Persona: Shibuya Stories

I forgot where I heard that the shield was first invented as a weapon.

Some boring American TV dramas had tested this theory, showing that a strong Spartan, using all his might to strike a person's head with the edge of his shield, could inflict damage equivalent to a car crash—fatal and devastating.

A great Chinese thinker once said that practice makes perfect. But Jin Kasuga never imagined he'd one day put this knowledge to the test in such a horrifying way.

The four armored knights charging at him were already heavy, and with the added force of their acceleration, plus the sheer hardness of their shields, Jin experienced firsthand what it felt like to be flattened like dough.

His bones groaned under the pressure, a sickening crunch echoing through his body. His organs felt as though they were being forced up his throat. Pain and suffocation blurred his vision until the world dissolved into darkness.

Kasumi let out a bloodcurdling scream. It was the first time Jin had heard a girl wail so desperately. The sound was sharp, raw, and slightly broken—

(Am I going to die...? If I had known... I would have...)

His consciousness faded.

Everything was chaos.

In the void, where up and down no longer existed, Jin felt as though he were submerged in water. His body was weightless, drifting with an unseen current. He had no strength to move, only to be carried by whatever force dictated his existence.

A shimmering blue swallowtail butterfly appeared in the abyss, its wings dusted with an ethereal white glow. It fluttered through the sea of his consciousness. Jin instinctively reached out, but no matter how hard he tried, the distance between them never changed.

Somewhere in the void, the sound of turning wheels echoed.

The man in the red suit appeared again, just as he had in Jin's dreams before. Seated in a wheelchair, his face remained indistinct, blurred beyond recognition. He opened his mouth, but no sound reached Jin. Only silence.

As if realizing his words were lost, the man gestured toward Jin's pocket.

Jin reached inside and felt something solid—a familiar rectangle. His phone.

He pulled it out and showed it to the man, who nodded with an approving smile and gave him a thumbs-up.

"Ah!"

A searing pain jolted Jin awake.

His vision was hazy, but he could hear a crisp snapping sound. A sharp sting flared across his cheek, and the musty stench of mildew filled his nostrils, mingling with a faint floral scent.

What the hell…?

Jin forced his eyes open, the world slowly coming into focus. Kasumi was standing over him, her right palm raised. The moment she saw his eyes open, she froze, then awkwardly slapped herself in the face, whistled nonchalantly, and took a step back.

Jin sat up, groaning. Beneath him was a cold straw mat. Iron bars lined the perimeter of the room, stone walls surrounding them. It was unmistakably a prison—likely the dungeon of a medieval castle.

(They didn't kill me. They locked me up instead… Does that mean I'm useful to them? If TV dramas have taught me anything, it's that I'm safe for now… right?)

He touched his burning cheek, the pain confirming his theory. Someone had been smacking him around.

Jin narrowed his eyes at Kasumi.

"Hey, Kasumi, my face hurts. Any idea why?"

"Oh, no. No idea. Maybe… maybe a venomous bug bit you?"

"Uh-huh. Then tell me—why were you sitting on me just now?"

"I was… worried about you."

"And what about your hand just now?"

"I was fanning you. In case you got too hot."

"Then why did you slap me?"

"Oh! Well… I was afraid you'd get cold."

"So, in other words… you were slapping me, weren't you?"

"Hey?!"

Seeing she was caught, Kasumi flashed a mischievous smile. Jin returned it with a bright, all-knowing grin.

She clasped her hands behind her back, swaying slightly, blinking up at him with an innocent, almost sparkling expression.

"Kasumi, I want to teach you a Chinese idiom today."

"Oh? Which one?"

"It's called 'A Kiss with Beauty.'"

As he rolled up his sleeves, Kasumi took an instinctive step back. "I… I don't think I want to learn Chinese anymore."

"Oh, you're learning whether you like it or not."

