A/N Another Friday, another chapter. Next chapter will be posted next Friday as well.
Disclaimer: I do not own Persona or any of its characters, and I make no money off of this.
Chapter 7
"Thank you, Jok…"
The heiress stopped mid-sentence, realizing that the person in front of her was very much so not Ren Amamiya. She'd recognized him briefly from Leblanc the previous day, but in that moment she could only see a tall, handsome, silver-haired man looking down on her with frighteningly comforting eyes.
"You okay?" Yu asked.
Though she knew she wasn't looking at Joker, if only for a moment, she'd swear by the fact that she was. His voice held a familiar confidence to it and yet held such subtle compassion to it that the resemblance was almost uncanny.
"U-Um… yes…" Noir replied, her cheeks heating up as she was helped onto her feet.
"Good, I'm glad," he stated.
Breaking up the would-be conversation, the enemy Shadows rallied nearby. Their ceaseless horror-inducing cries filled the air as the gathered for another assault around the two.
Haru, thankfully uninjured, readied to enter the fray of battle yet again and return the favor. However, before she so much as took a step forward, she noticed her moments-ago savior beat her to the punch.
"You look pretty worn out, so why don't you rest a bit?" Yu offered, a confidant smirk as he pressed on. "I'll handle them."
Although she was more than capable of pitching in her fair share, something about the way the young man walked forward simply let her believe she didn't need to move an inch. The conviction in his step was striking, as if nothing in the world could get in his way.
Yu stopped in place, staring down the fast-approaching swarm of Halberies. Energy in the form of blue flames began to lightly swirl around his body as he prepared to deal with them.
"Ghehehe…!" sounded off the innocuous cackle of the spherical monstrosities.
By that point, virtually every member of the Phantom Thieves had made it to Haru's, though in Futaba's case she made her way overhead. The Beaty Thief's fellow female teammates on the ground were the first to rush up to her s as to ensure she was still in one piece.
"Haru!" Panther exclaimed worriedly.
"Are you alright?" Queen asked with urgency.
"Yes, I'm fine," she answered with a smile.
"So uh… who the hell is that guy?" Skull bluntly asked.
"Doesn't matter. He helped Haru and now we need to help him," Morgana pointed out in a determined tone. "Oracle, we'll be counting on your support here!"
"Roger that!"
Everyone was readying to lend a helping hand to the new arrival, save for a certain fluffy-haired heiress. Looking at the battle-to-be, she couldn't manage to feel even the slightest bit of concern for her rescuer. She was all too certain he didn't need it.
"I wouldn't worry about him," Noir abruptly stated, almost absentmindedly.
"Huh?!" Skull uttered in shock. "Y-You didn't hit your head or anything, right?"
Most others shared Ryuji's opinion given how vastly outnumbered the silver-haired man was. However, one other among the Phantom Thieves disagreed on what could only be described as a gut feeling.
"No, I think she's right," Joker replied. His eyes fixed on the young lawyer, he simply stated, "Trust me."
Ahead of the group's current position, dozens upon dozens of Shadows charged forward in an attempt to overrun Yu. He neither flinched or backed away in the slightest, standing his ground as characteristic blue fire erupted around his body in a blaze of glory, culminating in the appearance of a tarot card hovering in the palm of his hand. The force of the display was enough to wash away the residual smoke that still seeped from the ground nearby.
"W-Woah, what the hell is with this energy reading?! It's crazy strong!" Oracle exclaimed.
Undeterred, the Hableries launched on what they saw to be their meal of the day. Yu couldn't help but smirk as their lack of fear worked out perfectly from his perspective. It just meant he wouldn't have to clean anything up after his first attack.
He crushed the shimmering blue tarot card with conviction, knowing the outcome before events even played out.
"Yoshitsune!" Yu shouted commandingly.
True to the name he uttered, the duel-wielding samurai spirit appeared at his front. It's blades were still sheathed, and it seemed not to draw them with even the slightest urgency even faced with the hoard of Shadows at its front. Barely so much as batting an eye-lash, the Persona drew its swords only slightly, and any onlooker could have been forgiven for assuming at first that it hadn't even drawn its swords.
However, a moment later that was proven untrue. In an instant, thin paths of what appeared to be light spread out in all directions, coating the area surrounding Yu in its entirety. Reality itself seemed to be torn apart like glass, shattering in the wake of the rapid blade storm that he'd created.
The attack had come and gone in an instant, though in the aftermath not a single enemy nearby was left in one piece. Their tattered remains fell to the rocky grounds and disappeared just as Yoshitsune sheathed its blades once again.
"Woah…!" Skull said in awe.
"Woah, indeed…" Queen uttered in agreement.
It was rare for each member of the Phantom Thieves to be impressed along the same lines as Ryuji, but this was one such instance. Everyone, even Joker, couldn't quite believe the display of strength.
There was one among them, however, that was amazed for an entirely different reason.
"He can use multiple Personas too?!" Morgana exclaimed with widened eyes. "I-Is he the same as Joker?"
"A question for later, I'm afraid."
The soft-spoken tone did not belong to any of the Phantom Thieves, and as such nearly everyone turned to see a somewhat familiar face. The detective from the prior day, Naoto Shirogane, calmly approached the group.
"D-Detective Shirogane?" Queen stammered, her tone betraying her confusion.
"…Makoto Niijima, correct?" she more said than asked. Receiving a nod, she stated pointedly, "I'm sure you'll have plenty of questions, and the same can be said for us. However, that comes later. For now, I suggest that you take our team's help."
"Team?" Noir uttered, tilting her head curiously.
Their attention was soon drawn the sounds of footsteps that were fast-approaching from the southern section of the park. To say the Phantom Thieves were shocked was an understatement. They quite literally hadn't the slightest idea of what was going on.
"But they… huh?" Skull wondered aloud. In yet another rare instance, everyone else was just as lost as he was. His eyes widened upon recognizing one of the other groups' members in particular. "Wait, am I seeing things, or is that actually Risette?" Skull asked to no one in particular.
