Asmodeus Kamoshida (I)

Yeah, he could see it alright. Akira was staring right at it with his glasses resting at the very tip of his nose. "Holy..." He blinked slowly and then looked at Shizuka. "You can summon yours in the real world?"

"The real world?" Shizuka asked. Now it was her turn to be surprised. Her Stand vanished from sight and she inspected Akira once he had regained his composure. "Well... you saw mine. So show me yours." That was how it worked, right?

"I... can't. I don't know how to summon mine outside the Metaverse."

Shizuka looked at him as if he had just grown a second head. "Meta-wh... What the hell are you talking about?" It hadn't taken long for this meeting to reach a sudden roadblock for both of them. What kind of Stand user couldn't summon their Stand?

"Geez! Don't just run off like that!" The new voice was entirely unfamiliar to Shizuka. Small and boyish, causing her to look around sharply. But after some moments of frantic glancing the only other thing she could see was a small black cat. Then the cat spoke again. "I know things are crazy in the school right but we seriously need to talk about a plan of attack."

Shizuka's jaw almost dropped. She knew that Jotaro had known a dog that could control a Stand, and Okuyasu had that weird... cat-flower thing living in his house, and there was Mikitaka, and that weird tower in Morioh, but still... this was definitely a new one to her.

"A t-talking cat?! OH MY GOD!!"

The cat flinched. "Oh, this girl can uh... hear me... huh..." It blinked up at her, and then looked at Akira. "F-friend of yours?"

Akira scratched the back of his head. "She's a girl in my class. And a Persona user apparently," he explained. Persona? Metaverse? This was getting interesting. Maybe he and the blond had only recently gained the ability, didn't know any of the Stand user communities and just made up their own term for it. But then again, he apparently couldn't summon his. And that didn't explain what he meant by a 'Metaverse.'

"Okay, look..." Shizuka cleared her throat "What the hell is this Metaverse thing? And why do you have a talking cat?!"

The two exchanged a curious glance. Then, Akira sighed softly. "You tried to save that falling girl, so it's clear you're a good person, and I feel that makes you deserving of some trust. So, after school..." The bespectacled boy seemed a little hesitant to speak openly. But with the whole school focused on the courtyard, they did have some room to breathe. "After school, Ryuji, Morgana and I will show you the Metaverse. Morgana is the cat."

"You sure this is a good idea?" Morgana asked.

"She has the power."

"Yeah, I'm also standing right here you two."

Akira sighed. "Right..." He took just a moment to stroke the bridge of his nose, trying to wipe away some dull frustration. "The thing is, that it will take time to show you what I'm referring to. And for all the drama going on in the courtyard, classes will resume soon enough. We should make an effort to get back in and act normal," Akira explained.

Footsteps resounded off the asphalt and made both teens tense. Morgana seemed more at ease, likely aware of who was coming by scent alone. "Akira! Dude, we got a situation!" Ryuji skidded to a halt around the corner, tensing briefly when he saw Shizuka.

"I know about your abilities. I have them too, I guess. So no need to get all secretive on my behalf," Shizuka said.

"Right... uh..." He cleared his throat and reached out, gripping Akira by his right shoulder. "That girl, the one who jumped, she... I know her. S-since middle school. Shiho Suzui." The name made Akira's eyes widen from a sudden familiarity. "I think she jumped cause she... she's a volleyball player, right? And Kamoshida called her into his office last night, and he..." Ryuji grit his teeth and looked like he wanted to just put his fist through someone's head. He didn't finish the sentence, but Shizuka understood the implications.

Kamoshida. Some hotshot athlete volleyball star, beloved by the faculty. Something about him gave Shizuka some major 'creep vibes.' And in only a few days as a Shujin student, she had heard a few unsettling rumors of him having 'relations' with some female students. To think he would go so far...

"Ryuji," Akira plainly began "What did you do?"

"I..." He grunted in annoyance and looked down at his feet. "I lost my cool, that's what. Shiho was my friend, but I still woulda' gone ballistic if it had been anyone else in her position. And I just... after shaking the answers from Mishima, I went to the faculty office. That bastard... he knows what he did, and he doesn't care! A girl almost killed herself over what he did! AND HE DOESN'T CARE!" Akira was looking at him, and that was enough to make him draw a calming breath. "But I... I messed up. Pissed him off. He said he was gonna call for my expulsion at the next major faculty meeting. And he says he's going to do the same to you too... guess he was tired of us poking around."

