A/N: Yeah, sorry to do this, but I basically wanted to find ways to kill time at least until I know whether or not there will be a DLC event for Pokemon Scarlet/Violet. So in the meantime, I'll be doing either short chappies, certain event chapters (or better known as "filler"), and perhaps update/create other stories on my account until we get some official news and what the release date(s) will be.

First one I wanted to get out of the way is Chifuyu's first time in the Mementos.

Keep in mind this takes place just a little bit before she got "Hisui'd", if only for plot sake, so this would explain why she kinda forgot (or pushed this onto the very far back burner of her mind) about this later.

That and Cresselia's Lunar Wing and Darkrai's ability to sense (and sometimes ward off) incoming nightmares or intruders of the cognitive sort does help (or hurt, you make the call).

Sorry not sorry Igor.

So here we go!

First Person POV, Chifuyu

It was another bad night.

Big Sis did what she could, but she couldn't protect me from our parents' wrath. She managed to buy me some time to at least disappear in our "shared" room (Shared because after being deemed Quirkless, our parents had treated me no better than the Dursleys treated Harry Potter, only I did not have the liberty of even a cupboard to hole up in) where I passed out from the pain of my injuries and my ongoing fatigue that had been building up since I hardly slept a wink because of studying (the both of them lose their shit when I come home with grades lower than even an A minus, and they practically kick me outside for who knows how long if not for Chiaki going out to find me).

Pulling myself into her closet where we both constructed a "nest" of blankets and a pillow or two we managed to filch from the main room without being caught, I promptly passed out, my head pounding like a drum.

Timeskip

I opened my eyes blearily, feeling out of sorts.

Almost like I was in an unfamiliar place and somewhere deep within me knew it and my body was trying to warn me.

Sitting up, I heard the slight clinking of chains, making both my body and breath freeze as I felt cold fear grip my heart.

"Oh no...."

Looking down at my wrists and ankles, I realized that I was indeed in chains.

"What is this sick shit?!" I began to panic, thinking that my parents have come up with a new and even more sickening method to punish me.

"On your feet, prisoner."

My head snapped up to see who was speaking, only to see a few things that made me both even more alarmed and all the more confused.

One, was that I was in literally a jail cell, with the god-awful clothes to match.

Two, the room outside my cell, was all velvet, with just some fancy desk in the middle.

Three, two twin girls, dressed similar to prison guards with eyepatches were outside my cell, staring at me with identical stony expressions.

And finally, there was I assume a man, with a very long nose and an offputting smile that seems permanent with slightly odd eyebrows with eyes that have apparent red veins standing out, like he was angry or something.

Instead of fear, I felt something akin to anger as I stood up and banged on the cell door.

"Oi!" I barked, paying no heed to the twins jumping back slightly when I began to act out. "Is this some sort of sick joke!? Well ha ha, very funny! Everybody wants a piece of the Quirkless girl! Why don't you get the whole thing over with already?! I'm sure my old man had paid you a pretty penny to have me tortured to your heart's content so why don't you just have at it already, eh?!"

"Get back, inmate!" One of the girls snapped at me, banging her nightstick on the cell bars. "You will address Igor-sama with respect!"

I levelled a stony glare at her, making her balk slightly in surprise. "Child," I narrowed my eyes at her, "You know nothing of me, much less respect. Where I am from, respect is earned, not given. And far as I'm concerned, this is whole thing is nothing but disrespectful."

As I spoke I paid no heed to the needle-nosed man staring at me, one of his eyebrows quirked up with interest.

"For one so young, you are quite a wise one, aren't you?"

My head snapped up to meet his eyes as he spoke. I kept a stony glare on my face though inwardly I was quite scared, not that I would admit it out loud in front of these three.

"What do you know?" I asked, both curious yet irritated.

His permanent smile seemed to widen, making the hairs along my neck rise and put up my guard.

"Quite the mouth on you, I see...." He added, seemingly unperturbed by my blatant remarks.

Something about this man rubbed me wrong. Perhaps more so than my own rotten parents. And that's saying something....

"I need to get out of here... Like now!"

A distant rumble was heard, almost echoing throughout the chamber.

"Hmmm...?" The needlenosed man, looked about, his smile seeming to drop a bit as the twin wardens were also on guard, looking ready to attack.

"Master!" The other girl suddenly spoke up, her voice full of alarm, there's an intruder--!"

Something burst into the room, causing a great explosion, making jump back further in my cell as a bright light infiltrated the room.

"Impossible!!" I heard the needlenosed man speak in an outraged tone, making me jump. "Nobody had ever-!"

"WIND SCAR!!!"

Another explosion cut off the man midsentence along with a yell.

Which was followed by the twins also screaming and the weird man also yelling as dust obscured everyone's vision.

Baking further into my cell, my ears caught the sound of metal whining, making me look up in time to see my cell door be literally ripped from its hinges.

Throwing the metal door away, someone entered the cell, making me put up my guard even further, even making me put up my arms in case I have to fight. I may not be strong but I'll be damned before I go out without a fight.

A giant demonic-looking canine entered the cell; a huge dog partially obscured in the shadows, but I could tell they were pure white if only for the way their fur seems to almost glow in the dim lighting perhaps the size of a skyscraper with a noticeably big scar on its underside nudged its way inside.

I felt fear rise in my throat as I knew there was no way I would survive fighting this.

"At ease, mortal, I mean you no harm." My eyes widened with surprise as the huge dog began to shrink and transform before my very eyes before a bright light erupted, making me shield my eyes until the light died down. When I lowered my arms, I gasped seeing a man with an unnatural air about him standing in front of me. He looked like he stepped out of a Japanese folktale book, only much more handsome, if I may be so bold to add.

"Here." I jumped slightly when he approached me with some... what is that? Some sort of fur throw??

(Basically whatever you call that fluffy thing that Sesshomaru carries around, and let's just assume that's not actually a part of his body

"Please calm yourself," His voice reached my ears, making me stand to attention and stop my (futile) resistance. Something about the way he was speaking made me want to pay special attention. "I'm here to get you out of here."

I opened my mouth to question him, but before a word left my mouth, he cut me off. "There's no time to explain, just get on my back."

I blushed, taking his words in the wrong sense before I mentally smacked myself for my dirty mind. I should really lay off the shoujo manga....

Deciding to hell with it, I complied. I hopped up onto his back, wrapping my legs around his waist and my arms around his neck, hoping I don't strangle him on accident.

