It's Showtime!
I don't have anything to add from the first chapter so let's jump right into it.
Disclaimer: I don't own Persona 5 Royal.
Two weeks since his last visit to the Velvet Room, Akira was now confident about traveling around Tokyo, even taking a few trips to Aoyama-Itchome where the school he was going to attend next year was located (always making sure it was after-school hours or a Sunday of course)
Aside from that, not much had truly changed for him.
The two highlights would be the fact that Sojiro gave him a key of Leblanc, all but saying that his curfew was lifted; although making a comment about 'if you bring any trouble because you stayed out late then you're on the streets' but Akira couldn't feel any bite behind the comment so he simply thanked him.
As for the second one-
"How long have you been at the batting cages to get that good?" Yoshizawa Kasumi asked; her, as well as her sister and Akira walking out from said place.
"During my first few weeks here, I wasn't allowed to go anywhere but Yongen, the batting cages were one of the few places I could go to have fun." Akira answered with a grin. "Are you two coming to Leblanc for a meal before going back?"
A loud rumbling made him turn to the red haired girl who looked down in embarrassment.
"I think that's a yes." The black haired teen chuckled.
.
A minute later, they were at Leblanc.
"Welc- oh, it's you kids." Sojiro greeted. "The usual?"
"Yes, please." Kasumi said.
"Thank you as always." Sumire added meekly before the two took a seat next to each other at the counter while Akira walked behind the counter, put on an apron and began to work.
"I trust he is not being a bother?" Sojiro mentioned with a smirk as he pointed with his head to Akira.
"Not at all; Akira-san is always taking care of us, right Sumire?"
"Ah, yes…" She nodded, her gaze downwards.
"Here you go, two servings of curry." Akira said as he brought the plates before going to wash the dishes.
"Well, I need to run an errand, I should be back in about an hour." Sojiro said as he took off his apron.
"Got it, I'll hold down the fort." Akira called out.
Just as soon as Sojiro walked out, a phone rang out.
"Sorry, that's mine." Kasumi said as she answered. "Hello? Yes, just give me a second; I'll be right back." She whispered to the other two before walking out of Leblanc, leaving Akira and Sumire alone.
"…Sumire-san."
"Eh?" The girl looked startled as she looked up. "Y-yes?"
"Do you not like me?"
"…what?"
"Every time we hang out, it feels like you're trying to keep your distance from me." Akira explained with a frown. "Did I do something to offend you?"
"No!" She suddenly yelled. "I-I mean… you didn't do anything, it's just… I don't want to be in the middle while you talk with Kasumi."
"But I want to talk with you too."
"Eh?"
"…why is that surprising?"
"I…" The red haired girl trailed off while avoiding his gaze. "I'm not able to talk with anyone like Kasumi does."
"So?"
Yet again, Sumire looked at him with surprise.
"I mean, I know you're twins and the difference in personalities is pretty obvious but, I'm not going to compare you two." Akira shrugged. "I don't have anyone my age to talk to here aside from you two so I'm really glad we hang out but I don't want to force you if it makes you uncomfortable…" Akira trailed off, noticing how the red haired girl was staring at him with wide eyes. "Hm… are you okay?"
"Eh, ah! Y-yes!" Sumire shook her head to get out of her stupor. "I'm sorry, it's just… I don't think anyone has ever said that to me… everyone seems to only talk with me to get closer to Kasumi."
"…really, everyone?"
"It… feels that way."
"Well, I don't know your situation so I won't comment." Akira said awkwardly. "In any case, I'm not talking with you to get closer to Kasumi-san but I get that words alone may not be enough so… hang out with me for a while longer so I can prove it?"
"I… I think I believe you already… but thank you; I will do that." This was the first time Akira had seen her smile widely.
"Don't mention it."
Their conversation was cut there when Kasumi walked back in, saying that a friend wanted to talk about something school related before.
The three spent some more time together until the twins had to leave.
Akira felt a strange sound coming from all around him, making him open his eyes in surprise.
'Ah, this place.' He thought idly. 'I wonder what happened, I thought I wouldn't be called for a while longer.' The teen moved to wake up but noticed something strange.
Looking down on himself, the formerly pristine prison suit looked ragged, he had shackles on his hands and an iron ball chained to his leg.
'What the hell?!' His eyes widened in panic and he looked at the door of his cell, where several chains were now placed.
Two girls, both with blond hair, one tied in a braid that fell to her back and the other in twin buns, wearing what looked like a warden uniform with matching hats in the Velvet Room's colors greeted him; their smiles eerie and one of their eyes covered by a patch with an stylized letter 'V' on it.
"Trickster." A voice boomed and he moved his gaze to the desk where Igor usually sat. "Welcome to my Velvet Room."
'…who is that?' He looked the same as Igor, if they were standing side by side then he would not be able to tell the difference, but that voice certainly didn't belong to the Igor that first greeted him here.
"Our master is addressing you, Inmate!" The girl with the buns said, holding a baton in one of her hands. "Stand up straight!"
