Ryuji awakens to his Persona

Ryuji sank to his knees, helplessly watching us getting assaulted by the hard hitting shadows.

"You piece of..." Morgana hissed when Kamoshida pressed down on the beaten cat's back.

"Get your hairy leg off him, you damn bast-" I gruntled when was tackled by a horse, sending me to the feet of the golden knight and ended up being stepped on as well.

Kamoshida mocked Ryuji. "I bet you simply came here on a whim and ended up like this. Isn't that right?"

"No." said Ryuji.

"What a worthless piece of trash, getting emotional so quickly. How dare you raise your hand at me. Though it was only temporary, have you forgotten my kindness in supervising track practice?" Kamoshida stated, his words effecting Ryuji and making turn to him in a glare.

"Wasn't no practice, it was physical ****! You just didn't like our team!" Ryuji stated as he slammed his hands to the floor.

"It was nothing but an eyesore! The only one who needs to achieve results is me!" Kamoshida stated with a smirk, that seemed to grow wider as he continued. "That coach who got fired was hopeless too. Had he not opposed me with a sound argument, I would've settled it with only breaking his star's leg."

Morgana and I looked at Ryuji in shock, as he was starting to tremble in horror.

"What?" asked Ryuji.

"Do you need me to deal with your other leg too?" asked Kamoshida. "The school will call it self-defence anyway!"

"Dammit, am I gonna lose again? Not only can I not run anymore, the track team is gone too cause of this asshole." Ryuji muttered in despair.

"So that's why." Morgana whimpered.

"Once these two are dealt with, you're next." Kamoshida assured with a dark laugh, relishing in the look of utter hopelessness that was on Ryuji's face and extremely excited to begin the execution.

"Ryuji!" Morgana cried out to get his attention.

"Stand up for yourself!" I shouted as I struggled to break free from my captor's leg.

"You're right. Everything that was important to me was taken by him. I'll never get 'em back!" Ryuji muttered darkly.

Kamoshida scoffed with a big, wide, manic grin on his face. "Stay there and watch. Look on as these hopeless scum die for nothing because you sided with trash like you."

Slowly Ryuji got himself up, raising his head to give the man the fiercest glare he ever had and spoke in nothing but pure, unfitted fury.

"No, that's what you are. All you think about is using people. You're the real scumbag, Kamoshida!"

"What're doing? Silence him!" said Kamoshida.

"Stop looking down on me with that stupid smile on your face!"

Ryuji's voice echoed throughout the room.

"You made me wait quite a while. You seek power, correct? Then let us form a pact. Since your name has been disgraced already, why not hoist the flag and wreak havoc? The other you desires it thus. I am thou, thou ain't I... There is no turning back. The skull of rebellion is your flag henceforth!"

A metal skull shaped mask appeared on Ryuji's face.

"Hmph," said the golden knight, raising his sword to decapitate us. "What can you do? Cower in fear and watch!"

Ryuji shrieked as he reached to rip his mask off his face, just as I has done. Blue flames even enveloped him and a small but menacing looking pirate ship appeared. On the vessel stood tattered red caped skeleton, a pirate hat adorning his head and a pair of sabers on his chest. From the cuff of one arm was a polish gold cannon. Ryuji stood beneath it with the biggest smirk that had ever adorned his face, his Shujin uniform gone. In it's place he wore a black jacket and pants, dark boots, a blood red scarf and a pair of yellow gloves, giving him the look off a thug ready to take on whoever was giving him trouble.

The ship slammed into the horses pinning me and Morgana down, sending them flying.

Morgana crawled over to my side and whimpered, "Dia."

A green growl appeared round my body and I could feel my wounds healing, my bones mending, my blood flowing where it needed to go and my energy returning. I crouched next to Morgana who performed the same healing spell on himself.

"What's going on?" I asked.

"Ugh, this one as well!?" Kamoshida growled as he stepped back a little.

"Right on. Wassup, Persona. This fucking rocks!" Ryuji exclaimed.

"Congratulations, Ryuji. Now you're ready to fight with us," I said with a smirk as me and Morgana picked ourselves up.

"Now that I got this power, it's time for payback." Ryuji exclaimed. "Yo, I'm ready. Bring it!"