"Hang on," he spoke with authority, leaving no room for argument.

He then began to take off, running into the dust cloud. I ducked my head into his shoulder, so I didn't get blinded by the dust and all, and to block out the noise that came from within the fray.

I felt the man shift from underneath, but I didn't dare to peak out from where I hidden face in fear of what might happen.

"You can look up now."

His words along with the change in tone were enough to lift my face, only to gape in surprise when he had actually changed form, only now I got a much clearer look.

(A/N: I assume this is what he would look like in the anime should he actually got a lot more screen time than he did before...)

"Not gonna lie, this is kinda cool..." I thought to myself as I gripped onto his fur as he managed to get us out of the prison. I always had an affinity for animals, demon or otherwise. There was a point in time where I got really into demon mythology, especially of the fauna category.

"Just hang on tight, mortal," the dog (I never got his name) instructed me. "I'll be able to get us a safe ways away from that place if only to make sure you make it back home safely."

"Where even are we?" I asked. "And who are you?"

"We are inside your consciousness," the huge dog told me, shocking me with his answer. "And as for my name, call me Tōga. Any other details at the moment are not important."

"But what-"

"Look, I'm on borrowed time here, so please, I understand you are confused, but there is simply no time to waste. I'll get us somewhere safe and then I will help you wake up back in your world."

A part of me was saddened that I wasn't going to be able to get to know more about my saviour, but then again, I didn't want to leave my sister either.

I simply took in my surroundings as he ran with me on his back, seeing nothing but a seemingly unending night all around us. There was no moon to guide the way, yet this Tōga seem to know where he was needing to go.

Eventually he stopped, making me have to crane my neck to see over his rather large head. It seemed we stopped at some sort of stone grave, making me look at him with a quizzical look.

"What are we-" I was cut off midsentence when a portal opened up before us, making me start slightly.

"Hang on tight," Tōga instructed, before he leapt through with me.

Coming through, I saw we were above some sort of abyss, making me fear that we were going to fall to our deaths. I'm not sure if it is possible to die in a dream, but I was not eager to find out anytime soon.

Only to see that he was practically flying through the air, making me gape with disbelief.

He seemed to chuckle at my reaction as we began to fly what looked like a giant samurai soldier made of entirely of bones (with some sort of greenery growing through the armor and bones) with the skull of an carnivorous animal in place of a human head.

"Welcome to my tomb, young one," he spoke to my snapping me out of my reverie, only to balk at his spoken words.

"YOUR TOMB?!" I practically shrieked, making him wince.

"Ow... yes, my tomb. Do not fear though, I'm not gonna kill you or anything like that."

"That's not the issue here-!" I started, feeling all kinds of wrong for trespassing on someone's burial grounds.

"This is the only place those three can't reach, so this is the safest for us. They won't dare cross into my domain, lest their lives be at stake."

"But isn't this supposed to be a dream?!" I questioned, more confused than ever.

He seemed to sigh. "You are much too young to be dealing with this. This is at least a couple of years too soon for that Imposter to be taking on ---"

He seemed to cut himself off midsentence, shaking his head.

"I'm straying from the main point. Let us enter so we can perhaps spare a few minutes to talk before we get you back."

With that he seemed to fly inside the mouth of the large skeleton. Despite the massive amount of skulls inside the tomb, oddly enough I wasn't grossed out or anything.

I was actually intrigued, despite the amount of crazy turns this "dream" had taken me already in a short span of time.

We landed inside, where a room of sorts was already formed, complete with a slab of some sorts, like it was a scaffolding for some object or something.

Whatever it was, it was no longer there.

Lowering his body, I slid off of him, nearly falling off balance when I tried to avoid tripping on one of the skulls.

"Go inside that other room off to the side. There will be a set of clothes you can change into. Grab them and change clothes. Those prison rags are not fit for a guest such as yourself..."

I have totally forgotten about my state of dress, if one could be nice enough to call it that. And it wasn't until then I realized that I was shivering, both from the cold inside this tomb and perhaps from my earlier "situation."

Nodding, I set out to do what he said, going off into a room that was barely noticeable unless one looked hard enough.

Entering, I found an elaborate kimono set, fit for nobility back in the Sengoku era, along with a warm-looking overcoat/robe.

Seeing as my options were either this or the ridiculously thin jailbird getup, I think it is safe to say that the choice was almost too easy.

Quickly shrugging out of those rags, I found myself tying the obi belt on the kimono before I shrugged on the oversized robe to add more warmth. While the outfit itself was not totally fitted to my size in specific, I was no stranger to baggy clothes. The bigger they are the more skin (in this case scars) they cover up from the human's prying eyes.

Shaking myself from my dark thoughts, I hurried back out to see my "host."

He had shifted back into his human form. With a face like that, he was no doubt one to make the ladies fall head over heels for him, human or otherwise. Makes me wonder if this outfit was from some former lover of his and she left it behind.

If so, that was a shame, but hey, I guess one person's "trash" is someone else's treasure....

"First of all, let me apologize what you went through back there." He began, breaking me out of my wandering thoughts, before he began to lead me to what looked like a throne of some sort. There was another chair next to it. Taking a seat in the more elaborate throne, he gestured to the other one. "Come sit. You have had a rough night thus far."

"That's an understatement." I thought sardonically before complying.

Seeing me get comfortable, he continued. "Next, let me be the first one to congratulate you."

This threw me for a loop. "Eh? Congratulate me? Whatever for?"

He gave me a smile. "Why, for awakening me after so many centuries of slumbering in the afterlife. This had only happened only a handful of times, and only by my descendants. But you are the first human I know of that has no blood connection to me nor to my kin to make me rise from where I lay."

This was not making any sense to me; then again this is a dream and nine times out of ten, a lot of mine never make any sense. Kinda makes taking drugs to see how much more crazy they can get a little bit tempting if not for the consequences.

"Um," I was unsure what to do with this information, "thanks, I guess.... I'm not sure what I did to do this...."

He seemed to wave it off. "I'm not sure either, but I feel grateful nonetheless. Especially with that Imposter running amok."

"'Imposter'?" I questioned. "You mean that needle-nosed guy? Didn't he say his name was Igor? Or something along those lines?"

"Yes, him." Tōga's face darkened a bit. "But he is not who he says he is..."

