Chapter Text
Akira suddenly woke up from falling asleep briefly. He was still on the train in Tokyo and he had managed to secure a seat since he first got on from his hometown. Just being awake again ticked Akira off. He remembered what sent him here in Tokyo. He had been coming home in his hometown when he heard a woman crying out for help. A man had been pulling her around when Akira showed up and pulled him away from the woman. As a result, he was expelled from high school and all his friends ignored him any moment they could. His family were visibly distraught and did not know what to do with Akira.
‘I would do it again, if I had to,’ Akira thought to himself. ‘Whatever.’ He turned his glance away and stared at an advertisement. Something about a refreshing drink helping girls with their diets. ‘Yeah right, what’s with that bullshit?’ Akira thought, coughing into his arm. ‘Ugh, whatever.’
There were two schoolgirls discussing something about mental shutdowns and how people were dying suddenly. He didn’t care for the girls’ rumours. Then Akira got out of the train at Shibuya for a transfer. He stepped out into the open air where numerous pedestrians were walking back and forth to their destination. That was when a red icon with an eye on it showed up on his phone screen before enlarging that it took up his lower screen.
Akira felt a strange sensation overcome him as he looked around the area. Everyone had been frozen in place, which was impossible for reality. Then, Akira looked straight ahead to the center of town where a fiery blue creature was looming over. Suddenly Akira was seen there with the fiery monster and a devious expression on his face before everything faded back to normal. “What the hell was that all about it?” Akira mumbled under his breath as he moved the creepy red eye application to the trash bin.
Akira ended up in Yongen Jaya station and took the escalators to the outside. He ignored the rest of the pedestrians and went straight to the back, following a map on his phone, and decided he was at this ‘Sojiro Sakura’s’ house. He rang the bell a few times, but no one came to the door. Cursing his luck, Akira heard the delivery truck stop by the house with a few packages in his arms. The delivery driver mentioned something about Sojiro being at ‘Leblanc’.
He then turned around away from the house and toward the small streetway of the area. Using his phone, Akira looked carefully before finding the correct street where this Leblanc was. It was actually a café with coffee and curry. He wondered how that worked out. He opened the door and entered the café. Immediately, his senses were drowned. The TV was speaking loudly about a bus accident. There were two elderly customers, probably husband and wife, sitting at a table while watching the TV.
“And down is… the name of a shellfish used in pearl farming…” the manager-looking man sitting on the stool in front of the counter. He was sitting with one leg folded up on the other leg while holding a newspaper as he worked through a crossword puzzle. “…Oh, right.” He tossed the paper onto the counter and turned to face Akira. Then he hopped off the stool. “They did say that was today.”
“So you’re Akira?” Sojiro inquired. He had an arm on his hip as he spoke, and he was wearing a pink shirt and white dress pants under the dark green apron. He had a gentlemanly appearance to him.
“Yeah, what’s it to you?” Akira replied abrasively.
“Hey, I’m giving you a place to live. Your parents and a customer of mine know each other so— Eh whatever. Just follow me,” the manager Sojiro said as he led Akira to the attic.
Akira muttered under his breath but followed Sojiro to the attic. It was filled with a bunch of things. On one side had boxes, some kind of red containers, a heater, a ladder, three bags of mysterious items and a bookshelf that was covered in cobwebs. On the other side, there was a desk with numerous books with a covering over them, more bags of mysterious items and a few sandbags on a shelf, On the center floor was a large, clean-looking box. It might be his belongings from home. ‘Home, huh… They don’t even want me around. No one does.’
“This is your room. I’ll at least give you sheets for your bed,” Sojiro stated. “You look like you wanna say something.”
“This shit is where I’ll be living for a year?” Akira blurted out.
“At least you’re not on the streets,” Sojiro countered. “Anyway, I’ll be leaving after I lock up each day. You’ll be alone at night, but don’t do anything stupid. I’ll throw you out if you cause any trouble.” He then looked over at Akira. “I got the gist of your situation. You protected some woman from a man forcing himself on her, he got injured, then sued you. Right? That’s what you get for sticking your nose in a matter between two adults. You did injure him, yeah? And now that you’ve got a criminal record, you were expelled from your high school.”
