Chapter 7: Digging for Dirt
(A)
Blue room, black chains and hand cuffs, just as they hoped. Akira walked up to her cell's bars to see the rest of the round prison, a simple desk in the center of it all with Rocket Nose at the helm.
"Welcome to the Velvet Room," he said. "I thought about resuming our conversarion tonight. That is why I summoned you two."
"Well good, 'cause we got questions for you," she said, her and her brother suspecting he might have some answers.
Bang!
"Ack!"
She jumped back and looked down at the pint-sized warden with hair buns, Caroline if she remembered right, who said,
"How many times must I tell you to show respect to our master, Inmate?!"
"Well
maybe if he answered some of our questions, I would."
The warden would've retorted, but Rocket Nose let out a deep chuckle and said,
"Then how about I answer a question for a question? What are your thoughts? Are becoming accustomed to this place?"
Akira frowned. "What do you think?"
While her brother said, "Yeah."
"Ah, glad to hear it. It seems you both have nerves of steel."
Akira scoffed and said,
"So now that we answered your question, I got one: what's up with this Confidant thing?"
The master of the velvet room chuckled again.
"The goal of your rehabilitation is to thwart the fated ruin," he said, answering a completely different question.
"Fated...ruin...?"
Please don't tell me the world's gonna end... She hoped she was overthinking things. She hoped it was just a disaster that, at most, involved her and Ren, nothing world ending. She wasn't sure how to feel about that if it was true.
It also made her think Igor wouldn't actually answer until he continued.
"However, such a feat cannot be accomplished by you alone," he said. "Today you entered a partnership with someone who awoke to the same power as you, did you not?"
"You mean Ryuji?" Ren said.
She said, "A partnership? Is that what this Confidant thing is?"
"Indeed. Involving yourself with others is an important foundation for your recovery. You've done well."
There it was again, this "recovery", their "rehabilitation". It made it seem like he thought of them as criminals, just like everyone else. She didn't like that.
"That said, I am not advising the formation of superficial relationships," he said. "It must not be of frivolity, but a ring of those who, by morals or faith, lend you their power."
Huh. Akira was surprised he would say such a thing. He certainly didn't come off as the type to believe in the value of a genuine relationship, to her at least. She blamed being in a prison for that previous impression. With that revelation, she listened to Igor go on.
"In other words, they are bonds with those who have been robbed of their places to belong," he said. "The expansion of said ring will, in turn, help you mature as well."
Then Justine joined in.
"Personas are the strength of the heart..." she said. "The stronger the bonds around you, the more power your Personas will gain..."
And Caroline as well.
"There are countless people in the city with talented a weakling like you doesn't. You better rack that noggin of yours and get those people on your side. We'll turn that into power."
Of
course she was much more demeaning about it.
"Indeed," Igor said. "You should prepare to use even myself, or your ambitions will not come to fruition."
Akira frowned. She didn't like the thought of "using" Igor, or anyone really. Not only that...
"What are you talking about? What ambition?"
"What is our rehabilitation?" Ren said.
"Yes, your rehabilitation...and any other ambitions you wish to pursue. You cannot reach any of them should you fail."
Akira tensed. In other words, if they failed, there was a good chance they'd die, if not worse.
So, basically, Igor was saying they needed to become strong Persona users and have a team backing them up, otherwise they would die, or even worse, and not be able to do anything, like exposing Kamoshida. Yeah, that sounded easy...not. Still, it wasn't like they had a choice to not do whatever it was Igor wanted, not that she would have chosen otherwise. If Igor said something bad was going to happen, she was going to do something about it. And if he offered to help if they did something for him, then she won't refuse.
Besides, she doubted he would give a straightforward answer now.
"All right then," she said.
And her brother said, "Very well. We'll help you, and you'll help us."
The master of the room chuckled, pleased. "We have a deal then."
Then everything froze and a feminine and calming voice spoke from in her mind.
I am thou, thou art I she said.
Thou hast acquired a new vow. It shall be the wings of rebellion that breaketh thy chains of captivity. With the birth of the Moon Persona, I have obtained the winds of blessing that shall lead to freedom and new power.
But this time, she felt something surge in her chest, making something within her open yet she felt nothing hurt, something that whispered it was new abilities for her to use.
Then just like that, the feeling left and time resumed.
"Well, you will understand it all in time," he said, confirming Akira's suspicions that he wouldn't talk more. "Devote yourself to your rehabilitation."
"Now, this conversation's over! Get lost, Inmates!"
With that, sleep pulled her eyes close...only to open them to a wooden ceiling. For a while, she lay there, her emotions a bit of a mix. Though perhaps she shouldn't be too surprised. After all, she had been pretty mixed on a lot of things since she came to Tokyo, except for one.
"Aki?"
She rubbed the sleep out of her eyes and put on her glasses. As she sat up, her brother said,
"You saw it too this time again, yes?"
"Yup," she said. "Looks like you're right. Igor does know about Personas and Confidants."
"Even if he didn't exactly explain everything."
That was true. It was almost like... The realization hit Akira and she groaned.
"Don't tell me he's going to go all 'tutorial mode' on us..."
Ren smirked. "Well, tutorials exist for a reason."
"Yeah, but good ones let you 'do' instead of 'show' or 'tell'!" Akira said.
Of course, that just made him laugh.
"Well, nothing we can do about a boring tutorial," he said. "It's still a tutorial and so there's important things in it. So we should still pay attention."
"Ugh... I know, I know..."
