The first Palace
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Forest: Thanks! I hope the fic surpasses expectations!
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Here is another one.
Disclaimer: Persona 5 Royal is owned by Atlus.
On with the chapter!
"Well, first things first, we have to find our point of entry." Mona said as the two stood outside the Palace.
"I'm guessing entering from the front door is out of the question." Joker said with a grin, guessing the answer.
"What kind of phantom thief uses the front door?"
"Yeah… wait, 'phantom thief'?"
"The ones that sweep in and stylishly steal treasure; that's what we'll be when we're in the Metaverse." The not-cat said smugly.
"…I'm not saying no." Akira smirked. "But why Phantom Thieves?"
"It's… hmm… actually, you figure it out."
"What?"
"I do know why but I think it would be better if you can arrive at the conclusion on your own." Morgana explained. "I am supposed to be your teacher; it's not good if I give you all the answers."
"Fair enough… but I'll think more on it after we get back to the real world; for now… guess I'll try that." The teen closed his eyes for a second and when he opened them again, the world had taken a blue hue. 'It helps that I can use it in both worlds but seeing everything blue like this feels weird.' He thought. "Ah!"
"Find anything?"
"There, at the… I guess it would be the window to our room." Joker said as he pointed to said window. "It looks like we can open it and enter from there."
"I'll take care of it, give me a push."
"Sure." Akira put his hands together in a 'step' and Mona jumped on top of them as he gave the not-cat a push to reach the window.
Mona landed just to the left of the window and held onto it and the wall to avoid falling before sliding it open.
"Alright, let's go." He said as he stepped in.
Joker took a few steps back to gain some distance and then dashed forward, jumping and grabbing the ledge of the window with one hand before pulling himself up and inside.
"Huh… it kind of looks like my room before I cleaned it." Akira thought as he looked around. "Well, if the mess back then was all metal and machines… what even are those?"
"My best guess is parts for machines used to print money." Morgana answered with a shrug. "He sees this place as a money printer after all."
"True… I guess we now take the stairs up... where would those take us? This would be the last floor in the real Leblanc."
"We can't know until we go; a distortion won't be the same as the real world counterpart."
"Yeah… I guessed as much from seeing the outside." With a shrug, Joker walked to the stairs and started the walk up along with Mona.
A few minutes later, they had made it to the next floor.
"Hm?" As soon as they reached the next floor, a barred door stopped them from going up any further.
"Do you think we can break it?" Akira asked as he saw the door.
"No, it looks pretty solid, things in Palaces are usually far more resilient than their real world counterparts." Morgana answered.
"Well, it does have a key hole so I guess we'll have to find a key." Joker looked to the sides, noting there were only two corridors in that floor.
They were wide enough for about three people to walk without issue, with a few shelves on the sides every so often but it was barren otherwise.
There weren't even any windows, just lights on the ceiling illuminating the place.
"I don't think we should split up; can you smell something from either path?"
"I can only smell Treasures and that one is still above us, probably at the top; we'll just have to search one and, if we don't find anything, check the other one."
"Well… let's start with the left one then." With that, the two turned to the left path and began to walk. "This place feels a bit claustrophobic, why aren't there any windows?" Akira asked in a whisper, in case Shadows were near.
"It's a result of Isshiki's cognition; he probably thinks that Leblanc is a place that only exists to make him money and it doesn't need windows or anything like that." Joker could only frown at the answer. "I hear something."
The two immediately dashed behind a shelf and waited as the sound of footsteps became louder and louder.
"…a shadow?" The teen couldn't help but sound doubtful; unlike the ones in Mementos, this one looked a lot more humanoid; a white emotionless mask covering his face and wearing what looked like a security guard outfit.
"It's a shadow no doubt, it took that form because of the Palace." Mona answered him. "It's coming this way, get ready to take it down."
'There isn't much room to maneuver here.' Joker thought as he looked around the corridor. 'Let's try this, then.'
"On my mark, Mona."
The not-cat nodded and prepared to attack.
The shadow moved closer with each second and when it was about to reach them, Mona took out a slingshot and shot it to disorient it; Joker dashed forward, dagger in hand, and stabbed right through its mask.
Not giving it a chance to retaliate, he retrieved his weapon and stabbed it two more times on the chest before kicking it back.
The shadow convulsed on the floor for a few moments before disappearing.
"…I was expecting it to change form." He turned to Mona who was staring in confusion as well.
"I guess… you didn't give it a chance to." The not-cat said.
"You don't sound sure."
"Master Igor gave me the knowledge that 'taking off the mask will reveal a shadow's true form so we can fight it'; he didn't mention anything about attacking one before it has the chance to."
"Well… it looks like we can save some time if we do it this way." Joker shrugged. "I don't think we can negotiate with it if we take them down like this, though."
"Probably not." Mona said as he put away his slingshot.
'I still don't understand how a slingshot can do the same damage a gun can.' Akira thought as he sheathed his knife but didn't think on it any further.
