SIX DEGREES OF SEPARATION
4/25 Early Morning Monday
Murmurs echoed throughout the hallway as Ken stepped into the Shujin's courtyard. A flock gathered at the bulletin boards, shoving each other as they clamoured to the front. Ken raised an eyebrow, curious at what the commotion was all about.
"Amada-san!" a voice called out to him.
He turned to the source to see a flustered Makoto running up to him. Out of breathe, she gasped as she leaned against the wall. She reached out, a peculiar card in her hand.
"Sir Suguru Kamoshida, the utter bastard of lust," he read out loud.
"Do you know what this is?" Makoto groaned, "I've been all over the school trying to take these down but I can't get them all!"
Ken shook his head.
His eyes carefully scanned the message, taking note of the ransom-style lettering. Confessing his own sins? His eyebrows furrowed in confusion as he stared at the signature.
"The Phantom Thieves of Heart," he finished. A scoff escaped his lips. "Every group of persona users has to have a group name, huh?" he added quietly. Who else would have been behind this stunt?
The contents of the card was still unclear though. Thinking back to his S.E.E.S. days, no mention of confessing one's own sins was ever brought up. The Midnight Channel was a blur for him, only remembering that he had to fight to survive.
He slowly stared at the mass of students congregating, the undeniable look of apprehension fixed upon each person. Behind, he could see the three persona users, a satisfied look on their faces. What did this have to do with the bastard's Shadow? Why would they send a calling card?
"Did Kamoshida-sensei do something wrong?"
"Does this mean the rumors are true!?"
"Wait a sec… Is someone gonna take something from Kamoshida-sensei…?"
A figure walked into his view. Suguru Kamoshida. A collective of gasps reverberated throughout the growing crowd.
"Speak of the Devil," Ken whispered.
The tall man slowly read the bulletin board, his shoulders tensing in anger. Ken looked on as the man's act fell apart with each word from the card. He roared and turned towards the students.
"Did you do this!? Or was it you!?" Kamoshida snapped at each one, dispersing the crowd to their respective classrooms.
Ken and Makoto hid behind the corner and watched as the man barreled straight to the three. Makoto gasped but Ken only placed his finger onto his lips, telling her to be quiet. Whatever was about to happen, he needed to see it. Makoto slowly nodded and she slowly peeked around the corner.
"...Was it you two!?" the man roared again.
The transfer student only adjusted his posture, placing both hands inside his pocket. "What if it was?"
Suddenly, the world turned black, his vision turning hazy. His hands shot up to his temple, clutching it in pain as he dropped to one knee. Through squinted eyes, a ghostly silhouette behind Kamoshida materialized. His Shadow…?
"Come... Steal it, if you can!" the silhouette's distorted voice beckoned the group.
As quickly as it came, the moment was over.
"Amada-san! Are you okay!?"
"H-huh…? Ah, yeah… just… lacking some coffee," he lied through his teeth, "I didn't get much sleep last night." It was a half truth as far as he was concerned.
Makoto gaze lingered for a few more moments before she stood up, a sigh escaping her lips. "Please take care of yourself." She bought it.
Ken only nodded before standing as up well. Brushing off of the dust from his uniform pants, he walked towards the bulletin board and started taking down the red pieces of paper. Makoto followed suit and the pair worked silently.
4/25 Lunchtime Monday
Ken's worries came true as the usual interface of the mysterious app was replaced with an ominous warning.
Kamoshida Castle Security Level: 99%.
What were those three planning?
Whatever the purpose of their calling card was, the ramifications were apparent even to the naked eye. He stalked the bastard teacher as he patrolled the hallways, garnering stares from both teacher and student alike.
"I'm scared… What if he goes too far like he did with Suzui-san again…?!" a volleyball player whispered to another in terror.
Ken's hand balled into a fist, anger coursing through him once more at the thought of the poor girl. Maintaining a solid distance, he watched as Kamoshida entered his office, slamming the door behind him. Silently, he listened in.
"I built this school! This school is nothing without me!" Kamoshida recited to himself, "I get to call the shots here. This is my castle!"
Ken's eyes widened. His castle…? His eyebrows furrowed in thought, running through recent events. The castle in the other place. Was it another dimension? Shadows were a personification of oneself's emotions, repressed or not. He was called the King in the other place. Was the real Kamoshida aware of everything in the other place? Ken's lips pursed to a straight line. There were more questions to be answered.
