A/N 5-3-18 Hey y'all, guess who just turned 23 the other day and is back?!

Yo! Just wanted to let everyone know that this fic is not dead, I AM working on the next chapter, and I also just wanted to let everyone know that I went through this fic again and fixed all the mistakes that have gotten past me, due to the fact that I wrote like half of these chapters on a tablet. I have my new laptop now, so everything is all good! I also like added a bit extra in this chapter, not a lot, but it definitely wasn't in the original, so ya!

Façade is also back, by the way, now that I have an entire editing team helping out, so that's something else! Anyways, sorry if this isn't an update, but do keep an eye out for the next chapter!

…

…

Jun and Ryuuji stand outside the station by Shujin High, in the area where they first met.

"If a huge castle like that really exists, I'm sure we'll find it in no time." Ryuuji furrows his brow. "…When'd they build something like that though?"

"I dunno…" Jun shrugs.

Ryuuji looks around, trying to remember what he and Jun did the other day. "We walked that way from here, right?"

"Maybe…" Jun vaguely remembers what happened on the way to the castle.

Ryuuji frowns. "When you put it that way, I'm not so sure anymore…"

"I'm sorry…" Jun says.

"It's fine—don't apologize." It makes him feel bad when Jun looks at him that way… "Alright, this way. Lemme know if you notice something."

"Hey, didn't you carry me on your back?" Jun suddenly asks.

Ryuuji makes a face. "You're not sayin' I should carry you again, right?"

"Nah, it's not raining anymore and I'm not wearing those tights, so it's all good." Jun can handle puddles to an extent and her umbrella is in her schoolbag, so she's prepared this time, unlike yesterday. "So let's go."

Ryuuji leads her through the alley they both went through the other day. Though, when they reach the end and leave the alley, they find themselves back at Shujin High and not the castle.

"Huh…?" Ryuuji's eyes go wide. He starts scratching his head in thought. "We're at school…"

"Yeah…" It looks exactly the way it when they left. Even now, there are still students going out of the school building.

"There wasn't anything out of place along the way, right?" Ryuuji asks Jun. He frowns when he sees her shake her head. "I didn't see no castle either…We must've made a wrong turn somewhere. Let's try again."

Jun frowns. "I wanna go home…"

"Geez, you act like such a kid." Ryuuji huffs. "C'mon, you gotta stick with me to the end."

"Urgh, fine…" Jun says.

"Alright, let's go!" Ryuuji lightly tugs on Jun's sleeve before walking off. She follows right after him with some slight reluctance.

They retrace their steps one more time, hoping that things will be different this time.

"…For real?" It's not—Shujin High looks exactly the same since they last saw it a few minutes ago. By now, the entrance is completely devoid of any students, apart from him and Jun.

"Can we go home now?" Jun yawns loudly. All she wants to do is sleep…

"Just hold up." Ryuuji frowns. "By the way, any reason why your hair is like that?"

"Does it look weird?" Jun holds up one of her braids.

"Nah—you look kinda…smart," Ryuuji says. "Kinda like one of those types of girls who read a lot. It's not that bad of a look on you—especially with those glasses of yours. It's cute."

"Thanks." It's makes her feel a lot better since it's coming from someone like Ryuuji. "I like your hair, too—though, you might want to touch up your roots."

"Aww shit—I knew I was forgetting to do somethin'!" Ryuuji sighs as he runs his fingers through his hair. "Wait, I'm getting distracted…"

"That seems to happen to you a lot." It's not bad—it's just something Jun has noticed.

"Yeah, I'm rather impulsive, too…but that's 'cause I have ADHD." Ryuuji has no issues telling Jun this.

"Ah, that explains a lot…" Like, so many things, actually…but again, Jun doesn't mind. "So…what now?"

"I dunno…" Ryuuji frowns. "Is it smaller than we think it is? What do you think?"

"Check on your phone…" Jun yawns again. "I'm sleepy…"

"I already did that." Ryuuji pulls out his phone again just to make sure. "I didn't see anything like it around here…Huh? Phone…"

It takes him a moment, but Ryuuji soon gets an idea. He looks at Jun as she yawns again, waiting for to finish before getting her attention.

"Hey, that reminds me—didn't you have a navigation app thingy on, back then?" he asks her as he slips his phone back into his pocket.

"Navigation app?" Jun messes with her bangs.

"I dunno if it was or not, but I heard stuff that sounded like one comin' from your phone," Ryuuji explains. He kicks his foot against the ground. "Y'know, didn't it say stuff like 'return to the real world' or something like that? Lemme see your phone for a bit."

Jun pulls out her phone and hands it over to Ryuuji. She yawns one more time before deciding to undo her braids, having had enough of them for one day. She likes the way her hair feels when it's down and honestly, it's a lot easier to play with her hair when it's not in a braid.

"What's this eyeball-lookin' thing?" Ryuuji suddenly asks.

"I can't delete it." Jun's already come to terms with that damn virus.

"Wait, huh?" Ryuuji makes a face. "What a weird app…"

"It's creepy, that's what it is." Jun combs her fingers through her hair. Her hair is a lot wavier now that it's out of its braids.

"…Oh wait, this is it!" Ryuuji exclaims as a wide grin crosses his face. "I knew it—it IS a navigation app! There's even your search history! Oh man, I'm such a genius!"

"How's my search history if you don't mind me asking?" One would think Jun would feel a bit distressed from having someone go through her search history, but she isn't. Instead, she's just curious as to what Ryuuji thinks because she knows he saw.

"Well…" A small bead of sweat rolls down the side of Ryuuji's face. "You sure like maids…is that really your thing? I can understand the cats and maybe even the interest in curry, but maids?"

"Don't make me go through your search history—because I will." Jun isn't going to take this shit from anybody.

"I ain't talkin' shit—I'm just surprised." Ryuuji honestly wasn't expecting it. "I'm not tryin' to judge either, but…you seem like the type to like butlers."

"I do like butlers," Jun says. "But maids are number one to me."

"I'll keep that in mind." At least Ryuuji knows he can trust Jun with these sort of things… "Anyways, let's try usin' the app."

"But I don't know how." Jun's still not sure why she even has that app in the first place.

Ryuuji grins widely as he taps on the screen a few times. "Then I'll do it."

"Kamoshida…Shujin High…Pervert…Castle…Beginning navigation." The voice that speaks out from the app is the same one from yesterday.

"There we go!" Ryuuji exclaims ecstatically. "Then, we went in a certain direction, and—"

"Ryuuji!" Jun cuts him off as she grabs onto his blazer and tugs.

Ryuuji sighs and looks away from the phone's screen. "What's wrong—what the hell?!"

He almost didn't notice it at first, with how fixated he was on Jun's phone. Now that she's gotten his attention, he can see the strange, rose-colored hue tinting his vision. He looks left to right and then looks at Jun's phone. His eyes widen when he sees that there's something very wrong.

The app's creepy icon flashes from red to white to red against a black background. Static causes the image to grow more and more distorted each time that it flares up, until finally, the screen goes completely red. Distortions ripple outwards, twisting the environment around Shujin High.

Seconds quickly pass and Ryuuji yells out when Shujin High takes on a completely different appearance.

"Look! It's the castle from yesterday!" Ryuuji is far too excited to stay still, his body shaking vigorously from the amount of energy he can barely contain. He runs across the drawbridge, too impatient to wait for Jun to say or do anything. He ends up dragging her along, since she's still attached to his blazer.

Ryuuji really doesn't take note of that until they've made it across the drawbridge. He looks sheepishly at her when he realizes what he's done, considering how frazzled she looks from being dragged along so unwillingly. He's about to apologize to her when he notices her clothes.

"Those clothes again!" He's almost forgotten about that…

Jun blinks and then looks at herself. "Ah…I guess you caught me red-handed."

Ryuuji makes a face. "Dude, no—don't be that person!"

Jun only laughs as she adjusts one of her red gloves. Something about the action makes her feel so much at ease.

"What's with that outfit anyways?" Ryuuji scratches his head as he looks closely at Jun. He's not too aware of the potential implications behind his gaze until Jun winks at him. His face then heats up with a blush when he realizes that he was kinda checking her out (it sure looked like he was). "Shit!"

"Not bad, huh?" Jun flashes Ryuuji a playful smile that turns him into a sputtering mess.

"You like it?!" he blurts out.

Jun just shrugs. "It's not so bad."

"Why am I even surprised?" Ryuuji sighs. "You wore cat tights with your uniform the other day."

Jun narrows her eyes. "You implying that my sense of fashion is off?"

Ryuuji rubs his nose. "Maybe…pfft!"

He laughs at the look that Jun suddenly gives him. She just looks so offended. He didn't expect a girl with such unruly hair to actually be interested in fashion. It's cute, actually.

"I'm just messin' with you." Ryuuji reaches down to ruffle Jun's hair. "Don't take it so personally…you smell nice, by the way."

"Thanks…for smelling me." A smile tugs at her lips when she sees Ryuuji hastily trying to explain himself, because oh god, he wasn't trying to be creepy!

"I swear!" he insists.

"I'm just messing with you!" Jun echoes Ryuuji's earlier words, earning herself a light shove from Ryuuji. She starts laughing, prompting Ryuuji to do the same shortly after.

"Hey!" a familiar voice calls out to them.

Ryuuji and Jun stop laughing to look the source of the voice. It's Morgana—and they seem rather miffed.

"Stop making a commotion," Morgana hisses, their fur bristling.

"Ah…you!" Ryuuji remembers them…and how difficult their name rolled off his tongue.

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

"Hey—what is this place?" Ryuuji asks. "Is it the school?"

Morgana blinks. "That's right."

"But it's a castle!" Ryuuji blurts out.

"This castle is the school," Morgana says. "But only to this castle's ruler."

Jun tilts her head to the side. "Ruler…?"

Morgana nods their head. "I believe Blondie called him Kamoshida?"

"Goddammit, it's Ryuuji!" Ryuuji scowls at Morgana, who doesn't seem to care at all.

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

Ryuuji furrows his brow. "Distorted…heart? Explain it in a way that makes sense!"

It's a bit too vague for him to wrap his head around. As for Jun…she's just as confused, but also rather distracted by Morgana's paws. She noticed a flash of pink in their paws and is pleasantly surprised to see that they have pink paw pads.

"I wanna touch them…!" She wants to see for herself if they are really soft. "They probably are…"

But she still wants to touch.

"I shouldn't have expected a moron to get it…" Morgana frowns.

"What'd you say?!" Ryuuji's temper flares up, his face contorted into a scowl.

Morgana never gets a chance to repeat themself—a loud scream interrupts them before they can say anything else. They barely manage to bite back a startled meow, but there's not much they can do about their puffed up tail except hide it out of sight behind their back.

"What was that?!" Morgana is fortunate enough that Ryuuji is far too rattled to make any comments about their tail.

"It must be the slaves captive here…" Unfortunately, the same cannot be said about Jun, who has her gaze focused entirely on Morgana. It takes them a moment, but Morgana quickly realizes that Jun is staring at them. There's this strange look in her eyes that Morgana can't discern, but something about it makes them feel…bashful. "K-Keep it together, Morgana!"

"This isn't some sick joke, right?" Ryuuji flinches as another scream reaches his ears. Memories from yesterday quickly flood his head, reminding him just how unpleasantly real everything is. "Shit, shit, shit, shit—it really is for real!"

It really only hits him now, in ways that make his body quiver in fear, that he's actually scared. He's scared of things going so wrong, as it had yesterday. And yet, despite it all, he still manages to ignore the voice in his head that screams at him to leave before shit hits the fan.

"We saw other guys held captive here yesterday…" Ryuuji can't forget about them—his conscience won't let him. "I'm pretty sure they're from our school."

"Are they?" Jun finally looks away from Morgana.

"You know how I said that I've seen what they were wearing before?" At the time, he was too flustered to think clearly—but not anymore. "That's because those are Shujin's jerseys."

Ryuuji has worn his far too many times to mistake it for anything else. Of course, he doesn't expect Jun to know since she's still new to Shujin. Though, after tomorrow, she'll likely have it committed to memory.

"Make sure you have yours tomorrow—you're gonna need it for that shitty volleyball rally." Ryuuji is not looking forward to it…

"Thanks for reminding me." Jun almost forgot about it, because the last she ever heard of it was from Shibi, who told her that he didn't have any time to take it out of its packaging. It's likely buried underneath so many of her belongings in that cardboard box of hers. "I definitely need to go through that box when I get back…"

That's assuming nothing goes wrong…

"Positive thoughts!" she thinks to herself as she adjusts her gloves. "Positive thoughts…"

It's…a lot harder to think so optimistically when there are people screaming in the background.

"Those guys are most likely being held captive on Kamoshida's orders." Morgana stretches out their body in a cat-like manner. "It's nothing out of the ordinary—I've been here long enough to know that it's like that every day."

It's disturbing, but there's not much Morgana can do.

"What's more, you two escaped yesterday." Morgana remembers seeing Kamoshida's guards looking just about everywhere for Jun and Ryuuji. "He must've lost his temper quite a bit."

Ryuuji clicks his tongue. "I wouldn't be surprised, considering what Jun and I did to that son of a bitch."

"No wonder he's still looking for you two…" Morgana makes a face. "Do I even want to know what happened?"

"I threatened to castrate him," Jun says unabashedly, causing Morgana's fur to bristle up in shock.

"Wh-What?!" Morgana can't believe what they're hearing—from Jun, of all people.

"I wish you had." Ryuuji's blood boils at the memory he has of Kamoshida hurting Jun. "That'll make him think twice about pervin' on school girls…fucking sicko."

It pisses him off that Kamoshida could do something so disgusting without any regrets. As if what he did last year wasn't despicable enough…

"That son of a bitch…!" Ryuuji can't wait to expose that asshole for what he really is…

"Ryuuji…?" Morgana frowns. It's rather concerning how angry Ryuuji is getting, with the way his body is shaking. Then, without any warning, he suddenly lunges towards the door. "Ryuuji!"

"Ryuuji, stop—you're going to hurt your arm!" Jun winces when Ryuuji slams his body forcefully against the door.

BAM!

Ryuuji ignores the pain he feels in his right arm. It hurts, but compared to the throbbing in his right thigh—it's nothing. Just the fact that there's such a difference in the pain he feels from the impact pisses him off. He knows it's not normal and he's got Kamoshida to thank for it.

"You're gonna regret everything, Kamoshida!" he yells, his voice nearly cracking under the strain of his own emotions. "You hear me?!"

"Doing that isn't going to open it, you know…" Morgana sighs inwardly. "Still, it seems you have your reasons."

"Damn straight…" Ryuuji reaches down to rub at his right thigh. The pain is almost unbearable that he's seconds away from pulling out the painkillers he has in his schoolbag. He refrains from doing so, mainly out of spite and because the last thing he needs is Jun worrying about him. "She needs to worry more about herself…"

And yet, here she is—just looking him over for any injuries. He sighs shakily when she starts feeling his arm for any abnormalities. Although, after about a minute, it becomes quite clear to him that she's feeling the muscles in his arm. Ryuuji would honestly feel flattered if they were in any other situation than this. Instead, he's mostly amused and laughs when he surprises Jun by flexing his arm so suddenly.

"You're fine!" she says after lightly swatting his arm. She tries not to seem so flustered and only manages, thanks to her mask obscuring part of her face.

"Hey, Monamona!" Ryuuji doesn't even bother trying to say Morgana's actual name.

As a result, Morgana narrows their eyes angrily at Ryuuji. "It's Morgana!"

Ryuuji ignores Morgana's correction and proceeds to ask, "Do you know where those voices are comin' from…?"