I felt something akin to dread fill me. "What...?"

He sighed. "While I cannot tell you much for the amount of limited time we have here, I can still provide you with some.... protection should he come for you again."

"But what's his deal?" There were too many questions and I really needed answers, elaborate dream or not. "Is he bad or something? Why am I his subject of interest? What does he want?"

Tōga sighed, "While I cannot say he is entirely evil so to speak, he is not entirely a saint either. Let's just say should I have not risen and found you, then the path he would have put you on would have been riddled with ruin." For some reason the word resonated with me, making me almost lurch forward from the sensation.

"How could it get any worse than what I am currently dealing with?" I wondered, thinking of my home situation and all that came with it. I'm fairly certain that if not for my big sister helping me I would have given up on myself in terms of living.

"I am here to help you. And to prevent several disasters in your future." He continued, making me look up.

"What do you..."

"Let me show you a sneak preview of what might have happened," Tōga touched my forehead, making me feel confused before my vision suddenly changed.

An image of Chiaki running through a dimly lit maze riddled with deadly traps as she struggled to reach the end, even as blood was cascading from multiple wounds on her body. A screen with the familiar yet sinister face of the up and coming supermodel Junko Enoshima as she laughed with sadistic glee as Chiaki had to endure many traps just to reach the exit. I somehow knew that even if she did reach the end, something bad was going to happen. And when she did, she was immediately impaled. I looked on with open horror as she bled out on the floor before a shadowy figure approached her and, after a moment of exchanging words that went unheard by me, she finally gave out, the life bleeding away from her eyes.

Before the vision changed, the shadowy figure picked up her favorite hair clip, a Galaga battle ship, before I then noticed tears in their own eyes. My eyes widened with horror when I recognized him as my sister's friend's fraternal twin brother Izuru.

Next was a classroom full of kids gathered, before they were approached by two individuals with an artillery of weapons (from handguns, knives of varying shapes and sizes, even a chainsaw) before they were left alone. After some moments, they began to kill each other, their blood painting the walls and floors. It did not end until the final one standing tripped and fell right on the aforementioned chainsaw.... I had to force myself to look away before the vision changed again.

Then vision then changed to a blood red sky, with pollution visible in the air. People were falling out and off of buildings in mass suicides, people attacked other people in the streets, blood filling the paths as friends, family and even strangers warred against the other for no reason. I recognized my sister's dear classmates doing things of many levels of terrifying. Brainwashing the masses to do their bidding, killing those who don't follow, and so many other things.

"Please!! No more!!!" I begged wordlessly, not sure if I can take any more of this visual torture.

Unfortunately, it did not stop there.

The next vision was what looked like another version of my sister's school only it got turned into a bunker of some sort (probably because what was going on outside since it seemed the whole world got turned into an apocalyptic warzone) where sixteen kids were in some sort of trial room. The scene kept changing rapidly where one by one, a student goes missing before another student was dragged off to be killed in some bizarre yet horrifying manner. The weirdest part of it all, aside from the freaky executions was a monochrome stuffed bear seemingly pulling the strings as they sat on some sort of throne with a sinister look on their face.

The vision changed again, this time at a tropical island. I was shocked to see my sister, alive and well, standing among her classmates, all of them no longer having that offputting swirls in their eyes that they had while they wreaked havoc on civilians. My hopes were dashed when, like the previous scene, the air changed and the same monochrome bear appeared, where once more, students seemed to disappear and when they entered the trial room, more students got whisked away and were executed in the same freaky yet unique methods. I wanted to scream when I watched my sister die again. To a fucking Tetris game.

Before I could begin to freak out, the vision changed again, this time to a seemingly futuristic setting where a facility was built within a giant cage of some sort. Inside what looked to be a gymnasium were seventeen teens, all of them dressed uniquely and all have varying expressions, before five different colored bears, similar to the black and white monochrome bear, appeared, making everything fall to chaos, just like the last two visions I received. And, just like the last two visions, a trial room was involved, and, just like the last one, kids were being eliminated left and right before the "offender" was dragged off to be executed in the same yet unique manner.

As the final execution reached it's end, so did my wits.

"ENOUGH OF THIS ALREADY!!!"

As I screamed those thoughts, there was a bright flash before I was blinded, making me fall backwards.

Slowly opening my eyes, I saw I was back in the tomb, with Tōga's worried expression staring right back at me as I tried to get my breathing under control.

"What... Wha.... How.... Why on Earth..." I had trouble formulating words, as that was way too much for me to process.

"I understand that was horrifying to witness," Tōga began. "But I had to show you at least a sneak peek of what might have happened had I not awakened..."

I merely stared at him blankly, trying to make sense of all that had happened so far. Dream or not I cannot ignore this.

"Had I left that Imposter to his devices with you, you would have faced many losses to the point you would have gladly thrown away both your life and perhaps the world you live in if only to stop the suffering you were forced to endure."

Those words shook me to my core; images of my sister being impaled in such a grotesque manner was almost enough to make me hurl had there been anything in my stomach to begin with.

After a moment of silence, I was finally able to form some comprehensible words.

"Did you show me this," I began before wetting my lips to continue, "So I can prevent this?"

He nodded. "Precisely."

I took a breath. "Even though I still think this is some elaborate nightmare souped up on acid, I cannot ignore this. Especially with my sister's life on the line. What do you want me to do?"

He raised an eyebrow at me. "What makes you think I require you to do something?"

I gave him a look. "You went out of your way to get me out of that place, bring me here, and also show me all of those traumatic shitshows, and yet you want to claim you don't expect me to do something about it? I may not be some erudite professor, but I'm certainly not an idiot."

At this, his face gave way to a smile. "That's what I wanted to hear. So you being the one to call upon me wasn't some dumb luck..."

I pursed my lips at this; while I have met my sister's friend Nagito, I do not believe in "dumb luck." Much less coincidences.

But that is besides the point.

"Let me ask you this," Tōga began, "what do you believe of your society? Especially where these so-called 'Quirks' are concerned..."

I frowned. "To be frank, I despise it. Everything out there is just a clusterfuck of societal views of the weak and strong. It is always either you're destined to be a 'hero' or you are slated to be a 'villain'. There is never a middle ground. And all because people take one look at one's Quirk, and they instantly label a person for it." I clenched my fists. "It is never judging a person on their character, it is always something trivial such as appearance or what their power is better suited for. And if you don't even have a power to make you stand out, then you are nothing more than garbage, they all say. It is all bullshit!"

