Ren awoke to the sound of chains once more. It was then he found himself inside the same cell he had been in the other day. The same small cell, the same outfit, even the same ball of chain. The two twins were as usual on the outside of his small cell.
"It's about time you've come!" Caroline said, before she hit the bar, startling him a little, "On your feet inmate!"
"Our master wishes to speak with you." Justine said, "It's for your own sake that you take his words to heart."
"What?" Ren said, stepping to the bars, seeing Igor in the center of the room once more.
"First off, let us celebrate our reunion." Igor said, "I see you've awakened to your powers--and a special one at that. Your rehabilitation can finally begin."
"Powers…?" Ren said before he recalled when Arsene first appeared, and the mask "Do you mean…Those blue flames?"
"There is no need to understand it all for the time being." Igor said, "You will be training the power of Persona which you have awakened to."
"... Persona?" He said, "What do you mean?"
Igor soon explained, "Personas are in other words a 'mask'. An armor of the heart when confronting worldly matters. I have high expectations for you."
"What are you talking about? What even is this rehabilitation you keep saying?"
"There is no need to worry. You will learn when the time comes."
Igor soon recalled something, "By the by… Have you come to appreciate the Metaverse Navigation?"
Ren pondered on this before he realized what he was talking about. "That app---" Ren said in realization.
"Yes. Using it will allow you to come and go between reality and Palaces." He explained.
"It was you the whole time!? You somehow put that app on my phone?!"
"Indeed. I bestowed it to you as a means to train you as a thief."
"The Metaverse Navigator is a gift from our master!" Caroline said, "You better take care in using it Inmate!"
"Devote yourself to your training so that you may become a fine thief." Justine said.
"... A thief?" Ren said.
"It must be disheartening to make use of the Metaverse Navigation alone." Igor told him, "And should there be others who prove beneficial to you, I will grant them as well. This is all for you to grow as a most excellent thief…"
Before Ren could say anything, the bell went off. He could feel his body take in the exhaustion as he collapsed to his knees.
"Hmmph---!" Caroline said, as Ren could hear her voice fading, "---It's time. Go back and enjoy whatever rest you might have…"
Just like that the exhaustion took over him as he collapsed to the floor.
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Ren woke up in a daze as the sun rays started to leak through the windows. He sat up as he rubbed his eyes.
"That dream again… Just what are they talking about…?"
"Ren---?" Kai said, as he got up, "---You all good?"
"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine." Ren replied, before he noticed two now cleaned futons folded in the shelf. "Where's Kiku-san and Haruto-san?" He asked.
"They're downstairs helping themselves, come on." Kai said as he handed him his uniform, "The old man has been on our ass since yesterday."
"Right…" Ren said as set on his glasses.
After getting dressed he met the others downstairs. Surprisingly enough, Dide had been serving Haruto and Kiku some pancakes. Haruto had been wearing a simple baseball jersey with a pair of jeans with red sneakers, while Kiku had on a Hello Kitty shirt with khaki pants and a purple hoodie and brown ankle high boots.
"Order up!" He said, "Fresh from the pan, and straight into your mouth! My homemade speciality!"
"Wow this looks so yummy!" Kiku said as she practically had stars in her eyes, "It's been so long since I've had these!"
"Not surprised you're excited---" Haruto said with a smile as he was still squinting a little, "---Pancakes were always your favorite."
"I can't help it if they're so fluffy when you eat them!" She said.
Dide said with a smile as he poured syrup on their pancakes, "I'm glad you Like them--Unlike SOME ungrateful people."
"Oh fuck you." Kai mumbled as he went to get his bag.
Kiku soon broke off a piece and took a bite. Immediately her eyes became lit with awe. "This is so delicious!" She said, "You should work in a five star restaurant--Gda---" Kiku stopped herself as she was trying to figure out how to pronounce his surname, "---Gabba---Um---How do you say your name again?"
"Aww, you're so sweet---" Dide said, "---But please, call me Dide."
