"Yo," Ryuji greeted Akira when he saw him walking down the stairs. He raised a brow when he didn't spot his best friend with him. "Where's Mikky?"

Akira looked away with a guilty countenance. He tried to stop her from obeying Kamoshida's orders, but he was powerless in the end and felt he didn't do enough to prevent whatever was happening to her at this very moment. That's where the guilt was coming from. "She's..."

Ryuji was able to assemble the puzzle pieces. His eyes widened before narrowing with a fiery glare. His entire body shook with anger as he turned his heated gaze toward the school. "That bastard...!" But his anger was quelled when he saw Mikono rushing out the front door and down the stairwell toward them. "Hey, Mikky!"

"No time!" She grabbed Ryuji and Akira, yanking them away from the school and toward an alleyway located not far down the road. She pushed both boys into the alleyway before releasing them and peering around the corner.

"Tsutsui-san!" A voice bellowed angrily. It was Kamoshida.

Mikono's heart raced as she watched the coach search a few yards from their hiding spot before yelling out a curse and returning to the school. She sighed in relief, her back sliding down the concrete wall behind her. She reclined her head against the wall with closed eyes. "He's gone..."

"What happened?" Akira inquired, glancing at the seemingly exhausted girl.

"Before we reached Kamoshida's office, another teacher stopped him in the hallway. I saw an opening and escaped."

Ryuji sat on his knees in front of her and grabbed her shoulders. "Why the hell would you go with him?!" He began shaking her back and forth. "You gonna try to explain another bruise to your parents?! What happens if that bastard had beaten the shit outta you?! How're you gonna explain THAT when you end up in the hospital?!"

"H-Hey, I escaped, didn't I?" She retorts. "And Kamoshida hits hard, but not THAT hard."

"You're effin' insane!" He continued to shake her back and forth by the shoulders until he finally released her.

Mikono rolled her eyes. "I don't think you have room to call others insane. You've done some crazy things." She then looked toward Akira with a grateful smile. "I could tell by your face you were trying to make up an excuse on the spot for me, Kurusu-kun. I appreciate you trying to help me out."

"Why did you go?" The onyx-eyed boy asked.

"Kamoshida already has enough names on his hit list. I want to try and keep your name from ending up on that list."

"Tsutsui-chan..." Akira didn't expect such an answer, but he was grateful for her kindness and how she was looking out for him even though they've only known each other for three days. He could feel their bond was deepening and turning into a close friendship. He was over the moon to have someone like her give him a chance.

Ryuji shoved his hands into his pocket with a groan. "You're gonna tell us one of these days why your name's on that damn list..."

Mikono nodded. "I will, Ryuji. Just...promise you won't get mad when you do learn the truth."

The blonde scratched the back of his head. "Not like I can even get mad at you to begin with... But Kamoshida will pay one of these days!"

"Now," the cerulean-eyed girl jumped to her feet. "Why were you both standing at the gate?"

"I wanna talk to you both about that castle from yesterday," Ryuji answered. "I tried tellin' myself it was all just a dream...but I couldn't do it. I can't act like nothin' happened. It's all connected to that bastard Kamoshida, after all. I wanna find out what's up with that place, no matter what. And y'know, you two are the only people I can rely on for this stuff. So, you guys in?"

"I'm in," Akira said. He then looked toward Mikono, eagerly awaiting her response. "What about you, Tsutsui-chan?"

Unbeknownst to the boys, her mind was replaying the frightening memories of their first trip inside the castle. "I don't know... What happens if it's a repeat of yesterday? I've been wondering what would've happened to me if you both and that strange cat didn't find me."

"You don't think we would've left you there, do you?" Akira wondered.

"Well, no... But my mind keeps wondering to what would've happened instead of what did happen. I know I'm just overthinking things as usual..."

"We won't let anything happen to you, Tsutsui-chan," he reassured her.

"Yeah!" Ryuji cheered. "So, you comin' along?"

