Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Persona 5: New Testament

Chapter 10

Saturday, April 16

Early Morning

Mitsuru Kirijo was walking to her personal jet that had been parked, fueled, and readied for her trip to Tokyo. It had been a while since the Shadow Operatives have had to get themselves involved in anything. She brushed her long red hair, sheathed her rapier, and now had a fur coat and black catsuit. She had her Evoker with her.

"Has everything been prepped as specified?" Mitsuru asked.

"Yes, Lady Kirijo. All is set."

"Then where is Koharu?" Misturu asked.

"I'm here, mother."

Mitsuru turned to see a girl with red hair styled much like her mother's hair style. Her name was Koharu Kirijo. She was taught well by Mitsuru. She was taught on how to summon her Persona. She was taught how to control it and use it in battle. As the heir to the Kirijo Group, Mitsuru made damn sure that her daughter was prepped and ready to lead the Kirijo Group in her mother's stead.

Her daughter's blue eyes reminded Mitsuru of the eyes of the man she loved.

Yes…

His eyes…

Those eyes that she could never forget about.

The eyes that belonged to a man who did not hesitate to sacrifice his life all those years ago.

'Minato…' Mitsuru thought.

She remembered him well. She remembered her relationship with him. She remembered how she first met him. Minato Arisato simply joined the Specialized Extracurricular Execution Squad (SEES) at the request of Shuji Ikutsuki and simply had no reason to turn the offer down. He was so apathetic that when he was fighting Shadows during the Dark Hour, he did a good job killing Shadows. He did not seem to care if he got injured or exhausted in battle. The minute an ally is threatened, he immediately rushes in to provide support, even at his own detriment.

In due time, he slowly got out of that apathetic shell and began to bond more often with the other members of SEES.

Then he got into a romantic relationship with Mitsuru after helping her cope with her father's death and the pressure that came with being the heir of the Kirijo family.

Then he died.

He died when he used the Great Seal to save humanity from the Fall.

To honor his wishes, she continued to live on for his sake.

She wished to have had a happy life with him, getting married, having children, growing old with him. She decided to conceive a child using a sample of Minato's sperm.

The result was Koharu, her daughter.

Her daughter was incredibly smart. She had been well educated. But there was one less that her daughter had not taken.

"Tell me mother, for what reason must I go with you?" Koharu asked.

"Because my daughter needs another life lesson, one that I alone cannot teach you." Mitsuru said, "You'll be transferred to Shujin Academy as a transfer student in the middle school division's class 1-A."

"But why?" Koharu asked, "I've been particular about my education for some time now. Why now am I being transferred to a school like Shujin Academy?"

"That is where and what the life lesson is." Mitsuru said, "You are going to live out a school life."

Koharu raised a brow.

"What sort of prank is this?" Koharu asked.

"It is no prank, child of mine." Mitsuru said, "You forget that I went to high school and met your father there."

Koharu gave Mitsuru that indifferent look.

"Come along now Koharu, I will explain the rest on the flight to Tokyo." Mitsuru said.

Koharu followed her mother into the plane.

Kanzato Household

Morning

Shiho woke up in Shin's bed. She got up and yawned before she stretched her arms. She got on the ladder next to the bed and came down. She could not stop thinking about what happened yesterday. Her attempted suicide… the girl who motivated her to do it. Shin had saved her yet again. Both times he saved her, she had seen his eyes glow and saw strange things happening all at once. She could not stop thinking about it all. She decided to take a bath to ease her mind off it.

She got to the bathroom, took off her clothes, and turned on the water. She sat in the tub and submerged most of her body in the water. She spent some time in the water before coming out of the water and putting on some soap on her body. She grabbed the hose and hummed to herself as she washes herself. She finished washing off the soap. She looked at her naked body. She had shaved off her pubic hair from when she was a first-year student. Her breasts were about the same size as Ann's. Her hips and waist measurements were the same as Ann's. If anything, she's just Ann, only with black hair and brown colored eyes. Although Ann had the edge with her platinum blonde hair and her blue eyes and the fact that she has a modeling career. She wondered why Shin would even be interested in her if Ann was just, in essence, a more attractive version of her.

She heard the door open and she saw Shin coming in.

"Ah! S-Shin!" Shiho exclaimed.

Shin yelled in surprise. He looked incredibly flustered.

"S-Shit! I didn't know you were still taking a bath!" Shin said, "I'll just leave and—!"

"Actually… uh… I was hoping I could wash your body..." Shiho said, "You wouldn't mind, would you?"

"H-Huh?! I-I mean if that's ok with you, then sure, I'm all up for it…" Shin said.

