Hello and welcome back, dear readers. Hopefully you've all been surviving the new year as I have (barely at some points). Last chapter ended on a pretty big cliffhanger with our plucky young Thieves receiving some unexpected help from a face from the past. How will that help pan out? This chapter answers that question and brings you all the first look at a Palace thought up by yours truly!
I do now own anything.
Chapter 26-In Our Hands Pt.1
November 21st, 5:28 PM
Leblanc…
It was fiction that imitated life, that was the way the world was supposed to operate. The thing was, life was unpredictable. By its nature, it was wild and chaotic, throwing expectations aside, sometimes violently and at other times quite subtly. There were times when life imitated fiction; those were exciting and at the same time, extremely dangerous times.
For the eight teenagers, two adults, and cat sitting in the officially closed but still very much occupied café, the latter could certainly be attested to. Eyes lingered from one person to another, sweat slowly formed along brows even after the "all clear sign" had been given. After everything the Phantom Thieves and their allies had been through in the last forty-eight hours, they were all playing it better safe than sorry. Especially since they were on their home turf, with two of their staunchest allies close by.
Their mound was an absolute stark contrast to the bespectacled man who sat comfortable in his seat, sipping on his freshly brewed espresso as if he were enjoying a quiet evening in the café. The same went for his associate, his bodyguard, almost directly opposite of him. He sat with the quiet confidence that came with knowing he was physically the strongest man in the room; no one dared to test that supposed truth, least of all Sae and Sojiro, both of whom kept occasionally glancing at their respective charges. It went without saying hat this wasn't the type of situation they ever wanted them to be in.
But again, life was unexpected and chaotic. You planned for one thing, only for the exact opposite to happen; from there, all you could do was go with the flow.
Akira and Goro, the two perhaps most adapt at this way of life, not that either of them asked for it, were attempting to do that. Key word, attempting. Both Wild Cards quietly surveyed the room, their allies, their…their friends. It was overwhelmingly clear that neither of the boys had thought to hard about what would happen if things ever reached this point. Up until this morning, their primary concern had been staying alive and making sure their lived ones remained alive as well. They'd managed to keep themselves alive and contact help…but now they were completely free-forming it.
Scratch that, they'd always been free-forming it, even Goro, who believed himself to be sticking to a concrete plan for the last two years. Like so many other things, that plan had gone up in smoke and flames landing him in Leblanc alongside the person whom he both envied and respected the most. They were undoubtedly in the same boat, at the mercy of this glasses-wearing stranger who'd offered them a helping hand when they needed it.
As if reading their minds, Kei Nanjo looked to the both of them, causing the boys to tense up. "Neither of you have any idea what to do beyond this point, do you?" He smirked.
Naturally, the male brunette struck back. "Take Shido's heart."
"Good endgame, now then, as for the actual plan…" There was another chuckle, one rather too haughty for the teenagers liking. It lasted only for a moment as he looked around at each member of the team, his eyes cold and focused. They finally fell on Goro. "The interview I set up for you bought you all some time, but barely a week's worth at that. Akechi…no, Goro," The male brunette glared hard at the bespectacled man using his first name. "After what you did, have no doubt that Shido will not stop until the public is screaming for your head on a pike along with the rest of the team's."
There was a brief break in the runaway assassin's steely façade. It looked almost…amused at the possibility of becoming a public pariah.
He wasn't the only one who found some amusement in the scenario. "Sounds about fair. It'd bring you down to our level. For real this time." All eyes went to Ann, some were enlarged given what she'd just said.
At heart, Goro was actually glad she'd said it, and voiced his appreciation with a sideways smile. He made no effort to hide it. "I suppose it would. Granted at the end of all of this, my reputation's going to be in tethers one way or another. All I ever wanted was to get as much good out of it as I could."
"Well, the best thing for us to do is keep it looking as pretty for a bit longer." Kei responded.
Ryuji huffed. "So Pancake Boy gets to keep on being the golden boy of the city."
Yusuke was there to add his two cents, perhaps as a token of goodwill to his future roommate. "That prestige did come in handy today, and likely will in the future. Akechi, I do believe you gave us a timeline, didn't you?"
"It wasn't one that I thought out in advance." Admitted the laser-blade user looking down at the counter. Quietly, he looked up, his red eyes meeting the cool blue of his biological father's most hated corporate rival. While he didn't feel the same burning animosity Shido did, Goro wasn't ready to completely give the head of the Nanjo group his seal of trust. "The three days…it was something your people gave me."
"That's because in three days' time you all will steal Masaya Komori's heart, thus causing him to confess…or rather, cause him to have a moral epiphany resulting in him spilling what he does know to the proper people who will make such information public." Responded the veteran Persona user looking as if they were discussing plans for a sporting event.
Makoto looked to the dark-haired man with skeptical eyes. "And by that you mean…you?"
"To be fair…without your help, Akechi never would have been able to make that public statement and at least help us start turning the tide." Spoke up Haru. From her point of view, she they were all wondering into a labyrinth; the question was had they found the golden yearn ball that would lead them out into the light of freedom and victory. The food heiress wanted to believe so. "Without your help, Akechi and Akira would be in far worse shape…and before that, we might not have made it out of Mementos yesterday."
After a long sip of his espresso, the conglomerate leader turned about to face the group. He stood tall and proper, presenting themselves to him for all he was worth. In sharp contrast to how he was earlier, his eyes had noticeable softened, the entire aura surrounding him had practically changed. "Even with those kind acts…you are all within your full rights not to trust me."
"…But we're still going to, because we have one enemy in common…and for the record, you're wrong about us not being in our full right to trust you." Akira spoke, his voice carrying across the room. It showed that he truly was speaking for the Phantom Thieves as a whole, their allies included. "We trust you…because you've given us a reason to trust you. Don't give us a reason to break that trust."
From around the café came a serious of nods, from every member of the Phantom Thieves all the way down to their sole nonhuman member. In particular, Morgana jumped onto the counter and strutted closer to Kei, his blue eyes staring sharply into his behind his glasses. He couldn't quite put his finger on it, but there was something…familiar about him, something that drew him to the older man like a magnet. Even if he wanted to fight it, Morgana couldn't bring himself to pull away…so he didn't. On top of that, he flung himself into that curiosity. Much like his human companions, the man had come offering a spark of hope…and that was something they sorely needed right now.
None of this was hidden from the dark-haired man; to him, it was extremely clear what was running through the cat's mind. And not just him, but what was running through all the other occupants of the café. "You all have my word…that I will do everything in my power not to violate that rust." Kei finally said in a voice that was quiet, yet filled to the brim with subtle confidence. To his side, Akira's eyebrows rose; he felt like he was looking into a mirror, one that was speaking back to him. "Now then, I believe it's time we got down to business. Namely, your next target, you'll have three days to steal his heart or else I can't guarantee we'll be able to stay on schedule."