"Risette?! No way!" Oracle exclaimed from her position in the skies above.
"Naoto's right, we'll have time for questions later," Yu said, approaching the group once again. He looked to the trickster himself, smiling in a friendly manner. "For now, it looks like you could use our help. Especially now since it looks like we're about to get even more company."
Just as he'd said, the enemy Shadows were gathering by the dozens on the outskirts of the park yet again. They appeared to be acting more cautious for the moment in the wake of seeing their fellow demons so thoroughly executed, but there was no telling just how long that would last.
"He's right," said Joker, nodding in agreement. Turning to the other Persona users, he added, "There's a hostile Persona user that's controlling these Shadows at the far north section of this area. If you can help clear a path to him, we can take him down and hopefully they'll back off."
"Very well," answered Naoto. She glanced at the members of the Phantom Thieves for mere moments each. "However it would seem that a few of you are almost completely drained. Rise, would you mind…?"
"On it!"
A tarot card appeared before the redheaded songstress before it shattered, giving way to her enigmatic Persona. Kanzeon appeared, garbed in its characteristic white dress, after which a wave of shining bright golden light descended around the group from the heavens themselves. Not wanting to be outdone, Oracle too sprang into action.
"I-I'll help out too!"
They felt the revitalizing effects almost immediately, and with twice the intensity given the joint efforts of the two navigators.
"Aw, hell yeah!" Skull shouted excitedly. He clenched his fist tightly, every inch of his body raring to go. "That's what I'm talkin' about!"
An aura of blue red and green enveloped each of the Persona users present. Reflexive battle-ready grins couldn't be helped as each felt near at the peak of their condition.
"Let's get to it then. Our navigators can stay back and lend support while the rest of us move forward," Yu said. Looking to the infamous leader of the Phantom Thieves, he politely asked, "Care to do the honors?"
With a smirk, Joker stepped to the forefront of the group. He merely waved at everyone to follow his lead before taking off, knowing he didn't need to say so much as a word.
The group charged ahead with break-neck speeds. However, as the seemingly endless packs of Halberies started to close in, members of the strike force readied to splinter off to keep them at bay and push them back.
Given that it was first-come first-severed, the brunette freshly-faced police officer was the first to volunteer to enter the fray.
"Yukiko, you ready to hit 'em?!" Chie called out, her voice booming with eagerness.
"I'll follow your lead, Chie!" she replied with a smile.
"Persona!"
"Persona!"
The two Personas made their presence known with the radiant feather-like wings of Konohana Sakuya and the imposing grace of Tomoe captivating all watchers. A symphony of frost and flame merged in perfect union, destroying any Shadow that came into contact with the beautiful yet fierce display of strength.
"Damn, can't let them outdo us," muttered Skull as a bead of sweat dripped from his brow. "Panther, Mona! Let's show 'em what we got!"
It was only natural for the two mentioned thieves to nod eagerly. The trio quickly set off to intercept another section of incoming Shadows, their spirits fired up in the wake of seeing Chie and Yukiko's prior onslaught. Be it by way of wind, fire, or thunder, they slaughtered anything nearby that that entered their line of sight.
The established trend continued with everyone splitting off eagerly and taking part in a show of force that almost made one sympathetic to the abominations they were massacring. Yu and Ren were all that remained in a frontal assault, and thanks to the efforts of their teammates, they were able to quickly close the distance to the pink-haired young man that was ordering around the Shadows.
"Hey," Yu abruptly spoke out, looking to the black-clad trickster out of the corner of his eye. "Any idea how exactly we take this guy down quick?"
"Take down his Persona and everything should work itself out," he answered.
"Got it. So does he like to use any attacks other than elect—"
Before the lawyer could even finish his question, a wave of bright-yellow thunder forced his attention away. Both he and Joker managed to sidestep the attack with relative ease, at the same time realizing their soon-to-be opponent had taken note of their presence.
"Okay, that answers that," Yu said with a chuckle. He held out his hand, forming a tarot card before smashing it to pieces. "Izanagi!"
As the wave upon wave of electric attacks continued to be sent out in their direction, Yu simply charged forward unrelentingly, effortlessly batting away or simply tanking each attack with his Persona.
A wave of twisted purple energy soon forced both he and Joker to actively dodge off to the side, which they managed to do so easily. It was then however that the attacks briefly stopped, the reason for which quickly became apparent.
"You know…" began the pink-haired young man in an annoyed tone. "The two of you are real good at pissing me off. Especially you!"
His eyes narrowed intensely at the silver-haired young man, who in response smiled amusedly.
"Hey, that actually is my name. How'd you know?"
Clearly unamused, he sent another psychic blast his way, which went about as well as any of his other attempts at that point.
"Piss off."
A volley of attacks fired off yet again, each of which Yu managed to simply push through as he neared Oberon. The mythological fairy quickly made to retreat, but all to quickly it realized it was caught between a rock and a hard place.
"Arsène!"
A wave of black and red shot into Oberon's back, resulting in a pained grunt from its wielder who clearly hadn't seen the Phantom Thief sneak off behind him.
"S-Son of a…!"
He angrily walled the winged Persona to turn about and run Arsène through with his sabre. However, as Oberon swung back the blade for its would-be strike, its wrist was gripped by Izanagi's free left hand.
"Maybe next time you should watch your back," Yu advised.
In unison, the elongated claws of Joker's Persona and the sharp blade of Yu's ran Oberon through. The wide-eyed king of the fairies vanished almost instantly, unable to withstand the two-pronged assault.
"A-Aaaaah!"
A pained cry sounded off from the now-defeated Perona's wielder. He quickly fell towards the ground, and naturally the Shadows he'd previously taken control of returned to their somewhat-proper senses. All around the cognitive park, they started to retreat back into the concrete jungle of the Shibuya cityscape.
"Nice attack by the way," Yu remarked as he walked over to their prior foe's downed body.
He quickly lifted him up and propped him up against his shoulder.
"Thanks," Joker replied.
Predictably, and without so much as asking if his help was needed, he propped the unconscious teen's other side against his own shoulder.
