Prisoner of Glory Chapter 8: Gymnastic Boot Camp, a persona series fanfic

Chapter 8: Gymnastic Boot Camp

Thursday, August 10th 20XX, Early Morning
Odori Park, Sapporo Central

The hour was young when Ren and his male companions, sleeping in their tent on the roof of the Phantomobile, awoke to the alarm he had set on his smartphone. Groaning indistinctly, he opened his eyes and turned on the screen of his device, which displayed the image of Sophia front and center. "Good morning, Ren," she welcomed. "The current time is 6:00 AM. Today is our training session with Sumire. Are you excited?"

"Yeah," he mumbled, "just let me get dressed." Sophia nodded as he switched the phone into sleep mode, and put on the rest of his clothes. Beside him, Ryuji, Yusuke, and Morgana stirred awake as well. Carrying Morgana upon his shoulder, he left the other boys in privacy to check up on the girls below. Discreetly, he stood beside the cabin door with his back to the wall, and knocked behind him. Makoto answered, already dressed and refreshed. "Good morning, Makoto," he said.

"Morning, Ren," she replied. "You guys ready? Sumire should be arriving any minute."

"The boys are getting dressed now."

"Here." Makoto handed him a grocery bag filled with various fruits and granola bars. "I picked up some stuff for breakfast last night."

"Ah, that's very thoughtful of you, Makoto. Thanks." Taking out a banana and a bar for himself, he dropped off the rest of its contents inside the tent for the other boys to share. Just as he climbed back down, he spotted the familiar colors of Sumire's hair and jacket as she jogged down the road, past the line of trees surrounding Odori Park. She turned a corner into the park and ran up to Ren, panting lightly but still with energy to spare. "Hi, Sumire," he greeted her.

"Hello, Senpai!" she replied. Once everyone else was up and ready, Sumire added, "Good morning, everybody! Are you all ready for your rhythmic gymnastics boot camp?"

"Allez gymnastique!" Futaba shouted. "Sophie, where to?"

Sophia beeped once more. "If we are going to Suzushino, the safest place to enter the Metaverse would be at the main crossing, by the 'Nipporo' sign. Do you need me to provide directions?"

"No, I can lead us there," insisted Sumire. "Keep up!" The group all gave their own cheers of confirmation and jogged off after her.

Thursday, August 10th 20XX, Early Morning
Suzushino, Sapporo Jail

Instantly upon crossing into the Metaverse, the Phantom Thieves were greeted by a frigid blast of wind and snow. They were now joined by Sophie, the physical form of Sophia within the Metaverse, but even at close range, the weather made it hard to see her. Everyone shivered in place and averted their eyes from the freezing gusts. Even Sophie, a digital being, sat with her legs folded up inside her white dress in an attempt to keep herself warm.

"S-s-so cold," Futaba chattered, "c-can't see!"

"It's… effin'... freezing!" complained Ryuji.

Before long, the snowfall settled to a gentler pace, and their visibility gradually improved. From their vantage point atop the Suzushino Building, the Jail's skyline revealed itself in the morning light. Joker could spot the silhouettes of three cage-like domes in between the buildings to the north. "Those must be our Prison Keeps," he mused aloud. "Sophie, can you tell us where they might be located?"

Scanning through the black LED visor that served as her mask, Sophie reported, "Based on their real-world coordinates, the Prison Keeps are likely located at Sapporo Tower, Sapporo Clock Tower, and the Arboretum of Hokkaido University."

"Thank you, Sophie. We'll remember those for tomorrow. In the meantime, which way to Hikawa's gym?"

"The Hikawa Sports Club is 250 meters north. We passed the real one on our way here."

Joker nodded, having seen it in person only a few minutes ago. "Okay, let's roll!"

On the way, they encountered packs of Shadows, of kinds they had not seen in some time. The cute, impish Jack Frosts were no match for Panther's whip and fire magic, but the occasional Lilims provided stiffer resistance. They would frighten their prey, rendering them unable to move a muscle, before freezing them and rending them apart. Luckily for the Phantom Thieves, Violet recalled fighting them in the Castle, and used their weakness to Cendrillon's holy magic to her advantage. Morgana uncovered another vulnerability to his own Persona's wind spells, and before long, the Lilims were defeated.

