Chapter 92 - 4-

Chapter 4: one more effort

The train ride home with Torino was quiet. Surprisingly it was not an awkward sort of quiet despite the day Izuku had. Instead, he felt as though Torino was looking out for him. Izuku even began to nod off, feeling comfortable enough around the retired hero to catch a few winks while he could. He woke up to a tapping against his leg, blinking awake to see that Torino was nudging him with his cane.

"Come on," the old man urged him up and forward, and Izuku rubbed at his eyes and followed him sleepily.

"Sorry," Izuku mumbled. "Today was really stressful… guess I was more tired than I thought…"

"Don't apologize. I'm sure whatever happened to give you that head wound was exhausting enough on top of almost risking your second chance being that late," Torino gave him a stern side eye. "I don't know why you won't tell me what happened, but it must've been serious if you were that late over it. I might be retired, but I still have a hero's instincts. If something like whatever it was that caused your injury happens again, you should tell me. I know active heroes who can handle it."

Izuku pursed his lips as they walked through the train station and back towards Torino's apartments. He wanted to tell Torino, but… "I'm not sure even I believe what happened, honestly," Izuku murmured. "The only reason I know it was real is because Ryuji was there too. You'd think I was crazy if I told you everything."

Torino snorted and stamped his cane. "You have no idea the things I'm privy to, boy. I'm fairly certain that nothing you say could make me think you were crazy."

Izuku gave Torino a look, trying to see if he was being serious. When he saw no trace of humor in the man's eyes, he sighed. Maybe… maybe he could tell Torino. The man hadn't cared about his quirklessness, had stood up for him when they met Principal Kobayakawa, and he was a hero once. If there was anybody trustworthy, surely he had to be it. But… Izuku's trust was not so easily given, even so. Years of living as a quirkless person in a quirked society had practically beaten trust out of him. He just couldn't bring himself to say something so outlandish as what had happened that morning to anybody that hadn't experienced it themselves. Ryuji was the only one he could talk about it with.

"It's really too crazy," Izuku shook his head. "Maybe I'll tell you another time, Torino-san. Either way, I don't think it's something you could even do anything about. I don't even think it was entirely based in reality… not that it wasn't real, just… I don't know. It was a lot."

"You're making my head spin here, kid. I don't really get what you're talking about. Just let me know if you're in trouble in the future, alright? I don't want to see you coming back injured like this again," Torino huffed. "If I didn't know any better, I'd say you were out doing vigilante work again, but I know your charge wasn't warranted. And I'm sure you're taking your probation seriously."

Izuku lowered his head almost shamefully. Torino was just keeping an eye out for him, and here Izuku was, worrying him even more. At least he wasn't mad about Izuku still not telling him what happened. "You're right. I am taking it seriously. That's why I'll tell you if anything serious happens in the future, Torino-san."

"Good. We'll be home soon, and I have dinner cooking in the slow cooker. Just need to whip up a batch of rice to go with it when it's ready. You think you can handle that?" Torino asked, turning down a street. Izuku could see the apartments near the end.

"Yes, sir," Izuku murmured. "And, um… thank you. For being so understanding about today."

Though he could've been mistaken, Izuku swore for a moment that Torino's expression softened just a little bit. "Yeah, yeah. I just know when people are bullshitting me. All that matters is that you weren't skipping on purpose, and that whatever happened isn't something I need to step in for. There's no reason to be mad at you so long as those are both true."

Izuku was more than a little relieved. "Still, thank you."

Torino sighed. "Of course, kid. Now, come on, I'm starving. You know how early old people eat lunch? It's been hours since I ate, and I have a nice batch of taiyaki to snack on until dinner's ready. If I didn't have any it would be a fate worse than death, I tell you."

Izuku chuckled a little as he followed Torino into the apartments. The old man was prone to his theatrics, but Izuku didn't mind. It made things interesting. He missed his mom and her calm, gentle comfort, but Torino's sort of grumpy, old man-style of support wasn't bad either. The whole bottom floor of the apartments smelled like Torino's cooking, and all in all, it felt… good to come back here after school. It wasn't quite home, but neither did he feel like a stranger here.

Izuku supposed he could live with that.

Dinner was a similarly quiet affair like the train ride home, a hot meal of slow-cooked curry and rice. It was tasty and filling, and Izuku was surprised when Torino asked to take a look at his head wound personally after their meal was finished. All in all, he said, it seemed like he'd just taken a nasty blow to the head. He didn't think anything serious was wrong, given Izuku's general awareness and health, but told him to keep an eye out and let him know if he felt sick anyway.

Afterwards, Izuku went up to his room and finished what little work he'd been given on the first day and decided to look up information about Kamoshida. Normally he would spend his evenings watching hero news and writing in his journals, and he was tired from everything that happened that day, but this took precedence. He wanted to find out just what kind of person this Kamoshida was back when he used to be a hero.

What was it that Ryuji said his hero name was? Spike? Izuku searched up the name, and indeed, there were many articles about 'Spike's early retirement from heroics and athletics.' The articles, however, were mostly praise for his career and sadness over his early retirement rather than actual details surrounding the injury. But Izuku was determined to find out more about the injury that caused his early retirement, so he went digging.

One link, buried so deep in an unpopular forum that almost no people would never see it, seemed to have the information he wanted. It was a post from a civilian that never gained traction even on the said unpopular forum, apparently a civilian that had been on-scene when Spike's injury took place. They claimed their posts kept getting suppressed by the media and hero society as a whole, but they planned to keep re-uploading them every time they got taken down. This was reportedly their twenty-fifth account across as many different forums in the last five years.

The blog post went on to describe, as a matter of fact, an incident Izuku knew well… the Toxic Chainsaw incident from five years ago. Before All Might had arrived on-scene, Spike had been one of the few heroes on patrol in the area when the villain attacked. But when Toxic Chainsaw had displayed his powers, Spike… had turned and ran alongside the civilians. He didn't even try to fight the villain. Izuku was reminded starkly of the sludge villain, and how the other heroes had stood around then too, waiting on some other hero to help them.

And the worst part was, the person who uploaded the blog post even had video evidence. It was shaky, and low quality, but Izuku could still make out Spike's most definitive costume features - and for a frame or two, he could even see Kamoshida's face when he turned towards the camera enough. It was him, alright.

Toxic Chainsaw attacked, and the poison he used hit not only Spike but a group of civilians he hadn't bothered trying to save. The poison had lasting effects on the health of all those involved, but the civilian posting about the incident had been the only one of the group to realize that Spike had done absolutely nothing but turn tail and run. And after all was said and done and All Might had saved the day, Spike and the heroes first on-scene at the time were held up as heroes because nobody else had seen what this single civilian did, and he'd been purposefully hushed by the ones cleaning up after the fact.

The whole incident seemed… severely depressing. A hero ran and let civilians get injured in the process, only to get praised for holding the line until All Might showed up. And now, he was using his post-retirement respect to supposedly abuse students at the school he taught at while nobody was any wiser, and the name 'Spike' was still the name of a hero.

It made Izuku wanted to cry, honestly. Heroes were supposed to be good. They were supposed to want to help people and uplift them. But Kamoshida wasn't anything like the ideal Izuku believed in. He was… cruel. He hurt people, if Ryuji was right about the rumors, and if the Kamoshida they saw in the castle was real.

He didn't want to think about it much longer. The shine of heroes wearing off made Izuku… incredibly sad. So instead, he would just go to bed and not have to think. He pulled out his futon, changed into pajamas, laid down, and was out like a light.

Izuku once again awoke to the sound of chains gently rattling, and he had a sinking feeling he knew exactly where he was.

Indeed, as he sat up, he realized he was once again in chains and was in what Igor had called the Velvet Room. And speaking of Igor… the man was sitting at his desk like he had been the last time Izuku had a dream like this, and both Caroline and Justine stood impatiently in front of the plexiglass divider.

"On your feet, inmate!" Caroline barked, and Izuku found himself scrambling to get out of the bed he'd woken up in. "Our master wants to talk to you!"

Izuku gulped and walked as close to the glass as he could, watching Igor behind his desk. The long-nosed man drummed his fingers along the desk, ever present smile still stretched across his face. "First off, let us celebrate our reunion," Igor began. "And… oh? What is this? It seems as though you've awakened to your powers… quite special ones at that. It looks like your rehabilitation can finally begin."

"Powers?" Izuku's eyes widened. Was he talking about d'Artagnan? He had to be. It certainly couldn't have been a quirk he was talking about. "Do you know what happened this morning? What that castle was?"

"Now, now, there's no need to understand it all right away," Igor chuckled, continuing to drum his fingers. "You will be training the power of Persona, which you have awakened to. Personas are, to put it simply, what lies beneath your 'mask.' Armor that surrounds one's heart when worldly matters are concerned."