Just like when he saw him use it in Mementos, he has learned to accept it as it is.
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"This guy has zero imagination." That was the conclusion Akira arrived at after walking down the corridor for around half an hour, finding a few more shadows and beating them before they have a chance to retaliate.
"I thought there would be some secret room or something but no, just a simple corridor." Mona shrugged in agreement. "Looks like we're about to reach the end too."
"Yeah…" The teen activated his third eye for a moment. "There are some more pieces of treasure there… I'm not sure what we can do with them, though."
"If we don't find a use for it, we can always try to sell it."
"I'm not sure many people would want 'pieces of a person's distorted mind' but we'll think more on it later… oh."
"Well… looks like there is at least one corner in this entire corridor." Morgana said with a chuckle.
"Let's see if we can find something."
The two stopped at the corner and peeked to make sure there weren't shadows.
"Is that… a treasure chest?"
"Yep; let's open it, there might be something good inside."
They approached said treasure chest and Akira opened it.
"A dagger." Joker said as he took it out. "…looks more dangerous than the one I have with me now."
There wasn't that much difference between the two weapons but the red color and the way it seemed to gleam made it look more dangerous than his current black knife.
"Well, it doesn't look like there is anything to open that door but at least it wasn't a total waste." Akira nodded in agreement as he put away his new weapon. "Let's double back and check the other corridor."
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"Hm, looks like new shadows don't spawn."
"It just takes them longer than in Mementos."
"Any reason for that?"
"Honestly? I'm not entirely sure; I have a theory, though."
"Which is?"
"Mementos is the 'Palace of the general public' so you could say it has thousands of 'Rulers' and all of them contribute to it."
"So since this is an 'individual Palace' the shadows spawn slower because there is only one Ruler?"
"It's really just a theory." Morgana shrugged.
"You know, I thought Igor would have made you all-knowing, at least when it comes to the Metaverse, so I'm surprised there are stuff you don't know." Akira commented.
"W-well, Master Igor gave me the knowledge that was deemed necessary! If I don't know something then that's because I don't need to know it!" He countered heatedly.
"Whoa, easy Mona; it wasn't a complaint, just an observation." Joker raised his hands in a 'calm down' gesture. "It's not like I'm in any position to talk, I know next to nothing about the Metaverse except for what you've told me."
"Well… alright."
As they finished that conversation, they reached the locked door from before.
"Hm!" The two immediately moved to hide behind shelves as a shadow appeared on the other corridor.
'It has its back to us and…' Akira activated third eye, seeing a blue aura around it. 'Let's see if I can get a new Persona.' He looked at Morgana and raised two fingers, a sign they decided on earlier, and the not-cat nodded.
As one, the two dashed forward and Akira jumped, landing on the shadow's shoulder.
"Show me your true form." He said as he ripped off the mask on its face and jumped back when it dissolved into a puddle.
Two new shadows manifested, both looking like a humanoid dog, holding a club on one hand.
They growled and prepared to charge but Joker and Mona already had their Personas behind them.
"Eiha!"
"Garu!"
The two sent their respective skills, the two shadows looked in pain but growled once more and charged.
'Neither curse or wind is particularly effective.' Joker thought before smirking. 'Let's try this, then.'
His mask reformed on his face but immediately disappeared once more.
"Goblin!" His second ever Persona appeared with a smirk.
"Gyaha, where do I put them boss?"
"Agi!"
Goblin let out a snicker as a fire ball materialized in his hand and he threw it to one of the shadows.
It howled in pain and fell to the ground, Mona quickly taking advantage and dashing forward with his sword to finish it off.
The other shadow tried to aim at the not-cat now that he was closer but a second agi hit him right in the chest and sent it to the ground.
Joker and Mona surrounded the downed shadow, their guns at the ready and aiming at it.
"Shit! Wait, don't shoot!" The shadow said in a panic.
"Then give me your power." Joker demanded.
"Power… can I ask you something first?"
"What is it?"
"Don't you think this is absurd? You're invading the Great Youji's place; do you expect to get out alive?"
'Great Youji?' The two phantom thieves shared a glance at the name but didn't comment on it.
"He has threatened me; whatever happens, he brought it on himself."
"Hmm… well, I can understand that feeli- wait!" The shadow slowly raised to its feet, both hands up in a gest of surrender. "I remember now! I belong in the sea of souls; I am thou, thou art I, my name is Kobold."
He glowed blue for a moment before turning into a mask and being absorbed by the one in Akira's face.
"Good job." Mona grinned as he put his slingshot away.
"Thanks." Joker grinned back before focusing in his newest Persona. "Hm, a physical skill called Lunge and… 'Taunt', something to make an enemy enraged." He frowned. "Not sure how that works but I'll have to test it out in combat."
"I'm sure we'll get the chance." Mona said with a chuckle. "Let's go and see if we can find something to open the door at the end of this other corridor."