"What's going on here?! Who are you?!" Akira yelled.
"This is a place that exists between dreams and reality, mind and matter." The fake Igor began. "My name is Igor, it's a pleasure to make your acquaintance."
"…you're not Igor." Akira declared.
The impostor's eyes widened in shock.
"How dare you, Inmate?!" The girl with the baton hit his cell, sending an electric shock to the bars.
It was a good thing he wasn't holding onto them.
Looking down on the two, Akira's own eyes widened as he moved from one girl to the other.
"Why are you looking at us like that?" The girl with the braid asked with annoyance.
Akira knelt so they were at eye level and continued to look from one to the other.
"…Lavenza."
The moment he said that name, a sound like glass shattering was heard and the twin girls fell to one knee while holding their heads as if in pain.
"Wha…"
"That name…" They looked at one another, their faces a perfect mirror of each other.
"We're not supposed to be separated!" They declared in unison before turning around, pointing their glares at the fake Igor.
"Well… it seems, he contacted you before." The impostor said simply as he got up and calmly walked around the desk until he was in front of it.
"A few times… I'm guessing you're the so-called 'malevolent entity'?" Akira said, his eyes fixed on him.
"Please, I am no 'malevolent entity', if you must refer to me in any way, then call me Yaldabaoth." The impostor scoffed. "But I will not waste my time trying to explain things; it would seem I have to find another person to start this game."
"Game?" Akira repeated in confusion. "What do you mean?"
"I just said." Yaldabaoth's voice morphed. "I will not waste my time trying to explain things." He raised his left arm and a ball of light formed in it, he pointed it to the cell and faster than Akira could register, it was sent flying at him.
"Ha!" Only for the twins to deflect it upwards, causing a dent on the roof.
"You are breaking many rules right now!" The one with the baton yelled.
"You have already bended them by entering this place, don't think further intervention will go unpunished." The one with braided hair added.
"Hehehe, do you think you have the power to 'punish' me? Or has the memory of what happened to you not return yet?"
The two grimaced at this but smirked after a moment.
"You are correct, in this form, we are not a match for you." The girl with the clipboard confirmed.
"But, once we fall, do you think our master will remain silent?" The other finished.
"I have already made sure Igor can't do anything."
"Oh, I believe Caroline misspoke." The girl with the braid said. "She meant to say 'our master's master'."
For the first time, Yaldabaoth seemed to doubt.
"Isn't that the reason why you captured him and split us in half?" Caroline asked. "Because you knew that if either of us disappeared, he would take matters into his own hands? What do you think, Justine?"
"It would certainly eliminate any risks if he killed our master and take his place, getting rid of us in the process." Justine nodded. "Unless, of course, something could happen if you did that."
"Something that you know you can't defeat."
"…you seem to be forgetting something." Yaldabaoth raised his arm and another ball of light materialized. "All I have to do is kill that insignificant human behind you, imprison you and greet the next one alone; that eliminates any risk."
"So you're afraid then."
The three froze in shock as Akira spoke those words.
"I don't know why but you're afraid of what I can do and you want to rig the 'game' so you win… heh, I didn't think I had it in me to scare something like you; I'm flattered." He spoke nonchalantly while crossing his arms, or as much as he could with the shackles on him.
"Don't think so highly of yourself-"
"I don't, you do." He interrupted. "You wouldn't be trying to intervene like this otherwise, wouldn't you? You're so afraid of one 'insignificant human' that you invaded this place; hey, I don't blame you, when humans are afraid they too want to get rid of the source of their fear."
"DO NOT PUT ME IN THE SAME LEVEL AS YOUR PUNY EXISTENCE! I DO NOT FEAR YOU!" Yaldabaoth roared.
"Your actions don't match your words, you know?" Akira had the gall to smirk, even as what could be described as a wave of killing intent slammed against him. "If you really aren't afraid of me, then prove it; all you have to do is leave and let the real Igor do his job, if I do mine then I'm fairly certain we'll have to meet again eventually, right?"
The fake Igor's face morphed into a frown.
"Or you can kill me now and admit that you're afraid."
The wave of killing intent reached its peak after those words, Yaldabaoth's arm that was still holding the ball of light trembled with rage.
Everyone stood in place for what felt like an eternity until the attack disappeared.
"I have no reason to fear you, human." Yaldabaoth said. "We will meet again, and you death will NOT be a pleasant one."
"Until then, Yaldy." Akira's smirk grew when he saw the scowl on his enemy's face.
Without any other prompting, the fake Igor disappeared.
"…he is gone." Justine said, her visible eye wide in shock.
"I can't believe that worked." Caroline whispered with the same expression.
"That makes two of us." Akira said before his legs gave up and he fell to the ground on a sitting position. "Damn… I thought I was a goner." The teen said while using his sleeve to clean some sweat from his face.
"What the-?! What happened with all the things you said just a second ago?!" Caroline yelled.
