
"Tsk tsk tsk… thirty seven seconds late, Niijima-senpai." he joked.
"S-Sorry, I was held up."
"Um… it's fine." Ren assured her. "I was just joking."
"Oh… well then, shall we get started." Makoto asked, pulling out her phone.
"Actually, maybe we should activate it somewhere else." he said. "When we escaped the castle the first time, we ended up near the school gate."
"So, if we activate the MetaNav at the school gate, we might end up outside the castle, so we won't get ambushed." Makoto theorized.
"That's what I was thinking." Ren agreed. "So, should we get going?"
"Actually, before that…"
Eiko's words and Ann's hesitance from before were still bothering her.
"Amamiya-kun… would you consider me… unapproachable?" she asked. "Or maybe stiff or robotic?"
"Why do you ask?" he wondered.
"It's just… I was beginning to wonder why no one told me about Kamoshida's abuse." she confessed.
"Maybe they think you'd side with him over them." Ren replied.
"Who would think that?" she asked.
"I was talking with Ryuji this morning… he said you would always side with the teachers. That all you wanted was a letter of recommendation."
"Well what does he know?!" she snapped. "Why are you even hanging around someone like him?!"
Ren frowned. "Because he's one of the only people here who treats me like a human being."
Her expression softened. "I'm sorry… it's just that he got into an altercation with Kamoshida before."
"He told me about it." Ren said. "But after everything we've learned, can you really trust Kamoshdia's side of the story?"
"I guess not…" she admitted. "It feels like in just a single day, my entire world's been flipped upside down. For the longest time, I was simply doing whatever the staff told me to do, never questioning it."
Ren nodded, silently encouraging her to continue.
"But I don't want to be like that anymore. I want to help the other students if I can!"
Ren smiled. "Never too late to change."
Makoto nodded. "Yeah. But first, we need to stop Kamoshida!"
Just as they thought, using the MetaNav out of the school gates caused them to wind up right outside the castle.
"We really are back here." Ren whispered. "...And your outfit's back too."
"Let's not talk about that." she sighed.
"Hey! Over here!"
They spotted Morgana near the castle, beckoning them over.
"What are you two doing back here?" Morgana asked. "You two barely escaped last time!"
"I can't just stand by and do nothing if Kamoshida is abusing students." Makoto answered.
"We wanted to see if there was anything we could find out here." Ren added.
"Hmm… earlier, I heard a bunch of screaming." Morgana recalled. "Could those be your classmates?"
"Could be." Ren answered. "Can you take us to them, Morgana?"
"I might be able to identify them, so we could talk to them at school." Makoto said.
"Alright, but be careful." Morgana warned. "The knights are on high alert right now."
"And I don't have a Persona." Ren sighed.
"Don't worry, Amamiya-kun." Makoto smiled. "I'll protect you."
"Yeah…" Ren trailed off. "Thanks…"
Morgana carefully led them through the palace, making sure they avoided as many knights as possible.
Eventually, they reached a strange door, which seemed to be fading in and out.
"Hey Morgana, what's up with this door?" Ren asked.
"That's a Safe Room." Morgana explained. "Kamoshida and his knights won't find us in there."
Makoto opened the door, finding a classroom that quickly shifted back into an area of the castle.
It seemed the distortion was weaker here.
"So, we can rest here for a bit?" Makoto asked.
Morgana nodded. "If you two have any questions, we can discuss them here."
"About that…" Ren muttered, pulling out a bag "I was wondering if you think this might help."
He opened it up… and pulled out a gun!
"W-Where on Earth did you get that?!" Makoto gasped.
"America." Ren joked. "No, but seriously, It's just a model, not a real gun. It just makes sounds. I asked Ryuji to grab it for me."
"It looks so real… no wonder I couldn't tell." Makoto observed.
"I was hoping that the knights here won't be able to tell from a distance." Ren told them. "What do you think, Morgana?"
"That might be more helpful than you think." Morgana grinned.
"That's good." Ren responded. "I wouldn't want to slow you two down."
"If that's all, we should get moving!" Morgana commanded, leading the way.
They didn't go far before they encountered another knight that spotted them, morphing into a strange flower creature.
"Alright, Frizzy Hair, fire that gun at that knight!" Morgana demanded.
"What?! But it's a-"
"Just do it!"
Ren fired the gun, gasping as a real bullet came out of it and struck the shadow.
"Keep firing!" Morgana yelled.
Ren unloaded into the shadow until it dissolved into black ooze.
"I thought it was fake!" Makoto exclaimed.