“I could have hurt him if I wanted to,” Akira said aggressively. “But I actually didn’t. That time. But it’s not as if you’d believe me.” He turned away and looked around the attic where he’s going to be living for the year.
“I heard he beat up some guy on the streets!”
“He’s been expelled! How scary is he?”
“Who cares about him?”
“Don’t talk to him! He might punch you out of the blue.”
“Get away from him!”
Akira flinched as the voices returned. He could still remember their words as his classmates alienated him since finding out he was a criminal. He clutched his head as pain coursed through his brain. He did not like remembering his past. ‘This is so annoying,’ Akira told himself internally. ‘I didn’t do anything wrong, but I’m treated like a criminal. Bullshit.’
“Hey, are you okay?” Sojiro asked out of concern, for a first. He looked at Akira who was still clutching his head as if in pain. ‘Maybe he is in pain. I wonder what’s going on with this kid.’ He stuffed a hand in his pocket.
“What does it matter?” Akira mumbled. “I’m fine.” He lied through his teeth as he combated the head pain. He didn’t see any point in being honest with anyone. “Anyway, I guess I’ll clean up some of this.”
“Ah right, we’ll be going to Shujin tomorrow,” Sojiro suddenly remembered. “Ah, it’s a shame I have to spend my Sunday driving you to school. Well, your belongings arrived not long ago. I brought it up here for you.”
After Sojiro left the attic, Akira stared at the mess that was his room. He decided to clean the attic to make it a bit easier to live in. He dusted the windows and cleaned up a bit of the mess around the attic. Then he mopped the floor, which helped the floor look a bit better but not by much. After cleaning up, Akira changed into black shirt and beige sweatpants and retired to bed. He remembered his parents when they learned of his criminal record for the first time.
“Why are you like this, Akira? You bring such shame to our family,” Akira’s mother said with such forlorn in her eyes and voice.
“You are such a burden. I wish we never had you.”
“We’ll send you to Tokyo. See if you learn something.”
“No one wants you around.”
Akira clutched his head again and flipped to his side in bed. He hated remembering what his friends and family said about him after being labeled a criminal. He wasn’t a burden and people wanted him around. ‘…As if… I am just a burden. No one wants to be around me anymore since I got a record. My so-called friends don’t even acknowledge me anymore.’ Eventually Akira fell asleep until the morning.
The morning arrived for Akira and Sojiro was already calling for him to get downstairs. Akira changed into his school uniform, which consisted of a black brazer, white undershirt and long red plaid pants along with black shoes. He went downstairs to see Sojiro in his pink shirt, white pants and a white trilby.
“I’ll be driving you there tomorrow, but you’re going to take the train starting tomorrow,” Sojiro said firmly. He crossed his arms across his chest as Akira walked toward him. The two got into his yellow-coloured car and the two rode off to Shuji Academy in Aoyama-Itchome. Upon arriving, they went straight to the principal office where another teacher was standing with the principal.
“This is nothing like your school back home,” the principal said. He had a large bald head with an obese body in a beige suit, white undershirt and a red bowtie. He rubbed his bald head. “So don’t you do anything stupid. You’ll be expelled here on the spot.”
“Yeah, yeah, I got it,” Akira stifled a yawn. He doesn’t like how the staff here are already treating him like some kind of delinquent. It was a royal pain in the butt for Akira, but he couldn’t do anything about it.
“Please make sure this kid stays on track,” the principal said to Sojiro, rubbing his bald head again.
“I will have a talk with him later about the importance of what he’s doing,” Sojiro affirmed. He had his hand on his hip as he stood in front of the desk. He was getting rather impatient with the process as he had a café to open.
“And this here is your assigned teacher,” the principal said. “Don’t give her any trouble.” He stared squarely at Akira, who had been staring into space instead of listening to the adults talk about how he needs to be careful and respectful.
“I’m Sadayo Kawakami,” Kawakami introduced herself hesitantly. She did not want to be the teacher for a delinquent with a criminal record. Sighing, she took out Akira’s ID along with a poster underneath the ID. “Here’s your ID.”
‘Yadda, yadda, yadda don’t create trouble, yeah, sure, whatever,’ Akira thought to himself. Then he noticed the little poster with pink background and tilted his head curiously. He was about to say something when the teacher Kawakami quickly withdrew the poster, leaving his ID on the desk. He took the ID obediently enough and stuffed it in his pocket. ‘I wonder what THAT was all about,’ Akira thought.
