4/13

The rally is a strange thing. From Akira’s perspective, it’s just Kamoshida and a few out-of-shape teachers pelting students with volleyballs. Is this supposed to boost morale?

He sits on the floor at the gym's edge, with Ryuji slumped alongside him. "Man," his friend says, yawning. "This is so boring."

The rally continues for several slow hours. One by one, classes are called to endure Kamoshida’s onslaught. It isn't pretty.

The only halt occurs when Kamoshida spikes one student, a boy named Mishima, in the face. The sick slap of the synthetic leather echoes through the gym. Everyone straightens and panics until Kamoshida ducks under the net and runs to his fallen pupil.

"Look at him," Ryuji says. "Acting like he gives a shit. I bet you he did that on purpose."

Two students help Mishima up and head towards the nurse's office.

Ryuji gives Akira a light jab with his elbow. "Hey. This is our chance. Let's get out of here and see if we can find some of those guys from the Castle."

"Right.”

#

It does not go well. To cover more ground, Ryuji and Akira split up. Neither gets anywhere. The majority of the students are too intimidated by the rumors around Akira to speak to him. The rest tell him to mind his business.

Ryuji suffers similar obstacles.

Dejected, Akira makes his way down to the inner courtyard, hoping to secure a vending machine soda, at least.

Drink retrieved, he turns and finds himself face to face with Takamaki. Her hair is pristine, her make-up expertly applied. Her gym clothes only highlight her curves, and for a moment, Akira is taken aback by her proximity. Then he dons his mask.

"Can I ask you something?" She asks.

"What?"

"What's your deal? Like, we both know the whole ‘sick on the first day’ thing was a lie."

Akira shrugs. "When I got closer to school, I started feeling pretty bad. So I went back home."

"And then you came back in the afternoon? I don't buy that for a second."

"Hey!" Ryuji stalks into the alcove, a scowl on his face. "What are you grillin’ him for?"

"What's it to you?"

"He's my friend."

"And how did that happen, exactly?"

"I can’t have friends?"

Ann sighs. "Look, I don't know what you're doing, but if you're trying to mess with Kamoshida, just stop. You're never going to get anywhere, and no one's going to tell you anything."

Ryuji takes another step forward. "So, you know something's going on then."

Ann averts her eyes. "Just stop, okay?"

"What's he doing to you?" Akira asks.

Ann's brows rise. "Huh?"

"What's he doing to you?"

"Th-that's not..." Ann starts but doesn't finish. Instead, she shouts, "Just drop it, okay? You guys can't do anything!"

"That's what you think," Ryuji says. "We're gonna bury that bastard. You can defend him all you want, but if you knew half the shit he was doing behind your back, you wouldn't."

Ann blinks. "Sakamoto, what'd you mean 'behind my back?'"

Ryuji clicks his tongue. "It's nothing. You wouldn't get it. C'mon, Akira." He starts to leave.

Akira begins to follow, pauses, and says to Ann, "You should stay away from him. He's a bad guy." Then he follows Ryuji out of the courtyard.

Ann stares after the two as they go.

Once out of earshot, Akira asks, "So, how do you two know each other?"

"Hm?" Ryuji straightens a bit. "Oh, we went to middle school together. I guess we were kind of friends. Then we just, y'know, drifted apart."

Akira nods. "So, what should we do now? I got nothing out of the students."

"Same with me. I've got one more idea, though. Mishima, the one Kamoshida hit in the face, let's see if we can get him to talk."

They make their way to the nurse's office and hurry when an announcement comes that the rally has finished, and everyone can go home, only to discover that Mishima has already left. They make a beeline for the school’s entrance and find the boy, hunched over; arms clutched around him as if that could protect him, bag slung across his shoulder, a thick bandage on his face, heading out the exit.

"Yo, Mishima!" Ryuji calls.

The boy's head perks up, and he turns. When he sees them, his eyes widen. "S-Sakamoto? And Kurusu? What'd you guys want?"

Ryuji, oblivious to all the other students, asks, "Are you guys getting abused?"

"Huh?" Mishima's eyes manage to grow wider. "Uh, no! Of course not!"

Akira steps forward and whispers, "We already know about it."

"Y-you do?"

A grin cracks Ryuji's face. "Alright! Confirmation!"

