I am very tired as I type this out. Because of that, I am way too lazy to do any last minute spell/grammar checking. Forgive me if this chapter looks a little sloppy because of that!
June 21st, 20XX (Tuesday)
After School - Kaneshiro's Bank (Central Street)
With school hours ending for the day and a free schedule until tomorrow, Toya led Makoto straight to Shibuya; where they were able to slip into the Metaverse without anyone noticing them. Makoto still wasn't really used to traveling to a different reality all with the tap of someone's phone screen, but based off of what she had seen and heard the past two months, the reward seemed entirely worth the confusion and momentary panic when the world around her changed, and the unsettling headache that came with it settled in.
"I've been meaning to ask, but… What's with the outfit?"
"This? I don't... really know, to tell you the truth. Whenever I come to this world, it kinda just… happens. It only started when I got my… 'power.'"
"Your… power?"
"You'll... see what I mean later. I don't know if I could ever put it into words. Anyways- Let's get going. I have a feeling we won't be able to just walk in and finish things all within a day." Toya stared at the bridge that extended down from the bank to ground level and slowly began walking up. Makoto hesitated for a moment, but inevitably followed close behind. "Oh, and uh… You should probably stay behind me most of the time. This place is a whole lot more dangerous than you probably think it is."
"I've trained in aikido. Don't worry; I can defend myself."
"That… might not be enough for this place. You know what-you'll see what I mean when we get there."
"Your lack of explanations aren't exactly helping."
"Seeing is believing, Niijima. And, let's be real. If I told you there was a cognitive bank floating above a cognitive world that mirrored Shibuya… and that it all existed inside Kaneshiro's head… would you really believe me?"
"Well…"
"Thought so!" Toya ever so slightly mocked her, mostly just to poke some fun at her. Makoto did find it a bit annoying, but not enough for her to say anything about it. It was something that she could just deal and ignore.
Before they knew it, the two of them were standing in front of the bank itself. Somehow, the bank looked even bigger up close than it did from a far, and it had already looked massive. Toya suddenly felt a lot less certain about this, but he didn't really have much say in the matter. "...You don't see any secret entrances or anything, do you?" Toya asked, looking around the perimeter.
"We have to go in from the front, don't we?"
"I have a feeling the front is gonna be pretty well guarded… But fine. Just make sure you stay close. Maybe I'll get lucky for once and there won't be any guards… Maybe." Toya walked towards the doors and pushed them open with Makoto following behind him. As soon as they were inside… they were immediately met with two guards. "Oooooof course. Why do I even bother with optimism anymore?"
"What business do you have here?" One of the guards spoke, gripping a baton tightly in his hand. Makoto walked forward, standing right next to Toya.
"Come at us!" She said, her voice filled with confidence.
"Oh, for the love of…"
"She's much more reckless than she lets on…"
"I know, right!?" Toya materialized his bow in his hands, drawing an arrow and aiming at the guard standing closest to him.
"Either listen to her, or bring us to Kaneshiro. Take your pick." The guards looked at each other. Toya couldn't make out their faces behind the masks, but it was obvious they weren't exactly pleased.
"Excuse me, but do you have an appoi—" Before the Shadow could finish speaking, he was met with an arrow shot right between his eyes. The sudden strike caused the guard to recoil back, and before he could do anything in retaliation, he was hit with two more arrows that pierced his chest. He fell down, fading into mist as he made impact with the floor.
"D-Did you just…!?"
"Calm down; that wasn't a real person. There was a monster beneath that mask. Just like this one." He said in a serious tone, shifting his focus towards the other guard.
"You little… You'll learn your place in this world!" The guard began twitching uncontrollably before sinking into the ground in a puddle of red and black liquid, before emerging in a transformed state- a large fiend with red skin and horns, as well as a blade that was even bigger than the demon itself.
"S-So you meant the monster part literally!?" Makoto jumped and then took a step back in both shock and fear.
"Yeah, I meant EVERYTHING literally!" Toya yelled back as he drew another arrow, firing it at the demon. However, unlike before their transformation, the arrows barely even made a dent. If anything, it just made the demon even angrier. "Oh, great, now THIS won't work! Time for plan B!"
"You have a plan B!?"
