After the fight, they were all called down to the principal's office and so were their parents and other guardians. Akito and his lackies were nowhere in sight. Obviously, given Saburo's track record, they were excluded from the punishing.

"Okay, let's get this over with." Akiniko said, sitting himself down beside a very disgruntled Grey Eko.

"There's nothing to fucking talk about-My son and his friends didn't do shit!" She shouted, flipping off the principal. Her husband pulled her back into her seat.

"Babe, not now. We can't have it like last time..." He said.

"Yes, Giselle. Please don't repeat the utter disaster that was the 7th grade PTA meeting, " Kimi's mother muttered.

"Oh, you wanna go, Himari?! Cause I'll go! I can still throw down!"

"Oh really?"

"Ladies, ladies! Please!" Deviant intervened, "let's not get into it right now. We're here for our kids!"

"Shame. I would have love to see an encore. I had my money on Eko-Chan..." Isas' grandmother mumbled.

"Please, my wife could take that old bat any day..." Kimi's dad whispered.

"I'm sorry, but what the hell did you say about my wife?!"

"Oh lord..."

"Ahem!"

The adults ceased their arguments, turning to the impatient principal. "I apologize but may we please get on with the meeting?"

"Right, yes."

"So sorry."

"I could still kick her ass..."

"Ms. Narukami!"

"Fine! Fine! Say your speech and then I'll tell you how wrong you are."

Yu sighed. "Goddamnit..."

"Look, I understand most of you might be a bit confuse as to why you were here. We had an incident on the roof that several students witness saying that your children were involved in a fight with Akito Chimon and a few of his friends."

Grey straightened, "Oh come on, Takumi. You know my son. He's too sweet and anxious to lay a finger on someone."

"I concur, " Himari said, crossing her arms, "even though my daughter can be more than a bit hotheaded, she wouldn't start a fight unless she found it necessary."

"Hold on a minute," Akiniko stood up, "where's this Akito kid and his friends? Shouldn't they be here too?"

Saburo's mother practically laughed at that question. "Please, Akiniko. The only reason any of us are here is because of my son's reputation."

"Yua, please-"

She shook her head, standing up, "No. I won't be quiet. You know what my son has been through and yet you still choose to blame him because the Chimons once paid all of your bills! And even now that they're as dirt poor as the rest of us, you still place them on a pedestal and throw me and my son under the bus!"

She bawled her fists, tears in her eyes as she turned to the door, "So what is it this time, Takumi? Detention? Suspension? Expulsion? What are you going to do to make my son's life even more shit than it already is?"

All eyes were on the principal for his ultimatum on their children as Yua was close to crying out of anger. He sighed, removing his glasses and ran his fingers through his hair, "Three days suspension."

"That's it?" Grey asked.

"Yes. That is it, Narukami-San."

Grey stood, taking her coat from the chair and made her way to the door, "Okay. Better have those underpaid dumbasses of yours to send my kid his homework so he doesn't fail at your shit school."

She walked out, Yu mouthing 'I'm sorry' before following her. The rest of the parents filed out as well, meeting their very terrified and antsy children.

"Alright, kiddos. Get your stuff. You've just been suspended for three days." Grey announced.

"What?!" Isas exclaimed.

"This is BULLSHIT!" Kimi exclaimed, slamming her hand on to the arm rest.

"Kimi Kiyoshi, language! Now go to your locker and get your things." Her mother said.

Saburo stood and walked over to his mother, his head down. "Ma, I-"

"Don't. I know it wasn't your fault," she said, still teary eyed, "just get your things and let's go home."

He nodded, waving goodbye to the others.

Isas stood, his head bowed as his grandmother came up to him. "I'm so sorry for troubling you."

"Now, now Isas. I know this was not your fault."

"Mother and father are going to be so disappointed in me."

"Annie, you wanna talk?"

The young goth girl shook her head. "Not...now. I've...got a lot of work to do."

She exchanged a glance with the others and they all simultaneously nodded as they went there seperate ways. Suki met Akiniko by the door, who did not look happy.

"Akiniko, I-"

"Don't. It's..." He sighed, "you're fine. We're fine. You...do whatever you want. Just get your work done. That's all I asked."