They Phantom Thieves ran up and down the streets and alleys, hunting down Shadows for the better part of a half-hour. One pack of Jack Frosts they vanquished left behind a membership card labelled with the logo of the Hikawa Sports Club. As Panther picked it up and read it, Violet peered over her shoulder and said, "Ooh, nice find, Panther! Look, there's the name of Yuri's club, 'Hikawa*R.G.'!"

"Hey, you're right! We could use this to get in without attracting attention! Think we should go and try it now?"

Violet looked around in all directions before reporting, "I don't see any more Shadows around. Is everyone ready to head out?"

Answering her with nods of approval, the Phantom Thieves headed out on their way to the gym. The main road leading there was blocked by a towering wall of jagged ice columns, so they were forced to find a way around. Looking through his Third Eye, Joker spotted some handholds, which looked strangely similar to the clubs used in gymnastics, jutting out of a nearby building, and used them to climb up to the roof. After crossing a wide gap by sliding down a wire, they landed at their destination.

Thursday, August 10th 20XX, Morning
Hikawa Sports Club, Sapporo Jail

The Hikawa Sports Club in Suzushino was an impressive-looking building. In the real world it had a modern steel-and-glass facade, but its Metaverse counterpart re-created this design with an icy facade, as if it were transported straight from the city's snow festival. Stepping inside, the Phantom Thieves were greeted with a surprising, but welcome, wave of warm air, and a blank female Shadow behind the reception desk. "Welcome to the Hikawa Sports Club," she greeted pleasantly. "Unlimited use of our facilities for the day costs 3,000 yen per person. Unless, do you have a membership card…?"

Violet offered their stolen card to the receptionist. "Ah, here you go. I'm the captain of Hikawa*R.G.," she bluffed, "and I'm here to train our new team members. We haven't had time to get cards made for each of them, is that okay?"

The mention of Yuri's team name seemed to give them enough credibility. "No problem. Although, I should inform you that we have a strict dress code and no-weapons policy."

"What do you mean?"

"No need to worry, everything will be taken care of as soon as you head in. Have a nice workout!" The receptionist waved them along.

As the Phantom Thieves passed into the hallways behind the front lobby, they felt a sudden, unusual sensation, underscored by an yelp from Skull. "Whoa! What happened to our clothes!?", he yelped. Their regular Metaverse outfits had been magically replaced with all sorts of workout clothes: tank tops, sports bras, tights, shorts, and more. The only Phantom Thieves who hadn't changed appearance were Mona and Sophie, due to their nature as Metaverse beings. As Skull looked over everyone's changes, his gaze lingered upon Panther and Queen, whose sports bras and yoga pants clung to their shapely forms and showed off their toned midriffs. "Lookin' good, girls!" he said with appreciative lust.

"Ugh!", scoffed Panther, crossing her arms over her stomach in disgust.

"You want to taste my fist of justice?", Queen threatened. But as she raised her fist, she noticed that the brass knuckles that she usually held on her fingers were now missing, and gasped. "Oh no! Guys, our weapons!"

Indeed, everyone's weapons, melee and firearms alike, had disappeared along with their old clothes. Confused and frustrated, Skull squeezed his hands against his head and cried, "Aargh! What the eff is goin' on!?"

"Calm down, Skull," chided Mona, "it's probably just a change in cognition. I'm sure it'll all be undone when we leave. Remember in Shido's Palace, when we were all transformed into rats? This must be similar to that."

"Or when I snuck into Yuri's Castle the other night," Violet observed. "If so, we're in trouble if we encounter enemy Shadows before we've had time to practice. Everyone, stay alert!" They all kept their guard up as they entered the giant gymnasium that was the centerpiece of the Hikawa Sports Club. It was capable of supporting a wide array of sports, but presently it was set up for gymnastics. A giant mat covered half of the floor space, a row of portable barres stood along dividers in the middle of the gym, and various boxes were lined up against another wall. These boxes held all the equipment they would need that day, just as Mona suspected. For the moment, they each took out pairs of toe shoes from one of these boxes, and after putting them on, their crash course began.