"Still...I hope we learn more soon. We know that Confidants form because we can become friends and that Personas are powered by friendship."
"Or emotions."
"Or that. Anyways, they're powered by emotions...but we still don't know what he wants from us."
"Besides wantin' you to be a thief
and be rehabilitated? Which is really contradictory."
Ren smiled and rolled his eyes. "Yes, besides that."
"Well if he's being cryptic now...I'm betting he'll only tell us little by little."
"Probably. Especially if he's the 'tutorial'," he said with air quotes. "So we'll have to wait."
"Ugh... Where's the skip tutorial when you need it...?"
Ren laughed as he stood. "Locked until new game plus probably. Now come on. We have a mission to complete. We promised after all."
"Oh right," she said, getting off her bed.
They would think more on the specifics of Personas and Igor's deal later. Right now they had something more immediate to deal with: unmasking that mophead's abuse.
{R}
Ren arrived relatively late in the gymnasium after meeting up with Aki, the volleyball players on both the student and teacher team ready, and students on seats and on the floor near the walls. It didn't take long to find Ryuji among the crowd, even more so with his blond hair, not wearing the red jacket of their gym uniform and him waving them over. As such, not long after they sat on the floor with him—Ryuji on his right, Aki on his left—the game between Kamoshida and the teachers and the school's male volleyball team began.
To say the least, Aki was glaring at Kamoshida the entire time. Ryuji was obviously bored yet hadn't spoken. And himself? He watched the match, trying to observe Kamoshida's behavior and...it seemed like a normal game. There wasn't anything wrong with it. It was just a game between the adults and the male volleyball team. And yet...with what he learned from the man's Palace, things that he would've previously dismissed as nothing but happenstance now felt off. It felt like Kamoshida arranged this to show off at the students who were cheering for him, it felt like he was aiming for specific members, hitting the ball too hard, and it felt like some of the students were holding back.
Ren couldn't tell if his observations were revealing the truth hiding the under shining cover or just his growing hatred of the man that made him see those things as such.
He was pulled from his musings when Ryuji said,
"Still sticks out. Hasn't changed a bit."
He turned to follow his gaze, Aki no doubt doing the same, and was somewhat surprised to see Ryuji had been speaking of Takamaki. Upon seeing her though, Ren frowned, remembering the "fake" Kamoshida conjured the day before. If that was from within the man's mind, that meant he saw Takamaki as... Ren didn't even want to finish that thought. So he said to Ryuji,
"You know her?"
"Huh? Oh uh..." Ryuji said, just realizing he spoke aloud. "Nah. Not really."
"But you do know her, right?" Aki said.
"We just went to the same middle school. I don't really know her."
"Oh..." his sister said, dissapointed.
"But man..." The blond stretched his arms. "This is borin', isn't it?" he said with a grin.
However, they all turned when a particularly loud strike hit the volleyball.
And that ball hit one of Ren's classmates straight on the head.
For a long, weighted second, Ren thought someone would move. But when that second passed and the boy's teammates only hovered over him with Kamoshida coming to him, apologizing, he moved at the same time Aki did.
"Someone take him to the nurse's office," the former athlete said.
"We'll take him," he said as they came up to them.
Everyone turned and stared at them.
Ren both regretted and revelled the fact that they did.
"Uh..." one of the volleyball members said, looking to his teammates for guidance.
But the others were just as unsure as he was.
So it came as no surprise that Aki then said, "Come on. The sooner, the better, right?"
Just as other students came and said, "We'll handle it."
And they were the ones to lift Ren's classmate and carry him to the nurse's office. He watched them for a moment before looking at Kamoshida, who stared at them with a neutral expression that Ren felt was hid his true feelings, something that both he and Aki were doing as well. It almost felt like a staring match. But the last thing he wanted was for Kamoshida to get suspicious, so he put a hand on his sister's shoulder and said,
"Let's go, Aki."
She glanced at him then back at Kamoshida, before she said,
"Okay, Big Bro."
With that, they walked back to Ryuji, who looked absolutely pissed. Ren was surprised he didn't blow, but it was good he didn't, for now, anyway. Which Ren guessed right because, as soon as lunch came, ate and went, Ryuji took them to the "snack area" in the courtyard—with vending machines, benches and a table—and said,
"Rgh... That a
sshole's actin' like a king here too. Get to know each other my a
ss. It's just a one-man show for him to stroke his ego. And how he acted like he was worried for Mishima! What an abusive d-bag."
"Ugh... My thoughts exactly," his sister said. "I thought I was gonna punch him in the face for doin' that..."
Ryuji was surprised but then grinned. "You and me both."
Ren sighed, though he couldn't fault them. It was tempting but...
"Calm down, you two. We have something important to do."
"Oh yeah. Now's our chance to look for the guys we saw slaves as yesterday."
"You
sure you remember 'em, Ryuji?" Aki said. "We'll have to do more lookin' if you didn't."
"Hey! I did! They should all be here since they're from the volleyball team."
"All right. Let's go, everyone." Ren pushed against his glasses and said, "Operation: Confession, commence."
Only to realize what he just said when Ryuji stared.
"Uh..."
Ren chuckled, sheepish as he curled one of his hair strands. "Sorry. I got carried away."
Aki rolled her eyes but still smiled. "Get used to it. He's gonna do it again later."
"Uh, no. I ain't got anythin' against it. Just surprised."
Ren was caught off guard but then smiled.
"Okay," he said, grateful.
Aki too smiled but then she turned serious as she said,
"All right. Operation: Confession is a go. So who's first?"
