Persona BLEACHED 2: Part 35

Chapter 35: Last Strike
October 2023
The crowd was ablaze with excitement. The chanting was continuous. Instruments playing, banners flying. The atmosphere in the Tokyo Dome was what every up-and-coming baseball star dreams of experiencing. 
As expected for a game of this magnitude, it was a sellout crowd. Game 7 of the Japan Series between the visiting Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks and the hometown Yomiuri Giants. Bottom of the ninth, tied at two runs apiece. The chants were ongoing, the fans prepared to blow the roof off of the place.
Up steps the young hometown star.
"Now batting for the Giants, the designated hitter, Number 7, Ryōma Tsutsugo!" the PA announcer belted out.
The crowd goes wild. How could they not? Their two-way star was fresh off of shutting down Fukuoka at the top of the inning. He had been a revelation all season long, dominant on the plate and unhittable on the mound. At twenty-two years of age, the local prodigy was already garnering interest from Major League Baseball teams. He was on top of the world.
Now, with a championship hanging in the balance, he was at the plate. Lanky, but deceptively strong, opposing pitchers had yet to solve the riddle he posed. He took his batting stance.
First pitch.
A knowing smirk formed beneath his light mustache.
The ball wound up in the upper deck.
3-2 Yomiuri. Ball game. Series over. Championship won. MVP sealed.
Life couldn't have been better for Ryōma Tsutsugo.
---
March 2024
Life couldn't have been worse for Ryōma Tsutsugo.
Just five months earlier, he was the hometown hero. Slayer of Fukuoka, MVP of the Japan Series and Major League prospect.
Yet now, here he was, alone in an empty apartment. His girlfriend, pregnant with his son, had taken everything. Once swimming in yen, he had barely anything to his name.
The Giants had cut him four months after signing him to an extention. His name was mud. All of that MLB interest had disappeared.
It all fell apart with a single diluted urine sample.
Problem was, Ryōma had never once taken a performance enhancer. He couldn't understand how it could have come back positive, apparently with a substantial amount. Nippon Professional Baseball needed to make an example. 
And so it was that the hero of Tokyo was now an anonymous nobody.
He was forcefully removed from the building, having lost ownership of his apartment. He had nowhere to go.
Finding an alley to hide behind, he used a cardboard box to shield himself from the rain.
Then, a voice.
"Far from the lights of the Tokyo Dome, isn't it?"
Ryōma looked up to see a large, robed man standing before him.
"Who're you supposed to be?" he questioned.
"Think of me as a fan. One disturbed by your rapid fall from grace. To think that a simple test could lead to you taking shelter beneath a box..."
"You just rubbing it in, bud? I already know my life's in the gutter. Took that test at face value and never let me try to explain. Everything I've spent my life trying to earn, POOF, gone. I didn't even do a damn thing wrong."
"No, you did not. If they had done even the slightest bit of investigation, they would have discovered the truth. One of your teammates switched his sample with yours. Preserved his career by sacrificing yours."
"You serious...?! Who's the bastard?! I'll have his head on a--"
"Before we reach that point, I have an offer for you. You see how broken the world is, yes? How you were tossed aside and left to rot while the ones who wronged you are allowed to persist in their luxury? What if I told you that I could give you the power to punish those who believe themselves beyond judgement?"
"I'd say sign me up, freaky. One question, though. Who the hell are you?"
"A story for another time. For now, you can simply call me a friend. Now, come. We must prepare you for the struggle ahead." He held out his hand.
Ryōma took it.
---
April 4, 2029
Creon sat above the entrance to the capitol. In his hand, he held a phone. He read a text sent two days prior.
"Ryō--please, call me back. Ryōta is asking for his daddy. You don't have to like me but please don't take it out on him. We can talk this out. Please. -- J" 
An unsent message sat typed out. "Ryōma is dead." it read. This far from the Earth, it likely wouldn't reach its destination. Even if that wasn't the case, he wasn't sure if he could send that message. He put the phone in his pocket.
He looked out, and saw a figure approaching. Kibō was alone.
"Well, then." Creon said. "I'm not one to shy from a duel."
---
"Okay, as much as I don't like big crowds, even I can admit this is freaky." Kitty said.
"There was all that noise a little while ago...and then nothing. That's honestly more ominous than complete silence." Sakuya mused.
"Ditto. I haven't gotten any response from the earpiece, either. I've got a bad feeling..."
Sakuya caught sight of something. "Kitty-san, over there!"
Down the road, perched against a building, Max played a tune on a harmonica, with one hand, his other arm dangling. Natalia and Carrie sat next to him, the latter with eyes closed. "If this gets annoying, please let me know." Max said.
"No complaints here." Natalia replied.
"Guys!" Kitty yelled out. The girls ran over.
"Finally, a friendly face. And a debatable one." Max quipped. Kitty didn't look at him, but lightly slapped his limp arm. "YOW!"
"Blockhead." Kitty deadpanned.
