Prisoner of Glory Chapter 15: Weakness and Strength, a persona series fanfic

Chapter 15: Weakness and Strength

Summary: The Phantom Thieves fight the Lock Keeper, and Ren helps Sumire work through her feelings.

WARNING: The ending portion of this chapter discusses the topic of suicidal ideation, in terms of Sumire's backstory. I have only the best intentions in how I handle this subject matter. However, if you would feel negatively impacted by the mention of such topics, you are welcome to skip this section, starting from when Ren and Sumire are alone in the Phantomobile. There will not be any plot development for the rest of this chapter beyond that point.

Friday, August 11th 20XX, Evening
Odori Park, Sapporo Central

When the Phantom Thieves returned to the real world, just outside Toyohira Stadium, they were surprised to find out how much time had passed. The late afternoon skies were just about to become dyed by the setting sun. After taking the subway back to Odori Park, the gang retreated into the Phantomobile to discuss their next actions. But first, Ann expressed her concern for Sumire, asking, "You've been through a lot today. How are you holding up?"

"I'm fine now. Thank you, Ann-senpai. So, what's our plan?"

"We're going off to fight the Lock Keeper," Morgana explained, mainly for the benefit of Sumire. "The Lock Keeper represents the person, or people, who caused the Monarch's trauma. In other words, the other person we heard when we touched that force field in front of the Monarch's cage. Which, of course, would be Sumire," he added with a sigh.

"Don't worry," Makoto assured them all, "it'll just be Yuri's cognition of her, like the copy of Kasumi we just fought."

Morgana continued his briefing. "Defeating the Keeper will open the way to Yuri's Shadow, and the Desires she stole. In order to fight it, we have to re-enter the Metaverse at the place where that memory took place. We call them 'Trauma Cells'. That's where we need your help, Sumire. Do you remember where that particular argument happened?"

Sumire sat silently, trying her best to think about the circumstances of that event, but she found it difficult to concentrate. It was as if her own brain was subconsciously suppressing the trauma as well. Sensing her friend's mental struggle, Makoto offered her help. "Yuri accused you of copying your sister's routines, so it must have happened while you were actualized as Kasumi. Did you and Yuri ever meet during that period?"

Looking at the question from that angle proved to be easier. "Yes… there was a national high-school level tournament a few months after the… you know. I believe it took place in…" She gasped with surprise when the answer came to her. "Sapporo!"

"Well, that's convenient," observed Ryuji. "I was afraid we were gonna have to drive all the way across the country again just to get to her trauma cell, or even leave the country somehow. So, where in Sapporo, exactly?"

Before Sumire could answer, Sophia chimed in on Ren's phone. "I found one event matching the parameters Sumire provided. It took place last July at the Mizuho Gymnasium, approximately 3 kilometers to the north of our location."

"Yes, that's it!" Sumire recalled.

"Good job, you two," praised Ren. "But, Sumire… with all due respect," he added apologetically, "I think it's best for you to sit this battle out. Between your training and fighting alongside us, you've been through a lot today. Especially after confronting your sister like that… I can't imagine the emotional stress you went through, but we can't risk pushing it any farther. I hope that's okay with you, Sumire."

Smiling and shaking her head, Sumire replied, "Thank you for your concern, Senpai. I really appreciate your consideration, but if it's alright with you… I'd really like to tag along."

Worry clearly evident on her face, Haru protested, "Sumire-chan! Are you sure you'll be alright? You seemed rather shaken up when you met your sister's cognition."

"I just want to understand Yuri better," Sumire insisted, "and what she's been through. I know she's done lots of awful stuff to me and all those other gymnasts, but I don't think she's a bad person."

"That's very noble of you, Sumire," replied Yusuke. "After we enact her change of heart, she could use some friends to help her along with her new life. Does that mean you will join our leader in battle?"

Sumire hesitated and turned to Ren. "Senpai, what do you think?"

