As soon as Akira walked into the cafe, the first thing he saw was Sojiro's face.
He was pissed.
"U-Uh... I-I'm back..." Akira stuttered, his voice cracking with anxiety when he attempted to set things on a more uplifting note.
"Hey, I got an interesting call from your school today," Sojiro growled as he placed a hand to his waist. Akira had no wiggle room, so it seems.
He sighed quietly as he closed the door, Sojiro continuing: "It's only your first day and you're already showing up hours late?"
"I-I'm sorry... It was an accident. I got onto the wrong train and—" he mumbled, rubbing the back of his neck, slowly making his way to the stairs of his room.
"I don't want to hear your excuses."
Akira sighed once again, his legs feeling heavier than usual. He was exhausted... And he wasn't feeling too hot, either.
"...Listen, just behave yourself alright? Your life's forfeit if anything happens. You understand the meaning of probation right?"
"Yeah, I—" Akira began, annoyance turning his head to Sojiro. His words were quickly caught off the moment he locked eyes with the grown man, who seemed rather surprised for Akira's starting response. Glancing away, he mumbled a polite "...yessir, I do. It won't happen again."
Sojiro opened his mouth to argue with the annoyed tone Akira had, when his cell suddenly rang. Pulling it out of his pocket, Sojiro turned away from the teenager and answered.
A phone call let him off the hook for a little.
"Hey, what's up?" Sojiro began. The person on the other side seemed to calm him a bit, prodding a small smile onto his face. Seeing it caused Akira to blink in slight surprise, now wondering who was on the other end. A girlfriend perhaps?
"...Yeah, I just closed up shop. I'll be there in half an hour," Sojiro continued. Noticing that Akira's presence, he shot the boy a cold glare. "Hey, what're you standing around for? Go hurry up to bed."
Akira flinched at the sudden attention and nodded, quickly making his way upstairs.
"Don't forget to lock the door and turn all the lights off, okay?" Sojiro called out just as Akira placed his bag on top of his drawer.
"Yes, sir...!" he called out in reply.
He could hear Sojiro continue talking to whoever was on the other line while tidying up a little, his words muddled by the distance and clattering noise. Shaking his head, Akira decided it was best to get dress and look over his class material to be fully prepared for tomorrow. However, the utter exhaustion in his body at the idea was enough to make him pass out right there. Sleeping while standing even!
If he knew how.
Rustling his curly locks, he pulled out his cell and quickly looked up the school's website, typing into the search bar 'textbooks'. Since he missed basically the entire day at that strange castle, he missed the entrance ceremony and the gatherings of his textbooks. Having to share with others who clearly didn't want to be near him made things way too awkward for his liking. It'd be best to get them tomorrow morning.
Making a little memo and accompanying reminder, he yawned and gently tossed his phone to the bed. Scratching the top of his head, he pulled out his diary journal thing—Jodi? Diarnal? There's gotta be something simpler to call it—and a pencil form his bag, shortly commencing his report.
> > >
Diary Entry 2:
My guardian made me food. It was good. It's surprisingly refreshing to have curry for breakfast. When I return home, I'll make Nanay some curry for breakfast.
My first day of school was... Wow. Writing it all out would be like going on an acid trip, so I'll just note the highlights. I bumped into a model status girl who shared an anime-esque moment with me, a cute blonde guy got us lost and we ended up missing out the first half of the school day which resulted in a run down with the poli-sausage who called the school and got our innocent asses in trouble. And then everything after that is normal. (I got an F on my first impression speech. I got too stupidly nervous.)
I hope Nanay had a good day. I'm really tired after everything that happened, so I won't be able to really pray tonight. But I ask that the holy father will continue to watch over me during this time and guide me to the right path. Amen.
> > >
With a yawn, Akira closed the journal, shortly stretching. The sound of a door closing quietly caught his attention, earning a nod of understanding.
After locking up in his pajamas, Akira plopped onto his bed with a heavy sigh, struggling to keep his eyes open when another yawn escaped him.
I'm so tired..., Akira groaned, hooking his phone up to the charger. Maybe it's because of all that weird stuff that's been happening to me... Well, whatever.
Lifting up his covers and curling up underneath them, he closed his eyes and quickly gave in to the seductive empress of the night.