"You don't have to tell me twice."
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They had to fight a few more shadows on the way but, luckily, they did find a key.
It was stashed away in another treasure chest and after getting it, they doubled back towards the door.
'Let's see if it works.' Joker thought as he put the key in and twisted, the door unlocking without any resistance.
"Good, looks like it works." Mona grinned. "Let's go, we still need to see what else we can find."
They walked up another set of stairs only to find another locked door… and the exact same layout as the floor they just passed.
"…we did walk up the stairs, right? This isn't some 'I'm bending reality to keep you trapped on the same floor' thing, is it?"
"No, we definitely walked up; this floor just happens to be the same as the last one." Mona answered.
"Like I said before, no imagination… I won't complain, though; it actually works in our favor if all the floors are like this."
"True… should we start with the left again?"
"Let's go."
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They moved through both corridors, Joker even got a new Persona in the process, but there was no key this time for them to unlock the door.
"Well… what now? You said it will be hard to break but we don't have many choices now, do we?"
"…actually, there is another thing we can do." Mona said. "I bet it will be better than trying to break this, let's go back to the real world for now."
Akira raised an eyebrow but nodded and they walked down the stairs until reaching the attic, then left through the window and walked to the clinic to return.
"You have returned from the Metaverse." The Meta-nav informed them.
"So what's this other thing we… wow." The teen had to catch himself on the wall as his legs wobbled.
"Take it easy, we were fighting in the Metaverse for a long time and you're still not used to it." Morgana said with a worried look.
"Damn, I thought I was getting used to it after fighting in Mementos."
"Fighting in Palaces can be different; we don't have the open space of Mementos to move how we want during a fight and, while it's just stairs, they do contribute to making you tired." Zorro said.
"Well, that's something to keep in mind from now on." Arsène chimed in. "For now, I will be resting; please call me if something happens." With those words, Arsène disappeared to rest in Akira's mind.
"Give me a minute and I'll get moving." He whispered.
"What are you doing here?"
Joker flinched at the new voice and looked up to see a woman with dark blue hair in a bob-cut, wearing a short dark green dress, a white lab coat and high heels.
"Ah…" He replied unimaginatively.
"…are you looking for drugs?" The woman asked with a glare; the question jolting his brain to a start.
"Wh-NO!"
"Then why exactly are you sitting here outside my clinic?"
"I… I was exercising but I pushed myself harder than I thought, I was taking a break here before going back to the place I'm staying at." He quickly made up on the spot. 'It's at least a half-truth.'
"Hm, is that so?" The woman raised an eyebrow. "…come on in, I'll give you a check-up."
"Ah, I'm really fine so-"
"Just come on in." She repeated, more forcefully this time.
"…no." Akira replied evenly. "I appreciate the offer but I only need to rest for a minute."
"…" The, apparently, doctor let out a sigh. "Look kid, do you know what the Hippocratic oath is?"
"…the one doctors take about 'doing no harm' and treat patients the best they can?" He said, more as a question.
"Yes, and I'm a doctor, if I leave a kid like you that looks like he will fall over any minute then I would be going against it; so just come in, I'll give you a check-up and, provided I don't find anything wrong with you, let you be on your way."
"…if you put it like that at first instead of ordering me to enter the clinic, I would have been a lot more cooperative." Akira chuckled, although the doctor didn't seem to share his sense of humor. "I really am just tired and need to rest."
"Then there is no reason for you to refuse a medical check-up; you can even rest on a bed for a bit instead of the floor."
"…well, when you put it like that." He slowly forced himself to stand and followed the doctor. "Ah, I have a cat." He mentioned just before entering, Morgana peeking his head from the bag.
"…there shouldn't be any problems if he comes in, just keep him in the bag; cleaning his hair in case any patient is allergic would be a hassle."
"Got it, did you hear that Morgana?"
"I'll behave."
The waiting room looked normal, with eight seats, four on the opposite wall from the door and four next to it; a counter on the left, a few magazine racks, a bathroom door on the far right and another door on the left.
"Follow me." The doctor said as she opened the door on the left and walked through it.
'That must be the examination room.' Akira guessed as he did as told.
Just as he thought, it was an examination room.
A single bed occupying most of one wall, some medical supplies that he doesn't really know what they're for; a wall to look at x-rays and a computer set on a desk a step away from the bed.
"Take a seat." She said as she sat on the chair desk.
Akira did as told, letting his bag down on the floor.
"You said you were exercising and pushed yourself too hard, correct?"
"Yes."
"What exercise are we talking about?"
"Free running." He answered calmly.
"By yourself?"
"I moved here not too long ago and haven't made many friends."
She made a non-committal hum as she wrote something down.
"So what should I call you, doctor?"
"You just answered your own question."
"…your name is doctor 'Doctor'? I guess you're perfectly fitting for this job then."
The woman's eyes widened for a moment and she shook her head with what Akira thinks was the ghost of a grin.