Akira nodded slowly. "Well then. We're not in a good position in that case... We'll both be sent down the river, the school will turn a blind eye to this scandal, and it'll all be hushed up. Unless we do something."

"Ah-ha," Morgana said. "Coming around to my plan eh? Well, time isn't on your side. But I should remind you two that there's still the risk he might suffer a mental shutdown."

Ryuji narrowed his eyes "I know. Someone almost died because a' him. I don't give a rat's ass what happens to him anymore!"

Now this was interesting. Shizuka was already intrigued to find Stand users at this school, and now all this talk about the gym teacher being some kind of fiend. He was no Kira or Dio, but he was a demon all the same. If she was to prove herself worthy of her own last name, that she deserves to be a part of this family, then she knew she couldn't turn a blind eye to this. Getting involved was the right thing to do.

"That girl, Shiho," Shizuka began. "Is she okay?"

Ryuji looked at her, examined her closely and then nodded. "Yeah. You mighta just saved her life... from what I overheard, her left leg is busted, and she got some fractures in her left arm. But the alternative... Shit, how did you even do that? Make your Persona jump out like that?"

Shizuka sighed in relief. Well, if it had been bad, she would have done all she could to get help. Call Josuke, or ask for a favour from the Speedwagon Foundation... even call Mister Trendy for help, if that was her only option. At some point, Shizuka told herself, she would try and see Shiho. Talk to her, generally do whatever she could to try and help her. As a starting point however, she figured she'd make some calls to the Speedwagon Foundation and ask them to cover all those upcoming medical expenses.

The family would be going through quite a lot in due time. Last thing they needed was a storm cloud of debt hanging over them.

"We'll talk about it after class." She brushed past the two and made her way back toward the school building. Morgana hopped into Akira's bag, and the trio quickly followed after Shizuka.

------------

The last bell seemed to fly in. Much as the teachers tried to regain some order in class, the news of an attempted suicide was the kind of thing that agitated the students and prevented much actual teaching from being done. And besides that the threat of expulsion had loomed overhead, making it even harder to focus.

Akira wasn't mad at Ryuji. He knew the blond was 'passionate', and now he had twice as many reasons to hate Kamoshida's guts. And perhaps he should have stayed with him, as deep down he knew something like this could happen. And with how the last few months of his life had gone, Akira had grown a little... apathetic to any new negative circumstance in life.

Still. They had about a month to act by his reckoning, before Kamoshida would move to expel them at the staff meeting. Plenty of time, even if he and Ryuji were novices to this Palace business.

Once class ended Akira motioned for Shizuka to follow, and led the way down toward the main entrance of the school. They stood by waiting for several minutes, first for Ryuji to show up, and then for the crowds of students heading home to grow far more sparse in number.

When it was just the four of them, Shizuka spoke up. "Let's start out simple. What exactly is this 'Metaverse' thing you guys were talking about."

The two boys left it to Morgana to answer. "Think of the world around you, all those other humans. Their hearts and minds are all linked together in a vast sea, a collective unconsciousness that most people are unaware of in their daily lives. But while they might be unaware of it, that other world can have a great effect on this world and vice versa."

Morgana paused and gave Shizuka room to ponder that opening salvo. She knit her brow in thought and crossed her arms over her chest. "So it's like... how an iceberg only has a small portion showing above water, but there's this whole... gigantic mass under the water, invisible to the naked eye?"

"Somewhat. You've already got a better idea of things than Ryuji does."

"Hey!"

"In any case, that other world is largely shaped by the general public. However there are rare cases where an individual with warped desires grows so out of whack with the rest of the world that it has a great effect on the other world. This corrupt individual creates a Palace, an area based around the focal point of their distorted desire." Morgana trailed off into a small hum, and then seemed to decide on using their current situation as a good example. "In this world, Kamoshida essentially has free reign of the school. He sees himself as 'the king of the castle.' And so the school in the other world is a castle, and Kamoshida's shadow is quite literally a king. Get it?"

"You kinda lost me," Shizuka sheepishly admitted. "But... it might make more sense if you show me. I'm more of a hands on learner anyway."

