A/N: You may want to cue up the soundtrack for this one.
##
4/26
Ryuji crouches in the alley outside Shujin. The sun is only just starting to light the clouds overhead. This is the earliest he's been awake since the track team disbanded. He's missed the quiet, and the cool caress of the air. A few students, mostly those from the archery and basketball clubs, have already entered the school. As Kamoshida monopolizes the gym after school, the morning is the only time some teams can practice.
His uniform is pressed and buttoned up. His mom had been so happy when he'd asked her to show him how to use the iron. Sure, once this business with Kamoshida was done, he'll go back to his old get-up. For this morning though, it's important that no one recognizes him. And Ryuji Sakamoto is not known for having a crisp, cleaned, well-ironed uniform.
Of course, his blonde hair presented a whole different challenge. He'd wound up going to a joke shop near Shibuya and purchasing a fake wig. It's simple, not like those crazy ones modelled after anime characters. Short, brown hair that hugs his skull. It is uncomfortable, but that doesn't matter.
He hefts his bag. "Alright," he says. "Let's do this."
Ryuji walks out of the alley in an approximation of the walk he's always seen good students use. He does not slouch. His hands are held at his sides. He wears a neutral look, as opposed to his usual scowl. A small handful of students climb the steps of Shujin, and none cast more than a cursory glance in his direction. His destination is not far. The bulletin boards just through the front doors.
Once inside, he pulls out his phone and leans against the wall. He smiles, as if he's just received a funny text message, and moves his fingers as if to reply.
The few students he entered alongside, turn the corner ahead, and are gone. He shoves his phone back in his pocket, darts up to the bulletin boards, and zips his bag open. He grabs the gloves he bought and pulls them on, then reaches in and withdraws a fistful of the calling cards. He's coated them with the same cheap adhesive his wig utilized, and when he presses them up on the board, a few slide down to the floor. It doesn't matter. There's too many for people not to notice.
He spends, by his count, twenty seconds at his task. Then he whips around, rips his gloves off, shoves them back in his bag, and speed walks back out the entrance. Once he's back in the alley, he breathes a sigh of relief.
"Hell yeah," he whispers to himself.
He takes out his phone and texts the group.
RYUJI: MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!
#
Kamoshida reads it again.
Sir Suguru Kamoshida, the utter bastard of lust: We've watched you. We know all about the twisted shit you do to students who can't or won't fight back. Society might've given you a free pass, but we won't. We're going to steal your sick desires and make you confess your sins with your own mouth. Look forward to it, asshole. From, The Phantom Thieves of Hearts.
They are everywhere. Wherever he looks, students hold them. There must be a dozen scattered throughout the first floor hall alone.
"Fuck," he mutters.
What the hell did this mean? Did someone have evidence? How? He'd been so careful. Had that Suzui bitch woken up? Who were the 'Phantom Thieves?' What were they?
Kamoshida hears the whispers and musters the harshest glare he can. "Get the hell to class!" He shouts. The hallway empties.
Save for two. At the end of the hall, Takamaki and Kurusu lounge against the wall like they belong there.
Both stare at him.
Both smile at him.
He can still see the bruises on Kurusu's face. That little shit and that fucking whore! He starts off towards them, but the bell rings for homeroom and the two leave their little perch and beeline for their classroom.
Kamoshida stops. He could just march in there and demand they come with him. Who would stop him? Wait. They're both in that Kawakami's class.
He grimaces. That one. She was cute, but damn if she wasn't annoying. Every time she looked at him, her face scrunched up like she'd just swallowed something distasteful. If he went in there, she'd ask a million questions.
No. He needed to calm down.
They can't actually do anything. This is all just some bullshit kid crap. They've got no real evidence. Nothing physical. He wants to smile, but he can't. He can't shake the image of Kurusu's face, of that awful grin he'd given him.
"We're coming for you, Your Majesty."
Kamoshida shudders, and shakes his head to dash the image away. No. There's nothing they can do to stop him. There's nothing anyone can do to stop him. "Alright then, Phantom Thieves, he says to no one. "Try it."
#
Makoto sits in class, one of the calling cards in her desk. She's read it a half dozen times. Nothing the teacher says sticks. To be fair, no one else looks like they're paying any attention either. She runs her thumb over the cheap paper once more. What is this thing?
What's more, her thoughts can't help but return to one specific person.
Kurusu...
He wouldn't do something like this. Or would he? Could he? What did any of it mean, anyway?
