Persona 5: A Hero's Tale

by Wizbenorno

(Outdated) The Phantom Thieves are mysterious to the naked eye, but there are some mysteries even they overlook. It's up to one team to solve the mystery of the sudden changes of mentality. Well, they might not be the best ones out there, but will they be enough to save the world from the targets that the thieves have missed?

3. Chapter 1 (Akiyo): A Lady of Purity!

Don't you just love the ocean? It's filled with all kinds of wonderful creatures, it's waves are always trying to make it to shore, it rarely ever does, and while there may be bloodshed occasionally, I don't mind as long as they receive bad karma for their actions. And there's no better time to celebrate the ocean and it's glory than the end of my homeschooled year. I'm at my booth near the beach, it is a very well polished booth with sea shells, magic charms and it's great for palm reading. Greetings, my name is Akiyo Chi, the amazing psychic and spiritual guider. Today I shall enlighten you with the knowledge of how to change one's heart for the better. This fantastical story will guide me on a journey that even I have never taken before.

It all started when I was born in the Chi family, they are a family who thrives on peace and blessings. My father sells peaceful medicine to make those around him feel better, my mother runs a charity event where she donates flowers to gardens, oh what fun they must be having right now. I was always the child left behind on their silly adventures, but I still respected my family as a whole regardless.

I regularly go to Sunday-School when I was younger, and there I learned about God and His will. The mere concept of someone special watching over us no matter what was amazing. I used to be scared of the dark before I learned that God will protect me, and that knowledge led to the necessary development as I helped make the medicine we used to help others. We all had tons of fun knowing that our Lord will guide us safety through life, but my sister is another story.

Her name was Machi Chi, which sounded good in the birth room, but over time she grew sour. When I was 6 years old, and my sister was about 18, I wanted to talk to her about peace and all things pure. At the time, I had little idea what was pure and what was corrupt ever since our Sunday school taught us what they knew about it. Unfortunately, I still couldn't understand their teachings despite what they told me, so I talked to her regardless of our age differences…

"U-Um… sister? I just want to know something about purity. What do you think the words 'pure' and 'corrupt' mean?" "Well… if corrupt means anything that doesn't sit right with you, then pure must mean the best you see out of people. There, that's the answer you wanted right? Now please let me focus!"

She seems a bit stressed about something important she's doing. I didn't know what she was doing at the time, but it turns out that my sister became a huge movie star! She made so many appearances it made that Goro Akechi guy seem pathetic. But that doesn't mean he wasn't one step ahead, solving the cases of the suddenly corrupt humans of the world. Their fame went on neck and neck and here I was still trying to figure out what exactly is pure and corrupt.

I could tell she was stressed out due to her constant yelling and bickering with her parents. The one moment that really set her off though was her not being in the next movie in the series she once claimed was perfect. She thrashed her room in frustration, denied my parent's pacifism, and when I asked her about purity again, she almost hit me. I could see the anger in her eyes as she struggled to see the light.

But even if she was turning sour, I was proud of my sister either way, but I still wound up asking her the same question over and over. I don't know why, but my parents always claimed they were too busy to be asked, and my sister was the only one available whenever she was home. What she defined was pure and corrupt that day didn't sit right with me, what I needed was a heartfelt answer, not a rushed answer.

She was right about most of the other things she said, so even when my parents weren't busy, I asked her that question unaware that she was slipping. I was so proud of her becoming famous, I couldn't help but ask for her advice even if she disregards what I say. She was my sister, and sisters don't leave each other in the dust. I even get questions from her like: "Don't you have anything better to do?" Of course I do, but still no matter what nasty things she says, I respected her until the end of time.

She used to be so nice before she became a movie star, and thus I thought she would never change, even if she were to neglect my help. This went on for quite some time, after a while I could not see why she kept refusing to talk to me, even after I stopped asking. But then, one day, on the night of my sweet sixteenth, was all it took for me to see the truth.

My sister personally invited some strange men into our little wooden house by the beach. They used their left arm to shoot my mother and father with deranged grins, and they were holding some sort of bottled beverage in their right one. I had no idea what they were doing, I was just sitting there, staring at the corpses of my beloved familiars in shock, but I'm always welcome to strangers in my house. Sure I was a bit mad at them for killing my parents, but regardless, I did my best to make them feel welcome.

So in respect I bowed to them welcoming them to our home, but then they angrily pushed me down onto the floor. I couldn't understand it, there must've been something wrong with these two gentlemen, because they clearly don't know I'm a pacifist. And even if they did know, they would take advantage of that knowledge, but still I looked at the two men as they chuckled while I laid there nearly helpless on the floor.

That's when the jeans came off, and then the internal barrier blocking man and his 'joystick'. I was not worried, God will protect me no matter what. But these men, I had no idea what they were about to do...! My sister brought them in to murder my family, and yet I still believed in her no matter what she does. Unfortunately, it became hard to keep those beliefs as the men began to touch me in ways I never thought were allowed before…

They took off my clothes, and then the rest of their clothes followed shortly after. My face was turning red, what could they be doing with those things? I've never seen things that unusually big, and upon closer examination of their faces, they were actually one of our customers! This wasn't right at all, the medicine was supposed to make them feel happiness, but it looks like that they have taken too much of it, and now they must be deluded into thinking those things between their legs would fit inside me!

They grabbed onto my breast and my privates, and then they started stroking. I tried to deny this strange feeling as they started to use unfamiliar toys in the process of this encounter, I held firm that I would survive! But then, they went all out on me and forced me to swallow whatever that white stuff was inside that stick! I tried to warn my sister, as she was the closest to the men, but she watched with a smirk as she seemed to be enjoying this.

Wait, why would she enjoy something like this!? I thought she knew what was best for me, but here I am being forced to endure this punishment for constantly annoying her! I probably should've seen it coming, knowing that she almost hit me back then, but I didn't know that she would do something this cruel until it was too late! I started to cry a bit as I was getting mixed signals from the pleasure, pain, and fear that I was dragged into…

They wouldn't listen, they started licking my whole body like a fresh lollipop, and then they started to take advantage of my position to attack from both the mouth and my posterior. Both were soon filled with the white stuff as I felt even sicker than before. I couldn't tell if I was enjoying this or not, I was too busy keeping a stick in my mouth. This went on for quite awhile as my mind kept getting more and more broken for each time they attacked me. Sister, if you could just help me, and stop these men from any further damage, I would honored to never ask anything from you ever again. That's what you wanted right? She never listened to my small pleas, or rather, I never told her that I needed help. After a few attacks, I couldn't speak at all, and soon I would lose focus on what really mattered to me, what was my purpose in life?

But no matter what I did to stop them, or even when I tried to embrace them, they wouldn't stop. It was all a rush from then on, they somehow knocked me out in the manner of minutes. I couldn't remember anything else about that night, but when I woke up the next morning, I was a mess! My actual clothes were somewhere else other than my body, my lips tasted funny, and I was forced to wear this strange pink leather outfit that openly exposes my privates.

I had trouble processing what was going on, I was embarrassed and confused as hell as I tried to piece together what was going on. But before I could, my sister came in, looking like someone who walked the red carpet. I tried to talk to her, but all I could do was stutter, and when she looked at me, she had a devilish grin even bigger than the one she had last night. She showed an expression of complete dominance and evil, which shocked me when I saw her in this state, as she walked over to my filthy body, and whispered in my ear…

"This is what corrupt truly means. You've got a bad taste in your mouth because of those sinful people, and now you have become corrupted yourself. This is what humanity truly thinks of those who are corrupt. The sooner you realize that, the sooner you'll be able to become purified."

I had no idea what she was talking about, but those expressions, those voices that sounded like a lunatic, and especially the way they handled me, was that all really corrupt!? I-If that's what corruption feels like, then purification must be the opposite of how I felt... wait, if they were corrupted, and if I was pure before they arrived...

That's when it hit me. What those men did to me that night must've somehow corrupted me. I have really become corrupt? "That's absurd!! I'm not corrupted, I can't be corrupted! Can I be corrupted...? N-no! I refuse to accept that I have been corrupted by those darn men!" I thought to myself as my breathing was at a maximum, my eyesight was getting poor and I couldn't get this funny taste out of my mouth. In a desperate gamble, I knew there was only one thing to make me happy again: the medicine. My father told me specifically not to eat the medicine, because I was not sick at the time that I asked him.

But, if being corrupt makes you sick, then now would be the most perfect time to try it! I crawled and scrambled to my parents room, inside was the supplies for making the medicine. It smells weird, but I had to at least try it before my sister finds some other way to make me even more impure! I rushed to the wooden cabinet and I took every damn medicine my father had, even the ones that weren't simply purifying at all, I ate every last one of them as I felt a smile on my face.

My mind that was once in an overdosed state of horror, was now beautifully cured! The happiness I felt cancels it all out, but this feeling just kept getting stronger, and stronger, forcing my mind to wander in a frightening limbo of pleasure. And then, I fainted, no mere man should've been consuming this much medicine but it was a miracle that I somehow survived.

When I recovered, a couple of different men looked at me as they expressed concern for me. My head was fuzzy at the time, but they helped me up and out of that strange costume as I looked and saw the ace detective Goro Akechi at the wooden table with my sister. The teenage superstar who was working on the cases of fowl criminals losing their minds, were those nice people from yesterday just more victims of this… unidentified syndrome…?

Ow... my head still hurts from all of my father's medicine I took, along with the pain I felt from yesterday. My sister seems to be very concerned about me as she talked to the detective with a distressed voice, but I can't let Akechi see me in this foul state. I hid my body from the rest as I tuned into what they were saying...

"...came out of nowhere and raped my poor sister! She was lucky to survive, whatever she must've been through must've been their first attack!" "Calm down madam, I can assure you that we're doing our best to find your sister's captors." "Thankfully, I managed to pinpoint the addresses of these criminals. Here, maybe this'll help shorten the search a bit." She handed Akechi a piece of paper, if I had to guess, she must've- ow... It's no use, I can't think straight after what just happened to me...

"Indeed it will. Thanks for cooperating, Mrs. Chi. Should we do something about your sister?" "No no, she's my sister, I'll take care of her until she recovers." "I must insist, help is on their way to mend the wounds in your sister's mind" "Hey, I said I'll take care of her. And besides, don't you have a family of your own to take care of?"

That's when I felt it, a dark aura covered my sister and her face did a sickening smile. I tried to ignore it, but this cold feeling in my heart wouldn't go away. That's when I knew that she wasn't acting like herself anymore, my very own sister was corrupt! I thought I took too much medicine, but it should've cancelled itself out!

There's no doubt about it: That experience I had last night must've given me the supernatural ability to tell the pure from corrupt! I don't know whether to feel happy or scared of this new power, but one thing is for certain, I couldn't just tune it out, it's too unbearable! I stuttered as I tried to warn Akechi about her but…

"You don't have to rub it in..." He said that under his breath in a way that was completely different from the calm attitude I've gotten to know Akechi for. Suddenly, I felt that same aura from Akechi too! He, too, was corrupt! I shivered in fear as I realized this new power was making me feel like I want to die!

