--Monday, 11th, 20XX--Yongen Jaya, Leblanc--Past

I had just woken up and went through my daily routine. I made sure to take my phone and mask with me, just in case I had a teleportation thing going on. I put on my signature black gloves and thigh highs with ribbons stitched onto them. I wore them because I always felt cold no matter the weather, so they helped. I climbed down from my room and went downstairs. I found Sojiro and Akira at the coffee bar. I sat down and mumbled a quick "Good morning.". Sojiro looked surprised.

"Oh, so you actually are going to school. Here, I'll feed you. Just make sure you finish it before the customers start coming in.", Sojiro pointed at two plates of curry and rice.

Someone has an odd taste for breakfast...

"This is our breakfast?", Akira questioned, staring down at the plates.

"What's that reaction for? Just eat it.", Sojiro said with a straight face and went off to clean a few dishes. I sat down and began to eat... It actually tasted amazing. It had complex spices and bold flavor! I finished my curry quickly and turned to see that Akira practically inhaled the entire dish. We both got up and waited for Sojiro to excuse us.

"It's time for you two to go."

"Thank you for the meal, it was quite good.", I said as Akira nodded with a smile.

"No problem... Hurry over to school. You'll end up late if you get lost on the way. Oh, flip the sign outside to OPEN for me. Don't forget to do that for me, all right? Now, you better hurry on out. You're gonna be late if you get lost, country kids."

"Got it.", Akira mumbled and we were off.

--Some time later--

After making our way on the train, transferring to a different train and getting stuck to a bunch of sweaty people, we FINALLY made it to the exit. As we were about to exit, I checked my phone to see the teleportation app had a notification. I quickly excused myself to Akira and told him to wait. I ran to the bathroom and got into a stall. I clicked at the app and waited. I was quickly transported and found myself in Akira's room. I quietly sneaked to the stairs and looked downstairs. Sojiro was serving a random businessman coffee.

(Sojiro-Businessman)

"Oh man... Did it say it was going to rain today?"

"Huh? It's raining outside?"

"It just started all of a sudden... This is why I hate the early spring."

"That reminds me... Did they take an umbrella...?"

"Hm? Who're you talking about?"

"Don't mind me. So, what'll it be?"

"One house blend, please."

The News reporter began talking on the TV.

"The effects of yesterday's subway accident continues on today as various lines suffer delays and--", the voice became distant.

"There's been a lot of nasty accidents lately. You know, I mean the subway accident that the news is talking about... My coworker got caught up in it and is in the hospital now... But that aside, it's kinda creepy. The people who caused these accidents supposedly went crazy all of a sudden. I heard that some of them suffered from nervous breakdowns during interrogation."

Could this be the mental shutdowns...? Is this what the SIU Director mean that "they were connected"? The accidents and mental shutdowns...? It could be possible...

"Huh...", was all that Sojiro said.

That was even colder than my responses...

Everything went quiet after that. I pulled out my phone and saw the returning notification. I braced myself and was transported back to the station bathroom stall. I got out and made my way back to Akira.

We walked outside and, as the businessman said, it was raining. Akira and I ran under a shop's roof umbrella and watched the rain in silence. Akira pulled out his phone and I noticed his red eye app was acting up.

Does the app have the same effects as mine...?

Suddenly, a girl came under the roof with us. Akira and I watched her closely. She had her hoodie up, so we couldn't see her face. She wiped her jacket from the rainwater and took of her hood. The girl was beautiful, and the gasp that Akira let out confirmed that. She had bright blue eyes and wavy platinum blonde hair styled in bushy pigtails, with parted side bangs on the right side of her face. She accessorized with a single yellow hair clip above her left ear, as well as small circular earrings on both ears. Her school uniform is modified to fit her taste; the standard black blazer over a white varsity-like fullzip hooded sweatshirt, worn long to cover most of her short plaid skirt. Her sweatshirt has a red stripe between two blue stripes at the bottom, an S symbol near the front bottom on one side and a green four-leaf-clover symbol on the back of the hood. She wears red tights and brown boots with yellow laces. She looked foreign. The girl turned towards us, but I quickly looked away. Akira didn't take the hint and kept staring, awestruck. I punched him in the gut so that he would stop. He winced and turned away. The girl smiled at us and spoke.

"Lovers?"

"No, siblings.", I said with a lopsided smile and a calm tone.

We ended the conversation there as a car parked in front of us. The window pulled down to show someone unexpected... Suguru Kamoshida... I got goosebumps on my entire body, knowing that some of the rumors might be true. He looked towards the girl with a cheesy smile.

"Good morning. You want me to give you a ride to school?"

"Um, sure. Thank you.", the girl began to walk inside. I quickly tapped her shoulder. She turned around with a questioning look.

"Watch out. He is bad news...", I whispered and discreetly pointed at Kamoshida. The girl looked surprised for a second but she calmed down and nodded. The girl climbed into the car. Kamoshida turned towards Akira.