"You want me to take you to them?" Morgana furrows their brow. They turn to Jun, taking note of her attire and mask as she fidgets with her gloves. "…Well, I guess I could guide you there. But only if she comes with us."

Jun immediately looks at Morgana. "Huh?! Why me?"

"Uhh…" Ryuuji isn't so sure that he wants to put Jun in such a position. It makes him feel rather awkward because really, she has no reason to stick around and risk her life.

"I just want to get a better look at your powers," Morgana replies. "Even if you don't agree, I bet this guy'll go on even if he has to do it alone. Are you gonna leave him?"

Ryuuji hates the way Morgana phrased that. He almost reaches down to flick their nose when Jun suddenly says, "I never said that."

Morgana jumps up. "It's settled then!"

"For real…?!" Ryuuji feels so elated that he smiles for a moment. Then he stops and reaches down to ruffle Jun's hair. It's an affectionate gesture—one that's all he can really do for her at the moment. "Thanks, man…"

He owes her big time for the favor she's going to do for him…

"It's fine!" she tells him, though Ryuuji feels that it isn't.

"Alright, let's do this!" Morgana grins widely. "Follow me!"

Morgana leads Ryuuji and Jun over to the ventilation shaft they used the other day to escape from the castle. Morgana holds their paws together and swings them once from left to right before looking up at the two teenagers.

"This is our infiltration point," they explain.

"Ain't that where we escaped outta last time…?" Ryuuji pretends that he doesn't remember ever talking to Jun about her striped panties.

"The very same—but I don't think you have to worry about Frizzy Hair's panties this time." Morgana laughs when Ryuuji starts sputtering. Call it payback for bundling them up in his blazer, Morgana just isn't the type to let stuff like that go by them like that.

"It's not frizzy," Jun firmly says, feeling rather annoyed.

"Anyways—not barging in through the entrance is one of the basics of phantom thievery." Morgana decides that they've messed around long enough.

Ryuuji runs his hands through his hair. "How're we supposed to know about that stuff…?"

Morgana resists the urge to call Ryuuji an amateur. Instead, they jump on top of a barrel that's almost as tall as Ryuuji. They jump again, using the barrel's height to give them an easy boost into the ventilation shaft. They move so fast, that all Ryuuji and Jun can see is a black blur.

"I'll make sure to teach you as we go," Morgana says. They beckon at the two with a white paw, motioning at them to follow. "Come on, follow me!"

Morgana disappears into the shaft, leaving Ryuuji and Jun alone. Ryuuji looks sheepishly at Jun as he rubs the back of his head.

"So, uhh…sorry for draggin' you into all of this…" Ryuuji remembers Jun saying that she wanted to go home. "I just…I just can't forgive that bastard Kamoshida doin' whatever the hell he wants!"

It pisses him off so much…

"Really though, thanks for comin' along." Ryuuji smiles widely at Jun. "I owe you big time!"

Jun just smiles back at Ryuuji. Truth be told, she has as much of a bone to pick with Kamoshida as Ryuuji. At the same time, she can't just let Ryuuji go on his own—she's responsible for whatever happens to him because it was her app that brought them here.

"I'm going in first!" she tells him. She remembers the difficulty he had the other day because of his leg. And even if she is smaller than him, she feels that she can still help out—just so long as he actually lets her.

Before Ryuuji can protest, Jun goes about doing what Morgana did to get into the ventilation shaft. She does it quite effortlessly, too, and at a speed that seems almost inhuman. All Ryuuji can do is just stare when Jun calls out to him.

It takes him a total of five minutes to make it into the ventilation shaft—and that's with help from Jun. He feels no shame, despite how Morgana admonishes him for being such an amateur. He doesn't really care—he just wants to know how Jun was able to do it like it was nothing.

"I just can," is all she says.

Ryuuji sighs heavily and just shoves his hands into his pockets. He left his schoolbag behind for reasons the inability to afford a replacement on such a short notice. He has no idea what happened to Jun's bag, but it's not really anything that he considers important enough to discuss. Instead, he just checks his pockets to make sure that he has everything he needs on him.

Unbeknownst to Jun and Morgana, Ryuuji has a bottle of painkillers in one of his pockets, as well as a little something…extra. He bought it purely out of impulse while he was in Shibuya yesterday. He figures that it should help in some way, but for now…he'll just keep quiet about it.

"Man, this place is as creepy as always." Ryuuji looks warily at their surroundings.

"Mm-hm." Morgana nods their head. "Now, make sure you do exactly as I say, alright? Now…follow me!"

Morgana runs ahead of the two teenagers, not bothering at all to slow down for them. Jun can keep up just fine, but Ryuuji has some issues due to a slight limp that he has. Morgana noticed it the other day, when Ryuuji was carrying them in his arms. It's concerning, but not enough for Morgana to draw any attention to it.

And yet, that doesn't stop Morgana from waiting for them to catch up. They stand in the center of the entrance hall, with their arms crossed over their chest. Their tail flicks left to right in slight annoyance. They're used to going at a much faster pace, but with these two—Morgana doesn't have much of a choice but to slow down for their sake.

"Hey…" Ryuuji looks up at the chandelier that's above them. "We went by here when we came in the front…"

"Whoa!" Jun takes a step back in shock.

For a brief moment, the entrance hall takes on a familiar, yet far less glamorous appearance. Save for the pillars made out of marble, the candles lighting the hallway, and the red carpet beneath their feet, everything else resembles Shujin's entrance. Then the entrance hall reverts back to its previous appearance, looking ostentatious as ever.

"What the hell…?!" Ryuuji rubs his eyes. "I was seein' double or something just now…! Was that Shujin?!"

"I think I saw the student store just now…" It was empty, but Jun knows what she saw—it's hard to forget the sight, considering the obscene amount of bread she bought during lunchtime today. Not the best idea she's ever had, though it's a lot less embarrassing than the shenanigans that ensued afterwards as a result of her shameless lack of self-control and poor spending habits. At the very least, she didn't accidentally buy out the student store like she had a vending machine with all of its drinks. "No one must ever know…"

Though she's pretty sure that blue-haired classmate of hers saw, since he was the last person to use the vending machine before her. She's also quite certain that he felt the cans and bread in her schoolbag when she bumped into him a while earlier…

"I hope I didn't hurt him…" That'd be embarrassing…

"I've told you before—this place is your school!" Morgana reminds them. "Regardless, we don't have the time to stand around. Who knows when a Shadow might show up. Come on, this way!"

…

…

The three manage to make it down into the underground dungeon without any issues. It is surprisingly devoid of any guards, although it doesn't last long. Eventually, they come across an armored knight in their way that's on patrol. The knight scans the area for anything that stands out before turning around and walking forward a few steps. It then repeats its actions in a manner that's quite inconvenient for Morgana, Ryuuji, and Jun.

"Darn…I had a feeling there would be guards here…" Morgana makes a face. They're watching the knight from a distance, alongside Jun and Ryuuji. They think for a moment…and then sigh in defeat. "It looks like we won't be able to avoid conflict from this point forward."

"F-For real…?" Ryuuji's eyes widen. Shit…he was hoping to avoid any conflict today. He really owes Jun big time for this…

"Oh well." Morgana sighs again. "I'll just teach you the basics of battle—Jun, what are you doing?!"

Jun runs off before Morgana can even begin their explanation. She's fast enough to reach the knight before it has a chance to turn around, having heard Morgana's outburst. She pulls out her dagger and strikes the knight before it can even react. Immediately, its body turns into a puddle of red slime that soon transforms into a floating jack-o'-lantern.

The jack-o'-lantern laughs mischievously as it lunges forward to attack Jun with its lantern. Jun jumps back and evades the attack. She quickly follows up with an attack of her own and manages to use her dagger's sharp blade to slice deeply into the jack-o'-lantern's face.

Morgana watches the scene before them with wide eyes. From the looks of it, Jun can get by without any issues…although, she still has a lot to learn if she thinks she can get by doing just that. And just as Morgana thinks that, a surprisingly strong sucker punch manages to knock Jun flat on her ass.

Thud!

"I'm mad!" the jack-o'-lantern exclaims. It's winding up for another attack and rather than take her chances in escaping (she doubts she'll be fast enough to even try), Jun tries to summon Arsène instead.

It…doesn't go as smoothly as she expected it to go. No matter how hard she tugs, her mask just won't come off!

"Dammit!" she swears through clenched teeth.

"You cannot summon me in such a vulnerable state—brace yourself!" Arsène warns her.

"Just my luck…" Jun prepares herself for the Shadow's incoming attack. It's going to hurt, but at least she knows Morgana can heal her…

Of course, thanks to Ryuuji's panic-stricken impulses, there's absolutely no need for that. Because the exact moment he saw that Jun was about to get attacked, he picked Morgana up by the scruff of their neck and hurled them in the direction of Jun and the jack-o'-lantern. He was hoping that it would distract the Shadow long enough for Jun to escape.

And it manages to do just that, because the jack-o'-lantern stops what it's doing to look away from Jun. Disbelief soon crosses its expression as it realizes that there's a screaming cat headed its way.

"Zorro!" Morgana shrieks loudly, their arms and legs flailing about in the air. Their Persona appears behind them within seconds and manages—just barely—to catch his user in time. He grasps them gently by the scruff of their neck, causing Morgana to go limp in his hold. It takes Morgana a second, but they quickly notice just how close they are to the jack-o'-lantern.

"Ho?" it innocently says.

Morgana sputters out an incoherent string of words that sounds more like distressed meowing than anything else. Their tail puffs up visibly out of fright, as does the rest of their fur. The jack-o'-lantern just stares as Morgana and Zorro for a moment…and then starts laughing.

"Kitty's really scared, huh, hee ho?!" It laughs so distinctively, in a manner that Jun's never heard of before. She'd almost find it cute, if it weren't for the fact that she nearly got owned by a fucking pumpkin.

A loud growl begins to rumble in the back of Morgana's throat. After all that has happened, they no longer feel scared, but enraged. "GARU!"

A burst of green-colored wind finishes off the jack-o'-lantern while it is still laughing. For a brief moment, its laughter turns into pained screams and then, there's just silence…

"I'm not a cat…" Morgana spats.

Zorro refrains from releasing his user until he's certain that Morgana has calmed down. Afterwards, he releases them…and then promptly sends a weak blast of green-colored wind in Ryuuji's direction.

"What the fuck?!" he yells.

"You didn't have to throw me like that!" Morgana hisses angrily at Ryuuji.

"I was panicking, okay?!" Ryuuji has never been known to act rationally under pressure, when his impulses were likely to take control.

"As for you—what the hell, Jun?!" Morgana looks sternly at Jun, who just smiles back as though nothing wrong had happened. "Why're you smiling?"

"You finally used my name!" she replies far too happily.

Morgana yells out in frustration. They're seconds away from swatting Jun out of anger when Zorro reaches down and picks them up by the scruff of their neck. "Put me down—I'm not a cat!"

Zorro refuses. There's this faint aura emanating from Jun's body—one that feels rather…cursed. Morgana might be too enraged to notice, but Zorro isn't and the last thing he ever wants to do is let his user incur the wrath of Arsène. He's seen what Arsène is perfectly capable of and would prefer to keep Morgana from ever being on the receiving end of Arsène's destructive powers.

So while Zorro waits for Morgana to cool off, he calmly watches Ryuuji make his way over to Jun. He helps her stand up and asks if she's okay. When she says yes, he promptly flicks her on the nose.

"Ow!" She immediately covers her nose with both hands.

"Why did you do that?" Ryuuji nearly had a heart attack!

"I was just listening to Arsène!" Jun was only doing as she was told…

"Then you should've waited for me to tell you how to land a preemptive attack!" Morgana shrieks, their fur bristling. "You're suppose to rip off their masks! That's how you can momentarily break the control the Palace ruler has on them! If you do it right, it leaves them wide open for an attack!"

…

…

"Oops…" Jun feels her face heating up with a blush when she hears Arsène apologizing to her. "I guess…neither of us knew that."

"Well, what's done is done!" Ryuuji speaks up. "There's no use in bein' mad over something like this—I mean, is this really the time and place for this?!"

…

"I guess not…" Morgana frowns. It really only hits them now that they've acted a bit irrationally out of anger. It's rather embarrassing, actually. "Sorry about that…"

In Jun's defense, she had the right idea…just terrible luck. And though Ryuuji meant well, Morgana still isn't going to be forgiving him anytime soon.

"Let's just consider this a learning experience." It's better this way—because now they all have a good idea on what not to do. "Alright, Zorro—let's heal up!"

It takes less than a minute for Zorro to cast Dia on everyone. Even though Jun was the only one actually in need of any healing, Zorro still casts Dia on Ryuuji and Morgana anyways. He's not taking any chances…

It's only then that he finally sets Morgana down. He gives his user a few pats on the head before taking his leave in a burst of blue flames. Afterwards, Morgana sighs loudly in exasperation.

"Finally!" they say.

Zorro's overly cautious behavior is not anything that Morgana can control. It's annoying, but it's just something that Morgana has to accept. At the very least, Zorro's unnecessarily excessive healing is within their limits.

"By the by—don't rely on your Persona too much," Morgana warns Jun. "Skills require an exchange of energy in order to be used. Magic skills, like Eiha, will drain you of your energy and while it's tiring, it's mostly harmless…"

"Are you seriously sayin' that Jun was using magic?!" Ryuuji can't believe what he's hearing—from a talking cat, no less! "Ugh, this is so unreal…"

Jun can't help but laugh at Ryuuji's comment. It's a bit of an understatement, but that's not what she finds funny. Rather, it's the fact that after all that has happened, the existence of magic is what's finally tripping him up.

"You're just gonna have to get used to it." Morgana crosses their arms over their chest. "Moving on to physical skills—those are the ones you need to be careful about using too often. Otherwise, you'll collapse…but I don't think you have to worry about that just yet."

From the looks of it, Arsène hasn't yet figured out how to combine his own strength with Jun's. Though, it's only a matter of time at this rate.

"As a heads-up, you must always be in a clear and conscious state in order to summon your Persona." Morgana recalls the difficulty Jun was having in ripping off her mask. "To clarify, it's because you gotta have some control over the situation. Obviously, there's no need for that if you've already summoned your Persona…did you get it all down?"

"Got it." Jun will try not to make the same mistake again.

"Is that it?" Ryuuji asks somewhat impatiently. He's long since lost track of the conversation. He's tried to keep up, but there's only so much he can take in before his attention span decides that it's done enough work.

Morgana nods their head. "Yeah…let's go, then! This way!"

Morgana leads them further into the dungeon. They're far more fortunate this time around in avoiding any more guards. Although, there's not much to avoid if there aren't any guards to begin with…and alongside that, there is something off about it all. It really only hits Ryuuji when he sees an empty prison cell—it's too damn quiet now.

"Why ain't anybody here?!" Ryuuji runs up to the empty cell. He grits his teeth and stomps his left foot onto the floor. "Dammit, they were here before! Where'd they go?!"

"Quiet down!" Morgana hisses. "We're lucky that we haven't run into any more Shadows, but it really doesn't do us any good if you can't keep your voice down!"

Ryuuji runs his hand through his hair. "Sorry—I can be pretty loud without meanin' to…oh yeah! There were more of 'em further in too…!"

He runs off without any warning, leaving Morgana and Jun behind. Morgana just sighs in exasperation and turns to Jun.

"They might have been transferred already…" they say.

Jun furrows her brow. "Why?"

"I don't know…" Whatever it is, Morgana has a rather bad feeling about it.