"My name is Takemi Tae but calling me 'doctor' is fine." Takemi said. "What about you, what's your name?"
"Kurusu Akira."
"Hmm…" She stared for a second but didn't say anything. "Alright, let's get the exam started, turn around and lift your shirt." He did as told, feeling a stethoscope on his back a moment after. "Take a deep breath… sounds good; can you roll your sleeves so I take your pressure?"
"Sure." Akira turned around again and lifted up his right sleeve until the shoulder.
"The other sleeve." Takemi said simply, her eyes focused like she was studying him.
"Ah, alright." He did the same with his other arm and Tae put the cuff of the tensiometer around his arm.
"…no issues here either." The doctor said as she took it off his arm and noted something down again. "Follow my finger without moving your head." She raised her index in front of the teen's face and moved it side to side.
Akira followed it with his eyes the entire time.
"Alright, there doesn't seem to be any issues." Takemi noted something else down. "Looks like you aren't on drugs."
"Of course I'm not." Akira replied dryly as he rolled his sleeves back down. "Wait, were you still suspecting me of that?"
"One can never be too careful." Takemi shrugged nonchalantly.
Akira decided it was better to stop that line of questioning.
.
.
After all the tests were over.
"…can I go now?"
"Sure, be on your way."
Akira straightened his clothes, grabbed his bag and got up to leave.
When he opened the door out of the clinic, he noticed a sign that wasn't there before.
"Um… doc, could you come here for a second?" The teen called out.
"What is it?"
"There is a weird sign here."
Takemi frowned and walked to the door.
Her eyes widened as she a sign with a single phrase there.
'Give up your license, Plague'
She boredly ripped the sign out, her expression not betraying any emotion.
"Are you okay?" Akira asked worriedly.
"…it's nothing; be on your way." She said with a sigh.
'…she sounded like Boss.' He kept that thought to himself, said thanks, and made his way back to Leblanc.
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"That doctor was…" Morgana trailed off, jumping off from the bag once they were back in Leblanc's attic.
"Yeah… but we have other things to worry about." Akira said as he sat down on the bed and moved his shoulders around. "I didn't think I'd be this tired."
"Would you prefer if we wait until tomorrow to talk about that other thing?"
"No, tell me now; the sooner we get through that door the better."
"Alright, it's rather simple really; you have to make a lock-pick."
"Ok, how do we start?"
"…well, you accepted that quickly." Zorro commented.
"I just can't be bothered to be surprised by things like that anymore." Akira shrugged. "So, what should I do?"
"Shadows don't drop only money but also materials that we can use, I've been collecting those; they are in that box over there." Mona pointed to a box on the shelves with his tail.
"Ok… why not tell me, though?"
"It just wasn't relevant until now and I was able to get them on my own."
"Still, I'd prefer if you tell me these things in advance from now on."
"Well, in that case." Morgana grinned. "There are a few other things I think you would like; we can make a few of them now if you feel up to it."
"I rested a bit at the clinic, what do I do?"
"Get the box and bring it over to the desk, I'll tell what you need and how to make it."
Akira spent the rest of the night following Morgana's instructions until it was time for him to sleep.
The next day.
Akira opened his eyes and immediately cursed the fact that he woke up.
'Damn… I didn't think I would still feel so tired.' He thought as he slowly moved to the side, letting his feet touch the floor.
"It seems that Palace is more punishing than Mementos." Arsène commented as he appeared beside him.
"Yeah… I don't think it's a good idea to go back today." He said in a hushed tone, noting his phone is still near the stairs where he left it.
"Agreed." Morgana said with a yawn as he woke up. "I'm not as tired as you are but I'm also not at a 100%, better to take the day off and rest than risk it."
"We'll have to plan things out better if we won't be able to enter consecutively." Zorro chimed in.
"Yeah…" Akira nodded.
PING
'…I really hope it's not 'Alibaba'.' The teen frowned as he walked towards his phone but immediately smiled when he saw who the notification was from.
"Good morning Akira-kun; I wanted to confirm if we're still meeting today?"
"Of course Sumire, I'll meet you at Shibuya during our lunch breaks." He answered.
'Tiredness aside, this won't be a bad day.'
"…are you okay, Akira-kun?" Sumire asked with a worried look; the two sitting in front of each other at the diner in Shibuya. "You seem tired."
"Yeah, just a bit tired." He answered.
"Did something happen?"
"Well…" Akira trailed off, trying to come up with a good explanation; he opted for what he told the doctor yesterday. "I was feeling restless yesterday so I exercised for a while but it turns out that I don't know my limits so I pushed myself a bit too hard."
"Oh… you could have told me that before; I don't want to make you come here if you're not up to it."
"It's not so bad that I can't come." The black haired teen shrugged. "How about you? How is your slump going?"
