Prisoner of Glory Chapter 5: Onsen Reunion, a persona series fanfic

Tuesday, August 8th 20XX, Evening
Yuki-no-Yu Bathhouse, Suzushino

"Whoaaa! Ann, are those CGI!?"

The girls of the Phantom Thieves were gathered together in one of the open-air hot springs of Yuki-no-Yu, a public bathhouse in the middle of Sapporo. Ren, Ryuji, and Yusuke had split off and were relaxing in an identical mens' bath, divided from the ladies' side by a tall bamboo wall. Futaba, seeing her friends naked for the first time, couldn't control herself from expressing admiration for Ann's figure. "What cheat codes did you use to get those? Dieting lifehacks? You're so skinny, yet-"

Between the water's heat and her own embarrassment, Ann blushed profusely. "Could you stop drawing attention to me? Go bother Haru instead - hers are no different."

Haru gasped. "Stop it!"

"Haru, not bad!", said Futaba, equally impressed. "These could knock someone flat!"

"Would you please keep it down?" begged Makoto. "Remember, it's not only us in here." Indeed, Futaba's squealing admiration was loud enough to be heard not only throughout the ladies' bath, but also on the mens' side, where Ren, Ryuji, and Yusuke heard every word, too stunned to react.

It was during this awkward silence when Sumire slid open the door to the bath area. Afraid to get dragged into their lewd conversation, she nervously covered her chest as she stepped into the rock-lined pool and waded closer to them. Desperate for a break in their uncomfortable discussion, Ann noticed her first and waved. "Oh! Hi, Sumire!"

"Hello, Ann," Sumire bowed as she sat down in the water. "I'm so glad to see you all!"

"Pleasure to see you too, Sumire," replied Makoto. "Our leader brought us up to speed about what you said over the phone."

"Good. I can't believe a new Palace showed up here and now…"

Makoto shook her head. "Technically, these aren't Palaces we're dealing with." She explained to Sumire what the Phantom Thieves had been up to over the past couple of weeks, recounting their adventures in fighting Alice and Natsume. Afterwards, Sumire described what she had been through herself. Makoto's keen, analytical mind wasted no time in meshing the two sets of details together. "So, based on what you've told us, there is a Jail right here in Sapporo, its Castle is the Toyohira Arena, and its Monarch is, in all likelihood, Yuri Hikawa." Sumire nodded to confirm each deduction.

"Although… If Yuri really is the Monarch, as you say, then that's a big problem…"

"How so?" asked Haru.

"Yuri's competing in the Madicce Cup as well. We met once before, at the tryouts for Saint Petersburg."

Haru nodded. "We know, Ren-kun showed us. Did something happen between you and Yuri?"

Sumire nodded, but looked troubled. "Before I went on, she came up and called me a… " She paused, building up the strength to talk about that day. "...a murderer, for what happened to Kasumi."

"What!?" gasped Ann. "That's bull****, and you know it!"

Indignantly, Futaba agreed. "You said it, Ann! That Yuri is a witch with a capital B!"

"And if she's got control of a Jail, who knows what she'll do next…" Sumire added with trepidation. "She already got to some of the other gymnasts."

"What do you mean?" Haru asked.

"It was… scary… Some shadows reached into their chests and pulled out some kind of jewel… Actually, when I called Ren, he said something about 'desires'. Is that anything like what you dealt with in Shibuya or Sendai?"

"That's exactly right," answered Makoto. "Those girls had their Desires stolen. They'll be alright in the real world - well, at least physically - but mentally, they'll be obsessively devoted to the Monarch."

"You mean Yuri… I can't imagine what this means for the competition tomorrow, but it can't be good. I think I should tell some of my friends, just so they know what's happening to everyone."

"No, Sumire, that's not a good idea. You know we can't let anyone know we're Phantom Thieves, and besides, no one would even believe anything you'd tell them about the Metaverse, if they haven't been there themselves. For now, don't worry about it. They'll all come back to normal once we steal back their Desires. Just have faith, okay? In the meantime, let's talk about Yuri's Castle."

"You said the entrance is guarded by spotlights and machine guns," Ann recalled, "just like we saw with Alice in Shibuya. These guns, were they automated? Like, with motion cameras and everything?"