Izuku… sort of understood. Like how he often had to act one way in public because of how the quirkless were expected to behave, but inside, he usually wanted to say or do something different.

"I have high expectations for you," Igor said, now watching Izuku quietly.

"What kind of expectations? What is all this?" Izuku asked, still just as confused as before. Sure, he gathered Personas were related to some kind of mask - Morgana had said as much, too. But that didn't explain what the castle from this morning was, or why Izuku was suddenly able to summon one!

"As I said, there's no need to understand it all right now. You'll learn when the time comes," Igor waved Izuku's concerns away so nonchalantly that it almost made him mad. Why was he the only one in the dark here?! "By the by, have you come to appreciate the Metaverse navigator?"

"The… what?"

"The Metaverse navigator. Using it will allow you to come and go freely from reality and Palaces," Igor said, as if Izuku was supposed to know what the hell he was talking about. Clearly, his lost expression was enough to prompt Igor to continue speaking. "I gifted it to you as a means to become a thief… but it must be disheartening to use it alone. Should there be others that prove useful to you, I would be happy to bestow it upon them as well. Confidants, friends, whatever you'd like to call them. All for you to grow as a most excellent thief…"

"I'm not a thief," Izuku said seriously. He had no idea what was going on, but one thing was for certain: he wouldn't become a criminal. His running in to rescue Kacchan was the single exception, because somebody's life was on the line.

"It's not the kind of thief you're thinking of, inmate," Justine said gently. "As our master said, you will understand in time."

"Why do you have to be so cryptic?! This makes no sense! I still think this is one messed up dream, you know?! What if you're using a quirk to make me hallucinate in my sleep?!" Izuku protested. But before anybody could answer him, a distant alarm began to ring.

"Time for you to go back, inmate. Enjoy whatever rest you're able to get."

Izuku awoke with a gasp. Another freaky dream… and he was only left to wonder what the hell was wrong with him. Were these dreams as real as they seemed? He'd never been one to remember his dreams so vividly before, as if they were physical memories. If they were real, then… Was the 'Metaverse' the name of that other world that castle resided in? Was the navigator… that app that took them there? He wished Igor wouldn't speak in riddles…

The entire morning felt off after a dream like that. Izuku made himself and Torino breakfast, feeling on edge the entire time. And even on the train, he still didn't feel fully settled. He especially felt nervous walking up to the school, half expecting to see the castle in its place all over again.

But this morning it was back to being just a normal building, so Izuku knew he had to focus. He had to get through another year of school to finish out his probation and even be allowed to go to high school, let alone be able to find a hero school who would take him, so he tried his best to forget about the castle and paid full attention in class. He even felt a little good about himself when he got to answer a question in social studies class and the teacher actually told him he'd gotten it right.

It was a question about The Devil's Dictionary, about what the author defined as the main factor of progress for the human race. The author had stated it was villains - malefactors - that drove society forward. Izuku supposed it could be seen that way, but in all honesty, he didn't agree. To Izuku, it was heroes, the ones who resolved problems and made it safe for people to learn and grow, who were truly responsible for pushing forward progress. If it weren't for them, the world would be in chaos.

Izuku happened to read a bit from the book after a late night hero forum binge and another user had brought it up. He supposed his hero studies actually came in handy sometimes…

After school let out though, his better mood from participating in class went right out the window when he encountered Kamoshida in the hallway. The P.E teacher was talking to Takamaki, the nice blonde girl he sat behind in class. Kamoshida had stopped to talk to her, not noticing Izuku just behind him.

"Sorry, I have to get going," Takamaki shifted uncomfortably. "I have an important photoshoot today. I can't afford to miss it. Special summer edition, you know?"

"Hey, being a model's fine and all, but you shouldn't work yourself to the bone!" Kamoshida leaned into her personal space, and Izuku clutched his hands around his backpack impossibly tight. Knowing what he did now… he wanted to run in and separate the two. But… Ryuji warned him. The other teachers favored him. He was the sort of teacher to avoid if he wanted his probation lifted. He still had a head injury from yesterday's trip through the castle, too. And yet… "You mentioned you weren't feeling well recently. Appendicitis, right?"

"Oh, yes. I've been meaning to go to the hospital, but my schedule's so packed," Takamaki averted her eyes.

"You must be lonely, too!" Kamoshida crowed. "I feel bad for keeping your best friend so late at practice. And I heard you have that transfer student in your class! You should avoid him if you can. He's got a criminal record, and vigilantism is a slippery slope to villainy, you know? If something were to happen to you…"

"Thank you for your concern…" Takamaki said awkwardly, shuffling off. "Please excuse me."

Kamoshida's mood soured in turn, and he left in a huff. Slowly, Izuku let go of his bag and lowered his hands to his sides. He had wanted so badly to do something, to say something, because Takamaki looked so uncomfortable, but he just couldn't. In the end, the idea of his probation had stopped him from moving. If she had been in immediate danger, of course he would've moved, but…

Izuku shook his head. Thinking about it too hard just made him feel a little like he was going to be sick, honestly. He had no power in this situation… and all that thought did was make him mad. He hated that he couldn't bring himself to move at will in these situations without thinking of all the possible ramifications. It almost felt selfish to Izuku, to sit and think of himself when he wasn't the one being made to feel so awful.

But all he could do at this point was just head home, so head home Izuku did.

At the very least, Takamaki wasn't in any danger that he could stop. He just needed to get his mind off of things and make sure he avoided Kamoshida at all costs. Teachers like him were bad news, and Izuku had never once been able to do anything against them. Aldera had proved that much - no teacher he'd ever had in any of his schools had believed him over Kacchan, and the other staff actively avoided him after he tried telling somebody that the teachers didn't listen in first year.

Izuku knew from firsthand experience that even if he wasn't under probation, there wasn't going to be a damn thing he could do against Kamoshida like he was now. If he were in the castle again, with d'Artagnan, maybe he could, but that was… risky. And he had no idea how to get back there, even if he wasn't too nervous to get caught for vigilantism again.

"Yo, you alright? You look pretty intense over there, dude."

Ryuji's voice startled him out of his thoughts, and Izuku realized he'd made it all the way outside while he was absorbed in his thoughts. Ryuji was leaning up against the exterior wall of the school, looking a little worried.

"Sorry, just… thinking," Izuku sighed, a little more forcefully than he intended. "I'm just frustrated… I saw Kamoshida just a minute ago, and now it's bugging me…"

"Thinking about the castle, huh?" Ryuji asked quietly. Izuku nodded. "Me too. I actually wanted to talk to you about that. I tried telling myself it was all a dream, or some quirk-induced hallucination maybe, but… I don't think it was. It felt too real. And it's all connected to that bastard Kamoshida, just like you were thinkin' about. I've decided… I want to find out what the hell's up with that place, no matter what. And, y'know… I feel like you're the only one I could rely on for this. So… you in?"

Izuku jolted. On one hand, he had just been thinking about the idea of going back himself, but dismissed it because of the potential for getting in trouble. But on the other hand… Ryuji said he relied on him. That… felt really good. Somebody thinking he was reliableinstead of a useless, quirkless deku for once almost sent Izuku's poor heart straight to cloud nine.

"Um… I want to say yes, but… like I said before, I have a record, and if we get caught…" Izuku whispered. Ryuji frowned thoughtfully.

"That's true… but if we be careful, I think we'll be fine. Besides, don't you think this is important? You said it yourself, even looking at Kamoshida after being in that place is, like, infuriating! Don't you think it's worth checking out again, at least once?" Ryuji urged.

Izuku looked down at his feet, recalling how just moments ago he'd felt rooted in place when he saw Kamoshida, even when Takamaki was so clearly uncomfortable with his presence. And he also recalled how free he'd felt when he summoned d'Artagnan - like he could do something in that place, like he had power for once, the ability to really fight against the cruel, harsh and unjust world he'd lived in, even for just a moment. It felt so good to help somebody that way, free of restriction or judgment.

How could he ever say he wanted to be a hero again if he didn't chase that high and save all the people he could? How could he call himself a hero if all he did was stay rooted in place until the last second? Izuku felt like if he could somehow get back to that castle after all… then Ryuji was right. It was too important to just let go, consequences be damned. Torino wouldn't be able to help, not with this. This was something that only he and Ryuji could handle.

So Izuku gathered up all his courage… and he nodded. "Okay," he said, voice soft. "I'll help you. I want to find out what's really going on, too. Just let me text my guardian that I'll be out with you so he doesn't worry."