"…better… I think." Sumire said with a frown. "I'm trying to not imitate Kasumi's moves but… it feels like I'm too conscious of that so I end up thinking 'am I focusing too much in not imitating her?' so I can't really say the moves feel natural… I'm sorry, did that make sense?"
"Yeah, I think I get it." Akira nodded. "I can't really tell you if you're on to something without seeing you and Kasumi-san perform, though… actually, even if I did, I'm not sure I would be able to tell anything." He added awkwardly with a grin.
"Well…" She trailed off and mumbled something.
"Sorry, I didn't catch that."
"N-nothing! We should eat before it gets cold!" Sumire said quickly before taking a bite of her food.
"…ok, then." Akira said simply as he started to eat as well. "…hey, Sumire."
"Yes?"
"Are you sure it's okay to come all the way here to have lunch with me?"
"…what do you mean?" She asked, suddenly looking downcast.
"I really appreciate it but I was wondering if it wouldn't be better if we meet somewhere more in the middle; Shibuya is a lot closer to Leblanc than it is your gym, isn't it?"
"O-oh…"
"Something wrong?"
"N-no…"
"Sumire, you're a terrible liar." Akira said with a grin. "But I won't pry; you can tell me if and when you feel comfortable talking to me."
"…thank you." She whispered as she took another bite of her food. "To answer your question, I really prefer coming here to Shibuya; besides, we don't have this diner anywhere else."
"True." He chuckled as he moved his fork to get another bite of food. "I just wanted to mention it… hng."
"What is it?"
"Nothing, just my shoulder that's been bothering me since yesterday, I really need to keep a closer eye on my limits."
"Did you make sure to stretch properly?"
"…now that you mention it, I certainly could have done a better job of that." Akira face palmed. 'Not sure if it will work in the Metaverse but it certainly won't hurt to try.'
"You should be careful, it will hurt you in the long run if you don't make sure to stretch before exercising; you should also cool down properly after, Coach Hiraguchi actually taught us a method… w-what is it?"
"No, it's nothing." He answered with a wide grin.
"R-really? I didn't say anything weird?"
"Not at all." Akira assured her.
BEEP BEEP
"Ah, we lost track of time." Sumire said as she stopped the alarm.
The two quickly finished their food before paying and leaving.
The rest of the day passed by without anything noteworthy happening to Akira.
In order to play it safe Akira and Morgana decided to take an extra day to rest but, now, it was time to go back into the Palace.
"Well, are you ready to put the new items to use?"
"Certainly." Joker grinned as he stretched his arms above his head.
"…what are you doing?"
"Stretching." He answered as he raised his right leg behind him, grabbing the foot with his hand. "Talking with Su…" He stopped himself. "Better to not say any names out loud, but when I was talking with my friend yesterday, she asked me if I stretched properly before 'exercising'; I'm not sure how much of an effect it will have but it doesn't hurt to try."
"Huh… fair point." Mona nodded as he stood straight before trying to touch his feet with his front paws.
.
A few minutes later.
"Alright." Joker adjusted his gloves. "Let's go."
"Yeah."
.
It was a good thing that the stairs were in the middle since it let the two arrive at the locked door with ease.
"…no shadows in sight; get to work Joker."
"On it." He said as he took out a lock pick and put it in the keyhole. 'Let's see...' Akira activated his 'third eye' allowing him to see the mechanism inside the lock. 'So if I move this here… and that there…'
Click
"Got it." Joker said after hearing that sound.
He took back the lock pick as the door opened for them.
"Great job, I expected it would take you longer." Mona complimented. "Let's see what we can find on the next floor."
The two walked up the now unlocked set of stairs but…
"…nothing?" Joker frowned. "I was honestly expecting another door."
"I guess he has some imagination to avoid making all the floors the same." Mona shrugged. "There are still only the two corridors, though."
"I guess we'll have to explore again."
With that, they turned to the left corridor and began their search.
.
Unsurprisingly, there wasn't much to this corridor either; a few Shadows got in their way but it was nothing they couldn't deal with, Joker even managed to get a new Persona out of it, and as they reached the end.
"…why is there… you know what? I'm not even going to ask, I'll leave it at 'it's something about cognition'." Joker said after throwing his arms in the air in an 'I'm done asking' fashion. "The important part, though; it looks like we can go up through that hole in the ceiling."
"Yeah, let's go!"
Mona took some distance before running and jumping up, grabbing the ledge and pushing himself up.
Joker did the same a moment later, the two now standing on one of the 'branches' of the building; way above ground.
"It could be a problem if we find any shadows up here." The teen mentioned.
"Let's just go while being careful for now; we can still check the other corridor if anything happens."
Joker nodded in agreement and the two began to run on top of the 'branch'.
They almost reached the middle of the 'tree' when a shadow stood in their way.
"…crap, that one is strong." Akira immediately could tell thanks to his 'third eye', a red aura was visible around the shadow as soon as he activated it. "…it's not attacking?"
"It must be tasked with guarding this area, it won't move unless we approach it first." Mona said in a whisper so the shadow doesn't hear them.
