Chapter 32
In the subway station…
"Which one you want?" asked Ryuji to Ann as he's holding several soda bottles in his hands after he bought them from a convenience store in the station.
"Whichever's not carbonated." replied Ann.
"Uh, they're all carbonated actually." said Ryuji with a slightly sheepish look on his face.
"Then…" said Ann as she take the pepsi one from Ryuji before he hold out the other 2 bottles to Isamu and Akira and they take the bottles and thanked him for it.
"What about me?" asked Morgana as he popped out of Isamu's bag and glance at Ryuji.
"Huh? But you're a cat." said Ryuji as he crossed his arms (which make Morgana scowled at him before he glance at Ann).
"…Have you calmed down, Lady Ann?" asked Morgana concernly to Ann.
"Yeah, I am. Um… Morgana, right?" replied Ann before she turned to glance at Morgana in surprise. "I really am talking to a cat… This feels so strange…"
"Don't be, Takamaki-san. You'll get use to it soon enough like us." said Isamu reassuringly to Ann.
"It's only natural that you're confused. Demanding that you understand all of this right after what you went through is asking too much." said Morgana.
"Honestly, I still can't believe what happened… And that power… my Persona…" said Ann as she shake her head in disbelief a little.
"It's the will of your rebellion, Lady Ann. With it, you'll be able to fight with us in that other world." explained Morgana.
"I see. So if what you told me is true, we can make Kamoshida have a change of heart, right?" asked Ann as she glance at Isamu. "Is it really possible…? Can we actually force him to confess his crimes?"
"Yes. We can if we try, Takamaki-san. Because no one else will." replied Akira.
"Yeah, Kurusu's right. The volleyball team's keepin' quiet about this, while teachers and parents turn a blind eye. If guys and girls like us complain, they're just gonna shot us down. Goin' all in on this plan is the only choice we got." said Ryuji as he clench his fists.
"Then let me help too. I want to make him pay for what happened to Shiho." said Ann determinedly to them. "He just keeps going like nothing happened, even after what he did to her… I'll never forgive him."
"Wait, did you just said, "let me help"? You mean you want us to take you along?" asked Ryuji in a surprise tone of voice to Ann.
"Are you sure about that, Ann?" added Akira concernly to her.
"Don't act like I'm gonna drag you guys down. Weren't you guys watching? I can fight too." replied Ann as she scowled at both Akira and Ryuji (who glance and exchange worry looks with each other before they glance at Isamu).
"Hey, what should we do?" asked Ryuji.
"I'll admit that it's dangerous to bring her but… that is because she's not like us up until a few minutes ago. And now that she has awaken to her persona like we did and she can fight so I don't see any reason on why we shouldn't bring her with us." replied Isamu with a small yet firm nod of her head to Ryuji.
"I agree as well. The more the merrier, after all." said Morgana in an agreeing tone of voice to Isamu. "Don't worry, I'll protect her and you too, Lady Isamu." added Morgana firmly to Isamu.
"Since you 2 have made up your minds and decided to bring her with you 2, then I guess I'll agreed with you two as well." said Akira.
"Thanks, Kurusu-kun." said Isamu.
"Even if you guys say no, I'd just go in alone." said Ann as she scowled at them.
"Oh right, she can entered the palace by herself now that she has the app… Rgh, fine." said Ryuji as he scratch his head in slight exasperation at Ann's decision.
"Then it's decided. Well, I hope we'll get along!" said Ann as she smiled at both Akira and Ryuji before she turned to glance at Isamu. "I'm going to make Kamoshida pay and atone for what he did. Not just for Shiho's sake… but for everything he's done. I won't let any more people suffer because of him. I'll do whatever it takes!" added Ann sternly and firmly to Isamu.
"Yes, we will, Takamaki-san. Together." said Isamu as she nodded to Ann and felt a strong fighting resolve from Ann.
XXXX
"I doubt something as dangerous as your group could've been pulled off with orthodox methods. It wouldn't be odd if you had someone that was proficient in deceiving the eyes of others…" said Sae to Isamu before she leaned forward a little. "If you're listening, answer me!" demanded Sae.
XXXX
I am thou, thou art I…
Thou hast acquired a new vow.
It shall become the wings of rebellion
That breaketh thy chains of captivity.
With the birth of the Lovers Persona,
I have obtained the wings of blessing that
shall lead to freedom and new power…
After the girl's voice fell silent and time stand still, Isamu look up and saw a card (a pink and purple card with the dark grey figures of a man and a woman standing with their backs to each other and with a large grey heart floating above them) appearing above Ann's head before the card fell and landed on Isamu's hand and she quickly put the card into her blazer pocket.