"I was bluffing!" Akira yelled back, letting himself lie down on the floor. "I figured 'he is planning to kill me anyway so I might as well get the last word in'." He started to chuckle in relief. "I didn't think I could keep it together until he left."
The twins looked at each other before giggles began to escape from their lips.
The moment was interrupted, however, when light began to form on the desk in the middle of the room and the real Igor appeared sprawled on top of it.
"Master!" The twins said before hurrying to his side.
"Ah… it would seem he was repelled from this place." Igor spoke slowly as he moved to a sitting position. "Hm… he is still surrounding it but stopping him from influencing this room is easy enough now." He snapped his fingers. "Much better."
"Master, that was…"
"Indeed." Igor's smirk widened. "Since Yaldabaoth invaded, I can take some more liberties now but we can talk about that later." He looked at the cell where Akira was still lying down. "You have my thanks, Trickster."
"Don't mention it." Akira answered, raising an arm and waving it. "Sorry but please give me a second… my body feels so heavy right now."
"Take your time." Igor said with a chuckle.
.
It took Akira a few minutes but he managed to calm down enough to talk; he only moved to a sitting position, though.
"Well… I guess Yaldy is the entity I'm supposed to fight, right?"
"Indeed." It might have been the teen's imagination but he thought he heard him chuckle at the nickname he used. "Originally, you would have faced him at the end of your journey once you have developed your power enough to stand against him; his intervention here is a blatant disregard of what he is allowed to do."
"…About that." Akira began. "If Yaldy's objective is to 'bring ruin' why does he have to follow any rules? I'm happy humanity gets a chance but why is he following these rules he seems to have?"
"Hmm… I'm not certain if I can give you a proper explanation." Igor hummed. "The best answer I can give you is that 'someone' would get in his way if he tried to ignore the rules; they were set long before Yaldabaoth existed and ignoring them would be… unwise of him, attacking this room was already skirting the line of what he is allowed to do."
"You are way too cryptic sometimes Igor." Akira said with a chuckle. "Whatever, I don't really want to get involved in 'divine politics'; what are we gonna do about Yaldy? He already attacked you once."
"Hah! You don't have to worry about that!" Caroline smirked. "He might have caught us by surprise but our master has just prepared a barrier and we already know he has intentions of 'bending' the rules."
"He won't catch us unaware again; if he decides to come back… we'll give him a proper greeting." Justine added with a smirk of her own.
"You two… are you going to be okay?" Akira asked with a worried frown.
"Don't worry, now that we have remembered out true name, we can recover our true form."
"We'll do that after you leave, although… I guess there are some advantages at being able to be in two places at once."
"Worry not, Trickster; Lavenza is in no danger anymore." Igor added to reassure him. "Let's instead talk about your future."
"…that sounds like something a school counselor would say but I get the feeling you don't mean to talk about prospective jobs."
"Indeed I do not." Igor's grin widened. "I told you before that the aid and knowledge I can give you is limited, remember?"
"Yes."
"Since Yaldabaoth attempted to bend the rules I am allowed certain liberties now."
"Such as?"
"Providing a guide, for starters." Igor raised both hands and from all around light began to gather, moving to form a ball so dazzling it caused the teen to close his eyes.
After a moment, the light subsided and a new figure stood in front of Igor's desk.
"I have made him with the hopes of humanity." Igor said. "His name is Morgana."
Akira stared at the strange creature outside of his cell.
The best description he can give him is a caricature of a cat, he had the ears and paws but was standing in two legs, his fur (or was it a mask?) was black for the upper part of his comically large head while the lower half was white and the rest of his body, including his cat ears, was black save for his paws and the end of his tail, the rest being white.
He also wore a yellow scarf around his neck and what looks like an utility belt.
"What… is it?"
"Hey, Master Igor just told you my name!" The cat-like creature complained. "I am Morgana!"
"Right, right, sorry, I meant more as in 'what's your purpose?'."
"He will aid you in your journey." Igor answered. "Since Yaldabaoth saw fit to intervene, he has no one to blame but himself for allowing me to do this; Morgana will explain about your power and help you strengthen it."
"I'll be your teacher, in other words." Morgana grinned and walked to stand in front of the cell. "I'll make a great Trickster out of you even if you complain!" He smiled cheekily.
"Haha; I think we'll get along just fine." Akira extended his arm outside of the cell. "I'll be in your care, Morgana; my name is Akira."
"Heh, it's good that you understand quickly." The cat smiled and shook his hand.
"Hm?" Akira felt something the moment they shook hands.
"Well, so you have began to form a bond with Morgana; how peculiar." Igor chuckled but before he could say anything else, an alarm blared. "Ah, it seems we're out of time; I apologize for this unexpected summon, I assure you the next one will be far more pleasant."
"I believe you." Akira chuckled.
"Ask Morgana any questions you may have."
"Ri-wait! He can't come to the real world with me!"
"Do not worry, he will have an appearance that won't draw any eyes in your world; farewell for now."
