Persona BLEACHED 3: Chapter 2

Chapter 2: The World Knight
August 5, 2029
Early morning near Akihabara. The Electric Town, as it is called for being one of the main hubs of technological culture in the country. Most of the residents living here were business owners, specializing in computers, as well as various facets of 'otaku' culture.
One such residence was the home of the Ishimaru clan. The husband, Kabu, was a former politician. The Ishimaru name was one quite familiar in political circles, dating back centuries. Kabu was no different, save for his choice of spouse. The men of the family would tend to gravitate towards women of identical status. Politics, medicine, law. But the woman Kabu fell in love with reflected his own disinterest, and frankly, resentment, in the political world he'd been born into.
Kyoko Inazuma, the Unstoppable Thunderbolt, was perhaps the most ruthless woman ever to step foot in a Japanese wrestling ring. Aggressive with a reputation for crushing opponents bigger than her, Kyoko was not what many in the Ishimaru clan would call their first choice for a daughter-in-law. Or second choice. Or ninety-nineth. But Kabu was enthralled by her strong personality, ever since meeting her at a bar once upon a time. Despite reservations from more or less the entire family, the pair were wed. 
Their firstborn son, Kyohei, took after his father's side of the family in the worst ways. Intelligent and ambitious to a fault, he had formed a circle of influence at Naruki Ascension Academy that was responsible for an intimidating and corrupt atmosphere. Kyohei met his match, however, in the form of one Tohru Kubo; the one person who surpassed Kyohei in ambition and overall ruthlessness. Their incoming junior year at the Academy ended with Tohru's death, and Kyohei winning the class presidency unchallenged. His reign was defined by the deaths of his allies once they became liabilities, and a ruthless political future looked certain.
Then Tohru's younger sister Ringo entered the picture. Within a year, Kyohei's intricate web of deceit and corruption was unraveled by Rin and her friends, and he was exposed and, eventually, imprisoned. The lure of political power had destroyed him, and in anger and embarrassment, Kabu left politics and relocated his family. Falling back on his computer expertise, he and Kyoko opened Master Plan Computers in the busy Akihabara borough.
Partly to keep a low profile, and partly to create a stable environment for their younger son, Kibō.
"The perfect combo of brains and brawn", as his doting mother calls him, the stoic and noble Kibō was a last-minute addition to Rin's inaugural class, the then-new educator wanting to ensure that her old nemesis' younger sibling didn't follow the same path to ruin. Despite his prodigious grades and his Thunderbolt-esque fighting abilities, he tries to keep attention off of himself. In the wake of his brother's highly public scandal, he desires nothing more than for his parents to have a normal, peaceful life.
"GOOOOOD MORNING, KIBOOOOOOO!" 
A normal, peaceful life of being woken up with a shoulder tackle from his mother.
Sent flying off of his bed, Kibō picked himself up. He possessed short brown hair, with a single strand sticking up in an ahoge, bent and pointing backwards. "...was that necessary?"
"EXTREMELY. Last time I heard snoring that loud was after Cena said something about Lesnar's fashion sense. Now hop to it! It's moving day!" Kyoko had a wild head of brown hair with black streaks, with a torn white shirt with Led Zeppelin's logo on it.
"Mom. It's just a town over. We don't have to rush."
"The hell we don't! The sooner we get this over with, the sooner my heart can start healing! My baby's leaving me all alone agaaaaaain!" Kyoko feigned weeping.
"I guess I don't exist anymore." Kabu walked past, a middle-aged man with dark hair and glasses, holding a cup of coffee.
"It's barely a drive, Mom. Just a few miles." Kibō said.
"Might as well be a few THOUSAND! Soon you're gonna be going off by yourself and forgetting all about your dear old Mama..."
"You're not old, Mom."
"Good answer."
"And leaving home won't mean I'll forget about you. It'd be impossible to forget about you, even if you weren't my mom. This is just part of growing up."
"Growing up, huh...yeah, you're gonna be 17 in a few weeks. As old as Kyo was when he..."
"Mom. Don't think about it. I'm not gonna end up like Kyohei. I promise. Let's get a move on." Kibō urged, reading his mother's mood.
"You're gonna go in your pajamas?"
"Oh. Right. Give me a minute."
A few minutes later, the sound of a horn blared out. "C'mon, pick up the pace!" Kyoko bellowed from behind the wheel of a truck.
"Give it a rest, Kyoko. You're going to wake the neighbors up. Again." Kabu sighed.
Kibō, now in an ashen hoodie with a lightning bolt pattern on the front, groggily walked out. "I can't move 200 miles an hour, Mom. I haven't even had breakfast yet. Tch. She's gonna be like this all day, isn't she?"