> > >
Akira's eyes snapped open, the sound of rattling chains waking him. He groaned as he sat up, his back aching for some reason. The familiar pain... the black and white striped uniform... the rattling of chain...
Am I...? Akira pursed his lips as he looked over, instantly locking eyes with the platinum-blonde twins.
"...About time you've come to. On your feet, Inmate!" Caroline barked, smacking the cell bars. Akira groaned as he ran his hands through his hair.
Justine tilted her head slightly to the side, speaking with her same monotone voice, "Our master wishes to speak with you. It's for your own sake that you take his words to heart."
Akira massaged his face as he stood up, his hands making their way to the back of his head. Once he reached the cell door, the twins turned around to face their master, Igor; Akira resting his arm on the closest horizontal bar, his forearm and hands dangling outside the cell.
Igor grinned at the casual air wafting from his guest, immediately starting with, "First off, let us celebrate our reunion."
"I'll pass," Akira immediately replied. His eyes narrowed as he shifted his weight to his right leg. He had some theories and wanted some answers. "The things that happened to me today at the castle... That was part of my rehabilitation towards freedom, wasn't it?" Igor simply smiled, his eyebrows arched up with amusement.
"Well, your accusations aren't far from the truth... But first, allow me to see into your heart," Igor chuckled with amusement, stretching his hand out to Akira. Akira blinked in confusion before suddenly feeling a ripping sensation from the corner of his eyes; the sensation quickly forming to the front of his face. A pained scream escaped him as the sensation grew, the mask that formed on him back at the castle dripping blood as it floated towards Igor. Akira stepped away from the cell door, gripping his face with shuddered breaths as he patted the skin tenderly, making sure that it was still intact with his body. Once he was sure that his face wasn't actually ripped off, he looked up with watering eyes, just in time to see the bloody mask mutate into a tarot card; swiftly sliding between Igor's twitching fingers.
Igor's smile stretched even further at what the card read, his small pupils practically twinkling with amusement. With a tame, but still mused voice, chuckled, "Oh...? You've awakened to your powers. And special ones at that. Your rehabilitation can finally begin."
Akira rubbed underneath his nose with his sleeve, muttering, "My powers...? Wait, rehabilitation? So that castle wasn't part of it?"
"I said no such thing," Igor chuckled, writing notes into the blank book that laid bare before him. "There is no need to understand it all for the time being. You will be training the power of Persona, which you have awakened to."
"Persona... Isn't that Latin for mask?" He recalled thinking the very same word back when he summoned Arsene from deep within after their pact had been forged.
"Indeed. They are, simply put, an armor of the heart when confronting worldly matters." Igor's pupils somehow managed to shrink even smaller with excitement, a low coo escaping him. "I have high expectations for you."
Akira glared at the strange man, licking his teeth in annoyance and slight panic. Igor chuckled, instantly taking note of the of the frustration.
"There is no need to worry. You will learn when the time comes," he reassured. "By the by... have you come to appreciate the Metaverse Navigator? Using it will allow you to come and go between reality and Palaces."
"So that was your doing..." Akira huffed. Ever since he tried to delete that strange app for the second time and after the first meeting with this circus, he speculated that it was their doing. After all, its logo was just as strange looking as they all were.
"I bestowed it to you as a means to train you as a thief."
"I don't wanna be a thief or have a persona. Get rid of them!"
Caroline smacked a nightstick to the cell door, causing Akira to flinch in surprise. "The Metaverse Navigator is a gift from our master! You better take care in using it, Inmate!"
"I just said to get rid of them!" Akira growled.
Justine looked over her shoulder to Akira, simply stating, "Devote yourself to your training so that you may become a fine thief."
Akira's left eyebrow twitched as he grabbed the cell bars, shaking them a little in anger. "Are you even listening to me?!"
"It must be disheartening to make use of the Metaverse Navigator alone," Igor began, causing Akira to flinch and look up. "Should there be others who would prove beneficial to you, I will grant it to them as well. This is all for you to grow as a most excellent thief..."
Akira's eyes flared with rage as he gripped the bars harder, about to threaten the Frankenstein of a human, when a bell suddenly began to ring, echoing within the empty prison.
