Chained Trickster

Arashi grabbed Mishima’s shirt and followed after Sakamoto, tearing through the school until they reached Kamoshida’s office. “You rat bastard!” Sakamoto said. Arashi cringed as he skittered around the corner, letting go of Mishima’s shirt and straight into the office. “Howdare youhurt someone like that?! I ought to—” Sakamoto raised his fist but Arashi caught it. “Let go of me, man! This bastard deserves—” “Is it really worth getting expelled over?!” He wasn’t sure how much Sakamoto cared about school, but this definitely wasn’t the way to handle things. He wanted to make sure Sakamoto didn’t do somethingstupidand get himself expelled. Arashi had already been on the wrong side of the law before and it wasn’t worth it. It wasn’t at all. He absolutelyhatedthat Sakamoto’s everything would possibly land him in somedeepshit if he wasn’t careful. “Oh, Sakamoto, I thought you would have learned by now…” Kamoshida shook his head and made a clicking sound of disapproval. “Do we really need another case of…self-defense?” Arashi’s blood ran cold at that. Considering what had been said in the Palace during Sakamoto’s awakening… Ugh. This bastard needed to godown. “But you—!” Sakamoto started. “You three have been bullying poor Shizui, haven’t you?” Kamoshida turned around in his chair, leaning toward them. “That’s why she jumped off the school, isn’t it? I wonder what the school board will think when they hear that you were bad enough to push her to suicide.” He continued making the clicking noise. Arashi wanted to slug the bastard himself and break his nose, but that wouldn’t solve anything; it would only cause further issues. Kamoshida stood up and walked over to Arashi. His instincts kicked in and he could feel his skin starting to crawl as the ‘man’ approached. Sakamoto tensed and Arashi shoved him back. Even if he was only a hundred pounds soaking wet, he knew how to use his body weight. “Although there might be…another way to settle this.” Kamoshida’s tone was saccharine in the way that Arashi knew meant someone hadveryill intents. It reminded him of the tone he’d used with Takamaki not that long ago with the car ride. Kamoshida picked up one of his braids and kissed the hairtie which made Arashi want to scream. It was only his usual levelheadedness that kept him from doing so. “Maybe if you…spent some time with me, I could make this all…disappear.” His tone was heavy and he smiled at Arashi, his eyes flashing. Nope nope NOPE. He forced himself to stay calm and snatched his braid back from Kamoshida. “Not fucking happening,” he growled, unable to fully control himself. Kamoshida’s smile faltered into a frown. “Well then, I just suppose I’ll have to tell the school board about this little incident… The delinquent girl and awful former star track athlete…bullying Shizui so badly she felt she had to jump off the building.” He clicked again and sat down at his desk, turning his back to them. “You rat—” “Shh!” Arashi said, pursing his finger to his lips. “We havethat.” Sakamoto blinked then nodded with a grin. “Oh yeah, we do!” “Hm?” Kamoshida looked over his shoulder. “You’re still here?” “Let’s go,” Arashi said. He ushered Sakamoto and Mishima out of the office. He tried to remain as calm as he could, but it was hard. That wasnotthe worst he’d gotten from a born man before, but to have it happen in front of others… His heart beat in his chest and his legs shook. Sakamoto looked at him. “Yo, man, you all right?” “F-Fine,” he said through gritted teeth. “No, man, youaren’t.C’mon, let’s get something to drink. Want some support?” “I’m fine,” Arashi reiterated. Sakamoto sighed but started walking. Arashi did as well, but he had to lean against the wall. Each step came slowly, painfully, his heart feeling like it was constricting in his chest. His breaths came rapidly as his knees buckled, causing him to topple over. “Yo, man, you aren’t fine!” “You clearly aren’t.” An oddly accented voice came up behind them. Arashi had heard it before, but he couldn’t place it. His head swam, his breaths coming so fast that he basically couldn’t feel anything anymore. He felt hands wrap around him and help him to his feet. “C’mon, let’s go somewhere quieter.” He couldn’t argue due to how rapid and shallow his breaths were. He wanted to scream at whoever had picked him up, but he couldn’t get ahold of himself. He just couldn’t. Thisalwayshappened after a born man tried something on