Mishima shakes his head. "Wait! No, that's not right. We're not getting abused. Kamoshida-sensei just pushes us because he wants our team to perform well. Our practices are-"

"Don't give me that crap," Ryuji blurts. "Kamoshida coached the track team too, remember? I know all about his so-called practices. They're just insane! I don't care how hard you need to get pushed to perform. You're covered in bruises, dude! So is everyone else on your team! That's not normal."

Mishima pales beneath Ryuji's words. "We want to help," Akira says. "We want to stop him from hurting people." At Mishima's silence, he adds, "Can you at least tell your parents or the principal?"

Mishima mumbles something in response.

"Huh?" Ryuji asks.

"They already know," Mishima says. His eyes never leave the floor. "Our parents, the principal, everyone who matters. They all know about the abuse, but they don't care. So long as we can use the volleyball team's prestige to get into a good school, it’s a means to an end."

Akira does not know what to say. Ryuji does. "That's crazy! They can't do something like that!"

Mishima glares at them, finding his courage - misplaced though it may be - at last. "Would you two just please stop? This is how things work here. I don't want what happened to you to happen to me, Sakamoto. And Kurusu..." He pauses and looks away from Akira's eyes. "I don't want to be labeled like you. So, just drop this thing, okay? Leave it alone. Leave me alone. Just stop."

#

The day ends. Akira and Ryuji left Mishima, returned to the locker room, and changed into their regular clothes.

Akira is crestfallen, but his friend looks worse. "I thought we'd get at least one person to come forward," Ryuji mutters as they stand around outside the locker room.

"We'll find another way," Akira replies.

"Okay." Ryuji does not sound like he believes it. He pulls out his phone and checks the time. "I told my mom I'd be home early today, so I gotta run. Later, man." Ryuji trudges off down the hall.

Akira thinks he understands. The idea that parents and teachers endorse Kamoshida's abuse hurts Ryuji. These are people who are supposed to protect you, defend you. They were dealing with a system, not an individual.

It must be like this everywhere.

Akira starts to leave. When he gets to Shujin’s entrance, he sees Ann Takamaki and another girl. The latter is pretty in an unassuming way with small features and her black hair pulled into a ponytail. Her leg, he sees, wears a medical wrap. The girls smile at each other, but even at a distance, it seems forced and awkward.

As he approaches, Ann - who does not see him - bids the girl farewell and walks off. The other girl turns in Akira's direction, and he sees her face scrunched up in worry. A thin, purple bruise rings one eye. Then she sees him. "Oh. You're Akira Kurusu, yes?"

Akira blinks. This is unexpected. "Uh, yeah."

The girl smiles a bit and holds out her hand. "I'm Shiho Suzui. It's nice to meet you."

This is also unexpected. Akira reaches out and shakes it. "You as well."

She bites her lower lip and looks around. There are a few students in the hall, but they don’t pay the two of them much attention. "Um, I know this may sound a bit weird, coming from a stranger, but are you okay?"

"Huh?"

"It's just that I've heard a lot of rumors about you. People are constantly talking about you on RINE too." She smiles when he stiffens. "Oh, don't worry. I know it’s all made up. You don't seem like the delinquent type, anyway. Plus, if you were an assassin, then you’re not a very good one since everyone knows about it."

"Oh, I, uh, I see. Thanks, but I'm okay."

"That's good. I had a good friend who had to deal with a lot of rumors last year, so you could say I'm used to that kind of thing. They'll die down eventually. Just stay strong until then, okay?"

Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

Akira smiles. "Thank you," he says. Then he nods towards her knee’s wrapping. "Mind if I ask if you're okay?"

Her eyes widen, and she glances around once more. "Oh, yes. I'm fine. It's just a little something I got from volleyball practice."

"Volleyball practice?" He looks at her and remembers. He’s seen this girl in the Castle. She is another of Kamoshida’s cognitive sex slaves. He recalls Mishima’s words. "I'm sorry."

A small smile returns to her face. "What are you sorry for?"

"I want to help you," he says. "But I don't know how."

Shiho doesn't reply for a moment. Then she checks the small watch on her wrist and whispers, "I need to get to practice. Take care, Kurusu. Everything will be fine."

He watches her walk away, a sick feeling in his gut. "I hope so," he says to no one.

That night, Akira's sleep is dreamless, but he does not wake refreshed.

4/14

Akira and Ryuji stand in the courtyard’s alcove. It is lunchtime, and neither can think of a way to stop Kamoshida without one of the abused coming forward.