"And there is no way for us to get past it or ambush it." Joker mumbled. "…if it's guarding this area, then there must be something important behind it, right?"
"Definitely, shadows don't just stand somewhere without reason."
The two stared at each other for a second before nodding.
"Persona!" They said in unison, summoning Arsène and Zorro to strike against the shadow.
"You vermin!" The shadow bellowed as it guarded itself against the mix of dark energy and wind sent its way. "You will pay for this!"
Immediately after saying those words, the shadow dissolved into a puddle before reforming into a skeleton a bit bigger than Akira holding a sword on his right hand, a large round shield on his left and wearing a helmet that didn't cover his face.
Without any warning, he moved his shield in front of him and charged forward.
'I don't have a clear shot… or a way to dodge properly.' Akira thought with a frown since the 'branch' they were on top of didn't offer much room to maneuver. "In that case; Kobold!"
Instead of moving backwards, he summoned one of his newer Personas, the humanoid looking dog growled before lunging forward, his club making contact with the shield and forcing it in place for a moment.
"Mona, come here!" Joker quickly ordered, putting his hands together as a step.
The not-cat jumped on top of them and got sent flying through the air, landing on the opposite side of the skeleton warrior.
"My turn!" Mona smirked, taking out his slingshot and unloading all of his ammo on the back of the Shadow.
It clearly wasn't weak to it but the constant barrage was able to distract him enough for Kobold to swat away the shield.
"Damn mutt!" The skeleton roared as he swung his sword.
Right before it could cut the Persona, Akira called him back while he rushed towards the skeleton, shooting with each step until he was in melee range.
'Gotcha!' He swung his knife upwards, cutting the skeleton's torso and quickly moved it downwards for a follow-up.
The skeleton moved his sword and parried, sending his knife flying.
'Shit! I didn't think it could move like that!' He didn't have time to think more on that as the sword began to aim for his neck next. 'I spent all my ammo and he just sent my new knife out of my hand… wait!'
Joker barely managed to duck under the sword strike and took another step forward, bringing out his first knife out of his coat and stabbing the skeleton on the knee, making it kneel.
Mona, who had been approaching ever since Joker was apparently disarmed, struck the other knee with his sword.
As one, the two moved to its left and kicked him, sending it off the 'branch' where gravity did its job and made it fall to the ground.
"Phew…" Joker let out a sigh of relief as he sat down. "That was closer than I would have liked." He thought out loud while bringing a hand to massage his neck.
"I'll say." Mona agreed as he walked towards him, the wild card's other knife in hand. "You were lucky it was sent backwards and not to the side or it would be down there with that shadow now." He pointed down.
"Thanks." He said as he took the knife and sheathed it. "Well…" He got up and looked forward. "Let's see what that shadow was protecting."
They moved forward a bit more, arriving at the 'trunk' of the building.
"It looks like something goes here." Joker said, looking at a strangely shaped hole.
"Yeah, there must be a key of some sort that goes inside." Mona nodded with his arms crossed. "There might be something on the other corridor."
"…crap."
"Hm? What is it?"
"We managed to beat that skeleton but we can't really advance… doesn't that mean that, depending on how long it takes us to get whatever key we need for this, it might come back and we'll have to fight it again?"
"Well… yes and no."
"…I feel like I'm going to like this." Joker raised an eyebrow as he waited for the explanation.
"That Shadow was special compared to the regular ones, it will regenerate with time but it will take it a lot longer than what it takes regular shadows."
"Define 'a lot longer'."
"A couple of weeks at the earliest; it could even take it a few months if we're lucky."
"…I was right, I did like this." Joker chuckled. "Let's not bet on luck, though; if at all possible, I'd prefer to get past this area today."
"Let's get back inside and check the other corridor to see what we can find then."
After the two exited the Metaverse.
"I guess we weren't so lucky." Akira thought out loud with a sigh.
"There were too many shadows there for us to fight our way through; if possible, we'll have to find an alternate route." Morgana answered. "How are you feeling, by the way?"
"Tired… but not as bad as before." He said as he began to walk towards Leblanc. "I either got stronger, stretching really helps or both."
"I'd bet on both personally." The not-cat grinned. "If we're up to it, we should go back inside tomorrow."
"Hmm, it is a Sunday tomorrow but… let's decide later, I honestly don't know how much I will have recovered."
"Fair enough."
The next day.
While certainly not as tired as they were during their first trip to Youji's Palace, they decided to play it safe and rest for the day but agreed to definitely go tomorrow again.
"Hey, kid, do you have a second?" Sojiro called out.
"Yes?" Akira asked as he finished drying a plate and putting it away. "What is it?"
"There was a mix-up on my last order for ingredients, I would usually go myself and get what I'm missing but something came up today; can you go to the store and get them? They already know what to get so you'd just need to give them my name and they'll give you the order."
"I don't mind; where is the store?"