Now it was Ren's turn to hesitate. "I… don't want you to push yourself too hard, emotionally or physically. But if you feel you're up to it…" He sighed, but smiled understandingly. "I won't stop you."

"You know, Sumire…" mewed Morgana, "the last few Lock Keepers we fought were all weak to both light and dark magic. With you, Joker, and Sophie on the frontlines, the three of you could hammer those weaknesses."

"I would also like to join you three," volunteered Yusuke. "Like Sumire, I too wish to learn more about Hikawa-san, so I can better support her after her change of heart. If not as a romantic partner, then at least as a friend."

"That's very nice of you, Yusuke-senpai. Besides, it's been a while since I've had a normal fight in the Metaverse. ...Um, is this going to be a normal fight, or another gymnastic duel? Not that I mind if it is. In fact, they were actually kind of fun!"

"I'm glad you enjoyed them, Sumire," Morgana replied. "I don't think those rules will apply to the Trauma Cells, though. There's just something different about them, like they're out of the Monarch's control."

Sumire nodded with determination. "Whatever the case, you can count on me, Senpai! I mean, it's the least I can do if you're going to help me out with Yuri-chan!"

Smiling gently in her direction, Ren said, "Whatever you're happy with, Sumire. So, guys, any objections?" None came. "Good. Then let's go fight that Lock Keeper!" With one final cheer, the team let Makoto get into the Phantomobile's driver seat and take them to the next phase of their mission.

Mizuho Gymnasium, Sapporo Jail

Mizuho Gymnasium, in the northern wards of Sapporo, was a considerably more modest facility than the arena where the Madicce Cup was taking place. It had hosted figure skating events during the city's Winter Olympics, and still operated a skating rink during the winter season. For the rest of the year, it was converted to a hard-court, multi-purpose gym. The Phantom Thieves didn't bother going inside, however, instead opting to enter Yuri's EMMA keyword from the outside, transporting them to the Metaverse.

The scene which awaited them in the other world was a more unsettling one. The sky was an eerie mix of red and black, and when they entered the building, there was nobody to be found inside. What they did notice was a single voice, an indistinct murmur, which Joker and the others cautiously followed. Fearfully, Queen clung closely to Noir, her new source of love and support. The unknown voice gradually grew louder the deeper into the facilities they delved, and eventually led them to the ladies' locker room. "Uh, Mona…" Skull asked with trepidation, "are you sure it's okay for us guys to be goin' in there?"

"Now's not the time to worry about stuff like that, Skull," replied the cartoon cat. "If this is anything like the other Trauma Cells, there won't be anyone there besides the Lock Keeper."

Taking no heed to Skull's concern, Joker pushed open the door and crossed inside, proving Mona's guess correct. The locker room was empty except for a single girl, the cognition of Sumire Yoshizawa. She bore two differences from the Sumire of the present, the first being her ornate pink leotard. This was, of course, the performance costume of Kasumi, which Sumire would have worn at the time due to her actualization. Secondly, her eyes seemed to be replaced by featureless black voids, as of those whom the Phantom Thieves witnessed in the other Trauma Cells.

The creepy cognition seemed not to notice the Phantom Thieves, nor make any movement whatsoever, until a soft voice echoed around the empty room. They scanned around for its source, but even though they saw nobody else, the voice unmistakably belonged to Yuri Hikawa. "What are you playing at, Sumire?" it asked softly. "First you killed Kasumi, and now you're stealing her moves?"

Startled, Sumire nonetheless kept her composure. "Yuri-chan? What do you mean?"

Suddenly they heard a loud bang, as if Yuri had slammed her palm on one of the lockers. It must have been close to Sumire's head, since she recoiled in fright as Yuri yelled, "Kasumi died because you ran out into the street! If it wasn't for you, she'd still be alive! You killed her, Sumire!"

Taking a deep breath, Sumire reacted as Kasumi would have, and tried her best to keep calm in the face of such overbearing emotions. "Yes… but please don't misunderstand what happened. My sister only died trying to protect me. I'm terribly sorry it has to be that way, but I will not let it get me down anymore."

