Prisoner of Glory Chapter 7: Crafting a Curriculum, a persona series fanfic

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

The Phantom Thieves had a great time watching the Madicce Cup qualifiers. Even though the peculiar proceedings left them with many questions, they still buzzed with excitement over the breathtaking performances on display. For his part, Ren wanted nothing more than to get back with Sumire and congratulate her for doing such a fabulous job, although he still remembered the more important subject of his investigation. Once the day's competitions ended after 7 PM that evening, he sent out a couple of texts, inviting two specific people to join them in a discussion of the day's proceedings. One was sent to Sumire, and the other to Zenkichi Hasegawa. Sumire responded to her text immediately, and said that she would meet them outside as soon as she got changed. While they waited for her, they decided to scope out the Toyohira Stadium in real life, in order to find an alternate entry point they could use when infiltrating the Castle in the Metaverse. Doing their best not to appear suspicious, snooped around the stadium for any points of interest they could find.

Starting on the second floor, the only points of interest was a running track that lined the upper edge of the main arena, and a few meeting rooms and offices. Below, on the first floor, they spotted another entrance across from the main one, on the building's north side. They considered this as a possible entry point to the Castle, but Makoto suggested that, assuming it still existed in the Metaverse at all, it may have similar safeguards to the front doors. Finally, on the ground level, there was the entrance to the arena floor itself, along with the sub-arena, training gym, martial-arts halls, and finally the main exit itself.

Nothing they had scouted out so far seemed promising, so they left the building and took a walk around the outside. A brick-lined promenade wrapped around half of the stadium, and where it ended at the north-most corner, another short path led out to the sidewalk. On their way around the back side, they found themselves looking over a parking lot dug into the ground. Judging from the many trailer trucks parked below, they surmised this to be where equipment and other heavy-duty goods were loaded into and out of the building. That was when Futaba shared an idea with the group. "Guys… what if we could use this service door to get in?"

"It's worth a shot," said Morgana. "If this were a Palace, we could probably count on Yuri's cognition being weaker here. I'm still not sure if Jails and Castles work the same way, but it's worth pursuing any opportunity we can find. For now, let's head back and wait for Sumire."

With that, they all returned to their agreed meeting point, in front of the bicycle lot wall. After waiting for just a couple of minutes, they spotted her in her team jacket and glasses, with her hair down. Ren welcomed her with open arms. "Senpai!", she shouted, as she dove in to hug him.

"Sumire-chan! I'm so glad to see you, my little champion!"

"Ch-champion?" she stammered.

"What's wrong? Did Yuri give you a hard time?"

"No, I made sure to keep Hanako and myself away from her. It's just… I'm a little worried about my scores."

"Let's forget about your scores for now. Did you have fun out there?"

"Fun?" As quickly as her smile had dropped, it instantly reappeared. "Yes… I guess I did have a good time. Thank you all for coming over to watch me! Seeing you in the crowds made it all worthwhile!"

"My pleasure, Sumire. I have to say, you were fantastic out there!" As Ren said this, he leant in and nuzzled Sumire's nose, causing her to blush bright red.

"You r-really think so? Th-thank you, Senpai!"

"No problem. Now let's go. We've got some business to take care of." And with that, Sumire and the Phantom Thieves headed down to the subway, returning to Odori Park and their home away from home.

Odori Park, Sapporo Central

When the group returned to the Phantomobile, they found Zenkichi waiting outside the cabin door. Ren waved to him and said, "Hi, Gramps. Glad you could make it. We didn't keep you waiting long, did we?"

Zenkichi shook his head. "Nope, only a couple of minutes. Wanna talk inside?"

"Good idea." Makoto unlocked the doors and sat with Haru in the driver and passenger seats, while the others crowded inside the passenger cabin.

Once everybody was inside, Ren set his phone on a stand and displayed Sophia, while he led the introductions. "Zenkichi, Sophia, this is Sumire Yoshizawa, professional gymnast -" she demurely blushed at the tall title he gave her "- and my former kouhai at Shujin Academy."

"Zenkichi Hasegawa, Public Security. Pleasure to meet you, Yoshizawa-san."

Sumire bowed politely and replied, "You too, Hasegawa-san!"

"Finally, a kid who respects me…" he smirked. "Please, 'Zenkichi' is fine. Just don't call me 'Gramps' or anything, okay?"

"Okay, Zenkichi. But who's Sophia? I don't see anyone else new here."