He opened the door and made his way to the car. Suki watched as a long white thread protruded from Akiniko's back and entered the center of Suki's chest. She could feel that strange, disconnected feeling she had with Isas.

'Oh no. Not him too. Although, after we last talked, I wouldn't be so surprised.'

She had to fix this. She had to figure out a way to fix everything so she wouldn't fall and crumble like the rest of them.

------------

Isas returned to his room where Yasahiro had been waiting for him at his desk, looking much better than he did the day before.

He smiled. "Welcome home, Isas! You came back so early."

Isas threw his bag on the bed, sighing. "Yes, I was suspended from school today."

"Su...spended?"

"I got involved in a fight and got in trouble. I can't come back to school for three days."

Yasahiro frowned. "Are you okay? Is there anything I can do?".

Isas shook his head. "You just need to stay here and rest."

Yasahiro jumped up from his seat. "But I feel better now! And if I keep my mask on, I'll be okay in public!"

"Yasahiro, I don't think-"

The younger boy hugged Isas' middle, squeezing him tightly. "Please, Isas! I want to help you. I'm the only one who could find the Palaces in one go. I want to prove myself to you! Please!"

Isas ran his fingers through the blonde boy's hair, remembering a scenario that was so familiar happening in a distant place.

'Let me be the one to protect you, Chikako-Kun.'

He sighed, ruffling his hair. "Okay. You can come. But you need to keep that mask on as tightly as possible, and the minute you are feeling ill, you are to tell me and we are going directly home. Understood?"

Yasahiro nodded happily, going into the closet and search for his kunai and slingshot.

Isas sighed, going to find his own weapons. He was still very uneasy about letting Yasahiro tag along. He was still sick. He shouldn't be going on the mission.

But, the way he spoke to him about needed to prove himself, the way he looked into his eyes. It just played out an all too familiar scene with an old friend.

He didn't want to lose someone else, but was this really the way to go about things?

Maybe not.

He stood, slinging his bag over his shoulder. "Are you ready, Yasahiro?"

"Mmm-hmm!" The boy replied.

"Okay. Let's go."

The two boys left, not noticing that Yasahiro left the computer on.

"In recent news, infamous trans model is stepping out of the spotlight after members of an anti-trans forum invaded his apartment and attempted to assault him. Witnesses say that they saw several masked men enter the apartment complex late Wednesday night...."

---------

The Quaran-Team arrived at the waterfall, weapons at the ready and masks held tightly in their hands.

"Okay, are we all ready?" Suki asked, arming herself.

"Yup."

"Uh-huh."

"Good," She said, turning to Yasahiro, "are you sure you want to do this? This may take a lot out of you."

"I can do this, Suki-San! I'll be okay!" Yasahiro exclaimed.

She smiled, patting his head. "Okay. Now that we're all ready, we can-"

"Hold it!"

They froze in fear at the sudden booming voice. Had someone found them? Had they just been caught?

Suki slowly turned her head, frowning once she saw who had found them.

(A/N: as if this series couldn't get anymore confusing and convoluted.)

"What? Did you really think I would let you go that easy? After just one day?" Haruko asked with a cheeky grin.

"Aren't you the weird lady from the concert?" Kimi asked, utterly confused.

Suki stomped up to her, very annoyed. "Haruko! What are you doing here?!"

"I know what you kitties have been doing in that waterfall over there." She said.

Kimi turned to the others. "You know her?"

"She comes by and trains with me and Suki-San sometimes. I think she's a friend of my mom?"

"Please, what they have is far from friendship-"

"WE'RE LOVERS!" Haruko exclaimed.

"You are not lovers either!" Suki retorted.

Anzu looked to the others, very befuddled. "Uh...what's going on here?"

"I don't know..." Jumin whispered.

"What are you doing here?!" Suki hissed.

"I'm here to help you with your little problem, kid." She whispered.

"What problem? The only problem here is you!"

"You know exactly what problem I'm talking about! The problem with your bonds!"

Suki stared at her in disbelief at the strange woman. "My...bonds?"

She nodded. "Oh sweetie, you could cut the tension with a knife! Your bonds are in trouble and if you don't fix 'em soon or you won't have the power to defeat the cause of all of this madness."