Akira woke up with a startle, jumping to a sitting position on his bed.
"…ah, I'm back." He let out a sigh of relief and tried to calm down.
"This is where you live?" A voice asked.
"Wha… Morgana? Is that you? Where are you?"
"Right beside your bed, hang on, I'll get on the window so you can see me better."
Akira saw a shadow move and perch on the open window of his room/attic.
"…you're a cat." He blurted out; Morgana now looked like a normal black tuxedo cat.
"Master Igor told you I would take a form that wouldn't draw any eyes in your world, didn't he?" The cat said with what Akira thinks it's a grin, his cat form's face is not as expressive as his other form.
"True, I guess it's fitting, considering you already looked like a caricature cat in the Velvet Room."
"Hey, I resent that! I'm created from the hopes of humanity, don't call me a cat!"
"What should I call you then? You are definitely a cat, Morgana."
"If you're not using my name, then call me an embodiment of hope." The 'not-cat' answered.
"…I'm not calling you that." He said simply. "In any case! I don't think I can get back to sleep after what happened so let me switch on a light so we can talk." The teen quickly said before Morgana could argue; he got up, checking his phone in the process. '5 AM… I guess it could be worse.' Shrugging, he turned on a lamp and sat down on the couch.
"…is this seriously where you live?"
"Yes, it is." Akira nodded. "It's not so bad once you get used to it."
"Don't you have a proper room? This is an attic!"
"…wait, don't you know about my situation?"
"Hm? Master Igor only gave me the knowledge I'd need to train you, my name and my purpose."
"Ah, I see…" The black haired teen took a deep breath. "Well, here is what you need to know…"
Akira gave him the summary of his situation and why he is living in the attic of a coffee shop right now.
"Sheesh, that's awful." Morgana whispered.
"Yeah… but anyway, there are a few hours until Boss comes to open so tell me what I need to learn."
"Actually… I think it would be easier if I showed you."
"Show me? It's 5 in the morning."
"Don't worry, it won't take long." Morgana assured him. "Just get changed and follow me." He said before jumping out the window.
'...ah, what the hell.'
.
A few minutes later, Akira was following Morgana, wearing a pair of black plants, a black shirt and a grey hoodie.
To no one is surprise, the streets were empty; which was good, considering he was talking with a cat.
"Hey, Morgana, you should probably not talk while you're here if we're with others; a talking cat would definitely attract attention."
"I agree, seeing 'someone that looks like a cat'" He emphasized that part. "talk would bring attention but don't worry, no one but you can understand me; I just sound like a regular cat to everyone else."
"Huh… convenient." Akira nodded. "Why are we going to the station? The trains shouldn't be running until a few more hours."
"We're going to the place where you will awaken to your power and begin training; don't worry, we just need to get to the station, not take any trains."
"Okay…" The teen looked unconvinced but considering everything that has happened, he decided it's better to follow and see for now.
.
.
"Alright, we're here." Morgana said as the two reached the entrance of the underground station. "Take out your phone, Master Igor should have given you what you'll need already."
Akira did as told and unlocked it.
"What am I looking for? Wait, never mind." His finger hovered over a strange logo he doesn't remember seeing before, looking like a red eye. "I'm guessing this is it; what do I do?"
"That's the metaverse navigator, open it, and in the space that says 'distortion' introduce the keyword 'Mementos'." Morgana explained.
"Alright, one sec… Mementos."
A feeling of dizziness washed over Akira for a moment.
"So what did…?" The teen trailed off and looked around.
There weren't many visible changes around him except for one very eye-catching thing; the entrance to the subway looked like someone had taken a hammer to it and several red colored fissures were surrounding the structure.
"…I get the feeling this place is like the Velvet Room." Akira spoke after a moment.
"In a sense." Morgana answered. "They're far from the same but they're both a 'space' that exists outside of what you would call the 'real' world."
"Different dimensions, deities, an entity that wants to kill me and a talking cat… I'm really starting to wonder if I'm going crazy." The teen chuckled. "So why- oh, you changed forms."
"Yep, I'll take that other form in the real world but I will have my true form here." Morgana said, looking the same as he did back in the Velvet Room. "I can't really use my power otherwise."
"I see… anyway, why are we here?"
"Before I can begin to train you, I have to make you awaken your power."
"So I'm finally going to learn what this mysterious power I apparently possess is?"
"It's not just you, technically speaking any human can have this power; yours is a tad special by comparison but I'll explain everything once you awaken."
"Alright, lead the way then Morgana."
"Try and keep up." The not-cat smiled cheekily before walking down the stairs with Akira on tow.
.
"This place is creepy." And that was an understatement.
The best description Akira can think of this 'Mementos' place is if someone took the Tokyo subway, passed it through an edgy manga filter and then remodeled it.
"It's not supposed to look like this, this is the influence of Yaldabaoth."
"Wait… should we even be here then? What if Yaldy appears?"