"What on Earth happened here? Are you all alright?" Sakuya asked.
"Not at the moment, no..." Max winced in pain.
"What's going on with Care Bear?" Kitty asked.
Carrie slowly opened her eyes. "A minor respite, Kitten..."
"How did you end up like this? Was it one of the Elites?" Sakuya asked.
"Yeah. This big blue SOB came around. Roughed us up pretty bad. Care got the worst of it." Max replied.
"Big and blue, you say...that must have been Haimon."
"Don't leave out the part about Care flattening him." Natalia added.
"Wait, really? You beat him, Carrie-san?"
"Hell yeah she did. Dude had to use this weird puppet move just to get back up. Care was already messed up, and she still crushed him." Max replied.
"You flatter me. I had plenty of help." Carrie weakly added.
"Unbelievable. Haimon was the Master's best soldier. I could never imagine him falling in battle. You're incredible, Carrie-san."
"You overexaggerate, loves. You see the condition I'm in. I can hardly muster the strength to stand, much less be of any further help." Carrie muttered. 
"You've done plenty already, you absolute QUEEN. Guess that answers what all that noise was." Kitty said.
"Yeah, about that. We've been here for a little while now. That last bit of noise wasn't us." Max replied.
"It came from pretty close to here. We were gonna go check it out once Care felt good enough to move." Natalia added.
"Hmmm. Well if it wasn't you, then..." Sakuya pondered. "We have to hurry to where the noise came from. Ismene wouldn't have taken Haimon's death lightly. I fear for what might have befallen the others."
"I hear that. Plus we need to find Barbie so we can get the queen and this schmuck healed up." Kitty replied, pointing at Max.
He simply grumbled in response.
"Think you can lift her up?" Sakuya asked Natalia.
"Ja." Natalia affirmed. She stood up, and her eyes began glowing. She lifted Carrie up with telepathy, and gently placed her onto her back. "Hold on as tight as you can, okay?"
"I don't need instruction to hug you. It's instinct by this point." Carrie said with a light smile.
"I can feel a cavity comin' along with all that sugar." Kitty quipped.
The group began walking to the source of the noise. "Hey, do you think the Professor and Ms. Rose are okay?" Natalia asked.
"I don't know. I like to believe that they're safe and sound, but those Elite creeps still running around doesn't fill me with confidence." Kitty replied.
"Yeah. And you see what just one of them did to us. If all of 'em ganged up on the Prof and co., it would've been a nightmare even for her." Max said. 
"There could very well be another nightmare brewing." Sakuya said. "Mirai-san appeared while we were settling things. He was...not well."
"Not well? Was he sick?" Natalia asked.
"He impaled Lin with that chain of his. She had to give up some of her humanity to make sure it didn't kill her. The rest was us talking him down." Kitty replied.
"He was complaining of headaches. The look in his eyes...it's seared into my memory. He looked possessed." Sakuya added.
"Once we get Prof and Doc out, first thing on the list is to find him. How we deal with him depends on whether he's foaming at the mouth or not."
"He always seemed like such a sweet guy...what could've made him like that?" Natalia asked.
"Everyone's got their demons. Some are better at handling them than others. Guess he's reached the point where he can't handle them anymore." Max replied.
After a bit of silence, Carrie piped up. "Kitten..."
"What's up?" Kitty replied.
"Did you make your peace? With your sister?"
Kitty thought for a moment. "I said some really tough things to her. And I meant every word. But then when I thought she was gonna die...I've never been so scared. It's weird...I was so mad at her, but I didn't want the last thing I said to her to be something so harsh."
"Your family is your family. You've said it so often how your sister was your hero while you grew up. Those feelings can never just disappear. When she left, was it on good terms?"
"...yeah. I told her I loved her despite everything."
"Very good. When it comes down to it...family is all you have..." Carrie closed her eyes.
"Hey, don't do that, Care Bear! Not now--"
"Relax. I can feel her breathing. She's just exhausted." Natalia assured.
Sakuya stopped in her tracks. "Everyone...look...!"
The scene before them was a dire one. Destruction was prevalent, buildings and even the road being damaged heavily. Strewn about were the battered bodies of Kenji, Sahir and Barbara.
"BARB!" Max shouted, sprinting to his sister's side.
Sakuya ran over to Sahir. "Sahir-san, wake up! What happened here?"
Kitty ran to Kenji. "Still breathing. The hell could've done this?"
Sakuya put her ear to Sahir's chest. Suddenly, he sprang up.
"AHHHHH! TO ALL THE LOVELY LADIES I'VE UPSET, I'M SORRY I'M SORRY I'M SOOOOORRY!...ah?" He noticed Sakuya on the ground, shaking her head. He looked around. "You guys are here? I thought I was dead...wait, am I dead?! Is this Heaven?! Why are there so many rocks in Heaven?!"
"Sahir-san, calm down! You aren't dead." Sakuya reassured.
"It's alright, man, you're safe." Max said.
