Prisoner of Glory Chapter 6: The Madicce Cup, a persona series fanfic

Chapter 6: The Madicce Cup

Wednesday, August 9th 20XX, Morning
Odori Park, Sapporo Central

Early the next morning, the Phantom Thieves were woken up by a knock on their camper's door. Futaba, whose bed was closest to the door, climbed down and opened it. Her disheveled, bedhead-ridden face met the wide-awake Zenkichi. "G'morning, Gramps…" she mumbled.

Putting aside his usual snarkiness, Zenkichi smiled and responded, "Hi, sorry to wake you. I'm just here to make a delivery." He handed her a white envelope. "It's your tickets for today. I'll just… see you kids later." And with that, he closed the door and let them be.

Once all the Phantom Thieves were fresh and awake, they gathered around the cabin and looked over what Zenkichi had delivered. The envelope held seven tickets for that day's qualifying rounds of the Madicce Cup, one for each of the human Phantom Thieves - Morgana would stow himself away in Ren's bag. Futaba read over the details printed on each ticket, from the starting time of 1 o'clock that afternoon, to their designated seats. "Ohh," she squealed as she read them, "these are front-row seats!" She had already looked up the stadium the night before, learning as much as she could not only for the tournament itself, but for anything that would give them an advantage for infiltrating its cognitive counterpart.

"Remember, Futaba," Makoto cut in, "our first job is to look out for anything suspicious." The group gave her a set of assuring, if deflated, nods.

"Futaba," asked Ann, "how's this tournament gonna work?"

"Glad you asked!" Futaba explained with gusto, "So, today and tomorrow are the qualifying rounds. Everyone competes with each apparatus once - hoop, ball, clubs, and ribbon - and get scored for each routine by difficulty and execution. The difficulty score adds up as they attempt different moves with both their body and their apparatus. At this level, I'd expect to see difficulty scores in the 7 and 8 range, maybe 9s from some of the pros. The execution score starts at 10, and goes down every time a move isn't done perfectly. Whoever places eighth or better with each apparatus gets to move on to that particular final and do it all over again for medals. There's also 'all-around' medals given for the top three total scores over the four qualifying rounds."

"And how do the judges come up with their scores?"

"There's this thing called the Code of Points. It's a document made by FIG - that's the international governing body for gymnastics - which lists the points added for different moves, and the penalties taken off for imperfections and other fouls. They update the Code every few years, but I've memorized the latest one."

"That's our Futaba!", Ann laughed. Futaba then brought up the scheduled list of competitors, and pointed out whatever names she recognized. "Wow, so many countries…" muttered Ann as she kept on reading the list. "How many athletes are there for each country, anyway?"

"Technically, they're not grouped by country, but by local clubs. Sumire and Hanako are in one, and Yuri's in another. Each country's only allowed to send one club each, but the top three from last year's Sapporo Cup also got invited on top of that. Yuri's club is one of them, and so is one of the Russians. Are you with me so far?" Ann nodded. "Now, each team has two senior gymnasts, like Sumire and Hanako, and one junior. Those are just age groups that essentially compete separately. The junior divisions are for ages 13 to 15, and the seniors are 16 and up."

"So that makes this Sumire's first competition as a senior?", said Haru. "I can see why she'd be excited!"

"When's she going up, anyway?", asked Ryuji.

"Sumire's team is in group B. All the teams are split up into four groups, to work out the order they're competing in. Groups A and B are up today, so that means we'll see Sumire in the second half of the day's events."

"Ah, all the better to build anticipation for our own star!" As he said this, Yusuke was putting the finishing touches on their cheering sign. They had all settled on the phrase "Ganbare Sumire" - "ganbare" meaning "go for it" - which he painted upon the white paperboard in thick hiragana letters of pink and violet. Ren suggested adding a few personal touches, to show her the message came from them, and so Yusuke added images of Joker's and Violet's Phantom Thief masks. No one else who saw those icons would make that connection, but Sumire would. Pleased with his work, he rolled it up inside a plastic bag, protecting it from Morgana's fur when Ren would carry both of them in his own carry-on. After sharing a quick lunch made with some of their gyutan left over from Sendai, the team set out for the Toyohira Arena.