In response, Ren's phone emitted a familiar beep as Sophia popped on-screen to introduce herself. "I am Sophia, humanity's companion," she said. "I am also glad to make your acquaintance, Sumire Yoshizawa."

As soon as Sumire caught her first glimpse of Sophie, she gasped with delight. "Aah, she's so cuuuute!", she squealed.

"Nice, huh?" said Ryuji. "We found her in Shibuya's Jail a couple o' weeks ago."

"I take it you like our little 'phone daughter'?" Ren asked jovially.

The implications of his jest caused Sumire to blush anew. "Ph-phone d-d-daughter!?", she stammered.

Zenkichi tried, and failed, to suppress a chuckle. "That is just too precious…" he muttered to himself. Speaking up, he cleared his throat and continued, "Anyway, what did you kids find out today?"

"Well, first of all," answered Futaba, "our 'ice queen' Yuri is at the top of the leaderboards so far. No surprise there. But you wanna know what is surprising? Some of the big-name competitors just totally zonked out and flubbed their performances! And we're talking some of the champions from Saint Petersburg here, gold medal winners like Larisa Lebedeva and Yuliya Krylenko! It's just like that movie where the aliens stole all the talent out of those basketball players!"

"So, are you saying those were all Change of Heart incidents?"

Makoto nodded. "It's our best theory, based on what we've been up against. We spoke with Sumire last night as well, and she told us something I think you should hear."

Picking up from that sentence, Sumire continued, "Yesterday, while we were training together, Hikawa-san gave out her EMMA Keyword to all the other gymnasts. When I used it, it took me to the Metaverse, where the stadium was transformed into this giant ice castle. I went inside, and found the gymnasts - I mean, their Shadow Selves - being attacked by creatures that stole their… Desires, was it?" She glanced at Morgana for confirmation.

"Basically, it's the same kind of thing that happened with Alice in Shibuya," Makoto summarized. "It's not just those gymnasts, either. It seemed like half the audience cheered their hearts out for Yuri and booed everyone else. Do you think she could have shared her Keyword with the general public ahead of time?"

"It's likely," agreed Zenkichi. "You may have noticed Hikawa-san starring in quite a few ads and commercials for EMMA. In fact, given her sponsorship deal with Madicce, I think this arrangement is meant to be a win-win for them. Madicce and EMMA get a whole bunch of positive exposure, and Yuri gets to take home gold in a rigged competition."

"If Yuri has indeed been in contact with people from Madicce," suggested Yusuke, "she may be able to tell us more about the company. After we change her heart, of course."

"It's the only way to restore everyone's Desires and return them to normal," Morgana explained for Zenkichi. "We'll take care of that ourselves. In the meantime, maybe you could do some damage control here in the real world."

Nodding, Zenkichi replied, "Can do. I was going to lead an investigation of my own, anyway. After what you described, the press will want some non-Metaverse explanation. Thought I'd start by asking some of those girls whose Desires were stolen, or whatever you said."

"Thank you, Zenkichi-san." With a troubled expression growing on her face, Sumire added, "If it's not too much trouble… I'm afraid Yuri might try to control the judges next. If she steals their Desires too, she could make them give her higher scores while being stricter on everyone else."

Zenkichi looked to Futaba. "Um, can they do that?"

"Oh, for sure. The judges could 'miss' a few moves, or conjure up deductions or penalties that never happened. It's just a question of how much to take off before anyone notices and cries foul. All we need is to make sure they never use EMMA, and we won't have to worry about that possibility! ...Unless Yuri tries to bribe them with money or something."

"In that case, maybe I could write up a press release about some security flaw with EMMA, and send it to the Madicce Cup's organizers."

"No," Sumire corrected, "look for officials from the International Gymnastics Federation. I don't know how directly involved Madicce is, but don't let them know you're onto them."

"Alright, Sumire. I'll be careful. In the meantime, what are you kids gonna be up to?"

"We have a lot of planning to do," answered Ren. "Metaverse business. I think we're done with you for tonight, Zenkichi. We'll take care of things on our end, you just focus on yours. I'll text you back when we're ready to report. Until then, good luck out there."

"Same to you, kiddos," he replied on his way outside.

"G'night, Gramps!" they all called back.

With Zenkichi gone, the Phantom Thieves continued to discuss the plans for their Metaverse incursion. "Let's go over what we know already," Morgana started. "Sumire, do you remember the message you read in Yuri's Castle, about the three proofs?"

