Archive of Our Own

Chapter Text

The sound of helicopters whirring over the colosseum destroyed the image of an ancient Roman building it had been trying to build up.

Citizens dressed in Roman garb all watched in shock as a variety of modern agents dropped into the arena, interrupting a fight between a man and a lion. One - who had landed in the stands - placed a hand to his ear and began to call for backup.

In the background of the arena, a figure tossed a smoke bomb into the centre of the ring. Suddenly, the entire area erupted with smoke. That’s when the agent looked up.

“There’s the target!” he cried, “Get him!’

The figure was standing on the opposing side of the stadium, below chin length inky blue hair pinned back and revealing a half white, half black Colombina style mask. He was dressed in a simple, black leather vest, with matching black leather pants and calf high, white motorcycle boots. Over the outfit was an azure double breasted longcoat, decorated with silver accents, and he wore light blue gloves on his hands.

He smirked, and turned around, pleased with his work. As he raced off, with agents on his tail, he placed a hand to his ear.

“Excellent work, Ace,” A cheery sounding female voice said. “Has the treasure been transferred?"

“Indeed it has,” The figure - Ace - stated, “Ghost, how are the others? I haven’t heard from Scout in a while.”

“Scout is fine,” Ghost continued, “As for the others… I think their signal has been lost. Something seems to be interrupting it, but I’m not sure what.”

Ace winced. His plan was mainly to keep the other members of his team away from harm, but he was fairly certain that he had failed. There didn’t seem to be any trouble with Ghost, and as far as Ace could tell, Scout was also fine. He’d have to find an exit on his own, then.

He raced across the back of the arena, dodging and ducking around obstacles and managing to keep in the shadows away from the police officers and centurion-like guards that surrounded the locale. As he pressed against the wall, the sound of static entered his thoughts, as another voice butted in.

“Aha!” A somewhat scratchy teenage male voice exclaimed, “We’re on! All systems go!”

“Thank you, Scout.” Ace replied, “I assume the treasure has been received on your end?”

“Yup!” Scout said, “However, slight problem - our old exit? Yeah, the guards have decided to make that their home. Not to mention the officers chasing us already. They really don’t want us out of here without a fight!”

Ace adjusted his katana, as he leant against the ornate walls of the colosseum’s backrooms. He was prepared for anything. He took a deep breath.

“Keep me posted, alright?”

“You got it!”

Ace nodded, and looked around, seeing a set of three agents. However, he had the strange sense as he stepped out that these figures were unlike the ones from before. Upon noticing Ace arrive, the figures began to twitch uncontrollably. Suddenly, they exploded into black and red goop, before suddenly reforming into a tall figure with a bull’s head, dressed in blue and gold armor.

Ace scoffed.

“Is that truly all you’ve got?” He taunted, as the Sacrificial Pyrekeeper snarled and launched itself towards him.

Ace dodged, reaching for his mask.

“To me,” He called out, “Kuranosuke!”

Suddenly, as he pulled off his mask, a figure appeared behind Ace. The figure was humanoid in appearance, with bleach white skin and glowing golden eyes, hidden under a space cadet blue hood. It was dressed in traditional ninja-like attire from the neck down - a high necked uwagi paired with a pair of hakama-style pants, tied with rope around the knees and ankles. Additionally, wore golden geta style shoes, the heels of the shoes bladed. Bursting out of its shoulder blades were a pair of white, feathered wings, the tips of each wing appearing to have been dipped in gold.

Ace smirked, and pointed his hand out, ordering the being to attack.

“Kougaon!” He called.

Suddenly, the figure lunged forward, revealing the needle-like blades that were suddenly unsheathed from the sleeves of its uwagi.

A flash of light expelled as it attacked, causing the Sacrificial Pyrekeeper to suddenly drop to the floor. Before it even had time to react, Ace pulled out his flintlock pistol, and fired directly at the creature, causing black and red slime to explode over the back of the wall. It would have been seen as grotesque if the being was actually alive.

The other guards lunged towards Ace, but he managed to strike back with his katana. He didn’t need to resummon Kuranosuke, as he’d managed to fight back on his own. By the time Ace was finished with them, one was stumbling around without its head, and the other was attempting to force Ace off with its only remaining arm.

Ace managed to dodge and use his own blade as a shield, before looking behind him to see a balcony area. That area could be the one shot he had at escaping this place, and hopefully without sacrificing his team as well! As he pushed away the guard with his sword, he spun around and revealed a grappling hook that grabbed onto the balcony railing as he flew towards it with one fail swoop.

The guards tried to follow, but Ace did a quick front flip and landed in a prototypical superhero landing on the balcony. Then, he raced through the archway, he ended up in a back area, and heard a soft crackling in his ear.

“Good news everyone!” A scratchy sounding teenage girl’s voice called, “We’re not AFK anymore!”

“Unfortunately,” A husky sounding young man’s voice, sounding almost snide as he spoke, chimed in, “the Shadows are aware of our location, so Jackal and I have found a hideaway.”

“That’s a shame,” A calm sounding tenor voice responded, “if it makes you feel any better, Karasu, Lucky and I are in the same boat as you and Jackal.”

“I’m keeping an eye out for any potential shadows,” A mature sounding young man's voice - Lucky - butted in, “Where are Belle and Knight?”

“Here!” A perky, upbeat sounding young woman - Knight - called out, causing Ace to flinch. She sounded far too upbeat for the situation.

“Belle has her scope primed on Shadows,” Knight continued, “We’re mostly safe, but I’ll give you all a heads-up if we see any danger.”

“Glad to know that you’re all okay.” Ace whispered, “When you can, get to safety.”

“You got it, Ace!” The scratchy teenage girl’s voice - Jackal - said.

“Exit 2 is clear to go!” Scout butted in, his voice surprisingly nervous. “But… Ace, I can see a weird reading in the room you’re about to enter. Be careful, alright?”

“I won’t make any promises, but sure.”

“You’re gonna scare the shit outta me, dude!” Scout exclaimed, “This is our most important mission yet, we can’t have you in danger!”

“Scout, I’ll be okay,” Ace claimed, “I’ll act cautiously.”

“Okay…” Scout said, “But I’ll be keeping an eye on you, alright?”

Ace nodded, and continued into the room. The room itself appeared to be used as simple storage, with boxes, barrels and crates lined up wall to wall. Ace could see what appeared to be bunches of wine and goblets made of gold - those items likely belonged to the owner of the Palace.

He scanned around, looking for an exit, only to be blindsided by the sight of a trio of Shadow Guards walking out of the shadows. His eyes widened, and he quickly stumbled backwards, grabbing onto his katana. This is what Scout had warned him about.

However, before he could accept his fate, suddenly the bullet from a rifle fired into the centre of one of the Shadows’ heads.

“There’s the reading!” Scout exclaimed, as the Shadow hit the floor, “It’s him!”

Ace turned his head to see a figure walking out of the shadows. He was rather short and young looking - possibly a third year middle school student at the most - with scruffy black hair and cerulean blue eyes. He was dressed in a black, zip up bodysuit, with white motorcycle boots similar to Ace’s own tucked into the legs of his bodysuit.

Over the bodysuit was a black, military-style longcoat, with cuffed sleeves that revealed bleach white gloves. Around his neck was a yellow neckerchief, and he wore a black domino mask.

“Gotcha!” He called, and suddenly did a dramatic backflip, revealing his scimitar from its side sheath.

The Shadows began to race towards the figure, before one was sliced with a large ‘M’ across the chest. He landed on the ground and placed his scimitar back into the sheath, causing the Shadow to explode into black and red goop.

The other Shadows all began to transform into their more monstrous forms - a pair of red winged vultures and a humanoid leopard dressed in a bright red cape.

Ace watched in awe, as Scout scoffed.

“Show off.”

“Calm down, Scout.” Ace remarked, “Nice of you to show up, Takemi-san.”

“Hey, you helped me out before -” The boy - Takemi - said, “So I figured I’d return the favor. Let’s do this!”

One of the Arrogant Vultures attempted to hit Takemi with Garula, but Takemi managed to dodge. He quickly reached for his mask and summoned his own Persona - a barrel chested figure dressed in a white and gold troubadour’s outfit, a white toque with a gold feather covering its face. In its right hand was a rapier, and on its left arm was a shield that seemed to resemble the blades of a windmill.

Takemi ordered the Persona to use an attack - Vorpal Blade - causing a collection of silvery-white blades to strike all three of the enemies. All of them collapsed to the ground in a heap, as the pair performed a Hold Up on them..

“Are you ready?” Takemi asked. Ace nodded, causing the pair to jump back and perform an All-Out Attack on the group.

Suddenly, the enemies that had been causing Ace some strife were gone. The boy shot Ace an arrogant smirk, as Ace could hear Scout admiring the boy’s moves.

“Woah…” He paused, quickly recollecting himself, “B-But that doesn’t mean you’re off the hook, kid!”

Due to Takemi not being connected to the rest of the team, he couldn’t hear Scout’s remarks.

“You did well.” Ace said.

“Hey! Don’t encourage him!” Scout whined.

“It’s no problem,” Takemi grinned, “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m gonna go get those guys off your tail. I mightn’t be a member of this team, but I can help out.”

He leapt up onto the crates.

“But don’t forget the promise you made to me, alright?”

“I won’t.”

And as Takemi disappeared into the shadows, Ace continued his escape. Running through corridors and down stairways he eventually found himself pressed against the wall, spotting a stained glass window placed in the centre of the wall.

He raised a brow. Seems odd for a gladiatorial arena to have such a glorious piece of art, but…

“I assume that’s my only escape out of here?” Ace asked.

“Yeah.” Scout remarked, “The floor’s covered with guards, and the doors are locked. Just… Just don’t do anything stupid, okay?”

Before Ace could nod in agreement, a collection of guards began to race around the corner. Ace quickly unveiled his grappling hook and aimed it straight at a wooden rafter. Once the hook snapped to the rafter, Ace jumped up onto the rafter and began to race around the exterior.

He then saw the stained glass window again, and sighed as he realised he was going to have to do something stupid. Once the guards approached, he turned to face them.

“See you.” He farewelled, and aimed his grappling hook into the arch of the window, piercing the sandstone wall.

Suddenly, before the guards could even chase after him, Ace dove through the stained glass window with the grappling hook, soaring through the air and performing a forward roll upon hitting the ground, getting up and brushing himself off.

“Wow, you’ve been watching too many action movies, man!” Scout exclaimed, “You’re so reckless, you know that?”

“What? And you wouldn’t have done that either?” Ace remarked, racing across the exterior.

“True,” Scout stated, as Ace continued to race across, but suddenly was stopped in his tracks by a bright light placed on his face.

He blinked in response to the light, only for his eyes to widen when he noticed some very modern looking police officers standing before him. Oh shit.

“For real? Enemies? Here?!”

“An ambush? Can you get to safety?”

“Huh? There’s no way!”

“What happened?”

“This must’ve been a trap…”

“Ace, do you think you can get out of this?”

Ace nodded, as his teammates called for him, and picked the most sensible option - running.

“Capture him!” One of the police officers shouted as he began to escape.

Trailed by lights, Ace ran as far away as he could. Knowing that he was being spotlighted made it quite difficult to navigate, but he’d managed to climb up a ladder onto a higher ladder. However, before cocky insults left his lips at the guards below, he quickly noticed that this location was also compromised, with multiple armed guards up top.

One forced the barrel of his gun into Ace’s face. Ace chuckled, raising his hands in surrender.

“Th-This is all a misunderstanding?”

His claims fell on deaf ears, as the butt of a rifle dropped Ace to the floor. The crowd of guards only seemed to get bigger, and despite Ace’s attempt to struggle, it was clear that it was futile. He was restrained and left on the floor at the mercy of the guards. One of them - a man in a suit - bent down and removed the mask from Ace’s face, causing him to flinch slightly.

“Didn’t think it would be some kid,” He remarked, “Tough luck, you have your teammate to thank for this.”

Ace’s eyes widened in a panic. Before he could open his mouth to cry foul, the man’s hand gripped his chin, forcing it up towards his face.

“You were sold out.”

Ace was unable to believe it. One of his teammates - his friends - sold him out? It was impossible to believe. But as the man dropped Ace’s head and left him to the officers who were holding him, it felt almost poetic.

“Suspect confirmed! Cuff him!”

A pair of silver handcuffs tightened around his wrists, and he knew it was the beginning of the end for him.

The mugshot showed a different image to the Ace that had appeared in the pseudo-Roman colosseum. A young, underfed looking man with ink blue hair and grey eyes, dressed in a school uniform, appearing rather stoic.

He was now sitting on a chair, his hands cuffed to the back as police officers walked around him.

“Guess the drug was too strong…” One said, looking at another officer, “Wake him up.”

The other officer tossed a bucket of water on the young man, causing him to spring to attention in panic, his breath harsh. The guard glowered at him.

“No dozing off.”

He appeared rather confused, having been battered and bruised within an inch of his life. Cuts and scarring covered his face and arms, as he struggled with the handcuffs and tried to move, but felt it was impossible.

“You still don’t get it, do you?” The officer said, before he kicked the chair, causing the teenager to hit the floor, “Give it up!”

The young man groaned, attempting to shuffle back up, but before he could, the officer placed his foot on the teen’s head.

“Come on, cooperate,” He said, “Or what, do you want another shot?”

The teen looked over at the camera, breath hitched, causing the guard to raise a brow.

“Huh? What about the camera?” The officer said, lifting the teen up by the collar of his shirt. “Are you thinking it can be used as video evidence?”

He didn’t respond, his mind still fuzzy, causing the officer to become even more enraged.

“Didn’t you hear my question?!” The officer exclaimed, throwing the teen back down to the floor, causing him to cough and wheeze. “Answer me!”

He kicked the teen in the stomach, causing him to groan in pain. He could barely see straight, as the officer was handed a clipboard with a sheet of paper on it - a rap sheet.

“Obstruction of justice, blackmail, defamation, possession of weapons…” The officer read, “Manslaughter too, yeah. Talk about the works.”

“To think that all of those crimes were led by a punk like you…” He continued, eyes narrowed, “And you seemed to be enjoying every second of it… Huh?”

The teenager looked up, eyes wide and bleary from the light. He was… Enjoying it? What was this man talking about?

“You should know your place.” The officer said, before gesturing to the other officer to uncuff him.

His hands were aching, wrists feeling clamped under the pressure of tight silver. He felt his body being lifted up, roughly, pressed against the back of a wall. His breath was hitched and stomach ached. The injuries he had suffered from this sham interrogation were painful.

The guard shoved the clipboard in his face.

“Sign here. It’s a confession under your name.”

The teen - in one last show of defiance - slapped the clipboard away, angering the officer more.

“I see… I need your hand to sign this… But…” The officer said, before suddenly slamming his foot down on the teen’s right leg.

He winced in pain, coughing and spluttering, as the officer smirked,

“I don’t care if you end up losing a leg.”

Reluctantly, he grabbed the clipboard from the officer, as he handed him a pen.

“Don’t expect to walk out of here in one piece,” The officer snarled, “We’re going to make you understand. One must take full responsibility for their actions…”

The teen grabbed the pen, and with a shaky hand, signed his name;

YUSUKE KITAGAWA

As Yusuke handed the clipboard back to the officer, he knew his pain was only just beginning.

A tall older gentleman arrived at the building once Yusuke had been thoroughly beaten. He had close cropped greying hair done in a buzzcut, and scraggly stubble that lined his chin and just above his nose. He was dressed in a black suit, with no tie and a gecko pin attached to the collar of his shirt.

Munehisa Iwai stormed down the hall to get to the interrogation room, when a police detective attempted to stop him from entering the room.

“Excuse me, sir, but this area’s off limits–”

“I’m Iwai from the Public Prosecutor’s Office.” Iwai explained.

“The Prosecutor’s Office? What business do you have here?”

“Just let me through, it’s urgent,” Iwai said, “There’s something I need to confirm with the suspect.”

“Iwai-san, this case is no longer in your jurisdiction.”

Iwai’s eyes widened. You had to be fucking kidding him.

“Besides–”

An older detective interrupted the conversation, as Iwai began to slowly fume.

“Are you prosecutor Munehisa Iwai?” The detective asked. Iwai nodded, “I just got off the phone with your director. Hurry and get it over with, to be frank, you’re being an inconvenience.”

Iwai ripped the phone from the officer’s hand, placing the call with the director and placing the phone to his ear.

“Director-san? This is Munehisa Iwai,” He said, as the director sighed.

“I thought I ordered you to stand by.”

“Stand by?!” Iwai exclaimed, “You’re refusing to let me interrogate the suspect?!”

“I was going to call you to discuss the matter privately–”

“Listen here, old man,” Iwai snarled, “I’m not gonna just walk away unless you confirm it to me myself. My case, remember?”

The director gulped, very much afraid of the larger man.

“Good luck to you then.”

Iwai hung up and threw the detective’s phone onto the floor. The detective blinked.

“What?” Iwai glared.

“Y-Your time with the prisoner will be cut short…” The detective explained, his voice stuttering, as Iwai pinched the bridge of his nose. “W-We can’t permit you to talk to him for long. I-It’s because we don’t know his methods. After all, we don’t even know if it's safe for you to speak with him.”

Iwai nodded “Fine.”

And once he walked into the interrogation room, he could see the damage had already been done. The teen was seated at the table, his hands crossed and his face covered in bruises.

“I didn’t expect it to be you.”

“Life is full of surprises, Iwai-san.” Yusuke croaked, as Iwai rolled his eyes.

“Quit the smart talk, kid,” He said, “You’ll be answering my questions this time.”

His eyes drifted from the table to the floor, seeing the syringe that was placed there. It appeared to be full of a cocktail of drugs, and Iwai glared at it, as if hoping it would just disintegrate into dust with his look.

“Those bastards…” He muttered, before looking at Yusuke.

He snapped his fingers in front of his eyes.

“Wake up kid,” He ordered, “It seems that you’ve been through a lot.”

“Yes,” Yusuke snapped, “Did the bruises and cuts alert you to that, or was it the syringe on the floor?”

He winced in pain, and instinctively rolled his wrists, trying to soothe them. Even if it didn’t work, it did appear to soothe Yusuke somewhat.

“I don’t know what happened to you, and quite frankly, I don’t care,” Iwai stated, bluntly, “Almost anything can happen here, but my hands are tied - I couldn’t stop it even if I wanted to.”

“That’s why I need you to answer me honestly,” Iwai continued, “If you don’t… It could mean much worse punishment for both of us. I don’t have much time either… So, what was your objective? Why did you cause such a major incident?”

He looked away, as if ashamed to see the fruits of his late arrival. 

“I didn’t think it was just a prank from the start,” He continued, “But I couldn’t assemble a case for prosecution. There was no way to figure out a method behind what had happened.”

“Of course there wasn’t…” Yusuke scoffed, “But why do you want to know?”

“It isn’t an issue of what can and cannot be used in court,” Iwai explained, “But I need to know. Now, you seem coherent enough to answer my questions.”

“When and where did you find out about the other world?” He asked, “How is it even possible to steal another’s heart? Now, tell me your account of everything – start from the very beginning.”

The very beginning felt like so long ago, Yusuke thought. He gripped his head, trying to cycle his memories back in time, as a blue butterfly appeared in his field of vision. A familiar voice spoke softly into his ear, as the creature began to circle the room aimlessly.

“...You are held captive…” The voice began, “A prisoner of fate to a future that has been sealed in advance. This is truly an unjust game… Your chances of winning are almost none. But if my voice is reaching you… There may yet be a possibility open to you…”

“I beg you…” It continued, “Please, overcome this fate… And save the world…The key to victory lies in the memory of your bonds – the truth that you and your friends grasped.”

“It all began that day… When the game was started a year and a half ago… For the sake of the world’s future, as well as your own… You must remember…”

Driven by the words of the strange voice, Yusuke cleared his throat, trying to keep himself focused. He sighed, and began to speak;

“It was April 9th,” He said, “That was when the game truly began.”

Chapter Text

April 9th, 20XX

As the train arrived in Yongen-Jaya, Yusuke Kitagawa exited, a messenger bag strapped to his shoulder and dressed in what amounted to ‘casual’ clothing. He sighed, trying to look away from anyone on the train’s platform. He’d done this routine a thousand times before - ever since the interrogation.

An orphan teen from a small town living in a foster home was already considered by many to be ‘strange’. However, he hadn’t been seen as trouble by anyone until that night.

He’d been coming home from kendo practice when a commotion caught his eye – a young woman, her wrists being grappled by an older gentleman whose appearance Yusuke couldn’t make out in the dark. She was being forced into his car, and as Yusuke approached, the smell of booze wafted off his tongue.

He stepped in between the pair - a decision that many would consider to be foolish - but might have underestimated what stepping between the pair would entail. He didn’t know what caused it - maybe the sudden movement of Yusuke led to the drunk bastard falling down - but all he remembered was the scream.

“Damn brat! I’ll sue!”

He tried to reason with the man, saying that all he did was step in between him and the woman, but the man wouldn’t budge. He quickly ordered the police to arrest him for assault, and the woman - the man’s potential victim - corroborated his story, probably out of fear.

Once Yusuke had been led into police cars and brought to the station, he asked for a lawyer the second he got to the interrogation room, but the cops didn’t budge. Instead, they proceeded to beat the answers out of him - all of them lies.

When his foster mother arrived, the damage had been done; Yusuke was covered in blood and bruises, and a guilty verdict was all but certain. She’d driven him home, and placed cold water on the bruises in order to calm them down. She made him soup as if he were sick, and tried to heal his wounds to the best of her ability.

Yukino Mayazumi did not suffer fools gladly, especially when they hurt her darling baby boy. But unfortunately, she had to hold her tongue, and after Yusuke’s sentence came back with probation for a year in Tokyo, Yukino was prepared.

One of her old colleagues - Ichiko Ohya - agreed to let Yusuke stay with her - for a small fee, of course, to make up for the shame of having a delinquent teenager in her residence. Yukino,  reluctantly, agreed to those terms and conditions.

And now, here Yusuke was – standing outside Yongen-Jaya station, with his phone open to the map app.

He had no idea where he was going. The only way to get directions to Ohya’s house, aside from the map on his phone, was either to ask random strangers on the street - which would be slightly embarrassing - or to talk to the police officer that was stationed in the centre of town.

After all that had occurred to him, Yusuke thought the app was a smarter option.  Yukino had given him the address, so it was going to be easier just type it in and follow the app’s directions.

Managing to find his way to the alley near where Ohya’s residence was, he heard whisperings of why the police officer was there from a mother and daughter;

“Was there another, um, a-ack-si-dent? I see a policeman over there.”

“Oh, he’s just watching to make us all safe.”

Yusuke would’ve loved to let out some mirthless laughter if he wasn’t within earshot of the mother and daughter. Safe? Was that also why he was arrested for the crime of “stepping in”? To keep people “safe”? In reality, it was likely to keep that bastard safe. The deceit made Yusuke’s skin crawl.

He walked down the alley and arrived in front of Ohya’s apartment. A small building  that reminded Yusuke of his place back home. He felt miles away from Hakone, even with the creature comforts that probably would’ve been associated with a small town. Maybe city life just wasn’t for him? He’d have to get used to it eventually.

He sighed, and pressed the doorbell. But there was no response. He checked his phone calendar - it was the right date. And this was the right address…

“Huh…” A delivery man said, as Yusuke turned over to face him, “Oh, right, Ohya’s usually at the café right now. Well, I can come back later – I have other deliveries in this area.”

As the delivery man returned to his vehicle, Yusuke looked down at his phone. A café, huh? Ohya probably forgot that this was today; after all, how many people keep track of the delinquent child that they have to ‘foster’ for a year as a favour to a co-worker?

He maybe was judging Ohya a bit too harshly, but considering all he’d been through, he couldn’t shake the expectation.

Yusuke huffed and began to walk away from the apartment complex, dodging the police officer - and trying not to make eye contact with the man - when he spotted the location he thought was the café – bright red awning, and the smell of coffee filled his nose. He stopped in front of the door, and his hand gestured over the door handle.

…It was just a door, why was his stomach flipping?

He took a deep breath, and pushed open the door. As the bell rang, Yusuke’s eyes were focused on the interior of the location - it resembled an American style diner more so than a café. The floors were checkered tile, and red booths were pushed against the right side of the wall. The counter was white and rather clean looking, with a red coffee machine parked next to an obnoxiously bright yellow phone.

Yusuke could also smell curry, which seemed to come from discarded plates that were left around the restaurant.

He saw a woman seated on the counter, reading a magazine with a look of disinterest in her eyes. She had short black hair done into a bob, with bangs that brushed her eyebrows, and wore a simple t-shirt and jeans, with a green apron over her attire. On top of her head were a pair of round glasses with orange lenses, as she looked over at Yusuke upon him entering.

“Oh,” she blinked in surprise, before sliding off the counter surprisingly gracefully, “Gah, I must’ve gotten my days wrong. Kitagawa, right?”

Yusuke nodded. “Yes. Is Ohya-san here?”

The woman paused for a second, before laughing.

“I mean, yeah,” she grinned, “Although, you can just call me Ichiko. Or just Ohya. Ohya-san’s too formal. Anyway, you already know this, but… You’ll be in my custody for the next year!”

She paused, looking Yusuke over as he stood awkwardly. He swallowed, trying not to look her in the eye as she did so.

“Were you expecting someone taller?” He remarked, trying to brush off the nerves, as Ohya paused.

“No, no, when I heard you were Yuki’s kid, I was more expecting…” Ohya paused, “Like, tattoos, piercings? Eh, whatever – guess you don’t wanna draw attention to yourself. Come on, let me show you to your room.”

She led Yusuke upstairs to a small room. It appeared to be mostly used for storage, cobbled together into an attempt at a bedroom.

Under a window were a pair of milk cartons, a comforter placed over top of them to give the illusion of a bed. Yusuke noticed an empty bookshelf in one corner, aside from a cardboard box on the bottom shelf. Items from home, probably sent over by Yukino.

“...It’s… A bit sparse,” Yusuke remarked, as Ohya snorted.

“Hey, it was the best I could do,” she said, “I doubt you were expecting five star accommodation.”

It was better than a housing unit at juvenile hall, so Yusuke wasn’t exactly being picky.

“Alright, I got the gist of your story,” Ohya said. “You stepped in between a woman and some drunk bastard who was forcing himself onto her. I guess he must’ve got injured during the attempt and you were accused of assault.”

She sighed, “look, a kid like you shouldn’t be stepping into ‘adult’ matters, but I’m not gonna knock what you did… Even if it did lead to a criminal record.”

Ohya then clapped her hands together, startling Yusuke.

“Alright, a few ground rules,” she began, ”most of these have probably been drilled into you already – behave yourself for the year. If you can prove to the authorities that you’ve improved, your probation will be lifted. Mess anything up…”

“And it’s back to juvenile hall,” Yusuke finished.

Ohya nodded.

“Figured you already knew that,” she continued, “tomorrow we’re going to go to Shujin Academy, just to get your paperwork in order. I personally think they should’ve waited for a weekday, but eh? What would I know?”

“Are you also going to kick me out?” Yusuke asked, causing Ohya to pause in surprise.

“I mean…” she blinked, stunned by Yusuke’s question, “I-it’s not ‘cause I want to kick you out. It’s more… The rules. I’m your caretaker for the year, not your ‘probation officer’ or whatever. I doubt you’ll be on the street for long though – the cops will likely pick you up and drag you back to juvenile hall.”

Where you belong, Yusuke thought. It was clear Ohya noticed Yusuke’s expression and she sighed.

“Look, kid,” she began, “I… I understand if you’re feeling a bit…Out of place?”

“That’s an understatement.”

“Yes, it is,” Ohya continued, “but… I think you need to calm down. At least, for a little bit. I’m not saying you can’t be angry - what happened to you was unfortunate, but…”

“If you’re trying to say ‘I don’t dislike you’, then, I’m sorry,” Yusuke interrupted, “But I don’t need you to pity me. I’m fine.”

Ohya looked at him with a confused expression on her face. She shrugged.

“Alright,” she said, “I’ll go and clean up for the evening, and then head out. You uh… Do whatever you want to. Within reason. There’s instant ramen in the cupboard downstairs if you’re hungry.”

Ohya left down the stairs, leaving Yusuke alone in what would become his room for the next year. He frowned. It was… Sparse accommodation, which made sense considering he was staying in an attic in a café. He looked around, and realised that the room was incredibly dusty.

It took him a few seconds, but Yusuke managed to find cleaning equipment and started to put it to use. He’d dusted the desk and placed a CRT-TV on it that had been stored below it. Then, he began to wipe the screen… But an image on the screen startled him.

While the TV was turned off, the black screen showed Yusuke’s reflection… But the shock of golden yellow eyes flashed back at him. Suddenly, mesmerised by  the screen, he saw an image of fire surrounding him. He looked behind him, and nothing was there, but on the screen, as the figure mimicked his movements, a smirk crossed the figure's features.

“Come…” His own voice echoed, “Closer…”

Yusuke began to move towards the TV, leaning in as he did so, and…

SLAM.

“AGH–”

His head smacked against the screen. He shook his head in shock, and looked at the tv screen. Nothing. Just a blank screen, no golden yellow eyes or fire. Maybe he’d been feeling tired. He still had some cleaning to do though, so he finished up and the room felt much less dusty.

Satisfied, he decided to go to bed, checking his phone beforehand. But before he put his phone away, he saw a red app on his phone with a black pupil icon on it. He raised a brow. Huh. He didn’t remember downloading that. Maybe it was a glitch? So, he deleted the app, and went to sleep…

But as he drifted off to sleep, his vision was clouded by blue velvet.