Mikono sighed before smiling at them. "All right. Let's get going. What's your plan, Ryuji?"

The delinquent smiled giddily. "I think we should just try and retrace our steps from yesterday. In the meantime, you both are walkin' to the station, right? Let's all go together. Lemme know if you guys notice any other weird buildings on the way."

"Will do."

The teens headed to the boutique after checking if the coast was clear. They quickly left the vicinity of the school and arrived at their destination a few minutes later. The trio looked around, noticing nothing out of the ordinary.

"If a huge castle like that really exists, I'm sure we'll find it in no time," Ryuji stated.

"It might not be so easy to find," Akira exclaimed.

"Yeah," Mikono agreed. "I mean, it's a large castle, but we didn't even notice it until we were at the front entrance."

"It's a large castle!" Ryuji shouted but immediately regretted it when he received strange glances from strangers. He lowered his voice, stepping closer to his companions. "When'd they build something like that, though?"

"Who knows?" Mikono shrugged her shoulders. "But I didn't see anything like a castle while we were walking."

"Let's do exactly what we did yesterday. We walked that way from here, right?" Ryuji pointed to the path they took to school yesterday.

Mikono snorted with laughter. "Have you already forgotten the shortcut you found?"

"Sh-Shuddup!" The blonde yelled, his cheeks turning red in embarrassment.

Mikono continued to laugh while Akira answered in her stead. "We did go that way and through the alleyway."

"All right, guess we'll get goin' once Mikky's done laughin'..."

The girl stopped laughing and cleared her throat. "Let's retrace our steps, then. Lead the way, Ryuji."

He nodded. "Lemme know if you guys notice something."

<-----<<<<<

"Huh?" Ryuji gasped in confusion after they exited the alleyway and stood in front of Shujin Academy. "We're at school..."

"And there's no sign of the castle we saw yesterday. Maybe it was all a dream," Mikono tried to find a reasonable explanation.

The delinquent shook his head. "I'm still not convinced. We must've made a wrong turn somewhere. Let's try again."

"Again?" Akira sighed.

"Don't worry. I won't mess up this time. Let's go."

"Mm... You sure you know where you're going?" Mikono teased.

Ryuji frowned, rubbing the back of his head. "You're not gonna let me live this down, are you?"

"Nope."

He groaned before leading them back the way they came.

It didn't take the three teens long to walk the same path a second time. Mikono and Akira were relieved the castle hadn't reappeared, but Ryuji sounded depressed when their second trek wound up with the same result as the first one. "For real...? Is it smaller than we think it is?"

"There's no way," Mikono retorts. "The castle was huge!"

"Are you sure it's around here?" Akira asked.

Ryuji leaned his back against the concrete planter beside the gate. "I'm not so sure anymore... When I checked on my phone, I didn't see anything like it around here..." His eyes suddenly widen when an idea comes to mind. "Huh? Phone..."

"What is it, Ryuji?" Mikono pondered.

"I think I remember somethin'." The chocolate-eyed boy locked gazes with Akira. "Didn't you have a navigation app thingy on, back then?"

"Navigation app?" The onyx-haired boy parroted.

"I dunno if it was or not, but I heard stuff that sounded like one comin' from your phone. Y'know, didn't it say stuff like "returned to the real world" or something like that? Lemme see your phone for a bit."

Akira handed Ryuji his phone, allowing the boy to examine the device. Mikono crosses her arms, peering down at the phone as her best friend looked at the apps. Her brows knitted together when an eerie red eye icon caught her attention. "What a strange-looking app. I've never seen one so menacing before."

The obsidian-eyed boy knew exactly what app she was talking about. "I can't delete it."

"Really?" Mikono asked.

"I've tried, but it doesn't work."

"What a weird app..." Ryuji muttered. He tapped on it to see if he could determine how it worked. He searched through it and happily announced what he found. "Oh, wait, this is it!"

"What'd you find?" Mikono inquired.