"Something like that! Just uh… Try to stay as calm as you can, alright? This is where things get a little bit weirder…" Toya brought one hand towards his mask, gripping it tightly and staring down the demon. "Show yourself, Yama!" He ripped it off of his face, as a blue flame erupted around him, and with it came a demon of his own, one that Makoto could never mentally prepare herself for. She tried doing her best to keep a cool head and not be a burden, but with everything that she was seeing… That was easier said than done.
The demon lifted his blade into the air and tried to slam it down onto Toya, but he was able to easily dodge out of the way. "Yama!" He yelled out his Persona's name, as Yama fired a blast of dark magic straight ahead. The blast hit the demon right in the face, but it wasn't enough to finish it off right away. "Damn it… This thing is way stronger than anything I've had to fight so far! Give me a break!" The demon rushed forward as Toya spoke, swinging his blade directly in Toya's direction. But this time, instead of dodging the attack, Toya used Yama to block the attack, grabbing onto the sword and pushing back. The demon and Yama struggled against each other, pushing the blade towards each other with all of their might. But in the middle of their struggle, Toya saw an opening. He pointed his fist towards the demon's head, as his grappling hook fired from his sleeve and latched itself into the demon's eye. He screamed in pain and anguish as the hook pierced his eye, but that wasn't the end of it. The hook pulled Toya through the air , where he was able to get on top of the demon's head. He quickly pulled another arrow out of his quiver, gripping it tightly before shoving it into the demon's other eye. The demon let go of his blade and stepped back, the pain becoming almost unbearable for him. While he was both blinded and immobilized by the pain, Toya used Yama's strength to pick the blade up, aiming it for the demon's chest and stabbing directly through. The demon didn't so much as whimper, fading away into mist as soon as the sword pierced through. Yama let go of the sword as it made a loud thud against the floor, dematerializing as Toya's mask returned to him.
"What… just…?" Makoto couldn't even finish a sentence. She was too shocked and confused to really process anything that she just saw.
"Sorry about that. I kinda got… carried away there… But at least neither of us got hurt, right?"
"Are… are you sure you're human…?"
"Huh? Oh, right; you saw my Persona. Should have figured you'd ask that..."
"Is that what you call that... thing?"
"That's what the actual Phantom Thieves called it. Of course, they can do it too."
"...I'm… not sure I can be of much help here…"
"Like I said. If you just stay near me, then you'll be…" Toya was completely cut off as suddenly, he saw more guards emerge from the floor behind Makoto. "Oh, god- behind you!" Toya grabbed Makoto's arm and pulled her towards him, away from the guards.
"Your habit of assaulting my guards is starting to get rather inconvenient..." Despite the distortion in his voice, both Toya and Makoto could recognize that voice anywhere. They turned around to see someone who looked like Kaneshiro, but different. Toya could easily infer that it was the Kaneshiro that ruled this world, much like the other versions of Kamoshida and Madarame. "Unauthorized entry, property damage, and other disturbances. That comes to three million yen in total. You're here regarding that, correct, Miss Beautiful President?" He said, his eyes locked onto Makoto.
"And I thought you were ugly enough in the real world… In a sad way, that's kinda impressive, don't you think?" Toya taunted him, still focusing his thoughts on how to deal with the guards.
"Are tasteless jokes all that you have? At the very least, it will make things a lot more satisfying for me." He snickered, before shifting his attention from Toya to Makoto. "But let's talk about you instead, and your debt to me. It must be quite tough gathering so much money. I'd be willing to give you a loan, you know. However, the interest rate is ten percent a day."
"Three hundred thousand yen a day. You know we can't afford that."
"There's no need to be alarmed. I have a more manageable option for people like you."
"That was your plan from the beginning, wasn't it?"
"Quite the impressive insight… Niijima. Or should I say, the younger sister of the beautiful prosecutor Sae Niijima?" Makoto could feel the shock that went down her spine.
"How do you know about that?!"
"Please don't underestimate our intelligence network." Makoto was getting progressively more nervous about Kaneshiro, but Toya was just getting annoyed by what he was saying-every single word of it. "Young women are such great assets. They lack strength-be it social, physical, or mental. It's as if they only exist to be devoured by the strong. That just might be the rule since the dawn of history."
"Oh, give me a break. The guy who pays people to do his dirty work is going on about who's weak and strong? Has your 'wealth' really deluded you THAT much?"