Wednesday, August 9th 20XX, Daytime
Hokkaido Prefectural Sports Center, Toyohira Park

Toyohira Stadium's main arena was set up with three tiers of seats on all sides. As promised, the Phantom Thieves were all lined up together in the first row of the south bank. A few short dividers, bearing the names and logos of various sponsors, separated them from the action. Spread out on the other side was the mat, 13 by 13 meters in size, upon which Sumire and her many competitors would soon test their mettle. A giant curtain, colored sky-blue and bearing the logo for the Madicce Cup, divided the arena a little more than halfway down. The audience buzzed amongst themselves and a palpable feeling of excitement hung in the air until the clock struck one, and the opening ceremony commenced.

One by one, the many competing gymnasts strode out from an opening on one side of the curtain. Their leotards glistened and shone radiantly under the arena's bright lights. The Phantom Thieves instantly spotted Sumire in her violet-colored dress as she marched in front of her teammate and behind Yuri Hikawa. Hurriedly, Ren pulled out the poster from his bag, unfurled it, and held it with Ryuji as they cheered for her. Without breaking step, Sumire spotted their sign and gave them a subtle smile to acknowledge their support. The feelings of love and pride that Ren felt for his best friend made his heart light up. Once all the competitors assembled in neat rows on the side of the mat farthest from the partition, a live video message, spoken in Japanese and subtitled in English, played on a large screen.

"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the inaugural edition of the Madicce Gymnastics Cup!" The man presenting this message, a charismatic man with a side-cropped haircut, a thin moustache, a goatee, and a casual checkered suit, was well-known to the Phantom Thieves. "I am Akira Konoe, CEO of Madicce, the official sponsor of this event. I apologize that I am too busy to attend in person, but I would like to say a few words nonetheless. In this age of social media, where any form of information can spread from person to person, one of the most important things we can share with each other are love and passion for whatever makes our lives meaningful. In that spirit, I am proud to introduce for you all the gymnasts who have gathered to compete here today. Whether they are making their grand debut upon the world stage, or have already experienced the thrill of competition, may the love and passion they express for their sport inspire you all. And now, with the permission of the International Gymnastics Federation, I declare the 1st annual Madicce Cup open!" A second wave of applause came from the crowd as the gymnasts led themselves around and into the partition. After a brief pause, the first junior competitor was introduced, and the games had officially begun.

Behind the divider was a waiting area for all the gymnasts who were not currently performing. Large video monitors allowed them to watch live footage of the ongoing competition, along with the current score tables and schedules of the next few competitors. Once the junior entrants had all given their first performances, the senior division was kicked off by an announcement over the loudspeakers, in English and Japanese:

"Performing with the hoop, for Japan… Yuri Hikawa!"

As soon as her name was called, Yuri proudly marched out onto the mat, the sparkles in her glacial-white leotard shining with her every step. Cherry-red lipstick and black eyeshadow decorated her pale face, giving her an appearance reminiscent of a geisha. Having amassed a large and loyal fanbase through her abuse of the Metaverse, the cheers Yuri received from the crowd were practically deafening. For their part, the Phantom Thieves gave little more than a polite series of golf-claps that were drowned out by the noise of her admirers, which eventually settled down once Yuri stood in her starting pose. Upon hearing the starting tone, followed by her musical selection of Antonio Vivaldi's "Winter" concerto, she sprang into action.

Yuri Hikawa was every bit as skilled and graceful as her reputation led on. She slid her hoop along her arms and back as smoothly as a figure skater gliding upon ice. With every big leap she made, her legs swung out in wide oversplits. With every pivot, she spun around with perfect balance on the ball of her foot, while neatly keeping her other leg up in whatever pose she desired. Even the Phantom Thieves, who were wary of her character, couldn't deny that there was something magical about the show she put on for them all.

While Yuri's opening performance played out, Sumire looked around backstage for her new friend Yuna. She found her in the middle of an oversplit stretch, her body suspended between two folding chairs, wearing a pink and white leotard with a flower-petal motif and a short fringe skirt. "Hi, Yuko-chan," Sumire greeted, "need any help?"

