Chapter Text
"Everything alright at Shujin, Kasumi?"
"Hm?" Kasumi looked up from her breakfast at her mom while her dad lowered his newspaper. After… her passing, the Yoshizawas did their best to try to come together for meals, which happened to be more of a challenge to her father and her. There always seemed to be something with the production that required his attention, and she had her practices and school to get to.
However, it seemed that she was lucky enough today on the day that she and the others planned to steal Kamoshida’s distorted desires that she would get to eat with her family. She tried not to frown at that innocuous question as she tried to think of a good answer to it. “Shujin is… fine.”
Thinking about that answer some more, she found herself smiling a bit. It should have surprised her, but all the bad was drowned out by all the good. She remembered fondly the pleasant conversations she had with Ann-san and Shiho-san at lunch. She felt the rush and trust that was built with Ren, Ryuji, and Mona-senpai exploring Kamoshida’s castles and all the secrets it contained, both great and terrible.
“Kasumi, that is so good to hear!” Kasumi snapped out of her reverie, realizing that her parents took her silence and smile as simply having too many good things to say. “I’m guessing you made some new friends there? Can you tell us anything about them?”
Taking a sip of orange juice, Kasumi thought of how to talk about them. “Well… Ann-san models in her spare time. She showed me some photos, and they look really good. I think if she put more effort into it, she could easily be a professional.”
“You think so?” Her dad asked. “Modeling can be pretty tough, both physically and mentally.”
“I did say she does it in her spare time.” Kasumi admitted. “I don’t think she is willing to give up chocolate crepes or any kind of sweets for that. Then again, I don’t think she ever diets and she is still so thin.”
“Really?” Her mom blinked. “Oh, does she have a high metabolism? I’ve heard of those kinds of girls, and always envied them.”
“Dear, you’re not fat. Please don’t say it.” Her dad sighed, while her mom mock-frowned.
"Are you being honest about that? Please tell me, am I fat?" She said, resting her hands on her chin as she waited for an answer. Her dad looked to Kasumi, who simply smiled at him and shook her head. He quickly adjusted his glasses.
"No comment. By the way, Kasumi, is Ann-San the only one you know?" Her dad quickly changed the subject as her mom let go of the subject.
"There's also Shiho-san. She and Ann-san have been best friends since middle school. She also does volleyball, so if even she can't do anything to change Ann-san's diet, I doubt I can do anything."
"Volleyball? Shujin has that former Olympiad, don't they?" Her mom asked her dad. He nodded.
"Suguru Kamoshida. I remembered when I used to be a host, I interviewed him once." At that, Kasumi stared at him.
"You interviewed him once? What was he like?" The fact that her dad spoke of Kamoshida being a pleasant little interaction that he had in the past simply boggled her mind.
"Yeah, when I hosted the show once with Fujino-san…” “Who’s that?” “Oh, Fujino Ayumi, think she went into investigative journalism afterwards. Anyways, he came on the show to talk about his team's latest win. From what I remember, he was everything I thought an elite athlete was like: tall, imposing… Funny thing is, throughout the whole thing, I remember him being pretty nervous. You wouldn’t notice it in the actual broadcast, but he just looked so… tense.”
Kasumi tried to imagine this younger Kamoshida, one nervous before a live audience, to the one that she knew. “Huh, that doesn’t sound like the Kamoshida I know. He seems pretty comfortable being the face of the school.”
Her dad rubbed his chin. “You know, during that interview, Fujino-san actually empathized with him, knowing what it was like to have stage fright. She even volunteered to show him some tricks to deal with them after the interview… Now that I think about it, she never said anything about what she taught Kamoshida, or really anything.”
Before she could say anything, her phone pinged, causing her to look up her messages.
“Oh, got to go now!” Kasumi said as she quickly finished everything on her plate and drained her glass of orange juice. “Gonna go meet up with Ren.”
“Ok- what, who’s Ren?” Her mom and dad both looked at her, both noting the lack of honorific. Kasumi tried to come up with a good answer.
"Oh, he's my kouhai. We hang out sometimes." Kasumi explained, noting that unfortunately that wasn't good enough for her parents. Her dad stared at her, making hypotheses about her and Ren, while her mom covered her mouth.
