6/25 - Night - Iwatodai Dorm - Kotone
"Hey, Ren!" Kotone called out as she knocked on Ren's door.
Fuuka mentioned Ren had brought a stack of paper and art supplies to the dorm. When she asked about it, he said it was for some sort of personal project. So far, it hasn't caused any issues.
'Still, to think that Ren is into the arts,' Kotone thought. 'So many freaking hobbies... Another thing to add to the list of differences between us. Seriously, how is it we both grew up so similarly, but we turned out so different?'
Kotone knew they were similar. Both smiled to go with the flow of the situation. However, while Kotone faked it, Ren seemed genuine about what he did. It didn't feel right that Kotone was only making friends for power, while Ren seemed like the person who could make those bonds meaningful.
'Why did Igor choose me when someone like Ren exists? Maybe I could ask Igor about it?' Kotone thought before shaking her head and sighing. 'Nah, Igor's answer will probably only irritate me.'
She could hear muffled footsteps coming from the other side. The door opened wide and Ren, wearing a black shirt and dark brown sweats, came into full view, although Kotone could see some cut paper pieces on him.
"Hey, Kotone, what's up?" Ren asked. Though he leaned on the doorframes, Kotone could see that he was working on something inside, shown by the mess on his table.
"Is everything alright?" Kotone asked. "You look like you're in a bit of a pickle."
"Oh, all this?" Ren said as he pointed to the bits of paper on him. "Don't worry about it. I'm just working on a little project of mine."
"Do you need any help?"
Ren shook his head. "Thanks, but I have this under control." He chuckled when Kotone glanced with a raised eyebrow at the paper bits again. "It's part of the creative process."
"Will you show it to me when you're done?" Kotone asked. All the secrecy was making her curious.
Ren shrugged. "Hopefully, if all goes well. It'll be a while, though."
Kotone smiled at him. 'At least he was willing to show it.' "Still, I'm surprised you like art stuff. I thought you were the jock-type."
Ren shot a mirthful smile back at her. "I'll have you know that my body isn't built like a jock. Put me in a ring against Akihiko, and he'd most likely win. As for the art stuff, I was friends with an artist, so I know a bit about it. He told me I had an eye for art." Ren shifted on the door frame. "Anyway, what about you? Any plans for the night?"
Kotone nodded. "Out to Paulownia Mall tonight. Not sure what to do yet, though."
"Well, take care, yeah?"
"Don't worry, I've been doing this for a while now. I'll be fine," Kotone reassured him. "See ya!"
-.-Take Your Time-.-
6/26 - Late Night - Iwatodai Dorm - Kotone
Kotone found herself in front of Ren's room again. After her talk with him last night, she began thinking back about Ren during the week. It was hard to see, but Kotone did notice that he was slightly off throughout the week. He was sleepy during class, noticeably blinking away his drowsiness. While he frowned when he thought no one was looking, he smiled when he was around others. Though, it was weird that Ren's smile reached his eyes, as if he were happy interacting with others. On the other hand, yesterday's messy Ren only cinched it; whatever that project was, it was making Ren stressed. And what was the best way to destress than to watch a movie?
'I don't care about what Ren's thinking about that project, but we have a Tartarus expedition in a couple of days. I cannot let someone be stressed right before something so important,' she thought.
"Hey, Ren!" Kotone asked. However, before she could knock on the door, it opened, revealing a happy and energetic Ren. If anything, Kotone could feel that he was giddy with a slightly mischievous glint in his eyes. However, she could see some eye bags forming under his eyes. He dressed up, ready to go out for the night again, with a sling bag over his shoulder.
"Hey, Kotone, what's up?" he asked, smiling as he leaned on the door frames.
Kotone couldn't help but smile back. "How's the project going?"
"I got over a major problem, so I am definitely moving ahead," Ren asked. "Why? Is something wrong?"
Kotone rocked on the balls of her feet as she tried to think of a way to word her question. "Well, I noticed you were stressed out during the week," she began slowly, "so I was wondering if you wanted to watch Kill Bill either tonight or tomorrow? To destress, you know?"
"Oh..." Ren muttered as his face slightly scrunched up. "Uh, sorry, but I'll be busy for both days. I wanted to make sure that I'm ready for Tartarus."
"Are you sure?" Kotone asked. "You've been stressed the entire week."
Ren nodded. "That's true, but my problem caused that stress. I'm over it now, so I'm good to go. Don't worry about me."
"I'm the field leader, Ren," she said with a pout. "It is my job to worry about you." Ren stared at her with wide eyes before smiling mirthfully. "What?"
"It's nothing, Kotone," Ren said as he pushed off the door frame. "Anyway, back on topic. I'm sorry that I can't watch the movie tonight or tomorrow. But, I will be ready to go by Tartarus. I can promise you that."
Promise.
Kotone's breath hitched. 'People always promise...'
"What's wrong?" Ren asked, only for Kotone to shake her head.
"It's nothing. If you say you're alright, then I'll leave you to it," Kotone said. "But know that Mitsuru-senpai will be mad if you're not at a hundred percent, got it?"
Ren smirked. "Loud and clear, boss. I'll take care of myself, so worry about everyone else, okay?" he said, before patting Kotone on her head.
'Eh?'
"Anyway," Ren continued, and took his hand off. "I'm going out to train. Good night!" He waved at her without turning around, eventually disappearing down the staircase.
Kotone didn't move from where she stood. She reached for the top of her head, where Ren patted her, and still felt the warmth from his touch. 'What was that?'
-.-Take Your Time-.-
6/26 - Dark Hour - Northern Section of Tatsumi Port Island - Ren
"I'm the field leader, Ren," she said with a cute pout. "It is my job to worry about you."