"Crap, crap, crap, craaaaap!" And it looks like Ryuuji is back. He runs all the way back to them, eyes wide and teeth clenched. "I can hear footsteps comin'! Lots of 'em—whoa!"

Thud!

Ryuuji suppresses a yelp when he trips and lands flat on his face. He grits his teeth, reaching down to rub at his right thigh. The temptation to pull out the bottle of painkillers in his pocket is high, but he knows he has to save them for something more serious than this.

"Are you okay?!" Jun rushes over to Ryuuji's side. It's not that difficult for her to help him stand up, though Ryuuji is pretty baffled at how easily she does it. She's a lot stronger than she appears…

"We should go!" Morgana says. "It would be a problem if those Shadows discovered us now…"

A nearby sound makes their ears perk up. Morgana turns to face a door right by them. It looks like any other door they've seen down here, but Morgana knows better than that. They dash over to the door and open it. Carefully, they peer inside before motioning at Ryuuji and Jun to come closer.

"Hey, let's head into this room!" Morgana tells them. "We should be able to hide in here until they leave—now hurry up!"

…

The instant that they're all inside the room, Jun takes to keeping a close eye on the door—just in case. She's armed and ready for any Shadow that might come through the door. Meanwhile with Morgana, they hop on top of the table in the center of the room and stretch out their body. Nearby, Ryuuji hunches over with his hands on top of his knees as he tries to catch his breath.

"The Shadows probably won't come in here," Morgana says. "So I'd try to relax if I were you, Jun."

Ryuuji looks at Morgana, gasping and panting. "H-How…How can you tell?"

"There's a lack of distortion here, meaning the ruler's control over this area is weak," Morgana explains.

As if to prove their point, the room's appearance takes on that of classroom for a few seconds. It happens in a manner similar to when they were all in the entrance hall earlier.

"Is this a classroom…?!" Ryuuji's eyes widen.

Morgana holds their paws together and swings them once from left to right. "Now do you understand? This place is another reality that the ruler's heart projects."

"This is Kamoshida's reality…?" Ryuuji furrows his brow. What Morgana said just now—it doesn't want to stick. "Shit makes no sense at all!"

"One could say it's a world in which one's distorted desires have materialized." Morgana tries to remain calm, despite how Ryuuji's lack of comprehension grates on their nerves. "I call such a place a 'Palace.'"

"A Palace…?" Ryuuji frowns.

"This is happening because he thinks the school is his own castle." Morgana hopes that this is enough of an explanation for it to finally sink into Ryuuji's head.

And just like that, Ryuuji is able to connect the dots. "So, it became like this 'cause he just thought of it like that?!"

Morgana grins. "Exactly!"

Jun sighs inwardly in relief. For a second there, she almost thought that Morgana was going to snap at Ryuuji. It's quite a lot of information to dump on a person in one go. Even Jun was having a hard time processing the information herself. It took a few tries, but Morgana finally got through to Ryuuji…hopefully.

"Hahaha…" Ryuuji laughs halfheartedly, his face quickly contorting into a scowl. "That son of a bitch!"

"You must really hate this Kamoshida guy." Morgana places their paws on their hips.

"Hate doesn't even cover how I feel," Ryuuji growls. "Everything is that asshole's fault!"

Jun frowns. She has her own issues with Kamoshida, but Ryuuji…it seems to go farther than what happened yesterday. She doesn't know what it is, but… "I have a bad feeling about this…"

"I don't know what happened between you two, but don't let your emotions get the better of you," Morgana warns Ryuuji. They know Ryuuji's type, based on how he's acted so far. Ryuuji can easily jeopardize their infiltration if his emotions aren't kept in check. "His lackeys are everywhere inside…"

"Unfortunately…" Jun exhales shakily as she peers out into the hallway. She can't see anyone—but she knows better than to immediately think that the coast is clear. Call it her anxiety screaming at her, just telling her of the various ways that shit can go wrong.

"Hey—you're curious about your outfit, aren't you?" Morgana decides to change the subject for Jun's sake. They've noticed how anxious she's gotten and it really wouldn't do any of them any good if she stays like this. It's just a disaster waiting to happen at this rate, if Ryuuji's temper doesn't make it happen first. "Geez, these two sure are a troublesome pair…"

"Yeah, I'm curious as hell about it too." Ryuuji's attention quickly turns to Jun as she looks at herself.

Morgana grins. "That's also because of this world."

"More stuff that makes no sense…" Ryuuji frowns.

"Anything distorts according to how a ruler pleases with their Palace," Morgana explains, ignoring Ryuuji's comment. If they can get it through his head once, then they can do it again. And if not Ryuuji, then at least Jun, because she seems to understand what they're saying. "A school can turn into a castle like this, after all. In order to prevent such distortions, one must hold a powerful will of rebellion. Your appearance is a manifestation of that."

"Really?" Jun looks at herself again, taking a moment to tug down on one of her gloves. "So why this look in particular?"

It's not bad or anything, it's just…maybe a bit strange.

"It's the image of rebellion that you hold within." It's not what Morgana would expect from such a short girl with unruly hair, but they guess anything is possible.

"Huh…" Looks like Jun only has herself to blame for her outfit's appearance. "Should've thought twice about it then…"

The one thing that's starting to worry her is the length of her coattails. One wrong step is all that it would take for her to trip and fall.

"I'll just have to be more careful then…" At least until she's used to it, which hopefully won't take too long…

"Uuugh, I'm so fed up with this!" Ryuuji can't contain his frustration any longer. It bugs him that Jun can understand Morgana so easily, when he was still trying to figure out what they meant by all that. He taps his foot impatiently on the floor as his face contorts into a scowl. "I'm more curious about you than her clothes! What the hell are you anyways?!"

Morgana's fur bristles. "I'm a human—an honest-to-god human!"

"Human…?" Jun tilts her head to the side.

Ryuuji furrows his brow. He's just about reached his limit with this… "No, you're obviously more like a cat!"

"This is, well…!" Morgana frowns. "It's because I lost my true form…I think."

"You think?" Ryuuji's not so sure if he believes them.

"But I do know how to regain my true form." Morgana's frown is quickly replaced with a smile. "The reason why I snuck in here was for a preliminary investigation of those means."

"You got caught though," Jun bluntly says.

"It's not my fault though—I just…got shocked." Morgana cringes at the mere memory of when they discovered their weakness to Zio skills. "It really hurt a lot…but not as much as what Kamoshida put me through."

A small bead of sweat rolls down the side of Ryuuji's face. "Wh-What…what did he do to you?"

Morgana cringes again. "I…don't wanna to talk about it."

They're only so fortunate that they have Dia under their repertoire. Otherwise…they try not to think too much about it.

"I'm gonna make him pay, though—he's gonna regret ever crossing me!" A loud growl rumbles in the back of Morgana's throat.

"What is this, a comic book?" Ryuuji can't help but say, because really, it's like something out of a comic book. "This is seriously crazy…"

Jun snorts. "You'll live."

"Shaddup." Ryuuji huffs, rubbing the back of his head.

"Hey, if we're gonna keep going, we should hurry along," Morgana says. "I'll be counting on your skills this time too, rookie. Got it?"

Jun tries to pretend that her anxiety didn't just spike up. "Got it!"

"Don't worry, I'm not gonna force it all on you," Ryuuji reassures Jun. He smiles at her when she looks at him. "I thought it might help, so…I brought this just in case!"

"Ryuuji, please tell me you didn't do anything illegal." Jun stares wide-eyed at the gun that Ryuuji just pulled out of his pocket.

"Relax!" Ryuuji chuckles. "It's just a model gun, so it only makes sounds."

Morgana scowls. "That's a toy!"

"But it looks totally real!" Ryuuji grins widely as he takes aim at Morgana. He laughs when their tail suddenly puffs up. "See?! It'll at least fake 'em out."

Morgana only growls at Ryuuji, clearly annoyed that they were used to prove Ryuuji's point.

"Where'd you get it?" Jun asks as she takes a closer look at the fake gun in Ryuuji's hand. It really does look real—like it's the actual thing.

"This airsoft shop in Shibuya—ya want me to take you there?" Ryuuji doesn't mind showing her around. "A bit of a warning—the owner's kinda…scary. Like the last thing you should do is piss him off."

Jun brushes off Ryuuji's warning. "I've pissed off worse."

"Dude…do I even want to know?" Ryuuji feels a lot more uncomfortable when he recalls the rumors about Jun's compensated dating record.

"Depends—do you want to know?" Jun tilts her head as she stares at Ryuuji. There's a certain look in her eye that seems sinisterly dark, as though whatever she has to say isn't anything he wants to know. She laughs upon seeing him shudder, her eyes practically gleaming with mirth. "Did I scare you?"

"N-No—shaddup!" Ryuuji frowns. "You looked creepy, okay?"

"Nyahahaha, that's what you get!" Morgana grins widely as they bounce up and down in place.

"Whatever!" Ryuuji huffs. He guesses that he deserved that…though, why does it feel like he's forgotten something? "Oh yeah—I brought some medicine too!"

He pulls out the bottle of painkillers from his other pocket.

"You know what they say: 'Providin' is pre…something.'" He forgets how the phrase goes, but it doesn't really matter. What does matter is that the medicine he brought actually has its uses. After all, Morgana won't be able to heal anyone if they can't summon Zorro… "Huh? Huh?"

He looks eagerly at Morgana and Jun, hoping for some sort of compliment for remembering something from Morgana's explanation. It's not a lot, but Ryuuji got the important stuff down. He freezes still when Jun suddenly pats his back a few times.

"You're cute too, you know?" Jun's smile just about kills Ryuuji right then.

"Ahaha…haha…" All he can do is laugh so bashfully as his face turns a dark shade of red. It's the last thing he expects to hear from anyone who isn't his mom. It's…really nice, actually. "Thanks."

"So you were planning this from the start…" Morgana sighs in exasperation. It's a good thing that Jun came along, then, otherwise… "Whatever—it's fine! If you're ready to go, we'll resume our infiltration."

Ryuuji nods his head and promptly hands Jun the model gun. "I think it'll suit you just fine."

"A pistol, huh?" It feels heavy in her hands—but not as heavy as it should probably be. "Figures, since it's a fake."

It's a well-made fake, of course—but a fake nonetheless.

"I'll just keep these on me," Ryuuji says as he pockets the bottle of painkillers. "It's not much, but it should help if you're hurtin', yeah? At least until Monamona can heal you…"

"That's Morgana!" Morgana swiftly corrects Ryuuji.

"Whatever!" Ryuuji waves his hand.

Morgana muffles a growl. They dash over to the door and listen closely to any sounds coming from the hallway. "Hmm…there guards in the hallway right now—oh, they're talking about the slaves!"

"What of it?!" Ryuuji blurts out.

"Shh!" Jun uses her free hand to cover Ryuuji's mouth. "They're listening…"

Ryuuji blinks, his eyes wide. He almost says something, but stops and then nods his head.

Morgana furrows their brow. "Hmm…they're in—they're in the training hall! I know where that is!"

"Take us there!" Ryuuji exclaims, just seconds after pulling Jun's hand off his mouth.

"Geez…you don't have to yell." Morgana makes a face.

"Oh…oh, crap." A small bead of sweat rolls down the side of Ryuuji's face. He releases Jun's hand and gives her a few reassuring pats on the back. "I didn't mean to scare you like that."

"…'s fine…" Jun exhales shakily. "Just…give me a minute."

Ryuuji frowns. She's not fine—she looks way too tense and her voice…it's so quiet. "I did it again…"

Just like when they first met yesterday, when they came across Shujin while it was looking like this.

"Anyways—I know where the training hall is!" Morgana speaks up. "It's a little further ahead, we just have to…okay, let's go! Move, move, move!"

Morgana pulls open the door and runs out. Ryuuji sputters and looks at Jun, who still doesn't look like she's ready to move. He scratches at his head and then mutters a quick apology. She never has a chance to ask why he's apologizing.

"Hyeek!" Tears spring out in Jun's eyes from shock when Ryuuji suddenly lifts her up and throws her over his shoulder.

"You're lucky you're so small!" Otherwise, this would've been really difficult for Ryuuji and his right leg. "Wait up, Monamona!"

"Dammit, it's Morgana!" Morgana shrieks out. "MO-RU-GA-NA—it's not that hard!"

"What the actual fuck?!" Jun's at an actual loss for words. She opens and closes her mouth a few times before looking at the model gun in her hands. "I…okay…okay…"

She stays absolutely still as Ryuuji follows after Morgana. It's…not uncomfortable, but she'd prefer it if they had both waited for her instead of bolting.

"Guess that's a bit too much to ask for now…" Jun exhales. "Could be worse…"

Jun regrets ever thinking that when they come across a knight in their way, less than a minute later. Ryuuji and Morgana stop so abruptly in their tracks that it catches Jun completely by surprise. As a result, a loud yelp escapes from her mouth before she has a chance to suppress it.

And just like that, any chance they had at a preemptive strike goes out the window when the knight turns their way and sees them.

"Shit!" Ryuuji swears loudly.

The knight charges at them at a speed that's far too fast for them to escape. Morgana hisses loudly and swings their sword at the knight, managing to land the first hit before it can attack them.

"Chance!" Morgana exclaims.

The knight twitches and convulses before exploding into a puddle of red slime. The red slime quickly morphs into two identical humanoid creatures with unnaturally pale skin and clear, blue eyes. A wreath of green leaves hangs from their necks and a large, red flower sprouts from the tops of their heads. They have roots in place of hands and feet that, combined with the rest of their features, gives them the appearance of an uprooted flower…with a distinctively feminine shape.

"What the hell are they?!" Ryuuji makes a face.

"Gallows-Flowers!" Morgana answers before rushing over to attack one of them. They swing their sword at full strength, but miss when the Gallows-Flower jumps back. "I call them that because they reek of death!"

"How rude, kitty-kitty!" the Gallows-Flower remarks in a feminine-sounding voice. "It's been months since I've sprouted from the gallows!"

"Kitty-cat is probably talking about the your man!" the other Gallows-Flower laughs. "He certainly was not the cleanest of criminals to hang…"

"And you're saying yours was?" the Gallows-Flower snaps back. "Puh-leez!"

The other Gallows-Flower never has the chance to defend herself. A blade-like heel stomps down on her head before she can even speak, skewering through her entire body with a disturbing amount of ease.

"No way!" the surviving Gallows-Flower shrieks out at a pitch that makes everyone cringe. "You'll pay for that!"

Arsène stares down at the Gallows-Flower, completely unfazed by her threat. He might have wavered once under the ear-splitting pitch of her screams, but that doesn't mean he considers her a threat. He merely shakes off the red slime that stains the blade of one of his shoes.

The Gallows-Flower shrieks again and lunges at Arsène. She misses completely when he jumps up to avoid her attack. Then, using his current position to his advantage, Arsène drops down and lands right on top of the Gallows-Flower. He ignores the pained screams he hears from her when his heels pierce through her body.

"Nyaugh!" Morgana hunches over to flatten their ears as their fur puffs out in distress.

Ryuuji crouches down into a ball, his hands cupped over his ears to block out the sound. A maskless Jun stands by his side, looking somewhat unnerved as she adjusts one of her gloves. The sounds are a bit too much to stomach, but she manages…though, just barely. She gags a few times before putting her mask back on her face.

After about a minute, the shrieks stop and the Gallows-Flower is no more.

"You really couldn't have done that less painfully for the poor thing?" Jun crosses her arms as she looks sternly at Arsène.

"You should have specified," Arsène simply says. "Maybe think twice about which opponent of ours we choose to strike with our combined strength for Cleave…"

"S-So that's what that was…" Morgana groans. "It seems I was mistaken…"

It appears Arsène can use physical attacks.