"Do you need a lift?"

Akira smiled and waved no. Finally, Kamoshida looked at me.

"How about you? You don't wanna ruin your hair now, do you?"

I am not going anywhere NEAR that car, Kamo-Shitlord!

"I'll manage. Besides, hanging out with you sounds like a waste of time to me..."

Akira, the girl, and Kamoshida all looked shocked. Akira quickly grabbed my head and forced me to bow.

"I'm sorry for her behavior! She... Woke up on the wrong side of the bed..."

I forced myself up and patted my hair down. Kamoshida was silent for a second before laughing, forced mind you, and drove away.

I sighed and watched the car fade away. I heard fast footsteps come our way. I turned to see a young boy running our way. he stopped where the car was with clenched fists and a scowl.

He had short spiky blond hair and dark brown eyes.  He had a noticeable widow's peak and his eyebrows were unusual in that he lacked the outer sides.  He wore his school uniform a bit modified. It consisted of the standard black blazer, unbuttoned to reveal a yellow t-shirt with a comic style star symbol and the word 'ZOMG!' He had plaid trousers rolled up to reveal his ankles. His pants had black suspenders that hang down instead of being worn on his shoulders. He had a white belt. His white sneakers had a motif of the rising sun. 

He began to mumble to himself.

"Dammit! Screw that Pervy teacher!"

"Pervy teacher...?", Akira and I mumbled at the same time. The boy looked back at us with a slightest irritated look on his face.

"... What do you want? You plannin' on rattin' me out to Kamoshida?"

"You mean the man in the car? No, we won't. Besides, you did nothing wrong yet.", I said calmly. Akira looked at me with confusion.

"Kamoshida...?"

"In that car just now. It was Kamoshida. He does whatever he wants. Who does he think he is- the king of a castle? Don't you agree?"

"We haven't gotten to know him yet..."

At least, Akira didn't...

"We are the new transfer students in Shujin Academy. You go there too, correct?"

"Yeah... Then no wonder you don't know him. This rain ain't too bad. We better hurry up, or we'll be late."

I suddenly felt a head-splitting pain. I looked at the other two to see that they were holding their heads too.

The sudden atmosphere change... It feels like when I teleport... Did something happen...?

"Uuugh, my head hurts... I want to go home...", the boy mumbled as he leads the way to the school. Akira and I walked behind the boy.

Something is wrong here...

--???, interrogation room--Present--

Akira and I let out a sigh as we both ended our explanation.

"Wait a minute. An app?! An app that can teleport you to different locations? That is absurd! And you're saying that you found me in this little test run and eavesdropped on me?!", Sae questioned my explanation.

"You have my phone. I took two photos of you from that day. You can check the time stamp and everything... The pictures should still be there if I am not mistaken. I also remember that you talked to two different people at that time; The SIU Director and Goro Akechi. I also have two photos of the detective talking to you.", I explained with a straight face. Sae looked shocked and scared. She pulled herself together and continued talking.

"I will be the judge of your testimony. Onto another matter... There was a terrible subway accident that day. You remember it, don't you? I assume you know the of the uproar that the public calls the "Psychotic breakdown incidents".", Akira and I nodded yes for the question.

"It was all over the news, and one of the victims included a teacher at your high school. I've no doubt you heard about it. On that day... Were you two still "ordinary" students?", Akira and I stayed silent at the question. Sae sighed and continued.

"... Let me change the question. You were transferred to Shujin Academy, correct? An ordinary prep school that could be found in any city... That's what it should've been. What happened around that time? Tell me everything- truthfully."

I closed my eyes again and began to explain.

--Monday, 11th, 20XX--Aoyama District, ???--Past

Akira and I followed the blonde boy through shady alleyways to the school. The atmosphere still felt odd, so I kept my senses sharp. As we went into another alleyway and stepped on a puddle, something felt different about the water. It almost grabbed onto my shoe, in a sense. I turned around to check it but saw nothing out of the ordinary. I suddenly heard the blond boy gasp, so I ran past my brother to check. What I saw next was mesmerizing and nauseating at the same time.

The blond boy was in front of a lavish castle, with greenery and a drawbridge and everything. There was a sign at the front that said "Shujin Academy". The sky looked almost purple and there was this eerie silence with a hint of strange buzzing in my ears. I looked back at my brother and the other boy with a questioning look. The blonde spoke.

"We didn't come the wrong way though... Yeah, this should be right... What's going on here...? I guess we'll have to go and ask..."

Yeah, there must be someone in there... Right?

We quietly walked through the gates and entered the castle. The inside of the castle was just as odd as the outside. There were red carpets, a huge staircase, a chandelier, and a picture of a man in golden armor and a crown on his head.

He looks like Kamoshida... Except with a lot more glitter and face tune... Jeez, it looks uglier than the original... But it can't be him, right...? Whatever...