"Oh right," Ryuji said. "The first guy's from Class D. Your class. Hopefully you won't have trouble talkin' to him since everyone's been avoidin' me lately."
Aki gave him a flat stare. Ren didn't blame her.
"Ryuji?" she said, tone just as flat. "You do remember we're in the same boat, right?"
"Oh. Right. Uh..." Ryuji said. "Well, they're still from the same class. I'm sure it'll be better than me."
She sighed. "Never mind, let's just go..."
Thankfully, when they approached the student Ryuji mentioned, he did talk to them, even with the blond accompanying them. But the first thing he said was,
"What? Are you skipping the volleyball rally?" He scoffed, though the effect was somewhat disminished by the bandages over his head. "I guess I expected it from you, transfer."
And that ticked Aki off.
"Hey, you're here too," she said. "So with that logic, you're skippin' out on it too."
"E-Er... I'm on break!" The volleyball member narrowed his eyes. "Wait, you're the transfer's sister, aren't you?"
"And if I am?"
"Guess I should've expected you'd be like this too. But it's hard to believe a girl would be so tough, you know?"
"You son of a—!"
Ren snapped his arm on Aki's shoulder and stopped her just as Ryuji said, in a whisper to Ren's surprise,
"Ah, hey! Calm down! This is definitely the guy I saw from the castle."
Then the guy noticed him. "What? You too, Sakamoto?" He frowned and said, "What do you three want?"
He needed to be quick before Aki exploded. So he said, with a part of him hoping it wouldn't be true, "Are you being abused?"
But that made the boy freeze like a deer in headlights and Ren felt his gut squeeze as the student said, not very convincing,
"W-What? What're you saying?! No, of course not!"
Ryuji just said, "It's Kamoshida, ain't it?"
If the fear in the boy's eyes was bad before, it was worse now, being absolute terror. But then the blond said,
"Look, we ain't gonna tell anyone you squealed. Right guys?"
They nodded.
"See? Just tell us how Kamoshida's been abusin' you guys."
Instead of calming him down though, he tried to mask that fear and said,
"I-I don't know what you're talking about!"
And Ren frowned, sadness flooding him at seeing such familiar fear in his eyes, fear he, too, used to see in his own. He also felt Aki's body relax immensely, no doubt sharing his expression.
So he said, sympathy and worry lacing it, "Are you afraid?"
But the male was having none of it, staying defensive. "I'm not! You're talking nonsense."
Understably, that irritated Ryuji and he said,
"Don't try an' hide it! We already know!"
For a moment, the male was both hopeful yet disbelieving. "You...You know?" he said. "You have any proof?"
But as Ryuji struggled to answer, that hope was gone, his annoyance returning.
"Ugh, this is ridiculous!" he said. "Go away! You're really bothering me!"
"But—" Aki said.
To their surprise, Ryuji said, "All right, that's enough. C'mon, let's go. He ain't sayin' anythin'."
So it was a relief when, as soon as they stepped out, the blond grumbled and messed with his hair.
"Damn it. That injury ain't normal! And he still won't fess up," he said, frustrated as Ren thought he would be.
His sister sighed again, this time is sympathy and sadness. "I know. At this rate, we're gonna get nothin' before the game ends."
"Crap. You're right. It's gonna take forever."
"Then let's split up," Ren said.
"Oh yeah! That's a good idea. Divide and conk 'em, right?"
"It's 'divide and conquer' not 'conk them'!" Aki said.
"Whatever. I'll head for the practice building. You guys handle the classroom building."
"You sure you can deal with it yourself?" she said.
"Well I think it's fine." Then Ren smirked and said, teasing, "Besides, who else is going hold you back if you blow?"
"Hey! I'm not that bad!" she said, glaring at him.
At least until Ryuji snickered.
Thankfully he held back his own.
"Anyways, try looking for this guy in third-year. I think it was...class 3-C," their blond friend said, "ignoring" her. "He should be pretty banged up since he got pretty beat back in the castle."
Ren said, "All right."
"Okay. I'll hit you two up if I find anythin'!" he said.
"Hey wait!" Aki said, but by then Ryuji was far off. "Damn it, he didn't tell us what he looks like..."
"Well he did tell us he would likely be injured."
Aki grumbled and said, "Still..."
Ren shook his head in amusement. "Let's just go."
They went to the first floor to Class 3-C, but when they looked inside, they didn't find anyone with bandages anywhere. Aki was unamused at that fact. But Ren ignored her expression and said to the person closest to the classroom's entrance,
"Excuse me, is there a volleyball member from this class here?"
The student was startled before he said, frowning, "No. He went out."
Then he went back to his phone, pointedly ignoring Ren. He sighed and adjusted his glasses. He looked at the others in the room, but as soon as he made eye contact with anyone, they would go back to whatever they were doing, like talking to friends or reading a book.
"Well we're not gonna get anythin' out of them," his sister said in a whisper.
No, they weren't. But still, he would have to try because they didn't have the time to search the whole building. So he went and asked each and every one of the students of class 3-C that were there but they all told him the same thing, they didn't know where the person they were looking for was. But just as he and Aki left the classroom with heads hung low, someone said,
"Excuse me?"
And they looked up to see a fluffly, light auburn haired girl at the doorway.
"Are you looking for someone?"
Ren stilled, surprised at how friendly she seemed.
"Uh..." Aki said, unsure whether or not to answer.
So he said, "Yes. We were looking for a volleyball member who is part of class 3-C."