"That was so messed up." Ryuuji rubs his ears. "Think they heard us?"

"Obviously." Morgana makes a face. "Looks like the security level is gonna go up, which means we'll have to be more careful from this point on."

"Why's that?" Jun tilts her head to the side.

"Because the more aware that these guards are of our presence, the more alert they'll become as the security level rises." Morgana crosses their arms over their chest. "It's crucial that we keep the security level below a certain threshold, or else we'll have to leave."

"Seriously?" Ryuuji says.

"Security will be too high for us to sneak by anyone," Morgana explains. "To avoid that, we can't let the enemy see us too much. Alternatively, we can also lower the security level by taking out guards—but we have to land the first hit before they can see us."

"They can't be aware of us if they don't see us." Jun tugs down on one of her gloves and then looks up at Arsène. "We're basically silencing them to keep them from alerting the others of our presence."

"Dude, when you say it like that…it sounds kinda shady." Ryuuji frowns.

"You're not in any position to complain, Ryuuji." Morgana narrows their eyes. "You don't even have a Persona."

"Shaddup!" Ryuuji whines. "You don't gotta rub it in…hey!"

Ryuuji whines again when Arsène suddenly pats him on the head. Jun only laughs, finding his reaction rather adorable. Morgana just sighs and shakes their head.

…

…

Morgana leads them deeper into the dungeon, the lighting going dimmer and the space growing smaller. The sounds of heavy footsteps echo in the distance, prompting them to take extra care to avoid detection from the guards further ahead. Morgana stops walking upon nearing a corner and quickly holds out their paw to stop Ryuuji and Jun.

Due to an oversight on Morgana's behalf, their diminutive size isn't something that they consider an issue until the exact moment that Jun almost trips over them. That's when Morgana realizes—a bit too late—that getting someone's attention is a lot harder when they aren't vocal.

Luckily, Jun has no issues maintaining her balance. She's about ready to apologize to Morgana when Ryuuji suddenly bumps into her, his weight pushing her forward. He quickly realizes his mistake and slaps his hand over his mouth to muffle a few swears. While it keeps him from making any loud sounds, it does nothing in keeping Jun from toppling over Morgana.

"Shit, shit, shit!" Ryuuji's hands shoot out and grab tightly onto Jun's coattails. He pulls her back with a single, forceful tug and successfully catches her when she falls back. "Nailed it!"

He sighs inwardly in relief and looks at Morgana as they carefully peer out from behind the corner. He wants to ask if they see anything, but stops when he hears a guard talking to what he can only assume is another guard.

"Hey, have you seen anyone who looks like an intruder?" It sounds so fucking close.

"No, nobody yet…" So really fucking close.

"How the hell did we avoid gettin' caught this time?!" Ryuuji has no idea and he can only take comfort in the fact that he's not the only one whose heart is beating so fast. He pats Jun reassuringly on the shoulder and helps her stand up. It's the least he can do for her after what almost happened…

"We got really lucky this time." Morgana doesn't hesitate to point out the obvious. "Especially since there are a lot of enemies here. It'd be impossible to dodge all of them…"

"Then, what do we do?" Ryuuji asks. "Should we try and take 'em down like before?"

"We might as well, so we can lower the security level," Jun says.

Morgana shakes their head. "It's easier said than done and while you do have a valid point, we still have a long way to go. So we should be conserving energy. Remember what I said about using your Persona…"

"Right…" Jun sighs.

"I-I see…sorry…" Ryuuji frowns. "Dammit, I wish I could fight… I'd at least be able to help out a little bit…"

"Hey, you brought some medicine—and don't forget about this nifty model gun!" Jun wastes no time in trying to cheer Ryuuji up.

"But it's just a toy…" Ryuuji scratches the back of his head.

"A real looking toy," Jun points out.

"It's still a toy…" Ryuuji shoves his hands into his pockets. "It looks real n' all, but what use does it have if it doesn't shoot anything?"

…

"Ugh, I'm such a loser…" Ryuuji hates how he has to depend on Jun and Morgana.

"You know, there might be a way…" Morgana's eyes gleam mischievously in the light. "Nyahahaha, let's use that to take down our enemies!"

Ryuuji's eyes widen. "What?! Were you listenin' to me? It don't even shoot pellets…"

"Who's there?!" a guard calls out.

"Don't worry, I'm sure this'll work!" Morgana readies their sword. "Attack away, Frizzy Hair!"

"It's not frizzy!" Jun scowls at Morgana, who just nudges her forward. She jumps out from the corner and uses her dagger to land the first hit on an approaching guard. "I better not regret this, Morgana!"

"Nyahahaha!" Morgana only laughs as they follow after Jun.

"What the hell?!" Ryuuji yells out. "I keep sayin' it's not gonna fire anything!"

"Watch and learn, Ryuuji!" Morgana hops from side to side, watching as the red slime before them takes form into two separate beings—a diminutive, winged girl and a Gallows-Flower. "Use that gun you have—point it at a Shadow and fire!"

Jun hastily pockets her dagger and fumbles a bit with the model gun she pulls out immediately after. She almost drops it, not yet used to handling it under pressure and at the speed the situation urgently calls for. She bites her lip as she holds out the gun and takes to ignoring how awkward it feels in her hands.

The barrel is pointed at the winged girl and Jun's finger is ready on the trigger. She doesn't know what to expect, but when Morgana yells at her to pull the trigger, she does…and out shoots a bullet from the gun's barrel. She stumbles back a bit from the sudden recoil that she wasn't expecting at all.

It's a fake—and yet…

"Oww, my wing!" It works exactly like it's the real thing, leaving a bullet-sized hole in the upper right half of the girl's wing. She drops down to the floor, quickly placing her hand over the hole. "You're sooo mean!"

"What the…?" Jun looks warily at the gun in her possession.

"How about that?!" Morgana smiles. "Surprised?"

"What the actual fuck?!" Ryuuji blurts out.

"I'll get to explaining it in a bit!" Morgana says. "Right now, just be mindful of how much ammo you have left!"

"Ammo…?" Jun swallows hard when she realizes why the gun in her hand suddenly feels heavier. "It's loaded?!"

Oh, fuck.

"Crap, crap, crap!" Jun goes about activating the pistol's safety and quickly switches out the gun for her dagger. She dashes over to the Gallows-Flower, feeling extremely uncomfortable about the gun in her pocket. She tries to take her mind off of it by slicing at the Shadow with her dagger. She jumps back to avoid getting slapped in the face with a root-like appendage.

"I'll make you ugly!" the Gallows-Flower shrieks, her face oozing with a clear substance that covers the blade of Jun's dagger.

"Eww…" Jun sticks her tongue out as she looks at her dagger.

"How dare you!" The Gallows-Flower raises her hand with the intent of bringing it down on Jun's head. "Aaaaaugh!"

She never has a chance to attack, though… A small, silver-colored ball hits her right in the eye, lodging itself quite painfully into her socket. She screams again when another ball strikes her arm with a sickening crack. It's only after a third ball hits her right in the throat that she suddenly goes quiet…and then she collapses. Her body turns pitch black and dissolves out of existence.

"Huh?" Jun blinks and then flinches when the winged girl screams out in pain as her body is pelted harshly with silver-colored balls.

"It's scary how good I am, huh?" Morgana proudly boasts as they lower the slingshot they hold in their paws. "Nyahaha, bet you weren't expecting that, huh?!"

Jun stares agape at Morgana. "Wh-What…?"

"What the hell kinda ammo is that?" Ryuuji asks.

Morgana holds up a silver-colored ball in their paw. "Steel—very effective against enemies like her over there!"

The winged girl glowers at Morgana and then points a dainty finger at them. "Take that!"

"Out of the way, Mona!" Ryuuji doesn't know why he's rushing at Morgana so suddenly. All he knows is that something feels off and the last time they fought against one of those winged girls, Morgana got shocked. "Not this time!"

"That's Morganyaaaaahhhh!" Morgana shrieks out when Ryuuji suddenly lifts them up by the scruff of their neck. Their fur and tail puffs out, a loud hiss escaping their mouth when Ryuuji just barely avoids a bolt of lightning that had intended to strike Morgana.

"Alright!" Ryuuji whoops before throwing Morgana into the air and then catching them as they fall. "Not bad, huh—ouch!"

"Stop handling me so roughly!" Morgana hisses, their claws sinking deeply into Ryuuji's arms. "And it's Morgana!"

"I heard you the first time…" Ryuuji winces. "And c'mon—I saved you there, didn't I? You can at least thank me for that…"

A loud growl rumbles in the back of Morgana's throat, blue eyes narrowed angrily at Ryuuji. A few seconds pass and Morgana retracts their claws. Ryuuji sighs loudly in relief and lets Morgana jump out of his arms.

Bang!

Jun flinches from the recoil of her gun. It's going to take her a while to get used to that. She sighs and looks at the Shadow at her feet, grimacing when she sees the bullet in the girl's head. She didn't think it'd be so gruesome…

"Gross…" She didn't want to see that. She activates the safety on her pistol and walks away as the winged girl's body dissolves out of existence. She makes her way over to Ryuuji and taps on his arm a few times. Once she has his attention, Jun hands the gun over to him. "Got about fourteen bullets left in it—make 'em count."

Ryuuji sputters, not knowing what to make of this. He has far too many questions and not enough answers regarding the fact that this fake gun just fired real bullets. "How the fuck?!"

"This is a cognitive world!" Morgana replies. "As long as our opponent sees it as real, it becomes such. It's a good thing it's realistic-looking."

Ryuuji looks at the gun in his hands, his brow furrowed in confusion. "…I don't get it."

Morgana grins widely. "I wasn't expecting someone with your brains to understand. How about you, Frizzy Hair? Did you get what I said?"

"Not at all," Jun says as she tugs down on a glove. She hadn't been paying attention… "And it's not frizzy."

Morgana frowns. "Maybe I was expecting too much…"

"Wait, if it's better havin' something realistic, why do you got that slingshot?!" Ryuuji looks questioningly at Morgana. "And it was just as strong as a goddamn gun! What about your whole cognitive whatever?!"

A small bead of sweat rolls down the side of Morgana's face. "W-Well, um…"

…

…

Morgana sighs. They don't really have much of an explanation for the slingshot… "Fine…you can choose to understand it however you want. But for the record, the reason why it's as strong as a gun is because of the type of ammo I'm using. I already mentioned it before—it's made out of steel."

"Slingshots can be rather lethal," Jun explains. "It depends on how they're used and the type of ammo varies, with some being used specifically for hunting purposes."

"I see…" Ryuuji nods his head. "That makes sense…lemme guess—your uncle again?"

Ryuuji wouldn't be surprised if that's the case.

"Actually, I learned that from my mother." Jun laughs. "She was a bit of a troublemaker as a kid…of course, all she had was marbles."

Although, it was because of Shibe that Jun's mother took in interest in slingshots in the first place…

"Huh…" Ryuuji scratches the back of his head and then looks at the gun in his hand. "So…you sure you want me to keep this?"

"You don't have a Persona, and Arsène and Zorro won't always be able to protect you." Jun crosses her arms over her chest. "So I don't see any other reason why you shouldn't keep it."

"Don't treat it like a toy, though!" Morgana warns Ryuuji. "It works like a real gun now, so be careful. And remember—make every shot count!"

"R-Right…" Ryuuji nods his head.

"Anyways, that fight went a lot better than the last two," Morgana says. "Let's keep up the good work."

…

…

"What happened to staying out of sight?!"

"I'm sorry—I didn't mean to trip on my coattails!"

Bang! Bang!

"A little help here—kinda Persona-less and this gun doesn't have unlimited ammo!"

Another botched ambush lands the group in a fight against two floating jack-o'-lanterns. Morgana's fur bristles at the tense atmosphere caused by yet another spike in the Palace's security level.

"We're in the yellow!" Morgana makes a face as they use their slingshot to attack one of the Shadows. "This is so not good!"

"Why does everything feel bad?!" Jun thought it was weird that Morgana can sense the Palace's security level. Now that she can sense it herself, she can understand why they want to keep it as low as possible. Apart from the Palace guards being on higher alert, the atmosphere just feels so unpleasant.

The fight doesn't last too long, thanks to Morgana's surprisingly accurate aim. It helps that the jack-o'-lanterns share the exact same weakness the lightning-wielding girls had to gun attacks. And while a good chunk of their ammo got used up, Morgana is just relieved that they managed to maintain complete control of the situation.

"We got lucky…" They sigh wearily. "It would've been really bad if we got surrounded."

"But we didn't!" Ryuuji points out.

"That doesn't change the fact that the security level went up again." Jun grimaces. "Uuugh, I actually feel it this time."

"It gets worse the higher it is—just so you know," Morgana says. "You'll know when we're in the red…"

"I don't want to know." Yellow feels bad enough already for Jun.

"You'll get used to it." Morgana shrugs.

"Hey—why am I not feelin' anything?" Ryuuji asks.

"Probably because you don't have a Persona," Morgana replies. "Either that, or you just have duller senses."

"Hey!" Ryuuji scowls.

"We've stuck around long enough—let's keep going!" Morgana quickly changes the subject. "The training hall shouldn't be that much further."

Ryuuji mutters under his breath and focuses his attention on the gun in his hand. He struggles to activate the safety due to not having much experience handling guns—real or fake. He freezes still when Jun snatches the gun out of his hands. She fiddles with it for a second and then hands it back to him.

"I'd rather you mess with the gun when it's not loaded," she says.

Ryuuji blinks a few times and then looks at the gun in his hand. "How did…?"

There's a lot Ryuuji still doesn't know about Jun, but what he can say so far…

"She's really strange." Ryuuji sighs and shoves the gun in his pocket.

…

…

Jun, Ryuuji, and Morgana come across another guard in their path. They observe it carefully from a distance, peering out from behind a corner. The guard shows no signs of moving from its spot, effectively blocking anyone wishing to go through the door behind it. With no other choice but to fight, Morgana sends Jun in to land the first hit. It goes without any issues and their fight this time is against a lone, winged girl.

"We have the advantage here!" Morgana exclaims, an idea quickly forming in their head. "Hey, let me show you something, since seeing is…something?"

"Oi!" Ryuuji knows almost immediately that Morgana is taking a jab at them. He might be dense at times, but he's not that dense.

"Look, what you want to do is knock down all enemies!" Morgana pulls out their slingshot and takes aim at their opponent. "Like this!"

A steel ball shoots out and strikes the diminutive winged girl right in the abdomen. She chokes out a scream and drops down to the floor.

Thud!

She coughs and sputters, gagging a few times as reddish-black liquid trickles down the side of her mouth.

"Alright—now time to rush in for a group attack!" Morgana switches out their slingshot for their sword. "Keep that gun pointed at her, Ryuuji! Now with me, Frizzy Hair!"

Jun wastes no time in following after Morgana. It is Morgana who lands the first hit on their opponent, swing their sword multiple times at the winged girl. She screams out in pain as deep gashes appear on her body. The sound itself is quite unpleasant that Jun finds herself letting Arsène order her around when she finally attacks.

In a swift motion, Jun slashes only once and then jumps back as far as she can to distance herself from the enemy. She tugs down on her left glove, just mere seconds before reddish-black liquid sprays out from a large gash in the girl's neck.

"Oh what the fuck?!" Jun swears loudly, taken somewhat aback by the fact that her actions caused that.

"Duuuuuude, that was like something out of a manga!" Ryuuji exclaims ecstatically. "Effing awesome!"

"Nice work!" Morgana grins widely. "That went really well! You're definitely fit for this!"

