Gathering Clues

The rumble of thunder unnerved the now perturbed King Kamoshida as the girl that he had deliberately taunted, bullied and threatened plenty of horrific, scummy things to was now standing in front of him with a new look and a renewed will of rebellion.

Ryoko was now clad in what looked like a biker outfit; A deep red shirt under a black leather jacket with studs on the shoulders and a bandana tied around her left bicep with a jolly roger emblazoned on it, a pair of yellow gloves that had armoured backs on them along with black pants that had pads on the knees and black boots that had a faint hint of yellow near the top to finish. "Hehehehe, Now THIS is cool…What's up Persona? Right now we're gonna rampage this bastard's creepy castle into a wreck!" Ryoko declared with a smirk as she summoned up a giant skeletal man riding a pirate ship.

"I am the Brigadier that rides the Sea of Souls; Captain Kidd! Chart our course so we may plunder and ravage to our hearts content!" The pirate echoed as the main knight in charge warped and changed into a knight wearing deep crimson armour and riding atop a horse. "You dare raise your hand to his Majesty, you ungrateful little sow! I shall ensure you are properly trained to service the King once you are broken!" The knight bellowed as he held his spear out to point at Ryoko who simply smirked back at it.

"Trust me pal, I'm not in the mood to take your crap…Or his!" Ryoko remarked as she brandished what looked like a solid metal pipe like a club and knocked it away; "I'm done with what you say to me, so get BENT!" She yelled as she rushed at the Shadow with Morgana and Lee behind her.

"Alright Ryoko, let's see if we can put the hurt on Kamoshida!" Lee smirked as he used his knife to attack too.

"Looks like you had potential too Ryoko; Now we can really get going!" Morgana added as they used Garu to knock the thrusting spear away.

"Accursed brats! You are nothing compared to the great King Kamoshida!" The knight roared as they got stunned by Lee using Cleave to make it flinch.

"If he's so great then how come he ain't out here to enjoy the fun?" Ryoko jeered him as she readied Kidd; "Alright, My turn to hit back; ZIO!" She cried out and watched a bolt of electricity shoot out and hit the horseman square in the chest to make both it and the horse collapse to the ground.

"He's weak enough now! Let's jump in for one last strike!" Morgana called out as them, Lee and Ryoko all jumped at the same time; starting to zip around the horseman like blurs before jumping away to finish, Ryoko fell on her butt and got to her feet with a sharktoothed grin and a middle finger up. The words; "UP YOUR'S!" seemed to glimmer briefly before the Shadow dissipated for good.

"Aw man, that felt amazing!" Ryoko grinned as she was pumped up but then saw the cowering Kamoshida had disappeared; "He's gone?! Damn it!" She yelled before kicking a pot and yelling throughout the hall; "What's the matter Jackass?! No fun to pick on someone if they can fight back?!" She taunted as both Lee and Morgana went back to calm her down, "Get your speedo wearing ass out here now so I can…I can…whup…" She would stagger and fall but thankfully Lee and Morgana were there to help her.

"Easy…Your body's not used to handling things like this, especially since awakening your Persona like that." Morgana said to ease her while Lee helped her to her feet.

"Yeah, just take a deep breath and get your bearings." Lee said though he was equally trying to do so and not freak out when he noticed how much Ryoko filled out her Metaverse outfit; "A-Anyway, let's get out of here before anything else pops up."

Morgana led the two back out towards their secret entry point as Lee lent his shoulder to Ryoko while simultaneously keeping guard for any Shadows looking to catch them off guard before they finally got to the outside. "Okay, I think we should round it off for today and give Ryoko a chance to recover."

"The hell I will! Lee, I'm going back in there and I'm gonna stomp a mudhole in Kamoshida's a-"

"Ryoko." Lee said with a sharp tone; "Awakening your Persona is pretty powerful feeling, believe me…But after you do that, you're gonna have the wind knocked out of you, we'll have our chance but for right now we're better off doing it after resting up." He pointed out.