Without uttering any further words whatsoever, they made their way back to the others to regroup.
Metaverse: Southern Shibuya, Some Time Later…
The members of both the Phantom Thieves and the Investigation Team had made their way back to the area from where they'd initially arrived. Given that everyone knew what was about to occur, they formed up, each side eager to get answers to the questions that had been at the back of their respective minds since the groups had crossed paths just a short time ago.
"Although we certainly have questions of our own, I suppose it's only fair given that we followed you here that we allow you to go first," mused Naoto, starting off the conversation. "The floor is yours, Phantom Thieves."
"I suppose we should start with the obvious," Queen began, directing her attention to the only two in the group she was even slightly familiar with. "Who exactly are you people? Why did you follow us here? And of course, how is it that you seem to know so much about us? I believe earlier you even addressed me by name, Detective Shirogane."
Each of the elder Persona users looked at one another almost at a loss. Describing who they were as a group would certainly be an elongated story, and one no one was quite certain how to condense without raising a myriad of other questions.
"Naoto and I are exactly what we said, but obviously that's not what you're asking about…" Yu thought aloud. With a hand cupping his chin, he continued, "We all became Persona users at around the same age you all are now, only our circumstances were slightly different."
"Years ago in a small town countryside town called Inaba, we tracked down a serial killer who murdered his victims by throwing them into what you would call the Metaverse. You can think of him as a renegade Persona user," Naoto clarified.
"Woah, seriously…?" Skull uttered in amazement.
"Scary stuff," Panther thought aloud.
"Indeed," Yusuke remarked.
"Most of us are originally from Inaba as well. Our paths crossed by happenstance, but the end result was our forming an investigation team of sorts. In that sense, I believe our circumstances are not dissimilar to your own," continued the detective.
A few of the Phantom Thieves shared a glance with one another. True, this story felt as if it mirrored their own to a large degree, and eerily so at that.
"As for why we followed you, he has a lot to do with that," Naoto stated.
Her eyes zoned in on the red-gloved young man that acted as the head of their group.
Raising a brow, Joker asked, "Me?"
"You were the one who found Akane Kirio, correct?" she posited, receiving a nod. "When we spoke to her after her supposed escape, her recollections were strangely similar to the Metaverse. While that could have been chalked up to drug-related hallucinations, the utterance of a specific phrase 'thou art I' all but confirmed our suspicions. This also led us to believe that he—Joker, I believe—was a Persona user and had encountered Akane Kirio in the Metaverse itself. Given his connection with the Phantom Thieves' case, it wasn't difficult to put two and two together. We realized in short order that you would likely be going after other victims."
The spot-on analysis took several by surprise. Naoto's effortlessly sharp, analytical mind was something no one had quite encountered before. They saw now why she was hailed as the first of the detective princes.
"Wait, one thing I don't get…" Panther spoke up, cupping her chin curiously. "How did you guys know we'd be here? And now that I think about it, how exactly did you even manage to follow us?"
"This should explain things nicely," Naoto mused.
The blue-haired woman produced Ryuji's phone from her pocket before tossing it back to its owner. He caught it with an overjoyed smile, slight tears forming in his eyes.
"My phone!" Skull uttered, his voice as if he was witnessing the descent of a heavenly being. He held it up to his cheek, grinning from ear to ear. "Thank god! Aw man, my mom woulda killed me if I'd seriously lost you!"
Although a few found amusement in his reaction, most of his teammates understood the obvious.
"So it's Ryuji's fault," Morgana stated matter-of-factly.
Amid his joyous reunion with his phone, the former track star hadn't realized that finer detail. His eyes shut and his expression fell.
"Aw, dammit! Not again!" Skull shouted annoyedly. Turning to his teammates, he made to defend himself to the best of his abilities. "B-But it totally ain't my fault, right? Right?! How was I supposed to know she jacked my phone?!"
"His chat history was never deleted, either…" Naoto quietly pointed out.
It wasn't the ace detective's intention to pour fuel on the fire, but that was nevertheless what she'd done.
"Like fifty times I talked to you about that!" Panther growled. "Ren literally goes to jail for us and you can't even manage to delete your chat history?"
"I, uh… well, kinda… forgot?"
Queen crossed her arms, her eyes narrowed as she addressed her teammate.
"Is that so?"
"I planned for Ryuji's stupidity tho when I put encryption software on all of your phones. Honestly, I'm kinda bummed you managed to crack it…" Oracle muttered, her shoulders slumped.
To her moderate surprise, Yusuke placed a comforting hand on her shoulder, patting her on the back for her efforts.
"There, there, Oracle. You shouldn't feel dejected in the slightest," Fox said in a serene tone of voice. "Not even the greatest of security measures could accommodate countermeasures for Ryuji's stupidity."
"Hey!"
"Yeah, your right," Oracle answered. A small smile formed on her lips, and she continued on in genuine gratitude, saying, "Thanks, Yusuke."
"Anytime."
"Okay, what the hell?! Are you two seriously having a moment over calling me an idiot?!" Skull exclaimed.
"Run from the truth all you want—that doesn't make it any less true," Morgana said with sage-like wisdom.
The prideful smirk of the feline was short-lived as there was one other detail that had yet to be brought to light.
"Actually," said Yu, getting the group's attention yet again. "Naoto only stole that phone because your talking cat singled him out. He was also the one that confirmed Akane Kirio had been in the Metaverse in the first place."
All eyes quickly turned to Morgana, who was stunned as a result of the revelation. His ability to speak and be heard by people that had been in the Metaverse had been extremely useful when it came to outing Akechi all those months ago. However, now was a different story altogether.
"Oh yeah! It would make sense that you could understand him!" Oracle said in realization. "So then when Mona was talking back at Leblanc, you heard every word."
"I'm… I'm…!" Morgana uttered in horror, his expression blank and soulless. "I'm the same as Ryuji? No, I'm… I'm worse than Ryuji?!"