"Just let me know when you guys are heading back in… Oh wait! We don't have each other's info. Hey, give me your number and chat ID. And, um…" said Ann to them before they take out their phones and exchange numbers and chat ID with each other. "I'll be counting on you, then. Same goes for you, Morgana." added Ann as she smiled and nodded to both Isamu and Morgana.
"Yeah, right back at you too, Takamaki-san." said Isamu as she smiled back at Ann.
"The pleasure is all mine, Lady Ann." said Morgana as he smiled back at her as well before Ann turned and walked away from them.
"What a kind girl… Such admirable consideration for others… And the innocence to cast herself into the jaws of death to achieve her goal… She cares about her friends, and she's as pretty as you to boot, Lady Isamu… What a girl! She's captured my heart…" said Morgana dreamily to Isamu while both Akira and Ryuji scowled at him.
"Oh really, Morgana?" said Isamu as she smirk and ruffle his head a little.
"You know, Toudou, it'd be better if this group could get together quick from now on…" suggested Ryuji.
"True. Our best option would be to make a secret hideout where we could discuss these things." said Morgana in agreement to Ryuji.
"A hideout, huh…? I like the sound of that." said Ryuji with a slightly wide smile on his face.
"So where should we make a secret hideout? Any ideas?" asked Isamu as she crossed her arms.
"How about the school's rooftop? Nobody's been going up there for weeks. So it should be the perfect and safe place for our hideout." replied Akira. "Well, except for Haru since her small garden is up there but luckily she won't be on the rooftop tomorrow." added Akira in his mind.
"Great idea, Akira. Then it's settled then, the school's rooftop shall be our hideout." said Morgana as he smiled at Akira. "Oh and, I can't contact you guys from inside the Palace, so I'll stay in this world. That being said, I'll need someone to take care of me. I'm personally nominating you, Lady Isamu. You should feel honoured." Morgana told Isamu.
"Huh? But why me? Wouldn't Kurusu-kun or Ryuji-kun be the better choices?" said Isamu in a surprise tone of voice to Morgana as she raised and pointed her finger at both Akira and Ryuji.
"Sorry, Toudou-san. The café that I'm working in doesn't allow animals and my parents are allergic to cats." said Akira apologetically to Isamu.
"Same here, Toudou. My place is a no-go for Morgana. So it's all on you to take care of him now." said Ryuji nonchalantly to Isamu.
"… Fine, I'll talk to my uncle about it when I get home later." sighed Isamu with a slightly exasperated look on her face.
"Well, we now have our hideout, so let's meet there tomorrow!" said Ryuji before he and Akira bade farewell to Isamu and they got onto the train that had just arrived, leaving her behind.
"OK! Lead and bring me to my new residence in this world, Lady Isamu!" said Morgana slightly excitedly to Isamu as she waited for her train to come, got on when it arrived and head back to Shibuya with Morgana tucked safely in her bag.
XXXX
In Naoya's house…
"Welcome back, Isamu." greeted Naoya to Isamu after she came back home from school.
"Yeah, I'm back, uncle Naoya." Isamu greeted back to him. "So what will we be having for dinner tonight?" asked Isamu.
"We'll be having sushi tonight, Isamu. I just bought some back from a famous yet expensive sushi restaurant in Shinjuku." replied Naoya as he turned to glance at her.
"Sounds good, uncle." said Isamu as she gave a small smile to him.
"Hey, are we there yet? I wanna see my new room!" said Morgana impatiently to Isamu as he popped out of her bag (which make Isamu frown at him while Naoya froze in surprise when he saw Morgana started talking to her after he popped out of her bag).
"We're here already! So settle down, please." whisper Isamu in an annoy tone of voice to Morgana before she glance back at Naoya and saw the surprise look on his face. "What's wrong, uncle?" asked Isamu.
"Isamu… D-Did the cat just t-talk to you?" asked Naoya in a surprise tone of voice to Isamu (which make her and Morgana gasped and widened their eyes in surprise at him).
"What the? You can hear him talk, uncle?" said Isamu in surprise to him.
"But that can't be! Ordinary people can't hear me talk unless they're…" said Morgana in surprise to Isamu before a look of realisation came upon his furry face and he trailed off into silence.