When Yusuke came to, he found himself not in the attic of Murasaki, but in a strange location.

It appeared like the image of a funhouse mirror maze, with velvet blue tarps covering reflective mirrors. In the centre was a brown desk, that seemed to be off compared to the rest of the environment. The man on the desk was even stranger – a hunchbacked gentleman with thinning white hair, and a shockingly long nose.

The woman next to him was also dressed strangely – on top of her head was a navy blue and black jester hat, covering up her bleach white hair tied into bubble braided pigtails. She wore a black long-sleeved shirt beneath a navy blue corset with gold lining, a white pointed collar around her neck. On her legs were a pair of navy blue shorts with similar gold lining to her corset, with black and white striped tights beneath it, and on her feet were a pair of ankle high navy blue boots with gold lining, and a large, gold circle shaped badge with a ‘V’ in the centre.

“Ah,” the older man began, his voice scratchy, “it seems we’re in the presence of a very esteemed guest. Welcome to the Velvet Room, dear Trickster.”

Yusuke sat in stunned silence, causing the young woman to scoff.

“Are you just going to keep staring or are you going to talk?” She asked.

“My apologies,” Yusuke muttered, before turning to the strange older man, “what is this place?”

“Ah, pardon my manners – it’s been a while since we’ve had a guest,” the man explained, “this is the Velvet Room – it is a place between dream and reality, mind and matter. I am Igor, the Master of this place, and this is my assistant, Agatha.”

The woman dressed in jester clothes - Agatha - bowed, causing the bells on the tips of her hat to jingle.

“Pleasure,” she greeted, as Yusuke tried to hide his snicker.

She stood up, and glared at Yusuke.

“This is a serious matter, Trickster,” she sneered.

“Well, if you wanted me to take you seriously,” Yusuke asked, “why are you dressed as an actual clown?”

Agatha appeared quite flustered by that statement. She stammered and awkwardly tried to bite back with an argument, but her statement was interrupted by Igor.

“Not many people are given the opportunity to be here,” he began to explain, “and you, dear Trickster, are a very special one indeed… With our help, you can prevent the ruin of humanity and the destruction of the world as we know it.”

Yusuke’s eyes widened. No. This had to be some sort of… Joke? Sleep Paralysis? Nightmare?

“Ah, I understand your shock,” Igor continued, “however, I mentioned that the ruin of humanity is not a certainty. This… Ruin as it were can be halted due to the influence of a Trickster. And that is you. Through the guidance of myself and Agatha, we can lead you and humanity towards a brighter future.”

“Wait…” Yusuke said, “What do you mean by ruin? How can I stop it? Is it even preventable?”

“Be patient, Trickster,” Agatha sneered, “my Master shall explain in due time.”

“I think it’s best if I give you a representation -” Igor said, and summoned three cards onto the hardwood table. “-Do you believe in tarot, Trickster?”

Yusuke paused, looking the strange man dead in the eye.

“I’m not sure,” he said, “I wouldn’t say I’m a skeptic, but it hasn’t exactly crossed my mind.”

“Alright, then,” Igor said, “these cards will reveal your past, present and future. There can be a variety of different interpretations of cards, what appears to one as a negative might be a positive. Like so.”

He flipped over a card, and an image appeared;

“Wheel of Fortune, reversed,” Igor continued, “Represents an unfortunate change in luck - unwelcome changes, setbacks. You have two choices to make; do nothing and hope your fate will improve, or push forward and improve your fate yourself. Your journey began with an unfortunate change to your life, and this is how your recovery starts.”

Yusuke nodded. Igor turned over the second card.

“This is your present,” He explained, “How you see the world now, and how the world sees you…”

As the card flipped over, Yusuke’s eyes widened.

Igor smiled, clearly enjoying this.

“The Devil, upright,” Igor explained, “don’t be alarmed, Trickster – the Devil doesn’t just represent ‘bad’ things. While it represents the negative forces that constrain you and trap you, it can also represent hard choices. These choices are what define you - allow you to learn, and grow, and change.”

Yusuke frowned, looking at the Devil card. The negative forces that constrain and trap him… Like… The criminal record?

“And now, for the final card,” Igor continued, “this could represent one of various futures, depending on if you continue down the path you’re currently on.”

As he flipped over the card, Yusuke looked in awe as the image appeared.

“The Moon, Upright,” Igor explained, “it represents uncertainty, secrets and the unconscious. A time of mystery is approaching – one causing the line between reality and illusion to blur.”

“...Like right now?”

“Indeed,” Igor continued, “although myself and Agatha are real, you are in a dreamlike state. This card represents you trusting your instincts, and becoming open to the messages that dreams and intuition convey.”

He flipped over the card, as the ringing of a bell sounded out.

“Ah, it seems our conversation must end here,” Igor said, “take what I have said to heart, Trickster. We will meet again.”

Yusuke began to feel woozy, and felt himself about to collapse onto the floor. As he did so, he heard Agatha speak.

“Good luck, Trickster.”

Chapter Text

April 10th, 20XX

While the previous night was strange, Yusuke brushed the entire experience off as a dream. Once Ohya arrived to pick him up for his Shujin Academy visit, Yusuke tried to ignore the memory of it and just focus on getting to Shujin Academy in one piece.

He had to look presentable, had to appear like a model student so people would forget his ‘sordid’ past. Sure, as far as he knew none of the other students would be aware of his criminal record, but the teachers absolutely would be. His reputation would precede him, so he just had to keep his head down and pretend that nothing happened.

So, when he arrived at the downright brutalist Shujin Academy building, he wondered if he had actually left juvenile hall. “Shujin” was a homophone for prison after all, so Yusuke believed that the architecture wasn’t just for show. It was a way to make the students respect the institution, a way to make it more threatening.

A way to prevent people like him from showing themselves.

Ohya’s strawberry pink convertible contrasted heavily with the location, and Yusuke could almost sense that she was uncomfortable with the school as well. She sighed.

“Come on, let's just get in and out,” she said, “it’ll be quick.”​​

Yusuke hoped so, especially upon meeting both the principal of the school and his homeroom teacher. The principal - Kobayakawa - resembled a tub of lard with a face. Dressed in a garish yellow suit and a red bow-tie, he seemed to be completely apathetic to Yusuke’s existence, only seeing him as being a useful asset to Shujin Academy’s success.

His homeroom teacher wasn’t much better. Mr. Yoshida looked friendly and all, but Yusuke could tell that he was tired – the bags under his eyes told the whole story. It was likely that this had been forced upon him, and while Yusuke wouldn’t say he knew what Yoshida was thinking, he had an idea that Yoshida resented him. Taking so much time that could be spent on the ‘good’ students of Shujin Academy.

Once Ohya finished the paperwork, Kobayakawa continued with his spiel.

“You have done a great service to society, Ohya-san,” he said, “taking this delinquent child in.”

“I wouldn’t call it that…” Ohya shrugged, "it's not really a ‘service’.”

Kobayakawa smiled, an expression that both Yusuke and Ohya could tell wasn’t sincere. It looked too sincere that it flipped right back around into being fake.

“Don’t be so humble,” Kobayakawa said, “now, I believe your charge understands if he gets in any trouble - any at all - he will be expelled, is that correct?”

Yusuke nodded, as if it hadn’t been drilled into his head already. Keep your head down, don’t get in trouble, or else, there will be consequences.

“I believe he understands,” Ohya said, barely disguising her glare.

“Here’s your ID, Kitagawa,” Yoshida said, handing Yusuke’s school ID to him, “I’d appreciate it if you met me in the faculty room tomorrow so I can show you to your class.”

Yusuke nodded.

“Now, if you’ll excuse us,” Ohya sneered, not even bothering to hide her contempt for Kobayakawa, “we’ll be on our way.”

And she led Yusuke out of the room, leaving him more confused than before. She rolled her eyes.

“Fucking bastard…” she muttered, “You okay, kid? I had to try to keep my eyes open during that whole thing.”

“I’m fine,” Yusuke lied, “just… Nervous.”

“Yeah, a new school can be hard,” Ohya stated, “especially with what you have been through.”

Yusuke… Didn’t want to be reminded.

“Well, that felt like a waste of a fine Sunday…” Ohya sighed, “Hey, when we get back to Murasaki, I can make you some curry – my treat.”

Yusuke’s eyes widened, “thank you, Ohya.”

“What, did Yuki not feed you?” Ohya asked, looking Yusuke up and down, “come to think of it, you do look like a stick.”

However, it seemed like curry was off the table when the pair got to the car. Upon leaving Shujin Academy to return to Yongen-Jaya, traffic seemed to decrease to a molasses-like speed. Ohya slammed her head against the car horn, clearly frustrated with how long the trip back was taking.

“Gah!” She groaned, “Stupid goddamn Tokyo traffic! What’s the hold-up!”

She turned on the radio, and almost instantly got her answer.

“And now back to today’s top stories; a subway train has derailed, severely affecting the timetable across all--”

Ohya’s expression soured.

“Another accident?” She asked, swallowing.

Guilt was evident in her expression

“Bad timing,” she continued, “considering you’re going to be taking the train and all. There seems to be more happening every day – probably ‘cause of what the media calls ‘psychotic breaks’. I think it's mass hysteria, but it isn’t my place to talk about it.”

She frowned, her voice no higher than a whisper as she began to explain a tragic story.

“There was a really sad one a few weeks ago,” she said, “a whole family was taken out in one fell swoop. I think the kid managed to survive, but he’s probably not…”

Yusuke tensed, knowing full well what Ohya was implying. The trauma of losing your whole family in one go to something that you couldn’t even control… It was horrifying. He frowned.

“You never explained why I’m staying in the attic.”

Ohya paused.

“Ah, well…” She appeared shocked for a second by Yusuke’s statement, “Well… It's uh… It’s a long story. I don’t have room in my house at the moment… And this whole thing was on short notice, so the attic was the best place to put you.”

She snorted. “Yuki’ll be pissed if she finds out I put you in the attic…”

Yusuke wondered if that was an exaggeration or not. He chuckled lightly at the thought of Mayazumi’s probable overreaction to Ohya’s arrangements for him. Ohya smiled.

“Aw, kid…” She said, “That’s the happiest you’ve been since you got here. Oh! Traffic’s clearing up. We’ll be back at Murasaki in no time!”

Once they got back to the diner, it was almost dark. The sky was painted a mix of purples and pinks, and Yusuke found  that it was surprisingly beautiful when contrasted with the browns and beiges of Yongen-Jaya. Ohya brought him inside, and sighed.

“What a waste of time…” She muttered, “All those two did was just berate you for existing… They could’ve done that tomorrow instead of taking me along for the ride! I didn’t even get to open the café!”

Ohya turned to face Yusuke when she noticed he was there, and frowned.

“Sorry ‘bout that kid…” She said, “I didn’t expect it to last that long. I’ll make you some dinner, I just have to…”

She pulled out her phone and called a number.

“Hey, it’s me,” she said into the phone, “don’t worry, I’ll be home in a jiffy. Traffic was a nightmare – I’m gonna clean up the shop and make some dinner. I’ll get some leftovers for you.”

Ohya placed her hand over the phone’s speaker, and looked over at Yusuke.

“You go upstairs and get changed. I’ll bring the food up…” She said, “Oh! And something else, I’ll just have to find it.”

Yusuke nodded, went upstairs and changed into his pajamas. He looked at his phone, and his eyes widened. The app from the previous night was still there. With a glare of annoyance, he moved the app back to the bin, crossing his fingers that it would disappear.

Ohya walked up the stairs with a plate of curry about 15 minutes later, and on the tray was a purple buffalo journal – a pen sat next to it.

“There you go!” Ohya grinned, “And also–”

She picked up the pen and gestured to the journal.

“That is your probation diary,” she stated, placing the pen back on the tray, “you’re encouraged to write in it every day. Nothing too incriminating, of course. There are no limits to what you can do while here - just so long as they’re within the law.”

“But…” Ohya continued, “I do have to report on you, so keep it up to date, okay?”

Yusuke nodded, beginning to dig into his dinner. The curry was delicious. After he finished a spoonful, he turned to face Ohya.

“Am I allowed to use the sink to clean this?”

“God, I hope you would be,” Ohya said, “I’m gonna leave soon, so when I lock up – place is all yours! Just, don’t take anything. I might have to report you if you do!”

Yusuke blinked. Ohya awkwardly chuckled in response.

“Uh, Th-That was a joke… I’m not gonna be that hard on you…” She paused, awkwardly clearing her throat, “Uh… Goodnight then!”

And then she went down the stairs, leaving Yusuke upstairs with the rest of his curry. He heard Ohya lock the door on the way out, and managed to finish up his food. Before he went downstairs, he looked at the probation diary and the pen that Ohya had left behind. He opened the diary, and began to sketch.

He sketched a rough approximation of Shujin - prison - and a small doodle of Ohya’s curry in the bottom right hand corner. He then decided to write the date and a few notes – it was likely to be shown to whichever authority figure Ohya was giving it to. The doodles might make him look insane, but it was how he showed his feelings.

Finished with both the curry and the drawings, he returned downstairs to wash the dishes in the sink. Because Murasaki was an eating establishment, dishwashing equipment was easy to find – Yusuke filled the basin with water and poured some soap in the warm water, managing to scrape the curry off the plate with a crusty looking kitchen sponge.

Once Yusuke finished cleaning the dinner dishes, he was startled by the bright yellow phone on the counter ringing loudly. Cautiously, he answered the phone.

“Hello?”

A familiar sigh echoed out the phone.

“Thank God! I was worried you’d already gone to sleep…” The voice said, before quickly collecting itself, “Oh, uh, it's Ohya by the way.”

“Did you honestly think I’d forgotten how your voice sounded?” Yusuke said.

“W-Well, I assumed that my voice sounded different over the phone!” Ohya spluttered, “Uh… Sorry, I just realised that I forgot to turn over the sign. Can you be a dear and do it for me, pretty please?”

Yusuke nodded, and quickly remembered that Ohya was unable to see him, “sure thing.”

“Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you!” Ohya exclaimed, clearly happy. “God, you’re a lifesaver kid. Toodles!”

She hung up, and Yusuke walked outside to flip the sign to ‘closed’. Made sense – didn’t want someone coming in the middle of the night. He went back inside and locked the door, and then returned upstairs to get some sleep.

The next day would be his first day at Shujin Academy. Yusuke decided he should get some rest, and try to ignore things like the strange app on his phone and the mysterious Velvet Room he had visited the previous night.

Unfortunately for him, it would be quite hard to ignore those things when they would become thrust upon him.

April 11th, 20XX

The next morning started the first of many boring morning routines for Yusuke.

Wake up, get dressed, place books and other equipment in the Shujin Academy ‘backpack’ (that was more like a shoulder bag), go downstairs, have a few bites of Ohya’s curry, and leave to go to the station. However, the morning routine stopped dead in its tracks, as the second Yusuke found his way to the Yongen-Jaya train station, it had begun to rain.

Yusuke regretted not bringing an umbrella. He could at least take some solace in the fact there was covering on the way, but it was still annoying.

Yusuke found his way to Shibuya Station from Yongen-Jaya, and took the train from there to Aoyama-Ichitome. Once he arrived at Aoyama-Ichitome, the rain had continued to bucket down. He raced out of the train, and managed to find a small spot just away from the rain under an awning.

Yusuke sighed, opening up his phone to try to find a map app for directions to Shujin Academy, only to discover the red pupiled app still there. He groaned, starting to get sick of whatever this thing was. However, before he could delete it, a finger tapped on his shoulder.

“Excuse me? You dropped this.”

Holding the kitsune keychain that had dropped off his bag was a young woman with unnaturally orange hair that was pinned back by a red headband, and a pair of large black glasses that covered her eyes. Due to lacking stature, the young woman had to stand up on her tip toes to reach for Yusuke. One thing that Yusuke noticed about her was - surprisingly enough - her earrings. One appeared to be a plain white, cutesy-looking bear, but the other was a black one, with red, scar-shaped eyes and an evil grin on its face.

She was dressed in a Shujin uniform, but it was slightly modified –instead of the blazer, she was wearing a red sweater over the white turtleneck, but her skirt appeared the same as other female Shujin students Yusuke had noticed walking past. She wore black ballet flats instead of the usual black loafers, and wore knee high, light grey socks with white rabbit emblems on the side of her thighs.

Yusuke took the keychain, “thank you.”

“No problem!” The girl grinned, “It’s kinda annoying when something drops like that, especially in this weather. Hopefully it clears up soon!”

Yusuke placed the keychain in the pocket of his bag - he would sort it out after school - as the girl sighed, leaning against the wall.

“I’m Futaba Isshiki,” she introduced, “and you?”

“Yusuke Kitagawa,” Yusuke greeted, bowing, “I just transferred here.”

“Oh!” Futaba said, “That’s cool. I think you’ll like it here, Kitagawa-kun.”

Yusuke grinned, this seemed like it was to be the beginning of a beautiful friendship. However, before Yusuke could ask Futaba how to get to Shujin, his question was rudely interrupted by a red hatchback speeding up to the sidewalk, nearly drenching him in muddy water. The window of the car rolled down, and a woman was staring back at him and Futaba.

She appeared to be in her 40s - around Ohya’s age - with greying black hair tied back in a ponytail. She was dressed in the same red tracksuit that Yusuke recognised as the school’s sports uniform, but the front was partially unzipped, revealing a black tank-top that showed off part of her cleavage.

“Morning!” She greeted, her voice cheery, “It’s soaking wet out there. Isshiki? Do you want a ride?”

Futaba seemed to falter for a second, and Yusuke wondered if she felt uncomfortable around this woman. However, in spite of her looking like she wanted to flee, she relented, nodding.

“Sure thing, I’ll be right there!” She stated, before turning to face Yusuke, “I gotta make like a tree. See you ‘round, Kitagawa-kun!”

She walked towards the passenger side of the car as the teacher looked at Yusuke.

“What about you, stud?” She asked, her voice taking on a strangely flirtatious tone, “Do you want in on this?”

Yusuke paused, witnessing Futaba’s cheerful expression drop. His stomach dropped, and he shook his head.

“Thank you for the offer,” he said, “but I’ll be fine.”

The teacher lingered, her expression altering in a minute way. Yusuke couldn’t quite catch it, but a smile appeared on her face instead.

“Oh well, suit yourself!” She said.

The window retreated upwards, and Yusuke noticed that Futaba appeared more closed off than when he met her before, perhaps regretful of her decision. 

Yusuke felt practically frozen, guilt racking his brain that he may have caused Futaba - accidental, of course - distress. However, his thoughts of regret were interrupted when another voice stepped in.

“And there she goes… Damn that pervert teacher.”

Yusuke turned his head to face the voice that just spoke – a young man, with shaggy brown hair and burgundy red eyes, dressed in a black turtleneck over the usual Shujin pants and shoes. Yusuke had no idea what the young man was talking about, but before he could ask anything, the grouchy boy continued talking.

“Ms. Kuroda seems nice, but really, she’s a total bitch,” he said, his voice a harsh growl, “thinks the whole school is some sorta castle, and that we should worship her on hand and foot, like some sort of queen…”

As the young man talked, Yusuke’s phone was buzzing. It was almost incessant, like someone was repeatedly messaging him. Yusuke was surprised he didn’t drop the phone onto the floor as the conversation was happening. He cleared his throat, alerting the young man to his presence. In response, he glared.

“And what do you want?” He asked.

“Directions, to Shujin Academy,” Yusuke said, “I assume because of your uniform, you’re a Shujin student.”

With one more buzz of Yusuke’s phone, the young man rolled his eyes.

“Sure, sure… Guess I’m playing babysitter for the new kid,” he said, “there’s a shortcut right this way.”

“...I didn’t catch your name…” Yusuke remarked as the boy scoffed.

“I didn’t throw it,” he responded, “I’m Goro Akechi, by the way. You?”

“Yusuke Kitagawa.”

The pair had begun to walk off, when suddenly they both felt sharp pains behind the back of their eyes. It was almost like a migraine, with Yusuke quickly stumbling forward, feeling strangely dizzy. After a few seconds of seething pain, it was gone. Akechi frowned.

“The hell?” He groaned, “Can’t today just be over already?”

With that, he walked ahead… And Yusuke followed, unsure of where he was going.

Chapter Text

November 20th, 20XX

“There was a terrible subway accident that morning,” Iwai said, interrupting Yusuke’s story, “are you aware of that?”

“Are you accusing me of causing the accident?" Yusuke asked, eyes narrowed.

“No, I just…” Iwai pinched the bridge of his nose, “Look, I assume that you’re aware of the uproar the public calls ‘psychotic breakdown incidents’. It was all over the news - and a teacher at your school was a victim of them.”

Yusuke nodded, “Perhaps.”

“On that day,” Iwai continued, “You were just an ordinary student, right?”

Yusuke blinked, “I’m unsure of what you mean by that, Iwai-san.”

“Let me change the question,” Iwai said, “you transferred to Shujin Academy, correct? A perfectly ordinary prep school that would be found in any part of Tokyo. That’s what it should have been. At least… Before this day.”

“What happened on that day?” Iwai asked, “I want you to answer me truthfully.”

“...I doubt you’ll like what I’m about to say, Iwai-san,” Yusuke said, “But considering you want the whole truth… I shall not mince words.”

He took a deep breath and continued his story.

April 11th, 20XX

The first thing Yusuke noticed as he tried to catch up to Akechi was how cold he was starting to feel. The winds appeared to have kicked up tremendously, with the noise of them rustling in his ears and through his body. He was dressed warmly - as to be expected of a high school student in a winter uniform - but the chill was immense. He cleared his throat, looking up at Akechi.

“Are you sure we’re going the right way, Akechi-kun?”

Akechi scoffed, “I’ve gone this way a million times before, of course we are.”

As Yusuke followed Akechi, he felt a puddle splash against the back of his pant leg. It felt like the water took forever to register, like he was going in slow-motion. However, Akechi was the expert, so Yusuke trusted his judgement.

Once they left the alley, Yusuke expected to be standing in front of the school… However, what Yusuke saw was not Shujin Academy.

“What the hell…” Akechi muttered, as Yusuke looked up.

The Shujin Academy that he and Akechi had stumbled upon appeared similar to the Destinyland Castle. It was tall, and a pale rose pink, almost plastic in its appearance. The turrets of the castle were topped with magenta, conical roofs, and banners and flags marked with a red rose emblem. It was surrounded by a stone wall, with ivy and roses growing out of it. Behind the flora was some familiar words;

“It says Shujin Academy on the wall…” Akechi muttered, “But this… I could’ve sworn I took the right turn…”

He then turned to Yusuke and shrugged.

“Well, I doubt we’re going to get any answers just standing around here,” he said. 

he began to walk across the moat leading into the castle.

Yusuke was hesitant for a second, until he realised; firstly, the one person that could lead him to Shujin Academy might just be in danger and secondly; he was standing outside of a strange building without much knowledge of what was inside. So, he followed Akechi inside the castle.

The pair walked into a massive foyer, with a pink marble floor and crisp, white walls. The walls were decorated with tall, Roman style columns, and Yusuke noticed portraits of the woman from before - he assumed Kuroda - but dressed in a bright pink dress with a heart-shaped bustier, her hair tied up in pigtails and now appearing as pink as her dress. Her left hand was placed over her mouth, the back of the palm brushing the bottom lip, and her eyes were locked in a coy expression.

Yusuke also noted that, in Kuroda’s right hand, was a rose gold halberd with two heart insignias that was placed over her shoulder.

What use would a high school sports teacher have to wield a halberd?  Yusuke felt his heart beat rapidly in his chest. Akechi looked around.

 “Th-This…” Yusuke swallowed, “This is odd…”

“Yeah, no shit…” Akechi muttered, pulling his phone out of his pants pocket, probably to call for help.

However, he nearly dropped it to the floor in shock. The screen was black. There didn’t seem to be any reception at all. Although his gruff exterior hadn’t changed, Yusuke could tell that Akechi was panicking. Yusuke cleared his throat.

“There was a sign outside that said ‘Shujin Academy’, right?” He asked.

“Y-Yeah…” Akechi nodded, “but still, none of this shit makes any sense! How’d we end up in… I don’t know, a rejected Destinyland attraction?”

“Maybe there’s a festival on?” Yusuke asked, causing Akechi to snort.

“Sure, you really think Shujin could afford this level of luxury?” Akechi asked, as he looked around a column in the middle.

Both boys could now hear some soft music from a room just past the centre column. Akechi paused, before beginning to follow the music.

“I think there are some answers over there.” He said.

Yusuke raised a brow, “Okay, sure…”

The pair scampered over to the doorway, and suddenly, they were made privy to a gigantic ballroom. It was full of guests - dressed in increasing finery. However, the guests were all men. Specifically… Teenagers. Yusuke hadn’t physically been in Shujjin, so he didn’t recognise any of the boys, but he noticed from Akechi’s shocked expression that he might have recognised them.

The boys were dressed in fine suits, their eyes concealed by elaborate masquerade masks. In the centre of the room was ‘Kuroda’ – with the hot pink hair and bright pink, heart shaped gown that Yusuke had seen in one of the paintings on the wall. Her pale pink skin was garishly decorated - with magenta, heart-shaped lips and heart-pupiled golden eyes. Her face was decorated with bright pink feathered eyelashes above rose-coloured eyeshadow.

Behind Kuroda was a collection of guards dressed as knights, with heart-shaped faces hidden beneath an open medieval helmet. Yusuke felt rather intimidated by their appearances. Akechi covered his mouth.

“Th-That’s the whole baseball team…” He muttered, “Were they brought here too?”

“I don’t think so…” Yusuke whispered, “Look at their eyes. They look almost… Vacant.”

He was right. The male students appeared to be almost sleepwalking around; following some sort of complex dance ritual, first with each other, and then with Kuroda herself. Kuroda was happy. The students, however, were blank. Yusuke watched, in confusion and awe, and then realised another problem;

Was it just male students?

“That bitch!” Akechi suddenly exclaimed, knocking Yusuke out of his thoughts.

Before Yusuke could try to stop him, he saw Akechi racing into the room and trying to pull the young men off each other. Yusuke followed after him when suddenly, the music screeched to a halt.

The Shujin baseball team stopped dead in their tracks, and Akechi and Yusuke were standing in the middle of the room.

‘Kuroda’ laughed, her voice high and breathy.

“Oh, Akechi-kun…” She said, “I’m surprised you of all people would come back to me… And you brought a friend, how quaint!”

“I… I didn’t come back…” Akechi’s voice was meek at first.

Yusuke looked at him in confusion. It was strange to see Akechi suddenly become timid.

However, before Yusuke could ask why Akechi reacted that way, he spoke up, his voice louder.

“Why’d you capture all these people?!”

“I didn’t capture any of them!” ‘Kuroda’ claimed, “They all came here of their own accord, because they wanted to be close to me. Isn’t that right, boys?”

“Yes, Queen Kuroda,” all the baseball team said, causing both Yusuke and Akechi to look at each other in shock and terror.

“No… No way…” Akechi’s stomach seemed to drop, “Did you brainwash them, you bitch?!”

Suddenly, ‘Kuroda’’s expression shifted.

“What did you just call me?” Her eyes narrowed, before she let out a haughty laugh, “Oh, did you all hear that? Little guy thinks he’s tough… Let’s show him how tough he is! Oh, boys? Time to put on a show!”

Suddenly, the knights behind her moved. They began to approach Akechi and Yusuke, with one grabbing Yusuke by the arms and holding him back. The two that grabbed Akechi pushed him to the floor, in front of the crowd of practically zombified students. Akechi tried to push himself up, but the guards pinned him down, one strapping a pair of manacles to his wrist and a collar to his neck.

Yusuke’s eyes widened in horror, trying to move from out of the guard’s grip, but it didn’t let go. He felt like his ribs were getting crushed, trying to push forward from the embrace as he watched as Akechi was pulled up by his hair. Akechi struggled against the collar on his neck, looking up at ‘Kuroda’, his eyes wide.

“Bark for me, doggy.”

Akechi shook his head, struggling to get words out of his mouth.

“N-No–GAH!”

Suddenly, ‘Kuroda’ hit Akechi with the butt of her halberd.

“I said bark, you little shit!” ‘Kuroda’ growled.

Akechi looked up, bug eyed. However, something snapped. He swept the legs of the guard beside him and struggled to his feet.

“Kitagawa, get out of here, now!” He ordered, “I can hold them off, you just run!”

However, before Akechi could even try to hold them off, the chain around his neck seemed to tighten as ‘Kuroda’ picked it up from the floor. She tutted.

“Always so naughty…” She smirked, pulling Akechi closer towards her, “Starting a rebellion against me? Your glorious queen? And you didn’t bark when I told you to… It would be sexy if it didn’t infuriate me…”

She pulled the chain, tossing Akechi to the floor.

“Boys?” She ordered, “Clear the ballroom - prepare for execution. First the whelp, and his little friend…”

She licked her lips as the other guards began to lead the zombified baseball team out of the ballroom. Akechi placed his hands down on the floor, but underneath his head and neck was placed a stool. Yusuke’s heart stopped for a second. He tried again to move out of his guard’s grasp, but he was too tightly restrained.

“God, I love to see men squirm…”

“N-No… Please…” Akechi’s voice was barely higher than a whisper, “I don’t wanna die here!”

This was it. Yusuke was restrained and couldn’t escape. He couldn’t save Akechi from his miserable fate. And he knew that he was next – ‘Kuroda’ didn’t seem to hold any prisoners. It could be worse - he could be brainwashed to worship her like the mindless, husk-like drones that were aimlessly dancing around the ballroom earlier.