“Can we go now? I have to open up my café,” Sojiro asked, his hand still on his hip. He did want to go home. The principal nodded and Sojiro took Akira and left the principal’s office. The two went to Sojiro’s car and the two rode back home, though traffic had suddenly formed in the middle of their trip home.
“Another accident?” Sojiro sighed as he rested his arm on the steering wheel. “This has been happening a lot lately.” Sojiro sighed as he watched the motionless traffic. “There was one accident not too long ago where a fifteen-year-old passed away. I can’t imagine how their parents feel…”
Akira was busy zoning out that he barely heard a word that Sojiro was saying. It wasn’t that Sojiro was boring, but he was a bit older and he was talking about things irrelevant to Akira. Akira yawned and leaned his head back on the headrest. He started dozing off a bit before Sojiro shook him awake.
“We’re here now,” Sojiro said a bit aggressively. He was not in a good mood right now, that much Akira can tell. “Geez, you had the audacity to fall asleep in my car. “And now it’s too late to open the café. What a bothersome day. Tomorrow, you’re going to take the train to school.”
“Yeah, sure, whatever,” Akira nodded nonchalantly. He stepped into the café first and smelled the coffee aroma already. He pinched his nose and returned to the attic, and then changed into his black shirt and beige sweatpants. He felt more comfortable in these and there was no one to tell him what to wear now. ‘This is pretty nice, I guess,’ Akira thought to himself. He yawned and flopped onto his bed.
“You’re so useless!”
“Get out of my way!”
“You’re just a burden for your family, you know?”
“You’re not part of us anymore, delinquent.”
Akira jolted awake, perspiring profusely. ‘It was just a dream,’ Akira thought. ‘Just a dream…’ He checked his phone, and it was only 4:03 AM now. He groaned and turned to his side. ‘No point being awake right now. Hopefully I can go back to sleep.’
As morning approached, Akira woke up without another nightmare plaguing him. He went downstairs and was stopped to have breakfast. Which was curry and a cup of coffee. Akira was skeptical of this being his breakfast, but he sat down anyway and started chowing down. ‘Whoa what is this, this is really good,’ Akira thought. He said so aloud to Sojiro who merely looked smug. He thanked Sojiro for the breakfast and then headed out, only to be told to flip the sign at the door.
Akira left the area to the train station that was bound for Shibuya as that was his transfer stop. He got on the train and took it to Shibuya where he got off and made a few turns to the transfer train for Aoyama-Itchome. As he arrived at Aoyama-Itchome, it was raining lightly as Akira walked past the crowd and only slightly noticed a young girl in the same uniform get into a car. Akira shrugged as he continued walking when a blonde boy came by.
“Effin’ pervert,” the blonde muttered. Keyword inputted. Then he looked up at Akira. “You plannin’ on rattin’ me out on Kamoshida?” He stared at Akira quite intently, shuffling his feet. He dug his hands into his pockets. “Wait, you’re also a second year at Shujin?”
“Kamoshida? Shujin? What the fuck are you on about?” Akira asked bluntly. He looked bored, and frankly, was very bored. He didn’t know what this blonde kid was talking about, but it was irritating him greatly.
“I thought you were in Shujin Academy too,” the blonde said. What is he, a kind of king of a castle?” The blonde was muttering to himself as Akira just wanted to leave.
Location and distortion inputted.
Akira pressed his fingers on his temples, trying to ease on an incoming headache. He wasn’t sure if he was hearing things or not when he heard a brief voice saying, ‘location and distortion inputted’. This wasn’t the first time. The first time was when the blonde boy was cursing some pervert. But he could just be hearing things all the same. Akira just wanted to get to school already.
The blonde led Akira through another corner and then when they arrived at the school, it was a large, imposing red castle instead. ‘That wasn’t how it looked yesterday,’ Akira thought. He peered around the castle to see if it was an illusion, but the castle remained standing strong. He pinched himself: he wasn’t dreaming.
“Uhhh, what is this? This is the school, right?” the blonde asked Akira. “Oh, I’m Ryuji Sakamoto. What’s your name?” Ryuji looked curiously at Akira and then returned to observing the castle. He, too, thought he was seeing an illusion, but the school didn’t waver at all.