She looked away as he took his clothes off. He got in the tub and so did she. She rubbed some soap on his. As she did, she tilted a bit, and her breasts were pressing against his back. Shin shuddered.

"Y-Your breasts…" Shin said.

"I know…" Shiho sighed.

The two got out of the tub and she began scrubbing his body off. She kept scrubbing more soap on his body. She got to his crotch and she heard a disturbed moan.

"Ah! I'm sorry! I didn't mean to touch—!"

"N-No… it's fine… just… go on…" Shin said.

She calmed down and kept scrubbing his body. She could not get over the sounds of heavy breathing and moans. She finished scrubbing his crotch and moved onto his legs. He was not hair like most young men were. No hair on his legs, no hair on his chest, there was just no hair. She grabbed the hose and sprayed him with water, rinsing the soap off.

"S-So… did you wash off your body?" Shin asked.

"Yeah… but I could use a hand on my back, as well as parts of my front." Shiho said.

"Is… is that ok? After all the sexual harassment you got from—"

"I'm fine." Shiho interjected, "If it's with you, then I'm fine with that. Just get the body wash."

The two traded places and Shin began to wash her body with some body wash. He was using a washcloth to wash her body off. He kept washing her back until she began to move onto her front.

"Stop." Shiho said, "You… you can do my front with your hands…"

"Is… is that ok?" Shin asked.

"Is your name Kamoshida?"

"No… but—"

"I want to feel your hands." Shiho said, "Your skin on my skin. Your hands all over my front."

He swallowed a lump in his throat. He began to use his hands on her front. She felt his hands rubbing all over her breasts. She held back her moans, trying to not unsettle Shin. She saw the girl in front of her.

"Now you're letting some sinful boy touch your body so sinfully? The same way that sinful man touched you?"

'No… he's different. He's nothing like Kamoshida.' Shiho thought, 'He would never treat me like that...'

"Oh, he's different? That's funny. Guess that means you want him to treat you like some slut drowning herself in the sea of her own lust."

'N-No! That's not it! I—!'

She moaned as she felt his hands on her breasts.

"Shiho? Am I…"

"No… keep going…" Shiho said, "I… I like the way your hands feel…"

"U-Um… yeah… sure…."

She stifled her moans as she felt him fondling her breasts more, rubbing body wash all over them.

"Admit it, you don't see him as your savior." The girl said, "You see him as a means to distract yourself from what is going on in this world. You want to force yourself on him and make him your toy so you could vent out all of your lustful frustration on him."

'Shut up! That's not who I am!'

"You know that I'm right." The girl said, "You just don't want to admit to your lustful desires. You are such a sinful little cunt."

Shiho moaned as he reached her crotch. She puts a hand on his hand.

"You know… I can stop if you want…" Shin said.

"N-No… I… I want you to keep going…" Shiho said.

"Look, you're just letting him make you feel good because your body wants him so bad. You're no different from that sinful man after all." The girl said, "That might just be the only purpose you have left. To make every boy you come across drown in the sea of your lust! To make them suffer by ripping away their chastity and innocence by seducing them like some succubus before you force yourself upon them, take away their innocence, and make them beg for you to stop, only to make them suffer in even more shame! You may as well seduce that boy toy and make him feel what that man made you feel! Make him feel weak and pathetic as you steal away his own innocence for your own pleasure! Rob that little slave of yours of everything!"

'I don't think of him like that!' Shiho thought, 'That's not what I think of him! I don't want to do that! I—!'

"You may think you see him as a friend, but you know that he's only good for giving you pleasure!" The girl said, "You want to make him your toy so he could give you all the pleasure you could ask for!"

'You're lying!' Shiho thought, 'I don't want to treat him like that!'

She yelped as she began to have spasms. She moaned as her spasms came.

"S-Shiho?! D-Did I—! I—!"

"N-No… I-It's ok… I… I…"

Her spasms stopped and she groaned. Her body relaxed.

"Shin…" Shiho said, "Did… Did I make you feel uncomfortable?"

"N-No… I… uh…" Shin stuttered.

"It's ok… you made me feel good…" Shiho said, 'I… I… I feel so disgusting… using him like this… am I… am I really as that girl says I am?'

He got the hose and started rinsing her body. Her body was rinsed off and she put shampoo on her hair. She rinsed off her hair and began to dry herself with a towel. Shin began to dry himself with a towel as well, draining the tub. She grabbed her clothes and got herself dressed in her usual clothing. She got a red t-shirt with a white-pink hoodie, black shorts, and a pair of earbuds. Shin got himself dressed in his usual clothes.

Shin looked at her.

"Was that phantom girl bothering you?" Shin asked, "Be honest with me."