Ren smiled as he replayed what Kotone said. He could feel the earnest desire to do well at being a leader coming from her, even if he felt he was actually alright. 'So this is what Yusuke felt when Makoto and I talked to him about spending his money. Seriously, I even ended up in an art binge.'
Still, as fun as reminiscing on how to properly proportion Yusuke's money was, that wasn't the only thing to think about.
Ren glanced at his hand for a moment before leaping onto another rooftop. 'There were only a few times I ever did that, and even fewer when I did it on my own accord. Futaba had to ask me to pat her head. The only person was...Makoto.'
Ren could still remember the days after his escape from the interrogation room. Everyone freaked out when Sae and he recounted the events after he got caught. While Morgana healed him in the Metaverse right after, they had Tae come in to do a full-body check-up, just to make sure. Surprise, surprise, his body was fine as the power of cognition worked wonders. Still, Makoto took over for a few days while he recuperated.
"Even if your body healed already, your head is not," Tae said. "Rest for a few days, ideally a week. Doctor's orders, my guinea pig."
"Amamiya-kun, what you went through would put any adult to shame, never mind a teenager," Maruki said on the other side of the call. "You may control cognition, but your mind can't be healed like your body. Please, stop what you're doing, and rest. You're out now, after all."
Ren smiled as he remembered Tae and Maruki's words. While he did fight against Maruki, Ren felt Maruki had good intentions, even if it was misguided. That smile became a sad one when he remembered what came after.
"Makoto, I'm fine. Go to school," Ren said as he stared at Makoto who was going around his room, making sure that everything was prim and proper. Meanwhile, he was stuck on his bed for the past few days, as ordered by the good doctor.
"I'd rather be here, Ren," Makoto argued back as she squinted her eyes at a small section of the room. She swiped at it with a finger and then inspected said finger. "Good, clean," she muttered before inspecting another spot. "My grades will be fine, and I won't lose my spot as the top student of Shujin. Sis probably won't care at the moment either. She knows what's going on, after all."
Ren stared at her as she moved on from inspecting for dust and was now sitting down on a chair next to his bed. Ren could see eye bags forming under her eyes, and he sighed.
"Makoto, this isn't your fault," Ren said, and Makoto froze. "Please don't beat yourself up over this."
Makoto shook her head as tears threatened to fall from her eyes. "No, it was my plan, and I didn't foresee them going as far as they did. This was my-"
"Nope," Ren said as he patted her head. "Not going to let you finish that sentence. It was the best plan we got, and, as the leader, I approved it and chose to be the bait."
"Ren, please, I need to-"
"Nope, not letting you finish that either," Ren said as he rubbed her head and wiped a tear off her cheek. "If we didn't do it, we'd all be in a worse situation, Makoto. There is nothing to atone for."
Makoto sniffed and tried to calm her breathing. She took the hand that was patting her head and held it with her hands. "I'm so glad you're safe."
He smiled. "Me too, Makoto. Me too."
Ren shook his head out of contemplation. This was not the time for it. He had a mission to do, and he was going to do it right.
He hopped onto another rooftop and kneeled at the edge. He finally reached the edge of Northern Tatsumi Port Island. While there were numerous homes in the area, it was relatively quiet because of the lack of people, making it a miniature ghost town. The lack of people could be attributed to the 2008 recession. While Japan had a resilient financial system, which limited the initial impact, most of the effects are happening now in 2009. And so, there were many empty houses because people left to find better opportunities.
And what would empty houses become? A squatter's haven. Luckily for Ren, it turned out the people he had followed for the last few days, which were led by Tattoos, were doing exactly just that.
Ren sighed as he recounted the days that led to tonight. Ever since he followed them to a building in Port Island on Monday, he had been monitoring them at night. They stayed in the building during the day and used the night as a cover to move around. By the end of the Dark Hour on Tuesday, the group had reached this house in the north. At night, they always walked around the city, though they always came back to this house, which led Ren to believe it to be their primary base. Other locations they travelled to included an abandoned church east of Naganaki Shrine and the Port Island building he initially followed them to.
'Smart of them to get multiple bases,' Ren thought as the Phantom Thieves did the exact thing back then. 'Or maybe "will do in the future"?' Ren rubbed his chin, but he shrugged at the thought while he took the Calling Cards he had in his sling bag.
Ren had prepared three Calling Cards, one per person in the group that he followed: Tattoos, a guy with glasses, and a girl with gothic clothes. Originally, he gave them nicknames, as he did when he didn't know their actual names, but the three were pretty blatant during the Dark Hour. Tattoos was Takaya, Glasses was Jin, and Chidori was Gothic. From what Ren gathered, Takaya was the person who went to Port Island Station and Jin was the one that was described in Paulownia Mall's arcade. Meanwhile, there have been no sightings of Chidori.
It was these same Calling Cards that stressed Ren so much for the past few days. Certainly, always being active during the Dark Hour was making him more tired than usual, this kind of work, jumping from shadow to shadow while following his target was something he was used to. Making the Calling Cards was something the Phantom Thieves' resident artist did, not their leader. Yes, he had input, but it was mostly Yusuke that completed everything.
'I was so used to his quality of work that I forgot my work wouldn't be up to par with it. Seriously, I lost sleep trying to get that level of quality,' Ren thought as he played with the Cards on his hand. Since it was him that worked on the Cards, the quality wasn't up to par with Yusuke's Calling Cards. 'Still better than Ryuji's, though.' Ren smiled as he could already hear Ryuji trying to argue back.
His design was the simple logo he drew at the back of the classroom. It was less detailed than Yusuke's, but more complex than Ryuji's. Other than the logo, it kept the same red and black circles as the background. The message was the easy part, especially since all it needed were the art supplies and paper materials.
