Before we begin, I must stress that I prefer my reviewers to have accounts on the site. Guest reviews will be removed, no matter how praising they are. Additionally, said review mentioned something that I must address. The entities being destroyed by the group are not Stands, they are aspects of a Stand. Said Stand is more or less a swarm type, so destroying the aspects, difficult as it is, will not harm the Stand users or anyone the aspects are bonded with. Additionally, Bleeding Secrets cannot remove Stands. It can remove Stand energy, without which the Stand cannot be maintained and goes dormant. With all that said, we get into the next member of the Phantoms, and how their operation starts. Disclaimer: I don't own the Persona series or Jojo's Bizarre Adventure.
Heist 02: Blazing Thunder
April 14. In the school courtyard, Ann had noticed Shiho had a fresh bruise. "Jeez, that looks bad. Did you get hit by a ball or something?" "I wish," Shiho replied, "This thing just came out of nowhere. Not to mention I've been feeling serious leg and crotch pains. I've checked with a doctor and everything's fine down there, even though the pains are consistent with rape victims." She sighed. "If this keeps up, I may have problems with my starting position. Even Kamoshida's getting worried, since I'm the star player on the team. Not to mention the rumors that keep cropping up regarding him. Not that I put much stock in rumors."
Meanwhile, Morgana had met up with the trio, who took him to the roof of the school. "So," Morgana said, "I was able to identify Toshiro here in reality. He's apparently setting himself up as one of the counselors, but he never really shows his face much, always diverting duties to other members of the faculty." "I bet he only took the position to keep an eye on things," Ryuji said angrily, "He doesn't care about the school at all, except for what it can bring him and whoever he works for." "I may have something that can help us deal with him," Ren said, "You know my power involves manipulating shadows, correct?"
"Yeah, what about it?," Ryuji asked. "Slipping into shadows places me between realities," Ren explained, "And this allows me to access a small dimensional pocket known as the Velvet Room. The caretaker there happens to be a Stand user, and he provided me with these." He revealed the red cards. "Oh right," Sumire said, "I forgot about that old guy who's always giving you information." "These cards can be used to steal anything written on them," Ren explained, "Even Stand energy. In other words…" "We could use it to turn Toshiro's Stand dormant!," Ryuji said. "But to do that, we'd need to find the physical manifestation of My Castle Stands," Morgana noted, "The castle itself is just an overlay of reality. Essentially an illusion. And its got those guard guys inside it."
"Easy enough," Ren assured him, "This isn't the only card. Bleeding Secrets actually manifests these cards infinitely. And since they aren't real Stands, we can swipe them and weaken the organization by taking away precious resources." "Sounds like we have a solid plan then," Morgana said, "So, when should we do this?" "I guess we can start poking around tomorrow," Ryuji decided, "I mean, assuming everyone's free." The trio nodded. "We'll do this after school tomorrow," Ren said, "So long as we can avoid Toshiro spotting us we should have the run of the place."
After school, Sumire noticed Ann in the Shibuya Underground Mall, looking a little forlorn. "Hey there," Sumire said, "What's wrong?" "Oh, Sumire, right?," Ann asked, "Actually, things have been bothering me with Shiho. Think we can talk? I kinda need to right now." The two of them headed over to the local burger joint. "Shiho's been getting terrible nightmares as of late," Ann explained, "Someone wearing king robes raping her, always referring to himself as Kamoshida. Now granted, Kamoshida has been caught eyeing female students before, but he's never really acted on those desires. Besides, Shiho herself is perfectly fine when she wakes up, aside from some phantom pain."
Sumire narrowed her eyes. 'Is Toshiro trying to push the envelope?' Normal beatings clearly weren't working, so maybe Toshiro was trying to push a little further. "What makes you think Kamoshida has nothing to do with this?" "Because he's dating my homeroom teacher," Ann said, "Everyone knows about it. It's what makes the rumors even harder to believe. Something is wrong with the school, I can sense it somehow. It all started when that new guidance counselor applied, but he never does anything." "You mean Toshiro Ishishiro?," Sumire asked. Ann nodded. "I don't know what it is, but there's something about him that rubs me the wrong way."