"Uuugh..." Kenji stirred awake, to see Kitty kneeling over him. "Oh...I suppose this is Hell, then."
"You wish, you miserable scouser." Kitty retorted.
"What happened to you guys?" Natalia asked.
"This silver lady dropped in and tried hacking us to pieces, then she turned into a monster and started shooting lasers at us and, and..." Sahir rapidly explained.
"Silver lady?" Kitty questioned.
"Just what I feared. Ismene. She must have been seeking revenge for Haimon's death." Sakuya said. "Where is she now? I can't imagine her leaving you alive. Did one of you stop her?"
"I certainly didn't. She transformed and blasted us with a giant laser beam. The next thing I remember is waking up here." Kenji replied.
"Ditto. I just remember it stinging a lot, and then nothing." Sahir added.
"Then if it wasn't you two, it must have been..."
They looked over to the still-unconscious Barbara.
"Did...did Barbie do it?" Kitty questioned.
"Unreal. Barb's not the type to do that. I can't imagine her actually killing someone..." Max said.
Kitty walked over to Barbara. "I can't picture it either, but I don't see any other answer. She's the only one that can answer that."
Barbara stirred awake. She looked around, then got up to her knees. "Everyone...you're alright? You're all alive?"
"Everyone's okay, Barbie. What happened to the silver lady you were fighting?" Kitty asked.
Barbara said nothing for a moment, as if she was taking in the gravity of what was happening. "I...had to stop her. She was gonna kill everyone if I didn't stop her there. So I used up all my power and then...then I..."
She began shaking. "I didn't want to do it. I had to, I know that, but..." Tears began to form in her eyes. "Mama always told me to do the right thing, and never be like my old man. I did the right thing, but...I killed someone. That's what...that's what the old man would've done. I stood there and I watched her die! Just add a Heineken and I'm the same as my father! I...I..."
Kitty wrapped Barbara in a hug.
"I can't do this...I can't...I just want to go home..." Barbara uttered through the tears.
"It's okay, beautiful, it's okay. I think we all want to be anywhere else right now. You're not wrong for thinking that." Kitty assured.
"Barb...you're not like Pa. He wouldn't be crying right now if he killed someone. You didn't have a choice." Max said.
"Me and Kenny'd be goners right now if you didn't do anything. We shouldn't even be here." Sahir added.
"You did what had to be done, Barbie. I'm sorry it had to happen, but it did. I need you to keep it together for just a little while longer. Prof still needs us. Keebie's out here by himself." Kitty said.
"We need you to be brave, Barb." Natalia added.
Barbara cleared her face. "You're right. I have to stay strong. We're too close to ending this for me to fall apart now..."
"That's a good belle. Before anything else, we're gonna need a spot of healing. After that..." Kitty began.
The sounds of battle rang out again in the distance. "Sheesh, here we go again..." Sahir grumbled.
"Barbie, you're gonna have to speed up those heals. I think our boy's already in trouble." Kitty said.
"Yeah. Okay." Barbara replied.
"If it is Ishimaru-san fighting...the only one left aside from the Master is..." Sakuya pondered. "Oh...oh no."
Sakuya began to leave. "Hey, Maggie, hold up! This is gonna take a hot minute." Kitty called out.
"Then stay here and look after everyone. I know Creon's fighting style. Ishimaru-san will need my help. I pray I'm not too late..." Sakuya left.
"Maggie! At least give me a second to answer..." Kitty griped.
"She sounded terrified. That guy in the green robe must be scary..." Natalia said.
"He's not like the others, though. He's human like us, right? How scary could he be?" Sahir questioned.
---
"Not fond of staying down, are you?" Creon asked.
Kibō was panting, and had received a few scratches. "Call it the sum of my parts. I don't submit." he retorted.
"I can understand why. Kabu Ishimaru was well known for never budging when it came to debates. Then, of course, there's Kyoko Inazuma, the Unstoppable Thunderbolt. The most relentless woman ever to step foot in a ring. I can see where that strength of will comes from."
"Shouldn't be surprised that you've done your homework."
"It was a swift and unjust fall, wasn't it? Fame and power undone, and left to toil in anonymity. For people who were once so famous, it must be torturous."
"Guess your research wasn't that great after all. My father hated politics. And my mom was on the verge of retirement when my brother was arrested. They're perfectly happy with the cameras off of them. It wasn't the fall you think it was."
"Tch. If only we were all so fortunate."
"Who are you, anyway? You didn't come from the moon. You're like Sakuya. You're human. What made you this way?"
"A fall. One far worse than your family's. Not everyone can endure public disgrace and land on their feet. Most people just keep falling, until everything they once believed secure lies around them in pieces."
He formed a sphere comprised of fire in his hand. "Why am I even telling you this? You won't live long enough to think on it." He wound up in a pitcher's motion, and tossed the fireball at Kibō.
Before it reached him, someone leapt in front of him, and cut the fireball in two. What appeared to be flower petals scattered with the slash.
"Hm?" Creon pondered. "Oh. I was wondering when you would show yourself."