“It really doesn’t concern me what your name is, but mine is Akira Kurusu,” Akira answered coldly. He trudged into the castle with Ryuji following, trying to catch up to Akira. As the two entered the castle, there was a brief change in scenery where the school’s lobby showed up before transforming back to the castle scenery.
“Is this still the school?” Ryuji asked curiously but Akira ignored the question. He looked around the castle. It looked just like a castle with red rugs on the floor and chandeliers hanging. Then suddenly someone showed up covered in metal armour while holding a sword and shield. “Geez, you freaked me out… Who’re you? You a student? Man, your costume’s impressive. Is that armour real? C’mon, don’t just stand there. Say somethin’.” That was when another armoured creature showed up. “H-Hey, what’s goin’ on?” Ryuji said in a slight panic.
Akira rubbed his temples again. He can’t believe Ryuji would think those creatures were students. They weren’t even in the school anymore, though he did not know where exactly they were now. ‘Looks like some kind of castle for real,’ Akira thought. ‘When did we get into a castle anyway?’
“Let’s run!” Ryuji shouted to Akira who merely held a hand over his ear from the sound. He started to run toward the entrance, but more armoured creatures showed up to block their exit. Just as Ryuji tried to move, an armoured creature struck at Ryuji, forcing him on his knees on the ground. Then Akira was pushed onto the floor as well.
Akira opened his eyes and rubbed his head. His headache was getting worse. He sat up and looked around his surroundings. Apparently, he was in a jail cell with chains hanging around the walls and barrels situated in the corner. The cell was locked obviously, and Ryuji was pacing around.
“Oh, you’re awake, man!” Ryuji turned to face Akira. “We’ve been imprisoned! We have to get out of here!” Ryuji began pacing around again, much to Akira’s chagrin. He stared through the bars, gripping with both hands. “We’re screwed!”
Akira covered his ears as he sat on the cot that he was apparently asleep on. Shaking his head, he looked around the cell. ‘How long have I been asleep for,’ Akira thought internally. He got up from the cot and walked around the cell. He examined the chains and pulled at them: unmovable. There were sunken holes on random spots of the walls.
“Someone’s coming!” Ryuji suddenly shouted, interrupting Akira’s investigation. He turned to face Akira again, looking panicked. Two of the armoured guards showed up at the cell from the outside and approached their cell.
“Be glad that your punishment has been decided upon,” one guard said. “Your charge is “unlawful entry.” Thus, you will be sentenced to death.”
“What?!” Ryuji yelled loudly in an outburst. He stared at the guard in disbelief. He did not want to die, especially not in this weird castle place. He started pacing around, almost as if he forgot Akira was there too.
That was when a familiar figure approached the cell. It was Kamoshida but he looked different. He had a golden-coloured crown on his head while wearing a pink cape with hearts design on the cape and fur collar. His hands were hidden in the cape as he stood outside the cell.
“No one’s allowed to do as they please in my castle,” Kamoshida announced. His eyes were sparkling yellow as he smirked at the two boys inside the cell.
“Kamoshida?! What are you doing here?” Ryuji exclaimed, staring at the Kamoshida in front of them. He gripped the bars separating Ryuji and Kamoshida.
“I thought it was some petty thief, but to think it’d be you, Sakamoto… Are you trying to disobey me again? It looks like you haven’t learned your lesson at all, huh?” Kamoshida smirked at Ryuji. Then he noticed Akira standing not far behind. “And you brought a friend this time too… because you can’t do anything by yourself.”
“This ain’t funny, you asshole!” Ryuji yelled at Kamoshida. He was outraged at being imprisoned and apparently by Kamoshida. They were also being sentenced to death by that asshole. Ryuji let go of the bars and clenched his fists. He wanted to deck Kamoshida in the face right now.
“Is that how you speak to a king? It seems you don’t understand the position you’re in at all,” Kamoshida said. “Not only did you sneak into my castle, but you also committed the crime of insulting me—the king. The punishment for that is death. It’s time for an execution! Take him out!”
Ryuji backed away from the bars as the guards unlocked the cell and entered themselves. Kamoshida followed closely behind. When the guards were inside, Ryuji charged ahead and tackled one of the guards. Ryuji tried to run but the other guard struck Ryuji and pushed him down.