The teen narrowed her eyes, very skeptical.

"Do you want help or not?"

'I have to fix my friendship with Isas. I have to fix my relationship with Akiniko...if Haruko could help me with that, I need to trust her.'

"Fine. You can come with us."

"Wait, she's coming with us? But we don't even know her!" Anzu exclaimed.

"It's okay, Anzu. She's...a friend. She won't tell anyone."

Anzu stared at Suki with reluctance but allowed it.

"Okay everyone, let's go!"

Haruko flashed a devilish grin, slinging her guitar over her shoulder. "Been meaning to see this place for a while now." She whispered to herself, "ALRIGHT! Let's get going!"

She sprinted across the water, surprising everyone as she dove head on into the waterfall.

"W-what the-?!"

"How could she do that?!"

"There's no time for that! Saburo's life is hanging on by a thread! We need to go!"

Jumin went off into a full sprint and followed Haruko in, the others following shortly after them.

---------

When they entered the other world, Haruko was standing at the very edge of one of the floating isles, looking down.

The others raced over to her, Suki pullimg her back. "What are you doing?!"

"Took you long enough! I think there might be something down there." Haruko replied.

"How can you tell?" Kimi asked.

"Just...just a feeling." She said, the odd bracelet on her wrist shaking.

Yasahiro stepped beside her, looking down. Immediately, his eyes glowed yellow and he could see a yellow line leading down to the bottom. Without a second thought, he jumped.

"YASAHIRO!" Isas yelled, reaching over the edge.

"Isas, wait-"

He didn't listen to Suki and instead jumped off the edge after him.

"PERSONA! PROTECT ME AND SAVE YASAHIRO!"

Plutus came in a brilliant light and floated down alongside Isas and fell onto an isle at the bottom, where he saw Yasahiro running away.

"No way! That's so cool! I'm gonna try it too!" Kimi took a few steps backward, running off the edge and falling down, summoning Atalanta. Anzu did a somersault off the edge, murmuring Oziys' name. Jumin threw himself off, clawing at the air as Kaze-no-Kami carried him to safety.

Suki watched as the others made their way down to the isles.

"You can do that too, you know?" Haruko said before taking the leap herself.

Suki nodded, determined and jumped off the edge. "HEGEMONY!"

She fell off the edge, Hegemony right behind her and carrying her to the other isle. She landed on her feet, dashing after the others.

Yasahiro continued to run mindlessly, Isas following quickly behind him. His heart was loud in his ears as a feeling of impending doom lingered over him.

"Yasahiro! Where are we going?!" He shouted.

Yasahiro couldn't hear him. He continued to go wherever his legs were trying to take him. Isas continued to chase after him, his worrying skyrocketing.

Finally, Yasahiro screeched to a stop, his eyes returning to their normal green color. He started panting, falling back into Isas' embrace.

"I've got you. I've got you." He said, reassuringly.

Yasahiro pointed up, still panting. Isas looked up, his heart leaping I to his throat. The others crowded around them, staring up in both awe and terror at the grand structure.

It was a large cathedral, so similar to the ones they saw in their history books and on t.v. It was much larger, and much more grand, taking up an entire isle. It was very basic in its color scheme, being black and white. The giant stain glass window was pitch black, no other color or imagery. Just pure black.

Jumin stepped forward, getting a strange feeling from the cathedral. "This seems...familiar."

"Just like your mother's dungeon." Haruko said, standing beside him.

"What do you mean?"

"Your dad told me about it. Think you should hear it from him instead."

Jumin stared at her, questioning her credibility.

'What does she know about my mom that I don't?'

"Should we go in?" Kimi asked.

Suki nodded. "The sooner we asses the situation we're in, the better."

The others agreed, following her to the grand doors. She pushed them open, revealing the brilliant and bigger show inside.

The inside was almost exactly like the outside. A long black runway carpet was outstretched before them. Hundreds of wooden black pews crowded the inside, scuffing up the white floors beneath them. Grand chandeliers hung over head, brightenimg the grand room.

The black stained glass windows actually had colors and images, and there were stone statues at each corner of the room. They didn't have faces.