His thoughts were interrupted when he saw a familiar bioluminescent blue butterfly enter his field of vision.

“This is truly an unjust game… Your chances of winning are almost none… But if my voice is reaching you, there may be possibility open to you…”

Possibility?

Before Yusuke could address the voice, another spoke up. A deep masculine voice that rattled his eardrums.

How pathetic of you…

Yusuke’s eyes widened, darting from left to right in the grip of the guard to try to see if someone was talking. However, no one was. It was like time froze, Kuroda watching with bated breath as she held up her halberd, ready to execute Akechi.

Your fate is a deplorable one. Two options await you - the path of ignorance, or the path of glory. Tell me, my son, which one will you take? Will you continue to turn a blind eye to injustice? That isn’t why you’re here, is it?

Yusuke silently answered the voice in his head - the incident from that night haunted him, but in the end, he knew he’d made the right choice. He had just been in the right place at the right time. Anyone else would’ve done what he had done - he’d hoped.

Yusuke defiantly shook his head, and in spite of not saying anything, it seemed to be what the voice expected.  

A sudden searing pain forced Yusuke to lunge forward. The guard pushed, and Yusuke felt its grip becoming stronger. His throat was practically crushed. He let out a cry of pain, his teeth grit.

The other guards didn’t notice, more focused on Akechi’s execution at the hands of ‘Kuroda’. Yusuke instead noticed the cackle rumbling in his ears, an almost villainous noise…

But Yusuke could tell it was powerful. Although he had never desired power before, he was now getting it.

That was exactly the answer I was searching for! Now, let us form a contract;

I AM THOU. THOU ART I.

The sudden influx of pain only got worse, as Yusuke managed to pull himself out of the guard’s grip and fell to the floor. He felt like he could hardly move, let alone breathe. It was like someone had placed their hands around his neck and refused to let go.

Like he was being held underwater without a respirator.

He’d already broken out of the guards clutches. Now. It was time to set himself free.

Thine will is thy brush, let thou paint over the wretched sinners this world creates! Though the flowers of evil blossom, be it known…

Yusuke groaned in pain, trying to numb the pain by clenching his jaw. However, the voice inside his head only continued, as he struggled to force himself to listen.

Abominations such as this… Are fated to perish!

“Come on, boys!” ‘Kuroda’’s voice called, “Let’s finish this heretic off!”

“Enough!” Yusuke growled from the floor, agony in his voice.

‘Kuroda’ turned to face Yusuke. Her golden eyes were full of confusion, and as Yusuke noticed - in spite of how much pain he was in - anger. Anger at Yusuke for interrupting the execution of Akechi. She smirked.

“Oh, it seems you wanna have some fun…” ‘Kuroda’ grinned, “Okay, I’ll bite. Boys?”

She slammed her halberd down on the floor, causing the guards to move from Akechi’s position.

“This one’s mine.”

The guards that once tied up Akechi began to walk towards Yusuke, but the headache that had begun before had only gotten worse. Suddenly, a rush of wind burst out from underneath Yusuke’s feet. The guards stumbled back, as ‘Kuroda’ placed an arm over her head. Akechi struggled back to his feet, hands still restricted by silver cuffs.

The door into the ballroom burst open. Yusuke was framed in the light of the main foyer, but his face was covered – a dual toned Colombina style mask, one side black with white ‘liner’ over the eye, the other half a white and black inversion of its twin. Beneath the left eye was a small teardrop shape.

Yusuke felt it on his face and saw his reflection in a small mirror on the wall.

The mask was beautiful, and like all beautiful things must do… It hurt. It was a searing sort of pain, as Yusuke grabbed the mask with both hands. He struggled to pull it - it was like it had become attached to his face with some sort of super glue. No… It was more like it was a part of his face. And he had to remove it.

It was the only way he could be free.

He pulled, and pulled, and pulled, his entire body shaking as he ripped it off with one, final, scream of agony. Suddenly, he was engulfed in blue fire as blood dripped down on the floor. Yusuke didn’t notice that the fire was engulfing it, cleaning up the pools of blood beneath his feet.

He didn’t care. The power was enticing, engulfing his form. When the smoke cleared, the voice that had led Yusuke to this point had taken shape.

A humanoid figure, with bleach white skin and glowing golden eyes concealed by a space cadet blue hood. Its traditional, ninja-style attire from the neck down contrasted with the white feathered wings that sprouted out of its shoulder blades. The tips of the feathers were coated in a gold covering that shone in the light of the ballroom.

Yusuke’s attire had also changed – the uniform was gone, as if the fire had completely erased it, but instead he was dressed in a black leather outfit made up of a vest and pants. On his feet were a pair of white motorcycle boots, and on his hands were a pair of light blue gloves. Over the outfit was a double-breasted longcoat coloured in a deep, phthalo blue. Accenting the hem of the coat, as well as on the sleeves and epaulettes, were swirly silver accents that sparkled aggressively.

Thou has called for a savior, and I have answered – I am Kuranosuke, leader of the 47 Ronin and avenger of Naganori. I am thy rebellious desires made manifest. If thou shall desire, I shall grant thou the power to work through this crisis…

Yusuke smirked, grabbing a katana from a sheath on his outfit.

“Very well…” He said, “I accept.”

He rushed towards where Akechi was kept, using his blade to slash through his restraints. Akechi gasped in shock as the harsh metal that had been keeping him down was gone, shattered in an instant in the style of iajutsu. ‘Kuroda’ was pissed.

“Gah… Boys!” She called, “Make that bastard pay for defying me!”

“Shit…” Akechi muttered, struggling back to his feet, “What do we do?”

The guards began to rush the pair, but before they could even attack, Yusuke whispered a command to Kuranosuke – kouha. A sudden flash of blinding light reverberated against the walls of the building, crashing into the guards and causing them to fall dizzy and collapse on the floor. Yusuke grabbed Akechi’s hand.

“We run,” he said, and the pair raced out of the room, the remaining guards chasing them all the way.

PERSONA FILES

❝Now You See Him…❞

Name: Yusuke Kitagawa

Age: 16

Gender: Nonbinary, Male Presenting

Sexuality: Asexual, Biromantic

Persona: Kuranosuke

❝The leader of the 47 Ronin who took a bloody path of revenge against the man who forced his master to commit suicide. The incident has become legendary in Japanese culture, becoming one three revenge tales.❞

Affinity: Bless

Weakness: Curse

Chapter Text

April 11th, 20XX

Somehow - maybe luck, or perhaps divine intervention - Yusuke and Akechi managed to escape the guards and find themselves in another area of the weird castle. Although Yusuke’s strange new abilities had ended up running out of gas, the duo were slightly… Less worried when they entered the kitchen.

Mostly because, as far as they knew, there weren't any guards there.

Upon entering, Yusuke took stock of the location. It appeared like an ordinary kitchen, however, there was something odd – much like how the pseudo-lobotomised young men in the ballroom, there was an entire army of young women dressed in suggestive maid outfits.

They didn’t seem to notice that Yusuke or Akechi were in the room, but quite frankly, that only scared Yusuke more. Akechi looked at them, his brows raised.

“These are… All girls from Shujin?” He gasped in shock, “So not just the baseball team… But all the girls too?”

“Keep your voice down, Akechi,” Yusuke whispered, “we can’t afford to be spotted here.”

Akechi nodded, as the pair began to creep around the various maids, trying to find a way out of whatever this place was. However, they failed to notice one maid was watching them – a young woman with red twintails tied into braids that appeared like hearts and electric blue eyes.

“This is so weird…” Akechi muttered, “It’s like… Some messed up slave trade?”

“Yes, but where would she be sending them?” Yusuke frowned.

“Excuse me, sirs?”

Yusuke and Akechi turned around to see a red braided maid, who appeared to be perfectly cognizant of her surroundings – staring at them.

“You shouldn’t be here, you should be in your chambers–”

“What?” Akechi interrupted, grabbing onto the girl’s wrist, “What chambers? What even is this messed up place? Are we gonna be like - what - lobotomised?”

“Sir, please, if you’d just let me–”

“Oh, no, no, no, I want answers,” Akechi said as Yusuke quickly realised that the other maid girls were starting to move in response to his change in behaviour.

Before Yusuke could try and get Akechi to calm down, or at the very least remove his hand from the girl’s wrist, one of the other maids began to move robotically over to a bell on the side of the wall. Suddenly, the doors opened and a pair of guards burst in.

“Capture them! For Queen Kuroda!” They exclaimed, as Yusuke glared at Akechi.

The maid pulled away from Akechi, and sighed.

“Oh well, I was hoping this would wait until later…” She murmured as she removed the maid costume that she had been dressed in.

Once the maid attire was removed in one pull, the girl’s true attire was revealed - a white romper with long, bell sleeves and a thin black belt around the waist. Yusuke noticed small pouches on the belt. She wore what looked like white legwarmers over a pair of black boots, and had matching black gloves on her hands. Over her head was a hood, her twin braids reduced to a single braided ponytail.

In her hands were a pair of white chakram with gold highlights. Over her eyes, a black screen appeared - the word PERSONA was written in large letters. Behind her, a gust of wind jetted into the room. The gust of wind picked up cutlery, plates and half-cooked dishes, throwing them at the guards.

The girl turned to Akechi.

“You, grumpy,” she said, “there’s a hiding spot over there. Get to safety! And as for you…”

She gestured to Yusuke, “You can fight, right?”

Yusuke looked down, noticing that his attire from when he summoned Kuranosuke was back, as was the spirit. He nodded, as the being chuckled.

Ah, I think she’ll be useful.

“Ooh! That’ll make things interesting! To me!” The girl called, “Futura!”

Suddenly from the tornado of cutlery and dishes, a gynoid appeared out of the wind. Humanoid in appearance, with metallic skin marked with golden kintsugi style imperfections lining parts of its skin. Over its lower half was a translucent skater skirt, and if someone were to look closely, LED lights appeared to flicker on its hem.

The being pushed its hands forward, revealing a pair of blasters replacing its hands. Out of the blasters spewed more wind, which caused the armor of the guards to collapse in one fail swoop. Suddenly, they were revealed to be floating, pumpkin-creatures, with small witch hats on their heads, cloaks covering their small bodies, and lanterns in their white gloved hands.

The pumpkins began to race towards Yusuke and the girl, but she had summoned her spirit - Futura - to block the attack with a shield made of wind. Then another blast exited the hand blasters, forcing the pumpkin creatures back once more.

Yusuke decided to help – he grabbed his mask and summoned Kuranosuke once more, the figure darting around the battlefield as the pumpkin creatures tried to get an opening. One struck Kuranosuke in the leg, and Yusuke winced in pain, feeling the blunt hit brush against his shin.

However, his teeth grit, he got Kuranosuke to strike one of the creatures with a powerful lunge. The pumpkin creature was flung back as Yusuke aimed a kouha at the being. He also felt his bruise being healed – specifically by Futura, who had placed one of its metallic hands on Yusuke’s shin.

“Thanks,” Yusuke said, as the girl nodded.

“Happy to help!” She beamed, before ordering Futura to rise up and fire at the other pumpkin creature.

An explosion of wind took out both pumpkin creatures in one go, leaving Yusuke, the girl and Akechi in the kitchen. Yusuke’s attire vanished, giving him back his previous school uniform. The girl nodded.

“Come on, I know an exit!”

“Wait, wait, wait, hold on–” Akechi said, “Who the hell are you? And why were you dressed like them?”

The girl paused.

“Oh, right!” She bowed, “I am Sophia, humanity’s companion. I have been tasked by my master to explore this location…”

Sophia hesitated before continuing, “unfortunately, I was caught by some of the guards here. They seemed to believe I was one of the maids, so I played along.”

“Your master?” Yusuke asked, causing Sophia to falter.

“...Well…” She hummed, “I believe I’ve forgotten who they are. I remember that I have to… Find something. I don’t know what.”

“And you have one of those… Spirits as well?”

Sophia nodded, “yes. They’re called Personas. They represent your spirit of rebellion… But yours doesn’t seem to be staying…”

“Well, that isn’t important right now,” she shrugged, “what is important is finding our way to the exit. I’ll keep you two safe… What are your names again?”

Yusuke pointed at himself, “Yusuke Kitagawa.”

He then gestured to Akechi.

“That’s Akechi Goro.”

Akechi folded his arms, “charmed. Now that we’re all familiar, let’s get the hell out of here.”

“Right,” Sophia nodded, “I found an exit out of here. Come on, I’ll lead the way.”

The pair nodded, and began to sneak out of the kitchen area. Sophia led them into a beautiful dining hall, covered in the same roses as the outside, with pale pink cloths covering the table. Decadence was the name of the game, with the white walls and marble floors resembling the foyer and ballroom, as well as the Roman-style columns.

It reminded Yusuke of images he’d seen in textbooks of the Ancien régime of France. Elaborate banquets and luxuriant decor in order to show how wealthy and powerful the French monarchy under the ‘Sun King’ was. Now, those images were seen as a sign of how detached the French monarchy was from their people.

It was shockingly fitting for the idea of ‘Kuroda’ that Akechi had presented to Yusuke, and the version of her who existed in the place they were in.  

The group exited from the dining room by another back door, this time it led into a small hallway. As they raced ahead of any potential guards, Sophia gestured to a bookshelf in the back of the room.

“There.”

“...Where’s the exit?” Akechi asked, as Yusuke looked up.

He cleared his throat, and pointed to a vent above the bookshelf. Akechi’s eyes widened.

“Oh,” he blinked, “so, we should just… Scale the bookshelf?”

“Yes, but do it carefully,” Sophia said, “I have some tools up there that might be useful in breaking the–”

However, as Sophia was explaining, Akechi had already scaled the bookshelf and ripped the vent off its hinges. Sophia paused awkwardly.

“Vent.”

“Come on, Kitagawa,” Akechi exclaimed, “we don’t have all day!”

“Right,” Yusuke said, before turning to face Sophia.

“Do you want to come with us?”

“Unfortunately, I cannot,” Sophia shook her head, “I have some things to do back here.”

“Don’t get caught again, alright?” Akechi asked, as Yusuke began to scale the bookshelf.

Sophia nodded.

“Sure thing.”

Yusuke turned around and nodded, before going through the vent after Akechi and returning to the real world.

PERSONA FILES

❝Prime Directive Complete!❞

Name: Sophia

Age: Unknown

Gender: Female Presenting

Sexuality: Unknown

Persona: Futura

❝A robot created by the scientist Rotwang in order to replace his deceased love, Hel. Futura is commonly used in studies of the Metropolis novel and movie to represent the conflict between industrialisation and humanity.❞

Affinity: Wind

Weakness: Elec

You have returned to the real world, welcome back…

Yusuke felt like he was going to be sick the second he entered the real world. He was back to feeling like he was underwater, with his stomach twisting and his head reeling. The feeling was overwhelming, and there wasn’t much he could do to try to stop it. He felt happy that he was back on the streets of Aoyama-Ichitome, which was surprising to him.  

Ever since he first arrived in Tokyo, he would’ve thought that it would be the most uninteresting probation that he had ever heard of - all he had to do was pretend to be a normal student for the year and return home like nothing happened.

But now? He was at least happy he wasn’t getting killed, and so was Akechi, who was panting excessively.

“Oh shit… We’re not dead…” He muttered, “We’re not dead! God, I thought we were toast back there!”

Yusuke looked up, noticing a pair of police officers walking towards the commotion that Akechi was causing. His stomach dropped, as he awkwardly cleared his throat, looking over at the other boy. Akechi rolled his eyes, but Yusuke stood at attention out of fear of the potential punishment. If Yusuke was feeling functional, he would probably have attempted to take the lead, but he didn’t seem ready to.

“Cutting classes, are we?” One of the officers asked as he walked up, “There will be major punishments for that, especially as a student of Shujin Academy.”

Akechi scoffed, “What, or we’ll get executed again?”

Yusuke instinctively winced, as the officers stared at Akechi weirdly.

“What do you mean by that?” The other officer asked.

“You two have no idea the morning we just had!” Akechi exclaimed as Yusuke stared at him in shock, “We were trying to get to the school, but we stumbled upon some sorta… Castle?”

The officers weren’t convinced by Akechi’s excuse. One pulled out his notebook to write notes about the pair. The other looked at him in confusion.

“Alright, hand over your bag,” the police officer ordered, “we’re just checking to make sure there aren’t any drugs in there.”

“Why the hell would you think that?” Akechi asked, aghast.

“Because you said something that makes absolutely no sense,” Yusuke responded, alerting the other officer to his presence.

Oh, great. Yusuke was going to be sick in front of an officer. He felt dizzy, and was trying to keep himself standing upright. The police officer watched as he did so, but at least he wasn’t swaying and drawing attention to appearing like he was on some sort of stimulant.

“Are you two friends?”

“We were just in the same area,” Yusuke bowed, “I needed help with getting to the school, and I believe we got lost.”

Akechi baulked in shock.

“Why aren’t you telling them what really happened?!” He exclaimed, “I have no clue what’s going on either–”

Yusuke immediately covered Akechi’s mouth with his hand, causing the young man to grumble and growl against it. Yusuke was absolutely terrified about what was going to happen once he let go – the good news was that he hadn’t used his dominant hand.

“We passed by Shujin on our way here, and nothing was out of the ordinary about it,” the other officer stated, “If you spout any more nonsense, I’ll contact your school. Do I make myself clear?”

Yusuke nodded, “crystal. Come on Akechi, let’s go.”

Yusuke still felt sick as he walked off with Akechi in tow, amazed that the officers didn’t notice that his face was turning green as he spoke. Covering Akechi’s mouth was also quite tedious - probably because the young man was about ready to bite him the second he let go.

Once they arrived at the school, there was no castle. No strange guards. No nothing. Akechi blinked in shock, rubbing his eyes rapidly.

“Goddammit!” He exclaimed, “Th-This can’t be right… We went the same way as before! What’s going on here?”

“That’s just what I was about to ask you,” an unfamiliar voice stated, alerting both Yusuke and Akechi to a counsellor who arrived at the top of the gate, “we just received a call from the police.”

“Stupid pig…” Akechi grumbled, “Snitched on us after all.”

Yusuke’s blood ran cold. His heart was pounding in his chest. God, it felt wrong to be nervous about this, but he was well aware that if he got in trouble one more time, he’d be destroyed. He bowed his head in response.

“We’re terribly sorry for our absence,” He said.

“Apologies won’t make up for tardiness,” The counsellor continued, “where were you both roaming around until this time?”

“A… A castle–”

Yusuke elbowed Akechi suddenly, causing him to grunt in shock. However, a familiar voice distracted Akechi from his pain.

“What’s this about a castle?”

Kuroda. The real Kuroda - not with pink pigtails and a royal dress, but greying black hair and a red tracksuit. She folded her arms, and looked at both of them, tutting.

“I’m not surprised, Akechi,” She said, disapprovingly, “you were always a slacker, even during morning practice.”

Akechi glared, “shut up. It’s your fault that–”

“How dare you speak that way to Mrs. Kuroda?!” The counselor exclaimed, “You don’t have much leeway left, Akechi. One more wrong move, and you’ll be expelled on the spot!”

“She’s the one who provoked me!” Akechi claimed, almost unconvincingly.

“In any case,” The counselor said, “you’ll have to explain yourself! Follow me!”

Akechi’s eyes widened in horror, and Yusuke watched as his skin bleached. He wasn’t sure what to do; it was like he was frozen in place. However, an unlikely source butted in before Akechi was taken off to talk to the counselor.

“Calm down, both of you,” Kuroda interrupted, “we both had a part to play in that… Incident. Let's just let bygones be bygones for now.”

The counselor paused in shock.

“Well… If you say so,” he then turned back to Akechi, “still, you’re coming with me. It’s undeniable that you’re extremely late.”

As Akechi walked up the stairs to join the counselor, Kuroda looked Yusuke up and down.

“Oh, and you’re the new transfer student, right?” She asked, “Kitagawa…”

She paused, looking at him again.

“Have we met before?”

“Yes, earlier at the station,” Yusuke nodded, “I’m very sorry I didn’t take up your offer.”

Kuroda snorted, “oh, not to worry. Your testosterone probably got the better of you.”

“I’ll just overlook this for today,” Kuroda said, “I’m sure you’re aware of this, but cause any trouble, and you’ll be expelled. Understand?”

Yusuke nodded, having been given the entire spiel multiple times over the course of his short time at Shujin Academy. Kuroda smiled, and immediately, Yusuke saw the version of her they had met in the palace.

“Good, you’re obedient,” she smiled, as Yusuke began to walk up the stairs, “I like that in a man. Just try to keep your head down, alright? We don’t want to ruin your new school life before it’s started.”

Yusuke had to wonder for a second if he’d just imagined the visage of the cursed queen, but he shook it off as just an illusion caused by the aforementioned stress. However, he had to wonder if Akechi’s claims about her were true when she brushed her hand against his shoulder.

He ignored the touch and walked past her, unaware that Kuroda took that slight as a personal offense…

Chapter Text

November 20th, 20XX

Once Yusuke had finished explaining his story to Iwai, the prosecutor looked dumbfounded.

“You’re shitting me, right?”

“To be honest,” Yusuke said, “I wouldn’t believe myself either.”

“The school turned into a castle?” Iwai raised a brow. “Some sort of strange girl in a maid costume? You have to be either hallucinating, or sending me on some sort of wild goose chase.”

“No, it’s all real,” Yusuke said, “if it makes you feel any better, I didn’t believe any of that was real when I left the location.”

Iwai sighed, “okay, fine, I’ll give you the benefit of the doubt.”

He pulled out a file from his left and opened it, revealing an image of the calling card, and a picture of Kuroda. Yusuke glared at the image.

“This was the first person a calling card was sent to,” Iwai explained, “Ms. Michiko Kuroda - a former baseball star turned high school P.E. Teacher, and alumna of Shujin Academy. Everything came out in her confession - her abuses of power… And of the students.”

The bitterness in his voice was evident as he spoke.

“However,” Iwai continued, “you were only a new student at the school. You had no knowledge of its hierarchy or what Kuroda had done. Why was she your first target? I need you to explain it to me, and quickly.”

Yusuke swallowed, sitting back as he cleared his throat.

“While I didn’t know about Kuroda’s crimes to begin with,” he said, “I soon became aware of them. She’d been hiding behind her position for far too long, someone had to stop her…”

April 11th, 20XX

Yusuke was surprised to see Mr. Yoshida was upset that he arrived late. Apparently he was ‘worried’ about Yusuke. He initially didn’t believe it, but it was clear that was true when Yoshida breathed a sigh of relief upon him entering the faculty office.

“Thank goodness,” he said, “I was incredibly worried that you’d gotten yourself lost… Although, I’m surprised you’re this late.”

Yusuke bowed his head, “I did get lost. I’m terribly sorry, Mr Yoshida.”

“Just don’t do it again, alright?” Yoshida explained, “Rumors travel fast around here… And you were seen with that Akechi.”

“What do you mean by that Akechi?”

“Look, I don’t want you to get hurt,” Yoshida sighed, ”Akechi wasn’t always a troublemaker – he was the star player of the baseball team once upon a time, but something happened. He could be seen as a ‘bad influence’ on you. Now, I’m not controlling who you can and cannot associate with, but just… Keep an eye on him, alright?"

That sounded almost exactly like Yoshida was controlling who Yusuke could and could not associate with. Still, Yusuke nodded, trying to keep up appearances and barely managing to hide his disdain for the whole situation.

“Break’s almost over,” Yoshida continued, “and classes will be finishing at fifth period due to a subway accident. I’ll introduce you to the class in this next period.”

He walked towards the door.

“Follow me.”

Yusuke nodded, and began to follow Yoshida. However, as he did, he began to notice whisperings around him.

“Mr. Yoshida?”

“Yes, Yusuke?”

“It feels like people are staring at me.” Yusuke stated, causing Yoshida to look over at the people who were allegedly staring,

He shrugged it off.

“You’ll get used to it.”

Yusuke narrowed his eyes, clearly trying to wonder if what Yoshida said was true. He cautiously walked behind the teacher into Class 2-D. Unfortunately, once he arrived at the door, he quickly realised that he was a spectacle to the class. They were all staring at him too, and their eyes were not moving even when he entered the room.

He first wondered if he was wearing the uniform incorrectly. Yoshida cleared his throat.

“Alright, everyone settle down,” he said, “we have a new transfer student with us. He was feeling a bit under the weather earlier today, so that’s why he’s late. His name is Kitagawa Yusuke.”

Yusuke bowed his head, “It’s a pleasure to meet you all.”

“Wow, two criminals hanging out… That’s not a surprise.”

“Are the rumors true? Does this guy have a criminal record?”

“I heard he’s on probation. Beat the shit out of some guy in his hometown…”

Yusuke’s heart dropped.

Was his record leaked?

He looked at the front row of the class, and saw a boy with dark blue hair, pale skin and brown eyes. His expression looked rather dour. He didn’t make eye contact with Yusuke - or anyone for that matter.

“Kitagawa, you’ll be sitting over there,” Yoshida gestured to a seat near the window. “Behind Isshiki. Everyone, please give Kitagawa-kun textbooks if he needs them.”

Yusuke nodded, and began to walk over to the seat, only to find that the person in front of him grabbed him by the wrist. He looked down. It was Futaba - the girl from earlier in the day. She glared at him.

“Strange,” she whispered, her voice icy, “for someone who was ‘under the weather’, I don’t know why you were at the station.”

What a strange girl.

“Ugh, you really think I’m going to give my textbooks to him? He has Isshiki disease.”

“You think they knew each other before he transferred here?” Another student remarked. “Maybe he tried to flirt with her?”

“God she’s a slut, she and her little skank friend probably go ‘round picking up boys to fuck around with. That’s what Ms. Kuroda says.”

“Yeah, that side of the room is awful now.”

Yusuke sunk into his chair, almost wanting the ground to swallow him whole. As Yoshida started the lesson, Yusuke wondered to himself - how was his record even leaked in the first place?

Because school was ending early that day, Yusuke found himself standing outside the classroom once a large majority of the class left, staring at the hallway in front of him. For a second, he saw a mirage of the ballroom that he and Akechi had ended up in earlier that morning, but as quickly as it initially appeared, it was gone.

It was clear that him standing there staring at the hallway was not normal, mostly as he heard Yoshida approach from behind him.

“You do realise I said you were ‘sick’ as an excuse, right?” Yoshida remarked, causing Yusuke to look over at him in surprise. “Do you need to go to the nurses’ office?”

“I’m fine…” Yusuke swallowed, definitely not looking fine, “It’s just… Nerves.”

“Sure.” Yoshida said in response to Yusuke’s unconvincing statement. “I’ve noticed people are talking about you.”

“Yes,” Yusuke muttered, “because that clearly wasn’t obvious already.”

Yoshida frowned, clearly not putting up with Yusuke’s cynicism.

“Just so you know, I had nothing to do with this,” Yoshida said, “I would rather this hadn’t happened as well. The school called your guardian and she sounded very distressed. I suggest you head straight home after this, alright?”

Yusuke nodded, however, the conversation was halted when a familiar figure walked up to him and Yoshida. It was Akechi, who appeared to have been listening to the conversation. Yoshida sighed, looking Akechi up and down.

“I’m surprised you actually came to school at all,” he said as Akechi folded his arms.

“Well, what did you think I was going to do?” Akechi asked. “Just leave Kitagawa hanging because the cops snitched on us?”

“Just don’t be a bad influence on Kitagawa, alright?” Yoshida ordered. “He has enough to worry about without you getting involved.”

Akechi rolled his eyes, “never.”

He then pulled Yusuke aside, whispering in his ear.

“Meet me on the roof after this,” Akechi said, “don’t be late, alright?”

Yusuke - somewhat reluctantly - nodded, before Akechi left presumably to go to the roof and wait for him. Yoshida sighed.

“And that’s why I don’t want you getting involved with him, okay?” He said. “If you need anything, I’ll be in the faculty office.”

He left, leaving Yusuke in the hall, alone and confused. He looked over the armies of students who were leaving that afternoon, but quickly noticed Kuroda walking beside Principal Kobayakawa.

“So, about that delinquent transfer student…”

“If you’re concerned about whether he’ll be a troublemaker,” Kobayakawa said, “I’m certain that today will be a singular incident. He could even ‘fix’ Akechi.”

“No, no, it’s not that,” Kuroda responded, playing with her hair, “I’m just wondering if Kitagawa would be a good fit for the baseball team. He looks slim, but he could be hiding some musculature under there…”

“He was on his previous school’s kendo team…”

“Perfect,” Kuroda grinned, “I’ll talk to him about it. Maybe use my feminine wiles to get him to play!”

Kobayakawa laughed.

“That sounds like a great idea, Kuroda.” Kobayakawa said. “Maybe you should proposition him during the tournament?”

Yusuke went pale. He thought of the lobotomised male students in Kuroda’s Palace, and the idea of becoming one of them was horrifying. So, once the principal and Kuroda finished their conversation, Yusuke walked quickly up the stairs to meet up with Akechi on the roof.

There was a large sign on the roof that read “OFF LIMITS”, but the sign had been moved around repeatedly. It was likely that students ignored the sign, and Akechi definitely seemed like the type of person to do that. He opened the door, and saw Akechi seated on a table. Akechi looked up at Yusuke.

“...There you are.” He said, as Yusuke walked up to him. “I think you’ve already heard all the shit about me – especially from Yoshida. ‘Don’t get involved’, ‘he’s a troublemaker’, all that stuff.”

“We’re both in the same boat,” Yusuke said.