"Then---Dide-san." Kiku said with a smile.
"Oh, so you're letting her get a pass." Kai said as he rolled his eyes.
"Quiet you." Dide told him.
Yukihara soon entered LeBlanc, wearing a casual dark red shirt with a set of jeans. "Oh ho? Are those pancakes I smell?" Yukihara asked.
"Dide-san made pancakes for breakfast!" Kiku said with a smile, "Do you want some?"
"Ah that's alright I already ate." Yukihara said, "By the way Sojiro-kun, thanks for letting me take the day off to help these kids out."
"Think nothing of it." Sojiro said, "As long as they have something they can do for the day while I serve the customers." He soon turned to Ren, Dide and Kai, "And you three better hurry before you end up late---Again."
Dide laughed nervously as he said, "Noted sir."
"Yeah yeah." Kai said as he waved his hand.
Dide soon noticed the time, "OH SHIT! WE GOTTA GET TO EXPRESS!!" He soon shoved pancakes wrapped like a burrito in Ren and Kai's hands, "WE'LL TAKE OUR BREAKFAST TO GO! GO! GO! GO!"
"OUCH! OUCH! YOU'RE STEPPING ON MY FEET!!" Kai exclaimed as he nearly tripped.
"Wait---" Ren said as he stopped himself from going out the door. He soon turned to Kiku before he went to her side, "---Here. I found this before. I meant to give it back to you."
Kiku looked to his hand, and to her own surprise, she saw it had been a familiar pin, though the color had been faded. "My pin---!" She said, relieved, as she took it from him, "---I thought I lost this."
"I figured it was important to you." Ren said, "So I held onto it."
"... Thank you." Kiku said with a smile.
Ren had been taken back by this though he couldn't help but smile back---
---Though it was short lived.
"COME ON REN WE GOTTA GO!!" Dide shouted as he literally dragged him out the door.
"S-See you later!" Ren said as he was literally pulled right out the door.
Kiku and Haruto looked at one another as they each had confusion. "... They really like to be punctual…" Haruto said.
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-Shujin Academy-
The school went off without a hitch. On the downside though, as the day proceeded, they found everyone talking about them. And not to mention, the amount of fan letters he had gotten---Had been staked. No, literally stacked. By the end of the day---He had them all in a bag.
"...Oh God, it begins.." Dide said with a horrified look.
"Exactly how many fans do you have…?" Ren asked.
"Enough to make it on Seventeen's top 17 Male japan models." Dide told him
"Are half of these---" Kai said looking over the envelopes, "---Written by guys?"
Dide nodded as he said with a forced smile, "Yep.."
"Geez, no wonder why you wanted to lay low." Kai said tossing the envelope in the sack
Dide groaned in annoyance, "This literally can't be happening! Just who in the world could've leaked our info?!"
Just as this was said, they could hear a couple of voices nearby. One was from Ren and Kai's classmate by the name of Takamaki…
… And the other?
It was from Kamoshida.
"Hey there Takamaki." Kamoshida greeted with a smile, "Things have been pretty dangerous lately with all those accidents."
They noticed that Takamaki had looked nervous, "Sorry---" She said, "---I have a photoshoot today. It's for the special summer issue so I can't afford to miss it."
"Hey now---" Kamoshida said, "---Being a model's fine and dandy but don't work your pretty little self to the bone. You mentioned you weren't feeling well, right? Something about appendicitis?"
"Y-Yes, I keep planning to go to the hospital." Takamaki said, "But I've been too busy… Sorry to worry you."
"You must be lonely too. I feel bad for keeping your best friend at practice so often. Oh---and be careful around those transfer students in your class. They've got criminal records. If something were to happen to you."
"... Thank you."
Takamaki had quickly left as they noticed that Kamoshida looked particularly mad. They saw he left the scene as they couldn't help but find it odd.