"But this is the cognitive world, so if the enemy thinks it's real, then it'll act like it's real." Morgana explained. "And your ammo will replenish, since the enemy will expect you to have full ammo."
"That's pretty useful." Makoto grinned. "It'll make getting through this place a lot easier."
"Yeah, can you imagine if it didn't replenish and you only had a few bullets that needed to last the whole way?" Ren asked. "That would suck!"
"Alright, enough chit chat! The prisoners are close." Morgana informed them.
Sure enough, it only took a few minutes for them to reach the sports teams.
All around them, students were being forced to partake in training that could only be described as sadistic torture.
"This is horrible…" Ren whispered.
It was hard to keep watching, but she forced herself to, taking the time to memorize each victim's face.
"Do you recognize them?" Ren asked.
"I do." Makoto nodded. "And we have the student registry just in case."
"Are you two done here?" Morgana said impatiently.
"Yes, we're good now." Makoto told him. "Thank you for bringing us here, Morgana."
"Yeah, yeah, now come on!" the not-cat insisted. "We've already been here long enough."
The three evaded the guards in the prison, making their way to the central staircase.
"Come on, we're almost th-GAH!"
A sudden blast of light knocked Morgana off of his feet.
"Morgana!" Makoto cried out.
"Trespassing again? You knaves are hopeless!"
Kamoshida descended the staircase, followed by a golden knight and four angelic creatures in bondage gear.
"Kamoshida, how can you abuse your own students?!" Makoto shouted. "How can you do this?!"
"Didn't I already tell you?!" Kamoshida roared. "Because I'm the king! Peasants like you should learn your place!"
The four angels flew above them, assaulting them with blasts of light.
"Watch those Kouha spells!" Morgana warned, rolling out the wall before blasting an angel with wind.
"Got it!" Makoto acknowledged, assaulting the injured angel with a barrage of punches and kicks until it dissolved.
Their attention focused on the Persona users, Ren managed to get a lucky shot on another angel, knocking it to the ground and unloading into it until it was beaten.
"King Kamoshida! Please, allow me to take them on!" the golden knight requested.
"Very well. Kill them all!" Kamoshida demanded.
The golden knight transformed, becoming another angel, but donning a full suit of armor instead.
"HRAAAAA!" the knight roared, charging with power.
"It's charging up! Take it out quick!" Morgana advised.
"On it! Johanna, Frei!" Makoto called.
Morgana joined in, letting loose a Garu spell on the armored foe.
Both spells hit their mark, unleashing an explosion of energy. When the dust settled, however, both Persona users were shocked to see the Archangel with minimal injuries.
"No way! How durable is this guy?!" Morgana exclaimed. "We have to attack again before-"
"Too late!" the Archangel shouted. "Begone!"
The archangel unleashed a blast of energy from his sword, knowing both of them off their feet.
"Ngh… I can't move." Morgana groaned.
"He's too strong…" Makoto muttered, struggling to get back on her feet.
"Restrain them!" the Archangel commanded.
The two remaining angels descended, pinning Morgana and Makoto to the ground.
"Good… now execute them!" Kamoshida demanded.
The knight descended the stairs, reading his sword.
It quickly jumped to the side, however, when it saw a bullet whizzing by.
"You bastard!" Ren shouted, running in front of the others. "I won't let you hurt them!"
"Oh, right… him." the Archangel muttered. "He's so weak and insignificant, I almost forgot about him."
"Amamiya-kun, stop!" Makoto shouted. "Forget about me! Run!"
"I-I can't just leave you!" he yelled.
"I promised I'd protect you… please, go!" she pleaded.
"HAHAHAHAHA!"
He turned to face Kamoshida, who had a bold grin on his face.
"Y-You can't do this!" Ren yelled.
"And who's gonna stop me? You?!" Kamoshida smirked. "Didn't you hear about what I did to Sakamoto? If you raise a hand against me, I'll break you! And the school will call it self-defense!"
"But you're the one who started it!" Morgana argued.
"That doesn't matter!" Kamoshida claimed. "All I have to say is that he started it, and he'll spend the rest of his life in a cell! No one's going to believe the words of some punk over a king like me!"
He froze.
This was just like back then.
'Damn brat, I'll sue!'
His body began to shake.
His palms began to sweat.
"Amamiya-kun… please… go." Makoto whispered.
"No one will believe you." Kamoshida grinned. "I'll even force these two to turn against you!"
He continued to stand there, frozen.
Even if he did fight back, no one would believe his side of the story.