"Thanks, I guess…" Jun laughs awkwardly as her cheeks heat up with a blush.

"Hey—just what was that?" Ryuuji asks Morgana.

"I call it an All-out Attack!" Morgana replies. "Kinda self-explanatory, but the main point is to knock all the enemies down and then go all-out on them."

"No kidding—that battle was over as soon as it began," Ryuuji says.

"Well, it is a concentrated attack on defenseless enemies." Morgana's tail swishes to the side. "Hey—just so you know, I want you to be the head of our command."

"Wait—what?!" Jun takes a step back.

"You decide when we use this attack!" Morgana hops over to her and gives her a few reassuring pats on the leg. "I'm counting on you!"

"…Fine." Jun sighs in defeat. From the looks of it, Morgana has long since decided to have her take on the responsibilities of being leader. So there doesn't seem to be any point in arguing with them—not that Jun wants to argue with Morgana. "You're lucky that you're so cute…"

She still wants to touch their paw pads…

"Hey—this is it, right?" Ryuuji points at the door in front of them.

"Yeah!" Morgana nods. "Let's get going—oh, ladies first, though."

Jun rolls her eyes as she pushes open the door. She'll humor Morgana a bit…

They walk into a small room with a table at the center. There's another door on the other side of the room. A white banner hangs above it with writing on it that Ryuuji reads out loud.

"Kamoshida's…Training Hall…of Love…?" Ryuuji scowls. "What kinda bullshit is this?!"

"Keep your voice down!" Morgana hisses. "There might be more guards behind that door."

"Sorry…" Ryuuji frowns.

"Let's get this over with…" Whatever's up ahead, Jun knows that it likely won't be pleasant.

…

And it isn't. Jun, Ryuuji, and Morgana come across the disturbing sight of guards beating up a group of boys around a volleyball net. Ryuuji's anger flares up as he grabs onto the cell bars and starts shaking them. He growls when he finds that they're as firm as can be—there's no way for them to get through to get to the guards and the prisoners.

"Dammit!" He stomps his foot against the floor, his hands balled up tightly into fists. "This is bullshit!"

"How many times do I have to tell you to keep your voice down?!" Morgana scolds Ryuuji.

Ryuuji turns to Morgana, looking as angry as ever. He knows they're right, but… "But this is beyond messed up!"

He scratches the back of his head, trying his best to ignore the hot tears stinging his eyes. His hand reaches down afterwards to touch his right thigh. He grits his teeth when he feels pain upon applying slight pressure to a certain area on his thigh.

"Hey…how do I open this?" Ryuuji looks away from Jun and Morgana.

"Stop it…" a voice weakly cries out.

Ryuuji's eyes widen as a boy with bandages wrapped around his arm, leg, and eye limps over to the bars. He looks at Ryuuji with an expression completely devoid of any life.

"Leave us alone…" he says. "It's useless…"

"Huh?!" Ryuuji can't believe what he's hearing…

Another boy walks up to the bars and looks warily at Ryuuji, Jun, and Morgana. "If we stay obedient, we won't be executed like you guys!"

Ryuuji growls loudly and grabs onto the bars with both of his hands. He looks angrily at the two prisoners, his stomach churning uncomfortably from all the things he's seen and heard so far. "You're tellin' me you wanna stay in a place like this?!"

"Wait a minute…" Morgana crosses their arms. "Were you planning on taking these guys out of here?"

Ryuuji releases the bars and turns around. "We can't just leave 'em here!"

Morgana shakes their head. "How stupid can you be…?"

"What?!" Ryuuji glares at Morgana.

"Rather than insult Ryuuji, why don't you explain yourself?" Jun looks sternly at Morgana.

"These are only humans in Kamoshida's cognition," Morgana explains. "They aren't real humans that have entered from reality. They're different from you two."

"Cognition…?" Ryuuji frowns.

"It means there's no point in saving them!" Morgana snaps. "They're different from the real ones in the real world. You could say that these are extremely similar-looking dolls."

Ryuuji makes a face. "The hell?! Why's it gotta be so complicated?!"

He heard everything Morgana said, but again—nothing wants to stick. He looks at Jun, hoping that she understands so she can explain it to him. Of course, it seems that she's in the same boat as him, with the way she's still processing the information.

"The school's a castle, and the students are slaves…" Ryuuji states what he knows so far. "Ha, it's so on point that it makes me want to laugh." His face contorts into a scowl as his temper flares up. "This really is the inside of that asshole's head…!"

Morgana jumps off the crate and hops over to the bars. They grimace at the sight they see, feeling rather queasy. "Still, this is horrible. It must mean he treats them as slaves in the real world too."

Ryuuji's eyes widen. "In the real world too…? Wait…I know these guys… They're members of the volleyball club—the one Kamoshida coaches for!"

Jun makes a face when she recalls the offer Kamoshida was extending to her much earlier. She had almost forgotten…

"They must be physically abused every day…" Morgana frowns. "There's no way they'd be so beat up normally."

"Don't tell me…" Ryuuji narrows his eyes and grits his teeth. "They're going through similar shit in reality?!"

"Most likely." Morgana looks down. "I mean, this proves that Kamoshida thinks of them as slaves."

"So it might be for real…" Ryuuji stares angrily at the sight behind the bars. It pisses him off that there's not much he can do. "I heard that Kamoshida's usin' physical punishment. They're just rumors, but… If they're true, wouldn't this be somethin' to report to the police…?"

"Yes, this would be something." Jun exhales shakily.

"You all right?" Ryuuji asks as he pulls out his phone. "You're not lookin' too good…"

"I just…" Jun breathes out again. "I ran into him earlier—right before I met up with you in the front of the school. He…he was asking me if I wanted to join the volleyball club."

"He what?" Ryuuji's voice goes dangerously quiet.

Jun nervously twirls a lock of her hair. "H-He said it would do a troublesome student s-s-some good if I learn some discipline…"

"That son of a bitch!" Ryuuji shakes, his body practically seething with rage. He looks at his phone and turns it on. "I'm gonna use these guys as evidence. If it all goes well, we can take down that asshole Kamoshida…!"

How dare that asshole try something funny on a girl like Jun! Ryuuji can tell she's pretty shaken up by the offer and he wouldn't blame her after what happened yesterday. The scumbag raises far too many red flags to ignore…

"I told him not to try anything funny…" he mutters angrily under his breath as he looks through his apps. He taps on his phone's camera app and waits for it to open. "Fucking shithead thinks I'm joking…Huh?! It's not workin'?!"

Ryuuji's eyes widen as he looks at the screen on his phone—the app hasn't opened yet, even though he's tapped on it more than twice by now. He tries tapping a few things at random to test if his phone had stopped responding. It hasn't—the touch screen still responds to his touch, so his phone still works. And yet, no matter how many times he's tapped on it, the camera app remains unresponsive as ever.

"We can use the navigation app, but the camera's a no go?!" Ryuuji can't believe this bullshit!

Morgana's brow furrows. "A navigation app?"

"That's what we used to come here," Ryuuji quickly explains. "What about yours?"

Without even thinking twice about it, Jun pulls out her phone from her jacket's pocket. She looks through her apps and taps on the camera icon. A few seconds pass and there is no response. She taps on the icon a second and still, there is no response.

"The app won't open…" Jun looks anxiously at Ryuuji. "It looks like we're out of luck…"

Ryuuji clicks his tongue. "There has to be something we can do…!"

Morgana jumps up and flails their arms around in hopes of catching Jun and Ryuuji's attention. "Whatever you do is fine, but we're gonna get caught if we stand around like this. We need to head back!"

"Hang on a sec!" Ryuuji turns to the prisoners locked behind the cell bars. Even if they aren't real, it still pains him that there isn't anything he can do for them. He grabs onto the cell bars and stares intensely at the prisoners. He gets an idea as he stares at their faces. "Since there's no other way…I'll just memorize their faces before goin' home!"

It doesn't take him too long to memorize their faces. A minute passes and Ryuuji looks away. He scratches the back of his head and sighs before looking ahead.

"Mkay, let's check the cells 'round there." Ryuuji shoves his phone into his pocket and starts walking.

Morgana tugs on Jun's coattails a few times before following after Ryuuji. Jun tries to ignore the guilt coiling in her stomach as she walks away from the cell. She's somewhat hesitant to continue onwards, but forces herself to keep going, if only for Ryuuji's sake.

The next scene they come across is just as horrible as the one before, if not worse. Ryuuji watches in horror as three boys are forced to run nonstop on a huge treadmill resembling a track field. The treadmill is set at an uncomfortably high speed and has a spiked contraption set at its end as motivation of some sort, promising certain death for anyone who chooses to stop running—voluntarily or not. A yellow kettle dangles in the air from a beam, swaying left to right within the runners' sight.

"W-Water…" one of the boys gasps out, his hand reaching out for the kettle that's always too far from of his reach.

"Urgh…please—no more!" another boy pleads.

Ryuuji swallows hard, feeling rather ill. "Not givin' athletes water even for tough trainin' is a common thing in the real world too…"

"It's still not right," Jun remarks.

"I know." Ryuuji licks his lips. All too suddenly, his mouth feels so dry from the unpleasant memories he recalls from last year. He scowls. "That sack of shit…! I'm gonna try and memorize all these guys' faces before we go back…"

"You done yet?" Morgana asks.

"Just a bit more…okay, I'm done." Ryuuji exhales shakily. "Let's keep going."

A part of him hopes that that's all there is—but he knows better. He can feel bile rising in the back of his throat as he watches yet another boy suffering in pain. The boy hangs upside-down in the air, rope tightly bound around his ankles and wrists. Every few seconds, a volleyball is shot into his stomach from a cannon.

"Agh! Gah!" The sounds that come out of his mouth are unsettling to hear. "It hurts… It hurts…!"

"The hell…?" Ryuuji blinks back hot tears stinging his eyes. His voice begins to crack under the strain of his emotions. "This ain't trainin' at all…it's just violence!"

Ulp!

Ryuuji retches loudly, his stomach churning far too much for him to continue ignoring. He swallows hard, grimacing at the acid that burns his throat.

"You okay?" Jun asks, understandably concern for his wellbeing.

"I'm…fine!" Ryuuji insists, despite feeling otherwise. "It's just—this means he's been doin' something similar in reality too, right…?"

"Yes…unfortunately." Morgana cringes when another volleyball shoots into the boy's stomach.

"Damn that bastard…!" Ryuuji gags again, a few tears trickling down his cheeks.

"…" Jun adjusts her gloves for what feels like the umpteenth time today. Right now, it doesn't do much to ease her nerves, which is something that Ryuuji quickly picks up.

"Oh, my bad!" He blurts out a quick apology. "I gotta hurry this up. Gimme a sec and I'll memorize 'em as quick as I can."

…

"Hey, are you done yet?!" Morgana looks around cautiously for any guards. "We're cutting it close here!"

"Don't freak me out like that, you goddamn moron!" Ryuuji holds his hand over his pounding heart. He had been far too focused that Morgana's sudden outburst startled him… "Anyways, I got all of 'em!"

"Then let's stop wasting time!" Morgana hisses, their fur bristling. "We need to scram!"

"Let's go!" Jun commands, leading the way back…for almost a minute before Morgana took over.

"How bad can your sense of direction be?" Morgana sighs in exasperation.

"I don't want to talk about it." Jun huffs angrily.

…

They leave the training hall without encountering any guards along the way. It goes without any issues until…

"The watch post near the training hall has ceased reporting! Chances of intruder activity are extremely high! All personnel, increase security measures!"

Morgana, Ryuuji, and Jun hide behind some crates and barrels to avoid being spotted by a guard patrolling a nearby bridge. Morgana keeps a careful eye on the guard, waiting for the right moment to sneak by. They're only fortunate that the guard isn't stationed in the direction they need to go to leave the dungeon.

"Tch, we've stayed here too long…" Morgana was hoping to avoid this situation, but at the least, they've managed to stay undetected…for once. "Come on, let's get out of here before you guys blow our cover."

Morgana sighs inwardly in relief when Jun slaps her hand over Ryuuji's mouth to keep him from blurting anything out just now. He seems annoyed, but he doesn't do much about it. Jun has absolutely no reason to defend herself when Morgana has a point.

The three of sneak by without getting caught and make a beeline for the exit. Ryuuji and Jun follow Morgana up the stairs and through the opened doorway into the entrance hall. It's not much farther from the ventilation shaft they used to go in and out of the castle.

Unfortunately, Kamoshida and a group of his guards are standing in the way. He doesn't take notice of Jun, Ryuuji, and Morgana until they're standing right in front of him.

"…You knaves again?" His face contorts in disgust. "To think you'd make the same mistake again. You're hopeless!"

"The school ain't your castle!" Ryuuji yells out. He glares at Kamoshida. "I've memorized their faces real good. You're goin' down!"

Kamoshida only smirks. "It seems it's true when they say 'barking dogs seldom bite.' How far the star runner of the track team has fallen."

Th-Thump!

Ryuuji ignores the panic welling up in his chest. He tightens his fists tightly and stands his ground. "The hell are you gettin' at?!"

"I speak of the 'Track Traitor' who acted in violence, ending his teammates' dreams." Kamoshida grins at the hurt expression that briefly crosses Ryuuji's face. "Oh, I can only imagine the pain of the others who were dragged under with your…selfish act."

"Ngh…" Ryuuji clenches his teeth. He doesn't want to remember that…

"'Track Traitor'?" Jun repeats questioningly.

Kamoshida laughs. "What a surprise. So you're accompanying him without knowing at all? Is what he pays you just that good? Or is it something else, because money is the last thing trash like him has…"

"Leave her outta this!" Ryuuji holds his arm out in front of Jun. "It's got nothin' to do with her!"

"On the contrary, I believe it does." Kamoshida chuckles darkly. "Did you know that he betrayed his teammates and crushed their hopes?"

A small bead of sweat rolls down the side of Jun's face. "N-No…"

"Well…now you do." Kamoshida crosses his arms over his chest. "And yet, he still carries on as carefree as ever."

"Is…Is that true?" Morgana asks Ryuuji.

"No—that's wrong!" Ryuuji exclaims. "That's not true at all!"

He remembers just how many weeks he's spent trying to defend himself. The rumors spread like wildfire and the truth was quickly buried underneath the massive lie Kamoshida set up. He had no one until now…but for how long?

"Am I gonna lose everything again?!" Ryuuji trembles in fear.

…

"…I believe you," Jun says after a moment. Her voice snaps Ryuuji out of his thoughts, pulling him away from the past and back to the present. "But not you."

Jun points the tip of her dagger's blade at Kamoshida. She hears a few offended gasps from his guards, but pays them no attention. Her eyes are focused entirely on Kamoshida as she waits for him to say or do anything else.

He only laughs. "You've come along with this fool and are now going to end up dead… How unlucky of you."

"Shut up!" Jun snaps, her gray eyes flaring in anger. She rips off her mask to summon Arsène, knowing full well when she's walked right into a fight.

"Zorro!" Morgana yells out, summoning their own Persona as well.

The two gigantic beings stand by their users, just waiting for their commands. Ryuuji grits his teeth as he pulls out the gun in his pocket. He still has a few shots left…he can still fight back!

"Go. Kill them all." Kamoshida orders his guards without once blinking an eye. He glares at Ryuuji, Jun, and Morgana, angry at the fact that they still had the gall to oppose him. "Don't sully my castle with garbage."

The knight standing closest to Kamoshida raises his sword and commands the other two knights to attack. His appearance differs from the other two, looking far more extravagant and of a higher rank. He is far larger in size, dressed in gold armor with a couple of red plumes sticking out from his helmet.