The other boy scratched his head with confusion.

"Th-That's weird... Where's the school...? This SHOULD be the school... I think..."

"Not very reassuring there, buddy...", I said. Akira kept quiet and stared at all the decor. I checked my phone.

No service...

The blond boy sighed and pulled out his phone.

"Out of service? Where'd we end up...? The sign was for the school, right?"

"Yeah. I read it myself.", Akira said with slight confidence.

"Right!? You saw it too!", after the blonde boy yelled, we heard metal footsteps. We turned to see someone dressed in a knight costume and a blue mask. Thing is, their body structure almost looked too bulky to be anywhere near normal. They were also hunched over and holding a huge shield and sword.

Those things look heavy... How can they be holding onto them with ease...?

The blonde calmed down for a bit and spoke.

"Geez, you freaked me out... Who're you? You a student? Man, your costume's impressive... Is that armor real?", the armored person kept quiet.

Uh-oh... This does not look good...

I slowly pulled out my pocketknife and kept it close, just in case.

Though, it may break on impact with that armor...

"C'mon, don't just stand there. Say somethin'.", the blond boy seemed irritated.

Suddenly, more armored people surrounded us. There was no way we could walk past them.

"H-Hey, what's goin' on?... This shit's real. C-Calm down! Time out, man! We gotta run!", the boy said as he tried to work his way around the Knights and failed.

"We can't. They have us surrounded!", I said as I pulled out my knife and pointed it in front of me. None of the armored people moved, but at least I had something.

"Ugh, what's with these guys!? Gah!", one of the guys pushed the boy to the ground with the shield in their hands. I quickly ran next to him and pointed my knife towards the guy with a glare.

Confidence and assertion...

The guy backed up, but not by much.

"Oww... Y-You're gonna break my bones, dammit! The hell you think you're-- Aagh!", with that, each guard grabbed one of us began to take us away. I kept pushing and shoving them away, but one of them quickly hit me in the back of the head. The last thing I saw was black. The last thing I heard was...

"Take them away!"

--???--???--Past

"...Hey."

What...?

"Hey! Wake up!"

Wake up... For what? I was walking to school an--- The castle!

I jolted awake and looked around. Akira and the other boy looked worried. I looked around to see that we were in some sort of cell. There were chains, a sorry excuse for a bed, stone walls, empty looking barrels and I had a raging headache. The boy spoke.

"You all right?"

"... We are not in the school."

"W-What?"

"Are you okay? We need all the energy we can to get out of here."

"Y-Yeah, more or less...", the boy growled and ran up to the cage. He began to rattle the bars furiously.

"Hey, let us outta here! I know there's someone out there! Dammit, where are we!? Is this some kind of TV set...?", the second he said that we heard a blood-curdling scream from outside. We all looked at each other and ran to the cage bars. The boy looked like he could shit his pants right then and there.

"Th-The hell was that just now...?"

More screaming...

"Whoa... Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa... You're shittin' me, right...?"

"I'm afraid not...", I started to calm myself. I checked the locks.

Classic prison locks... I can't open them with a Bobby pin... I don't even have any... Calling for help is a no go, our phones have no service... The stone bricks look flimsy...

I began to push one of the bricks to the other side of the cells, but to no avail. They wouldn't budge.

Hmm... Maybe the chains on the wall can be used to pull some of the bricks out...

I grabbed one of them and pulled with all my might, but no luck. I heard metal footsteps coming our way; multiple guards were coming. I checked to see if I still had my pocket knife and I found it lying on the ground with the rest of my stuff. I quickly picked them up and held up the knife outward. The boys took a few steps back away from the cell door when the guards came.

(Guards)

"Be glad that your punishment has been decided upon. Your charge is "unlawful entry". Thus, you will be sentenced to death."

"Say what!?", the blonde boy yelled in fear. We then heard a voice that I wish I never knew... Suguru Kamoshida.

(Kamoshida)

"No one's allowed to do as they please in my castle.", the Kamoshida that I saw before me was disgusting. He had eerie golden eyes, a cheesy crown on his head, a fluffy red cape covered in red and pink hearts, and he wore nothing but a pink pair of... Panties? He also was covered in hair, which was honestly revolting.

Great, now I can't unsee it!

"Huh? Wait... Is that you, Kamoshida?", the boy looked shocked and disgusted at the same time.

I don't blame him...

"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? And you brought friends this time... Because you can't do anything for yourself."

So the boys last name is Sakamoto...

"This ain't funny, you asshole!", Sakamoto-Kun yelled at Kamoshida with fear and rage laced in his words.

"Is that how you speak to a king? It seems you don't understand the position you're in at all. Not only did you sneak into my castle, you committed the crime of insulting me- the king. The punishment for that is death. It's time for an execution! Take him out!", Kamoshida said the last sentences with a sick smile on his face.