Makoto is not someone to speak out of turn in class, but she can't help it. Saying it in her head alone isn't enough. "What the hell is going on?" She whispers.
#
The four thieves crouch on the balcony overlooking the Treasure Room. From their perch, they see that the treasure has materialized into the form of a giant, kitschy, red plush crown. The room swarms with guard shadows.
"Everyone clear on the plan?" Mona asks.
Panther nods. "Yep. I take the lead on this one, then you scatter them with Zorro."
"And Skull and I finish them off," Joker says, and smiles. "Sounds good."
"No questions then?" Mona asks.
Skull raises his hand. "I got one."
Mona sighs. "What is it?"
"Is no one going to bring up how awesome the calling card was?"
"Seriously?" Panther asks. "This is not the time!"
"Hey, I put a lot of effort into it. And I risked a hell of a lot getting into the school this morning." He crosses his arms, a pout on his face. "Someone could've said something about it."
"Skull," Joker says. The thieves turn to look at their leader. He smirks. "The Calling Card was awesome. I especially liked the end. 'Look forward to it?' Perfect. And your infiltration of the school was brilliant."
Panther frowns. "That was pretty impressive, actually. I'm kinda surprised you even thought to wear a disguise, even if it was just some cheap wig."
Skull beams. "That's what real thieves would do, right?" He drives a fist into his palm. "We gotta keep up our rep! You know, like those guys on the news from a few months ago. What were they called again? Tatter-"
"We should get moving," Joker cuts in.
"Right," Mona says, glaring at each of the others. "Now that we're done massaging Skull's self-esteem, can we get on with this?"
Panther winks. "Leave it to me!" She vaults over the balcony. As she falls, she draws her submachine gun and begins to spray.
The bullets pepper into the guards, shattering the silence. A few duck behind their shields, while others fall in the hail. Some die in puffs of ash. Others try to raise themselves back up.
"Now, Mona!" Panther shouts as she lands.
The cat is already falling. "Zorro, Magaru!" Wind whips from the Persona and slams into the remaining shadows. Those that do not die are stolen from the floor and hurled into heaps upon the mounds of treasure.
Joker and Skull hit the floor seconds behind Mona, and dart forward.
"Wreck em, Cap!" Skull shouts and his Persona bursts forth, levels its cannon and sends bolt after bolt of lightning. Electric current rips through their enemies.
"Arsene!" The final strike comes in the form of the terrible and familiar black and red coils, retched from the Persona's sable, corvid wings.
A single, wailing moan is all the last shadow can manage before it evaporates.
"Treasure Room, secure!" Mona cries, and leaps into the air, waving his arms wildly.
"Now that's an ambush!" Skull shouts, and high-fives Joker. "Nice shooting, Panther!"
She grins and throws up the 'V' sign. "We did it!"
Joker stands before the crown. "So this is it?" He asks. "Figures."
"Treasure…"
"How are we going to get this thing outta here?" Skull asks, taking it in. "It's freakin' huge!"
"Treasure…"
Panther shrugs. "I guess we'll just have to lift it and carry it."
"If the shadows catch us we'll be in trouble. Mona, you got a plan, right?"
"Treasure!" The cat shouts and hurls himself at the crown. He flattens himself against the red leather and begins to rub his cheek into it. "Treasure!"
"Um, what's he doing?" Panther asks.
"Mona," Joker says, walking up to his friend. "You okay?"
Mona purrs.
Joker sighs, grabs him by the neck and yanks him away. "Mona!"
"H-hey!" The cat spasms in his hand. "What's the big idea?"
"You tell me. You were having a, I don't know, a thing with the crown here."
"Put me down." Once back on the ground, Mona rubs his eyes and says, "Okay, enough fooling around. We need to get this thing out of here."
"How?"
"We carry it," Mona says. "How else?"
Panther sighs. "I was afraid you'd say that."
#
Joker, Panther, and Skull hoist the crown off the floor between them, and begin to car it out. Mona takes point out of the Treasure Room, and into the Throne Room.
Halfway down the gaudy rosy carpet, a volleyball hurtles through the air, smashes into the crown, and sends it flying from the hands of the thieves.
"What the hell?" Skull shouts
Joker spins about in time to see a caped figure arch through the air over them, and land in a crouch alongside the throne.
Kamoshida straightens, and extends his hand. The crowd pulsates, shrinks to the size of a melon, and catapults through the air and into his palm.
His golden pupils are rimmed by the mad whites of his eyes. His lips are curled into a snarl. "This is mine!" He shouts, voice cracking. "Mine! I earned this! I've earned the rights this gives me! That's what makes me King! No one can have it!"
