A/n: here's one more chapter before the western version of Persona 5 comes out. The Phantom Thieves will finally enter Kaneshiro's Palace. I still don't know much about this Palace myself, but the chapter may contain things that might be considered to be slight spoilers, I guess.
Ah, April 2nd, 2017. Only two more days until Persona 5's western release! I hope I get my copy soon...
The Queen's Plan
Written by Aiyumi
Disclaimer: Persona and all related characters are property of Atlus, Inc. Any trademarks that may be referenced in this fan fiction are properties of their respective owners. I am just a fan and do not have any relations to said people/companies.
Chapter 11: Kaneshiro Palace
It was Dark Hour. Makoto was at the agreed meeting place. Despite her situation and worries, she felt very happy when Joker arrived to pick her up. His imposing presence still made her nervous, though.
"J-Joker. I-it's been a while..."
"It hasn't been that long."
Makoto was a bit disappointed by his response. Did it mean that he hadn't missed her, not even a little?
"The others are waiting ahead." Joker began walking and didn't give her much attention.
Why such coldness? Was he angry or something?
"What's the matter?" Joker turned behind when he noticed that Makoto wasn't following him. "Hurry. We have no time to lose." So stern, and so cold...
Makoto wordlessly quickened her pace to catch up to him, and they walked together in silence. She had so much to talk to him about. The problem her sister was getting into, her plan of finding proof against Kaneshiro during the Dark Hour, the plan to make Joker prove that he liked her... but everything jumbled in a mess and got stuck in her throat.
"There she is," Panther said when Makoto approached with Joker. "Let's go."
"... Where are we going? I-is it far from here?" Makoto finally recovered her speech.
"A bit, but we'll be going there by car." Joker answered her.
"By car...?"
"Heheheh..." Mona smirked deviously. "It's time to show my stuff!" He put some distance between himself and the group. "... Transform!"
In a flash, Mona's figure disappeared. In his place stood a weird bus with a cat tail.
Makoto's mouth opened and closed a few times, and so did her eyes. No matter how many times she blinked, the "bus" was still there. "W... w-whaaaaat!? Mona just... turned into a... a bus! How is this even possible!?"
"We wish we knew!" Skull retorted.
"Very cool, right?" Mona's voice spoke, but Makoto couldn't tell where it was coming from. "My transformation is so cool that it's stunning! Ha ha ha!"
"No, it's not cool. It's absurd." Joker quipped.
"You're so cold, Joker!" Mona whined. "Anyway, you all shouldn't just stand there. Hop on already!"
Everyone entered the "vehicle." Makoto was too stunned to move, and Joker had to help her inside. Of course, she tried not to show it, but she appreciated his act of kindness very much.
"H-how do you explain this?" She tried to be stern with Joker, without much success.
"We don't." Joker answered simply.
"You said you would explain me everything!" Makoto directed an accusing glare at him.
"Unfortunately, Mona is the one mystery in our group that we have no way to explain."
Makoto didn't like that excuse, and also could tell she wouldn't like the response to her next point. "Either way, this isn't right! You are minors, and don't have a driver's license. You can't drive! It's illegal!"
"Oh, but they aren't driving." Mona's voice responded. "Sure, they could if they really wanted to, but I can move on my own!"
As if to make the point, Joker sat on the middle between Makoto and Panther, while Skull and Fox sat behind them. Sure enough, no one took the driver seat. Yet, the engines started and the bus began moving.
"See? I'm the awesome pilot of the Phantom Thieves!" Mona bragged. "Ah, and I also have GPS, and will make sure we don't get lost! It even defies the Dark Hour's limits! Cool, huh?"
How could someone be both the vehicle and the pilot at the same time? That made no sense... no, that wasn't what really mattered. What mattered was that it was wrong. And the worst part was that there was no way to prove them guilty to the authorities. Those young delinquents were infringing the law in a completely absurd way!
"I guess there's no way to explain it," Panther said. "We have to just deal with it."
"But you still think you're acting cool and like to show it off, don't you!?" Makoto accused them. "I don't like this one bit..."
"Like it or not, this is just how it is." Joker responded in a neutral manner. "We met Mona by chance, and this is how things turned out. The Dark Hour is a mystery, and to operate during it, we need to make do with the resources we have. This is all that there is to it."
Makoto couldn't accept it. Even though she had no idea what the Phantom Thieves had been doing, she was sure of one thing. They were infringing laws. Not only that, but if her suspicions were correct, they were also intent on messing with the mafia. Their actions were wrong on so many levels!
Makoto fumed and attempted a disapproving glare at Joker.
"Anyway, for the sake of saving time, I'll take this moment to go over the plan for this mission." The leader spoke louder for everyone to hear, and ignored Makoto's glare completely. "Our target is a man named Junya Kaneshiro. He's been enriching through illegal activities, such as extortion, usury, and blackmailing. It seems that he's been doing shady dealings for years already. The police is aware of his activities, but still hasn't done anything about him."
This confirmed Makoto's suspicion. The Phantom Thieves were indeed intent on messing with Kaneshiro. "I've heard about him. He's an influential member of the mafia, and not even the police dares mess with him."