"Don't worry, Master Igor made sure that he couldn't intervene directly, he can't appear before you anymore before the time is right."
"And that time would be…?"
"It… hm, I don't know."
"You don't know?"
"Master Igor didn't give me that information so it must not be important."
"I disagree, Morgana."
"Don't worry, I assure you, Yaldabaoth can't do anything anymore without suffering retaliation and that's the last thing he wants."
"…alright, it's not like I have any choice." Akira relented with a sigh. "So, what do I do?"
"The entrance here is a safe place but once we go down, we'll encounter shadows; think of them as monsters that attack any people that enter."
"And I'm guessing fighting them should help me awaken my power?"
"Exactly, you catch on quick."
"Yeah, okay, so what happens if I can't awaken to this power you haven't even named?"
"…"
"…"
"…d-don't worry, I'm sure you can awaken… I think."
"That's not very reassuring!"
"Well it's not like I can do anything about it!" Morgana yelled. "It's either you go down there and awaken your power or Yaldabaoth wins, you tell me which is better!"
"…it's official, something is definitely wrong with me." Akira pinched the bridge of his nose before starting to walk down the stairs.
If the entrance looked eerie, then this first floor was even more so.
The subway was illuminated by a strange red light that seemed to come everywhere but dim enough to not blind anyone and a window allowed a view of other rails where-
"There are other people here?!" Akira immediately yelled when he noticed some people on the other 'platform'.
"Don't worry, they're not real, think of them as this world's version of the people in the real world." Morgana quickly provided.
"So… there is another 'me' somewhere in here?"
"Maybe, but if all goes well, that won't be the case for long."
"…that comment doesn't exactly inspire trust, you know?"
The not cat let out a heavy sigh.
"Look, I could give you a long explanation about everything that would take us a long time, and you probably won't understand half of it without having awakened to your power, or you can just trust me and get this over with so I can actually start explaining things in a way you can understand."
As much as he wanted to argue, after everything that he's seen, he decided it's better to trust Morgana's word.
"So what do I do? Find one of this 'shadows' and attack it?"
"Pretty much." Morgana jumped down on the rails. "Follow me."
'…I'm just going to trust that the trains aren't running right now.'
The two started to walk on the tracks but didn't have to go far, a pitch black large human-shaped being with a white mask was walking ahead with its back towards them.
"Alright, I'll go and hit that shadow by surprise so its weakened, then I'll fall back and switch with you; ready?"
"No but I don't think it matters." Akira gulped.
"I've said it before, you catch on quick." Morgana smirked before running towards the shadow, taking out a sword taller than himself from somewhere before jumping on the shadow's back and peel off its mask.
The human-shaped thing morphed into a puddle of black mud before emerging with a different form, a pumpkin head with a cape and no body to speak of and two hands connected to nothing, one of them holding a fire lamp.
Morgana quickly struck him with his sword before moving back.
"It's all yours."
"Right…" Akira mumbled. 'Well, for now…'
As the shadow approached him, the teen ran towards him, reeled back his right arm and slammed his fist into its face.
"Crap."
It did absolutely nothing and he quickly jumped back.
The jack-o-lantern turned his eyes towards him and raised his lamp, making a fireball fly towards him.
Akira barely managed to jump out of the way of it, hearing an explosion behind him.
"Any tips, Morgana?!"
"Just keep fighting!"
Whatever answer he had, it died in his throat when he was forced to dodge another fireball.
.
.
"Well… I guess it won't be that easy, huh."
"You think?!" Akira yelled.
The two had to fall back and go back above ground after Akira failed to cause any damage to the shadow.
"Are you sure I have this so called power to oppose Yaldy?"
"Yes, Master Igor already confirmed it, also… why do you keep calling him Yaldy?"
"I'm not using that mouthful of a name and he looked really pissed off when I used that nickname in the Velvet Room." The teen smirked even as he tried to calm his breathing.
"…meowhehehe." Morgana let out a laugh at the answer. "Well, don't worry too much; this power is usually awakened unconsciously and because of a dire situation, trying to consciously awaken you may take some time."
"I'll take your word for it." Akira said, taking a deep breath. "But I think I had enough emotions for one day so let's go back."
"Alright, we just have to walk through the area we entered the metaverse and we'll be back in the real world."
It was only a few steps away so the two did that, another feeling of dizziness got to him but it soon faded, when he turned around the entrance to the subway looked normal and looking at Morgana he was back to his cat form.
"Ugh… my everything hurts."
"That's an effect of the metaverse, don't worry, you just need some rest and you'll be as good as new."
"I'll take your word for it… I feel like I've said that way too many times today and the sun is barely up." The black haired teen chuckled. "Well, let's go back and see if I can get a few more hours of sleep before Boss wakes me up."
Luckily, he did manage to get two more hours of sleep before it was time to open up; unluckily, he still felt absurdly tired.
"Geez, what happened to you kid? Did you stay up late?" Sojiro asked after Akira almost dozed off while washing the dishes.