"Did---He just try to hit on her?" Kai asked as he made a face, "Gross, doesn't he know he's old enough to be her dad?"
Dide only gave a leer as he said, "What a fucking creep. Even if those rumors Sakamoto told us were true, I wouldn't be surprised if they were."
Ren soon thought about something before he turned to them, "Kiku… Told me yesterday she saw Kamoshida mistreating students." The boy's looked shocked as Ren continued, "She saw them while wandering through here one day with Haruto-san. And… She mentioned someone was in danger of him. She said it was a girl I think."
"She told you all of that?" Dide asked.
"How would she know?" Kai asked.
"She was in the castle longer than any of us." Ren replied, "Maybe---She saw something before she was thrown into the dungeon. And given what we just saw---It would explain why Haruto-san was really concerned about her. If he found out she was a girl---"
"So what? You're saying there was someone else in that castle that we didn't see?" Kai asked, "Someone else that was trapped in there?"
"She didn't say that, she said she only saw people there." Ren said, "She said they were wearing PE uniforms and has reason to believe they were going to Shujin."
"Guys---" Dide said, as he got their attention, "---You know there's only one way to be sure."
The two of them had realized what he had been saying. "You want to bring her back to that castle?" Kai asked, "After we nearly died trying to get out of there?"
"What else?" Dide said. 'It's our only option. There could be clues to what we didn't see before! And she can be our witness. If she thinks someone is in danger then she could show us who it is."
"Fuck that---" Kai said, "---Kiku got lucky yesterday. And not to mention we don't know what that place even is, or how to find it again."
"I do." Ren said as it shocked them again, "I have a way to reach the castle again and we don't even have to involve Kiku. But first---We're gonna need Sakamoto."
At this, Kai and Haruto looked confused. Dide soon noticed one of the girls looked over to see him, he quickly moved his face out of the view as he took the boys away just as she was about to reach out but to no avail.
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-Shibuya-
Kiku and Haruto had been enjoying themselves throughout the day. Not only because they had a nice meal, and a roof to sleep under, but because thanks to Yukihara, they were able to get stuff that they wanted for awhile. Haruto even had a new pair of round glasses, which made him see the world better.
Right now they were currently taking a break as they managed to find a place to sit in the underground walkway, after they had been carrying around several bags.
"Man---what a haul." Yukihara said. "You kids sure know how to pick them."
Haruto had said, "I still can't believe we walked out of twenty stores with this much stuff."
"I---Hope we didn't buy too much." Kiku said.
"Nah Not at all!" Yukihara told them. "You kids deserve this. Thank God that there was a sale." He soon asked with a smile, "How about you two? Are you having fun?"
"Honestly---Yes." Kiku replied, "It's the most fun we've had in years."
"I can't remember the last time we shopped like this." Haruto said.
Just as Yukihara was about to say, They heard someone scream as they looked over. Yukihara's face turned sour at the sight of a certain lady with red hair. "Yukihara-kun~Is that you~?"
"... Oh great…" Yukihara said as he pretended to shoot himself.
"Yukihara-kun! It is you!" She said as she sauntered over.
"Yukihara-san?" Kiku said, "Who is that lady?"
"Is she your girlfriend?" Haruto asked.
"Worse… She's my ex-wife." Yukihara mumbled as Kiku and Haruto looked shocked.
"Yuki~I am so glad I ran into you!" His Ex-wife said before she noticed Kiku and Haruto, "Huh? Do you have kids, who are they?"
Yukihara had rolled his eyes and didn't bother to answer her question, "What are you doing here?"
"What? Can't a wife be friendly with her hubby?"
"Ex--Hubby." Yukihara said with a look, "What do you want now?"
The woman---His Ex-wife couldn't help but make a face, "Aw, don't be like that Yuki! Actually I'm glad I caught you here." She soon put her hands together, "Can you please help me out of this dire situation I'm a part of?!"
"... Yeeeah… That's not gonna happen." He said.