Ryuji flipped the phone around to show Akira and Mikono. "I knew it-it IS a navigation app! There's even your search history! Oh man, I'm such a genius!"

Mikono looked over at Akira, noticing the bewilderment written across his face. "By that expression, I'm assuming you didn't know you were using it."

"I had no idea," Akira confesses.

"Let's try usin' it," Ryuji announces.

"I'm not so sure about this."

The girl nodded in agreement. "I'm with Kurusu-kun on this one, Ryuji."

"Why?" He looked between Mikono and Akira. "All we're doin' is startin' an app."

"W-Wait-!"

"Kamoshida... Shujin Academy... Pervert... Castle... Beginning navigation."

"There we go!" Ryuji chanted.

"Wha-Ryuji!" Mikono shrieked.

Her outburst was ignored as Ryuji was overexcited by his accomplishment. He grinned down at the screen of the phone. "Then, we went in a certain direction, and-"

Their surroundings became distorted, alerting the group and frightening them. Mikono looked around as the area around them began changing. "What is going on...?"

"Look!" Ryuji hollered. "It's the castle from yesterday!"

Akira and Mikono look toward the school and saw the immense castle. They gaped at the sight, shocked that they were back and how easy it was for them to return.

"So it wasn't a dream, after all... We're seriously doing this?" Mikono questioned her companions, following them up to the entrance of the castle.

"It seems so," Akira said. He looked over at the girl with a reassuring smile. "We'll be fine, Tsutsui-chan."

"I trust you, but..." She turned her head, eyes widening when she saw what he was wearing. "W-Where did your school uniform go?!"

Akira examines his attire, his eyes wide as saucers as his hand skims across his mask. "I...changed?"

"That happened the last time, too, huh?!" Ryuji shouted, his expression the same as everyone else's. "What's with that outfit?!"

"You jelly?" The masked boy smirked at the blonde.

"I-I ain't jealous!"

"Well, I like it," Mikono admits with a giggle, smiling at him. "It looks good on you."

Akira was thankful for his mask because it hid his reddening cheeks. His heart fluttered at the compliment and he rubbed the back of his neck as he looked away from the sable-haired girl.

"What's goin on here?!" Ryuji instantaneously blurted out. "This makes no effin' sense at all..."

"Hey!" A voice startled the students. Their attention was drawn to a familiar black and white cat with azure eyes as it popped its head from behind a corner. It glowered at the trio. "Stop making a commotion."

Mikono squatted down, smiling at the feline. "Sorry, Morgana. Ryuji has a tenancy to yell...a lot."

Morgana smiled at her with a familiar infatuated gleam in its eyes. It happily hopped over to her placing its white paws on her knees. "Oh, Lady Mikono. I'm so happy to see you again!"

"She has that thing wrapped around her finger..." Ryuji grumbled.

The young girl smiled, placing her hand on top of Morgana's head and raking her nails through its fur gently. "What're you doing here?"

Its smile fell. "The Shadows started acting up, so I came here wondering what it could be. To think you guys would come back to the entrance when you barely managed to escape."

"What is this place?" Ryuji asked Morgana. "Is it the school?"

The feline nodded, still enjoying being petted by Mikono. "That's right."

"But it's a castle!"

"The castle IS the school. But only to this castle's ruler."

"The castle's ruler...?"

"Wait..." Mikono mumbled, ceasing to scratch the feline's head. "Does that mean Kamoshida's the ruler of this castle?"

"Yes. It's how his distorted heart views the school," Morgana explained.

"Kamoshida... Distorted...? Explain it in a way that makes sense!" Ryuji demanded.

"I think what Morgana's saying is Kamoshida views the school as his castle. He basically rules the school. No wonder he sees himself as a king..." She cupped her chin between her index finger and thumb as she tried to piece together the puzzle, using all her knowledge to find a conclusion. "But if this really is the school, are we in some kind of dimension or alternate reality where the school is a castle and Kamoshida is the king? And if so, how was it created and why?"