However, Yuri must have seen this as Sumire refusing to own up to her actions. "Do you even realize what you've done!?" she screamed, her frustration building. "Kasumi was the only friend I ever had, and you took her away from me! Without her, I'm just a freak! A ghost-girl! A loner nobody wants to be with! Kasumi and I were going to take each other all the way to the top. We were going to make Japan the new superpower of rhythmic gymnastics! And you ****ed it all up!"

Ever so slightly, Sumire's resolve was beginning to chip away under the strain of Yuri's spiteful words, but she continued to hold her ground. "But… that was our dream, too. My sister and I made a promise to take the world stage together, and I'm going to fulfill it." In a last-ditch effort to make peace, Sumire held out a hand and affirmed, "That promise extends to you too, Yuri-chan."

"You!?" Yuri shrieked in offense. "You're an insult to Kasumi's legacy! You are not fit to ride her ***damn coattails! You show up in her place, perform a ****-poor copy of her routines, and just expect to pick up where she left off? **** you, Sumire! I'll make it to the top by myself if I have to, so you should just give up on your precious dreams now. You will never become a champion, Sumire Yoshizawa!" This simple declaration drove an emotional knife straight into Sumire's heart. Her composure finally fractured, she was rendered completely speechless by the furious verbal onslaught. For her part, Yuri's voice then broke down in tears and faded, as if she was running away to cry out her feelings.

After a moment of eerie silence, the fake Sumire suddenly turned her attention towards Joker and the other Phantom Thieves. She advanced upon them, slowly flipping forward in a walkover, before bursting into a puddle of black and red essence and re-forming as a giant Shadow, a jet-black, four-armed beast. Each of its four hands effortlessly held massive riot shields, taller than any of the Thieves themselves. A dark aura emanated from the monster as the scenery around them shifted into an arena walled in by many barred jail cells, each glowing red and stacked haphazardly atop each other.

"It's the warden!" Joker warned. "Violet, Fox, Sophie, on me! Everyone else, get to cover!" Suddenly, a squad of ordinary Shadows warped in behind the Lock Keeper. Joker dispatched Violet to take care of them, while he and the others focused their attacks on the boss.

It felt refreshing to be fighting with their familiar weapons once again, especially for Violet, who seemed to dance about the arena as she cleaved enemy Shadows with her rapier and sniped them with her hunting rifle. Their four-armed leader was not so easily felled, however. While the other Thieves were able to surround the beast and attack it from behind, where its shields could not reach, it proved difficult to stagger with physical attacks alone. This was even more so when it hunkered down behind its shields in concentration to charge up a spell, which turned out to be Marakunda. "The defense of the nearby Shadows has gone way up!" Oracle warned them from her remote post inside Necronomicon. "Be tactical!"

As Sophie casted Rakunda to counter the defensive buffs on as many Shadows as possible, Joker concentrated on hammering the Lock Keeper's weaknesses. He summoned Mitra, a Persona he had recently fused, to blast the Lock Keeper and other Shadows with an Eiga spell. Much to his relief, the dark magic blobs knocked it back, more so than anything else they had unleashed upon it so far. As the beast collapsed onto one knee, Fox saw his opportunity. "Joker, allow me!" he called out. Smiling, Joker slapped a high-five with him and joined Violet and Sophie in cleaning up the lesser Shadows, while letting Fox land a mighty strike on the boss. It seemed to do great damage, but it would take much, much more to topple it for good.

Not that the rest of the team had it that much easier. Just as Sophie sliced the final Jack Frost out of existence with her deadly yo-yos, a new wave of enemy Shadows, its numbers seemingly twice as big as before, teleported in to take their place. "These Shadows just keep coming!" Sophie cried, the screen of her mask showing distressed "X" symbols in place of eyes.

"Then I'll slice them to pieces!" Fox exchanged another high-five with the AI girl as they took each other's place. As she fought, the Lock Keeper seemed not to attack on its own all that often, instead favoring a defensive approach. But, swinging her yo-yos every which way, Sophie managed to bypass the boss's shields more often than not, landing direct hits on, for lack of a better term, its flesh.

