"Lee, I…I don't know what to say." Kawakami was shocked to say the least; "Kamoshida abusing students? Forcing himself on others? This is a VERY lofty allegation so I hope you understand what it is you're saying."
"I'm not lying, if I wanted to make something up then I'd say that I can talk to cats." Lee insisted as he crossed his arms; "I know what I said sounds crazy and it's hard to accept but don't you think it's weird how everyone from the Volleyball team always looks so beaten up even on days that they don't practice? Or why no one can look him in the eye?" Lee asked her and tried getting her to connect the dots.
"It's hard to accept, yeah…But that's still a big accusation if he's talking about abuse…Though I'm not sure why but I feel like he's telling the truth…" Kawakami thought as she saw the deadly serious look on his face; "Alright…The Board meeting will be in the next few days so regardless of what Kamoshida says; A statement and a testimony will be taken so the other teachers will be asked to speak up about this." She explained to him as she kept a suspicious look on him to see if he dropped his bluff; "If I get called on, then I can at least offer what you told me but keep it anonymous."
Lee nodded and acknowledged what she said; "Thanks…I'll make sure to put in extra effort for my next assignment that you give me." He quipped as he relaxed after hearing that she was somewhat on his side.
Kawakami rolled her eyes, the slight smirk on her face meant that either she found his easy-going nature mildly funny or she was used to the whole schtick since he had scored pretty highly in her classes. "I just have one last question for you; You acted like you knew Miss Yoshizawa and she recognised you as well… You didn't hit on her before she started school here, did you?" She asked with a raised eyebrow.
"What? No! I met her on the train here and we just walked to school together, that's all." Lee said honestly, however he did look a little embarrassed since she came out of the blue with it. "At most she's a friend."
"Well, I only ask because I'm noticing a pattern regarding who you socialise with; First there's Sakamoto and now Yoshizawa, it looks to me that you have a thing for the athletic types." She remarked with a faint hint of teasing, though it could've made him even more embarrassed if she didn't falter at the last moment like she had made herself depressed. "Just get to class and try keeping your head down until this passes, okay?" She grumbled and watched him leave before slapping a hand to her forehead; "A type for athletes?! Good God, Sadayo…What possessed you to say that to him? Now he's gonna get the wrong impression of me as a teacher and think I'm a pervy weirdo…"
Lee didn't need to be told twice as he left the room with some confusion as to why Kawakami had brought up Ryoko and Yoshizawa. "I mean, yeah they're both cute but I wouldn't say I have a…." He started to think but then felt his mind drift back to Yoshizawa's warm smile and Ryoko's excitable attitude though he did get a little nervous as he started to make some rather noticeable visuals of Ryoko's toned legs and Ann's rather seductive body . "J-Just get to class…Just get to class…"
However class didn't seem all that better since most of the lessons revolved around other students gossiping about a potential squealer who got a bunch of people in the firing line for expulsion; Some remarked that it had to obviously had been the delinquent student behind it, some said that Saya Mishima must've messed up something awful and some even mentioned that Ryoko broke the straw on the camel's back.
"Don't they have anything better to d-"
bzz bzz
"Okay, we really need to do something about Kamoshida now! All I've been listening to is Kamoshida this, expulsion that! Tell me that we are close to busting that pervert!" Ryoko messaged the group as it seemed like Lee wasn't the only frustrated one.
"You should hear it from the "Popular girls" and their gaggle….All they seem to be talking about is who was the one who clocked Kamoshida. Some people say it was Ryoko or Saya that snapped and did it but most people say it was an accident." Ann chimed in as she got a free chance; "Though until we steal his desires, only we know the truth about it…"
"Sounds like we have a plan…We go today and get prepared for what happens next…" Morgana whispered to Lee from under the desk; "No more distractions or worrying…"
———After School, in the Metaverse------
"We're going all the way this time, no pit stops or weirdness is going to stop us now!" Ryoko declared as she swung her weapon around and looked to the castle in front of them.
Ann cocked the new SMG that Lee got at the Airsoft shop; "And with some new toys here, we can bust Kamoshida's ass, no problem~" She remarked as she holstered it and looked to the other three; "I'm still never going to get used to seeing you two dressed like that…Or Morgana."
"Wait, that reminds me…Before we go in; We have to assign Lady Ann a codename too." Morgana mentioned as they took notice of Ann's Outfit; "I'm Mona, his name here is Joker and Ryoko's name is Skull."