"Oh, Suzuhara-kun? I believe I saw him with his friend at the vending machine near the school store," she said, pointing in the direction needed. "I don't know if they're still there though."
Aki stared, befuddled that this girl was answering them. Ren didn't blame her. He was in the same boat. So of course his sister gave a bright smile and said,
"Thanks!"
And he gave a slight bow and said, "Thank you."
The auburn haired looked startled at their response. Ren had thought that it was because that, perhaps, she had known who they were already, but it didn't matter in the end if she did, as she returned their smiles with her own small and soft one.
"You're welcome. It's no problem," she said.
With that, they left the girl and found the volleyball member they were looking for, talking with his friend as they got drinks and snacks. Unfortnately, he wasn't forthcoming with info either. He even said to "not believe everything Sakamoto says" while his friend feared of them pulling out a knife in rage. Ren had to give a customary good-bye and pull Aki away by the shoulder. Once they were in a relatively secluded place, he let go and nodded.
"God damn it!" she said. "The nerve of that guy! 'He's dedicated to training us' my a
ss! I don't know sh
it about sports training but I know training when you're injured ain't normal!"
"Or being beaten in the first place," he said. "That's just corporal punishment."
Before Aki could actually rant, their phones buzzed and Ren saw Ryuji was asking for a status update, his end not going so well. After telling him the same, Ryuji gave them another lead while he went for a few more, this time a first-year either from 1-B or 1-C. With that, they went back to their search. This time it didn't take as long to find who they were looking for as he stood outside the class 1-B room. Unfortunately, their attempt at interrogating him was only marginally better than the last two as while he denied any abuse going on, once again saying it was normal for Kamoshida to be so tough on them, he did mention another possible lead: Mishima as Kamoshida apparently went overboard with his "special coaching".
"Attention, attention," PA system then said. "All matches have concluded. Please get ready to go home for today..."
"Damn it, they finished early?" Aki said.
"I guess Kamoshida isn't all talk," Ren said, not liking that it came from his mouth.
"Bleugh... I hate that that's probably true," Aki said, just as displeased.
Once again, their phones buzzed and, after moving to a spot with less people, they opened chat.
Ryuji: Damn it, we're outta time.
Akira: You can say that again.
Ryuji: How'd it go for you guys?
Akira: Take a wild guess.
Ren: No good.
Ryuji: So you didn't have any luck either...
Akira: Nope.
Ren: No.
Ryuji: Mmkay. Let's regroup for now. See you in the courtyard!
Akira: Hey wait. We're supposed to go home.
But Ryujj didn't reply and Aki sighed.
Ren chuckled and said, "Let's just go. We have to pool our info after all."
His sister sighed again. "Fine..."
Though, ironically, they arrived at the "snack" area in the courtyard before Ryuji did so they waited on a bench. It wasn't long before they heard footsteps coming towards them, but the arrival wasn't Ryuji.
"Takamaki?" Ren said.
The platinum blonde stood before them, her expression neutral. The only hint of emotion was brief warmth when she glanced at Aki.
"Can I talk to you for a sec?" she said, that warmth gone.
Ren wasn't sure on what to say. They likely were pushing their time with Ryuji. But whatever Ann wanted to talk about was likely serious.
So compromising, he said, "I don't mind. But what is it?"
"It'll be quick."
Well, if she insisted, and she seemed sincere... "Okay then. Go ahead."
Yet even with that, Takamaki hesitated, looking unsure as her eyes flitted between him and his sister. Of course, Aki being Aki, said, her voice warm despite her words,
"Come on. You can spit it out. It can't be that bad."
That seemed to have made it worse as her expression darkened. Ren thought his sister had irritated her and was prepared to apologize but then Takamaki said,
"Are you really okay?"
Aki, at first, didn't understand what she meant, but eventually recognition flashed in her eyes.
"From my attack a few days ago? Yeah, I'm fine," she said. Then she gave the blonde an appraising look. "But is that really it?"
Takamaki flinched then turned somber.
"No," she said. "There's this weird rumor about you two."
Ren's heart clenched as Aki's eyes narrowed, suspicious and guarded, likely thinking that Takamaki was here for less than friendly reasons. For a brief second, he, too, thought the same. But remembering her concern for Aki, Ren put a hand on his sister's shoulder, startling her. She stared at him but he gave her a comforting look before he faced the platinum blonde.
"What is this weird rumor?" he said. "If you have something to ask about it, we don't mind answering."
That caught the girl off guard. "Uh, well..." she said, glancing away for a second. But then she lookef back with a hard gaze. "I heard you've been hanging out with Sakamoto."
As if on cue, the man himself said,
"Whaddya want with him?"
And arrived. Takamaki frowned.
"Right back at you," she said. "You aren't even in the same class as him."
Ryuji mirrored her expression. "Neither is Akira."
Takamaki huffed. "She's his sister, of course they're hanging out together. You're not related to them."
"Well we just happened to get to know each other," he said, each word gaining more edge.
"Huh. So what're you planning to do with Mr. Kamoshida?"
He and his sister tensed, Aki cursing under her breath. Ren had hoped their efforts wouldn't be obvious so soon, but he had been too hopeful. Though he probably should've seen that coming considering how fast their criminal record was spread around the school.
"Huh?" Ryuji said, surprised for a moment. His hostility returned just as fast. "...I see. I getcha. You're buddy-buddy with Kamoshida after all."
Ren was afraid he snapped his neck with how quick he turned to Ryuji, but he could care less as he gave him a dumbfounded stare.