"Don't make me laugh, you petty thief. You're worth considerably less to me than she is… It's time you disappear." Kaneshiro clapped his hands, as two more guards appeared behind him. They started walking forward, as well as the guards who were already there to begin with. Toya and Makoto were completely surrounded, with nowhere to run. "Managing a bank is tough as it is. So it's my policy to kill clients who are more trouble than they're worth. Having one impertinent brat disappear is enough to set an example in that other world." Toya grit his teeth, turning around and looking at the guards that were surrounding the two of them.
"Please stop!" Makoto cried out, desperate to do anything to stop what was happening.
"Oh, I wouldn't damage an asset like you. He's a dead man walking, but you'll be just fine. Your sister is quite a beauty though. I'll make sure to make her my personal slave. Once I get bored, I'll just sell her off. Oh, poor Sis..." Kaneshiro's words felt like a stab through the gut for Makoto. "She could've been successful, if only her younger sister wasn't so dumb."
"My sister has nothing to do with this!"
"Then you better start taking customers tomorrow. All you gotta do is endure it and do as you're told."
"Endure it… Do as I'm told..." It wasn't the first time Makoto was told to do that. It felt like she had to do it for her entire life so far, never once getting the option to choose what she wanted from the world.
"You'll earn three million yen in no time. Although, your life and everything along with it will be a complete wreck by then!" He let out a maniacal, condescending laughter. But upon hearing it… something changed inside of Makoto. She clenched her fists, closing her eyes as a rage festered inside of her.
"I've been listening to you go on and on… Shut your damn mouth, your money-grubbing asshole!"
"Huh?"
"HUH?"
"Where did THAT come from!?" Quite literally nobody was ready for Makoto to suddenly say that; Toya wasn't even sure that Makoto was ready to suddenly blurt that out. He could recognize the frustration in her voice, though. The feelings that drove her towards saying that… They were building up inside of her for years. She clenched her fists tighter, looking down at the ground.
"Yes… Come to me." A voice rang out inside of her head; and despite how otherworldly it sounded, Makoto felt stronger when she heard it. She felt at home. It was like she was realizing her true self… the true self that had been hidden behind responsibility and expectation for her entire life. She called out to the voice, and when she did… her eyes suddenly turned golden. Toya couldn't see it, but he knew. He recognized what she was going through. He had seen it before-and even gone through it himself.
"This is…" Toya took a step back as Makoto grabbed onto her head, taking ragged breaths and stomping her foot down against the ground. The tiled floor cracked and broke apart as she slammed down against it. Her entire body was shaking, either out of pain or out of sheer anger-Toya couldn't tell. He could make out one thing though, the bright blue light that emanated from her face. He remembered that… and he remembered exactly what came after. Makoto brought her hands to her face and ripped something off of her. She roared as her mask was ripped off, and a blue pillar of flame engulfed her, illuminating the entire room and sending waves of pressure into the air. Toya closed his eyes and covered his face, trying his best to not get blown away from the pressure of her awakening.
The pressure cleared after a few moments, and the flame died down enough for Toya to make out what was happening-as if he couldn't tell. Her attire was now completely different- wearing a gray/black skin tight leather suit, with spiked shoulder pads and a long black scarf; long enough for it to be confused for a cape at the wrong angle. But what confused Toya the most wasn't her outfit… rather, it was what she was now sitting on. Out of seemingly nowhere came… a motorcycle. A large, white motorcycle… with a face on the front of it.
"She… awoke to a Persona…!?"
"SHE AWOKE TO A GODDAMN MOTORCYCLE!" Toya and Osiris were both confused, but their reactions were about as normal as the two of them could get. Distinct, but fitting for them.
"I can feel it… My 'self'... Me…!" A fire flared up in her eyes as she stared down Kaneshiro, and the two guards standing next to him. "Gun it!" She yelled, as she suddenly sped ahead on her bike. She got in close and made a sharp turn, hitting against both guards with the rear end of her Persona. They were sent across the room, flying right past Kaneshiro and leaving him with a terrified expression on his face.
"Good lord…! Where the hell did all THAT come from!?" Toya yelled out, as the guards who were behind him rushed past him, coming to Kaneshiro's side. Kaneshiro calmed himself down, regaining his composure and looking at the guards.