"You mean we're on a timer?" Ann questioned with a raised eyebrow.
"I believe we always were." Haru replied. "First and foremost, we can't allow Shido to become prime minister for by then, it's likely he'll be too powerful for us to stop. Not without crossing…certain lines I don't think any of us are prepared for." Even if she tried to fight it, her eyes drifted over to the team's lone male brunette. He met her gaze, and far from looking offended or angry, he gave a subtle nod, a quiet confirmation of her innermost thoughts. It wasn't a negative, but it certainly was something to take note of. "Besides, how difficult will it be to break into this Komori's Palace?"
"Very." Spoke the hitman and CEO at once causing everyone to do a double-take, especially Akira and Morgana who looked at the two.
"I don't like where this is going." Sae muttered.
"You have every not to, Sae-san." Goro supported with a straight, no, an annoyed frown. "For a lazy bastard…Komori's Palace is quite decked out."
"Seriously? You said this guy's more of a go-with-the-flow kind of jerk so what makes his Palace so damn tough? And how can it be any worse than what we've already gone up against?" Ryuji questioned feeling an uncomfortable rumble in his gut. Though he was perhaps one of the ones most prone to getting overconfident, the events of the last several days had ingrained a sense of caution into him.
As the runaway assassin looked ready to answer his teammate's question, the CEO coughed catching their collective attention. Sitting up, he beckoned to his assistant, who also rose and stepped over, carrying the briefcase with him. At his boss' behest, he opened it allowing for him to reach in and pull out a set of documents, some of them rolled up. Atop the table at the rest of the group sat at, he unfurled it. Kei and his assistant stepped back and allowed the Phantom Thieves and their allies to assemble around the blueprints. Having already memorized them, Kei knew what their contents contained, and he was curious as to what the thieves reactions would be.
He wasn't disappointed.
"Oh my," Haru breathed out.
"You've got to be kidding me." Ann groaned.
Morgana's tail wagged. "Whelp, guess Ryuji's going to be sitting this one out!"
Naturally, the former runner took the comment in spade. "Why you little! Hey, news flash fuzzball, you're going to be sitting this one out too, and Ann since you'll both be useless!"
"Hey!" Called the pigtailed blonde while the feline hissed at the delinquent.
Ignoring her three squabbling teammates, Makoto looked over to Goro. "Is this accurate?"
"Yes, yes, it is." He sighed then looked back over at Kei. The man was looking a tad too smug for Goro's liking, but he couldn't really bring himself to say anything snarky about it. Instead, he only asked one question, "I take it you scouted out his Palace like me?"
"Indeed." Answered the bespectacled man pushing up his glasses. He was smiling. "If it makes you feel any better, you did some good work, a shame that it went up in flames along with everything else you cared about."
Sae and Sojiro rose and looked back at the adult. The former looked ready to say something, but Goro caught her gaze and shook his head. She didn't exactly look pleased, but stood down none the less.
"As you all can see…this Palace is going to be somewhat…tricky." Goro said returning his attention back to the map, and his teammates. "Being a lazy bastard, Komori's Palace contains automated defenses. I could only penetrate so far into his Palace without tripping some of the alarms and alerting him to my presence. Specifically, Shido told me not to push too far otherwise when the time came for me to assassinate him, I'd be at a roadblock." There was a pause. "Or maybe that was just a ploy to keep me from getting to Komori and trying to cut a deal."
"Paranoid bastard, wasn't he?" Akira inquired.
"Paranoid and controlling, what more could you ask for in a big bad?"
Yusuke gave a side glance at the blueprints before him, his hands running over them. While Ryuji, Ann, and Morgana were squabbling, he continued to observe the features of their next target's stronghold. No doubt, it was going to be a challenge, and in more ways than just physical.
"Hey, Yusuke, you'll be okay with this, right?" Came Akira's concerned voice. Blinking, the blue-haired painter looked up at him. "I mean, I'm not completely blind here, what we're going to be walking into…"
"I will be able to conduct myself properly, after all, quite a bit will be at stake." He softly affirmed. "Besides, no matter how grandeur the displays are…I have no doubt they're all borne from distortions, something that I cannot accept, as a Phantom Thief or as an artist."
"Not all of them." Chirped Goro, briefly catching the katana-user's eyes. "Down in the depths, that's where the truth is. If you're thinking about inspiration or something to paint…you'll find it down there."
"Kind of sad that you can't bring a camera with you into the Metaverse." Futaba whistled. She too had been quietly going over the blueprints. What was unusual though, was how subdued she was. No doubt because the gravity of the situation had hit her in full force just as it had for the others. "It's looking like I get a chance to shine as more than just the navigator this time around."
"How right you are, Oracle. You'll be seeing combat on a brand-new frontier; luckily, I've taken steps to ensure that you're promptly armed."
All heads snapped back to the glasses-wearing conglomerate owner. Again, he looked completely nonchalant, a stark contrast to the rest of the group.
Futaba looked at him with sharp eyes, her "significant senses" were tingling. All her glare did was call his smile to deepen.
Seconds later and the front door jiggled open as Kei's assistant returned carrying with him two more suitcases which were deposited on the next table over. Stepping over to them, Kei put his thumb against the scanner that served as the lock; after the flash of green light, the lock clicked and the CEO popped the lid open. All the teenagers and Sae and Sojiro watched and waited with baited breath as to what would come out.
They all did a double-take as they struggled to process what it was he held in his hand-a bracelet.
A slink piece of metal that glisten in the overhead lights. Upon closer examination, several could have sworn they saw there were engravings running along the smooth metallic surface. Glowing engravings.
Futaba's mouth dropped as she hopped from her seat and rushed over to her fellow glasses-wearing. Watching her closely was Sojiro, followed next by Akira, Sae, Makoto, and even Goro, all of whom still hadn't given this strange man their complete trust. Especially Sojiro who felt almost as if he were watching a bear awaken from some long slumber and looking around for something to eat. In its first line of sight would be his daughter. Yet, in spite of the fear pumping through his veins, he couldn't bring himself to move or even open his mouth. He was completely frozen stiff.
On the other hand, Futaba reached for the green accessory as if it were a piece of shining gold presented to her. Smiling in good faith, Kei gently took hold of her right hand and helped slide the garment onto her wrist.
Ryuji broke the tension. "Wait, so…you've giving her a piece of jewelry? How the hell is that supposed to help us?"