The trauma that the feline was going through actually drew a sympathetic look from both Ann and Ren, who understood his massive but fragile ego probably shattered then and there. For a certain someone though, this opportunity was all he could ask for and more.
"Run from the truth all you want—that doesn't make it any less true," Skull said mockingly, a cheeky grin plastered from ear to ear.
Predictably, Mona's jaw dropped before he finally froze in place, his mind shattered and now floating in the endless void of the subconscious.
Since it appeared he would be like that for quite some time, Naoto spoke up again, wanting nothing more than to get the conversation back on track.
"As for the means of our arrival, it was by way of the strange phone app that I believe you have as well."
"Well, that covers our more pressing questions," Queen stated, her posture becoming somewhat relaxed. "So, do you happen to have any for us?"
"Um, I do have just one…" Chie said, raising her hand somewhat nervously. "So, uh… what's the deal with those outfits?"
"And your codenames?" Yukiko added.
"Ahaha, yeah, I guess that would confuse people…" Panther mused, rubbing the back of her head sheepishly. "Our outfits appeared when we awakened to our Personas for the first time. They're sort of like expressions of our individuality."
"And the codenames are so that we don't risk Shadows of an individual relaying our true denies to the real-world equivalents," Fox explained. "I'm sure you can imagine a Phantom Thief wanting to remain anonymous, especially given the acclaim we ultimately achieved."
"Lasted all of fifteen minutes though…" Skull quietly groaned, kicking a nearby rock in a childish manner.
"But how would that happen? You guys getting recognized, I mean," pressed Chie, scratching her cheek. "Shadows wouldn't be able to tell their real-world self anything, right? And if anyone ever did see you, I feel like those aren't really much in the way of disguises."
"Well, I'll admit it's pretty easy to tell that's you, Ann-chan," Rise cut in good-naturedly.
"Uh, you see, t-that's…"
While the path that they were going down was one that would inevitably lead to some embarrassment for the Phantom Thieves, a lone hero stepped forward in the form of an orange-haired superfan. Like a general among their troops, she pushed aside everyone and stood front and center.
"Hold on, I want to confirm something," Futaba declared, her expression entirely serious and her reflecting the same. "You're really Risette, right? Like, really really?"
"Hm? Well, yeah…" she replied blankly.
The youngest member of the Phantom Thieves turned her sights back to her blue-eyed friend, still appearing strangely serious.
"So, Ann… why exactly is the Rise Kujikawa addressing you by your first name?"
"Huh?" uttered the blonde confusedly.
"Answer the question," Futaba pressed with narrowed eyes.
"W-Well, we kinda met randomly at the mall after my photoshoot. She spotted me in a crowd and remembered seeing me in an issue of Vague, so we chatted for a bit," Ann stated, almost nervously.
"What?!" Futaba shouted in disbelief. "You managed to meet Rise Kujikawa and talk to her but didn't even bother to get me an autograph? Ann, what the hell?!"
"R-Ren was there too!" she said defensively.
Appearing more betrayed than could be put to words, her eyes shifted to Joker.
"Thanks for that," Ren muttered, his voice laced with sarcasm as he glanced at the young model out of the corner of his eyes.
"Sorry, it just kinda slipped out…!" Ann replied, wincing slightly.
Her words, however sincere, did not change the fact that Futaba was staring them down with the ferocity of a pit-bull. Well, maybe a newborn pit-bull, but still a pit-bull.
"Look, Futaba, it just kinda slipped our minds," Ren said, holding his hands up apologetically. "After the picture, she had to take off, so…"
It was less than a millisecond after the words left his mouth that Joker realized his misstep. A demonic shadow veiled Futaba's face and literal fire seemed to emanate from her eyes.
"Why the hell did you say that?!" Ann whispered urgently.
"Yeah, that one's on me," Ren admitted, having quite literally no defense.
Perhaps the worst part of the entire situation was that Futaba wasn't saying a thing. She was just glaring at them menacingly.
"Um, excuse me… Futaba-chan, right?" Rise abruptly spoke out.
Breaking out of her stupor and blushing with the innocence of a child, she turned to see the popstar directly behind her.
"H-Hm?!" Futaba practically squealed.
"I take it you're a fan?" Rise asked with an amused smile.
"The biggest!" she exclaimed, her feet nearly leaving the ground. In an attempt to appear more reserved in her fan-girldom, she cleared her throat and tried to stiffen her posture. "I mean, yes, I'm a pretty big fan of yours if I do say so myself."
"If it's an autograph or a picture you want, I'd be more than happy to."
"R-Really?!"
"Of course," she replied through a chuckle.
Her reaction was intentionally subdued, but the goofy grin that crossed her lips was unmistakable. The two previous targets of her ire were just relieved that Rise had come to their rescue while most everyone else simply found her antics rather adorable.
"Futaba's 'fangirling' aside…" spoke Yusuke in a nonchalant matter. "Something has been on my mind since we fought together. Narukami-san, was it? How is it that you are able to call on multiple Personas? Could it be that your powers are similar to those of our leader?"
It was a question that had actually been on the backs of everyone's minds since seeing the two wield multiple Personas in their fight against the renegade Persona user. While it was far from the first time, they'd seen someone wield multiple Personas, it had been the first time that they'd witnessed someone other than their own group leader wields more than two.
"I assume so, but there's really only one way to find out…" Yu replied.
The eyes of the two group leaders locked, each of their gazes as cold as steel. Wordlessly, they stepped towards one another, doing so with such quiet resolve that it made those who witnessed it somewhat tense. Although it was doubtful that it would actually happen, it appeared to some degree that they were about to do battle with one another.
They stopped just short of each other, silence still gripping the air. Yu was ultimately the one to break it.
"Me eat you whole."
The words that the young lawyer spoke were nonsensical to anyone that heard them, so much so that most believed they had misheard. Everyone would have written it off as such, but both the serious nature with which he spoke and the serious nature with which Ren seemed to receive those words gave them pause.
"I am in your care."