"Ongyo-Ki," he said in a low voice. The Persona appeared right next to him. It had black skin underneath all the black clothes and its face hid behind a black mask where its expression was only shown in red. The surrounding shadows seemed to meld into him and him to it as if they were one being.
Ongyo-Ki was a Persona that was made through the fusion between Kin-Ki, Sui-Ki, and Fuu-Ki. It could suppress its aura to prevent enemies from sensing. Not only that, just like the oni-type Personas, it could use the shadows to travel. It was this ability that Ren wanted to use.
"Here, take these. You know what to do," Ren said as he gave the Persona the Calling Cards. It nodded and dove into the shadows, disappearing from his side.
Through his connection with the Persona, Ren could feel it moving into the house, eventually popping out from the Shadows. The occupants slept separately and put a lot of distance between their rooms. Still, it only took Ongyo-Ki under a couple of minutes to finish its job before disappearing back into the Shadows.
Now the stage was set. It was up to the other stage actors to choose whether they wanted to join the play.
And if they didn't want to be on stage, Joker would hunt them down.
-.-Take Your Time-.-
6/27 - Morning - Northern Tatsumi Port Island
An angry yell echoed throughout the dingy house, awakening Chidori. Her eyes fluttered open, and sunlight invaded her vision. Her wrists stung from her nightly rituals, though she could feel her fingers this morning. Luckily, the sleeves of her white gothic dress were safe from the blood since she had rolled them up. It was chilly overnight, though.
"Jin! Chidori!" the voice yelled out again.
Chidori sighed as she rose from her bed and a card fell to the ground.
"Takaya? What's-" a second voice called out but paused momentarily. "W-what the hell is this?!"
Chidori reached for the card, finally noticing the red and black logo: a white mask, its left eye on fire, and a top hat to complete it. Red and black circles surrounded it from behind.
"You two, here. Now!" the first voice commanded. Chidori felt the others must have received their own letters, too. With the sting on her wrists forgotten, Chidori held onto the card as she made her way to her leader's room.
As she walked through the halls, she heard another set of footsteps coming from another direction.
"Chidori!" Jin, owner of the second voice from before, called out.
Jin had dark blue eyes and hair where its right side was slicked back. He was also the taller one between the two. He wore a green jacket with black straps and pockets, which helped with regulating his temperature. Orange-tinted glasses with black frames completed his outfit. He also held on to a briefcase.
"Did you get it?" he asked as both power-walked together. She nodded in response, showing him her card. "Did you read it?" She shook her head. "Give it to me for a second." She complied, and his eyes roamed over the card, sharpening when it was on the other side of the logo. "So, we got the same message, but with different names and the characters came from another paper."
"Message?" she asked, holding her hand out, and Jin gave back her card.
"You can read it later," he replied, stopping in front of a door, and knocked. "We're here, Takaya!"
"Enter," the first voice from before said, and both entered Takaya's room.
Takaya stood in the middle of the room, his back facing them. He turned towards Chidori and Jin, and on his hands was another card, presumably the same as hers and Jin's.
Unlike her and Jin, Takaya's body was warmer than normal people. And so, he never wore a shirt, not even a top, even during the winter. Because of this, it was very easy to see the tattoos that were riddled all over his body. A thin headband held his long, gray hair, showing off his yellow eyes to the world.
"From what I can see on your hands, I can tell that you two received your own cards," Takaya observed.
Jin nodded. "We did. Same logo, message, and color scheme. The only things different were the characters and the name on it. It looked like it came from different pieces of prints."
"And may I assume you both know what the message is?"
"I haven't read it yet," Chidori piped up.
"Very well, read it," Takaya said.
Chidori glanced at her card, positioning it so that she could read the collage of letters.
Miss Chidori,
I have witnessed you and your colleges abuse your powers to attempt the great sin of murder. I also know you use the revenge website for targets.
I refuse to allow you to continue.
I will await you within the Tower of Babel during the Midnight Hour of the 27th.
Do not run. Do so, and I will hunt you down.
- From the Phantom Thief, Joker
"Whoever this Joker is, they knew our names," Chidori said, letting Takaya and Jin know she had finished reading it.
"Yes, that is one thing to be worried about," Takaya said with a nod. "However..."
"They know we use the revenge site for targets," Jin read out. "They also know about the Dark Hour."
"However, they don't know that it's called the Dark Hour nor the fact that it was you, Jin, that made the site to begin with," Takaya added. "On top of that, what is the Tower of Babel?"
Jin pulled out a laptop from his briefcase. "Hold on, I'll search it up."
Takaya turned to Chidori. "Did you notice anything last night?" he asked, only for her to shake her head.
"No, not even Medea realized."
Takaya nodded as he absorbed Chidori's words. "So, our little thief somehow placed these cards in all our rooms, without any of us realizing so," he said.
"Will this be a problem?"
Takaya nodded again. "If this Phantom Thief can somehow move around undetected by you, then we will never see him coming. Still, whether this is his own skills or perhaps even his potential, then it would be a boon."
"What do you have in mind?" Chidori asked.
"Talk to them," Takaya responded. "What else?"
"Got it," Jin said. "It was a tower made by humans to reach the heavens. However, it was struck down by the Christian God."
Takaya smiled. "It would seem that our little thief knows a thing or two about foreign culture. From what it sounds like, it is an apt name. We will meet whoever Joker is and have a little chat. We use our usual formation: Jin and I will talk to him while Chidori will be on the lookout. Use your Persona to see if it's a trap."
"Takaya, what's the point?" Jin asked. "He knows who we are and is hostile to us. Why would this guy want to listen?"
Takaya smiled. "Because we have something he does not have: information. We could teach him our ways, change his outlook. Shinji was like that back then too, was he not? Now, he doesn't care about what we do."
"You're always right, Takaya," Jin praised him.