"Hmph, it's time," Caroline huffed, turning around to face Akira. "Go back and enjoy whatever rest you might have..."
Just like last time, Akira suddenly began to feel his legs giving out from under him, his eyelids quickly shutting. Without even a chance to fight, he lost conscious once again, the world fading black.
>
> >
> > >
> > > >
> April, 12th. Tuesday
Akira ruffled his hair as he walked down the stairs, the clattering of dishwares and the smell of sausage wandering in the air. Just like yesterday, Sojiro had arrived and the kitchen was filled with steam.
Before Akira could even greet him, he simply instructed, "Eat." He placed a plate of sausage, eggs, and fried rice down in front of him. Akira blinked in surprise before nodding, taking a seat in front of the plate of food. Glancing up, Akira noticed that Sojiro was cooking curry, which was the reason for the steam. Did he make the food in a hurry or was it leftovers?
Sojiro glanced at Akira, click his tongue. "If I get any calls saying you skipped even one class today, you can forget coming back here. Understand?"
Akira blinked in surprise, shortly nodding in reply. A cold silence filled the room as Sojiro pulled out today's newspaper, folding it accordingly to read it with one hand.
Akira glanced over at the door, seeing the tears fall quietly from the sky. It was a perfect representation of his feelings, honestly. Down in the dumps and ready to shed tears of mixed emotions. He let out a sigh and uttered a thanks for the meal. Picking up the spoon and scooping up a small amount of rice, he took a bite. A small smile wiggled from his lips, pleased by the simple yet bold flavors. It was a simple meal, but each component flattered itself to the extreme, making it almost fit for the President.
"...'sh good," Akira complimented quietly, as he swallowed the food. Sojiro glanced at the lad for a second, noting the rather goofy expression on his face as he ate. He hummed in reply, returning to his newspaper.
Once Akira finished, he said farewell and promptly left for school, changing the sign from closed to open.
Similar to yesterday, the train ride was tight and horrendous. The people within his vicinity were talking about the latest subway accident, much to his displeasure. Shaking his head, he pulled out his phone and opened a visual novel. He wasn't a big fan of them for cell phones (since they often didn't reach his standards) but it was better to play them than to listen to others talk about a subway accident while on one.
He soon arrived to Aoyama-Itchome, walking up the stairs with his umbrella up. As he passed by the store that kept him dry yesterday, a faint pink dusted his cheeks as he thought about the girl. He pinched the ends of his bangs in thought, deciding to try and talk to her this time. He blinked in realization and sighed, recalling the whispers from the girls. They thought he was checking her out... If he tried to talk to her, they'd think he was hitting on her.
Guess that's a no go..., Akira hummed. Man, it's just like back home. I can't do shit without people thinking badly of me. So much for making friends this year... Whatever.
The rest of the walk was uneventful; however he didn't catch a glimpse of Ryuji yet. Not that he was surprised. With everything he said yesterday, it only made sense that he'd keep his distance. A sharp pain poked through Akira's heart, sad that things had to turn out this way. But it soon passed as he arrived at Shujin Academy, students keeping a distance from him as they passed by.
Akira stopped in its track as he stared quizzically at the building before him. Cautiously, he pulled out his phone and unlocked it, swiping to the page with the 'gift' Igor lent him—the Metaverse Navigator. Thinking back on it, he remembered how his phone kept vibrating while talking about Kamoshida. It was still frozen after he opened up the Metaverse.
Akira slowly moved his thumb above the app, curiosity daring him to activate it. I wonder...
He suddenly let out a gasp when his phone began buzzing. It was the alarm he made last night, reminding him to get his textbooks. He huffed out an embarrassed sigh, dismissing it.
That's right, I can't afford to mess around. Focus on your goal, Aki, he reminded himself. He rushed up the stairs, switched his outdoor shoes with his indoors, and made his way to the library. It wasn't very fun as he had to work hard in blocking out the oozing whispers insulting his name.
Upon arriving at the library, Akira was rather surprised to see a good number of students sitting at the tables with books or typing away at the computers. With how much they gossiped, he thought no one actually studied.
"Excuse me, I'm here to get my textbooks," Akira whispered as he approached the librarian. She looked up from her computer and flashed a friendly smile. It was contagious enough to crack a small one on Akira's face.