Before Ren could say anything though, Takamaki said,
"This has nothing to do with you, Sakamoto!"
Then he said, "If you found out what he's been doin' behind your back, you'd dump him right away."
Ren realized then why Ryuji thought Takamaki was colluding with Kamoshida: the rumors about her dating the teacher.
"Behind my back...? What's that supposed to mean?"
The fake blonde sighed. "You wouldn't get it."
Takamaki shook her head, as if dismissing his earlier words, then said,
"Anyways, people are talking about you three already." Her expression turned disapproving. "I don't know what you're trying to pull, but no one's gonna help you." Then into concerned and sad. "I'm just warning you, that's all."
Having said her piece, she left, Ren watching and wondering. Maybe what Ryuji thought was true and that was she was warning them to stay away to keep Kamoshida safe. But all he could think of was yesterday, Takamaki lying to Kamoshida and trying to hide her discomfort. He couldn't shake the feeling she had warned them out of concern for them, not for Kamoshida. He suspected Aki thought similarly as she was not as tense as when the blonde arrived. Ryuji, on the other hand, was the exact opposite of her.
"Why's she gotta be so aggressive all the time?" he said.
"Aggressive...?" Aki said. "Well, it might be just me then 'cause she seemed more..."
"Worried for us?" Ren said. "I think so."
"Really?" Ryuji said, disbelieving. But before either of them could say more on that subject, he changed it. "Anyways, you're sure you got nothin' on your end?"
Ren was tempted to not let it slide, but as Aki said,
"What about you?
You sure you got nothin'?"
Ren decided against it.
"Nope. Not even a name or another lead."
"Well..." Ren said. "...the first year mentioned that Mishima goes through 'special coaching'?"
"Special 'coaching', huh?"
"Oh yeah! I forgot about that!" Aki hopped off and said, "Come on! We gotta go before he leaves school!"
"Ah, right," Ryuji said as his sister dashed past him.
Ren rolled his eye before he and Ryuji ran after her. Just as Ren thought, instead of looking into his classroom, his sister went straight for the front door, which was good as Mishima was almost at the doors.
"Hey! Wait up!" she said.
The boy jumped and pivoted to meet them with wide eyes.
"Huh...?"
"Hey, got a second?" Ryuji said when they caught ul.
"Sakamoto?!" he said. "And you two?!"
This wasn't good. He was already agitated. It was a long shot, but Ren said, in hopes of calming him,
"We just want to talk."
The boy turned doubtful. "Talk...?"
Good. That was better than angry.
But then Ryuji said, "Kamoshida's been 'coachin', huh? You sure it's not physical abuse?"
And Mishima panicked, body and speech jittery as he said, "C-Certainly not!"
Aki scoffed. "Don't have to be polite to us," she said, tone dripping with mockery. "Not like most are anyway."
Ren frowned at the truth of that.
Thankfully Ryuji made up for his earlier blunder as he said,
"Anyways...we saw you got spiked today. Right in the face."
The boy flinched and Ren's anger flared, but he took a deep breath and had it simmer away. The last thing they needed was Mishima being startled because Ren wanted to scream and punch at Kamoshida. But just like with the ones before him, his classmate just said,
"I-It's because I'm not that good at the sport..."
"Oh come on!" his sister said, his words the last straw. "Even if that was true, that don't explain all those bruises on you."
The boy glared in equal measure. "They're from practice!"
"
Really?! You're seriously tellin' me that you're so bad you got bruises all over instead of just your elbows and knees?!"
"T-That's not...!"
Knowing this wasn't going dissolve, Ren put a hand on his sister's shoulder once again and said, tone admonishing,
"Aki. You're going to draw attention."
She snapped her head at him, still glaring. But he kept his gaze locked with hers and, eventually, she relaxed her body and looked down in shame. Ren frowned and squeezed her shoulder, not wanting her to feel that way. Aki only gave a small but appreciative smile at him.
Meanwhile, Ryuji had said, "Is he forcin' you to keep quiet?"
"That's..." And that made Mishima also quiet and look down.
Unfortunately, the worst possible consequence of Aki's shouting occured and the last voice they wanted to hear said,
"What's going on here?"
Everyone tensed as they, slowly but surely, turned to face the mopheaded teacher examining each and every one of them until he spotted the bruised boy.
"Mishima, isn't it time for practice?" he said.
It was minute, but Ren noticed the boy in question shrunk in on himself. "I-I'm not feeling well today..."
"Oh? Then maybe you're better off quitting. You're never gonna improve that crap form of yours unless you show up for practice."
"Didn't hear him? He ain't feelin' well!"
The teacher only spared Ryuji a brief glare before looking to Ren's bruised classmate.
"Well Mishima?" he said. "Are you coming to practice or not?"
Both he and Aki looked to Mishima, waiting for his answer. Though Ren had a good guess as to what it would be, he still wished he would be wrong.
He wasn't.
"I'll go," Mishima said.
With that, Kamoshida focused on Ryuji, who didn't look away, not caring to be polite with him. At least until the teacher said,
"As for you, cause any more trouble and you'll be gone from school for sure."
The blond made a strangled noise and looked away.
"Bastard..." he said under his breath.
The teacher then turned his attention to him and his sister.
"Same goes for you two. Didn't the principal tell you to keep in line?" Kamoshida said.
"Yeah," Aki said, her tone the one that had more to say.
Before she could do it, Ren said, "We were just about to get our things."
Unsurprisingly, Kamoshida wasn't convinced, but it was enough.