"Sakuya!" Kibō said.
"I'm glad I'm not too late. Are you alright, Ishimaru-san?" Sakuya asked.
"Yeah, I'm fine. I've dealt with worse. Where's everyone else?"
"Worse for wear at the moment, but they're getting treated. Senpai and Carrie-san dealt with two of their number. What's important is they're alive."
"Okay. That's one relief, at least."
Sakuya turned to Creon. "You must know it by now. Ismene and Haimon are dead. You are all that remains."
"Figured as much." Creon responded.
"Is that all?"
"What do you want from me, a eulogy? Those two were around for way longer than any one of us. You could see it in their eyes, hear it in their voices. They wanted out. Watching people destroy each other for thousands of years became too much for them. Now they're free of it. Why should I be mad about it?"
"Who is it talking, Ryōma? You, or Pittacus? Has everything you've endured really made you so cold?"
"There's that name again. Who is he under the mask, Sakuya?" Kibō asked.
"How about I just get rid of the mystery? Not like this face has any value anymore..." Creon removed his mask. He had short, dark hair, and a thin goatee. There was a faded scar across his left cheek.
"Huh...I feel like I've seen that face before..." Kibō pondered.
"His name is Ryōma Tsutsugo." Sakuya stated.
"Wait, Tsutsugo? As in the baseball player Tsutsugo? That's who he is?"
"Was. That name died with my dignity and everything I spent my life trying to achieve. All that's left in me is vengeance. For the broken system that left my life in ruins."
"If you really think that way, then there's no reason to fight us. We have the same end goal." Kibō said.
"Wrong. You're operating under the delusion that the systems in place can be changed. They've been corrupt and diseased for longer than you kids have breathed air. And they'll be that way long after we're all dead and buried. The Master taught me much. People can't change. Not as a whole. That's why it has to be ripped apart at the root." Ryōma retorted.
"And you believe that's what Pittacus will give you? He only tells you what you want to hear. He's just using you to get what he wants. Once that's done, he'll inflict his rage upon the entirety of mankind. Is that what you want?" Sakuya questioned.
"My wants and desires are his. I'm just a dead man. A tool to move along his will. What he does with those mindless sheep isn't my concern."
"So that's really what you're thinking. Humans are all sheep that deserve a vengeful madman's punishment. Tell me, Ryōma...does that include your son?"
"....."
"Your hesitation tells me everything. You don't need Pittacus to get what you want. If you desire justice, you can get it on your own. You can still have your own life."
"And what kind of life could I have beyond that? You have the benefit of creating a future for yourself. My name is forever tainted. I could never wash those stains away."
"That isn't true." Kibō retorted. "My family survived our public scandal. We've created a good life for ourselves. You can do the same, Tsutsugo-san. We don't have to kill each other."
"You needn't sacrifice yourself for another's vengeance. You can exonerate yourself. We can help you clear your name. Even if you can't be the baseball giant you once were, you can still forge a life. You can be a father to your son. This doesn't need to end in violence." Sakuya added.
"Forge a life? Repair my reputation?" Ryōma scoffed. "What good is that going to do? The water would remain tainted with sewage, and I'd allow myself to willingly become a slave to that system. Just one more worker bee amongst billions, slaving away to feed a cancer that can never be cut out. The best that I could do for Ryōta would be to make sure he could never know that kind of world. The kind that'll use you, chew you up and spit you out."
"Please, Ryōma. This doesn't need to be a fight."
"Sorry, Tires--no. Sakuya. I'm afraid that it does." Ryōma drew his sword, and a menacing aura flared around him. "You think you have the strength to change the world yourselves? Then prove it."
"Stubborn fool...Ishimaru-san. I believe we can get through to him. But a man like him will only respond to real strength. You swayed me away from Pittacus through your unbreakable resolve. Fight as you did that day." Sakuya dictated.
"Don't need to tell me twice." Kibō drew his own blade. "Tsutsugo-san. You had a reputation for being unstoppable as a player. So I'm going to do what my parents did countless times."
His own aura began flaring. "I'm going to break the unbreakable."
Kibō brought forth Galahad, and the armored knight lunged towards Ryōma.
"Good. At least you've got guts. I hate dueling cowards." Ryōma put a hand to his face. "Come, Phantom."
As Galahad swung down at Ryōma, the blade was caught by an unseen force. 
"What the...?" Kibō muttered.
What was holding the blade in place was a pair of disembodied, purple gloved hands, having caught the sword between their palms. The rest of the spirit's body slowly began to appear, revealing its form to be that of a man in a dark purple bodysuit, a hood obscuring its face, save for a pair of glowing white eyes shaped as though they were covered by a domino mask.
"The Ghost Who Walks, executioner of justice. The kind your little Knight of the Round could never dispense, lest he get that shiny armor of his dirty. Throw as many fairy tales at me as you want, kid." Ryōma said. The Phantom kicked Galahad away. "I'll just keep hitting you with reality."