"Certainly! Did you miss them yesterday?" she asked, extending a hand to him. Akira nodded shyly, pulling out his ID and handing it over. She giggled and nodded. The librarian's smile quickly turned into a look of surprise upon reading his name, blinking a few times. Glancing up at him once, she looked away and cleared her throat, typing something into the computer. With a few clicks, she printed out a piece of paper and handed it—along with the ID—to Akira.
"My assistant accidentally returned a few of your books to their bookshelves. I've already checked them out under your name, so once you find them you can just go on to class. They're over there—just look for these codes," she instructed. With a small smile, she handed him two fairly thick textbooks and nodded. "Here is your math and social studies set. If you damage them, please come see me right away, okay?"
Akira bowed in thanks, stuffed the two textbooks into his bag, and made his way over to the bookshelves. It was fairly easy to find his set, as the bookshelves were easily separated between student copies and library copies. The student copy sections were more or less empty, only holding three books max per shelf. He quickly found his remaining textbooks and swiftly stuffed them into his bag.
Walking out of the aisle and towards the door, he noticed a girl struggling to grab a book from the very top shelf. Her back was facing him, so he didn't get a good look at her charms, but he could tell that she was an interesting one with her attire alone and the way her short brown hair perfectly bounced. Looking up, he pinpointed which book she was reaching for and grabbed it, earning a soft gasp. Without looking at the book or the girl's face when she turned around, he placed it on her head before walking off. He didn't want to be even a milo-second late in fear of being homeless.
Striding down the hall, he caught a glimpse of bright, dyed, blonde hair walking up the flight of stairs to the room. Carelessly, Akira took his eyes off of what was in front of him. His body soon crashes into another, earning a grunt from the other party. Akira jerked his head forward, realizing that he bumped into a short girl with long, straight black hair; blue headphones dangling from her neck. Surprised, he kneels down and grabs her gently by the elbow, raising her to her feet.
"I'm sorry, I wasn't paying attention," Akira apologized, letting go of the girl. He could hear students that witnessed the interaction whispering about him, causing him to avert his gaze. Keeping his head down, not looking once at the girl he bumped into or allowing her to even reply to his apology, briskly makes his way to class.
Entering the room, the first thing Akira noticed was the model girl sitting in her seat, her face radiating with hostility. It was quite captivating and refreshing for him as all the faces of their peers wore expressions of exhaustion and fear. He quickly took his seat and continued playing his visual novel. Homeroom wasn't that bad—in fact, Akira found himself being praised for being on time and having his textbooks today. Of course, that praise was short and not exactly well received by his classmates.
When it was time for the first class of the day, Akira was rather intrigued by the appearance of his teacher. He was a tall gentlemen with some extra meat on his bones, his tan skin covered by a dress shirt, overalls, and a blue tie. His head was rather tall and squarish, dark hair and matching eyes which were amplified by his large square glasses accompanying his head. Akira pulled out his schedule. It was social studies. He pulled out his textbook and assigned notebook, ready to get it all over with.
After greetings. class officially began with the teacher introducing himself. "I'm the social studies teacher, Mr. Ushimaru. I'll be teaching you the rules of society this year."
Akira quickly found himself bored of the teacher and let out a quiet sigh, turning his attention to the window. There was something about his tone and low but nasally voice that just rubbed him the wrong way. Like he would openly insult the students after looking at them...
"Hey, new kid," Ushimaru suddenly called out. Akira flinched, jerking his head to the front of the class. A part of him was freaking out as he was thinking of rather... unpleasant nicknames. He feared that he accidentally said them aloud.
"Y-Yes, sir!" Akira stuttered, pushing up his glasses.
Ushimaru placed a hand on his hip. "The Greek philosopher Plato divided the human soul into three parts—"
"Appetite, spirit, and logic!" Akira blurted out, accidentally interrupting him; his eyes sparkling with excitement. "That's Plato's tripartite theory, in which our brains act as the logic, our heart the spirit, and our digestive system as the appetite! Of course, they have more meaning and don't exactly represent those organs, but—"
Akira flinched as he realized that he was speaking too much. Everyone was looking at him, even the model girl—Takamaki, he found out during roll call—was looking at him.
