It's time to bring the long-awaited conclusion to this trilogy! I put a lot of work into this one (as if the sheer size of it didn't already prove that), to really bring it to an end with a bang, so I hope you all enjoy!
She could tell that there was something off.
Ever since the mysterious serial murderer had come into the light, things have felt differently among the Phantom Thieves. It seemed strange to think that, being that she had only been with them for a while, but she could feel the slight tension amongst them.
Yusuke was a clear sign. One day, he would seem like all his energy had been drained from him and his usual enthusiasm for anything he never experienced would be gone, then the next, he would be back to normal like nothing had happened and would avoid them anytime they tried to question him about his behavior.
Akira was a bit off too, but not as much. The man was already a bit strange, but Morgana had told her about how almost every night he would wake up to find the teenager getting dressed to go help Yusuke with something.
But Akechi was the biggest clue that something was up. Ever since he came to the meeting that day with those bandages wrapped around his neck, he was a completely different person. He seemed like he was always on edge and would jump whenever they would approach him but he would always say it was nothing. Though he didn't falter in his battle prowess, it was obvious that he was never really there and his attention was always elsewhere. But it was most noticeable in how he acted around Akira. The man who once practically threw himself on their leader with no hesitation or care of who saw him now hardly did so much as look in his general direction. He seemed to distance himself from their leader in every situation they were in.
None of it made sense to her, and while the others seemed to try to brush it off, she wasn't so willing to do so.
So, for the first time in a while, Futaba found herself up in the middle of the night sitting in front of her computer trying to piece together the pieces of this incredibly confusing puzzles. It had taken her almost an hour, but she was finally able to hack into Yusuke's phone. Hacking into Akechi's phone was simple since she could implant a bug directly onto it, but she wasn't able to get her hands on Yusuke's phone, so she had to do it the hard way. But she finally managed to do it.
"OK," She stretched her arms and cracked her knuckles, "Let's see what you got in here."
There wasn't too much of initial interest to be found, since, other than the group, Yusuke didn't really socialize with others and he didn't have that many apps on his phone. So she decided to delve into the place that seemed to hold the most data: the text between him and Akira. The moment she opened that up, it seemed to stretch on for several pages.
"Yikes. I get that couples text and talk a lot, but this is pretty excessive."
She scrolled down the messages for about half a minute before coming across one message asking for Akira to come to help him with something, "I guess this is what Mona was talking about," She kept scrolling, finding more of the same message. But as she did, she noticed something… off. Looking back through each one, she noticed what it was, "Why does each one have a different address? Wouldn't you want to meet at the same place?" After taking a look at the different addresses, another feeling welled up within her, "These look a bit… familiar… … Hold on…" Pulling up another tab, she searched up the recent string of murders.
The police had set up a website dedicated to the murders. It was updated with each new disappearance, noting the last location they were seen and the estimated time of their disappearance in hopes that they could find someone who saw the person committing the act. They would also update whenever one of their bodies were discovered, as the public still held onto the blind faith that these missing girls were still alive. As of now, the list consisted of 88 murders.
After looking through some of the most recent locations and comparing them to the ones in the text messages, the realization sank in.
"… They're the same…"
For the next hour, Futaba slowly scanned down the list of disappearances and the texts between Yusuke and Akira, comparing every new location that was sent to the last location each victim was seen in. With each address that was the same, she felt the knife in her heart slowly dig in deeper, feeling it twist when the last text matched the address of the very first disappearance.
Her eyes were watering, her limbs were shaking as her mind tried to hold onto the wish that this was nothing more than a huge coincidence, even as the logical part of her mind fought against that irrational thought. She felt she needed that one last push, that one last detail to remove that hopeless prayer. She went back into the data of Yusuke's phone and noticed that there was one message between him and Akira that was deleted. When she opened it up, she felt her heart drop into her stomach as she read it.
Akira - "This is the hotel and room number Akechi is staying at tonight. You won't be able to get in through the front, so try to find another way into the room. Also, make sure you delete this message as soon as you're done. You don't want anyone seeing this."
The moment she read the last word, she felt that knife in her chest proceed to rip her heart in half. She hugged her legs tight to her chest as she sobbed quietly in the silence of her home. She didn't want to believe it was true, but she couldn't deny the hard proven facts that were right in front of her. Her mind was racing in fear and felt like it was ready to break into pieces at any moment.
She needed to tell the others, she had to tell them. Even though she knew what this might lead to, there was nothing else that could be done. How could the Phantom Thieves keep their image of protecting the public from those with rotten minds when one of their own is responsible for causing so much pain and destruction to so many families?
But, even though her mind was screaming at her to call the others to tell them, she had to remind herself that it was 2 in the morning. The likelihood of any of them being awake now was highly unlikely, and they had school in the morning, meaning she wouldn't be able to see them until the late afternoon. And even with that, some part of her mind imagined the possibility that they might not believe her. After all, why would they want to believe that one of their own friends is behind the mass murders? She needed some more tangible evidence, something that she knew she could use to show them the truth.
That's when the idea came to mind. She reached for her phone, dialing the number of one particular person. She listened to the dial tone, whispering "Please pick up" over and over under her breath, lightly sighing when she heard a yawn and his voice come through, "Hello?"
"Akechi, it's Futaba."
"Futaba? … You are aware it's 2 in the morning, right?"