Ryōma teleported behind Kibō. The boy tried to guard with his sword, but the former ballplayer swung his own and knocked it away. "You're going to have to try better than tha--" Ryōma began.
Kibō responded by headbutting him in the face. Ryōma took a few steps back, holding where he'd been struck. "Cheeky little--"
Kibō grabbed him and began to batter his face with several hard punches, then doing the same to his abdominal region. Sakuya looked on in shock.
"What do you think, tough guy? This real enough for you yet?" Kibō sniped. He hoisted Ryōma up, and performed a vertical suplex on him, smashing him into the ground. Kibō then grabbed him by the legs and started to spin him around. After a few rotations, he threw the bewildered Elite into a building with great force.
Ryōma, dazed and bleeding from the mouth, tried getting up, but Kibō grabbed him by the collar and hoisted him up. "What's wrong? Being beaten within an inch of your life not what you were expecting?"
Kibō headbutted him again, knocking Ryōma to the ground. The boy knelt over him. "This your idea of justice, kid? Kicking someone that's already beaten?" the Elite quipped.
"Shut up. You don't know a damn thing about 'justice'." Kibō punched him.
"Ishimaru-san...?" Sakuya looked on.
"Do you know what life's been like, having to constantly look over our shoulders because of you? Being afraid to go anywhere, do anything, because some monster in a mask might be waiting to attack us?" Kibō's eyes turned yellow, his voice shifting. "What do you think justice is, 'Hero of Yomiuri'? Aligning with murderers and thieves? Menacing and stalking children? One of your people set off a bomb in our friends' room. A bomb."
He delivered another punch.
"Please, enlighten me with how killing a bunch of high schoolers is going to help break the system. How it would make a better future for your son. What kind of self-justifying bullshit is that? How can you call yourself a father while willingly trying to murder kids that did nothing to deserve it?"
Another headbutt.
"I'm done being afraid of you. I'm done with you and your gang of alien thugs terrorizing me and my friends. Your stupid cult isn't going to hurt anyone ever again."
Losing any self-control he had left, Kibō began to punch Ryōma several more times. "Never again, do you hear me?! Never! Again!"
Before he could deliver another blow, Sakuya grabbed his arm. "Stop it, Ishimaru-san! He's already beaten! Battering him further does nothing!"
"The hell it doesn't. Why should I give a monster like this mercy when his friends haven't given us any? I'm not going to live in fear of these animals anymore--"
Beneath Kibō, a pool of water formed. A hand reached out and grabbed him, wrapping its arms around him. "Keeb, please...that's enough. You don't have to keep going..." Barbara rose out of the puddle, grasping Kibō.
"Let go of me, Barb. He has to feel what we've felt. I have to make him pay..."
"No, you don't! What good comes from being like them? You'd just be proving everything they think about us. Please just stop it...I can't watch you be like this...if you turned into a murderer, it'd...it'd rip my heart in two..."
Getting the message, Kibō relented. Seconds later, the others arrived.
"Jesus, Keeb, what did you do?" Max asked.
Kibō got up. "What I had to."
Natalia stood over Ryōma's battered body. "Doesn't feel so good when it's you, does it?!"
"Everyone, please. High as your emotions may be, you can't let them get the better of you. Losing composure does nothing." Sakuya spoke up.
"Maggie's right. We've gotta keep it together." Kitty agreed. 
"So what do we do with this beaten piece of meat?" Sahir asked.
Kitty looked through her selection of spells reflecting on her glasses. One read "Bind". She smirked.
Moments later, Ryōma was strung to a building by spiritual threads attached to his arms and legs. "That'll keep you benched for a while. Long enough to deal with King Spook." Kitty said.
"Heh." Ryōma scoffed.
"Way I see it, you're not in any position to be laughing." Kenji retorted.
"Ignore him. We have a bigger mark to deal with." Kibō declared.
The group started to leave. "You really think you can win?" Ryōma called out. "I can assure you, no amount of reckless abandon will help you deal with Pittacus. He's on a level far beyond what you've experienced before. He hasn't lived as long as he has just by resting on his laurels. Just ask your Professor."
That caught the students' attention. "What did you just say?" Carrie asked.
"This state you have me in right now? Just imagine your Professor in this same position right now. Pittacus has her in chains. If she could not defeat him, how do you expect to do it?"
"Same way we've beaten you and your buddies, Link. By getting back up." Kitty retorted.
"Hmph. You do that. I'll hear of your failure soon enough." The students ignored this last remark and walked towards the capitol.
"So much for turning him around." Sahir said.
"Do not be so sure." Sakuya replied. "That was the first time I've heard him refer to the Master by his real name. Maybe in-between that beating, Ishimaru-san gave him something to think about."
At the head of the group, Kitty smacked Kibō on the shoulder. "Stupid. What are you doing, losing it like that?"
"Sorry. The heat of the moment got the better of me."
"That's not cool, dude. You don't make Barbie worry like that. She's got enough swirling around in her head as it is. That kinda freakout isn't like you."