“Indeed we are,” Akechi frowned, “I heard you have a criminal record. Everyone in Shujin’s talking about it. It’s almost a competition to see how insane you sound – I heard things about drugs and having a knife on you and burglary... You don’t seem like the type of guy to do any of those things.”

Yusuke shook his head. His record had been pretty clean before the assault charge, but it seemed as though this entire event had messed that clean image up.

“...So,” he asked, his voice faltering somewhat, “who leaked it?”

“Kuroda, obviously,” Akechi said.

Yusuke looked at Akechi in shock.

“But I heard her having a conversation with Kobayakawa earlier,” he explained, “she mentioned that she wanted to put me on the baseball team.”

“Yeah, and that’s how she gets you,” Akechi explained, raising his fingers one by one, “step one, she discovers something about you and gets her cronies to reveal it to the school. Step two, she feigns sympathy and encourages you to join the baseball team.”

“And step three?”

Akechi paused, appearing awkward.

“Step three is that she grooms you,” he continued, “she uses the isolation that she caused in order to make you more vulnerable, and then she uses that as an excuse to ‘spend more time’ with you. At least… That’s what I heard.”

Yusuke watched Akechi’s mannerisms. He’d been avoiding eye contact with him when he made the comment about ‘what he’d heard’ - it sounded more personal than something he’d just heard on the grapevine. However, they’d only just met, so Yusuke didn’t pry.

“So, I assume that place is how Kuroda views the school?” he asked.

“Yes, I wasn’t kidding…” Akechi nodded, “but the real reason I brought you up here was to ask about that. Do you think that place was even real?”

“I’m not sure…” Yusuke frowned, “are your wrists still hurting?”

Akechi frowned, looking at his wrists, then nodded.

 “I’ve heard of people having shared dreams but…” Akechi frowned, “never when they’re awake. It doesn’t make any sense…”

He cleared his throat, standing up and grabbing his bag.

“Anyway, I’m sorry for dragging you up here,” he said, “I just wanted to talk to you. You know, before school goes out.”

He was about to leave, but turned to face Yusuke.

“I’ll come talk to you if I see you around,” he nodded, “don’t ignore me, alright?”

Yusuke nodded, “alright, see you.”

Akechi left, leaving Yusuke behind on the roof. He frowned. If what Yoshida said was true, Ohya was likely worried sick about Yusuke. He had to get back to Murasaki, and quickly.

“And just where the hell have you been?!”

Turns out, worried sick was an understatement. By the time Yusuke entered Murasaki, Ohya was in the throes of a panic attack. Yusuke didn’t respond, bowing his head in sympathy as the woman glared at him.

“Don’t give me that look,” Ohya said, “Apparently you ditched half a day - Christ, kid! You almost gave me a heart attack!”

Yusuke looked away from Ohya.

“I’m sorry, Ohya-san.”

“Look, kid, you remember what the one rule is here?” Ohya sighed, “stay out of trouble. The only thing you’re supposed to do is show up!”

However, her lecture was interrupted by her phone ringing. She picked it up, sighing, and her tone changed from aggressive to something much calmer.

“Hello?” she greeted. “Yeah, yeah, I’ll be home in a bit. No, no, I’m not mad, just… dealing with a new part-timer. Keeping him in line. I’ll be less harsh on him.”

She then put her hand over the phone’s receiver, looking at Yusuke.

“Make sure you close up, alright?” she asked, “and rest up. You still need to go to school tomorrow.”

Yusuke nodded, and walked up the stairs. His stomach was churning - both over Kuroda’s plan to insert him into the baseball team and the experience in the strange other world. If what Akechi said was accurate - and Yusuke felt as though he could trust Akechi - Kuroda was, at best, a pervert, and at worst…

She was a sexual predator and a groomer.

Yusuke locked up after Ohya left - she had asked him to - but after everything that had happened, sleep felt impossible. He sat down on his bed, and placed his head in his hands, exhausted. He’d have to get some sleep for tomorrow… Or else he wouldn’t be awake enough to survive the next day.

However, his concerns were interrupted by a familiar voice;

You made the correct choice, my son.

Yusuke groaned, “I’m too tired for this.”

I know, I can feel your exhaustion.

“I thought it was just some nightmare,” Yusuke stated, “or mass hallucination.”

And yet, here I am. Speaking to you. You understand that you made the correct choice back there, don’t you?

Yusuke lay down, closing his eyes and trying to ignore the voice, but Kuranosuke was unrelenting.

You can’t exactly hide from me, you realise that. I am inside your mind, so I know how you think. And it appears that in spite of the proof otherwise, you believe that I am nothing more than a hallucination. This is not the case. I am real, a representation of your spirit of rebellion.

Yusuke sighed, as Kuranosuke continued to speak.

I understand that this is a lot of pressure – but you chose this path the second that you vowed yourself to me.You can ignore the troubles of the world, or you can stand up and fight for those who have been wronged!

“Yes, but…” Yusuke paused, “my record. I’m supposed to keep my head down and just…”

Are you serious right now? Your reputation has already been marred by that fateful night. Keeping your head down is no longer an option. Once again - you made the correct choice. If not for your sense of justice, that boy would be dead. Or worse. You saved him, just like you saved that woman that night.

Yusuke frowned. He had saved that woman, but her response was to basically turn on him and protect her attacker instead. Yusuke understood why… But it still hurt. He took his other self’s words to heart, even though he was hesitant, and lied back down in his bed.

“Give me some time to think about it, alright?”

Yusuke could feel his other self smile – it was quite weird, having an image of a creature in your head smiling without actually being able to see them. Especially because as far as he knew, Kuranosuke didn’t have a proper mouth.

At least you are taking my words to heart. Good night, Yusuke.

And with that, Yusuke went to bed for the evening.

Chapter Text

Once Yusuke fell asleep, he felt himself falling back into the Velvet Room once more.

However, he felt significantly safer than before - the guiding hand of Kuranosuke led him back into the hall of mirrors, where Igor hadn’t moved from behind his desk and Agatha was still standing beside him.

“Welcome back,” Igor greeted, “My assistant and I have been expecting you.”

“Good evening, Mr Igor,” Yusuke greeted, “Why am I being delighted with the pleasure of your acquaintance this evening?”

“You are aware that my Master understands sarcasm, right?” Agatha asked.

“It appears that you have awakened to  your abilities,” Igor explained, “and very special ones at that. Our goals finally coincide - and the rehabilitation of the world will commence.”

“...So were you waiting for me to gain my powers before you explained what ‘rehabilitation’ meant?” Yusuke asked as Igor chuckled.

“There is no need to understand it all for the time being,” he continued, “You will be training the Power of Persona, which you have awakened to. Personas are, in other words, a ‘mask’. Think of them as an armour of the heart when confronting worldly matters.”

“A mask?” Yusuke asked, “Why would I need a mask?”

“To protect yourself from the desires of the world,” Agatha explained, “It acts as a shield to defend from potential harm - to allow yourself to live freely without the scrutiny of others. To live without fear and pain.”

Live without fear and pain… That sounded good.

“The chains of society have kept you and others like you entrenched for so long,” Agatha continued, “which is why you need to free yourself from those chains… And others like you.”

“By the by,” Igor continued, “have you come to appreciate the Metaverse Navigator?”

“...Are you talking about the app?” Yusuke asked, and Igor nodded.

“Indeed I am,” Igor confirmed, “It has been placed on your device as a way to access the Metaverse - the ‘other world’ as it were. It is a world built around human desires; mostly negative.”

Yusuke’s eyes widened. That’s where he and Akechi ended up? It would have sounded ridiculous before today.

“So…” Yusuke said, “Did I just randomly stumble across that location because of the app?”

“Indeed you did,” Agatha explained, “the ‘app’ as you called it is a gift from my Master to you. It is the only way you can access the hearts of others - and allows you to sever them from their distorted desires, while also freeing those who have been impacted by their sins.”

“And you’re saying all that while dressed as a cheap clown.”

Agatha gasped in barely disguised shock, “An expensive clown, thank you very much!”

Yusuke frowned.

“But…” He began, his voice slow, “I almost died there. Akechi almost died there too… And worse could have happened to him. It was horrific.”

“And?” Agatha gaped, “You’re going to just let one possible death cause you to back down now? This is your destiny, Trickster! You need to stop running just because there might be some danger, and start living.”

Yusuke loathed to admit it, but Agatha did have a point. He did spend a large majority of the time that he’d been in Tokyo trying to run from the criminal record by acting like a ‘good student’, but it seemed that eyes were on him no matter what he did. Now? He was given a chance to rebel.

And Yusuke was almost certain the world was telling him to take it by the horns.

“It must be disheartening to make use of the Metaverse Navigator by yourself,” Igor began, “but fear not. Should there be others who prove beneficial to this mission, I shall grant the navigator to them as well. Those people will become your allies and teammates… If they can use the power of Persona.”

A loud DING rattled Yusuke’s ears.

“Let me guess,” Yusuke said, “you’ll explain later?”

Igor chuckled, “Ah, it seems that you’re smarter than you let on Trickster. Sleep well.”

April 12th, 20XX

Yusuke managed to make it to the train station without incident. Upon arriving at Shibuya Station and getting on the train to Aoyama-Ichitome, he quickly realised how crowded the trains were. Maybe he didn’t notice last time, due to everything that had happened the previous day. It was practically impossible to get a seat.

“Yo, do you see that guy?” A young man asked, gesturing to a short teenager sitting on one of the few seats on the train.

The short teen had messy black hair and a pair of yellow headphones around his neck. He was dressed in a Shujin uniform, and was fiddling with a chord in his hands. From the briefest glimpses of his eyes, Yusuke could tell that they were a bright, almost unnatural looking blue.

“D’ya think that’s the gymnastics prodigy everyone’s been hyping up?” The same young man asked, before his friend scoffed.

“Nah,” his friend said, “He seems too weak for that. ‘Sides, doesn’t he look like a middle schooler?”

“Maybe he skipped a couple of grades.”

Suddenly, the boy stood up. Yusuke noticed an elderly woman standing amongst the cluster of people, and he assumed that was the reason the boy had done so.

“Here,” the boy insisted, “You can take my seat.”

“Are you sure?” The old lady asked.

The boy nodded, “Yup! My station’s coming up, so I’ll be fine.”

However, before the old woman could take the seat, a salaryman sat down in the spot where the boy had been sitting. The boy groaned.

“I didn’t give the seat up for you,” He commented, causing the man to glare at him.

“You don’t own this seat.”

The salaryman seemed to be getting quite aggressive, while the boy looked somewhat awkward. His frown deepened, and it was clear he was trying to speak up, when Yusuke placed a hand on his shoulder. The boy looked up, taking a deep breath in, as Yusuke glared back at the salaryman.

“Neither do you,” He said.

“And who are you?” The salaryman asked.

“Just a friend,” Yusuke remarked, “He meant to give that seat to her. It’s just an act of kindness, there isn’t any reason to make a fuss.”

The man was ready to fight back, but Yusuke took advantage of the fact that he was taller than his peers and balled his hand into a fist. He knew from his foster mother how to intimidate weirdos in public, and it seemed to work. The salaryman hurriedly left the seat, as the boy rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly.

“Sorry about that…” He frowned, “Here, I’ll help you to your seat.”

Upon helping the woman sit down, the train stopped at Aoyama-Ichitome, causing both Shujin students to leave, the boy getting thanked by the elderly woman.

However, once he exited the train and began to walk to the payment gate, the boy raced up to Yusuke..

“Hey!” He grinned, “Thanks again for earlier.”

“I didn’t do much,” Yusuke responded.

“You did speak up for me though,” the boy continued, “And that was a bit risky, but thanks for that.”

“Also, you’re a second year at Shujin, aren’t you?” He asked, to which Yusuke nodded.

“Weird coincidence, I’m a first year at Shujin,” the boy said, “I mean, it’s rude to not thank your upperclassman, right?” He bowed, “Anyway, I’ll see you around!”

The boy raced off before Yusuke could ask for his name. He was in his first year? Strange. He did look much younger than that, but Yusuke could easily excuse that as the boy had skipped a few grades. He sighed, and decided to quickly go straight to Shujin, so that way he wasn’t late again.

He was thankful for bringing an umbrella today, just to be safe from the rain, and didn’t take the shortcut that Akechi gave him - mostly because the one benefit from the previous day was that Yusuke figured out the directions to the school...  And he also didn’t trust the shortcut.

Arriving at Shujin Academy without incident - the school back to its normal brutalist design without any signs of a fake Destinyland castle overtop it - Yusuke went in and noticed that the whispers from before only seemed to get louder.

The social studies class headed by Mr Ushimaru was a nice distraction from all that… Or at least, it would be if Ushimaru wasn’t so… Brusque.

“Hmph,” he said, “You look like you’ve all been spoiled growing up. Can’t wait to see who disappoints me the most this year.”

Yusuke tried to stifle a glare. He didn’t want to prove a point towards the teacher, but he was feeling slightly frustrated that his first response was anger at these students that he never met.

“A certain dictionary defines a year as ‘a period of 365 disappointments’,” Ushimaru continued, “the book’s title is about as cynically satirical as the rest of it. It’s The Devil’s Dictionary, by Ambrose Bierce.”

He gestured to Yusuke.

“Hey, new kid.”

Yusuke’s head darted up. It was likely that Ushimaru witnessed Yusuke glaring at him and decided that counted as ‘giving him guff’ or whatever.

“Tell me what the Devil’s Dictionary defined as the chief factor in the progress of the human race.”

Asking a question about a book that Yusuke probably didn't know existed until that morning? That was incredibly cruel. However, Yusuke had managed to come to a conclusion based on what Ushimaru had told the class earlier - ‘cynically satirical’. Someone who believes that a year is defined as 365 disappointments would not have good things to say about the progress of the human race.

“Villains,” Yusuke answered, causing Ushimaru to give him a surprised expression.

“Correct,” Ushimaru said, “‘Malefactors’, to be specific. You actually knew that, huh?”

“Sure, villains can affect the course of history,” Ushimaru continued, “but remember, this definition is a sardonic witticism, nothing more. Here in the real world, villains don’t push humanity forward - they only spread chaos and strife.”

Much to Yusuke’s shock and embarrassment, the whispers only seemed to flare up again.

“Wow, he got that one right! Do you really think he’s a criminal?”

“Please, you think getting one answer right means he’s not just some no good punk?”

“Probably looked up the answer on his phone too!”

Yusuke wished the ground would swallow him whole. It didn’t matter how hard he tried, the school would always see him as some sort of criminal… And if it weren’t for him seeing what Kuroda was really like, this likely would’ve turned him straight to her.

At lunch, things got strange.

A blue haired boy dressed in the Shujin PE uniform walked up to his desk.

“Hi, Kitagawa, right?” He asked, to which Yusuke nodded, “I’m Yuuki Mishina - I’m the manager of the baseball team.”

“I thought the sports club manager was supposed to be female?” Yusuke asked.

“Well,” Mishina awkwardly rubbed the back of his neck, “Maybe things are different in the country. Anyway, Ms. Kuroda wanted to ask me to give you a little introduction to the team.”

Yusuke paused, reminded of what Kuroda had mentioned in the conversation he eavesdropped on. Well, he supposed he could play along - at least, to get some more information on her.

So, he went along with Mishina… And tried to avoid eye contact with Akechi. He’d have to explain later, especially considering he noticed Akechi walking around with a large bag of… What Yusuke could only assume was something illegal.

The location that the baseball team trained, Yusuke noticed, appeared more like one for track and field than baseball. For starters, there was no formal diamond – though, this made sense because the diamond would only be used in actual games. Yusuke also noted  that - while Kuroda trained both the boys baseball and the girls softball team - the boys largely outnumbered the girls.

This seemed like a formality, Yusuke thought. Mishina was basically giving Yusuke the deed to sign his soul away, especially when he noticed the other baseball team members downright refusing to make eye contact with either him or Mishina. It was like they were waiting for him to join Kuroda’s cult… Or get hurt by her like they were.

Maybe it was some sort of messed up hazing ritual, a way to bring the delinquent up to speed… Or maybe Yusuke was overthinking it. No matter his thoughts, he watched as the baseball team trained - just simple running drills up and down the field and the occasional practice of throwing and catching… All while Kuroda was watching.

Okay. She wasn’t just watching.

“Hey,” Kuroda walked towards one of the boys, “Takyua-kun? Your position is sloppy. Hold on, let me just…”

She placed her hands on his shoulders and began to move his arms. Yusuke could only watch as her hands traced the brief musculature of a pubescent boy. Then, she moved his arms in the position of a swing, but Yusuke noticed that her other hand - the one that had been on Takuya’s left shoulder to adjust his positioning - moved down his hip and the small of his back.

Yusuke felt like he was going to be sick. She was blatantly touching her students, and they weren’t saying anything about it. Yusuke looked over at Mishina.

“Is that… Normal?”

Mishina nodded, “Oh yeah, that’s just the sort of hands-on coaching experience you get from Kuroda!”

Yusuke wasn’t sure if Mishina meant that literally.

“I think lunch break might be over soon, but before that…” Mishina started, “Want me to show you to the locker room?”

“...Sure?”

That seemed like a strange question to ask. However, Yusuke wasn’t going to be impolite. The pair entered the locker room, and Yusuke had a look around. It gave off an unpleasant atmosphere - clothes were scattered and the room smelled of a typical teenage sports team, malodour mixed with pungent deodorant.

“It’s… A locker room.”

Mishina nodded, “Yeah, but most of the guys change in the bathrooms. Not sure why.”

Considering what Akechi said about Kuroda, Yusuke had an idea. He walked towards one of the walls, and saw a very obvious peephole. Yusuke’s stomach turned. That was how Kuroda was able to spot her victims. Probably the reason why most of them change in the bathrooms.

“What?” Mishina asked, “What are you looking at, Kitagawa-san?”

“N-Nothing. Nothing at all,” Yusuke gulped.

He wondered if Mishina was aware of Kuroda’s abuse. He most likely was and was just playing dumb because… Well… Yusuke had no idea what Kuroda had on Mishina. Yusuke bowed.

“Thank you for the tour, Mishina,” He said, “Would you be okay if I thought about you and Ms. Kuroda’s offer?”

“Absolutely,” Mishina said, as the bell rang, and Yusuke rushed out of the changing room.

However, just as he was trying to get back to class, Kuroda suddenly bumped into him.

“You’ll take up my offer, won’t you, stud?” She asked, causing Yusuke to swallow.

He felt like the floor was opening up and about to swallow him whole. He was praying for some sort of miracle, when suddenly-

“Oh! Kitagawa-kun!” Futaba exclaimed, walking over to Yusuke and grabbing him by the shoulder, “Sorry, Ms Kuroda, our class is this way. Ushimaru’s gonna be so mad at us if we turn up late, haha. Kay, thanks, bye!”

Their next class wasn’t with Mr. Ushimaru. It was with Mr. Inui. Kuroda probably had tabs on all of her preferred targets-but Yusuke wasn’t sure if she actually did or that was just an image he had in his head. However, as Futaba dragged him away from Kuroda, he looked behind and saw Kuroda licking her lips.

“The hell are you doing?!” Futaba hissed, “First showing up late yesterday and now actually going to see Kuroda? Are you stupid or something?”

“I was…” Yusuke tried to come up with an excuse, “Curious. Considering my record’s been leaked–”

“Yeah, I’m sorry ‘bout that,” Futaba said, “But I’ll give you a warning – you and Akechi need to stop trying to challenge Kuroda. She’ll ruin your life and destroy you. I think it’s best if you ignore the baseball team at all – do not pass go. Just take my advice, Kitagawa.”

Yusuke frowned, thinking Futaba’s words over.

“Anyway,” She said, “let’s get going to class.”

Taking Futaba’s words about ignoring the baseball team altogether to heart, Yusuke followed Futaba back to room 2-D.

Chapter Text

April 12th, 20XX

After school, Yusuke went down the stairs of the entrance and met Akechi there. Akechi smiled.

“Hey,” he greeted, “how was Kuroda?”

“Creepy,” Yusuke said, “but she didn’t get close to me at all. I’m also not going to take her offer - I’m not stupid.”

“Well, it’s a good thing she didn’t try anything with you,” Akechi said, gesturing to Yusuke with his bag - a black duffle bag with a large logo in the centre that resembled a pair of grey wings in a red circle, “Now, are we going back there, or what?”

“Wait,” Yusuke said, “what do you mean are we going back there?”

“I was going to ask you about yesterday at lunch,” Akechi explained, “but I saw Mishina managed to drag you off to the baseball team, and… I think you understand why I didn’t pry.”

Yusuke frowned. He was surprised that Akechi wasn’t yelling at him for even considering the offer. He managed to be quite relaxed, shrugging it off as another part of Kuroda’s ‘initiation’ ceremony.

“I know I sound ridiculous when I say this,” Akechi continued, “but I don’t think that was a dream. I can’t just act like it was nothing - especially when Kuroda’s involved. If I did, it would make everything I’ve… Well… Sacrificed, for nothing.”

“So,” Yusuke said, looking down at the duffel bag, “I see you’ve made up your mind.”

Akechi nodded, “What, are you surprised? She has control over the whole school - you saw it yourself. So, why wouldn’t I go back there? Even if it was just some sort of shared hallucination.”

“So,” he continued, “Do you want to come with me?”

Yusuke thought for a few seconds about what Agatha told him the previous night; “You need to stop running just because there might be some danger, and start living.” So, he pulled out his phone, and opened up the Metaverse Navigator app, handing his phone to Akechi.

“See?” He said.

“No way…” Akechi’s eyes widened, “I did hear a voice saying something about ‘returning to the real world’... So, what, do we just press a button and go inside?”

“I assume so,” Yusuke remarked, as Akechi scrolled through the app, “Don’t click anything just yet – I’m not sure how it works.”

Akechi scoffed, “Come on, Kitagawa. Are you scared of a little adventure?”

“Not really,” Yusuke claimed, “I just don’t know if–”

Before Yusuke could finish his sentence, the now familiar buzzing feeling entered his eardrums;

“Kuroda. Shujin Academy. Castle. Pervert. Beginning Navigation.”

“Here’s your phone back,” Akechi said, handing Yusuke his phone back, “Now, do we just go–”

Yusuke looked at his phone screen, and saw the screen open to a brilliant red and black void. It was terrifying, but beautiful in a strange way. Suddenly, the void seemed to swallow him and Akechi whole, as the area was draped in black and red. Akechi’s eyes widened, as he looked over to the entrance of Shujin Academy…

The castle was back.

“Oh shit!” Akechi gasped in shock, “We’re back here…”

The pair began to walk across the moat, and entered into the Shujin Castle area. Upon crossing the moat to the exterior of the castle, Akechi looked up.

“Same as yesterday…”

He then turned to face Yusuke, and his eyes appeared to bulge out of his head in shock.

“What the?!” He gasped, looking Yusuke up and down.

“What?” Yusuke asked, “What are you staring at?”

“Your outfit!” Akechi said, “It changed?”

Yusuke looked down at the long coat and leather slacks, the light blue gloves and white motorcycle boots. He seemed surprisingly nonplussed by the whole thing.

“So it has.”

“That’s your reaction?” Akechi sighed, “Honestly, you look like a weird stage magician…”

“Psst! Hey!”

Sophia’s voice echoed out from behind a wall, as Yusuke and Akechi ran towards it. The young woman was crouched, her knees hitting her chest and her arms wrapped around her legs.

“I can’t believe you guys came back here!” She gasped, her voice but a whisper, “The Shadows were acting up, but I had no idea why…”

“It was his idea,” Yusuke said, pointing to Akechi.

“I was just curious about…” Akechi paused, “well… The other students in this place. Speaking of which, what even is this place? Is it the school?”

Sophia nodded, “Yup!”

“But…” Yusuke asked, “Why does it resemble a castle?”

“It resembles a castle because that’s how Kuroda sees it,” Sophia explained, “She’s the ruler of the place and her distorted heart forms its image.”

“Distorted heart?” Yusuke asked, “Does Kuroda have a heart condition?”

“God, I hope she does…” Akechi grumbled.

“No, it isn’t literal,” Sophia continued, “sorry to disappoint. Basically, this entire environment is formed from Kuroda’s distorted desires – I call it a Palace.”

“Distorted desires?” Akechi said, “L-Like…”

But his question was interrupted by the sound of a loud scream from the top of the building. Sophia winced.

“That was what I was worried about,” she said, her voice shaky, “because you both escaped yesterday, I think Kuroda is taking her anger out on the men in their chambers.”

Suddenly, Yusuke noticed Akechi’s face grow red with anger. He growled, and rushed towards the door.

“That bitch!” He shouted.

“Hey, wait a second–”

But Sophia’s cries fell on deaf ears, as Akechi kicked the door.

“You hear me Kuroda?!” Akechi shouted, “Why don’t you come out and face me, you whore?!”

“Akechi-kun!” Yusuke cried, pulling him away from the door, “Remember why you came here. And besides, I doubt kicking the door is going to help us get in.”

Akechi paused, and sighed.

“Okay,” He said, “my main goal is to get to those ‘chambers’ that they were talking about yesterday. Then, I can find out who exactly Kuroda is abusing.”

“Ooh!” Sophia exclaimed, raising her hand, “I can guide you both to the chambers! I know my way around this place.”

“Wait,” Yusuke paused, eyes wide. “what do you mean both?”

“I mean you, silly!” Sophia smiled, “I want to get a better look at your abilities - and I also think that we both need to be here to stop your friend from going off and doing anything reckless. Are you just going to leave him here?”

Yusuke paused for a few seconds, and then shook his head, causing Sophia to smile widely.

“Excellent!” She said, “C’mon, I can sense a shortcut just around the corner. Let’s go!”

The shortcut led the group straight to the ballroom, now empty aside from streaks of soot decorating the ground from Yusuke’s awakening the previous day. They’d managed to sneak to the pair of stairs in the centre of the room, racing up them and trying to dodge various Shadow guards that were around the hallways.

The chambers were exactly how Yusuke had imagined them to be – a hallway marked with white plaster columns and pastel pink marble walls with white doors coated in pink roses decorating the front and sides. The doors were all shut-however, Yusuke noticed that there were small… Peepholes in the centre on the doors.

Just like the peephole in the changing room.

Yusuke looked over at Akechi, who gulped and tried to look away from the doors.. Sophia had helped them duck behind chairs and hide behind walls so as not to draw the attention of guards, but Akechi quickly noticed something.

“One of the doors is open,” he whispered, causing the group to turn their head around the corner.

A familiar young man - Mishina - left the room, and Yusuke immediately noticed that - aside from boxer briefs, he was completely naked. A pit of dread filled his stomach, and Yusuke could feel Akechi start to shake with rage.

“Mishina-san,” One of the knights addressed him, “Queen Kuroda would like to see you in her private chambers.”

Mishina nodded, and began to walk off with the knight in tow, leaving his door open behind him.

“He left the door open,” Sophia said, “Should we go inside?”

Reluctantly, the pair nodded, and entered Mishina’s room. Much to their shock, the room felt even more like a prison – although it did look well decorated. The walls were plaster white, with golden accents and baby blue fabric acting as ‘curtains’ over a small arch that was meant to resemble a window.

The bed was a four poster with golden columns, and comfortable looking, with blue and gold coloured covering and fluffy pillows. All fit for a prince. In spite of its appearance, that did not negate how… Spartan the room itself was.

Yusuke noticed that the ‘walls’ were more accurately one way mirrors – you could see through to the other rooms, and witness other students in the same conditions as Mishina was in, dressed the same way as Mishina was.

The only door was one with a peephole in it. There seemed to be nothing for the boys to do but… Wait for Kuroda to ‘collect’ them.

However, there was no soundproofing on the one-way mirrors, so the group could hear the other male students talking.

“Man, isn’t it great how Mishina gets to spend time with the Queen?”

“Amazing, isn’t it? God, I can’t wait to be picked…”

“I heard Minamoto-senpai got to have his dick sucked by her! Practically treated like royalty!”

“I wanna be the Queen’s bitch. I think I could be a good bitch - I have a good moan planned and anything.”

“Imagine her running her fingers through your hair as she fucks you… It makes me cum just thinking about it!”

Yusuke noticed Akechi’s jaw dropped as they were listening to the conversations between the boys.

“No… Fucking… Way…” Akechi whispered, “They can’t be talking like this…”

“Well, there doesn’t seem to be anything else to do…” Yusuke swallowed, “Except for fantasize about Kuroda.”

Akechi took out his phone to take a photo of the student in the room across from them, but jumped in surprise.

“What the…” He frowned, “Gah, my phone’s not working. I swear I charged it before I came here…”

Yusuke opened up his phone - surprised that his phone was still there after his clothes had transformed - and saw only the red and black swirl of the navigation app.

“There has to be a way to break them out!” Akechi gasped, as Sophia shook her head.

“I’m sorry, Akechi, but there’s nothing you can do,” She explained. “None of these boys are people like you who ended up here. Think of them as… Lifelike dolls. It’s how Kuroda sees the students - in her distorted mind.”

This was how Kuroda saw her students? Yusuke felt sick to his stomach just thinking about it.

“I’ll see if I can memorise their faces,” Akechi said, “there’s only two here, but they’re both on the baseball team, so there might be more.”

Yusuke nodded, “That’s a good idea. Do you think we’ll be able to get into any other rooms?”

“Hold on, let me just…”

Suddenly, Sophia’s eyes began to glow, as she started to… Scan the room. She looked over at the curtain on the back of the wall, and began to walk towards it. Upon the group arriving at the curtain, it was clear that the arch it hid was much bigger than they all had expected.

“...You think we can fit through this?”