"Well, How about….Something fancy or junk?" Ryoko suggested as she looked Ann up and down; "How about Kittycat?"
"Nope, no way…I'm not gonna be babied every time I get called." Ann shut it down quick; "Though I think the cat theme works for this outfit…kind of like a cat burglar."
Lee thought on it; "How about…Panther? They're cool, graceful and pretty dangerous if you make it mad." He opted for her as he saw that Ann was considering it.
"That or a Coug-" Morgana barely got the chance before they saw Ann and Lee giving them a look that warned them not to finish that sentence if they didn't want to get smacked.
"Panther actually sounds good, I'll go with that…What about you guys?" Ann asked as she seemed okay with the name and earned a thumbs up from the two. "Perfect! So how do we do this? Track him down and kick him until he begs?"
"Doesn't work like that, we gotta go find the Treasure in the Castle and steal it." Ryoko pointed out as she leaned on the baseball bat that they had gotten from a chest.
"It's a little vague but yeah, Ryoko's right about it…We need to find out where he put it first and work from there." Joker mentioned as he climbed up onto the windowsill and snuck in.
"H-Hey, wait up!" Ryoko grumbled as she clambered in with a little less grace, leaving Morgana and Ann to discuss the last few things before following after.
It was a little shaky to start but once the four were back in the Dungeons; Joker, Panther, Skull and Mona were already moving fluidly and working their way along and beating up any Shadow they came across.
"Looks like that solo grinding really paid off, it hasn't taken much and now we're…stuck?" Joker mused as they turned a corner and found themselves stuck in what looked like a spiralling staircase, however the problem lied in the fact that the stairs had broken down and even the most athletic person in their group couldn't make that kind of jump; "Crap…We're gonna have to find another way around."
Mona however stopped them as they reached into their satchel and pulled out some parts; "I think I can come up with something; Just give me a few seconds…And your arm." They requested and began to work, it took a few clicks and some adjustments but Joker now had a small dart sticking out of his forearm but hidden under his coat's sleeve.
"Oh wow, you gave him a tiny spiker….Such a gifted achievement…." Skull grumbled sarcastically as she saw Mona grimace; "Seriously, what exactly was it that you were hoping to do-OOOOOOOOO!" She barely had a chance to finish as Joker grabbed on to both Panther and Skull while Mona latched onto his leg before launching upwards to the topmost floor past the broken stairs.
"I was going to say it was a Grappling hook but you weren't going to listen so I let Joker show instead of tell." Mona stuck their tongue out at her as Ryoko was clinging to Joker's arm while Ann was still resting her hand on his chest and her other arm was draped around him.
"Uh…Guys? You can always let go now…." Joker mentioned as he noticed that the two ladies were pretty okay and looked a little too comfortable with holding on to him though they pulled away too quickly for him to notice the faint blushes on their cheeks.
"You idiot! Warn us the next time you try to do something like that!" Panther snapped at him as she lightly smacked his arm; "But, I guess now we don't have to worry about-"
"Come on over here, baby~"
"Navigating…You guys heard that too right?" She continued as she felt her body shiver at hearing flirtatious words in what sounded like Kamoshida's voice.
"Right now I wish I didn't…" Skull agreed as she gripped her weapon tighter while Joker ventured towards the voice; "Dude, I wouldn't if I were you…"
By the time that they caught up with him, they could see Joker looking over some miscoloured books; "I think there's something back here…but out of all these immaculately organised books, these ones are out of place." He mentioned as he handed a ruby red book to Panther.
"What in the…."The Bounty of Flowers"? This is just a list of names…For all the girls in his gym class." Panther's look of confusion turned to disgust; "God, this man is a pig!" She snarled and slammed the book shut before handing it back to Joker; "All it says is what kind of things that he wants to do with each name in that list!"
"Hey, Hey…Slow down that walk and let me see the goods~"
"I hate everything in this place…." Skull growled as she picked up a dull green book out of the pile; "Hold up, this one's got all the guys' names in it." She mentioned as she turned it to the front; "No Fixing Broken Tools"? This guy really is the worst…."