"I know, I know."
"You shouldn't be using your hands to beat guys to death, Keebie. You have to put them to better use, like, I dunno, maybe..."
"Are you seriously probing for another foot massage right now?"
"Nooooo...I mean, if you're volunteering, I won't say no..." Kitty looked away, blushing.
Kibō groaned. "Never change, Kitty."
Back where Ryōma was, the Elite pondered in silence.
"How can you call yourself a father while willingly trying to murder kids that did nothing to deserve it?"
"...how, indeed. How, indeed."
---
"I dunno if it's just me, but...the air feels even deader here than the rest of this nightmare hole." Kitty said.
"It's not just you. It's as cold as the grave. Like a thousand spirits are bearing down on us, watching our every move." Kenji mused.
"Hey! What did we tell you about being spooky like that?!" Natalia griped.
"Suppose we don't have a moment to lose. Ms. Rose and the Professor are in there somewhere." Kibō said.
"And so's the Spook King." Max added.
The large, steel door to the capitol building slowly opened of its own accord. "Guess somebody's expecting us." Sahir said.
The students proceeded inside.
"...heir to the title of Fool..."
"Huh?" Kitty pondered.
"...in order to discern the truth...to gather the strength to cut through the nightmare...you must first come to know...true despair..."
When the voice ceased talking, Kitty realized that she was now completely alone. "Hey, what gives?" She looked around. "Keebie? Barbie? Maggie? Anyone? Am I going nuts? I might be going nuts."
She walked for a few minutes. "I blinked and they were gone...something's fishy. They couldn't have gone too far ahead." 
As she walked down the hallway, things around her began to shift. The floor of the hallway slowly transformed into a road. The walls vanished.
Before she knew it, she was in front of the Academy. 
"...okay, now I know I'm going crazy. Unless someone just teleported the whole town up here..."
A figure suddenly appeared behind her. She turned around to look. "Bah! Dammit, Sparky, don't scare me like that! Where'd you run off to, anyway?"
Max didn't respond. He kept his gaze downward.
"Umm, hello? Earth to blockhead! You in there?"
"Can't say anything without insulting me, can you?"
"Huh?"
"'You're such a blockhead, Sparky. So inconsiderate, so dumb. Why can't you be a gentleman like Keebie?'" Max said mockingly. "You think I'm such a moron, but you make it so obvious. I dumped you the minute I saw the truth."
"Sparky...? Why are you talking like that?"
Suddenly, another figure appeared behind Kitty. "Do you think we're stupid, Kitty? I didn't get into this school by being a brainless bimbo. I know a floosie when I see one." Barbara said scornfully.
"Barbie...?"
"Don't 'Barbie' me like we're friends. A cheekie joke here, a puppy-dog look there. 'Give me a massage, Keebieeee.' How'd you ever get into the Academy when you're that level of dumb?"
"Barb...I don't know why you're going on like this, or what you think I'm doing, but I promise you it isn't like that--"
"No, she's right. I wouldn't give someone like her the time of day." Kibō suddenly appeared.
"Keebie?"
"You have to understand it's in her nature to take things that don't belong to her. She's nothing more than a common pickpocket. I only put up with your antics because it's advantageous to have someone around that can pick a lock. You're as disposable as a paper cup."
"Keebie, that's...that's not funny. Why would you say something like that?"
"She really hasn't worked it out yet, huh? How about we just skip to fixing the problem?" Max suggested.
"The sooner she's out of the picture, the sooner we can have peace of mind." Barbara replied. The twins summoned their Personas.
"Whoa whoa whoa, what's wrong with you guys?! Why is it 'Gang up on Kitty' time all of a sudden?!" Kitty objected.
"Don't act so surprised. You eye something that isn't yours, eventually it'll come back to bite you. This is what's called 'eventually'." Kibō summoned Galahad.
"You guys...really want this, huh?" Kitty said with hurt in her voice. "Maybe I just need to knock some sense into you...!" She summoned Myeongwol.
As she proceeded to defend and dodge, the others continued to berate her.
"You wish you were me, floosie. Any guy you could gawk at, you had to go for mine?"
"To think I put up with your BS as long as I did. You belong in a cage."
"That I'd even bother touching you should be taken as a privilege. Why would anyone willingly lower themselves to placate a common crook?"
"Knock it off already!" Kitty used Bind, and her attackers were shackled by their legs. "I'm...I'm sorry...why are you guys acting like this?! We're supposed to be friends, right?"
"Friends? Don't make me laugh! All you are is a burden, a means to an end." Kibō retorted.
"Let's spell it out for you, kitty cat:" Barbara began. "If we weren't forced to, we wouldn't want anything to do with a deceitful little witch like you."
"Things'd be so much easier if you would just disappear." Max asserted.
Having heard enough, Kitty slowly backed up, before turning and running.
She ran to an empty neighborhood. Rin and Rose's neighborhood. She stopped to catch her breath. "Keebie, Barbie, Sparky...why were they..."