The other Phantom Thieves gathered in two rows as Violet instructed them. After a series of core exercises, such as V-ups and planks, they began stretching. She started them out with different kinds of foot stretches, splits, backbends, and frontbends. The only ones who didn't follow along were Oracle, who was less physically advanced, and Mona, due to his unusual body shape. They simply stretched as much as they could manage while the others kept up with their teacher. Later on, Violet demonstrated an oversplit by resting a heel on one of the barres and sliding herself down. She stopped with her hips mere inches off the floor, her legs close to forming a right angle. The gang simply stared at her in disbelief, mouths agape. "That's funny," she thought aloud, "I'm not usually this flexible. It must be my cognition, or something about the Metaverse…"

"Excuse me," Panther asked with trepidation, "are we gonna have to do that, too?"

Bending back to face her upside-down, Violet smiled proudly. "Yes, Panther. Okay, maybe not this far, but that's what I had planned. Lots of gymnasts practice oversplits like these. Sometimes, we do swing our legs beyond full splits during leaps and pivots, but in general, it's good to be more flexible than you need to be, just so you can move smoothly."

"It's like I say," added Oracle, "if it's worth doing, it's worth overdoing!"

"That's it, Oracle!" Violet started to lift herself back up and asked, "Why don't you find some yoga blocks, so we can all try?" The other Phantom Thieves looked at each other nervously as Oracle came back with a stack of foam blocks in her arms, and handed one out to each of them. "I usually hold my oversplits for two to three minutes at a time." Violet's answer made Panther, and a few others, sigh in disappointment. "For you, we'll just start at thirty seconds for each leg. After each set, add another block if you feel comfortable. You can also try adding frontbend or backbend stretches, while you're at it. And remember, it's okay to stop if it feels too painful!" On her signal, they all sunk into their oversplits, finding them surprisingly easy to withstand. At the end of it all, Skull and Panther only got as far as the first block, Joker and Queen managed two blocks. Fox and Noir finished with two blocks in front and two more for their back leg, while Sophie and Violet achieved the deepest oversplits, stopping with three blocks in front and three behind.

"Great job, everyone!", praised Violet. "But, we're not done stretching. What we just did was 'static stretching', where you hold your position in place. However, we gymnasts also need to do 'dynamic stretching', where you keep moving through the whole range of motion. Stuff like high kicks or leaps. Come on over to the barres and I'll show you!" Making sure to give themselves plenty of room, each of the Phantom Thieves took their spots along the barres, holding them with one hand, and followed along with Violet's exercises. They swung their legs up into splits and back into arabesques, they leapt by resting one foot on the barre and kicking up behind them, and they rolled their bodies in waves to further their back flexibility. Trying to keep up with Violet's pace made for strenuous work, but their cognition-enhanced abilities got them through it all. She was surprised, yet pleased, with how naturally her instructions came to her friends.

Lunchtime

After finishing their stretching, Violet drilled them on some fundamental body-difficulty skills - pirouettes and pivots, standing balances, leaps, and walkovers - before letting them take a break. They sat along the wall and shared a quick lunch of seafood rice bowls, cooked by Joker ahead of time. Oracle shared a few pieces of salmon from her bowl with Mona, who lapped them up gratefully. As they finished eating, Skull started up a conversation. "Um, Mona? Violet? I've been thinkin'... if Yuri's cognition can change our clothes 'cause she sees us as gymnasts or whatever, she's not gonna make me wear a leotard, is she? 'Cause I'm kinda… not okay with that."

"Eh, don't worry," answered Oracle. "You guys'll probably get unitards or jumpsuits, you know, something with legs. It's what they wear in men's RG."

Skull smiled in realization. "Oh yeah… I think I've seen some of that, now that you mention it. Honestly, it looks more like my style, ya know? Less ballet and more… action-packed. Joker might like it, too! Wonder if I could use it for what we're doin'."

"That depends on whether Yuri sees it as true rhythmic gymnastics," cautioned Mona. "If you wanna try it, might as well try it now, while we've got a safe space to practice."