April 15. The next day, something crazy happened. To most of the school's shock, Shiho was seen walking up to the roof, her eyes glazed over. Just as she seemed to fall off the roof, as if pushed, something seemed to catch her in midair. Only the trio of Stand users saw what had really happened. Ann had rushed out, turning into pure flame as she did, catching Shiho just before she hit the ground. "What was that!?," Sumire asked in shock. "What, you thought I was kidding about the hot metaphor?," Ann replied, "I can conjure flames for precise strikes, and even transform into fire for increased speed. I can even slip through certain cracks. Fire can travel almost anywhere, after all."
That's when Mishima came running up. "Guys, something happened! Toshiro was just in the PE faculty room with Principal Kobayakawa! He was throwing around accusations about Kamoshida sexually assaulting Suzui!" Ann's eyes widened. "But… The doctor she was going to said that never happened!" "That's why there was no immediate action from the principal," Mishima clarified, "But there will be an official inquiry come the next school board meeting. If any evidence comes up that Kamoshida was involved in anything illicit…" The group looked at each other. "I think we need to deal with this as soon as possible," Ren said.
Ann wondered what the group was talking about, so she carefully followed them. "So," Morgana said, "We're going through with this?" "We can't let Toshiro walk all over the school," Ren noted, "Who knows what sort of 'evidence' he's crafting with his Stand even as we speak." To Ann's shock, as she followed the group, she saw the school somehow morph into a giant castle. The energy coming off of it was very recognizable. "A Stand…?," she whispered in shock. At the main entrance, Joker turned to Ryuji and Morgana. "Listen, if you guys are going to be members of our Phantom Thief group, you need proper code names. We need to keep this professional, after all."
"Sounds fair," Ryuji said, "Well for me, this mask sticks out most of all. So I'll just call myself Skull." Morgana thought about it. "I'm not sure I'd be able to think up something that's not cat-related." "How about we just call you Mona?," Violet suggested. Morgana nodded. "Yeah, that sounds good. So, how do we start this?" "We pretty much searched the dungeons to completion, so I don't think there's anything there," Joker noted, "But there was a door opposite the room we used as an infiltration point. Let's see where that leads."
Sneaking in through the same vent let the group spy on Toshiro as he addressed his guards. "We have things set up nicely so far, but we need to monitor the girl Suzui closely. Somehow she failed to die when we pushed her mental image off the of the castle ramparts." "They did what now…?," Skull whispered in shock. "It did look like Shiho was pushed off the roof, rather than falling," Violet noted. Mona nodded. "Toshiro must not have been expecting anyone to be able to catch her. But this still puts Shiho in danger. So long as this Stand is active, he might be able to do worse to her without anyone able to stop him."
They headed into the other room, only to notice two guard inside. "This is a good chance to demonstrate what I was talking about earlier," Joker said. He took out one of the cards and wrote a name on it. "Okay, let's ambush them!" The two guards were caught off-guard as the four thieves slammed into them. "Shit, they came back!," one said, "Beguiling Girl!" "Dirty Two-horned Beast!" Their pseudo-Stands appeared. "Not the best odds for you," Joker quipped, "And they're about to get worse… Behold the power of Bleeding Secrets!" He got out two cards, each of them with the name of the pseudo-Stands written on them.
Joker quickly threw them into the two aspects. In an instant they were sucked inside the card. "What the he-" The female guard's words were cut off as both disappeared from the castle, the cards returning to Joker's hand. "Sweet," Skull said, "We can probably clean out the entire castle like this." Violet nodded. "Let's hurry into the next room. While in this room, Joker was also able to swipe Crypt-dwelling Pyromaniac and Gallows Flower, causing those guards to also vanish. "So, what's happening to the guards?," Skull asked. "They're likely getting tuned out of the overlay," Violet theorized, "They no longer have anything resembling Stand energy, so they can't maintain a presence here."
The group managed to find a safe room in the hallway past the small mess room. However, the voices of a few guards was just outside. "Something's wrong," one guard said, "A couple of our comrades disappeared." "Dude, why do we gotta keep roleplaying like this?," the other one said. "What?," the first one replied, "I was really getting into it. Seriously, I'm starting to understand why geeks and nerds roleplay all the time. It makes you feel really badass. Anyway, that's not important. What is important is that other one we managed to find. Seriously, how do these people keep getting in? Boss says they have the same power as him, but I have no idea what that means."