"Are you sure that's all?" Her dad asked, clearly fishing for more. She nodded.
"Yes… that's all it is." Let her first try to establish whatever they even were before she could give an answer. Quickly picking up her dishes and putting them in the sink, she picked up her stuff before coming over to hug her parents.
“I love you.” “We love you too. We love you so much.”
With that, she let go, and felt how hesitant they were to do the same.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~TAKE YOUR TIME~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“Hey, Senpai. Had a good breakfast?” Ren greeted her as he walked up next to her as they walked towards the school. She could see a few of her fellow students actually take a second glance at the two of them walking towards and even whispering. However, Ren simply ignored them, and Kasumi followed suit.
After all, they had more important things to talk about.
“Of course. Did Sakura-san feed you curry and coffee again?” She asked, with Ren nodding. “Tired of the taste yet?”
Ren considered for a moment before shaking his head. “The curry and coffee goes together pretty well. Haven’t gotten tired of it yet. Also don’t worry, I got some extra left over from the part-time work, so I can spring for a little bit of variety now.”
Kasumi nodded at that. Yesterday, before she went off to her practice, Ren quickly found her before she left and handed her some money. Apparently, Ren knew someone that was willing to buy all the loot that they had stolen for a decent amount. Though she was unsure what could be done with crushed shields, helmets with holes in them, chipped swords, risque candle stands, or weird looking lanterns…
Though maybe they could find some use for the silver cutlery that they found.
“That’s good to hear. A good breakfast is vital, considering what we are planning to do today.”
Ren nodded, his eyes gleaming eagerly. “He’s going down.”
“Just be careful.” Mona-senpai’s head popped out of Ren’s bag. Ren quickly concealed the cat from everyone else. “This is going to be the first heist that I remember doing. The moment we steal that treasure, who knows what’s going to happen. So keep on your toes, and we should be fine.”
“It better be.” Ren looked down at Mona-senpai. “Some of us got everything riding on this.”
Eventually, the two came up to the entrance of Shujin Academy, where Ryuji was waiting for them. As soon as he saw them, he grinned as he nodded to the door. “Awesome, you guys are here. Come on, I want to show you something.”
As the group entered the building, they immediately noticed the large group standing in front of what was the front bulletin board.
"What the heck is this?" "Who did this? They must have some balls!" "Nevermind that, how did they manage to get all these cards here and get away with it?" "Ushimaru-sensei is definitely gonna gun for someone's head!" "Nevermind that, what do you think Kamoshida is going to do?"
Looking through the crowd, Kasumi saw what they were looking at. On the bulletin board and even parts of the wall, it was practically covered in red calling cards. Kasumi, Ren and even Mona-senpai looked at Ryuji.
"...Where did you get all those copies? And how did you not get caught?" Mona-senpai asked.
“Yeah, we got a printer. Hopefully, my mom doesn’t ask where all the ink went. But I say it came out looking pretty good. Here, even got one for us to read.” Ryuji pulled out one card and held it out for Ren to take.
“It better have. I’m not much of an artist.” Ren said as he took it, letting Kasumi see that there was something on the front. The first thing that caught her attention were the words. Looking like the letters had been cut out of different magazines and newspapers judging from the differences in font and size, it all spelled out ‘STEAL YOUR HEART’.
Realizing that there was an image on top of those words, she examined it. From what she could tell, it was a head with a top hat, a handlebar mustache, wearing an eyepatch that was emitting fire. While the person that drew it clearly was a novice in the arts, it was at least clear enough that she could tell what it was. Flipping the card to the other side, she began to read the message.
“Suguru Kamoshida, the False King of Lust. We have seen your actions: how you force your desires on students that can’t fight back, and crush those that do. That is why we will steal away your distorted desires and make you confess to your crimes. This will be done soon, and we hope you’re ready. From, the Phantom Thieves of Heart?”
She looked up at the two.
“You weren’t able to come up with a name? What happened?” Kasumi asked, the two looking sheepish as the students whispered and pointed in the background.
“We couldn’t come up with anything.” Ryuji admitted with Ren nodding. “I think we put everything into the logo. I mean, look. We got everyone here.”