"Exactly."
Makoto definitely didn't like the sound of this.
Joker didn't let Makoto voice her opinion. "As I've already told some of you beforehand, this is a time-critical mission. We have at most until Wednesday to secure the treasure route, one day to send the advance notice, and the following day to actually confront our target. As such, we must avoid battles as much as possible to save both time and SP."
"Gotcha!" Skull spoke from his position. "I brought some soft drinks just in case."
"Me too!" Panther joined in.
"Panther, initially, I'll have you stay behind with Queen as usual, but later I might switch you with someone else for SP reasons."
"Got it, Leader!" Panther said determinedly. "Clearing a Palace in so few days will be tough, but I believe we can do it."
"Yes." Joker nodded with a grave expression. "We must do it. Failure isn't an option."
Makoto was angry, but for the moment, she chose to remain silent and only relish the fact that Joker was seated just a few inches to her side. She became lost in thought. How could she make Joker see that he was on the wrong path? What could she do to save him?
"It's here." Mona's vehicle form halted and pulled Makoto out of her thoughts.
Everyone else stood up and left the bus. Joker and Makoto were the last ones to leave.
"So far, you haven't managed to impose yourself to him." Makoto recalled Johanna's advice from her dream the other night. "As long as Joker keeps intimidating you, you'll always be forced to do as he pleases, and things will never go your way! You won't be able to get him away from the crime path. You'll be forced to follow his orders, and he'll drag you into trouble after trouble!"
Despite it having been a dream, it was good advice. Makoto mustered up her courage and glared at the leader. "Joker! Do you have any idea what you're doing!? You want to steal from the mafia. You know that whatever they have was gotten through illegal and unethical means. What you are doing is doubly wrong!"
"It's you who has no idea what we are doing." Joker retorted.
"Then what's your intention!?" Makoto looked at Joker as defiantly as she could.
Joker didn't falter. His expression was serious and menacing. "To put an end to this situation."
"To... put an end...?" It wasn't what Makoto expected to hear. "How...?"
"By making him expose himself."
"... Huh?" While this was also what Makoto wanted, she didn't find Joker's argument convincing. Was this really the Phantom Thieves' intention? She couldn't understand how they intended to achieve that through stealing. It made no sense.
She followed Joker out of the vehicle. A lot of coffins stood nearby.
"This is why I chose to pick you up instead of having you meet us here." Joker gestured towards the coffins. "This is a dangerous place at night, with shady people hanging around outside the Dark Hour. I wouldn't want you showing up here during the normal hours and running into this kind of people."
Makoto cracked a smile, touched by Joker's consideration. His gentle words nearly made her forget that she was against what his group was doing.
Mona joined them, back in his bipedal feline form. Makoto couldn't help but reach her hand out towards him when he passed her.
"H-hey, what're you doing?!'" Mona startled when Makoto's hand touched him.
"Uh, sorry." Makoto retracted her hand. "Y-you know, it's still hard to believe that until a few seconds ago you were a car, a-and..."
Mona seemed embarrassed. "I-its okay. I a-actually don't mind. Just startled a little..."
Makoto gave him a sheepish smile. She kept thinking how fluffy Mona was, and this also nearly made her forget the issues at hand.
The group dodged some coffins in the way. As soon as they entered the facility, they grimaced as their noses were assaulted by the odor of cigarettes and alcohol.
"This smells like trouble!" Mona went ahead and got to a wall in the back. "Joker!"
Joker wordlessly nodded and swept his cellphone out of his pocket. He did something on the phone, and the wall moved and opened like a sliding door.
Makoto gasped. "It opened...! Joker, how did you know that this wall was an entrance?"
"Because Mona detected it."
"But how did you know that you needed to use the phone?"
"Because I've done the same with other passages before."
They went through the passage and came out in a totally different place.
"What is this?!" Makoto looked around as they went deeper inside. "This place is huge! It must have been really expensive to build... does it have a connection to the mafia? How could they hide such a facility behind the wall of a nightclub without no one noticing!?"
"No. It doesn't work like that." Joker interjected. "This is similar to what happens to the school."
"... Huh?"
"When we entered the secret passage, we came out in another dimension." Mona explained. "This is a place created by our target's corrupt mind. It represents his distorted views of the nightclub he rules over. In other words, this is his Palace."
Another dimension? Distorted views? What kind of nonsense story was that? Makoto felt even more confused. "His... Palace?"
"Yeah, you can confirm it for yourself. Just look at your phone." Mona suggested. "You have the app too, like the others, right?"
Makoto did as suggested. To her surprise, she saw that her phone was on, and the strange app was open. The screen showed a timer labeled, "Dark Hour - Remaining time," a few weird icons, and what looked like a mini map of the immediate surroundings. Lastly, the title at the top of the screen said, "Kaneshiro Palace." The whole situation was too surreal, but at least Mona's words confirmed one of Makoto's suspicions. The other Phantom Thieves also had the cellphone app.
"Enemies ahead. Be careful!" Mona warned, and everyone got in their usual positions.
