"Yeah, okay, let me back up...

"There's another layer to reality that some people can go to, called the Metaverse. It's made up of what people think and believe, instead of being made of, you know, physics.

In the metaverse, people who are deeply conceited, who think in distorted ways, can generate places that are... reflections of who they are, in a way. That's called a Palace. 

Kamoshida has a Palace that looks like a castle, and in that place reality more or less works how he expects it to. The men's volleyball team are his slaves and prisoners, there's a "playroom" full of faceless Shujin girls with no clothes on, and there's a copy of Ann who's a complete bimbo and totally devoted to Kamoshida.

We've been exploring Kamoshida's castle because we think that if we can steal a particular treasure from it, we can untwist Kamoshida's thinking and turn him into a more decent person who'd confess to his crimes. Which would be a damn sight easier than gathering evidence of his misconduct in the real world and fighting the case through the justice system."

She looks at Akira, an eyebrow raised skeptically. Then she looks at Ryuji. Then at the cat that conjured money.

"This is absolutely insane, but at this point I've witnessed an impossibility already."

She looks back at Ryuji.

"You went there? This Metaverse?"

He nods. "Yeah. It's trippy as fuck! Everything's big and dramatic and crazy, and there are shadow guards we have to fight, and puzzles to solve. S'usually Akira who solves the puzzles. I'm no good at 'em."

She looks down for a moment. It's an unbelievable story, but Ryuji's almost as bad a liar as Ann; he's never been able to lie to her. He clearly believes what he's saying.

"If I've skipped Coach's summons, he'll take it out on me next time he can. Practice is going to be worse than ever."

She giggles a little bit madly, her breath shaky, then looks up at Akira.

"I've already pissed him off. Nothing for it, right? Might as well take a break from practice to help you three — four."

Akira nods seriously. "If you want to join us, I'm not going to stop you. But I do want to warn you, it's genuinely dangerous in a couple ways. You could get expelled, in trouble with the law, or even die. You're sure?"

She takes a slow, deep breath to steady herself, clenching her hands.

"Ann's facing the same risks. Am I scared? Sure. I'm terrified. But after today, appeasing him is a lost cause. I didn't come when he called. I can't be alone with him now. It'll only get worse. If you've got an alternative, I have to try it."

Her hands are shaking.

"I—I've never fought back before. But I have to."

Akira lowers her voice. "Been there. With my parents, actually. I know it's scary. Try and harness it, focus it. I've always found spite to be a lovely motivator."

Joker nods, as if that's all there is to say on the matter. "So. If you're going to be joining us, I'll explain the legalities side. Please don't startle, I'm going to do something slightly scary."

She reaches into Ann's discarded pack and comes up with her Tkachev. "Prop gun," she explains. "Looks real, but it's airsoft. In the Metaverse it is real. In law it's real too, even though you couldn't kill someone with it. I don't think I need to explain what would happen if you were caught with one of these, much less on school property. Nothing good. That's the big thing that could get you expelled or jailed, handling these."

Joker puts the prop gun back in Ann's pack for the moment. "That's the legal side. As for the risk of dying, the castle in the other world is swarming with guards, and their swords do real damage if they hit you. It's easier to heal there than here, but we could still lose a fight. So it's probably safest for us to wait for Ann to wake up, and then all go into the castle together.

The four of us — Ann, Ryuji, Morgana, and I — all have magic powers in the other world now, so together we might be strong enough to finally steal the treasure tomorrow. Especially if you're there to help us. I just don't know how long Ann's going to be knocked out for. Probably it's safest to assume at least some of us will have to go to class tomorrow."

Shiho opens her mouth for a moment at the sight of the gun, then closes it and nods. 

When Akira finishes, she looks down at Ann for a moment. "That makes sense. It might be suspicious having both Ann and I out sick, but she's already going to be missing school tomorrow and being 'sick' is the easiest and safest explanation why I missed Coach's summons. The school won't make an international call just to check on her missing a day for the first time in a year, and I can fake sick for my parents well enough and then come here and take care of her once they go to work. And then we meet up with you after school?"

"That's probably the smartest thing to do, yeah. I wouldn't have gotten you mixed up in this if it wasn't my only option, but given that it's this or Kamoshida..." She sighs. "The risks are worth taking. I just wish they weren't so large."

"So let's see if I understand this. We're exploring a castle in another world where beliefs are real, and this castle is the manifestation of Kamoshida's distorted desires and beliefs, and if we steal a specific treasure we steal his need to be this awful, and that might make him confess? Oh, and going to this other world sometimes results in powers?"

"Yeah, pretty much. The idea is that there's some belief of Kamoshida's that's the — lynchpin of all this, yeah? Something that makes him behave this way. And in the metaverse that idea is a physical object, something we could actually take from him. So if we steal that, his whole personal reality should fall apart. At which point he'd be left with the truth that he's been ruining the lives of everyone he touches. If he has any crumb of decency in his heart, he should confess after that."

Akira settles her hands together. "It's not guaranteed, to any degree. We haven't done this before, though we're learning fast. But Morgana's our expert on the metaverse, and they say it should work." 

"As for the powers... basically there are mythological spirits out there in the Metaverse, and in moments of great need they can make contracts with people to assist them. Generally for people they resonate with. So, like, Ryuji's got the spirt of Captain Kidd looking over his shoulder, and Morgana's got Zorro, and I've got Julie D'Aubigny and Ann's got Carmen. It's not unlikely you'll get one too if you stay with us long enough: I don't doubt at all that you've got the necessary will to fight."

Morgana chimes in then. "It's not exactly a spirit making a contract with you? Or well, it is and it isn't. It's also the other side of your heart expressing itself through the spirit you're making a contract with."

"Morgana says it's also about the other side of your heart, the part you have trouble connecting with, expressing itself through the spirit you're making a contract with."

She smiles wryly. "Before you ask, yes, I understood what you heard as meowing. Once you go to the metaverse you'll be able to understand Morgana too."

She looks at Morgana, then at Akira, and blinks. "My life has gotten very strange very quickly. We have an animal companion. Are we in a magical girl anime?"

"And Tuxedo Mask is wearing leather and brass knuckles now?"

"My guardian asked me almost exactly the same question."

She shakes her head. "Somehow I doubt it."

She giggles a bit and nods. "Yeah."

"She'll probably be okay until morning. Exchange numbers and bail for now?"

Shiho nods. "I think all of you have my number now though?"

"Yeah, I'm good. It's probably for the best to leave Ann to sleep for now. If me and Ryuji are anything to go by, Ann will be okay tomorrow."

"You're probably right, but I'll come check on her anyway," Shiho replies with a soft smile down at Ann for a moment.

"See you tomorrow."

"See you tomorrow."

And off Akira goes, following directions on her phone to Ann's local train station. 

Akira checks the time. 6:42 PM. Just barely enough time to pick up a weapon at Untouchable for Shiho. 

She'd have absolutely no time to stash it, though. She'd have to bring it home with her. 

Screw "is it right", is it necessary to protect Shiho and Ann? 

Yes. It absolutely is. She's not stupid, it is a risk. A serious one. But it's only one night. It's objectively unlikely she'd be searched. 

She buys a ticket to Shibuya.

The train isn't very crowded. She gets to Shibuya easily enough.