No one would side with him.
Everyone… family, friends… they'd all abandon him again.
He'd be alone...
"What's the matter? She's in trouble, just like that woman from before was."
He glanced around, startled by the voice in his head.
"Death awaits them if you don't intervene. Was your previous decision a mistake then?"
Was it? He had saved that woman, but she then testified against him, and now he was on probation.
If he did something like that again, then he'd be in jail… or worse.
But…
If he hadn't done anything, that woman would have suffered horribly...
He glanced at Makoto and Morgana, still held down by the angels.
He thought of Ryuji, and the disbanded track team.
He thought of the abused athletes.
He thought of the girls Kamoshida took advantage of.
"No…" he whispered. "It wasn't a mistake."
"What was that?" Kamoshida muttered.
"Maybe you're right…" Ren admitted. "Maybe no one would believe my word over yours… but even if that's true…"
"I won't let you get away with this!" Ren shouted, glaring definitely at Kamoshida with yellow eyes.
"I am thou, thou art I."
Ren grit his teeth, clutching his head in pain.
"What's going on?!" the Archangel exclaimed.
"C-Can it be?" Morgana gasped.
"Thou who art willing to perform all sacrilegious acts for thine own justice!"
"How dare you talk back to me! Kill him!" Kamoshida commanded.
"Call my name, and release thy rage!"
A bird-like mask appeared on Ren's face, which he quickly grabbed at, wanting the pain to stop.
Just as the Archangel was about to strike, he ripped off the mask, his blood staining the floor, and a blue beam of energy burst out of him, forcing the Archangel back.
Gone was his regular school uniform, replaced with bright red gloves and a three-trailed trench coat.
Behind him stood a wickedly grinning demon with black wings, and a fancy black top and waistcoat, a white cravat, and a red suit and leggings.
"He's got a Persona too!" Morgana exclaimed.
"Damn it, not again!" Kamoshida spat, running out of the room.
"Ha! Not so powerless now, am I?" Ren said, sporting a large smirk. "It's showtime, Arsène!"
"This doesn't matter!" the Archangel claimed. "You're still no match for me!"
The Archangel charged, Ren dodging out the way of its sword.
"Eiha!" Ren shouted, snapping his fingers to produce a black flame.
The Archangel prepared to dodge, but quickly found that it wasn't the intended target. Instead, the spell hit the angels beside him, causing them to scream in agony as the dark flames devoured them.
Now freed from their captors, Makoto and Morgana healed their wounds and ran to Ren's side.
"Not bad, Frizzy Hair!" Morgana praised. "Looks like these angels are weak to your curse skills!"
"Are you two ok?" Ren asked, still concerned.
"I'm fine, thanks to you." Makoto said appreciatively. "Now, let's take this guy down!"
"He's the same golden knight from yesterday, right?" Ren smirked. "Guess it's time for a little payback!"
"Wait until you have a good shot, Amamiya-kun!" Makoto called, running towards the knight.
Makoto engaged the knight in close combat, dodging his sword swings while countering with punches and kicks.
Just as it seemed like the Archangel was about to slice Makoto in two, Morgana slammed it with a wind spell, dealing minimal damage, but throwing off its aim as well.
Makoto capitalized, striking the Archangel's head with a devastating roundhouse kick.
"Enough of this!" the knight roared, slicing vertically.
Using her flexibility, Makoto bent under the slash, smirking when she saw the Archangel's eyes widen in horror.
"Eiha!" Ren shouted, firing a black fireball that sailed over Makoto's head, smacking the Archangel square in the chest.
It cried out in pain, black flames engulfing him as he was forced to his knees.
"Now, finish it off!" Morgana ordered.
All three of them unleashed their magic, downing the Archangel once and for all.
"K-King Kamoshida… I… failed…" the archangel gasped, dissolving into the ground.
"All right!" Ren cheered. "We did it, Makoto!"
"Thanks to you Ren!" Makoto beamed.
Ren held his hand up high, an action that confused her.
"Uh… High five?"
"O-Oh!" she gasped, quickly raising her own hand and high fiving him.
"Alright, the exit's right there, so let's go." Morgana told them. "You must be tired after awakening to your Persona."
"No, I can still… keep going…" Ren panted, beginning to feel the exhaustion.
"It's ok, Ren." Makoto told him. "We've done what we came here to do. Let's go."
"...Alright, Makoto." Ren nodded, following them out of the castle.
As they made their way back to their world, she realized that Ren and her had called each other by their first names.
And that she didn't mind that at all.