"So should society fall to ruin or should it be given a chance to change for the better?"

His question actually made me stop and think. Should society be brought to ruin? Or can it be given a chance to make things right?

"I... I don't know..." I suddenly felt both frustrated and a touch guilty. There was no real way to cure society, at least not without extreme measures such as a culling en masse (which to be honest, I'm half tempted to join such a movement), and even if there is, would people even bother?

I felt guilty because, despite my lack of power, I haven't really done anything to solve the problem. I have always been silent, hoping my sister would come and save me.

"But," a dark thought crossed my mind, making my breath freeze, "what if Chiaki wasn't there to save me? What if she was killed like in that vision? What then? Where would I be then?"

I felt my eyes burn at the thought, both at my apparent weakness and that the idea of losing my sister caused me to lose so much of my composure.

"Tell me this, child," Tōga's voice brought me back to the present. "What do you want? What do you want to change the outcome of this vision?"

"Can you answer me this first?" I asked in a choked voice. "Can the future really be changed?"

His answer was immediate. "Yes. Despite what some may say, the future is not always set in stone. There is always, no matter how small, a chance to turn the tides, for better or for worse..."

Hearing this made something inside of me that I thought I have lost long ago begin to bloom.

Hope.

Cheesy as it may sound, it is all I have on my side, given the hand life had dealt me with.

"Then here is my answer for your previous question," I said in a strong voice. "I want... No, I need strength."

He blinked at my answer, which gave me a chance to elaborate on why I chose something seemingly cliche.

"Let me expand on that... I don't just mean physical strength. I also mean mentally, intellectually, and perhaps emotionally. If I am to prevent all of this from happening, then I am more than likely gonna need to, as my sister would put it, max out all of my stats to take this on."

With those words, he seemed to brighten a bit (not literally thankfully). "Well said. You said the exact thing I have been wanting to hear. However," he gestured to my body. "You will need time to improve yourself before you are ready to take this mission on. You are much too frail in both mind and soul to be qualified to do this."

"But what about the visions-"

"These won't take place for some time," He cut me off midsentence. "You'll have plenty of time between now and then to improve yourself. You'll even perhaps come across a few handy things as you do so."

Before I could ask, a rumbling was heard across the tomb, making the place shake a bit.

"Uh oh," Tōga's expression morphed into slight concern. "Looks our time is about to be cut short. Before I send you back, take this." He reached into the front of his kimono and placed something into my hands.

"Put it on, quickly." I hastened to do as he said, fastening this collar around my neck.

"Good," he nodded, before he licked one of his fingers, "now hold still," he ordered as he suddenly grabbed my chin.

"Hey! What the-!" He took the finger he licked and began to rub it on my forehead.

A slight burning sensation made me wince but I was unable to pull away as he had a good grip on me to keep me from doing so.

"Quit squirming, I'm half way done," he lightly scolded me, before he moved his finger to my cheeks, where the same prickly sensation happened again.

"Itai!" When he finished I pulled myself away from his grip, rubbing both my temple and my cheeks. "What the hell, man?! What was that for?!" I exclaimed irritably. Not the worse pain I have been dealt with, it was still rather bothersome.

He pulled out a mirror, a small smile on his face. He almost looked smug.

I gasped when I saw my reflection.

On my forehead was a crescent moon tattoo and on both cheeks were two red slash marks, giving me a look similar to his.

"Whoaaa..." Not gonna lie, I kinda like this.

"Ah, if only my wives were here," Tōga's words broke me from my trance, "they always wanted a daughter..."

"What...?" My words were cut off again by another rumble through the cavernous tomb.

"Looks like our time is up," he then placed a finger on my forehead. "Till we meet again. Remember to grow strong. When you are ready, these markings will appear even both in the world you walk in and the one your cognitive self walks in. Best wishes, young warrior!"

With that a bright flash blinded me once again, just as an explosion occured just behind him.

Any words of warning I had for him were drowned out as I slowly blacked out, leaving me in a void before I felt myself being shaken awake by none other than my sister.

"Onee-chan!" Chiaki looked beside herself with worry as I stared up at her wordlessly. "Are you okay?! You were shouting in your sleep and-!"

I cut her off by suddenly hugging her, making her stop talking before she hugged me back, albeit with confusion.

"Thank god...." I thought, remembering that damned nightmare about her dying not once but twice. Dream or not, I will do everything I can to prevent this from happening.

What neither of us realized was that I was wearing the choker Tōga gave me....

Timeskip

I limped around in the Shujin district, trying to find the hangout spot my (only) friend Mustard-kun sent a text about.

"I sometimes hate GPS's...." I grumbled to myself as I stopped a minute to rest as my leg was, to put it simply, killing me. And so was my head, and it wasn't just because of the weird dream from last night.

"Fucker had to conk me over the head with a glass bottle..." I cussed to myself as I looked at my cracked phone for the umpteenth time (Chiaki managed to save her last phone so she and I have a ways of communicating to each other, or in my case, when both of our parents have kicked me out of the house when she isn't there).

My eyes narrowed when I saw an app I do not recall installing on the phone.

"It's here again." I thought with a bit of irritation. When it popped up some time after Chiaki gave me this phone, I asked her about it.

She was as confused as I was as she never had seen this app nor had she installed it to begin with. As a matter of fact, the app wasn't even there when she first got it.

In the end, we chalked it up to be some funky thing that may have happened when the phone updated itself at some point.

Naturally, I deleted it, thinking that was the end of it.

Boy was I wrong.

When I tried to delete the app, it only reappeared some time later, sometimes a day or two after I deleted it or within the next hour.

It was annoying to say the least.

And after last night with the lack of rest (despite being asleep) I was not feeling too generous of a mood.

Which is probably what earned me that hit to the head by my old man before I was promptly kicked out of the house.

I decided to take advantage of the free time I have by messaging my friends Mustard and Toga Himiko to see if there were any places I can go to get stronger. The reason I gave them is because I wanted to learn how to defend myself.

Which, now that I think of it, was not a lie.

Mustard was the one to answer me, giving me some coordinates to head to so I can meet the both of them so I can speak with an acquaintance of theirs.

Which led me to getting on the subway to the Shujin district.

I'll admit that was a risky move given the amount of train accidents happening in that area as of late, but there was no other way for me to get there and going on foot would have probably taken me at least a couple of days and I did not have that kind of time.