“Just go! Akira, go! Don’t worry about me!” Ryuji commanded Akira as he was on his knees, clutching his stomach from the strike from the guard. He was in pain and couldn’t run away too, but he didn’t want to die either.
“Well, all right then, I will,” Akira said quite nonchalantly as he headed toward the exit when Kamoshida entered the cell too and lifted Ryuji up. Kamoshida gave a punch to Ryuji in the face. Ryuji flinched and crashed his back into the bars. ‘Well, now I feel bad for leaving while he’s getting beaten up.’
Take this!” Kamoshida delivered another punch to Ryuji. “Lowly scum!” Another punch to the gut. “Useless pest!” Yet another punch to the gut. He had a devious smirk on his face as he was beating up Ryuji, who had fallen in a lump on the floor. “A peasant like you isn’t worth beating. I’ll have you killed right now.’
“Quit that, you bastard,” Akira snarled at Kamoshida, fully aware of what he’s doing. He was dragging himself into someone else’s case. He would just end up with the same treatment as back home. Rejected, ignored, avoided. Akira bit his lip out of frustration, but he wanted to do something.
“What? Don’t you dare tell me you don’t know who I am,” Kamoshida smirked. Then he kicked Akira in the gut as he fell on the floor. “Hold him. After this peasant dies, it’s his turn to die.”
Akira rose to his feet and tried to move forward but the two guards held him back with their swords. He bit his lip as he watched uselessly. That was when he heard a voice in his head, unlike the usual ones he heard berating him and reminding him of his ‘crime’.
“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…”
Then another voice came in. “What’s the matter? Are you simply going to watch? Are you forsaking him to save yourself? Death awaits him if you do nothing. Was your previous decision a mistake then?” With that, the memory of trying to save the woman from the drunken man back home came flooding his brain.
‘No! It wasn’t!’ Akira thought internally.
“Very well… I have heeded your resolve.” Akira was suddenly in pain, perspiring heavily as he tried to scream. “Vow to me. I am thou, thou art I… Thou who art willing to perform all sacrilegious acts for thine own justice!” Akira squirmed and twisted about in pain. “Call upon my name and release thy rage! Show the strength of thy will to ascertain all on thin own, though thou be chained to Hell itself!”
“Execute him!” Kamoshida commanded with a smirk on his face while pointing at where Ryuji was lumped at.
“Stop!” Akira shouted, clenching his fists in frustration.
“What was that? You desire to be killed that much? Fine!” Kamoshida turned around with his guards and faced Akira with a menacing expression.
Akira was held by the swords with his eyes closed, head down. Then he opened his eyes, and a strong gust of wind blew through and knocked the guard captain down on its behind. A mask suddenly showed up on Akira’s face, a white mask with black lining the eyes area. Akira tried to pull on the mask, to take it off. Eventually Akira ripped off the mask and blood flew off, while he smirked and blue flames surrounded Akira completely and a strange being showed up behind Akira. It had a tall black hat wearing a red jacket over its black body and a pair of red pants as well as large black wings.
“I am the pillager of twilight— “Arsène”!” Arsène spoke. “I am the rebel’s soul that resides within you. If you so desire, I shall consider granting you the power to break through this crisis.” Arsène floated smugly.
“Just give me your power!” Akira shouted to the newly formed being. He didn’t want to be weak anymore, so he’ll take anything to prove he wasn’t useless or a burden. If this was it, he’ll take it. However risky it might end up being.
“Hmph, very well…” Arsène said thoughtfully.
“Who the hell are you?!” Kamoshida said stubbornly. “Guards! Start by killing that one!” Kamoshida pointed at Akira this time. The two guards turned into two creatures that looked like a pumpkin with glowing yellow eyes, a cape covering nothing that is its body while holding a lantern and a mage’s hat. “You’ll learn the true strength of my men!”
Akira took out a knife from his side, which he was curious about where it came from but that didn’t matter, because it was showtime with Kamoshida’s grunts. He jumped forward and slashed one of the grunts on the side, one of the blue covered monsters jumped at Joker and slashed him on the side, causing Akira to wince backwards.
“Eiha!”