"You already know the answer to that. She's been anxious about this for weeks. I think even more than last year. She's been off ever since...Kyohei escaped. I think it drudged up a lot of bad memories. Not knowing where he is doesn't help at all."
"Well if I ever catch sight of him, I'll let him know exactly how I feel about all of it."
"Believe me, I'd like to give him an earful myself."
"Are you girls gonna be chit-chatting all day?!" Kyoko griped.
Kabu sighed. "Just humor her. She worships the ground you walk on. Promise you'll at least stop by every once in a while."
"I'll try. See you around, Dad."
"Good luck, kiddo. You're going to need it." Kabu smirked.
A while later, the truck arrived in front of the Academy. "Alright, just wait here a minute. I'm gonna make sure we aren't waking anyone up." Kibō said.
"Who's waking who up? I'm not loud!" Kyoko exclaimed.
"No. No you aren't. But my roommate likes his privacy. I'll just be a couple minutes."
"Okay, fiiiine. I'll just sit here. Alone. Wilting away in silence."
Kibō walked away, rubbing his head.
He entered the boys' dorm, and pulled out his key. "Hopefully I'm not waking anyone up."
It only took a second upon entering the dormroom for any worries about noise to be dismissed.
"BACKSTREET'S BACK, ALRIGHT~!" 
Kibō grimaced. "And how long have you been sitting here waiting to do that?"
Kitty, sitting on the couch, turned the music off. "About 45 minutes. But I've had this planned for three weeks."
Kenneth walked out of his room. "She wouldn't take no for an answer. She's lucky I was already awake."
"Um...Kenji. What happened to your--" Kibō began.
"Kenneth. And I dyed my hair last week. Figured it was time for some changes."
"Ahem. Aren't you forgetting someone?" Kitty pouted, and held out her arms. "My little pogchamp?"
"NEVER call me that again--OOF." Kibō replied, before Kitty tightly embraced him.
"I missed you, big guy. Oh...wow, are those abs? Have you been chiseling your abs, Keebie?"
"I'm not responding to that."
"And don't tell me YOU changed your hair up. Your pointy thing's at a different angle. Why is everyone's hair changing up on me? It's messing with my equilibrium!"
"I don't think that word means what you think it means."
"(If she had a tail, it would probably be wagging right now.)" Kenneth thought.
A sudden thud caused Kitty to detach from Kibō. Kyoko had arrived, carrying several bags. "I couldn't wait another second! Point me to your quarters, Keebie!"
"Um...right there." Kibō pointed. 
"MOVE ASIDE, KIDDOS!" Kyoko zipped past.
"JINKIES!" Kitty jumped out of the way.
"I'm, uh...gonna make sure she doesn't break anything." Kibō followed his mother.
"Welcome back to FunLand, Keebie!" Kitty called out.
"A daring sort, aren't you? I trust you wouldn't be so clingy if Barbara was around." Kenneth said.
"Nothing criminal about being a tease, Kenny."
"You'd be doing 25 to life right now if there was."
"There ain't a cage that could keep me in it."
"Mom--MOM. Don't rush it, you're just gonna make a bigger mess--wait, please don't cry I didn't mean it--" Kibō uttered in exasperation.
---
Just outside of the main city, was a series of quiet residential neighborhoods. One house in particular had an ever-present air of tranquility. The front and back yards were dotted with flowers of all shapes and colors, all carefully tended to and maintained by the ladies of the house. A much easier task when one of the owners comes from a long line of botanists on her mother's side, while the other helps run the family flower shop.
In the right season, butterflies are a common sight, attracted by the variety of flowers present. The homeowners' adopted daughter had a fondness for the bugs, so the arrangement worked out perfectly.
On this morning, the household's cat, a pink-hued 10-year old named Momo, lounged in her usual spot on the front porch. She wasn't a wandering cat, mostly due to the neighbors' shiba inu being a bit too friendly, but she was still familiar with the other neighborhood cats.
So when a strange black cat showed up on the front lawn, she knew something was off. Even more strange was the cat's eye color: they were pink, and almost seemed to be glowing. It let out a curious "mew". This got Momo's attention. Then, the black cat waved with its front paw. Definitely not normal behavior.
It ducked over to the side of the house. It made sure to give Momo a glance as it did so, as if beckoning the older cat to follow. Momo walked out onto the front lawn, wondering what the deal was with this strange new cat.
Unbeknownst to her, this new cat had just been over at the neighboring lawn, and had lured over its own resident. A very friendly bark let Momo know that Fuba was in the mood for playtime.