The assistant chuckled, an act that caused Ryuji's confused stare to become one of annoyance. Meanwhile, Makoto and Akira walked over and gave their hacker's new accessory a closer look. Their eyebrows rose in mutual shock as they saw, they felt the aura that was emitted from the smooth green bracelet as Futaba stared at it. While they could feel traces of the item's supernatural power, she could feel it pumping through her veins, empowering her.
Ooooooh, this! This! THIS! This is proof that I made the right decision in stealing the divine fire from Zeus and giving it to you mortals! Just look at what you have accomplished with the knowledge! Boomed the Greek Titan that was Futaba Sakura's Ultimate Persona. She was in full agreement with him.
"This…you've created real live magitech, haven't you?!" Declared the orange-haired girl with stars practically shining in her eyes. All the corporate CEO did was push his glasses up and give an aside smile, clearly he preferred to let his actions speak for him. For a while anyway.
"Seriously, what's the big deal? It's just a…" Ann's words died in her throat as her young teammate spun around and presented her newest accessory to her. The emerald glow was unmistakably unnatural. Within her, Hecate murmured in approval, telling her that such a light reminded her of the inventions crafted by the god of the forge, Hephaestus himself. Her own curiosity got the best of her causing her to rise and step over to give a personal examination of the bracelet. Gradually, the rest of the team followed her league, and eventually Sae.
Standing on the outskirts, Akira looked back to the team's surprisingly loaded benefactor. "You've got some pretty deep resources if you can make something like this…outside the Metaverse that is."
Giving the sixteen-year-old a sly smile, Kei responded, "That's one possibility…or maybe I have something akin to the Metaverse. You know how it is these days, everyone wants everything they could need in the palm of their hands. Always ready to go and always available." Akira and Goro both gave him accusatory looks, something that only caused Kei to chuckle in amusement. While he was being polite with them, he wasn't letting it slip that he had access to resources far outstripping theirs. "The 'magitech' as Futaba so eloquently called it isn't exactly new, it's been pioneered before."
Goro decided to take the bait. "By the Nanjo Group?"
"Yes…and before us, SEBAC, one of whose employees I believe you might know of."
Akira watched the sudden tensing of his fellow Wild Card's body. His eyes were wide as he stared dead straight at the bespectacled man.
"Don't worry, I've had my people keep an eye on her to make sure she's safe, much like how I've done with the Hashiokas." Kei stated, giving the male brunette a sly smile.
Sae had stepped forward, her ears having picked up on the conversation. While she no doubt must have questions, she put them on the backburner in favor of giving her partner a look of genuine concern. Akira kept quiet, but seeing her worry over him did bring a slight smile to his face.
You're not as alone as you think. Mused the black-haired teenager.
"Thank you."
Along with the prosecutor, his eyes widened in shock. Both of them looked to the brown-haired assassin between them. His face was one of exhausted relief; for Akira, it was comparable to when they'd escaped Mementos with the Hashiokas safe and sound. As the words sunk in, both smiled, and were quietly thankfully that Goro took no notice of them. If he had they no doubt would have been given an adamant denial, or half-hearted venomous glare, same thing with the rest of the team.
Seeing as had that was cleared, Kei decided to move onto the next order of business. "Morgana, I have something for you." Seeing the feline's ears perk up, he reached back into his suitcase and pulled out a palm-sized square-shaped container. Popping it open revealed a trio of turquoise-colored pills.
Morgana felt an uncomfortable shiver run through his body. "Please tell me I'm not going to have to eat those."
"Did you make them tuna-flavored? That'll be a great way to get him to gobble them." Akira quipped causing his feline companion to hiss at him. "Seriously, though, what are those things? You do realize you're asking me to give foreign food to my cat."
"I'm not a cat!"
Having joined the group, Ryuji decided to add his two-cents. "Better not make him any more gassy than he already is." Naturally, his response came with a sharp hiss from the blue-eyed feline. Had Haru not stepped in there's no doubt he would have lunged at the dyed-haired blond.
Haru looked skeptically to the pills. Immediately, she recognized them to be some sort of food pills; that only increased her anxiety. "What exactly will those pills do to Mona-chan?"
"Help him, as you've seen from the blueprints, Morgana's bust form will not be of much use in Komori's Palace, so you'll need something else. Something more…aquatic. When you arrive at Komori's Palace, have him swallow it and go from there."
Goro reached forward and took hold of the case. Akira picked up one of the pills and examined them; sure enough, the one he'd picked up had been marked with the kanji for "sea". The two boys cast a glance at Makoto; all three of them had seemingly come to the same conclusion on what purpose the pills would serve. Collectively, the three turned to the person who'd be ingesting them. As he offered his hand, Morgana brought his noise toward the small green pill and took several sniffs of it. He looked up to Akira, sending silent confirmation of the choice he'd made; the teenager nodded then placed the pill back into the container.
"Well, then, anyone up for a little fieldtrip while there's still some daylight left?" Inquired the leader of the band of thieves drawing looks from all across the room.
"I'm up for it." Goro immediately said.
"Same here." Ryuji seconded.
The younger Niijima's eyes drifted to over to the oldest. 'Sis," Makoto began.
"You all…you want to go there and scout out Komori's Palace?" Sae deduced looking and sounding less than pleased with the plan.
Sensing the disapproving tone in her voice, the group of eight teenagers practically banded together, all of them looking to her with pleading looks.
"it's not like we're going to try to tackle the whole thing in one go." Ann offered.
"Yeah, just a little…peak to see what we're up again." Ryuji added. "And maybe a test run to make sure all this fancy new stuff actually works." There was a pause as his eyes drifted to Kei. "Er, no offense."
"None taken. I had a feeling that some of you would be eager to head over to his Palace so you can get a look at it. All I can stress is caution. Even a simple scouting mission can become something a bit more dangerous if you're careless."
Sae's brow knitted. "Which is exactly why I'm against it."
"We're going to have to go eventually." Yusuke offered. "Regardless of when that will be, Shido and his associates will no doubt know we're coming so I don't quite believe we'll have surprise on our side as much as we have before. Besides…"
"We'll have to send a calling card to get his Treasure to manifest." Ann continued looking downtrodden. "Three days…that doesn't leave us a lot of time."
"It'll just be a scouting mission. After that…well, after that I won't sugarcoat it, we'll go all-in." Stated the team's black-haired leader. He focused his gaze on Sae, then on Sojiro. "I'll look after everyone, make sure they all come back safe and sound."