"Holy shit..." Jumin breathed, looking around in awe.

"So...all of this belongs to Saburo?" Anzu asked in disbelief.

Suki nodded. "It's supposed to be a manifestation of what's really hurting him. What he's been suppressing deep down inside of him that he refuses to let anyone see."

Anzu gripped the middle of her shirt, taking a deep breath as the proceeded forward.

"Hey, look up there." Yasahiro said, pointing to one of the stained glass windows.

The group looked up. It was a brilliant image of a young Saburo, standing alongside a smaller Jumin at the foot of the waterfall. They were smiling.

"It's Jumin-kun! And Saburo-San! They're so small!" Yasahiro exclaimed, grinning.

Jumin chuckled. "Yeah. That's us. We used to go to the falls all the time when we were younger during the summertime." He turned to Anzu and Isas, "remember?"

While Isas happily agreed with a nod, Anzu had her arms folded, a disgruntled look on her face as she avoided Jumin's gaze.

His smile fell and they kept moving. Most of the stained glass windows were unfinished memories that Jumin wanted to point out but didn't want to upset Anzu further.

"Is he here?" Haruko asked, searching around for the missing boy.

"His shadow should be around here somewhere-"

Just as the words the left Suki's mouth, the ground violently rumbled, almost knocking them off their feet.

The floor opened up, oozing out the green sluge that ran through the Toxic Isles. Out from the large hole popped out Saburo's shadow, his body covered by a black and white cape.

He landed mere inches away from the Quaran-Team, causing another earthquake. He moved the cape out of the way, revealing a mismatched black and white suit. He glared down at the Quaran-Team, his fists bawled.

"WHY DID YOU COME HERE...? I DON'T WANT YOU HERE!" The shadow yelled, his voice booming.

"Saburo, please. We're here to help you!" Isas proclaimed, stepping forward.

Anzu stepped forward, looking very aggravated. "Will you cut it out with that crap?! Don't pretend that this is for the good of us! You left us Saburo! You left us after everything fell apart! You didn't even bother to check in on any of us until you got sick! This all for you! This all because of you!"

"Anzu!" Jumin yelled.

"You know it's true! He doesn't care about us! We were the only ones who tried after everything fell apart! And what did they do? NOTHING!"

The pained expression in the shadow's eyes told Kimi everything, and so did the sheer rage that appeared soon after.

He screamed, the floor continue to open up, this time pure lava appearing from the floor boards, heading straight for Haruko.

"Hesperus!" Yasahiro shouted, "Psycho Blast!"

The spell knocked Haruko out of reach but now the lava was heading for Yasahiro, wrapping around him like ribbons.

"CLEAVE!" He screamed, using opportunity to escape, accidentally burning his hand. "OW!"

"YASAHIRO!" Isas yelled.

The lava suddenly disappeared, reappearing under Kimi, spouting out of the floor like a geyser. "AH! IT HURTS!"

Jumin used his persona to launch himself into the air and grab Kimi by the hand. "I'VE GOT YOU!"

Saburo's shadow yelled, sending the pools of lava after Kimi.

"ATALANTA!" Kimi shouted, casting Garu.

Haruko popped up from behind the shadow, ready to swing her bat at his head. But, she was too slow.

Shadow Saburo whipped around and punched Haruko hard in the gut, launching her in the air and into one of the grand chandeliers. "THIS KID'S STRONG!" Haruko exclaimed, digging herself out of the wall.

"Haruko!" Suki shouted, jumping back as Saburo appeared right in front of her, his glowing yellow eyes burning into her brain.

He hissed.

"We're trying to help you Saburo-San. You're in danger."

The shadow hissed, looking away from her. "If you won't leave yourselves...I'LL MAKE YOU LEAVE!"

He lifted his hands, floor beneath them lifting up along with his hands, and launched them out of the grand doors and shutting them quickly.

"Stay away if you know what's good for you..."

--------

A sharp pain hit Saburo, sending him to his knees as he held his side in agony. His breathing became labored as he dragged himself across the bathroom floor and up to the sink as he hacked and coughed, almost vomiting.

He looked down to see something horrifying.