Once again, the Lock Keeper took a defensive position, planting its shields in all directions around itself. "Look, she's trying to heal her allies!" Oracle warned. "Stop her in her tracks!" Thinking fast, Sophie cast a Kouga spell just in time to stagger it, interrupting the spell. Seizing the opportunity for a follow-up attack, Violet disengaged from her current brawl to swap duties with Sophie. With yet another high-five, she tossed her sword in the air, flipped a couple of times, and caught it in the middle of a spin. Her impromptu gymnastic sequence was punctuated by a Kouga spell aimed at the head monster, courtesy of Cendrillon.

"Violet," advised Sophie, "you don't need to perform gymnastics to cast spells in this fight." If she was impressed, the robotic tone of her voice didn't show it.

Feeling self-conscious even in the heat of battle, Violet blushed in embarrassment. "Sorry… force of habit!"

"Don't worry about that, Violet!" Oracle shouted in her earpiece. "This is your chance! It's showtime!"

"You're right…" Over the course of the battle, Violet had steadily grown more in-sync with her Persona, and now the time was right to unleash her full potential. She cleared her mind and recalled her bond with Cendrillon, who took form beside her as none other than her sister Kasumi. Unlike the corrupted copy born of Yuri's cognition, this was Kasumi as remembered by the one who knew, and loved, her best. Violet could sense this genuine affection reflected in Kasumi's smile as they briefly held hands, sharing a wistful gaze into each other's eyes. The two moved in perfect synchronicity, practically forming mirror images of each other, as they both executed a graceful oversplit leap, then turned around and dashed and slashed at the Lock Keeper, flying almost too quickly to be seen. Following up with a backflip and needlescale spin, the sisters took one last look at each other before striking a triumphant, flourishing pose. Kasumi disappeared, but not before casting a parting shot of light magic which sliced one of the boss's four arms clean off.

The beast howled with an unnatural-sounding roar of anguish, which immediately attracted Fox's attention. When he noticed it was missing an arm, he took the initiative. Focusing himself as the battle raged around him, he sprung into action without warning, suddenly leaping at the Lock Keeper and rending his katana clean through one of its other arms. It was not until Fox had passed his target and re-sheathed his blade that the arm finally fell off, as if the remaining sinews, or whatever constituted the Shadow's musculature, could no longer support its weight. With each arm lost, the Lock Keeper had one fewer shield with which to defend itself. Sophie high-fived Fox and, with a heightened vigor, severed a third arm with her razor-edged toys. Rounding out the dismemberment quartet was Joker, whose dagger cut off the fourth and final arm with no trouble at all. The beast was finally at their mercy. Exchanging a glance with his three comrades-in-arms, Joker dryly asked, "You thinking what I'm thinking?"

Violet nodded, smiling devilishly from her combat high. "Let's end this, Senpai! All-Out Attaaaaack!" With her battle cry, she and the others besieged the helpless Shadow with an incessant barrage of blows, striking and slashing over and over until its vitality seemed all but gone. Only when it finally collapsed and lay unmoving did the four Phantom Thieves let up, turning their backs on it and posing dramatically. Joker gave a snap of his fingers, and the Lock Keeper burst into a fiery explosion behind them. Nobody questioned why they put on this showy display for no one in particular, as this sort of style was an inextricable part of how the Phantom Thieves did their work. At any rate, the demise of the Lock Keeper caused all of the lesser Shadows to disappear, and the scenery of the Trauma Cell reverted to its previous state.

When the coast was clear, Mona and the others hopped out to regroup with Joker's squad, declaring, "That's all of them. We can get into the throne room now."

But Violet did not feel quite so optimistic. "I just can't stop thinking about Yuri… I never thought about how losing either Kasumi or myself would affect anybody else. Murderer or not, I really was selfish that day…" Joker hugged her in an attempt to stave off her self-pity.