Thankfully the ride on the way over went smoothly enough; the only complaint I had was a few rude passengers shoving me a bit, but that was to be expected on subways. And I was not gonna waste energy by having a verbal fight that may have turned physical given my mood.

So I merely shrugged it off, unaware of a set of dark eyes behind a pair of glasses were staring at me throughout the ride.

Which brings us to now...

I was now walking through the Shujin district, feeling a bit frustrated as I now couldn't make sense of these directions now. To make matters worse, it had begun to rain sometime during the train ride, and I did not have an umbrella handy.

"Dammit..." I cussed under my breath, not noticing the same dark-haired guy from the subway was standing next to me, only he with an umbrella.

We were both standing underneath an awning hoping to wait this downpour out.

Suddenly a shadow casted over me, making me freeze before a voice spoke.

"So, you forgot your umbrella...?" I nearly jumped out of my skin at the sound of a voice next to me. I whirled around to see the guy with glasses, wearing a school uniform, was talking to me as he held an umbrella out over the both of us.

He seemed to be taken aback by my skittish reaction. "Sorry..." He apologized after a moment of shock. "I didn't mean to frighten you...."

I felt a touch indignant; I felt as if being treated like I was fragile was an insult to me. Some time ago, I would not have cared. Now, it feels different. Either it was nerves or the "dream" from last night...

"I am not scared...." I muttered, looking away from him, hoping to hide the slight red filling my cheeks as I felt his eyes stay on me.

A girl with platinum blonde hair appeared, seeming to be in a hurry.

Before the ravenette could talk to her, a car pulled up, the window rolling down.

Something inside me became wary when I saw the driver. My instincts were telling me to run, rain or not. Yet something else kept me rooted to the spot as he offered us a ride.

Of course, like a smart girl, I refused. Same did the dark-haired boy.

However the blonde girl seemed to accept, making me look at her like she was stupid. Did nobody teach her not to accept rides from strange men?!

Before I could say that, she had already got inside the car before the man offered once more to us.

I merely shook my head, retreating a few steps, almost stepping behind the dark-haired guy.

The ravenette also refused; though he looked slightly confused as he casted a glance to look at me almost trying to hide behind him.

The man shrugged before he rolled his window back up and drove away.

"Hey," I nearly jumped again when the ravenette spoke again. "Are you really okay? You almost looked... frightened when he was talking to us."

Before I could formulate an answer, an new voice broke in. "Well she should be."

We turned to see a blonde guy wearing a similar outfit like the ravenette's and the other blonde, only he had a different shirt on. The air about him screamed "rebel" to me. And I'm 99% sure that his hair is dyed.

"She must have good instincts if she is refusing to be in that guy's company." The blonde boy continued.

"What makes you say that?" the ravenette asked, almost standing in front of me in a protective stance.

"Because that dude is trouble." The blonde said, his face darkening a bit. "That Kamoshida..."

"Kamoshida?" The black-haired male questioned.

"You new to Shujin right?" The blonde interrogated. "Well he is the gym teacher and he is a big pervert. He practically runs the place like it is his own castle."

While they talked, I let my thoughts wander, letting what he said absorb into my head. Despite not knowing much about the whole matter, for some reason all that the blonde dude said had felt true.

"C'mon," he grabbed the both of us by our sleeves taking me by surprise as I tuned back into the present. "I know a shortcut to the school!"

"But I'm not-!" I tried to argue as I was not even dressed anything like they were, but it was all for naught as he dragged the both of us into a back alley to find a shortcut.

"What have I gotten myself into?!"

Timeskip

It did not take too long but we ended up in front of a school; nothing too old but nothing exactly modern either. Students were milling about in front, some of them staring at us and even pointing. Some of their whispering made the hairs along my arms rise with anxious irritation.

"Do these people have nothing better to do besides point and gawk like imbeciles?!" I felt my nostrils flare with anger as I felt the need to hit something all of a sudden.

Suddenly, the scenery changed, a red haze appearing, making both of the guys stop what they were doing to gawk in confusion.

"What the-?!"

Suddenly, we were inside a castle.

(A/N: I'm not gonna describe it you all know what it looks like. If not go look it up.)

"What is this?!" The blonde guy shouted.

The black-haired one just looked around himself in alarmed confusion.

This was all becoming too much for me.

So I did the natural human thing in a scenario like this.

I ran.

As I ran, I didn't hear the blonde's shouts of confusion.

"Hey?! Where did the chick go?!"

Meanwhile

I ran through countless corridors, hoping for a way out of this bat-shit craziness.

Only for me to find deadends at almost every turn.

When I tried to ask the weird-looking knights for directions, they only walked past me, not even sparing me a glance.

Leaving with no choice but to find the exit on my own.

As I traveled the many halls, I couldn't help but notice that the decor looked too much like that weird guy that tried to offer us a ride earlier.

"Could this be that weirdo's place or something?" I wondered to myself as I stared at a statue of him where I pulled down on his jaw to lower a drawbridge. "If so, then he thinks highly of himself...."

Eventually, with what felt like hours, I have come upon some area that looked like a fancy cell. 

Curious despite myself, I entered, slipping through the bars very easily.

It was designed similar to a astronomer's bedroom; complete with different designs of suns, moons, stars, and even planets. Not gonna lie, it would be a funky place to hang out in if not for it being a jail cell.....

Walking around, I spotted something round and dark, yet it seemed to cast a reflection of myself.

Walking over to it, I picked it up, seeing a crescent moon emblazoned in the glass.

"What the-?" I muttered to myself before a shadowy apparition apearred within the odd mirror.

"Yipe!" I yelped nearly dropping the thing.

"Hey! Watch it, you stupid guard!" The figure snapped out peevishly, their eyes closed and their arms crossed. "Haven't you heard of the phrase 'break a mirror and you get seven years of bad luck'? Well I would love to see how you idiots can handle that!" They then blew a raspberry at me before they opened one eye and a look of confusion crossed their face. "Hey! I know somebody is there! I can sense you! Is this one of your tricks, Kamoshida?! If so it ain't funny!"

I felt confused now. What did they mean they can't see me? Before I could ask something bright caught my attention from the corner of my eye. Looking down I saw it was the choker's odd pendant, and it was glowing.

Looking down at my hand, I saw that it was transparent, making me look a bit ghostly.