"S-Stop it...", Sakamoto-kun back up to the corner as the guards circled him and prevented us from intervening. I tried to reach for him, but it was no use.

Damn...! I can't reach him! Am I a failure then...? Was mom right... When she said I was a waste of time...?

I didn't notice that Sakamoto-Kun had just pushed one of the guards to the ground.

"I ain't down for this shit! C'mon, we're outta here!", just as the sliver of hope was shown, it was covered again. One of the guards hit Sakamato-Kun with his shield, making him fall to the ground.

"Nnngh... Owww... Just go! Get outta here...! These guys are serious!"

"Oh? Running away, are we? What heartless friends you are."

Heartless...?

"They ain't friends... C'mon, hurry up and go!"

I can't...!

"What's the matter? Too scared to run away?"

Scared...? Scared...!

"Hmph, pathetic scum isn't worth my time... I'll focus on this one's execution...", with that, the guards held down Sakamoto-Kun by his arms as Kamoshida beat him.

"Take this! Lowly scum! Useless pest!... Hmph. Where'd your energy from earlier go? A peasant like you isn't worth beating. I'll have you killed right now.", at that second, I had no choice.

"Hey, Kamo-Shitlord! Why don't you pick on someone your own size?", Kamoshida turned around with fury written all over his face.

"Hm...? What...? Don't tell me you don't know who I am.", Kamoshida was right up in my personal space, but I kept staring directly at him.

"Don't make me repeat myself. I know who you are; Ka-Mo-Shit-Lord!", I said every syllable without remorse. Kamoshida looked pissed.

"... That look in your eyes irritates me!", Kamoshida was about to punch me, but I dodged it. Akira took the hit since he was right next to me.

"Akira!", I was about to run to him, but the guards held me in place. They held down Akira too.

"Hold them there... After the peasant, it's their turn to die!", Sakamoto-kun was begging for his life as Kamoshida laughed maniacally. I was trapped. I couldn't help them.

Mom was right... I am no help to anyone... I'm just a waste of time...!

I was about to give up, to throw away my life, when I heard a voice.

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

I saw a blue butterfly pass my vision. Akira was watching the same butterfly flutter away. I suddenly heard a new voice. Not the soothing one that I just heard, but another one. This voice was of a man. Calm and assertive. Cool and collected. It sounded like music.

(Man's voice)

"Ah, we finally meet at last...", at that second, pain shot through my entire body and it felt like hell. I began to squirm and shriek, trying to stop the pain. The voice continued.

"I have waited for this moment for a long time, fellow assassin... Now, death awaits that young man if you do nothing. Was your previous judgment true then? Are you truly worthless?"

"No!", I yelled at the top of my lungs and punched the two guards away from Akira and I. I had a new found strength.

"Very well, I have heeded your calling... Swear to the brotherhood! I am thou, thou art I... I give you the permission of the brotherhood to slay anyone who dares challenge your wisdom! You must fight until the very end, even if you were chained down to Dante's Inferno! Call upon the Brotherhood's name, and release our power! Show the world that an assassin's eyes are never covered by another's view! Show them that no secret shall make its way into their graves! Show them your other self!"

I feel it...

I saw Akira and he had the Same look on his face; resolve. Kamoshida was about to go with his execution.

"Execute him!"

"That's enough!", Akira yelled.

"You little shit...!", I growled.

"What was that...? You desire to be killed that much...? Fine!", Kamoshida gestured to the guards that were holding Sakamoto-Kun and held Akira and me with swords on the verge of tearing our necks. We both stared at nothing. With a swipe of Kamoshida's hand, one of the guards raised their sword at the both of us. My eyes flew open as I felt a surge of power explode out of my body. I could sense Akira's power as well. Most of the guards fell to the floor along with Kamoshida.

I noticed that Akira and I had masks on. Akira had a black and white masquerade mask and I had a black and yellow mask made out of lace.

Reveal thyself...

I tried to pry the mask of lightly, but it wouldn't budge, and the same was for Akira. But something was telling me to remove it at once, no matter the pain. I began to force the mask off, and the pain was apparent. It was ripping the skin of my forehead and around my eyes. It felt like hell, but at the back of my head, I could hear the voice, encouraging me.

Free thyself... Thou have worth...

I finally got the mask off, blood covering my head and eyes. I remembered the day I saw myself in the yellow flames and remembered what my other self did; they smiled.

The second Akira and I smiled, blue and yellow flames engulfed our entire bodies. It didn't burn, it just felt foreign. The flames disappeared to reveal my true self: I was a sleeved cropped black shirt with yellow highlights, black shorts with a loose belt, black boots, and a big white bow on my head. I was holding two black futuristic swords with yellow highlights. I looked back at Akira and his outfit looked like something from a movie. He wore a large black coat with a grey buttoned undershirt, red gloves, black pants, and black shoes. Behind Akira was something extraordinary; a creature that resembled a gentleman thief stood behind him, with wings as black as night. I turned around and saw another creature behind me; a man that dressed as an assassin loomed over me, with one wing colored white and the other one red. Chains circled each of the creatures bodies. I smiled and raised both of my hands, making the chains break and the guards fall backward in fear. Sakamoto-kun watched all of this with a look that screamed confusion and fear. Suddenly, the creatures spoke.