"Right on!" Ryuji grinned, clapping Izuku on the shoulder. "Man, I'm so glad we're in this together. First things first, actually getting back to that castle. We should probably retrace our steps… you were walking to the station, right? Let's look for any weird buildings on the way there, and then we can work our way back the way we came that day. Sound good?"

Izuku nodded. That was a fairly logical first step. "Fine by me."

After messaging Torino asking if it was alright if he spent some time with Ryuji after school, Torino had allowed it on the condition that he check in every so often and be home by the curfew set by his probation officer. Izuku willingly accepted the conditions imposed on him, so Torino said he could spend time with his friend… And, of course, reminded him to stay out of trouble and let him know that he was just a call away if he needed help.

With permission now secured, the two made their way all the way back to the station, where Izuku had gotten off the morning they'd seen the castle. Izuku murmured his thoughts quietly enough so that only Ryuji could hear. "Okay, so… if it's a quirk we triggered by walking, then walking the same path might trigger it again, right? Because we didn't encounter any people on the way there - I remember the path you showed me being really quiet. So it probably wasn't activated directly by a person. My guess is an area of effect quirk from somebody that works or lives nearby, if it even was a quirk."

"You're so smart, dude!" Ryuji looked surprised. Embarrassingly, Izuku felt his cheeks heat up. He wasn't used to compliments at all. "I wouldn't have thought about that! I don't know much of anything about quirks to begin with, but that makes a lot of sense to me. Let's take the path we took, and tell me if anything seems strange to you, 'kay?"

"Of course!"

The two of them carefully combed the path they'd taken from the station to the school, making sure not to miss a single thing. But when they'd once again come to stand in front of the school gates, everything remained exactly as it had been earlier that day: the building was normal, students were coming and going, and nobody seemed bothered at all. Fearing they'd made a wrong turn somewhere, they went back and did it all again, but it was still the same, albeit with less students as most had gone home by that point.

"For real?!" Ryuji groaned. "I was sure we had it right that time! Did we miss something? Are we not remembering the correct route?"

"I dunno… I might have the route we took that day stored in my GPS. I was using it to navigate since I'm new to the area. I can check if you'd like," Izuku offered, holding up his phone. Ryuji nodded, but as Izuku began to open up his GPS, Ryuji stood up as if a lightbulb had gone off in his head.

"Wait, that's right! You had that navigation app thingy! Don't you remember? It said 'welcome back to the real world' or somethin' like that! Do you still have it? Y'know, the one that spoke to us?" Ryuji asked. Izuku's eyebrows rose. That app… the one that had installed itself on his phone? Was the app itself perhaps the result of a quirk and that was causing all of this?

"I do still have it, actually. I kept trying to delete it and it kept reinstalling itself on its own… I didn't even install it in the first place. It just showed up one day…" Izuku said, pulling up the app.

"Man, how creepy…" Ryuji looked over his shoulder as he brought up the app's home screen. It looked like a normal navigation app at first glance, but the way to search for locations was strange. Instead of a place to input an address, there were three boxes, labeled 'Name', 'Location', and 'Perception.' "I'm kind of a genius for remembering, huh?! Look, it says it right there in the history! 'Kamoshida Suguru; Shujin Academy; Pervert Castle.' Aw man, that's so gross. I can't believe it's actually called that. But let's try using this app!"

"If we use it and the castle really does come back… we should be prepared for anything," Izuku said seriously. Ryuji nodded intently.

"Yeah. I'm all business. Let's do this."

Izuku tapped the location listed in the history of the app, and wondered if perhaps this was that weird 'metaverse navigator' Igor had mentioned in his dream last night. If so… was Igor the one responsible for all of this? Was it his quirk that put the app on his phone and turned the school into a castle? Izuku wasn't sure, but he was definitely going to get some answers.

Kamoshida Suguru… Shujin Academy… Pervert Castle… beginning Navigation.

And then the world began to warp and shift around them. Much like the dizzy spell he'd had in school, only without the actual dizziness or nausea, the world seemed to morph into that strange, off-kilter version of itself, and before them appeared the castle they'd escaped from only the morning before. A sense of dread creeped down Izuku's spine, looking at the towering, foreboding building, but in tandem with it was the sense of freedom he'd felt. He felt connected to d'Artagnan again here, like he could call up his Persona at a moment's notice.

"Whoa… what in the world…" Ryuji got his bearings, looking around him and startling when he saw the castle. "Dude! Look, it's here! That means what we saw yesterday was totally real!"

"Yeah… I don't know if that makes me feel better or worse, though… that cat, Morgana, didn't he say the people inside the castle weren't real, though? I wonder why…" Izuku mused, approaching the front door alongside Ryuji. Ryuji turned to look at him with wide eyes.

"Huh?! Your clothes…!" he cried.

Izuku looked down at himself. It seemed as though his outfit had changed and he hadn't even realized it, turning into the strange outfit he'd worn last time, complete with the mask he'd ripped off of his face. He looked at himself in the reflection of one of the castle's giant windows, and got a good look at the outfit his clothes had turned into for the first time.

It looked a little like the rough sketch of his hero costume idea from his notebooks, albeit with a darker color scheme and sleeker design - and in the middle of his chest, a white, four-pointed star. There was a star on the back to match, steel-toed boots with two stars on the soles, and shin, knee and elbow guards that bore four more stars as well. Instead of the full head covering he'd drawn in his notebook however, his mask was one that only covered the upper half of his face, though it still kept the protrusions resembling All Might's hair he'd drawn on the hood as a part of the mask.

All in all, he thought he resembled something closer to an underground hero than a limelight one in an outfit like this, but still, seeing himself like this… it almost made him teary-eyed. He never thought he'd be able to wear something like this after he'd gotten arrested. He didn't even think he'd be able to get into a hero school, though he was still going to try. Seeing this outfit was like a dream come true.

"This happened last time too, right? Your clothes suddenly changing in the castle? What's up with the outfit? Almost looks like a hero costume, don't you think?" Ryuji said, eyebrows raised. "You look cool as hell though, dude."

"Y-You think so?" Izuku chuckled, wiping discreetly at his eyes. "Actually, I don't know how, but… this looks a lot like a hero costume I drew for myself once. I've always wanted to be a hero. It's pretty crazy that it looks this close to what I made up."

"Wait, seriously? The eff is goin' on with that? This place still makes no sense…" Ryuji muttered.

"Hey, stop causing a commotion out here!"

Izuku and Ryuji both snapped in the direction of the voice, only to see none other than the talking not-cat that had saved them, Morgana. Izuku was relieved to see him alive and well, but… "How did you know we were here?!"

"The Shadows started acting up, so I came out to see what was going on. And here I found you two… didn't I tell you to get out of here and not come back?!" Morgana scolded. Ryuji and Izuku both looked a little sheepish at that. "You barely got out of here alive the first time, so why are you here?"

"We needed answers, man!" Ryuji said, dead serious. Izuku nodded alongside him - he wasn't going to leave until he knew what this place was and how to stop whatever twisted version of Kamoshida was running rampant in here. "Is this really the school?"

Morgana sighed. "Yes. This castle is the school, but only to its ruler."

"The ruler… you mean Kamoshida? The suits of armor all addressed him like he was a king… and he sure acted like one…" Izuku murmured. Morgana nodded.

"That's right. This castle is how he views the school in his distorted heart," Morgana explained. Izuku's eyes went wide - suddenly, this was all beginning to make sense. That was why nobody had acted like anything was wrong… this must've been some kind of psychological quirk that showed how a person viewed things! But if this was how Kamoshida viewed the school, then…

"Kamoshida… distorted… man, I don't get it! Explain it in a way that makes sense!" Ryuji groaned. Morgana shook his head.

"I shouldn't have expected you to get it…"

"Hey!" Ryuji barked back. "What's that supposed to-"

Ryuji was cut off by the sound of a horrific, blood-curdling scream from somewhere inside the castle. Izuku shuddered. His thoughts were right. If this was how Kamoshida viewed the school… he was one seriously messed up teacher. Even the teachers at Aldera hadn't been this bad. This was… this was something else entirely. This was like something out of his worst nightmares.

"What was that?!" Ryuji cried.

"That was probably the people Kamoshida has captive here… it's like this every day. On top of that, since you two escaped yesterday, he probably lost his temper too. That certainly isn't helping," Morgana shook his head. Ryuji's face was horrified as he processed exactly what Morgana had said.

"Wh… what the fuck… Damn you, Kamoshida!" Ryuji charged one of the enormous front doors, shoulder-tackling it. Of course it didn't budge, but Ryuji certainly smacked into it pretty hard.

"Blondie?" Morgana looked shocked. "I guess you have reasons for wanting to come back…"

"It's Ryuji! Sakamoto Ryuji! Do you know where those voices are coming from, Monamona?!" Ryuji asked, hands clenched into fists at his sides.