"Fair enough. Now, a Persona-"

"Oh I know that. It's like, your fighting spirit given form, or something like that," she interrupted.

Morgana grumbled something. "Well... I suppose that's one way of looking at it. It's a part of yourself, your rebel soul given form. And in the Metaverse, it's the best defense against Shadows. And a Shadow is... well, they're also born from the collective unconsciousness. All mankind's most negative emotions. And there are a LOT of them. Go into the other world, and you run the risk of being prey to them," Morgana explained.

"So yeah... if you tag along, you're gonna have to pull your weight," Ryuji quickly cut in. He was tense. Clearly still on edge from what had happened earlier this afternoon. Shizuka waved him off quickly. "Alright. Let's show her and get started for real."

"I'm curious. And if that volleyball douchebag seriously... did that to a student, then he needs to go down. So count me in. I got all the power needed to help out."

They led on to a small alley just across from the school gates, whereupon Akira drew his phone from his pocket. Shizuka stood on her toes to peer over his shoulder, looking down at a strange app tile glowing and pulsating at the bottom of his screen. A black and red eye that had a malignant aura to it. Akira tapped onto the tile, and a purple haze throbbed around the group.

In an instant Akira, Ryuji and the cat changed. No longer were they wearing the school uniforms- now they were sporting some sleek getups, facial features obscured by masks. Akira was dressed in a long black coat over a reinforced silver doublet, dark trousers leading to a pair of heavy boots. His gloves were a stark crimson shade, and his eyes and nose were covered by a silvery domino mask, the eyes framed by dark dagger patterns.

Ryuji was dressed in an armoured biker jacket and dark leather trousers, his belt loaded with heavy shotgun shells. His mask was like a steel plate, sculpted to resemble the top half of a skull. A red scarf, tied loosely around his front, offered a splash of colour.

And Morgana... looked like some kind of weird Ghibli creature. Now he reached up to her knees, with a bulbous head, working fingers and toes, and wearing a yellow neckerchief and a leather utility belt. "Holy shit!" Shizuka nearly jumped backward in surprise at the sudden wardrobe change.

"Yeah. Entering the Metaverse causes our clothes to change. I guess it's a side effect of the powers. Just check yourself out Shizuka," Akira said.

With some hesitation, Shizuka glanced down at herself. Oh yeah, this was new. Her jacket had been replaced with a gold leather jacket with 'Go! Go! emblazoned on the back in large dark letters. Both sides of her collar had pins in them, sculpted to look like the profile view of a bumblebee. She felt a silky red scarf around her neck, flowing gently in the breeze. The Shujin skirt was gone, replaced with dark trousers that led down toward a pair of pale leather boots. Her hands felt heavier too, and it took only a moment to realise why. Just as Ryuji's gloves were marked by heavy iron studs, she was wearing heavy rings on all her fingers, Those on her left hand were initialed to spell 'L-O-V-E' while those on her right spelled 'H-A-T-E' She had to admit, the bling looked quite nice. "E-eh?"

Shizuka glanced down to a puddle at her feet and saw her reflection. On her face was a mask, as was the case for Akira and Ryuji. Some kind of gold sculpture with two small pointed horns protruding from the top corners of her mark. Her eyes were covered by a pair of pink, heart-shaped lenses designed to vaguely resemble the compound eyes of a bug. But she could still see clearly, as if the mask wasn't a physical object at all.

"What is this?!" A new voice joined the fray, causing Shizuka to turn sharply to the exit of the alley. This time Akira and Ryuji seemed similarly shocked. It didn't take her long to recognise the girl in the alleyway as Takamaki, probably the only blue-eyed blonde she had ever seen in Japan, and behind her was... that sure as shit wasn't the school. The whole building had been replaced by a towering medieval castle, the sky above a twisting haze of red and purple.

"T-Takamaki?!" Ryuji gasped.

"That voice... S-Sakamato?" Ann glanced to Shizuka "Joestar?" then lastly to Akira "K-Kurusu?"

"Why are you here?!" Ryuji asked. Morgana, standing atop a silvery trashcan for a better vantage point, seemed a little smitten at the sight of her.

Ann swallowed, unable to really maintain her composure in the face of such a strange scenario. "How should I know? I was just... I knew you guys were planning to get back at Kamoshida, and I want in!" Ann said firmly. "I... when Shiho hit the ground, I spoke to her in the ambulance! And she... she told me what he did to her! I want to make him pay! I wanted to ask what you guys were planning, b-but..."