A bright red covered his face as he looked down, muttering a shy, "...w-well, that doesn't matter..."
"You seem to know a lot about Plato!" Ushimaru smiled, clapping. He seemed pleased overall, with perhaps a pinch of annoyance for being interrupted. "You answered the question I was about to ask. You're correct. Plato's teacher, Socrates, said that evil is born from ignorance. People who've been babied, taught that evil is due to individuality, can only become society's scum."
The room quickly went abuzz with mixed reactions, but mainly with amazement. No one was expecting a delinquent with a criminal record to be so smart. Just the fact that he was even attending class right now was surprising.
"Wow, he got it right... Is he really a delinquent?"
"He seems like a punk, but maybe he's actually serious about studying?"
Akira rubbed the back of his neck and rotated his head shyly, his blush deepening. He wasn't used to the positive attention. And he certainly didn't think that his reputation would go up a little so soon.
Maybe this won't be so hard after all, Akira thought as a small smile broke out.
"Show off," a student coughed, earning a few accompanying chuckles. Akira blinked, his blush and smile quickly vanishing. He pursed his lips together into a frown, looking back out the window.
The school day droned on, but eventually it did end. While Akira packed his things, Kawakami approached him and asked how his day went. The exchange was small and simple, but necessary. Especially with everything that happened yesterday.
Akira politely excused himself once they finished talking and walked out the classroom. He wasn't prepared to see Takamaki and Kamoshida talking with each other openly in the middle of the hallway.
"That's why I asked you out in the first place," Kamoshida began, causing Akira's eyes to widen. He glanced around nervously, turning around as he began fumbling with his pockets. "Oh, and... be careful around that transfer student. He's got a criminal record, after all. If something were to happen to you..."
Akira pulled out his mother's handkerchief with a frown, unappreciative of Kamoshida's warning. Graving the embroidery once with his thumb, he returned it to his pocket and looked down as he walked past the two, pretending to check his phone to avoid being spotted.
After switching shoes with an annoyed heart, he stepped out the front doors and instantly noticed a familiar blond delinquent leaning against the gates. Akira blinked as he walked over to Ryuji, who finally took notice of his peer.
"Yo," Ryuji greeted with a carefree smile as Akira stopped beside him. Akira blinked, rather surprised that he had the balls to talk to him again after everything he said yesterday. A part of him actually wanted to reply in a similar tone. But he managed to refrain himself and look down at his feet instead.
"...I thought I told you to stay away," Akira muttered as he began to walk forward past him. But before his foot could even make it past the gate, Ryuji grabbed his shoulder and pulled.
"Listen to me for a sec, would ya? No one's looking at us," Ryuji pointed out, pointing his chin over to the group of students that were busy socializing at the top of the stairs. Akira looked over at the group before returning to Ryuji. He was almost... moved that Ryuji is actually taking his words to heart. At the same time, though, it made him feel even more guilty. It just proved that Ryuji was a good guy and someone who Akira would like to know better. "I wanna talk about that castle from yesterday."
Akira scanned his face, taking note of the serious expression. He stayed quiet as Ryuji crossed his arms over his chest, continuing, "I tried tellin' myself it was a dream...but I couldn't. I can't act like nothing happened. It's all connected to that bastard Kamoshida, after all."
Akira remained silent, taking in the anger he saw brewing within the delinquent. Ryuji stuffed his thumbs into his pockets, shifting his weight to his good leg. "I wanna find out what's up with that place, no matter what. And y'know, you're the only person I can rely on for this stuff. So, you in?"
There was a moment of silence between the two teens, Akira glasses glaring despite the dark clouds above them.
"...It'll be dangerous, y'know," Akira warned, his voice steady and emotionless. A shiver went down Ryuji's spine, the ominous aura surrounding the plain looking student. He considered those glasses to be almost magic, with the way the conceal Akira's charming features and also make him appear ominous.
"It won't be dangerous if you're with me, kicking ass with that persona or whatever it was called," Ryuji pointed out, shifting his weight once again to show he wasn't going anywhere. His eyes said it all. It was clear that going back to that castle and dealing with that King Kamoshida was important to him.