"Running from your problems, 'Kitten'? How very much like you."
Carrie and Natalia appeared.
"Care Bear...Hoodsie...what's happening? Everyone was acting--"
"You're a thoughtless fool, Kitten." Carrie interrupted. "Here we are, thousands of miles from home, trying to find the Professor, and what's your main concern? Tracking down your fugitive sister for a reunion."
"Everything is about your own reputation, always has been." Natalia chastised. "Maybe if you're nice to everyone, they won't realize what a selfish nobody you really are. The kind that nearly killed me prodding me on, just so you wouldn't get in trouble."
"Your problems always have to take priority. You just run your own way, without a thought for anyone else and this is the result."
All of the houses suddenly lay in ruins, the city behind Kitty now in flames. "What...what's going..." The ground beneath Kitty gave way, and she fell. "Gaaaaaaaaah!"
She got up moments later. "We should've just stayed home." Natalia mused, suddenly appearing. "If we were just gonna die in vain, it should've been where people could see...at least my parents wouldn't spend their lives wondering what happened..."
"Nothing can ever be done..." Carrie uttered. "This isn't our pain to bear...we shouldn't even be here now...if only we'd let the adults handle it, this wouldn't have happened..."
"I...I don't...I just wanted..." Kitty muttered.
"'I'. I, I, I, I, I. It's always 'I' with you! You don't care if anyone else gets hurt, just as long as you can walk away!" Natalia yelled.
"If you weren't chasing old grudges, we wouldn't have any reason to come here ourselves. Thousands of lives stolen, because you think only of yourself." The girls summoned their Personas. "We'll have your life for an apology, Kitty!"
"Stop it, I didn't...I..." Kitty ran.
"That's right, run away! It's all you've ever been good for!" Natalia yelled.
Kitty kept running. In defiance of any reason, she wound up back at the now burning streets of Naruki.
"What's with this place?! What's wrong with everyone?!"
"What are you doing, Kitty?" 
Sahir and Kenji appeared before her.
"Kenny, Kicks...don't tell me you guys are..."
"Having fun, oh jokey one?" Sahir questioned. "Playing around like the kid you are, stringing us all along..."
"Can't handle it when you can't laugh your way out of something, can you?" Kenji said. "It must've felt good, hm? Being told that you were key to stopping this conflict. A joke like you."
"So ridiculous. You deck me in the face and freak out on everyone, and suddenly you get to be the hero? I could make a list of ten reasons why literally anyone else would be better. Here you go from giving everyone dumb nicknames to being designated leader, all while still begging everyone not to leave you behind. It'd be funny if it weren't so pathetic." The boys both began to laugh.
"Stop...stop it...stop laughing..." Kitty looked to be on the verge of tears.
"Hmmmm? I thought you wanted to make everyone laugh!" Sahir said.
"Don't you see, Sahir? She doesn't like it because she's the punchline." Kenji replied.
"Knock it off! I haven't done anything to deserve this! Why are you all going nuts?!" Kitty demanded.
"Even better, she still hasn't worked it out!" Sahir chuckled.
"Just a clueless kid after all. Nothing special." Kenji said.
"I said knock it off!" Kitty lost her temper, and a pink shockwave erupted from her. When she opened her eyes, the city was in ruins. The boys had disappeared.
"I...I don't..."
"Kitty-san...what do you think you're doing?"
On the horizon, Sakuya stood with her back turned to Kitty. "M-Maggie..."
"I envy you, you know." Sakuya began. "Once this is done, you still have a loving family to return to. I have nothing. Nothing except--" She began coughing.
"It must be so nice. Not having to worry about your body turning on you at any moment. Not having to fill yourself with all kinds of medications just to have a body you can be satisfied with. Not having to be seen by others as some kind of monster. Why did I ever leave the Master's service? In his world, I could've been seen as normal. I wouldn't have to go around explaining myself to everyone and being afraid of their response."
She turned to Kitty. "Is that the kind of world you want for me, Kitty-san? One that sees me as some disgusting creature? A life of endless misery and suffering? Is that all my life amounts to?"
"I...I don't know how to answer that...I don't know why you all are acting like this! You all are being so freaking weird!" Kitty covered her eyes.
Moments later, she felt a raindrop.
She opened her eyes. She was in the middle of a forest, rain coming down. 
"Oh, God...what now...?"
She started walking. "None of this makes any sense...I go from the moon to the city to a forest...just by walking?" She stopped. "And everyone...do they really...?"
She looked up at the mass of tall trees. "This place is so creepy...it'd be so easy to get lost in here. Maybe that's what everyone wants deep down...wait a sec. This place...I know what this is. Isn't this where people go to---"
The silence was broken by the sound of something hitting the ground.
"Something just...is someone else here?" Kitty ran to the source of the noise.
What she found was a girl, lying on the forest floor.
"A girl...? Hey, are you okay?!" Kitty ran to the girl. "What happened? Why are you...wha...?!"