"Amada-san…"
He whipped around to see Fuuka staring at him with a look in her eyes. Ken stiffened. A deer caught in the headlights. Did she caught on? How much did she know?
"Fuu- Yamagishi-sensei?" He caught himself before he could finish. "Is there anything I can do for you?"
She simply walked towards the other direction, a wordless cue for Ken to follow her. She led him towards the rooftop. Was his journey over? What happened if they knew? It was meant to be solitary according to that voice. They settled behind the building, Ken anxious at what his senpai had to say.
"I felt a Shadow earlier," Fuuka started, her voice quiet and clear. "It was not even for a second, but that feeling… I can't mistake that feeling for anything else."
"Are you sure?" Ken played along, unsure of what she really knew.
Fuuka nodded. "I've already called Akihiko-senpai and he's patrolling nearby just in case something happens." She turned to him. "I need you to be careful. The persona users… They're up to something…"
He nodded, a pang of guilt inside him. "I'll stay away as promised." Utter lies.
A smile swept across Fuuka's face, although it didn't reach her eyes. "Do you have your envoker just in case?" she asked.
Ken nodded and patted his school jacket. His evoker felt heavy all of a sudden. "You guys told me to keep it handy… Just in case," he echoed back.
Utter lies once more.
"Good. Make sure you visit us soon, alright?" Fuuka walked towards him and gave him a small hug. "I gotta head back and finish some paperwork."
Ken forced a smile and returned the hug. The guilt he would deal with in another time. For now, he needed to keep them away. After he heard the click of the rooftop door closing, he collapsed to the floor, unaware of how much he was tensed up. He wasn't a liar, not at all.
A group of footsteps interrupted his thoughts. Pressing his back against the wall, the rooftop door squeaked open. It was the persona users.
"Phew, we almost got caught by that new teacher. Isn't she a 3rd year teacher?"
"She's pretty cute, ain't she?" Ken rolled his eyes at the comment.
"Gross, Ryuji."
"Hey, I'm just sayin'! Anyways, you guys ready for today?"
"If things go south and we are forced to fight," Ken heard the transfer student speak, "Ryuji, I need you to keep Tarukaja up always. Rakukaja duty is mine."
A bell tolled throughout the school, signalling the end of lunchtime. The group shuffled towards the door towards class. Ken lingered further, deep in thought.
He breathed in slowly, organizing all the new information he had gathered. They were planning to go in today? Did they not know the security level!? They were the ones who raised it in the first place! It was practically suicide!
The rest of his classes were a blur, the teacher's words reaching deaf ears. The angel he had saved them from was nothing to him yet they needed three to take it down to critical health. They were fairly new persona users, practically bumbling about like babies. Yet, they wanted to fight!?
Panic set in in the 6th period for him as the reality of what they were planning hit him.
He needed to go.
Koromaru wasn't anywhere close and the Pinaka, his spear, sat at home in its case. The only thing he had going for him was his evoker but summoning Kala-Nemi over and over again would slowly bleed him dry. Maybe he could steal one of the spears from one of the Shadows?
"The Shadows," Ken gasped as a thought passed through his mind. Fumbling about, his fingers traced the oddly familiar outline of the mask of the Justice arcana neatly tucked into his bag. "Yeah… I could… That can work…"
The last bell rang, snapping him away from his thoughts. He shot up from his seat, the people around him jumping in surprise. Pivoting on his heel, he sprinted down the hallway.
Makoto appeared from another classroom.
"Ah, Amada-san! Do you have a moment?"
"S-sorry Nijima-san, I feel really sick so I'm gonna go home!" he yelled as he ran up the stairs.
Makoto stood in the middle of the hallway flabbergasted at the exchange. Why did he run up the stairs if he was going home…?
Ken brushed the interaction off as he jumped up another flight of stairs. He needed to be there before them, before they go in and practically kill themselves. Out of breathe, he slammed the rooftop door open and scrambled behind the building.
A few moments later, the shuffling of footsteps.
"Did we not close the door when we left?"
"Who cares. You guys ready?"
Ken swallowed the lump in his throat as he took out something from his bag. The mask of the Justice arcana felt hot in his hands, as if begging for him to put it on. He breathed in deep, feeling every fibre in his body relax as he slowly lifted the mask to his face. His vision turned black as his senses were engulfed.
"Let's go."
Starting Navigation to Kamoshida's Castle.