"Not exactly, I had a weird dream that woke me up and it took me an eternity to get back to sleep." Technically not a lie. "I decided to go walk for a bit, which is when Morgana followed me home, and then I was trying to think of a way to ask you to let me keep him… I didn't think it would be so easy." He grinned at the last part.
After getting back he pretty much collapsed on top of his bed so when Sojiro woke him up and pointed to Morgana who had curled to sleep next to him… well, he just blurted out that the cat followed him home and hoped for the best.
Sojiro was surprisingly okay with it, only mentioning that he can't go down during work hours; he even looked disappointed when Akira told him he already named him.
"Well, just try and not make a habit of it; feel free to go take a nap during your break."
"I think I'll take you up on that."
A few days later, Akira and Morgana had just done another unsuccessful trip to Mementos and were now resting in Akira's room.
"…I honestly didn't think it would be this difficult." Morgana sighed.
"Tell me about it." The teen said as he plopped down on his bed. "Any chance we can ask Igor for some help?"
"No, he would only tell what I already told you."
"How do you know?"
"I… already asked him." The not-cat confessed. "I went to see him two days ago while you were working, they said that your awakening is something they can't force."
"Well… shit." Before the mood could turn gloomier, Akira's phone rang. "Oh." A smile formed on his lips when he saw the sender was Kasumi in a group chat he had with the Yoshizawa twins.
"Sumire and I have a day off tomorrow, would you like to hang out?"
"I really could use a break; hey, Morgana, do you mind if we take a day off Mementos tomorrow?"
"Well… fine, it's not like we're making any progress; I'll try to come up with something to help in the meantime."
"Thanks." He said before typing a response.
"Sounds great; are you coming too Sumire-san?"
He saw three dots on Sumire's profile picture before her answer came through.
"Yes, I'll be there."
"Great! See you two tomorrow."
They exchanged goodbyes and Akira locked his phone.
"Who were you talking to?"
"Two friends of mine, we're meeting tomorrow to hang out." Akira answered. "Want to come with? It will probably be more interesting than staying in the attic; unless you plan to make another secret escapade."
"Sure, why not."
With that, the two prepared to go to sleep.
The next day, after helping out for a while at the café, Akira left and rode the subway to Shibuya, wearing a grey hoodie over a white shirt, black plants and black shoes; Morgana tagging along by getting inside his school bag (that he currently doesn't have an use for).
"Hggh, and you complained about the subway in Mementos? I take that one over this any day." Morgana said after they got off the subway and above ground.
"Easy for you to say, you're the one that can actually defend himself there." The black haired teen replied in a whisper. "By the way, this is pretty obvious, but I won't be able to talk with you while I'm with Sumire-san and Kasumi-san."
"Don't worry, I'll just act like a normal cat, I may make some comments but I won't try to get a conversation out of you."
"So you finally admit it?" Akira grinned.
"ACT! I clearly said 'act like a normal cat'."
The Kurusu simply chuckled at his reaction.
"Ah, there they are." He said when he noticed the twins standing near the entrance of the subway.
"Akira-san." Kasumi called out when she saw him.
Sumire shyly waving at him as well.
"Sorry to keep you waiting."
"No problem, we just got here." Kasumi assured him.
"Before we go, do you mind if we have someone tag along?"
"Oh? A friend of yours?"
"Sort of, we just met a few days ago but we've grown rather close." Akira patted his bag. "Come say hi."
Morgana poked his head out of the bag.
"Hello, ladies." The not-cat greeted; Akira had to remind himself that he sounds like a normal cat to anyone else.
"He is so cute." Sumire whispered but Akira heard her.
"I'm glad you think so; his name is Morgana." He took him out of the bag and held him towards her. "Want to pet him? He is really well-behaved."
"Oh, me too! Me too!" Kasumi chimed in.
"Well, aren't you a popular cat?"
"I am not-prrr!"
Sumire held Morgana and began to scratch his ear, cutting him off.
'Pff, yeah, definitely not a cat.' The black haired teen thought sarcastically while the twins pet Morgana.
"I take it there is no issue with him tagging along?"
"Not at all; right, Sumire?"
"Of course." She nodded. "Oh, wait… we were planning to watch a movie."
"That's right." Kasumi gasped. "I guess we'll have to change plans."
"No need, Morgana just has to stay quiet inside the cinema." The not-cat jumped from Sumire's arms and landed on Akira's shoulder. "You can do that, right?"
"Huh, who do you think I am?" Morgana answered smugly.
"Morgana says yes." The black haired teen grinned.
"Well, if you're sure…" Kasumi trailed off.
"Don't worry, no one will find out he is there." Akira opened his bag and Morgana jumped back in. "I won't force you, though; we can think of something else if you don't want to go there with a cat."
"It's okay, I don't mind." The older twin assured him.
"…Sumire-san?"
"I…" Sumire trailed off. "Are you sure he won't make any noise?"
"Without a doubt, he is surprisingly smart for a cat."