Sophia nodded, “Uh-huh! We’re going to have to still keep an eye out for guards, though.”

The pair nodded, and once the pair walked through the arch in the centre, they saw another set of rooms with more young men locked in them. The young men were all mostly naked, like how Mishina was, and were sitting on their beds in almost coquettish fashions. Yusuke felt his stomach turn at the thought that this was how Kuroda saw her students - as nothing more than just pieces of meat, prizes to be won…

Dolls to lust after.

“What do you think the private chambers are like?”

“I’d give anything to spend more time with Queen Kuroda…”

“She’s so much better than all the other girls at Shujin. All of them are whores and sluts who just see us as nothing more than ‘dumb little boys’. Kuroda sees us as men, and she treats us like the men that we are.”

“No way…” Akechi whispered, “I knew Kuroda was a shithead to the guys, but…”

“And besides - they’re where they deserve to be. Serving us and Queen Kuroda. The only thing they need to be are our servants!”

Yusuke shuddered, trying to avert his eyes from the mostly naked cognitive students in the room and ignore what they were saying, but Akechi had forced himself to look.

“None of these people would say that…” He grumbled, “Sure, most of them are a bit rude to the girls in our school, but they’d never say that Kuroda was better than they are!”

“Maybe it's because that’s what Kuroda wants them to say,” Yusuke theorised. Akechi sighed.

“Yeah, it does seem like the kinda gross shit she’d believe about herself,” Akechi said. “That the other girls are sluts and she’s the only one who’s worthy of attention.”

He scoffed, “Good to know that she’s a heinous bitch inside and out.”

Sophia raised a brow.

“What did this Kuroda woman do to you?”

“It doesn’t matter,” Akechi said, eyes narrowed “All you need to know is that she ruined everything for me.”

Yusuke… Didn’t want to ask what Akechi had been through. He was slightly worried that Kuroda had gotten close to Akechi - and he already knew what ‘close’ meant. Even with that - Yusuke still didn’t know the full story.

Upon leaving the chambers, the group quickly realised that guards were patrolling the back of the rooms. They managed to hide behind some tables, watching the guards’ footsteps go past.

“There doesn’t seem to be any way to stop them…” Sophia muttered.

“Yes,” Yusuke nodded. “They appear to be on patrol. It’s unlikely we could sneak past without starting a fight.”

Akechi, still looking a bit shaky from the experience in the chambers, unzipped the duffle bag he’d brought with him. Gently, he passed a pistol similar in design to a Queen Anne pistol to Yusuke. Yusuke’s eyes widened.

“Is that a gun?!” He hissed. Akechi nodded.

“Relax, it’s just a fake,” He explained, as Yusuke picked the gun up. “It can’t even shoot pellets, as far as I know. But it looks realistic enough - you could scare some of those guys off–”

However, as Yusuke fiddled with the hammer of the gun… A loud BANG noise rang out as an incredibly real looking bullet wedged itself into the side of the wall.

“Hm?” A guard paused, stopping its routine. “What was that?”

“Shit, shit, shit, shit…” Akechi muttered, trying to make himself look smaller behind the table legs. “I didn’t think it would be able to shoot real bullets?!”

“It’s because of what you said before-” Sophia explained, suddenly balling her hand into a fist. “-The gun looks to be a real gun, so the Shadows see it as having real bullets and being loaded. See here.”

Her hand shrunk back into the sleeve of her jumpsuit, and Yusuke watched as her hand had become similar in property to a cannon. She aimed the hand at the guard, and with the sound of a projectile powering up, a large shot of blue and white energy pulsated out of her hand and into the guard.

The guard evaporated into metal and red and black goop, suddenly mutating into a pair of fairy-like creatures dressed in blue. The shock of the situation meant that Yusuke and Sophia could approach the pair without much effort on their part. Yusuke looked at the flintlock pistol in his hand. In spite of the accidental firing, it was full of ammo.

This would be fun.

The Beguiling Girls didn’t have time to react, suddenly getting  pumped full of bullets. They both collapsed to the floor, leaving them at the mercy of more attacks. Sophia summoned Futura, and wind whipped around one of the Beguiling Girl’s heads.

The other vanished in a puff of smoke, taken out by Yusuke’s newly acquired flintlock.

However, before the pair could finish their attack, the remaining Beguiling Girl spoke up.

“Wait! Wait! Please!” It exclaimed, “Spare me! Spare me! I’m only working under the orders of Queen Kuroda, I promise I won’t tell her you found your way in! Just put the gun down!”

And Yusuke’s mind went flooding back to that day.

“Just get in the car, you harlot!”

“No, please, please! Let me go! I’ll call the police!”

“The police? You really think those buffoons can stop me? They’re completely under my thumb… Now, to have some fun with you…”

Yusuke’s heart pounded in his chest. He looked at the Beguiling Girl before him, and felt a sense of familiarity. Something that would be difficult to explain to anyone. This idea that he had known someone like the Beguiling Girl - whether a face on the street or someone he knew personally. A classmate, a friend.

He lowered his weapon. Sophia looked at him in shock.

“Are you just letting it get away?” She said. 

The Beguiling Girl flew up.

“Thank you so much…” The Beguiling Girl said “I wasn’t expecting someone like you to give me a second chance… Why did you do it?”

“Because you were begging for mercy,” Yusuke explained, “If I were to shoot you, I would be just as bad as those who put me in this position.”

“Wise thinking… That seems like something I would do…”

The Beguiling Girl suddenly paused, and then began to flitter rapidly.

“Wait a moment,” It muttered, "I think… I think I’m remembering something… Something very important…”

It gasped in surprise, suddenly flying towards Yusuke’s face, to the point where its nose was practically touching his.

“I figured it out! And it’s all thanks to you!” She exclaimed, “I’m not just property of Queen Kuroda! I’m an existence that drifts in the sea of humanity’s soul… My true name… Is Pixie! From now on, I’ll live inside your heart!”

Suddenly, before Yusuke could even have time to react, the Beguiling Girl - Pixie - flew into his mask. He coughed in surprise, eyes wide, as a slew of information began to appear in his mind – the name Pixie, its strengths, weaknesses and abilities. However, the creature was not alone in there.

Can you at least warn me before you start inviting other people in?

Kuranosuke was clearly a bit annoyed at having to share Yusuke’s ‘heart’.

Sophia’s jaw practically dropped once the experience was over. She seemed surprisingly shocked, but her face returned to a pleasant smile.

“Recalibrating…” She said, “Yes, indeed, it seems that you can use multiple personas. The enemy is absorbed into your mask, and becomes a part of your arsenal.”

“You’re… Surprisingly calm about this, Sophia.”

“I’m not,” Sophia said, her face not dropping that somewhat unnerving smile.

“Oh.”

Akechi raced out from behind the table, panting aggressively.

“What the hell was that?!” He exclaimed, as Yusuke placed a hand over his mouth.

“Remember, there are still guards around here,” Yusuke said.

Akechi nodded.

“I know that,” Akechi’s voice was still muffled under Yusuke’s hand. “I’m not an idiot.”

“Well,” Sophia continued, “there are more chambers upstairs. Shall we go up there?”

Yusuke nodded, and with Pixie now at his side, began to follow Sophia up the stairs to the rest of the castle.

Chapter Text

April 12th, 20XX

The conclusion Yusuke had come to after having been in Kuroda’s Palace the second time was that she had an unhealthy obsession with princess movies.

Not that Yusuke was accusing those who liked princess movies as being like kuroda. In fact, a lot of those movies had good messages about freedom and love. It was just that Kuroda clearly got the wrong idea from them. She liked the image of ‘purity’ it gave her, but never focused on the fact that most of the relationships in those movies were consensual.

The spiral staircases and pastel pink marble walls disguised Kuroda’s true personality - one of a predatory control freak obsessed with the boys that she taught. Looks could be deceiving, and unfortunately, Kuroda was using an idealised image of herself as ‘Queen’ in order to draw people closer to her.

Or she had actually brainwashed them. Which was unlikely.

Once they had reached the top of the spiral staircase, Sophia led the pair to a strange door.

“Come in,” she explained, “the Shadows will be unable to find us here. And I think we all could use a break.”

Yusuke agreed. Running around the Palace had been exhausting, and as much as Pixie provided some help, he was running low on magic. Akechi also appeared slightly worse for wear - probably more mentally than physically, which was still important. Upon entering the strange room, Yusuke and Akechi noticed that it appeared… Plain, in comparison to the rest of the Palace. A pair of simple benches, boxes containing fruits and vegetables, walls covered in cleaning supplies…

“Is this…” Yusuke said, “A storage closet?”

“Close, but not quite.” Sophia explained, “this is a Safe Room. As I said before - it’s a room where the Shadows are unable to find us. It's also not on the Ruler’s radar.”

“A room that Kuroda is unable to see?” Akechi asked.

As if to prove Sophia’s statement correct, the room began to glitch. The simple benches became classroom desks, the walls covered in cleaning supplies became a large blackboard, and the boxes that contained fruits and vegetables became cubbies that held school supplies.

Yusuke and Akechi looked on in shock as the room transformed back into its storage closet form. Suddenly, Akechi let out some mirthless laughter.

“Of course, the room she can’t see looks like a classroom,” he sneered. “Makes complete sense. She doesn't even go to them to get her victims, just sends out Mishina to do her dirty work…”

Yusuke looked over at Akechi, a frown crossing his features. The question that he had been trying to ask finally left his mouth.

“...Akechi.” He started, “Did she…”

“It doesn’t matter.” Akechi interrupted, “I’m one of countless people Kuroda fucked up. It's why I came back here. So I could get some actual evidence of her crimes, so I can find the other people that she treated like that. Look at Mishina! He’s basically being treated like her own personal sex slave just ‘cause he can’t speak up for himself.”

Yusuke looked over at Akechi, and gave him a soft, rather awkward, pat on the shoulder. Akechi looked back at him.

“You don’t need to feel sorry for me,” he claimed. “We’ve only just met.”

“That doesn’t matter,” Yusuke said. “You were hurt. We know that she’s hurt people - and she’ll continue to hurt people unless we figure out more about her. Do you want to continue?”

Akechi nodded, ”yeah. Let’s keep going. Then, we can go back to the real world.”

He then turned to face Sophia.

“Before we go, Sophia…” He asked, “What are you exactly?”

“I already told you,” Sophia said, “I’m Humanity’s Companion!”

“Yeah… But what does that even mean?”

Sophia stalled for a second.

“Hm… I’m actually not sure.” She explained, “I think I was created in order to help humanity with something called… Ruin?”

Yusuke had to hold back his gasp. That was the thing Igor kept talking about - the thing that Yusuke was somehow supposed to stop from enveloping humanity. Sophia continued.

“I have no idea what that means, though,” she said, “All I know is I have to get somewhere important. I don’t know where yet. It was when I was looking for… Whatever that ‘somewhere’ was, I managed to get caught by the maids.”

Yusuke swallowed. “That sounds… Incredibly challenging.”

“Indeed it is. But I met you both here!” Sophia beamed, “so, I think I’ll eventually figure out what I’m supposed to do. Probably. I’m not sure. I think we’re all rested, so let's go back to the chambers!”

Akechi and Yusuke nodded, and the pair left the safe room to return to the castle.

Upon leaving the Safe Room, Yusuke realised that getting into the other chambers was going to be much harder than it was on the previous floor. There were no conveniently open doors, no way to break through the doors themselves… Aside from the peepholes. And judging by the expression on Akechi’s face, that was absolutely not an option.

“Do you think we could listen in and see if you recognise any of their voices?” Yusuke whispered.

“We could try…” Akechi whispered back, “it’d just be the same shit they said on the lower floors, though.”

“That mightn’t help us in the long run, but it's probably going to help us now–”

“Oh really?”

Sophia was interrupted by Kuroda entering the room, flanked by two of her knights. Akechi went bug eyed for a split second, before shaking his head and trying to appear confident.

“Not so fast, Kuroda!” He exclaimed, “I’ve been in these chambers, and I’ve memorised your victims faces – they’re all from the baseball team, so you’ve been getting sloppy, you hag! You’re going down, mark my words!”

Kuroda scoffed.

“How pathetic,” she sneered. “Is this honestly the thanks I get for training you and your friends back when you were on the baseball team? I was nothing but caring to all of you - you could think of me as a second mother!”

Akechi swallowed.

“D-Don’t bring that into this!” He exclaimed.

Yusuke grew worried at the weight of Akechi’s expression.

“Akechi,” he asked, “what is she talking about?”

“Oh, you didn’t bother to tell your friend your past?” Kuroda said, “Are you just keeping it a secret now? Remember what we said about honesty?”

“Shut up! Shut up!” Akechi exclaimed, “what I tell other people has nothing to do with you!”

“Everything has to do with me, darling,” Kuroda tittered “I just happened to find out about your poor mother… I couldn’t bear to see such a sweet young man, already struggling with the foster system, to be without a mother’s touch…”

Her expression brightened, and grew more sinister.

“After all, I wasn’t gonna kill myself when you became too much to handle!”

Akechi looked like he was about to be sick, his body shaking. He appeared like he wanted the ground to swallow him whole. All Yusuke could do was watch as Kuroda continued her tirade, while Akechi appeared more and more anxious.

“But you… You abandoned your team.” Kuroda continued, “You ruined your reputation. And for what? Some rumor about me taking advantage of you? I thought you enjoyed the touch of an older woman… After all, you seemed to be getting off on it!”

Akechi’s face blanched.

“I… I didn’t…”

“Oh, unless you made all that up, unless you lied to try to make your attack on me justified!” Kuroda smirked, “After all, you know striking a teacher - no matter the gender - would get you expelled. I only gave you the benefit of the doubt because I knew you were troubled. Everyone knew you were troubled. My baseball team was the only freedom from your miserable little life!”

“You made my life worse!” Akechi gasped. “You dragged me into your world because you found out about my mom’s suicide! You leaked it to the whole school - you tried to force me to stay with you, that I could only trust you! And then… And then… And then…”

Akechi was hyperventilating now, as Yusuke put a hand on his back in an attempt to comfort him. Sophia rushed over.

“Is that why?” She asked in a whispered tone.

“So now you’re blaming me for your own misdeeds?” Kuroda asked, “I expected that from a man like you.”

She then snapped her fingers, bringing the knights towards Yusuke, Akechi and Sophia. Yusuke hurriedly summoned Kuranosuke, as the knights mutated into monstrous creatures - one transforming into two horse-like creatures with twin ram horns, while the other mutated into a twin-headed dog-like creature with a lizard’s tail.

One of the Dirty Two Horned Beasts struck first, before Sophia could even think of attacking. It struck her in the chest, flinging her across the room.

Kuranosuke and Yusuke managed to dart away from the attack. He struck the Twin-Headed Guardian with a kouha, but to no avail. It appeared to absorb the attack, and used the momentum from the kouha to strike Yusuke behind the leg with its lizard tail.

Yusuke felt his body careen across the floor. He noticed a flash of healing green light that began to pulsate out of Sophia’s cannon arm. However, his hope for healing was short lived; the Dirty Two Horned Beast hammered its horns against her cannon.

The green light flashed uncontrollably before hitting the Twin Headed Guardian that Yusuke had attacked earlier, healing it back to full. The Twin Headed Guardian used its increase in vitality to rush towards Yusuke and Sophia, who were both crumpled on the floor in pain, and start to charge up a fiery blast from its mouth.

“W-Wait!” Akechi exclaimed, as Kuroda laughed.

“Now you’re trying to save them?” She sneered, “You hopeless whelp have no idea who you’re dealing with. After I kill them, then you’ll become my eternal slave - forever, and ever, and ever, just like you should be!”

Akechi’s eyes began to well with tears.

“I… I can’t…” He hyperventilated, choking back tears. “I can’t keep… Doing this! It doesn’t matter how hard I try, everything is taken away from me - my mom, the baseball team, my dignity… I shouldn’t have even bothered…”

However, as Akechi spiraled further into self loathing, Yusuke suddenly spoke up.

“Are you really going to believe what this woman says?” He exclaimed, summoning Kuranosuke back into the field in spite of his own injuries. “Just because she had control over you in the past doesn’t mean you have to surrender control to her now!”

The Twin Headed Guardian suddenly blasted fire, but Kuranosuke’s kouha acted as a shield, as Yusuke tried to push back against the flame. He grit his teeth and continued encouraging Akechi.

“She’ll only win if you keep making her more powerful than she actually is!” He shouted, “She has no control over you, only the illusion of control!”

“Silence!” Kuroda exclaimed, “My guard will deal with you both soon enough!”

Akechi watched as Yusuke - someone who he’d never met before a few days ago, someone who had every right to laugh him off as just ‘bad news’ - stood up for him. Especially in such an aggressive way - standing in front of a beast about to burn him alive, only to call out for Akechi and encourage him to do better.

She’ll only win if you keep making her more powerful than she actually is. Yusuke’s words echoed in Akechi’s ears. Kuroda was a predator, yes, but she wasn’t all powerful.

She had never been all powerful.

“He’s right,” Akechi said, glaring at Kuroda. “You have no power over me. You never have. You gave yourself power over me.”

Kuroda turned to face him, bug eyed and startled by his proclamation.

“Wh-What?” She gasped in shock, “What did you just say to me, you peon?!”

“You never had any power in the first place!” Akechi continued, “All you have done is force yourself on those who can’t fight back! People like the baseball team… People like me! And I am so much more than what you made me!”

Suddenly, Akechi felt a voice rattle in his ear. His own voice, but deeper and rougher, as though it had been swallowing nails.

Ah, I see you’ve found your worth once more.

The pain that came from the voice was immense, breaking into Akechi’s skull at full force. He struggled forward, holding his head in pain as the almost suffocating migraine echoed in his ears, seeming to grow with every word the strange voice said.

What’s the point in sitting back and letting this woman destroy your life again? After all she has done, vengeance shall be sweet… Your reputation has been made forfeit, so why not wreak havoc? Seek justice? Let me guide you towards this new path…

Akechi groaned in agony, feeling himself fall to the floor in immense pain. His teeth were grit and his eyes were starting to water, as his anguish was made manifest by a red mask with a pointed nose that almost appeared like a bird’s beak.

I AM THOU. THOU ART I.

Akechi reached his hands towards the ends of the mask, and could feel his fingernails digging into his skin. The scarring and scratching started to draw blood, but Akechi didn’t care. He just had to get this damn thing off him!

There’s no turning back! Do you desire retribution? Then allow me to draw out your fury - with the force of a thousand suns!

With a tug and a pull that felt like Akechi was tearing off his skin, the mask was removed. Actually torn, as Akechi let out a scream of pain, and blue fire consumed his body.

Kuroda gaped in surprise. The guards stopped their attack on Sophia and Yusuke, as the beam from Kuranosuke’s kouha forced the fire attack from the Twin Headed Guardian to fizzle out.

Out of the explosion of fire was first a large figure - bull-headed in appearance, with grey and black armor and a red scarf wrapped around its neck like a superhero cape. Apart from the armor on its chest, the rest of its attire could be described as ‘western’ looking, with two holsters on its pants and spurred silver boots. On top of its head was a cowboy hat.

Akechi’s attire had also changed – now dressed in a black leather vest and matching dark colored pants with brown chaps. His feet were adorned with brown cowboy boots. On his right arm was a brown leather pauldron, with similar coloured straps that went down the side of his arm. His left arm was exposed, but the golden yellow gloves provided a contrast to the rest of the attire. Around his neck was a red bandana that matched his Persona’s scarf.

Although the shotgun strapped to his back was a perfect representation of the cowboy-like attire he and his Persona both wore, the rapier in Akechi’s right hand gave a much different story. The shotgun was associated with violence and aggression, the image that Akechi presented to the outside world, while the rapier was associated with regality, precision, elegance… Something that Kuroda would say Akechi did not have.

“Oh, Kuroda…” Akechi said in a sing-song voice, “guess who has power now?!”

A blast of electric energy from his Persona struck one of the Dirty Two-Horned Beasts, forcing it to the floor, as Kuroda gasped in horror.

“No!”

“And now that I have this, I can make you pay for what you did to me!” Akechi shouted, “To everyone you hurt!”

He pulled out his shotgun, and started firing at Kuroda. In spite of her long dress, Kuroda managed to leap up onto a balcony. She smirked as Akechi aimed at her head.

“Oh boys…” She said, sweetly, “Finish off the heretic!”

The other Dirty Two-Horned Beast raced towards Akechi, as he grabbed his mask and summoned his Persona once more.

“Destroy them!” He exclaimed, “Black Bart!”

The Persona - Black Bart - didn’t need to be asked twice, snapping its fingers into a ‘finger gun’ and firing an electric attack at the Dirty Two-Horned Beast, forcing it to the floor. Yusuke followed up by switching from Kuranosuke to Pixie, and firing off a zio at the same beast that had collapsed.

The other Dirty Two-Horned Beast shakily rose to its feet, but before it could charge, Akechi and Yusuke quickly turned to face it, and ordered their two Personas to hit it with a zio. This attack caused the creature to dissolve into rubble, leaving just the semi-conscious Dirty-Two Horned Beast and the still standing - if wounded from Kuranosuke’s kouha - Twin Headed Guardian.

“We need to stop it,” Yusuke said.

“I have an idea,” Akechi explained, “We first need to finish off that one, then we can start attacking the big boss.”

Yusuke nodded, and summoned Pixie back onto the field. The floored Dirty Two Horned beast was struck by zio, and vanished into goop on the floor. Yusuke smirked. Now for the leader.

The Twin Headed Guardian roared, a noise that pierced Yusuke and Akechi’s eardrums. Sophia charged up her blaster and fired at the creature before it could attack, causing it to fall back as Akechi summoned Black Bart back to the field.

The Persona snapped its fingers, using its finger gun to hit the Twin Headed Guardian with zio. The Twin Headed Guardian didn’t appear to have a reaction until… The pair noticed that the creature was shaking, lightning bolts echoing off its fur.

“It’s been shocked!” Sophia exclaimed. “It’s vulnerable to all physical attacks, but we could get shocked if we try to target it!”

“Vulnerable to all physical attacks, eh?” Akechi smirked, revealing his shotgun. “Why don’t we do this from a distance then?!”

He shot the Twin Headed Guardian, forcing it to the floor, semi-conscious. The group immediately held it up, as Akechi turned to face Yusuke.

“Wait…” He said, “I have an idea. We need to beat this thing quickly, correct?”

Yusuke nodded.

“Why don’t we just all attack it at once?”

Sophia blinked at Akechi in surprise, “wait, what? But that seems unfair?”

“She attacked us at a disadvantage first,” Akechi said. “I think fairness went out the window when she did that.”

And so, the trio targeted the downed beast all at once, causing it to disappear into a puff of smoke and grime.

PERSONA FILES

❝Wanted: Dead or Alive❞

Name: Goro Akechi

Age: 17

Gender: Cis Male

Sexuality: Homosexual

Persona: Black Bart

❝A notorious stagecoach robber who operated during the Wild West period. Black Bart was known for the poetic messages he left behind at his robberies, and not using his shotgun as a weapon.❞

Affinity: Electric

Weakness: Wind

Chapter Text

April 12th, 20XX

After the fight, Akechi struggled to his feet. He tried to move forward, but his movements stagnated. He hissed in pain, pulling himself forward and shouting up to the balcony that Kuroda was standing on.

“You see that, Kuroda?!” He exclaimed, “Why don’t you get down from your ivory tower and fight me?! Or are you too scared?!”

Kuroda smirked.

“You really think I’m scared of a peon like you?” She asked. “I have other, better slaves to focus on. Now, if you’ll excuse me - I have to return to my private quarters. I think Mishina is getting lonely in there without me to fuck.”

Akechi gritted his teeth, trying to race towards Kuroda, but Yusuke held him back. Kuroda snapped her fingers, bringing four maids to her side, and Yusuke’s eyes widened upon seeing one – a girl with long orange hair and thick black glasses, dressed in a red maid dress with black and white striped tights and black ballet flats, her hands covered in white gloves.

Futaba.

Akechi gasped.

“Isshiki-san?” He asked, “Why is she here?”

“My, my, what a good question,” Kuroda sneered, “Isshiki? Can you tell Akechi why you’re here?”

Futaba bowed her head.

“It’s my punishment for being a slut, Queen Kuroda.”

Akechi covered his mouth with a hand.

“Oh… Oh my God…”

Akechi’s eyes widened, and for a brief second, it was like he forgot that this Futaba was just a cognitive representation of how Kuroda saw her.

“Hey, Isshiki! Snap out of it!” He shouted.

“You don’t have to worry about men like him, Isshiki,” Kuroda said. “After all - sluts like you don’t deserve his attention.”

“That’s right, Queen Kuroda.”

Akechi growled, trying to walk forward, but his legs gave out. Sophia rushed to him and tried to hold him back up. Yusuke noticed more guards entering the room.

“We have to retreat.”

“But Isshiki–”

“That’s not the real Isshiki, remember?” Yusuke voiced, “More guards are coming. Sophia, can you find a safe room for us?”

Sophia nodded, and scanned the area for one. Her eyes glowed blue as she looked, and found one a few rooms away. In her haste, she clicked her heels together, causing rollerblade wheels to appear out of her boots.

Akechi paused. “Are those roller–”

Before he could finish his sentence, Sophia grabbed Akechi and Yusuke’s hands and rolled out of the room with them gripping tight. The knights kept close behind as they found their way to the safe room - Sophia wrenched open the door and the group came crashing in, the door shutting behind them.

Akechi was panting, and then grabbed onto Yusuke’s shoulders, slamming him into the wall.

“You idiot! I almost had–”

However, his rant was interrupted when he looked down at himself, eyes wide. Yusuke pulled away from the wall, rubbing his shoulder.

“I don’t think ramming me into the wall in anger is a good response to saving you from almost getting killed,” Yusuke commented as Akechi was still looking at his outfit.

“Woah…” He muttered, “Still not as weird as yours, though.”

Yusuke raised a brow. “Really? We have no idea where either of these outfits have come from…”

“They’re your outfits of rebellion,” Sophia explained. “They appear when you decide to make a stand against the corrupt people of the world – those who weaponise humanity’s apathy to gain power.”

“And… The mask?” Yusuke asked, while Akechi poked the end of his mask, muttering how absurd it was that he was dressed like a cowboy with some weird bird mask on.

“It also represents your rebellion,” Sophia continued to explain. “A more minor aspect of it – that being how the masks represent the shield you use to hide your inner rebellion. By removing your masks and opening yourself up to your Personas, you break those chains and allow your inner rebellion to run free.”

“Breaking chains…” Akechi smirked, “I like the idea of that. But now that I’ve seen what Kuroda’s done to both the girls and the boys - I have an idea.”

“Which is?” Yusuke asked.

“I’ll tell you when we get out of here…” Akechi said. “I’m feeling exhausted. The good thing is that… Wait…”

He turned to face Sophia.

“If this Kuroda is a cognitive representation of the real one,” he said, “Does she know what we’ve done here?”

Sophia paused, and then shook her head.

“No.” She said, “There could be a slight connection - but it’s not strong enough to actually trigger memories. Think of it as like… A dream. These are Kuroda’s unconscious views - on both you, and the other students.”

“Which is why we have to stop her,” Yusuke said.

“But first… let’s go back to the real world.” Akechi turned to Sophia, “Do you want to join us, Sophia?”

Sophia paused, before nodding.

“Okay…” She said, “But you have to promise not to freak out when we get back to the real world, alright?”

“What do you mean by freak out?”

“Well…” Sophia sighed, “I haven’t been entirely honest with you. Part of the reason I couldn't leave this world is because… I’m an AI.”

“An…” Akechi’s eyes widened.

“AI?” Yusuke finished, “As in an artificial intelligence?”

Sophia nodded. “Indeed. I was unable to enter the real world because I don’t have a human body to go to… But I can leave through one of your phones.”

Yusuke and Akechi looked at each other in confusion. Sophia hurriedly explained.

“D-Don’t worry!” She said, “I’m fairly confident that no one will notice me talking through either of your phones – you both will be able to hear me, and if someone’s been in the Metaverse, they can hear me as well.”

“Well…” Akechi shrugged, “We’ve been through weirder. Yusuke - you have the weird navigation app on your phone. Do you want to have a second weird app that you can’t delete?”

Yusuke - having accepted that he’d been volunteered - sighed and nodded. Sophia beamed.

“Excellent! Now, let’s get back to the real world.”

Maybe it was the sudden rush of adrenaline from Akechi’s awakening and the subsequent fight, or maybe it was the sudden rush from being dragged across the palace by Sophia’s rollerblades, but Yusuke was surprised how sick he felt when he landed back in the alleyway near Shujin Academy.

If he felt sick, how was Akechi feeling?

“God…” Akechi panted, “I feel like I’ve run a marathon…”

There was his answer. Yusuke felt his phone buzz in his pocket and took it out, seeing Sophia, front and centre on the lockscreen. She was still dressed in the same attire that she was in the Palace, but now with the same two braided pigtails as she had when disguised as a maid.

“Are you two okay?” She asked. “I understand that leaving that world can take a lot out of you, especially after today.”

“I’m fine,” Yusuke whispered as Akechi walked over to look at Sophia on the lockscreen.

“Holy shit…” He muttered, “I thought you were kidding when you said you could ‘enter his phone’!”

“That’s what you’re shocked by?”

“Well…” Akechi spluttered, trying to get his words out in his slightly flustered state, “I thought it was an exaggeration, okay?”

Yusuke looked at Sophia on the lockscreen, who was leaning against the side of the screen with her legs stretched across the bottom half of the screen. She appeared surprisingly calm.

“Are you… Comfortable in there?”