Any other person would just ignore this warning, but I was horrified by this sudden ability I've gotten, and it's all because of her! I couldn't stand being in the same room as those two anymore, they felt too impure for me to handle! Despite my panicked state, as I was being dragged away by some men in blue, I managed to hear the rest of the conversation between the two from outside...

"I'm sorry what?" "Oh, it's nothing. Don't worry, I'll be fine." "Uh huh…" "Take good care of your sister, I hope she gets better soon." "Me too, goodbye Mr. Akechi."

I was mentally treated at a nearby medical procedure, I explained what had happened to the doctor, and for some reason I felt more comfortable than usual. I saw a bright light spawn from his gentle personality, his presence made me feel even calmer than normal. It was such a relief, I never noticed that purity would feel so good after facing corruption. At that moment, I understood everything I was told: If someone has a light inside their heart, they are pure. If someone has darkness in their heart, they are corrupt.

Knowing this made me stronger, and it made it easier for me to see who was chosen by God to be my light in the dark... when I got home the next day, my sister was expecting me. After the nice men left, I was left alone with corruption... She still had that smile and that dark aura, it made me shiver in fear again, I never thought I would be scared of my own sister!

She grabbed my arm with her corrupt hand, and it made me think twice about my respect for my sister. Normally when someone touches my hand, no matter who it was, it felt very comfortable. But now that I've seen the truth, my own sister's corrupted hand felt cold, even a hundred winters couldn't compare to the coldness I felt as I was dragged towards her evil face…

"My sister. Do you like the taste of corruption? This is for your own good sister. I'm doing this to support your obsession with peace, but I mainly did it because you would stop bugging me about peace and love. I don't care for that bullshit, in fact, I hate it! Hugs and kisses won't get you anywhere my sister, you'll have to do something about corruption if you want to become pure again. And let me tell you this now, eating all of your father's drugs won't cut it!"

Wait, I thought I wasn't allowed to eat drugs! Those medicines my father took, and then gave to the nice people of the world, they were all responsible for my corruption!? I-I didn't know that, then again, people started to act funny once they started taking his medicines and... huh? Sister, what's going on? Why is your head starting to shake...? Why are you starting to struggle to get your words out...?

"What? You thought it was medicine he gave you? If he really cared about you, he would've told you that... that… those… were… d-d-d-d-d-d-d-dru-"

And then I experienced the horror of my sister suddenly shaking as she was trying to get the message to me. Her eyes started to twitch as she was trying to overcome something she had in her head. Then, her pupils disappeared from her face as a strange black substance, her corrupted essence, foamed from the mouth as her grip loosened up. I fell to the floor as I stared at her motionless body in shock. I screamed, I didn't know what to make of it but it was utterly horrifying seeing my sister as a motionless statue! I tried to wake her up, but she never moved again, she was stuck like this no matter how hard I shook her. Is this what corrupt people truly feel like? She was so impure that it was too much to bear, and now she can't move!

The police later came over again and I explained to them everything that went down here. They cleared up that my sister had a mental shutdown, a strange phenomenon of people dying or going insane for no reason. To think that my own sister fell prey to all the stress she built as a movie star, I felt sorry for her even if she was corrupt.

I had to testify in court, but I only wanted to do it if everyone in the room was pure, aside from the criminal. And believe me, the feeling of purity was so satisfying. Everyone who was pure gave off a bright light that soothes my soul whenever I find it. It felt like the angels from up above were taking away what was corrupt about me. It felt so good, I never wanted it to stop! But when I left that day, I saw the world in a new light, a much more predictable light.

The coward was an impossible mixture of pure and corrupt. I was beginning to hyperventilate until I returned home where it was safe and quiet. There's no one around to help these poor souls become pure of heart, and if they don't do anything now, there will be plenty of others who will be corrupted just like me! Someone around here has to make them all pure, because if they don't, I'll be overwhelmed by confusion! That's when my goal was clear, I had to save this corrupt world from itself one human at a time. My sister died because she too was corrupted, I had to do something before anyone else suffers the same fate!

Using the money my family earned, despite it being used to buy those drugs my sister told me about, I managed to make a living of myself and craft a booth where I can help those in need. Seeing beautiful lights and dark auras were really starting to get to me, if no one else will dispose of these corruptions then maybe I would be perfect to suit the job. I wouldn't let anyone else be corrupted, or at least not corrupted enough to die.

That's why I work at the booth, a magical place where I took inspiration from people's favorite things, and then sorted out the good and the bad much quicker than I thought. The pure people like simple things like books, apples, or the latest update to a phone. The corrupt people like things that are twisted and impure like money, crime, and boobs! What twisted people they are, I'll fix them good, just wait.

I crafted some stone charms based off of people's favorite things, this took a considerable amount of time out of my days. Whenever I was hungry, I made myself a salad, if I got thirsty, then I would make lemonade. I could perfectly take care of myself without very many bills to pay. And my booth was officially open at the same time I heard that a man named Kamoshida was protecting himself from a man who was… pure?

I didn't understand why someone pure would be blamed for something that someone else did, that is until one day when I tried talking to him on his way to school. I caught his car driving along the streets as I returned home from material shopping, he seemed rather happy to see me so he stopped and rolled down his window. He has a strange face with curly hair, I wasn't sure if he was corrupted yet so I asked him calmly: "Hello? May I help you?"

"Excuse me young lady, aren't you supposed to be in school? I can take you there if you want." He said looking like he wanted me to ride in the car. My special power hasn't triggered yet, but I had to tell him about my situation: "Um, I'm sorry no, I'm self-taught and I look forward to your... contribution…?" As I kept talking, I noticed Kamoshida's smile turned slowly into a frown, not just any frown, a frown that means he won't be able to do anything he particularly likes with me.

And by that, I feared he must've been thinking of doing something terrible to me! I couldn't see what was wrong with such an innocent frown until he opened his mouth again: "Huh, so you are homeschooled… Oh well, it's not like there's more people like you around…" Then, his dark aura sprang to life! I ran away as he drove away! When I made it back to my home, my mind was made up! I had to purify all of the corrupt souls out there, but if they refuse purification, I'll let God punish them for their sins! If He's watching over me, then he must've been tired of doing nothing for the people of this world too!

Right now, there's only one thing to do, sit here and wait for people to show up. I think I'll consider turning my house into a shop for the pure hearted. I dyed my hair clear blue like the gentle seas when it was originally a pale brown, and I designed a special crystal blue outfit made from that corrupted outfit I wore and made it better. Now it doesn't expose everything, but it gives people the impression that I am a beautiful woman. If anyone gets that impression, they're either in love with me or they're corrupt, that's how it works.

My booth has a wide standard of features, I can palm read, I can heal others using special liquid, I even hand out sea shells for free in case any young ones who want to listen to the ocean. But my biggest selling point is my ability to use special charms made forged from stone to help or hinder others. The good people of the city can name their price, but I'll mind if the price is below ¥1,000.

These charms are special indeed, they are fueled by the inspiration of both sides to make them worth a lot. They appear in the shape of both pure and corrupt favorite things. There are two different factors that will determine whether the outcome is good karma or bad karma: The way you look and the way you sound. Each type of karma represents your past actions and I can already tell them apart using my pure sensors. I came up with a method to see whether someone is truly pure or corrupt depending on the charm they wished for.

Let's say we have an ordinary man, he is very shy around crowds, he seems to be a nice guy, but the second he smiles… he's pure! I feel that warmth in my heart and then I'll be happy to meet his demands…

"Welcome to my palace of all things holy, how may I help you?" "Well, I have this girl I want to ask out, she's super sweet and gentle, but I don't have the confidence to ask her." "In that case, you should take my 'Charm of Lovers'. Made from all of my heart that will create feelings of passion for one day." "R-Really? Thanks!"

And it turns out, these charms actually work. My sense of purity isn't just restricted to humans, it also works on objects much more different than regular humans. Instead of sensing whether something is pure or not, I taught myself to sense emotions too. Any object I create using stone and hand colored rocks must be in tune with what emotion I want. If I wanted a heart, I must feel the passion of love, so I read romance novels about vampires to get my blood boiling. If a ghost is what I want, all I need to do is look at someone corrupt so that I panic enough to create one.

And afterwards, once the formation is solid, I'll be able to feel that same emotion as before as the emotions were literally poured into the sculpture. I don't know how I do it though, maybe it's because of the way I took a lot of medicine -or drugs- that made me this sensitive to emotions. But regardless, whatever care I put into that object will inflict an aura that anyone can feel. So that heart charm I gave him was filled with love that'll last for 24 hours, after that, it wears off as I hope that he doesn't get cocky and try to date his girlfriend again while thinking the charm is still working.

My business is semi-popular with the people, and they enjoy a good magical charm every so often. So if you have a pure heart that needs a helping hand, you've come to the right place. But what happens if someone is corrupt? Let's find out, shall we? Look at that man: he's charming, tightly dressed, and he appears to be walking home from work. But how does he respond to me…? Gah! That was an impure smile! The air around me feels cold whenever I'm near someone corrupt, but I can't let him know that!

He's more of the type who will call the police if I end up freaking out in front of him. So I try to remain calm at all times, trying to hide my fear from him, and then I try to be upbeat as he stops and stares at me like a creep…

"Welcome… how may I help you…?" "Well, I was wondering if you could get me something to make me more worthy of women." "Try my exclusive 'Charm of the Booby Bird', it makes you feel like a woman is always watching you wishing you good luck." "Boobs!? How did you know!?" "I just thought you love boobies, so I made this especially for you." "Alright! I don't know who you are, woman, but I respect your decision-making and self awareness. Now if you'll excuse me..."

He runs home with the charm without paying me. That's fine, he's just about to receive divine punishment. He has no idea what I had to do to create this kind of charm. It smells like a woman's boobs, and it takes longer for the charm to wear off, about a week at best, so wherever he goes, he'll smell a woman no matter what he thinks and it'll eventually drive his perverted instincts into rape and possibly jail. Either that, or people will mistake him for having sex with someone and who knows what might happen then.

As someone who knows what people like, I also crafted charms that people don't like by forcing myself to become temporarily impure. I drink, I smoke, but not to a level of addiction, and then those feelings are placed into special charms that only inflict bad karma on you and not any of the surrounding mortals. This is my way of saying the equivalent of a bad word to those who are corrupt. I only sell these charms in private, and even those are kept in a box that only I can open. But other than that, my business is very useful to those with good intentions. Just don't show up looking at me like a pervert, or you'll rot in jail as one. No pressure.

It all comes back to the charms which are made as follows. First comes the glass layout with sand inside, then I insert some regular rock and then I hand dip rocks into a substance that feels like hot Easter egg dye, and then once it cools off, I stick it all together with a special homemade glue that is invisible to the human eye. I also add in seashells and jewels on occasion for some special charms.

After finishing a charm, they go into special containers that keep them fresh and alive until they are unsealed. Whenever I give someone a charm I spend the next few hours recreating that charm, but any corrupt charms must be done inside my house, no exceptions. I put my love and care into each one, even the corrupt ones I had to be gentle with. If these charms don't save humanity from a terrible fate, I don't know what will.