Panther guided Makoto and hid behind a wall. Makoto was horrified when she saw security guards marching past them. And those guards were active during the Dark Hour!
The Phantom Thieves crossed a lot of rooms and halls, all the while hiding and avoiding being spotted. Makoto wasn't liking any of that. The scenery, the security guards... the more the group walked, the More the situation became clear to Makoto. They were in a bank, and the Phantom Thieves were going to rob it!
They got to a room with one of those teleporter devices Makoto had seen at the school's Palace.
"This is a bank. You're going to rob it, aren't you!?" Makoto glared accusingly at the Phantom Thieves.
"You could say that." Joker answered, and caused Makoto to grimace. "Or at least, that's what it'll look like on the surface. In practice, though, it's much more complicated. We're looking for this Palace's 'treasure.' It's the item that drives our target's corruption, and is guarded by a powerful Shadow that was born from the target's corrupt heart. By taking the treasure, we'll be removing the corruption from the target's heart. With no more evil in their hearts, our targets repent of their actions."
Makoto didn't get any of that. To her, all of it only sounded like excuses. "Stop! You're making no sense! Stop making up excuses to justify your questionable behavior! What you do is wrong, period!"
"You're really unwilling to listen... I hadn't expected you to be this closed-minded." Joker looked exasperated. "You didn't even take a moment to process my explanation, did you?"
"No, I didn't, because it doesn't matter! All your group seems to care about is think that you're cool because you found weird ways to infringe laws in a hidden hour where no one is awake to punish you!"
"Grrr!" Skull lost his patience. "The details might sound complicated, but what matters most is the end! What part of 'our targets repent of their actions' you didn't understand? Ugh, Joker, let's take her heart, too..."
"We can't. She has no corruption in her heart. It's just a misunderstanding blown out of proportions..." Joker heaved a sigh. "No amount of words will convince her. The only way is really to demonstrate it in practice. Let's go."
The Phantom Thieves left the safe room and continued the exploration, with Makoto begrudgingly accompanying them.
Makoto decided to ask a question that had been nagging at her. "What's with those security guards, anyway? If they're moving during the Dark Hour, does it mean-"
"They're Shadows." Panther cut her off.
"Shadows...?"
The Phantom Thieves kept trying to hide from the guards, but there was one time when it wasn't possible.
The group at the front entered a narrow corridor and got face to face with one guard. To Makoto's surprise, the guard "transformed" and split into three talking monsters. Fox and Mona defeated two of them, then Joker proceeded to negotiate with the last one and absorb it as a new Persona.
After that, they managed to avoid a lot of enemies, but were forced into many battles as well, against both talking and non-talking monsters. A few minutes later, the group members at the front line began having SP issues. Joker called Panther over to help them at the front and had Fox stay near Makoto at the back.
"You finally get to stay behind with her, huh, Inari," Skull said mockingly. "Remember, don't do anything funny to her, or you'll have to face Joker's wrath!"
"I wouldn't do anything to her! It surprises me that you didn't do anything weird to her last time." Fox shot back.
Skull glared at Fox for a second, but turned around and returned to the front line.
Skull had said that Joker wouldn't be pleased if Fox did anything "funny" to Makoto. What did he mean by that?
"Uh, what is this deal about Joker getting angry?" Makoto couldn't help but ask.
"Joker likes you, or so I have heard," Fox said bluntly.
Makoto's heart skipped a beat. "... D-did he tell you this?"
"Uh, n-not really. I don't know the details, but this is what I was able to gather from our last meeting. We were discussing the ev-uh... something else, and the subject somehow came up. Apparently, Joker told Panther about your love confession, Panther told Skull, they began talking about it during the meeting, and now everyone in the group knows..."
"T-the whole group knows? This is embarrassing...!"
"Why?" Fox asked innocently. "The two of you have support from the whole group in this matter. Shouldn't this be a good thing?"
"Huh?" Makoto hadn't thought about it that way. Fox might be right... But again, this didn't change the fact that all the Phantom Thieves were trying to drag her over to the crime path. Makoto needed to resist, and then take proper action.
The Phantom Thieves went on their way while avoiding traps. This involved hiding in extremely tight places, breaking security cameras, and stealing card keys from Shadows by force. It went without saying that Makoto was none too pleased at witnessing the Phantom Thieves' actions, let alone being forced to join them in their infiltration mission.
"What is this...!?" Makoto exclaimed when they entered a room filled with... walking ATMs?
"I shouldn't have loaned money from him!" One of the ATMs spoke in a masculine voice. "I can barely pay a small bit of the interest each month. This way, I'll be buried in debts forever!"
"I couldn't pay the loan, and he sent his men after me!" Another ATM said.
"Those are... People...?" Makoto uttered in confusion.
Fox nodded. "These must be representations of the way Kaneshiro views people...!"
Then, a masculine voice came out of nowhere. "Ha ha ha. This is what I call easy money. Loan money to a lot of people when they're in dire need, charge exorbitant interest, and watch as money rains into my hands from all directions every day as they struggle to pay debts that will never end. And if it gets to the point that they refuse to pay the debt, just threaten their lives and get whatever they have. Or, if they have nothing, just make them work and generate money for me."