Sumire nodded and answered, "I shot the lights out when I escaped, but the guns still followed me. I barely got past them."

"So," Makoto summarized, "we'll either need to find another way in, or cut the power somehow."

"Not necessarily. There was a blizzard when I arrived, so I used it for cover."

"Lucky you!" said Ann. "Now, there's something I don't understand. You said your clothes transformed when you got inside. Did you mean, like, your Phantom Thief clothes?"

Sumire shook her head and corrected her. "No, I was already wearing those. But as soon as I stepped inside, they transformed into my gymnastics leotard, and my weapons disappeared!"

"Oh my!" Haru gasped. "How did you defend yourself?"

"I still had my Persona mask with me, and I picked up a weapon while I was fighting Shadows in the gym. It was a kind of whip, with a chain of razor blades. Using it felt like the ribbons I use in gymnastics!"

"Ooh," Ann cut in, "that sounds like my kind of weapon!"

"Maybe there are weapons based on the other apparatuses… That reminds me of what I saw on the door to the arena. Apparently, you can unlock it if you defeat three champions in… 'gymnastics duels', whatever that means."

"Three champions…" asked Makoto, "did the message mention 'Proofs', by any chance?" Sumire confirmed with a nod. "Good, I think I know what that means. When we went through the other Jails, we had to break into three Keeps and take their Proofs. They're like… mini-Treasures that all relate to the Monarch in some way. I wonder what they could be…"

"And I wonder what those 'gymnastics duels' are gonna be like," chimed in Futaba. "Are we gonna have to put on our own routines?"

"Sumire mentioned weapons like that razor ribbon," answered Ann. "Maybe we're gonna have to fight the champions with those instead?"

"I have no idea," Sumire said with uncertainty. "Just be ready for anything, okay?"

Smiling to put her friend at ease, Makoto said, "We will, Sumire. Before you go, would you mind telling us Yuri's EMMA keyword?"

Sumire hesitated with fearful concern. The trauma of what she had witnessed made her afraid to get anybody else involved. But deep down, she knew the Phantom Thieves were tough enough to confront anything the Metaverse could throw at them, and come out alive and victorious. Her eyes darted around cautiously as she whispered, "Yuri's keyword is 'Snow Stadium'."

"'Snow Stadium'", confirmed Makoto. "Thank you, Sumire. We'll take it from here."

Haru smiled reassuringly at her. "Don't worry about us, Sumire-chan. We've all been through much tougher battles before. We're the Phantom Thieves! We can handle anything they throw at us, and come out with a perfect 10! ...Um, is that a thing in rhythmic gymnastics?"

"Kind of!" laughed Sumire. The girls went on to indulge in small talk until they could not stand the heat of the bath any longer, at which point they left, changed back into their clothes, and waited in the lobby to reconvene with their male partners. Ann offered to treat Sumire to a bottle of strawberry milk, but her guest hesitated. "I don't know if that would count as dessert," she mused aloud. When she was met with a confused look, she explained, "You know I'm only allowed to eat one dessert a week on my diet, don't you?"

Ann, an avid connoisseur of sweets, simply couldn't register the notion of eating them so sparingly, and stood dumbfounded with her mouth agape. Seizing the moment, Futaba cut in and said, "Uh-oh, looks like has performed an illegal function and needs to restart!" The other girls all laughed, even if they didn't get the joke through all of Futaba's computer jargon. When they all settled down, Sumire settled for a bottle of plain milk, which Ann happily paid for. But just as Ann received it, she nearly bumped into Yusuke, standing nearby with a milk bottle of his own.

"Ah… fresh, unadulterated Hokkaido milk," he mused poetically. "It seems you have quite a refined taste, Ann."

"Oh, no, it's for Sumire."

"Sumire?" Yusuke turned his head and spotted her. "Ah, Sumire! Good evening to you!"

Ryuji followed up, waving and calling out, "Yo! What's bonkin', Sumire?"

Sumire giggled at his unusual slang. "A lot's been 'bonking', Ryuji, but I'm fine now. Makoto-senpai and the others will tell you all about it."

"Sumire-chan?" Tracking the newest voice, she noticed the face of the one friend she had longed to see most over the past four months. Ren Amamiya was standing with his arms spread open, expressing a look of great relief. "Thank God you're safe!" She practically flew into his arms and embraced him with all her might. Ren closed his arms around her in turn, and couldn't help but to plant a tiny kiss on her cheek. "I've missed you so much…" he whispered.