The two knights take on the form of three identical horses with pitch-black fur and a silver mane and tail. Two curved green horns protrude from their heads, their red eyes giving them a rather demonic appearance. They are gigantic in size, red eyes staring down at their opponents.

One of the horned horses charges at Ryuuji, but Arsène's quick reflexes manages to stop the horse in its tracks. It neighs angrily, its head twisting and turning against Arsène's firm grip on its horns.

Zorro takes advantage of the situation, sending blasts of green-colored wind at the horned horses. It hits them, but doesn't do much damage—the horses are a lot bulkier than expected. Arsène releases the horse's horns and jumps up, avoiding the back end hooves of a different horse. Its attack misses him completely, much to its annoyance.

Arsène nods his head and allows himself to drop down, so as to let his heels dig into the backs of the horses below him. The blades pierce their flesh with incredible ease, causing the two to start bucking in pain.

Zorro is occupied by the third of the horned horses, keeping it occupied and as far away from Jun, Ryuuji, and Morgana. The three are currently dealing with the high-ranking knight.

"This guy is different from all the guards you fought until now." Kamoshida watches the fight before with amusement. "Let me see how long you can survive against him."

Bang! Bang!

The bullets ricochet off the knight's armor without so much as leaving a dent. The knight merely brushes off his chest and then strikes down with his massive sword. Jun pushes Ryuuji out of the way while Morgana jumps back as far as they can to avoid the attack.

THUD!

The knight's blade leaves an indent in the floor as a result of the force behind his attack. He stand still for a moment, if only to allow Kamoshida to speak without any interruptions.

"Try to at least entertain me before dinner, alright?" Kamoshida laughs ominously.

The knight nods his head only once before charging towards Ryuuji and Jun. His armor deflects more bullets that are sent his way.

"If it didn't work before, what makes you think it'll work again?!" Morgana hisses at Ryuuji, somewhat annoyed with the ammo he's wasting.

"I don't see you doin' anything!" Ryuuji retorts before shooting another bullet at the high-ranking knight. He was aiming for the eyes, but the bullet goes higher than that and misses the knight completely. Instead, the bullet hits a painting of Kamoshida dressed up as some heroic knight. It embeds itself right in the painting's forehead, earning a few laughs from Ryuuji and the ire of Kamoshida.

"How dare you!" Kamoshida scowls. "Kill him!"

"Ryuuji!" Jun yells out before slamming Ryuuji out of the way of the knight's sword. The two roll across the floor for a few seconds before stopping. Jun is the first to recover and hastily shoves her dagger into Ryuuji's hands. She takes back the gun and shoots at the knight to earn his attention. "Morgana, back me up!"

Morgana readies their slingshot with a steel ball. Even though they know it won't do much, at the least it'll get the enemy's attention. The slingshot flings the steel ball towards the knight's helmet. It manages to enter through the open slot over where his eyes should be and based on the knight's pained screams, Morgana landed a hit.

"Bullseye!" Morgana grins widely.

Red liquid trickles down the knight's helmet as he glares at Morgana. Morgana ceases smiling almost instantly and quickly jumps out of the way when the knight charges at them. Their fur and tail puffs up in fright.

"Nyaahhh!" Morgana shrieks out as they use their sword to block. They grit their teeth when the knight's sword pushes down onto theirs. Down, down, and down Morgana goes, unable to properly deflect the knight's sword. He is far too strong… "H-H-Heeelllppp!"

Bang!

The knight backs away, allowing Morgana to flee out of his reach. The knight drops his sword onto the floor rather noisily, his hand held tightly over his wrist—right where Jun had shot him. He growls loudly as he glares at Jun, her unflinching gaze staring right back at him.

Jun proceeds to taunt him while wearing the biggest shit-eating grin on her face. "Is that the best you've got?"

That's all it takes for the high-ranking knight to snap. He picks up his sword and charges towards Jun. She is prepared to evade his attack, but staggers when a sharp pain jabs her left side rather painfully. She chokes out a gasp and clutches her side, wondering why it is that she's hurting so much.

Going unnoticed in the background, one of the horned horses had rammed its head into Arsène's side. The attack had enough force behind it to actually cause him to waver momentarily…for a few seconds. He then raises his heel and slashes at the horned horse's eyes. It screams out loudly in pain, which soon die out when Zorro plunges his rapier into the horse's throat. It chokes and sputters, gurgling a bit before its body dissolved into nothingness.

Only two of the horned horses remain and when Arsène attempts to attack one, he falls back. He suppresses the urge to cry out in pain when a large, diagonal gash forms right over his torso. It hurts a lot, but what happens next causes Arsène to freeze still as his hands claw at his throat at some invisible force that's applying an uncomfortable amount of pressure on his windpipe.

"Jun!" Morgana screams out in horror as they watches the high-ranking knight hold Jun up in the air by the throat. They slash at the knight's back, swearing loudly when the knight shakes off their attacks as though it's nothing. A hiss leaves their mouth when the knight suddenly slams Jun onto the floor. Blood spurts out from her mouth as she screams out in agony.

"Guuargh!" Tears trickle down her face as she struggles to pull the knight's hand off her throat. She feels sharp pains throughout her body. Bile rises in the back of her throat as the pain grows more intense.

Morgana growls when they noticed that the horned horses have taken advantage of Arsène's vulnerable state. Zorro is doing his best to assist his ally, but there's only so much he can do on his own…

"Sorry, Jun…" Morgana leaves Jun's side to join Zorro, albeit reluctantly. They clench their teeth as they swing their sword at a horned horse that's taken to keeping Arsène pinned underneath its hooves. It sends the horse stumbling back a few steps, allowing Zorro to pull Arsène as far away from it as possible.

Zorro proceeds to heal Arsène wounds, since there's not much he can do about his inability to breathe. Dia will at least ease up some of the pain Jun has shared with him. He has to act quickly, before the Shadows overpower his user. Morgana can evade capture for only some time before…!

Zorro drops Arsène, his body rolling onto the floor. He dashes over to Morgana, hoping to free his user's tail from underneath the horse's hoof. He acts far too rashly to notice the trap the other horned horse had set up until he's slammed right into the wall.

THUD!

And just like that, the battle is over. Morgana chokes and sputters at the pain they feel throughout their body, unable to do much while Zorro is pinned against the wall and their tail is trapped underneath a Shadow's hoof. Arsène continues to writhe against the floor, unable to do anything as the high-ranking knight tightens his grip on Jun's throat.

"N-No way…!" Ryuuji stares wide-eyed at the scene before him. Ever since Jun had switched out the gun for her dagger, Ryuuji had stayed out of the fight—mostly as a precaution. There's not much he can do from a distance with a dagger and unlike Jun, he doesn't have a Persona to protect him.

All he could do is watch and the longer he watched, the more infuriated he grew with himself. If he wasn't so helpless, maybe this wouldn't have happened. If he was only stronger, then maybe he could actually help.

Instead, he's just a burden. "A weak, helpless burden…"

Ryuuji drops despondently to his knees, the dagger still held tightly in his hands. So many thoughts flood his head, telling him how much of a screw up he is for letting this happen.

"I bet you simply came here on a whim and ended up like this." Kamoshida finally shows himself after watching from a distance. He laughs at the look that Ryuuji sends his way. "Isn't that right?"

"No…" Ryuuji can feel tears welling up in his eyes.

"What a worthless piece of trash, getting emotional so quickly…" Kamoshida says derisively. "How dare you raise your hand at me. Though it was only temporary, have you forgotten my kindness in supervising track practice?"

Ryuuji growls and pounds his fists onto the floor in anger. "Wasn't no practice—it was physical abuse! You just didn't like our team!"

"It was nothing but an eyesore!" Kamoshida scowls. "The only one who needs to achieve results is me!"

Ryuuji clenches his teeth, his eyes darting left and right for any openings he might find. He notices—though barely—Jun's outstretched hand reaching out for anything on the floor around her. She's not too far from him…and he still has her dagger.

"It's not too late," he thinks to himself.

"That coach who got fired was hopeless too…" Kamoshida grins deviously. "Had he not opposed me with a sound argument, I would've settled it with only breaking his star's leg."

Memories of last year flood his head.

"Please, stop—it hurts!"

No matter how many times he admitted defeat, it wasn't enough.

"It hurts, it hurts, it hurts!"

To Kamoshida, it just wasn't enough—not after what Ryuuji had done to him.

"Guaaaaarggghhhh!"

All because Ryuuji couldn't keep his temper under control and his hands to himself.

Craaaaack!

He remembers it all too vividly.

"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaughhhh!"

The pain had been unbearable—white hot and agonizing. Bile rose to his throat, irritating it with such an acidic burn that he just couldn't keep it down. He made such a mess on the floor as tears streamed down his cheeks. He screamed and screamed and screamed, until he blacked out from the pain. And when he woke up, he was in the hospital, with his leg in a cast and his mother frantically asking him if he was okay.

"Ryuuji—say something!"

"A-Ahhh..."

He was unable to say anything for a full week, because of how shot his voice was from all the screaming he did. By the time he was able to say anything, it was far too late for him to do anything—not that he ever had much of a chance to defend himself against Kamoshida. The damage had already been done and even now, Ryuuji can still feel the effects from that day as though it had only happened yesterday.

He can no longer stop the tears from coming. They trickle down his cheeks, his body trembling evidently from fear. "…What?"

"Do you need me to deal with your other leg too?" Kamoshida laughs. "The school will call it self-defense anyway!"

"Dammit…!" His voice cracks. "Am I gonna lose again…?"

Is he going to lose everything all over again because of that bastard?

"Not only can I not run anymore…the track team is gone too 'cause of this asshole…!" Ryuuji chokes back a sob.

"So that's why…" Morgana frowns, feeling horrible over what they just learned about Ryuuji. Kamoshida truly is such a despicable man…

Jun coughs and sputters a few times before loudly gasping for air. The knight had finally loosened his grip on her throat—but only enough to let her breathe.

"Once I deal with these two, you're next." Kamoshida makes his way over to Jun, chuckling menacingly as he listens to her gasp for air. He kneels down to her side and firmly grasps her hair. "Unless she takes my offer."

"What…?" Ryuuji can't believe what he's hearing. "This shit again?!"

"Despite what you've done, I still do consider you a worthy servant for a princess." Kamoshida grins. "You should consider yourself lucky…how about it?"

Ryuuji slides the dagger across the floor, hoping and praying it gets within Jun's reach. It manages—and just barely in time after Jun spits a wad of saliva in Kamoshida's face. She grabs the dagger and plunges it right into the knight's wrist, where her fingers had felt flesh instead of the hard, metal plating of a gauntlet. She frees herself from the knight's grip and rolls away, avoiding Kamoshida's foot as he tries to kick her.

Jun jumps to her feet, struggling somewhat to maintain her balance. Her head feels so lightheaded and her throat fucking hurts. She wipes blood and saliva off of her mouth before coughing a few more times. She gives Ryuuji a sympathetic look when she notices that he's staring at her. She coughs again and then speaks.

"D-Don't…let him w-win!" Her voice sounds raspy and hoarse, but is loud enough for Ryuuji to hear.

Ryuuji looks down, feeling rather relieved that he was able to do something in the end. He lifts his head and wipes away his tears. "…You're right."

He can't let Kamoshida win—not again!

"Everything that was important to me was taken by him…" His friends, his reputation, his life… "I'll never get 'em back…!"

Just now, he almost lost Jun…almost.

"Stay there and watch." Kamoshida scowls as he gives the high-ranking knight the order to go after Jun. "Look on as these hopeless scum die for nothing because they sided with trash like you."

Ryuuji growls as he forces himself to stand up. He hears Morgana meowing loudly in pain and sees the knight chasing after Jun. She struggles to stay out of his reach, nearly falling over a few times. He grits his teeth when Kamoshida starts to laugh at the sight of his knight cornering Jun.

That's when Arsène smashes in the knight's face into a pillar. His masks gleams eerily as he stares down at the high-ranking knight he's taken down. His hand reaches down to gently stroke Jun's hair, almost as an apology as some sort for being unable to protect her.

This time, Jun lets herself lean into Arsène's touch, no longer caring about the way she looks. Just the sight of it motivates Ryuuji to stay strong. Jun's safe now…and he's willing to do anything to ensure she stays safe.

Morgana still needs help, as does Zorro. Ryuuji might not get along with Morgana, but he'll be damned if he lets anyone else get hurt because of him.

Ryuuji glares at Kamoshida. "No…"

"No?" Kamoshida scowls.

"I said no…" Ryuuji says firmly. "Because that's what you are!"

The only trash Ryuuji sees is the shithead standing across from him.

"All you think about is using people…" Ryuuji hates people like that. "You're the real scumbag, Kamoshida!"

Ryuuji no longer sees any reason why he should be afraid of Kamoshida. A lot has happened, but it's all in the past now. This is now—and he's no longer letting things happen.

"What are you doing?" Kamoshida asks his guards as he watches Ryuuji stumbling towards him. "Silence him!"

Ryuuji points a finger at Kamoshida. Anger burns through his veins, crackling intensely like electricity that makes his skin tingle. "Stop lookin' down on me with that stupid smile on your fuckin' face!"

"You made me wait quite a while," a masculine voice speaks out to Ryuuji from the depths of his thoughts.

Th-Thump!

"A-Aaagh…!" Pain blossoms within his head, causing Ryuuji to bring a hand to his temple to ease some of the pain. It doesn't help and the pain only intensifies to indescribable levels, forcing Ryuuji to drop down to his knees. He clutches his head in his hands, eyes opened as wide as possible. Droplets of sweat fall from his face and onto the floor as he digs his fingers into the red carpet.

"You seek power, correct?" the voice asks him, receiving only pained cries and grunts in response. "Then let us form a pact."

Saliva trickles down the sides of Ryuuji's mouth as he screams out in pain. He clutches his head again, hoping for the pain to finally stop. It never does—it only grows more and more in intensity, ripping out a loud sob from his mouth. He pounds his fist onto the floor once before rolling onto his back.

"Since your name has been disgraced already, why not hoist the flag and wreak havoc…?" The voice continues speaking to him throughout his pain, seemingly oblivious to his distress as he curls up into a fetal position. "The 'other you' who exists within desires it thus…"

Tears stream down Ryuuji's cheeks as he kicks and screams his throat raw against the agonizing pain erupting within his head. It hurts, it hurts, it hurts!

"I am thou, thou art I…" the voice tells him, ignoring the sobs that escape from his mouth. "There's no turning back… The skull of rebellion is your flag henceforth!"

Warm, brown eyes glow an eerie gold as a black mask covers the upper half of Ryuuji's face. It has a skull-like appearance to it and clings to his skin as though it's been glued on. He reaches up to tug on it, unable to ignore the urgent request he hears from within that's telling him to rip it off.

He forces himself to stand up, applying even more force to his grip when he sees the high-ranking knight approaching Arsène and Jun. The knight's armor is cracked in places, practically falling apart as he stumbled over to the two.

Morgana's loud, distressed meows urges Ryuuji to move faster. He has to help out, but before that, he needs to get this mask off his face!

"Nnnngh…" He tugs harder and harder, until… "Hraaaaaaaaagh…!"

He screams out when he rips off the mask. The metallic scent of blood immediately fills his nose as the red liquid drips down his face from where the mask once was. His eyes roll back into his head as he continues to scream out in pain, blue flames soon engulfing his body.

Arsène grabs Jun and pulls her into his protective embrace. He rushes towards the horned horses and forcefully shoves them off of Zorro and Morgana. Zorro acts quickly and dashes over to Morgana, shielding them from the strong force that expels from Ryuuji's body.