(A/N : excuse the terrible render of the first pic, couldn't find the og pic T-T)

(Arsene--Ezio--Both)

"I am the pillager of twilight--"Arsene"!"

"I am the revealer of secrets--"Ezio"..."

"What the...?", Sakamoto-kun was down on the ground, watching Arsene, Akira's creature, and Ezio, my creature, speak with voices louder than any earthquake.

"We are the rebel's soul that resides within you. If you so desire, we shall consider granting you the power to break through the crisis."

Akira and I looked at each other and nodded.

"Give me your power.", Akira said with a new found confidence.

"Let's give them hell...", I said with a smile.

"Hmph, very well..."

"Let us commence..."

Kamoshida got up from the corner.

"Guards! Start by killing those two! You'll learn the true strength of my men!"

The guards suddenly exploded to reveal pumpkin-headed creatures with lanterns and a witch's hat and cloak. Akira and I got into a place in front of the monsters. Arsene and Ezio came out behind us.

"Detest the enemies before you! Change that animosity into power... And unleash it!"

In my vision, I saw strange words float around me. I focused on one of them and called it out. Akira did the same thing.

"Eiha!"

"Kouga!"

Arsene released red and black energy that attacked one of the monsters. Ezio released a bright light of power that attacked the other.

"Swing your blades!"

Akira pulled out an intricate dagger and I pulled out my two swords. We both charged at each of the monsters and finished them off.

"This power of ours is yours! Kill them however you want. Take their secrets. Run wild to your heart's content!"

I felt a surge in power after the fight, and the guards dropped what looked like gold coins. I quickly picked them up and clipped the bag of coins to my shorts. Sakamoto-kun looked at us with such confusion.

"What..."

"You little...!", Kamoshida was back on his feet. Sakamoto-kun ran at him and pushed him to the ground with all his might.

"You like that, you son of a bitch!?"

"No time to celebrate, Sakamoto-kun! Lock the cell with the keys!", I commanded.

Sakamoto-Kun grabbed the keys that fell from Kamoshida's hands and ran out of the cell. We locked the cell doors, with Kamoshida still inside.

"OK, it's locked!", Sakamoto-Kun confirmed.

"Damn you!", Kamoshida ran to the front of the cell and shook the gates with all his power, trying to force it open.

"Hey...! What was that just now!? And... Your clothes...!", just as Sakamoto-Kun said that the power disappeared and gave us our school clothes back instead.

"Whoa, it went back to normal...!?"

Jinx much...

"You bastards!"

"God, this's effin' nuts! Anyways, let's scram! Uhhh..."

"Rika. No need for formalities.", I said with a firm nod.

"Alright. Rika, you lead the way!"

How the hell do I lead the way when I was knocked out!?

Sakamoto-Kun threw the keys to the cell in a nearby river area.

"Goddamn thieves...! After them! Don't let them escape! Y-You bastards! You think you can get away with doing this to me!?"

"I don't give a shit! I ain't down for any of this!"

I looked around for a bit and saw a way around the area. I calmly walked forward as Akira and Sakamoto-Kun trailed behind.

--Sometime later--

After avoiding enemies, getting on another level, finding captured prisoners with no way to let them out, we stopped in front of a bunch of empty cells... At least, we thought they were empty.

"... Hey, you there. Blondie! Frizzy hair! Grumpy! Look over here!"

We both turned to the cell to find something truly surprising; an anthropomorphic black cat with bright blue eyes and a yellow sash. It had a boyish voice. I blinked and turned to the others.

Yep, they are staring at it. I'm not the only one who sees this.

"What is this thing!?", Sakamoto-Kun gasped.

You think I know...?

The cat spoke.

"You're not soldiers of this castle, right!? Get me out of here! Look, the key's right there!", the cat said as it pointed at a key hanging on the wall with his paw. Sakamoto-Kun found his voice again.

"We're trying to get the hell out of here...! I mean, you obviously look like an enemy too!"

"I'm locked up here, so how can I be your enemy!? Help me out!"

"Sure, because I regularly trust a cat. Every. Damn. Day. Of course, we don't trust you... What a waste of time...", I mumble while checking the cat out with a raised eyebrow.

"I am NOT a cat! Say that and I'll make you regret it!"

"Yeah, I am SO scared of a cat in a cage. Look at me, I'm shitting myself. I am so damn scared."

Before the cat could snap back, we were alerted by footsteps from far away.

Enemies...

Sakamoto-Kun quickly pulled out his phone.