"He's right, getting your Persona ready is taxing for the first time and even then you'll need to get used to it…You run back in there then you'll do more damage to yourself then to anything else in the Palace." Morgana nodded as they stood by the door while Ryoko steadied herself.

"Alright, fine…But at least we got what we came out here for…Our next trip in can lead us to that treasure." Ryoko decided to accept as she look to Lee and to Morgana; "Still, we managed to prove that we can fight back."

"Definitely, but for now…We need to regroup and actually come up with a plan." Lee mentioned as he activated the app to send them back into the real world.

—One Trip Back later—

Late afternoon had set in to the day as Lee, Morgana and Ryoko reappeared in an alleyway outside of the school, thankfully it looked like they had been able to escape getting caught for now. "Hooooo boy….Okay, I see what you were saying…" Ryoko would groan out as she felt the fatigue hit her like a truck as Lee had Morgana on his shoulder since they weren't as affected.

"Told you…Once you awaken your Persona then you need to get out for the time being, regardless of how much you want to...You need to pace yourself." Morgana explained as he then climbed into Lee's bag with his head sticking out.

"He's not going anywhere anytime soon and besides; now we can go in together and tackle the rest of the castle once you rested up." Lee added as he leaned against a wall. "Besides, it's not a total loss, now we know what works and doesn't work in the Metaverse thanks to your gun idea."

Ryoko blushed a little in embarrassment since she wasn't used to receiving praise as much as she used to. "S-Shut up…Knowing you, you probably thought a few steps ahead." Ryoko grumbled a little which Lee found cute in a way as they left the alley and headed for the train station; "Gotta admit though, I'm starving…Think we can stop off for a bite before the trains get busy?" 

——Later——

"No way!" Ryoko sputtered through a mouth full of noodles; "The hell kind of jerk decides to pin something like that if you didn't do anything?!" She ranted though slammed a fist to her chest as she nearly choked.

"Ryoko, take it easy…It was a long time ago." Lee said to ease her before slurping up some chicken broth; "Besides you're gonna choke if you're not careful."

"Oh, right…So he got into some shit and made you come live out here? I gotta say, that's still pretty messed up." Ryoko nodded as she drank some water; "Though you may wanna be careful, I heard you've got some pretty nasty rumours in my class so they may say the same stuff in yours."

Lee snagged the last remnants of meat from his bowl and chewed it down as he placed the empty bowl to the side; "They're just words, I'm not exactly gonna get bogged down by it now especially since I've dealt with it back home." He shrugged and then picked up a plate of gyoza from the conveyor belt.

"Man, I wish I could think like you do and not get bothered by it…The guys at school get pretty loud and obnoxious when they want to and the girls aren't any…Well, I can probably think of a few that aren't directly mean." Ryoko mentioned; "Once that asshole set his sights on me; Nearly every other guy was worried I would outdo them on track and girls had this mindset that I was only on the track team because I…You get the idea."

Lee sighed as he looked to Ryoko; "I could say the cliche that they're jealous and some of them probably are but you shrug them off without a problem, that alone tells me you're more focused on proving them wrong…Plus I know first hand just how capable you are as a person, aside from Morgana; now that you have your Persona, I know for a fact that you'll have my back like I have your's." He said to her and then smiled softly to give her a little pep talk.

Ryoko blushed that little bit extra, it seemed like his words seemed to help her in more ways then one; "Lee…How the hell do you come up with just about the right thing to say?" She would joke and got her trademark grin back; "But you're right, when Kamoshida nearly got my clothes off in that castle and you jumped in like that…You're damn right I'm gonna have your back! Outcasts gotta stick together since we're friends now and there's nothing you can do about it~" she remarked playfully as she looked proud to admit it.