In the backyard, the homeowners were seated at a small table, peacefully drinking tea. The tranquility of the moment was quickly replaced by the wails of one very annoyed cat, coupled with the barking of an overly playful dog. "Oh, no. I think Fuba got out again." Rin said.
"Certainly sounds like it." The other woman at the table had a pale complexion, long platinum hair, and distinctive golden eyes. Her manner of speech and dress, consisting of dark-blue gloves, skirt and blouse, were akin to a maid's. This was Rosemary Wolfe, Rin's beloved and the group expert on cognition.
"Ugh, I keep telling them to leash him...Shizuka!"
Sitting by a tree was a young girl, with brown hair and butterfly-pattern clothing, along with headphones around her neck. Carved into the tree was an image of a hornet. This was Shizuka, Rin and Rose's 5-year old adopted daughter, who had been saved from an abusive household by Rin's students. The hornet carving was a tribute to Sumiko Sakaki, Shizuka's older sister and a dear friend of Rin's, who had passed away years earlier.
"Uh-huh?" Shizuka asked.
"Don't go anywhere. Aunt Tenko's dog got in the yard again. We'll be right back."
"Okay, Mama."
"'He's just a harmless doofus', she says." Rose rolled her eyes and the two women walked away.
Shizuka yawned, and started to close her eyes, when a tiny "mew" caught her attention. The strange black cat was on top of the fence separating the Kubo backyard from the Mirai yard. It was staring down at Shizuka. Then, it hopped down, and trotted over next to the girl, before sitting down and waving its tail around.
"Hi, little kitty." Shizuka patted the cat on its head. The cat lovingly cuddled up to the girl. 
"Shizuka, I told you about playing around with strays." Rose walked back over. "Uncle Jin just came over to fetch the dog and said that a black cat was what lured it over. I'm guessing this is the culprit."
The cat snickered. 
"And it's...laughing. What kind of cat is..." Rose looked at the cat's eyes and had a realization. "Well, it's certainly a friendly cat. Probably has an owner somewhere. Guess we'll have to give the shelter a call...might have to run all sorts of tests..."
The cat bore a concerned look, and started shaking its head.
"What's with the cat? Why is it acting like that?" Rin walked over.
"My guess is, it's not a normal cat. I'm going to guess that it's really...a kat. With a k. Am I correct?" Rose asked.
The cat let out a sigh. It began to exude a pink glow, and shadow energy enveloped it. What emerged from the shadows was a familiar girl.
"Yeesh, nothing gets past you, huh Doc?" Kitty asked.
"Kitty Kat!" Shizuka exclaimed, before bear-hugging Kitty.
"Hi, princess! Oooh, I've missed you so stupidly much." Kitty patted the girl on the head.
"Ahem." Rin cleared her throat.
"Oh, um. Hey, Prof. Guess I have some explaining to do, huh?"
"Quite. I don't recall your power set including transformations." Rose replied.
"It's a new trick I learned over the summer. Just kinda popped into my spell list one day. Got spooked that I'd be stuck like that for good."
"You're supposed to check in whenever there's a new development in your abilities. You especially should be setting a proper example for your classmates. They've been updating us on their progress regularly. The one they voted as leader--unanimously, multiple times I might add--should be doing the same." Rose lectured.
"I get it, I get it, sorry. I just wanted to surprise the little bug with it. It's not even that flashy a trick."
"Any new development is worth mentioning. It's more about acting like the leader the others clearly see you as being. You're not the exemption, you're the example." Rin dictated.
"Sorry we can't all be you, Prof..." Kitty mumbled.
"What was that--"
A call came in on Rin's phone. "That's Mom. I've got to take this." She answered and started walking away.
Rose stayed looking at a somewhat downtrodden Kitty. "Look, Ms. Kit. We aren't trying to be mean. And we understand that it may seem like too much right now. All we want is a little more responsibility. I'm not fond of giving out harsh lectures."
"I get enough of those from my mom. I just...mmm." 
Rose's strict look changed to one of concern. "Is there something else going on? Something troubling your mind?"
"A million things, Doc."
"Anything you want to talk about? That's what I'm here for."
Rin walked back over. "Sorry to interrupt. Our company's here. Kitty, would you mind keeping Shizuka company for a little while?"
"Course not. I've been missing my daily dose of lovebug. She's safe with me." Kitty assured.
"I know she is. She's been counting the moments until you came back. We'll leave you to catch up. Rose?"
"I'll be along soon. If there's anything you need, Ms. Kit..." Rose began.
"This is my therapy, Doc. I'll be alright." Kitty replied.
The two women went back in the house. "Are you sad, Kitty Kat?" Shizuka asked.