"Hmph. Just don't be in the way of my practice." Then he said, almost as if he was holding back his satisfaction, "All these unsettling rumors are making the students anxious, you know."
"That's your own god damn fault," Ryuji said.
Ren tensed and held his breath, fear gripping them in its cold claws, his sister doing the same under his hand. He didn't know what Kamoshida would do, or even could do. For all he knew he could hit Ryuji right there and then. He had done it before. But nothing like that happened. Instead, the teacher glanced at the blond and shook his head in exasperation.
"This isn't going anywhere," he said. "Mishima, let's go."
The man began to walk off but stopped as his sister said,
"Of course it ain't goin' anywhere! You don't even listen to others!"
The mophead glared over his shoulder. "Shujin Academy is a place where those with aspirations have come to learn," he said. "Unworthy students like yourselves have no right to be here but we are generous, so we gave you a chance. Now get with the program!"
"Yes sir," Mishima said.
And finally he left them, each step filled with confidence at both himself and the assurance that Mishima would follow.
Their blond friend grumbled. "That a
sshole... He's gonna pay for this!"
But Mishima said, "Don't bother."
"What?!"
"Proving that he's physically abusing us is...meaningless."
"It's not meaningless," Ren said, letting go of Aki.
"Yeah," she said. "Sure, maybe the police'll take forever, but that mophead's goin' down as soon as he gets exposed."
Then Mishima, blank and resigned, said, "Everyone knows."
And Ren lost his breath.
"What...?"
"Everyone...?"
The bruised boy nodded. "The principal, our parents... They all know and they all keep quiet about it."
"This has gotta be a joke..." Ryuji said.
"...Don't be a pain. You don't understand what I'm going through."
Flashes of the distant past flitted through his eyes and Ren's rage boiled, remembering the pain and suffering of both himself and his father.
But then Mishima said, pain filling every word,
"Shouldn't you of all people know that nothings gonna help?!"
And just as sudden as it flared, Ren's temper cooled, now remembering his helplessness and his father's wish to help his mother. Meanwhile, Ryuji flinched as Mishima left as fast as his injured body could let him and Ren watched him, even after he was gone. But then Aki said with concern,
"Ryuji..."
And he saw the blond staring at ground in shame and guilt.
"Damn it..."
Damn it indeed. If everyone knew, that would explain how the abuse has been easily covered up. After all, if everyone involved was "fine" with treatment, it can't be reported. And just like Mishima, all the volleyball team members thought it pointless to speak up if not even the ones they were supposed to trust would listen.
"Are you gonna quit?" he said to Ryuji, worried for him.
He wouldn't blame him if he wanted to stop.
But, as he hoped, the blond said, his passion returning, "I ain't givin up."
However, Aki then said, "But what are we gonna do?"
And once more, silence returned. Ren tried to rack his brain for other ideas, but none would come, none, except the one Ryuji said he would do.
"I'll try one more time to persuade the other guys. That's...all I can do."
With heavy steps and burdened breath, Ryuji left them, likely getting his stuff from his desk and locker. When he was gone, his sister said,
"What are we going to do now, Big Bro?"
"Like Ryuji said: we keep trying. That's all we can do."
(A)
She and Ren had been silent since they left school. Neither of them wanted to believe it the teachers and parents were letting this happen. It was like giant punch to the face, not only because it was reality, but also because of being reminded of how harsh it could get. Though she did end up noticing, and appreciating, that when they came back, Sakura-san seemed to have noticed their mood as he said nothing more than a good-bye and a reminder to close up. As such, dinner and preparing for bed was a quick affair...
...and they jumped when their phones buzzed.
"Probably Ryuji," she said.
And she was right.
Ryuji: Hey this don't make any sense.
She looked to her brother, seeing if he had a guess as to what the blond was talking about, but he shrugged.
Ren: What doesn't make sense?
Akira: Yeah, a lot of things don't make sense.
Ryuji: The principal and even the parents know about the abuse.
Ryuji: Why ain't anyone speaking up about it?!
Oh. That. Well she agreed with him on that but that didn't answer the question.
Ren: They're afraid of Kamoshida.
Akira: Or they they don't care it's happening.
She felt her brother's concerned gaze on her but she ignored it. Yes, she was upset, and she was just saying that because she was upset, but damn it, it could be true and she wanted to punch
everyone involved.
Their blond friend, though, was surprisingly astute.
Ryuji: That can't be the only thing keeping the principal and the parents quiet though.
That...was also true. There was no way
none of the teachers or parents care. That was like saying all people were terrible. She chuckled and smiled at her idiocy.
Akira: Yeah, good point.
Akira: Thanks for that.
Akira glanced to see Ren also smiling, no doubt glad she was feeling at least a little better.
Ryuji: Uh...you're welcome?
Ren: But still, what could keep them all quiet?
Akira: Well Kamoshida's basically why the volleyball team's famous, right? It could be that.
Ryuji: That still don't give him the right to do whatever the hell he wants!
Ryuji: He's beating up kids and all they're allowed to do is endure.
Now she really was glad for Ryuji.
Akira: Took the words right out of my mouth.
Ren: Likewise.
Ryuji: Not only that, that follower don't seem to give a sh
it about any of it...
Once again, she gave an inquisitive look to her brother. This time he was somber as he nodded to her unvoiced question.
Ren: Do you mean Takamaki?
Akira yelped as her screen then showed "Mom" and her ringtone played. She groaned at the unexpected jump scare and sighed at her memory.