"Can we really do this?" Ryuji asks.

"I-" Akira starts, but a familiar voice cuts him off.

"I finally found you!" A black cat with tufts of white on its face and tail hops up onto the alcove’s table. It glares at the two, teeth bared. "Did you think you could just leave me behind?"

Ryuji looks at the cat, then turns to Akira and says, "What."

"Is that you, Morgana?" Akira asks.

"Obviously! Who else would I be?"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," Ryuji says. He pats the air with his hands. "Hold up." He takes a breath and then slaps himself in the face. Once finished, he looks at the cat and says, "You're not actually Morgana, right?"

"How thick is your skull?"

Ryuji nods and says, "Well, that's it. I've officially gone off the deep end." He looks at Akira. "If you need me, I'll be in the loony bin."

Akira ignores him and asks, "How are you here?"

"Did you guys think you were the only two who could go in and out of the Metaverse?"

"Then why are you a cat?" Ryuji demands.

"I don't know. This is what happened when I left."

"Why can you talk?"

"Because I'm a human, how many times do I have to say it?"

“Wait,” Akira says, shaking his head, mind spinning. “How’d you get out if you don’t have a phone? We have to use the Navigator app to go in and out of Kamoshida’s Palace.”

Morgana gives Akira a look that could almost be called a smirk. “I’m just that skilled.”

“That… doesn’t explain anything,” Akira counters. “How’d you even get into Kamoshida’s in the first place?”

“I don’t need a phone. I can enter the Metaverse at will. Maybe I don’t know what an app is, but I don’t have to use one to enter or exit. I just find the right entrances.”

Akira frowns at Ryuji. "This," he says. "Is very weird." This also makes no sense. What had Morgana been doing in Kamoshida’s in the first place? How’d he even known about the Palace at all? Had he lost his memories before entering? After? Had he been human before entering Kamoshida’s or…

Ryuji frowns back at Akira. "No kidding."

"Now listen here," Morgana says. He arches his back but doesn't finish his sentence. A soft clicking noise, in the rhythmic beat of footsteps, echoes into the small space they occupy.

"Shit, dude," Ryuji says. "Someone's coming!"

He grabs Morgana by the scruff of the neck, hoists him up, and shoves him towards Akira's bag.

"Hey, what're you-?" Morgana begins to shout, but then the bag swallows him.

"Shhhh!" Ryuji scolds as someone rounds the corner.

Makoto Niijima stands at the entrance to the alcove, hands at her side.

"Oh good," Ryuji mumbles with a small chuckle. "I thought it might've been someone important."

Makoto's attention snaps to Ryuji, and with precise words, states, "Sakamoto, I would like to speak with Kurusu in private."

Ryuji rolls his eyes and says, "Uh-huh. Listen, we're a little busy here, so why don't you..." He trails off. Makoto's eyes have narrowed just a fraction, but the look is electric. Akira glances at Ryuji and sees that he’s gone several degrees paler.

"Would you care to finish your thought, Sakamoto?" She asks. The air is frigid. The sun has vanished and shall never be seen again.

"Uh, n-no."

"I see, then would you give us a moment?"

Ryuji swallows and squeaks out, "Sorry, bro. Good luck." He keeps his eyes on the ground as he speeds past the Student Council President. A few moments later, Akira can hear the door to the practice building open and slam closed.

He is now alone with Niijima, save for the cat in his bag. Yet, all thoughts of Morgana have withered in his mind. When she turns her gaze to him, his mouth goes dry. God, I think her eyes are red!

Akira opens his mouth but is cut off by her raised hand. Palm out, erect and still, his sentence slams into it like a car crash.

"Kurusu, I can appreciate the pressure you must be under, having transferred to a new school. However, I do not appreciate having my time wasted. Kawakami-sensei assigned you to me. If you do not value your own time, that is your business. You will, however, respect the value of mine." She breaks long enough to take a short breath, then continues. "I do not take my responsibilities lightly. Therefore, you will attend our study sessions from now on. I, unfortunately, do not have the time to spare for you today. I will inform you of when these sessions will start. Do not ditch me again. Are we clear?"

Akira nods vehemently. "Y-yes." His heart is pounding in his chest.

"Very well. Good day, Kurusu." She turns on her heel and walks off. The clicking of her shoes recedes until it is gone.