Sophia nodded, “think of it as like… A small room. I can’t leave it, but it’s surprisingly nice here!”

“Okay…” Akechi mused, “Hey, Yusuke, if you drop your phone–”

Yusuke glared at Akechi, and Akechi suddenly felt cold.

“I-I wasn’t saying anything!” Akechi exclaimed, raising his hands in a panic, “I-I was just asking!”

“But, I think I know where we’re going next,” he continued, “tomorrow’s the baseball tournament - not a formal thing, just more a small, stupid thing Kuroda does to ‘assert her dominance’.

“So, are we going to talk to her victims?” Sophia spoke up, but Akechi shook his head.

“No. We’re going to talk to Isshiki.”

Yusuke blinked in shock.

“Why Isshiki?”

“She was in the Palace,” Akechi explained, “there has to be a reason that she was there - she’s not on the baseball team, and I don’t think she’s a ‘target’ for Kuroda’s abuses. But, I have heard rumors about her and her friend Magario…”

He sighed, “now that I’ve been inside Kuroda’s mind, those rumors are looking less and less true by the minute.”

“What sort of rumors?”

“That Isshiki and her friend Magario are sleeping around with the boys.”

Yusuke’s eyes widened, “Is that why–”

Akechi nodded, “yes. Kuroda started spreading those rumors, possibly because Magario was ‘getting attention’ from some of the boys.”

Yusuke felt sick to his stomach. Was Kuroda trying to set up deterrents?

“So… We should talk to Isshiki tomorrow,” Akechi said, and Yusuke nodded.

“I’m willing to do so,” Yusuke said, much to Akechi’s relief.

“Thank God,” he sighed, “I thought you’d say this was a ridiculous idea.”

“Oh, don’t get me wrong,” Yusuke continued, “It absolutely is - I don’t think Isshiki will talk to us without much probing. However, it might just be the only option we have.”

He paused.

“Unless… We could talk to Magario-san.”

The pair’s musings were interrupted by both of their stomachs growling. Yusuke awkwardly rubbed the back of his neck as Akechi sighed.

“Okay,” he said, “food first, then we can talk about what our plans are. And besides, I think both Sophia and I would love to know how you came here in the first place.”

Yusuke nodded. He felt a bit awkward about revealing his past to Akechi and Sophia at the same time, but maybe - especially now that they knew each other slightly better - it would be easier.  A small, familiar voice in his head seemed to agree;

I Am Thou… Thou Art I

Thou Hast Acquired A New Vow

It Will Be The Means By Which Thou Repaints The Future

The Creation of The Chariot Arcana Shall Become Thine Path to Hope,

and the Destruction of Apathy

CHARIOT RANK ONE!

Yusuke smiled.

“Lead the way.”

“Damn brat! I’ll sue!”

The noise of the drunk man’s cry echoed off Yusuke’s eardrums as the man struggled to his feet and stumbled towards him. His teeth were grit, and his breath - the smell of alcohol overtaking it - was harsh on Yusuke’s face.

“How dare you?” The man slurred, “don’t you have any idea who I am? You’ll pay for tripping me up!”

“I didn’t trip you,” Yusuke said, trying to remain calm when this drunk man was screaming in his face. “You fell over yourself.”

The man was clearly offended by Yusuke’s statement, glaring at him. He then turned to the young woman that Yusuke stepped in front of, and snapped his fingers.

“Hey! Make this statement to the cops!” He ordered, “say this kid suddenly attacked me - got it?”

“Wh-What?!” The woman gasped in shock. “B-But I can tell them about the money! That’s all I need to do–”

“Don’t you even think about it!” The drunk man interrupted, “I can ruin both of you if I truly wish to…”

His rambling was interrupted by a pair of police officers arriving at the scene. Yusuke’s heart sank. He tried to reach for his phone, tried to call Mayazumi’s number, almost wishing that she would drive up and rescue him…

But it was far too late.

“Excuse me, folks,” one of the officers said. “We received a report about an argument here. Is something the matter?”

Once the man turned around, recognition appeared on that officer’s face.

“O-Oh! It’s you, sir!”

The man turned to face the woman that Yusuke had been trying to save.

“Go on. Tell the good officer what happened, ma’am,” the drunk man smiled, almost appearing sweet, causing Yusuke’s skin to crawl.

The woman paused for a second, and Yusuke was hopeful that she had changed her mind. But…

“Th-This young man suddenly attacked this gentleman… He shoved him to the ground. A-And he… Was injured…”

“What?!”

Akechi’s shout interrupted Yusuke’s recollection of the events of that night. Yusuke nearly felt himself hit the roof of the beef bowl place, trying to look around to see if anyone had noticed Akechi’s outburst.

“Not so loud,” he muttered. Akechi sighed.

“Sorry.” He said, “But I just can’t stand people like that. They think they run the goddamn world or something… Why didn’t you sue back?”

Yusuke continued to eat his beef bowl.

“I’m pretty sure from my story you understand why,” Yusuke explained, “he had far too much power over the police, and the young woman as well. He would have changed the story and made things harder for me…”

“And the woman you saved?” Sophia spoke up from Yusuke’s phone. “Wouldn’t she have been a character witness?”

Yusuke shook his head.

“I doubt she would’ve been willing to help defend me.” He explained, “after all, we didn’t even know each other - all I knew was that she was about to be dragged into that man’s car, and I couldn’t stand by.”

Akechi frowned.

“You know… I’ve only just come to realise that you and I are in the same boat.” Akechi said, “n-not with the whole… Criminal record, but both of us have had our lives ruined because someone in power said so. Me with Kuroda, and you with that man.”

Yusuke nodded, “at least I have some semblance of a ‘support system’.”

Akechi raised a brow.

“My foster mother,” Yusuke explained, “Yukino Mayazumi. She’s part of the reason I’m staying with Ohya in Yongen.”

“Oh, you’re in the foster system too?” Akechi asked. “That’s a weird coincidence – Kuroda mentioned I was in the foster system. Still am.”

Yusuke frowned. He could tell from Akechi’s tone of voice that he had a less than pleasant experience in the foster care system than Yusuke did. That was probably how Kuroda managed to get him. After all - Kuroda mentioned Akechi’s mother’s suicide and blamed Akechi for it…

It’s likely she did that to other vulnerable students.

“So, talking to Magario-san,” Yusuke said, and Akechi nodded.

“I’m aware this might sound foolish,” Akechi said, “but it might just be our only chance to get to Isshiki. I’m pretty sure the first match of the ‘tournament’ tomorrow will be between the girls’ softball team and an all-female teacher’s team led by Kuroda.”

Yusuke’s eyes widened.

“Isn’t that unfair?” Sophia asked, “I mean, most of the girls are probably well trained. But putting them up against an all adult team?”

“It’s to draw attention to herself,” Yusuke gasped. Akechi nodded in response.

“Good, you’re learning,” Akechi said. “But - there might be a break between the girls and the boys matches, so we could talk to her then?”

Yusuke nodded.

“Okay,” Akechi grinned, “let’s exchange contact details so we can talk about this later.”

The pair exchanged phones. Sophia moved out of the way to let Akechi type his number into Yusuke’s contacts, alongside his name. Yusuke did so as well, and - after giving Yusuke back his own phone - Akechi sighed.

“It’s so strange,” he said, “I thought for the longest time that I wouldn’t get revenge on Kuroda… But it seems to be so much closer than I thought.”

Yusuke looked down at his phone, and saw Sophia purse her lips awkwardly. It was clear she wanted to say something, but there was seemingly no place for her to butt in.

“Alright, let’s see what we can do,” Yusuke smiled, as Akechi nodded.

The pair parted ways to return to their respective homes. However, as they were leaving, Yusuke accidentally brushed against a young woman.

“Ah,” Yusuke turned to face her and bowed, “my apologies.”

“It’s alright,” the woman said, “I don’t think you hit me.”

The young woman had fair skin and long blonde hair, which Yusuke noticed was tied in twin tails. She also had sharp blue eyes. Most likely a foreigner, judging by her colouration.

She was dressed in a uniform that Yusuke didn’t recognise – a white varsity style hooded sweatshirt with red and blue lining near the bottom, and Yusuke could spot a black pleated skirt with white lining just peaking out of the sweatshirt. On her legs were red tights, and she wore brown boots with yellow laces.

Over the sweatshirt was a tan blazer with a gold, circular logo on the right breast pocket. She also wore black gloves.

Before Yusuke was even aware that he looked like he was staring at the young woman, she raced off. Yusuke frowned, but brushed off his suspicions. Returning home was most important at this point.

Chapter Text

November 20th, 20XX

“You can’t have worked as a Phantom Thief alone,” Iwai stated, interrupting Yusuke’s story.

Yusuke nodded his head.

“That is correct.”

“You needed allies, confidants,” Iwai continued, “Those who would help build your reputation and help with your goals.”

Yusuke nodded again.

“Will you tell me who these people are?”

“Absolutely not.”

Iwai glared, “well, I’ll figure out who they are from context clues.”

“Good luck with that,” Yusuke smirked, “I’m not going to sell out my teammates. This is my burden to carry, and my burden to carry alone. Besides - you wanted the leader of the Reformers, didn’t you?”

“You’re a mouthy kid, you know that?”

“I believe it’s one of my best qualities.”

Iwai groaned, “just continue your story.”

April 12th, 20XX

It had been a long day. By the time Yusuke returned home, he was expecting berating from Ohya, but instead witnessed her in a conversation with another woman.

The woman was tall and slim, with curly, dark brown hair. Yusuke noticed her hair was partially pinned back by a lilac and black bow with - what appeared to be - a cartoon eyeball in the centre. Beneath the white labcoat was a matching lilac undershirt and a black pleated skirt with what appeared to be white, inverted crosses. She wore black, sheer tights and black, chunky combat boots. Around her neck was a lilac choker.

“Thanks again for the coffee, Ohya-san,” the woman sighed.

“No problem!” Ohya said, “hopefully it’s a good distraction from your… Personal troubles.”

The woman pinched the bridge of her nose, “don’t remind me… I might need something stronger than coffee.”

“I’m not licensed, unfortunately,” Ohya smirked, “but I know a girl in Shinjuku who can hit you up if you wanna take a trip!”

The two women laughed while Yusuke watched awkwardly. Eventually, Ohya noticed Yusuke was in the room.

“O-Oh! Kid!” She gasped in shock, “y-you’re back… And late as well. Did something happen at school today? I didn’t get a call from the school, so I assume you’re home free–”

“I made a friend,” Yusuke curtly stated. “I understand if you’re surprised.”

Ohya blinked, “I’m not… Surprised. Th-That’s good. Uh…”

“I can leave if I’m making things awkward,” the woman said, causing both Yusuke and Ohya to remember that she was also there.

“Ah…” Ohya paused, awkwardly rubbing the back of her neck. “Sorry, Dr. Kawakami - this is Yusuke Kitagawa, he’s the kid I was talking about earlier.”

She was already talking about him to her friends? All Yusuke could think of was this idea that Ohya was trying to frame him as some sort of troubled kid - which absolutely wasn’t the truth. He’d been trying to be better - and it seemed like all Ohya saw was the worst of him.

Dr. Kawakami looked him up and down.

“Huh,” Kawakami said, “I’m more surprised that you’d pick up another one so soon.”

Another one? Ohya frowned.

“It wasn’t by choice.” She said, “however, I had some spare room at my place for him.”

Liar. Yusuke glared, and began to walk upstairs.

“Oh! Kid!” Ohya called after him, “I’ll lock up tonight, so you don’t have to worry about that!”

“Thank you,” Yusuke said curtly.

Upon arriving in his attic room, he placed his phone on a table. Immediately, the phone buzzed, and Yusuke looked over at it to see Sophia, appearing quite distraught.

“Is everything okay?” She asked, to which Yusuke nodded.

“Everything’s fine.”

“It didn’t sound fine,” Sophia said. “Were you mad at that woman?”

Yusuke frowned, sitting down on the bed and placing his head in his hands. He didn’t want to acknowledge it, but he was a bit frustrated with Ohya. After everything he’d seen with Akechi and Kuroda, as well as what he had been through himself, admittedly he did have a bit of a… Bias against adults.

Ohya also hadn’t exactly covered herself in glory during the short period of time that Yusuke had known her - but Kawakami’s comment of her having ‘another one’ made him give pause. He might have been being too harsh on her, but she was being too harsh on him in return. It was only fair.

“Um, Yusuke?” Sophia asked, “I don’t mean to interrupt your brooding, but you didn’t answer my question.”

Yusuke blinked in shock.

“O-Oh!” He gasped, “My apologies. I just… Was thinking.”

He sighed, “I guess after everything that has happened… I was upset. I don’t want to say you wouldn’t understand – that feels too cruel.”

Sophia hummed.

“Well, human feelings are complicated,” she said, “I know this from my brief experience in Kuroda’s palace – sometimes people will just sit on those bad feelings and let them fester until they explode.”

“So, is that how Palace’s are made?”

“It’s an oversimplification,” Sophia explained, “having bad feelings doesn’t make you a bad person – but those feelings can be easily corrupted. Apathy, entitlement, greed… All come from those well intentioned bad feelings. All having festered until there’s nothing left but a shell.”

Yusuke frowned.

“Oh, also,” Sophia said, “you got a text message. It’s from someone called… Mayazumi?”

Yusuke immediately rushed to the phone to check his messages. After only a few days without messaging, he was surprised he got one from Mayazumi this quickly.

Mayazumi: OMG I’m so sorry I didn’t talk to you at all!

Mayazumi: Fucking pigs probably have an eye on me for ‘breaking the rules’ or whatever

Mayazumi: Anyway - how’s your first week been in Tokyo? Ohya treating you well?

Yusuke smiled.

Yusuke: My first week in Tokyo has been fine - I’ve made some friends

Yusuke: I’m currently living in the attic of Ohya’s cafe

Mayazumi: WHAT THE FUCK

Mayazumi: Oh, I swear when I get that woman on the line, she’s gonna have a piece of my mind

Yusuke: She says it's because her place is ‘too crowded’ at the moment

Mayazumi: Ah.

Mayazumi: Well, it’s frustrating anyway - but I know you can handle it. You’re a tough kid

She’s right, you know.

Yusuke sighed. “Thank you, Kuranosuke, for your input.”

You’re welcome. But you do underestimate your inner strength. After all - how else would you be able to hold two Personas in yourself?

“...I’m just lucky.”

The noise that entered Yusuke’s ears sounded like a combination of off-key trumpet playing and someone having stubbed their toe with a chainsaw. Yusuke grit his teeth in response to Kuranosuke’s expression of discomfort.

“What?” Yusuke remarked, “it’s true. I’m not some sort of… Chosen one.”

You’re kidding me, right? You’re literally called ‘The Trickster’ by most people who know of your talents. You convinced Akechi to stand up for himself. I truly believe this is the start of your journey.

Yusuke paused, unable to think of a response.

You do realise that not only am I in your head, but that you’ve been talking to yourself for about half a minute in front of Sophia?

Yusuke looked awkward.

“Uh…” He paused, before turning to his phone, “sorry, Sophia.”

Sophia shrugged, “I just assume this is another part of humanity that I’m not supposed to understand.”

Yusuke: I’ll try my best, Mayazumi

Mayazumi: That’s good! I never doubted you for a second

Mayazumi: And about those friends - I assume you’re hanging out with what they would say are the ‘correct people’?

Yusuke frowned, thinking about how he should respond to the message. On the one hand; Shujin had already decided that Akechi was a delinquent due to him fighting back against Kuroda when she sexually assaulted her. On the other hand; Akechi had been nothing but nice to him since he arrived at Shujin - aside from that brief period where they didn’t know each other that well. Although they also weren’t on a first name basis with each other yet.

Yusuke: What do you mean by “correct people”?

Mayazumi: You know - good influences

Mayazumi: I used to be a delinquent as well, I know they value you hanging around those types of people

Mayazumi: You know, forgetting that we’re all dumb teenagers

Yusuke: In that case - then yes

Yusuke: My new friend is a member of the school’s baseball team

A half truth, but still.

Mayazumi: Oh! I didn’t know Shujin had a baseball team!

Mayazumi: I knew they had a really good volleyball team, headed by an Olympic gold medalist and everything

Mayazumi: But I think the team had to shut down because the coach ended up in a coma?

Yusuke’s eyes widened.

“A coma?” He repeated.

Sophia looked at the text message on the screen.

“Do you want me to look up the information for you?” She asked.

“You can do that?” Yusuke asked. Sophia nodded.

“Yup,” she grinned, “don’t worry - I won’t go too far, no snooping in private information.”

Considering Sophia had been reading the entire text conversation, Yusuke was tempted to make some sort of comment. However, he didn’t want to look a gift horse in the mouth - or in this case, a gift AI in the mouth. He nodded.

“Alright,” he said, “go for it.”

Sophia saluted and vanished off the screen, leaving Yusuke to text Mayazumi back.

Yusuke: Just shows how much Shujin values their reputation

Yusuke: I hadn’t heard about that until you told me just then

Mayazumi: Huh. That’s strange

Mayazumi: Shujin Academy highly values sports - I would’ve thought that a comatose coach would’ve been top priority

Mayazumi: But hey, what do I know?

Mayazumi: Anyway, I’ll get out of your hair for now

Mayazumi: Don’t start any fires, okay?

Yusuke: I can’t make any promises, but I’ll try my best

Mayazumi: That’s my boy

Once Yusuke had finished texting Mayazumi, Sophia reappeared on the screen, almost floating.

“I have the data right here,” she said, summoning a screen to her hands and stretching it out to fill the whole screen.

It was an article from the Tokyo Nikkan from the previous year;

OLYMPIAN TURNED TEACHER LEFT COMATOSE FROM ACCIDENT

Olympic gold medalist and teacher at Shujin Academy, Mr Kamoshida Suguru, was found unconscious Friday morning in his Shibuya home.

Kamoshida was famed for his success in the 1996 Summer Olympic Games, leading the Ryujin Nippon team to gold. However, there were rumors surrounding Mr Kamoshida involving his misconduct against television reporter Nakashima Kanami, as well as an alleged sexual assault involving the Japanese team’s chiropractor, Hiyori Miruki.

Although these rumors had been assumed to be fabricated in order to damage Kamoshida’s reputation, the attack on him and his current comatose state has been reported to be associated with Kamoshida’s supposed crimes.

“According to the article,” Sophia explained, “there were also no signs of entry to his house - no footprints, fingerprints… No evidence of an attack.”

“But when the hospital did an x-ray of Kamoshida’s brain…” She continued, “it appeared as though he had a stroke. None of this lines up with Kamoshida’s health before the accident. It appears as though his mind just… Stopped.”

Yusuke swallowed.

“Do you think it’s because of the mental shutdown incidents?” Yusuke said, causing Sophia to pause.

“That was also what I was going to warn you and Akechi of,” Sophia said, “while bringing Kuroda to justice is a noble goal… There’s the potential to accidentally remove all her desires, not just the distorted ones. Her will, her inner strength…”

“We could cause a mental shutdown?” Yusuke’s eyes widened, “why didn’t you tell us that sooner?”

“I was unsure when to say anything,” Sophia explained, “we’d just witnessed Akechi’s awakening, and I knew that the pair of you needed to get out of the Palace as soon as possible. Then - because Akechi was so focused - I decided against telling either of you about the threat of mental shutdowns.”

She pouted, folding her arms, “mostly because I wasn’t sure if Akechi would be stubborn enough to keep going or not.”

Yusuke doubted the idea of accidentally making Kuroda brain dead would’ve stopped Akechi from continuing to pursue the Palace, if that’s what Sophia was worried about. However, he was fairly certain that she wasn’t worried about Akechi. She was worried about him. Yusuke frowned.

“To be honest…” He paused, trying to rack his brain for a potential response.

Just tell her the truth, Yusuke.

Kuranosuke’s encouragement of him caused Yusuke to sigh, pinching the bridge of his nose.

“I do still want to continue with this plan,” Yusuke said, “no matter the potential threat. I just… I don’t want her to become a martyr.”

Sophia hummed.

“Well,” she said, “you can ask Akechi what he thinks. Then we can all sleep on it.”

“You sleep?”

Sophia nodded.

“I hope you’ll take up the offer anyway,” she said, as a notification popped up on Yusuke’s screen.

Akechi: Hey is this Kitagawa Yusuke?

Yusuke: Yes

Akechi: Oh thank God. I was about to freak out about revealing our secret to everyone

Akechi: bc look here

He sent a screenshot of his phone’s homepage. Yusuke looked to see the familiar red app with a black pupil on it - the Metaverse navigator. He thought back to what Igor had said about the app - Should there be others who prove beneficial to this mission, I shall grant the navigator to them as well.

Yusuke: There is is - the Metaverse Navigator

Yusuke: Have you tried to delete it?

Akechi: Do you really think that I’m that stupid?

Akechi: I feel like if I deleted it, the app would just come back

Yusuke: Ah.

Yusuke: Well, I have some news from Sophia. Apparently if we mishandle stealing Kuroda’s heart, she has the potential to have a mental shutdown

Akechi: …Oh my God

Akechi: That’s… That’s a lot of responsibility

Akechi: I mean - I know I’m perfectly okay with her having a mental shutdown, but idk what you think

Yusuke: I’m not sure either. I’ll sleep on it tonight

Akechi: Alright - we’re still talking to Magario and Isshiki tomorrow, right?

Yusuke: Yes

Yusuke: Hopefully that will get us more information on what Kuroda is doing

Akechi: If not… We may have to risk Mishina

Akechi: That’s probably going to be harder than talking to Isshiki or Magario

Akechi: He’s practically attached to Kuroda by the hip

Yusuke: Makes sense, considering that he’s her new favourite victim

Akechi: Yeah…

Akechi: Anyway, I have to get some rest

Akechi: It’s a big day tomorrow

Yusuke: Alright, good night Akechi

Yusuke turned off his phone for the night, and sighed, resting in his bed. The potential of a mental shutdown scared him - especially considering he was fairly sure the police could trace the mental shutdown back to him or Akechi… However, it almost felt worth it.

Tomorrow was the baseball tournament, and Yusuke was excited to finally get through to Futaba and Kana… If he could, of course.

Chapter Text

April 13th, 20XX

The day of the baseball tournament had come around, and all the students of Shujin Academy were sitting on the outside courtyard in their sports uniforms. The girl’s baseball team were up against Kuroda and her carefully chosen team of teachers - but it really didn’t matter. Kuroda and her team were going to win. It was just another notch on Kuroda’s belt.

Futaba sat, cross legged, wishing she had smuggled her phone from the classroom to this farce of a tournament. Kana was defending the second base position, but with Kuroda as the main batter of the teacher’s team, even having a player like her on the students’ side would make this game basically Kuroda’s from the start.

And the other players knew this. They weren’t even trying to move. Mishina - Kuroda’s number one sycophant - had been made the umpire. And Futaba - considered by many to be sycophant number two - watched from the sidelines as Kuroda ran rings around all the pitchers that lacked experience against adult players.

Kana was trying to fight back, but it was essentially an exercise in public humiliation. All Futaba - and the other students - could do was watch.

They had just started the 6th inning - with both teams having played both offensively and defensively - and Futaba was trying not to look like she was staring at Kana. There was nowhere else to look but the second base, where Kana was standing, legs bent, hand outstretched ready to catch the ball.

The first year pitcher’s legs looked like jelly as she  threw the ball towards Kuroda’s bat. She struck the ball, and it flew into the distance. Quickly, she began running from base to base, but the ball had managed to land in Kana’s hand.

Just when Futaba thought that Kana was going to tap Kuroda on the shoulder, forcing her out of the game for the first time… Kuroda shoulder-checked Kana, knocking her to the grass. Futaba gasped and raced over to the field. Meanwhile, Kuroda nodded at Mishina, ordering him to stop the game.

“Oh my God, I’m so sorry!” Kuroda exclaimed, “are you okay, Magario-chan?”

Kana struggled to a sitting position, and Futaba noticed a shiner was slowly starting to appear over her right eye. Kuroda gasped dramatically.

“Can someone take her to the nurse’s office?” She exclaimed, “we’ll have a quick recess.”

One of Kana’s teammates managed to make it to her before Futaba got there, as the rest of the softball teams dispersed. However, Futaba noticed that Yusuke and Akechi had also begun to disperse, and began to listen in on their conversation as they walked past her.

“That hit was on purpose, wasn’t it?” Akechi asked. He received a nod from Yusuke in response.

“She isn’t even trying to hide it,” Yusuke said, “she immediately targeted Magario, and had the gall to ask if she was okay…”

“She’s rotten,” Akechi frowned, before turning to face Futaba. “Isn’t that right, Isshiki-san?”

Futaba blinked in surprise.

“Huh?” She then shook her head, in shock, “what did I say about staying away from the baseball team?”

“Technically speaking, you’re not on the baseball team,” Yusuke said, folding his arms, “but your friend is. And you didn’t go to the nurse’s office with her when you had the chance. Was there a reason for that?”

“Wh-What, is this some sort of interrogation?!” Futaba exclaimed, “I mean, you would have experience with that - y’know, ‘cause of your criminal record and all!”

Yusuke’s eyes narrowed, as Akechi - quite rarely for him - decided to play ‘good cop’.

“Okay, maybe let’s not bring the whole ‘criminal record’ thing into this,” He said, “besides, the whole school already knows about this.”

He cleared his throat.

“Is there anyone else on the team being hurt?” Akechi asked, “Or is it just Magario-san?”

Futaba pouted, folded her arms, and looked away.

“I don’t have to tell you guys anything.” She said, and began to walk off to the nurse’s office.

As Futaba walked off, she tried to ignore the mutterings of the students around her. It was always the same old shit - now doubled thanks to Akechi and Yusuke talking to her and them all being spotted. The Shujin Academy Rumor Mill seemed to only increase.

“Well, there goes Easy Isshiki again. Thinkin’ ‘cause she has a ViewTube channel means she’s somehow hot shit.”

“Did you see her talking to the delinquent transfer student earlier? Looks like someone wants to have her way with the bad boy…”

“I thought he was a lock for Ms. Kuroda! Honestly, I’m not surprised Isshiki stole him from her.”

“Do you think they’ve screwed already? Maybe we should stay away from the locker rooms - who knows what kind of gross shit they’ll get up to behind closed doors.”

Futaba would’ve loved to speak up, argue against the rumors. However, she knew that it was Kuroda’s word against hers - no one would believe a scrawny, geeky teenager over the beloved softball coach. Especially in regards to physical abuse.

What happened to Kana was not a one-time only thing. It had happened to several other female students. Kuroda could easily make it look like an accident. Maybe, she could make it look like she was just a rough player…

Or that Kana wasn’t good enough to be in a starting lineup. Futaba’s eyes widened at the thought.

She sighed, and entered the nurse’s office. Behind her were Yusuke and Akechi, doing a very terrible attempt at stealth. Yusuke was hiding behind a potted plant, and Akechi was leaning against a wall, pretending to look down at the floor.

“Okay, genius,” Akechi muttered, “how is this plan supposed to work again?”

“We listen in on Isshiki’s conversation with Magario,” Yusuke remarked, “hopefully we’ll get somewhere.”

Akechi nodded, “right… I should’ve brought something to do…”

“She really did a number on you, didn’t she?”

Futaba’s voice interrupted Akechi’s murmurings, causing both teens to listen intently to their conversation.

“Taba… I’m fine,” Kana’s voice groaned, to which Futaba snorted.

“Yeah, right,” she said, “you got a pretty nasty black eye. How’d the ground taste?”

“Like grass,” Kana responded, “I think I’m gonna be picking grass outta my mouth for the next couple of days.”

“Well, at least it's not fertilizer.”

Kana sighed, “yeah… The rumors about that will last for weeks…”

It was clear that the comment changed the tone of the conversation. Kana’s mood appeared to shift as she spoke, her voice becoming more somber.

“How do you deal with all these… Rumors?” Kana asked, “I can’t seem to make heads or tails of anything, but you don’t let anything affect you. It’s like… Water off a duck’s back.”

While the door was only open a crack, Yusuke noticed from behind the potted plant he was standing behind that Futaba’s expression appeared slightly uncomfortable, like she was hesitant to answer Kana’s question.

“Uh… Well…” Futaba said, “I’m used to it. You remember back in elementary school, where I memorised all the library books in one glance? No one believed me - and when I told them what I did, they said I was a freak.”

“Yeah, and I stood up for you,” Kana smiled, “all that time saying ‘good morning’ to you paid off.”

Futaba chuckled, but it was clear that she was still uncomfortable. Then she paused, looking out the crack of the door.

“That potted plant hasn’t always been there.”

Oh no. The noise that came out of Yusuke’s mouth was a rather undignified squeak, as Futaba left the nurse’s office and dragged Yusuke up by the wrist inside.

“If you’re gonna spy on us,” she said, “you might as well do it from close up - you too, Akechi.”

Akechi groaned, following Yusuke and Futaba into the nurse’s office, “that defeats the whole purpose of spying…”

When the trio entered the nurse’s office - or re-entered in Futaba’s case - Yusuke finally got a look at Kana. She was fairly short and lithe, with light brown hair tied into a pair of braids and hazel eyes. She held a wet rag over her bruised eye.

She looked like an ordinary school girl - not attractive, not unattractive, just… Normal.

Which was what made Kuroda’s apparent jealousy towards her and Futaba all the more insidious.

Futaba sighed.

“Kana, this is Akechi and Kitagawa,” she said, glaring at the two boys, “they decided to listen in on our conversation.”

Kana snorted, “they probably don’t have anything to do if they’re trying to listen to us.”