"I forgot she was gonna call today..." she said, remembering that Mom was going to check on them a couple days after the first day of school.
"Oh right. I forgot," Ren said.
He typed something then put his phone away before he took a seat beside her on her bed. With that, she took a deep breath to compose herself and said,
"Hey Mom! How are you?"
"Oh, same old, same old. Your father's fine too," she said. "How about you? How's school been?"
"It's..." She looked away.
She should say something, but what could she say? That the school was sh
it? That would worry Mom more than she had been when they left. That the school was great? She couldn't bring herself to lie about that...not when that mophead was doing horrible things.
"We had some trouble settling in but we're fine," Ren said. "We even made a friend."
Akira gave him a grateful smile, which he returned with a sad and sympathetic one.
"Oh really? That's good... I was worried for you but if you already made a friend, then I don't have to worry."
Now she was sure she wouldn't tell her. She was troubled as is about her two children being forced to be so far away.
"Yeah, I know right?" she said. "He's pretty nice. Though he's a bit hotheaded."
"Like Aki," her brother said with a smirk.
"Hey!"
Of course, they laughed at the truth of it and the conversation was light, but brief, as there wasn't much to tell her in the first place...well, things that weren't unbelievable or worrying that is.
"So, talk to you later Mom?" she said.
"Okay okay. Call you tomorrow?"
"
Mom..." Akira groaned in a way only a complaining child to their parent would do.
Thankfully, Ren, once again, saved the day.
"How about every Saturday night?" he said. "So we can catch up however long we want since the next day is Sunday." He paused. "Well, unless of course we're going out with friends on Sunday."
"Hmm...okay. I can agree to that. I'll tell your father when he gets back."
"See you Saturday then."
"Good night Mom!"
"Good night, Mama."
Akira imagined her mom smiling as she said, "All right, good night you two. Good luck at school!"
With that, the call ended and Akira sighed. As ironic as her mother's mood was, they were were going to need all the luck they could get.
{R}
Ren sighed.
What were they going to do?
That questioned had repeated itself the moment Ren stepped into the school. It was clear from their last conversations that they would eventually hit a wall with their question. What to do then? True, it wasn't their business but... Memories of shouting that rivaled screeching chalk, batterings that left his father sore all over and tears that ran even though he tried to stop them only made him want to end their suffering all the more, especially with Mishima's words.
"Don't be a pain. You don't understand what I'm going through."
Ren sighed, his gaze on the blackboard but not seeing it. He really should be listening to class but that was all he could think of. Not to mention... He glanced at the girl in front of him.
He also worried for Takamaki. He felt she must not have it easy, not with there being just as many rumors of her as there was of him and his sister and her being a "hafu", just like Aki. And even if it was true that she was dating the teacher, which he doubted, there was just as good of a chance that she had a reason to not speak up about abuse. The why, though, he couldn't guess...
His phone vibrated. Ren's heart clenched as he discretely checked it, scared something happened to Aki. To his immense sigh of relief, it was just Ryuji.
Ryuji: So about witnesses...
Akira: Da hel?! Y u txt in class?!
Ren: Agreed.
Ryuji: What'd you mean?
Ryuji: And why's Akira talking like that?
Akira: so it quik idiot cuz we r in CLASS!
Ryuji: C'mon. It's not like nobody'll notice.
Akira: Now we r screwed.
It was hard to maintain his bored look, even if he agreed with it. So he did what any good big brother would do...and annoyed the hell out of her.
Ren: Oh don't be so pessimistic. We'll be completely fine.
Akira: UR MAKIN IT WORSE!
Ryuji: Uh...anyways...
Ryuji: I was thinking of trying to get something outta Takamaki.
Ren frowned.
Ren: But she's not on the team.
Akira: And you said yourself that Kamoshida's "doin' stuff behind her back" so I doubt she knows anyway.
Ryuji: Just hear me out.
Akira: All right.
Ren: Okay.
Ryuji: You know how we couldn't get a thing outta the volleyball team?
Ryuji: I figured it'd be a good idea to talk to someone who knows them.
Akira: Huh. That's actually a pretty good idea.
Ryuji: See?
Ren: But what does this have to do with Takamaki?
Ryuji: Takamaki's BFFs with a starter. A girl named Suzui.
Unable to contain his surprise, Ren briefly glanced at her.
Akira: Wait really?
Ryuji: Yeah. I tried talkin' to the girl during the break, but I got nothing.
Akira: Why am I not surprised?
Ryuji: That's why we should have Takamaki talk to her.
Ren: I'm not sure it'll work.
Akira: Yeah. I mean, she DID tell us to stop yesterday and all.
Ryuji: Oh yeah... I guess it'd be hard to get her to help us...
Ryuji: Sorry, let me see what else I can come up with.
With that cue, Ren knew Ryuji stopped chatting. However, he got another notification for another thread, this time from Aki.
Akira: What you think?
Well, the points were already made about Ryuji's plan. But...
Ren: We should try.
Akira: Takamaki or Suzui?
He glanced at the girl once again, remembering their interactions so far, especially where she poured her heart out.
Ren: Suzui.
Akira: Okay.
Akira: But how we gonna find her tho?
Ren: Look for bruises.
Ren: Meet me like usual.
Akira: Roger.
(A)
Akira gritted her teeth.
They had searched for Suzui-san, checking for bruises, but it was not just one girl they found with bruises, or two, but several, and none of them were even Suzui-san. With each one they spoke to, Akira felt her body tense more as she tried to not scream at the injustice. The last thing they needed was more obstacles to their "investigation" and she didn't want to be one of them.