"Hey! What's that supposed to mean?!"
Akira is answer to the outburst was to pat his head.
"…alright, let's go."
"Lead the way."
"That was a great movie." Kasumi cheered as the three (four) left the cinema. "Morgana really didn't make any noise."
"Like I said, surprisingly smart for a cat." Akira grinned.
"Oh, I'll show you a surprise alright…" Morgana mumbled angrily.
"Where to next?" The black haired teen asked.
"I would usually say Leblanc but it's a bit far so… there is actually a diner near here Sumire found recently; how about we try it?"
"I already visited there before, it's a nice place." Sumire added.
"I'm sold, let's go."
A short walk later and the three got to the diner and took a table; a waitress gave them three menus and left them to decide what they want.
"…Sumire, I need to go for a bit, you know what to order, right?" Kasumi told her sister.
"Ah, yes, of course." The red haired girl nodded.
"I'll be right back." With those words, Kasumi got up and turned towards the restrooms.
"…hm, Akira-san."
"Hm? Yes?"
"Is everything okay?"
The Kurusu barely managed to hide a flinch at the question.
"What do you mean?"
"It's just, and I'm sorry if I'm wrong but, it… feels like you're not having fun; or more like, you're forcing yourself."
"…hehe, I thought I was a good actor." Akira shrugged nonchalantly. "I'm sorry, it's not about you two, I just… there is something I'm trying, no, that I have to do and I just… can't find a way to achieve it."
"Hm, what is it?"
"I… I'm sorry Sumire-san, I'd rather not say, it's… personal." He answered with a frown and glancing at the table.
He didn't want to lie to her but he can't very well say 'oh, I'm just trying to unlock this strange power that will let me fight against some sort of evil deity and if I can't win, then apparently 'ruin' will fall upon mankind'; at least not without sounding crazy.
"It's okay, I understand." Sumire said with a small smile. "There are things I rather keep to myself as well."
"Thanks for understanding." Akira smiled with relief.
"I-it's nothing, really." She answered. "Hm, I know you can't tell me but… would you like some advice?"
"…I would love some advice."
"A-alright, well…" Sumire crossed her arms and frowned in thought. "Hm… alright, as you know, Kasumi and I both do gymnastics, right?"
"Yeah." Akira chuckled. "Kasumi has mentioned how you two want to compete in the world stage a few times, remember?"
"Ah, she has, hasn't she?" Sumire let out a giggle of her own. "My point is, competing in the world stage is our end goal but coach Hiraguchi told us that to get there we should first focus on goals that are closer that will eventually lead us to the world stage; things like 'learn how to make this move' or 'get first place in this competition' and so on."
"So you're saying I should focus on a goal that I can achieve right now that will lead to my end-goal?"
"Yes."
"Sadly, I'm already trying that."
"Oh… I'm sorry, I-"
"Don't apologize, it's not your fault; I just can't find a way to get past this first step."
"Then… how about looking for a reason?"
"A reason?"
"Yes, having a goal is good but the reason why you're striving to it is just as important." Sumire nodded.
"Something coach Hiraguchi has told you?"
"Yes!"
"Sorry for the wait." Kasumi said as she walked back and sat next to her sister. "There was a line there, what were you talking about?"
"Ah, just making small talk." Akira said vaguely. 'Sumire may be polite enough to not try and pry about what I'm struggling with is but I'm fairly certain Kasumi is a different case.'
"Really?" She squinted.
"Yes, really; right, Sumire-san?"
"Ah, yes, I was just telling him about coach Hiraguchi."
'Not even a lie.' The Kurusu thought.
"Are you three ready to order?" A waitress asked.
The three spent a good while together before going back home.
'A reason…' Akira has been replaying what Sumire told him at the diner since he came back. '…only one way to find out.' He thought as he got up from the bed, still wearing the same outfit from earlier.
"Where are you going?"
"Mementos."
"…I thought we were taking the day off." The not-cat frowned.
"There is something I want to try." He said as he walked downstairs. "Are you coming or not?"
Morgana shrugged and followed behind him.
Sojiro had already gone home for the day so it was easy for Akira to leave the place and go to the station.
He inserted the keyword on his phone and the world shifted around him.
"What are you planning exactly?" Morgana asked, now in his true form.
"Find a shadow and fight it."
"…that's exactly what we've been doing all this time."
"Yeah, and you're the one that has said there is no other way for me to awaken." Akira said back before smirking. "Doing the same thing over and over doesn't work but you insist it's the only thing I can do; so why do you think I can't awaken?"
"That's…" He opened his mouth to answer but closed it again.
"I just have a hunch but it's more than we've had this past week, I might as well give it a shot."
"Alright… just don't be too reckless."
"I'm in a different dimension and fighting monsters, eventually looking to fight Yaldy; that thought flew out the window a long time ago."
"Point taken."
Like usual, the two went down the stairs and onto the rails until the spotted a shadow.
"Alright, here we go." Morgana jumped forward with his sword and ripped off the shadow's mask, making it turn into a Jack-o-lantern.