"Yeah, I know, but I need you to come over right now!"
"Well, whatever it's about, I'm sure it can wait until morning-"
"Akechi, I know what Yusuke did to you."
Her serious tone left the detective on the other end of the line speechless. She was about to ask if he was still there when he responded, "I'll be there right away."
"I'll send you the address. Meet me outside, I don't wanna wake up Sojiro."
She hung up and quickly texted him her address. Sitting up from the chair, she grabbed her slippers and jacket and put them on before heading outside, making sure to keep quiet. She sat on the steps in front of the door, distracting herself on her phone. She usually didn't mind being alone in the dead quiet of the night, but every time it's been in the safety of her room. Being outside was a different feeling. Even though there wasn't a soul awake at this time, she still felt chills run up her spine being outside on her own. The quiet atmosphere allowed her to catch the first sound of Akechi's oncoming footsteps. She looked up to see him coming closer, motioning for him to sit down next to her.
He looked at the grown, a sullen look in his eyes, as he spoke, "So… you found out what happened?"
"Yeah," She said softly, staring at his neck. The bandages had been removed a week ago, letting the long stitched up scar under his chin to show. "I looked into his phone; turns out Akira told him the hotel you were staying at."
"I'm not too surprised by that."
"Well, you might be surprised to learn about this. I was looking through more of the texts between them, and you know how Yusuke often calls Akira to come to help him with something?" He nodded, "Well, I looked at each of the addresses he sent him… Every single one of them matches the location of each girl that has been killed was last seen. Even the exact day they were reported to go missing matched the day each text was sent."
His eyes widened in horror, "A-Are you saying…"
She nodded, ashamed, "Yeah, I think it's very likely that Yusuke is the killer."
A sickening chill ran through him as she saw him start to tremble, "I had my suspicions when he came into my room… but, I didn't want to believe it… I-I still can't…"
"I know… I don't want to believe it either… but with everything I saw, there's no other possibility."
"So… what are you going to do? You going to tell the others?"
"What other choice do I have?! We have to tell the others so we can find his palace and change his heart-"
"There's no way we'll be able to do that."
She raised an eyebrow, "What do you mean?"
"Look, ever since Yusuke snuck into my hotel room, I've spent every moment I can trying to find his palace. I've used every combination of words I could think of that would match him, but nothing! I'm starting to think that he doesn't have a palace."
"But why? With the other horrible people we've dealt with, someone like Yusuke should have one!"
"I don't understand it myself, but I think we'll have a better chance in Mementos. But given the situation, this one might require all of us."
"Yeah… but, I don't think I'll be able to convince them by myself."
"Wouldn't me telling them Yusuke did this to me be enough?" He said, pointing to his neck.
"Need I remind you that everyone in our group hates you, especially the person who did that?"
He sighed in defeat before looking down at the ground. She noticed he started to tremble again, "Futaba, I know I've been acting really calm… but… I-I-I'm really starting to freak out."
Her eyebrow raised, "What do you mean?"
"This scar… he didn't just give it to me to warn me to stay away from Akira. It was to make sure I didn't tell anyone about what happened. And ever since that night, he's been making sure that I keep that promise, forcing me to meet with him at least once a week to see if I've kept my word. Now that you know… I can't imagine what it'll be like to face him…"
Futaba moved closer to rub his back, "You won't have to worry about that. I have an idea."
"What do you mean?"
"When's the next time you're meeting Yusuke?"
"Tomorrow, or rather later today."
"Then this is our chance to catch him. Text me the place you're meeting him at and I'll stay close by and listen in. If things start getting dangerous, I'll interrupt. If I can catch him on camera and audio, we can use it to turn him in."
Akechi stared at her wide-eyed, "You do realize what you're suggesting, right? You understand that your plan will get your own friend in jail for life?"
"Yeah, I know," She looked down, "But... I can't just ignore one of my friends being a mass murderer. It's the Phantom Thieves job to expose criminals and make them pay for what they've done. Even if it's someone you know..."
He could see the confliction stirring in her eyes and sighed, "Very well. I guess this is our plan," He suddenly stopped himself at something, "Wait, how are you going to listen in on us without others getting suspicious of you?"
"I'm gonna listen in through your phone."
"My phone?"
"Yeah, I kinda bugged your phone a while back."
"You what?!"
"It was a safety precaution- Look! This really isn't the key issue right now!"
He sighed, "You're right. I have something much more pressing to worry about," He stood up, "I should probably be heading back, I don't need to need to make the station paranoid about me walking outside in the middle of the night. Try to get some sleep, Futaba."
She nodded and watched him walk away into the dark night before heading back inside, hoping to get a full night sleep to be prepared for what would happen later that day.
Futaba let out a loud yawn as she walked aimlessly around the many small shops. It had taken her almost a half hour before she finally fell asleep, the dreaded thoughts of every horrid outcome that could occur due to their plan had made falling asleep arduous. But she tried to rest as well as she could.
The time was nearly approaching and Akechi had sent her the address where he would be meeting Yusuke; an inconspicuous house that was located in a rather remote area blended so well with the environment. It wasn't suspicious in the slightest and it hardly drew much attention. Futaba didn't want to stay too close, worried that someone, mainly Yusuke, might see her, but she tried not to stray too far away should something occur.
"Futuba, I'm about to head inside. I hope you're nearby."