"We will talk with him, show him the truth of the world. If he still decides to be a thorn to our side," Takaya smiled maliciously, reaching up to his eyes, "then we kill him." His fingers snapped and the calling cards erupted in flames, destroying whatever evidence existed about them.
Chidori stayed quiet all throughout the conversation, only looking at whoever spoke. She didn't care about any of it; all she had to do was follow Takaya's words.
-.-Take Your Time-.-
6/27 - Dark Hour - Tartarus
"Chidori, any luck?" Jin asked through a small earpiece. He and Takaya stood right outside the Tower of Demise while Chidori waited further away from the tower, hidden from prying eyes. Her duty was to scan the area for a possible ambush while being their own ambush should Takaya and Jin's negotiations fail.
Whatever this Joker had under his sleeve, it did not change the fact that Strega has had years of experience. They escaped from that damned Kirijo Group and have practiced using their Personas for years after. They have murdered people all across Tatsumi Port Island and it was only now that Joker revealed himself? It meant that Joker was new to all this.
It would be like defeating a baby.
"No," Chidori answered. "I do not detect anyone in the area."
Jin turned to Takaya. "You think he ditched?"
Takaya shook his head. "Chidori, what about inside the Tower of Demise?"
"Nothing inside as- Wait."
"What is it?" Takaya asked.
"Something just appeared. It's like a Shadow, but I'm also sensing something with it, like a human."
"Maybe it's a Shadow eating someone," Jin suggested.
"No, it's not like that. This is something else, something different," Chidori said. "I've never seen anything like this before."
"Perhaps it is a new species of Shadows, or maybe a new experiment from the Kirijo Group," Takaya said amusingly.
"I wouldn't put it past them," Jin growled.
"If it is the latter," Takaya smiled, "then we may have something in common. Nevertheless, there is no point wasting time. Let us go."
Jin nodded and followed behind Takaya. He led them both inside the Tower. As they walked through the hallway, they could see someone in black sitting on the staircase that led deeper into the Tower. It became apparent that someone was a boy. He wore a black coat, a white mask that covered the upper half of face, and red gloves. He stared at Takaya and Jin as they walked towards the central clearing, standing up when they both reached a certain distance that was close enough to talk, but far enough to react to whatever the other side did.
"It's nice to finally be able to talk to you two face-to-face, Takaya, Jin," the masked boy said with a cocky smirk. Now that he was standing, he was slightly shorter than Takaya, but definitely taller than both Jin and Chidori. He had his hands inside his coat and his stance screamed easygoing. His smirk seemed to mock both Takaya and Jin, as if he had all the playing cards on the field.
"That's the source of the reading I had," Chidori reported.
Still, Takaya kept his cool. "Then, may I presume your name is Joker?"
The boy, Joker, nodded. "You've got it, Takaya. Still, I was hoping all of your little trio would be here. Where's Chidori? I'm pretty sure I gave her a calling card too."
He honestly only pissed off Jin. How dare he be so relaxed when he and Takaya could kill him so easily?! On top of all that, while he was tall, it was clear that he was still just a boy. His eyes were full of hope, as if unaware of the reality of the world. To Jin, the boy had barely realized how truly fucked up the world was.
"Enough chit-chat, kid," Jin growled. "We got your 'calling card.' What's your deal here?"
The boy in the black coat shrugged his shoulders, not minding the hostility. "It's just as the calling cards said: stop your killing sprees. Using the Midnight Hour to escape responsibility for your crimes is, quite honestly, horrible. What do you get from doing all this?"
Jin scoffed. "The Midnight Hour? You really are clueless, aren't you?"
"Oh? So, you know what all this is about?" Joker asked as he opened his arms, presenting the surrounding area.
Takaya smiled. The boy was truly clueless about the Dark Hour. His 'calling card' was a hint, but this cinched it. "Of course, we've known for a very long time. Would you like to know more about the phenomena?"
Joker nodded. "You got that right, but you still haven't answered my first question: why are you doing this?"
Takaya scrunched his face and tilted his head. "Why shouldn't we do what we do? The world is already filled with sin and disaster. Surely, our actions mean nothing in the grand scheme of things. If anything, we make people happy by fulfilling their wishes, no?"
"Not every wish has to be fulfilled," Joker argued back. "What if the person you tried to murder a few days ago had a family? People that cared about him?"
Takaya's smile grew as he tilted his head. "Like I said, it matters not. The world is already full of sin, suffering, and disaster. What is so wrong in adding to it?"
Joker narrowed his eyes. "The world isn't perfect, but it doesn't mean that we should make it worse. We should try to make it better."
"Get off your high horse!" Jin growled. "You know nothing about how this world works!" He looked at Takaya. "It's clear that he's set in his ways. Can we just kill him now?"
Takaya glanced at Jin but looked back at Joker. "Are you truly set in your ways?" he asked. "You being here is a sign that you are chosen. The Dark Hour made you special; with it, you are more than the meaningless life you lead during the day. Here, you make a difference! Join us," Takaya held out his hand, "and we could teach you how to use it to your benefit!"
Jin glared back at Joker. Inside, he knew Takaya's words wouldn't sway Joker, no matter how true it is. Still, it was Takaya that was talking here, the man that saved him. Maybe he could change the Phantom Thief's mind.
Joker looked at Takaya in bafflement, surprised by the invitation. After a few moments, he hung his head and sighed. "What is it with murderers asking others to join them? At the very least, you seem sincere about your offer." He rubbed the back of his head. "You told me to get off my high horse, but what about you?"
"Huh? What do you mean by that?" Jin asked.
"What right does being a 'chosen one' give you that allows you to murder?" Joker asked as he pointed a finger at them. "For thinking that you're above others, I'll repeat what you told me: get off your own high horse. No one gets to decide who lives or dies, whether you're chosen or not!"