Mona looked them over and then to the stacks; "It might be simplistic but it looks like a puzzle…Maybe if we match the colours, we can unlock something in the deeper parts…"
The group then began to match each book to their respective shelf but Joker somehow seemed distracted as he held on to a purple and red book title: "The Perfect Combination" and started to wander over to a separate wall where similar books were held; "Something feels…Off…Even for this place…" He thought as he slipped the book into the shelf and watched it slowly creak inward like a door and lead into a hallway going down into the dark.
Mona turned as they heard the creaking and saw Joker standing at the opening; "Hey guys…I think he found somethi-" They called out but then paused like they had felt a weird rush and then sprinted past Joker into the dark.
"H-Hey, wait up! You were the one saying that we shouldn't run off, hairball!" Skull yelled as they soon followed Joker after he ran in after Mona.
"God, the things I'd do to you~"
"Will you three jus-" Panther sighed and then rubbed her temples; "Damn it, wait for me!" She yelled out as she quickly picked up pace.
"Mona, what is it? Did you find a way to it?" Joker asked as he quickly caught up with Mona as they navigated the corridor but squinted his eyes when they exited into a brighter room; Everything was coated in garish gems or gold along with a pair of Shadows that were easily dispatched by the group.
"Back there…I can hear it from in there." Mona pointed towards the back of the room where a lone door stood that looked like it had been sealed off by vines.
It didn't take much for Joker to cut away the vines and creak open the door; Inside was a misty room and a plant like pedestal in the middle of the room, echoing that same voice they were all hearing from the library.
"That…When you opened up that passageway, the smell that I could pick up was coming from it got way stronger and it was something weird." Mona explained as they cautiously walked up to the pillar.
"Hey girl…Come over here and I'll show you something good…"
"That's what's making all the noise? It looks like a rock…" Panther grumbled as she and the others quickly inched closer to inspect what was there.
Upon closer inspection; It resembled a hollowed out skull carved from rock and peeking through the holes was a bright red gem, it's ghoulish smile along with the voices that came from it was nothing short of unsettling for any of them.
"Come on…Go ahead and shake it for me…"
"That's a treasure? It looks like…like…The opposite of that…" Skull mentioned as she shuddered as she could feel goosebumps on her body just from being near something like this. "The hell even is it anyway?"
Mona smirked as they tapped the pedestal; "A Palace is a place formed out of someone's mind when it gets twisted and houses their distorted desires." They explained as the group nodded along. "But those desires also become even more distorted with the longer they stay here and then coalesce…Into these Will Seeds."
"Okay, that part I get…But what can we do with it?" Panther asked; "It doesn't look all that valuable and in all honesty, I feel weird just looking at the thing…"
"Well, I guess we can just take it." Joker mentioned as he went along with Mona's thinking; "We CAN do that, right?"
Mona nodded; "Uh huh, it's no Treasure but something like this is a REAL rare find…Normally there are three so if we gather the others then we reap the rewards."
Skull however looked unconvinced; "I 'unno…You sure this thing won't spring a trap or curse us in the Castle for taking something like this?" She pointed out as she looked to Mona for an answer.
"Well, I don't really see anything else to do with it but if anything does happen…We can handle it." Mona retorted as they turned to Joker; "This thing could net us something good in the future, so I say we take every chance we get."
Joker shrugged; "Alright, but let's just make sure we're careful." He warned Mona s he picked up the Red Lust Seed and pocketed it; Once it vanished off of the pedestal, the echoing stopped but other than that, nothing else happened. "Come on, let's get going before we run into Shadows."
The rest of the journey seemed a little easier after that; Fighting through the Gym against an Archangel and working their way further up and up the tower of the castle. It was when they reached the very top of the ramparts that everyone was now at the same level of 15 and even managed to find another Will Seed that Skull stumbled on after kicking in the wrong door.
"Please tell me we're getting closer…" Panther complained as she drank down an energy drink to up her SP; She was glad that getting as high a level as she did meant that Shadows burned easier but they had gone from bottom to top in one sitting. "I'm all for progress but we've been at this for what feels like hours…"
Joker nodded; "Mona, how's your nose? Because these Seeds have been throwing us off all the way up." He mentioned and took one of Takemi's pills to up his health.
"No doubt, I can tell that the Treasure is not too far but for some reason, I can still smell the other Will Seed…" Mona explained as they climbed up and headed for the door, "Just a little farther and we'll be all set for the next step."