"I think the boss called it a Stand or something," the second guard replied, "Come to think of it, that other one was Takamaki, wasn't it? Maybe the boss will let us have some fun with her." "Are you nuts!?," the first guard replied, "That would leave real physical evidence, and from someone other than Kamoshida! This plan's a bust if there's plausible doubt in the minds of the school board!" The two guards were heard leaving. "Ann followed us in here!?," Skull said in shock, "We need to go find her!" "It sounded like they were heading back towards the mess room," Mona noted, "There was a room barred off as we approached it, let's try there."
On the way, one of the two guards was waiting in the mess room. He balked when he spotted the thieves. "Where did you come from!? Beside Brute!" "I don't think so!," Joker said, using another card to swipe the pseudo-Stand. Once they reached the hallway, they noticed the doorway Mona mentioned was now unbarred. Inside, Ann was having trouble with some of the guards as Toshiro watched. "So you're the one who saved Suzui. I must confess, I never expected another Stand user. I should start keeping an eye on the student body."
"You're the one behind everything, aren't you?," Ann asked. The Phantom Thieves then showed up behind her. "Huh? You guys…?" "Damn it!," Toshiro said, "I can't go one day without having to keep an eye on you bastards!" "You're the bastard!," Skull called out, "We overheard you were planning on killing Shiho!" Ann's eyes widened. "Kill… Shiho…?" Toshiro scoffed. "I really need to work on my security. Fine, yes, that was my plan. The idea was to finally push the school board over the edge by raping a mental image of Suzui. Of course, it would implant the memories in her, and the pain, but not the physical price. That's why I figured it might be a good idea to 'convince' her to kill herself. The investigators would surely look toward Kamoshida without any issue."
Ann growled. "You… You've been toying with our lives this whole time! There's no way I'll forgive you for this! Life is Showtime!" A surprising torrent of flame erupted around Ann, revealing her now dressed in a tight red body suit that showed off her cleavage, thigh-high boots, a cat mask, and pink gloves. Her Stand was a female figure in a gypsy dress, with a feline looking face, black pigtails, and carrying two tiny men with valentine heads using chains. Toshiro turned to his guard captain. "Well what are you waiting for!?" The guard nodded. "Ambassador of Filth!"
He manifested a horned demon sitting on a toilet. Ann made a face of disgust. "Ew… That's just gross. Kinda undercuts my moment just now." She simply posed and conjured a few fire jets, blasting the pseudo-Stand, causing it serious damage. "Shit, she's too powerful," Toshiro realized, "We're retreating for now. Let's go." His dispelled his Stand, leaving the group in the middle of the school entrance. "Where did he go?," Ann asked. "He decided to retreat since he was concerned about losing another shard from his boss's power," Ren explained.
At a nearby convenience store, Ren explained everything. "I see," Ann said, "So that's what's been going on." "We could use another member," Morgana noted, "That is, if you're willing to join us." "That bastard tried to kill Shiho," Ann said, anger in her voice, "You bet I'm in." "Thank goodness," Sumire said, "I was feeling a little outnumbered as the only girl on the team. And your Stand is so powerful." "It's more about precision than raw power," Ann pointed out, "Though if my emotions run high the flames do get stronger." "We should find a place to meet up when we're ready to talk about going back to the castle," Morgana noted. "Already thought of that," Sumire replied, "We had a small hideout set up before we transferred here. We'll send you the info."
When Ren got back, the only customer was a woman in punk-looking clothes, though Sojiro noted she was supposed to be a doctor. However, something about her was radiating energy. Upstairs, Ren talked with Sojiro about Morgana staying in the attic. "I suppose that's fine," Sojiro said, "But make sure it doesn't wander downstairs. I do run a restaurant business after all." Once Sojiro was downstairs, Morgana smiled. "He won't have to worry. I might have taken to wandering if I was still a normal cat, but having a Stand caused my intelligence to increase, so I know how important his business is to him."
"Really?," Ren said, "What else do you know how to do?" "Well," Morgana said, "I know some tips for making special infiltration tools. Just get a few bits of scrap and I can show you how to make things like lockpicks, smoke bombs, really anything that can make it easier to get close to the physical form of Toshiro's Stand. I mean, you are taking care of me, so it's the least I can do. I'm just glad I finally have a place to consider home. Before my Stand awoke, I was barely surviving on the streets. Most humans just ignored me, and the rain was especially bad. But it's nice to have a place to stay that's nice and dry." "My pleasure," Ren said, "After all, we're Phantoms in arms now."