The first thing he saw was red. The castle was bathed in crimson light, somehow pulling him in. A shiver coursed up Ken's spine, threatening to overwhelm his senses. His lungs hitched, his mouth salivating, his body heating up. What was this feeling? Inviting. Seductive. Dirty.
"Hey, you!"
"H-huh…!?"
A Shadow screeched, forcefully pulling him back to reality. It limbered over to him, its blood red eyes scanning him. His hands instinctively drew close to his evoker.
"What are you doing outside your post!? The intruders are here!" Its metal head whirled towards the castle. "I need you at the control tower! We need to protect our glorious King!"
The mask worked.
Ken dropped to one knee. "A-augh!" He screamed as hard as he could and clutched his chest. "The intruders! They got me!" He braced himself, throwing his body to the ground.
"H-hey! Stay with me!" the Shadow called out to him, dropping its weapons and rushed to his side. "Where are they!?"
"T-the barracks," he choked out as best as he could, "I h-heard about a secret passage. T-they're trying to kill the King!"
The Shadow gasped. "I'll alert the others!"
"N-no, w-wait!" Ken coughed loudly and tried to get up only to fall once more. Ken winced in pain, accidentally biting the inside of his mouth as he fell. At least it helped with the illusion. "T-they're too powerful, w-we need everyone there!"
"But who will protect the King!?" the Shadow roared.
"We kill them before they reach the King!" Ken cried out and grabbed the Shadow by the arm, climbing up to his feet. "I want to help! I can still fight!"
The Shadow stared at him, eyeing him up and down. Ken stiffened. Did it buy his performance?
"Q-quickly!" he commanded.
That seemed to snap the Shadow into action. "Y-yes! I'll call as many as I can to the barracks!"
"H-help me get there!" Ken choked out as he put his weight onto the Shadow.
"Y-yes!"
Inside the barracks, Ken slumped onto the corner of the door, eyeing the mass of Shadows around him. The barracks were musty, dark, and cramped. Stone walls were barely illuminated by the sparse torches placed on the wall. The smell of ichor was apparent, taking him back to his S.E.E.S. days. He never imagined to be this close to this many.
The higher ups were dressed in gold, he noted, while the rest were in the typical familiar grey armor. Armed to the teeth, each Shadow was tensed up, ready to fight. Ken scanned the crowd, eye-ing those who opted for a spear. His hands were itching to grab his evoker but he needed to wait. He needed to draw as much he could.
At least sixty, he counted.
"Where are the intruders!?" a gold Shadow screeched, banging its spear against its shield in anticipation. "I will be the one to kill them!"
A few more stragglers jogged to the room, weapons at the ready. "We couldn't find any sign of them!"
The gold Shadow roared. "Were we tricked!? ...King Kamoshida! Who's with King Kamoshida!?"
A smirk slowly crept on Ken's face, although the mask hid it. He stood up and slammed the door shut, the noise echoing throughout the barracks. The room grew quiet and every Shadow turned their heads towards him. He took out his envoker, his hands feeling its familiar curves. It gleamed against the warm light of the fire.
"Thank you for gathering here today," he started, his voice reaching towards the very back of the mass of Shadows.
"W-what is the meaning of this!?" the gold Shadow screamed, pointing its spear at him. "Explain yourself!"
"Kala-Nemi," Ken whispered and placed the evoker against his temple. The cold steel felt almost comforting to him.
The sound of glass crashing echoed throughout the room as an apparition materialized behind Ken. A few of the Shadows started running away in terror as they were enveloped in light.
The apparition of Kala-Nemi outstretched its arm as static slowly built up around the room.
"Thunder… Reign…"
A few moments before, above at the central tower, the Phantom Thieves slowly crept up to the safe room closest to the throne. The castle was quiet, save for a few shadows they met, and quickly disposed of, on their infiltration route. Mona peeked around the corner, finding nothing. He furrowed his eyebrows in confusion.
He tugged at Joker's leg as they stopped to scout out the open area for any lingering Shadows. "Something's off Joker… There's barely any guards."
"Good for us! We can go straight to the treasure!" Skull reasoned with a smirk, spinning his barbed wire baseball around. "Kinda wanna bash some Shadow skulls though!"
"Don't swing that thing around!"
"Enough," Joker ordered. "There might be Shadows waiting for us by the throne room so I want everyone to be ready for confrontation. Everyone remember their roles?"