She could hear the slight quiver in his voice, though she couldn't blame him. Even though she could hear him loud and clear, there wasn't any way for her to communicate with him without it being obvious. It wasn't even a call that let her hear him, but the audio recording bug she had planted to listen in on him. Keeping her headphones on, she tried to look as innocuous as possible as she kept her ears focused.
She could faintly hear the sound of a door opening and closing before the detective spoke, "H-Hey Yusuke."
"Nice to see you, Akechi," The artist was loud and clear.
"This is quite a strange place to meet. Where exactly are the people who live here?"
"Out on vacation. I thought it would be best for us to not meet in a public area," A moment of silence, "You seem more nervous than usual."
She could hear him gulp, "I've just been a bit cautious since I got the bandages taken off. Hate to have anything reopen this."
"I see," There as a clear tone of disbelief in his voice, "I'd rather not linger here too long, so let me make this brief. Have you told anyone?"
He paused for a second before answering, "... N-No, I haven't."
"Why did you hesitate?" His voice came out sharp and precise.
"Huh?"
"You never hesitate when I ask you that question. So why did you hesitate that time?"
"I-I just have a really busy schedule, so my mind's a bit preoccupied right now! N-N-Nothing to worry about!"
'Really could do a better job at being subtle.'
"Then let me rephrase my question; does anyone know?"
"H-Huh?"
"Does anyone know?" The stern cold tone of his voice sent a shiver down her spine and it likely affected Akechi just as much as he had fallen silent.
"So you did tell someone."
"I-I-I didn't! I swear! I-I don't know how she managed to find ou-" He stopped himself in a split second. Futaba found herself subconsciously moving in the direction towards the building.
"Who did you tell? What does she know?"
"I s-swear I d-didn't say anything to her!"
"Who did you tell?" His voice had a commanding tone similar to a king.
"... I... I can't..." Futaba stopped when the house came within view. Even though he was in the same room as a serial killer, Akechi wasn't telling Yusuke the truth. He was putting everything on the line to keep her safe from the artist's wrath. She couldn't help but feel touched.
"So not only did you break our promise, you won't even confess who it was with."
As she slowly started walking towards the house, she could hear Akechi catch his breath, "W-W-Wait... w-what are you doing?!"
"It's clear to see that my warning wasn't enough to fix you, so I'll have to take matters into my own hands and fix your mistakes," She launched into a brisk run as she heard his next words in a tone no different than the corrupted shadows they've fought, "Starting with silencing you, permanently."
She could hear the tremors in the detective's breath, desperately trying to reach the door, feeling her heart thudding against her chest, a painful ringing in her ears as she heard Akechi scream before being abruptly cut off. She grabbed the doorknob and threw the door wide open.
Yusuke had Akechi pinned against the wall, fury and hatred swirled in the eyes of the artist and panic and fear in the wide eyes of the detective. His hands were grasped onto Yusuke's arm in an attempt to stop the oncoming attack, but it did nothing to stop the sharp knife from embedding deep into his neck. He was barely given a second to react to the initial pain before the artist twisted the knife and slashed it out the left side of his neck.
Akechi immediately dropped to his knees coughing and hacking, trying desperately to suck in the air despite the hole in his throat. The artist just looked down at him with a scowl, kicking his arm away when he tried to grab him, not minding the blood now staining his dark pants and shoes. Akechi's entire body collapsed to the ground in a pool of his own blood, his face starting to pale and his breath coming out in slower gasps. His eyes lazily glazed over to the door, noticing it was open and the trembling girl standing in the doorway.
"... Fu... ta... ba... ..." His voice just barely came out below a whisper, yet it was loud and clear in her ears, before his body stilled, his breathing coming to a halt and his eyes blankly stared in her direction.
She wanted nothing more than to scream and cry at the horrid sight, but the most she could muster was a muffled whimper. But that small sound was enough to alert the other living man of her presence.
"F-FUTABA!" His angered glare shifted to wide-eyed terror in an instant. He wanted desperately to say something, anything, that could excuse the scene that laid out before her eyes. But he knew better than that. The knife in his hand. The blood staining his clothes. The body that laid before him.
Nothing he could say could excuse what he had done.
The two were locked in a stare, both equally terrified for different reasons, for a full minute, before Futaba quickly turned away and ran off. Yusuke wanted to chase after her, but he knew it wouldn't do him any good.
"They know..." He whimpered under his breath, "Now they know..."
To anyone walking the street at the time seeing the young teenage girl running through the streets with a look of horror on her face would have been a bizarre sight, one that would be best reported to the police in such a time where a merciless killer was roaming among them. Some tried to get the girl to calm down and tell them what was wrong, but she only further panicked at each approaching stranger. Futaba knew she had to tell someone about what she saw, but she didn't feel like she had the fortitude to tell some random person she bumped into on the street. She had to find someone she knew, whoever it was didn't matter to her at this point. She just needed one familiar face. Whether it'd be out of luck or having spent so long mindlessly fleeing through the streets, she managed to locate Ann leaving the movie theater, waving goodbye to some other girls as Morgana poked his head out of the bag on her back.
"A-ANN!"
The blonde looked in the direction of the yell, "Futaba? What are y-" She was cut off as the young hacker ran up to her and slammed against her in a tight hug. Ann could feel that her face was wet with tears, "Futaba, what's wrong?! Did something happen?!" She asked, gently petting her head and rubbing her back.