Jin lunged. Kasumi shrieked, laughing as she dodged around the tiny cell, a playful chase breaking out between them.

Finally, Jin tackled her to the ground and unleashed merciless tickles. She howled with laughter, writhing as he pinned her down.

They collapsed onto the floor, panting. Jin's smile faltered as he stared at his hands.

"Wait a second… I can touch you?"

That shouldn't be possible. Before now, his hand had passed right through her. But here, in this strange castle, he could feel her. Solid. Tangible.

His breath hitched.

"Could it be…? Am I already—?!"

If he could touch her now… did that mean he had become a ghost too?

Kasumi giggled, throwing her hands up playfully. "Maybe you're already a ghoooooost!"

She dragged out the last word dramatically, making Jin jump. Seeing his reaction, she burst into laughter. "Relax. I'm just teasing you. This place is different."

She bounded over to the cell bars, tapping them with a finger. A crisp metallic clang echoed through the chamber. "This castle is special. I can touch things here. So, naturally, you can touch me too."

She let out an exaggerated sigh. "Alas, I have to exist physically in this place. Which means… I'm stuck here with you!"

Trapped together. What a cruel joke.

They had searched every inch of the cell, tested every possible way to break free, but the walls refused to yield. They were prisoners in every sense of the word.

Jin pulled out his phone, considering the most ridiculous course of action—calling the police. Even though reporting, "Our school turned into a castle," would likely get him laughed at… or worse, institutionalized, it was worth a shot.

Of course, just like in every horror movie, his phone had no signal. The little icon in the corner of the screen mocked him.

Then, something unexpected happened.

BEEP.

A strange notification popped up.

A dark blue screen filled his display, showing an old man with a white beard, clad in a blue suit and sunglasses. Bold letters scrolled across the top:

'Demon Summoning Program'

His heart pounded. A small red notification pulsed in the upper right corner. Next to the words 'Summon Mid-Tier Demon', a tiny red dot gleamed with the number 1.

Jin swallowed hard.

(What… the hell… is this?)

As the saying goes, curiosity kills the cat. Though why the cat, in particular, was chosen for this proverb remains unclear, the warning stands: excessive curiosity can be dangerous.

A modern example? Suspicious links sent by so-called friends. Plenty of people had lost money falling for those traps.

That's why Jin Kasuga had every intention of deleting the strange notification the moment he saw it.

But human self-control is a fragile thing.

For today's phone users, that little red dot on an app icon is irresistible.

Eventually, he caved. Against his better judgment, Jin clicked on the so-called "Summon Mid-Tier Demon" list.

Like a mobile game interface, a white screen popped up, displaying a square avatar. Brown hair tied in a ponytail, large expressive eyes, a playful teardrop mole—who else could it be but Kasumi?

Her name was written clearly beneath the portrait.

Kasumi peered over his shoulder, her interest piqued. "Oh? Is that me?"

She reached out a translucent finger and poked her own avatar. A new screen appeared, revealing a stats list—strength, magic, endurance, speed, luck—all marked with large Chinese characters followed by numbers. It looked exactly like a role-playing game.

"Who the hell designed this bizarre software… and why did it install itself on my phone?"

Jin scowled. As a modern-day netizen, he despised unwanted downloads—especially ones disguised as harmless apps but buried deep in the system, impossible to remove. It was the digital equivalent of an invasive parasite.

But then something else clicked in his mind.

(No, wait… Even if this is just some garbage mobile game… why does it include Kasumi?)

That was unsettling. He had never input her name anywhere, nor had he ever seen her in any kind of game before. Yet, here she was.

Jin had been curious about Kasumi from the start. After all, no matter the circumstances, being haunted by a ghost this cute was bound to make anyone ask questions.

The day after he first encountered her, he had looked up her name.

It belonged to a promising artistic gymnast who had died in an accident. The news article painted a dramatic picture of Kasumi's potential—some even claimed she had the ability to become a world champion. But because artistic gymnastics wasn't a mainstream sport, her death didn't cause much of a stir.