"I can imagine how hard it must have been for Yuri-chan after your sister was gone," Noir said forlornly. "Yuri was wrong to take it out on you like she did, but she deserves to feel sad as well, even if she wasn't her actual sister."

"True..." added Panther, "Kasumi was her only friend, after all. Besides, knowing Yuri's… um, appearance, I don't think a lot of people would've been friends with her before, either."

"That's truly a shame. Even though Yuri's said and done some awful things to me, part of me still kind of… admires her as a gymnast. And she's beautiful," Violet added, blushing, "even if she's… well, even if she doesn't see it. Still, I wonder… if I had opened up to Yuri while I had the chance, she might not have turned out as badly as she did."

Queen placed a hand gently on top of Violet's shoulder and assured her, "Please, don't beat yourself up over it. Yuri wasn't in her right mind either, so it wouldn't have mattered. With or without your sister, I can imagine why she never noticed you. Please don't take this the wrong way, but she must have thought you weren't worthy of her attention. I'm not trying to insult you, of course. It's just that she must care about gymnastic skill more than anything."

Showing no offense, Violet shook her head calmly. "No, it's… I understand. The first time we met was when I began struggling to keep my skills up with Kasumi's."

Queen shook her head and stared gently into the redhead's eyes. "It's okay. No one's blaming you. You had a lot of stress to deal with back then, just like Yuri did when that traumatic memory took place."

Fox smiled knowingly. "Just so. Both then and now, Hikawa-san's obsession with victory over everything else must be clouding her perception, making her blind to her other qualities. I believe she can become even greater than she is now, but the longer she remains trapped by her isolated mindset, the more likely she will lose sight of that potential and fall from grace."

"You're right, Yusuke-senpai," Violet affirmed, her eyes glistening with determination. "We have to save her. For myself, for the other gymnasts, but most of all… for her sake." With a cheer of determination, the team left the spooky Metaverse stadium to prepare for their final assault on Yuri's snow stadium.

Odori Park, Sapporo Central

After the sun had set, the Phantom Thieves returned, exhausted but triumphant, to the RV they called home. Zenkichi Hasegawa, whom Ren had called over before they left, met them upon their return to Odori Park. With all the gang inside the Phantomobile, Ren informed the newcomer about what had transpired in Yuri's Trauma Cell. "...So when she lost Kasumi Yoshizawa, her only friend at the time, that was the start of her trauma." he summarized. For the benefit of Zenkichi, he also gave an abbreviated account of how Kasumi died, and how that affected Sumire over the course of the following year.

Unsure how to react, Zenkichi simply rested a hand on Sumire's shoulder and said, "My condolences, Yoshizawa-san. I know it's not exactly… um, current or whatever. I mean, I didn't even know you had a sister…" Catching himself trailing off, he awkwardly stopped and asked her, "How are you holding up?"

"Better now, but thank you, Hasegawa-san."

Nodding respectfully, the older detective asked the others, "Okay, so now we know what turned Yuri over to the dark side, so to speak. But why take it out on other gymnasts besides Sumire?"

"If I had to guess," offered Sumire, "after our argument, my performance in the finals of that tournament was a disaster. Just like what happened to me in those tryouts the other month. Once Yuri noticed the effect her verbal abuse had on me, she must have realized that she could do the same to other opponents as well."

"That stands to reason," Yusuke said approvingly. "Absolute power corrupts absolutely, as they say. At any rate, the Monarch herself may divulge those secrets once we face her in battle tomorrow."

Hasegawa shook his head with disbelief and muttered audibly, "Conversations with cognitions or spirits or whatever you call 'em… Something tells me they won't exactly hold up as legal evidence. Of course, that's where I come in. I'll take Yuri in for questioning once you…" He trailed off again. "What is it you guys need to do next, anyway?"