Jin grit his teeth. Now he knew what made Joker so damned irritating. "You're one of those people that think that justice is on their side, ain't you?" he spat out. "That you have the right to stop us because justice is with you?!"
Joker tilted his head in confusion. "What do you mean, 'justice is on my side'? Justice can't touch us here. You can murder people freely because justice doesn't exist here. I'm stopping you, not just because you and I exist outside of the law, but because it's the right thing to do."
"Then I suppose you refuse to understand the world? That you mean nothing without the Dark Hour?" Takaya asked, before smirking. "You truly are a child. It seems that negotiations have failed. You will die here, boy, never seeing the full extent of what you could do."
However, Joker shot his own smirk back. "Please, I'm more than this. Humans are multi-faceted, and their values can't be described in one, single way. I've seen it with my own two eyes."
"Then it seems we are at an impasse," Takaya said. Both he and Jin reached behind themselves, taking out a revolver and a grenade, respectively. "We refuse to stop our reason for existence from the words of a child."
Seeing the threat, Joker readied himself into a stance, both feet separated and knees folded so that he lowered his center of gravity. "Ah well, I guess it's going to devolve to fighting," he muttered with a smirk. "Still, you guys think you can kill me?"
Jin scoffed at his words. "You really think you'll win over us?"
"It is two-on-one," Takaya said.
Joker's smirk grew larger. "Honestly, I like those odds."
Jin began to move to the side, hoping to flank Joker on his left. On the other hand, Takaya tried to distract Joker and asked a question. "Before we kill you, we would like to know: were you the one that interfered with our target on the 22nd? Or, perhaps, do you know who did?"
Joker's face was unreadable, his smirk unchanging on his face. "And if I was?"
"Well, we looked into him and we found out he was in the hospital, feeling some sort of pain near his stomach." Takaya smirked. "It appears that a bullet was inside him all this time. His body healed over said bullet, causing him much pain throughout the week."
"Oh," Joker simply muttered as he cringed, his cocky smirk disappearing.
"I suppose that answers my question; it was you that hindered us," Takaya concluded with a smirk. "And for that, we must eliminate you!" As Takaya ended his words, Jin threw the grenade while Takaya raised his right hand and took a shot at Joker, aiming for his head.
Takaya and Jin smiled. It really was just like killing a baby.
However, Joker shot a smirk of his own. Before Takaya and Jin could react, Joker's right hand suddenly shot out to meet Takaya's bullet, and in his sleeve, something shined under the light of Tartarus. Something rang out and the grenade suddenly exploded midair. Takaya and Jin had no choice but to cover their eyes from the explosion, shielding themselves from the dust that now flew in the area. The dust swallowed Joker up, making it impossible to see him.
"What?!" Jin shouted. "What was that?!"
Takaya grunted as he tried to look at where Joker originally was. "It would seem that the child has a bite!"
Joker jumped out of the dust cloud and sprinted towards Takaya, keeping his body low on the ground, his right arm in front of him while holding a monstrous dagger.
"You think you can run towards a gun unharmed?!" Takaya yelled as he shot the rest of his clip towards Joker. Joker's eyes abruptly turned yellow as he weaved through the bullets, deflecting one off to the side.
Before Takaya and Jin could even comprehend what just happened, Joker had already reached Takaya. "I think that answers your question?" he asked with a smug tone, his smirk clear for Takaya to see.
"Takaya!" Jin screamed. Before Takaya could do anything to protect himself, Joker slashed Takaya's hand. Blood flowed from his hand as he lost his grip on his revolver and he fell to the ground.
Enough was enough. The situation had turned out for the worse. Takaya and Jin had come here, thinking they were the predators, but it turned out their prey was a predator they had never seen before. It was surreal to see that it was possible to dodge bullets consistently, never mind deflecting them with a dagger. They had to go all-out, here and now, to eliminate Joker before he could pose a bigger problem.
There was no hesitation on Jin's part. Joker had already harmed Takaya, his light and savior. That in itself was heresy to what he believed in.
He quickly reached into a pocket strapped to his leg, bringing out a gun, and pointed it at his head. "Moros!" He pulled the trigger and his Persona, Moros, appeared behind him.
It had a metallic body in the shape of three tops stacked together. Symbols floated on the largest top, which was above the others. A total of two rings floated where each top touched each other, and limbs were attached to those rings. Oddly enough, one of its arms was missing.
Moros began to spin its limbs and rushed to where Takaya was. Purple flames appeared on the ground as they circled around Joker. However, before more could happen, he back flipped multiple times to create space. His eyes widened as he saw what Jin was holding on to: an Evoker.
Jin rushed towards Takaya, Moros standing on guard against Joker, a wall to stop him from approaching.
"Takaya!" Jin reached for him and checked his hand. Luckily, it was only a scratch. It seemed that Joker only slashed at the gun and the only damage on Takaya was a minor scratch on his palm. There was no cut on his fingers, either.
Jin glanced at Takaya's revolver. There was a huge scratch on it and Joker's dagger somehow dug into both the handle and cylinder, damaging them beyond repair.
"I'm alright, Jin," Takaya said with a growl. "I only lost my balance." He quickly stood up, making sure not to use his right hand to support him from the ground. "Why didn't you kill me?" he asked Joker with a glare.
"What?" Jin asked. "What do you mean?"
Takaya didn't break eye contact with Joker. "You had a chance to kill me. However, you instead aimed for my gun. You had a clear opening, and you chose to disarm me. Why?"
Joker relaxed, the right hand with the knife hanging loosely on his side while his left was on his hip. There was no tension in his body.
"Don't you know? A phantom thief never kills; they steal hearts for the good of the people," Joker responded, keeping the smug tone from earlier. "Now, it's my turn to ask: where did you get that gun? Nice Stand, by the way."