"You're going on like we can't handle ourselves. We've managed pretty well so far, ya' know." Futaba huffed, either unaware or ignoring the concerned look that her adoptive father was giving her. It was the former as when her eyes fell on his, a ping of guilt ran through her causing her to recoil in shame. Makoto was in the same boat as she held her sister's gaze, silently pleading for her to give her permission.
Exactly what permission was there to give though? That was the question that Sae wrestled with.
What authority did she have over these eight teenagers save for perhaps one? Technically speaking, she was still new to all of this. Hell, she was still struggling to wrap her mind around various concepts such as the existence of an entire world formed from human cognitive thought. Loath as Sae was to admit, she felt like the unwitting "normal" in a supernatural drama, the type that spent multiple episodes playing catch-up which was not the place where she needed to be. She was a prosecutor, her battlefield was the courtroom and law was her weapon; in the face of these supernatural happenings, however…all those things were useless. How would any of it even stack up in court? Sae knew they'd be lucky if they weren't laughed out in the first ten seconds. Worse than that though…was the fact that everything hinged on her little sister, and her partner, neither of whom were of legal age, yet it was them who would have to come through on it. By risking their lives.
Sae wanted to throw her head back and scream at how ludicrous the whole thing was, how unfair it was.
When her parents had died, she'd made a vow to protect Makoto no matter what, and when Goro went missing she'd made a silent promise to keep a watchful eye over him, a protective watchful eye at that. And now here she was being told to step aside while they go out and risk their lives on what could easily turn into a life-or-death struggle.
Her struggles didn't go unnoticed. A hand fell on her shoulder pulling her from the tempest of doubts, anger, and despair that was rapidly consuming her. She was experiencing all of this for the first time, but the man beside her, well, he'd had close to half a year to process all of this, time that Sae wished she'd had. Still, that didn't mean Sojiro was impervious to worry, far from it. Instead, he'd simply had to make peace with the inevitability of what his daughter was caught up in. And pray she was strong enough to survive it. Sae soberingly realized she would have to do the same, it was all she could do.
"If it's alright, I could drive you kids to where Komori's Palace is. It's TBS Broadcasting Center."
For the first time all evening, all eyes in the café went the assistant that had remained largely silent and attentive to Kei's every command. Now, it seemed it was his turn to be the center of attention.
Without a doubt, he was the most physically imposing man in the entire café, what with a striking six-foot-one height making him easily the tallest man in the café, outstripping even his superior by a few centimeters. His own finely pressed suit did little to conceal the refined muscle that he held, in fact, it almost boosted it as he stepped forward and allowed all the others to stare at him. His honey-colored eyes hit each of the teenagers starting from Akira and ending with Haru and finally falling on Morgana.
He held up a hand, revealing a horizontal scar running across his right palm. Definitely something to take note of. "Oh, by the way, the name's Kersen, Kei's righthand man and muscle. Don't worry, I may just be a normal guy, but I'm in on this whole Persona business. And I can say I've had the honor of being able to punch out a few Shadows and demons in my time."
"Will we ever hear the story of that?" Akira asked with genuine curiosity shooting a glance in Kei's direction.
"If we live past this December, perhaps. There's a lot of things for us to talk about, but I believe it's best we focus on the issue at hand." Answered the conglomerate owner, his face now serious. "Kersen will look after all of you, make sure you're able to get close enough you can use access Komori's Palace. The keyword is 'news station', by the way." Seeing the information had been processed by all, he directed his gaze to Akira and Goro, both of whom met his amber-colored eyes with sharp intensity. "Tomorrow, you can take a crack at tackling his Palace in full, for tonight, I'd advise only exploring perhaps the first level and maybe the second, but I'd ask no more."
"What's the worse we can run into down there? The kraken?" Ann cracked.
"Yes." Whatever amusement came from the pause that followed he didn't let it show. "You all saw the blueprints, so you should be expecting everything from giant squid to prehistoric monsters. Everything that people could possibly find fascinating condensed into aquatic form." Clarified the older man. "And I'm fully expecting you to take what you see tonight and file it away in your minds for your next encounter."
"This feels an awful lot like schoolwork." Ryuji bemoaned causing some to roll their eyes; his best friend merely chuckled.
"No one said saving the country was an entirely fun experience." Goro offered with a cross of his hands. "I believe we should probably get going now. Every second we waste is time we can't get back. Besides, the sooner we can go scout out the place, the faster we'll be able to get back safe and sound."
"Their minds are made up, Sae-san." Sojiro said. "Just…none of you over do it, alright? And try to make sure that none of you are tailed on your way back. I think I've had enough to do with strangers showing up at my shop for one evening."
"But I like this place, I think I may end up becoming a repeat customer." Quipped the corporate CEO causing Sojiro to give a half-hearted smile mixed with a groan.
Akira shot his caretaker an affirmative smile while Futaba gave him two thumbs-up. He looked back to Kersen. "Hope you've got enough room for all of us and you allow cats."
The tan-skinned man laughed with amusement. "Don't worry, we cam prepared. Now, follow me and we'll get this little field trip under way."
Makoto gave her sister one last look; at last, there came the nod of approval, albeit one coated with reluctance. One by one, the eight teenagers filed out of the coffee shop, their final feline member held tightly in the arms of the group's resident heiress. Sae and Sojiro crossed their arms and waited, almost like they were listening to the footsteps that carried them further and further away from Leblanc until they could be heard no more. That was when it truly hit them that the kids were had gone off on yet another potentially dangerous venture. And yet again, they'd done nothing to stop them.
Kei Nanjo looked to the pair with sympathy in his amber-colored eyes. "It's…not easy."
"You've had a child go through this before?" Sae snapped, somewhat more heatedly than she would have liked to.
He took the heat of her question with quiet acceptance, further proof that of all the adults assembled, he was perhaps the most qualified to "guide" the Phantom Thieves as he knew what they were up against. Or at least, that's what Sojiro conceded.
"Years ago…when my friends and I were caught in this Persona-business, I had to watch people that I'd come to care for put their lives on the line, put themselves in mortal danger. After that, I had to watch as a young man not much older than Akira or Goro shoulder the weight of the world onto his shoulders." Each word was spoken with the force of a hammer in spite of their quiet voice in which Kei spoke with. "Several years later…well, I'm sure you both heard of that little…scuffle in Inaba, correct?"
Two sets of eyes rose in surprise, then one pair narrowed in quiet curiosity.
"You were somehow involved in that." Sae said.
"In keeping it quiet." Kei corrected. "Make no mistake, it was quite an affair, one that would have heralded the potential end of the world as we know it had it not been the courageous actions of…many like myself, including their predecessors." He finished directing his gaze toward the door that the Phantom Thieves of Heart had passed through no longer than a moment ago.