Sitting tall atop the table, Morgana answered, "We send a Calling Card to our target, confront her in the Metaverse, and steal her Treasure - I mean, Desires. Just like how it went down with Natsume-san in Sendai. Once Yuri has her change of heart, she'll confess her crimes, so that's when you take over. For now, we need to prepare the Calling Card."

"Oh!" exclaimed Sumire. "May I write it this time, Mona? I've never written a Calling Card before!" Impressed with her enthusiasm, Ren procured a scrap of paper for her, upon which she quickly scrawled a short paragraph. The Phantom Thieves took turns reading it, each of them nodding and murmuring in approval.

"Ooh, looks great!" Morgana exclaimed once he had read it. "But where can we leave the card where we know Yuri will see it?"

"...Maybe she could try the locker room?" offered Ryuji.

"That is an excellent idea," added Sophia. "Based on maps of the stadium that I was able to review online, the facility has separate locker rooms for men and women, which may cut down on the number of possible witnesses."

"Plus," Sumire continued, "I promised my coach that I'd get in some more training tomorrow morning. I guess that gives me an alibi, doesn't it? I'll have to be there really early, though, in order to leave the cards before Yuri or anyone else sees me. I can't let anyone from my team notice me leaving the hotel, either… Hasegawa-san, do you think you could drive me over?"

"What, me!?" said the startled policeman. "H-Hey, don't rope me into this! I already helped you guys out with the Calling Card in Sendai! I will not keep on being an accessory to your own activities!"

"Please, Hasegawa-san?" begged Sumire. "You won't have to do much besides drive me over, and maybe unlock the doors."

Zenkichi hung his head and sighed, but then cracked a smile. "...Alright, Yoshizawa-san," he conceded. "I couldn't say no to you, especially since you're the only one here calling me by my actual name," he added passive-aggressively.

"Great!" mewed Morgana. "Now, Sumire, once Yuri reads our Calling Card, you'll need to inform us as soon as possible. A text message should do fine. Once we get the signal, it's up to the rest of us to get back into her Castle, defeat her Shadow Self, and reclaim her stolen Desires!"

But Sumire shook her head. "That's only part of it," she interjected.

"What!?" the cat asked in confusion. "There's more?"

"Only for me, Mona-chan. When I go on for my final, I have to… no." Sumire shook her head and corrected herself. "I will put on the finest performance of my life! Not just for the tournament, but to prove that I'm worthy of Yuri's respect."

"If we do our job right," Ren added, intently looking towards Sumire, "that shouldn't matter. But whatever Yuri thinks of you, Sumi-chan… I'll always admire you." She blushed, but thanked him for the loving praise. "I'm really looking forward to seeing your new routine, too!"

"Ah, that's right! I can't wait to show it off myself! I won't say too much, but… it means a lot more to me now, after what I've been through over the past few days."

"Well, now I'm even more intrigued! But, I think it's time to rest up now. We all have a big day ahead of us. Best of luck to you, Sumire."

"Thank you very much, Senpai. Um… before I go, would you mind if you and I talked about something else, alone?"

"Anything you want, Sumi-chan," Ren said affectionately. To everyone else, he asked, "You guys mind leaving us alone for a bit?" The other Phantom Thieves agreed, and once they had all shuffled out, Sumire lay across the bench seats and rested her head upon Ren's lap. They rested in silence for a few minutes, until he cautiously asked, "So, what did you want to talk to me about?"

Sumire was slow to respond, as she needed to build up the courage to answer him. "It's about the accident, and what I was really feeling that day. I've never told anyone this, except for my parents and Dr. Maruki, but…" She paused to add, "Actually, this has to do with the Saint Petersburg tryouts too, and what Yuri said to me then. Before I went up for my last event, Yuri came up to me and called me a…" She struggled to get the next word out. "…m-murderer."

"Honey…" Ren gently stroked a hand along the side of her face. "That's not true. Kasumi's death wasn't your fault. She loved you so much that it was her choice to protect you, even if it meant sacrificing herself. You know that, and I know that."