She nodded, "I-I-I n-need to t-tell e-everyone... J-Just not Akira and Y-Y-Yusuke..."
Her eyebrow raised at the last sentence, but with how Futaba was right now, she figured it must be urgent and was probably best to adhere to her words. She grabbed her phone and texted the other Phantom Thieves that Futaba had something to share with them and come meet with the two as she guided the crying girl to a nearby resting spot that was out of reach from the public hearing them. In a few minutes, the others, excluding Akira and Yusuke, arrived.
"F-Futaba-chan, are you OK?" Haru asked, sitting on the hackers other side as she continued to cling to Ann.
"What's going on? Why'd you call us here all of a sudden?" Ryuji asked, a mix of both impatience and concern in his tone.
Futaba dried her eyes and cleared her throat before speaking, "I know who the mass murderer is."
"F-For real?!"
"You do?!" Ann spoke, prying Futaba off her just a bit to look at her, "Who?! Who is it?!"
Futaba felt her nerves bunch up as the eyes of the other Phantom Thieves were on her. A part of her wanted to remain silent, wanting to preserve the secret and protect her friend, but her heart knew what was the only right choice for her. So, swallowing down her fears, she spoke as clear and concise as she could.
"... It's Yusuke."
The air around them turned hard as stone, becoming so thick it was a struggle to breathe, all sounds around them being blocked out of their minds.
After a long minute of silence, Haru spoke first, her voice breaking, "... Y-Yusuke-kun?"
"Y-You're kidding, right? You... you can't be serious..."
She shook her head as Ann managed to find her voice, "H-How can this be possible?!"
"I don't know, but it is. I hacked into his phone and read through his messages. Mona, you know all the times Akira left in the middle of the night?" She waited for the cat to nod before continuing, "It wasn't for an art project. It was to help him with the murders."
The cat's eyes widened and his body started to tremble as the pieces slowly started to come together. The meetings happening in the middle of the night. Yusuke's constant changing behavior. The fact that he's yet to see the supposed painting they had been working on.
"And it's not just them," She added, "Even Akechi..." She stopped, the memory of what she saw fresh in her mind.
Makoto looked at her, "Huh? What about Akechi?"
She stifled down the tears that threatened to rise before speaking, "Akira told Yusuke where Akechi was and he threatened him. That's why Akechi had that scar on his neck. That's why he stopped flirting with Akira all the time. A... And..."
"W-What's wrong, Futaba-chan? What else happened?"
She couldn't stop the tears from falling out the corners of her eyes as she finally whimpered, "H-H-He killed him. Y-Yusuke just killed him, a-and I saw it...!"
The tension in the air had risen to a breaking point, the cold truth sinking into them like ice water.
"T-Then... it's true?" Morgana stuttered out, "Y-Yusuke really is..."
"We gotta stop him, now," Ryuji interjected, determination and vitality leaking from his voice, "We know now that Yusuke's the killer, so we gotta find his palace and stop him now! We wait any longer and who knows how many more people will be killed!"
"Ryuji's right," Ann spoke, "Everyone has been begging us to stop these murders, and now we have a chance to do that!"
"We can't."
She looked down at the girl still clinging to her, "Huh?"
"Akechi said he tried every phrase he could to find Yusuke's palace, but he could never find it."
"Then the hell are we supposed to do?! Just sit on our asses and wait for this shit to get better?!"
"But, I don't get it," Makoto wondered out loud, "With everything Yusuke's done, he should have a palace. So why couldn't Akechi find it?"
Morgana thought for a second before speaking, "If I had to guess, I think it has something to do with his cognition."
"What do you mean?" Haru asked.
"Well, a palace forms from a person's dark cognitive thoughts. They believe that they are in the right for their actions and that they can get away with them. But for Yusuke to not have a palace even after committing so many crimes... my only guess is that he's aware that what he's doing is wrong and that he deserves to be punished for them."
Makoto spoke up, "So because he knows that he's committing terrible crimes and isn't proud of it, that's keeping him from having a palace?"
"So... what are we supposed to do?" Ann asked, "If he doesn't have a palace, how can we get him to stop?"
"Our only chance is in Mementos," Morgana spoke, jumping out of Ann's bag, "Since Futaba just saw him commit murder, his mental state is mostly likely agitated and on high alert, so we have to leave right away? Everyone ready to go?"
As the others all nodded, Ann interrupted, "W-Wait! Let me try to get Akira to come with us."
"Are you serious?!" Ryuji argued, "You remember that he's also responsible for all these murders, right?!"
"We don't know that for sure! Futaba told us that Akira's been helping Yusuke, but we don't know the full story yet! We should at least try to get him to explain himself and come help us!" He voice lowered, "I can imagine that he also knows that all this is wrong."
There was a silent agreement of approval, so Ann grabbed her phone from her pocket and quickly found Akira's number. She waited for him to respond, but several seconds passed with no answer. She considered texting him and saying that they knew the truth to bring him here, but she had a feeling that Yusuke likely already let him know. And threatening him would be worthless anyway. Their leader had an unshakable will and refused to cower to anyone. So she changed the number to the one for Leblanc. It rung for a second before there was an answer. Though the voice on the other end was deeper than the one she wanted.
"Hello?"
"Hey, Boss. It's Ann."