Akira lets out a sigh, and the bag on his shoulder shifts. Morgana pops his head out and stares at him, wide-eyed. "Whoa," he says. "She's scary, huh?"

"Y-yeah. No kidding."

"Uh, Akira?”

"What?"

"Why are you smiling?"

#

Ryuji kicks a pebble across the school's rooftop. It tick-tick-ticks its way against the metal. "I hate the guy. I do. But I don't want to kill him."

“If you guys want to stop Kamoshida, taking his Treasure is the only way!"

"But you just said it'll make him, like, stop eating and shit! We may as well just shoot him with a gun or something."

"I said it might happen. Kamoshida must've been someone normal before his desires got all distorted. If we steal the source of the distortion, he should return to being an honest man. That doesn't mean he'll stop desiring things like food and air."

"But," Akira says. "It could happen, though."

Morgana sighs. "Honestly, I've never successfully stolen a Treasure from a Palace before. It could happen, but it's extremely unlikely."

"Wait, wait, wait," Ryuji says. "If you've never done this before, how'd you even know it's what we're supposed to do?"

Good question, Akira thinks. Unfortunately, the more Morgana explains, the less sense everything makes.

"I-" Morgana starts, then looks away. "I don't remember."

"Oh, great. Just like you don't remember how you became a cat, right?"

"Shut up!" Morgana shouts. "I am a human, and I know that stealing a Treasure is the same thing as taking away the target's distorted desires. I just do!"

"So, you want us to risk our lives and possibly kill someone over a gut feeling you've got? That's bullshit!"

Akira listens to them argue. The underlying logic of the Metaverse aside, stopping Kamoshida was necessary. Igor’s words dance through his mind. How far are you willing to go? Was this what he’d meant? He looks down at Morgana. “I don’t doubt you’re a human. I’ve got no problem stealing this Treasure if we knew that doing that would work and change Kamoshida’s heart.”

“You want an absolute?” Morgana asks, indignant. “That’s not how things work!”

“Kamoshida’s a total shitbag,” Ryuji puts in. "He deserves prison and daily ass-kickings. But we can't just kill him."

Morgana looks from Akira to Ryuji. "I thought you two had more guts than this. Kamoshida is abusing your fellow students, but you won't do anything because you might kill him?"

"Dude, that's a huge 'might!'"

"I’m sorry, Morgana," Akira says, frowning. "But isn’t there some other way?"

Morgana turns and stalks to the roof’s edge. "There isn’t. Not one I know of, anyway. I'll let you guys think about it for a while. Just remember, the longer you don’t do something, the worse he’ll get."

Ryuji looks at Akira once Morgana is gone. "That cat is kind of a dick."

#

Akira is at Shibuya when he sees Ann. She is hard to miss. The blonde hair. The red leggings. When he spots her, she slides her phone back into her pocket, a sad and frustrated look on her face.

It's strange to see her removed from school. But strange is the norm for him now.

He doesn't know why he does it, but he walks up to her. He's a few paces away when she turns to him like she'd known he was there all along. "Did you follow me so that you could stare at me again?" She asks, venom in her voice.

"I wasn't following you. This is where I transfer home."

"Oh, sorry."

He shrugs. "It's fine." They're no longer looking at each other. Akira, hands in his pockets, asks, "Are you okay?"

"What's it to you?"

Okay, maybe try a different approach.

“I was making sure you weren’t a hallucination,” Akira tells her.

“Huh?” Ann asks, brows rising.

“That first day? Under the awning. I was looking at you and making sure you weren’t a hallucination.”

Ann is silent for a moment, then asks, “Is that some kind of pick-up line?”

“No,” Akira replies and shrugs. “The night before, I’d been on the platform in the subway station during the train crash. I wasn’t hurt or anything, but my doctor, I mean, I guess she’s my doctor now, told me to get an MRI at the hospital. So when I saw you under the awning, I only stared at you because I wanted to make sure I wasn’t hallucinating, and I’d prefer if you took that in whichever way makes me seem less like a creep because I promise I’m not.”

“Uh-huh,” Ann says. She squints her eyes at him. “You know everyone’s talking about you, right?”

“I’ve seen the RINE chats,” Akira replies. “Ryuji showed me.”

Ann frowns. “So… what? You were late to school that day because you started hallucinating or something?”

“Oh, that,” Akira says and shakes his head. “No, I was in a Castle.”

She blinks. "A Castle?"