"I see... Perhaps she was dragged in because of that app thing," Morgana mused. Akira nodded at the talking feline. It stood to reason that anyone close enough when the app was in use got pulled along for the ride. Though none of them had expected Ann to be eavesdropping.

"Wait... so this is related to Kamoshida?" Ann asked in surprise.

Ryuji sighed loudly. "Look, you gotta leave!"

"No way!"

Shizuka was able to feel the air grow more intense for a brief second, glancing sharply from side to side. Something felt off. Even more off than it already did. "Calm down. The Shadows are going to find us if you make a scene," Morgana said. Seemed that was the reason for the brief tension in the air.

Ann almost jumped out of her skin. "No way! I-it talked! Oh my god, it's a monster cat!"

"Monster?" Morgana whined, looking crestfallen.

It was enough to make Shizuka shrug. "She's got a point. You do look kinda shocking."

"You better explain what's going on! I won't leave until you do!"

She was determined. It was admirable, since she seemed particularly out of her depth here. Shizuka was willing to bet that Shiho was a close friend of Ann's, and if that was the case then she could hardly be blamed for being headstrong about this.

"Looks like we gotta' force her then," Ryuji said with some resignation. "Sorry. We'll explain once everything's over Ann." And, despite Ann's protests, Ryuji casually hoisted Ann onto his shoulder, carried her further into the alley and then seemed to dump her back into reality, the air shimmering around where he let her go. He dusted his hands off and made his way quickly back to the others.

Akira turned and led the way toward the main gate of the castle. Shizuka and the others were quick to follow his lead, and as they walked Shizuka had to crane her neck to see some of the taller spires of the ornate castle. So this was a Palace. "We'll have to be careful when we use that app in the future. No telling who we could drag in if we're not careful," Akira said.

"You should have checked the tools you used!" Morgana said, exhasperated. "Why do I, the one who was just watching, know more about it than you two?!"

"Aw shuddup!" Ryuji said firmly. "Geez... getting caught by Ann as soon as we got started... we better get to work fast."

"That girl's name is Ann Takamaki, right?" Morgana asked. He sighed dreamily. "Lady Ann~"

The strange outburst was enough to make the other three glance to each other in some mild discomfort. "You uh... you feeling alright there, little guy?" Shizuka asked.

"I feel perfect~"

Akira shook his head slowly. "Look, we're here, so let's just get down to business. Stick close," he looked Shizuka in the eye "Right now, we're only getting started."

"He's right," Morgana added, making his way quickly up a set of small stone steps. The path ahead led toward a series of ornate windows, with vibrant light shining through from the inside. "From here on out, we're phantom thieves. Those who covertly sneak in and stylishly steal treasure!" It had a nice ring to it, it had to be said, and was enough to make Akira and Ryuji grin. "We're counting on you Joker!"

"Joker?" Akira repeated. Whatever the nickname was, Morgana had just sprung it on him.

"It's a code name. No self respecting phantom thief would use their real name! Plus, yelling your real name inside a Palace could lead to negative side effects..."

Ryuji scratched the back of his head. "Uh... but why Joker?"

"Because," Morgana grinned sharply "He's our trump card for dealing with Shadows. With his ability to summon multiple Personas, he can theoretically get us out of any situation." The assessment of 'multiple Personas' nearly made Shizuka faint on the spot.

"I see, I getcha. In that case... heh, for me the name's gotta come from the mask. Honestly, I actually kinda like it. Ooooh! Let's go with Skull! That sounds so cool!" Morgana rolled his eyes, while Akira seemed impassive. The punkish blond looked to Shizuka. "Okay, what about you?"

Shizuka hummed and pinched her chin with her right hand. "Wish we'd known we were doing code names sooner so I coulda' thought one up. But how about..." She glanced down at her get up, to the bees on her collar, and thought back on her Stand and the powers it had. "How about... Sting?"

"Nice. Suits that outfit of yours." Ryuji turned his attention over to Morgana and looked the feline creature up and down. "As for this one... how about Mona?"

"Well, if Joker thinks that it's easier to call me that, then I'll go with it," Morgana said in a non-committed fashion.