"Hey, Ann. What can I do for you?"
"Is Akira there? I tried calling him, but he wouldn't answer."
"He left a few minutes ago to meet up with Yusuke. You won't have any luck getting him to answer his phone, he can't focus on anything else when that guy's in the same room."
"Trust me, I know. Well, I'll stop by later, I got something important to tell him. Let him know I called when he gets there."
"Will do."
She hung up and let out a frustrated sigh.
"No luck reaching him?" The cat asked.
She shook her head as a determined look shined in her eyes, "Let's go."
They wasted no time in transporting themselves into the Mementos. Morgana shifted into his bus form and the Phantom Thieves climbed inside, Makoto taking the wheel.
"Mona, do you sense anything that could lead us to Yusuke?" Makoto asked.
The cat was silent for a moment before answering, "I'm definitely picking up something not too far from here. It has a similar feel to Kamu Susano-o, so it must be him. Head north down this path, I'll let you know when to turn."
Makoto began the drive, making sure to go at a brisk but careful pace to avoid alerting any nearby shadows of their presence. With their current mission, they couldn't afford any distractions. The drive was relatively quiet, their minds still reeling from what they were about to do and why.
Even with some time to think about it, they still found themselves in disbelief that one of their own teammates and close friends was the one responsible for killing so many people, even more so that their own leader not only knew about it but was helping him. And this entire time it was happening right under their nose, and they never realized it. Never noticed that two of their own comrades were hiding a dark secret under an innocent mask. Haru looked over to Ryuji and she could see the frustration, rage, resentment and confusion swimming in his eyes under his mask. She wanted to speak, try to relieve some of the tension being carry by both him and the other teammates, but she kept silent.
"Around this corner, that's where it's coming from."
Turning the corner, the group was met with a large black swirling portal. The presence it gave off was unnerving, making their skin crawl. They got out of the bus and Morgana transformed back to his normal state as they slowly approached the portal.
"Are you sure this is it?" Ann asked.
"Without a doubt. I can sense the presence on the other side, this is where he is."
"But why is he in a separate, isolated area?" Futaba asked, "People's shadows tend to be out in the open."
"It likely has to do with the strength of his damaged cognition. He's managed to avoid creating a palace, but his dark desires and thoughts are still just as strong as those we've fought before," He paused for a second before continuing, a shocked yet impressed tone in his voice, "It's almost as though he's created his own small palace within the Metaverse."
Ryuji stepped forward, "Well, whatever the hell this is, we gotta stop him, now."
The others silently agreed as they stepped into the portal. A wave of blinding darkness swarmed around them, the very world and reality shifting into something new, something unimaginable.
Something horrid.
At first, there was nothing but darkness, an empty world they were standing in. But slowly, an ominous light grew a few feet in front of them. A silhouette shaping itself from the shadows, taking a familiar human form facing away from them. It was Yusuke, dark energy swarming around his body as his head turned to look back at them, his eyes the familiar glowing yellow shadows possessed.
"So... you all really came," His voice carried a heavy reverb laced with malice.
"We had no other choice," Makoto spoke in a commanding tone, "You already know what we do to criminals like you."
The shadow looked away from them, "So you all think I'm just some senseless monster? A cold-blooded murderer with no empathy for others? I expected that you would so quickly throw away our friendship once you knew the truth."
"Don't you dare start pulling that guilt-tripping shit!" Ryuji shouted, his patience already wearing thin, "You knew exactly what would happen! It's your own fault for all of this!"
"You think I'm not aware of that?!" The shadow snapped, "I never wished for any of this to happen! When it happened the first time, the only thought running through my mind was how I would never be forgiven for such an act, the punishment I would have to face for a horrid mistake. I knew I would have no chance of being granted mercy. I would have lost my mind then and there... had it not been for him."
"You're talking about Akira?" Ann asked.
The shadow nodded, "He knew exactly what to do. He disposed of the body, helped us to remain unsuspicious to the public, and kept me from doing anything risky. I couldn't understand why he wasn't upset with me for what I did. Even now, I can't understand why he continues to be with me, to shield me from having to face the justice I deserve. He's protected me and supported me as I've steadily become more unstable," It looked down, its hands coming up to rest above its heart, "Regardless of everything I've done, he never threw me to the waste side, never left me to suffer on my own, never considered turning against me. No matter what I did, he continued to love and care for me... And I came to love him so dearly."
"That doesn't matter," Futaba spoke, hiding behind Ann, "You still shouldn't have done any of this."
"Exactly," Morgana continued, "You said you never meant for this to happen. But why did you continue? You could have stopped at just one, so why did you continue?!"
"It wasn't my fault! Do you think I enjoyed having to commit so much sin?! Do you think that I always wanted this life?! I never would have even considered walking down this path had it not been because of them!"
"W-Who are you talking about?" Haru asked, her voice trembling.
"Ask them yourself."
The shadow's voice was laced with venom and malice, filling the air of the room. Ryuji was about to ask what the hell he was talking about, but as he stepped forward, his foot bumped into something on the floor. Looking down, he noticed the dark shadows covering the floor starting to take a shape. The shape of a teenage girl. And not just one, but several.
Several bodies littered the floor, leaning against and nailed to the walls and being hung from the ceiling. The darkness that permeated the room was replaced by blood red illuminations that highlighted their bodies, revealing a series of different fatal injuries on each of them and the pained expressions on their faces. Within the span of a few seconds, the room of darkness was transformed into a macabre art exhibit.