The cat quickly slashed it with his sword a few times before running back.
"Your turn."
Akira stood in front of the shadow as it charged, preparing its lamp to strike him.
'A reason.' The teen jumped back, used to that attack by now. 'Well, avoiding ruin is certainly one but that's… too vague.'
He dodged out of the way of a second strike.
'Think! Why do I want to stop Yadly? No, not that, why do I want to do this?' He saw a fire ball coming his way and quickly jumped to the side. 'Igor himself said that there are others that can take my place, it's not like I'm the only one who can do this and I certainly felt the frustration of not being able to do anything against this freaking thing!' He moved behind a wall to avoid another fire ball. 'Specially since it's nothing compared to Yaldy! I can't attack it but I'm certainly not afraid of it at all after facing him; maybe I just don't have it in me so why not just tell Igor to find someone else?!'
'Because you can't turn a blind eye.'
His head suddenly felt like it was being split open.
'Wha-?!'
'You refuse to look away from injustice, you act upon what you deem right, yet you doubt if it's okay for you to act this role that was given to you?'
The Jack-o-lantern began to approach as Akira held his head in pain, doing everything in his power to not collapse on the ground.
'Didn't you say before that you don't regret your actions? That you were NOT wrong?' Amidst the pain, the conversation he had with Igor during their first meeting surfaced in his mind. 'Were those just empty words?'
"They weren't." Akira growled. "I was not in the wrong."
'Yet many people say you were, it could be argued that everyone but a select few say the same thing.'
"So what?"
'Exactly.' The voice chuckled. 'You act upon your own justice, so why are you hesitating now? Or are you claiming you are not related to the events that will inevitably unfold should you back away?'
"Come on, that's a trick question." Akira isn't sure if the pain in his head had subsided or he had simply grown accustomed to it but it felt a lot more manageable than before. "You're right; no more doubts! No more what-ifs! Even if someone else could take my place, I will NOT walk the other way!"
The shadow had finished its approach but Morgana tackled it out of the way before it could attack.
"Took you long enough." Morgana muttered as he made sure the shadow wouldn't interrupt him.
'Very well.' The head-splitting pain came back in full force. 'I have heeded your resolve.'
"AHHHHH!" A black and white birdlike domino mask suddenly manifested itself on his face.
'Vow to me. I am thou, thou art I… Thou who are willing to perform all sacrilegious acts for thine own justice! Call upon my name, and release thy rage!' Akira held a side of the mask with both hands, something in his gut telling him to get. It. OFF!
'Show the strength of thy will to ascertain all on thine own, though thou be chained to Hell itself!'
Giving one last pull, he ripped off the mask that seemed to be glued to his face and-
"ARSÈNE!"
Blue flames exploded surround him and the area around his eyes was bloody from the mask ripping off his skin but Akira didn't feel pain; on the contrary, he had never felt better.
He raised his gaze to the shadow, showing that his eyes had turned yellow and the blood falling from his face, yet he had a wide, almost sadistic grin, etched across his face.
"Heh, time for your round 2." Morgana told the shadow before jumping away.
The flames began to envelop Akira as the voice he had heard on his head echoed across Mementos, its laugh sending a chill down the Jack-o-lantern's non-existent spine, while the flames that surrounded the teen's body began to dissipate, revealing a completely different outfit from before.
Most of his new outfit was black; the ankle-length tailcoat, high-necked waistcoat, pants and the new shoes were all of that one color; the notable exception was the pair of contrasting red gloves on his hands.
Even more eye-catching than his change of wardrobe was the figure looming behind him; easily at least twice as tall as Akira himself, the figure wore a very tall top hat, a black, long-horned mask with red flame-like designs that resembles eyes and a smile (or those might be actual flames, the teen couldn't help but think), an open red suit, fitting for a time at least two decades prior to the current times, with the collar popped, a white ruffle tie and black corset; red covering on its legs and boots with blade-like heels.
The most eye catching feature, aside from the mask, though? The two large, feathery, wings starting around the small of his back.
"I am the pillager of twilight, Arsène!" The figure declared, its voice resembling Akira's but booming with so much power it felt like it could reach all of Mementos. "I am the rebel's soul that resides within you."
"It's nice to meet you." The teen smirked as he turned to the shadow. "Shall we get started?"
"Very well." Arsène's face/mask didn't change but Akira is sure he was smirking like he was. "This power of mine is yours, run wild to your heart's content!"
"Gladly." With that last word, Arsène disappeared and the mask Akira peeled off his skin showed again on his face. "Now then." A black knife materialized on his hand and he raised it towards his enemy. "It's Showtime!"
And done for now.
As I said on the notes for the first chapter, this is more of a proof of concept than a full-on story at the moment; I have plans to eventually make it a full-story but it will take a while before I do.
I hope you enjoyed and please leave a comment with your thoughts; I'm curious what others might think of this little idea of mine.
Until next time!