Again, it seemed to be a random response, albeit this one at least made grammatical sense. Silence ensued with the twos eyes still locked, all the while their respective group members kept looking back and forth between them. Abruptly, and simultaneously, they placed their right arm on the others' opposing shoulder and lowered their heads.
"To think I would find someone that truly understands…!" Yu muttered in a somewhat pained tone.
"I thought I was the only one, but you're also…!" Ren said in response, his tone practically mimicking that of his counterpart.
The deadpanned expressions that resulted from their teammates were predictable. No one knew or could even begin to understand the apparent significance of what had just happened.
"Are they really being serious or just messing with us? I can't tell…" Rise stated.
"Oh good god, they're like freakin' twins," Chie sighed.
"Well, they are our leaders and share the same power, so perhaps that's why?" Yosuke mused.
"But what they said was just gibberish…" Ann thought aloud, her shoulders slumped.
"Must be a Wild Card thing," Yukiko mused.
When the 'Wild Card moment' was finally done, the two looked at one another and smiled. Whether they were just messing with the group as a whole remained an unknown, but they'd at least settled the matter regarding the similarity of their powers.
Still, one thing remained to be addressed.
"While this has been a good conversation, I believe we may have overstayed our welcome here," Haru spoke up.
Her eyes drifted to the metaphorical elephant in the room, which came in the form of the still-unconscious pink-haired young man.
"By the way… who exactly is he?" Morgana wondered aloud, asking the obvious as she turned to the only actual detective present.
"His name is Hayato Tsubasa, a high-school student that went missing nearly four days ago," Naoto replied. Glancing at Yu, she explained, "I recognized him from the missing person's reports we were going over the other day. It would seem he is yet another kidnapped victim."
"By the men in white masks, right?" Joker pressed.
"We refer to them simply as the White Masks," stated Naoto. "There was no real evidence of their involvement that was gathered. However, given how you said that just now, I assume that recent events are a match for the case with Akane Kirio. Noting the similarities between the two leads us to only one possible conclusion."
"Then it looks like your intuition was spot on, Queen," Ren stated.
"Sadly, yes," she replied with a frown. "Although it's unfortunate that we didn't manage to find any trace of them here."
"But you did recover one of their victims. Speaking of which, we should get back to the real world and take him to a hospital to be treated," Naoto uttered pointedly. She turned to her partner once more. "I'll take care of the police report and ensure that Tsubasa-san receives treatment. I'll be counting on you for the rest."
"Yeah," replied Yu.
Voicing everyone's confusion, Haru asked, "The rest?"
"Well, right now we've got a few finer details to iron out, don't you think?" Yu mused, flashing a wry smile. "Regarding how our groups will be working together."
Yongen-Jaya: Cafe Leblanc, Some Time Later…
It had been a few hours since both Futaba and Ren had headed off to meet up with their friends, presumably to embark on an adventure in which the risk of them getting injured was quite high. Albeit rather late into the night at that point, the owner and operator of the quaint cafe, Soiro Sakura, stayed up cleaning a number of dishes and washing the countertop.
He didn't know quite how else to stave off the worry.
When the bell to the entrance finally rang, a reflexive smile formed on his lips as he turned to the door.
"Welcome b—" Sojiro trailed off. He paused after noticing several people walk in that were certainly not a part of Ren's usual group of friends. The fact that each new addition seemed to be a few years removed from high school only added to his confusion. "…back."
"Heya boss, sorry to barge in like this," Ryuji greeted as he helped himself to one of the booth seats.
"Sorry about this," Ann apologized sincerely, wincing and giving the proprietor of the coffee shop a slight bow of her head.
The now twice-larger than normal group had situated themselves within the cafe as if nothing was odd about the arrangement. The middle-aged man quickly turned to his tenant.
"Mind explaining this one to me?" Sojiro asked.
"It's a long story."
"Phantom Thief stuff, Sojiro!" Futaba chirped.
"I figured that much," he replied, furrowing his brow. "I meant: who are these people?"
"Sorta kinda cops, but not really," Ryuji explained.
"It hurts that I can't really say you're wrong there…" Ann thought aloud.
"Although it still is a rather crude explanation," Haru remarked in an upbeat tone.
The esteemed owner was now more lost than prior, and it showed.
"I think I can save a bit of the explanation by saying that we're aware that they're the Phantom Thieves and we have abilities similar to theirs," Yu stated.
"Hm? Wait, you're that guy from the other day," said Sojiro in realization. Cupping his chin, he asked, "Narukami, right? You work for the SIU and you were with that detective woman—Shirogane, if I remember correctly."
"Yes, exactly so."
"So then these other people are…?"
"If it helps, just think of us as a group of friends in the same way they are," Yu offered. "Metaverse powers included."
"Ah, I see. That actually does help a bit," Sojiro thought aloud.
"They're here right now because they wanted to discuss the prospect of working together on a matter involving the cognitive world," Makoto explained.
"And on that end, I'll be brief," Yu promised, sporting a friendly smile. "Before that, I wanted to make sure I was correct in my assumption. You guys don't really trust the police, do you?"
The comical looks that ensued as a result of his question made him out to be Captain Obvious himself. He chuckled, not even waiting for an actual response.
"I thought so," Yu uttered.
"It's nothing personal," Ren stated, almost sympathetically.
"We just have zero faith in the police is all," Haru chirped.
"The lady speaks the truth!" Ryuji exclaimed.
"The way you guys are saying that is super weird…" Yosuke thought aloud, clearly a bit perturbed by how the group of teenagers spoke on the topic.
"Maybe so, but I can understand where they're coming from," Yu said honestly.
It was evident that the Phantom Thieves were surprised to hear him say such a thing. While he technically wasn't a police officer, if his position was anything like that of Makoto's sister, Yu was still playing a part in the system that they hated. For him to admit such a thing so brazenly took, for lack of a better word, balls.
No organization was without fault, not even the justice system, and Yu was well aware the Phantom Thieves stood as a testament to that fact. If the system was perfect, they wouldn't have needed to help people themselves—or so the Thieves themselves clearly believed. He had no reason to debate them on the topic of who was more effective or which side was right or wrong, or did he truly want to in the first place.