"Here is the address." The older man gave him a piece of paper. "Just tell them Sakura Sojiro sent you; I'll give them a call saying that you'll be picking up my order."
"Alright." Akira nodded.
He went upstairs while reading the address.
"Did you hear that?" Arsène asked Morgana as he and Akira entered the attic.
"Yep, we're going to get some stuff for the Chief." Morgana nodded as he stretched before jumping inside the bag Akira uses. "You should take an umbrella with you, it looked like it was going to rain."
"Good idea." The teen agreed, grabbing an umbrella after changing and grabbing the bag before walking back downstairs and out of Leblanc.
"That was pretty fast." Zorro commented as the two (four) exited the store Sojiro sent them to.
"We were lucky there wasn't a line." Arsène commented.
"Yep!" Morgana grinned.
Akira just nodded his head since they were in a public place.
As he began the walk back, he felt a drop of water land on him, he looked up and a few more drops fell on his glasses.
"Good thing you reminded me to get an umbrella." He muttered, opening the umbrella.
"Hehe, what would you do without me?" Morgana chuckled.
The four continued their walk, Akira listening to the other three making conversation, with Arsène 'translating' whenever he wanted to make a comment.
If someone were to one day tell him that he would be having a conversation like this, he would have probably laughed on their faces.
'Hm? Isn't that…?'
"What is it?" Arsène asked, noticing the sudden change in his expression and following his gaze. "Oh, it's them."
Akira quickened his pace to catch up.
"Hey, you two." He called out.
"Ah, Akira-san!" Kasumi said in surprise, looking around Sumire, whom she was standing in front of; the two holding umbrellas over their heads. "What are you doing here?"
"Just buying some stuff for Boss." He answered, lifting the bag with ingredients a bit. "What about you two?" Akira turned to look at Sumire, noticing how she was looking at the floor. "Is something wrong?"
"I-it's nothing…" Sumire muttered, glancing away. "We should get going." Without saying anything else, she began to walk.
"That was… strange." Morgana commented.
"Does she usually act like that?" Zorro followed up.
"No." Arsène said. "Something must have happened…"
'And I intend to find out what.' Akira thought as he and Kasumi walked to keep pace with Sumire.
"So, you never answered me, what are you two doing here?"
"We were coming back from practice." Kasumi said happily.
"How did it go?"
Sumire visibly flinched at the question but Kasumi didn't seem to notice as she continued.
"It was hard, I don't know if Sumire told you but there is a competition soon."
"She mentioned it, yes." Akira nodded.
"Coach Hiraguchi is making us work twice as hard in preparation; we'll be ready when the time comes."
Yet again, Akira noticed Sumire flinch.
"Sumire."
"Eh, yes?"
"Is something wrong? You look troubled."
"…" The red haired girl looked away without giving an answer.
"Well…" Kasumi began. "During practice-"
"Kasumi-san." Akira interrupted calmly before turning towards her with a small smile. "If Sumire doesn't want to tell me… well, I'd prefer to not hear it from someone else."
"Ah… yeah, you're right." Kasumi nodded before turning to her sister with an apologetic smile. "I'm sorry Sumire, I didn't think it through."
"…it's okay." She muttered.
The conversation died down after that exchange… between the three humans, at least.
"Well… all I could tell from that is that something happened during practice." Zorro commented. "Do you know anything else, Arsène?"
"I know Sumire is going through a slump right now but not much else." The other Persona shrugged. "Last time Akira and her had lunch, she mentioned not being sure if what she is doing is helping so… maybe she realized today that it really doesn't and that has her a bit depressed? I'm really just guessing at this point."
"Shouldn't you do something to cheer her up, Akira?" Morgana said from the bag.
The teen thought for a moment; he did want to do something but he wasn't sure what he could do.
'Oh… that could work.' An idea suddenly struck him.
"Hey, Sumire."
"Hm?" She turned to him and Akira raised the hand holding the ingredients from Sojiro before patting the side of his bag.
Morgana had learned to interpret that as a sign for him to get out so he showed his head.
"Want to pet Morgana? He seems to enjoy it more when you do it, he is always purring."
"What?! That's not what I meant when I told you to do something!"
"Come on, you know it's true." Akira answered with a grin.
"What did Morgana say?" Kasumi asked with a giggle at the 'apparent' conversation.
"He said that I should try and cheer Sumire up; this is the only thing I can think of for the moment." He answered with a mischievous grin before turning to Sumire. "So? I'm sure Morgana doesn't mind."
"I'll get back at you for this…"
'You said something similar the first day you met them but you still haven't done anything.' The black haired teen thought; there was no way to get away with saying that out loud without looking like he was actually having a conversation with his cat and not just joking.
Sumire looked hesitant so Akira looked at Morgana with a pleading look.
The not-cat sighed before nodding, getting off the bag and climbing onto Akira's shoulder before jumping onto Sumire's.
"See? Looks like he really wants you to pet him."