The prosecutor's nails dug into her arms. "Is that how this works? Teenagers being sent off to save the world?! This sounds like the plot of some comic book!"
"Sometimes…fiction imitates reality, which itself can be quite outlandish…and other times, it falls to the youth to correct the mistakes made by us foolish adults." Spoke up the coffee shop owner, having temporarily removed his glasses. In doing so, Sojiro Sakura looked like he'd aged almost ten years, his body and soul heavy with an invisible weight. "If we adults did a better job of taking care of the world, perhaps they wouldn't have to put their lives at risk like this."
As Kei's words had a heavy effect on the latter two, it was Sojiro's now that resonated with the other two. Sae silently stared at the ground, a mixture of shame and anger swelling up inside of her. It was clear that the two men she was in the company of knew much more about the situation than she did; she hated that with a passion.
Still, she could take some steps t correcting that, if only a little. "Sojiro-san," she began turning to face the black-haired older gentleman.
His face told her that he'd been waiting for this, that he'd seen it coming. "I take it this…is about Akechi…no, Goro's mother." Meeting her gaze, he was given an affirmative nod. Briefly, he looked over to Kei. He gave a silent acknowledgement of their shared knowledge…but he also gave a silent denial; this was Sojiro's secret to bear as it was him who had a personal stake in this. It was his mistakes that had allowed things to degenerate this far. "Wakabe…and Mai…Mai Akechi…his mother, the woman who fell in love with Shido."
Sae quietly took a seat by the counter. Afterwards, she began to quietly consider what she was going to need to drink, probably something powerful to get through this.
Akasaka Gochome, 6:03 PM…
Ultimately, they ended up parking about a block and a half away from the broadcasting center. Everyone knew they were operating under the premise of better safe than sorry, not to mention the less public spotlight they drew, the better.
That of course, meant that Goro had to wear a disguise, again.
"I'll be so thankful when all of this is over with and I can go back to being me. Better yet, I can go back to school tomorrow." Bemoaned the Justice-aligned Wild Card as he forced his brown strands under a dark blue-colored wig. When he questioned why it had to be blue, Kersen had merely shrugged and stated it was what his superior had decided to go with.
"Maybe that Kei guy's just a Fire Emblem fan." Futaba offered, having moved past her fascination with her bracelet accessory.
Goro gave her a look. "I think we can all agree that I'm about as far from a protagonist of that genre as you can get. Besides, I'd say Yusuke has the blue-hair down, but he's too…him to be the lead character."
The painter gave him a confused stare instead of an angry one. "Fire…Emblem? I believe I've heard of the series before, medieval fantasy, am I right?"
"Yep, and here we are…your typical crackpot RPG team." Akira laughed which in turn got some chuckles out of the rest of his compatriots. He turned to Kersen. "Thank you for taking us here, we can go the rest of the way by ourselves…and get back when we come out. There's no need for you to wait on us."
For a brief moment, the Indonesian man sized up the black-haired Persona-user, eventually smiling. "Alright, I won't hang around here and babysit you guys because it doesn't look like you'll need it. Just watch your backs, alright?"
Akira nodded and readied to move on the rest of his team, but he turned back a the last second.
"What is it?" Kersen asked.
"…It's nothing, forget it." He looked ready to press the argument, but relented at the last second, giving the glasses-wearing teenager only a silent nod before hopping back into the driver's seat of the van. Quickly enough, he caught back up to the rest of his team, who'd now begun walking on their way out of the parking lot. They all knew their way to TBS Broadcasting Center from their drop off point, and they each knew their respective ways back home when they decided to pull out. Amongst the nine, no one doubted the possibility that they'd be walking home with wobbly legs and possibly shaking arms. After all, their enemy knew they were coming and had no doubt placed defenses in place.
That was why the group stopped once they came into view of the Broadcasting Center. It was just as regal in the evening as it was during the day. Goro was the only one who'd ever ventured even remotely close to the disc-topped building. His first trip there there'd been a sense of foreboding as he was still young and fresh under Shido's "employ". He'd gone alone as just another face in the crowd, which was the exact opposite of where he was now. At heart, he was somewhat pleased with the change, but he also knew that meant things would be more complicated. Cautiously, he glanced over at the rest of the team, noting the determined looks on their faces as they pushed forward. Going forward was really the only option that they had left, which was why when the time came for them to stop at the front of the building, there wasn't a shred of doubt to be found on anyone's faces.
Akira took out his phone and sucked in a breath. Silently, he pressed down on the Metaverse app. Without even looking up, he felt the world around him and his companions come to a complete stop, then the distortions began. A familiar breeze of air washed over the nine, and with it came their transformation from teenagers into Phantom Thieves. And for Morgana, his humanoid form was regained.
All around them, the city distorted, but not as much as the group thought it would. What held their interest though, was what form that the broadcasting center took.
"Wow." Morgana blinked.
"Those blueprints really weren't lying." Makoto seconded. She was somewhat glad that she'd evolved her Ultimate Persona, and that said Ultimate Persona had a humanoid form in addition to her motorcycle form. She'd be needing it, just as Ryuji would be needing restraint.
"Gah, seriously though? I mean, what the hell is this? Water World?" Grumbled the bludgeon-user keeping his hands in his pocket.
"The theme park version of it." Goro clarified with dim amusement in his voice. Simply looking at the massive metaphysical building brought back all the old memories in full. "Not much has changed, at least on the outside."
Instead of a TV broadcasting station, what lay before the nine was a gigantic, glass-stained cylindric building, or at least cylindric on the front. In bright blue neon lighting was the outline of sea waves and fish, some of which seemingly gliding across the building's surface creating images that moved across the stainless glass exterior. The images seemed almost alive as several quickly changed directions and even "leaped" into the air only to splash down into the water. Illuminating the evening sky were a series of lights, some of which twisted and warped into holographic projections of more fish, including marine mammals such as whales and seals; they too moved about as if they were in their natural habitat. Naturally, at the forefront of the building was the logo of Tokyo Broadcasting Systems, itself constantly glowing from a series of aqua-blue Tron-lines that connected it to the rest of the building.
Futaba threw on her goggles and spread out her hands. "Yep, it's all connected." Throwing her arms out she summoned forth a projection of her own, one showing the entire city of Tokyo. In the center lay the Palace, and from it stretched several blue river-like lines. Thanks to the heads-up display, the names and real-world information regarding each of the highlighted points was displayed for the team. All of them were other news broadcasting stations and companies; they all connected back to the fantastical aquarium that lay before them.
