Author-
Um... did you like those original Personas or not?
By the way, due to this fic's hundred follows milestone, I'll take one request to write a scene. Who will take the offer?
Morgana watched the teen as he stretched and groaned to wake up. "Rise and shine, a new day is here." Akira rubbed his neck as he got up from the bed, that wild ride did put some strain on his body, no matter how fun it was, and it was compounded by the strange fatigue the Metaverse caused. "Ngrh... What should we do today...?" The teen rubbed the sand off his eyes, pawing after his phone to check for messages, feeling it buzz with an incoming text. "Hm? It's from Mishima." The guy was insisting that the website was being helpful to Akira, despite his attempts to deflect those claims, it seemed that Mishima could be quite adamant if he wanted to be. [I'll be waiting at the diner in Shibuya. You gotta swing by!] Akira grimaced, he had to find a way to make the guy drop the subject.
"What is he up to...?" Even Morgana became dubious about Mishima's behavior, so he advised Akira to go and discover what the boy wanted from him. "What about you?" Akira did notice that the cat was acting strange as well. "I still have some business in Mementos, there's something I want to check out." Akira scratched Morgana's ear. "Just don't get eaten by a Shadow." Talking of Shadows, he wondered what those two had meant with that pissing contest, it did plant the seed of curiosity. "Well, it seems that my best bet to learn about it is to find those two, Yosuke and Teddie..." The cat huffed. "Don't underestimate me. And I do hope you get something from this encounter." With this, Akira got ready to go out as Morgana went off into the Metaverse.
The cozy diner and pleasant scent of food were a stark contrast to Mishima's state, the guy had some dark bags under his eyes and was acting sluggish. "How have things been? You know, with the... special activities?" The poor sleepless teen let out a huge yawn and rubbed his face to wake himself. "Sorry, didn't get to sleep much lately..." It seemed that Mishima was staying up until late night to manage his site. "I think it's called... PR?" Akira deadpanned, why was the guy so dedicated? "... Phan-Site?" Mishima explained how he wanted to aid the Phantom Thieves, giving a platform for the people they helped while blocking the 'haters', making Akira see that there was no point in discouraging him. "You've done well." Mishima smiled brightly, even his bags seemed to get lighter.
"I... I wish I could be more like you guys..." Mishima got gloomy but snapped back and assured that he'd deal with the public. "I'm gonna use my Phan-Site to promote the Phantom Thieves and weed out any negative comments." Well, there should be no harm in letting the kid do what he wanted. "Your popularity is gonna be at my mercy... uh, my fingertips." Mishima got pumped up for the duty he took for himself, ignoring Akira's uncertainty due to these words. "You're really hyped for this." The boy grinned. "I'm gonna do everything I can to make sure that my site isn't just for show." Mishima began nodding off, clearly, his lack of sleep was taking its toll, then he shook his head hard. "... I'll give it my all!" With this, the teens parted ways. "I should go help in the cafe."
~Great job, guys~
Morgana swallowed the lump in his throat once Akira was out, he was about to undertake a risky deal. "It can't be helped... her skills are the best match for this mission..." The cat couldn't help but shudder at the impending terror, but it was a necessary evil. "Alright... time to find her..." The animal exited Leblanc and traipsed towards one of the spots where Naoto usually passed by. - "Oh, Morgana. What's the matter?" The detective noticed those blue eyes peering at her from an alley. "Nya... I... erk... I need you to take me to Risette..." She wondered why he wanted to meet the idol, but he had clammed up. "Erm... Okay. By the way, her name is Rise." She let the cat hop on her arms and set off for the studio, maybe they could catch her during a break.
Naoto let off Morgana by the building. "She's inside. And she is usually by number 7 or 9. Just don't get caught." The feline steeled his nerves and entered the location, intent on finding the idol as the detective returned to her job. - "It seems that a stray cat entered the studio, some people are trying to find it..." Rise listened to the chatter of the personnel until she felt a tugging at her dress, so she looked down and spotted a black cat with a yellow collar under her chair. "Is he trembling?" Morgana really didn't want to be subjected to Rise's mad drifting, but from what he had seen, she could pinpoint the Shadows in Mementos and traverse the dark tracks as if walking around in her room. "Hey... Can you help me...?" Her eyes sparkled with glee. "So that's how you look like!" She picked up the feline and messed with his cheeks. "Meow! I came with a serious request!" She pouted, but let him go. "Can it wait? I still have a few recording sessions." "Understood."
A cat was pacing around on the tracks, scrutinizing the place as the idol leaned on the wall and waited for him to finish. "Hm... so that's how it is..." Muse was keeping tabs on their surroundings with her familiars as Mona examined Mementos, then one of the birds found something ominous. "Wait... This is... Shit!" The cat saw the idol bolt up from her spot and curse loudly before barreling in his direction. "Mew?" "Turn in a car NOW!" Mona didn't question her, it had to be a real emergency for her to be this desperate. "What happened?" As Muse swerved the van past some errant Shadows, he tried to get her motive. "Reaper! Hard to beat!" The van began hearing a constant and grating noise of chains scraping gravel. "Oh no..." Muse yanked the wheel to make a sharp turn, but Mona had a brief glimpse of the creature she wanted to avoid. "YEEK! IT'S HERE!" The van shuddered at the terrifying bloodthirst. "Stay strong! I'll floor it!" The Reaper had taken aim, but the bullets only struck the walls as Muse pushed the MonaCar to his limit. "Nyaa! We definitively have to avoid it!"