Especially since they couldn't seem to find Suzui-san anywhere. Akira and Ren had just about given up and told Ryuji to meet them up at the courtyard where the vending machines were...when there was a girl standing before the door to the area, holding a phone and covered in bruises. Akira glanced at her brother who shared her hopeful look before they walked up to her.
"Excuse me?" Ren said.
"What?" the girl said, staring at them before she looked around. "Oh, I'm in the way, aren't I...?" She put her phone away as she faced them properly. "Sorry."
"It's fine," Akira said.
"We were just wondering if you are Suzui-san."
"Huh? Um, yes, I am," she said, once again taken aback. "Did you need something?"
"We...wanted to ask about your bruises."
"Uh, that's..."
Hesitation. That wasn't good.
They were about to speak and hoping to persuade her to talk when Suzui-san turned thoughtful and said,
"Wait, neither of you look familiar... Could you be the new transfer students? Is one of you in class 2-D?"
Akira held back a sigh as she nodded. Of course she changed subjects and brought up their reputation. No one cared about them because of that, worried they would turn hostile not too long after talking to them, if not immediately... Meanwhile, her brother deflated and nodded as well, losing any hope of getting anything out of her and expecting her to become hostile.
To the contrary though, Suzui-san said,
"Um...this might not be any of my business, but don't let any of those rumors get to you, okay?"
Akira couldn't help but be stunned. She shared a look with her brother who matched her expression. But that quickly changed to grateful smiles.
"Yeah, we know," she said. "But thanks for that."
"Thank you as well," Ren said, curling a hair.
The volleyball girl returned their smiles and said, "Good. That would be for the best. I'd hate to see you down because of them."
"Why do you say that?" Ren said, curious.
The girl glanced away, her cheer gone as she said, "My best friend is often misunderstood too, all because of her looks. So I know rumors can exaggerate a lot."
"... Including the ones involving Kamoshida?"
It was brief, but Suzui-san flinched.
"Ah sorry, I didn't mean to drag on like this..." Then she said, "Anyways, I have to go to practice. I'll see you around."
"Wha—hey wait!" she said, reaching for her.
But as expected of an athlete, she was quick in disappearing down the hallway and out of her grasp. Akira groaned.
"Damn it... We got nothin' from her either..."
"Unfortunately..."
Another groan. "Damn it."
"Let's just meet up with Ryuji," he said, turning to the doors.
"Yeah. I hope he was a little luckier than us with ideas..."
As Akira thought, their friend was there waiting for them with a frown on his face, tapping his foot in irritation.
"Did you find someone?" her brother said.
Ryuji's frown deepened. "Is that what it looks like?"
Slam!
Akira yelped and Ren jumped as the punk punched the vending machine.
"Watch it!" Akira said.
"Argh! But I can't stand it!" he said. "All of 'em keep saying the same sh
it Mishima was talkin' about!"
Akira frowned. "So you were talkin' to the volleyball members too, huh?"
"Yeah. You too?"
Ren nodded. "We spoke with some of the female volleyball team, including Suzui-san. They said the same thing as Mishima-san."
The blond screamed in frustration. "Damn it! Kamoshida had to have told 'em somethin'!" he said. "At this rate...we're gonna have to go to him directly."
Akira shook her head. "There's no point," she said.
Her brother nodded. "If the volleyball teams are denying it, how much more for the perpetrator himself?"
Ryuji let out a long and deep suffering sigh. "I know..." he said. Then he looked at them with determination. "But seriously, isn't there somethin' we can do? No way I'm gonna give in like this!"
Akira gritted. "Hey! I don't want to either! But..." There wasn't much else they could do, she left unsaid.
"C'mon. Can't you two think of anything?" he said, pleading.
"Well normally you're supposed to call the cops but..."
"We don't have any evidence or even a testimony from a victim," Ren said.
"Ugh. Yeah... And they'd never believe us if we told 'em about the castle..." Despite that, he still looked hopeful as he said, "You got any other ideas?"
The reminder of the Palace brought forth the memory of her outfit, and thus assassins, and thus a silly idea popped up.
Akira scoffed. "Sneak attack?" she said, mostly joking.
But then Ryuji said...
"I guess that'd be fine if we don't get caught...but we'd be in serious trouble if we did."
And Akira stared at him incredulously.
"I was kidding, Ryuji." she said. Then she narrowed her eyes. "Don't tell me you were actually thinkin' of doing it, were you?"
"What? No! Didn't I just say we'd be in big trouble if we mess up?!"
"That's not..." She sighed. "Never mind..."
The blond sighed as well. "So you got no other ideas...?"
As much as she didn't wish it was true... "Nope."
"Ugh... What do we do?"
"I...don't know..." Akira sighed.
It was then she realized her brother hadn't spoken until then as he said, as serious as he's ever been,
"Maybe we can do something to the king."
"Huh? The king?" she said, curious, until she remembered. "You don't mean..."
"You mean that other world's Kamoshida?" Ryuji said for her. "I didn't think of that but...is there any meaning to—"
But then someone said,
"I finally found you..."
"Hmm? You say somethin'?" Ryuji said.
She and Ren shook their heads just as a black tuxedo cat jumped onto the table in front of them.
Author's Note(s): Yes I know the class 3-C student is just outside his class in the game but that Haru cameo just popped up in my head outta nowhere as I was writing, okay? I had to add it. Especially since Haru needs all the screentime she can get.