People had simply said, "What a shame," before moving on to their games, shows, and work. To most, the death of a stranger was nothing more than a passing inconvenience.

A dead athlete who "could have" been a world champion had no business appearing in a random game. It served no marketing purpose, nor would it draw in players through nostalgia.

So why was she here?

More importantly… why did this app download itself the moment they were imprisoned?

Jin shook his head. "Alright, let's take a step back and sort things out."

He had no idea what to do, but in novels and anime, the protagonist always sat down to organize information in moments like these. They'd smirk mysteriously, cross their arms, and then—like magic—come up with a solution.

Jin decided to follow the trope.

He sat down on the cold stone floor, immediately regretting it as the chill seeped through his pants. The damp, mossy scent of the prison was anything but refreshing—it only made him feel worse.

"Ugh. I've got nothing."

Of course, he wasn't some genius strategist. He was just a high schooler. How was he supposed to mastermind an escape from a medieval dungeon?

"Would be nice if someone came to jailbreak us…"

Jin muttered under his breath. "That's the classic setup, right? The hero is trapped, and then—boom—an ally appears to save the day."

He sighed dramatically. "If someone rescues me now, I'll dedicate myself to them. Body and soul."

Kasumi snorted. "Even if you did, who'd want you?"

"What about you? Would you pledge yourself to me?"

"Absolutely not."

"Then don't mock me!"

They laughed, making light of their predicament.

But then—

A loud commotion erupted from the hall outside.

Jin's breath caught.

(Is someone… fighting out there?)

He scrambled to his feet, pressing against the bars. His view was limited, but his hearing seemed sharper now, as if his body was hyper-focused on the chaos.

The sounds of battle were unmistakable. Clashing metal. Grunts of exertion. Even the frantic neighing of a horse—

(A horse? In a prison?)

Then, just as suddenly as it had begun, the fighting stopped.

"Nice work! You're new, but you're catching on quick!" a high-pitched voice praised.

"The hell is this place?!" a rough male voice demanded.

"Less talking, more running," a third voice—calmer, more composed—urged.

Footsteps echoed down the corridor, growing closer. Moments later, three figures dashed past Jin's cell.

The first was a young man clad in black, wearing a white ball mask. His dark coat billowed behind him as he moved with sharp agility.

The second was a blonde student in a Showjin Academy uniform—Sakamoto Ryuji. Jin recognized him immediately. The guy was infamous at school for being a troublemaker.

And the third…

Jin's brain short-circuited for a moment.

A small, cat-like creature ran alongside them. Barely a meter tall, it looked like a plush mascot come to life.

(A cat demon?! Is that seriously a cat demon?!?)

The three escapees were in too much of a hurry to notice him.

"Hey! HEY!!" Jin yelled, arms stretching through the bars. "Wait! Get me out of here too!"

Desperation overpowered his dignity. Forget the dramatic vow of loyalty—right now, freedom was all that mattered.

The masked boy skidded to a stop. Ryuji turned, blinking in recognition. "Oh, hey! You're locked up too?! Don't worry, I'll get you—"

"No!" the cat interrupted sharply. "Don't waste your time! That guy's just a cognitive version of someone the castle recognizes! He's not real!"

Jin's blood ran cold.

"Excuse me, WHAT?!"

"Just ignore him! We need to go before reinforcements show up!" the cat barked.

"But—"

"No buts! Move it!"

"Oh, okay, okay!"

The moment the sound of approaching knights filled the corridor, Ryuji abandoned hesitation and bolted after his companions.

Jin watched in horror as the trio disappeared down the hallway.

"NO! Don't leave me here!"

He reached out desperately, but his arms, bound by reality, could not stretch far enough.

The footsteps of the escapees faded. The shouts of the knights grew louder.

Jin swallowed hard.

(This is bad. This is REALLY bad.)