April 16. Ren was actually able to find a seat before the subway got too crowded. 'I should consider what to do with this time if I get another chance.' He overheard a couple of girls talking about how one of them felt sick and deciding they should look into the doctor at Yongen. "I think she's talking about the punk-looking woman Sojiro mentioned was a doctor," Morgana noted, "So doctors are people who provide medicine for humans, huh?" "Among other things," Ren said, "Some extra painkillers wouldn't be out of the question for our infiltration." He paused. "I hope this woman also practices veterinary medicine in your case."
In social studies class, Ren and Ann got a chat from Ryuji, talking about where the meeting was being held. Ren wound up getting nailed in the forehead by Ushimaru when he threw some chalk. 'Guess I've been getting sloppy,' Ren thought, 'I need to start building up my attributes if I'm going to effectively lead this team.' Finally, the team met at a small building just outside Yongen. "Wow!," Ann exclaimed, "How did you afford this?" "It turns out we have the perfect sponsor," Sumire explained, "A member of the Joestar family."
Ryuji blinked. "You mean that super rich family from America!? They're bankrolling us!?" "Let's just say the patriarch of the clan owes us a few favors," Ren explained, "They're picking up the rent for us, and offering a good amount of cash for every bad guy we take down in this city. Which brings me to the first item on our docket for this meeting." He got out a few notes. "Now, we need to set up a system in regards to dealing Toshiro. Any further confrontations before we're ready to confront him would be ill-advised, or he'll just run again. That means systematically taking out his hired goons. But that place is bound to be a maze, and we don't know how many he has."
He flipped through the pages. "So first, we need some meds to keep our strength up. There's a freelance doctor here in Yongen who has a shady history. We should be able to convince her to hook us up. Second, we need better gear. Even channeling all my energy through that pistol you provided, Ryuji, the gun still only fired like it was a normal gun, and had right around the same kick to it." "I gotcha," Ryuji said, "Actually, I know the store that gun came from. It's an airsoft shop, meaning so long as we obey the regulations set forth by the store we can dodge Japanese gun and weapon laws."
The doctor in question was a little curious regarding Ren's reasons for needing medicine. It turned out that because of the rumors surrounding her she often got patients with ulterior motives. Still, was willing to provide Ren with what he needed. However, as he left, another individual, a middle-aged man in a business suit and carrying a briefcase, entered the office. Ren overheard him ranting to the doctor about unethical formulas designed to increase physicality. He also mentioned the doctor's name, Tae Takemi. Ren raised an eyebrow before leaving.
"So a medicine that can increase one's strength, huh?," Morgana noted. "It's probably an exaggeration," Ren admitted, "But if the energy I felt off of her is any indication, she's possibly able to make her medicines more potent. You may not know this, but because of the way my Stand works, I can pick out Stand users much easier than most people who possess our power. It might be able to help us find allies who can help us out in various ways. We need to set up a system of confidants in order to streamline our operations here." Morgana nodded. "Sounds good. But first let's make sure we can secure those weapons."
April 17. Due to it being a Sunday, the group had the day off from school. Ann paid a quick visit to Shiho to check on her before the thieves headed for Shibuya. Along the way, they noticed a middle-aged man making public speeches involving the state of the country. "He's making some good points," Morgana noted, "But no one's really listening to him." "Most people find politics boring," Ryuji explained. The shop Ryuji had in mind was tucked away in a back alley along Shibuya's shopping district. The manager was rather surly, but willing to sell some beginner stock to the group since they seemed interested in the more realistic products. Ann found herself gravitating towards the SMGs and whips.
Back at Leblanc, Ren noticed Sojiro getting into a passive-aggressive argument with a rather haughty customer. Once the man had left, Ren looked Sojiro. "I hope you don't treat all your customers like that." "Only the ones that bug me," Sojiro pointed out, "The reason I opened a place here was so I could be with my family in peace and quiet. I'm not about to put on a fake smile for anyone just speaking their opinion without knowing what's coming out of their mouth. Like that guy just now, going on about rumors surrounding the recent public transit accidents. Most of which sounded way too absurd."