"Uh, back at you. It's Morgana," Morgana replied flatly. "I told you yesterday the people in here aren't real, but… you still want me to take you to them?"

"Yes! Please, I don't care if they're real or not, I can't stand this!" Ryuji protested. Honestly, Izuku was right there with him. He nodded, setting a hand on Ryuji's shoulder. The blond looked relieved to know he had somebody on his side, and they both looked down at Morgana.

"… Alright, I get the picture. I'll take you to them. Just follow my lead, alright? You've got to be stealthy. First of all, not barging in through the entrance is one of the basics of phantom thievery," Morgana explained, leading them to the ventilation shaft they'd escaped through yesterday. "I'll teach you more as we go."

"We're not thieves," Izuku insisted, recalling Igor's almost ominous words of 'all for you to grow as a most excellent thief…' "We're here to investigate and try to help people."

"Phantom thieves aren't…" Morgana trailed off, shaking his head. "Nevermind. I'm not calling you a thief, okay? Just follow me."

Warily, Izuku nodded, following Morgana through the ventilation shaft. First Igor, now Morgana, both mentioning thieves… this wasn't quite sitting right, but he supposed Morgana would explain more as time went on. Ryuji climbed up behind him, and both of them began to shimmy through it.

"Sorry for dragging you into this…" Ryuji murmured. "But I just can't forgive that bastard Kamoshida for everything he's done. So thank you for coming along with me. I really owe you one."

"Hey, you don't owe me anything," Izuku replied softly. Morgana could probably hear them, given they were in a ventilation shaft right now, but he let them speak without interrupting. "I volunteered. I want to figure out what's going on just as much as you do. I felt horrible leaving those people here to save myself yesterday. Sorry, Morgana. I just have a hard time believing they're not real… their screams sure soundreal."

"Yeah… it's real messed up," Ryuji agreed.

"That's okay. I suppose this would be hard to accept for anybody, let alone two people who got thrown in here without warning yesterday," Morgana conceded. "Once we get to the people you want to see, I'll explain what I mean by not real. It'll be easier if you see it for yourself."

The two followed Morgana through the castle and down to the dungeons. They trailed stealthily behind, stopping when they reached the entrance to the dungeons and crouching behind some crates in case any guards came out. "Earlier, you said the shadows were acting up," Izuku murmured, peeking out from behind the crate to check for guards. "What did you mean by that?"

"Those suits of armor that turned into monsters you saw yesterday, those are called Shadows," Morgana explained, trying to put it in a way he'd grasp. "They're sort of like Personas, but not quite. Personas are like… the person you want to be. Your ideal, true self. You ripped off the mask you put on towards society, and your Persona came forth. But Shadows are the parts of yourself you don't like that form unconsciously. They're still born from humans and human emotions, but they're totally different. Is this making sense?"

"I mean, I'm pretty much following, but… this is one heck of a quirk to be making all of this…" Izuku murmured. Morgana gave him a baffled look.

"Quirk? This isn't a quirk. This is-" Morgana was cut off by the sound of clank-clank-clank ing armor in the distance. One of the guards was patrolling, and Morgana looked both annoyed and resigned at its presence. "Tsk, I thought this might be the case… they upped patrols. Looks like we'll have to fight from here on out. If you can get the jump on a Shadow and rip off the mask they wear, they'll be stunned long enough to give us an advantage."

"Uh… I don't know if I'll be able to…" Izuku looked down at himself. He wasn't exactly the most athletic person in the world just yet, even if he planned to change that. "But I can try, at least."

When the guard that had come close to them turned its back, Izuku sprinted out from cover and leapt up as high as he could, just barely tall enough when he jumped to sling his arms around the suit of armor's neck and get a grip. After dangling from the Shadow's neck for a moment, he reached up and yanked with all his might on the mask the armor wore, and when it ripped off with a metallic screech, the whole suit dissolved into a pile of shadows just like the others did.

"Nice! We've got the first move! Call your Persona!" Morgana instructed. Izuku did as he was told, and he recalled the feeling from yesterday of when d'Artagnan appeared by his side. The giant Persona appeared when he called, standing - or floating, rather - steadfastly by his side.

The Shadow Izuku had ripped the mask off of seemed to gather up into a new form, that of a monster like he'd seen yesterday, but it was still stunned, so Morgana took the opportunity to attack with his own Persona. Izuku followed suit, and working in tandem the two had no trouble taking down their opponent. Izuku felt relief and a little exhilaration run through him - he'd really done that! Sure, d'Artagnan handled the physical side, but without his orders d'Artagnan wouldn't have done a thing.

In the distance, though, they could hear more of the Shadows on their way… a lot more. Izuku, Ryuji and Morgana took the opportunity to run, with Morgana instructing them to duck into a room tucked away into a place easily overlooked to get away.

"Are… you sure it's safe in here…?" Ryuji panted, catching his breath.

"Positive. Can you feel it? The distortion here is low. That means the ruler's control over this room is weak," Morgana explained. Now that he mentioned it, Izuku could feel something… off here. For a moment, he felt as though he were back in school, but it quickly passed, almost like one of the dizzy spells he'd had.

"H-Huh?!" Ryuji leaned against the wall. "Wasn't that a classroom just now…?"

"It was. Are you beginning to understand? This isn't some quirk. This place is in another reality entirely, and it's a place that the ruler's heart projects. One could say it's a world in which one's distorted desires can be materialized. I call the places that pop up in this world Palaces," Morgana explained, leaping up on a table in the room. Izuku and Ryuji took seats, grateful for the brief rest after the trek down here. If this place was… some other reality, and Personas were part of it, that much made it believable (albeit still outlandish and confusing) to Izuku. He knew he was certifiably, biologically quirkless. There's no way he'd be able to have a power like this if it were a quirk.

"Palaces… so this is like, what, how Kamoshida thinks of the school?" Ryuji asked, looking angry.

"Exactly. This place appears to be a castle because this 'Kamoshida' views the school like his personal castle," Morgana nodded. Ryuji put his head in his hands, gripping at his hair.

"So the school turned into this just because he thought of it like this…? That son of a bitch!" Ryuji shouted, letting go of his hair and slamming his hands on the table. It startled Morgana, who looked worried like he had when Ryuji tried to tackle the front door earlier.

"You must really hate this Kamoshida guy," Morgana murmured.

"Oh, hate doesn't even begin to cover what I feel!" Ryuji seethed, hands clenching into fists. "Everything is that asshole's fault!"

Izuku had never heard Ryuji so angry before in the short time they'd known each other. Whatever Kamoshida did to him… it had to have been awful. He wanted to comfort the other boy, but Izuku wasn't sure it would be appreciated. He didn't know if they were close enough for that sort of thing, given they'd only known each other for two days at this point. Hell, Izuku wasn't even sure if they were technically friends, though he wanted to be.

"Well, whatever happened between you two, try not to let your emotions get the better of you. His lackeys are everywhere inside," Morgana said gently. Then, after a beat of awkward, tense silence, he turned to Izuku. "You know, I bet you're wondering… your outfit is a result of this world, too. Everything distorts to how the ruler pleases within a Palace. In order to prevent such distortions from affecting yourself, you must possess a strong will of rebellion. Your clothes are a reflection of that will - this is your personal image of rebellion that you hold within yourself."

"But… a hero costume ain't very rebellious," Ryuji scratched his head in confusion. "Didn't you say it looked like a hero costume you made up for yourself?"

Izuku would've laughed if it weren't so sad. Maybe not to Ryuji, but to him, looking like a hero… that was pretty rebellious. It rebelled against everything society thought a quirkless person could be, against everything he'd been told growing up. It rebelled against the stigma of Deku he'd been branded with since his 'diagnosis.' It rebelled against the charges he'd been slapped with, because to him, he'd saved somebody's life. That was heroism, not vigilantism.

It was just sad that it was being laid out right in front of him like this… that heroism in and of itself was an act of rebellion for somebody like him.

"Anyway, I don't really get all of what you're talkin' about," Ryuji grumbled. "I'm more curious about you than Izuku's clothes, to be honest! What in the hell are you? A quirked animal or something, like that, uh, what's his name, Nedzu of U.A?"

"I'm a human!" Morgana said, and after he spoke, it was so quiet they could've heard a pin drop.

"Uh… dude, you clearly look more like a cat…" Ryuji pointed out. Morgana shot him a halfhearted glare. "You got a transformation quirk that lets you turn into a cat, or…?"

"I look like this because I lost my true form… I think."

"You think?" Izuku wondered, looking at Morgana curiously. Was he really a human…? Sure, he spoke, but… Ryuji was right. He really did look like a cat, not a human. Unless looking like a cat was somehow his image of rebellion or he had a transformation quirk, Izuku had a really hard time picturing him as a human.