Considering that the man was from the mafia, Makoto didn't want to imagine what kind of "work" he forced his debtors to do.
"There is no advantage in being poor," The disembodied voice said. "I know this from experience. I had been poor before. The poor can't achieve anything in life, and their only role in this society is to be trounced upon and enrich those that are already rich! Is this how society works? Then so be it. When I got the opportunity, I chose the advantageous side. No more suffering! No more being looked down on! Now, it's only a matter of having those hopeless creatures power my 'money generating machine,' and watch the money increase ad infinitum!"
The voice silenced, and all the ATMs disappeared.
With the room emptied, Makoto and Fox joined the other group members.
"This is how the Palace's owner views people," Mona said. "That disembodied voice should be his."
"He views people as mere machines to generate money for him!" Fox uttered. "This is despicable!"
"See?" Makoto's gaze darted among all the Phantom Thieves. "If this is true... then now you know how disgusting this man's possessions are! Stealing from him will make you equally despicable people!"
"Argh!" Skull stomped on the ground. "How many times do we have to say that this isn't what we're trying to do?! That bastard's dirty money can burn in hell! We want nothing to do with it! We're here to make him stop what he's doing, that's all!"
"By stealing?"
"Forget the stealing part for the moment." Joker waved dismissively.
Makoto glared daggers at Joker. "Ah, now you want me to turn a blind eye to your crimes? Stealing is the main thing you do, or you wouldn't be called thieves!"
Joker heaved a sigh in exasperation. "I already explained what we do."
"Your explanations make no sense!"
"I told you it was hard to express our actions with words. This is why we're trying to show you in practice."
Makoto was still angry, but said nothing, as the discussion was going nowhere. She opted to glare at the Phantom Thieves instead.
They left the room and continued on. A few more battles, and the group members exhausted their SP. Luckily, they arrived at another safe room.
"Good. Another checkpoint." Joker approached the teleporter device in the room. "Let's end our exploration for today."
They warped to the entrance and were on the street shortly later.
They rode Mona's bus form, and Makoto kept fuming and glaring at the Phantom Thieves the whole way.
When the group members split ways, Joker came to talk to Makoto in private.
"I need you to promise me something," he said out of nowhere.
"Huh?"
Joker unexpectedly placed his gloved hand on Makoto's shoulder, and stared her firmly in the eye. "Now you may or may not know the nightclub's exact location. Either way, you should stay away from it during the normal hours. I know that you despise Kaneshiro's methods as much as all of us do, but please, I don't want you trying to do something on your own and coming to the nightclub outside the Dark Hour. As I said before, your recklessness makes me worry. If you act recklessly outside the Dark Hour, I won't be able to protect you. So, I want you to promise that you'll stay safe."
Joker's unexpected action made Makoto's anger melt away temporarily. He was going as far as to ask her to make a promise. It should be a sign that he was worried about her. His presence was as imposing as always, and he was waiting unblinkingly for her response. Still, Makoto shouldn't simply give in. She needed to impose herself.
"What if I don't promise?"
Joker's stare hardened and turned into a disapproving glare, and Makoto had to keep herself from flinching. Despite that, his reaction showed that he indeed cared about her. This alone comforted her, and the corners of her mouth ended up curving up into a smile.
"I'm grateful for your consideration, Joker. Despite all of our arguments, I still like you. Knowing that you care about me makes me happy."
Joker's gaze lost its intensity for a second, but he recovered his composure. "... So, do you promise or not?"
"Fine, I promise."
"Good." Joker's glare subsided, and he seemed relieved. "Tomorrow, we'll meet up at the same place as today." He removed his hand from Makoto's shoulder. "See you tomorrow. Good night."
It was Sunday. When Makoto awoke in the morning, she found herself even more confused than she had been last night. The Phantom Thieves' actions had been so surreal, from Mona turning into a bus, to them infiltrating a bank hidden behind a secret passage in the nightclub, to the bank's security guards turning into Shadows, to the ATM people, to the weird explanations about the Phantom Thieves' methods, and of course, Joker's concern towards her, and how he had managed to be stern but gentle at the same time. For all Makoto knew, the last Dark Hour's events could very well have been nothing but a long, weird dream.
Makoto had her breakfast, then tried to study in her room for a bit. However, she got worried about Sae's plan again. Makoto couldn't concentrate on her studies. She needed a distraction.
Makoto wondered whether Miura would be willing to spend the Sunday with her again. She retrieved her phone and stared at his name, "Kazushi Miura," on her contacts list. They had traded numbers last Wednesday, but he had yet to call or text her.
Both Kazushi and Morgana - and probably everyone else in the team - were exhausted after having lost a lot of HP and SP during last night's exploration. This time, Morgana was also asleep, and didn't wake Kazushi up the same time as he did on weekdays.