Thinking about it for a bit, Kasumi understood. The top hat represented Ren and Arsene. The eyepatch represented Ryuji and Captain Kidd. The mustache represented Mona and Zorro. The last major element that Kasumi could glean from the logo was the flames… Ahh.
“That’s actually pretty clever. You both are amazing.” She complimented Ren, who smiled at that.
“Thanks, it took a bit.” “Still kinda wish we could have come up with a better name.”
“Sorry, Lady Kasumi.” Mona-senpai popped his head out of the bag. “I was too busy making the other two grappling hooks that I didn’t see them have trouble coming up with a name. I’m sure that one of my suggestions would have been perfect.”
“That wasn’t a pun, right?” Ryuji asked before looking around. “So, everything is set, right? We have until tomorrow to steal Kamoshida’s treasure?”
“Well first, the target needs to actually see the calling card in order to feel in danger and manifest his treasure.” Mona-senpai explained. Kasumi looked a little nervous.
“Do you think that the school will try to hide this before Kamoshida even sees them?" Considering that, Ryuji shook his head.
"Doubt it. That douche believes he's the king around here. If he even thinks there might be a chance that someone could threaten his spot, he's gonna do everything he can to crush it. Trust me, he's gonna want to see them anyway."
"Good to know. Come on, let's go to class." Ren said as he put the card away in his jacket. Hearing that, Ryuji practically pouted.
"What, really? Come on, don't you want to see how Kamoshida reacts to this?" Ryuji said as he gestured to the crowd slowly starting to wonder about just how true the accusations and rumors were.
Ren shook his head as the three began to climb the stairs. "Right now, this is still Kamoshida's turf. Let's not give him any ideas about who posted those cards. Besides…"
"WHO'S RESPONSIBLE FOR THIS!?!" Both Ryuji and Kasumi jumped a little as they heard Kamoshida bellow out loud. Ren smirked.
"Looks like you can hear him just fine." He said as he turned away. Ryuji looked between the first floor and Ren before following after. Kasumi quietly stayed behind and peeked out from behind the corner. She nearly looked at a girl with the fluffiest brown hair she had ever seen coming towards the stairs.
"Oh, sorry." Kasumi apologized while the other girl bowed.
"My apologies as well. I should have been watching where I was going. Please excuse me." With that, the girl passed by her, letting her see that the crowd had lessened, letting her see Kamoshida standing with another girl that she recognized as Niijima-san, the student council president, doing her best to calm Kamoshida down.
"Kamoshida-sensei, please do not lose your temper. I assure you, we will find whoever is responsible for this prank.” Makoto-san calmly explained.
Kamoshida was utterly red, before closing his eyes and taking a few deep breaths. After a while, he opened his eyes, looking far more composed. However, before her eyes, everything seemed to disappear, nothingness reaching out all around her. The only other person that was there was Shadow Kamoshida, his gaze straight at her. She stopped breathing as he smirked.
“So… a bunch of thieves wish to overthrow the king in his kingdom? Very well, I invite you to come and TRY!”
Just like that, Shujin Academy popped back into view, and Kasumi was left wondering what exactly she had just seen.
“Of course, you are right, Makoto-san. I thank you for looking into this.” He gave a grin as he chuckled a little bit. “I guess that I am a little stressed out from the upcoming tournament, not to mention poor Mishima-san’s condition. It is a real shame what had happened to him.”
“Oh, I just remembered. The hospital called. They said that Mishima is starting to wake up, and should be fully up by the end of the week.”
Kamoshida practically did his best to keep the smile on his face. “Oh, that’s wonderful news! That’s good to hear.”
Makoto-san smiled. “Indeed, perhaps he could even tell us who exactly attacked him. I have to confess, that had been bothering me for a while…”
Realizing that everyone was starting to go to their classes, Kasumi immediately climbed up the stairs, a smile on her face. Mishima-san was going to be okay! He was going to be okay! Maybe after stealing Kamoshida’s treasure, she could go ahead and visit him.
Entering into her classroom, she sat down behind Ann-san. The blonde in front of her immediately turned to face her. “Hey, did you hear what's going on?”
Kasumi looked confused. “Which one? The cards on the bulletin board or Mishima-san’s recovery?"
At that, Ann-san blinked. "Wait, Mishima-san recovered? Where did you hear that?"