"They're catchin' up already...! Shit, there's still no service! Ain't there any way to contact someone outside!? How the hell do we get out...!?"

The cat looked at us and it looked like it had an idea.

"Hey, you three! 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 said with a serious glare.

"I'm not lying! It's the truth!"

"This thing sounds like it's all talk...", Sakamoto-Kun mumbled.

"If you guys think you can get out on your own, then be my guest!", the cat said as a threat.

"Whadda we do...?"

More footsteps echoed through the cell area. I gritted my teeth and grabbed the cat's fur through the bars and gave it a death stare.

"Listen here, Cat. I was knocked out, beat and caged in this hell hole for I don't know how long. I. Want. Out. And if I find out that you were lying, I will skin you and make your fur into an ugly handbag that no one would want to buy and you will be deemed worthless and thrown out and get forgotten. I hope you understand because I don't like to repeat myself."

"Yes, I-I understand!", the cat stuttered. I let go of its fur and grabbed the key from the wall and opened the cell door. The cat walked out and stretched.

"Ahhhh... Freedom tastes so great..."

"Now, where's the exit, you monster cat!?"

"Don't call me a cat! I am Morgana!"

"Shuddup and hurry it up! You wanna be locked up again!?"

"A-All right, sheesh! Follow me, and stay quiet!"

We began to walk, but I suddenly felt dizzy. My eyes were on fire. I put my hands over my eyes, but once I opened them, I was somewhere else; Shujin academy.

What...? Where's the castle? Where is everyone...? Wait, I'm in front of the faculty office... Should I listen in...?

I made sure no one was around and put my ear over the door. I heard someone talking to themselves; it was Kawakami.

"...It's fourth period already. Sakura-San said that Kurusu-Kun and Koga-Chan left the house this morning. Should I contact the police...? No, that'll just be more of a hassle...*sigh* What did I do to deserve this...?"

Okay, wait. Why would you not contact the police? That is serious irresponsibility right there. Ugh, this is a waste of time! I need to--!

I felt my eyes burn again. I covered them for a second. I opened them to reveal I was back at the castle. Everyone had circled my body with concern written all over their faces. Sakamoto-Kun spoke.

"Hey, you okay? You fell to the ground, looking pale as hell..."

"... I'm fine, just forget it. Don't waste your time on me. Follow Morgana."

--A few minutes later--

As we sneaked around, a guard found us.

"A-Aah! Shit... Shit, it's them!", Sakamoto-Kun yelled as he crawled back to safety while Akira and I stood our ground and unleashed our creatures and got our strange clothes back. Oddly enough, Morgana jumped over Sakamoto-Kun's shoulder and came front and center.

"Stay still! Hey, you two! You could fight, right? Let's go!"

Morgana stood with his chest puffed out.

"Zorro!", with that call, a wave of power covered the area as a creature emerged from behind; a muscled man with a large rapier and mustache and a belt with the letter "Z" on it.

"Y-You got one of those things, too!?", Sakamoto-Kun stuttered with awe and fear.

"Hmph, we will promptly shut them up!", with Morgana's call, we fought.

--After the battle + explanation of weaknesses in shadows(the monsters)--

"Not bad. Your Persona are pretty powerful.", Morgana praised.

"Persona...? Y'mean that thing that comes outta you guys all dramatic-like?",Sakamoto-Kun asked.

"Yes. You saw how Frizzy hair and Grumpy here ripped off their masks when they summoned them, right? Well, everybody wears a mask deep within their heart. By removing that..."

"We gain the ability to fight.", I continued. As I said that, our powers faded and we were back to normal.

"Huh...? They turned back to normal...", Sakamoto-Kun said with slight confusion and disappointment.

Well, excuse me for not having my power under control!

"Hm, it looks like you don't have full control over your power yet. The transformation shouldn't normally dissolve like that. After all--", Morgana was cut off by Sakamoto-Kun.

"Rrgh, that's enough! This crap doesn't make any sense!"

"Can't you just sit still and listen for once, Blondie!?"

"Don't call me Blondie! My name's Ryuji... Oh, and Dude and Rika, since you said "No formalities.", you don't have to use my last name either."

"Duly noted.", I mumbled.

"There is no time for this! You wanna escape this castle in one piece, right? Let's go! Oh, and before that... Take these, and use them carefully, OK?", with that, Morgana handed us three capsules filled with medicine.

"Wait, where did you get these, Morgana?", I asked.

I mean, he is a cat. He doesn't seem to have access to the outside world...

"I have my ways... Come on, we should hurry. It's not much to the exit."

--Sometime later--

After running around for a bit, Ryuji came to a stop.

"Hold on a sec! I feel like I've seen what this dude's wearin' before... Dammit! I'm too flustered! I can't remember a damn thing!"

"Come on, let's go!", Morgana urged.

"Hold on, dammit!"

"What is it? We need to go, fast!"

"But... Who are these guys?"