Skull shakes his head. "Man, now who sounds like a little bitch?"
Panther unfurls her whip. "Give it up, Kamoshida! We're taking that whether you like it or not."
"No, no, no, no, no! No! NO! NO! NO!" Kamoshida screams. He hunches over, his breathing ragged and hollow. "What don't you get? This is how it works! ALL OF IT! If I achieve results, I get to do what I want! It's right! It's fair! That's what I do! I achieve! Everything else is compensatory! That's why no one ever stops me!"
"What you did to Shiho wasn't right or fair!" Panther shouts back.
The scowl becomes a juvenile little smirk. "Yes it was. She wanted it. You all do." He spreads his arms wide. "You all do! Why wouldn't you? Look at me! I'm a success! I'm attractive! I have a legacy! What do any of you little shits have?"
Joker draws the pistol from his coat and aims. "A soul."
He pulls the trigger.
Kamoshida's head snaps back. An awful, still second passes, and then his body collapses before his throne.
Skull blinks, and looks at his friend. "Dude."
"That conversation was pointless," Joker says, and holsters his weapon. "Let's take the treasure and get out of here." He starts up the steps. Then the laughter begins.
Kamoshida's head snaps up, a red hole in the center of his forehead. "Fine," he howls, between manic bursts of glee. As if pulled by strings, he lifts off the ground and returns to his feet. "Fine! No more guards! I'll kill you damn thieves myself! After all, this is my castle! This is my world! My rules!"
His scream rises in pitch until it becomes a distorted, cataclysmic wail. Joker leaps away as Kamoshida expands.
His skin turns a viscous pink and two additional arms burst from his stomach. His face deforms until his mouth becomes an animalistic caricature, and a slick purple tongue the size of an automobile lolls from it and pendulums through the air. His hair shrinks into his skull, and a twin set of horns bursts from the round, sick dome. Upon this rests the crown. A trophy materializes between his thighs, pairs and pairs of squirming feminine legs flailing about like maggots. In one arm, he clutches a fork, in another, an enormous glass of red wine. Yet another holds a sword, while the last of his limbs grips a dinner knife. The eyes in his head are bulbous and bloodshot. His head tilts back, and another screech shakes the room.
"Holy hell!" Skull shouts. "Are you freakin' kidding me?"
"This is his shadow's true form," Mona says, as he backs away. "His true power."
"Don't you little shits understand who I am?" The thing roars. "I AM KAMOSHIDA!" It swings its sword. The blade slices through the air and the thieves fling themselves away.
"How are we supposed to get the Treasure away from that thing?" Panther asks, once she's regained her footing.
Joker pulls out his gun and fires, but the bullets ricochet harmlessly off the king's hide. "Damn."
"Screw this," Skull shouts, and runs forward. "Fry em, Captain!" His Persona materializes, and hits Kamoshida with a bolt of electricity, but the thing barely flinches.
Instead, it thrusts its golden knife at him.
"Crap!" Skull shouts, and steps aside in time, but not quick enough to avoid the flat of the dagger. It smashes into him and sends him cartwheeling through the air. He lands in a heap by the feet of the other thieves.
"Skull!" Panther shouts, running up to his side.
"You should've learned your place long ago, Sakamoto!" The thing that is Kamoshida screams.
Mona hits Skull with a Dia, and the four stare up at the thing.
"What now?" Panther asks.
#
Joker slings back one of Takemi's medicines and feels it work its strange magic on his ribs. Thank God for cognition. He peeks out from behind the pillar he hides behind. Skull fires blast after useless blast of his shotgun into the body of Kamoshida, who roars and swipes at him with the sword once more.
Skull ducks and hobbles away. He's already taken a few hits, but has run out of medicine. If this doesn't work, it'll be bad.
"Get back here, you little-" Kamoshida starts, but his words die in a grunt as a wave of fire rushes up his back. He shifts his gargantuan form around and spots Panther. His grotesque face breaks into a grin. "There you are! Get your sexy ass over here!" Panther sprints to the side, and Kamoshida begins to crawl his way after her.
Now.
Joker ducks out from behind the pillar, runs for the spot behind Kamoshida's legs and shouts, "Andras!" The avian Persona appears before him, and with a beat of its wings, an icy wind bursts forth and swaddles the trophy. Frost strangles it, and Joker hunches over as his Persona vanishes, and throws himself at the object. His knife punches through the ice, and with a grunt, he thrusts it upward. The rime cracks, and the perverted trophy shatters.