"Would it be wrong to suggest maybe, I don't know, just blowing this place up?" Ann offered crossing her arms. Now that she had a good look at it, she felt an uncomfortable chill running up her spine. As her fellow blond would have to watch himself, so too would she.
Nervous? Offered her Persona in an amused tone of voice.
"As nice as that would be, we don't have enough firepower to do so, not to mention if we did, we'd all succeed in caging Komori in." Softly retorted the red-caped detective. Behind his bird-beak mask, he smiled in sympathy. "Still, Panther, I'd vote for the idea."
He got a kind-hearted smile out of the whip-user.
Looking forward, Akira counted the dozens upon dozens of citizens heading straight for the front entrance of the aquarium. They had no distinguishable features, walking, talking shadows that mindlessly headed towards the aquarium like a pack of sheep being herded in one direction. There's no way we can take the front entrance, hell, probably getting within a few yards isn't a good idea. "Futaba, find us an access point through the water."
They were all walking on the outer rim not a second later. Loud in their ears was the boom and awe coming from the Palace. Even as they crossed multiple buildings and rounded several corners the overwhelming presence of the Palace never truly faded from their minds. At least until they went inside.
Fortunately, they encountered next to no resistance, merely mow shadows who paid no heed to their passing. What they did focus on was any visible TV screen or their phones. Curiously, Haru leaned over and found the source of their interest was…fish, sparkling, crystal-like fish swimming across the screen. It wasn't hard to connect the dots from there. Still, it made her and her teammates wonder what they'd encounter within the Aquarium of Sloth.
Every step they took brought them closer and closer to their destination, a fact that causes sweat to begin forming on some of their brows. The funny thing was they hadn't even made it to the Palace yet, or truly begun the journey required to get them there. That moment arrived when they reached the basement level of the building they'd walked into.
Akira whistled. "Gotta say, the Metaverse keeps on getting weirder and weirder." Usually, the only time there was ever a massive underwater reservoir beneath an urban structure was in movies and TV shows; as it happened, the Metaverse was a place where such things were real thus explaining the massive stretch of water that lay before him and his team. Obviously, it provided a way into Komori's Palace, that was, if they all had scuba gear and could withstand the dangers that awaited deep beneath the blue waves. "Morgana, looks like it's testing time."
"Yep, gotta say…I…really don't like the thought of all that water though." Replied the blue-eyed feline in human form.
Ann kneeled down and rubbed his head as did Haru. "Hey, just think about it this way, one we get inside you'll be able to feast on all the fish you want." Her words had the immediate positive effect in causing the humanoid cat to perk up.
"Besides, it's not like you'll be the only one going a bit moony-eyed, so too will Crow." Haru added causing a murmur of laughter and chuckles from the rest of the group. Minus the white-clothed seventeen-year-old whose cheeks flushed as red as his mask.
"I'll have you know I'm perfectly capable of keeping control of myself. Anyways, let's get a move on, Joker,"
Reaching into one of his coat pockets, he pulled out the set of pills he'd been given earlier. After popping it open, he pulled out the one marked for "sea" and held it out for his cutlass-wielding teammate. Morgana's ears twitched as he took hold of the pill and stared at it. A second later, after affirming his resolve, he downed it in a single gulp.
The change was remarkably subtle, a small burst of wind surrounding the cat's body and nothing more. Then there were his eyes, azure light blazed for Morgana's eyes and remained so as he took off towards the water. In a single leap, he plunged himself in, completely disappearing beneath the waves. On the shore, the eight teenagers waited with muted anxiety and interest as to what would happen next. Haru clapped her fingers together as hers grew, only to be quenched by Makoto placing a hand on her shoulder. A second later and the anxiety vanished as a wondrous blue light lit up the water, then something emerged.
"Holy shit!" Ryuji exclaimed as he and the rest of his team was showered in water as a black and yellow-lined submarine emerged from the depths. To say that the entire group was shocked was an understatement.
A car turning into a car was one thing…but a moderately sized submarine? Exactly where was that in public cognition?!
"Heh, I don't feel all that different from when I'm in bus form, imagine that! And the water, It isn't bothering me nearly as much as I thought it would!" The entire sub shifted, the front portion rising upward to reveal a pair of very warm and very familiar blue eyes on frontal hull. Somewhat shockingly, the sub itself wasn't even that big, or not as big as the teenagers had been expecting. At best, it probably maxed out at little more than twenty feet. "Alright then, all abord the Phantom Sub!"
"Okay, we can come up with a better name than that, can't we?" Goro jokingly requested as the hatch door opened.
"How's about we save that for after we've done what we came here to do." Makoto lightly chided taking the first step onto the walkway Morgana had created. After her went Ann followed next by Yusuke, Ryuji, Goro himself, Futaba, Haru, and lastly Akira himself.
The white-masked teenager whistled. A small part of him had feared had tight the sub would be on the inside…but that fear was gone as he and his friends marveled at the spacious interior turned out to be. And how…loaded out it was. Like the rest of his human companions, he couldn't help but stop and marvel at the glamour and design of the sub's interior department. It was fully lined with a row of seats to the back and a pseudo-steering wheel at the front. In the center lay an elevated chair that could only serve one purpose.
Goro's eyebrow rose in annoyance and amusement. "Enjoying the perks of being captain, are you?" In return, the black-haired Wild Card merely smiled at him as he made himself comfy in his "command chair". Ultimately, it served no real purpose other euthanize his position in the team hierarchy. About two weeks ago, that would have been enough to leave the laser sword-user seething in quiet fury. Now, well, now it felt more like he'd just had a place in waiting line stolen from him. Annoying, but nothing to throw a hissy feat over.
He wasn't the only one visibly annoyed. Makoto gave their leader a near disapproving stare, no doubt the student council president in her rearing its head. "I'll just take the driver's seat and steer. I trust you won't be doing any backseat driving."
"Now Queen, when have I ever done that?" Akira spoke behind a Cheshire grin.
The two brunettes rolled their eyes in defeated annoyance, much to the amusement of the rest of the team. They were all doing their own private inspection of the submarine's interior. Needless to say, this was a first for all of them, and probably the closest they'd ever come since a life at sea hadn't really caused their minds. Futaba was up front, "plugging herself in" at the driver's seat besides Makoto's. Yusuke moved away from the consoles and to the windows which offered a spectacular view of the watery outside of their aquatic ride.
"Alright, everyone, get yourselves strapped in. It's high time we got a look at the inside of Komori's Palace, be ready for anything." Commanded Akira, having made himself quite comfortable in his chosen chair.