She turned to face Yusuke.

“You’re not missing much, just general gossip,” she said, “just two girls shooting the shit - nothing important.”

“How’s your eye?” Yusuke asked.

Kana adjusted the wet rag over her eye.

“Getting better,” she said, “but according to everyone at Shujin Academy - you’ve seen worse.”

“I call bullshit on that,” she smirked, “every day it seems like a new story has come out about you. Last week, a guy in my homeroom said that you’d taken part in a drug smuggling organisation.”

Yusuke noted the embarrassed expression on Futaba’s face when she mentioned that.

“Taken part?” Yusuke said, “Why didn’t they go all the way with the rumor and say I was the head of the operation?”

“I can’t believe you’re offended by this,” Akechi muttered.

Kana burst into laughter.

“That’s what I said!” She gasped, “y’know, considering all the shit people are saying about you, I’m surprised they only went with ‘working’ for them.”

She looked over at Yusuke, a smile on her face.

“The rumors are hard enough to deal with,” she continued, “even when they don’t make you look like the one in charge, right?”

Yusuke nodded, “indeed - I believe all four of us have had to deal with rumors at one point or another.”

He looked over at Futaba, who was awkwardly fiddling with her hair, looking ready to flee. Then, Yusuke looked over at Akechi, who stood up rigidly. Kana shrugged.

“I mean, I’m not gonna tell you that the rumors are going to ‘go away’,” Kana said. “I know that they don’t… But you know Futaba, right? She doesn’t let those rumors affect her. She still keeps going.”

Futaba put her head in her hands.

“Sure… Talk about me like I’m not in the room.”

Kana smiled, “hey, it’s a compliment. You’re resilient. Not many people would be able to handle Kuroda as well as you.”

As soon as her name was mentioned, an uncomfortable chill entered the room. Kana looked down, almost shocked that she had said too much. Futaba tried to look away, pretending that she couldn’t see her friend once the words left her mouth. Akechi and Yusuke quickly looked over at each other.

“Is Kuroda…” Akechi said, his voice soft, “Is she… Hurting you?”

Kana frowned.

“I mean… Everyone saw it so why hide it?” She nodded, “yeah, but it isn’t that big of a deal. I think this bruise is the only injury I’ve gotten from her in the last month or so.”

“I’m not the only one she’s hurting,” Kana added, “it isn’t that big of a deal. A third year girl - Sakurada, I think her name was - she moved schools ‘cause of how bad Kuroda’s abuse was. I think one day, she showed up to practice covered in bruises from head to toe. Just one black eye doesn’t have as big of an impact.”

Futaba glared at Akechi and Yusuke.

“There. You happy?”

“Not really?”

“Good,” Futaba said, “why don’t you just leave us? I’m sure Kuroda’s gonna come to pick up Kana for the next part of the game. And besides. Having two boys in the nurse’s office with her might start more whispers.”

Reluctantly, the pair left the nurse’s office.

“Well…” Akechi said, “that proves it.”

Yusuke glared, “really? That’s all you wanted to know?”

“Come on, we didn’t know Kuroda was abusing Magario!” Akechi exclaimed, “that conversation we just had is all the evidence we needed.”

“And now Isshiki hates us both, well done.”

“She already hated me anyway,” Akechi claimed, “and besides, we weren’t really friends before this. But I know she’s pissed at me for standing up to Kuroda.”

“Why’d she be upset at you for that?”

Akechi shrugged, “because it made her life harder. Kuroda’s ‘favourite’ punching bag was gone, and now it was just her and Magario.”

Yusuke frowned. He didn’t believe that Futaba actually thought that – after all, she seemed sympathetic towards Yusuke for losing his criminal record. However, he quickly realised that Akechi was wrong.

“Wait,” Yusuke turned to face Akechi, “what about Mishina?”

“What about him?”

“You mentioned yesterday that he was Kuroda’s own personal sex slave,” Yusuke continued, “he must have some information.”

Akechi pursed his lips, frowning as he looked down.

“I mean sure…” He paused, “but I don’t think you’re going to get anything out of him - at all.”

“Why not?”

“Do you remember what I said - about how Kuroda grooms you?” Akechi asked, “It’s likely that Mishina doesn’t think what Kuroda is doing is wrong at all – she’s probably giving him all this attention that he doesn’t normally get.”

Yusuke frowned. This entire mission was becoming much harder. It appeared as though the entire school was against them - and they most likely were. After all, Kuroda was beloved. And who was going to believe the boy that she made a martyr and the delinquent transfer student?

At this point, Mishina was their only option. Yusuke sighed.

“Where do you think he is?”

It took the pair until after the baseball tournament was finished in order to find Mishina. And as to be expected, he was leaving the P.E. faculty office. He looked rather nervous, looking over his shoulder, as if trying to see if anyone was watching him. When he noticed Yusuke and Akechi approaching, he immediately went on the defensive.

“Hey!” He called, “what were you doing in the Nurse’s Office with Magario?!”

The accusation felt like it hit Yusuke square in the chest. Akechi folded his arms.

“Look, can’t we just go and help a friend?” He asked. “After all, Magario got hurt - we were just checking if she was fine.”

“Oh, sure,” Mishina rolled his eyes, “that definitely explains why Kitagawa was carrying around a potted plant and trying to hide himself.”

Yusuke’s face went red.

“Th-That didn’t work, did it?”

Akechi facepalmed. Mishina glared.

“I know what you two are trying to do,” he said, his voice harsh, “you’re trying to make Kuroda look bad - and you’re gonna assault Magario to make her look bad.”

Akechi’s eyes narrowed.

“Gee, I don’t know where you got that idea from,” he snarled, “maybe it’s because Kuroda’s mouth is so far around your dick you can’t even think straight!”

“Akechi!” Yusuke gasped in shock.

“Oh, don’t blame me,” Akechi continued, his voice taking on an almost mocking tone, “maybe you’re too brainwashed by her to realise that what she’s doing is wrong, or maybe, just maybe - you enjoy the feeling of having an older woman on top of you!”

“That’s not what it is!” Mishina exclaimed, “I don’t want you to sully Kuroda’s good name!”

“Sully it? She’s done enough work on that herself!”

“You’ve been spreading false information about her for months now!” Mishina claimed, “she told me you fondled her!”

Suddenly, the air around the group went cold. Yusuke’s stomach dropped, as Akechi walked towards Mishina, and grabbed him by the shoulders, slamming him into the wall.

“Listen here, you little shit–”

“Akechi!” Yusuke pulled Akechi back from Mishina’s shoulders, “calm down. Remember why we came here.”

“I don’t understand why you hate her,” Mishina said, still a bit shellshocked from Akechi’s sudden show of aggression, “she’s been nothing but good to us. The only person she’s screwed over is you!”

He gestured to Yusuke.

“She even gave Kitagawa a second chance after Isshiki leaked his record!”

Yusuke blinked in surprise.

“Isshiki did… What?”

Mishina nodded, “yeah. She leaked your record. Probably was scared of Kuroda taking away all your attention.”

The information about Futaba leaking his record nearly caused Yusuke to faint on the spot. The fact that Mishina gave them that information with pure disdain… It was obvious that Kuroda’s grooming had gotten in and under. It was exactly what Akechi had feared when they got to this point.

As Mishina walked off, Akechi slammed his hand against the wall, causing Yusuke to flinch.

“This is just… So frustrating!” He growled, running his hands through his hair, “it’s like we can’t win! She’s always one step ahead of us… What the hell are we supposed to do?”

Yusuke took out his phone, and looked at Sophia.

“Sophia?” He asked, “you’re being oddly quiet.”

“Oh, I was just getting some rest,” Sophia said, “did I miss anything from your… information gathering attempt?”

“We’ve got nothing,” Akechi frowned, “well, nothing new. We know now that not only is Magario a target of Kuroda’s abuse…”

“We also know that Isshiki was the one to leak my record,” Yusuke said, “But I don’t think she did it of her own accord.”

Akechi blinked.

“What are you thinking?”

“I believe Kuroda forced her to do it.”

Chapter Text

April 13th, 20XX

“So… Why would Kuroda force Isshiki to leak your record?” Sophia asked upon Yusuke arriving back at Yongen-Jaya that evening.

“I’m not sure,” Yusuke said, “but she did seem apologetic when I brought it up. I don’t think it was ever her decision - rather a decision Kuroda forced her to make.”

And considering Kuroda was willing to give Kana a black eye… Yusuke had an idea of what the ultimatum Kuroda gave Futaba was. If you don’t do this for me, I will hurt your friend. It was horrific - the fact that Kuroda was using Kana as a bargaining chip. However, Yusuke’s thoughts were interrupted by his phone buzzing.

Akechi: Hey. Do you remember hearing that Isshiki had a ViewTube channel?

Yusuke: Yes. It seems strange that people would mention it so openly.

Akechi: Well… I found the channel. I’ll send you the link to her most recently published stream.

Akechi: But specifically, check the live chat.

Akechi then proceeded to send Yusuke the stream - Futaba, under the username Alibaba, was streaming a recently released hero shooter called Heroes Rising. She was dressed in an oversized hoodie, her red hair covered by the hood and the lower half of her face covered by a surgical mask to conceal her identity. Her voice was muffled when she spoke, even into a microphone.

“Alright, we’re gonna pwn some n00bs today, nyehehehe…” She chuckled, selecting a rather scantily clad female character, “Seraphim’s the best character - she’s so fast and does a lot of damage… Hopefully, whatever team I get stuck with has a healer, but I might have to pick a back up just in case.”

However, Yusuke noticed the chat function on the left of the stream was exploding with multiple comments, all from different accounts that lacked icons and had usernames made up of a variety of numbers.

KYS you whore

titties plz

ur such a skank

y r u even playing this game ur only doing it to get attention

i wanna see whats under that hoodie

Yusuke swallowed.

“They just keep coming.” He muttered, “one message after another… But they all seem to come from accounts that were made recently.”

“I can check the IP addresses if you want?” Sophia asked, as Yusuke nodded.

“That would be excellent.”

He then texted Akechi.

Yusuke: Sophia’s checking the IP addresses of the comments

Yusuke: If my hunch is correct, I doubt we’ll even need to know who these comments are from.

Akechi: Wait… Is your hunch that Kuroda is harassing Isshiki over stream as well?

Yusuke: Indeed

Akechi: It does seem like something she would do - but would she really go to all that effort just to harass one student?

As if by fate, Sophia returned.

“All the IP addresses go back to the same place,” she explained, “Shujin Academy.”

Yusuke’s eyes widened in response to that.

Yusuke: It gets worse

Akechi: Oh God, how can it get worse?

Yusuke: Turns out all of the comments this person has made were sent from Shujin Academy

Akechi: She’s been cyberbullying Isshiki from Shujin???

Yusuke: Apparently so

Akechi: I shouldn’t even be surprised about that

Akechi: Shujin Academy seems to be the only place Kuroda has power. Which is weird

Akechi: She only gets away with this shit because her targets are teenagers who can’t fight back

Akechi: And because she was apparently very successful in baseball. She won the JD League trophy in 03 with the Takasaki Bee Queens

Akechi: But after that - her career goes blank. It was like the only thing she could do was go back to her old school and basically act like a high school mean girl

Yusuke: Wait, what do you mean by ‘her career goes blank’?

Akechi: Well, for starters, she doesn’t even have a Wikipedia page

Akechi: And everything I’ve looked up about her baseball career stops at the 04-05 series

Yusuke paused. It’s almost like her career stopped. Something must’ve happened to cause Kuroda’s career to end and her to be desperate enough to become a high school gym coach. And whatever it was, it probably wasn’t pretty. It would be likely that the pair would find out in the Palace…

However, Yusuke had no idea when he was going to go back there. Whenever he was, he had to be prepared for anything. Even if that ‘anything’ was finding out something that he truly didn’t want to admit;

There’s a concept known as “hurt people hurt people”. Defined as a poignant phrase that reveals the truth - even if a lot of people consider it ‘too simplistic’ and giving others an excuse for their actions. Yusuke was hesitant to believe that Kuroda was also hurt, but the fact that her career was practically erased following her first and only JD league trophy, and with everything Yusuke now knew about Kamoshida…

He was now starting to believe that unfortunate truth could be the case. Maybe Kuroda herself was abused.

But that was something to mull over another day. For now, he was going to sleep, and think about his and Akechi’s next move.

Upon finally falling asleep, Yusuke reawoke to the familiar, carnival interior of the Velvet Room. Igor sat at his redwood desk, with Agatha standing next to him, trying to look aloof in her silly jester outfit.

“We meet again, Trickster,” Igor greeted.

Yusuke sighed.

“Am I ever going to get a full night’s sleep?” He asked.

Agatha pinched the bridge of her nose.

“Remember what we said when you first arrived here?” She asked. “Your body is asleep. Pay attention next time.”

“Sure thing, jester.”

Agatha glared and Yusuke smirked. Igor seemed to be enjoying this.

“I’d like to give you another congratulations on making it to the next step of your rehabilitation,” Igor explained, “forming allies. Others - who, like you - are isolated from the rest of the world, left behind and trapped by the apathy and greed of those in power. These people will either come to you for help, or you can seek them out on your own. The choice is yours.”

“But you’re not just helping people for the sake of your own journey,” Agatha interrupted, “that just makes you as bad as those who have exploited others.”

“...So, it’s just making friends?” Yusuke asked.

Agatha nodded, “that’s a bit of an oversimplification but sure. Making friends.”

“These bonds must come from a place of commonality,” Igor continued, “not be superficial and only formed for your own benefit. Finding those that share your ideals will be a challenging feat. But don’t fret – you can always find friends in high and low places.”

Yusuke frowned. Sure, he had befriended Akechi… But that felt more like a fluke. He was well aware that a lot of people would see him as… Strange. Offputting even. Maybe even a bit of a weirdo. He noticed that Agatha - almost unnaturally for her - gave him a look of concern.

“Is everything alright, Trickster?” She asked, her voice shockingly soft. “You seem… Uncertain.”

“...Well…” Yusuke paused, not wanting to say his concerns to Agatha.

She, however, seemed to predict why he was uncomfortable.

“If this has anything to do with you feeling like you’re ‘not worth’ being friends with,” she said, “just get it over and done with so I can give you a pep talk, or whatever you humans need in this instance.”

“I don’t need a ‘pep talk’,” Yusuke claimed, causing Agatha to snort.

“Sure, Trickster,” she said, “but I believe you’ll have a lot more on your plate than your own insecurities. Besides - you already have one connection. How hard could making other connections be?”

“Very,” Yusuke responded.

Agatha glared.

“That was a hypothetical question, Trickster.”

“Apologies for misunderstanding.”

The sound of a familiar ding echoed in Yusuke’s ears. Igor leant in, smiling.

“It seems that we have used up all our time tonight,” he said, “I suggest you ruminate on this conversation… I truly believe that you will be successful in your endeavours.”

Yusuke frowned, starting to feel his body go drowsy.

April 14th, 20XX

At lunch the next day, Yusuke was met outside of class by Kana.

“Oh, hey! Kitagawa-kun!” She greeted, cheerfully.

“How’s your eye?” Yusuke asked, looking her up and down.

Yusuke wasn’t a doctor, but he had a brief idea of how bruises worked – they changed colour and took a few days to heal. The bruise around Kana’s eye was still dark, appearing black and purple as if it had been fresh. It was clear that the water and ice applied the previous day didn’t do much to heal the injury, but Kana seemed to be smiling through the pain - that is, if the bruise still hurt.

Kana shrugged.

“Could be worse! It’s tingling, but it’s not in complete pain,” she said, “anyway! I just wanted to ask, as like… A peace offering for yesterday if you and Akechi-kun would like to join me and Futaba for lunch? I-In the cafeteria. Uh… I understand if this would be awkward…”

Yusuke paused, and suddenly heard his phone buzz. Sophia sprung to life, loudly exclaiming into the air in a way that if she wasn’t silent to anyone that wasn’t in the Metaverse, the entire student body would’ve heard her.

“Hey! This can be your chance to get more information on Kuroda!” She shouted.

Yusuke nodded.

“Alright. I haven’t been to the cafeteria here,” he said, “can you lead the way?”

Kana nodded. “Sure thing!”

For the last couple of days, Yusuke had been having lunch on the roof with Akechi - aside from that brief exploration into the baseball team, which he regretted doing even if it did give him more information on Kuroda’s indiscretions.

Kana began to walk Yusuke towards the cafeteria, and upon arriving, Yusuke noticed Futaba dragging Akechi into the room by the ear.

“Hey!” Akechi exclaimed, “are you about to rip my ear off?! What the hell are you doing?!”

“You really think this is easy for me?” Futaba gaped in horror, “I had to walk on my toes the entire way here!”

Kana grit her teeth awkwardly. Yusuke tutted, shaking his head. The cafeteria almost immediately turned to face Futaba and Akechi, while Kana used the distraction to find a table and wave excitedly at Futaba. Futaba dragged Akechi towards the table, pulling out a chair and practically tossing him into it at full speed.

She then sat down next to Kana, placing her head in her hands.

“Why are we doing this again?” She sighed.

Yusuke looked at Futaba. She appeared paler than usual, with deep, black bags under her eyes, like she hadn’t slept in weeks. Her orange hair even appeared dull in the cafeteria light. Her eyes darted away every time Yusuke tried to look at her

“Because,” Kana said, “I noticed yesterday that we kind of got off on the wrong foot.”

“Yeah, because they were stalking us.” Futaba muttered, glaring at Akechi.

Akechi scoffed.

“We had to,” he said, “because you were being very unhelpful!”

“Why don’t we just… Not talk about Kuroda for now?” Kana suggested, interrupting Futaba and Akechi’s argument. “‘Cause like, you know it’s just an endless loop of just talking about how miserable we all are. And quite frankly, I would like a distraction from her. Besides, the whole school knows what she’s doing, it’s just no one has the guts to stop her.”

The entire group stopped for a second. Yusuke could almost hear a pin drop amongst the silence. He cleared his throat to stop the awkwardness.

“So, Magario,” he asked, “aside from softball, is there anything you’re interested in?”

Kana paused and began to fiddle with her pigtails.

“Well…” She hummed, “I like music. I played recorder when I was a kid… I was in a choir as well!”

“I also like reading,” she continued, “I used to spend a lot of time in the library before I joined the softball team. That was how I met Futaba in the first place, when we were in elementary school.”

Both Yusuke and Akechi turned to face Futaba, who was biting her thumb awkwardly. She tried to look away from the pair of them, as Kana continued to explain.

“Some older kids were picking on her for memorising book titles,” Kana said, “and I threatened to punch one of them in the nose if they didn't shut up. It worked. I’d been saying hello to her for months.”

She chuckled.

“Worth it.”

Futaba was fiddling with her hair and almost looked like she wanted to turn invisible. Yusuke looked over at her. She looked back, and put on a fake smile.

“Yeah…” She chuckled, awkwardly, “w-we’ve been friends since then…”

“You both seem very close,” Akechi said, “I mean, with you and her having been friends since elementary school and all.”

Kana nodded, “yeah, and we’ve been inseparable ever since!”

However, Yusuke noticed Futaba’s awkwardness only continued. She got up, cleared her throat, and muttered something about leaving to go to the bathroom. Yusuke also noticed that something had buzzed - it wasn’t Sophia on his phone. It was Futaba’s phone.

Yusuke looked over at Akechi, and opened up a vacuum flask of Ohya’s curry. Akechi bit into a sandwich. Kana sighed.

“She’s been like this for a few months now,” she muttered, “I don’t know why she’s been like this… It’s been hard to break through to her, but I’m not sure why. Even after practice… She doesn’t talk to me.”

Yusuke frowned, taking a bite of Ohya’s curry. Futaba had been distant from Kana? His eyes narrowed. He had an idea of who had to do with this. And that person was walking towards the table right now.

“Magario-chan…” The sacchirine voice of Kuroda echoed in Yusuke and Akechi’s ears.

As she walked towards the table, Kana’s posture altered. Her shoulders raised up, and her body appeared to tense. Kuroda smirked.

“We’re having a special lunchtime practice today,” she greeted, “aren’t you excited?”

“L-Lunchtime practice?”

“Well, after your performance yesterday…” Kuroda said, “I thought you might have needed some extra help. You’re so clumsy that you somehow got that black eye.”

Kana swallowed, as Kuroda continued.

“And besides, we can’t have our top star hanging around these delinquents," Kuroda mocked, “haven’t you noticed everyone’s watching you?”

Kana looked over her shoulder. There were whispers surrounding the table. Akechi glared at Kuroda.

“Aren’t you going to wait until her eye heals?” He asked, causing Kuroda to roll her eyes.

“She’ll be fine.” She said, “And besides, what’s the point of practice if Magario doesn’t show up? Come on, Magario-chan. We’re leaving.”

Kana paused. She took a deep breath in and nodded.

“Th-Thank you for this.” She said, bowing, as she left the table.

Akechi glared as Kuroda walked away with Kana.

“What a bitch.” He snarled, “Didn’t she notice that Magario was injured?”

“I don’t think she cared.” Yusuke frowned, “This seems to be just to increase her ego - did you see how she framed the injury?”

“‘An accident’.” Akechi mimed quotation marks as he sneered. “Acting like Magario can’t even perform without tripping over herself, when anyone can see that Kuroda knocked her over. She wasn’t even subtle about it!”

“I don’t think subtlety is in Kuroda’s vocabulary.”

Akechi frowned.

“I think the only thing we can do is…” He sighed, “Go back to that place.”

Yusuke’s phone buzzed in his pocket, and Sophia spoke up.

“Remember, you could be in danger of causing a mental shutdown.”

“At this point, who cares?” Akechi asked. “She’s caused enough trouble already.”

Yusuke looked away. He would need some time to think about this, especially because of what had happened with Kamoshida. He swallowed, and looked down.

“Can I think about this?”

Akechi nodded. “Sure thing, I mean, we also need to prepare - that place took a lot out of both of us.”

“Indeed,” Yusuke said. “So… We should go tomorrow.”

“Absolutely.”

The bell rang and the pair dispersed to their separate classrooms. However, once Yusuke arrived in his classroom, he noticed that Futaba wasn’t there. He frowned. He was starting to become worried about her.

But there wasn’t much he could do until tomorrow.

After school, Yusuke had taken the train back from Aoyama-Ichitome and was about to transfer on the Ginza Line to Yongen-Jaya, but…

“You have to be kidding me…”

A familiar voice caught his attention. He was about to take the escalator when he heard Futaba’s voice mutter into her phone.

“What?” She exclaimed, “H-Hey! This was your idea! I’ve done everything you’ve asked me, can’t you just… No, no, no, no, no…”

Her eyes widened as she looked down at her phone, as the person on the other end hung up. She gasped in shock.

“No…” Her eyes started to water, “Kana’s… Starting position?”

Yusuke began to approach Futaba, as she crumpled to the floor, raising her knees to her chest. He sat on the wall next to her, watching as she began to slowly cry.

“Isshiki?” Yusuke asked, “Are you alright?”

Immediately, Futaba placed her phone to her chest.

“Wh-What do you want?”

Yusuke noticed that Futaba’s chest was heaving, and her breath was hitched. She looked like she was on the cusp of an anxiety attack. It appeared that she was overwhelmed, her eyes darting back and forth. Then, suddenly, as Yusuke was looking at her, the waterworks tumbled out. She looked away from him, embarrassed, as Yusuke stood awkwardly, unsure of what to do. He looked around, and frowned.

“Let’s go somewhere private so you can talk.” He asked, “Is that alright?”

Futaba nodded, somewhat shakingly, as she sniffled. “I don’t understand you… But sure.”

Yusuke brought her to the Big Bang Burger restaurant on Central Street. He’d gotten a glass of water for Futaba - as she’d been crying so much that it seemed that she was nearly dehydrated - and Futaba frowned upon sitting down, still refusing to look Yusuke in the eyes. Eventually, once she calmed down from her panic attack, Futaba spoke up.

“Look, it doesn’t matter,” Futaba said, “You shouldn’t have heard that conversation anyway.”

“Was that about Kuroda?” Yusuke asked, causing Futaba to take a deep breath in.

She began to talk, but her voice was shaky.

“I-I think you know already that I leaked your record,” She began to explain, “A-And I’m sorry for that. B-But there’s a reason I’m doing this…”

She sighed.

“...Kuroda’s been harassing me for months now.” She began, “S-She found out about my channel and… And she… She framed it as like… Some sort of ‘sexual’ thing. Sh-She threatened to tell the principal… Sh-She threatened to ruin my life… I-If I didn’t help her with what she was doing…”

“I spread rumors about all these kids… She gave me all this blackmail material and forced me to use it against them… And then…” She sighed, “She noticed Kana was getting attention from some of the boys… A-And her attention moved from me to her. She started beating her during practice… You think the black eye was a one time only thing? She’s come back from practice covered in bruises, and I know why Kuroda’s doing it!”

Futaba sniffled, as Yusuke nodded.

“Go on.”

“She wants to destroy Kana!” Futaba exclaimed, “She wants to make her life hell, and I’m just sitting down and letting her, but now she’s threatening to take away Kana’s starting position if I don’t keep going, and I feel sick to my stomach! I can’t keep doing this!”

She slammed her hand down on the table.

“I just want Kana to be happy and successful, but that monster has made it impossible! Kana’s all I have at that damn excuse at the school! I don’t know what else to do, where else to turn! Is there anything I can do?!”

She then broke down into hot, wet tears, as Yusuke watched, confused and somewhat lost. He gripped his hand under the table, as Futaba wiped her eyes of the tears, clearly upset. She removed her glasses and wiped them with a napkin on the table, and looked up at Yusuke in surprise as she put them back on.

“Wow… I can’t believe I told you all that!” She gasped in surprise, “I… I mean… We have talked, and we are in the same class, but I don’t know much about you!”

She looked away.

“Well… Aside from the rumors Kuroda forced me to spread.”

“I guess… It makes it easier,” Yusuke said, “I lack any pretences towards you.”

“You might be right…” Futaba said, “Most people ignore me anyway… Sometimes worse.”

“You don’t seem like a bad person, Kitagawa.” She continued, “All the things I’ve heard about you ’round the school doesn’t make any sense. It makes me feel even more bad about leaking your record…”

“It’s alright.”

It wasn’t, but Yusuke didn’t want to say that to someone who was having a panic attack.

“You just seemed out of place,” Futaba said, “Like you didn’t belong anywhere. I feel like that… A lot of the time actually. That might be why you were so easy to talk to.”

She frowned. “There isn’t any way to help Kana, is there?”

“There could be.” Yusuke said, “You just have to believe.”

Futaba snorted, “Yeah right. But sure, I’ll take your advice.”

She frowned, looking down.

“I just wish… There was a way for Kuroda to disappear.” She continued, “Not just for me and Kana, but for everyone at the school. But that’s just a pipedream.”

“Anyway!” Futaba said, grabbing her bag and putting it on her shoulder, “I… I have to make like a tree! Thanks for cheering me up, Kitagawa.”

“You’re welcome.”

Once Futaba left, Yusuke followed suit, returning to Yongen-Jaya. The plan the next day would be to go to Kuroda’s Palace and figure out how to steal her heart… However, that would end up being the least of Yusuke’s problems.

Chapter Text

April 14th, 20XX

Kana was cornered in the bathroom.

Her breath was hitched and her eyes were watching as the older woman walked towards her. A right hook knocked Kana to the floor, before Kuroda picked her up again by her pigtails, practically dragging her back to her feet.

“You really think you can keep doing this?” Kuroda shouted, “walking around like some sort of skank? Getting all the boys to pay attention to you? You’re such a nightmare!”

Kuroda placed her in the sink, and turned the tap on. The water began to heat up rapidly.

Kana didn’t think that sink water could get this hot, but she assumed because of how much power Kuroda had, she could just mess around with the water boiler.

She felt the boiling water against her skin as Kuroda shoved her face beneath the boiling hot tap water and into the sink. Kana tried to fight back, but she felt the burning water ripple against her skin.

Kuroda was just laughing. It was clear that she took pleasure from this. She pulled Kana’s face out from under the faucet as Kana spat water from her mouth into the sink. She looked up and saw her face. She could barely open her left eye, the burn scarring running down the side of her face, as Kuroda laughed behind her.

“Not such a pretty face now!” Kuroda exclaimed, “that’ll teach you to hang around my boys - both you, and your e-slut friend!”

Kana winced in agony, struggling back to her feet. Kuroda smirked and placed something on the sink. Kana’s vision was blurred as she looked over, but she recognised the bright orange of a container of pills.

“Here’s a sedative,” Kuroda said. “Why don’t you finish yourself off?”

She then left the room, leaving Kana to herself. The pill bottle was almost taunting her, watching as she stumbled towards it. She looked at it, and thought of everything that had happened these last couple of weeks - the abuse had gotten worse, and Futaba had become more distant. Maybe the problem was her? Maybe things would be better if she just vanished?

She grabbed the pill bottle, and began to twist the cap.

April 15th, 20XX

When Yusuke arrived at school the next morning, the exterior of the school was crowded with students and teachers. His eyes widened. He walked up towards the crowd, almost as if looking for an explanation. Instead, what he got was a stretcher leaving the school, and a collection of students crowding around it.

Kana. Her face burnt and her breathing irregular. Standing next to her was Futaba, appearing rather panicked. She’d arrived before everyone else had - possibly Kana had called, but Yusuke wasn’t sure. He noticed tears streaking down her face, much like when they’d met up the previous evening.

Next to her was a third year student with curly auburn hair, dressed in a pink sweater over the uniform. She also appeared quite shell shocked, clearing her throat as the muttering from the students only continued.