A bright wave of blue flames spreads out, momentarily blinding everyone within the entrance hall. When the brightness finally wanes, Arsène releases Jun and Zorro does the same for Morgana. As he takes the moment to heal both his user and Jun, the two look ahead at Ryuuji.

He stands hunched over, seemingly unresponsive to everything all around him. He doesn't even seem to notice the humanoid being standing behind him on a ship. The being is of a size similar to Arsène and Zorro, though his appearance is that of a skeletal pirate captain. He stares down at Kamoshida with a menacing grin, almost a though he knows what's going to happen next.

His right eye is covered by an eye patch and his right arm is replaced with a cannon. He has a bandage of some sort wrapped around his right thigh. A single, golden eye rimmed in red focuses on Ryuuji as a hearty chuckle escapes from the pirate captain's mouth.

That's all it takes for Ryuuji to finally respond. He looks up, wearing a sinister smile on his face. Like Jun, he no longer wears his school uniform, but an entirely different outfit. He wears a matching black jacket and pants with kneepads and combat boots. A red ascot hangs around his neck and like Jun, he wears a pair of gloves, though his are yellow instead of red.

"Ugh… This one as well?!" Kamoshida covers his face with his arm, his high-ranking guard standing right next to him for his protection.

"Right on…" Ryuuji gleefully looks at his new outfit, liking everything that there is to it—the way it feels and more importantly, the way it looks. "Wassup, Persona…"

"Hello to you, too," Ryuuji's Persona returns the greeting. "I am Captain William Kidd—a pleasure to make your acquaintance."

Ryuuji's body shakes from excitement. He looks at Jun and Morgana with a toothy smile on his face. "This effin' rocks!"

Jun returns the smile, showing off her cat-like fangs. "You hear that, Arsène?"

"Loud and clearly," Arsène responds.

Morgana meows somewhat angrily, smoothing down their fur before taking out their sword. "About time!"

Ryuuji only laughs at Morgana's comment. "Now that I got this power, it's time for payback… Yo, I'm ready…"

Ryuuji cracks his knuckles before holding out his right hand. A metal pipe lands in the palm of his hand—courtesy of his Persona. Morgana and Jun join his side, ready to fight back alongside him.

"Bring it!" Ryuuji calls out to the high-ranking knight.

The knight growls, feeling far too angry to maintain his composure any longer. "Ngh… Don't mock me, you brat!"

He swings down his sword, the rest of his armor falling off. His appearance changes, taking on the form of man dressed in red armor. He is armed with a long spear and rides on a black horse with a white mane and tail. His horse neighs loudly, nostrils flaring out in anger. They're both massive in size, but this does nothing to deter Ryuuji.

Ryuuji's grin only widens as he points at the man in red armor. "Blast him away…Captain Kidd!"

BOOM!

A cannonball shoots out from Captain Kidd's right arm. It's sent towards the man in red armor, but he orders his steed to move out of the way in time. Instead, the cannonball hits one of the two remaining horned horses and effectively takes it out.

"Nice one!" Ryuuji exclaims. "Next up is Zio!"

Snap!

Ryuuji snaps his fingers, his grin growing wider went Captain Kidd sends a bolt of lightning towards the last of the horned horses. It goes down in mere seconds, unable to withstand the attack at all. Morgana's fur bristles up at the sight, their eyes widening in surprise.

"Z-Zio?!" Morgana sputters.

Ryuuji laughs. "You better watch out, or I might zap you!"

"Behave." Despite what she says, Jun can't help but smile. She can tell Ryuuji is just messing around, which he only confirms by laughing even louder.

"What troublemakers that bother King Kamoshida with trifle matters!" The high-ranking guard looks at the three with disgust.

Ryuuji stops laughing, his face contorting into a scowl as he turns his attention to the high-ranking guard. "Kamoshida's cognition ain't changin', right? Then I'll act like the troublemaker I am!"

Ryuuji places his right hand over his face. In a burst of blue flames, the skull-like mask appears on the upper half of his face. He can hear Captain Kidd's voice in his head, just urging him on to unleash his pent-up rage.

"Good idea!" Ryuuji says. "Let's do this, Captain Kidd!"

Captain Kidd only nods his head and aims his cannon at the high-ranking guard. A bolt of lightning strikes his spear, the electricity quickly spreading throughout his body. His horse neighs loudly in distress and nearly bucks him off.

"You're going to regret this!" The high-ranking guard shakes off the electricity crackling over his body.

Bang!

He tightens his hold on the reins as a bullet embeds itself into the floor, startling his horse in the process. He turns his head, eyes narrowing angrily on Jun's figure as she aims her gun in his direction. He snaps the reins and holds his spear out as his horse charges towards Jun.

BANG!

The horse stops and rears itself in fright from the loud noise coming from Ryuuji's shotgun.

"I won't hesitate!" he yells before shooting another round at the high-ranking guard. The recoil is a lot stronger than the pistol's, but it's not anything that Ryuuji can't handle.

"Where did you—!" Morgana stares wide-eyed at the shotgun in Ryuuji's hands.

"This was one of the few guns the shopkeeper showed me the other day," Ryuuji says. "I wanted to buy it, but it was out of my budget…so I got that other one instead."

"That doesn't answer my question!" Morgana hisses.

"Oh…well, it came with the outfit!" Ryuuji laughs.

Morgana resists the urge they have to scratch Ryuuji. They're not so eager to piss off his Persona, especially since Captain Kidd can use Zio skills. A growl rumbles in the back of their throat when they hear Jun laugh along. Her voice is still hoarse, but Ryuuji enjoys the sound nonetheless.

Arsène lunges at the high-ranking guard, still absolutely enraged at the harm he caused Jun. He rakes his sharp nails across the guard's face, growling when it does nothing against the guard's sturdy armor. He quickly swipes the horse with his heel and causes it to stumble towards Zorro.

Zorro attacks the guard with a burst of green-colored wind, having realized that normal physical attacks have little effect. The attack does a considerable amount of damage, but it's still not enough. Arsène attacks again and slams his body into the guard, toppling him off his horse.

The guard rolls across the floor a few times, before stopping right in front of Captain Kidd. The guard wearily lifts his head and freezes still when he sees electricity crackling all over Captain Kidd's body. Malicious laughter echoes within his skull, his eye focused entirely on the guard.

Not too far away, Ryuuji helps Morgana tend to Jun's injuries. He grimaces at the ugly bruises marring Jun's throat and bites his lip when she removes her jacket. Morgana makes a face at the dark splotches they see on Jun's exposed arms. They can only imagine what her sleeveless gray shirt is hiding underneath it…

"Shit—I'm so sorry…" Ryuuji pulls out the bottle of painkillers and hands them to Jun. They won't do much, but it'll at least ease her pain. "Fuck, I don't have anything to drink…"

Jun says nothing and just opens up the bottle. She pulls out a couple of pills. She tries to swallow them dry, but her throat is far too tender to allow such an action. A string of obscenities leaves her mouth as she curses her bad luck. She has so many drinks in her schoolbag…

"I really need it now…" Without thinking twice about it, she reaches into her bag and pops open a can of Second Maid. She forces the pills down her throat, wincing visibly from the pain she feels from the action. "Mandarin…"

Not a bad taste…

"Dude…where did you get that?" Ryuuji asks.

"From my…bag…" Jun trails off as she looks at her schoolbag while it hangs off her shoulder. "How the…?"

Morgana huffs. "I was wondering when you were going to ask. I'm surprised you didn't ask where I keep my slingshot or sword."

"About that…" Ryuuji begins.

"It's very easy to think, 'Oh, I don't need this now' and just put it away without thinking much about it until you actually need it," Morgana explains. "Think of it as some sort of…hammerspace—makes it possible to keep things on you without it getting in the way."

"So it's like when some random dude pulls out something so big out of a small bag." Ryuuji's read enough manga and comics to understand that it's a concept that exists…though, he still doesn't get how it works.

"Basically!" Morgana nods. "Though, it goes an extra step further—you can summon or dismiss your things at your own pace. It all really depends on the situation and whether or not you need it."

"That…would explain why I didn't feel the bottle until just a few minutes ago." Ryuuji just reached into his pocket and pulled it out without any issues.

"Interesting…" is all Jun can say before taking another sip from her can. Little by little, the soreness in her throat fades away. It's a feeling that travels throughout her body, taking away the pain she feels each time she breathes.

"Holy crap!" Ryuuji's eyes widen. "Your bruises—!"

Jun blinks a few times and then looks at herself. "Huh?!"

The bruises on her arms are healing at a much faster pace than usual, slowly fading out of sight until there are none left. Tentatively, Jun touches her throat and is pleasantly surprised to find that it is no longer so tender to the touch.

"It seems the items you brought into this place have restorative properties," Morgana states. "Not bad…"

"So you're sayin' that these pills and that drink…" Ryuuji scratches the back of his head. "Okay, you gotta admit that that's pretty effin' cool."

"It's more useful than anything." Morgana narrows their eyes. "This is certainly a fortunate discovery we've made."

"Guaaaaarggghhhh!"

"And it seems our Personas have ended this battle." Morgana grins in satisfaction as they watch the high-ranking guard struggle to stay standing on unsteady legs. Electricity crackles throughout his body, reminding Morgana of the time they were struck by Zio. It feels good to see someone else go through the same pain they did…

"I am…a loyal subject…of the glorious King Kamoshida." The high-ranking guard staggers over to his downed horse, Arsène and Zorro having made quick work of it while Captain Kidd dealt with him. "So why…have I lost…?!"

Ryuuji grins widely as he hoists his metal pipe onto his shoulder. "It just proves that Kamoshida ain't anything special."

Zap!

A bolt of lightning finishes off the guard and his horse. Ryuuji looks proudly at his Persona, happy with their newfound companionship. "Let's get along, yeah?"

"Of course." Captain Kidd nods his head.

Ryuuji laughs, feeling as though he's on top of the world for once. He turns his attention to Kamoshida, who cowers under his gaze. "How the tables have turned…"

There so much he lost because of Kamoshida…but as of today, he'll work to protect the things he still has. His body feels heavy, making it hard for him to take even a single step. He gasps and pants, exhaustion finally hitting him like a ton of bricks.

"You are at your limit." Ryuuji blinks, not knowing what to think of the voice he heard in his head just now. It's Captain Kidd—and it looks like he's able to talk to him like this.

"Not now…!" Ryuuji forces himself to stand up straight. He glares at Kamoshida. "…How 'bout that?! Even if you apologize now…I ain't forgivin' you…!"

Kamoshida whimpers at first, but stops when he hears heavy footsteps in the distance. It seems his guards are on their way…as well as a certain someone.

"I told you that this is my castle." Kamoshida looks smug. "It seems you still don't understand…"

Purple heels clack against the floor, the sound announcing the arrival of a teenaged girl with ash-blonde hair. She is clad in nothing but a dark purple, leopard print string bikini. Its skimpy design accentuates her ample chest, which she has no issues showing off. She wears a jeweled tiara with a pair of black cat ears on her head.

The girl stops walking once she's reached Kamoshida's side. She wears a sultry smile on her face as she turns to look at everyone else.

Ryuuji immediately recognizes her. "Wh—Takamaki?!"

"Oh…!" Morgana's eyes widen. "Wha…What a meow-velous and beautiful girl…!"

Jun opens her mouth, but nothing comes out—she's far too shocked to say anything about the sight before her. That girl looks exactly like Ann—but it can't be her!

…

"Can it?" Jun's stomach churns uncomfortably. She swallows hard, feeling rather ill from seeing how disgustingly affectionate Ann is towards Kamoshida. "That hair!"

"I must admit, your handiwork is worth commending." Kamoshida chuckles as he lightly plays with one of Ann's braids. "You would've made a great servant if you hadn't turned down my offer."

"Aww, so ruuude!" Ann pouts in a deliberately childish manner. "We could've been great friends!"

"What's going on…?!" Ryuuji has no idea what to make of this. He doesn't recall seeing Ann ever act like this…

"Something is off…" Jun doesn't know what it is yet, but something is most definitely off.

"Yeah, now that you mention it…" Ryuuji furrows his brow. "But why is she even here?!"

Kamoshida grins as he reaches out to touch Ann's face. She leans into his touch quite eagerly and allows it to continue.

"Hey! Let go of her, you perv!" Ryuuji glares at Kamoshida, feeling incredibly uncomfortable with what he's seeing happen.

"How many times must I tell you until you understand?" Kamoshida laughs. "This is MY castle—a place in which I can do whatever I want. Everyone wishes to be loved by me."

He removes his hand from Ann's face and allows her to press her body closely against his. He looks at Jun, Ryuuji, and Morgana, his face contorting into a scowl when he sees their respective Personas standing right behind them.

"…That is, everyone besides slow-witted thieves like you." Kamoshida practically spits in disgust.

"Takamaki!" Ryuuji calls out to Ann. "Say somethin'!"

"Calm down, Ryuuji!" Morgana speaks up. "It seems that girl isn't the real one."

"Good." Jun sighs inwardly in relief.

"Then what is she?!" Ryuuji looks questioningly at Morgana.

"She's the same as those slaves—a being made from Kamoshida's cognition of her!" Morgana hastily explains.

"What…?" Jun's eyes widen. "Cognition of her…you motherfucker!"

Jun throws her empty can of Second Maid at Kamoshida. She growls when he merely swats it away before it hits him.

"Are you jealous?" Kamoshida asks mockingly. "Well, I'm not surprised. There's only so much that men can find attractive about feisty, troublesome girls… I guess even desperation can draw women to problematic punks like you, Sakamoto."

"At least Ryuuji's better than you, you shithead!" Arsène has to hold Jun back to keep her from lashing out at Kamoshida. He glances at Ryuuji, taking note of his flustered expression. He then covers Jun with her jacket, which she had forgotten to put back on after healing her injuries.

"A lady shouldn't expose so much skin around men." Arsène knows better that Jun doesn't give a damn—it's just her arms, after all. And yet, he's still so hesitant, if only because of that lecherous scum she called a shithead.

Captain Kidd barks out a laugh and gives Arsène a hearty slap on the back. Arsène glares at him, but Captain Kidd only continues to laugh. It amuses him immensely how such a tiny girl can be so impactful to his user. It's honestly endearing…

"Clean them up this instant!" Kamoshida loses whatever little patience he had after hearing that outburst from Jun. It is at that moment that his guards finally arrive, appearing right before him in a splatter of red liquid.

"We're outnumbered…" Morgana's fur bristles up. "Let's scram before we get surrounded!"

"We're not gonna do anything and just run?!" Ryuuji manages to snap out of his flustered state.

"We can't die here!" Jun yells at Ryuuji before grabbing onto his hand. "Not like this!"

Even though she has quite a lot of unfinished business with Kamoshida, she knows better than to jump into situations after nearly dying a second time.

"Thank god you've got a level head!" Morgana reaches into their belt and pulls out a small ball wrapped in paper. They go about igniting a small wick sticking out of the ball. "Get ready!"

"Ngh…fine!" Ryuuji reluctantly agrees. He glares at Kamoshida and points accusingly at him. "We'll expose what you really are, no matter what! You better be ready for us…!"

Kamoshida only laughs and laughs. "I was beginning to get bored of torturing the ones here! Come at me whenever you want, if you don't care about your life! Haaaahahahaha!"

"Now!" Morgana yells, just seconds before a cloud of smoke bursts out of the ball in their paw. The smoke quickly spreads out, obscuring everyone's vision with thick, opaque white smoke.

When it finally clears, Morgana, Ryuuji, Jun, and their Personas are completely out of sight. Using the smoke to their advantage, they manage to escape from the castle without any issues.