"Oh! Hi, Sumire!" As she said this, Yuna intensified her stretch by bending backwards and grasping her rear leg. "No, I'm fine, but thank you."

"Sorry… I know we're competing against each other today."

"Don't worry about it, Sumire, we're cool! So, what's on your mind?"

"About last night, did you warn anyone else about Yuri's Keyword?"

"I did. Mind helping me up?" She let Sumire pull her up by the shoulders, and mounted the chairs again with the opposite legs. "I managed to warn Shion, my teammate. After that, we got in touch with the teams who left early for sightseeing. France, Italy, and Spain, I think."

"Good work, Yuna! I texted my teammate, Hanako, right after I left, but never heard back until this morning. She said she doesn't even use EMMA. I didn't think she was the type anyway, but it's a relief to know that for sure. After that, I saved - I mean, spoke with the Americans and one of the Russians."

"What's the big deal about Yuri's Keyword, anyway?"

"I don't know," Sumire bluffed, "but I have a feeling we'll find out soon." For the moment, she turned away to watch the rest of Yuri's routine. For her finale, she threw the hoop up one last time, dipped down and rolled on the ground. Then, with masterful timing, she thrust her legs into its opening, swiftly spread into middle splits as the hoop fell neatly around her waist, and posed with her chest raised off the floor. The crowd's reaction was immediate, loud, and rapturous. After basking in the adoration for a moment, she got up and walked off to a back corner of the arena, where she met her coach in a small, enclosed seating area. Nicknamed the "kiss and cry booth" after the two kinds of reactions that commonly occurred there, this was where Yuri and the other gymnasts would receive their scores. Proud of her performance with the hoop, they both discussed how well they felt it went.

Meanwhile, the Phantom Thieves were in the midst of a similar discussion. "So, that was Yuri Hikawa…" mused Yusuke. "I have to say, she was positively brilliant. Something about her skills, or the way she presented herself, it just… spoke to me!"

"Yeah, that was amazing, alright!" agreed Ann. "I mean, I know she's our target and all, but still…! Hey Futaba, what did you think?"

Futaba, who had memorized the latest rhythmic gymnastics Code of Points and worked out a probable score while watching the routine, said, "Incredible! I wouldn't expect anything less than nines for both difficulty and execution." She was swiftly proven right as Yuri's score was announced:

"Difficulty: 9.1. Execution: 9.000. Total score: 18.100."

The roar of the crowd resumed in full force once her score was revealed. Yuri smiled with satisfaction, and did the "kiss" part of the "kiss and cry" schtick with her coach. As they retreated backstage, Haru looked on and asked, "Futaba-chan, do you think Yuri will win with scores like that?"

"I don't know, she's got some pretty stiff competition. All the champions from Saint Petersburg are here, too - Lebedeva, Krylenko, Weiss, and Plisetskaya."

"Unless…" Makoto interjected, "if Yuri managed to steal those champions' Desires, they may want to lose or throw the match somehow. There wouldn't be any competition left standing in Yuri's way. But how will losing their Desires affect them?"

Her questions were answered when the next competitor, Yuliya Krylenko from Ukraine, went up for her ball qualifier. With her leggy, lissome figure and her slinky blue-and-black bodysuit, she should have commanded an imposing presence on the mat, but Ren, focusing on her with his Third Eye, sensed something amiss. She had an unfocused look in her eyes as she walked out and got into position, and kept muttering something to herself. Even though he could not hear her, nor read her lips, he had an inkling into what she was saying. If his suspicions were right, she was telling herself to give up and let Yuri win.

Yuliya's ball routine was bizarre and embarrassing. It seemed as though she was constantly holding herself back, attempting only simpler body and apparatus techniques, and stumbling with many of them. Glimpses of her trademark flexibility could be seen at times, but with her movements being shakier and slower overall, they did little to impress. Every time she rolled the ball along her arms or body, it wobbled and fell off, far short of its intended destination. Then, when she twirled in her step after tossing the ball, she tripped over her own feet and fell, the ball landing far away from her reach and bouncing out of bounds. She walked over for one of the spare balls from the edge of the mat, but was clearly in no hurry to do so. By the time she did pick it up, she only had time for one more feeble stunt before her song, and her routine, reached their end.