"Yeah,” Akira says and stares at the pavement. "I was trapped in a castle. That's why I was late."

"You were trapped in a Castle?"

"Ryuji was with me. You can ask him if you don't believe me."

A small smile tries to fight its way onto her face. "You're really weird, you know that?"

"I’ve been called worse. And now you know my secret," Akira says. "So, are you okay?"

Ann stares at him for a moment, and he realizes that he's begun to think of her as 'Ann.' It makes him smile. Maybe it's the grin that does it, but she sighs and says, "This is embarrassing. If you're going to hang around with me, let's at least go somewhere quiet."

She leads him away from the station and onto Central Street. This is his first time here, and again he is overwhelmed by the sheer number of signs, attractions, stores, and people. Ann navigates the crowds like an expert. City people really are made of different stuff.

She leads him to a quiet diner, upstairs alongside an alley. It is rustic, with wood paneling and western decor. A waitress leads them to a booth, and it is only then that Akira checks his wallet. "I should warn you," he says. "My finances are a bit strapped."

"This isn't a date, you know."

"I know, just FYI."

Ann orders a decaffeinated soda. Akira asks for coffee. They sit in silence for a time, and though he stares at her from across the table, Ann won't meet his eyes.

"I felt bad for you," she says. "What with all those rumors flying around. I knew some of them had to be lies. I know a thing or two about how bad that kind of thing can get." Her shoulders bunch up, and she sucks in her lower lip. "Everyone thinks I'm having sex with Kamoshida. They've always thought I was easy because of my looks." She glances up at him. "I'm not fully Japanese, by the way."

Akira nods but doesn't say anything.

"You saw Kamoshida pick me up in his car the other day, right? He does that a lot. He thinks it means he'll get to sleep with me. At first, I could just brush it all off. But my friend Shiho is on the volleyball team." Tears leak from Ann's eyes. "She's relying on a volleyball scholarship to get into college. But Kamoshida keeps threatening to kick her from the team if I don't sleep with him. He just keeps pushing and pushing. That was him on the phone when you saw me by the station. He wanted to meet up today, like now." She crumples and begins to cry.

The longer you don’t do something, the worse he’ll get.

Akira's hands ball into fists.

"I don't want to," Ann says. "I hate him so much. But Shiho is the only one who stuck up for me. She's my best friend, and if I don't, she'll lose everything."

The waitress has brought their drinks and stares at the two awkwardly. Akira mouths, "Thank you," to her, and slides the decaffeinated soda over to Ann.

"I don't know what to do," she says.

"Don't go to him," Akira replies. She looks up at him, confusion writ across her face. "Just don't."

They stare across the table at each other, and then Ann wipes her eyes. "That's some sound advice. And a bit obvious."

Akira smiles and shrugs. "I'm smart like that. Have you told your parents? The principal?”

She shakes her head. “My parents aren’t really around. I mean, I’m not an orphan or anything. Their work has them abroad a lot, is all. And he’s too careful. He’s never obvious when he asks for it. If I accused him of anything inappropriate, he’d just chalk it up to a misunderstanding.”

Akira does not know what to say to this. “I met Shiho. She was nice.”

Ann giggles. “Yeah, she is. She helped me a lot when the rumors about me got bad. That’s why I don’t want her to lose everything because of me.”

“But you can’t just do what he wants, right?”

“No, I know.” She takes a deep breath and blows it out. “You know, this is the first time I’ve spoken about this with anyone.”

Akira looks down at his coffee. “I wish I was more help.”

She smiles at him, and it is warm and lovely. “I may not have a solution, but I do feel better. So, thanks for that.” She leans back in her chair and folds her arms. "You're not such a bad guy, after all." Her eyes narrow. "Is it true that you hide a knife in your bag?"

Akira shakes his head. "No. Today, it was just a cat."

She looks at him and laughs. It is loud and delightful. "You are so weird."

#

Shiho stands outside Kamoshida's office.

She is shaking. She wants to run away so badly. She wants to hide from the whole world. She wants Ann. She wants her mom and dad.

She knocks on the door.

"Come in."

When she steps inside the office, Kamoshida is hunched over his desk, scribbling something. His chiseled back bulges from his tight t-shirt. "Mishima said you wanted to see me, Kamoshida-sensei?"

Slowly, Kamoshida turns and regards her. He is smiling.

"Shut the door, Shiho."