"I know how to regain my true form, though!" Morgana insisted, waving his paws about. "The whole reason I came in here was an investigation into that very matter! Although I ended up getting caught and tortured by Kamoshida in the process… I'm gonna make him pay for sure!"

"This is a lot to take in, man… my brain effin' hurts…" Ryuji muttered to himself.

Honestly, even though he understood what Morgana was saying and followed along, Izuku completely agreed with Ryuji. The idea of an entire other realityexisting was just… overwhelming. Let alone a reality where people's thoughts and feelings came to life in such a twisted, horrific manner. And add on the fact that he had the ability to traverse to this reality through an app on his phone, summon a manifestation of his 'true self', and was getting all of this explained to him by a human-turned-cat?

He was honestly glad he didn't try to explain any of this to Torino. The man would've reported him to his probation officer and recommended a trip to a psychiatrist for sure.

"I know it's a lot to take in, but we can't stay here forever. If we're gonna get to the people you wanted to see, we should get going. I'll be counting on your skills this time too, rookie," Morgana nodded in Izuku's direction.

Izuku just nodded back. It was all he could do in this situation.

"Well, I don't know if it'll help, but… I brought this 'cause I knew I wanted to try coming back here. If it can help you at all, take it, since I'm just dragging you down in this situation…" from the school bag slung over his shoulder, Ryuji brought out… a gun?! Seeing the look on Izuku's face, Ryuji quickly explained himself. "Don't freak out! It's only a model gun! You know, a prop! It just makes noises, but I thought it might at least fake somebody out since it looks real. I also brought a first aid kit in case we get hurt again. You still have that bandage from yesterday, and I'm still bruised as hell, so it's better to have it and not need it, right?"

"Well… at least you came prepared, I guess," Morgana sighed. "Let's just get going. We shouldn't wait around here too long. Let's take a look outside and assess the situation - I'm sure more guards have come to the area by now."

Opening the door a crack, they could hear a conversation between Shadows, stating that the 'slaves' had been taken to a training hall of some kind. They just had to get there, now.

After navigating a little further down and fighting a few more shadows, they finally made their way to the entrance of the 'training hall.' The only problem was, there were guards blocking it, and this time there was no avoiding them - plus they had already gone through more fights and Izuku, being inexperienced on top of a head wound, was already feeling exhausted.

Morgana grinned slyly. "I have an idea. We can actually use that prop gun you brought, blondie. Remember how I said this is a world where desires can materialize? We can use that to our advantage. This whole world is cognitive - it's based on your mind and your perception. If you and the shadows both believe the gun's real, then it'll become real. You should be able to fire bullets that can hurt them."

"You're kidding, right?!" Izuku looked a little panicked at the thought of firing a gun, even if it was a prop gun that was… somehow made real in this reality? Another thing for his overworked brain to process later. "I-I couldn't shoot somebody!"

"Dude, your Persona literally beats the Shadows up with the butt end of a musket…" Ryuji gave Izuku a baffled look. "Morgana said these things ain't even human anyway. They're like… you called 'em manifestations? Parts of people's personalities?"

Morgana nodded seriously. "Yeah. They're not real. Like I said, this whole world is a cognitive one - we're the only 'real' things in here. You need every advantage you can get. You should take the gun. Seriously. It'll go right back to being a prop gun when you leave, and you won't be hurting any actual people! On the other hand, these things can seriously hurt or kill you. You know that firsthand."

Izuku stared at the prop gun Ryuji was now holding out to him, and with great reluctance he took it. Morgana was right - he needed every advantage. And… there were heroes that used guns, right? Snipe used guns! If he wasn't hurting real people with them, and even heroes could use guns, surely it was alright.

And, as it turned out when he went to fight the Shadows, Morgana was right yet again. The gun… really did fire bullets here. He'd never so much as touched a gun before, even a fake one, but Izuku found that it came surprisingly natural, all things considered. His aim wasn't… that great… but that would have to come with time. All in all, it wasn't the terrible experience he thought it would be. And when the battle was over, he even found that his outfit had changed on its own again. This time, a holster had appeared on the utility belt he wore, and the prop gun fit perfectly inside it.

"Holy crap, I can't believe that thing fired real freakin' bullets!" Ryuji exclaimed, following after them as they finally were able to scurry inside the training hall.

Unfortunately, the inside was just as sickening as Izuku imagined it would be just based on the screams that had been coming out from the area.

Starting with the giant banner over the entrance that read 'training hall of love,' the hall opened up into some heinous, voyeuristic look into how exactly Kamoshida saw - and likely treated - the students on the volleyball team. On lower platforms, Izuku, Ryuji and Morgana could see several students in volleyball uniforms strung up to volleyball nets by their wrists, being beaten mercilessly by the armored Shadows. They were already black, blue and bloody, but the hits never stopped coming.

Another platform had students running on an enormous treadmill going impossibly fast, forcing them to chase a single pot of water on one end or be steamrolled by an enormous cylinder of spikes on the other. And on yet another platform, students were hung upside down by their legs from the rafters and hit in the face with volleyballs being fired out of a cannon at speeds high enough to cause serious injury. None of this looked remotely like 'training'... this was just wanton abuse and violence.

Izuku felt like he couldn't breathe as he witnessed the acts being inflicted on the students. Did Kamoshida… do even half of this to the students in real life? Or was this just some godawful nightmare that Kamoshida secretly dreamed about doing? The worst part was that none of the students even wanted out of here when they tried to coax some out.

"And… and none of them are real?" Ryuji seethed quietly, his hands clenched in white-knuckled fists around the bars that separated the hall they were in from the lower platforms. "You swear to me?"

"I swear," Morgana reassured him, completely serious. "Remember how I said this is a cognitive world? These aren't people who came from the real world like you. These are just… pictures. Realistic dolls, if you will. This is just how he imagines the students, so they appear here, just like this. None of these are real people. That's why they don't want to escape… because he believes they don't want to."

"The hell…? This is too complicated!" Ryuji hissed. "So the school's a castle… and the students are slaves. That's so accurate it makes me sick. This really is the inside of that bastard's head, ain't it?!"

"Yeah. I'm sorry, but it is," Morgana nodded, looking extremely uncomfortable himself. "Even worse, this must mean that he treats them like this in the real world, too… Maybe not to this extent, since this is only his cognition, but still. There's no way they'd look so beat up in this world unless they were being physically abused on a daily basis."

"Wait… the real world?" Ryuji's eyes went wide and he scrambled to get his phone out. "These represent real people, right?! I recognize them! They're volleyball team members! I heard rumors that Kamoshida used physical abuse when training the volleyball team, but this is proof! I can take pictures of this and use it as evidence to get that bastard Kamoshida arrested! We gotta take this to the police!"

Izuku also decided to take out his phone - Ryuji was right. He could show Torino this and actually dosomething about this guy. But as Ryuji and Izuku both tried to take photos, their phones malfunctioned. None of the functions on their phones - save the navigation app Izuku used to get in here - would work in this place. Although he was frustrated, Ryuji wasn't about to give up.

"Argh, fine! I'll have to memorize their faces, then! Izuku, you gotta help me!"

Izuku certainly couldn't say no to that. The two of them went around as fast as possible and studied the most clearly visible students on the platforms. They'd just have to speak to the versions of them in the real world and try to get a confession… maybe then they could take this to the police or Torino. (Probably Torino, in Izuku's case. He wasn't sure he trusted the police's judgment much these days.)

"Alright, you got them?" Morgana asked. When Ryuji and Izuku both confirmed they did, he led the way. "Good. Then we need to get out of here before another patrol comes through!"

Ryuji, Izuku and Morgana all took off as carefully as they could back through the castle and ended up in the entrance again in the process. They just had to get to the hall on the other side of the enormous foyer, and they'd be home free, but… nothing in Izuku's life was ever that simple.

Of course, as they approached the other side, Kamoshida and his guards blocked their path.

"You knaves again?" the caped, half-naked Kamoshida in the crown hissed. "To think you'd come back here again… if you make mistakes like this willingly, then you're hopeless as well as useless!"

"Oh yeah?!" Ryuji yelled back, fire in his eyes. "You're goin' down! I've memorized all of your students' faces! Who's useless now, you bastard?!"

"I suppose that adage about barking dogs seldom biting is true… you've fallen so far, Sakamoto. You used to be the star of the junior high track scene, and now look at you," Kamoshida sneered, looking down his nose at the blond.

"The hell are you tryin' to say?!" Ryuji was practically shaking with anger beside Izuku, who wanted to do something in this situation, but he had no idea what. There were so many guards surrounding Kamoshida right now that he'd be impossible to get to, even with d'Artagnan's help.