"I am thou, thou art I…Thou hast garnered a new vow that will shape the will of your rebellion. The steadfast loyalty of the Chariot Arcana shall grant you a new degree towards infinite power."

Ryoko then sighed as she took a breath; "Man, it felt good to say something good like that." She remarked as she pulled out her phone; "Here, you already got my chat id so take my number too in case anything changes."

The two then set off to Shibuya station to get the last trains before rush hour.

Lee kept an eye on the news reading on the top screen as they moved along; "Alice Hiiragi making waves in the fashion world…Somehow I keep forgetting that stuff happens alongside all the Palace stuff…."

"You hear about the weird fortune teller in Shinjuku? She's been selling these special rocks that can improve your fortune!"

"You sure you heard right? I always thought that fortune tellers were a crock…"

"No, she seems legit; once I got this stone, she told me that I would see some good luck in my career…A few minutes later; My boss told me that I'd get promoted when the last guy got fired for slugging someone."

"A fortune teller, huh? Maybe we could enlist her help in the Palace…" Morgana whispered from the bag which earned him a light nudge from Lee.

"Quiet, cats aren't supposed to talk…plus I didn't have enough money to cover pet fare so don't get caught!" Lee whispered; "Maybe I could use the Palace to…"Replenish" my funds, If I'm gonna be building up again I'll need to keep a good flow of cash coming…Especially once I start getting the chance to fuse in the Velvet Room."

—The Next Day—

Lee yawned as he was sat on his own in the gym since there was the volleyball match of the students versus the teachers; It would've been funny to see the teachers get flunked by the students, however they still had to contend with their Olympic Gold Medalist of a gym teacher; A man who made the teachers look good and the students groan as they knew what they were getting into being against them.

Ryoko seemed to look the same way but with some extra disdain as she sat on the girl's side of the Gym while they cheered on the players, specifically for Kamoshida. Wanting to keep her new friend entertained; She stretched herself out and yawned but mouthed "This is so goddamn boring…" to Lee who chuckled a little.

The only other people who didn't seem to be as invested were Ann as she absentmindedly played with her pigtails and another dark haired girl who looked like she had seen the rough end of training herself.

"HEADS UP!" Someone yelled out as a stray volleyball rocketed into the crowd and smacked one girl square in the face with a chorus of "Ooh!" to punctuate the squeaking of hitting the floor.

"Sorry about that!" Kamoshida called out to the girl and tried to help her but she seemed unresponsive; "Someone get her to the nurse's office!" 

"Kurusu! You're still on reserve so make yourself useful!" One of the teachers insensitively barked as he ushered Kamoshida over.

Lee rolled his eyes at the apathy they were showing, especially when they were congratulating Kamoshida on his support so far. He jogged over to the girl and put her arm around his shoulder; "Come on, let's get you to the Nurse's office…" He said to her as he helped her hobble out of the gym

"You're the…New transfer student, right?" she would whisper since the hit to the face made it hard to talk. Once he nodded she got a little more nervous; "I-It's okay, you don't have to take me…I know the way!" She tried to pull away but Lee held on.

"No, That volleyball to the face looked like it hurt…I at least wanna make sure you get there safely…I can do that much for you, okay?" He asked with a firm yet sincere tone which seemed to ease some of the suspicions that she had towards him.

"Th…Thank you." She whispered and helped point the way towards the Nurse, stopping when they got to the door. "I can handle it from here." The girl would say with a soft and withdrawn tone.

"You sure you don't want someone here with you? I can go back and ask someone like A-I mean Takamaki to sit with you if it's more comfortable." Lee offered since he was still a little concerned for her.

"It happens all the time, I'm just…clumsy that way." She would say and giggled a little but winced as her cheeks still hurt.

"I'll let the teachers know you're here then." Lee would accept as he turned to go the other way; "Oh uh…About what you said about this happening all the time…Is that…Whenever Kamoshida's around?" He decided to take a shot and ask her. Since he remembered that most of the time he spent in the last timeline was to try and get smarter, more proficient and kinder; he had hoped this would provide some use.