Stand?
Jin shook his head. "Whatever you just said makes no sense. And as for the gun..." He glanced towards Takaya, a silent question on what to do.
A scowl replaced Takaya's smile, finally taking in the seriousness of the situation. A normal person forced them to use their Personas, even if said person dressed weirdly.
No, that was wrong.
A human forced them to use their Personas, a weapon for killing Shadows. Even if he dressed weirdly, even if he could traverse the Dark Hour, Jin was forced to use his Persona to defend them.
It was a disgrace for Strega.
Takaya snarled at the situation. He was going to make sure to erase this disgrace from the world.
"Hypnos!" He clutched his head as he summoned his Persona. The pain became unbearable, causing him to yell out and kneel on the ground. However, it was enough. His Persona floated above him.
Hypnos was a disfigured body held in the air by black wings, as if it were grafted into his spine and nerves. Its body was gray, or perhaps pale. A face mask hid its eyes from the world and its straps formed an X on the back of his head.
"It's useless! Every minute, every second, someone will always die! Adding to that changes nothing! Death is not something you can stop!" Takaya cried out.
"You're right," Joker said as he nodded, to both Takaya and Jin's surprise. "We all die at the end of our lifetimes when we grow too old to move. We can't stop that from happening."
Takaya looked at him suspiciously. "Then you must know how futile it is to stop-"
"But, here's the thing," Joker interrupted him, "we shouldn't dive onto death headfirst. It's wrong to say that someone's death would change nothing in the world. Everyone bonds with someone, anyone, in the world. If a single person dies, everyone they connected with will be affected, hurting them."
"Not everyone bonds with someone else!" Takaya denied.
"Not unless you lock yourself away from the world," Joker answered back. "There's, what, over six billion people in the world? Reach out to others and I'm sure someone will reach back!"
Jin grit his teeth as he took a step back at Joker's words in surprise. Memories flowed back into him, memories from when he was at his lowest... Back when...
Takaya held out a hand towards him. "Don't let the past control you, and don't look to the future; simply live in the moment..."
"A foolish notion!" Takaya yelled back. "It is a childish dream to believe that everything will be fixed if we just reach out to each other!"
Jin shook his head with a growl. Now was no time to be remembering the past. "It's four of us now! And with our Personas, your loss is guaranteed!"
"Persona? Is that what they're called?" Joker calmly asked, stunning Jin.
"Really?" Jin asked stupendously. "In front of insurmountable odds, you still have that attitude of yours?! There really is no cure for stupidity!"
"Be judged for your arrogance!" Takaya cried out. "Hypnos, Zionga!"
Jin commanded his Persona, "Moros, Agilao! Burn this fucker to ash!"
Electricity charged around Hypnos while Moros began swinging its arms. Lightning and a ball of fire shot towards Joker, and both hit him at the same time. Joker's spot exploded, shooting up dust all throughout the area. The grenade explosion from before was significantly smaller than this.
"He did nothing this time..." Jin muttered. "Looks like we got him."
"Shall I move in?" Chidori asked through the earpiece.
Takaya stared vigilantly at where Joker was in silence. He underestimated Joker once, and he paid for it with his revolver.
"Go ahead," Takaya commanded. "Jin, keep an eye out for any movements."
Moros kept itself between the explosion and both Takaya and Jin to protect them from any surprises. Hypnos hovered closer to the ground behind Takaya.
Suddenly, Chidori cried out in pain.
"Chidori, what's wrong?" Jin asked.
"Something is there!" Chidori replied. "I can't get a good sense of it. I'm moving in."
Jin could hear leaves rustling on the other side of the earpiece, most likely Chidori moving away from her hiding spot.
Blue flames erupted in the middle of the dust cloud, and a resounding roar blew away all the dust, threatening to split Takaya and Jin's ears. They took cover behind Moros' metallic legs and held on to prevent themselves from being swept off their feet.
"What the hell is this?!" Jin yelled out in frustration as he tried to keep his grip on Moros.
The winds died out, allowing Takaya and Jin to properly look at Joker, his coat flapping violently, and the massive, metallic dragon behind him.
Somehow, Joker was unharmed after the enormous explosion. Not even his coat was scratched, which was impossible.
"Just as you have your own Stands, or Personas, as you said," Joker paused as he held out his hands with a grin, "I have my own: Fafnir!"
"What the hell..." Jin muttered. "How do you have a Persona?! How did you summon it without an Evoker?!"
"Is the Evoker the gun that you used?" Joker asked, causing Jin to freeze up when he realized he made a mistake. "Thanks for the information. I'll have to ask you more after I beat you two."
Takaya growled as he hung his head, his hair covering his eyes from view.
"Takaya...?" Jin asked unsurely. He had never seen Takaya like this before.
"I... I..." Takaya said, his shoulders shaking as he clenched his hands. Blood flowed again from his right hand as the wound worsened. "For years, we have dodged the Kirijo, long enough for them to forget that we existed. For years, we've done what we wanted, free from everyone and everything!"
Takaya looked up to Joker hastily, his bloodshot eyes visible behind his long strands of hair, giving him a haunting look. "I refuse to go back! Hypnos, Ziodyne!" he commanded once more, but blood began to flow from his nose.
Seeing Takaya's determination, Jin could only answer in kind. "Moros, Maragion!"
Ziodyne hit Joker's Persona, Fafnir, first. While electricity travelled through its skin, it seemed like Ziodyne did no visible damage.
A circle of fire surrounded Joker and Fafnir, and the Persona surrounded its summoner with its tail, protecting him as the area lit up in flames. Fafnir glowed in light blue as it seemed to absorb the flames instead of being harmed by it. If anything, Joker seemed to be more energetic from the attack.
"His Persona absorbs fire?" Jin stammered out.