The silence grew, both teens staring each other down to intimidate the other. Akira was against going to the castle again. It was another part of Igor's 'rehabilitation'. Something that would only strengthen his powers and his ability to go beyond reality. He didn't want that. He wanted a normal school year. An easy school year. He couldn't be bothered with helping a delinquent of all people and the fantasy world that he was apparently chosen to venture in and challenge the factors within.
But he couldn't say find it within himself to say no. Not when he knew that Ryuji would simply try to go himself and, more than likely, go insane or even hurt himself.
With a sigh, Akira grumbled, "Tornilyo 'to... Fine, ok, I'm in."
Ryuji smiled in victory while rotating his right shoulder, "Sweet! Looks like I managed to talk some sense into you!"
Akira clicked his tongue and stuffed his hands into his blazer pockets. "So, what's next?"
"I think we should just try and retrace our steps from yesterday."
Akira sighed and nodded, one hand fumbling with his handkerchief while the other held his phone. The two walked all the way over to the station where they first bumped into each other. When they tried to confirm the path they took to the school, the whole plan seemed... foolish. Akira wasn't paying attention the entire walk, and because of the pain Ryuji endured yesterday, he didn't have the best memory of it all himself. But, they already made it this far, so there was no going back. They managed to regain their determination and made their way back to the school.
As they walked together, Ryuji told Akira to speak up if he saw anything remotely strange. Akira found himself relaxed beside the delinquent, comforted by the thought of how Ryuji really didn't seem like a bad guy and was really friend material. Of course, those feelings instantly vanished each time they saw students from their school. Thanks to Ryuji's understanding, however, they would hide before they were noticed for the sake of Akira's reputation. Guilt would swell up within him for a moment, but Ryuji didn't really seem to mind, releasing Akira of that sensation.
When they arrived to the street Shujin Academy stood, they both noted how everything seemed normal. Nothing had changed and there wasn't a single castle in sight. The revelation seemed to confuse Ryuji, but he showed no signs of giving up. They decided to try again, but the conclusion was the same.
No castle.
"For real?" Ryuji sighed. Akira rubbed the back of his neck and sighed as well.
"Let's take a break. Maybe think it over," he suggested. Ryuji hesitated for a moment before caving in, leaning against the stoned wall in front of the school, slugging his bag over his shoulder.
"Is it smaller than we think it is?" Ryuji asked, scratching his head. It just didn't make sense to him. "I checked my phone to see if there was any update on it or something, but no dice..."
Well, yeah, because it's a fantasy castle... Akira thought to himself, averting his gaze to the stairs beside him. It had gotten rather late, the front ground completely empty of students. Only the sounds of the sports teams practicing showed sign of people attending here.
"Hey... That reminds me—didn't you have some kind of navigation app thingy on back then?" Ryuji suddenly asked. Akira looked back at him and blinked with a blank look.
"Huh?" He honestly didn't hear Ryuji's question.
Ryuji pushed himself off the stone wall and stretched his limp leg with a kick. "I dunno if it was or not, but I heard stuff that sounded like it comin' from your phone. Didn't it say stuff like 'returned to the real world' or something like that?"
Akira blinked, putting together what he was talking about. He adjusted his bag and pulled out his phone, staring at the blank screen for a moment. He didn't know how the Metaverse Navigator worked entirely nor if the castle was saved in its history. But he knew that it was the portal key to enter the castle again. He didn't bring it up when they started this waste of time simply because of that.
"Lemme see your phone for a bit. Don't be weird about it," Ryuji said, extending his hand out. Akira glanced up at Ryuji, licking his front teeth behind his closed lips with hesitation, before unlocking his phone and handing it to him.
Ryuji's serious expression quickly face broke into a grin at what he saw. "Wow, man. I never woulda guessed that you were a full blown otaku. Honestly thought you'd be a bookworm or somethin'."
Akira blushed as he pouted a bit defensively, pushing up his glasses. "It's not like I'm only into that stuff... I like a lot of things. You shouldn't judge a book by its cover."
A chuckle escaped from Ryuji's lips as began browsing through the apps, shortly followed by full blown laughter. Akira blinked in surprise, pushing up his glasses again.
"W-What's so funny?"