"I know, I wasn't trying to kill her, but…" She squeezed her hands together and took a deep breath before continuing. "…I was trying to kill myself." Afraid of how Ren would react, she blushed and added in a panic, "I-I'm okay now, I swear! I'm over it! I just never told anyone else since then, and since you're so close to… I mean, since you've done so much to help me, I feel you should know the truth."

Ren gazed down into her weeping eyes and held her trembling hands in his. "Sumire-chan… it's okay. To be honest, I did suspect you had those kinds of feelings, especially after Maruki showed us your past, but even I was too scared to believe them. Still, I'm glad you're comfortable with telling me all this. You don't have to be afraid about it anymore. You can tell me anything at all, and I'll listen to you."

"Th-thank you, Senpai." Refreshing herself with a soft, deep breath, Sumire continued. "For a long time before that day, I was depressed because I felt that, no matter what I did, I couldn't match up with Kasumi. As far as I saw her, she did everything perfectly, and she had the talent that I just didn't. I felt worthless next to Kasumi. She always wanted us to take the world stage together, but no matter how often she said that, I couldn't get it through my head. And no matter how many times I tried to tell her that I was falling behind, she stubbornly clung to her idealistic hopes, ignoring the reality of my situation. And that day… was when I finally had enough. No more trying to reach her hand, no more trying to pull myself up to victory, only to fail. I just decided that… Kasumi would be better off without me dragging her down. It wasn't until she pushed me out of the way of that car that I finally understood how much she loved and cared for me. Of course, by then, it was too late."

"Is that what you were thinking about during the tryouts?"

Sumire nodded. "I know I didn't mean to kill Kasumi, but when Yuri said it… I told myself it wasn't true, but I only wound up reminding myself about what I did feel that day. And when I tried to block out those urges… I guess that clouded my mind and ruined my performance. To be honest, Senpai… Except for that one day, I've actually been afraid to commit suicide. I still have a loving family. My mother, my father, my grandmother, and for a while, my sister. No matter how bad things got, no matter how badly I felt about myself, I couldn't bear for them to grieve over losing me, and I was able to scare myself out of those thoughts almost every time. But that day… that was the one time when I just couldn't see that."

"Sumire… Everybody has their moments of weakness. Like Ryuji when he hit Kamoshida for insulting him and his mother. Or me… when I stood up to Shido in my old town. Then again, if it wasn't for him, I would have never been shipped to Tokyo and met you." He suddenly shook his head, stumbling over his words. "What I'm saying is, try not to worry so much about those little setbacks. What matters is the bigger picture, how you grow from your setbacks in the long run. And I have to say… you're a strong young woman."

"Are you talking about how I coped with losing my sister?" Sumire shook her head. "Thanks, but you and Dr. Maruki were the ones who saved me back then. Honestly, if I didn't pretend to be my sister, I might have… tried again."

This was not the answer Ren expected. "Well… yeah, but you did some of the work yourself. You were the one who accepted your own Persona. And that one time I visited your gym, when you showed me your routine, you were the one who said 'I will win', instead of 'I hope to win'. But I was also thinking about how you handled yourself after the tryouts this year. You pulled yourself out of your depression and worked hard to get here, didn't you?"

The first hints of a smile reappeared on Sumire's face as she finally lifted her head and sat up. "I guess you're right. I realized that I can still make my dreams come true, if I work hard enough for them. Besides, if I gave up on the promise I made with Kasumi, I'd only let her down. I still want to be a gymnastics champion, with or without her. I just… lost sight of that dream after suffering through so much frustration. I guess I got scared when I thought about how I still have a long way to go…"

"Well, don't worry about that. As long as you have your ikigai, you've still got something to work towards in your life."

"Ikigai… You mean, my reason for being?"

"That's it. Your raison d'être, your main quest, your prime directive!" Ren chuckled a bit before continuing. "Sorry, I guess a bit of Futaba rubbed off on me for a moment there. You know, she was in kind of the same situation as you were when we met her."

"Yes, I remember you telling me about her… When her mother died, she thought she was responsible. Are you saying she used to have similar thoughts of… self-loathing?"