"Yes. It said, 'Those who would challenge the Monarch of this Castle must defeat the three champions in gymnastic duels and present Proof of their victories.' Makoto, you said those Proofs are the… 'Cores' you take from three 'Keeps', correct?"

"Prison Keeps, yes. That's how it was in the last two Jails. I've also been thinking about what it meant by 'champions'. If Yuri didn't create this Jail until after she came back from the Saint Petersburg Grand Prix, then maybe they could be Cognitions of the gymnasts who won there. Futaba, you remember who they were, right?"

"Larisa Lebedeva, Yuliya Krylenko, Aliya Weiss, and Elena Plisetskaya," she rattled off.

"Thank you. That's four champions, not three, but the fourth one could still be guarding somewhere in the Castle. What's also interesting is that, in the Grand Prix, each of them won the gold for a different event. Hoop, ball, clubs, and ribbon. One champion for each of the four apparatuses."

"Uh, I thought there were five," Ann interjected. "Isn't there also the rope, or something? I'm pretty sure I saw ropes being used today."

"Technically, yeah," answered Futaba, "but it got taken out of senior-level competition a few years ago. Nowadays only juniors perform with the rope, so that's where you saw them. For our purposes, I don't think we need to worry about that."

Sumire smiled and giggled. "You've certainly done your homework, Futaba-chan! You too, Makoto."

"Wait a sec, Sumire." Ryuji suddenly jumped to a conclusion. "Are you sayin' we gotta come up with four whole gymnastics routines and rehearse 'em? Is she effin' kidding!?"

"What!?" Yusuke posed dramatically in frustration. "I could not possibly choreograph even a single routine and leave you enough time to practice it to perfection, let alone four!

Futaba piped up. "Wait a minute, Inari. What if we're not supposed to perform, but fight?"

"I'm afraid I don't follow, Futaba."

"Then let me drop some knowledge on you! What we've got on our hands reminds me of a story arc from this classic manga called Renka One-Half."

"Oh, yeah!" Ryuji's eyes lit up as he came to this realization. "I know the one. The main character fought this one gal in a 'rhythmic gymnastics martial arts' match. Basically, they had to knock each other out of the ring using their apparatuses as weapons. Maybe our challenges are gonna be something like that?"

Sumire nodded. "That's how I understand it, myself. Basically, we don't need to rehearse so much as improvise. I mentioned this to the girls already, but when I was in the Castle yesterday, my Persona's spells wouldn't work unless I charged them up with gymnastic maneuvers."

Hearing this for the first time, Ryuji was stunned with disbelief. "For real? What kind of sadistic ***hole is Yuri, anyway!?"

"I know this sounds like a big challenge, Ryuji-senpai, but it can't be helped. It makes sense if you think about who we're dealing with. Does anyone else here have hands-on experience with rhythmic gymnastics?" All of the Phantom Thieves shook their heads. "I thought not…" she added glumly.

Meekly, Haru raised her hand and spoke. "Umm… I used to practice ballet. It was a long time ago, but from what I saw today, I noticed quite a few elements from ballet used in your own sport."

"Very good, Noir! Many rhythmic gymnasts, myself included, incorporate ballet into our training. It's valuable for building our balance, flexibility, and strength."

"I can do a standing split!" Ann boasted, before sheepishly adding, "...If I'm holding on to something for balance. Wanna see?" Her friends all agreed excitedly, and gave Ann some room as she held one hand on the table and lifted her leg up, her foot reaching past her head. The angle wasn't completely straight, and she wobbled despite the extra support, but everyone clapped in amazement.

Even Sumire nodded and smiled. "That's a good start, Ann-chan! Balances are a fundamental part of gymnastics."

"I used to run track," added Ryuji, "so… I dunno, maybe I could help out with stretching and stuff?"

Sophia popped up on Ren's phone to say, "I can analyze videos of professional gymnastics routines and replicate them in the Metaverse."

"Good thinking, Sophia," Morgana responded, "but it won't be that easy to teach the rest of us. We don't have a lot of time, either. It's possible that Yuri will leave the city after the tournament is over, and by then it'll be too late to change her heart. Assuming we can take on the Prison Keeps, Castle, and Trauma Cell in the same day, that still only leaves us one more day to spare."

The mood in the cabin deflated, until Ryuji held up a hand. "Hold up, guys. We got extra strength and agility in the Metaverse, right? So, if we're fighting there, maybe we should train there, too!"