The girl, wet and dirty from the rain and forest, was close to Kitty's age. Her short brown hair was littered with foliage. Her arms were cut up severely. On her neck was a pendant of what looked to be a skull-like mask. 
The jarring difference in appearance meant that it took Kitty a few seconds to recognize her.
This girl, bruised and cut up from falling, was...
"P-Professor?!" Kitty exclaimed.
Rin opened her eyes slightly. "...why couldn't I just die here...?"
"Die? Prof, did you..." Kitty looked up. "Did you fall from up there?"
"I couldn't take anymore...the pain was too...too much..."
"Professor...you always look so happy...what's happened to you?"
"If I'd just died here...it would've saved a lot more pain...why did it have to be me...?"
Kitty was dumbfounded. The beacon of optimism and compassion she knew to be her professor was not present here. "What made you like this...?"
"Look for yourself...see what I've experienced...you'd feel the same way..."
Rin put her hand to Kitty's head, and visions began to pour through the girl's head.
She was in a store. A dark-haired, bespectacled man was being held at gunpoint by a younger man. "I'd think twice about this, kid. Heck, you've probably got more money than we do..."
A gunshot rang out. "PAPA!" a young girl screamed.
The vision shifted. A rainy alley at night. A bespectacled young man in a school blazer was sitting down, talking with a figure wearing a red hoodie and holding a gun.
"Right side or left, Toh?" the hooded figure asked.
"Does it matter? Just make it look convincing. And make it quick. She could show up at any moment."
"I'm trying to help you, dude. Not everyone gets to choose how they're murdered..."
"Just get on with it, you giggling imp!"
Gunshots. Moments later, someone arrived. "T...Tohru?"
Another shift. A forest in the mountains. A young woman was sitting against a tree. She appeared emaciated. A large hornet was perched on her head.
"Thank you, Rinnie. Even for a little bit...thanks for letting me be part of your swarm..."
Kitty couldn't bear to watch anymore. "Stop it stop it STOP IIIIIIT!"
The vision stopped. She opened her eyes. She was back in her room in Seoul.
"Helloooo, didn't you hear me?" The door opened. "Mom's gonna be peeved if you're late for dinner again. And Pops brought out the karaoke machine, so...it's gonna be one of those nights." 
"Lin...your eyes..."
"I know, they're mesmerizing, right?" Lin's eyes, previously snake-like, were now normal. "What's with the look, kitten? It's like you just saw a ghost doing something freaky."
"I'm...I'm okay."
"Well if you're all square, then I'd pick your butt off the bed. Pops is gonna get his comeback tour one way or the other."
"Yeah, you're probably...probably..."
Kitty stopped. The onslaught of sadness finally caught up to her. She began to cry.
"Hey, what's wrong?" Lin asked.
"I...I don't know what I did wrong..."
"Don't tell me your friends got mad at you again?"
"I thought everything was finally cool...like I had a little family that really got me and had my back...but they were all so angry! Like there was actual, legit hate in their eyes!"
Kitty put her hands over her eyes. "I thought I wanted everyone to be happy...was I really just doing it for me...? And then the Professor...oh my God, the Professor. I saw all of her pain...felt all of it...I don't know how she can even function with everything swimming in her head..."
"What did I do...what did I..."
"I promised Shizuka. I promised her I'd bring her parents back. Then the minute I get to the moon I go running after you! Oh my GOD! They were all right! I only think about myself and no one else!" Her weeping only increased. "It shouldn't have been me...I should've just stayed home and spent my days on games and nothing else...I never should've come here...I..."
Lin put her hand on Kitty's shoulder. "I'm sorry, So-yin." She looked up at the ceiling. "Hey, old man. Cut it out. Can't you see she's had enough?"
Darkness. When Kitty came to, she was standing in complete darkness.
"Ugh, what now...I can't handle this crap anymore..."
"I'm sorry you had to see all of that."
Behind Kitty, the others suddenly appeared. "Gah! Not this again, please!" Natalia shouted.
"Guys? Whoa, hold up..." Kitty backed away.
"Hold on, everyone, just stop for one second. Did...did everyone else see that?" Kibō asked.
"Everything going crazy and everyone else being really really mean? Yep." Max replied.
"So then...that wasn't actually you guys?" Barbara asked.
"What you just experienced was your own cognition. What you believe those around you to be thinking. I was testing the contents of your hearts."
A dark-haired man wearing a blue tropical shirt, decorated with images of the moon, appeared.
"Hey, it's that guy from the museum..." Natalia said.
"Not just that. The one whose statue we found in the city." Kenji added.
"Correct. The name I took on to interact with humanity was Tsukiyomi, God of the Moon. However, my original name is Dr. Reiji Miyatsuko. A cognitive scientist from Earth...well, not your Earth."
"'Your' Earth? Are you saying you came from another Earth?" Kibō asked.
"There is much for us to discuss, children. I will explain everything to you now. The nature of this world, why Pittacus and his followers rebelled...and how I am to blame."