Takaya and Jin's eyes widened in realization. There was a reason Joker seemed so relaxed during the entire encounter. He knew he wasn't going to lose. His victory was already assured from the start.
Takaya had thought that since they were meeting in Tartarus, Strega had the advantage. They had the experience, and Tartarus was something they consistently used throughout the years. Yes, they did their best to make sure the Kirijo bitch couldn't find them, but they knew how Tartarus worked. It was their home. It gave birth to the Dark Hour, and with it, their reason for existence.
But now, an upstart threatened to take that reason away from them.
"Now, it's my turn." Joker said, interrupting their thoughts. "Fafnir, take it easy on them; I don't want them dead." It growled in response, making Joker chuckle. "For now, I want them knocked out to their feet. Freidyne."
"Freidyne? What-" Jin asked before Fafnir roared thunderously. An explosion of blue and white light erupted from where they stood.
The explosion didn't last long, and neither did they. When the brightness of the room finally dimmed, both of them were lying on the ground. Joker's attack knocked out Takaya, but Jin was struggling to get up. Hypnos and Moros were nowhere to be found.
"What the hell... Are you...? Some... Kirijo superweapon?" Jin asked between gasps of air as he tried to glare at Joker. As menacing the notion was, it all fizzled out, considering how weak Jin looked on the ground.
"I told you, I'm the Phantom Thief," Joker responded with a smile as he walked to Jin. "Now, seeing the situation, it's my turn to ask my questions. What did you mean by the Kirijo? How are they connected to this?" he asked, now that he was above Jin.
Jin fell on his back, too tired to prop himself up. He looked at Joker while trying to plan some sort of response. All he had to do was buy enough time for Chidori to arrive and run. Luckily enough, the light didn't actually destroy any of the items Jin had, so the earpiece was still in his ear.
Jin scoffed at Joker. "You don't know a damn thing, don't you?"
"Yes, I'm pretty sure we established that. Answer my question."
Jin sighed as pain flared up throughout his body. Whatever that light was, it burned some of his exposed skin. "Fine, fine. The Kirijo aren't as nice as they seem," he finally answered, though he stretched wherever he could, masking him wasting time as sarcasm.
"You dodged the question," Joker said sternly. "Answer me. Are they related to the Evoker and how Takaya could summon his own Persona without it?"
"Got it in one," Jin admitted. "Seeing you summon your Persona honestly shocked me for a bit there. It was like watching a stable version of Takaya's summoning."
"What did they do to you?" Jin could see the pity in his eyes, and with it, weakness. An opening.
"Too bad, you won't get the answer to that!" Jin suddenly waved his sleeve at Joker, and a ball shot towards him. Joker had no choice but to jump back and slash at the ball. It blew up and a thick fog of smoke blanketed the air, making Joker lose sight of both Takaya and Jin.
"Damn, a smoke grenade..." he muttered.
His eyes glowed yellow to find his quarry. However, he saw the smoke shift as something fast approached him. He raised his knife to deflect it, and it turned out to be a chained axe of some sort. It bounced off with a clang, and something dragged it back in through the smoke. Another axe came from a different direction, and Joker twisted his body to dodge.
"Fafnir! Blow this away!" His Persona appeared once more, and it swung its wings, blowing away the smoke. However, the area cleared, and he was the only one left. There was no sign of Takaya and Jin, other than the rubble from the fight and the revolver that Joker destroyed.
Joker picked up the revolver, hiding it in his pocket, and his eyes turned yellow again as he scanned the area, but then he sighed. "It was a smoke grenade... Third Eye can't see where they went anymore. I guess I'm still affected by cognition, even if I'm outside the Metaverse." A smoke grenade hides someone and provides a distraction, something the Phantom Thieves used when they were in a tight situation.
However, it didn't mean that they were far away. There was only one entrance to Tartarus, which led to outside. There was the door that went deeper into Tartarus instead, but with how weak they were, it made little sense that they would enter the Shadows' nest.
Joker rushed outside, still hoping to find some clue to where they were. He summoned Yatagarasu, and it flew into the sky while Joker ran on the ground. Yatagarasu would try to keep an eye out for any movement in a large range, but Joker could comb through areas that Yatagarasu couldn't see.
However, time was not on his side. As he reached the streets outside Gekkoukan High School, Tartarus began to collapse into itself. Joker rushed into the shadows of a building nearby, viewing the physics-ignoring spectacle in front of him.
Soon enough, the tall tower became the school once more, and the world shifted. It lost its green hue, replaced by the white light of the moon.
-.-Take Your Time-.-
6/28 - After Midnight - Port Island - Ren
Ren sighed in frustration as he hit the back of his head with the building wall. His targets got away, now that the Dark Hour had finished. Without a second pair of eyes and the boost the Dark Hour gave him, he had effectively lost about 75% of his ability to scout and search. They know Joker exists and they've seen his power and Persona. They'll be even more careful in the future.
He rubbed the spot that he hit with the wall. On the flip side, their encounter should have scared them off, enough that they may stop killing people for a while, or at least in the near future. It wasn't a long-term solution, but it gives him enough time to plan out another way of stopping them, hopefully a more permanent solution.
As Ren walked back towards the station, he reviewed what he had learned about Takaya and Jin.
Their weapons were the real deal: a revolver and live grenades. Jin had two types of grenades too, a regular explosive grenade and a smoke grenade. It would be safe to assume he had more to use if they drew the battle out.
'Takaya's revolver, if I remember Iwai's words right, was a Smith & Wesson Model 500,' he thought.
"It's a strong one, packs a lot of power," Iwai said as he exhaled smoke. "It can even take down some of the larger African game."
Makoto loved it when he gave her its model version as a Christmas present. And now, he was holding on to the real one. Fortunately, there was no bullet, seeing as Paradise Lost cut through the cylinder like it was butter and because Takaya wasted all his bullets trying to kill Joker.