"Could that be why those guards never caught me?" I wondered, remembering how a lot of them walked through me rather than attacking like they did with those two boys from the entrance. "Because I am invisible?!" Did Tōga know about this and that's why he gave it to me in the first place?

My thoughts were interrupted when I heard the shadowy entity speak again, their childish voice rising with irritation. "Hey! Show yourself!"

"All right all right, sheesh," I rolled my eyes, not that they could see. "Now how do I turn the invisibility off?" I wondered to myself as I looked at the pendant hanging from the choker. "Maybe if I took it off...?" I then unclasped the choker, making the being gasp in surprise as I was now flesh and blood.

"Whoa!!!" They seemed to be surprised while also kinda happy. "You aren't that creep or his lackeys!" He gasped suddenly. "No way! Are you like, that dog's baby or something?"

That threw me for a loop. "Huh?"

"Your face." They pointed at my forehead. "The only one I know with markings like that was that guy who tried to prevent me from being locked away."

"Did Tōga know this person?" I wondered. "Look," I began hoping to make some sense of this craziness, "I'm not sure what is going on, but for being the 'dog's baby' or whatever, I don't think I am, but I kinda need some help."

"Help with what?" They asked. "What's wrong?"

"Well, to be honest, I'm pretty sure I'm not supposed to be here..."

They gained a mischievous look. "Ooohh~ Did you perhaps break into here to steal Kamoshida's crown?"

"Wait what?" I had no idea what this... kid, I'm guessing, was talking about. "I have no idea what you mean, but I really need to get out of here before something bad happens..."

"Hey! I could help!" They suddenly suggested.

I raised an eyebrow. "And what do you intend to get out of helping me? From what I can see, you're just a mirror..."

"Well if you let me out, then we can make a deal." They gave me a smirk.

I felt wary all of a sudden. "What are the conditions?" I asked cautiously.

"First, you set me free. Then I can show you the way out. As a bonus, I can tell you stuff about that creep Kamoshida. Between you and me, I kinda hate that guy. He always make promises to play with me but he only makes me do his chores instead."

I wasn't sure what they meant by any of that, but if I was to get out of this thing alive then I suppose I can't be too picky...

"All right," I caved in. "As long there aren't any tricks then we have a deal." Suddenly something occured to me. "By the way what's your name?"

They gave me another smirk. "They call me the Collector." I felt something akin to a shiver pass through me as they responded to me.

"All right, Mister Collector, how do we proceed? Do you need my blood to seal the deal? Or how does this work?"

"Mister?" They repeated. "Ugh, you talk too much like a grownup. That's boring." I felt an irk mark appear on my head; excuse me for having some manners. "As for the sealing the deal," their smile stretched across their face, "just stick your pinky out."

Confused, I did as they said, before touching the mirror with my outstretched digit. A bright glow encased the room; stars, planets, and constellations were surrounding us before a bright flash erupted, making me shield my eyes to prevent going blind.

When the light died down there was a kid dressed in what looked like nighttime pajams with half a face painted in lavendar purple. They also had red eyes with pale yellow sclera. Their entire aura was playful, full of childlike innocence.

"Man!" They levitated up. "Does it feel great to be out of that thing!!" They flew around, laughing with glee. "Woohoo!"

As they flew around, they then saw me out of the corner of their eye.

Floating down on their stomach, they peered down at me, their eyes mischievous yet curious.

"So," they spoke, "what to do now, since I'm out?" They snapped his fingers. "I know! How about hide and seek?! I'll hide first!"

They then darted behind a broken statue, giggling like, well, a kid.

Before I could talk, I heard screams echoing throughout the castle, sounding eerily like that blonde guy.

This made Collector come out of their "hiding spot" their smile now gone.

"Uh oh." They spoke with a hint of worry. "Looks like Kamoshida is in a bad mood..."

I winced; as much as I did not want to get mixed up in whatever is going on with blondie and his reluctant friend, a part of me cannot let me just leave them for dead.

"What's wrong, friend?" Collector asked, flying in front of me.

I looked up at them. "I know you just got out and all, but I think we better go and get out of here while we can."

"We can go to the outside world!" They suggested happily.

"But first," I held up a finger, "We have to get those prisoners out." I grimaced remembering the screams I heard while I was searching for a way out. "I just can't bear the idea of leaving them here in this terrible place."

"You're not trying to trick me are you?" They narrowed their eyes at me. "You better not be trying to back out..."

I shook my head. "I want out of here about as much as you do. But I think the only way out is if we grab the two guys that were with me. One of them was a blonde loudmouth and the other-"

"I know who you are talking about," they said, though I noticed a pout on their face. "But do we have to get them out? I mean I can get us out of here by ourselves then we can play together!"

I decided to pull out the big guns. I let my eyes water up before I looked up at them, giving them a kicked puppy look. "But it would make me feel so sad if I just left them to that weird guy's mercy... I would feel so bad if they got killed by him...."

That made them look at me with wide eyes. "Okay okay! No need to be sad! I can get them and everyone else out lickety split!"

I sniffled. "R-really?"

They nodded so fast I thought they were gonna get whiplash. "Yuh-huh! Just... follow my lead..."

Their words were punctuated by the area once again illuminating with stars and constellations surrounding us.

POV Switch 3rd Person

Meanwhile with our Persona 5 heroes...

Kamoshida had just ordered his lackeys to execute the two prisoners before him.

Akira, the ravenette, despite having transformed (even though he is quite confused about the matter), is at a loss as he was being held back by the guards who got a lucky hit on him just as he was starting to get the hang of it.

Now he was forced to watch as the king pervert ordered his men to execute the blonde, who introduced himself as Ryuji, and there was nothing he could do.

Just as the two guards were about to strike the final blow, they suddenly froze. Including the ones holding Akira

Kamoshida was confused. "What the-?!" His words were cut off when all the guards present suddenly exploded in a black mist, screaming as they evaporated. Akira dropped to the floor, coughing at the sudden ability to breathe again.

This angered the false king. "What is this?!" He raged, his creepy gold eyes flashing with outrage as his lackeys practically disappeared before their very eyes.

Ryuji, while relieved that he wasn't going to die right then, was just as confused. "Wha??!!" He shook himself long enough to run over to Akira's side, helping him sit up.