him. He had never had anything go all the way, but that had still been close enough to send him spiraling. “Go get some drinks. Water would be great right now,” the voice said. Arashi soon found himself in an empty classroom with an adult woman who…didn’t look quite right. Something about her face wasentirelyoff. He supposed the rest of the students were still outside, but it probably wouldn’t be too terribly long until they all came back. He just couldn’t place where he had seen this woman before. Then again, it was hard to placeanythingdue to how badly his head swam and his short, shallow breaths. His breath continued to come in ragged gasps while he struggled to get himself under control. All he wanted was to get himself under control. He was stronger than this… He shouldn’t have reacted like that… Why? Why was he so damn weak in the important moment? He cursed himself mentally and swore in all the ways he knew how. Eventually, Sakamoto returned with some bottles of water, one for himself, Arashi, and Mishima. “So what are you going to do?” the woman asked. Her voice was oddly accented and she definitely wasn’t Asian. She had flowing, wavy reddish-blonde hair and green eyes. Something about her body and facial structures were odd and her voice was also deeper than any other woman’s he’d heard before. “Dunno what you’re talking about,” Sakamoto said, shoulders slumped. “You said you had ‘that’ which means you have some means of combatting him.” The woman’s Japanese was odd and definitely used some forms wrong. She clearly wasn’t a native speaker. Ann didn’t haveanyissues and spoke as fluidly and just as well as himself and Sakamoto. This woman didn’t. She was from abroad, though Arashi wasn’t quite sure where. “Plus, I’ve seen you out in the alleyway outside the school, stashing your backpacks. And it’s not hard to pick up your thoughts, Sakamoto-kun.” Arashi looked down, staring at his trembling hands. He couldn’t even get the water open due to how badly they shook. He honestly did want a drink. Thankfully, Sakamoto took the bottle from him and opened it, then offered it back with one of those dumbass grins. But it faded as he looked at the woman. “So…you’ve seen us slinking around, huh?” Sakamoto asked. The woman nodded. “Then there’s the fact that you two were missing for half a day a couple of days ago and she had to go home.” She looked directly at Arashi who struggled to sip his water. Even with the bottle open, holding it steady was really difficult. His breathing was still irregular and somewhat gasping which only made it evenharderto drink the waterwhich he really fucking wanted right now.“Kawakami-san was none too happy about it, Kurusu-kun.” She is one of us.Arsene’s voice rang out in Arashi’s head. What? She knows our truth. She has much more experience than you. Arashi looked at her, trying to take small sips to steady himself. She has awakened to her potential and much before you. She may be of help. You want me to trust an adult? You’veseenwhat they do!He couldn’t stop his frustration from leaking through. Arsene wanted him to trust this woman, but there was no way he could. Pretty much all adults were bastards that only wanted to hurt kids just like Kamoshida. Adults didn’t know the first fucking thing about what suffering was like. They didn’t know what happened when they abused their power. Or they didn’t give a damn. Usually they just didn’t give a damn… Her Persona is Tiresias.Arsene’s tone seemed as if it explained everything. “So what have you kids been doing?” the woman asked. “W-What’s your name…?” Arashi managed to mumble between sips. His voice shook and barely carried, but he hoped that she could hear him. “Eleanor Hayes. I’m from the JET Programme. Came here to Japan to teach English.” She smiled at them. “I’ve had you in class, Kurusu-kun.” He supposed that was where she looked familiar from. But it wasn’t like he paid attention to his teachers other than Kawakami. He did pay attention to the lessons, but not so much the teachers themselves. They were all shitty adults that only wanted to hurt kids. Maybe not as bad as Kamoshida, but still bad enough that they wouldn’t let the kids off easily. “Wait… Aren’t you that trans teacher?” Mishima asked. Hayes nodded and twirled her hair around her finger. “Yes… I transitioned late, came to Japan for a new start.” Arashi blinked. A trans adult…? He knew they’d probably be around Crossroads, but he hadn’t