"Unless they're Persona-users. Could it be that my uncle is one too, like me and the others? Might as well ask him about it." thought Isamu to herself before she decided to ask Naoya about it.
Much and more to Isamu and Morgana's surprise, Naoya reluctantly nodded to Isamu before he told her to sit in the living room (which she did) and he proceed to tell her and Morgana about his long tale as a Persona-user with his classmates back when he's a student in high school. Both Isamu and Morgana listen in attentive silence to his tale until he finished them about it.
"W-Woah, that's quite the ordeal you and your classmates went through many years ago, uncle. Playing the Persona game suggested by Masao Inaba that led to you and the others to meet this Philemon guy, awaken to your Persona and fought against Takahisa Kandori and Nyarlathotep, the evil god and mastermind behind the scene." said Isamu in a shock, horror then awed tone of voice to Naoya.
"I agreed. To think that there're other Persona-users way before Lady Isamu's time." added Morgana.
"Yeah, now that I've told you and the cat of my tale as a Persona-user, it's yours and the cat turn to tell me on how and why you 2 became Persona-users like me and my classmates years ago." asked Naoya firmly to both Isamu and Morgana, who nodded before they told and showed him about the Metaverse Navigator app that Igor had installed in Isamu's smartphone that required them to speak certain keywords which allow them to enter the distorted Palace of the PE teacher named Kamoshida, met and freed Morgana from the dungeon and which make her, Morgana, Akira, Ryuji and Ann awaken to their Personas.
"And that's how it is for us, uncle." said Isamu after she and Morgana told him of their tale.
"… I see. So that's how you, the cat and the other three students awaken your Personas and that's the reason on why you were late for school that day? I had no idea and I still blame you for being late so I'm sorry, Isamu. This is very different from what me and my classmates gone through many years ago." said Naoya as he closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose with his fingers. "So what are you, the cat and the other 3 students going to do to this Kamoshida?" asked Naoya.
"It's fine, uncle and don't call him a cat. He has a name and it's Morgana. And as for what we're going to do to Kamoshida, we're going to use the Metaverse Navigator to enter his Palace, steal his treasure, the source of his distorted desire which will destroy his Palace and that will make him repent for his heinous sins." replied Isamu while Morgana nodded to him.
"I see… Then I want you to promise me something, Isamu." said Naoya in a serious tone of voice to her.
"What is it?" replied Isamu.
"Promise me that you, Morgana and the other 3 students don't use the Metaverse to enter the other world ever again after you kids dealt with Kamoshida. I don't want to see you kids plunge yourselves into danger like what me and my classmates did before, especially you, Isamu. Because you're my family." said Naoya firmly to Isamu (which confused her and surprised Morgana).
"… Uncle, I appreciate your concern and worry over me, Morgana and the others but I'm afraid I've to deny your promise to tell me to stay safe and not use the Metaverse even again." said Isamu apologetically to Naoya (which make him gasped in shock before he glared at her).
"DAMMIT, Isamu! How could you say that to me!? So you don't care that you or the others might get hurt or possibly die in that other world which will hurt those close to you at all!?" yell Naoya angrily at Isamu (who stand firm against his anger of her).
"That's not what I meant, uncle! I and the others will be careful and we don't plan on getting hurt or dying or hurting those close to us anytime soon in the future! Because I made a promise to Morgana and I always keep my word!" snapped Isamu back at Naoya (who let out an angry sigh as he turned to look away from her while Morgana gave her a slightly grateful look).
"… You're such a goddamn stubborn girl, Isamu. Fine then, if that's your decision then go ahead and do it then. But you, Morgana and the others better be careful and don't die, alright!?" said Naoya in an annoy and firm tone of voice to Isamu. "She reminds me of Kaoru Kusanagi, one of my classmate and the girl that I use to love and lose forever." added Naoya sadly in his mind as he think about Kaoru.
"Understood, uncle." replied Isamu before she felt another resolve coming from Naoya.
XXXX
"You may called yourself a phantom thief, but you're still a minor and a student. Someone had to support and maybe shelter you a little. Furthermore, he or she did so knowing that you were part of the group… Tell me, is that uncle of yours an accomplice or not!?" demanded Sae slightly coldly to Isamu.
"No… he's not, Sae-san." replied Isamu slightly weakly to Sae (who sighed at her before she told her to resumed her tale).
XXXX
I am thou, thou art I…
Thou hast acquired a new vow.
It shall become the wings of rebellion
That breaketh thy chains of captivity.