"You better earn your keep, or else I'll kill you!" The guards nodded their heads and rushed towards Makoto. Toya ran up as well, coming to her side.
"I will not lose heart again, ever. I'll go full speed, nonstop! Right, Johanna!?" She yelled out her Persona's name, as the guards in front of her and Toya transformed into their demonic forms. One of them was the same red one as before, but the other was new, and bigger. It had a similar posture and weapon, but instead of having dark red skin, it was a mix of pink and a more faded red. It also didn't have a horn, but had black hair that extended down past its shoulders.
"Big one's mine!" Toya yelled, drawing his bow and aiming at his head.
"I'm handling it myself! You deal with the other!" Makoto yelled back at Toya in response, revving up her motorcycle.
"Wha-" Before Toya could even respond to that, Makoto was driving far past him, headed straight for the larger of the two demons.
"You're getting outshined by her not even 2 minutes after her awakening."
"Hell NO I'm not!" He grabbed onto his mask and rushed forward towards the red demon-despite already having taken down two, he wanted to think of a new way to deal with them, and he had just the idea. The demon raised his blade into the air and tried to swing at Toya, his large blade sweeping just above the ground. Toya jumped into the air to dodge it, heading straight for the demon's head while ripping off his mask.
"Crack his skull, Yama!" He yelled out as he summoned his Persona. Yama appeared behind him, clenching his fists and crashing them both against the demon's head. The demon recoiled at the impact of it, trying and failing to regain any form of composure. The demon lost balance due to confusion and fell over. As soon as the demon fell, Toya heard the sound of an explosion not too far away from him. He quickly turned his head in a panic, only to see the other demon falling down on top of the one he had dealt with, with the remnants of a blue explosion in the air, and Makoto on the other side of it, completely unscathed.
"...Did… Did she just… blow him up…?"
"Just focus on getting out there, more guards will be coming!"
"R-Right!" Toya closed the distance between him and Makoto, looking up at her.
"More guards are coming-and we won't be able to fight them forever. We gotta get out of here, now!"
"Fine. I'm going on ahead, so follow me!"
"Ahead!? Where are you-" Ignoring everything that Toya was saying, Makoto turned around and drove towards the front entrance… and drove straight through it. "...That woman is gonna be the death of me. Figuratively... and probably literally, at this rate." Toya ran in her direction, and used his grappling hook to close the distance between them faster.
June 21st, 20XX (Tuesday)
After School - Shibuya (Accessway)
"I'm… so confused by… literally everything that just happened. What the hell was… any of that!?"
"Jester."
"Like-okay, it was really cool. I'll give you that. But-"
"Jester…"
"Where even were you hiding all of… THAT?"
"JESTER."
"WHAT?"
"Let her breathe before playing 20 questions…" Toya froze in place for a moment before looking down at Makoto. She was crouched down and breathing heavily.
"Sorry… I guess I got kinda carried away… A-Are you okay?"
"This is the most exhausted I've ever gotten these past few years… But… it felt pretty great."
"I-I mean, it looked cool as HELL! I just… wasn't expecting... that. You definitely never gave that kinda aura off…" Makoto shyly looked away when he said that. Truth be told, she was a bit embarrassed that someone got a glimpse of her true self- especially in a moment like that. But she would never admit that.
"So… What now? Is the Kaneshiro in the real world aware of everything that just happened?"
"To my knowledge, no. Otherwise, Kamoshida would've been able to deal with the Phantom Thieves way before he ever got exposed…"
"I see…" Makoto took a deep breath. "What do we do now then? Do we go back in?"
"Not today! You can barely even stand up straight. If you wanna go in tomorrow, then sure. But for now… Just get some rest."
"Okay… Should we meet tomorrow, then?"
"Uh… yeah, sure! Let's meet at the school gate again, alright?"
"Yeah… Sure…" She took a deep breath and started slowly walking away.
"...You need help?"
"I'm fine… I'll be fine…" She said, walking off. Toya was tempted to come with her and make sure she was fine, but he decided against it.
"So… I guess I have a teammate now."
"With how much she ignores all of your advice and planning, and how reckless she is… I don't know if you should be too excited."
"Maybe not… but it'll still be better than having to do everything alone."
"Oh, am I not enough for you anymore?"
"You know that's not what I meant!"
Twitter: Kazero5340
I swear I'll get better at consistency eventually...