expected one to be in Shujin. And so blatantly open about it. That probably explained the voice and the appearance then… She wasn’t born a woman; she hadbecomeone. He just…didn’t know how she could be socomfortablebeing open about it. And flagrant. Especially in Japan of all places. What did her Persona have to do with that…? Arsene acted as if it explainedeverythingabout her. “I think you know why I’m talking to you, Kurusu-kun, Sakamoto-kun.” Hayes looked at them. Arashi looked down. His hands still shook a bit, but he was calming down more. He didn’t want to admit to being a Persona user, not in front of someone that would have no idea. Mishima wouldn’t know anything about it…and he wasn’t sure he could trust Mishima to not rat them out to Kamoshida. “I want to help you.” Arashi blinked and looked up, taking a sip from his water bottle. “W-What…?” Hayes smiled. “I want to help you. I’m sick and tired of bastards like Kamoshida using their power to use and abuse people.” “Hey, man! Stay outta it! It’s one thing with Takamaki… It’s another foryouto want to help!” Sakamoto growled. “You’re no better than—” “Do you think I haven’t suffered myself? No, I may not have suffered like you kids have, but I’ve not had good days until I started being true to myself. I’ve lost friends and family. I’ve losta lotto be true to myself.” Hayes’ tone remained calm, but she was clearly serious. Arashi knewfartoo well the cost of being trans… If she had been through as much as she said… Wasn’t the US more accepting of stuff like this than Japan was though? Then again, it wasn’t like he really knew much about the US. He was struggling with basic reading, let alone trying to understand and comprehend another language and cultureentirely.Was she evenfromthe US? The name was English, that was for sure, but still… “Yo, man, what do you think?” Sakamoto asked. Arashi continued sipping from his water bottle. “I…dunno.” He could see the logical advantage of having someone with more experience on their side. The two of them had only awakened recently and Morgana was still pretty weak. “How much experience do you have with Shadows?” His voice remained small as he struggled to bring it back into his throat. He really just wanted to be done with this. He wished he could just kill Kamoshida and run off. Nothing would be more satisfying than killing that rat bastard in his eyes… Maybe some misplaced anger at the other men that had tried to assault him but… Hayes blinked. “Shadows? I do have a Persona, but…” “So none then…” Arashi sighed. She wouldn’t be all that useful. “Sakamoto-san and Takamaki-san should have say too…” He was really struggling to talk. What Kamoshida had said and done to him hadreallydriven home just how disgusting the man was. Not that the previous night with what had happened with Takamaki, and then Shizui wasn’t but… Trying to manipulate a vulnerable, (perceived) female student into sleeping with him? Yeah, he really did have personal stakes in this now. “Hell no, man! She’s an adult! She’s a teacher! She’s been complacent in Kamoshida’s bullshit!” Sakamoto pounded his fist on a desk. She sighed. “Trust me; I’ve wanted to say something, but being a foreigner and a transwoman against a gold-medal Olympics winner… It wouldn’t end well for me unfortunately. I might get kicked out of Shujin. I’ve seen what he’s been doing. Iwantto take him down. No, I don’t have personal stakes in this at all yet, but heneedsto go down. If you’d have me, I’ll help to the best of my ability.” “I’ll have to talk to Takamaki-san first,” Arashi croaked before he took another sip of water. He doubted she’d be back at school today, considering what had happened. This was definitely enough to hold off Hayes for a while. He doubted her sincerity. Adults only wanted to hurt kids, not help them. And shewascomplicit in Kamoshida’s abuses and covering it up. How could they trust somebody that had no doubt helped Kamoshida? But…she also did have a point. Heknewwhat it was like to deal with transphobia. Did heever. The door to the room clicked open. “I’m guessing the teachers are getting their classes back to their rooms now. Talk to me after classes, all right?” Hayes said. “Down by the vending machines.” Arashi nodded a bit and stood up. His steps shook a bit, but he forced himself to keep going and back to his classroom. He practically collapsed in his seat and into his heap on a desk. Today sucked. Today suckedhard.