"Pfft, me? Sad? Nah. I can't be sad with my Number One Fan around. Hey, you wanna see a few more magic tricks?"
The girl enthusiastically nodded.
"Okay. Let me pick one that doesn't set off any nearby doggos..."
---
"--just remember, if someone's giving you trouble, give me a call and I'll come running." Kyoko said.
"I can handle it if it happens, Mom." Kibō replied.
"I know you can but I still wanna. Nobody messes with my Keebie and gets to walk away from it. They'll get a personalized Thunderbolt Special."
"I appreciate the thought."
"Now you've got clean underwear, right?"
"MOM." Kibō glanced behind him, where Max, Sahir and Kenneth stood around the dorm's entrance, smirks on their faces. "Mom. I'll be alright. Really. I can protect myself. You made sure of that. You don't have to worry about me."
"It's my job to be worried! It'd drive me off a wall if something happened to you with me not around!"
"As opposed to this totally normal response." Kenneth muttered.
"Oooh...my little man...not even little anymore!" Kyoko tightly hugged her son. "Promise you'll come visit your old man and me when you can. When you're not busy being awesome."
"I...ngh, promise...Mom, you're crushing me..."
"Not as much as you're crushing meeeeee!"
"Uh, Mrs. I...I think he means literally." Sahir said.
Kyoko released her hold. "Ugh...if I develop back problems...when I'm older..." uttered a panting Kibō.
"OMAIGAWD, I'm so sorry! Let me try to fix it--" Kyoko hugged him from behind.
"Mom, Mom that's fine I can OHHHHH--" 
Kyoko put down the exasperated Kibō. She then proceeded to hug him again, but far less forcefully. 
"...I'm gonna miss you so much. I love you more than anything, Keebie. Please don't forget that."
Kibō let out a sigh. "I love you too, Mom. I'll call you after school tomorrow, alright?"
"I'll be counting the minutes. Oi, lowlifes! You'd better not get my boy into trouble, ya hear! Y'all know what the consequences are gonna be!"
"Wouldn't dream of it, Mrs. I." Max assured, nervously.
Kyoko gave Kibō several pecks on the cheek, before begrudgingly returning to her truck. "Be good, Keebie! Mama's always in your corner!" she called out.
"I know, Mom. Have a safe trip back. Try not to speed." Kibō waved, and she left. He immediately grabbed his backside. "Ow, ow, and ow."
"Dude. Has your Ma always been that...clingy?" Max asked.
"Nh...she's always been protective, but lately it's been like...that. Ever since Kyohei broke out of jail. They still haven't found him. I think it's opened up old wounds." Kibō replied.
"It must be difficult, not knowing where her child is. Even if he is a convicted felon." Kenneth added.
"My Dad's family blamed her for a lot of the troubles we went through. I know it bothers her, but she never wants to talk about it. I think it's finally starting to get to her." Kibō said. "Anyway. We're meeting the girls for lunch in a bit, right?"
"Yep. The sushi place over near the markets. I know my sister's gonna leap out of her seat when she sees you." Max replied.
"Well, just tell her to be gentle. I'm just a little bit sore at the moment."
"And I just got word a certain magnolia is gonna be there." Max glanced at Sahir.
"Oh...so Sakuya came after all. Great...hehe..." Sahir nervously laughed.
"You can't just leave her hanging forever, man. I know why you're being dodgy, but you're gonna have to think of something."
"Right...just gotta think...think, think..." Sahir got on one knee, then proceeded to punch his hand into the ground.
"What in the world are you doing?" Kenneth asked.
"My old man has a saying. 'You want to test a man's ability to think, put his hand in the ground.'"
"That...makes absolutely no sense at all." Kibō replied.
"It makes TOTAL sense! You just haven't expanded your mind enough to understand it!"
"All I understand is that you just punched a hole in the ground. Let's just lock our rooms up. Kenny, help this doofus get his hand out of the dirt." Max replied.
"Why is it always ME? Kibō's the muscle, have him do it." Kenneth retorted.
"I just had my spine crushed on both ends! I could throw my back out if I try it!" Kibō objected.
"Y'all are acting like I'm some bull elephant stuck in the mud! I'm really not that weighty!" Sahir griped.
"Oh for...fine, I'll do it if it makes you divas feel better. Keeb, here's my keys. I'd better not be missing anything when I get back." Max said.
Kibō rolled his eyes. 
A short while after, the boys stood gawking inside the seafood restaurant. "Hey there, boys! Welcome to my humble abode!" bellowed out the owner, a semi-muscular man with long black hair and a goatee. He wore dark dress pants and shirt, on the back of which was an image of horns accompanied with the words "King of the Beasts".