"I'm speaking of the 'track traitor,' of course," Kamoshida laughed cruelly, spreading his arms wide as if to show off. "The one who acted in violence and crushed his teammate's very dreams. I can only imagine how hurt they were with your selfish, selfishactions, Sakamoto."

"Y-You…" Ryuji looked genuinely shaken by that comment, and Izuku wouldn't let that stand.

"I don't know what you're talking about… and I haven't known Ryuji that long… but I know he isn't the kind of guy who's selfish! He's a good person… you don't have the right to talk about him like that," Izuku insisted, now stanced up and ready for a fight. There was no way they were getting out of this without one, after all.

"Oh, and what a surprise! Both of you are following the other around without knowing anything at all!" Kamoshida cackled, a manic grin across his face. "Sakamoto doesn't know how useless you really are, does he? He wouldn't be near you otherwise. And Sakamoto never told you how he betrayed his teammates and crushed their hopes, and yet here he is, carrying on as carefree as he ever was!"

"That's not true!" Ryuji protested, though he looked more shaken than before. "And don't call Izuku useless, shithead!"

"What a hilariously tragic fate. You two have led each other right to your deaths. I'd laugh if I wasn't already furious," Kamoshida's mocking grin turned into a scowl radiating rage. He gestured to his guards sharply. "Get rid of them already. I can't stand their stench."

The guards attacked, and Izuku swiftly jumped in front of Ryuji with Morgana at his side, summoning d'Artagnan to block the blow the guard sent their way. The monsters sent out this time were a lot stronger, and even d'Artagnan was struggling. And not only that, but thanks to the sheer amount of guards, they were completely surrounded now. Ryuji stood between Morgana and Izuku, not knowing what to do and looking increasingly frustrated.

Izuku and Morgana did their best to battle the monsters with the help of their Personas, but there were just too many strong ones all at once. In the end, they couldn't handle it, and the guards got the jump on them… and soon, they were being crushed under heel… literally.

Two of the guards had Izuku pinned under their shields, while Kamoshida stepped harshly onto Morgana's back, and the human-turned-cat yowled in pain. "Argh-! You… you piece of…"

"I bet you simply came here on a whim, didn't you? I'd even bet it was Sakamoto's," Kamoshida smirked. Ryuji instinctively reached out for the others, but that just made Kamoshida press harder. "And you ended up like this because of it. Hmph. Worthless piece of garbage, getting emotional so easily. Even if it was only temporary, did you forget my kindness in supervising your track practice?"

"Wasn't no practice or kindness," Ryuji choked up angrily, tears in his eyes as he slammed his fists on the floor in frustration. "It was physical abuse, what you did to us! Just because you didn't like our team!"

Izuku's eyes went wide. Ryuji… had been a victim of Kamoshida's abuse, too? Oh, god. He was stuck in a room with the man right now, and Izuku… Izuku was just laying here, unable to move all over again. Granted, this time wasn't his choice, but it still didn't feel any better. He wanted to help Ryuji get out of here so they could finally get Kamoshida arrested!

"Your 'team' was nothing but an eyesore. The only one that needs results is my volleyball team," Kamoshida spat, grinding his heel into Morgana's back. The sounds the poor cat was making… Izuku wanted to help, damn it…! "That coach who got fired was useless too! If he had just left well enough alone and not opposed me, I would've settled with just breaking his star runner's leg!"

"Wh… what?"

Izuku choked off an angry sob. The look of pain and horror in his friend's eyes - and damnit, Izuku really did think of him as a friend, he couldn't help it - was enough to make him want to cry.

"What do you mean, 'what?' Do I need to break your other leg too? The school will just call it self-defense again! After all, I can always say you tried to attack me! It's not like it hasn't happened before!" Kamoshida growled out, and Izuku's jaw clenched. This bastard had broken Ryuji's leg! A junior high schooler's leg! And for what?! Because he was jealous of their success?!

Ryuji's head hung low. "Damnit… Am I… going to lose again…? I can't run any more… the track team's gone… and now other people are hurt… all because of this asshole…!"

"Don't… let him win. Ryuji!" Izuku ground out from beneath the shields. "You're better than he is… you're a better person, even if nobody else but us knows it!"

Ryuji's eyes widened, and the hands that had been fists for most of the trip through the castle finally relaxed. "You… you're right," Ryuji said, shakily standing up on his feet. "Everything important to me that was taken by him… I'll never get 'em back!"

"That's right. Looks like you finally understand your place," Kamoshida grinned and crossed his arms over his chest. "Now stand there and watch as hopeless scum like this die for nothing, just because they sided with you, Sakamoto."

"Scum…?" Ryuji gathered the will to look outright angry again. "No, that's what you are. All you ever think about is success and using people, no matter what you do to them in the process! You're the real scumbag, Kamoshida!" Kamoshida tried to order his guards to silence him, but Ryuji pressed onwards, walking forwards. "Now stop lookin' down on me with that stupid fuckin' smile on your face!"

"You made me wait quite a while."

An intimidating voice rumbled out, and Ryuji's eyes went wide, a pained expression coming over him. Wait a second… Izuku recognized that sort of pained expression and that echoing voice. Was Ryuji… awakening his own Persona right now?! The blond put his hands to the side of his head and cried out in pain.

"You seek power, correct? Then… let us make a pact. Since your name has been disgraced already, why not hoist the flag and wreak havoc? The other you who resides within desires it thus…"

Ryuji had fallen to the ground again, writhing in pain. Izuku remembered how it had felt like he was on fire and as though his head had been about to rupture when d'Artagnan first spoke to him, but he believed in Ryuji. If anyone could get through this, it was somebody as kind-hearted as him…!

"I am thou, thou art I… the skull of rebellion is your flag henceforth!"

And with a flash of blue fire that Izuku remembered vividly, a mask shaped like a skull appeared on Ryuji's face. Catching his breath, he stood, hands grasping at the mask to try and desperately rip it off. It was an all-consuming urge, the need to remove the mask overwhelming all of his other senses. He didn't even realize there were guards heading right for him, that Izuku was calling to him to watch out.

"Hrgh…" Ryuji dug his fingers in, and with a wide-eyed, almost manic expression, he yanked, the mask coming off with an awful sound and a spray of blood. And then, like Izuku had done the day before, he exploded in a bright blue flash of that fire, and a figure began to take shape from it behind him. From it emerged a menacing, skeletal pirate with a cannon for an arm, riding a floating ship like a surfboard. The glare the pirate sent out towards all the enemies was so intense that Izuku felt like it could outright knock people off their feet if they weren't careful.

"Ugh… this one too?!" Kamoshida blocked out the bright light of the fire with his hand.

"Right on… so this is a Persona…" Ryuji looked down at his own hands, the blood and injury he'd received from ripping off the mask disappearing as he spoke. "This effin' rocks…! And now that I got this power, it's totally time for payback!" His persona fired a cannonball from his arm, blasting away Kamoshida and his guards and freeing Izuku and Morgana. "I'm ready! Let's do this!"

Izuku scrambled to get up despite the pain he was in, and the guards that were left transformed into more of those monsters. He and Morgana ran to Ryuji's side, both summoning their Personas again now that they could catch their breath.

"We're with you, Ryuji!" Izuku winced at the pain his back was in from those shields digging in, but he was fully prepared to fight his way out of here. He'd decided as much when he agreed to come into this castle in the first place. What happened to him at this point was no longer important. Rather, what mattered most was stopping Kamoshida before he could hurt anybody else. Hopefully, once they got testimonies, Torino would be able to help him out with those hero connections of his he mentioned.

Ryuji put a hand on Izuku's shoulder and pointed with the other. "Blast 'em away, Captain Kidd!"

Izuku grinned. Captain Kidd… that Persona totally suited him. "D'Artagnan, help him out! Make sure he has a clear firing line!"

"Heh… thanks," Ryuji grinned alongside him. "I just decided… I ain't gonna change Kamoshida's mind about me, and the past can't change either. So why not just act like the troublemaker I am?! No use crying over spilled milk! I'll just be a freakin' nuisance and fix things as they are now!"

And so the group of them battled their way through Kamoshida's last few guards, tough though the battle was. With Ryuji's help, they were finally, finally able to take them down and get free. And in front of them, only Kamoshida stood, looking shocked and disbelieving that they were able to take down his precious guards. Ryuji and Izuku stood proudly, staring him down.

"Even if you begged for forgiveness right now, you ain't gettin' it!" Ryuji declared.