"However, here and now, we both want the same thing: to put a stop to these kidnappings and make sure whatever is going on in the Metaverse comes to an end. The latter of the two you can maybe even handle on your own, but the former? There are limits to what you can do in the other world when real people are being kidnapped first in reality. You will inevitably need help when going up against these people," Yu pointed out. Bowing his head slightly but with solemnity, he added, "And you have my word that these criminals will be punished to the full extent of the law."
Although his points were logical, what truly took the thieves of hearts by surprise was his sincerity. That, and the fact that he wasn't looking at them like a bunch of children. He was looking at them as his equals, regardless of their difference in age, although it wasn't a very significant difference even as it stood.
The closest equivalent they could draw on was when the eldest Nijima sister had asked them to leave Shido's prosecution to her.
"…It's fine with me," Ren answered. Adjusting his glasses, he quickly added, "But it isn't my decision alone to make. The Phantom Thieves never take any action unless it's unanimous."
"I agree to our cooperation as well," Makoto spoke up. "And you all?"
"I am in agreement," Yusuke remarked.
"Same here," Futaba piped in.
"If Ren's good with it, so am I," Ryuji answered with a smirk, giving a big thumbs-up to their brunette strategist.
"Same," Ann stated with a smile.
"Looks like we're all in agreement," Morgana spoke up.
It was then that seemingly everyone from the Investigation Team with two exceptions became stunned as a result of the voice coming from a literal black cat.
"W-Wait, did that cat just talk?!" Kanji exclaimed.
"It totally did!" Rise shouted in a surprised tone.
"I am not a cat, I'm Morgana!"
"Ooh, so he's that cat-like person from the Metaverse," Yukiko reasoned. "I had a feeling you were a Shadow like Teddie, so I was surprised to see you're actually a cat. Though maybe I shouldn't have been given what Yu and Naoto said earlier."
"Well, he's definitely a Shadow all right. My nose never lies," Teddie proclaimed.
Now it was the turn of the Phantom Thieves to be caught by surprise. It was then for the first time that they first truly noticed the blond-haired blue-eyed young man with flawless skin. Clearly, he hadn't been someone that was with the group in the Metaverse, at least not in human form, which left only one possibility.
"Wait… you were that bear-thing?!" Ryuji exclaimed in shock.
"Yuh-huh!" Teddie answered cheerfully.
"Wait, so like, are you a Shadow too?" Ann asked, eliciting a nod in response. "B-But you look like a normal human in the real world!"
"Teddie's… unique," answered Yukiko.
"That's a way of puttin' it," Kanji grumbled.
"At first whenever he came to the real world, he'd be wearing that bear-suit that you saw him in. We don't really know how, but he managed to uh… grow a person inside of him, I guess?" Chie explained, although she sounded unsure if she'd chosen the right words.
"I beg your pardon?" Yusuke uttered in mild disturbance.
"Ew," Futaba grimaced.
"Still, looks like some Shadows really can turn into humans. Tough luck there, Mona," Ryuji lightly jibbed. He expected some kind of a curt response though none was given. "Uh, Mona…?"
Several looked to see Morgana paralyzed in much the same way he had just a short while ago. This earned a chuckle from Ryuji, though most everyone else felt only sympathy. In an ironic turn of events, the black cat seemed to be in the midst of a spree of bad luck if having two crushing traumatic events in such a short timespan was anything to go by.
'It's really just not his day…' Ren thought, sweat dripping from his brow.
"T-There, there, Mona-chan…" Haru said in as comforting a manner as she was able.
"Morgana's trauma aside, we look forward to working with you," Makoto said, attempting to get the conversation back on track.
"Glad to hear it," Yu said. He turned to the owner of the coffee shop, sporting a polite smile as he did so. "Sorry to barge in here on such short notice. We'll be leaving now."
"It's perfectly alright," Sojiro replied with a friendly smile to match that of the young man's.
The group gave their respectful goodbye's, exiting the cafe in short order. Just before he left, Yu took out a pen and a card from his pocket, jotting down something before leaving it on the countertop.
"Contact me whenever you want to set up a message group with all of us. I can hand over everyone else's contact info."
With that, he gave a polite bow of his head before he left with the others. When the characteristic chiming of the bell to Lebalnc's door finally ceased, the Phantom Thieves were left to their own private conversation regarding the odd turn of recent events.
"Anyone else getting 'big Sae-san energy' vibes from that guy when he was askin' for our help?" Ryuji asked.
"What exactly is 'big Sae-san energy'?" Makoto inquired, although she clearly believed she would regret it if her tone was anything to go by.
"Nothin' really," Ryuji answered, scratching the back of his head uncaringly. "Just sayin' I ain't heard an adult talk to us like that since that time she was askin' us to leave Shido to her."
"I agree," Yusuke said, his expression one of deep consideration. "To be perfectly honest, I was more surprised that he was so sincere in asking for our cooperation."
"I thought so too," Futaba admitted. "I mean… I didn't expect him to just ask us straight up like that with no strings attached."
"He didn't even threaten or pressure us either…" Ann pointed out.
"True, and he very easily could have," Makoto added. "Knowing the identities of our entire team and having the full weight of the SIU behind him, he likely could have tied our hands. He actively chose not to."
"I really do think we can trust him," Ren cut in.
Their leaders' words, though minimal, held great weight. For someone like him to buy into the partnership just like that was quite something given his history with officers of the law. Everyone seemed to nod in agreement with his assessment.
"Guess some adults ain't half-bad after all. All of 'em actually seemed pretty cool," Ryuji commented.
"I wonder if they might allow me to paint them…" Yusuke wondered. "Narukami-san's natural good looks and Amagi-san's elegance in particular have a certain charm to them. I would love to capture such aesthetic beauty in my art."
"Okay, dude, can you stop talkin' about how handsome he is?" Ryuji asked, sounding almost annoyed. "It's startin' to seriously creep me out."
"As I said before, he has very symmetrical features that are appealing to the eye," Yusuke countered.