"I like your idea, Skull," added Fox. "We should always be willing to accept new sources of inspiration for any form of art. That said, however, I'm personally comfortable with proceeding as Violet has been teaching us."

"Eh, you do you, Fox. I'm just shocked by how flexible you are. You too, Violet! I mean, I knew you were flexible, from what I saw yesterday, but I've never seen anything like what you just did!"

Violet beamed. "Thank you, Skull! Even I surprised myself with what I pulled off. It must be our cognitions, just like Mona said. You all made amazing progress, too!" They all gave each other a quiet round of applause.

"Yo, great job and all, everyone," interrupted Skull, "but ain't there supposed to be a point as to why we're practicin' all this?"

"Ah, sorry, Skull. Let's start working with the apparatuses next. I mentioned before that when I was in Yuri's Castle, I needed to perform masteries before I could cast spells. So, I'll start you off on a few simple drills, to make sure you can all handle them properly, and then we can spend the rest of the day experimenting with different combos. Did you all watch those tutorial videos Oracle sent you last night?" The Phantom Thieves all nodded and murmured their affirmations as they got up. "Good. Which would you like to start with?" Panther's hand shot up first. "You first, Panther."

"I wanna try the ribbon! It looks pretty much like the whips I normally fight with, you know?"

Mona leaped up. "Good thinking, Panther! Can I do ribbon, too? Oracle, Joker, and I agreed that the other tools are just too big for me. Besides, with my speedy spins and Zorro's wind magic, I can keep that thing up in the air, no problem!"

"I was also interested in the ribbon," Fox admitted. "From what I saw yesterday, using it must feel just like wielding a paintbrush. But if you two have also chosen the ribbon, I feel it would be prudent for me to select something else. I'm sure our leader will agree."

He turned his head to Joker, who nodded in approval. "Right, Fox. We can't have too many people picking the same apparatus, in case we need backup for a different one. After all, Violet, if you have the chance to join us in battle, I assume you'll opt for the ribbon yourself, am I right?"

"True, Senpai. It is my best apparatus in real life!", she sheepishly admitted.

Fox understood the situation. "In that case, worry not. The ball seems to have given me a spark of inspiration."

"I'm going with the clubs," said Queen. "Since there's two of them, they would feel closest to how I fight with my fists."

"I'll do clubs too," offered Skull. "If all else fails, I can always bash Shadows with 'em!"

"I'd like to try the hoop," said Noir. "I could swing it around just like how I swing my axe! Joker, you should try it, too. It looks so flashy, just like you!"

"Heh, thanks Noir! If you say so, I'll start with the hoop too. That just leaves Sophie with the ball. Are you okay with that?"

"Correct, Joker. As I said last night, I have analyzed videos of performances, including some from the Madicce Cup yesterday."

"Not from the brainwashed gymnasts, I hope!", joked Oracle.

Sophie didn't laugh with the others, her artificial intelligence lacking in terms of humor, but she kept a cheerful expression. "Don't worry, Oracle. I made sure to study only the routines with the best scores."

"Cool! Then we are ret-2-rock!" And with that, everybody picked out their tools of choice from the supply boxes, picking out colors which matched their usual Phantom Thief outfits, like red for Joker and Panther, or yellow for Skull. Violet watched each group go through their basic handling drills, memorized from the videos they had analyzed the night before. Fox and Sophie rolled balls up and down their arms, Joker and Noir spun hoops around their wrists and ankles, Skull and Queen twirled clubs in rapid circles, and Panther and Mona waved their ribbons in spirals big and small.

Once she was satisfied with their prop handling, Violet asked for a volunteer to demonstrate a simple mastery. Everybody raised their hands, but Violet already knew who she wanted to see in action. She opened her hand to beckon Joker forth, to which he smiled smugly and said, "With pleasure." Clutching his red hoop, he went over to a clear space on the mat and awaited Violet's instructions.

"Now," she explained, "I want you to throw your hoop high up, do a couple of chaînés turns, and then catch it." Borrowing a blue hoop from the supply boxes, she demonstrated this combo without summoning Cendrillon, gracefully and swiftly spinning under the path of the hoop as it flew up, down, and back into her hand. "Now you try, Joker! Remember to visualize the move in your mind. It'll go a lot more smoothly that way."