"Hmph! You still don't get it, do you?" Kamoshida snapped his fingers, looking smug now despite his guards having been beaten to a pulp. From down the stairs of the foyer arrived… oh god. Izuku looked away, appalled and ashamed when he met eyes with Takamaki, walking down the stairs in a bikini of all things, complete with cat ears and a tail. And if Morgana said they were the only real things in here…

"Don't tell me… that's how he views Takamaki-san from class?" Izuku almost gagged, horrified. She was just a teenage girl! What the hell was wrong with this guy?!

"Oh shit…" Ryuji looked horrified when he realized that this was likely the same scenario as those students from before. This wasn't the real Takamaki, but this was certainly how Kamoshida perceivedTakamaki. He looked at her and saw… this. Izuku had never encountered somebody this disgusting. He felt slimy just being in the same room as Kamoshida.

"Unfortunately it is how he views her," Morgana confirmed. "She's a cognitive being, too."

"Well? Jealous? I bet you are. Nobody's drawn to delinquents like you two, after all," Kamoshida laughed, wrapping his arm around the Shadow Takamaki. The cognitive version of her leaned in, completely uncaring. "Don't you get it? Here in this castle, everyone wants to be loved by me. This is mycastle, my world! Guards, clean them up this instant!"

More guards were summoned out of nowhere, out of a large mass of shadows that seemed to just spontaneously gather on the floor around them, and Izuku was forced to back up though he wanted to run up and punch Kamoshida in the face. He knewTakamaki had looked uncomfortable earlier, and he'd just stood there… he felt horrible! He had to do something about this for sure, or Izuku was never going to be able to forgive himself for it!

"Let's get out of here before we're surrounded!" Morgana called out. "You two still need to get out of here so you can find those people, right?!"

Right. This wasn't the real world, Izuku reminded himself. The real Kamoshida wouldn't get punished if they just stayed here and fought Shadows forever… "Okay. Let's go!"

"We'll expose who you really are, no matter what! You'd better be ready for us, Kamoshida!" Ryuji called over his shoulder, and the three of them booked it out of there at top speeds.

Once they'd made it out of the castle and were a safe distance away, the three of them stopped to catch their breath. Ryuji was wincing and favoring one of his legs, and Izuku was holding a hand to his head and trying not to fall over from dizziness. Perhaps all that fighting on a head injury wasn't the smartest idea… he was lucky enough as it was to not have a concussion from his first trip to the castle, or at least Torino said it wasn't likely that he had one after he'd checked out the injury.

"Man… I don't remember changing into this," Ryuji panted, taking a look at his outfit. It resembled a biker outfit, with a leather jacket and pants, red scarf, metal knee guards and what looked like a bandolier of shotgun shells around his waist. His mask was metal, looking like a skull that covered the top half of his face. "Don't tell me I got a 'rebellious outfit' like Izuku?"

"You look really cool, at least," Izuku said amenably. And it was true! He looked super cool, a lot closer to how an underground hero might look than Izuku's was. It was downright intimidating, actually, but Izuku wasn't worried. Ryuji was a good person.

"Uhh, thanks," Ryuji mumbled. "But we're in deep shit! Aren't we gonna be screwed with Kamoshida back at school? He knows we're gunnin' for him now since I opened my big mouth about our plans… sorry about that…"

"That's a smart concern, but unnecessary," Morgana shook his head. "That Kamoshida is a Shadow, too. That's the part of himself he doesn't want other people to see. Did he remember the attempted execution from yesterday?"

"Oh… he didn't," Izuku recalled. "I was wondering if they were the same person…"

"Well, that's great!" Ryuji exclaimed. "That means we just gotta get back to the school, then-"

"Hold on a minute," Morgana stopped him, standing tall and looking up at him seriously. "I took you to those people like you asked, and now it's your turn to work with me. Why do you think I was so nice about teaching you rookies everything? I told you I was running an investigation about how to get my body back! I just have to get rid of the distortion around it somehow."

"Huh? We never said anything about helpin' you out, though," Ryuji gave Morgana a confused look. Izuku, on the other hand, sighed.

"I mean… I'd like to help, but we have to get this stuff with Kamoshida fixed first," Izuku said, albeit reluctantly. "You really helped us. But people are being seriously hurt, and we can't let that slide. I'm sorry. Is there any way we could maybe help you later?" Izuku offered instead. Ryuji huffed.

"Hey, I still never agreed to this. But… I guess he's right. Fair's fair, if you can wait for us to finish puttin' that scumbag where he belongs," Ryuji grumbled, looking none too pleased about being roped into whatever Morgana's investigation was. Morgana looked even more annoyed at being put on hold, but reluctantly, he nodded.

"Fine. Do what you have to do. I'll come find you later or something."

"Thanks," Izuku said, bowing a little in his direction. "You've been a great help to us. I don't know how you'll find us… but we'll be waiting for you after we've gotten this resolved."

And so Ryuji and Izuku departed from the castle with the app they used to get in in the first place. The world shifted around them again, warping their vision and giving them vertigo for a few brief moments before they settled, and the world seemed… rightagain. Normal. They could hear people milling about behind them, and they realized they were in an alley just outside the school

"Whoa," Ryuji shook his head. "That was… a lot."

Izuku's mouth felt dry and his limbs like lead weights as he really processed everything the two had done back there. "Uh. Yeah. Definitely a lot."

"And now I'm dead tired… how about you?"

"Very tired. I think I need a nap or three…" Izuku yawned. He checked the time - he still had some until curfew, thankfully.

"But man… this is getting good. We're so close to getting the dirt on Kamoshida. I totally remember all of the faces of those dudes on the volleyball team, so all we have to do is get them to say that Kamoshida's really been doing that stuff we saw back there in that distorted world or whatever! You're gonna help me look for them, right?"

Izuku nodded. "Yeah… I don't think there's much point in lying low now anyway. Somehow my record got leaked… everyone thinks I was some crazy vigilante."

"I'd bet money it was Kamoshida," Ryuji scoffed, crossing his arms over his chest. "Only the teachers have access to that stuff, and he wrecks everything he don't agree with. No way he'd like vigilantes, bein' an ex-hero and all that."

"You think so?" Izuku cringed. From the way Kamoshida had talked earlier, it certainly sounded like he'd gone through his student file. All those comments about his uselessness really drove it home. Izuku wouldn't put it past him to have been the one who leaked his criminal record, given everything else he'd seen from the man so far, even if it was only in a 'cognitive world.'

"Yeah, I know so," Ryuji sighed. Then, he grinned and stuck out a hand. "So… we working together from now on?"

Izuku nodded, a weary smile on his face as he shook Ryuji's hand. "Yeah. Together."

"Acting as a phantom thief would've been more efficient alone. You could've gone about it that way…" Sae murmured, eyes closed in thought as she went over the facts of the case in her head. She was determined to get something from Midoriya during this interview. "However, you didn't. There are merits to having help… that's what you decided, is it not?"

When Midoriya didn't answer, she leaned forward intensely. "Am I wrong?"

As Izuku and Ryuji shook hands, the world seemed to slow, and once again - just like when d'Artagnan had awoken - a delicate blue butterfly danced in front of his vision and a gentle voice filled his head, sounding as though it were coming from within himself.

I am thou, thou art I… thou hast acquired a newvow.

It shall become the wings of rebellion that breakeththe chains of captivity.

With the birth of the Chariot Persona,

I have obtained the winds of blessing that shall lead to freedom and new power…

Izuku had no idea what the voice was talking about. But the butterfly disappeared shortly after, and the world returned to its normal speed, and Izuku blinked owlishly. What… had that been?

"You alright there?" Ryuji asked.

"Uh… yeah. I think so. Did you… hear that?" Izuku asked tentatively. Ryuji's eyebrows furrowed in thought.

"Hear what? All I hear is the people on the street over there. You hear something weird?" He tilted his head as if trying to hear what Izuku heard. Izuku bit the inside of his cheek and decided not to say anything. He thought he might've been going crazy… the castle and the other reality was hard enough to accept. Now he was seeing and hearing things? Had Ryuji not seen or heard the butterfly from before, either? That was… disconcerting.

Ryuji's stomach growling incredibly loudly distracted him from his thoughts, however. The blond chuckled sheepishly. "Er, sorry. I haven't eaten since lunch. All that fighting made me hungry. Hey… you got more time before you gotta be back home? Why don't we get food together? My treat."

Izuku's eyebrows rose. "Um… that sounds really nice, actually. I have a little time left. It should be enough to get food."

"Cool!" Ryuji grinned and slung his arm over Izuku's shoulders and began a walk towards the station. "I mean, I totally gotta hear more about you! I wanna know how a junior high schooler gets vigilantismcharges, dude. And why the hell did Kamoshida keep calling you useless? That was weird."