Morgana's eyes lit up. "You know what, Ryuji? That's actually a pretty smart idea! We could find a gym somewhere in Sapporo's Jail and practice there. But we still need someone who can coach us."

Stretching her arms out in front of her, Futaba cackled in her trademark gremlin-like fashion. "Mwehehe! Looks like it's time for the Gymnastics Geek to shine!"

"That's great, Futaba," replied Ryuji, "but it's better to have someone with actual hands-on experience. Yo, Sumire, you free tomorrow?"

"Of course! My group already went today, and the junior finals are the day after that, so I won't have to come back until the senior finals on Saturday! Hopefully… I mean, I still need to set aside time to train for myself. I'll have to devote Friday to working on my routine for the ribbon final, so I hope you'll be fine without me."

"Don't worry, Sumire-chan," Haru said consolingly, "we'll manage. In the meantime, what can we expect from our lesson?"

"As a matter of fact, I worked out a training plan for you guys yesterday, with help from my coach. Don't worry, I didn't mention anything about the Metaverse, or anything like that. I just said Ren was interested in trying out gymnastics for himself!"

Ren blushed nervously. "Well… technically, she's not wrong," he admitted.

"There you go, Senpai! Now, the first thing we need to do is warm up. Normally I run for a kilometer or two."

"I think we could warm up fine by bustin' some Shadows!", suggested Ryuji. "Wanna join us?"

"Sounds like fun, Ryuji! I wouldn't want my combat skills to get rusty, either. Once we get going, we'll start with stretches and core exercises. That should give me a good idea of what you're all capable of physically. After that, we can move on to apparatus handling and fundamentals. I'm hoping we can finish all that by mid-day, and then we can spend the rest of the day practicing different masteries."

"Masteries?", Ann asked with uncertainty.

"That's just the name for any specific skill that goes beyond the basics. Many masteries combine a body skill, like a flip or a pivot, with an apparatus skill, like throwing and catching your prop."

"I don't know, Sumire… that sounds like an awful lot for us to practice in just one day."

"Who knows, Lady Ann?", Morgana suggested. "Maybe we'll all pick it up naturally! I mean, you've never touched a whip before using it as your weapon, have you?"

"You know, Mona, I've always wondered about that myself. I guess I'll just give it a try!"

Haru raised a hand to ask, "That reminds me, Sumire-chan, how are we going to decide who fights with what?"

Everyone paused to ponder this question. "Ideally," Sumire mused, "I'd have everyone practice with everything, but we don't have enough time for that."

"If it helps," added Futaba, "I can share some apparatus tutorial videos for you to watch tonight. Figured it might be good to have an idea of what to expect. You could watch examples of all the 'apps' and focus on the whatever looks easier to work with."

"Good thinking, Futaba-chan!"

"Excuse me, Sumire," asked Yusuke, "but did you say you would teach all of us? While I do wish to volunteer, I'm afraid there might be a rule against men taking part in Yuri's challenges. I wouldn't want to break that rule and incur her wrath."

Everyone stopped to ponder this point. Futaba spouted off whatever facts came to mind. "Well, there is a mens' rhythmic gymnastics scene in Japan, but it's a lot different from the usual style. It's more about power moves, you know, stuff you'd find in the other kind of gymnastics. Ren, or even Ryuji, might be good at that. But they don't even use all the same apparatuses, like the ribbon or hoop. Also, in Spain, there's a loophole that lets men take part in womens' competitions, but I doubt that's what Yuri had in… Oh, never mind."

"I think we should all join in the training," suggested Ren, "just so we have as many hands on deck as possible. Sumire, you said your clothes changed to your leotard when you entered the Castle, right?" She nodded. "If the same thing happens to us boys too, it means she sees us all as competitors."

"Fair point. In that case, I shall look forward to training with you all."

Ryuji shrugged and smiled. "I'm in, too."

Futaba nervously asked, "Umm… excuse me, but do I have to join you guys?"

"Don't worry, Futaba," Ren assured her, "I won't put you up to fight in Yuri's challenges. You don't normally fight on the front lines with us, so it wouldn't be fair to make you start now. Then again, you've been interested in rhythmic gymnastics for a while now, haven't you? Ever wanted to try it for yourself?"

"Yeah, but I never thought I was cut out for it. I'm not really, you know, the active type."