Joker closed his eyes and played out the sequence in his head, along with the Persona and skill he would use on top of that. Deciding to start small, he called forth his very first Persona, the trusty Arsène, as he took a deep breath and launched his hoop high in the air. He spun in his step once, twice, then three times as he tracked his tool's trajectory, and caught it with a neat grasp. Instinctively, he stuck out one leg straight out behind him, level with the floor, as his mask disappeared and he shouted "Eiha!" A blast of dark energy exploded in front of him with more force than he anticipated, almost knocking him over.

The onlookers clapped for him. "Whoa, nice arabesque, Joker!", shouted Oracle. "That alone would be worth an extra two-tenths of a point!"

Violet smiled and replied, "We're not being scored here, Oracle."

"Or are we…?" A thought had suddenly come to Mona. "Joker, try that again, but spin slower and don't do that leg thing at the end." Joker did as his feline mentor suggested, and the resulting Eiha spell burst less forcefully than before. "I see…," he mused, "so more advanced moves mean more powerful magic."

"I'm guessing technical faults might weaken our attacks, too," suggested Oracle, "like not holding your pose properly or fumbling with your apparatus. I know what to look out for, so I'll keep track of that for you guys."

"Didn't you say you wanted to try this out for yourself, Oracle?", Joker asked.

"I, uh… I can multitask!", she stammered.

True to her word, Oracle observed her teammates' progress while practicing apparatus drills at her own pace, but for the most part, they seldom needed corrections. Violet used the time to work on her routine for her ribbon finals, pausing every so often to test out some spells with Cendrillon: a Kouga here, a Brave Step there. Remembering that they also needed to use the apparatuses themselves as weapons, the pairs sparred with each other, adding strikes and blocks into their movement combos. The tools were light enough not to render any serious wounds, but left sharp, nasty stings wherever they made contact. A few fleeting profanities echoed around the gym as Skull kept smacking his clubs on his forearms. He was attempting to copy Queen, who was twirling her own clubs like nunchakus with blinding speed. Stopping herself upon hearing a particularly sharp smack, followed by an equally emphatic F-bomb, she asked, "Skull, are you okay?"

Skull verbally brushed off her concerns. "Yeah, I'm good. Just gettin' the hang of these clubs." But Queen insisted, taking a closer look at his arms and finding a pair of small bruises growing where the clubs hit him. She called over Mona, who healed his injury by spinning around like a tornado, bounding up high, and casting a Dia spell with a wave of his ribbon. The bruises flattened and the skin lightened to its original color in front of Skull's eyes. "Whew", he sighed, "guess it was worse than I thought."

"If you're hurt," Queen gently lectured, "or just having trouble with something, you don't have to hide it from us." With a smile, she added, "We're all happy to help each other!"

Skull had downplayed his injuries because he was afraid of getting an earful from the matronly Queen, but her kind words softened his heart. "Thanks, Queen. Say, now that you mention it, you think you could help me out with that thing where you're spinnin' both clubs at once?"

"You mean mills?" She demonstrated . As Skull nodded in recognition, she replied, "No problem! We'll take it slowly, and one step at a time. Follow along with me…"

As Queen helped out her own partner, she couldn't help but sneak a few furtive glances at Fox and Sophie, in the midst of their ball training. Sophie executed her moves with machine-like precision, as to be expected from an artificial intelligence, but Fox's fluidity and willingness to improvise made for an alluring spectacle. He was in the middle of a "attitude" pivot, spinning with one leg bent behind him when, without warning, Sophie chucked her ball at him. Deftly, and without the slightest hiccup in his motions, he flicked his leg around to kick the ball straight up in the air, and leaned into a backward standing split as he caught it in his free hand. "Well done, Fox!", she applauded. "Your reflexes are very quick."

"Quite the compliment, coming from you, Sophie. I channeled my Persona's abilities to heighten my agility." He had done this by casting a Sukukaja spell upon himself.

"Great thinking, Fox!", added Mona. "Considering what we're up against, agility is an important thing for us to focus on. Joker, is there anything else we could use to boost our speed?"