"I overheard Makoto-San talking about it with Kamoshida." Kasumi admitted. Ann-san looked thoughtful.
"Niijima-san? Yeah, I’ve talked to her before. Doesn't seem like the kind of person that would just repeat rumors." Ann-san smiled at the news that Mishima-san would be alright before pulling out her phone. “Shiho is going to want to hear this. Maybe we can even visit Mishima-san after school today.”
It took a while for Kasumi to realize that Ann-san wasn’t just talking about her and Shiho-san. “We?”
Ann-san looked up from her phone and smiled. “Sure, all three of us, after school. Check on Mishima-san first, then maybe we can get some snacks. Oh, I can even show you those chocolate crepes I was raving about before… Wait, do you have any meets coming up soon?”
“Ah, not in the next couple of months. But I will still need to watch my calories and sugars after that.” Kasumi explained.
Ann-san grimaced. “Kasumi-san, your dedication is amazing. I really mean it. Hearing you talk like that makes me think about trying to cut back on all the sweets.”
The blonde then sighed, dropping her phone to the side. “But there are just so many things I want to try! Ugh, its just too hard…”
“Well, maybe after preparing yourself properly, you could do it, Ann-san.” Kasumi comforted her before remembering what else was happening today. “I mean, I would love to go with you two, but I have...other things I have to do today. I’m sorry.”
“Oh, don’t worry about it.” Ann-san assured Kasumi. “But we are going to do this another time, aren’t we?”
“Yes, definitely.” Kasumi agreed. As Ann-san checked over the texts that she got from Shiho-san, she wondered what she thought about the calling cards. After all, she just seemed like the kind of person that would have been interested in that. "Hey, Ann-san, did you see those cards on the bulletin board? What do you think about those?"
Ann-san stopped her typing before looking at Kasumi, her expression mixed between hope and resignation. "I wouldn't put anything into it. With any luck, it's probably a prank from some chuunibyou."
Kasumi frowned. She hadn't known Ann-san for long, but she could tell that she wished she could believe that it was real. "You don't think anything is going to happen?"
Ann-san shook her head. "If it really did take some accusations for Kamoshida to get what's coming to him, then he would have gotten canned long ago. I wish I could, I really do. I guess… I'm just done hoping for anything to change."
Briefly, Kasumi wondered what would have happened if Ann-san had been with her that day, if Shiho-san hadn’t needed someone to come with her. Would she have gone to the palace with them? Would she have the ability to awaken a persona like she did with Cendrillon? She idly wondered what Ann-san’s persona would even look like.
The door nearly slammed open as Kawakami-sensei stormed in, shoving her phone in her pockets as she tried her best to control her visible distaste. Kasumi saw Ann-san jump at the noise before she quickly shoved her phone into her desk. The students looked at each other, before one bravely spoke up. “Sensei, you alright?”
Kawakami-sensei took a deep breath, before exhaling and looking up at the class. “Yes, I’m fine… Just something that came up that I’m gonna have to deal with after school.”
Kasumi had a sinking suspicion about Kawakami-sensei’s business, considering that she was trying her best to not make eye contact with her side of the room.
“However, I am pleased to announce that Mishima-san is recovering and will hopefully return to class soon. I expect everyone here to give a good welcome back.” Hearing the smatterings of agreement, she took what she could get. “Alright, time for class…”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~TAKE YOUR TIME~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“See you later, Ann-san. Tell Mishima-san that I said hello.” Kasumi said to Ann-san as the class was dismissed for the day. She nodded back.
“We will… Huh, what is Niijima-san doing here?” Ann-san wondered. Kasumi looked towards the door.
Appearing prim and proper, Makoto Niijima quietly walked up to her, Shiho-san following right after her. “Yoshizawa-san, are you busy today? There are a couple of things that need to be discussed.”
“Why? Is Kasumi-san in trouble?” Ann-san asked, with Shiho looking concerned as well. Niijima looked at the two before shaking her head.
“N-No, I merely wish to discuss things with her regarding her current time in Shujin. I regret that my duties have kept me from engaging further, but I have managed to clear out my schedule so I could discuss things with you. Would that be alright?” She asked, her attention fully on Kasumi.