The Phantom Thieves all reeled back in fear and panic. Futaba clung tightly onto Ann, burying her face into her back to avoid looking at the grisly scene.
"T-This shit is beyond effed up!"
"They are the ones to blame for all this," The shadow continued to speak, its voice devoid of emotion, "It never mattered to them that they were shamelessly presenting themselves. It never mattered that they were told beforehand that he was taken. It never even mattered that I was always there right next to him. Time and time again they tried to take him away from me with no regard to my own heart. I never realized just how cruel spiteful, jealous, lust driven women could be until now. And not just them, but him as well."
The shadow turned over a body laying before it with its foot. The body was completely black, but the shape of the body, face and cut along the neck identified this body as Akechi.
"He was truly the most shameless, more than anyone I've ever encountered. He seemed to want to watch me suffer and push me to my limits more than he wanted Akira's attention. Thus, I opted to give him a chance to redeem himself by giving him a warning. But, even though I acted far kinder to him than I should have, he still couldn't behave himself. So I had no other choice but to be sure he wouldn't act that way ever again," The shadow raised its foot and stomped down on the body's head, shattering it into scattering black smoke. It sighed, seeming to calm itself down, before speaking in a low tone, "Futaba, I really am sorry that you had to witness this yourself. You've already had to face so much despair, you didn't need to bear through his own idiocy."
"S-STOP ALREADY!" Haru yelled, he voice echoing in the small space, "I knew something had to be wrong with you to do all this, but this is just too cruel! Why?! Why did you have to become like this?!"
"As I said, I didn't want it to be like this. I never would have done any of this if they had st-"
"Cut that bullshit out already!" Ryuji interrupted, "You keep saying it's not your fault, it's there's, but that's complete bullshit! You could've just ignored them! Instead, your psychotic ass kept pushing them into an early grave!"
"Skull's right," Makoto said, her fists clenching, "As much as you say you weren't at fault, you still deliberately chose to take such actions. Intentional or not, friend or not, it doesn't change that you're a criminal. And it's our job, our promise to the public, to put a stop to you."
His face became emotionless, "So... you still intend to stop me? To have me face the justice I deserve?"
Ann gripped onto her weapon as she spoke, "That's been our objective ever since we came here."
"Very well then," Its voice was dark, an increasing wave of terror rising as it spoke, "Then it seems that I must do the same. For the longest time, I believed I would never have to turn my anger towards you all. You always were so supportive of us and maintained concern for me. But it seems like I was wrong," Pure darkness leaked from his voice, a tone Futaba recognized from not too long ago. One that sent a sickening shiver through her body as he spoke his next sentence, "I won't let anyone separate me from him."
The shadows pooling around him swarmed together and formed above the shadow's head, its shape resembling Kamu Susano-o, the Persona's body shrouded in darkness and bounded by chains. With a wave of an arm, the shadows commanded a powerful wave of icy cold air that pelted the Phantom Thieves like a tidal wave, sending an intense shiver through them as they were nearly knocked back.
"T-T-The hell?!" Ryuji spoke through chattering teeth, "H-H-How the h-hell is he t-t-this stong?!"
"He's drawing p-power from his Persona!" The cat called out, "It's making him more powerful!"
Managing to find a small window of opportunity in the rushing winds, Ann quickly summons Hecate and launches a brutal Agidyne towards the shadow. But it spotted the attack instantly and countered, forming a spear of ice and launched it forward, bursting the attack, the flames evaporating into vapor from the chilling air, before it impacted Ann and sent her flying onto her back.
"ANN!" Haru cried out.
"I won't let you stop me!"
The shadow's voice cried out as the freezing winds grew stronger, pushing them back a few feet as they began to feel their muscles lock up from the cold.
"T-This one is way too strong!" Futaba screamed out from the rushing winds, her visor having finished scanning the shadow.
"D-D-Damnit!"
"What are we s-s-supposed to do now?!" Makoto cried out.
Morgana was at his wit's end trying to think of something. They've faced truly powerful shadows in the past, ones that left them in critical condition when they returned to the real world, but this was on an entirely different level. Yusuke's shadow contained a power that was equal to their own and amplified by his intense and damaged cognition. He was actively preventing them from being able to take so much as a step forward and had complete control of the area. And their leader and most powerful teammate wasn't with them. Was this battle just too much for them? Is the only viable option they have to retreat, hopefully convince Akira to join them and try again?
"Giving up already?!" The shadow's voice roared along the winds, growing steadily stronger as they were slowly forced to their knees, "Were you not just proclaiming that you would stop me?! That you were so callously throwing our bond away to stop the monster in front of you?! You painted me as vile, and yet you can't even muster the strength to fight back?! Like I thought, your words were nothing more than talk! You're just like everyone else! Even Akechi so flagrantly tried to take Akira away from me, but he crumbled like a coward the moment I fought back! Don't you realize?! This is the only way I can be happy and not lose the most important thing in my life! Words never do anything to change people, only actions! And I will continue to act! I will fight off anyone that thinks a few petty words and shameless gestures will take him from me! I will never lose him! I will put an end to all of yo-"
His speech came to a sudden grinding halt. The freezing cold hurricane winds instantly slowed to a crawl before stopping. Feeling the sudden loss of the attack and feeling the nerves in their bodies warm up and resume functioning, they stood and looked up.