As time went on, my business kept pulling in customers as more incidents happened where people would turn corrupt. It got as bad as me having to remake every last charm using whatever free time I had. But I didn't mind, oh no, I loved the work hours. I take about two hours of sleep and then work the rest of the day, and whenever I'm not having any customers, I use that time to make more charms instead of just waiting for someone to come, I found that to be quite boring.

My business was successful so far, that is until I met a family visiting the beach for some reason. They were pretty average, aside from the chubby looking one, and I was about ready to have another customer. And then, the child's mother and father went to the bathroom, and I was watching him to see if he was pure or not. That's when he approached the sea, looked around for any witnesses, and then he smirked!? By the time I realized he was corrupt, he peed in the sea!!

Nobody was watching him do it, and yet I saw the whole thing unfold! He thinks he could just pee in the same place where hundreds of innocent fish swim freely!? That's the equivalent of dropping poison gas onto a city! His parents were pure when I first saw them, but why is their son like this? If I were to tell them now, they wouldn't believe me due to the circumstances with their son. So I waited till nightfall and I looked up their names in a phone book and an old yearbook. His name was Monigami Peroski, a child who looked sweet, if he hadn't peed in the sea.

I was concerned about this child's health, so I tried calling the family using a cell phone I recently got. I only use it for shopping, calling, and planning, nothing more than that. So I attempted to talk to the mother concerning her child, but before I could spring what her child had done…

"Oh hi! Are you Monigami's new babysitter?" "Huh? N-No, I'm just here to tell you-" "I'm sorry, we really need a babysitter right now so that we can have all the fun we want." "I-I'm sorry madam, I don't quite follow your logic…" "It's okay, you won't have to! Now where do you live? You certainly seem innocent enough not to go crazy like the others."

I hung up on that line, she sounded frantic, desperate, and excited. That is not how a parent should sound like in front of their child, and what did she mean by "go crazy like the others"? Don't tell me… Monigami is trying to infect others with corruption so that the world could be corrupt quicker!? I couldn't imagine it, the thought of a corrupter this powerful is too much for me on my own! So I did some research when I had spare time, while still managing to keep the love and care that goes into every single pebble. Mediation is key for accomplishments like this.

That's just the way I love to live, but I still couldn't get Monigami out of my head! I tried so hard to not dream of him, but the nightmares I had of him started getting worse and worse. I used this to my advantage to produce more corrupt charms than pure charms. To be honest, I was a bit scared of what I was becoming, but it seems to be good for business. I even managed to get zero customers one day and remake every charm I had so flawlessly. All the stress is making me do things even quicker than before surprisingly! But I still couldn't get Monigami off of my mind… I need some way I can purify him, while trying not to look like a hypocrite or a lunatic, but how can I when the child is nearly impossible to be caught…?

This question pondered me for the longest time, until I heard of the rumored Phantom Thieves of Hearts and what they did to Kamoshida. He confessed every crime he had committed, and nobody knew how! If only this could happen to Monigami Peroski, then everything will be alright again! As an enforcer of God's will, I was curious to know about their motives. I wanted to know all about the Phantom Thieves, are they the pure heroes we needed, or are they just a bunch of corrupt crooks…? Only time will tell...

There I was, managing my booth waiting for the next customer to show up with either intentions suitable for heaven or hell. I had already sold more corrupt charms recently because of the fragile state of Tokyo. It was getting out of hand too fast, there's too many people who wanted bad things! My only sanctuary in the world was the humble waters I would retreat to as a means to calm my nerves and remove my corruption. But even today, I still question my desire to punish evildoers by giving them terrible karma.

Ever since the faithful day of my corruption, I kept trying to stop myself from doing too many bad things in an effort to create more pure charms. Unfortunately, the world was slowly getting more and more corrupt as I couldn't help but actually feel glad they're getting what they deserve. My latest customer was some sort of fat slob with clothes that came from a dumpster who watches TV all day, but even though I still felt the sting from the darkness surrounding him, I happily offered him a corrupt charm...

"Welcome, may I interest you in some of my 'Drunken Bottle' charm? I'm sure a slob like you would enjoy it since you are a spec of trash on the face of the Earth." I let myself get too cocky, this man just tackled me! Apparently he recently lost his girlfriend, as explained from the mad ramblings about abandonment and washing away the pain. He was almost ready to take me to his house and then make me his pawn, just like back then…

I wouldn't allow him to corrupt me again, his corrupt attitude must be punished no matter what! I pushed him over using what strength I had, let him have a taste of false-purity by letting him calm down with one of my flower charms, which made him unconscious. And then, just so he rots as the criminal he is, I wanted him to experience the torment of every corrupt charm at once! I place them all over him and let the scent consume him. I called the police by then and removed the charms from his fat disgusting body.

Fortunately for me, he awoken to find that he was so overwhelmed by pain, pleasure, addiction, and heartbreak, that he snapped as he roared at me like a savage beast. I ran into my house and placed myself in a position where he would fuck me. But I never let him do that. Oh no, instead I just got on top for a bit and squeezed his nipples as hard as I could. The result was him getting even more angry at me and forcing him to lunge himself upon me once more. The police showed up shortly before he started, knowing that this slob wasn't fit for mankind, I had to over-exaggerate the details a little so that he would be punished for his corrupted attitude.

They believed my story, they imprisoned the rotting pile of garbage, and thus the world was saved by me! I was so overconfident in myself, there was no way that a single human could ignore my warnings about purification, and thus I experimented my method of eliminating the impure. I planned to use this method on those who believed in impure justice like that Shido person. He believes God is keeping this world safe!? I can feel his corruption as he passes through the streets sometimes, and if he gets elected as the prime minister, then this world is doomed!

But, alas, I have problems of my own to deal with right now. I'm still trying to get Monigami back for sinning in the ocean. I could still cringe at the thought of him being so despicable! And the way his parents sounded so nonchalant about me being his babysitter, it's almost like his family doesn't even care about their son's reputation! For a while, I never found anyone who personally wanted to get even with Monigami. Even asking the rumored Phantom Thieves themselves would be a ridiculous thought, I doubt that they would do anything to fix every over corrupt person instantly, not to mention I am unsure that they would do the job right.

Things were looking a bit bleak, as I have hit a dead-end in my plan. That is, until two days after Kamoshida was exposed, where I saw three boys, each of them being pure of heart! Oh wow, that refreshing light always felt good for me, but I had to see for myself if their intentions were clear...

The first one looked the most cowardly as he awkwardly moved towards me with a smile that indicates he's shy. He's no stranger to donning a nice blue t-shirt and his hair was a dark brown. The second one looked like one of those punks I see on the news, he smirked like he had no care in the world, he somehow wasn't corrupt with that red baseball cap, leather jacket and a pair of shades. Perhaps that's a nice punk? And the third one was definitely too young to be hanging with those two, but he had an eye patch and a different blue baseball cap. He looks happy though, and a child's pure happiness is too precious to wipe away.

I didn't know what else to think about these three, but they are pure of heart, so I guess I'll comply. I'd bet they just want to ask a woman out or something, but I couldn't be any more wrong…

"Welcome to my palace of all things holy, how may I help you?" "Let me do the talking you guys. What's up? My name is Jin'ichi Sumula, and these are my friends Hakaru Yumasu and Takeyoshi Winslow." The punk introduced me to his comrades, Hakaru seems to be a bit shy of my appearance, who can blame me for being beautiful? "Oh… hi!" He waved as I nodded with grace, I was about to recommend a nice charm for these young men until...

"Do you know anyone by the name of Monigami?" "Whoa Takeyoshi! That's too straight to the point!" Said Jin'ichi scratching his head in embarrassment... Monigami huh? You don't suppose that these men don't like Monigami as much as I don't...?

"I would advise that you follow me into my humble abode." I said sternly and calmly as Hakaru was surprised at me for inviting them in so suddenly: "Huh!? We're being invited in her house?!" "Boys, I think we found our winning ticket." "That's a lady, not a ticket Jin'ichi."

I had no idea what they were talking about, but if there was anyone that needed to help me with my dilemma with Monigami and his babysitters, these guys look like the kind of people for the job. I opened the wooden door as the trio looked around my house. The child was most impressed by the scenery, but I couldn't just let them roam the place. I got some of that cola boys like, and some apple juice for the child, as I told them to gather around the wooden table. I placed some papers regarding the babysitters Monigami had and I did my best to explain my dilemma…

"Here's everything I know about Monigami's family so far… the child is a corrupt young being who pees in the ocean. I absolutely hated that with anger of a thousand suns but that's beside the point. The point is, while his parents may be pure now, the child himself fools them into having all the fun they want without him. That's why his parents are so obsessed with finding a babysitter, they would rather have fun than spend time with their child."

Hakaru seems to have a habit of biting down on his lip whenever he feels a bit shook, I could feel a hint of rage from this coward as he expressed his anger over the situation: "That little brat… no wonder why they want to keep switching babysitters…"

"Yeah, Monigami makes the people who take care of him his toys and every time a babysitter is out of commission, he begs his parents to get another one…" Jin'ichi pointed out as I kept explaining: "Yes. The victims all had one thing in common. They have all been reported to be criminally insane once the police got involved. It's almost as if Monigami has complete control over his life. I would do something about this, but I couldn't do it without looking no different from his babysitters."

"Don't worry! We'll help you get even with that slob!" "Yeah! We hate this guy just as much as you do!" Hakaru and Takeyoshi were giving me an expression of determination and the will to fight as I wondered what was going on with them... "Y-you do!? What do you have against him?" I asked almost immediately.

The three of them had their own grudges against Monigami, and they expressed their complaints with anger: "What do we have against him? My mother was one of his goddamn babysitters!" "He wouldn't stop picking on me!" "And I'm going to be his babysitter next unless we do something!"

I see, so Jin'ichi's mother among others were corrupted by Monigami, Takeyoshi had this child as a bully, and Hakaru will suffer great corruption if we don't stop the child. It is clear that this child is even more corrupt than I thought, but Jin'ichi wasn't exactly done talking to me...

"Which is exactly why we need your help. We need a lady in our little gang so that we can take advantage of Monigami's weaknesses. We think you're just the gal for the job." "M-me? You want my help? I was expecting myself to ask you the same thing!" I said when realizing that we all have the same goal. Just then, Hakaru got up close and said something that was really confusing for me to understand...

"Promise not to tell about our secret identities?" "U-um… yes?" "Yahoo! The blue lady joins the party!" The kid cheers as if he's forming a fan club, I mostly wanted to come along with them to help the child in need, but I think there's more to these boys than meets the eye.

"Then it's settled. Let's meet up with another member of our scurvy crew back in Shibuya." Jin'ichi says with pride in his tone. "Okay! But can we please not walk there this time dude? It took us long enough to get here on foot, and by the time we make it back the same way, it'll be too late to do anything." Realizing that Hakaru is worried of our safety, I decided to put the charms I've collected into a tote bag. One little bag can save a life you know.

"In that case, let me grab my charms, you'll never know when you might need them. I'd suggest going by train, it's more common and less suspicious to travel by train." "Huh!? Oh...no… don't take the train! It'll crash!" Takeyoshi crouches down and chatters his teeth, as he was signalling us about his fear of trains…!?