Kasumi was caught. The group had agreed to keep a simple abili, something that would give them a concrete excuse, but vague enough that they would be able to fudge some details and keep themselves flexible. However, she had just given her excuses to Ann-San and Shiho-san and she had already made it sound slightly important that she had to make her excuses. But she had been surprised that Niijima-senpai came and wanted to talk to her today.
And she knew that it was only the way the calling card was written that Ann-san and Shiho-san did not immediately suspect Ren and Ryuji. As much as she wondered what kind of persona the two would have manifested, she agreed with Mona-senpai that they should have to limit anyone else from coming with them to the Metaverse. Even if they did have the ability to awaken a persona, today had a time limit that they couldn't spend time helping people get used to their abilities.
However, she had to make sure that no one suspected them afterwards, and she had heard of Niijima-senpai's smarts beforehand. She wouldn’t be surprised if Niijima was able to put together any clues left behind carefully. She quietly looked at Ann-san and Shiho-san. “It’s okay. You should go see Mishima-san. Maybe he’s woken up since then?”
The two looked between each other, before saying their goodbyes and leaving the room. Making sure everything was in her bag and nothing incriminating was showing, she nodded to Niijima-senpai. “Alright, I have everything.”
Niijima-senpai nodded as the two walked out the door. As they started for the stairs, she could see Ryuji look through the crowd and see her. His eyes were wide as he looked at the two before he tried to come forward. She shook her head, with Ryuji getting the message and pulling out his phone and quickly texting someone on it, probably Ren. The two started to climb the stairs.
“So… how are you, Yoshizawa-san? Have you been settling into our school well?”
Kasumi did her best to give a genuine smile. “Yes, my time at Shujin has been going great. I now talk regularly with Ann-san and Shiho-san, and Ren and Ryuji have been great.”
Niijima-senpai looked back, a bit quizzically. “I know that you have been seen with Amamiya-san and have been trying to be a good influence on him, but Sakamoto-san? You are aware of his reputation.”
At that remark, Kasumi dropped her smile, her thoughts immediately going to all the times in Kamoshida’s palace where Ryuji gladly stood in front of everyone else, being the one that all their enemies had to go through to get to them. “Yes, I’m aware of his reputation, and honestly, I think it is unfair that because of that one incident, he’s practically a pariah. I have eaten lunch with him, and he’s not the brute everyone is making him out to be.”
“...I won’t argue with that.” Niijima-senpai looked a little sad. “I remember when he was one of the rising stars of the track team, and he was much more… agreeable during that time. While I understand that he might have some grievances with Kamoshida-sensei, he should have taken them to another teacher so that the issue could be handled peacefully. It is… tragic that the situation ended up being what it is.”
“...I suppose that is one way to put it.” Kasumi remarked as they cleared the stairs and crossed the hall to stand in front of the student council room. Niijima-senpai turned to Kasumi, looking a little sheepish.
“Yoshizawa-san, I have to admit, I actually didn’t want to talk to you. I’m sorry for making you think that.” Niijima-senpai admitted.
Kasumi felt a pit form in her stomach. “What do you mean, Senpai? Why did you call me here?”
At that moment, the door to the student council room opened, and the person there simply smiled. “Ah, thank you for bringing Yoshizawa-san, Niijima-san. I’m sorry that you had to lie on my behalf.”
“It is alright, Kamoshida-sensei.” Niijima said. “I hope that the two of you can reconcile your differences in another environment.
Just what had Kamoshida told Niijima? And was Niijima actually not seeing anything suspicious with this? Just then, she heard someone come up to her.
"Hey, Kasumi-senpai!" Ren greeted as he walked up to her. Realizing that Niijima-senpai was right beside her, Ren gave a little smirk as he nodded to her, completely ignoring Kamoshida.
"Hey, Jima-pai. How's it going?"
...Jima-pai?
Niijima-senpai looked like she sucked on a lemon. "Amamiya-san, please do not call me by that name. Also, may I ask why you are here?”
Ren rubbed the back of his head, looking a little sheepish. “Hey, Senpai. Can we talk? I got something I want to tell you.”
Seeing the excuse that Ren was offering her, she nodded. “Of course. Pardon me, Kamoshida-sensei.”