"Well, if what Ryuji said is true, then the Metaverse would be the perfect place to practice!"

"Oh, I see what you mean! In the Metaverse I feel, like, twice as athletic as normal! ...Or, in other words, half as athletic as you guys in the real world. But yeah, I'm down! LFG, baby!"

Sumire giggled. "I don't know what that means, Futaba-chan, but I'm happy to have you on board, too! If we're all training together, it'll be fun!"

Ryuji asked, "So, where are we gonna train, exactly? Like, I know we're goin' to the Metaverse, but do they even have gyms there?"

"If it exists in the real world," Morgana replied, "odds are it'll exist in the Metaverse as well. Sophia, have you found any place we could use?"

A familiar beep sounded from Ren's phone. Sophia popped up and answered, "I've just run a search for gyms and sport centers in the Sapporo Central ward, cross-referenced against any mention of rhythmic gymnastics. Based on these parameters, the closest match is the Hikawa Sports Club's main branch in Suzushino."

"Hikawa…" pondered Ann. "Wait a minute, you mean like Yuri Hikawa?"

"Correct," Sophia answered. "Yuri Hikawa's family owns this chain, among their many business ventures. Yuri's own gymnastics team, Hikawa*R.G., also practices there."

"For real!? I mean, that's convenient and all, but ain't it a conflict of interest to be usin' Yuri's own gyms?"

"Oh, Ryuji…" sighed Morgana, "when will you ever learn? If we go there in the Metaverse, the real Yuri won't suspect a thing!"

"Even better," added Yusuke, "we may not even need to pay to use the facilities!"

Futaba flashed him a thumbs-up. "Great thinkin', Inari! Now, what about equipment?"

Sumire gasped in realization. "Oh, that's right, Futaba! We'll need to buy our own apparatuses, grip tape, toe shoes, and other workout clothes. It won't be cheap. Plus, I don't know where we can find all that on such short notice…"

"Wait, Sumire," added Morgana, "if this is where Yuri trains, they might already have the equipment we need. In fact, I just thought of something else. This whole city's under Yuri's cognitive control, right? If we're lucky, our clothes might change when we enter the place, because she'd see us as customers going there to work out. Like how Sumire's clothes changed when she entered the Castle, or how the rest of us change into our Phantom Thief outfits when the Monarch sees us as a threat. And if that doesn't work out, Sophia can help us shop for everything we need!"

A beeping tone came from Ren's phone as Sophia spoke up. "That is correct, Meowgana." Before Morgana could correct her, she explained, "I can order anything we need online from stores nearby. That's how we've acquired weapons, armor, and items so far. Although, I cannot perform these tasks from inside the Metaverse."

Ren nodded and added, "We can always duck back out to the real world if we need to buy something. Sumire, you would not believe how soon we get this stuff delivered. Good work, Sophia," he praised, "and you too, Sumire. Thanks for your help. We'll see you tomorrow."

"Sure thing." Sumire bowed to the group and gave one last wave good-bye. "Good night, everyone! Be ready to get up nice and early tomorrow!"

"If I know what her training schedule's like… hoo boy," Futaba groaned to herself.

AN: Special thanks, as always, go to Deathmanstratos and SupremeKnight3 for editing and support. Just to let you know, there's going to be quite a few strange coincidences going forward, as we go back to the Metaverse, but I should be able to explain them all as cognitions. Ah, Cognitive Psience. It's the Persona 5 version of "a wizard did it". Speaking of, I was going to have the Phantom Thieves infiltrate the castle in this chapter, to see the madness for themselves, but it turned out just to be a repeat of Violet's incursion in Chapter 4, so I cut it.

Some of the skills the Phantom Thieves described about themselves are borrowed from canon, believe it or not. The bit about Ann doing a standing split came from a Mementos conversation in Royal. Haru has also mentioned doing ballet a few times, and during a Social Link in Dancing In Starlight, she does a stretching session with Ren (in text only, unfortunately), where he manages splits and straddle frontbends (with difficulty). That's on top of the training he and Sumire do in her Royal Confidants, although we never get to see or even read the details of those.

"Renka One-Half" is, of course, a reference to Ranma ½ and its famous "martial-arts rhythmic gymnastics" arc, the one where Ranma fights Kodachi Kuno. It will serve as inspiration for the duels in the Prison Keeps later on, but we have quite a bit to get to before that. In the meantime, for next chapter, look forward to a good old-fashioned training montage!