Kazushi awoke with a start at his cellphone ringing. When he saw Niijima-san's name on the screen, he got disoriented, unsure how he should respond to her. He had to take a second to remind himself that he was outside the Dark Hour and should push his Phantom Thief persona to the back of his mind. He cleared his throat a few times before answering the call. "... Hello?"
"Hi, Miura. Good morning."
"Ugh, morning. What time is it...?"
"Huh? It's 9:40..."
"Whoa."
Niijima-san gasped from the other end of the line. "Ah! You were asleep?"
"Uh, yeah, Morgana didn't wake me up early this time."
"Oh, Miura, I ruined your sleep. I'm sorry."
"I-it's fine." He was already awake, and it was about time he got up. "So, what's up?"
"Uh, um, I was just wondering if you're free today..."
Kazushi quickly went over his schedule to check whether he wasn't forgetting any plans. There were none, but should he risk his identity and spend the day with her again? Well, they would be able to reveal the truth to her in just a few days. As long as he continued acting carefully until then, there should be no problem. "Yeah, no plans."
"Can we go to the arcade again?" Niijima-san sounded hopeful.
"Sure."
"Really? Great!" Niijima-san was ecstatic. "Then, I'll wait for you there."
"Okay. Just give me some time to get my act together. I'll see you at the arcade in an hour."
"It was Makoto, right?" Morgana spoke up once Kazushi had ended the call.
"Yeah. She wants to hang out."
"A date, huh?" Morgana teased.
"No, it's not!"
But Morgana ignored him. "Alright, I might give the two of you some privacy... it's boring that I can't even speak while Makoto is around! She also has the Potential, and I'm sure she can understand what I say! If she were to hear me speaking, our cover would blow for sure."
"Thanks." Kazushi was glad that Morgana was being considerate for once.
The not-cat gave Kazushi a pleading look. "Kazushi... think Lady Ann would agree to spend some time with me? I can talk to her, at least."
"Ah, I see it now. You have ulterior motives..." Kazushi sighed. "Alright. I'll ask her."
Kazushi swallowed a bread for breakfast, took a quick shower, and got changed. Then he called Ann.
"Hello, Kazushi?" Ann picked up the call.
"Hi, Ann. Are you feeling okay? The exploration was rough last night."
"Yeah, I'm doing fine. I slept like a log, and am rested now. You?"
"Same." Kazushi answered. "I slept until late, and so did Morgana. I'm still a bit tired, but I should be ready for more exploring tonight. I hope the others are well-rested, too. We have no time to lose. We must secure the treasure route and send the advance notice by July 7th at all cost."
"Yeah, we can't miss the deadline and have Niijima-senpai's sister get in trouble with the mafia." Ann agreed. "It's a good thing that Ryuji filled us in on this, and that we have the chance to act before it's too late. It'll be hard work, but I'm feeling optimistic, and believe we can do it."
"Me too." And Kazushi went to the point he had specifically called her for. "Ann, may I ask you a favor?"
"Sure."
"I'll be going out. Could you look after Morgana for a few hours? I don't want to take Morgana with me, but don't want to leave him all by himself, either."
"Okay. I'm on the street now. I'll drop by Leblanc and pick him up. I think I can get there in around ten minutes."
"Thanks."
Makoto met up with Miura at the arcade in Akihabara. They practiced the shooting game for a while, then Shinya showed up.
"Hey! It's not hard mode yet, but you're doing much better than last time! And it's been only one week. I had thought you'd never get this far."
"Well, no one is born knowing." Miura responded. "But we're learning, practicing, and getting better at it."
Shinya's eyes lit up. "Can I count on you two to become good enough to give me a challenge, then?"
Makoto's eyes flared. She would get her revenge.
Miura nodded. "Yeah, one day, we'll get there. Though if you want a different kind of challenge right now, you should play a match of that racing game against her."
Makoto wasn't expecting that suggestion. Still, she didn't skip a beat, and smirked confidently at Shinya. "Then, it'll be the King of shooting games VS. the Queen of racing games. What do you say?" For some reason, that statement elicited a chuckle from Miura.
"Yeah, I'm on!" Shinya accepted the challenge.
Ten minutes later, Shinya had his eyes shut tight in frustration. "Argh! I lost! You're really good. This sure was a challenge. I'll practice hard to beat you at this game!"
Makoto had a satisfied smile on her face when she left the arcade.
"That turned out better than I had imagined." Miura commented when they were inside the train. "Somehow, we even managed to impress him."
"It looks like he isn't a bad kid. He only sent me straight to hard mode last time because he was impatient to have a challenge."
"Yeah." Miura agreed. "Looks like we and he'll continue being rivals for a while."
Makoto changed the subject. "Ah, yesterday I visited Mr. Kamoshida in prison."
Unlike Sakamoto, Miura didn't react negatively. "How's he doing?"
"Apparently, his sentence might be reduced for good conduct, and the police might have him do community work. He still looks very remorseful for the bad things he did. He also lamented about those rumors involving you that he started. When I told him that I'm helping you fix your reputation, he asked me to look after Sakamoto as well. The way he ruined Sakamoto's dream seems to weigh in his conscience a lot."
"Hm..."