Ryuji struggled to breathe as he kept laughing, leaning on to the stone wall to keep him standing upright. Tears were starting to form in his eyes as he struggled to take a breath, a finger shakily pointing to an app on his screen.
"Dude, I'm losing it, holy crap...! Not only do you play Neko Atsume: Kitty Collector, you have it in a cat-customized folder titled 'Cat Heaven'!"
Akira's face exploded with embarrassment as Ryuji doubled over, holding himself up by holding his knees.
Akira's glasses fogged up from his embarrassment, sweat dripping from his face. Pulling his glasses off and wiping them with a shy scowl, he stammered, "S-Shut up, i-it's a cute game, okay?! T-There's nothing w-wrong with collecting and c-caring for cats o-on my phone!"
"Sure, but the folder thing is a little over the top, ain't it?"
"N-No it's not! How can my pets relax if they're not set in a good home?!"
Ryuji's legs nearly gave out as he wiped the tears from his eyes, Akira's charming face covered with a flustered red simply making the whole situation way more entertaining to him. Perhaps it was because the guy was so complex, seeing this sincere side of him was just plain amusing. And the fact that he cared about the digital pets was so wholesome, though a little weird. Ryuji knew that it was too good to pass up.
"Whatever you say, man!" Ryuji breathed with a goofy smile as Akira put his glasses back on. Akira puffed out his red cheeks and walked over to the other side of the gate. Ryuji grinned at that before focusing on finding the navigation app. His grin gradually dissolved into frown as he stopped at a strange red app. "What's this eyeball-lookin' thing?"
Akira said nothing as Ryuji's actions cut him off from actually saying anything. But also mainly because he was still pouty about being teased for the cat game.
"...Oh wait, this is it! I knew it—it IS a navigation app! It even has your search history! Oh man, I'm such a genius!" Ryuji grinned triumphantly at his blank expressioned partner. Pushing himself off the stone wall once again, he waved Akira over to him. "Let's try it out!"
Akira's face perked with slight interest as he stood next to Ryuji, shyly admitting, "But... I don't know how."
"Then I'll do it," he replied simply. With a few taps on the screen, Ryuji quickly made his way around the app, and pulled up the information it used yesterday to find the castle. The app began listing off relevant things like 'Kamoshida' and 'pervert', shortly announcing that it was about to begin navigation.
"There we go!" Ryuji chirped. Akira looked up at the school as Ryuji continued muttering things to himself.
Alright, Igor... How does your 'chosen one' exit reality and enter the distorted fantasy, Akira wondered. He was ready for anything.
A familiar sharp pain resonated within his head—just like yesterday before the boys even began to make their way to school.
"What the hell...!?" Ryuji choked as he grabbed his head, witnessing the red eye from the Metaverse Navigator's logo to cloud Akira phone screen, buzzing violently as it glowed a bright red. Ryuji turned to the school as their vision began to warp with black and red circles, the school gradually meshing with color and transforming into the castle.
So that's it..., Akira concluded, his eyes narrowing. Ryuji, stunned by the appearance, unconsciously stuffed Akira's phone into his pocket had ran towards the entrance, his partner following suit.
"We made it back.. That means everything that happened yesterday was for real, too.." Ryuji muttered to himself as he stopped in front of the large castle doors. He turned and jumped at the sight of Akira.
"...Those clothes!" he exclaimed.
Akira hummed as he blinked, looking down at himself. He gasped in surprise, examining the attire. A smug grin came across his face, imagining himself in the outfit. The material was nice and soft and fit just right. He couldn't resist a chuckle as he stretched.
"That happened last time, right?! What's with that outfit?" Ryuji placed his hands to his hips as he continued to stare at his friend.
Noticing this, Akira grinned, finger gunning Ryuji and cooed, "You jelly, bro?"
Ryuji felt a blush creep to his cheeks as he just so happened to be thinking how cool Akira looked and how he wanted his own set as well. He brushed his nose with his thumb, looking away for a second. "I-I ain't jealous! I'm just confused is all! Like... This makes no effin' sense at all."
"Hey!"
The boys turned their attention to the side of the castle, where a familiar voice had called out to them. Ryuji gasped as he got into an aggressive stance, a light pink tinging Akira's cheeks as he suppressed a pleased smile.