The three other thieves nodded in confirmation.
"Alright, let's do thi-"
"Wouh!" Mona suddenly cried, a foreign sensation reverberating throughout his body. The phantom thief was stunned, rattled at the immense pressure.
Panther rushed to his side, cradling his head between her arms. "Mona! Are you okay!?"
"L-lady Ann!" he choked out, a blush threatening to shade his cheeks. "I-I felt something big. S-something powerful."
Joker's face darkened as he jumped to the cat's side. "Are you good first?"
Mona nodded and jumped up. "It was from down below, but it was just… Powerful… Scary… I think we're far away from it for now."
"I felt something too," Skull called out as he looked at the direction of the force, his tone serious. "Something big just released a lot of electricity. I felt it…"
Joker stared at Skull for a moment before nodding. Ryuji was attuned to electricity but was still weak in terms of magic. If he felt it too... He turned to the other two with a shiver in his voice. "Let's go, before whatever that thing is comes to us."
A collective grunt of agreement was heard from the group as they rushed on towards the treasure.
4/25 Night Monday
"I see…" Mitsuru finished reading the report that Fuuka had given her in the afternoon. "Two Shadows appearing in one day... "
Through the laptop, Fuuka yawned as she struggled to keep awake. "I couldn't pinpoint their exact location but they were definitely inside the school," she started to explain. "The first one was gone really fast but the second one was there for a few seconds before disappearing."
Mitsuru nodded and placed the report at her desk. She placed her hands on the desk, deep in thought. "Is backup necessary? From what I recall, Yukari is flying soon close to Tokyo for a shoot."
Fuuka shook her head. "I don't think so. For now, I need to grab more data." She sighed as she collapsed onto the couch, her thoughts going back to what happened after school.
She was putting away her reports when the familiar feeling hit her. It was quick yet subtle, her eyes darting towards the ceiling. Then, it was gone. A knot in the pit of her stomach grew as she thought of one person.
Ken.
Fuuka dropped the folder onto the table and closed her eyes, reaching out for Kala-Nemi's presence. Is he okay? She couldn't feel him anywhere in the school. Where was he!? Her eyes shot open, running out of the faculty office towards the first floor.
Kawakami appeared down the hallway as she turned towards the stairs. "Ah! Yamagishi-san! Do you wanna hav- Wouh!"
"Sorry! Need to check something!"
Fuuka jumped the last two steps of the last flight of stairs and threw herself at the entrance of the classroom.
"Ah! Yamagishi-sensei, what can I do for you?"
Breathless, Fuuka stared at the student council president in front of her. Nishima? Najima? She cleared her throat and adjusted her cardigan, composing herself back together. "A-ahem. Sorry, I was looking for Amada-san. Have you seen him around?"
The student council president nodded. "I have! But he rushed home since he felt sick."
Fuuka gasped for air as she let out a sigh of relief.
He was safe.
"Fuuka?" Mitsuru's voice snapped her out of her thoughts. Fuuka shook her head to clear her mind as she sat up. "Have you been getting enough sleep? We both know how much we lose ourselves with work."
Fuuka smiled sadly at her senpai. "I know… I'll make sure to sleep now," she assured.
"Goodnight," Mitsuru cooed as she ended the video call.
Placing the laptop onto the table, she made her way to her bedroom and toppled onto her bed. A few moments later, the soft sound of her snoring filled the quiet room. She was exhausted.
Ken opened the door to his apartment, exhaustion on the verge of overtaking him. His fingers felt numb, cramping up at the slightest pressure applied. Although the Shadows were weak, the sheer number had threatened to overwhelm his a few times. His uniform was tattered, blood seeping thru the few wounds still open. He would need to wait to regain some energy to use Diarahan. Hopefully, they wouldn't scar. Koromaru patiently sat in front of him as soon as he opened his apartment, curious eyes meeting very tired ones.
"Hey Koro-chan," he greeted before collapsing onto the floor and falling asleep.
Author's Note: Level 99 Ken vs tons of Level 16 Heavenly Punishers, who would win? Apparently the Level 99 Ken. Next day will be short and the gaps between days will soon widen since yeknow... the first few hours of Persona 5 are chock full of world building and setting the stage. Also, what happened to Suzui's Seabed, ya ask? I guess we'll see.
Funnily enough, I just noticed a somewhat similar fic called Justice for All with Ken and the Phantom Thieves. AHAHAHA.