"Miura, Mr. Kamoshida told me that you entered his blacklist because you saw him hassling Takamaki."
"Yeah. He had taken her to dinner by force or something. Looks like I'm bound to have problems running into men hassling women on the street. Unlike the time I was detained, though, I didn't do anything. I only saw them. But only this was enough for him to get me into his blacklist. He said that since I had gotten in his way, I'd have a 'surprise.' Then, the following morning, the rumors had started."
Makoto looked at Miura with sympathy. Even after Mr. Kamoshida was arrested, people continued building up on the rumors he had started. Thanks to that, not only the students, but even the teachers had a bad opinion of Miura.
"What about Takamaki?"
"The whole incident with Mr. Kamoshida left her traumatized, too. People had already been discriminating her because of her foreign heritage and her looks, and saying a lot of bad things about her. They spread rumors that she walks around wearing revealing clothes and does... inappropriate stuff, which isn't true. Then, they began spreading rumors of there being 'something' between her and Mr. Kamoshida, which also isn't true, of course. She's nothing like the rumors say."
"Poor Takamaki." Makoto would never have guessed that the girl had been going through all of that. It was relieving to hear that the rumors were false, though. "I'm getting to the conclusion that most of those rumors at school can't be trusted at all. I've talked to Takamaki a few times, and she was quite friendly, if a little shy. From my interactions with her so far, she seems to be a kind person. It's sad that she's been going through these horrible things."
"Yeah." Miura agreed.
Maybe Makoto should talk to Takamaki more.
The train stopped at Shibuya's station. While Makoto and Miura had lunch at the family restaurant, the worry about Sae and the nightclub briefly surfaced, and Makoto debated whether to tell Miura about it. In the end, Makoto decided against it. Spending time with Miura was quite enjoyable, and she didn't want to ruin the mood.
At the Dark Hour, Joker came to pick Makoto up at the same place as last night.
"Joker. I've come to a decision. I still can't wrap my head around your crazy explanation, but I decided to give your group another chance. I'll watch this mission until the end, then make my conclusions after that."
"We wouldn't have it any other way. As I said, no backing out."
Makoto shivered. Once again, she was doing just as Joker wanted. The feeling that she was getting herself into big trouble nagged at her again.
"I'm a bit scared, though." Before Makoto had realized it, she was voicing her worry. "I have the nagging feeling that I shouldn't be doing this..."
Joker looked her in the eye. "Just trust me."
"Huh." Makoto blinked.
"You had said that you like me. Then, you must trust me. How are you supposed to stay with someone you don't trust? It's only fair." Joker reasoned.
"Uh... y-yes, it makes sense." Oh no! Makoto thought. Joker had gotten her again. She had failed to impose herself once more.
As if to confirm Makoto's thought, Joker flashed a small smirk of satisfaction. Makoto's nagging feeling intensified. This wasn't going well. She shouldn't be swayed. She shouldn't let him drag her to the crime path...
Makoto followed Joker and met up with the others. They boarded Mona's vehicle form, and headed to Kaneshiro's Palace.
Makoto had to endure yet another session of hiding in tight places, avoiding sensors and other traps, running to avoid the Shadow security guards, and watching the others battle, destroy security cameras and retrieve card keys to open doors. Panther stayed protectively close to her as always.
Makoto felt it was around the time they usually ended exploring.
"I feel that a safe room is close by!" Mona announced.
"Oh, it was about time!" Skull said.
"It must be over there!" Mona ran forward.
"... Wait!" Joker commanded, but it was already too late.
Mona passed in front of a well-hidden sensor, and the alarms went off. A lot of Shadows came from all directions and surrounded them. There were more enemies than the group at the front could handle, and various Shadows came for Makoto and Panther.
"Queen, stay behind me!" Panther had her Persona cast a fire spell that engulfed three of the Shadows. The spell wasn't enough to eliminate the enemy, but Makoto observed that the Shadow was weak to fire.
"No, I'll fight too!" Makoto retrieved one of those fire gems the group had given her previously and threw it at an enemy, and finished the job.
But there were more coming for them. Unlike Panther's area-hitting spell, Makoto's gems hit only one enemy at a time. The enemies also hit them a few times, but thankfully didn't cause much damage. For the most part, getting hit hurt less than Makoto had expected. Even though both girls were holding themselves considerably well in that fight, Makoto ran out of fire spell gems. Without much choice, she took her toy revolver and unloaded it onto the enemies. Her shots added to Panther's fire spell's damage exploded two Shadows into black ooze, and Makoto secretly thanked Miura for having taught her the basic principles of the arcade shooting game.
By that point, the number of enemies had reduced considerably, and the other group members came to their aid. Skull and Mona took a handful of enemies down with their multi-target attacks while Fox took one Shadow on with his katana. Everyone was occupied with their own problems. Only Joker noticed that one of the stronger Shadows was sneaking behind them and coming for Makoto.
"Aaaaaaaaah!" Joker screamed in pain as he shielded Makoto from the surprise attack and was sent flying into a wall.
"Joker...!" Makoto exclaimed in horror. "Aaaah!" She panicked and desperately unloaded her gun's remaining ammo on the Shadow.