"What? Okay, can people please back me up here?" Ryuji asked to the group at large.
Although he expected most to back up his criticism of their friend's strange focus on Yu's appearance, it didn't seem that would end up happening.
"I don't really think Yusuke is wrong," Ren remarked, being the first to do so.
"Well, he does have that pretty-boy look to him…" Futaba admitted.
"Yeah, I can see that," Ann chimed in.
"Well, I mean…" Makoto trailed off, seemingly too embarrassed to comment on the subject.
While Queen's reaction was of a stiffer nature due to her discomfort with the subject, Haru appeared to fidget slightly for a different reason. She planted her gaze squarely on the floor, appearing sheepish all of a sudden.
"He seems a bit like a prince… o-or something like that," Haru quietly murmured.
Her voice may have been low in volume but what she'd said had been of such immediate interest that it may as well have been blared through a megaphone. Instantly, Ann and Futaba were at her side with teasing grins while Ren and Ryuji just averted their eyes, sporting a matching pair of cheeky expressions all the while. Yusuke was nodding in agreement and Makoto just appeared somewhat shocked that her friend had said what she had.
"Is that so~?" Ann cooed.
"Maybe a prince charming, Noir?" Futaba pressed, raising her brows suggestively.
"H-Huh?!" Haru uttered.
Being the adorable cinnamon roll that she was, reddened cheeks were inevitable on the young woman's part. Sadly, that only encouraged her friends all the more.
"Wow, Haru, so that's your type, huh?" Futaba uttered, her tone unmistakably suggestive. "I had no idea. Shocking, dontcha think, Ann?"
"I'm not so sure about that. A prince charming is totally her, right?"
"Guys, give Haru a break, okay? I'm sure she didn't mean anything by it," Makoto sternly cut in.
It appeared that a savior had arrived in the form of her trusted friend and roommate. She beamed, her eyes shining joyously at her messiah.
"Mako-chan…!"
"Besides," she said with a small smirk. "If Haru has a massive, uncontrollable crush, that's her business, isn't it?"
"Hnnnn~" Haru groaned cutely.
In the midst of her friend's good-natured laughter, she used her pink sweater to absorb the lower half of her face, wanting nothing more than to just vanish from reality for a short time.
'Why me?!' Haru wondered.
Some Time Later…
"Seeya," Ryuji said as he made his way to the exit.
Ren waved his best friend off but couldn't help from cracking a joke in parting.
"Don't lose your phone again!"
"Shaddap!"
The door closed and the bell at the front went silent. With that, only Makoto remained as the sole Phantom Thief present at Leblanc that didn't actually live in Yongen. Even Sojiro had gone home by that point, leaving the store's closing to his valued tenant.
"Was that really necessary?" Makoto asked.
"Of course not, but—"
"Couldn't help yourself?" she asked rhetorically, stifling a chuckle. "There are times I just can't begin to understand your sense of humor."
"Judging by that smile, I'm not so sure that's true," countered Ren with a knowing smirk.
In response the brunette covered with the tips of her fingers while she attempted to adopt a stoic demeanor. It failed miserably as a certain someone kept giving her a suggestive look that, for some reason, she found infinitely amusing in the moment.
"S-Stop that!" Makoto lightly chided, though her words lacked a bit of weight courtesy of her cheerful expression.
"What?" Ren asked, feigning innocence with his tone even as he sported the leer of a demon. "I'm not doing anything."
"You know you are!"
An abrupt sound of a drink being poured off to the side caught their attention and cut their conversation short. Off by the far end of the counter, Futaba stood in place pouring herself a glass of water, staring at the two with half-lidded eyes and a deadpanned expression.
Ren quirked a brow while Makoto acted predictably and turned her head in embarrassment, her cheeks now reddened.
"C'mon, don't stop," Futaba said in a voice so thoroughly laced with sarcasm it baffled the mind. "Keep pretending like I'm not here. I love when that happens, it's my favorite."
"Somehow I doubt that," Ren answered.
"Oh? What gave it away?"
"Y'know, I'm not sure."
"Ehem… yes, well," muttered the former student council president, clearly about to change the subject. "I should be going soon as well. Sis is probably not too happy I've been out this late as it is."
Given the time, that was an understandable worry. It was a far cry from her old curfew, so perhaps she shouldn't complain.
"Do you need me to walk you back?" Ren offered.
Though she smiled at the offer, she nevertheless declined.
"No, I should be good," replied Makoto.
"That's putting it mildly," Futaba uttered. "I feel like Makoto would go all 'call an ambulance, but not for me' on anyone that tried anything on her."
"Geez, just what do you think I am?" Makoto wondered aloud, appearing somewhat displeased.
"A badass," Futaba answered instantaneously. She took a sip of her water calmly. "Also, I've seen your battle data, so I know just how hard your punches hit. Spoilers, they hit hard."
"I can vouch for that," said Ren, almost grimacing at some of the memories of Queen in the heat of battle. "Honestly, I sometimes feel bad for the Shadows you fight."
"Totally! But at the end of the day, she's still capable of going full Momkoto!"
"Enough with that already!" Makoto exclaimed.
Her two friends proceeded to have a laugh at her expense. No matter how badass she may be, no matter how badass she may become, it seemed as if it was her destiny to always and forever blush at the utterance of that nickname. It also didn't help that everyone seemed to get a kick out of it.
"Sorry, sorry," Ren apologized, not wanting to add to her embarrassment any further. "I'll see you later then. It's been a long day, so be sure to get some rest, okay?"
"I could say the same to you," Makoto countered. Her eyes widened as if struck by realization. "Oh, one more thing: do you want to set up the group chat with Narukami-san and his friends, or should I?"
"You can feel free to do it," Ren answered.
"Sure thing."
A moment later she grabbed the card that still sat by the payphone where Yu had left it. She placed it in her bag securely before turning to make her leave.
"By the way…" spoke Ren in a voice that gave away his curiosity. "What did you think of their group? In general, I mean."