Izuku felt like somebody had dumped a bucket of ice water over the top of his head. He'd completely forgotten… but he'd never told Ryuji that he was quirkless. He'd brushed off that question about his quirk in the dungeons yesterday and it hadn't come up since then. Suddenly, the last thing Izuku wanted to do was eat. He actually felt queasy at the idea of telling somebody he viewed as a friend, for however brief of a time it was, that he was quirkless.

The last time he'd told a friend he made he was quirkless…

"You sure you're alright?" Ryuji frowned, leaning in the get a good look at him. "You look like you saw a ghost all of a sudden."

"I just remembered I have something to tell you," Izuku muttered. It was better to rip the bandage off and get it over with, really. He'd had his brief respite of friendship, and now it was time to come back to reality. He'd go asking the students about Kamoshida on his own, if he had to. He was still going to do the right thing, even if he was alone.

"Well, you can tell me once we get our food! Everything's better over a meal. I know a good place in Shibuya. Do you change train lines there?" Ryuji asked. Izuku nodded.

"Yeah. I live out in Yongen-Jaya, so I change lines there to get to school," Izuku confirmed. Eating in Shibuya would at least make getting home on time a lot easier.

Ryuji led the way, the two of them taking the train out to Shibuya and heading onto the main street just past the famous square. The street was busy, much busier than the places Izuku went to eat at in Musutafu. Ryuji showed him to a beef bowl place tucked into the corner of a building, and the two went inside, placed orders, and sat at the revolving food bar while they waited.

"So!" Ryuji slapped his hands on his knees. "What did you want to tell me?"

"Um… well… the truth, mostly," Izuku mumbled awkwardly. "The first time we met, you asked if I had a quirk that could help us get out of the… situation we were in. I didn't, and that part was true, but…" Izuku's heart was pounding in his chest and his hands felt clammy, clenching into fists in his lap. "It was only true because… I'm… I don't have a quirk to begin with."

"You're quirkless?" Ryuji's expression was one of genuine surprise. Izuku nodded shakily. Ryuji was quiet for several moments, but then… he laughed. Not a malicious laugh, but a surprised sort of laugh, and then he gently elbowed Izuku. "Man, that just makes you even crazier! Doing all this with me without a quirk… you're one brave guy, Izuku."

Izuku froze in his seat. For several moments, neither of them said anything, and then, though his hands trembled and tears beaded in the corners of his eyes, he turned to give Ryuji the biggest smile he'd ever had. "Th… Thank you. That's so n-nice of you to say," he choked out. He couldn't believe somebody just… didn't care. Ryuji called him brave. "It means a… a lot to me."

"Dude, don't cry!" Ryuji looked a little panicked. "D-Did I say something wrong?!"

"No!" Izuku quickly reassured him, wiping at his eyes before the waterworks could fully start in earnest. "I-It's just… I've never met somebody my age who doesn't think quirkless people are total losers…"

"Well, I can't judge people for stuff they can't control," Ryuji shrugged, nonplussed. "It would be a shitty thing to do. Besides, isn't how people act more important than their quirk in the first place? Just because somebody has a cool quirk doesn't make them a good person. And you're, like, a really good person. I think that's better than a quirk."

Well, there went the waterworks. Izuku started crying in full at that, and Ryuji panicked again, but the entire time, Izuku was smiling stupidly through his tears. He couldn't believe how incredible Ryuji was. Maybe… maybe his probation wouldn't be as awful as he thought, if he could spend it in the same school as Ryuji. When their food came, Izuku decided he'd be willing to tell him the full story behind his vigilantism charge.

"So… you wanted to hear about how I got charged with vigilantism, huh?" Izuku asked, his crying now stopped and his face cleaned up. It definitely looked like he'd been crying, but he was very obviously happy on top of it.

"If you're cool with tellin' me, yeah. I'm super curious!" Ryuji leaned in.

"It's… not that interesting, really. Do you watch a lot of hero news? If you do, you probably saw that All Might resolved an incident with a villain made of sludge holding a kid hostage in Musutafu a few months ago," Izuku began, taking a bite of his food.

Ryuji thought for a second. "Yeah, I think I heard about that, actually. I don't really pay much attention to hero news, but any story with All Might gets around."

"Well… I was involved in it. There was a second kid that ran in to save the one trapped in the sludge, and All Might ended up having to save both of them. The one that ran in… that was me, and the one who was trapped was my… classmate," Izuku admitted. Ryuji's eyes were wide as he listened to the story. "But it wasn't like the news portrayed. They didn't show it, but before I ran in, the heroes on scene before All Might were all just… standing there. They were talking about how they had to wait for someone with a 'suitable quirk' to save my classmate. He was suffocating to death, and they were just standing there, watching as he nearly died."

"For real?" Ryuji looked horrified. "That's terrible!"

"Yeah… so I did something. I ran in and threw my backpack at the villain's eyes, and it managed to buy my classmate a few seconds of air, at least. He probably would've died if I hadn't, All Might or not. And then the villain attacked me too, and that's when All Might arrived," Izuku sighed, taking another bite. The food here was actually pretty good, though retelling this story was not helping his appetite.

"But the news never called you a vigilante or anything, and all you were doing was helping your classmate breathe," Ryuji frowned. He seemed to be trying to figure out where this story was going. "It was reckless, sure, but I wouldn't call you a vigilante. So then where did the vigilantism charge come from?"

"That's what I'd like to know, honestly. None of the heroes at the scene charged me with anything, and they even said they were letting me off with a warning not to 'interfere in hero work' again. Not that there was any work to interfere in since they weren't doing anything… anyway, a week after the incident, police officers show up at my door and order me and my mom down to the precinct. The next thing I know, I'm being charged with vigilantism and obstruction of justice, and when I ask who charged me, nobody would tell me. I save my classmate's life when the heroes wouldn't, and I'm the one who got punished for it."

"What?!" Ryuji exclaimed. "How much shittier can they get?! Were those heroes trying to cover up the fact that they didn't do anything?!"

"I have no idea. The police said it wasn't anybody at the scene who pressed charges, but if it wasn't them, then who else could it have been?" It was a question that had lingered in Izuku's mind since the court proceedings. There were only so many people who had the authority to charge him, let alone those who would want to. "Anyway, it was only thanks to… somebody I know arguing on my behalf that I was able to get my sentence down to probation instead of a full on juvenile reform program. I was ordered to live out here in Tokyo and attend Shujin for a year, so… here I am."

"Man… just hearin' that makes me angry," Ryuji huffed. It was quiet for a few moments while the two of them ate. "But… we might be more alike than I originally thought."

"You think so?" Izuku asked. Ryuji smiled a little.

"Yeah. You're the first guy to make me think that. We're both treated like a pain in the ass by the people around us, like we don't belong. Truth is, I did something stupid at school, too," Ryuji shook his head, then shoveled down the rest of his bowl of food. It was likely a subject he had a hard time speaking about, not that Izuku blamed him. "… You said you're living out in Yongen, right? Well, it's rush hour on the trains right now. You should probably kill a little more time before going home."

Izuku nodded. That was a good idea. Especially since they were still repairing some of the damage from the subway incident the other day, it would be extremely packed. Ryuji saw how much food was left in Izuku's bowl, however, and he guffawed, grabbing a big pile of ginger and dropping it on top.

"Dude! You've barely touched your food. I know what you need - ginger's real good for your health!" Ryuji encouraged, and Izuku chuckled as he heaped on more and more. Looks like he was having his beef bowl with ginger, not that he minded. "Eat up! We need all our strength to deal with Kamoshida. Once that's handled, we'll both feel better about goin' to school. Oh! And we should exchange numbers so we can keep in contact outside of school too!"

Izuku's eyes sparkled as Ryuji put his number into Izuku's phone. "Wow," he mumbled around his mouthful of food. "I've never had a peer's number in my phone before…"

"For real?" Ryuji drawled, rolling his eyes. "Sure, 'peers,' he says! Like we didn't fight for our lives together. Like I don't owe you my life that first time we showed up in that castle, dude! We're on first name basis! Pretty sure that makes us friends, not peers. Isn't that, y'know, common sense?"

Izuku promptly choked on his food. "F… Friends? I didn't wanna presume…"

"Yeah, man! We're friends!" Ryuji nodded sagely. Izuku found himself smiling again, and he continued eating his ginger-filled beef bowl with a feeling of contentedness in his chest. "First, we'll find those students tomorrow and get their statements. The volleyball rally's tomorrow too. Shit's basically made to inflate Kamoshida's ego. Makes me wanna gag, but it'll be the perfect excuse to run around since classes are canceled because of it."

"We can meet up early in the morning to make plans, if you want," Izuku offered. Ryuji nodded, and that was that. "Alright. First thing in the morning it is, then."

"Yeah! You and me together, let's do this!"