However, it was still not enough to finish the enemy off. In the end, Fox was the one who dealt the final blow.
The others were able to defeat all enemies. Everyone rushed to their leader.
"Joker! Are you okay?!" Panther got to him first.
But Joker didn't respond. He seemed to be seeing stars, and had a painful expression on his face.
"It was a critical hit, wasn't it?" Mona reached him next. "And the enemy hit his Persona's weakness, too! It must've hurt a ton."
"Hey, man! Can you stand?" Skull asked.
"Likely not. He can't even speak." Fox remarked.
As if to confirm Fox's statement, Joker's eyes closed and he lost consciousness.
When Mona used a healing spell, Makoto felt much better. The spell reached everyone, including Joker. However, the leader didn't wake up.
"Joker!" Makoto called out to him with worry.
"Calm down. He's just unconscious," Fox said. "We'll have to carry him."
Skull agreed and proceeded to lift the leader from the ground. Since Skull was usually rough and violent, Makoto feared that he would hurt Joker even more. To her pleasant surprise, he acted gently and carefully, and so did the others. It was clear that all group members deeply respected their leader.
Thankfully, the safe room was right ahead. Once they were in the room, they gently laid Joker down on the ground.
"Joker..." Makoto murmured. The ever so powerful and confident Joker looked so helpless now. Even though he was unconscious, his face still reflected pain. And it was all because he took a blow for her. "We should take him to the hospital." Makoto suggested.
"No, we don't need to do that." Mona objected. "We should wake him up, though. If only I knew how to use a revival spell... does anyone have one of those rare revival items we got from Shadows?"
"Here." Panther showed a small flask of something Makoto had never seen before.
"Hey, wait." Makoto raised a hand warily. "What's that!?"
"A revival medicine." Fox answered.
Makoto had a bad feeling about that situation. "Where does it originate from?"
Skull seemed clueless. "No idea."
This confirmed Makoto's suspicion. She definitely didn't like that. "Let me see." She yanked the flask out of Panther's hand. She turned the flask over and found no name, no label, no anything. "You're going to give him some random concoction you don't even know the origin of? What if it causes him more harm than good!? No, is this thing even legal?!"
"I don't know." Skull admitted. "I only know that it took us out of a pinch a few times already, and that Joker needs it. Now give me that." He unceremoniously took the flask from Makoto's hand, then threw it back to Panther.
Panther caught the flask in mid air, and walked over to the fallen leader. She opened the flask, crouched down next to Joker and gently opened his mouth to administer the liquid.
A bit of the liquid spilled, but most of it entered Joker's system.
"Done. He should wake up soon." Panther stood up once the flask was empty.
Makoto was about to begin another scolding session when Joker grunted and opened his eyes, only to painfully squeeze them shut again.
"Joker!" Practically all members shouted in unison and flanked him.
"... E-everyone. What... where..." His eyes opened again but were unfocused. His voice came out weak, and he seemed to be having trouble to string a single sentence together. To Makoto, it was strange to see Joker in that state.
"All of us are alright!" Mona informed him.
"Queen and me, too." Panther added. We aren't hurt. Just tired.""
Joker released a weak but relieved sigh.
Mona used a healing spell on Joker.
"Hey, Leader, you alright? Can you stand?" Skull repeated his earlier question.
Joker tried, but his face scrunched up and he fell down again.
"I guess we'll have to continue carrying you, eh?" Skull sounded annoyed, but his expression didn't agree with his words, as though carrying Joker were actually no trouble at all.
"... Sorry."
Makoto had thought Joker would try to appear strong and refuse, but he didn't protest. He apologized, as though he were feeling bad for - quite literally - burdening his teammates. Maybe he wasn't such the show-off Makoto had imagined him to be.
"We've gotta go home." Mona headed to the teleporter.
"Huh, what?" Makoto was incredulous. "You don't mean you'll be carrying Joker all the way, do you?"
"Ha ha ha!" Mona laughed. "This is a job for the great car and great pilot of the Phantom Thieves!"
"Oh..." Makoto had forgotten about that detail.
Skull helped Joker stand up and had the leader hold onto him. Fox took his cellphone and wordlessly volunteered to activate the teleporter. They warped to the entrance and left the nightclub Palace.
"If I had been hit by that attack, would I have been incapacitated like he is now?" Makoto asked on the way out of the Palace.
"I don't know." Mona answered. "It depends on your Persona's resistances, and we still don't know what they are. Joker was using a Persona weak to that attack's element. Worse, he was unlucky and got a 'critical hit.' I mean, it got him in full."
"I still think he should be taken to the hospital." Makoto insisted.
"No need." Mona shot that suggestion down. "That medicine and my healing spell already did the hard part. As long as he takes a good rest, he'll be fine."
Makoto wasn't convinced, but stopped arguing. They wouldn't listen to her anyway.
Once out of the Palace, Mona assumed his bus form. Skull, Panther and Fox helped Joker inside and sat him down. Makoto sat down right next to him.