“Excuse me?” Kamoshida’s affability quickly faded away, almost like it wasn’t there in the first place, before he quickly put back some semblance of it. “Ah, Amamiya-san. Please wait, I must speak with Kasumi-san here first about her gymnastics.”
“No offense, Kamoshida-sensei, but why? It’s not like you can help her get better at that. Don’t see what volleyball and rhythmic gymnastics have to do with each other.” Ren glibly replied.
“Amamiya-san, please do not disturb them. You can talk to Yoshizawa-san afterwards, but for now, you will have to leave them be.” Niijima said as she tried to bar Ren away from her and Kamoshida.
“Niijima-senpai, you ever considered that maybe there is a reason why Kasumi-senpai doesn’t want to associate with Kamoshida?” Niijima paused for a moment as Kasumi realized that Ren actually addressed her properly. “Or that it is kinda weird that he asked you to lie just so that Kasumi-senpai wouldn’t suspect that it was Kamoshida? Does any of this even sound off to you?”
Niijima actually did look conflicted, her gaze flipping between him and Kamoshida. The gym teacher scoffed.
"Amamiya-san, do you have any decency, trying to make me out to be the bad guy here? I suppose, considering your background, that you don't. Niijima-san, can you make sure that Amamiya-san doesn't disturb us?"
Niijima looked between him and Ren, and Kasumi hoped, prayed that she would make the right decision.
It disappointed her when Niijima turned to Ren. "Amamiya-san, let Yoshizawa-san and Kamoshida-sensei have their space. Please do not disturb them."
While Niijima had her back turned, Kamoshida gave a smug smile. "Thank you, Niijima-San. Make sure that Amamiya-san doesn't do anything rash. I believe he's been hanging out with that delinquent Sakamoto-san too much."
Kasumi recognized the tenseness of Ren's body, the clenched fist, the look in his eye. The look in Kamoshida's eye told her that he was counting on a reaction from Ren. Ren was falling into a trap.
Her hand clasped Ren's shoulder.
"Ren, it's going to be okay. Please don't throw everything away. Stick to the plan.”
Ren stared at her, before his eyes flicked to the room. Flicking back to her, he quietly nodded. Niijima came close. "Come on, Amamiya-san."
Ren glared at her before picking up his bag off the ground. Had that always been there? "Fine, Niijima-san."
As the two disappeared climbing down the stairs, Kamoshida turned to Kasumi. "Now then, Kasumi-chan. How about we-" "I only did that just so you couldn't get Ren in trouble."
Kamoshida blinked in shock, prompting Kasumi to continue.
“I want to keep him safe. I saw that you planned to do the same thing you did with Ryuji. And maybe you could have gotten me to agree to anything. Then I saw what you did with Ann-san and Shiho-san. I saw how you manipulated them, playing around with them and their friendship just so you can feel mighty and proud about yourself.”
He snarled. “Big words coming from you. I-”
“Fujino Ayumi, ring a bell?” From the way his eyes widened as his snarl evaporated, it certainly did. “I heard about her from my father. I think you remember him, Shinichi Yoshizawa? Who do you think he’ll believe: you or his daughter?”
Her heart burned, her indignation driving her forward. She stared straight at Kamoshida, and there was something in his eyes, something that she once saw in herself: fear. Kamoshida was afraid.
“You did something to her, didn’t you? That’s why she never talked about meeting you after the interview, though maybe that might also be that you aren’t anything worth talking about, anyway. While everyone else sees you as this great coach, I see you for who you are: a has-been that deserves to be one.”
And maybe it had been the infiltration of Kamoshida’s palace and seeing all his darkest parts, the parts that even he didn’t want anyone else to see, that made her realize that she would never be afraid again of the man called Suguru Kamoshida.
“If I’m not being clear enough, let me tell you no. I refuse to have anything to do with you. I hope that whoever those phantom thieves are, they do change your heart.”
Without bowing, she turned on her heel and began to walk away. She didn’t make it more than one step before someone grabbed her arm and threw her into the student council room. Her arm aching, she quickly grabbed the edge of the table in the middle of the room and pulled herself up. Hearing something click in front of her, she looked up to see Kamoshida coming towards her, trying to bury his fear underneath his anger.