The reaction from the crowd was mixed. Yuri's Desireless fanbase, which Ren estimated to be as much as half of the total attendance, booed at Yuliya, while the others in attendance were confused and didn't know how to react. Despite the jeering, Yuliya herself seemed not to react at all, not even crying so much as one tear as her score was announced.

"Difficulty: 3.5. Execution: 3.000. Total score: 6.500."

For their part, the Phantom Thieves were speechless. Eventually, Ryuji broke their silence when he asked, "Uh, Futaba? Was she supposed to suck that much?"

Futaba shook her head in frustration. "I don't get it! Yuliya won gold at Saint Petersburg for the ball! Why did she beef it with her best apparatus?"

"Her Desires…" suggested Makoto. "Sumire said that Yuri gave her Keyword to the other gymnasts yesterday, and that she saw their Desires being stolen in the Metaverse. Yuliya must have been one of the victims!"

"For real!?" exclaimed Ryuji. "Say, Makoto, when you and the girls spoke with Sumire last night, did she remember whose Desires she saved?"

"She mentioned two Americans and a Russian."

"Americans, you say?" cut in Futaba. "Those would be Maddie Lau and Serena Stiles. And the Russian? She mentioned her by name - none other than Elena Plisetskaya!"

"You mean, the big winner from Saint Petersburg?" Ann asked.

"Yes, that's right," answered Makoto. "There may be others who weren't affected, those who weren't in the gym when Yuri gave out her keyword, but she doesn't know whom, exactly. Plus, there were two others Sumire warned ahead of time: Hanako Natsuki, her teammate, and Yuna Seong, on the South Korean team."

Futaba smiled. "Sumire got to them, too? Nice! They're also top-tier, along with Elena. Together, they could whip Yuri's butt from here to Sunday!"

"We can only pray…" Yusuke added with uncertain melancholy.

Yuliya's debacle was followed by a clubs performance from Yuna Seong. Unlike her predecessor, she seemed spirited and focused on the way to her starting position. Using his Third Eye once more, Ren could not identify the same empty aura on her as with Yuliya. Indeed, her routine displayed all of the promise that her predecessor had betrayed. Eschewing classical music for a more modern K-Pop selection, Yuna brought a refreshing burst of energy to her performance. There was a swiftness to every motion she made, from spins and flips, to waves and swings of her clubs, to her world-famous illusion turns. The motions of her clubs, whether symmetrical or not, perfectly complemented each other. Her dance steps were bouncy and lively, too, and many onlookers found themselves clapping in time to the beat of her music. Finishing with one of her signature poses, she locked her clubs together end-to-end, held them behind her back, and fell backwards into a "Kabaeva" - a teardrop-shaped backbend where she balanced on her chest, with her head and legs all pointed upwards.

The cheers she received were not universal, given the vast number of mind-controlled Yuri Hikawa fans in attendance, but was positive enough that Yuna felt very happy for herself. In the stands, Ryuji heard his friend cheering loudly for her and commented, "Hey, Ren-ren, you were really gettin' into Yuna's performance! You think she's pretty, too?"

Ren blushed, offended at his friend's insinuation. "Sh-shut up, Ryuji! It was just fun to watch, that's all!"

"Her joy was contagious, I must say," agreed Haru. "I think she'll score really high, too!" She did not have to wonder about that for long, once the next announcement was made:

"Difficulty: 8.4. Execution: 8.950. Total score: 17.350."

Yuna grinned and clapped to herself. Even though this result was three-quarters of a point behind what Yuri had garnered with the hoop, she still felt pleased. It seemed like nothing could break her spirit.