"S-s-senpai!" The public display of affection made Sumire blush and stammer. Not knowing how to process the gesture, she pulled herself back, but answered, "I… I missed you too."

"I know. Can you believe it's finally happening? Your tournament, I mean?", asked Ren, getting a nod from Sumire in response.

"Oh yeah!" Ryuji chimed in. "So, how's it feel to finally take part in your first big gymnastics competition?"

Sumire took a moment to think. "Oh gosh, Ryuji, it's a lot for me to process. Between everyone I'm up against and everything that happened to me just now, I'm on pins and needles!" Finally, she smiled. "Still, this is the next step of my dream. Of Kasumi's dream… However things turn out, I'm finally starting to feel like I'm living up to her legacy."

"Good for you, Sumire-chan!" Haru exclaimed. "Just remember, you'll always have our support!"

"Yeah!" added Ann. "In fact, we're all coming over to watch the first round tomorrow! Technically it's for our investigation, but we just had to be there to cheer on one of our best friends!"

Sumire blushed, not letting her smile drop for a second. "Aww, thanks, everybody! I promise to do my very best out there!"

Suddenly, Ren bore a look of guilt and grief. "You're welcome, but…" He sighed. "I'm sorry I couldn't be there for you last time. When I heard about what happened at those tryouts, I felt really bad for myself. Like, all that work I did to help you get over your sister's loss was just… washed away."

"Listen, Senpai… you don't have to be so hard on yourself. None of this was your fault. There are some things I need to tell you, about why I felt the way I did back then, but… I don't think I'm ready for that, just yet. I'll make time so we can talk about them later, just you and me. Besides, I've been able to keep myself happy by training even harder for the next meet!"

"Really? Well, you know what, Sumire?" His expression began to grow brighter. "If you were able to get back on your feet like that and learn from your mistakes, all by yourself, then you're a really strong girl after all."

"You mean it?" she gasped. "I'm touched! Thank you, Senpai. I'm ready for anything now."

"Good for you. Listen, no matter what happens out there, I'll always be there for you, Sumire-chan, and I'll always be proud of you." He kissed her forehead and gave her one last squeeze before finally letting go.

Despite feeling bashful from the kiss, Sumire looked at Ren with confidence and said, "And I'll do my best for you, Senpai!" Turning to the group, she asked, "So, where are you staying? Just in case I need you for anything."

Ann answered, "We took a camper here, and set up in Odori Park. I'd invite you, but we're tight enough on space as it is." Leaning in close, she whispered, "We made the boys sleep in a tent on the roof!"

"Good for you, Ann-senpai!" giggled Sumire. "I'm staying at the Wilton, with the other gymnasts. I think I'll be fine for tonight, but thanks for the offer."

"Okay," replied Ren, "so are you leaving, then? Would you like one of us to take you there?"

"No, that's not necessary. It's only the real world, after all!" And after sharing a laugh at her parting joke, the Phantom Thieves waved Sumire off and returned to the Phantomobile. For both parties, just knowing that they'd be there for each other gave them a renewed hope that neither had felt for a long time.

AN: Originally, this was the second half of Chapter 4, which had approached 5,000 words in length, not counting author's notes. I felt like splitting that chapter in two because… actually, I don't know why. The two parts take place in completely different locations, and have different tones, so I guess it felt natural. After all, I started this segment with dialogue from an actual cutscene from Strikers, which was clearly going for comedy. And yes, "Yuki-no-Yu" (meaning "snow bath", because Hokkaido) is the actual name of the bathhouse they go to; I double-checked the building in-game to make sure.

Special thanks, as always, go to Deathmanstratos and SupremeKnight3 for editing and support. One of their big contributions was helping me work out Sumire and Ren's relationship between the end of Royal and the start of this fic. If you recall the original version of chapter 2, which I will edit after posting this, I had Sumire feeling too depressed and/or busy training after her loss in the Saint Petersburg tryouts to keep in contact with Ren, leaving him angsting over not being able to help her. They, and I, agreed that they wouldn't keep each other out in the cold for so long.

To download a copy of this chapter, please visit: spyhunter29