I've seen a child get afraid of monsters every so often, but a child who's actually scared of trains!? That's completely nerve-racking seeing a poor child like him get scared of trains instead of just liking them. "Huh? My child, what's going on?" I dared to ask, the punk answered with an ashamed tone of voice: "I forgot to mention, the kid hates trains for some reason." When I heard that, I immediately hugged the scared boy as I comforted him with all of my might as I desperately tried to stay calm so that he would be calm…

"Oh you poor little boy, I know how it feels to be afraid, I promise I shall never let a train hurt you for as long as I live!" I hugged him hard as Takeyoshi seemed to be calming down just a bit. I turned to Jin'ichi to ask him: "Is there anyway we can get to Shibuya without a train…?" Jin'ichi looks away in shame and then says: "No, the traffic is too heavy as of now, and the only reason we got here in the late-morning was because we woke up early enough to walk there. I guess we'd better take the train…"

Before Takeyoshi could let out another tear, Hakaru jumped in and hugged him too as he said with his voice cracking up: "Takeyoshi, we'll get through this together! Mrs. Akiyo, we'd better stick to him, never let this guy go!" "It is the only way I know how Hakaru…" I said while the two of us squeezed Takeyoshi while hanging on for dear life. We resumed hanging onto him when we got on the train, but Takeyoshi was still scared out of his mind thinking the train would crash! Thankfully Hakaru was there to comfort him as will I! There's no other choice, we had to protect him from the horrors of the train with our very lives!

"It's okay pal, I'll keep you safe from any train crashes…" "I'm right here for you Takeyoshi my child. We shall never stop hugging you until we get off of the godforsaken train." Hakaru and I comforted the heck out of him, this made Takeyoshi feel uncomfortable and tearful at the same time.

"Thank you… but do you guys have to hug so tightly?" "Don't worry, if the train does crash, at least you'll be safe while me and Hakaru take heavy hits from the impact." "We'll keep you safe no matter what! Even if it means the situation gets really awkward!" Hakaru desperately held on to him like a starfish does to a rock as we hugged him the whole time we were on the train.

Jin'ichi rolled his eyes upon seeing our limitless dedication to keep children safe: "Oh brother. Now we have two of 'em. I don't blame you." He shrugged and looked out the window as the two of us hung onto Takeyoshi for our dear life.

We got off the train and into Shibuya, Takeyoshi was feeling much better now, but I still felt like hugging Takeyoshi till the end of time. A child this precious shouldn't have to suffer by trains. I was hugging him even longer than his mother had ever done, but Hakaru and Jin'ichi looked at me like I was doing something wrong.

"Um… what are you doing? We're in public you know, we left the train station five minutes ago." "I'm keeping this poor baby safe from corruption Hakaru! Just look at him, he's so miserable! If we don't protect him like the little bundle of joy he is, he'll be forever stained with the wicked scent of corruption!" "Corruption?" Hakaru scratched his head as I hung on for my dear life and slowly walked towards our destination with Jin'ichi looking at me awkwardly...

"We're in a city y'know. Do you want people to get the wrong idea?" Takeyoshi then told me, with a calm awkward voice that was perfectly healed from his wounds: "Yeah, do you want people to think you're my mother? I appreciate the hugs, but I honestly feel a little uncomfortable hugging for this long..." Oops! An uncomfortable child isn't a happy child, I let go of him, he looks at me with signs of embarrassment...

"Oh! I'm so sorry my child! Please forgive me!" "Now you're acting like a child, please stop." He says calmly and perfectly okay about where he is. I took a few more deep breaths before speaking to the child again: "Alright… I'm calm, but why are you so scared of trains anyway?" Jin'ichi and Hakaru were also thinking of that question, but Hakaru made sure to comfort him while asking.

"Yeah, come to think of it, we never actually knew what made you panic by the mere thought of a train." "What's the matter Takeyoshi? Remember that I'm right here for you dude." Hakaru patted Takeyoshi on the back as the child finally began to show and tell...

"Oh, you guys should've seen it! It was horrifying! First, the train started going faster and faster, I thought it was a race at first until I saw people get worried for some reason. We saw what happened to the conductor before the whole thing crashed, but he looked like he just didn't get enough sleep and was doing this on purpose! Then the whole thing went: Wham! Kaboom! Smash! And everyone fell over! A ton of people got really hurt that day, me and my mom managed to survive long enough to know that that guy's blank stare made him act like an animal. He was panicking for some reason unknown while we were taken to the hospital. It cost me my eye, but to be frank, I'm not complaining. I think it makes me more like a pirate looking for the loot!"

"Hold on… you were on THAT train!? The one on the news just a couple weeks ago!?" Hakaru sounded completely surprised. "I always thought Monigami plucked your eye out, then again he would've gotten in trouble much sooner if he did that..." Jin'ichi thought, but all I had to say was... "B-B-Blank stare…?"

I was going to comfort Takeyoshi for the incident, but then I remembered an incident of my own. The way he described that train conductor was a perfect match to what the police told me about my sister. I still remember all the details to this day, the way her expression slowly turned from one that is stressed and revengeful, into one of fear and self-destruction. One memory led to another, and then… I let it all out…!

I held my hands to my head as I screamed at the top of my lungs in complete fear as we approached some alleyway. The boys took me there and all tried cheering me up, but the pain of my mental state was too powerful to be contained! Hakaru was a little panicked as well looking left and right for suspicion, Jin'ichi rubbed my head calmly, and Takeyoshi even tried hugging me like what I did to him a few moments ago, nothing seemed to cure my eternal suffering as my impure memories got softer and softer…?

All of a sudden, I started to calm down on my own. The pain somehow slipped away from me, and somehow nobody noticed that I was freaking out. How can this be? This kind of achievement shouldn't be possible unless I accidentally used too many of my quiet charms. The boys felt relief as they knew what had happened to me to make the pain stop. I was out of the loop for some reason, because I couldn't just recover so quickly. And yet, how did I recover this fast? The last time I remembered those memories made me panic for 5 minutes at least. This must be the work of someone who's also a psychic!

I look into the alleyway and find this strange man with a purple hoodie and wrinkled skin. He looks my age but his eyes gave off a strange feeling I never felt before. It was neither pure nor corrupt, it felt welcoming like I've always been, but it felt so wrong. The longer I looked at him the longer I stood there unable to move. His presence was so mysterious that I wasn't able to sense anything from him. The boys don't seem to mind him at all, in fact, according to their friendly expressions, they're friends of this strange man. I had no idea who he was, but the least I could do was go along with whatever he wants, so that I can get back at Monigami for peeing in the ocean.

"You brought a woman?" Oh my god! His voice sounded so off! It felt like a sinister birth child of pure and corrupt, it would've scared the hell out of me if I wasn't so calm! How is Hakaru and his friends not scared by this!?

"Okay okay, I know it sounds weird but this young lady has a grudge against Monigami too." Hakaru was embarrassed of actually going through to bring me here. "Yeah! Monigami peed in the sea to get her attention, and now she wants revenge!" Takeyoshi just said that to remind me what I'm here for, the strange man looked at me like I was destined for something, but what?

"Huh. His abusive cycle never stops at humans huh? And who might you be…?" "Hello. I am Akiyo Chi. Pleasure to meet you… um..." My name slipped out as I found myself telling him stuff that even I couldn't stop. Jin'ichi and Hakaru cleared things up for me after I couldn't guess his name:

"That's HEX. I've had my doubts at first, but he's actually pretty great at explaining what's going on." "Yeah, he's going to be the one to help us defeat Monigami." Hakaru cleared up, I was still rather unsure if defeating him was an option, then HEX said: "Perhaps she doesn't understand that she has the power to help purify this corrupt world." Well, when you put it that way, I couldn't wait to begin whatever they're planning! So I got a bit excited despite me unable to act, and I wanted him to be purified more than anything!

"Purification!? Why did you say so! How do we do that?" HEX then slammed his fist into one of the empty walls in a small fit of rage. I couldn't tell if that was a pure smash or a smash where he purposely hits a wall. But either way, his hand started to bleed as he voice was breaking a bit while trying to tell me that everything was normal about him: "You can't just purify everything in an instant, thinking that will just make you more desperate and thus lead to corruption. The only true way to purify one's soul won't require any of your trinkets. That skill only comes from within. To purify mankind, you must first purify your heart." Purify my heart? I don't understand, I'm already pure, or at least I thought I was.

"I don't quite follow your logic…" "Don't worry, I didn't get any of it too at first, but once you awaken for the first time the rest speaks for itself." "Awaken? You mean to say I haven't unlocked my true power yet?" What is Hakaru talking about? Is he implying that there's an even greater power than my special charms?

"Don't worry about it, all you have to do I get really mad and the power will be yours!" Even when the child says it, it still didn't make a lick of sense. What is this 'Awakening' thing I must do? I don't understand why an 'Awakening' was necessary to help purify Monigami.

"I-I don't understand any of this… How can I awaken? Why must one feel rage to awaken? Is it even possible to purify if I do awaken!?" I was already beginning to stress out, but an ancient barrier is keeping my emotions from spiraling any deeper. Jin'ichi doesn't help either as he doesn't have a care in the world: "Take a chill pill already lady, it'll come to you like a brick to the head."

"But I still don't understand how any of this has anything to do with purification!" "Once you purify yourself, you'll understand. Ready Phantom Thieves?" HEX said as he looked at the boys as they shouted "Yeah!" without any explanation as to what's even going on!

"W-Wait, Phantom Thieves!? N-No no, I didn't sign up for this! What's happening!?" A mystical force made the alleyway disappear, and the boys don't seem to mind it!? What is even going on, what kind of men are they!? What am I supposed to do if my regular purification won't be enough to stop Monigami!? Although, HEX was a bit helpful on providing information I'll use to my advantage later, and that made me a little confident in myself. Maybe he's not that bad of a guy...

But still, that doesn't mean everything was explained to me almost instantly. The only things I understood was the fact that my regular purification wasn't going to be enough. Am I too low of a level to even try it, or maybe these three can teach me how to awaken. If I understood correctly, these three must've been the Phantom Thieves I've heard about, and even though they treat HEX like a close relative, I am still trying to figure out a way I can benefit these thieves.

I was always curious as to why the Phantom Thieves exist. They say they steal stuff, but all they do is steal corruption from others. I had no idea how they did it, but maybe the trio I see before me can teach me how to be just like them. Looking back as we walked away from the goner alleyway, I thought about Suguru Kamoshida, their very first target. I felt a huge sense of corruption from Kamoshida when I first talked to him, but when I visited him in jail after I heard the news, he was absolutely pure! He had real tears, and he hated doing all those corrupt things in the first place, that was all the proof I needed to not feel anything corrupt from his body.

This was nothing short of a miracle, because I heard a student almost died from suicide because of his influence, and that made me wish that my sister's heart was changed before she had a mental shutdown. Unfortunately I think the mental shutdown would've happened anyway, it was destiny. Now that I know that the Phantom Thieves are real, I must accompany them and see if I can help.