After all the senior gymnasts from Group A had gone on once, the juniors followed with their next apparatus, and so on. The process continued until everyone in the current group gave their performances with each apparatus, at which point a short break was held. The Phantom Thieves took this opportunity to review what they had all witnessed. Yuliya Krylenko, and her Ukrainian teammate, had both failed spectacularly, while in contrast, Yuri Hikawa was far and away the leader of the pack, achieving scores of over 18 points in all four of her qualifiers. Taking those two facts into account, Ren asked Futaba, "Is there anyone in the later groups who has a shot at overtaking Yuri?"

"Let me think… Just off the top of my head, there's Hanako Natsuki and Larisa Lebedeva in Group B, as well as Elena, Aliya Weiss, and Sakiya Archambeau in Group C."

"That depends on whether or not Yuri got to them and their Desires," added Ren. "We know Hanako and Elena are safe, like you said, but I don't know about the rest…" He took a deep breath before asking his next question. "What about Sumire? You think she's got what it takes?"

Futaba hesitated before answering. "I don't know… I don't have any stats on her since those last tryouts."

"Ren-kun, try not to worry too much about her," Haru told him. "We just need to watch and report our findings to Gramps-san."

Giving himself a deep sigh to clear his mind, Ren responded, "Yeah, I know… I've just got to let it all play out."

Before long, Group B began its qualifying rounds. The first wave of junior routines came and went, and following them as the first senior was Sumire's own teammate.

"Performing with the ball, for Japan… Hanako Natsuki!"

Like Yuri, Hanako Natsuki was a prodigy at rhythmic gymnastics. She started practicing at the age of four, achieved similarly impressive scores for her performances, and possessed an encyclopedic knowledge of the sport and its biggest athletes and events. She also exhibited some antisocial tendencies, but unlike Yuri, she was not the type to lash out at anybody. She was simply awkward and nervous when it came to interacting with other people. But when she had the opportunity to focus on either of her favorite things, rhythmic gymnastics and anime, she was in her element.

For the competition, she wore a white leotard with swirling orange patterns, with her neck-length black hair tied behind her in a messy bun. Smiling with her gaze locked in front of her, Hanako marched into her starting position. With her legs wide apart, she leaned to the right and held her ball beside her face, glaring with intensity in her eyes. Futaba recognized this particular posture instantly. "AHHH, THAT POSE!", she squealed.

"Whoa…" added Ryuji, "is that a mothereffin' YoYo's reference!?" His suspicions were proven when he heard the brassy, bombastic music for Hanako's routine, one of the theme songs featured in the anime series YoYo's Bizarre Adventure.

"I seem to recall Natsume-san striking a similar pose in our last battle," mused Yusuke. "He must have stolen it after all, like with so much of his prose. But I shall not begrudge Miss Hanako for adapting inspiration from the same source into her own art form."

"Whatever, man, I think I'm finally startin' to get into this whole gymnastics thing!"

Hanako kept that energy going throughout her routine. There was a childlike playfulness to her movements, but whether she rolled the ball along her arms, nestled it in the curve of her back, or launched it with her foot during a walkover, she handled it deftly and without fumble. Her legs swung straight and swift with every kick, pivot, or balance that punctuated her music, keeping the crowd stunned in awe until her eventual finale. After one last toss, she caught the ball behind her back, immediately spun into an illusion, and stopped in yet another YoYo-esque pose with her hips cocked to one side, her arms folded above her head, and the ball cradled in her fingertips. Futaba barely waited for her to stop before yelling out whoops and cheers of congratulation, followed shortly after by the rest of the crowd. This process repeated upon the reveal of Hanako's score:

"Difficulty: 8.8. Execution: 8.600. Total score: 17.400."

When Hanako returned backstage, she saw her partner Sumire wave at her and say, "You did great out there, Hanako-chan!" Hanako blushed and smiled back in response. One more performance passed - a clubs routine from Maddie Lau, one of the Americans - before Sumire spotted her own name at the top of the queue and prepared for her first routine. Standing just behind the opening to the arena, she waited for the words she had anticipated to hear for months:

"Performing with the ribbon, for Japan… Sumire Yoshizawa!"