Arsène showed up and casted a skill on the monster. A red fiery stripes aura crept up around the blue monsters and knocked out one of the monsters. Akira jumped to the side before up to the monster and slashed it with his knife. The monster aimed for Akira again, but he dodged it and slashed the monster once more, causing it to dissipate into nothing. As the battle ended, Akira felt something happened with Arsène, feeling he learned a new move called Cleave. Akira smirked as he came out victorious.
“Whoa… What just happened?” Ryuji said flabbergasted, still sitting on his behind as he leaned against the cell walls. He stared at Akira in his new outfit, which was a long black overcoat with two tailcoats over a grey undershirt and long black pants with black dress shoes.
Akira examined his new outfit and was impressed with this design. Whoever got him in this was impressive. He looked through and through this outfit when he noticed Kamoshida about to approach him and the blonde. ‘Oh right, Sakamoto,’ Akira reminded himself internally.
That was when Ryuji got up and tackled Kamoshida to the floor. Kamoshida fell on the floor as the cell keys fell on the floor. Akira shouted to Ryuji to grab it and lock the cell while Kamoshida was still inside. Ryuji snatched up the cell keys and the two ran out as Ryuji locked the cell.
“Damn you!” Kamoshida cursed the two students.
Akira’s outfit suddenly changed back into his school uniform, which was disappointing for Akira. He thought he looked rather nice in that new outfit. Shrugging, he started off from the cell to find the exit. He ran ahead and made a few turns and hopped over metal crates to the other side. Then he ran across to the other side and climbed into a small hole in the wall to exit that cell. He went past the drawbridge and was about to enter a new area when Ryuji cautioned him to hide. There were guards running past where they just were. The two then climbed up spiral stairs and finally opened up to a new area.
The new area featured a small flowing river as they exited the stairs. As they walked, they saw people being imprisoned inside metal crates hanging over the river. Ryuji showed concern but Akira just wanted to get out of here. He went straight to the end of this corridor only to end up in a dead end.
“A dead end?! What are we supposed to do?” Ryuji complained loudly.
A voice suddenly spoke up. “Blondie! Frizzy Hair! Look over here!” It was like some weird cat standing on two legs with an oval-shaped head over a small body and wearing a yellow scarf. Akira stared at the thing inside the cell.
“What is this thing?” Ryuji said as he stared at the creature too. It was a strange creature resembling a cat.
“You’re not soldiers of this castle, right?! Get me out of here!” the creature begged with Akira and Ryuji. “Look, the key’s right there!”
“We’re trying to get the hell out of here!” Ryuji shouted at the strange cat. “I mean, you obviously look like an enemy too!”
“I’m locked up here, so how can I be your enemy?! Help me out!”
“A cat?” Akira suddenly spoke up, examining the strange cat. He really looked like a cat especially with how his body was black, but his paws were white. He really looked like a cat now that he examined the strange creature closely.
“I am NOT a cat! Say that again and I’ll make you regret it!” the strange creature shouted, shaking the bars.
There was noise coming from the other side as Ryuji started panicking. “They’re catchin’ up already! Shit, there’s still no service. Ain’t there a way to contact someone outside?!” How the hell do we get out?!”
“Hey, you two! You want to know where the exit is? Let me out and I’ll take you there. You don’t want to get caught and executed, right?”
“You better not be lying,” Akira threatened the strange cat. He glared daggers at the cat. He looked around the surroundings for any approaching guards. There were slight noises but they were still a bit safe for now. Akira reached toward the hanging keys by the cell and grabbed a hold of them.
“I’m not lying! It’s the truth!” The cat exclaimed, shaking the bar again in an attempt to be heard and believed.
“This thing sounds like it’s all talk,” Ryuji said suspiciously. He didn’t quite believe this monster cat could know where the exit was when he’s been imprisoned himself. But he may have been around longer, so he probably did know where the exit was.
He wasn’t even aware that Akira took the cell keys already. Then he saw the keys dangling from Akira’s right hand. “O-Oh, you already got the keys to free this strange thing.” Akira took the keys and keyed in the keyhole and opened the cell. The strange cat thing stepped out and they could see he had a black tail with a white tip as well. He was looking more and more like a cat than anything.
“Ahhhh…. Freedom tastes so great…” the creature said as he smiled. He stretched his paws and body as he walked around the two guys who freed him. He felt very relieved to finally be released and looked around Akira and Ryuji.