I was a little curious myself to see the methods the Phantom Thieves use. As we walked to Monigami's house, probably to comfort him head on, I wanted to know more about the team I was going to work with. If they were masters of purification, knowing their secrets could make me the ultimate purifier! I asked Hakaru because he looks the most reliable:

"Hakaru, do you think you can tell me how you three managed to change Kamoshida's heart?" "Oh, I'd hate to admit this, but we aren't the real Phantom Thieves." "What!? I'm sorry, I was just wondering how they change someone's heart…" I let my voice slip a little, but I calmed down again shortly after so Hakaru can tell me more about them…

"There are 4 Phantom Thieves as of now: Joker, Skull, Panther and Mona." "Two boys, one girl and one weird looking cat!" Takeyoshi brought up that statement as Hakaru kept explaining: "You see, these guys may sound weird, but they're actually pretty cool once you figure out tha-"

"Harry. Please don't spoil the surprise for her." "Oops, sorry." What do they mean surprise? Have they already awakened to a new power before I did? "Guys! We're here!" Takeyoshi says as we looked at the nice looking house wedged between two huge buildings.

"Peroski residence. Home of a bastard of a child." I actually agree with you Jin'ichi, I won't say it aloud, good people don't swear. "Alright. Now that we're here, we can purify this child's corrupt soul!" Before I could set foot onto the residence, Hakaru stopped me...

"Wha- Hey wait for me! I'm getting the app ready!" An app? What app is he talking about, where's my awakening, I don't understand any of this! My patience was running thin as I had very little explanation to what's going on this entire time...

Oh, I get it, they probably don't realize the potential of my charms, they think a change of heart is impossible without me, they think I can't change someone's heart…! Well too bad for them! I express my frustrations and confusion as I stomp my feet in anger...

"An app? What is it with you boys and your stupid implications!? You guys don't think I'm ready to awaken yet don't you?" "No that's not the problem! You gotta wait for Hakaru to-" "No child! I will not stand for this any longer! This bully of yours needs to get what he deserves and I'll see to it myself that he becomes pure!"

"Akiyo, that's not how we're supposed to do things! Just let me boot the ap-" "Silence you coward! I can assure you I am doing this for the sake of purity! You guys were having trouble with him before were you? And now you're just playing on your phones!? If you will not do anything about this, I'll do it myself!"

"I wouldn't do that if I were you, aren't you afraid of becoming his next babysitter? I wouldn't want a nice lady like you to go crazy like my mom..." "I… I don't care as long as the child gets every single bit of bad karma!" I was just about fed up with these boys as I began to approach the front door.

They don't think I can do it, they just think I'll mess up and die a horrible death right? Well as far as I'm concerned, their services are no longer required! I won't stand for any of their idiotic plans, I'll become the ultimate purifier myself, even if it means I'll have to get my hands stained with the blood of the corrupt!

I prepare to knock on that brown door as I feel like something's off. All of a sudden, I can feel reality fade away as it reforms into something completely unexplainable. The sky looked very different, a very distorted shade of red, and instead of a singular wooden door, I looked at what was now in front of me, and I was about to knock on a rich man's white door! I panicked and leaped back in fear as I looked at the mansion in total fear of what it is.

"What is going on!? I was at Monigami's house a second ago, why am I in front of a mansion!?" I began to hyperventilate as the corrupt feeling I got from this place was even worse than every other corrupt person in the world combined!

Takeyoshi then signaled me to hide behind a bush with a dollar sign on it. I was so confused as to why I was suddenly in this strange world. Takeyoshi managed to calm me down a little with a hug and a good pat on the back. But I was still a bit stressed because of the lack of context and explanation…

"W-where am I!? What are you doing here!? Has anyone seen Hakaru and Jin'ichi!?" "Relax lady, this is Monigami's mansion!" "Mansion!? I thought it was a house!" "No no, this is Monigami's house, just in a different dimension that's all."

"What!? How the heck am I in a different dimension!?" "That's what we've been trying to tell you! Hakaru used the app to teleport us to this world where Monigami is filthy rich! In this world, his mind speaks for itself. Here, he thinks of us like donkeys and Hakaru is a doll to him!"

"That still doesn't explain why I was dragged here…" "We had no choice, you wanted to fight Monigami directly, but that's not how this pure stuff works here!" Suddenly I see Hakaru and Jin'ichi come out of nowhere and...

"That's right! It takes rebellion against all odds!" "Confidence in your brutal strength..." "And imagination to see how you adapt to the Metaverse!" then the trio shouts in unison: "That's who the Phantom Thieves really are!"

I slapped myself to see if I fell asleep on the train, but nothing worked, I'm still awake to see these 3 in a completely different way. Hakaru looked like a green superhero complete with a cape, Jin'ichi's hat was replaced with spiky hair and his shades were a gremlin styled mask and his clothes look even more ragged and punky than before, and Takeyoshi has a sword!? The child, who's scared of trains, has a real goddamn sword!? This led me into shock as I couldn't move anything, not even my voice. I felt like mentally shutting down myself as the boys looked at me in confusion.

"Uh oh, did we overdo it?" "Don't worry Harry, I'd give her about two seconds…" "Oh… it's the sword, isn't it? Don't worry, my imagination is the one turning it into a sword." "Yeah, this is the Cognitive World I guess. This mansion is how Monigami sees his house, and the sword is how Takeyoshi sees his sti-" "What the absolute hell!?" I interrupted Hakaru due to the mass confusion in my head, and my outrage as I was breathing with an intense anger within me. I've never been so uptight since forever, it's making me look around in a frenzy trying to make any hint of sense of this bizarre world!

"You guys just show up wanting me to help you get revenge on Monigami, then you guys say I'm not strong enough to purify him on my own, and now you 2 look like buffoons in cosplay and this child is carrying a deadly weapon!? And what's worse, if this is how Monigami sees his own house, he must be the most corrupt person in the history of mankind!!" "I think Kamoshida has that title…" Says the punk who shrugged for some reason! Whatever this Cognitive World is, it's driving me insane! The mansion, the clothing, the child holding a sword, I don't believe any of this!

"Is this some sort of illusion planted to make me corrupt...? I know what corrupt means, I've experienced how it feels, but why is this entire building so corrupt!? What kind of nonsense is this anyway…? Why is this even happening to me…? Is this my punishment for being corrupt behind the people's back…? What kind of sick evil mind does this child have, if he owns an entire mansion…? I can't take this pressure…" I felt like my life was a lie. My anger swiftly turned into distress, and I held my hands on my head and crouched down as I failed to understand the meaning of this alternative world…

Hakaru looked at me with a worried face and told me: "Calm down Akiyo. I can assure you that this is the only way we'll be able to get through to Monigami. But first you need to know what's going on here." "Can she handle it though? Hero, she doesn't seem to be the type to believe something this crazy." The kid insisted that I could not handle the truth, and he was right. I wanted to go back to my sanctuary and forget about the whole thing, but how can I go back to the way I once was if I've already been spoiled by these three. There was no turning back now as I spoke in a defeated tone of voice...

"No, it's okay. I think I'd rather listen to you, then to jump to a conclusion…" "Really?" Don't pretend to be surprised about this decision Hakaru, you knew that the truth would hurt me but you brought me here anyway...

"Yes… the last time I jumped to a conclusion, I got raped…" "Oh goddamn…" Says Jin'ichi who felt shocked to know about that experience. "Was it Kamoshida?" "No Hakaru... it was some people my sister brought over. When I tried to be welcoming, they corrupted me using their magical sticks of corruption." "What's a-" "Don't ask kid." Jin'ichi stopped Takeyoshi from thinking about it. For a moment I had completely forgotten there was a child there, but I sure couldn't stop myself from explaining now that they know a bit about me...

"My sister, Machi Chi, invited those people in so that I could understand the scale of pure and corrupt. They used me like a toy, and now all I can feel from others is either purity or corruption." "Your own sister did this!?" Hakaru couldn't believe his ears as he was surprised to hear my own sister was partly responsible for my corruption.

"Hey… she's the lead actress from that movie my mother likes!" " 'Dawn of the Un-living Alive'? That movie felt pretty rushed…" Takeyoshi and Jin'ichi thought of her like a movie star, but I don't think she was that special to the cinemas, at least not anymore... Hakaru was still concerned about her either way...

"But why did your sister do this to you? How come we can't just change her heart?" "I don't know… she was pretty angry with me about going on and on about peace and all things pure. And after talking to a corrupt detective, she had a mental shutdown…" "What?" Jin'ichi said as he too was feeling a bit sorry for me.

"That's right Jin'ichi, I started the charm business so that no one would end up as corrupt as her. But just by seeing this is enough to convince me that it isn't working… No matter what I do, I'll never truly know what purity does to the world. I've been around you guys for long enough that the pure light you once had has expired… I guess I really am the corrupt person she claimed I was…" Hakaru and his friends were still trying their best to comfort me with worried and comforting expressions.

"Oh my… I'm sorry, I didn't know. It's just that we kinda needed another member on our team to help get the key at the bottom of the swimming pool… but… Jin'ichi assumed you would be happy to help, and I just followed along… I'm sorry about your loss. And I know this world doesn't make any sense, and it still doesn't for us, but we know enough to push forward and become the thieves we've been wanting to become…" Hakaru was grieved upon hearing some terrible news, and he expressed it the best he could...

"You know why I do it? I do it for all the ones who had their lives lost unfairly by those who you may call 'corrupt'. I wear this mask because if I don't let loose and go wild, there won't be anyone left to lose. This parallel world is Monigami's thoughts of the real world, and I'm not letting a kid this insane run rampant when so many people are suffering because of him!" Jin'ichi's motive seems very just and it cheered me up a little...

"I'm just really, really, mad at him, so I trained myself to become a stronger kid so that I can help my friends get even with that jerk." Takeyoshi was of course being determined and ready for anything with a small angry flame, a child-like flame that was very inspiring indeed.

"And I don the mask of Hero because I hate being a coward who doesn't do anything right. All I wanted was a chance to help make the world a better place to live, and the only way we can do that is by letting our rebellious spirit fly. From what I understand, to rebel is to become a better person, to become a better person, one must overcome the problems they have never dealt with before in the past."

"There's always something holding you back, for me, it was my mother. For Harry, it was that feeling of uselessness. Once we got past those obstacles, our true power was revealed." "You also have to get really mad at the Palace owner to make it work, but that's beside the point!" Taleyoshi said as Hakaru approached me and slowly began to smile for me.

"Akiyo, we won't let Monigami come to your house and be 'taken care of' by the woman as innocent as a mermaid… if you truly believe that we know what to do, then we have to join forces." "Work together, and defeat the bad guys!" "And maybe put those charms to good use, as well as my tinkering and Hero's strength."

"Because if we don't, my life will be in danger because of him. If he gets his way, I'll be arrested for no reason, and it'll be no different from what Jin'ichi's mom has been through." "From here on out, it's personal. Are you in?" Jin'ichi held his hand out to me, I felt a little hesitant at first, dare I take this keep of fate and change my life forever? It took a bit to build up my resolve but I eventually grabbed it knowing that everything they said felt genuine.

"Well… I guess I could give it a try. Monigami did pee in the beautiful ocean, it's only natural if I give him what he deserves. And this time, I won't be so quick to the point…" Takeyoshi cheered as he knew that was the right choice, and for once in my life I was absolute this was the right choice too. "Yay!! Akiyo joins the party for real!"