At long last, it was time. Ren and Ryuji cheered and hoisted their sign up in front of them as she marched into place. Without breaking her stride, she blew them a kiss which made Ren's heart skip a beat, and prepared her starting pose, holding the ribbon taut between her hands and one foot. At the signal, her poppy, jazzy instrumental music began to play, and she sent the ribbon flying with an illusion turn. Mentally, she reminded herself to thank Yuna for helping her practice this move. Much like with Yuna and Hanako, Sumire's bouncy dance steps and tight, rapid spins of her ribbon kept the intensity of her performance at a fever pitch. She made a slight mistake when she lost balance in one of her pivots, causing her ribbon to sink to the floor, but she pressed on without skipping a beat. Her finishing sequence would be enough to win back the crowd, she hoped. She threw her baton high, caught it after a few spins, then rolled into a back walkover and knelt to a stop, making sure to flourish an arm out in Ren's direction. The gesture touched his heart, and he expressed his love by applauding and cheering with all his might, trying to be the loudest voice in the arena. It seems as though Sumire heard his support clearly, as she smiled all the way to the booth, where she shared her joy with Coach Hiraguchi until her score was read:

"Difficulty: 8.5. Execution: 8.350. Total score: 16.750."

Sumire kept on smiling, but her eyes subtly betrayed her facade of happiness. The high she had felt from showing off her dance for Ren was gradually fading away, to be replaced by the crushing reality of her situation. The score she had garnered was good by her own standards, but not by those of her new rivals. Yuri Hikawa had already scored a whopping 18.550 for her ribbon qualifier, almost two full points ahead of Sumire. Even worse, the ribbon was her best apparatus, so as far as she was concerned, it could only go downhill from there.

Many more competitors came and went as the day wore on. The Phantom Thieves kept mental notes of who performed normally and who seemed to suffer from their lost Desires. Apart from the Ukrainians in Group A, they observed the same behavior in two other gymnasts from Group B, both of them Russians. According to Futaba, they should have been far more competent than what they witnessed, especially since one of them, Larisa Lebedeva, was the gold-medal winner for the hoop finals at Saint Petersburg. Still, there were enough unaffected gymnasts to make for an exciting spectacle. At the end of the day, Yuri was in first place with an all-around score of 73.000, Hanako was second with 68.400, Yuna was third with 66.550, and Sumire placed 7th with an all-around score of 62.200.

Compared to everyone else, Sumire garnered mediocre scores with the three other apparatuses - 15.000 for the hoop, 14.850 for the ball, and 15.600 for the clubs - leaving her in a position that was less than ideal. Within the two groups who went on that day, only one other competitor separated her from those who had thrown their routines. On top of that, she currently ranked 7th in the hoop event, 8th with the ball, and 5th in clubs. In all likelihood, she would be knocked out of those finals by the other two groups performing tomorrow. Her ribbon performance, on the other hand, was far more solid. Presently she stood at second place in this event, trailing only Yuri, but even then there was a big gap between their scores. However, with the other skilled competitors who were set to perform tomorrow, especially Elena Plisetskaya, nothing was certain.

At that moment, Sumire finally began to understand what Yuri had felt in Saint Petersburg. Being compared to so many of her peers, especially those who seemed objectively better than her, gave her a bout of impostor syndrome. Arguably, her own situation was even worse than Yuri's. Not only had she performed worse, but there were so many other star competitors who were not performing at their best due to their changes of heart. If Yuri had not intervened to take them out of the running, how much farther down the rankings would she fall?

Sumire's anxiety was evident as Hiraguchi walked with her back to the locker room. "If you're worried," the coach said, "please, don't be afraid to tell me. I'll listen to anything you have to say." But Sumire was afraid to talk. Whether her concerns involved the Metaverse, or simply her own anxieties, her mental minefield seemed too tricky to navigate. However, Hiraguchi persisted, trying to keep herself coming off as gently as possible. "Sumire, if something's weighing you down, it's best if we get it off your chest now, before you go on again."

"Thank you, but…" Sumire replied, as she leant against the wall. "There's a lot that I can't actually discuss right now." Hiraguchi nodded. As far as she knew, Sumire could have been referring to the loss of her sister, a subject which she knew to handle especially carefully. Then, Sumire continued. "There is something I would like to talk about, though. Hiraguchi-sensei, do I… really belong here? At this tournament?"