Naturally, Yusuke took up occupancy by the window with Haru behind him and Goro to his front while opposite of them was Ryuji and Ann. The skull-faced thief looked out at the water with hints of nervous that was subtly silenced by the warm hand of his fellow blonde. Goro wasn't blind to such interactions, but out of respective for his teammates he said nothing, and was silently grateful that Morgana didn't seem to take notice of it either; the last thing they needed was a dramatic scene in a submarine likely hundreds of feet underwater. At the interior's forefront came a holographic projection of what lay in front of them-water, lots and lots of water. Even then, Akira kept his gaze forward and his face set knowing that danger had a way of coming in from the most unexpected directions, and sometimes from the front.
Along their path came several fish, some of whom were more fish-shaped masses of light that glittered in the headlights than anything. Yusuke couldn't help but be amazed by what he saw as they swam past the sub. To the team's relief, none of them seemed to notice anything wrong with the cat-themed submarine that silently swam through the water.
"Gotta say, this feels…well, kinda weird, but kinda cool." Ryuji spoke up after finding his ability to speak. "I mean, sure, we were thieves before, but going in through the water way in a sub?"
"Indeed, it is like something out of fiction…but I think that's part of the fun of it." Haru added looking to her red-scarfed friend with a warm smile. "Personally, I do feel like the heroine of some of my favorite spy stories."
"Same here!" Ann chimed. "To be honest…no matter what ends up happening, I'm glad that we made it this far…all of us." Obviously, her last words were aimed at the sole member of the team whose mask-color matched her overall outfit. "Even if it has been a bumpy ride." Added the part-time model.
"With all due respect, I think you're all being a tad too sentimental. It's not like this is the end, perhaps after this we'll be a step closer to the end…but I personally believe it's too early for such talk." Spoke the former renegade. "That said…I'm…Panther, I believe you have a point about us making it this far. Admittedly...I…a part of me never thought that I'd be entering Komori's Palace with all of you, but," he kept his gaze focused on the blue yonder outside of the sub. It was all he could do to keep the emotion from showing on his face; however, he couldn't keep it contained via his voice. "I'm happy that I'm infiltrating his Palace with all of you."
There was smiles and chuckles from all across the sub, even from the submarine itself as Morgana was still very aware of the words being spoken inside of him.
"Even me?" Akira playfully jabbed.
His first response was of course, an irritated grown. "Don't make me consider taking my chances and swimming the rest of the way."
"If we did that, we'd probably have to change your codename to Penguin." Makoto added with a slight chuckle.
"Well, I do have a Persona that's got a movie-star double that's a Frost Giant, so there's that." He quipped.
"Yeah, speaking of said Persona, Crow…how'd you get Loki? I mean, the rest of us minus Joker only got one Persona when we all had our Awakening." Futaba questioned. "Is it because you're a…what was it again, ah, that's right! A Wild Card! Is it because you're a Wild Card like him?"
"And that's another I'm somewhat curious about. Why exactly you? Not that you two do not make good foils to one another, but I can't help but feel like there's more to this than what we know of." Yusuke chimed in.
The two Wild Cards met one another's gaze. In spite of the bond they now shared, one that was maybe tittering on friendship, there was still much they didn't know, which could prove vital. In a broader sense, there was still quite a bit about the male brunette's past that they only had pieces of; even after crossing over to their side, he was still an enigma.
Briefly, the young man's eyes flickered to the side, where the deep blue of the sea was. "I…honestly, I-"
Fortunately or unfortunately, the sub's alarms suddenly flared up catching everyone's attention. Akira shot his gaze forward, demanding a status report from his team's driver and hacker. The two responded by putting up an image on the HUD-multiple black and silver-lined spheres that lazily floated through the water. Several metallic extensions protruded from them; it didn't take a genius to guess if they dared venture closer those protrusions would jet out, the ends no doubt blinking red as a count down.
"Mines." Akira growled.
"If we got any closer, we'll set them off." Makoto affirmed. She honestly had no idea how sturdy Morgana was in this new submarine form. Subs were built much tougher than automobiles, but they could still be sunk, not to mention this sub was a living person. One of their teammates, their friends to be precise. They couldn't be too risky.
"Hmph, I figured something like this would be standing in our way, luckily, that Kei guy seemed to know his stuff!" Declared Morgana, his voice echoing from all around him.
"Uh, mind filling us in here, furball?" Ryuji questioned. "You got a way to get past those things?"
"Oh, we do!" Came the jubilant voice of the team's hacker, a holographic keypad spread out before her. Her fingers furiously clicked down along the keys while Morgana summoned felt a swirl of energy quietly rushing through him, empowering him.
Seconds later and that energy burst forth in the form of a luminous green wave that washed over the minefield. Several seemingly cackled and fizzled greatly intriguing the teenagers. Next, came a translucent breeze of underwater wind that gently pushed the spherical bombs aside. Makoto was so stunned that she needed Futaba to literally tap her on the shoulder to get her to snap back and get them moving again. Every inch that they took was marked with tension as the rest of the team nervously stared out the port windows and sensors. Any second, they were half-expecting one of the mines to go off and literally rock their worlds.
"I'm just going to spit ball this but…a jammer?" Akira asked. His response was a tooth grin and a thumbs-up from his surrogate little sister. Smiling, he leaned back into his seat. Now he was at peace, and hoping for a smooth-sailing journey. Mister Nanjo, that's another point towards you earning our trust.
"Well, what are the odds of us running into some sort of sea monster?" Asked the team's bludgeon-user.
"I'm crossing my fingers we won't have to worry about those until we're inside." Ann offered. Truthfully, she didn't exactly fancy the idea of going into a place that would no doubt have all sorts of sea life, grand and weird and no doubt horrific. In particular, there was one monstrosity that she was dreading running into.
"Speaking of inside, Crow, what exactly will we be running into? Komori's Palace, is it as grand on the inside as it is on the outside?" Haru asked genuinely curious.
"I can say you're on the right path." He prompted up his right let and crossed his arm, a habit that he fell into waiting the waiting began to quietly gnaw at him. "Naturally, the inside of his Palace can best be described as an aquatic wonderland. Without a doubt, you can lose yourself in exploring it, and at times you can just lie back and let the current take you from one end of the place to another. I suppose that's why he's in the news business, feed the populace a story and just watch them run with it, even journalists and pundits can be guilty of that. It's easy to toss everything aside and just go with the flow."
A heavy silence fell over the eight teenagers, and even enwrapped around their ninth member, who was all around them. In their own way, they all thought to those times when they too "went with the flow", or suffered because those around them did so. The "flow", yes, the way things were that in society one was taught not to disrupt for fear of backlash. Each of them were where they were because they'd chosen to do the opposite.