A woman was taking one of the rare wagons open for animals in the metro, thanking the heavens that it was empty as her hands shook from her heightened emotions. Rise was still under the effects of the huge dump of adrenaline caused by the Reaper as Morgana trembled on her lap. "Mweew... that was horrible..." The cat felt both sick to his bones and scared out of his wits, the idol was even more reckless with her driving during the escape. "Why is it here too? Is it some paranormal guard dog?" Rise dreaded having to face it, having a slight trauma due to Yu's insistence on chasing the damn creature to get its unique loot. "It was a nightmare..." Woman and cat decided to use the trip to calm down their rattled nerves, taking in deep breathes. "Meow... so staying too long in one floor attracts it..."
~I sense Death!~
Akira passed the days by going to school, studying for the exams, interacting with the people he made bonds with, and taking part-time jobs to get mission funds, although he did have a brief scuffle with Ryuji to convince him to get some work, as even Ann was contributing with some of her model pay, thankfully, it only took a few seconds in a Boston Crab hold to make his blond teammate fold. "I got it! I got it! I'll work too!" The thieves were still keeping an eye out for a new major target, but Nakanohara had given them food for thought. "Madarame... I should ask Naoto about her reaction." The detective seemed to hold suspicions against the painter. "Yeah, there's something up with him, but does he even have a Palace?"
What a hassle... To add to his pile of things to worry about, Mishima gave him some names found on the Phan-Site and the complaints linked to them, and Ann started to behave oddly, feeling as if she was being watched. "Tsk... we got Niijima too..." That stick in the mud would frown at him every time they crossed paths at school. As he wondered what he would do today, now that classes were over, his phone buzzed. "Hm... I got a message from the doc. Ugh-! A clinical test..." The teen gulped with nervousness, what would this time's vile cocktail cause? "Nya... good luck..." Morgana still remembered the sight of his partner gurgling on that gurney as the doctor jotted things on a clipboard. "... I hope I survive."
The teen stared at the cup with bright blue liquid. "... this doesn't look fit for humans..." The doctor had a neutral expression, waiting for him to go ahead. "Drink it in one gulp." The sludge tasted like the unholy spawn of a cross between a pickled plum and ginger on steroids. "Bh... urk..." It was getting increasingly hard to breathe and his vision was getting dark spots, that only grew until he fainted. As he back to his senses, the doctor commented on the medicine and the tests she would run, but a cop entered the room before she could say more. "I'm in the middle of an examination." The man seemed to be intent on checking the rumors about her and demanded her to present some documents. "This kid here is my only patient today." The cop began getting confused, apparently, he expected her to be unhelpful. "It's nothing but an attempt to harass me."
"... Hey, you! What're you doing here!?" He tried to use Akira to get some excuse for his presence, presuming the boy was healthy. "I have a bad heart." The teen took advantage that he was still woozy to fake his condition. Takemi followed with his lie, making the cop feel bad. "So, is there anything else? As you can see, I'm pretty busy here." The man huffed with frustration. "You're infuriating... I'd expect nothing less from the 'Plague'." He stomped his way out and the doctor grumbled over the mess. "It's nothing to worry about. I'm sure it was my former superior who made that false report." Akira deadpanned, was he some kind of magnet for troubled people...? But the doctor waved it off and resumed the battery of tests to check the drug's effects on his body.
~The battle's over~
Naoto had spent a portion of those last few days by thinking of a way to approach the veteran, but it only led to awkward scenarios in her mind. "Rookie." She reacted with a start, Badou landed a hand on her shoulder. "I got some things to talk to you... You got time to spare?" It wasn't how she wanted it to start, but she'd take it. "Okay, I'm done with work for today." He grunted and began walking, making her fall into his pace. "Mikumo is quite attached to you..." Naoto wondered what the man wanted to discuss. "Sir?" He picked a lollipop to eat, offering one to her. "Uh, thanks..." This was a little strange, she had no idea of where this chat would lead to. "Orange..."
Once they were at a park, Badou sat on a bench and hunched over. "Sit." Naoto was getting nervous, why did he call her out? "Look, haah... How do I put this?" The man scratched his beard. "That case you were looking into... the Kurusu boy... how's it going?" There was nothing she could tell him that he didn't know already. "Dead end, uh... And how's the city treating you?" This felt like being interrogated by her grandfather over her latest cases. "I'm fine. But did you call me just to ask this?" Badou was silent for a few seconds longer. "... Look, I don't know about your life... But... huu... Mikumo worries about you, so try not to bite more than you can chew, alright?"
Naoto thanked him for these words. "And you? Did you advance with that painter?" Badou huffed angrily. "There's close to nothing on him... And there's too little info on his pupils..." The man raised a brow. "Why, do you have some info?" She gave him Nakanohara's name. "Oh... Well, if you find out more, do tell me." The man didn't resist the urge to pat her head and mess with her hair as he did with Mikumo sometimes. "Hey!" He chuckled at her annoyance. "You're a great addition to the team, keep at it." With this, he said his goodbyes and walked off. "Honestly..." Naoto let herself smile, Mikumo had a good role model. "The same goes for you, Badou."