Kamoshida screams as Joker rolls away. The sword, the knife, the fork, they all crash and spark across the spot he'd just occupied.
"Alright!" Panther shouts, coming around his side.
"Nice dude!" Skull pants, his hands on his knees.
Kamoshida ate the female legs from the trophy. He ate them. Somehow, doing so had a regenerative effect, so no matter how much damage they did to his body, so long as he could consume those limbs, he wouldn't go down.
Kamoshida's massive form scuttles towards the three, who have been backed into the corner of the throne room. "I'll kill you for that, you little fucks! How DARE you destroy what's mine?"
He raises his weapons into the air, and-
"Now, Mona!"
From where he sits, perched on the chandelier above, Mona smirks. "About time!" He takes a running start, then hurls himself down, directly at Kamoshida's crown.
He smashes into the side of it, and the massive bejeweled thing flies off Kamoshida's head, and clatters to the floor, further down the hall.
All his hands drop their weapons, and reach for the now bare spot on his head. "NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! Where is it? WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?" He sees the crown where it lays and begins to drag himself towards it. His voice shrinks to a whimper, "My treasure. Give it back!"
Joker smiles. "Hit him with everything!"
"Carmen!"
"Zorro!"
"Captain Kidd!"
"Arsene!"
As he inches towards his crown, Kamoshida is blitzed with flames, lightning, biting winds, sharp, piercing tendrils, and then the stings of Panther's whip, the bruisings of Skull's pipe, and the stabs of Mona and Joker's blades.
Still he tries to reach his crown, but as the attacks pummel him ceaselessly, all the creature can do at last is stretch out one clawed hand in a last, halting effort, before it drops to the ground and is still.
With one final scathing scream, the monstrous form of Suguru Kamoshida disappears in a great burst of ash.
The thieves are still and stare at the pile, until the deflated form of Kamoshida's shadow digs itself out, and caked in coat of smoky dust, falls back and begins to scramble away.
Panther and Skull glance at one another, then both stalk over to the sniveling thing.
"P-please," Kamoshida says, and raises a hand in supplication. "Please, stop."
Skull stomps his boot down onto Kamoshida's leg kneecap. The shadow throws his head back and screams. "What's wrong?" Skull shouts over Kamoshida's cry. "Somethin' wrong with your leg, asshole?"
The man shakes his head back and forth. "They just kept pushing!" He shouts, spit flying with every word. "Every time I achieved something, they just kept giving me more responsibility! Don't you understand? I couldn't keep up! There was always some other hurdle, some other mountaintop!" He looks up at two teens with a sad little smile on his face. "All I've done was for them, so is it so wrong to ask for a reward?"
Panther looks down at him, and raises her submachine gun. She presses the muzzle into Kamoshida's outstretched hand. "This is for every girl you touched." She squeezes the trigger and a single round punches its way through. Bone, black blood and cartilage bursts from the hole in Kamoshida's hand and it flops to the floor, useless. Kamoshida screams grow.
She trains her weapon on his other hand. "This is for every student you tortured and abused." This time, it is a short burst, but the bullets eviscerate the shadow's hand into a swath of useless meat and black ooze.
"STOP IT!" Kamoshida begs. "PLEASE!"
She aims at his head. "And this is for Shiho." She squeezes the trigger. At the last moment, she averts the muzzle, and the bullets bite into the tile around the King's head, splintering the floor and sending shards flying every which way. Some bury themselves into Kamoshida's scalp, burrowing through his hair, cheek and forehead, until black drenches his face like a shroud.
Panther empties her weapon, and lowers it. Kamoshida gasps, blinking, black in his eyes.
Skull takes his foot from Kamoshida's leg. "You're not worth it, asshole."
Panther regards the shrapnel ornamentation in the man's head. "This is the only crown you deserve," she whispers. Then, to Joker, "Have you got the treasure?"
Once Kamoshida had been defeated, the crown had shrunken to the size of a baseball cap. Joker holds it in his left hand. "Yep."
She nods, and presses one stiletto-heeled boot down onto Kamoshida's chest. The man trembles. "We stole it, Kamoshida. Whatever twists you up inside. It's ours now. So, listen up. I don't know how all this works, but you're going to get yourself - your real self - to confess to everything. All your crimes. All of them."
The thing nods. "Alright. I will. I swear."
"Atone, you bastard. For everything."
A strange look comes over Kamoshida's face. It features settle. He begins to glow a pale white, and starts to fade away. "I will," he says, as he vanishes. "I promise."