"Then I take it to get to Komori, we'll have to go against the flow?" Spoke up the team's axe-wielder.
Goro leaned over and looked at her, their silent gazes meeting one another. "Yes, that's exactly it. In order to get to Komori, we're going to have to-"
Once more, the red-masked teenager was interrupted as the sub came to a gradually stop. Sealing his mouth shut, he looked ahead along with the others to see what new obstacle blocked their path. It was a door, one with glowing blue Tron-lines.
"Um, arm the torpedos?" Somewhat awkwardly asked the Prince Detective.
"Anyone up for a ramming move? I've kind of always been curious to see if those worked." Offered Ann.
"No need, my technological-inapt friends! Just let dear 'ole Oracle deal with this, after all this door is cyber-locked making it prey to yours truly!" Boosted the youngest of the team. Her keypad had morphed, a circular touchpad lay before her. Holding up her right hand, the high-tech bracelet she'd been given, it glowed with florescent light that blinded those in the sub. Grinning, she slammed her palm down, expectedly, with much fanfare.
And complete confusion from everyone else.
Akira sat in his chair, quietly counting down the seconds as his group's tech-expert worked her magic. He had no doubt in Futaba's skills, though he could say he wasn't particularly a fan of waiting, especially under tension. The more he stared at the gates the more unsettled he became.
At least until they flashed a familiar shade of green and began to open.
"Nicely done, Oracle." He said without a hint of worry in his voice.
"Just one of my many triumphs on this mission." Smugly, though entirely warranted, declared the orange-haired girl.
"And now her ego's inflated." Makoto wistfully mused prompting an aside glare from the navigator. She met it with a smile then began to push the group forward. "Heads up, everyone, we'll be docking in a couple of minutes."
"Finally." Ryuji and Ann said in unison.
"Not exactly the worst sea-going trip I've had, though I'm glad its over. I'm very eager to see what the inside of Komori's Palace is." Yusuke stated.
"I scrambled the sensors so hopefully, we'll be able to get in and out without anyone noticing, scratch that, I know we will." Futaba proclaimed.
Docking came not too long after the hacker had made such a bold proclamation. The hatch door open and out stepped the teenagers, Akira being the last one. Once he was out on solid land, Morgana's entire mechanized body temporarily leaned upward, then came a puff of smoke that ended with his familiar humanoid form standing before them. And he was wet, very wet.
"Alright, that wasn't as bad as I thought it would be, but dammit, I don't like getting wet!" He stated shaking himself.
Smirking, Ann stepped forward and manifested Hecate's left arm, from which came a plume of fire that immediately began to warm him. "Well, what do you expect, you're a cat, albeit a pretty damn cool one." That last part was enough for him to look past the "cat" remark, or maybe not considering that it was "Lady" Ann who'd said it.
"Well, team, let's get moving. We're at least going to scout out the first floor or so, then we can call it a night. Oh, and I feel this should be rather obvious, but…Crow…"
Falling into place, Goro, turned to the rest of the team and with a completely serious face said, "Try to avoid touching the fish. Some of them are…well, once you start it gets hard to stop. Trust me,"
Yusuke raised an eyebrow. "You sound like you're speaking from experience."
"I am." He replied plainly. "My first trip here I got hooked on one of the stories that Komori's been charged with repressing. For example, did you know that candy bar brand, Areola Sweets, actually should have been closed down because its products had traces of-"
"Traces of what?!"
Ann's voice reverberated through the dry dock that the nine now stood in.
Goro merely blinked at her. "Oh, let me take a wild guess, Panther, you had a snake from one of them just before all of this?"
"Several!" Snapped the pig-tailed blonde.
"Um, there was nothing…d-dangerous in their chocolate bars…were there?" Seconded Makoto doing her best to look away.
For a moment, the white-clothed teenager was silent, his eyes moving between the two ladies, and wondering over to his teammates. He was somewhat surprised, and relieved, that Haru seemed not to have joined them in their reactions, though she was certainly looking as amused as Akira was. Snickering could be heard coming from the latter which gave Goro an idea.
Clapping his gray-colored gloved hands together, the princely young man proclaimed, "Panther, Queen, to answer your questions, follow me and see the truth with your own eyes! And don't worry, I'm sure that somewhere along the way they'll be a place or two for you to vomit your guts out once confronting said truth! There were plenty of places for me to do so the last time I was here!"
Smiling as if all were right with the world, Akira pushed open the door and took point, relishing in the dreadful looks of his team's actress and driver. Even though they were facing yet another arduous task lay ahead of them, he was feeling confident. A tiny voice in his head argued against that overconfidence, and wanted to remain him that this was just a mere scouting mission.
Be that as it may, it was undeniable what he was feeling-joy. Joy at leading his band of thieves, his friends into yet another danger-laced infiltration to steal yet another corrupted heart.
In other words, exactly how he wanted to spend his afternoon.
I'll cut things off there since I feel it's a good enough stopping point. This chapter wrapped up Kei's introduction and things have now officially moved on. He did indeed come bearing gifts. As I've previously said, I'm working with the whole franchise which began with Kandori and SEBAC tempering with paranormal powers, which were followed after by various groups including the Nanjo Group and its eventual break-away group, the Kirijo Group. I like to think any of the listed might have had a hand in Wakabe's cognitive research as such a sort of thing would only be signed onto if it had some pretty big backers behind it. Anyways, since Kei's been in a shadow war with Shido, I believe it's only natural he'd use his resources and past experience to create some…trinkets that would help a Persona-user get by.
Then in true big good fashion, send off the heroes to do the heavy-lifting. Hey, this the story of youth in righteous rebellion so that's to be expected, right?
With Komori's Palace, at least I was able to give you all an idea of what the outside looks like. Its official title is indeed "Aquarium of Sloth" to make it fit in with the Deadly Sins theme of the Palaces. Yes, I'm aware that Mementos fills in the role of sloth…but I've got an idea for how the two connect, plus, while the populace can be held accountable by being slothfully, so too can those in power for doing nothing to stop the spread of ignorance and such. In an aquarium, you got to see all sorts of sea animals from different corners of the globe (provided you're at a decent aquarium) and with the news, well, in this day and age, you can have twenty-four news coming in from ten different corners of the world…and even with all of that, you can still miss something. Or by watching two different networks get two vastly different viewpoints of a topic (as someone studying politic science, let me tell you, at times you do feel like you're a fish swimming through the water looking for something that catches your eye, then running as soon as you see something that spooks you, in other words, a piece of news you don't like).
Next chapter will feature the team exploring more of Komori's Palace and a certain two people getting some…chances to bond. Awkwardly. And over some daddy issues. Until then, readers!