Ren kept the gun hidden from late night workers as best as he could when he arrived at the train station and hopped into a train. The next part was their Personas. While Moros' design wasn't too outlandish, it was Hypnos that sent a shiver down Ren's spine. It oozed depression and freakish, from how it stayed aloft in the air, to how it connected the wings to itself. On the other hand, their attacks were on the weak side for him, only going up to lower-mid tier in terms of damage, in Futaba's words. However, they were stronger than what he had seen from SEES, something to worry about if these two groups ever met up with each other.
Ren let out a large yawn, and he slumped deeper into the seat. Luckily, he was alone in the train car.
'Damn it, the lack of sleep from the entire week is starting to hit me.'
Ren sighed as the train began to cross the bridge from Port Island and the mainland. It had been a hell of a week and it was only turning out worse and worse. Normally, he used the night to sleep until right before the Dark Hour. However, the calling cards took that nap from him, so he was sleep deprived. On top of that and what just happened, he has a SEES expedition through Tartarus, and he could not mess up his 'first' visit since the Emperor and Empress Full Moon Shadows.
He began to regret his decision to have the showdown the night before the expedition. His body was dead tired, and his right arm was feeling sore from deflecting all those shots from the revolver. It made him really miss Morgana. He would have told Ren when to sleep and have the showdown days beforehand.
Ren reached for his phone and began to fiddle with the alarm clock. 'Twenty minutes. I should be able to take a power nap before the train gets to Iwatodai Station,' he thought as he drifted to sleep.
When Ren arrived at the dorm, all the lights were off. When he reached his bed, he flopped, forgetting to change off his clothes and to sleep properly.
-.-Take Your Time-.-
6/28 - After Midnight - Port Island - Jin
Jin, gasping for air, slid down the wall in one of the safe houses Strega had around the city. Specifically, they were still on Port Island, near the station. His legs were on fire from sprinting non-stop ever since he and Chidori had to run from Tartarus.
'Hopefully, Joker thinks we ran towards the station and took the train.'
Tonight was a failure. Not only were they outmatched, but they also ran with their tails between their legs. On top of that...
Jin looked to the bed where Takaya was laid down. 'He's down and we have no idea when he'll wake up.'
Jin could still see bits of seared skin, destroying Takaya's tattoos. He touched his own face and felt the same burnt skin. However, both their skins were starting to heal. Whatever Joker did, it did not have lasting effects. Perhaps a silver lining to this entire shitshow.
Jin stared at Chidori as she began to apply first aid to Takaya. She was stoic throughout the entire situation, her face unmoving.
She bandaged Takaya's arms when she asked, "What happened in Tartarus?"
'Huh. Rare of her to ask.'
"What do you think?" Jin weakly responded. "We got our asses handed to us."
"How? Outside of the occasional static, I only heard you and Takaya."
"What do you mean how?" Jin asked irritatedly. "Joker, he..."
Jin tried to remember what happened only a few minutes ago. He could remember the irritation and anger he felt in Tartarus. He remembered the rare moment of rage Takaya showed.
But Joker? Nothing. Flashes of static appeared in his mind as he tried to remember anything about Joker. Then, in the final memory, the closest he ever got was near the end, when Joker stood above him, it should have been the clearest picture he had of Joker.
Instead, what he remembered was a being cloaked in a mist of shadows. Then, the memories came back again. There was only static when he remembered Joker speaking. That same mist of shadows stood where Joker stood.
Jin began to pant as he realized that, somehow, someway...
"What the hell...?"
Joker was that fog of shadows.
-.-Take Your Time-.-
Activities:
6/22 – Night – Print Club
6/23 – Afternoon – Temperance 4
6/23 – Night – Café Work
6/24 – Afternoon – Temperance 5
6/24 – Night – Café Work
6/25 – Afternoon – Priestess 2
6/25 – Night – Devil 5
6/26 – Afternoon – Star 4
6/26 – Night – Café Customer
6/27 – Afternoon – Priestess 3
6/27 – Night – Café Customer
-.-Take Your Time-.-
Social Links:
Fool – SEES – 3
Magician – Junpei Iori – 6
Priestess – Fuuka Yamagishi – 3
Emperor – Student Council – 3
Hierophant – Old Couple – 8
Lovers – Yukari Takeba – 5
Chariot – Volleyball – 8
Hermit – Health Committee – 3
Hanged Man – Girl at the Shrine – 3
Death – Mysterious Boy – 1
Temperance – Transfer Student – 5
Devil – Businessman – 5
Star – Akihiko Sanada – 4
Fortitude – Ren Amamiya – 2
-.-Take Your Time-.-
Author's Notes:
Well, here is the first Strega vs Joker. How was the fight? Good? You like the stomp?
Joker would absolutely hate Strega's mentality in giving up and perpetuating the problems in the world. I hope that I presented the differences in ideology and the bit of hypocrisy I found with Strega, specifically Jin. I'm also pretty sure that Takaya and Jin basically spat out the entire Strega subplot without name-dropping Strega.
Remember when Joker thought that his Metaverse powers changed up a bit? This is one change. It has to do with cognition and being undiscoverable. I'll explain in detail when the story, or Ren, gets to it. If you guess it right, I'll let you know.
I did have a bit of trouble writing the calling cards. I do feel that they are impactful enough. Ren made that letter knowing that he shouldn't use the terms he learned from SEES, so he used his own. I hope that the each make sense.
Little by little, Kotone and Ren gets closer, as slow as it is.
For future updates, I may slow down. I have IRL stuff to do and I would like to start doing 9k+ words per chapter to help with the pacing. If you have any problems with the formatting, let me know. I'm still playing around with what I want.