"Pretty much, but she also had something else to focus on that kept her going. Wanna know what it is?"

"Please! Tell me, Senpai!"

Grinning knowingly, Ren answered, "She taught herself belly dancing."

Sumire chortled in surprise. "Futaba-senpai? I never would have guessed!"

"Yeah… apparently she was big into Egyptian stuff at the time. She and Ann were in a recital together. It's good stuff, I should show you sometime! ...Er, that is, you should ask Futaba about it first. She doesn't like to talk about it much."

"I'll do that." Letting out a sigh of relief, Sumire continued, "I'm glad I'm not alone in the feelings I had to deal with."

"Even if you were, you handled them well in the end. Both living without your sister, and coming back from your loss at those prelims. You're a strong woman, Sumire-chan. Strong and flexible." With that, Ren leant in and shared a long hug with Sumire.

When she let go, she looked up at him with a smirk and said, "I'm flexible in other ways, too."

"I know," he smirked back. "Care to remind me?"

"With pleasure!" Standing up and taking a step back, Sumire swung her leg up behind her, grabbed it, and pulled it straight up, squeezing her shoulder blades tightly against her thigh. Ren applauded gleefully, but then she started leaning too far forwards and lost her balance, falling against Ren's chest as he held her in place. "Whoo…" she gasped breathlessly, her cheeks turning red. "Thank you, Senpai, that was a close one! Even if I am a strong girl, it's nice having you around to pick me back up every once in a while."

"No problem. We're here for each other." With that, Ren brushed aside her bangs and planted a kiss on her forehead, making her blush even more profusely. She was thankful nobody else was present inside the Phantomobile. "You ready to go out with the others?"

"Oh? Ah, of course, Senpai!" She released her leg, and let Ren escort her outside, where the other Phantom Thieves were waiting for her. After exchanging a round of good-byes, both Sumire and Zenkichi departed, leaving the remaining Phantom Thieves to sleep, which seemed like a daunting prospect given the anticipation they all felt over what would happen tomorrow.

AN: Special thanks, as always, go to Deathmanstratos and SupremeKnight3 for editing and support. This one was a beast to get through, largely because of the Lock Keeper fight. For a while, I wanted to leave Sumire out of it for the reasons suggested in-story. But, later on, I decided to include her anyway for a bunch of my own reasons. For one, as she said herself, Sumire wanted to understand Yuri better. I also wanted to give Sumire her own solo Showtime attack, since she wasn't around to get one in Strikers proper, but it's basically just the second half of her Royal Showtime attack with Joker anyway. ...Eh.

Not everything was that challenging; I actually started writing some of the downtime segments a long time ago, but I had different plans for them. Since Ren and Sumire's private chat at the end deals with heavy subject matter, I originally wanted to separate that scene into its own chapter, one that had no other plot progression and could be easily skipped. But, reflecting on my intentions and how I tried to handle it all, I figured it was nothing to be worried about.

The Mizuho Gymnasium mentioned in this chapter (as of my 7/20 update) is based on the real-life Mikaho Gymnasium. Its location is identical to my fictional counterpart, and earlier on in the development of this fanfic, I was going to use it for the venue of the Madicce Cup. I wound up using Hokkai Kitayell across town instead, partly because it was a little closer to the center, and partly because it made for a more interesting setting. As for the new name, I named it after the "Mizuho", one of the bullet train services on the Sanyo and Kyushu Shinkansen, which run west of Osaka. That's right; trains, especially Japanese trains, are another thing I've been known to geek out over.

If you're wondering about Futaba's former stint as a bellydancer, that came from another of my fanfics, "Futaba's Unveiling". I would like to go back and rewrite it some day, as I feel my skills as a writer have progressed a fair bit since then, but the inspiration just isn't there yet. Besides, these days, I'd rather finish this project than have a bunch of incomplete ones lying around.

Edit 2021/7/20: Replaced the lock flashback based on later events written for chapter 16.