"Heh. You got nerves of steel Mrs. Chi. And to think that you had that look of an enraged serial killer back at the house." "Oh wow… Did my face really look that uptight?" "Yeah, Jin'ichi could pretty much tell who's corrupt by looking at their faces." Hakaru pointed that out as Jin'ichi made a fist with his right hand, the fist didn't last wrong as it turned back into a regular hand and then loosened up…

"You see a facial expression as twisted as Kamoshida's too much, you pretty much develop a sharp eye for anyone who's a bitch. Well what do you know, I guess we both have a sense of purity in our brains…"

"Yes. I can feel it…! Your motives are very, very pure! The light has returned as the purity engulfs my heart in a warm flame! You mean good to stand against Monigami and his mansion, and for that I shall respect you men once more. But still, how the heck does this place even work? If this is Monigami's innermost desires, how would the Phantom Thieves stop them from hurting others?" I questioned as Hakaru just remembered that he forgot to talk about this place...

"Oops. I guess we should probably explain what happens here, or at least as much as we know…" Hakaru scratched his head as Takeyoshi jumped in and said: "Start with the superpowers! Start with the superpowers!"

"Okay, okay Takeyoshi I'll start there. So you see, our powers come from both our rebellious spirit and from within. Once you awaken, you can use your very own Persona who has abilities that can help purify your adversaries called Shadows, they're corrupt. In this world, after awakening for the first time, we'll go by special code-names like Joker, Skull and Panther. For example, in this world, I'm Hero and he's Gremlin. This is the Cognitive World, a world inside of people's minds, with their emotions portrayed by their replicas also called Shadows. The most corrupt of these Shadows are ones with Palaces, that Palace is how they see the world around them, and the Palace Owner is in charge of it. There are also things that they like that are projected in their own shape and image, those are called Cognitions. The only way to purify them is to find their distorted desires, in other words, a treasure, steal it, and that'll change their heart for good and remove the corruption from their shadow. You understand?"

"I do! I can see why the Phantom Thieves are so mysterious!" Oh my, I never thought I would get what they were saying, but Hakaru managed to single-handedly explain everything he knew about the Metaverse to me. He did it with such flawless accuracy, even going as far as to use terms I'm familiar with like 'pure' and 'corrupt'. I eventually understood why two of the three boys look like buffoons in suits, and then I secretly wished that I would awaken like they would.

"Okay gal, the only thing keeping us from progressing further is finding the three keys for the door on the stairs. We already found one in the swimming pool, but it's way too out of reach for any of us to swim down to grab it, that's where you come in." Jin'ichi, or rather Gremlin, explained. "Right, stay close to me alright? You three will be my protectors once we enter, who knows what could await us inside." "Okay, this feels like an escort mission…" Hakaru, or Hero, says awkwardly. "Yeah, only this time Hero, she won't get into trouble, I'll make sure of it…"

Gremlin cracks his knuckles as he flashes a devilish smirk. I had no idea how he wasn't corrupt because of it, but still the Phantom Thieves sound like a grand idea to take part of. Now if only I could feel the power of awakening itself, that way I'll experience for myself the true meaning of changing someone's heart.

When we entered the mansion, it looked very delicate to the human eye, is what I would be saying if it wasn't so corrupt. Everywhere I looked there was a feeling of dread swimming through my veins. But these three men felt like the light I'd find in a dark cavern. They were the only things keeping me sane and I wanted their presence more than anything else right now.

The door above the stairs had three locks on it, they're specially shaped so that Hero and Gremlin's powers won't work. So we had to go to the giant swimming pool Gremlin talked about to get the first key at the bottom of it. Fortunately I knew how to swim to the deepest depths because of my experience with water. It appears they picked the right gal for the job…

"So… we just gather the keys to get to the door at the top of the stairs, find Monigami's desire manifested as an object, steal it, and then he'll be purified?" "Yeah! You're starting to get it!" Hero knew the plan for a long time, letting him down right now would be nothing short of despairing...

"If you'll excuse me, I'll be right back. I have to go rescue an old friend of ours." "Huh? Gremlin?" Gremlin rushed to the wooden door on the other side and busted it open, I was a bit worried at first, but Hero helped reassure that he'll be okay.

"Don't worry about him, he can hold his own against those Shadows. But for now we have some work to do!" "First, we need the key at the bottom of the pool." "Exactly Takeyoshi. Unfortunately, due to us swimming in the pool last time, the kid put some piranhas to keep intruders out." I looked at the pool and saw tons of fish with huge amounts of teeth, but besides that, I was not informed that the Thieves were in his pool the last time they were here...

"You swam in his pool without permission?!" I spoke with a big concern. "I know right? The perfect revenge plan!" Takeyoshi sounded pretty overconfident when he said that. He was bullied for quite some time, so revenge must be what this whole thing was about for the child.

"Oh my. To fight the corrupt, you would use its arsenal against it? That sounds pretty dangerous…" "Exactly. This was a once in a lifetime opportunity that we couldn't refuse, but now we're kinda feeling the sting of our actions." "I can see that Hero, and since you two can't swim that deep, it's up to me to get the key right?"

"Yeah. I believe in you Akiyo!" "And if anyone tries to hurt you, I'll swing my mighty sword at my enemies!" "Aw… Takeyoshi seems very protective is he?" "He learned from the best, and thanks to us he's learning to defend himself." "Yep! Now let's get that key already, I don't know how much longer we have until the Shadows show up!" I nod to Takeyoshi as I prepared to dive, my clothes were built around the water so nobody would have to see me take them off.

Hero and Takeyoshi keep an eye out as I feel the warm embrace of water. To my surprise, this was the only thing I could find that was not corrupt about this mansion. It felt absolutely perfect, even more so than the water back in the real world, my habit of loving water sure has come a long way. Ever since I was a child I adored all the wonders of the sea, the fish and everything involving water. There was just something about how peaceful everything looks that made me smile when I saw it for the first time. Whenever I felt that water between my toes, I felt a sensation that was heartwarming and gentle. And even after I was briefly corrupted, I would turn to the water to wash away any stench of corruption inside of me.

I embraced the water that was before me, and I let myself sink underwater as my whole body felt the wetness engulf my skin. To make the descent more fun, I was in my medicating pose which made me sink quicker. I knew where the key was, and yet I felt myself sink lower and lower into the deep blue pool. The piranhas were no trouble to me, because they stopped and stared at me thinking I was a beautiful sea angel born from the heavens.

Finally, I reached the bottom as I felt the key press against my rump. It had a bizarre shape, but if it was for a lock to a grand hallway, it must be special. I picked up the key and I let myself go as I floated back up to the surface. I rose back up at the same speed I went down to the bottom.

The feeling of reaching the surface was absolutely beautiful, it always felt like the water releases me of its grip as I reemerged as a purified woman. The two of them watched in awe as I shook my hair and revealed the key to the two of them. Takeyoshi cheered as Hero pulled me back up. I felt a rush touching a human pure of heart, and combined with the pure water I've just entered, I felt a sensation that was pure enough to make me forget about the corruption of this mansion.

"That was incredible Akiyo. Thank you for your help." "Y-You're welcome... wow… you're so pure. The sensation I'm getting just won't stop. I never felt this pure in my life…" Takeyoshi looked at us as if we were dating, but this wasn't love, this was heaven. A peaceful heaven made with water and my desire of all things with that beautiful bright light.

"Whoa! Are you two going to kiss!?" "U-Um… I-I don't think I'm your type! She's only doing this because she thinks I'm pu-" I couldn't take it anymore. The purity I'm feeling is too much to handle, I can't control myself…! I hug Hero as tightly as I can while my head leans up against his pure chest. It was so satisfying, so overwhelming, so peaceful, I couldn't let go of him.

This felt way more different from what Takeyoshi went through back at the train station, it felt like pure bliss now that the waters have tamed me and Hero pulled me out. Hero was blushing with embarrassment the whole time while Takeyoshi wanted us to be together, perhaps my love for purity has finally reached its peak…

"U-Uh… Takeyoshi, a little help here?" "No way! You two look like a married couple! That looks so cute!" "O-Okay Akiyo, we have a mission to do, we wouldn't want any Shadows to corrupt you…! Hello!?"

I don't care what he says, this feeling of purity just won't stop. It's driving me up the wall with love, I couldn't hold back anymore. I never wanted to let go, it just feels so precious...! Just then, the wooden door near the pool swung open by a kick from Gremlin. He drank a serving of energy drink with a smirk as he crushed the can against his head once it was done. That entrance was enough to make me flustered, his purity was overlapping with Hero's purity making me even more cheerful than ever!

"Sorry I'm late, I had to take care of some increased security measures. But either way look who I've found..." A different Hakaru that looks like an old doll approached us from behind Gremlin as he smiled in our presence and waved his flippy doll-like arms. Takeyoshi was somehow even happier to see the doll, and Hero was too. But I noticed he was half corrupt and half pure, but I was too far into my hopeful state to notice the corrupt side…

"Thanks again for freeing me Gremlin. Young Takeyoshi, nice to see you again!" "Doll-Hakaru! I missed you so much!" Takeyoshi hugged the doll like it was his father, how sweet...

"Nice to see you again, dolled version of myself, I'm so glad I'm okay!" "I wouldn't be counting your chickens if I were you. Monigami knows you're here for revenge, and now that I'm freed, he's going to be even more ticked off! You probably shouldn't have saved me, I'm just a nobody that Monigami toys with." "Don't worry about a thing Doll-Hakaru, we'll protect you from that bad-mouth bully!" Takeyoshi kept hugging Doll-Hakaru regardless for his concern. The doll looked at me with his confused button eyes as he noticed me hugging the real Hakaru...

"Um… who's this?" "Oh that? That's Akiyo, she's pretty much a woman who enjoys helping others through her magic charms and purification methods. The only problem is, she's acting a bit too pure for me to handle…" "Well, it's nice to meet you Mrs. Akiyo." "It is a pleasure to meet you too. I hope your purity never expires!" I say with my utmost respect for the doll, I'm surprised it's even sentient and rebellious...

"Damn… she's in a mood…" Gremlin says winking at Hero which made him blush even more. "You think!? She hugged me like some stranger going nuts over a perfectly normal woman!" "Yeah, but Akiyo is a girl and Hakaru is a boy! It's usually the boys who hug girls like her, but instead it's a girl hugging a boy!" "I don't see the difference." Gremlin shrugged as he clearly knows what's going on with me and Hero.

"Well this is no time for love stories, we have a job to do!" Doll-Hakaru keeps a straight face the entire time. "Yeah! And that's to collect the remaining 2 keys!" "You think I don't know about that, Takeyoshi…?" Hero says while still trying to get me off. "Oh but I do know, I just wish you guys would focus on what's really important, you need to get that treasure and make sure he doesn't break me." Doll-Hakaru sets his point across as I finally let go of Hero, but my trance was still in effect as I started hugging myself for that beautiful liquid to wash up inside of me. I giggled a bit to myself as the boys looked at me even more awkwardly.

"Wow… Y'know, I'm starting to think Akiyo likes water." Said Gremlin. "Yeah, I think we should at least use this time to be prepared while Akiyo finishes liking herself…" Hero scratches his head while still trying not to feel too aroused by my beautiful display. Takeyoshi then says, without pause: "O-Oh! That reminds me, I have taught myself a new trick while you guys were busy explaining things to Akiyo! Take a look!"