Skull groaned as she cracked her back; "So should we go get the other Seed thingy or try and get to the Treasure? I don't think we can get any higher up than this…"
"I think finding the Treasure is probably priority right now but once we can figure it out, we can go back down and pick up the last Seed on the way…They seem simple enough." Joker mentioned as he peered out of the Safe Room before heading out and saw parts of the floor floating up and cracking; A good indicator that the Treasure was nearby since the distortions were getting stronger.
"I swear, if I find Kamoshida in here…I'm first in line to beat his ass for making us run all around the place." Panther growled as she followed Joker and the others.
"To be fair, most of that was Joker…He kept running us back and forth trying to get all this junk and kicking Shadows around." Skull pointed out as she looked to Joker; "Was it really necessary?"
The Leader shrugged as he looked to them; "Well, think of it like this; The more we fight them then the more we can grow stronger…And on top of that, if we can take those weapons in and out of the Castle then we can take this junk out with us…We can earn ourselves a good chunk of yen doing it." Joker pointed out; knowing that Iwai always had a place for the weird stuff he brought whether it was the seductive candlesticks or weird pig paraphernalia, however the better question was whether Itomi was equally as generous with her sales.
"Well, can't argue with that…Look at it this way, we're almost at the top so where else would a "King" store his treasure?" Mona mentioned as the four carried on past the guards and managed to snag two keys from the guards that stood patrolling around a pendulum walkway.
"Seriously, I know he's meant to be a bad guy but who just leaves the keys with guards right outside the door?" Panther asked as she placed one of the gem shaped keys into the lock and Joker placed the other in. "Wait…What's that?" She asked as the giant doors opened up into the main throne room and saw a giant iron cage sat in the corner though what was in it had made everyone double take.
Inside this cage which had been blatantly meant for circus animals was a gigantic beast that resembled Ryoko but she seemed to had been devolved and looked more like a cavewoman; her body was bulky and misshapen but clad in what looked like a leopard print bikini. "Who there?!" The unkempt and feral "Ryoko" grunted in ape-speak as she grabbed the cage. "You bring meat?! Where King?!"
"That…" Skull was flabbergasted when she saw what appeared to be Kamoshida's cognitive version of her; "That's what he sees me as?!"
Joker and Panther both looked at each other but it seemed mutual about what it was that made it even worse; shoved in a corner was a smaller and what appeared to be a more conventionally attractive cavewoman version of Ryoko folded like a pretzel. "That is seriously fucked up…" Joker spoke out as he felt all kinds of wrong even looking at this thing.
Even Mona who spent 25% of their Palace hunt mocking and sliding jabs at Skull was lost for words, the fact that there were two versions made it hard for them to find any joking words to take their mind off of things even if they wanted to; "Remember…This is a cognition, it's not real…Only what Kamoshida thinks."
"Yeah, no shit! It really doesn't shock me that he thinks of me like that but it doesn't change that he's an asshole through and through…Hey, Banana breath! Where's Kamoshida's treasure?!" Skull yelled up at the cognitive Ryoko with a more fevered wrath in her.
"Blonde pest yell at Ryoko! No like!" "Ryoko" growled and reared up to slam against the cage. "Leave King's throne!" She continued to bark and roar at the group as the bars creaked.
"Ryoko, stop antagonising her! If she guards the treasure then we don't wanna take chances." Mona whispered as they looked around for any secret rooms or doorways.
"ME?! This colossal ape thing is stopping us from the treasure…If anything, we oughtta kick it's ass!" Skull yelled back at the Monkey.
"You steal?! Then Ryoko prove she good guard! King will reward Ryoko if do!" The Cognitive Ryoko bent the bars outward and lumbered out with a growl as it turned from it's apish form and into what looked like a giant gorilla with a club in hand as it's Shadow Form.
"Alright, looks like we're doing this…Mona, back us up! This one's gonna hurt." Joker ordered as he checked it for weaknesses.
Mona kept to the back as they saw Ann cracking her whip and slinging Agi at it's face while Joker used Angel to hit the Ape with Kouha.
"Come on…Something this big and aggressive should have a weak spot…" Mona theorised and then looked to it's legs as it unsteadily moved back and forth between each attack. "I got it! If this thing is based on Skull then hit it with Wind!"
Joker nodded as he switched to Bicorn and helped Mona with a tag team Garu to knock it down and primed for an All Out Attack, alternating between using Skull's stunning attacks and Wind to bring it to an end.