With the birth of the Aeon Persona,
I have obtained the wings of blessing that
shall lead to freedom and new power…
"Another one? How many are there?" thought Isamu to herself as she saw a card (a myriad-coloured card with the figure of a man standing in the middle of it) appearing above Naoya's head before the card fell toward Isamu, landed in her hand and she put the card into her blazer pocket next to the other card.
Naoya then bade goodnight to both Isamu and Morgana (who bade goodnight back to him) as he left the living room and went upstairs to his room before Isamu turned and went into the kitchen to eat the sushi dinner that Naoya bought back with Morgana (who smiled happily at Isamu when she gave him a plate of fatty tuna). After they finish their dinner and Isamu washed the dishes, she then bring Morgana upstairs toward her room and she let him out of her bag and he look around her room.
"So this is your room, huh, Lady Isamu? It looks modest and to be honest, this place is heaven compared to Kamoshida's cells in his Palace." said Morgana.
"Glad to know that my modest room is to your liking and try not to leave this room and cause trouble for my uncle, alright, Morgana? Except when I'll take you to school." said Isamu.
"Got it, Lady Isamu. Still, to think that your uncle's also a Persona-user like you when he's younger. That really surprises us." said Morgana as he turned to glance in surprise then slightly sadly at her. "Also, remember how you guys asked me before about what I am? To be honest… I don't remember anything about my birth."
"Truly? You don't remember? That's… sad." said Isamu in a pitying tone of voice to Morgana.
"I think the Metaverse's distortions made me lose both my memories and my true form." said Morgana.
"Are you sure the true form that you lose is human?" asked Isamu.
"It has to be, Lady Isamu! I mean, why else would a cat be able to talk like this? There's no other possible explanation." retorted Morgana as he scowled at her. "There's no doubt that the distortions were what caused me to lose my true form. I'm sure that once they're purged, I'll finally be able to get that self back. And I've a pretty good idea on how to do it too. That's why I was in the castle in the first place." added Morgana as he started to cleaned his head with his paw a little.
"I see." said Isamu.
"Let me make myself clear; Your taking care of me won't be for nothing. It'll be give and take, Lady Isamu. Due to my knowledgeable and dexterous nature, I have a lot of intel on infiltration tools." Morgana told Isamu.
"Infiltration tools? For what?" asked Isamu in a confused tone of voice to Morgana.
"Whoa, hold it. I can't tell you more unless we settle on a deal. In exchange for you keeping me here, I'll teach you about these tools. How does that sound, Lady Isamu?" asked Morgana.
"Very well then, I accept your deal, Morgana." replied Isamu.
"I like your answer. Hehehe… Then it's a deal, Lady Isamu." said Morgana as he smiled happily at her before she felt another resolve from him.
XXXX
"Skillful infiltrations and escapes to all manner of places… There's even the possibility that you used special tools and had someone who manufactured them… Answer me! Who is it?" demanded Sae to Isamu (who stay silent).
XXXX
I am thou, thou art I…
Thou hast acquired a new vow.
It shall become the wings of rebellion
That breaketh thy chains of captivity.
With the birth of the Magician Persona,
I have obtained the wings of blessing that
shall lead to freedom and new power…
Another card (a light and dark blue card with black eyes and black hands holding a black flame in the middle of it) appear above Morgana's head before it flew toward Isamu and she take it and put it into her blazer pocket with the other 2 cards.
"I'll lecture and teach you about the infiltration tools over time." Morgana told her.
"Alright, Morgana." said Isamu with a nod of her head to him.
"By the way, Lady Isamu, the power you used in the palace was seriously amazing. The stronger that power of yours gets, the more reliable it'll be as a trump card. All right, I'm gonna stick with you whenever you go from today on. Personas are the strength born from one's heart. Depending on what kind of life experience you gain, I bet it'll affect that power as well!" Morgana said and explain to Isamu (who widened her eyes in surprise at him).
"Is that really possible?" asked Isamu.
"Yes, it is! And if you become acquainted with capable people, you might learn various useful skills too… This is all part of our deal, got it, Lady Isamu?" replied Morgana.
"Of course, Morgana." said Isamu in an agreeing tone of voice to Morgana.
"I expect great things from you, Lady Isamu. Don't let me down, OK?" said Morgana.
"Yeah, I know." said Isamu as she nodded to Morgana before she left her room for a bath (which Morgana didn't follow and stay in her room, at least), change and put on her pajamas after her bath then she went back into her room and fell asleep (while Morgana jumped onto her bed and lie himself down to sleep against her stomach).