Shiho was not sure if she wanted to answer that.

"It's ok if you don't want to tell me." Shin said, "I think I know how we can deal with her."

"Huh?"

"Come with me to Shujin, I have an idea." Shin said.

She looked at him with wonder.

'Shin… Shin knows something?' Shiho thought, 'He knows how to handle her?'

He must know. He must know something about that girl.

Shujin Academy

Afternoon

'Alright, now all I need to do is enter the keywords and we are in.' Shin thought.

"So… how is this going to help us deal with her?" Shiho asked.

"Just watch and learn." Shin said.

"Kamoshida… Shujin Academy… Castle… starting navigation…"

Reality itself bent around them, turning the sky pink before it turned black and pink. The school transformed into the castle. Shin's attire changed into his armor. Shiho looked surprised.

"What the—where did the school go?" Shiho asked, "And what is with your clothes?"

Shin turned to her and lifted his mask.

"Behold, another reality inside Kamoshida's heart and mind." Shin said, "It's his Palace."

"Another reality inside—wait, are we basically inside some sort of dream world of his?" Shiho asked.

"I wouldn't say it's his dream world, but I'd say we're in his head now. The subconscious part of his head that is." Shin said, "He has no idea what is going on in his head. Only his Shadow Self is aware of what goes on in here."

"His… Shadow Self?" Shiho asked.

"Basically, it's the manifestation of all his inner thoughts, emotions, and desires." Shin said, "The Palace is a distortion of desires given form. It is powered by something called a Treasure that acts as some power source to the Palace."

"So… wait, what does all of that—"

"Think of it like this." Shin said, "Everything we see here is just part of his cognition. We can alter his cognition by removing what is the core of his distorted desires. Once removed, the Palace will lose its power and it will collapse."

"And what happens if it does collapse?"

"Well… that's the part I'm a bit hesitant about." Shin said, "Suppose for a minute that this castle, this mass of distorted desires comes down, sure, with these desires now removed from his cognition, any sort of problematic behavior that has led to and after the formation of the Palace will be no more. He won't abuse any of the volleyball team members, nor will he harass and molest any of the female students on or off his team."

"So… he'll stop abusing the students for good?" Shiho asked, "He'll stop hurting Mishima-kun? He'll stop harassing me and Ann?"

"Yes… but like I said, there are risks." Shin said, "They all happen to involve his guilt that has been held back by his distorted desires that 'clouded' his cognition. Once they are gone, the guilt will begin to affect him emotionally and psychologically."

"Meaning what?"

"Meaning we don't know what will happen." Shin said, "Burdened by all the guilt from his crimes, it is most likely that he'll want to confess to his actions and atone for his sins. But anything could go south either before or after he confesses."

"Like… what?" Shiho asked.

"Well… worst case scenario, he gets Apathy Syndrome from all the guilt." Shin said, "Other than that, he might become easily manipulatable, he'll fall into a catatonic depression, and I think you already know one other possibility."

Shiho sighed when the thought of it came to her.

"He'll kill himself?" Shiho asked.

"Yup." Shin said.

"Wait, but how is that—"

"Well…"

"Finally… I found you."

He turned to find a woman with curly green hair. She was wearing an all red-pink bodysuit, on her face was a mask that looked oddly like—!

'That face!'

Yes, he recognized that face! It was the face of that red Persona! That pink helmet with the red mouth parts (if he could remember it having a mouth) with the giant eye shaped pattern! It had to belong to that Persona! Shin slips his mask on. He pushed Shiho away from the woman.

"Shin? Who is that?"

"She isn't a friend of mine, that's for sure."

"Now little boy, there's no need to be so protective over your princess." The girl said, "She's not my concern. After all, I'm only after you."

The woman reached for her mask.

"Come! Nebuchadnezzar!"

The woman ripped the mask off and out came the familiar red Persona. It had broad shoulder pads with three straps each dangling from the pads. The Persona had heels for feet. The head had a mix of red and pink colors put on a helmet. It had short light green hair coming from the back. Shiho looked absolutely terrified by what she saw.

"Kneel before me, for I am Nebuchadnezzar, ruler of the Chaldean Empire." The Persona spoke, "Surrender, and I'll make your death swift as the wind in the night."

"Not a chance!" Shin said, "Abel!"

He took off his mask and Abel emerged. Shin draws his sword. The woman took out a pair of daggers. Shin recognized that woman's face. Her dark blue eyes…

"You! You jumped me when I first got here!" Shin said.

"It was tricky finding you, but I'm glad we caught up now." The woman said, "This time, I got your back up against the wall."