While he thought about this, Skull chimed in. "That miso ramen we had the other night really perked me up! I snagged the recipe while we were there. Joker, think you could cook a few batches for us?"

"Of course. Good idea, Skull." With a smirk, Joker added, "…You're not just saying that 'cause of how much you love ramen, are you?"

"What?", Skull gasped, feigning offense. "Screw you!"

Chuckling and shaking his head, Joker dismissed the joke. "Never mind. Back to work, people!"

Afternoon

The Phantom Thieves were having so much fun experimenting with masteries and magic that they soon lost track of time. It came as a shock, then, when they heard a growing, chanting chorus echoing in from the halls. "Hee-ho! Hee-ho! Hee-ho!", it seemed to say. Joker and the rest all groaned in annoyance when they recognized these cries. Their fears were proven right when a stampede of Jack Frosts, accompanied by the receptionist from earlier, stormed into the gym. One of the Jack Frosts pointed at them and said, "There they are! It's the hee-holes who beat the snow out of us and stole our membership card!"

The receptionist stepped up to Violet and bowed apologetically. "Madam, I understand you used a stolen membership card to enter our facilities. I'm afraid I must ask you and your friends to leave the premises."

Shaking her head, Violet swiped her hand across the air in front of her. "We shall do no such thing!"

"In that case…" The receptionist snapped a finger and summoned multiple Setantas to her side, while she herself transformed into a Principality. "We will cast you out!"

Joker and his comrades gripped their respective tools in anticipation for combat. "Looks like it's time to test what we've practiced today. I'll focus on the angel," he told his group, referring to the former receptionist. "Everyone else, take out the Setantas and the Hee-Horde. You guys ready?"

"Hell yeah!" Skull pumped his fist with gusto. "Let's get gym-nasty!"

The two armies rushed at each other, with Joker heading straight for the Principality. Ever the tactician, he waited before choosing and calling forth a Persona, instead slashing with his hoop to fight the angelic creature. To his surprise, it left some damaging gashes, perhaps due to cognition; as far as he was concerned, it didn't matter. He kept on fighting, waiting for it to cast a spell, until one of the Setantas lunged its spear at him. The blade barely missed him, but he had to shift his focus and defend himself against the immediate threat.

With Joker distracted, the Principality retreated back and prepared its own magic. The first spell it cast was, to his frustration, Media, which healed the wounds of itself and the monsters nearby. The second was Makouga, the same light-magic skill Violet had used herself. Unfortunately, Joker was still bound to the soul of Arsene, so when the holy rays struck him, he crumpled to the floor, screaming in intense pain. The Setanta saw this, and lifted its spear to fatally stab him, but as its blade came down, it was parried by a slash of Panther's ribbon. "Joker!", she cried, "Are you okay?"

He wanted to grumble something along the lines of "What does it look like!?", but he was too hurt to complain, and simply struggled to lift himself up.

Seizing the opportunity, Panther positioned herself in between Joker and the Setanta, and stared the latter eye-to-eye. She lifted her leg up and balanced herself in a standing split, straighter and more stable than she could pull off in real life, as she twirled her ribbon around in a tight spiral, mesmerizing the unmoving Setanta. After a few seconds of this, her Persona, Carmen, took form behind her, and with the command "Marin Karin!", brainwashed the beastly soldier. It turned its attention to fighting its Jack Frost comrades, allowing Panther to heal Joker by kicking off into a leg-lift pivot, waving her ribbon up and down, and casting a Diarama spell. Revitalized, Joker stood up and thanked Panther as she struck a pose. "Hee-ho!", she replied, the incessant verbal tics of the Jack Frosts starting to corrupt her concentration.

Fortuitously, this off-hand joke triggered an important thought in Joker's mind. Scanning the battle, he called out, "Fox! Don't forget, those Jack Frosts are strong against ice! Got anything else you can use on 'em?"

"Of course." Jumping back, Fox launched his ball with a back walkover and caught it in the middle of a spin, summoning Goemon to slash the oncoming wave of icy gremlins with a Vicious Strike attack. "Hee-ho!", he shouted emphatically.