She looked shocked as Kiku and Haruto jumped at the sheer sound of her voice, "WHAT?!"
"We're divorced now, and I told you I don't want to get involved in any more of your---Hosts boyfriends and gambling." Yukihara said.
"Hosts?" Haruto said.
"Gambling?" Kiku said as she tilted her head.
"Oh Come on~" Azami said as she soon had puppy dog eyes. "What happened to their Yuki Wuki that used to--"
"And I'll stop you right there.:" Yukihara said, shushing her. "That trick may have worked on some suckers but not me. Not anymore."
Her expression changed into something sour before she yelled, "EXCUSE ME!? WHAT'S THE HARM IN ASKING FOR HELP!?"
Haruto and Kiku looked stunned at the sheer voice, though Yukihara didn't seem to be phased.
"HERE I AM A POOR AND LOWLY WOMAN STRUGGLING TO MAKE ENDS MEAT AND HERE YOU ARE BEING SELFISH! NOT EVEN WANTING TO LIFT A FINGER TO HELP YOUR EX. HAVE YOU HAVE NO SHAME?!"
Yukihara only gave a look as Azami kept ranting. "ARE YOU GONNA IGNORE ME?! DO YOU REALIZE WHAT YOU'RE DOING?!"
Kiku and Haruto couldn't help but watch this in just pure shock. Not to mention, they had a nonchalant look.
"... What is she even talking about?" They both couldn't help but think.
"Ah geez, this is gonna drive me nuts---" Yukihara said softly, before he turned to the teens, "---Why don't you two go to the food court for lunch? I'll---Be there after I deal with this."
"Ookay." Kiku said awkwardly as she took some of the bags.
Kiku and Haruto quickly went off as they could hear Yukihara and his ex-wife continue to shout at one another. "Yeesh---" Haruto said, "---Can you believe that lady Kiku?"
"I know right?" Kiku said, "Talk about being in your own head."
Haruto chuckled, "Tell me about it."
Just as they were making their way down towards the Food Court, Kiku noticed something drop out of a bag as the object in question landed by Kiku's feet. She noticed it looked to be a phone with a pink phone case. Right away she noticed the person as she picked it up.
"Hey wait!" Kiku called out as Haruto stopped himself from going on the escalator. She caught up to the person as they had turned to her.
"You dropped---This…" Kiku started to say as she noticed the person she had been talking to.
Takamaki looked relieved as she took back her phone. "Oh, shoot---" She said, "--It must've slipped out of my bag. Thanks."
She soon noticed the stunned look on Kiku's face. "Hey---" She said, snapping the young girl out of it, "---Are you okay?"
"... You're Ann…" Kiku suddenly said softly.
"Huh?" Takamaki---Or rather Ann said.
"Takamaki-san!" A man called out, "We're about to start in five minutes!"
"I better go." Ann said, "Thanks again."
With that, Ann went off to where the man had called out before Kiku could stop her. She soon recalled something before she was thrown into the dungeon. Her look soon changed to that of concern.
"Kiku!" Haruto said as he caught up with her, "What's wrong?"
"... There's no mistaking it…" Kiku said as he looked confused, "... That was Ann."
"Do you know that girl?" Haruto asked.
Kiku looked in the direction where Ann had gone as she turned to Haruto with a reassuring smile, "I'll---Tell you about it later. Come on, let's find a good seat!" She went to run to the escalator though ended up running into someone almost tripping.
"Ah! I'm very sorry, please excuse me!" She said as she bowed her head, not even noticing whom she had run into.
Kiku ran ahead as Haruto went to catch up to her. She didn't realize that something fell out of the shopping bag she was carrying, which had been a box small enough to fit a watch.
Akechi picked it up and looked to the direction Kiku and Haruto had run off to.
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Ren, Kai and Dide managed to find Ryuji over at the school entrance. From there they explained the situation to him and what they wanted to confirm. They or rather Dide expected Ryuji to still have his doubts.