Takeyoshi turns the sword into a nice wooden stick using his mind, and he throws it into the pool, clearly where all the piranhas could eat it, but before they could, he held his hands out in front of him, and he expressed a struggling expression as he focused hard enough to make his body shake like boiling water. He closed his good eye and bubbles started to form from the pool as they got bigger and bigger…! He then spoke in a tone that made the stick suddenly transform!

"Oh magic stick, turn into… a whale!"

And that's what it did, it knocked all the piranhas away as it surprised and impressed all of us. I was even more surprised at the whale that spawned from a sticky sword, does this mean he turns his stick into aquatic animals and weaponry? Takeyoshi cleared that up after the whale turned back into a sword…

"Oh my god, how did you do that!?" Hero's mind was blown. "Simple Hero: This place is built on the human mind thing, remember? So I taught myself to focus my imagination hard enough on my stick to turn it into pretty much anything I want!"

"Wow. Looks like you've definitely got this whole cognitive perspective thing down to a science! Good thinking kid." Gremlin pats Takeyoshi on the back and smirks. "That's because whatever you bring into the Cognitive World, it becomes real if you believe it is. Just the mere announcement of a stick becoming something will make your enemies truly believe that it's really something else. When Takeyoshi brought his stick in and treated it like a sword, his imagination broke the boundaries of Cognitive-Science and turned it into an actual sword." Doll Hakaru said, who would've thought a child's imagination would be our most powerful tool?

"That's right! Now that my imagination is the key to our victory, I guess I finally have a superpower all my own!" "That's incredible! Can you turn the stick into the keys we've been looking for?" Hero said hopefully, but Takeyoshi was still working on the kinks of his power as he shook his head...

"Um… I don't think so. I can only turn it into stuff I can recognize on my own, but reference pictures might help me out a little." "Oh what a desirable power! This will definitely stop Monigami in his tracks for sure!" I hug the child as he giggled in triumph, I've got a feeling this 'change of heart' business will be easier than ever with him around. "I appreciate the new skills you've earned Takeyoshi, but we better go!" "Okay doll me! Follow my lead everyone!" Hero announces as we move away from the pool and into the main center-room.

All of this talk about Cognitive-Science and awakening and imagination is truly a sight to behold. I may not have a will of my own yet, but they certainly have the potential to make things right. If this is what the reality beyond our own reality feels like, then I'm positive that when I awaken, I'll be ready to change the hearts of the corrupt! All of these past conflicts, they were not just so that I would become unjust in this cruel world, they were to prepare me to help the secondary Phantom Thieves with their prime mission. I was chosen for a reason, I wasn't about to mess this up on behalf of all things pure! So now, I accompany the heroes as we prepare to enter the next room…

We all traveled to the door down the hall, because if we unlocked the current lock now, it'll just get locked up tighter. We opened the wooden door to the right of the entrance only to come across a pretty bizarre sight. There are these butlers with masks called Shadows holding things like dishes, food, bottled beverages, and cleaning supplies. They were surrounding a very long wooden table with all kinds of food nearly everywhere except on the far side, where there's a golden plate with a fork, spoon and sippy cup next to it.

We didn't know whether to feel hungry or surprised at the Shadows guarding it. I was mostly focused on the bottled beverage because it brings back bad memories indeed. I didn't panic, I just inhaled and exhaled calmly as I watched the boys get ready…

"Oh shit!" Hero shouted when he saw the Shadows right when he opened the door. "I know! Look at all of this food!" Takeyoshi smiles, he completely missed the point. "This isn't good, if Monigami hears that I escaped, he'll make it so that I'll never leave!" Doll-Hakaru was scared knowing that he was in trouble.

"Is that so…? Let's silence them then!" Gremlin did a smile that looked corrupt, but it was more like a darker pure than actual corrupted essence. "I-I couldn't agree more!" I said just barely recovering from my fear, but Doll-Hakaru grabbed my arm as I felt the fabric across my body. He didn't want to take any chances and he looked at me with a matter of urgency. "Follow me Akiyo, in your current state you can't fight back. Your life is too precious to risk it in a time like this!"

Normally I would say no to that response, mostly because I would be happy to help, but seeing as this truly feels like it could get dangerous, and the last time I tried that I felt a bit corrupt, I decided to duck behind a potted plant with Doll-Hakaru as the boys used their mystical powers right in front of me…!

"Persona!" "Smash their heads Gizmo!" "Oh magic stick, turn into… a baby elephant!"

The three unleashed their powers at the same time! I didn't know who to focus on, so I focused on all three of them! The Shadows turned into various monsters related to greed, alcohol and anything that looked remotely rich. I could not describe the creatures correctly other than the fact they looked so corrupt! But the crew was ready for them, as if they had an experience like this before. Hero started off strong with his bulky spirit named Hercules, who looks like the ancient warriors I read about at the library. I felt a surge of love as he unleashed his mighty lightning clap, and knocked away everyone surrounding him! Then Hero glowed bright green as Hercules did the same but Hercules started to change…

The armor he once wore was blown off, the cape caught on green fire, his fists were engulfed with pure heroic energy, his eyes glowed a bright lime green as Hero flew towards the shadows blocking their way! They both began to swing a mighty punch at the rich monsters as he called out his special power…

"Super Power!"

Both he, and his Persona, yelled as a singular punch blew away all the Shadows he was fighting. Doll-Hakaru and I were so proud of him as we cheered for Hero while he began to snack on an energy bar he had. I see… so these powers must be fueled by energy and this rebellious spirit they have. I'd better write that down in case I forge- Oh wait look at Gremlin!

He was doing a fantastic job on his own smashing the monsters' heads together and unleashing his full fury on the Shadows! Gizmo also helped as he chomped down on several of the Shadows Gremlin was fighting. Then he took a look at the biggest one, who looked like a corrupt angel, and gave him the thumbs down with a psychopathic smile on his face. He began to glow a darker shade of green as Gizmo started to change…

He went from the brown and white fur into a green scaled pattern like Gremlin was, his eyes changed from a cute baby to a savage red eyed freak in a matter of seconds, and is that rabies!? Just then, Gremlin's gloves started twitching and wiggling like they really want to grab something from the Shadows…

"Ehehehheh! Super Assemble!"

He laughed as both he and the wild Gizmo took every unformed Shadows' butler and maid suit and somehow pieced together a smart bomb out of it. Gizmo smirked and giggled with Gremlin as he hit the bomb with the crowbar and it exploded in the angel's face thereby killing it. I would've thought that was offensive on God's part, but the angel itself was a living contradiction to His wi- Is that Takeyoshi riding on an elephant!?

He was riding on top of the baby as he commanded the elephant to crash into the other Shadows by leading it with one of the energy bars he had. The Shadows eventually knocked the elephant over and it turned back into a stick. I worried about Takeyoshi's safety until he waved the stick around again to turn it into something better…

"Oh magic stick, I want the whale again!"

He threw the stick way up high above all the remaining Shadows and it turned into the whale from before as it squished everything that was under it. I had no idea how the whale didn't hit the table, but then it turned back into the sword as Takeyoshi stabbed one of the Shadows that was still moving and killed it. I would've never encouraged such violence before, but they were pure, and the Shadows were corrupt, if that isn't a sign of holy justice, I don't know what is!

"Whoa! You guys did even better than last time!" Doll-Hakaru cheered as we exited our hiding spot. "Aw gee, I wouldn't praise me too much..." Hero rubbed his back and blushed with a cute little smile. "Dang! Did that battle get my blood pumping or what? Nice job everybody, 'specially you Takeyoshi" He was still smirking while being encouraging to the kid, that was amazing on his part. Taleyoshi and Hero were getting pretty excited for themselves as they expressed satisfaction.

"Did you see that Hero? I took down a whole army of Shadows all by myself!!" "I know! You were awesome Takeyoshi!" "I'm so proud of you little-dude! You are going to be an excellent Phantom Thief someday!" "But ain't I already a Phantom Thief Gremlin? Yahoo!"

"Well, not exactly a true Phantom Thief yet but you'll get there! I believe in you pal!" Hero high-fives Takeyoshi as the child begins to smile brighter than before. Even after their battle, Hero and Gremlin are still supportive until the very end. I myself was impressed at how fluid they moved in combat, the way their choreography went when dealing with the Shadows, and the fact that they aren't corrupted at all for doing that.

"Oh my! You guys were fantastic! You managed to do unspeakable acts of murder, and yet I couldn't feel any corruption from any of you this whole time! If that's what these Phantom Thieves are capable of, I'll gladly be of service to your needs until we complete this mission!" "That's funny, I thought I was the fanboy of the bunch." The child said a bit awkwardly.

"Oh! I didn't mean to make you think like that little child. I'm just saying, now that I know what you boys are capable of, I'll be happy to support where I can." "Much obliged!" Hero said confidently while giving off a salute that made me blush.

"I'm glad you guys are enjoying yourselves, but once Monigami sees a severe lack of Shadows, he'll come looking for us!" "Oh don't worry your fluffy little head Doll-Harry, we'll be in and out as soon as we find the next key." Gremlin carelessly said to the doll.

"Oh man, there's only one chair…? I really wanted to eat so badly with my friends..." Said Takeyoshi as he stared at the chair made of clear solid gold. This makes me think, who would ever want a table for one? But I'm in no position to complain, since I eat alone as well. "Huh? You want to eat after all we've been through?" I asked, to which the child said: "Yes!"

Gremlin's stomach growled as Hero finished his energy bar: "Come to think of it, I'm a bit famished after that last battle, I might as well go for some grub."

"Um… you heard the doll, we'd better run before Shadow Monigami finds us!" "Aw come on Akiyo, remember that we may never get this opportunity again. Think of this as revenge for making the kid spill his milk." Gremlin carelessly approached the buffet as he waved at Hero and pointed at the food. "Wow, this buffet has steak? I haven't eaten food like this since my birthday!"

"I wouldn't do that if I were you…" The two teens didn't listen to the doll as they grabbed some steak and started to eat it while standing up. Takeyoshi looked at his meat funny and poked at it a little, then he smelled it, he quickly turned away from the steak and pushed it away. I had a bad feeling about what was in that stuff, so I was hesitant to ask him about it...

"W-Why aren't you eating your steak?" "I don't know, it looks kinda fishy to me… it even smells fishy, like some of that beer my dad gets into." "B-Beer!? But that's…"

I took a sniff myself, and to my surprise, all the food here was somehow fused with alcohol! This was not only my worst enemy, but it reminded me of that drunken charm I tried to sell! Was I really corrupt when I made those charms!? I tried to stop the two from eating any more of the alcoholic steak, but I'm already too late! Both Hero and Gremlin have gone drunk. I felt their purity slipping away as they began to lose their appetites…

They both started swinging and struggling here and there as they tried to stay on their feet. Hero coughed and tried to eat more, but he dropped his steak on the floor as he started chuckling and hiccuping due to his drunken sight. Gremlin angrily kept slamming the table with his fist, as if he was blaming it for putting a steak that would do this to him. The ones who weren't drunk watched the two boys stumble about and lose focus on the world around them.