“Um…” She spoke up, trying to sound stronger than she probably was, “,s. Magario was found unconscious in the girl’s bathroom this morning. P-Please stay outside and wait for further instructions from Principal Kobayakawa.”

She bowed, “thank you.”

“Is Magario-san okay?” A student whispered as the auburn haired student followed Futaba to the ambulance that had just arrived. “She looks half-dead.”

“Did the student council president find Magario’s body?”

“Dude, don’t say that! Magario’s not dead… Is she?”

“Do you think Akechi and Kitagawa had something to do with this? They have been hanging around Magario and Isshiki…”

Hearing his own name mentioned caused Yusuke to stop in his tracks. He looked over to see Akechi approaching, and it was clear he noticed the same thing. Akechi winced.

“Dammit…” He frowned, “do you think she’s going to be okay?”

Yusuke shrugged, “I’m not sure… Those burn marks on her face look abysmal.”

After a few minutes of silence, Principal Kobayakawa entered, clearly sweating from nerves.

“Uh… Uh… Uh…” He said, stuttering over his words, “class is still on today. Ms. Magario is on her way to the hospital, we are unsure if her condition will improve just yet… Uh… We’ll return  to the day’s normal schedule. Thank you.”

A girl was almost dead, and they just had to go back to class? Like normal? It was clear everyone else was shocked as they slowly entered the school building, walking up the stairs into class.

Even the teachers weren’t willing to do anything that day - Mr. Yoshida seemed even more zoned out than normal. The slut shaming that had plagued Kana and Futaba for as long as Yusuke had been at Shujin Academy was silenced… For now. Yusuke wasn’t expecting it to stay quiet. It was clear whatever happened had shook the school up…

After their morning class, Yusuke and Akechi met in the hallway.

“Hey, have you seen Mishina?” Akechi asked, and Yusuke shook his head.

“No, he wasn’t in class,” Yusuke explained, “where do you think he is?”

Akechi paused, and then gasped in surprise.

“Oh God…” He looked shocked, “he’s in the PE faculty room… Something tells me Kuroda’s doing a ‘victory lap’.”

Immediately, Yusuke and Akechi used the brief break between classes to run towards the PE faculty room. They raced up the stairs to the second floor and darted around the corner, ending up right in front of the faculty office to witness…

“No…”

Yusuke felt like he was going to be sick as he looked through the window. Kuroda was removing Mishina’s uniform. Before he could even warn Akechi about how stupid of a decision this was, Akechi pushed open the door.

“Hold it right there!” He shouted, causing Kuroda to raise her head.

Mishina flinched, trying to pull away from Kuroda, but her other hand was around his waist, holding him in place.

She scoffed, rolling her eyes.

“Ugh, you two again,” she said, “running from what you did to Magario-chan? Well, you won’t get away with that easily!”

“Wh-What we did?” Akechi asked, eyes wide.

“To Magario?”

Kuroda smirked.

“Oh, you dummies haven’t realised what you’ve done?” She asked, “Magario’s in a coma after her… Attempt. You’ve been bothering her for the last few days - the delinquent and the failure. There’s footage of you stalking her and harassing her the same day that she got injured. You know what this means, right?”

Akechi shook his head, nervously, “n-no…”

“It means the only evidence of why Magario attempted suicide is at your feet!” Kuroda exclaimed. “Don’t play dumb - this stunt is right up both of your alleys.”

She ran her fingers through Mishina’s hair.

“Ain’t that right, Mishina?”

Mishina - rather weakly - nodded in response. “Y-Yes… I saw them both…”

Akechi was seething. Before Yusuke could even think to shout something out to him, he rushed towards the pair and pulled Mishina off Kuroda, his hands brushing against Kuroda’s shoulders. Once Mishina was moved away, Kuroda tsked.

“Oh, Akechi,” she glared, “I thought you would’ve already learnt from last time - or do you want me to show off some ‘self defense’?”

Akechi took a few steps back as Yusuke grabbed him by the shoulders. Kuroda smirked.

“I see your friend is smarter than you,” Kuroda said. “Okay, let me make a deal, Akechi - you rejoin the baseball team, and I forget this ‘incident’ happened… Or both you and Kitagawa get expelled at the next faculty meeting.”

“Wh-What?!” Yusuke exclaimed, looking over at Akechi.

Neither option sounded good. Getting expelled would ruin Yusuke’s life… But dooming Akechi to the baseball team? It was like the world’s worst coin flip. Yusuke looked over at Akechi, who had steeled his gaze, trying not to look petrified. He took a deep breath in.

“No,” Akechi said, causing Kuroda to gape in shock.

“Oh, what a heartless friend you are!” Kuroda exclaimed, “do you not understand what will happen to Kitagawa if he gets expelled? I would’ve thought that Futaba’s record leaking did wonders.”

“But don’t worry,” Kuroda grinned, and it appeared downright unnatural on her face, “once I get rid of both of you, this school will be much better! Now, out of my office! Mishina and I have a… Discussion to get back to.”

The pair left as the door shut behind them, leaving Mishina at Kuroda’s mercy. Yusuke felt nauseous, his stomach swirling and his breath heavy. Akechi, on the other hand, had clenched his fists tightly. He turned to face Yusuke, eyes narrowed.

“We’re going back there,” he said. “Mental shutdown be damned. She has to go.”

Yusuke wouldn’t be asked twice.

It was announced that school would end early that day because of Kana’s suicide attempt. It was clear this was due to damage control - after all, Kana had attempted suicide in the school’s bathroom under suspicious circumstances. Shujin Academy was liable for a potential lawsuit. Yusuke and Akechi met in the courtyard, and Yusuke could tell Akechi was frustrated.

“This is so stupid…” Akechi muttered, “Magario’s in a coma, and we’re gonna get expelled for what? A baseless accusation of bullying?”

He slammed his hand against the vending machines, causing Yusuke to wince.

“We’re going back there,” he said, “I don’t care if we’re not ready yet - I want to make her pay!”

“That’s the spirit, Akechi!” Sophia exclaimed from the phone, “and what about you, Yusuke? Do you want to go back as well?”

Yusuke nodded, “yes. We’ve sat back idly for far too long - we have to do something about this.”

“Is getting rid of a Palace hard?” Akechi asked, to which Sophia paused.

“Uh, well…” She trailed off, before another voice interrupted their conversation.

“Are you guys getting expelled?”

A familiar voice alerted both Yusuke and Akechi to Futaba, who was standing in the courtyard. She’d been gone for most of the morning, and it was clear that she was distressed - her eyes still looked red from crying, and she was holding herself tightly. Gone was the peppy, upbeat attitude Yusuke had seen, replaced with pure melancholy. It was depressing.

“Everyone’s talking about it.”

Akechi frowned, looking Futaba up and down.

“You didn’t have to come all this way to tell us that, Isshiki,” he said, his voice somewhat harsh, “you’ve had a really rough day.”

“I know… But I don’t care!” Futaba exclaimed, “if you’re dealing with Kuroda, I want in! She’s been running this school for far too long - I’ve sat back and let it happen, and now that Kana’s comatose…”

She frowned, “I don’t want to let her down.”

Yusuke and Akechi looked at each other in silence. They were unsure if Futaba was able to summon a Persona - but Kana was her best friend. She was deeply traumatised by the accident, but she didn’t appear to have the potential. Although that could’ve been because they were in the real world, and there was no way to know.

“While that is a noble goal, Isshiki…” Yusuke said, “we don’t want you getting hurt… Or getting into trouble.”

Futaba rolled her eyes, “please! You really think I can’t take it?”

“No, it’s not that we don’t think you can take it.” Akechi responded, “it’s just that…”

His eyes went shifty for a moment, “you probably wouldn’t believe us if we told you.”

“And now I want you to tell me more!” Futaba scoffed, “what sort of shifty spy business have you got planned, huh?”

Both of the boys looked at each other awkwardly. They were hesitant to bring Futaba along, but… they both started thinking that this would be ideal for her. After all, she needed to get her emotions out about Kuroda - it would probably be cathartic for her.

Still, they didn’t know if she was able to summon a Persona, and they didn’t want to put her in danger.

Akechi sighed.

“Look, Isshiki,” he began, his voice slow, “we don’t think this is going to help you. We don’t want you to get hurt.”

And he walked away, with Yusuke in tow. Yusuke paused as his phone buzzed and Sophia spoke up.

“Should you maybe have… Not have walked away in such a way that she would be able to follow you?”

“Shit.”

“I doubt she’s going to follow us,” Yusuke claimed, “after all - today’s been a hard day for her.”

Akechi pursed his lips.

“You really think so?”

Yusuke nodded. “We’ll be fine.”

Akechi frowned.

“If you say so.”

Once class was over, the pair arrived in the alleyway near the school. Sophia appeared on Yusuke’s phone, and smiled.

“Alright, are we ready?”

Yusuke nodded, “indeed we are.”

“We have until the faculty meeting,” Akechi said, “so… We have to figure out how to change Kuroda’s heart. How do we do that, Sophia?”

“Well,” Sophia explained, “in order to do that - we need to find the treasure inside Kuroda’s Palace. It’ll be tricky, but I believe we’ll be able to get it by next week.”

Akechi sighed wistfully.

“Stealing treasure to change the hearts of corrupt adults…” He paused, “hey, wait, I have an idea. I’ll wait until we go in to talk about it.”

Yusuke nodded, and opened up the Metaverse navigator, returning them to the Palace. Once they arrived at the front of the castle, Yusuke turned to Akechi and was about to ask him what his idea was, when a loud gasp echoed in their ears.

“WHAT THE HELL–”

“And what did Sophia say about Isshiki following us here?” Akechi asked as Yusuke awkwardly looked away.

“I didn’t think she was actually going to!” He said.

Futaba approached.

“Where am I? Is this like some sorta VR attraction?”

She then paused, and looked at Yusuke and Akechi in shock.

“Akechi-kun? And Kitagawa?” She asked, “a-and… Who’s your friend in the white costume?”

“I’m Sophia, humanity’s companion!” Sophia greeted.

“R-Right… That explains so much…” Futaba muttered, before turning to face Yusuke and Akechi again.

“What is going on here?!”

“Look, we didn’t want you to follow us here,” Yusuke said, causing Futaba to roll her eyes.

“You walked off to the alleyway near school after saying some cryptic stuff!” Futaba exclaimed, “And does this have anything to do with what you want to do with Kuroda?”

Yusuke sighed, and began to walk over to Futaba, leading her out of the Metaverse.

“Wait, what?” She asked, “hold on, you aren’t gonna tell me what’s happening?”

“It’s a lot to take in,” Yusuke said. “After what happened, I think you’re not ready for this.”

 Futaba groaned, “ugh, seriously? I can handle it—“

“You could die here,” Yusuke interrupted, causing Futaba to pause in surprise. “You have no way to defend yourself. We can take care of this.”

Futaba sighed, “…alright.”

Once Futaba returned to the real world, Yusuke pressed the button once more, returning to the Metaverse. Akechi sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose as Yusuke approached.

“We need to be more careful next time,” he said, “we can’t afford to have anyone follow us here.”

“I doubt we’d be able to be that careful… We have to enter in a public place after all,” Sophia muttered, “but that doesn’t matter right now. Akechi, what were you going to suggest earlier?”

“Well,” Akechi paused, appearing quite embarrassed, “I was thinking that we should use codenames.”

Both Yusuke and Sophia looked at Akechi in confusion. He took a deep breath in and began to explain.

“Well… Uh…” He said, “we don’t know what will happen if we say our names in here - and besides, Kuroda already targeted us immediately after we left. We just have to be cautious.”

“Huh…” Sophia paused, “that actually sounds like a good idea! What would you suggest?”

Akechi tapped his chin, and hummed.

“Well… I was thinking of something like Ronin for you,” he gestured to Yusuke.

Yusuke paused.

“Isn’t that a little bit on the nose?”

Akechi folded his arms and looked away, flustered. However, Sophia had an idea.

“Why not Ace?” She suggested, “after all - you are our ace in the hole.”

“Ace, huh…” Yusuke - Ace - thought it over for a second and smiled. “That sounds good.”

He then turned to face Akechi.

“And for you?”

“I was thinking Karasu,” Akechi stated, as Ace nodded.

“That’s fitting, considering your mask does resemble a beak.”

Akechi - Karasu - blinked, folding his arms.

“I thought it was a cool name,” he grumbled as Ace grinned.

“Sure, and Sophia?”

The pair looked over Sophia’s ghost-like costume, and both came to the same conclusion.

“Ghost.”

“Yeah, Ghost is fitting,” Karasu said, “she is a ghost in the machine as well, right?”

Sophia - Ghost - beamed.

“Well, if that’s what you think I should be called, then I’ll go by Ghost!” She grinned, “now, let’s get back in! We have a treasure to find!”

“I’m back here again? I just saw this weird virus appear on my phone and wanted to get rid of it, but… Where’s Akechi and Kitagawa?”

The sound of loud thunking of metal echoed in Futaba’s eardrums, as a pair of knights approached her.

“Halt! Slave! What are you doing outside your chambers?”

“S-Slave? What are you–”

Suddenly, a metal shield rammed into the back of her head, and Futaba felt herself fall unconscious.

Chapter Text

April 15th, 20XX

The Castle of Lust was, surprisingly considering recent circumstances, still the same as it had been when Ace, Karasu and Ghost had last entered. Not much indicated Kuroda’s role in Kana’s suicide attempt - which Ace presumed to the the case.

The same terrifying chambers full of semi-naked male students. It was downright haunting, especially now that Ace and Karasu had witnessed Kuroda’s assault of Mishina. Sure, they both were aware that Kuroda was a sexual deviant, but seeing Mishina’s naked body in the faculty office made it feel more real.

It was like she was celebrating ‘getting rid’ of Kana the only way she knew how. It made Ace sick to his stomach.

In order to distract themselves from that, they decided to look for where the treasure would be. Dashing and sneaking around every nook and cranny, they scoured for loot and Personas in every location. Ace had managed to collect a Mad Marsh Horse - also known as a Kelpie -, a Crypt Dwelling Pyromaniac - also known as Jack O’Lantern  - and one of the Dirty Two Horned Beasts from before - now known as Bicorn.

“Alright,” Karasu said upon the group’s arrival to another safe room on the second floor, “how close are we to finding the Treasure?”

“You’re going too fast, Karasu,” Ghost shook her head, “if the Treasure was obvious, there wouldn’t be a point of having a Palace. Most times, the treasure is either at the top or the bottom of the Palace.”

She looked down at the table, and - using her mask as a projector screen - placed a holographic copy of the map on the table. A small little star appeared next to where they were, saying ‘YOU ARE HERE’ in big, friendly letters. Ace looked at the location, and placed his finger on the star.

“We’re only on floor two,” he said, moving his hand from the star to the centre tower, “there’s multiple floors above and below us - I think that tower in the centre could be where the treasure is.”

“And considering this Palace is based on fairytales…” Karasu grit his teeth, “there’s probably a guard protecting that tower…”

“If the treasure is on the lower floors, there’s probably a sewerage system,” Ghost explained, “we could traverse through there.”

Karasu scoffed, “sewers… Gross.”

“Are you scared of getting dirty, Karasu?” Ace asked, causing Karasu to gape in surprise.

“W-What?!” He exclaimed, “n-no, it’s just… Do you really want to be walking around in Kuroda’s shit tunnels?”

Ace paused for a second, seriously pondering the question.

“Do you want me to repeat what I said?” Karasu said, disgusted, “shit. Tunnels.”

Ace shrugged.

“It’s not real excrement.”

“That makes it worse!” Karasu exclaimed.

“How though?” Ace asked, “it’s not real.”

“I-It’s the implications of it!” Karasu floundered, but the pair’s conversation was interrupted when the group heard the voices of two guards outside the safe room.

“I can’t believe one of the slaves escaped.”

“God, Kuroda’s gonna be on our asses if she finds out.”

“Let’s just get her back to the dungeons…” The guard’s murmuring was interrupted by a familiar wincing noise, “gah, can’t the bitch stop squirming?!”

Both boys' eyes widened.

“Isshiki-san,” they both gasped.

“You mean the girl who followed us here?” Ghost asked, causing Ace to nod.

“That means she’s got the app,” he said, “how’d she get it?”

“Doesn’t matter! We have to get to the dungeons, now!” Karasu exclaimed, “before Kuroda tries anything with her.”

Ace and Ghost nodded, and the group began to skulk out of the safe room. They saw the guards leaving with Futaba over one of their shoulders, her body dangling as she squirmed and wriggled awkwardly.

“I don’t think we’re going to be able to follow them discretely,” Ace whispered.

“They said they were going to the dungeons,” Ghost explained, “there’s a staircase close by, if my map is correct.”

“Then let’s go!” Karasu exclaimed, “we have to save Isshiki!”

Ace nodded, and the group raced to the nearest staircase.

Once they got to the lower levels, they found themselves in a dungeon – the pastel colouration of the higher floors of the Palace was long gone, now replaced with dingy reds and browns, stone covering the walls and rusty metals decorating the stones. The only connection it had to the main Palace floor was the vines that decorated the walls, covered in thorns and roses.

The drip, drip, drip of water echoed against the group’s ears. Ghost activated her glowing eyes to act as a flashlight.

“There,” she said, “now we can see clearly.”

The glowing blue light from her eyes scanned over the location, and immediately, both Karasu and Ace flinched. The blue light settled on a female student, her arms and legs chained to the wall… Mostly naked. Karasu winced.

“D-Did we really need to see this?” He asked, watching as Ghost’s light passed through a crack in the wall.

“There’s a pathway behind her.”

Karasu shuddered, “okay, let’s just get this over with…”

Ace nodded, and the pair tip-toed around the strung up teenage girl. They continued going, squeezing through the crack and passing other girls who were held up in similar manners, all mostly naked - one had a chain tied around her neck in a visage of hanging, another was strapped, arms and legs wide, as if in crucifixion. Karasu grit his teeth.

“Isshiki must be close by,” he whispered.

“Yes,” Ace said, “we have to save her before she becomes another one of Kuroda’s toys here.”

Karasu nodded, “right… I’m just hoping we aren’t too late.”

Ghost’s light glowed into a dank, dusty room. As she scanned around the room, the trio noticed guards placed at every wall, and in the centre tied to a crucifix by metal manacles was Futaba. Her arms and legs were stretched up and her teeth were grit as she struggled in the device.

“L-Look!” She exclaimed, “I-I didn’t mean to touch your armor! I-I just thought this was like, a LARP thing, yknow?!”

A familiar, cloying laugh interrupted her complaints as Shadow Kuroda walked into the room, surrounded by guards, and holding the cognitive Futaba by the wrist.

“Oh? Look what we have here!” She began, “two for the price of one - how generous!”

She tossed the cognitive Futaba to the floor behind her real life counterpart. The guards swarmed her and moved her to her own crucifix. Unlike Futaba, she didn’t struggle against her restraints. Kuroda glared at her guards.

“Although I appreciate the extra slut,” she said, “could you at least check to see if she’s one of mine?”

“We saw her running around the grounds, Queen Kuroda,” the golden lead guard explained, “we assumed she was one of your slaves.”

“Oh well… I get to have some fun.”

“Kuroda?” Futaba asked, looking at the woman as she arrived. “What is this place? And what’s with the outfit?”

Kuroda scoffed.

“Are you truly that dense?” She smirked, “this is my castle - the world of my desires. And you were found trespassing! What a naughty girl! You know what happens to naughty girls, don’t you?”

“Naughty girls must be punished,” Futaba’s cognitive double said, her voice weakened and defeated.

Futaba looked stunned by that statement.

“Wh-What even is this?” She gasped, “it has to be some sick joke!”

Kuroda folded her arms, appearing rather childish.

“Aw… Didn’t your mommy tell you not to talk back to adults?” She commented, “but considering what you’ve been doing in your free time… I’ll punish you like one!”

She picked up her halberd from the floor, and placed it on her shoulders.

“Guards - you torture the real slave,” Kuroda smirked, “I’ll deal with the phony.”

As she placed the halberd to the real Futaba’s neck, Ace, Karasu and Ghost entered the room. Kuroda’s eyes narrowed.

“And just when I was about to have my fun…” She growled, “you three come in and ruin it!”

“Let go of Isshiki, Kuroda!” Karasu exclaimed, pulling out his shotgun.

“If you three dare take a step closer,” Kuroda threatened, “I’ll cut her head clean off!”

The guards stood around threateningly as Kuroda smirked at Futaba, appearing rather helpless in her position.

“Awww… You look so cute hopeless,” she cooed, “if only it didn’t make me sick. Such a shame that your precious friend had to die for you to get here.”

Futaba’s eyes widened.

“Wh-What?!”

“If you had just followed my orders,” Kuroda continued, “then maybe I wouldn’t have told your friend how much of a burden you are. Then, she wouldn’t have killed herself - ‘cause she found out her ‘best friend’ was more focused on her stupid streaming career than her!”

“No!” Futaba exclaimed, her eyes beginning to well with tears, “I-I’m sorry, Kana-chan…”

“Well, ‘I’m sorry’ isn’t gonna bring your friend back, Isshiki.” Kuroda scowled, “now, bow your head in subservience to your queen.”

Futaba did so. Seeing her almost give up caused Karasu to shout out.

“Hey! Isshiki!” He exclaimed, “Kana isn’t dead! You know this - she’s in a coma! She’s recovering! You met her at the hospital! Are you really going to listen to what Kuroda has to say to you?! She doesn’t know shit about you!”

Futaba, for a split second, looked up. She saw Karasu, holding his baseball bat tightly as if ready to run towards her and fight the Shadows that surrounded her. Next to him was Ace - Futaba remembered the conversation they had the previous afternoon; he had said that there could be a way to save Kana… She just had to believe.

“He’s right.”

Kuroda stopped, her hands gripping on the halberd.

“What did you say?!”

“He’s right…” Futaba continued, “I’d be a real pathetic coward to believe your lies. Kana didn’t attempt suicide ‘cause of me - it was because of you, Kuroda! You don’t know the first thing about me - and you never did!”

Kuroda’s anger was palpable. Her brow was slick with rage filled sweat.

“How dare you say that to me?!” She gasped, “don’t you fucking know who I am? You’re nothing but scum!”

“You’re the real scum, Kuroda!” Futaba exclaimed, “you made me hurt people… You hurt Kana! And now… I’ll never forgive you for any of this!”

My, my… And you thought you would die here, mon coeur…

The soft voice rang through Futaba’s ears like a gunshot. She lurched backwards, her body shaking against the crucifix as time seemed to stop. She looked over her shoulder, and saw the cognitive Futaba looking at her… and speaking to her.

The cognitive Futaba appeared less fragile than the version of her that had appeared before - the one who said naughty girls must be punished. Almost like Futaba standing up to Kuroda had changed the woman’s image of her.

An image of rebellion.

Her lies, her treachery, her cruelty… All leading towards your reputation and life being destroyed… But tell me, mon coeur, who will avenge your friend if you don’t? Who will cry the chorus of rebellion that screams out in your heart?

Futaba winced in agony, letting out an expressive scream. Her eyes were welling with tears. She wouldn’t let Kuroda get away with this… Not again. Not after all this time. Her mind went back to the conversation that she and Yusuke had at the Big Bang Burger; I don’t know what else to do, where else to turn! Is there anything I can do?! This was what she could do.

I AM THOU. THOU ART I.

Let our contract finally commence!

“I hear you…” Futaba grit her teeth, pushing herself forward, as her eyes welled with tears, “Charlotte.”

She then looked up, suddenly feeling a thick plating covering the top half of her face. A black jackal mask, marked with a golden Eye of Horus on its forehead, as well as golden accents around the eyes and cheeks.

“You’re right!” She exclaimed, “I’m not holding back anymore!”

Excellent!

Futaba pulled one arm off the crucifix, the clasp that held it tightly snapping like a twig under Futaba’s newfound strength.

Your truth cannot be found if you choose to stay restrained.

Her other arm came off just as easily, her body hitting the floor in one fell swoop.

Do you understand? Then your strength shall become mine!

Futaba struggled to her feet as she grabbed the mask with both hands. It was incredibly painful, like it had been glued to her face as she grit her teeth in agony. But her Persona’s calming words helped her move forwards. With one movement, she removed the jackal mask as she let out a giant scream of pain.

A pillar of flame covered her body, before it separated to reveal the voice that had been speaking to her. The figure was tall, lined in titanium and lacking a head. Instead, its ‘head’ resembled a television screen, with a large, neon green heart in the centre.

Its torso was a black bodice lined in lime green, with matching ‘speaker’ like protrusions out of the chest and sides.

It wore a large hoop skirt that resembled a UFO, marked with lime green lines that glowed in the dark. The skirt’s hem was serrated, like a kitchen knife, giving it an almost threatening appearance. On the waist of the skirt was a two tiered belt, with one half small and deep black, and the other wider, acting as a disk.

The disk was covered in similar markings that resembled the rest of the figures' appearance. In its right hand was a disk, similar to the one on the skirt - black with lime green, glowing accents that shone so bright it could potentially blind a man.

Futaba’s attire had also changed - she was now dressed in a short, three-quarter sleeved, black coat, with a lime green insert and white fur lining. Beneath the coat was a dark grey top with a large, golden ankh on her chest. She wore high waisted, black shorts, with twin belts strapped onto them - one a dark grey, and another a lime green, decorated with studs - and a matching lime green garter on her right leg.

She wore black fingerless gloves, but beneath the gloves were matching lime green, fingered gloves. She wore lime green gloves that were layered beneath black fingerless gloves. The cuffs of the fingerless gloves were folded up to give an almost cartoonish appearance. The pointed toe boots on her feet were black, with lime green cuffs that were folded over, adding some more contrast to her outfit.

 Strapped to her back was a cartoony, oversized hammer, and she was holding a crossbow in her right hand.

She shot the crossbow at the clone Futaba. She vanished into a puff of black goop and smoke, causing the guard in front of her to turn to face her in anger. Futaba then turned to face Kuroda, and aimed the hand crossbow right between her eyes.

“Alright!” Karasu exclaimed, as he, Ace and Ghost rushed towards her, “get her!”

“You read my mind!” Futaba exclaimed, “you took everything from Kana and I, you tried to destroy us! And for what? Jealousy? Give me a break. Now, you’re gonna pay for everything you've done!”

Kuroda appeared flustered, adjusting her outfit and trying to put on a brave face.

“GUARDS!” She ordered, “finish off the whore while I fix my dress!”

She snapped her fingers, ordering the golden guard that had been torturing the clone Futaba towards the trio.

“How dare you!” It shouted, transforming into a large demon sitting on a toilet seat, “enough of your insolence!”

“That isn’t gonna stop me now!” Futaba grinned, “you hear that, Charlotte? That one’s gotta go!”

She fired off an agi at the Ambassador of Filth, much to the guard’s surprise. It stumbled back, ready to prepare a strike at the group.

“You disrespectful wench!” The Ambassador of Filth rushed forward, “how dare you defy Queen Kuroda’s perfection!”

“Perfection?!” Futaba exclaimed, dodging the attack and summoning Charlotte once more, “don’t make me laugh - she’s a high school bully who hasn’t grown up yet!”

Another agi forced the Ambassador of Filth back once more. Ace picked up on the weakness and switched his persona from Pixie to the newly acquired Jack O’Lantern. He blasted the Ambassador of Filth with their own agi, forcing the creature into a pillar of fire while Karasu targeted the creature with dead shot.

Ghost raced towards the creature, attacking it with her chakrams before jumping back, summoning Futura and firing off a garu at the being.

However, once the Ambassador of Filth returned to its full height, it blasted off a magaru of its own. This took Ghost and Ace down, before it healed itself up with dia.

“I’ll keep it busy!” Karasu shouted. Futaba nodded.

“Got it!” She said, watching as Karasu raced towards the Ambassador of Filth with his shotgun drawn.

She ran towards Ace and placed her hand on his wound.

“C’mon, we have to keep going!” She exclaimed, “dia!”

The use of healing magic sealed Ace’s wounds, allowing him to return to his feet. He quickly switched from Jack O’Lantern to Bicorn, hitting the Ambassador of Filth with a tarunda, as Karasu shot the creature with his shotgun. The bullets dug into the purple skin of the creature as Ghost struggled to her feet.

She healed herself with dia, as the creature roared in agony. Ace and Futaba both summoned their Personas - Ace switching to Jack O’Lantern -, but the creature was about to hit them with a magaru. However, both Ace and Futaba were prepared. They managed to dodge at the last second, which the creature stared at in confusion.

“What the–”

Its expletive was interrupted by dual agis, burning his physical form to a crisp. It vanished as quickly as it had appeared.

By the time the fight was over, Kuroda was long gone. Futaba tried to run after her, but her legs felt like jelly. Ace quickly grabbed her, as she struggled up.

“Gah… I’m feeling a bit woozy here…” She groaned, before looking down, “huh? I mean, it’s cute, but where’d this come from?”

“We’ll explain later.” Ace said, “come on, let’s go back to the real world.”

Futaba paused for a second, but realised that she would be unable to keep up with Kuroda at this state. So, reluctantly, she let Ace and Karasu drag her back to the real world.

PERSONA FILES

❝GG EZ!❞

Name: Futaba Isshiki

Age: 16

Gender: Cis Woman

Sexuality: Asexual, Biromantic

Persona: Charlotte

❝Nicknamed the Angel of Assassination, Charlotte is best known for her assassination of Jacobin leader Jean-Paul Marat. Her reasoning for assassinating him was due to thinking he would cause conflict in the revolution.❞

Affinity: Fire

Weakness: Ice