"What are you talking about, Sumire-chan?", she chuckled. "You and Hanako won our tryouts. You've earned your right to compete here!"

"I know, but I've only ever competed against other gymnasts from Japan. All these people from other countries, and even Hanako and Yuri, are so much better than me…"

Her tone growing firmer, Hiraguchi stared eye-to-eye with her pupil and told her, "Sumire, listen to me. Remember what you said at the beginning of this year? Instead of telling yourself you 'hope' you'll win, you started saying that you 'will' win. Just dig up the courage you had that day."

The day which Hiraguchi had brought up was indeed one that Sumire remembered very well. During the past winter, Ren had taken some time out from their infiltration of Maruki's Palace to visit her local gym and watch her practice her latest routine. By that point, they had spent a lot of time together, and he even confessed his romantic feelings for her. The confidence they had placed in each other finally bore fruit, and the routine she showed him and her coach was above and beyond anything she had demonstrated before. Reflecting on this turning point in her life healed her heart, ever so slightly. After a moment's meditation, Sumire turned to her coach and responded, "I know what you mean, Hiraguchi-sensei… thank you. When I was walking out for my routines, I… I saw Senpai- I mean, Ren and his friends in the front row, cheering me on. I'm sorry he had to watch me do so poorly out there, but…"

Hiraguchi shook her head, dismissing the thought. "If I remember that boy, I just know he'll love you all the same, whether you placed first or last."

Sumire began to cry, but for once, these were tears of joy. The bond they shared was stronger than the results of this silly little game, and even though she had almost lost sight of that truth, her coach's wise words reminded her. "Th-thank you… Sen-sei…" she whispered as she buried her face onto Hiraguchi's neck and shoulder, and cried herself through her complex storm of emotions. At that moment, all she longed for was the comforting words and embrace of her friends in the Phantom Thieves, especially Ren. And when she read the text message that had just popped up on her phone, she took some comfort in knowing she would get that pleasure soon.

AN: Special thanks, as always, go to Deathmanstratos and SupremeKnight3 for editing and support. When I told them I was going to make up and describe my own routines, they were quick to caution me about how time-consuming that would be. Taking their advice, I tried to stick to general impressions of the routines, as opposed to detailed play-by-play breakdowns. Unfortunately, I can't seem to post links to the videos I used for reference here on this site.

Yes, Ryuji: Hanako's ball routine was a JoJo's Bizarre Adventure reference. I almost referred to that franchise by name, which wouldn't have been typical for the Persona universe and its trademark-sensitive tendencies. However, I borrowed the new name from "Persona 5 Strikers in a Nutshell: Part 1", an animated parody of P5S by Jamezietocool on YouTube. Jamezie's Persona Memeverse is silly and stupid and I love it.

Speaking of Hanako, she originally had more scenes backstage with Sumire, but again, after advice from Death and Knight, I replaced most of her parts with Yuna. Not only do I understand Yuna far better, since she's my own character, but I've already set up a relationship between her and Sumire, so it's better to build on that than to introduce a new one. Poor Hanako… she's becoming the Eric Stoltz to Yuna's Michael J. Fox! At least I let her show off a banger of a routine!

Yuliya Krylenko is a character I have shown off once before. She is, basically, a gender-swap of another OC of mine, a male contortionist named Yuri Krylenko. Yes, I know I double-dipped on that name when I created Yuri Hikawa for this fanfic. The other Yuri will not make an appearance here, so I think I'll be safe.

The format of the Madicce Cup is a hybrid of two different tournaments: the AEON Cup (for the qualifying rounds) and the FIG World Cup series (for the finals). Since I kept making changes to its structure pretty late into writing this chapter, I used Futaba as a mouthpiece to explain everything at the start. I even went so far as to map out the entire order of routines. Even though 90% of it or so won't even figure into the story itself, it really helped to visualize the flow of events. The scores are based on the FIG Code of Points as it was in 2017, when this story is set.

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