…

Ryuuji hunches over with his hands on his knees. He gasps and pants for air, inwardly lamenting the fact that he's gotten so out of shape. He looks enviously at Jun and Morgana, wishing that he could catch his breath as easily as they can.

"Anyways!" he manages to gasp out after a minute. He turns to Jun, who brushes away the strands of hair sticking to her face. "I don't remember changin' into this!"

"Really?! Now you decide to ask that?!" Morgana can't believe Ryuuji!

Jun only laughs. She pats Ryuuji's arm a few times and says, "It looks good on you."

"Uhh…should I be happy about that?" Ryuuji scratches the back of his head. A moment passes and a mischievous grin crosses his expression. "Then again, it ain't as bad as yours."

"Excuse me?" Jun narrows her eyes.

"Quiet!" Morgana hisses, the group going silent as they hear guards searching for them in the distance.

"So, what's going on?" Ryuuji asks after a few minutes pass. His voice is quieter than usual, so as to avoid attracting any attention. "The outfit and Persona, I mean—why now? And why me?"

"When a Persona-user opposes a Palace's ruler and becomes a threat to them, this happens," Morgana explains. "It's to prevent you from being affected by distortions."

"Is this…a skull?" Ryuuji feels the shape of his mask with his fingers.

"Just like Captain Kidd!" Jun grins.

"Right…!" Ryuuji laughs. "Just like him…"

"Your appearance reflects your inner self," Morgana continues. "It's the rebel that slumbers within…not that you'll get it."

"Nope…" Ryuuji doesn't even bother to pretend.

"Then stop asking questions and accept what you see for what it is!" Morgana hisses.

"Easy for you to say." Ryuuji sighs. A moment passes and he gasps loudly. "Wait, we're in deep shit!"

"I said be quiet!" Morgana's fur and tail puffs up. A growl rumbles in the back of their throat when fingers lightly stroke their chin. They bat away Jun's hand, hissing angrily at her for treating them like a cat.

Jun just smiles, very much enamored with Morgana's behavior. She crouches down by their side, finding comfort in their close proximity.

"We might've gotten away here, but we're still screwed with Kamoshida at the real school…" Ryuuji can't afford to get into any more trouble with Kamoshida.

"That's quite sharp of you!" Morgana says, before adding a moment later, "For being an idiot—ow!"

"Be nice," Jun tells Morgana after giving their nose a light flick with her finger.

"Hmm…" Morgana rubs at their nose, looking somewhat annoyed. "I wouldn't worry at all—after all, that's just Kamoshida's Shadow. The one in reality can't possibly know about what happens here."

"His Shadow…?" Ryuuji furrows his brow.

"A Shadow is the true self that is suppressed—a side of one's personality they don't want to see," Morgana explains.

"…So we're okay?" Ryuuji asks to make sure.

"Did the Kamoshida in reality remember about the execution?" Morgana bats Jun's hand away from their face.

"No…but the braids—that was something that happened in reality." Jun frowns.

"Reality can impact one's cognition." Morgana can only wonder what kind of relationship Jun has with that girl. "Those braids must've left quite the impression…"

"Ugh, I really wish it didn't…" Jun sighs in exasperation. She stands up straight and smooths down the creases in her pants.

"Now that we know that, all we gotta do is—" Ryuuji gets cut off by Morgana.

"Wait—I guided you as promised!" Morgana looks expectantly at Ryuuji. "It's your turn to cooperate with me."

Ryuuji and Jun look questioningly at Morgana, confused with they have to say.

"That's why I was super nice about teaching you idiots everything!" Morgana doesn't hold back this time. They want their intentions known.

"Huh? Cooperate?" Ryuuji scratches the back of his head.

"Don't you remember?" Morgana swings their paws left to right around their body. "I originally came here for an investigation. I need to erase the distortion from my body and regain my real form! That's why we must delve deep into Mementos and—"

"Whoa, hold up," Ryuuji interrupts Morgana. "What're you goin' on and on about? We never said anything about helpin' you out."

"Huh?" Morgana's eyes widen. "Don't tell me… Are you not going to repay the hospitality I showed you? Especially you! You're going to up and leave, even though you're already part of my master plan?!"

Jun immediately drops down to Morgana's level in a squatting position. She does it so suddenly that it catches Morgana by surprise. "I never promised."

"Ehh?!" Morgana exclaims.

"See?" Ryuuji says. "I wasn't lyin'."

"Is it because I'm not human…?" Morgana growls. "Because I'm like a cat…? Is that why you're making a fool of me?!"

"Amateur's mistake!" Jun grins at Morgana before prodding their nose. "You need to make a deal first before you go expecting something in return!"

Morgana stammers.

"Besides, we're busy!" Ryuuji scratches his head and sighs. He walks closer to Morgana and squats down to their level. "Thanks for everything, by the way. You've got guts, bein' a cat and all! See you around."

Ryuuji pats Morgana's head a few times before standing up. He winces a bit at the pain he feels in his right thigh and waits for it to pass before running off. Jun follows right after him—though not before picking Morgana up for a quick hug.

Morgana watches as the two teenagers leave them behind, far too angry and stunned to follow after them. "Hey, what the hell?! Why're you wrapping this up like everything's all hunky-dory?! Ugh, seriously?!"

Their fur and tail puffs up in anger as they continue to call out to Ryuuji and Jun. "Hey, get back here! Heeeeyyy! Grr…GRAAGGGHHH!"

…

…

"You have returned to the real world. Welcome back." The navigation voice from Jun's phone makes itself known as Jun watches Ryuuji catch his breath.

They stand in the alley in front of entrance to Shujin High. Ryuuji leans back against the wall for support. His body feels to exhausted—as though he's just run a marathon.

"Thank god!" he gasps out. "We're back."

"Y-Yeah…" Jun exhales shakily. Her body feels so sore…

"I dragged you around a lot, huh?" Ryuuji frowns. "…Sorry, man."

"Don't apologize—it's fine," Jun insists. "Really…"

Ryuuji stares at Jun for a moment before sighing wearily. "Ugh, I'm dead tired… How you holdin' up?"

"I could use a nap." Jun plans on sleeping the instant she gets to Leblanc.

"Me too…" Ryuuji groans. "Man, I'm gonna sleep like a rock when I get home."

Jun yawns loudly, tears welling up in the corners of her eyes. All this talk about sleep makes her want to pass out…

"But damn, if what we saw was for real, this is gonna get good!" Ryuuji grins widely. "I totally remember the faces of the guys Kamoshida was treatin' like slaves. Once we make 'em fess up to any physical abuse, Kamoshida will be done."

And he'll be as far away as possible from Shujin…

"So…wanna help me look for those guys or any witnesses?" Ryuuji feels awkward having to ask Jun for help. She's already done so much for him…

"Sure, I'll help." Jun smiles at Ryuuji.

Ryuuji smiles back at her. "Now that's what I'm talkin' about!"

He pauses when he recalls her situation. It's easy to forget when she acts as though she's never done anything wrong without reasonable provocation.

"Hey, so…" Ryuuji frowns as scratches his head. "If you're thinkin' of layin' low 'cause you got a record, I don't think that'll help… Everyone already knows. They totally got you pegged as a criminal."

Jun's expression falls at his comment. She recalls hearing that the information's gone online. "How'd that happen?"

"Kamoshida opened his damn mouth!" Ryuuji responds rather angrily. He crosses his arms over his chest as an unpleasant memory pops up in his head.

"But why?" Jun asks, her frustration clear in her tone. She's never done anything wrong to deserve this—she just got here the other day!

"No one else besides a teacher could've leaked it that fast!" Ryuuji knows that only Kamoshida is capable of doing something so messed up as that. "It doesn't matter if it's a student or a club—that asshole just wrecks things he doesn't agree with. Just like he did with me…!"

"Sorry about your leg." Jun gives Ryuuji a sympathetic look. "You didn't deserve that…"

"Ha, took me a while to believe that myself." Ryuuji laughs weakly. "No one'll take anything I say seriously. And I'm sure you realized it too…"

"Everyone just talks about how I'm selling myself." Jun looks down. "Everything about me is just to attract clients—I can't even make friends without people mentioning that I'm probably trying to recruit them."

At least Ann refuses to let it happen in front of her. And Haru…Jun's not sure if Haru knows about it.

"I'm not like that…" she sniffs. "I'm just not…"

"Hey…you got me, right?" Ryuuji's voice is soft and gentle. "C'mon—don't cry…please?"

Jun lifts her glasses up and wipes her tears on the back of her sleeve. She hiccups once, but that's it. "Yeah…okay, yeah."

"We'll get him back," Ryuuji reassures her. "Those rumors about him gettin' physical might be real. And after seein' Kamoshida's distorted-heart thing in person, there's no way I can just sit back!"

Not when it looks like he's trying to take advantage of Jun's position, considering his attempts to recruit her into the volleyball club…

"Of course." Jun nods her head.

"I'm countin' on you!" Ryuuji claps his hand on her shoulder. "Don't worry—I'm hyped about this too!"

Jun smiles at the bond of trust she can sense from Ryuuji. It feels so genuine…

"Hmm…?" Jun blinks a few times.

Time almost seems to stop at that very moment. Jun can hear the resonating sounds of heartbeats as something stirs within the back of her mind. She recognizes one of the heartbeats as her own, but soon realizes that the second one belongs to Ryuuji.

A feminine voice echoes in her thoughts, speaking directly to her in a way the reminds her of the butterfly she saw just moments before awakening to her new powers.

"I am thou, thou art I…

Thou hast acquired a new vow.

It shall become the wings of rebellion

that breaketh thy 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…"

Jun hears chains rattling in her head and catches a quick glimpse of a card with the Roman numeral for the number seven on it. She sees a picture of an injured king riding on a chariot led by two horses. She feels something stir on her heart as the image disappears. For a moment, it feels quite restrictive, but she quickly adjusts.

There's nothing unpleasant about it as the feeling within her chest settles down, though all she knows that is that she feels something from just standing in Ryuuji's presence. It lingers in a way that reminds her that this—this is Ryuuji and he's sticking with her through this ordeal.

Growl…

"Oh…" Ryuuji's cheeks heat up when his stomach growls loudly. He feels as though he's ruined the moment, but Jun doesn't seem to mind from the way she laughs. "Right…I haven't eaten anything since lunch. Hey—it'd be weird splittin' off now, so why don't we grab a bite somewhere?"

"What kind of food?" Jun asks.

"Meat, man," Ryuuji answers. He grins widely as he gestures at Jun. "Just follow me. I mean, I totally gotta hear about your past!"

"Yeah, sure…" Jun smiles.

Ryuuji leads the way, but not before crouching down to pick up his discarded schoolbag off the ground. He checks if everything is still inside and then goes on his way. He smiles when he looks and sees Jun walking by his side. It's been too long since anyone has ever walked anywhere with him…

He goes about asking Jun random questions, wanting to know more about her. He find that she likes seafood and that's she's an only child—just like he is. He learns that she's half-Korean from her mother's side and that she has been homeschooled until the seventh grade. She's rather sheltered, but Ryuuji doesn't care.

However, he does feel annoyed about the shit she's going through. It likely isn't easy on someone with her upbringing…

When they board the train to Shibuya Station, Ryuuji manages to find two empty seats and quickly nabs them for him and Jun. The ride to Shibuya Station is mostly uneventful, but partway there, Ryuuji finds that Jun has fallen asleep. She leans against him as she sleeps, likely tired from today's events.

Ryuuji doesn't blame her and let's her sleep. He only wakes her when they've arrived at their stop. He laughs at how drowsy she looks, with her half-lidded eyes and sluggish movements.

"Have a nice nap?" he asks her, laughing even louder when she chases him off the train. He ignores the stares directed at them as they run out of the station. He can tell Jun is having fun and honestly, so is he.

He's running again and though he only lasts for a few minutes before his leg gives out, he feels as though nothing is wrong. Even if it's just for a brief moment—for once, nothing hurts…

…

…

…

A/N HOLY FUCKING SHIT, THIS CHAPTER BROKE 23K WORDS!

Ahh, god, it took so long to write this chapter—on my tablet, too! And good news, by the way—my new laptop should be coming in by the end of this month! But seriously, do appreciate the hell I've gone through to write out this chapter with my thumbs.

Also, I go back to school on Monday, but fuck if that's ever stopped me. Just know that if I've stopped updating, it's cuz my life got hella busy.

ANYWAYS, I refuse to believe that Morgana can guide two teenagers so effortlessly through a Palace, so here's to some fuck ups, of which actually happened in the Fanfiction Run stream—which you can now find on my YouTube channel at KlonoaDreams! All videos of the Persona 5 streams I've done so far are up (and then some, because I started up the first Persona game and an Emerald Nuzlocke), but do be warn of spoilers if you haven't gotten too far into the game. That being said, a lot goes down during these streams in which ideas are tossed around and are accepted into the fic!

Moving on, have some of that Klonoa flair when it comes to these fight scenes! And seriously, expect a lot more fuck ups to happen in the future. There is no way these guys can get through without some trial and error. Also, fights are a lot more gruesome when you're up against Shadows who are actually Personas… At this rate, this fic might go up to an M rating, so place your bets when!

And by the by, Jun's absurd spending is brought to you by the Fanfiction Run again! Expect a lot of drinks to be bought (as well as food because of the soft little art boy), because boy, do I have a problem!

Also, Jun can be rather playful when she wants to be…just like a cat! She also has an interest in fashion and she will take offense if anyone insults her sense of fashion.

Also, Ryuuji has ADHD—the Combined hyperactive-impulsive and inattentive subtype to be more precise. Because if there's one thing I can tell you throughout my first playthrough, a lot of the shit Ryuuji does is shit I've done myself as someone with ADHD. I relate a lot to Ryuuji and yeah, I've certainly been there and done a lot of stupid shit growing up.

It makes a lot of sense, considering the difficulty he has taking in so much information at once and the fact that he's a rather loud person—people with ADHD sometimes aren't aware of how loud they can be until it's pointed out. Anyone who's been at my streams knows how loud I can be without meaning to. There's also Ryuuji's impulsivity and his anger management issues—just so much of it makes sense if you subscribe to the headcanon that Ryuuji has ADHD.

You don't have to accept it yourself, but just know it's a thing here, alongside many other things. And friendly reminder that this is a Polythieves fic, so polyamory all the way!

Also, expect some research to go into fights against Shadows like Mandrake—currently known as the Gallows-Flower. I mean, mandrakes are said to cause death if uprooted and Mandrake resists curse, so Arsène leans mostly towards curse himself (and resists it, too) and…yeah, that's why Jun and Arsène aren't bothered by Mandrake's screams.

Oh and the thing about Morgana's name, if anyone is confused, the katakana for it reads as MO-RU-GA-NA, which is how it's pronounced in Japanese. Things stick to me from the semester of Japanese I've taken and that's why it's like that…ANYWAYS!

Time for some shout-outs!

Reviewer #50: Anime hotty lover . 18

Reviewer #55: Coral the Leviathan

Reviewer #60: KatPhish (yes, Ryuuji has a shot!)

Honorable mentions: Little Shiro-kun, Lightsbane1905, The One True Nobody,

Thank you guys so much for taking the time to review! It really does encourage me to keep writing and updating! So I hope to continue hearing more from you guys as the story goes on!

Hope you guys enjoyed this hella long chapter, because holy shit, man! I did this on a tablet, with autocorrect on my ass! I will never get over that… Feel free to validate my feats, because fuck me, how are my hands not sore?!

That's about it for now, so until next time everyone! KD out! XD