"Yes! I knew Lady Mikono would understand! I'll answer all your questions later," Morgana cheered before frowning in Ryuji's direction. "I shouldn't have expected a moron to get it..."

Ryuji glowered at the feline. "What'd you say?!"

Out of the blue, the group heard painful wails emanating from the castle. Mikono jumped from the sudden fright. "W-What was that?"

"It must be the slaves captive here," the cat responded.

"For real?!" The delinquent screeched before hearing another bloodcurdling scream. "Oh, shit... It's for real! We saw other guys held captive here yesterday while lookin' for Mikky. I'm pretty sure they're from our school."

"Most likely on Kamoshida's orders. It's nothing out of the ordinary; it's like that every day here. What's more, you three escaped yesterday. He must have lost his temper quite a bit, especially since Lady Mikono disappeared."

"Why is that?" Akira asked.

"I'm not entirely sure..." Morgana sighed.

"That son of a bitch!" Ryuji growled.

"Ryuji...?"

"This is bullshit!" The blonde dashed forward, ramming his body against the locked doors of the castle. "You hear me, Kamoshida?!"

"Doing that isn't going to open it, you know..." Morgana exhales with a frown. "Still, it seems you have your reasons."

"Hey," Ryuji swivels on his heels and faces the cat. "Monamona!"

The feline's eyes narrowed in a sharp glare. "It's Morgana!"

The boy ignored its irritation. "Do you know where those voices are comin' from?"

"You want me to take you to them?" Morgana winced. "Well, I guess I could guide you there. But only if he comes with us and Lady Mikono stays here."

"Wait, why do I have to stay behind?" Mikono questioned.

"Because out of the three of you, you're the one the Shadows are looking for the most. I've heard them saying how angry Kamoshida will be if they don't find you soon."

"I don't think that's a good idea," Akira voices his opinion. "It would be more dangerous to leave her alone."

Ryuji pointed at the frizzy-haired boy. "Yeah, I agree. There's no way in hell we're leavin' her out here all by herself."

Mikono places her hands together, looking down at the furry creature with puppy dog eyes. "Please don't leave me out here by myself, Morgana."

"Mmm..." Morgana's resolve crumbled and he sighed. "Fine..."

"Then let's get going," Akira said.

"All right, let's do this. Follow me!"

The group infiltrated the castle through the ventilation shaft they used as their escape route the day prior. They crawled through the vent, landing inside the familiar small room with empty bookshelves.

From there, Morgana guides the students through the central hall and toward the dungeon. They travel down the spiral staircase, but their path was soon blocked. The group hid from the prowling guard to prevent from being detected.

"Darn..." Morgana whispered. "I had a feeling there would be guards here. It looks like we won't be able to avoid conflict from this point forward."

"F-For real...?" Ryuji murmured.

"Oh well. I'll just teach you the basics of battle right now," Morgana directed toward Akira. "You had better remember all of this."

"Battle?" Mikono parroted. She looked between the boys and cat, hoping one of them would clear up her confusion. "What is going on here?"

"Oh, yeah..." Ryuji was struck by realization. "You've no idea what's goin' on."

"No..." She then met Akira's gaze. "What do you plan on doing, Kurusu-kun?"

He smirked at her, ready to show her what he's capable of. "Watch and see."

Mikono blinked owlishly as she watched Akira and Morgana use an unknown power to fight against the Shadows. She gasped in awe when the boy's mask vanished with brilliant blue flames and a strange being stood behind him. Its black wings spread outward as it attacked a Shadow at Akira's command before vanishing. The same happened to Morgana as the cat unleashed its own being, which was different from the boy's. With their combined abilities, Akira and Morgana defeated the Shadows.

While still appalled at the display, Mikono turned her head in Ryuji's direction but kept her eyes on Akira. "What just happened...?"

"Hey, don't ask me," he replied. "I've got no clue..."

"Come on, you two!" Morgana shouted at them.

"O-Okay," Mikono responded.

The two friends rushed after their allies, heading deeper into the dungeon.