Ren nodded and hurried upstairs. He then cleared off the nearby work desk. "I think we can use this to make those tools you were talking about," Ren said to Morgana. Morgana hopped over and dropped a few bits of scrap. "You should be able to use these to make a lockpick. Get good enough and you could probably make several at once." Ren nodded and got to work, easily making a simple lockpick without much issue. "Looks our operation is ready to get underway," he said. He decided to get some rest for the following day.
April 18. Shortly after class the group was in a chat room discussing their next move. 'Ren Amamiya: Now that we have a steady source of supplies we should consider when we should make a move on Toshiro.' 'Ann Takamaki: The inquiry will be happening on May 2, during the next board meeting. If we can expose Toshiro before then, everything should be clear.' 'Ryuji Sakamoto: That gives us fourteen days to pull this off, right? We should have some time to improve our operation in the meantime.' 'Sumire Yoshizawa: But we can't slack off. If we don't expose Toshiro before the deadline, he could get away with everything.'
Ren took some time to grab a book from the school library. Apparently he could only check out one book at a time, so he started with one called Pirate Legend, a tale about the legendary pirate William Kidd. 'Kinda brings Ryuji to mind.' He also hit the underground of Shibuya, picking up a part-time job from the Triple Seven convenience store, as well as some plant food from the local flower shop Rafflesia. He then returned to Yongen and picked up some silk yarn and tin clasps from the second-hand shop. He then brought the group over to the clinic where Takemi was working.
Takemi was behind the front desk, and recognized Ren. "Oh, you're the guy from Leblanc. Are the meds I prescribed you not working so well?" "Actually, it's something else," Ren said. He manifested W Boiled Xtreme, testing a theory. As he suspected, Takemi's eyes went wide at the sight. The others showed off their Stands as well. "Ah… That's what this is about. Come into the office for a moment." Inside, Takemi revealed her Stand, a spiky looking female humanoid with a doctor's coat over most of its body. "This is Panacea," Takemi explained, "It secretes a special compound that can increase the effectiveness of any medicine I produce. I only ever use it on my own formulas, since trying to use it on anything else necessitates breaking the safety seal, which would cause the medicine to be discarded."
"So you make all your own medicine here?," Ryuji asked. "I'm still licensed to make my own medicine," Takemi explained, "Despite what some may claim. And I follow all regulations. Believe it our not, I'm a fully licensed doctor. It's just that circumstances have forced me to work out of a back-alley clinic." "Could someone have learned about the addition to the formula?," Sumire asked. "Impossible," Takemi replied, "The secretions created by my Stand can't be detected by normal means. The only evidence anyone has is the increased effectiveness, but there's nothing in the normal formula that would point to such results. That guy was just petty and vindictive."
Ren nodded. "Truth is, we're hunting a reality-warping Stand user with dangerous designs on our school. This is likely to be a long-term confrontation, so we were hoping to get a steady source of meds to keep our stamina up." "I see," Takemi said, "I guess fate drew you to my clinic. I can help you out, but I'd like a little something in compensation. See, I'm trying to perfect a particular medicine. But to do so, I need some help with the clinical trials. And young people around your age and body types would be perfect for that." They agreed to help out, but the formula briefly knocked out Ren. When he came to, he saw Sumire breathing a sigh of relief.
"Was that supposed to happen…?," he asked. "Not really," Takemi admitted, "But that's why tests like this exist, to find out what went wrong. It looks like it was the taste of the formula that knocked you out. It created a reaction when it hit your gastric juices, similar to surstromming. Ann also caught a little bit of it, but not as bad due to having a higher weight. Ryuji and Sumire weren't affected at all due to their regular physical activity. It improved their constitution." She wrote down a few notes. "This is definitely going to be important data… Anyway, let me know the next time you can in for further testing." Ren nodded, glad the feeling in the legs hadn't faded.
That evening, Ren finished cleaning up the remains of the attic. "That's looking a lot better," Morgana said, "Any more of this dust and my next hairball would be less hair and more… Things I don't even want to think about… Hey look, that plant looks like it's still alive." Ren checked out the potted plant. "I think this could brighten up the place. Glad I bought that plant food. Let's see what else we can dig up." Cleaning up the bookshelf revealed a small book called Yoncha Wanderer, a traveler's guide to the Yongen-Jaya region. "I think I'll read this when I get the chance," he said, before heading to sleep.