Kamoshida then turned to the two stunned boys. "No matter," he growled sinisterly. "I suppose if you want something done, then you must do it yourself." Kamoshida then drew a sword, ready to strike the two of them down on the spot.

Akira flinched. "Please let this be some dream and I'll wake up back at Sojiro-san's cafe..."

Much to both of the boys' shock, the blow never came.

They opened their eyes to see that a kid half their size wearing a nightcap with matching pajamas holding Kamoshida's blade with just two fingers.

"Whatcha playin?" They asked innocently.

Kamoshida, seemingly frightened, backed up slightly. "Ah, C-Collector-san!"

The small kid, at being addressed, lost the innocent smile to turn and look at the perverted yellow-eyed man with no emotion.

"Y-you're free!" He seemed to be trying to kiss up to them. "J-just like we promised!"

This made the kid seemingly glare at him. "'Like we promised?'" They repeated with derision. "If I recall correctly, somebody decided to lock me away in a dark dank cell." They then seem to shrug and smile again, though Akira and Ryuji could feel something menacing behind it. "I'm not angry though! Say, you wanna play tag?" Suddenly the kid twirled their finger, manipulating the blade of the sword like it was some sort of liquid, dragging Kamoshida to him up close.

The kid then touched his forehead. "I'm it." Kamoshida was then blown backwards, crashing against the cell door hard enough to break it. Ryuji and Akira both noticed Kamoshida cough up blood from the impact.

Ryuji will not deny feeling a bit of dark satisfaction at seeing the Speedo man get thrown around, especially by a small kid no less.

Only for his smugness to vanish when the kid turned to both of them, not exactly looking so smiley now.

"You two look slow, too." They spoke sending shivers worse than what Kamoshida did when he threatened them. "Maybe you need a headtstart..." They then began to walk up to them, ready to do the same thing he did to Kamoshida.

That is until...

"Whoa whoa wait!!" Akira and Ryuji were both properly stunned when the girl that was with them before, only now she bore strange markings on her face. "Amatsu! Remember what we said!"

The kid then turned happy again, only now it was much more genuine. "Snowflake!" He called happily.

The girl winced while Akira and Ryuji looked on with confusion.

"Snowflake?"

"Yay!!" The kid then tackled the girl in a hug, making her barely catch him in time lest she fell down.

The boys then heard some groaning; looking over Kamoshida was beginning to sit up.

"Uh-oh!" Ryuji exclaimed. "He's getting up again."

The kid, Amatsu if Akira remembered correctly, only smirked. "Not for long, he isn't."

"What are you saying, brat?" Ryuji barked recklessly, making the kid glare at him, making Akira freeze and look at Ryuji like he was an idiot.

"Did this guy forget what this kid just did to that guy?! Is he asking to die or something?!"

"Amatsu..." The girl cajoled, placing a hand on their shoulder. "Remember what we said..."

"Ughhh,..." The kid groaned childishly. "But he was calling me names, Big Sis!"

"Big Sis?!" Ryuji and Akira thought simultaneously. This only keeps getting weirder and weirder...

"I know, but just ignore him, at least for now."

"You damn brats...." Akira and Ryuji tensed when they heard Kamoshida curse at them as he began to sit up. "You really think that's gonna keep me down?"

Amatsu smirked at him. "Maybe not, but I'm sure they will."

He pointed behind Kamoshida, who looked confused before he took a moment to look behind him.

Ryuji's eyes widened. "Hey those are the prisoners we saw earlier!"

The blonde delinquent was right; the prisoners he and Akira saw beforehand were now freed and they looked more than ready to give their warden a piece of their minds.

Kamoshida barely had time to shout for his guards before he was suddenly overwhelmed by the angry mob.

"Let's go before backup arrives," the girl nicknamed "Snowflake" grabbed both of the boys' hands as the kid suddenly began to fly behind them as they left the cell while Kamoshida was distracted.

Little did either of them see a certain black and white cat that began to follow them.

First Person, Chifuyu

Timeskip

We ran down many halls and ducked behind countless... objects to conceal the whole lot of us so we did not get spotted by the guards.

I would have put my choker back on but after getting Amatsu (as I decided to call them as that did not feel like a name at all than a title, however cryptic) out things kinda went a bit too fast for me.

Then again, chances are the choker only conceals the wearer rather than an entire group...

Thankfully, Amatsu seemed to cooperative throughout the whole thing, as they took it as a sort of hide-n-seek game.

Unfortunately, with all the aimless wandering (or rather running) we have done, we have gotten ourselves lost.

Just as I was about to give up and ask Amatsu if they knew where we were, they suddenly grabbed my sleeve.

"Someone's coming!" They warned. Being that I had no form of fighting nor do I have a weapon, I reached into my pocket to see if I had anything to help as Akira had insisted on fighting some of the baddies we have come across while running through the various halls.

I blinked in slight confusion when I felt an oblong object in my hoodie pocket.

Drawing it out, I saw it was a small container of pepper spray that my sister got commissioned for me from one of her upper classmen.

"I thought I lost that thing a month ago," I thought to myself with a touch of embarrassment.

"Ooh whatcha got there?!"

"YEAAGGHHH!" I jumped out of my skin as Amatsu suddenly spoke up from next to my head.

"Could you lot get any louder?" A new yet snarky voice broke in, making us all (save for Amatsu who only floated innocently in the air near me) tense, thinking it was some guard or whatever they are called around this freaky dungeon.

I immediately whipped out the pepper spray, ready to spray the mixture of hatch chile, jalapeno, habanero, and ghost pepper juice into the offender's eyes.

"EEEK!!" I was surprised when I saw a bipedal cartoony-looking cat that only reached probably up to my calves was who was talking. "Don't spray me, please!"

"A cat?!" The blonde, who I found out was named Ryuji, spoke with shock. I barely noticed Amatsu ducking into the hood into my hoodie (how did they fit back there?!"

This made the cat mad, for some reason. "I'm not a cat! I'm Morgana!"

"But you look like a cat to me!" Ryuji turned to us. "You guys are also seeing this right?"

I had no choice but to nod, along with the ravenette, who introduced himself as Akira.

The cat, or whatever, huffed at him. "Baka..." I couldn't help but snicker at this as the blonde comically got angry. Even Amatsu snickered from his hiding place.

"There's no time to argue, we gotta get out before-" The cat's words were cut off when an unfortunate familiar voice filled our ears.