"Do you really think you have time to worry about other people right now!? Besides, they're--", at that moment, an armored soldier came by and ambushed us.

--After the fight--

"All right! Let's get away before more show up!", Morgana was about to leave when Ryuji stopped us again.

Deja vu much?

"Hold on, we can't just leave these guys here...!"

"You really don't get it, do you? Hrgh... There's no time to explain. Look, I'm going. If you don't want to follow me, be my guest!", with that, Morgana went ahead. Ryuji gritted his teeth and followed and as did we.

--Sometime later--

We stopped in a dark hallway.

"The entrance hall is right above here! The exit's close... Keep it up!", Morgana said as we began to walk some more.

We finally stopped at another dark hallway with doors.

"We're here!"

"Finally! We're saved...!", Ryuji said as he ran to one of the doors and tried to open it, but to no avail.

"...It's not openin'! D'you trick us, you jerk!?", Ryuji raged at Morgana.

"*Sigh*... What a waste of time...", I pushed passed the group and opened another door to the side. I looked back at Ryuji with a raised eyebrow. Ryuji looked embarrassed as Akira sweat dropped and Morgana snickered.

"What's so funny?", I asked Morgana with a blank stare.

"Uh... Don't mind me.", Morgana said as we all went inside the room. It looked like a storage space.

"Where are we supposed to get out from here!? There aren't even any windows!", Ryuji panicked.

"Ugh, Amateur. This is the most basic of basics.", Morgana groaned.

"The ventilation shaft up on the wall. We could break it and exit from there.", I said as I pointed at it.

"Wow, you sure do watch your surroundings a lot!", Morgana said with a glint in his eyes.

"I made it a habit.", I mumbled as I looked back at the shaft.

"I see... Then we just gotta get the metallic mesh off! And a one, and a--", as Ryuji pulled off the metal mesh, he fell to the ground with a crash. I facepalmed at the sight.

What have I gotten myself into...?

"Oww... Crap! The enemy didn't hear us, did they? Seriously, we're finally gettin' outta here...!"

"You should wait on celebrating until you actually get out.", Morgana advised.

"But... What about you?"

"There's something that I still have to do. We're going our separate ways."

"Thanks.", Akira said with a small smile.

"Don't get caught.", I said as I crouched down to Morgana's level and gave him my hand to shake.

"Heh, you better be careful too. See ya.", Morgana replied and shook my hand with his paw.

We all began to crawl through the shaft. The second we made it outside, we saw the world begin to shift. After all the red ripples faded, it became clear that we were back in front of the store with the umbrella from this morning. I felt exhausted and it was apparent that the other two were too.

"Did we make it...?", Ryuji asked. Akira pulled out his phone and a voice came out.

"You have returned to the real world. Welcome back."

Returned...? Does that mean that we were somewhere OTHER than this world...!?

"Huh? Returned...?... Does that mean we got away?", Ryuji questioned.

"It's safe to assume that we did.", I said as I looked around.

"What was all that anyways...? That castle, and Kamoshida, and that weird cat! The hell's goin' on!?", suddenly, someone called for us.

"What's with the yelling? Are you students of Shujin? Cutting classes, are we?", it was the police.

"Huh? No! We were tryin' to get to school, and we ended up at this weird castle!"

Oh, Ryuji... Why me?

"...What?", the police looked at us with a weird look.

Welp, time for some bluffing...!

"I'm sorry for my friend, he likes to joke around at the strangest of times. You see, what really happened was that we were on our way to school, but all got lost and separated in the rain. This boy here, the blonde, has been to this school before so he tried to find us both. My brother and I are new, so we didn't know how to get back here. We just got together and we were about to head for the school. You can check our bags for anything suspicious.", I said with the strategic smile I use for lies as I showed them my bag.

"All right then, I guess that does seem plausible. We will contact the school and tell them about your situation. Now, hurry up and get to school.", with that, I bowed to the police and walked away, the boys trailing behind. I suddenly felt a buzz in my pocket. I pulled out my phone and saw that it was a notification for the teleportation app.

"Hey, I forgot that I left something near the store this morning. Wait here.", with that, I left the boys standing there as I quickly ducked into one of the stores and made sure no one looking my way. I quickly pressed the app and was transported. I looked around and found it familiar.

The Public Prosecutors Office again...

I quickly stopped near the door and placed my gloved hands on the door and my ear close to the opening. The SIU Director was talking to himself, it seemed.

"A Minister of Transport announcing his resignation... *chuckle* Things are going as planned... Sae Niijima... That reminds me... Better to leave it be for now."

As planned...? Did he plan to make the Minister of Transport resign...? Why? Were they doing it because of the accident? And what about Sae Niijima...? And what should left be for now...?

Suddenly, I heard the app make the announcement of returning. I was quickly transported, I ran back to the boys and we headed to school.

--Sometime later--

We made it back to school, and the castle was nowhere to be found.