"Don't mock me, you brat!" the golden knight exclaimed, coming forward and transforming into another knight like figure, this one sporting red knight and riding a dark steed with a flowing white mane.

In it's gauntleted hand was a spear.

"What troublemakers that bother King Kamoshida with trifle matters!" the crimson knight exclaimed.

"Kamoshida's cognition ain't changing, right? Then I'll act like the troublemaker I am!" Ryuji exclaimed.

"Let's do this, Captain Kidd!"

The red knight summoned two more of the two horned beasts we'd just fought before charging with his spear held low.

"Blast him away, Captain Kidd!"

I assumed Captain Kidd must have been the name of Ryuji's Persona. Captain Kidd fired electricity out of his cannon, the bolt striking one of the dark horses, making it scream in intense pain and fall to the floor and tripping the others. Captain Kidd fired another bolt, blasting the crimson knight. Rider and ridden screeched in pain. The last two horned beasts moved in front of their wounded leader. Zorro sent a gust of wind, finishing of them off while I had Arsene take care of the other.

"I am a loyal subject of the glorious King Kamoshida. So why have I lost!?" the crimson knight groaned, knowing that it was over.

"It just proves that Kamoshida ain't anything special." Ryuji exclaimed before Zorro finished the Shadow off by slamming his ship into him.

"So Ryuji had the potential too," Morgana said, looking at the blonde with an impressed stare.

"How bout that!?" Ryuji exclaimed, gasping and panting after the rush of battle left him. "Even if you apologise now, I ain't forgiving you!"

"I told you that this is my castle. It seems you still don't understand," Kamoshida stated.

Not even a moment later, a young girl our age began approaching him wearing nothing more than a pink bikini with hearts on it and a pair of violet cat ears. It was a girl that all three of us recognised immediately, while Morgana simply looked at her with very wide eyes.

"Takamaki!?" Ryuji exclaimed in shock.

"Oh, what a meow-velour and beautiful girl." Morgana exclaimed in awe, unaware of the deadpan stare he was getting from me.

"What's going on!?" Ryuji asked.

"She's one of those cognitive things like the slaves in the training hall." I said, realising the bikini she was wearing was the same one she wore in the magazine I remembered her being in.

The cat ears were new.

"Hey, let go of her, you perv!" Ryuji exclaimed.

"How many times must I tell you until you understand!? This is MY castle, a place in which I can do whatever I want. Everyone wishes to be loved by me." Kamoshida taunted with a smirk before turning to us with a glare, "That is everyone besides slow-witted thieves like you."

"Takamaki! Say something!" Ryuji pleaded.

"Harm down, Ryuji! It seems that girl isn't the real one." Morgana stated with a glare towards the blonde. "She's the same as those slaves, a being made from Kamoshida's cognition of her!"

"Are you jealous? Well, I'm not surprised. Women aren't drawn to problematic punks like you." Kamoshida stated smugly.

Suddenly "Ann" kneed Kamoshida in the groin and ran over to me.

"Sorry, Kamoshida but JohnDoe is the new king." she said.

"What?" asked Morgana.

"Clean them up this instant!" said Kamoshida.

In an instant, three more guards suddenly appeared from the ground, all in full armour and ready to defend their master with their lives. Tired from the earlier fight, we knew that there was only one option left for us.

"We're outnumbered. Let's scram before we get surrounded!" Morgana said.

"We're not going to do anything and just run!?" Ryuji exclaimed.

"We can't die here." I said, frustrated at the blockade between me and Kamoshida but knowing that we were in no shape for another brawl.

"Thank god, you've got a level head." Morgana sighed in relief as he turned to Ryuji, waiting for his answer.

"Fine," Ryuji relented, much to our relief, as he turned to Kamoshida with a menacing glare. "We'll expose what you really are, no matter what! You better be ready for us!"

"I was beginning to get bored of torturing the ones here! Come at me whenever you want, if you don't care about your life!" Kamoshida stated with a round of maniacal laughter, which served to irritate us more as Morgana reached into his pack and pulled out a small white orb.

"Ignore him. Let's go!" the cat exclaimed before slamming the ball to the ground, causing it to emit a blanket of white smoke that covered us just enough for us to escape with our lives.