Chapter Text
After hearing from Sakuya about her husband's behavior, about how Akira was still being disrespected by him, and most damning of all, using EMMA. It seems that the wife is clearly distressed and doesn't know what to do, so she asked them for help.
The group themselves initially didn't want to help her at first due to their uptight behavior and blatant disregard for their son, but aside from Hiroshi using EMMA and Sakuya feeling guilty about herself and her actions, it gave them the push to look into it.
They were outside the plaza, away from prying eyes as they try to figure out the keyword themselves.
"Are you gonna be alright, Ken?" Robin asked.
"Yeah, I'll be fine." The blonde responded. "I just didn't think that she reflected upon it herself. I mean, I thought she was gonna keep it going."
"I did too, but it looked like she felt really guilty about it." Soren says. "If she really means it, then yeah."
"Whatever the case, we have a Monarch to deal with, and we're gonna help them get their shit together." Jackie stated.
"True that. Alright, let's get this going." Mac clapped his hand together.
"So, what is it that we need to do?" Lynn asks.
"Well, since we don't have the keyword, we're left to figure it out ourselves." Richter replied.
"But how are we going to do that? EMMA isn't like the Meta-Nav, just like someone said."
"That may be true, but the functions still work the same way so nothing has changed much." Shulk softly countered.
"It's all a matter of finding something right that will let us in." Ike grabs his phone to search on some clues.
"In the meantime, we can use the clues that she gave us to find that keyword." Robin suggested. "What was it that she said about society?"
"Something along the lines of following and adhering to the rules of society. Something like that." Jackie recalled.
"And she had said that the man is close-minded, like everyone else in that little circle. Although… I cannot but assume that this may as well be a cult." Kirby ponders.
"You're not too far off from that idea. It would make sense if that were the case." Ryu agrees.
"Are there any other clues we can pick out of, or are they good enough?" Mac wanted to know.
"I think they're good enough for now. All we need to do is find that keyword." Soren decides.
"Do we even know where to start?" Richter spoke. "I don't even know if there's a lot or a little to consider about."
"Well then, I guess we'll just have to throw in a little game of chance to see." Lynn said.
Half of the group began thinking about the right keyword and the other half threw out multiple guesses, as theirs don't match the criteria. To be fair, they weren't exactly sure how many errors they can make before getting locked out of EMMA, but so far, it doesn't seem to be doing that.
They seem to be running out of ideas as they don't know what to do, until Richter spotted a uniform that doesn't look like any other.
"What are you looking at, Richter?" Ryu asked.
"Those uniforms… they don't look like any typical high school uniform."
Some of the guys look at his direction.
"Yeah, you're right. They look nothing like it." Ken notices.
"Where do you think they're from? Some kind of boarding school?" Shulk thought.
"Looks like it. I also saw a couple of international students there as well."
"It says here that there are two of them somewhere in the Kyoto-Osaka-Kobe area." Ike analyzed from his phone.
"Huh. How about that." Richter huffs.
"Guys, we found the keyword." Mac notifies them.
"Really? What is it?" Shulk asks.
"It's boarding school."
"Eh?" Ken looked dumbfounded.
"We overheard your conversation about it, so we tried it out, and uh… it works." Soren shrugs.
"It makes sense though, because knowing Japan, they're all about honorifics and mannerisms, and the interpretation of it won't be that far away." Jackie nails it.
"I can imagine. Well, ready?"
"We are very well prepared. You may proceed." Kirby grants the notion for Soren to enter the Metaverse.
When they arrive in the new part of the Metaverse, they find themselves in a courtyard that stood in front of a large building. They're standing in front of the gate that blocks off the courtyard and from their starting point.
"Hey, wait a minute. I know this place." Jackie recognizes the architecture. "That's the Jinseki!"
"It is?" Lynn asks.
"Yeah. I've actually been there a couple of times for photoshoots for either clients or posting it on websites. I never thought I'd find it here in the Metaverse. But why this of all places?"
"I guess that explains the international students a bit, but yeah, I agree. What does this have to do with the guy's behavior?" Ike considers the thought.
"I don't know, but we'll know more when we get in there. Let's get going." Soren waves the group to go with him.
They approach the gate to find it opening before them, giving them a sense of unease. They step in, knowing that whatever it is they'll see will be exactly what they had envisioned. As they walk in the campus, they haven't found a single Cognitive being that roams the school grounds. But what they did find is a Shadow guarding the premises, and it caught them on the spot.
"Hey you! How did you get in here?!" The guard yelled.
"Uh, we just walked in?" Richter had no idea what it was talking about.
"If someone found out that we have trespassers, the entire school will be in a riot. Guess I'll have to take you out myself."
The Shadow transforms into a Mothman, and with it summoning henchmen at its disposal.
"Sorry, but you're not gonna suspend or expel us from school grounds." Ken gets ready as did the others.
Both parties started scrapping, with Monsta X noticing how much stronger the Shadows have become, but they too have gained strength over the weeks.
"Man, it looks like they're getting tougher every time we go in the Metaverse." Shulk commented.
"Yeah, but the Spirits I gained will even that out. Goo-Goo Buggy!"
Soren summons not a human nor creature, but rather a two-man kart with Rick as the driver and a Togepi at the rear. The hamster did some donuts as the spike ball Pokémon buried the enemies with Magnitude.
"Whoa, I didn't know your Spirits could do that!" Richter yelled.
"When you throw random horseshit in, you're gonna get some pretty interesting results."
"If that is the case, then…" Kirby summons Galacta Knight to rain down a Megido on them, wiping out the entire squadron of Shadows.
"You know, we haven't seen Galacta Knight at all until Eunbi summoned him." Mac remembered.
"Yeah, what's up with that?" Jackie questioned the pink puff.
"At times, I prefer my copy ability to be best, as it is also my main source of power." Kirby explained.
"So that's what it is." Ken said. "I totally forgot about that."
"Yeah, me too." Ryu nodded.
"I daresay it happens to most of you here, but it matters not. I do call upon him every so often."
"Cool. Cool." Robin said awkwardly. "Do you think anyone will notice?"
They looked around to see if anyone caught the fight.
"No, I don't think so. But I do know that there will be someone watching from a far distance." Shulk analyzed. "Don't know where, but they're out there. Somewhere."
"If they happen to lock us in, we can just find another vantage point to entries and exits." Lynn advised.
"That's a good idea, Aqua. We'll need to figure that out soon." Soren penciled it. "While we're searching for one, let's keep going."
"Hmm? What's this?" Ryu discovers a map that shows all the buildings and landmarks that the Jail has to offer.
"Wow, it looks like it has everything in there." Ike found the details. "Very nice."
"But when we think about it, is the layout going to be the same or will it be different?" Lynn wondered.
"That's a good question. I don't know." Jackie confessed.
"If that is the case, then we will resort in finding the Prison Keeps as our vantage point." Kirby advocates.
"That's a good idea. Hopefully, we won't get lost here." Richter looks out.
"I believe that there will be more maps that are layered around the area, so memorization will cause us no trouble."
"That's good, cause remembering the important stuff is hard, but remembering random shit is always easy." Soren pronounced.
"And that's a rock fact." Ken raised a rock up high.
"Yeah, there you go. Alrighty then, let's go find those Prison Keeps."