"Um...Mr. Kaido. Is this your restaurant?" Kibō asked.
The man was Kaido Minamoto, ex-yakuza and current right-hand man to Shūjo Higashikata, former yakuza kingpin and another member of Rin's inner circle. "Sure is! The Boss had the Galaxy Brain idea to branch out the fishing business! And since I'm his numero uno, I got dibs on ownership!"
"(Pretty sure that was just to keep you away from your golf clubs. And wouldn't his wife technically be his "numero uno?)" Kibō thought.
"Oh, if you're looking for your lady friends, they're over yonder." Kaido pointed towards one larger table, where the girls (sans Kitty) were already seated. Barbara was waving at the boys.
"Hello there, handsome~." she chimed as she embraced Kibō.
"Careful, careful...I got a few Thunderbolt-brand hugs not too long ago..." he winced.
"Oh, yikes. Nothing's broken, I hope?"
"Well, I walked all the way here, so...I'll assume no."
"Is Katherine not going to grace us with her presence?" Kenneth asked.
"She was stopping by the Professor's house for a little while. She should be here soon." Carrie replied.
"Speaking of being graced with a presence..." Max said.
"Hello, gentlemen." Sakuya said respectfully.
"Uhhhh." Sahir uttered.
"Need a pile of dirt to stick your hand in?" Max asked.
"A pile of dirt?" Natalia questioned.
"Please don't ask." Kenneth responded.
"Hello, Sahir-san." Sakuya said.
"H-hey, Sakuya. Uh...I was sure you'd stick it out with your mom for a while." Sahir replied.
"Truthfully, I almost did. But I worked out an agreement with Mother's coworkers where they'd make sure she stays sober while I'm away. And I'll be video-calling her every chance I get. Leaving her again was impossibly difficult, but she promised me that she would be alright."
"Well we're grateful that you decided to come back. This miasma of chaos that we call a class needs every sane mind we can get." Kenneth said.
"Chaos is how we roll, Kennykins." Kitty appeared suddenly behind Kenneth.
"GAH!" Kenneth reeled away. "...how long have you been standing there?"
"Long enough to keep you up at night."
"The more things stay the same, I suppose." Carrie giggled.
"Hey, Barbie. When did we start hanging around goddesses given flesh?" Kitty pretended to whisper.
"You know you don't need to waste energy on flattery, Kitten. You already have my affection." 
"I know. I just do it cuz I wanna." Kitty hugged Carrie. "And what's this? I didn't know it was magnolia season."
"You don't even know when magnolia season is." Sakuya replied.
"Nope. But you're still getting glomped." Kitty embraced Sakuya, and then took her seat.
"Aww. This is nice. Gang's finally back together." Barbara chimed.
"Buncha jackasses sitting in a circle." Max said with his best Bradley Cooper impression.
"So...where do we begin?" Carrie asked.
"I'd, um...like to say something." Kitty brought up.
"Uh-oh." Kenneth uttered. Kitty wordlessly pinched his side, twisting slightly before letting go. "YEOW!"
"As I was SAYING." Kitty began. "I've been thinking on this for a while, and...for whatever reason, y'all want me to be calling the shots. Prof and Doc want me to set an example--don't laugh, Kenny--so I want to make an effort to be more...mature, I guess is the word. Hard seeing as how I'm the youngest, by like five days, Maggie."
"Not something I had control over." Sakuya interjected.
"And as used to calling me one name as y'all are, 'Kitty' isn't exactly the most imposing name. So..."
"So you want us to call you by your real name?" Kibō asked.
"I'll be honest, I'd completely forgotten Kitty wasn't your real name." Sahir added.
"Gee. Thanks, Kicks." Kitty deadpanned. "No, I'm not gonna have you call me by my name. Not like I'm gonna stop calling y'all by nicknames. I was thinking of something else...something that still gets the point across."
"So 'Kat', then." Barbara said.
"What the--Barbie! How'd you guess?!" 
"It's part of your Twitter handle, your gamer handle, Shizuka already calls you that, 'it still gets the point across'...et cetera."
"I won't complain. It fits 'Katherine' better, anyway." Kenneth joked.
"I mean...you guys wouldn't mind, right? It really isn't that big of a deal, but it's a little bit of growth. If you don't want to, that's fine, but..."
"So you're like a kitten growing up, basically. I think it's cool." Natalia said.
"I'd still like to call you Kitten, but if you insist..." Carrie added.
"You get an exemption. You're a queen."
"It'll take some getting used to, but if it's what you want, then I'd be fine with it." Kibō added.
"Well if y'all say it's fine, then I'm going with it." She affirmed.
"Okay, so...starting today, you guys can call me Kat."