The shadow's eyes were wide with a mix of fear, pain, and anguish, its body trembling and outstretched arm slowly falling to its side. It only managed to look down at its body for a second before it fell forward, its body and the image of the Persona instantly fading into dust. The gruesome bodies that lined the floors and walls of the roomed faded away, the room now resembling a typical area of Mementos.
They were stunned silent from the sudden turn of events. Ryuji was the first to speak, his voice shaking from the lingering cold, "The hell just happened?!"
"W-Why did he just vanish?" Haru asked.
"My attack didn't get anywhere near him, and he didn't leave behind any treasure. What happened?"
While the others were left confused and questioning the situation, Morgana tried to piece together the events. Shadows are created and influenced by a person's cognitive thoughts. their job is to defeat the shadows, but not kill them. Any fatal damage done to a person's shadows will soon after lead to the person's death. And since both of them are linked to one another...
Morgana was struck with a horrifying thought. He turned around to the others before frantically shouting, "We got to get back to the real world and find them!"
"What do you mean?!" Makoto asked.
"We just have to hurry before it's too late!"
Sojiro finished washing up the last cup in the sink as the cafe doors opened. He turned around as Akira and Yusuke entered.
"Welcome back."
"Hey."
"Good evening, Sojiro."
"Don't know if you've checked your phone yet, but Ann gave you a call a while ago. Make sure to call her back, sounded like she really needed to speak to you."
"I'll make sure."
Sojiro saw the worn out and gloomy look on the artist's face, "You doing alright there, Yusuke?"
"Y-Yes, I'm fine," He spoke rubbing his eyes, "I'm just rather tired is all."
"He's been working a lot on a new project."
"Well, try not to work yourself to the bone. It's gotten pretty late, the train's likely not running right now, so you're free to stay here."
"You don't mind?"
The older man shook his head, "In the mood for a drink? It's on me."
He nodded, "Thank you."
Sojiro went to work preparing a cup of coffee as Akira grabbed Yusuke's hand and lead the two of them up to his room. Once he was sure they were far enough away from the stairs that Sojiro wouldn't hear them, he asked, "Now that we're alone and safe, tell me what happened."
The full force of everything he was holding back to prevent alerting Sojiro came out, "I was careless. Akechi slipped up and said that someone knew what I've been doing, and I lost my composure and killed him. I thought I could dispose of him myself or at least flee the scene fast enough without leaving any evidence behind, but... Futaba saw. She saw what I did! And she ran away before I could even think of anything to say!" Tears started to fall from his eyes, "There's no doubt in my mind that she's already told the others of my crimes. And with this other person also knowing, I've alerted all the worst people I could have all at once."
Akira stepped forward and whipped away his tears, "This was bound to happen at some point. It didn't matter how well we hid it, someone was going to find out. Not that surprised that the first one on the team to learn was Futaba. So, what do you think we should do?"
"What is there even left for us to do? They're likely already working to put a stop to me and learn of the extent of how much you've assisted me. Our fate is already sealed," He gave a heavy sigh, "I've been preparing for this moment for o long, yet I'm still just as terrified. I can imagine all the torturous things they'll do to both of us; how they'll seek to break us down as much as we've broken down others. Even when they put me out of my misery, they'll likely still do so in a way to make sure I suffer."
Akira caressed his cheek, "So, what do you have in mind? If this isn't how you want it to end, what would you like to do?"
He paused for a moment before answering, "Regardless of what could possibly happen to me, the only request I have is for you to be the only thing I see when my time comes to an end. That's a privilege I know I won't be granted by others... We've spoken about this before, but it seems like this is the only option we have... I understand if you don't wish to do this-"
He shook his head and gave Yusuke a warm smile, "No, I'll do this with you."
The artist's eyes widened, "W-Wha- But what about the Phantom Thieves? You're their leader! They need y-"
Akira placed a finger on his lips, silencing him, "They can handle things without me. They're already doing it right now. They'll be fine without me around. But you won't be. It's why you want to do this rather than get arrested."
Yusuke reached his hand up to grasp Akira's, "You truly wish to do this? You would give up everything just to make me happy?"
"Of course. I've been doing all this partner in crime stuff for you. There's no way I'd abandoned you now."
Yusuke felt all his worries, fears and anxieties melt away into nothingness. This was why he loved Akira so dearly. Even though he's done so much that would make anyone leave him without hesitation, Akira has always stood by his side. Always been so patient with him and willing to assist him with anything. Despite that they've become the most despised criminals in Tokyo, he didn't care whatsoever for his image and only saw keeping him happy as his main priority. Had he not have this love, he likely would have stormed into the nearest police station and confessed to everything he's done.
Akira let his hand go as he went to the desk and opened the bottom drawer, pulling out a thin, long brown box, and took out what was inside; a thin but long serrated knife. He was lucky that he'd been able to keep this hidden for so long. He waved for Yusuke to come over and the artist stepped forward until he was directly in front of him, taking the knife from his hand.
"I love you, Akira, with all of my being. For everything you've done for me, thank you so much."
"I love you too, Yusuke. So, this one last time, trust me on this. It'll be fine."