April 19. Ren heard a brief conversation between two students about reading to improving one's disposition. 'Considering I have a few books on hand,' Ren said, 'It might be a idea to get some more. I know where there's a few good bookstores around the city.' Later in class, the biology teacher Mister Hiruta, a rather effeminate individual, was giving a lecture. "The way people view the world differs from one person to the next," he explained, "As an example let's take a look at this diagram." He showed a quick sketch, a rectangle with two incomplete lines going diagonally through it. One apart poked out from the right side, marked A, while two parts poked out from the left side, marked B and C.
"Mister Amamiya," Hiruta called out, "Can you tell me which of the two lines on the left connects to A?" Ren took a careful look at the diagram. "That would be C." Hiruta nodded with a smile. "Indeed. It would appear your eyes can see the truth." He demonstrated why Ren was correct by using a ruler and pencil to finish the line between C and A, showing they did indeed line up properly. "This is just one example of what is known as an optical illusion. Without the aid seen here, some people will see line B as connected to A, while others may think neither line properly connects to A. However some, like Mister Amamiya, can correctly see that C does indeed properly connect. This is one example of how our brains process visual information, creating an illusion of reality in our minds."
Later, Ryuji led the group in doing some jogging around his secret training spot. "Good grief…," Ann muttered, "It's no wonder Ryuji's the star of the track team. He's leaving us all in the dust. How do you pull it off?" "Oh that?," Ryuji said, "While I'm training I use Switch On to stimulate my muscles. Naturally I only do this during training. I know people wouldn't catch me during an actual track meet, but it's still feels like cheating. I mean, plenty of athletes have had their careers cut short because of cheating." "Is that also how your hair got blonde?," Morgana asked. He had been watching from nearby.
"Nah, it's just dyed," Ryuji replied, "Gotta stand out somehow, right? Course, some people think I might be acting out like my dad…" "What about your dad?," Ren asked. "Guy was a deadbeat," Ryuji explained, "Always coming home drunk and beating up Mom. They finally divorced just as I was getting into high school. So it's just been me and Mom for a while now. Actually, my Stand awakened in response to one of Dad's beatings. My body just began sparking mid-strike and suddenly it was like he hit an exposed wire with a piece of iron. He called me a freak after that, and it proved the last straw for my mom. They started arguing for the first time since Dad starting becoming a deadbeat. She'd been able to handle it for the sake of keeping us together, but this just proved to her that he didn't care about us at all."
"Wow," Sumire said, "I had no idea…" Ryuji grinned. "Hey, it's all in the past now. Though I really wish our team counselor would stop using this as a heart-wrenching tale for publicity. I didn't get into track running to air out my dirty laundry. I was hoping that with a good-enough scholarship, I could start providing for Mom in the long-term. I mean, with Dad gone I'm basically the man of the house." "Why track though?," Sumire asked. Ryuji chuckled nervously. "I… Got really good at running trying to dodge Dad's attacks…" He and the rest of the group laughed at that.
That evening, Ren noticed his little houseplant was looking slightly withered, so he applied the bio-nutrients to the soil to perk it up. "That should help it look a little healthier," Morgana noted. "Now to get to work," Ren said, "I noticed the illusion created by Toshiro's Stand contains real treasure. But there's a possibility that some of the chests inside it could be locked." He started to make a couple lockpicks, and then noticed something. One of the tin clasps was a little wider than normal, and one of the silk strings was longer than the other. Grinning, he found he could shave off the excess and get a third lockpick from what he had. "Not bad…," Morgana noted, "That could come in handy when we're ready to infiltrate."
For the record, Panacea's appearance is based off the mutated appearance of the main female lead in the hentai Cambrian (minus the naughty bits, of course). It's also a shout-out to Vanishing Act, which also had a Stand named Panacea (though that version could do full healing while this version can only enhance medication). Also, normally in Persona 5 Shadows that turn up as mini-bosses can't be negotiated with, since they're too loyal to the Palace ruler. But this is outright stealing the energy, so here it will be done (provided the pseudo-Stand is a regular guard in the overlay). Read and review.