"We'll see about that!" Shin said.

He rushed at her. She blocked the attack with one dagger. She went in for an attack with the other dagger. Nebuchadnezzar generated a red energy disk before tossing it at Abel. Abel generated a barrier with his left arm gauntlet. The disk hits the barrier. Abel smacked the disk away. A red bolt hits Abel's shoulder. Shin felt a sting in his left shoulder. The woman immediately went on the offense. He blocked using his sword. She got a roundhouse kick on his face and followed it up with a kick to the stomach. She slashed at his knightly armor. He was knocked back by the hit. She followed up with another strike to the head. He swings his sword at the woman. She dodged the attack and hit him with a knee to the gut. She kicked him into the front door.

Shiho quickly went in after them. She entered the main hall. It looked rather huge. There were chandeliers all over the place. There was even a portrait of Kamoshida dressed as a… as a knight? In shiny armor no less? She saw Abel and Nebuchadnezzar engaged in combat. Abel swings his sword at Nebuchadnezzar. A red barrier stopped the sword yet again.

"You ill-minded child… you stand no chance." Nebuchadnezzar said, "I am a ruler of a nation! You?! You are but the first of many men who would die at the hands of another man!"

A fireball was formed around Nebuchadnezzar's hand. Nebuchadnezzar thrusted its arm at Abel. The fireball detonated. Abel was thrown back. Shin screamed from feeling the flames singeing his body, even as he was not hit with the bursting flames. The woman knocks Shin down. Abel fell with a resounding thud. Nebuchadnezzar steps on Abel's head just as the woman steps on Shin's back.

"Aw… don't be such a baby. It didn't hurt that much, now did it?" The woman asked, "That's what happens to children like you who lack the experience and the training necessary to use your powers effectively."

Shadows began to appear.

"Tch." The woman scoffed, "The Shadows will do away with you. Such a disappointment. I can't believe I wasted my time on some kid who didn't even know how to use his power effectively."

She walks away. Nebuchadnezzar disappeared and the woman's mask reforms. The woman rushed out of the Palace. Shiho ran over to Shin and shook him.

"Shin! Get up! Please get up!" Shiho begged.

"It's him. The one who swindled King Kamoshida's god." One of the Shadows said, "Execute him and take Princess Shiho to… the chamber."

'No… No… I… this can't be how it ends… I… I don't want it to end like this…' Shiho thought, 'I… I don't want it to end like this! I don't want him to die!'

"I... I can't let him die! I... I don't want to be useless anymore!" Shiho said.

"Finally, I've wanted to hear those words come out of your mouth." A familiar voice spoke.

Shiho heard a loud ringing noise in her head. She felt her body having spasm. She held her body as she felt a fire in her stomach. Her eyes had turned golden.

"You've been subjected to the sins of others. You have been subjugated into the beliefs of your oppressors."

The words… rang true… was… her Shadow talking to her? She looked around and found her Shadow in front of her.

"For so long, you were a victim of their sins. You had been cast down by your oppressors who claimed themselves to be above even God himself." The Shadow Shiho said, "You had forsaken yourself from your own God and you had been subjugated and indoctrinated into their beliefs."

'Yes… I let myself fall for their beliefs...' Shiho thought, 'But…'

"However, you can finally break free from their indoctrination. You can finally make them pay for their sins against you, God, and all whom you deem sacred." The Shadow said, "Will you not enter a contract with me?"

The fire became more intense in her stomach, the spasms became greater. Her breathing picked up quickly.

"Shiho…" Shin said, "I shouldn't have brought you here… I'm… I'm sorry…"

"No." Shiho said, "Don't be. I'm glad that you did."

"Huh?" Shin asked, "What are you—?"

Shiho took a deep breath.

"Yes."

"Good answer."

The Shadow was then enveloped in light. The Shadow hovered over Shiho and held her head before it began to merge itself with Shiho. Her body became incredibly hot and her spasms became more intense. Her breathing became more heavier and faster.

"I am thou, thou art I. You shall no longer fall for their falsehoods. You shall judge the sinners who have sinned upon you. You shall judge them for the lies their beliefs had told to the innocent and turn the innocent away from sin." The voice said, "You shall be God's judge, jury, and executioner from this day forth! Let none hold you back as you make them pay for their sins! Let them know that you are God's messenger and that you have come to cleanse the world of their taint and sin!"