The girl shrank a little as he put a spotlight down on her and glanced away; She had been a reserve on the team much like Lee was but because she was one of the girls, that alone earned her some of Kamoshida's "Special Attention" but even though she felt a little more at ease when he showed concern; she wasn't entirely confident he could change a thing.

"Look, if you're having problems with him around then we can talk this through with Kawakami or the Headmaster…I can even report on my own and not give them your name if you'd rather stay anonymous." Lee promised to her as he did notice her wilting at the mention of Kamoshida's name when the bell rang for the end of the game and Lee felt a buzz in his pocket as he got a text from Ryoko.

"If you're not back then no worries, I can start checking with people in Kamoshida's teams and see what I can turn up."

"It…It won't change anything, you know that? The other students all fight to get on Kamoshida's good side and even then…They don't know what happens to the people that do make it." She would explain; "Kamoshida's…Harsh on everyone but it still keeps the volleyball team successful."

Lee was flabbergasted but he listened nonetheless; "But the ends don't justify the means…Especially if what I heard was true."

The girl nodded and gently squeezed her arm; "If someone gets him angry or frustrated, he'll call on someone and hit them…" She mumbled before digging her nails into her arms; "And I got called there multiple times when I didn't match up….The only ones he's actually nice to are Takamaki-san and the other girls…Then again, I'm probably too useless to be taken notice of by Kamoshida…" She would then head into the Nurse's office without another word, leaving Lee to be shocked that Kamoshida was way worse of a scumbag behind closed doors but also because these people were willing to throw themselves under a bus to get on his good side, then again he also started to wonder why she looked so familiar.

"I managed to get something out of that girl…It was a long shot but it's something…" Lee texted Ryoko with his updated progress and decided to head back out to one of the courtyards to get a drink while Ryoko joined him.

"It makes no effin' sense! These guys are all willing to let themselves get the tar beat out of them all just for a chance on the volleyball team!" Ryoko ranted after she finished another gulp of an orange juice.

"I overheard some of the others on the way here; They think that a spot on the Volleyball team will make them set for when they graduate, sports team scholarships or something like that." Lee added as he drank a cola while Morgana sat at the table in their cat form.

"We only saw what was in Kamoshida's mind, it is more exaggerated in there but from what I heard…It doesn't sound too far fetched about how he treats them." Morgana mentioned as they sat up, explaining what they overheard; "Not to mention that no sports team should look that injured just from practice…"

"Then there's that wonder lead, So whatcha get?" Ryoko asked as she tapped her foot anxiously.

"When I took that girl to the nurse's office; I figured I'd ask her about things on the team…" Lee said before going into detail about what the girl told him.

"Geez…I knew Kamoshida was heavy handed but that's messed up!" Ryoko grimaced; "Still you got more out of just her than I did with anyone else who'd even bother to stop and talk."

"You dunce, an exceptional Phantom Thief should be able to posses the unbending will and charisma to steal anything they set their minds to… Something that you still have yet to learn or accomplish." Morgana taunted Ryoko with a smug look.

"What was that?! You don't know squat about what I can do!" Ryoko growled as she was ready to enter another argument with Morgana.

"Will you two stop fighting? We'll attract attention if we're yelling but we'll get in more trouble if they see we smuggled a cat into school" Lee snapped with a serious look; "I know that it's pretty vague right now but we just have to keep-"

"What are you two up to?" A fourth voice chimed in as standing by one of the pillars was Ann Takamaki still in her gym outfit with her arms crossed and a suspicious look in her eyes; "Seriously, if you're trying to dig up dirt on Kamoshida then you need a better approach then running up and asking dumb questions." She said to Ryoko who didn't look any more pleased than she did.

Lee wasn't sure whether to feel happy to see her or feel nervous that this Ann was still suspicious of them.