"Is this for real...? I'm sure we came the same way... What's goin' on here...?", as Ryuji was about to finish, someone talked with a booming voice. It was the counselor.

Shit...

"That's exactly what I wanted to ask you. We received a call from the police. They told us about your situation. You three are not in trouble, but you are extremely late, which I can't deny."

"What's this about "trouble"?", the sudden voice sent chills down my spine. It was Kamoshida.

I still can't unsee that damn king outfit he had... Ugh.

"Kamoshida!?", Ryuji gasped.

"You seem so carefree, Sakamoto. Quite a difference from when you did morning practice for the track team."

"Shuddup! It's your fault that--"

"How dare you speak that way to Mr. Kamoshida!... There's not much leeway for you, you know?", the counselor scolded Ryuji.

His fault? His fault that what...? I need to ask Ryuji later.

"He's the one that provoked me!"

"Do you really want to be expelled!? In any case, you'll have to explain yourself! Follow me!"

"What!? This is bullshit!"

"Come now. I should have been more considerate, too. Let's just say that we were both to blame.", Kamoshida said with a grin.

"Well, if you say so... Still, you're coming with me. You are still late.", the counselor said with a firm nod.

Great, give Kamoshida an even bigger ego boost! See how that goes...

"Fine...", before Ryuji walked away, I grabbed his sleeve and leaned into his ear.

"Tell them what I told the police. Go.", with that, I let go. Ryuji looked flustered for a second, but composed himself and walked away, but not before glaring at Kamoshida.

"By the way... You two are the new transfer students, correct? Akira Kurusu and Rika Koga... Have we met somewhere?", Kamoshida said as he squinted at us.

"We saw a girl in your car.", Akira said smoothly but with a cold tone.

"That's right... I remember now... I'll overlook this just for today. I'm sure you've heard from the principal, but cause any trouble and you'll be expelled. Understand?"

Since when were you supposed to "overlook"? You're not even in charge of us!

Akira nodded without breaking eye contact.

"At any rate, hurry up and go to the faculty office. I'm sure Kawakami's tired of waiting. Oh, and good luck trying to enjoy your new school life.", Akira glared at Kamoshida at that comment and walked away. It was just me and Kamoshida. He suddenly switched to a more soft voice.

"Hey, I heard what happened. I'm sorry you had to get lost on the first day with those boys. If you need any--", I cut him off by raising my hand. I looked at him dead in the eye.

"Let me stop you right there. First of all, I did not like the way you spoke to Ryuji. Talk like that in front of me again, and I won't hesitate to speak up. You are lucky I didn't say anything. Second of all, you have not right to "overlook" anything my brother and I do. You are a regular teacher with your own duties. The principal, our homeroom teacher and the counselor are the ones who have that right. Third of all, and this is important; Never. Threaten. My. Brother. Again. Or I will not be so kind. I don't care if you are a teacher or some Olympic athlete or whatever the f*ck, that is my brother. No one speaks to my brother that way, and I don't want to teach you that the hard way. Fourth of all, I am not some dumb b*tch you can pamper however you want. Don't say "if you need any help, call me.". Don't say "I'm sorry you had to go through that." Or whatever. I am an independent girl who has no trouble with getting what I want. I have connections and information against you, you know. With a little more digging, I can easily expose whatever you have under that dumb smile of yours. And finally, I know you're the type to wrap everyone around your finger, but that won't work on me. I can see right through you. I have been tricked into trusting people before, and those were my f*cking parents! I don't think you can easily "make me trust you" as you said to Miss Kawakami. Yes, I was there. As I said, I have connections and information. Now, if you don't mind-- Actually, I don't care if you mind or not. I'm off to class, don't try anything funny...", after my speech, Kamoshida stood there with his mouth hanging open, stunned. I smirked and left him in front of the entrance.

--???, interrogation room--???,???, 20XX--Present--

We finally stopped talking and watched Nijiima-San's reaction.

"The school turned into a castle...? A talking cat...?... Are you hallucinating from an overdose? I won't put up with you if you two are simply joking around. I'm going to have you continue your story. The one who received a "calling card" and a "the secret confession" from the Phantom Thieves and the Phantom Spy was an Olympic medalist... An alumnus from Shujin Academy-- the PE teacher Suguru Kamoshida. It's true what he did were deplorable crimes from... Indulging his desire. He confessed to it all. But there should've been no connection between the two of you since you had just transferred. Well, except for you, Rika Koga. As the rumored Phantom Spy, you had enough evidence to support the fact that Kamoshida was at fault AND you threatened him.", Niijima-San said with a look that said: "explain".

"I did have info.", I said calmly.

"Why did you target him?"

"I'll tell you later.", Akira said as he looked down. Niijima-San banged the table with her hands and got up, fury in her eyes. Akira and I didn't flinch.

"That's unacceptable! Try and recall it once again...!", with that, we began to recall the later events.