But to his own surprise…
"You're okay with this?" Dide asked surprised.
"Yeah---" Ryuji said, "---To be honest, I couldn't stop thinking about the castle since what happened yesterday." He soon clenched his fist, "I can't act like nothing happened! All of this in the end is connected back to Kamoshida."
"Man, you really have beef with that asshole." Kai said.
"If what Kiku said was true, then I gotta know what's going on in that place." Ryuji said.
"I guess it's all unanimous then." Dide said, "But… How do we even get back to that place?"
"With this." Ren said as he showed them his phone.
They each looked over and noticed the strange eye insignia app. They looked shocked by this though at the same time, they looked a bit confused.
"It's---An app?" Kai said.
"It's called the Metaverse Navigator. I checked it out last night---" Ren said, "---I don't know the full details, but when it picked up on our conversation, it selected out a few keywords. When it did, it transported us to that castle. I think if we use the app again, we can go back there."
"You mean to say that's how we got there in the first place?!" Dide said.
"Kamoshida, Shujin Academy---Castle?" Ryuji read, "It really did pick up on our conversation yesterday! That's crazy!"
"Listen---" Ren said to them, "---I don't know entirely what this app is, or what it does, and… There's no guarantee that we'll come back. Are you guys still willing to take that chance?"
"Of course, we are!" Kai said as he pounded his fists.
"If we're REALLY gonna get to the bottom of this, the best way is to storm the castle!" Dide said. "Literally AND figuratively!"
"... Tell me you didn't just say that?" Kai asked with an annoyed expression.
"It just works, Kai!" Dide said as Kai groaned.
"You are SO corny sometimes." Kai said
"How about you?" Ren asked as he looked to Ryuji, "Are you in?"
Ryuji only smiled, "Hell yeah I'm in! Let's do this!"
With a nod, Ren pressed the button on the app.
"BEGINNING NAVIGATION."
In a set of red lights and shimmers, they each found the scenery changing all around them. In the blink of an eye… They were standing before the castle once more.
"Holy shit it worked." Dide said stunned.
"It really wasn't a dream, I knew it!" Ryuji said.
Kai soon looked over before he jumped at the sight of Ren. "Ren!" He said, "Your clothes---"
Ren looked confused before he noticed indeed, his outfit had entirely different. From his mask, to the shoes. He felt the masked, looked at his gloves and sleeves, and couldn't help but look shocked as he ended up spinning just to look at himself mostly from the back of his coat.
"Whoa…" Ren said as he couldn't help but be in awe while his eyes practically sparkled.
"YOU ACTUALLY LIKE THAT?!" Kai exclaimed out of confusion.
"You do look like a badass. And you are rocking that look." Dide said as he looked to be examining him from head to toe, "It reminds me of that one action drama I was in."
"Can't say the same for his pants though---He looks like a magician." Ryuji said.
"... That's hurtful." Ren said, giving a nonchalant look.
"SERIOUSLY YOU TWO?!" Kai exclaimed.
"Well y'all are critics!" Dide said. "He looks amazing."
"Hey!"
The boys had been taken back by a familiar voice. They looked over and realized---
---It was Morgana.
He ran over to them looking a bit annoyed. "Stop making a commotion!" He said.
"You again?!" Ryuji said.
"What are you doing here?!" Dide asked.
"The Shadows started acting up, so I came here wondering what it was---" Morgona explained, "---I didn't expect to see you guys back here though, you barely managed to escape last time!" He soon looked relieved, "At least you were smart enough not to bring Kiku and Haruto back here."
"Do you know what this place is?" Ren asked, "Is this castle really a school?"
"That---Is right." Morgana replied, confusing them.
"But it's a castle!" Ryuji said.
"Yeah---But this castle IS the school!" Morgana stated, "But it's only to this castle's ruler."
"You mean that guy Kamoshida?" Kai asked, "How does that make any sense?"
"This place---" He said, "—-The castle itself is how his distorted heart views the school."