"Well, in a manner of speaking, they feel very similar to us," Makoto answered, turning back to give the black-haired teen her full attention. "At least I perceive it that way. And while I can't quite explain it, that feeling is strongest when I compare you and Narukami-san."
"Ooh, you think so too?" Futaba interjected, clearly engaged by the topic of conversation. "It's super weird, right? Maybe it's a Wild Card thing…"
"Maybe so," she mused. With a smile on her face and softened eyes, she added, "Although seeing that comparison makes this situation all the better. I feel as if I can trust him and the others because in a way it feels like I'm trusting you, Ren. And there's no one in the world I trust more."
"Thank you, Makoto. That's high praise coming from you," Ren answered.
"You've more than earned it. Well then, goodnight."
"Goodnight."
"Fare-thee-well, Momkoto!"
Although it was clear that she tensed upon hearing Futaba's goodbye, Queen was out the door moments later, most likely brooding at the aforementioned nickname. Knowing this, Futaba chuckled devilishly.
"Nice one," Ren noted.
"I try!" she chirped. Her expression became serious once more. "So, there's just one thing left to address. What exactly are we gonna do with him?"
The orange-haired hacking prodigy looked down at the still-frozen Morgana. Since the incident with Teddie and the realization he was hit with, he'd not moved a muscle. It was actually difficult to tell if he was even breathing.
'Should I feel bad that I almost forgot he was here…?' Ren wondered, scratching his cheek somewhat nervously.
"He's not dead… is he?" Futaba asked.
"No. Depressed? Probably, yeah—but not dead," answered Ren. His eyes shifted to her once more. "I'll take care of him. You should go home and get some sleep, okay? You had a rough day out there too."
"Ugh, don't remind me," Futaba huffed, crossing her arms. With her lips curling into a reflexive scowl, she griped, "And Yusuke even lectured me mid-fight! That Inari…!"
"It comes from the right place. And he wasn't wrong," Ren stated, making a point of sounding calm but firm.
"I know he was right, which is why it's so frustrating!" She sighed and attempted to shake off her agitation. "I need my games."
With strange urgency, the navigator left for the Sakura household, waving goodbye to Ren as she did so. He reached out his hand as if to stop her since he'd wanted to walk her back just to make sure she was safe, but upon second thought he prevented himself from doing so. For one, Futaba could handle it, and for another, it may have just annoyed her.
Still, with her gone there was just one thing left to attend to.
"Would it cheer you up if we got sushi tomorrow?" Ren offered.
Although he didn't speak, Morgana's head did shift towards him. The feline's mouth was still agape and his eyes were still unblinking, though at least he did react. Overall, it was impossible for Ren to not find it funny even if he did internalize it.
"You want salmon? Would that make you feel better?"
No verbal response was given, though the cat did nod stiffly.
"And some tuna rolls?"
The nodding was more energetic this time around.
"You want me to carry you upstairs to bed?"
Again, he nodded.
"Alright then."
With a chuckle, he picked up his dark-furred friend and gently ferried him up the stairs. As they neared the attic of Leblanc, he actually spoke up for the first time in nearly an hour.
"…it's not fair," grumbled Morgana, his ears fallen.
"There, there," Ren said quietly and in a soothing tone of voice.
The trickster then began to gently pet the cat on its head and neck, at which point his ears started to perk up once more.
"N-Not that I'm totally a cat, but… please don't stop doing that."
A/N With that, we're done. The PT's and the IT are now working in tandem, so at this point the more 'setup' aspects of the story are complete. Hopefully you've enjoyed the story up until this point, but I consider it only uphill from here.
Once again, next Friday will be the next chapter.
Explanations:
Me Eat You Whole/I am in Your Care: It's a bit of an easter-egg joke. For those of you that don't get it, these are lines that are said by Personas in the Velvet Room in both P4 and P5 after you create them through fusion. Essentially, only they would know the phrases because only they are the ones that fuse Personas in the first place.
Haru's 'Crush': Obviously this is more for humor and isn't intended to develop into anything serious. Having said that, I always saw Yu by design as more of a prince charming and Joker as a bit of an edgier version. This is based off of that aesthetic, and the fact that Haru has a thing for a 'prince charming' type, which like I said Yu fits to a T.
Satanael/Izanagi no Okami: Someone did ask me about this and I wanted to ensure I was clear on how the more 'powerful' or 'destructive' Personas would function in this story. Yes, they have them, yes, they can essentially use them with certain limitations, but no they won't be spammed out for a few reasons. The main one is friendly fire, because these two Personas are the equivalents of small nukes, which you can't really use all-out all the time, least of all when your teammates are in the potential line of fire.
Ren/Yu Personas: They have essentially the same toolkit to work with outside of their Worlds and main Personas Izanagi and Arsène respectively. However, expect them to have slight variations in preferences when they fight, i.e. Joker may rely on Attis and Yu may rely more on Surt just as an example.
Ren vs. Yu Power Level: Just so that there is absolutely no confusion whatsoever, I consider them absolute and total equals. If it's a rating system, Yu is one point higher in strength/attack power but Joker is one point more agile. Basically, they're even. On that note…
No Persona Protag is More Powerful than Another: I can't express enough how dumb these arguments are, and I don't want to entertain or hear any in a review or over a PM. A Persona protagonists' strength, by definition, is a big old X where X = however strong the plot needs them to be at a specific point in time. I don't wanna hear jack about 'tHe prOtAgoNIst oF GAMe XyZ dID tHis FeAt sO he'S tHe strongest' because it literally doesn't mean a god damn thing xD
Morgana's Very Bad Not Good Day: Yeah, he took it on the chin in this chapter, not gonna lie. While I am not the biggest fan of the cat as a character, even I felt a bit bad for him. Still, nothing would ever really cushion the blow of meeting Teddie IMHO. Teddie is just living proof that Morgana got the short end of the stick, and for the time being he can't even transform into the Mona-mobile, so he's just sitting there existing while Teddie gets to be human. That's gotta be a sucker punch to the nads for sure. Things will get better eventually though.