Sumire couldn't help but let a giggle escape her lips as she brought the hand that wasn't holding the umbrella to pet Morgana.
'That's better.' Akira thought as the three reached a crosswalk with the light in favor of the cars so they stopped and waited. 'I'll send her a message later and ask what happened, maybe she'll tell me if Kasumi-san isn't listening.' As he finished that thought, the light changed to let them cross the road.
"AKIRA!" Arsène yelled.
The teen was immediately on alert and he noticed the lights of a vehicle speeding towards them.
On reflex, he dropped the bag and his umbrella, grabbed Sumire and Kasumi from their arms and jumped forward, landing on his knees just before the sidewalk, barely avoiding the truck as it passed behind them and crashed against the traffic light.
"Wh… wha…" Kasumi mumbled, just realizing what almost happened.
Sumire looked pale as she glanced at the truck.
'That was absurdly close.' Akira thought, trying to calm his ragged breath. "Come on, let's get off the str-"
"Watch out!" Someone around them yelled.
Akira didn't know why they said it but he pushed the Yoshizawa twins towards the sidewalk on reflex.
Before he could think of moving himself, he noticed the lights of what looked like a limo quickly approaching him.
His eyes widened, things seemed to move in slow motion as he unconsciously activated his 'third eye' to try and think of a way out of this; his ability allowed him to see everything about the vehicle in front of him but, try as he might, not a way to avoid it.
He got onto his feet to try and move but wasn't fast enough.
Suddenly, all he could feel was pain; his vision shifting from the grey sky to the black of what he thinks is the top of the limo a few times, before it settled for the dark grey of the pavement of the road where he was now lying face down.
'It hurts… I can't breath…' Akira panicked, hearing voices around him but all of them sounded distant. 'What's happening? What's gonna happen to me? Am I…?' His mind grew fuzzy as his vision faded.
"AH!" Akira woke up with a startle. "What… this is…" A familiar blue room greeted him when he opened his eyes.
"Welcome to the Velvet Room." He heard Igor's voice but the tone was different than usual.
He turned towards them and walked toward the door of his cell, stopping just before exiting.
"I… I… did I…?" He swallowed thickly, not able to finish the sentence.
"No." Lavenza answered him, looking down. "You are not dead."
The teen let out a large huff of breath before trying to take another deep one but he could only manage ragged breaths as he fell to his knees.
"I owe you an apology, Trickster." Igor spoke.
"What…?"
"I thought Yaldabaoth would not attempt to attack you again… I was mistaken."
"Wait… what do you mean? I thought… wasn't I in a car accident just now?"
"That was no accident." Lavenza spoke, her hands clutching the book on her hands firmly. "Think on it for a moment and you'll realize that as well."
While still disoriented by everything, Akira did as told; he recalled the moment he saw the car that hit him approach and his 'third eye' activating.
"What… what was happening to the driver? He looked… I don't even know what to call that."
"That was due to Yaldabaoth's influence." Igor answered, his smile completely gone from his face. "To think he would have the gall to attempt something like this."
Akira gulped, not even when Yaldabaoth had captured him Igor looked as enraged as he is now.
"He did that?"
The two residents of the room nodded.
"Trickster." Lavenza spoke after a few moments. "You do not have a reason to believe us now… but I swear to you, as much as we regret that we let this happen, it will NOT happen again."
"I… don't really have many choices but to trust you." Akira answered honestly. "But why are you so sure now?"
"We mistakenly believed that Yaldabaoth would not make any more attempts to rig the game after his failed attempt to infiltrate the Velvet Room." The girl explained. "We may make mistakes but we do not repeat them; we will be monitoring you closely from now on and ensure nothing like what happened now is repeated."
"Also, Yaldabaoth went too far." Igor said. "This act will not go unpunished; our master is likely seeing to that right now."
Unknown location.
'It seems the Trickster managed to survive.' Yaldabaoth thought, looking at the scene unfolding. 'No matter, I-'
"My, my, you really crossed the line this time."
Yaldabaoth froze as he heard that voice, any thought of watching Akira banishing from his mind as he looked at the source of the voice that suddenly appeared in his domain.
"I thought there was no need to intervene after your plan with the Velvet Room failed but it seems I was too naïve."
"You…"
"Ah, so you know who I am."
Yaldabaoth doesn't have the body of a human but, if he did, then he would most definitely be drenched in a cold sweat at this moment.
"What do you want… Philemon?"
Cl-cl-cl-cliffhanger!
Sort of?
I just really liked that part as a stopping point.
Welp, Yaldy really screwed up this time, didn't he? Hehe
As always, I hope you enjoyed and get ready to see a familiar face next chapter.
Can you guess who the familiar face is?
Until next time!
PS: Before I leave you; if you've seen my profile then you know I'm a big TanKana fan from Kimetsu no Yaiba; there is a fanzine for that ship on the works in case anyone is interested in checking it out.