"Distorted?" Dide said, "But---That doesn't make sense."
"Yeah! Can you explain it in a way that makes sense?" Ryuji asked.
Morgana sighed as he shook his head, "I shouldn't have expected a couple of morons to get it."
"WHAT WAS THAT?!" Ryuji shouted.
Dide twitched pulled on his cheeks as he said while Morgana shrieked "Well maybe have it make sense for us newbies. You can't just say convoluted crap and we'll figure it out on the getgo. That's not how communication works buddy."
"OWOWOWOW! WHAT THE HECK!?" Morgana exclaimed, "I THOUGHT YOU WERE THE REASONABLE ONE!"
"... Yeah---You really shouldn't say the M word around a guy like him." Kai said while gesturing to Dide
"NOW YOU TELL ME!?" Morgana shouted before he screeched, "OKAY OKAY I'M SORRY YOU'RE NOT A MORON!"
Dide let go as he said, "Good Now--"
Before Dide could finish, the group had been taken back by the sound of screaming coming from inside the castle. It sounded as though it had been from agony.
"What the hell was that?!" Kai said.
"Ouch---" Morgana said as he rubbed his cheeks, "---My guess is, it's from the slaves kept in the castle."
"What?!" The boys exclaimed.
"You mean to tell me people are trapped in here?!" Dide asked.
The screams came again, startling them once more. "Oh shit… It's for real!" Ryuji said shocked, "Then Kiku was right… She really did see other people in there!"
"If she was right about that and based on what Morgana said about this place---" Ren said as he pondered, "---They really must be from the school itself."
"Exactly---" Morgana said, "---They're likely here on Kamoshida's orders. It's nothing out of the ordinary. It's like that everyday around here."
"You've been coming here more than once?" Dide asked, "Why didn't you help them?!"
"There wouldn't be any point." Morgana said as Dide's jaw dropped, "In any case, since you guys escaped yesterday, he must've lost his temper quite a bit."
"What do you mean there wasn't a---" Kai started to say before---
"This is bullshit!" Ryuji suddenly shouted as the boy's looked at him confused.
"Sakamoto-san?" Dide said.
They were taken back when Ryuji started to tackle the door in a fit of rage which made them jump.
"DO YOU HEAR ME KAMOSHIDA?!" Ryuji shouted in frustration, "THIS IS ALL BULLSHIT!!"
"Hey, calm down!" Dide said as he pulled him back with Ren's help "I know this is insane but we can't just barge in. Now We know Kiku's statement is true. We're gonna have to think of a new plan."
Ryuji soon grunted just as he claimed himself. 'You're right." He soon turned to Morgana, "You Monamona!"
"IT'S MORGANA!" Morgana shouted.
"Do you know where those voices are coming from?!" Ryuji asked as Morgona this time looked surprised.
"You---Want me to take you to them?" Morgana asked.
"Please---" Ren said, "--That girl---Kiku-san said she saw something here and in the real world. We came here to confirm what is going on ourselves."
Morgana pondered on this as he looked to Ren, "... Well I guess I could. But only if you tag along."
Dide, Kai and Ryuji looked to Ren, as Ren himself looked befuddled. Though Ren lost the expression as he nodded, "Agreed."
"YOU'RE AGREEING THAT QUICK?!" Kai & Dide exclaimed.
"Thanks man." Ryuji said with a smile.
"It's settled then!" Morgana said before he started to go forward, "Come on, I'll take you right to them!"
"Let's go." Ren said as he started to follow Morgana.
"What is with the mood shift?" Kai said.
"Must be a cat thing." Dide said with a shrug.
"STILL NOT A CAT!"
"... I was talking about Ren dumbass." Kai said as Morgana as Dide flinched too.
"I-I-I-I knew that.." Morgana said as the group moved forward.
"Y-Yup! Totally knew that!" Dide added as Kai shook his head. They went through the vent as they ventured into the castle once more.