The cartoon cat waddled over to the boys with a glare, whispering, "Stop making a commotion."
"It's you!" Ryuji squeaked.
Yay! Akira internally squealed as he squatted down to be at eye level with Morgana.
"The Shadows started acting up, so I came here wondering what it could be," he began. A confused frown tugged at his hips as he crossed his arms over his chest. "...To think you guys would come back to the entrance when you barely managed to escape."
Ryuji unconsciously copied Akira and squatted down as well. "What is this place? Is it the school?"
"That's right."
"But it's a castle!"
"This castle IS the school... But only to this castle's ruler."
Ryuji scratched his head, raising a brow. "The castle's ruler...?"
Morgana looked over to Akira, noticing the blank stare accompanied with rosey cheeks. "I think you called him Kamoshida? It's basically how his distorted heart views the school."
Akira nodded absently, mesmerized by the adorable features of the creature talking to him. Besides, he was already aware of the basics regarding the castle. Ryuji, on the other hand was having difficulty understanding it.
"Kamoshida... Distorted...?" he repeated. He shook his head and glared at Morgana. "Explain it in a way that makes sense!"
"I shouldn't have expected a moron to get it..." Morgana sighed, rolling his eyes.
"What'd you say!?"
Suddenly, the scream of man in agony echoed from within the castle, Akira snapping back to reality and jumping up to his feet.
Ryuji feel on his butt in surprise, looking around frantically. "What was that?!"
Morgana stretched, not distressed by the cry at all, and simply guessed, "It must be the slaves captive here."
"For real?"
Another scream echoed from the castle, as if answering on Morgana's behalf.
"Oh, shit... It's for real!"
"Those people we saw kept in cages yesterday...Do you think they're from the school?" Akira suddenly asked, pinching his chin.
Ryuji's eyes widened at the idea, slowly nodding after giving it some thought. "Y-Yeah... I'm pretty sure."
"Most likely on Kamoshida's orders," Morgana added. "It's nothing out of the ordinary; it's like that everyday here. But since you two managed to escape yesterday, he must have lost his temper quite a bit."
Ryuji gritted his teeth as he stood up, growling, "That son of a bitch...! This is bullshit!"
Akira stared at Ryuji blankly, taking in his tone and attitude. The hatred he feels towards the teacher ran deep... and Akira had a guess as to what formed it. Ryuji suddenly ran up to the castle doors and body slammed into it.
"You hear me, Kamoshida?!" Ryuji shouted.
Morgana shook his head with a sigh, saying, "Doing that isn't going to open it, you know..."
Ryuji whipped around with a scowl, stomping over to him. "Hey, Monamona!"
"It's Morgana!"
"Whatever! Do you know where those voices are comin' from?"
"You want me to take you to them?" Morgana was a little baffled at the request. Akira shared the same feelings, stuffing his covered hands into his coat pockets. Morgana looked over to Akira with a hesitant expression. "...Well, I guess I could guide you there. But only if he comes with us."
Akira glanced at Morgana then over at Ryuji. He really didn't sign up for this... But he knows that Ryuji was going to throw a fit about it if he declined.
Scratching the back of his head, Akira sighed. "Alright, fine... Let's go."
Morgana hopped in approval, the pink returning to Akira's cheeks. "It's settled then."
"For real?!" Ryuji exclaimed with a smile. He looked over at Akira, gratitude in his eyes. He knew that Akira didn't agree to anything after the idea of revisiting the castle. Which meant that he was doing this purely for Ryuji's sake. He knew he owed him big time. "...Thanks man."
Akira nodded, flashing a small smile.
"All right, let's do this," Morgana grinned. He was starting to feel excitement. "I'll show you the infiltration point. Not barging in through the entrance is one of the basics of phantom thievery. Follow me!"
Ryuji quickly followed suit after, Akira watching his partners in crime. He eyed Ryuji's limp, recalling the words Kamoshida mocked.
There's no doubt... That's the reason for his hate, Akira thought. If that's the case... I can't let it slide. Kamoshida will need to be stopped. Who knows how many more students he's hurting.
Akira blinked as he noticed a rectangular shape outlined in his pocket and rushed after the duo, shouting, "Hoy, Sakamoto-san! Gimmie back my phone!"