"There they are!" The appearance of the creepy guy in a king's robe and speedo appeared, this time with more guards at the ready. "You are sentenced to- ARRGH!!"

"Whoops..." I sweatdropped as I then realized that I pressed down on the nozzle on accident, getting the creep at point-blank range.

"Where did you get that?!" Ryuji asked, seemingly forgetting the situation we were all in.

"I didn't know I had it until just a few minutes ago, dimwit!" This time both the cat Morgana and Amatsu laughed at my jab.

"GET THEM!!" The creep bellowed holding his eyes as he wailed in pain.

The guards then began to rush at us.

"Ah crap, is this the end?" I nearly wailed out loud myself at the thought.

"I DON'T WANNA DIE IN THIS FORSAKEN PLACE!"

Just as I thought that, Amatsu came out of their hiding spot, making the cat dude gasp in surprise at seeing them.

"Not if I can help it!" Amatsu spoke out almost angily as he began to move their hands around as they floated high above us.

Next thing we knew, the castle's walls and foundation began to break apart.

"I'll use all my power," Amatsu spoke, "to make sure my new friend can play with me always!"

"Amatsu..." My eyes were wide with awe as they began to tear this place apart, along with the guards as they ended up being incinerated by some sort of light they threw at them with almost reckless abandon.

"C'mon!" Morgana barked (hahahaha) grabbing my hand suddenly and Akira's, dragging us to what may be the exit. Ryuji hurried after us.

"What about me?!"

"B-but wait!!" I stammered, as I was less than willing to leave them behind.

"No time!" Morgana jumped to a grate on a wall, removing it to reveal a crawlspace just big enough for us. "Go through here and you guys can be home free!"

"Snowflake!!" I nearly jumped when I heard Amatsu's voice from behind.

I turned to see them looking at me almost heartbroken, making my heart ping with hurt for them.

"You promised!" They held up a pinky. "You pinky-swore!"

I reached out to them, not wanting to abandon them here, especially after they had helped so much.

Just as their hand grazed mine, I was yanked backwards by my hoodie by none other than Ryuji, causing Amatsu to cry out in outrage.

Thinking quick, I pulled out the choker that Tōga gave me before throwing at them, making them catch it.

"FIND ME!!" I mouthed as I was suddenly dragged into the air vent.

The last thing I saw before blacking out was the face of Amatsu, looking at me with sadness, though I could see the glimmer of anger directed at the one(s) who dragged me away.

POV Switch 3rd Person

Timeskip

The group have made it back to the real world.

"Man!" Ryuji panted. "What was that?! Kamoshida--!! That bastard--!! That guy tried-!! He tried to kill us!!"

Akira panted, having no clue what just happened, aside from the castle. "Was that... even real?!" The bespectacled male wondered. "And that girl... she's..." He turned to find the pinkette, only to find that she had disappeared at some point when they "returned to the real world."

"Hey!" His sudden words brought him Ryuji's attention as he stopped ranting to listen to him.

"Eh?"

"That girl," he spoke making the blonde delinquent raise his eyebrows. "Where did she go?"

"Whaddya mean?" Ryuji asked turning to reveal her, "She's right--" A ghost line where she once sat was all that was there. "What the hell?! Did that chick ghost us?! What the absolute fuck!!" His ranting brought the attention of the cops nearby who then came over to interrogate them.

Meanwhile with our jaded heroine (*SLAP* "WHAT THE HELL DID I SAY ABOUT CALLING ME THAT?!" "What, 'jaded'? Cuz that's how some may describe you. "No, baka the other thing." Oh you mean her- *SMACK* OUCH! Okay fine I won't say it again! Sweet Atua!)....

Chifuyu hid in an alley, taking deep breaths as she looked around the corner to make sure neither guy noticed her slip away.

"What.. the hell was all of that?!"

Before she could think on it, her phone began to rang. Taking it out, she saw it was her friend Toga Himiko.

"Oh crap..." She almost whimpered to herself as she knew she was in for ear-chewing from her blonde bloodthirsty friend.

"Where are you, Chifuyu-chan?!" Chifuyu had to hold her phone away from her ear to avoid losing her hearing. "We have been waiting a few hours already!!"

"That's my line!" The adrenaline was beginning to wear off, making the stress take its toll on her, making her snap and almost cry right then and there. "I think I'm lost!"

Toga must have heard it in her friend's voice that she was cracking in more ways than one as she took on a much gentler tone.

"H-hey, calm down, I didn't mean to upset you. Can you perhaps tell me where you are?"

POV Switch, 1st Person Chifuyu

I sniffed, a few tears beginning to cascade down my face as the adrenaline wore off and stress took its place. "S-Shujin district.... a little ways from the subway station... I think there is some private school nearby..."

"Gotcha.. I'll ask Mustard to give you a ride instead... Just stay where you are, okay?"

I smiled a little bit. "A-arigato, Toga-chan..." I choked out.

I could hear the soft smile in her voice. "You're welcome, Chifuyu-chan..."

It did not take long for the dishwater blonde friend to find me. He looked like he wanted to scold me but when he saw my face, he seemed to drop it, his face softening as he jerked his thumb to the backseat.

I slid the van door open, where Toga was waiting in one seat. Jumping in, I let her hold me as Mustard drove off.

As we drove away, none of us saw a two-toned purple monochromatic creature, one that looked like a cross between a cat and a dog, emerge from the same alley I was standing in a few minutes before, a familiar choker around their neck, looking around as if they were searching for something.

"I'll find you again, my dear friend," the duo toned purple creature thought before they let their gut do the navigation as it told them to head in the direction of Musutafu. They were quite unhappy when that human with yellow hair yanked her before they could grab her hand.

But no matter...

"And when I do, we'll play for a long time... For you are now my best friend!"

With that, the violet-colored magical beast vanished into the city.

To them, it was merely a game of hide-n-seek..

And they had every intention to win.

And they will not hesitate to knock anyone who would dare stand in their way.

AAAANNNDDD SCENE!

I hope I did the first trip to the Metaverse justice, along with the Velvet Room and the Igor altercation.

And I hope you all like the appearance of the Collector from The Owl House; and I hope you all do not mind making them nonbinary and use they/them pronouns. For some reason I feel as if the Collector is a they/them type, if that makes any sense.

On another note, can some of you look at my message board as I have ideas and I want some people's input on the matter.

Thanks!

This is ArtVampire signing off!

Ja ne!