“Hey! Where’s the exit, you monster cat?!” Ryuji demanded of the cat. He was obviously panicking about getting out of here and not being imprisoned again. He started pacing around the small area they were in.
“Don’t call me a cat! I am Morgana!” The strange cat named Morgana responded.
“Shuddup and hurry it up! You wanna be locked up again?!” Ryuji argued with Morgana. He was getting really antsy and nervous about the whole situation. He just wanted to get out of this strange place.
“A-All right sheesh!” Morgana said. “Follow me and stay quiet!”
Akira and Ryuji decided to follow Morgana for the castle exit. As they moved ahead, Morgana turned to the left and stopped at a mechanism where there was a statue of Kamoshida with soulless eyes.
“Lower the bridge! You, Frizzy Hair. It seems like you pick up on things faster than our Blondie over here. Try checking around the mouth of this statue, okay?” Morgana instructed Akira. He then went to the side so Akira could investigate the statue.
Akira walked up to the statue and pulled on a switch that was the statue’s jaw. He felt a bit creeped out by this mechanism, but this was no time feeling uncomfortable. They had to get out of here quick before Kamoshida caught them again.
The trio started running ahead when two monsters showed up, causing Ryuji to backstep. Morgana jumped ahead and called forth his persona. It was covered in blue flames and its head was covered with a metal plate along with his collar sticking out from the side of his neck. He had an imposing, bulky body while also sporting a comical appearance.
“Eiha!” Akira called out and Arsène showed up and casted the spell on the red-coloured monster, striking it down to the floor.
“I knew you were an amateur! I’ll show how it’s done!” Morgana said as he called forth his persona. “Zorro!” The being called Zorro showed up and casted a gust of wind toward the enemy. The wind struck the blue monster with the pumpkin head and blue cape along with holding a lantern. The move struck especially effective on the monster causing it to fall down for a few moments.
“Strike at an enemy’s weakness to knock them down! Use that opening to strike again! That’s the most basic of basic! Remember it well!” Morgana instructed Akira as he stepped to the side by a bit.
Akira ran forward to the pinkish-red creature that had small wings over its back and an extremely thin body and a long tail. Then Akira struck the monster and finished it off as it faded into nothing. He jumped back and called forth Arsène, and called out, “Eiha!” Arsène showed up and casted the red fiery spell on the monster and finished off the pumpkin-head monster after Morgana had weakened it earlier.
“Not bad. Your Persona’s pretty powerful,” Morgana noted of Akira. He was impressed with Frizzy Hair even though he was totally a newcomer to summoning persona.
“Persona?” Akira asked curiously. He was curious what his newfound powers were called. ‘So it’s persona… Arsène must be a persona then,’ Akira thought internally. He was impressed, with the cat or rather Morgana.
“Yes. Like how you ripped off your mask when you summoned it, right?” Morgana answered. “Well, everybody wears a mask deep within their heart. By removing that…”
Akira suddenly changed back to his school uniform once again. It was frustrating to Akira that he wasn’t able retain his persona form. He clenched his fists, but it wasn’t like he was going to take out his frustration on anyone or anything.
“Hm, looks like you don’t have full control over your power yet,” Morgana explained. “The transformation shouldn’t normally dissolve like that. After all—”
“Argh! That’s enough!” Ryuji shouted. “I don’t get this anymore.” Ryuji was getting confused over the persona explanation and the control over the power. He was getting frustrated with the explanations though he had none himself.
“Can’t you just sit still and listen for once, Blondie?!” Morgana shouted at the blondie. He was getting impatient with the blondie as well because he kept getting interrupted.
“Don’t call me Blondie! My name’s Ryuji, man!” Ryuji shouted back. Not only was he confused but he kept getting called by some strange name by Morgana. And then Morgana seemed to be showing favouritism with Akira, which made him slightly jealous.
“There’s no time to lecture you! You wanna escape this place in one piece, right? Let’s go!” Morgana shouted. “We’re almost there!”
Akira ran forward and past the drawbridge but turned to the right when Ryuji interrupted their escape route. They had reached outside another cell. Akira rubbed his temples as he was getting interrupted from freedom. He stared at Ryuji.