One of the Jack Frost struck by Fox survived, but got knocked away from the pack and landed near Oracle, who froze in fear as it stood up and stared her down. She was unskilled at reading cues from facial expressions in normal situations, making the way it stared at her, with an inscrutable, unmoving, open-mouth smile frozen upon its face, all the more unnerving. Defenseless and trembling, she slowly put her hands up and said, "N-nice Frosty…"

Just then, a stray yellow club clattered her way, kicked over by a botched butterfly jump from Skull. She dove down to pick it up, and immediately started beating the Jack Frost with it, stunning it just long enough for her to shout out, "Skull! You drop this?", and toss the club back to its owner.

Skull caught it in midair, sending it and his other club crashing down on the monster's head, disintegrating it. "Heeee-haww!", he bellowed. "Thanks, Oracle!"

"You too, Skull!" Flashing a thumbs-up to her teammate, Oracle scampered to safety behind the supply boxes, and performed her role as navigator by giving occasional updates and advice for the remainder of the fight.

The star of the brawl was, of course, Violet. Her agility and reflexes, already highly-tuned by her real-life gymnastic training, were even sharper in the Metaverse. While engaging one of the Setanta, she backflipped to dodge a lunging strike, giving her the space she needed for her next sequence of attacks. First, she waved her ribbon in wide circles, skipping lightly through the forms it made, before leaping up, swinging her legs open in a slight oversplit. This combo allowed her to cast Brave Step, a spell which sharpened her mind and allowed her to attack her enemies' weak points with pinpoint precision. Landing on one foot, she followed this by spinning with her other foot brought up behind her head, adding an "echappé", a quick toss, flip, and catch of the baton behind her back. As she released her pivot, she struck the ribbon down along the floor, sending a Heat Wave crashing over the Setanta and a few lingering Jack Frosts, vanquishing them. Reaching up in an ending pose, she yelled a "Hee-ho!" cry of her own.

"Enough already!" Whether Joker shouted this to his teammates, or to the Principal he was still dueling with, was unclear. What was clear to him, however, was that he had to use Arsene's black magic to strike his foe's weakness while avoiding its holy counterattacks. The next time it attempted a Makouga attack on him, Joker was ready. He narrowly dodged its powerful beams of light with a cartwheel, then leapt into a Cossack jump, kicking one leg up high while swinging his hoop underneath him. Upon landing, he and Arsene struck back with a Maeiga spell, the blast of dark energy strong enough to cast the Principality into oblivion. Standing up, he spun the hoop above him for a bit before posing and saying to no one in particular, "The show's over!"

And it was. The few Jack Frosts who remained fled the gym in a panic at the loss of their tougher allies, as the Phantom Thieves shouted them off with their own round of "Hee-ho!".

"They're infected…", Panther muttered to herself. "But for real, great job, everyone!"

"Yes, well done!", agreed Violet. "It looks like you've all gotten the hang of rhythmic gymnastics!"

"Cognitive rhythmic gymnastics," added Mona.

"I like the sound of that!", replied Oracle. "And now that we've shown those Shadows what for, we can keep on training in peace!"

But Violet shook her head. "Actually, I think this would be a good time to stop. Most of you look like you're running out of stamina, so it wouldn't be good to push you." The other Phantom Thieves all nodded wearily. "We've all trained longer than even I do on most days, and given how little time we have to steal Yuri's heart, I'd say you're as ready as you'll ever be to fight her champions."

"Fine by me," Joker agreed. "We need to research Yuri's champions anyway, so now's as good a time as any to call it a day. Everyone, we're leaving the Metaverse. Let's move out!"

AN: Special thanks, as always, go to Deathmanstratos and SupremeKnight3 for editing and support. I also want to thank Sophie Crane, a professional rhythmic gymnast from Canada whose YouTube channel helped me write my training sequences, and taught me quite a bit more about the sport. Coincidentally, she also took part in the 2017 AEON Cup, which is one of the events that inspired the Madicce Cup in this very fanfic!

My process for choreographing the gymnastics fights starts with choosing a sequence of attacks and skills for both sides, then picking out moves from the Code of Points to pair with them. As a rule, I use leaps and catches for attack spells, and spins and balances for support spells.