A steel mask formed over her face. In the middle of the mask was the symbol of Christianity. She grabbed the mask. She began to pull on it, feeling her skin being ripped off, blood squirting out. She let out a cry as she tore the mask. A shockwave came forth and destroyed most of the Shadows. A pillar of flame shot up below her. When it faded, Shiho was wearing a mix between her volleyball uniform and a habit. She had a tunic covered by a scapular, a veil, long white gloves, stockings with black knee pads and a sport short. Hanging on the habit was a rosary. Her Persona manifested behind her. It was a woman wearing a dress with a hood. The woman held a batch of barley in hand. Shiho pulled out a ball and chain.

Shiho felt like she had been reborn. She felt strength unlike anything she had felt before. All this power… it was incredible. She felt a new sense of purpose take hold of her.

'So… this is who I truly am… this my real self…' Shiho thought.

"S-Shiho…" Shin groaned.

She puts the ball and chain to the side. Ruth lays a hand on him.

"Dia."

A light bluish green aura fills Shin with all the energy he needed to get back up at full strength.

"Shiho…" Shin said, "So that's your Persona…"

"Yup. Her name is Ruth." Shiho said, "I really was an idiot for not doing this earlier. I'm glad you brought me here."

"R-Really?!" Shin said with flushed cheeks, "I mean… uh…"

"But enough of that, we have Shadows to take down!" Shiho said.

"Wha—?! Oh, right." Shin said.

Abel got up and slashed at the Shadows. Shiho smacked an enemy with her ball and chain.

"Ruth! Kouha!"

Ruth thrusts her hand forth and shoots a bolt of blessed energy. A Shadow got obliterated by the blast. Shin had Abel slash a Shadow, destroying it. The Shadows were eliminated. Ruth and Abel dematerialize, and the masks reformed.

"Alright, let's get out of here." Shin said.

"Right!"

She tripped and fell from exhaustion. Shin picked her up bridal style and came charging out the front door. As soon as he did though, he found himself surrounded by masked people.

The first one had a black ankle-length tailcoat, a high-necked waistcoat with gold accents, black pants, brown-black winklepickers, and a pair of red gloves. His mask is a black and white, birdlike domino mask.

One was dressed with a matching black jacket with elbow pads and what appears to be a metal vertebral column attached to its back, pants with knee pads and a double-sided holster belt with ammo on each side, a red ascot, combat boots, a pair of yellow gloves with metal knuckle protectors and a skull mask.

The last person was a woman wearing a skin-tight red latex catsuit with a cleavage cutout and zippers, a matching red panther mask, pink gloves, dark red thigh-high boots, a clipped-on tail on the back of her catsuit.

And Morgana was there.

"Wait… Ren? Ryuji? Ann?" Shin asked.

"Well… guess we didn't need to do anything after all." Ren said, "And I just got me, Morgana, Ryuji, and Ann some decent weapons and you had to do this?"

"Not cool man. Not cool at all." Ryuji said.

"Would you mind telling me why you dragged Shiho into a Palace with you or am I going to have to figure it out myself?" Ann asked.

"Uh… Ann? Is there a particular reason you're dressed as a dominatrix in a latex catsuit?" Shiho asked, "N-Not that I'm judging or anything, it's just—"

"C-Can we not talk about my outfit, please?" Ann asked.

"Wow Ann… t-that is one sexy cat outfit." Shin said.

"Am I right or am I right?" Ryuji asked, "Also, a nun, Suzui? Really? What? Do we have to call you Sister or something now?"

"Huh?"

"Well, if you're going to be with us, you're going to need a code name." Ren said, "I'm Joker, Ryuji is Skull, Ann is Panther, and Morgana is just Mona."

"Morgana?"

She looked to notice the cat.

"Is that a cartoon cat?"

"I AM NOT A—! Oh, why do I bother?!" Morgana exclaimed.

Ann caught Shin staring at her cleavage. Ann smiled.

"Geez Shin, are all knights so attracted to boobs all of a sudden?"

"H-Huh?!"

"Now since when did a knight such as yourself become such a filthy little sinner?" Ann asked.

"I don't know, maybe it's the dominatrix standing in front of me." Shin said.

Ann promptly kicked him in the face.

Kanzato Household

Evening

Shiho was on the bed with Shin. The two were oddly looking at each other.

"So… uh… about what happened in the bathroom… uh…" Shin said, "God this feels awkward…"

"Well uh… um… yeah… this feels kinda awkward…" Shiho said, "What happens in the bathroom... uh… stays in the bathroom."

"Yeah… let's leave it at that." Shin said.

"Agreed." Shiho said, "Still… I found a purpose for myself."

"Yeah…" Shin said, "At least you have that."

Shiho turned to Shin.

"You know Shin, I'm glad you and I met." Shiho said.

"Yeah…" Shin said, "I'm glad we met."

The two looked at each other. They looked at each other in the eyes and went to sleep.