Makoto felt bad. Joker had taken an extremely painful blow for her, yet she was the only person in the group that hadn't done anything to help him so far. Joker still looked to be in pain. Makoto wished she could heal him, but she had no Persona, and couldn't use any healing spell. She needed to do something. Anything.
Without so much as asking whether he would mind it, Makoto took the liberty of wrapping an arm around his shoulders to both comfort him and steady him. She was relieved when he didn't complain.
"Sorry, Joker. You're suffering like this because of me." She spoke in a low voice. "If only I could use a Persona..."
A few seconds passed. She hadn't expected him to say anything, but he did. "... Glad... you're fine." He still seemed to have trouble focusing and forming sentences. "You... did well." Despite that, he sounded proud.
Makoto felt a wave of satisfaction at hearing Joker's praise. "I still haven't said this... Joker, you protected me. Thank you."
Joker chuckled quietly. For a moment, Makoto thought he was mocking her.
Joker let out a resigned sigh. "Couldn't help it... when I realized it, I was already moving... to protect you."
That was so sweet.
"I... I-I think..." It was hard for Joker, but he still insisted on speaking. "I think... I like you."
Makoto's satisfaction rose to new eights. He had said it. He had admitted to it. Joker liked her! "I... I think so, too! That you like me, I mean. I'm happy that you said that." Makoto had known that speaking was hard for Joker at the moment, but she couldn't help but ask, "I told you what makes me like you. So, what makes you like me?"
Come to think of it, they had barely met. Makoto was curious as to what reasons Joker had to be interested in her. Was it because of her looks like everyone else? Was it because he always managed to exert his authority on her?
Joker had a distant look for a while. "I like... being with you."
This was surprising. He liked to be with her? "Just that? But all we seem to do is argue..."
"Hmph." He snickered. "Not really. All those times... where nice."
Makoto was confused. "Huh? Those times? What are you talking about?"
"Yes, those times..." Joker repeated with a distant look in his eyes.
"I don't get it. Which times?"
Joker smiled through his pain. "All of them..."
Makoto had no idea what he was talking about, but at least he had smiled, which was extremely unusual. And she had an idea. Now Joker was unable to think properly, and seemed to be saying everything that popped up in his head. If she threw him a smart question, he wouldn't be able to dodge it. This was her perfect opportunity to make him slip. "Okay. Since both of us like one another, I think we can call each other by first names now. So, what's your real name?"
Joker seemed to be processing the question for a while, then he opened his mouth to speak.
"Joker, stop!" Mona's voice warned him. "If you continue talking, you're gonna make important stuff slip! Be quiet!"
Joker balked, and no words came from his mouth.
Makoto gritted her teeth. Even though her talk with Joker was quiet, Mona was aware of everything that was going on! Not only that, but he got in her way, too! She needed to insist. Joker was vulnerable. It was now or never. "Come on, Joker. You like me. So, you trust me, right? How are you supposed to be with someone you don't trust?"
More time for him to digest what she said. Then, he began laughing quietly. "Ha... haha haha ha ha ha... using my own words against me now? Hahahaha... you're... ... ingenious." His speech gradually became slower and quieter. "One of the things I like about you..." Joker's eyes closed, and he seemingly lost consciousness again.
"... Joker...?" Makoto was alarmed for a moment, but realized he had actually fallen asleep.
Makoto was curious. She glanced around, and no one seemed to be looking at her right now. Her free hand reached out and touched Joker's cheek, but he didn't react. His mask's edge was just above her fingertips. Could she take his mask off? She tugged on it, but it didn't budge. How strange. It seemed as though the mask were glued to his face!
Mona's bus form halted. "Queen, here's your stop."
"Huh, what? Where is this...?"
Mona told her the street, and it was just a couple blocks away from the one they usually parted ways.
"We'll accompany Joker to his home," Fox said.
"I want to go, too!" Makoto protested. What better chance to find out where Joker lived?
"No, you can't!" Mona objected. "We can't trust you with this piece of info just yet."
"Joker will be fine." Panther assured her.
Makoto glanced at Joker, whose sleep didn't seem to be very peaceful. He was still in pain. Makoto wished she had a way to ease his pain, but there was nothing she could do, except trust that his teammates would take good care of him. She retracted her arm that had still been holding him. She expected him to react, but he didn't move.
"Get well soon, okay?" Makoto whispered to Joker and gently patted his head. Once again, she got no reaction from him. She stood up and walked towards the door, then turned around to address the others. "If he doesn't get better, you must take him to the hospital, got it?!"
"We feel bad for him too, you know. It's sad to see him suffering like this!" Panther replied. "But we've also been through this kind of thing. He'll be fully recovered in one day or two, you'll see!"
"I hope so." Makoto murmured and stepped out of the "bus."
A/n: those who played the game can tell that I still have no idea of the layout of Kaneshiro's Palace at all. At the moment of this writing, all I know is that it's a bank, that there are ATMs representing people, and that it has a room with raining money that was shown on the Japanese trailers (I don't even know if it's closer to the beginning or the end of the dungeon).
And the MC is down. So, game over for the day :P . Poor Joker... :(