Yusuke nodded and turned to face away from Akira. Looking down at the blade, he could feel the panic and hesitation rising in his heart. But his resolution managed to push it down, just enough so he could position the blade against his stomach. His heart was racing, his subconscious screaming at him to stop, but he silenced them for only a second, but that single second was long enough for him to plunge the blade deep into his stomach. He groaned and reeled back in pain, Akira catching him before he collapsed. He pushed the intense pain aside to finish the task, grasping the knife handle with both hands and slashing it across his abdomen. Akira held tightly onto him, bringing the two down to sit on the floor leaning against the bed frame. Yusuke was panting, gasping and coughing, desperately trying to keep his voice down to avoid alerting the man just downstairs. Hoping to keep him calm, Akira grasped one of his shaking hands and used the other to turn Yusuke's head to face him. His eyes, that were clenched shut in pain, slowly opened, the pain and fear eroding away as he looked at his beloved. His hand managed to grasp back, even as the feeling in his body and consciousness started to slip away. The other teen likely noticed this, as he leaned forward to give the artist one last kiss, wanting to make the last moments of his life as pleasurable as possible. To fulfill his final wish.
And he could tell he did, as he felt the corners of Yusuke's lips turn up into a small smile just before the hand he was holding went limp. Pulling back, he saw the smile and closed eyes forever painted on his face, letting his hand go to fall lifelessly onto his lap. Akira stared at him, knowing that he should be hurrying to finish before Sojiro comes up. But... actually seeing Yusuke lying dead against him, knowing that he'll never again get to showcase his gifted skills and endless beauty to the world, he felt his heart lurch in his chest as he wrapped his arms around the lifeless body, feeling tears silently falling from his eyes.
His rationality and ethics have been fighting against him every since this vicious cycle started, telling him that what he was doing was the worst choice of actions and that he needs to take appropriate action and do his duty as the leader of the Phantom Thieves. But his love was always enough to keep him silent and willing to assist, even as things became progressively worse. Yusuke simply meant too much to him to want to turn against him, to see his spirit and soul being destroyed by the realization that the only person he could trust to know about his secret had turned against him. For that, Akira Kurusu, the young boy who had his past rightful actions used to paint him as an untrustworthy delinquent, allowed himself to be buried in sin after sin after sin without ever looking back all for the sake of his boyfriend, Yusuke Kitagawa.
Allowing himself the precious seconds to grieve, Akira snapped back to reality and reached down, pulling the knife out of Yusuke's abdomen. He held the forever resting teen against him with one arm as he placed the knife against his own stomach.
"You must be pretty lonely without me. Don't worry, I'll be there soon. Here's hoping we at least get some mercy where we're going."
He placed one last kiss on Yusuke's forehead, taking a deep breath before plunging the knife down.
Finishing the coffee, Sojiro found himself getting really worried about Yusuke. He already knew that the kid has been a complete mess ever since these murders started, but that look he saw on his face, even though it was brief, was enough to tell him the kid was on the edge of shattering into pieces. That brief look of pure despair was something he hadn't seen since Wakaba died. He hoped Akira was at least making his best effort to help him.
Placing the cup on a small plate, he took it and started to walk up the steps. He couldn't help but notice how unusually quiet it was. Normally they would at least have the TV on, even if they weren't actually going to watch anything.
"Hey, Yusuke, everything alright up h-"
He stopped in an instant, the plate and cup shattering as they hit the ground, not caring whatsoever for the coffee staining his pants and the lingering burning on his legs. His focus was directly on the two teens that lay limp against the side of the bed, the noticeable large blood stains on their shirts.
"What the-!" He ran up to them, dropping to his knees and grabbing their shoulders with each hand, "H-Hey! If this is some sick joke, it's not funny!" He violently shook them, trying to find even the slightest sign of consciousness that proved they were messing with him. But not so much as a small tick of movement came from either of them. Looking down at their abdomens, he noticed the knife sticking out of Akira's cut open stomach and a similar cut running along Yusuke's. He started to feel sick, "What the hell did you two do?"
He heard the sound door open with a slam and several footsteps rapidly ascending the stairs. The remaining Phantom Thieves entered the room, their eyes landing on the scene, letting out a mix of gasps and screams.
"Quick, hurry and call an ambulance!"
Sojiro managed to break them from their shock, Makoto pulling out her phone to call for help, Haru staying with the trembling Futaba near the stairs, and Ann, Ryuji, and Morgana approached the two lifeless teens to observe the damage closer. Seeing the results for himself, Morgana was silent, unable to look at them, realizing that his theory was right.
The destruction of someone's shadow can lead to their own death in the real world. Seems like the same thing was possible the other way around. It didn't matter how fast they made it back; the moment Yusuke's shadow was gone, the real teen's fate was sealed.
And not just his fate, but the fate of the young man who swore to stay with him to the ends of the Earth, through Hell and back.
Hoo boy, that was a ride and a half! Really hope you didn't jump into this without having read the previous two stories, I can imagine you must have been confused and disturbed at the turn of events. But I had fun being able to write someone usually so calm, understanding and loyal as completely unhinged. Only in fanfiction can you have this much fun. But don't worry, the next Persona 5 fic will be vastly more wholesome and will focus on a new ship I wouldn't have come to love had it not been for the anime. If you've watched it, you know what I mean ;)
If you'd like to support me and my work, feel free to support me on . Even the smallest amount would be greatly appreciated!
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