“Wait!” Ryuji suddenly shouted and stopped in his tracks. “I feel like I’ve seen what this dude’s wearin’ before… Damnit! I’m too flustered! I can’t remember anything right now!” He clenched his fist as he stared at the person lying on the floor as if in pain.
“Come on, let’s go!” Morgana hurried the blondie or Ryuji. He was worried they’d get caught by the Palace ruler if they stayed here any longer.
“Hold on, damnit!” Ryuji said in a frustrated tone of voice. He wanted to know what exactly those guys are doing here and where they were from. They were at the cusp of his mind, but he couldn’t recall it.e
“We need to go, now! Fast!” Morgana countered. He didn’t understand why Ryuji was so hung up on these cognitions of people. He just wanted to bring those two out of the palace and continue his investigation. “Do you really have the time to worry about other people right now?! Besides, they’re—”
Then suddenly an armoured enemy showed up. The draw bridge had been lowered and the enemy approached Akira and Morgana. Akira nodded to Morgana as he switched to his persona outfit. He jumped forward and ripped off his mask as Arsène showed up.
“EIha!” Akira shouted as Arsène struck the blue pixie. The pixie had light blue wings, blue top and blue tights and red short hair. The attack struck the pixie effectively, causing the first one to dissipate already. He called forth Arsène again and used Eiha. Arsène had knelt on one knee and casted the spell again on the other pixie.
“Let’s get going!” Morgana rushed the group. “Before more shows up!” Morgana tried to move ahead but Ryuji wasn’t budging from the other cell.
“Hold on! We can’t just leave these guys here!” Ryuji said stubbornly. He didn’t want to leave people behind who were suffering.
“You really don’t get it, do you? Hrgh… There’s no time to explain,” Morgana said through his clenched teeth. “Look, I’m going. If you don’t want to follow, be my guest!”
The group started to head out again as they entered the tower and went up through the spiral stairs. They came out to an exit and entered the lobby where they entered the place from. Then Akira followed Morgana deeper into a hallway where there were two doors to choose from.
“We’re here!” Morgana announced proudly. He was glad he was able to escort the two to the exit.
“Really? We’re saved!” Ryuji said excitedly and ran forward to the door on the right. He slammed his body into the door, but it didn’t budge. “It’s not openin’! D’you trick us, you jerk?!”
“Don’t jump to conclusions! It’s here!” Morgana said, shaking his head as he turned around to the left door and opened the door. Akira and Ryuji turned to follow Morgana into the other room.
“Where are we supposed to get out from here? There aren’t even any windows!” Ryuji shouted, looking around the small room they were in.
“Amateur,” Morgana mumbled. “This is the most basic of basics.” Morgana sighed as he turned to face Akira with promise in his eyes. He had a feeling Frizzy Hair would know the answer to it.
“A ventilation shaft,” Akira replied. It was simple because he could see the ventilation shaft from where they were and that was the most likely method of escaping. It was basic as Morgana said.
“That’s right! As I thought, you’re a natural at this,” Morgana said proudly.
Ryuji jumped up from the shelf to where the shaft was located. He knocked off the metal and shoved it off the shelf, causing a huge ruckus that could probably be heard by the monsters around. Ryuji had fallen off the shelf along with the ventilation shaft cover.
“It’s time for you guys to go now!” Morgana rushed the two. He wanted to make sure they were out before resuming his investigation. Morgana looked a bit impatient to restart his investigation of this Palace.
“What about you?” Ryuji asked out of concern for a change. He was actually worried about Morgana staying in the castle after he was imprisoned.
“There’s something that I still have to do,” Morgana answered. “We’re going our separate ways.” He announced though he was a bit disappointed. Frizzy Hair held a lot of potential and could be part of his team.
“Don’t get caught again,” Akira said, with a teasing tone of voice. He was grateful for the not cat Morgana for leading them to the exit. He wondered if he’d meet Morgana again. ‘Probably not,’ Akira thought.
“You’ve got manners,” Morgana said. “Be careful on your way.”
Akira and Ryuji both jumped up on the shelf and crawled through the ventilation shaft. As Morgana watched, he had a contemplative expression on his face. He felt something might happen in the future.
“Those two seem useful…” Morgana mumbled. “Especially the frizzy-haired one, if my judgement’s right…”