Panther's boot clicks against the floor.
Joker reaches out a free hand and rests it on her shoulder. "You okay?"
She looks at him and smiles. "Totally. This means, we did it, right?"
The room begins to quake. "Actually," Mona shouts as a piece of the ceiling crumbles and dashes to the ground. "This means we did it!"
"What the hell, Mona?" Skull shouts. "You said the palace would disappear once we stole the treasure!"
"I said it would 'collapse!' What did you think 'collapse' meant?"
"Just, run!" Joker shouts, and the four beat it for the exit.
#
It's really rather simple. Kamoshida smiles to himself as he descends the stairs. Some people - trash - refuse to accept their lot in life. They need to leech off of people like him.
They're dross. Pointless in the larger scheme of things.
Frankly, they should be culled.
Kamoshida has heard things. Rumors whispered here and there, about certain groups who can make certain problems go away. Of course, he's heard of the 'mental shutdown' phenomenon, but it's never been something he's given much thought to.
But.
If those rumors are true, maybe there is someone behind them. And if they could be contacted, maybe they could 'disappear' his student troubles.
"Why not?" He asks himself. If they refuse to accept their place, who needs them?
He couldn't do anything himself. There were limits to his influence. But an outside party? They could handle those brats. Takamaki, Sakamoto, and Kurusu. Even if they were planning something, even if they could do something, it wouldn't matter once they were dead.
Once they were dead.
Once they were dead.
Once they were dead.
Dead?
Kamoshida stops. He grasps the stairwell's handrail. If he can contact these people, he can get them to kill those students.
Kill.
He's thinking of killing students.
He's thinking of killing students!
Sweat leaks from his forehead and drips down his face. His breath comes in ragged gasps. He sits on the steps.
What am I doing? What am I thinking?
What has he done?
He sees their faces, one after another. Their horrified expressions, the blood and bruises upon their bodies. He sees Shiho Suzui, and sees her tears as he'd climbed on top of her.
Oh my god.
The girl had tried to kill herself because of him!
How? How could he have done all this? Why?
He drops his head into his hands and begins to sob. "Oh, god. Oh, god, oh, god, oh, god!"
What have I done?
#
They sit against the walls of the alley. No one says anything for some time. Morgana lies curled up besides Akira. Ann and Ryuji sit across from him, leaning against each other, their eyes closed, their mouths opened as they suck in air.
It had been a close call, their flight from the castle. At one point, Ryuji had tripped, and Akira had felt his heart seize. But then the boy had stood up, and pushed his way through the pain, and all four had emerged into the light of reality.
It takes a while before Akira realizes he's not holding the crown anymore. "Hey," he says. "Check it out." He holds up, instead, a gold medal with a red lanyard strung through it.
"The hell?" Ryuji asks, straightening. "I thought it was a crown."
"This is the true form of the treasure," Morgana says. "It's what his distorted desires originated from."
"His Olympic medal," Ann says, and shakes her head. "I guess if you're looking to inflate someone's ego, that's one way to do it."
Ryuji groans. "So, like, did we win?"
"We stole the treasure," Akira replies. He looks down at Morgana. "That means we changed his heart, right?"
The cat nods. "It should. The Palace collapsed, just like I knew it would. I suppose now we just have to wait and see if Kamoshida has changed."
Ryuji sighs. "I wish we could know right now."
"Me too," Ann says. She straightens and stands. "So, what're we supposed to do now?"
"I'd celebrate," Ryuji says. "But I'm exhausted. I don't think I can even make it home. How about we call it a day? Tomorrow, we'll know for sure, yeah?"
"Yeah," Akira says. He scoops up Morgana and deposits him into his bag. "I'd say we deserve a break."
Ann smirks. "Totally. If this does work, we should absolutely have a party."
"A party, huh?" Ryuji grins. "I like the sound of that."
"Oh! Oh!" Morgana puts in, his little head popping from Akira's bag. "I want fatty tuna! Let's go somewhere where I can get some."
The four chuckle and then descend back into silence. It is Ann that breaks it. "Are we gonna be okay? I mean, it feels like we won, but did we really?"
Akira looks at the Olympic medal in his hand. It really is a small thing. "I hope so."
##
A/N: Phew! And we're done! Man, it's hard to believe it's taken this long to get to the Kamoshida fight. I hope you all enjoyed it! Feel free to comment, I love hearing from you guys, and as always, thanks for reading and sharing! Have a great weekend, and I'll see you all on Monday!