She quickly amended that she was still very afraid of what he could still do.
"LISTEN, YOU!" Kasumi's heart stopped as Kamoshida put his hands inside her uniform jacket. "I DON'T CARE WHO YOU THINK YOU ARE, SO LET ME TELL YOU SOMETHING! I AM THE ACE OF SHUJIN! I AM THE MOST IMPORTANT PERSON ON THIS CAMPUS. I'M THE REASON THAT SHUJIN IS WHAT IT IS TODAY, AND I DESERVE SOMETHING, SO I SUGGEST THAT YOU SHUT UP AND-" "REOW!!!"
Suddenly, a dark shape jumped onto the table and jumped at Kamoshida.
"AHHH!" Kamoshida shouted as he let go of Kasumi, clutching his face as she saw Mona-senpai land right beside him. The door beside her clicked and slowly opened up. She realized that there was something in Mona-senpai's mouth as he hopped up before throwing it onto the ground.
Immediately, smoke covered the area, with the fire alarms starting to ring. Kamoshida coughed and hacked, disappearing into the smoke. The door swung open before someone grabbed her by the wrist and pulled her forward from the smoke. Ren nodded to her as Mona-senpai jumped onto his shoulder.
Hearing commotion coming from the library, the three kept their mouths shut as they tried to get to the stairs quickly and quietly.
"SOMEONE! ANYONE!” “What’s going on?!” “What’s that smell?” “Is there a fire?”
Hearing Kamoshida shout behind them, and the rumblings of the library beside them made them move faster to the stairs. Just as they ducked into the stairs, they heard the door open behind them and footsteps starting to move in their directions.
Moving down the stairs, Ren’s phone went off. Quickly looking at the text message, he quickly looked around as they got to the second floor. Teachers were trying their best to control their students, who were crowding the stairs. Kasumi quickly took a peek at the text message that Ren got.
Quickly, Kasumi realized what was the problem. If Niijima found them, which would be easy if they followed everyone else, then she would hold them over until Kamoshida found them. Then she would definitely believe whatever Kamoshida told her and hold Ren responsible for the attack, especially if Mona-senpai couldn’t hide in time. Then they were gonna get held back, Ren’s gonna get in trouble, they are going to get detention, the day is going to pass them by, Kamoshida is going to get away with everything...
‘GAH, HOW DID THIS GO SO WRONG!’
“Here, let’s hide in 2-D!” Ren said as he pulled Kasumi towards the door. Reaching out, he pulled the door open and rushed inside-
“GAH!” “EH!” “REOW!”
Ren collided with someone, letting go of Kasumi’s hand as Mona-senpai fell from his shoulder. Shocked at the sudden accident, she was about to regain her focus as she quickly grabbed the door and shut it behind her. Quickly coming over to help, she helped Ren up before looking at the other person.
“A-Ann-san?” Kasumi asked, quickly reaching over to help the other person up. Seeing the blonde-haired girl hold something in her hand, she quickly realized she was holding her phone in her hand. Did she forget it here? “What are you doing here?”
“I-I forgot my phone, so I told Shiho that I was going to meet her there. W-What’s going on?”
“HEY, WHERE’S YOSHIZAWA!?”
Kasumi felt a brief surge of fear as she heard Kamoshida bellow. She looked around, and realized that they were trapped. There was no way out other than through the crowd. They were going to get caught.
"That was Kamoshida, why was he…" Ann-san suddenly connected the dots and she became utterly furious. "Are you serious? Did that teacher's pet seriously think nothing was wrong with Kamoshida wanting to meet Yoshizawa privately?! What the-"
"I think I saw someone go into-” “Takamaki-senpai.” Everyone looked up at Ren, who finished texting Ryuji before looking up. Taking Ann-san by the hand, he gestured to the rest of the people to follow him to the farthest corner of the room. “Listen.”
The sheer seriousness in his voice stopped Ann-san from trying to pull her hand away from Ren.
“Whatever you do, don’t leave this room.”
Kasumi blinked. “Ren, what are you doing?”
Her kouhai took a deep breath, before pressing something on his phone. Immediately, a familiar voice sounded out.
“NAVIGATING TO THE METAVERSE.”