"Oh no… are you two alright…?" "Whoo… my head is spinning. Weee!" "Oh no… Hakaru has become corrupt!!"

"You guys! I knew that steak smelled funny!" I can't believe a kid knew the dangers of alcohol before the grown-up teens figured it out. Now because of this food, Hero is dizzy and Gremlin has never looked more angry and drunk...

"That's the problem with you two, you never listen…" Doll-Hakaru said with a frown that's ashamed of himself and Gremlin. "Oh yeah!? *hic* What makes you think you *hic* know about this stuff!?" "You see Jin'ichi, as a mere figment of Monigami's imagination, I also know what he generally likes. Monigami likes alcohol for some reason, so he puts it all the food so he can always have a 'good time'…"

"Well… I know about a good time… *hic* 3:30 PM. That's an excellent time to go places!" "Come on Harry! *hic* You seriously think I'll be out at 3:30!? I'm more of a *hic* 4:00 person..." We watched the two mindlessly ramble on until I couldn't stand to see them act like the drunken fools those other men were...

"Mrs. Akiyo, how long are they going to be like this…?" "Not much longer!" I say as I grabbed one of the containers in my backpack and I revealed a special charm I've designed to cure my drunken friends. It was shaped like a sheep with a scent that slowly put the two drunks to sleep…

"Pardon me… I woke up at 5:00 AM to take a walk and a bus to the beach…" Hero said as he fell headfirst into the floor. "H-Hey! Don't you dare leave without me…" Gremlin rambled before slowly sinking onto the spiffy red carpet floor. "They're asleep…" Doll-Hakaru stayed awake for some reason. Perhaps the doll wasn't as connected to Hakaru as I thought.

"How did you do that?" "You see child, I only make this 'Charm of Counting Sheep' when I'm exhausted, and it is usually the last charm I make before bed. This creates a sleeping aura that soothes the soul to sleep and it shortens the process of a drunken state. They'll wake up in time, but I'm afraid until then, we're sitting ducks."

"I was hoping you didn't say that about myself..." Doll-Hakaru knew this situation well, with nobody else who has awakened, and with Takeyoshi's lack of experience, there's almost nothing we can do without Hero and Gremlin. "Hakaru… Jin'ichi… don't worry Akiyo and Doll Hakaru. I promise to protect you two with my life!" "H-Huh? Takeyoshi?!" Oh my, the once frightened child has suddenly toughened up! He pointed his sword to the sky and made a face of determination and smarts.

"Takeyoshi, what Monigami is capable of may be too much on your own. If I couldn't stand up to him, you'll be in even worse shape than I ever was…" Doll-Hakaru negatively said with a despairing look in his eyes. Takeyoshi gritted his teeth and shouted something that was even more courageous than ever!

"That's what I thought also you dummy! Every day since second grade started made me suffer! I've been pushed around by this guy for so long it's giving me a headache! These two guys helped me become heroic in my own special way and it's because of them that I learned how to stand up for myself! I may not have a rebellious spirit, but I can still fight! I even have a dang sword you two! And now that our best members are out of commission, I'll protect you from Monigami no matter what! Just let me help for once! I can do this!"

I've never seen a child this determined before. A normal child would just stay with the big boys, but this was no ordinary child. I smiled knowing Takeyoshi would eventually do something better than he ever did before. "You have proven yourself to be quite the formidable hero… I can see that fire in your eyes, that's the sign of someone who loves others enough to do what's right for their crew. Your intentions are purer than pure, if that is what you seek, then so be it. Until Hero and Gremlin recovers, I'll support you until the very end!"

"Takeyoshi… you really are something... but what if they get spotted by Monigami?" "I wouldn't worry about that… these 'Charms of Invincibility' normally just makes the pain they feel delayed by a day, mostly made from pride, but if I'm right about this…"

I placed one in each of their hands, the Cognitive World made the aura surrounding the charm spring to life in a strange matter. It's aura dances around their bodies as it creates a circular barrier around the two. I poked the bubble and it only wiggled it with no drawbacks.

"Hey… they aren't waking up! How'd you do that?" Takeyoshi asked. "These Shadow creatures think your stick is magic right? The same applies to my charms, they truly believe they are magic, so using what I've learned, I made the Charms work in a way I could never do in the real world. These barriers won't last forever though, we have 24 hours as soon as they're exposed until it wears off." "But that's like plenty of time!" Takeyoshi was amazed by such an astounding upgrade to my charms. I was honestly a bit amazed that something cognitive could become real if others believed it's real.

"Good thinking Akiyo. And even if anyone tries to mess with them, just make noise to attract the Shadows away from them. It's better to attack someone who's not in a vulnerable position, or else you'll be such a coward for thinking otherwise." "That's right Doll-Hakaru, now lead the way Takeyoshi." "Okay! Now let's go into the kitchen!" "Why the kitchen?" I asked, Takeyoshi shrugged: "I dunno, maybe they keep the key in there?" "Good call Takeyoshi. I remember where he puts that key due to me overhearing some of the prison guards. We've got no time to lose!"

It was just us 3 from then on: Me, Takeyoshi and Doll-Hakaru all teamed up to take a look at the kitchen, and let me tell you this now, any kitchen I've ever seen has nothing compared to the huge scale of the kitchen! It was as big as a supermarket, with every known piece of food that makes Monigami fat kept in the many fridges spread across the walls. There were ten dozen stoves, each with an oven, and only one sink to wash up in before instantly getting back to work.

Whatever business Monigami has got going on over here, he's got another thing coming… "Alright, where's the key Doll-Hakaru?" I asked calmly. "The head-chef has it in his belt, he doesn't let anyone have it except his boss. I don't see him anywhere, he usually wears a black suit as opposed to the white suits you see before you." "Well, isn't there a way he can find this black sheep?" "I wish I knew, but that's all I overheard, the head-chef doesn't get involved unless… Takeyoshi!"

Just then, we saw Takeyoshi right in front of the counter we were hiding behind as he downright shouts to all the Shadows while holding a small green baby dinosaur with one hand as a threat…

"Hey dummies! This baby T-Rex is gonna eat all of your food unless you tell me where's the head-chef!" He looked seriously ready for them, as if their distorted appearance doesn't scare him at all. "Is this child nuts? The head chef doesn't like intruders!" One of them said. "You're asking for a death sentence child, no one escapes the wrath of-"

Takeyoshi, interrupting the other chef, then turns the baby dinosaur into a black three-head dog named Cerberus! It looked more like a puppy, but I think he didn't want to scare himself. But that doesn't mean the 3 heads don't growl. The other chefs stopped what they were doing as they looked at Takeyoshi who gave them a cold stare with his one eye. I was personally that frightening myself, but his look felt more serious than any child I've ever seen…

"I'm not in the mood for any of your cow poop. Where's the darn head chef!?" Well at least the child doesn't curse properly, imagine what his parents would've thought of him then... "Oh! He's not kidding!" "Don't eat me!" The Shadows were shivering until they heard a strange voice with a French accent...

"Oi! Why ant ze food being made!?" We heard the voice come from a chef that looked bigger and nastier than the rest, he had an evil mask like the others but the chef clothes were black instead of white. I felt some serious corruption from this head-chef as Doll-Hakaru ducked behind me. I then saw the keys on the chef's black belt, so we secretly hatched a plan to sneak from behind him and grab the key. Takeyoshi turned the dog back into the sword as he pointed it at him like a tiny little mercenary.

"So, you must be ze one disturbing my hard work... Well I've got news for you, I'm ze leader of these fine chefs and nobody is gonna-" "Oh shut up." Huh? Takeyoshi doesn't look like he's having any ravioli! He spoke with a tone of hardness that I've never seen from a child at all! Need I remind you, this was the same kid who was scared of a train!

Takeyoshi turned his sword into the giant whale again as it presumably squished the chef. To our surprise, he lifted the whale, and then he sliced it like sushi! Takeyoshi grabbed the strangely unharmed stick as I went inside my inventory for a charm that could inflict pain!

"Oh, you think zat zis is a joke!? I have to put alcohol in pretty much everything because he loves zis stuff! You think it doesn't come cheap!?" "So that's why Hero and Gremlin were drunk…" Takeyoshi said still with that serious face of his. While Takeyoshi was distracting the head-chef, with all of my might, I focused my spiritual energy into the charm in my hand: "Charm of Surging Anger!!"

I unleashed the flame shaped charm as it engulfed the chef in flames. He screamed as he patted out the flames, but not without taking some serious damage first. It was then that I remembered that those flames were fueled by rage and whoever is engulfed in them will experience rage. He looked at us with a terrifying look on his already masked face. It truly felt corrupt coming from a Shadow…

"Oh… I zee where zis is going! You want all ze food to yourselves don't yah!? Not gonna happen, not unless I shove it down your sorry ass throats!!" Oh my! He was so angry at us, he forgot how to speak French!

He transformed into a black and red form of corrupted ooze as he revealed his true form to be some giant pile of slob that was a mixture of food and garbage. It was twice the size of everything else in the kitchen as it towered over us with an angry tone of voice: "You insolent swine! I'll soak you all in the liquid and then serve your disgusting bodies to the master!" Excuse me!? That statement really had me triggered because that was hypocritical in so many ways!

"Hey! I'm not disgusting, you're the one who's being disgusting! Just look at yourself, you're nothing but of a mountain of waste as you plan on conducting cannibalism on us! I shall not allow that to befall on us." "Yeah! What she said!" Takeyoshi and I stared at the revolting monster as it tried to poison us with his breath. We dodged the heavy hits as Doll-Hakaru barked orders from afar, he knew he wasn't good at fighting so he tried to lead us to victory with his own words!

"Akiyo, use that surging-anger charm again!" I pulled out the charm and it let loose a massive fire that engulfed the blob in a tower of intensive heat. "Takeyoshi, squish him with the whale!" The creature moaned as Takeyoshi threw his sword to the sky and focused hard enough to spawn the whale and land on the mountain of rotting mush.

Takeyoshi's whale actually managed to squish him, but that's not enough, so Takeyoshi turned the whale into a water hose without a problem. The water managed to wash away any leftover slob that was trying to escape. The rest of the Shadow chefs were so scared of us that they all ran away. Victory was ours.

"Takeyoshi, you did it!" "No… we did it, thank you Akiyo." "Yeah… I guess I am just as capable as a child…" Takeyoshi and I shook hands, we both knew that we were just as capable as the teens and that made us stronger within. Takeyoshi then grabs the second bizarrely shaped key from the place the monster died.

"Okay. We have the key, now let's get out of here." Said Doll-Hakaru cautiously. "Yeah! Before more of those sneaky Shadows show up!" Said Takeyoshi as we began to run out of the kitchen. But before we could, we heard a voice that sounded like Monigami, only much more distorted and furious.

"You dumb fuckers! You dare to interfere with my dinner!?" Takeyoshi was absolutely furious upon hearing Monigami's voice again and he yelled at the direction it was coming from: "That's right Moni-dummy! Because of your stinking dinner, my friends can't fight! Mark my words, I won't let you lay a single finger on my-"

One of the Shadows grabbed and threw Takeyoshi across the room and it left him in a weakened state as he struggled to get up. I looked at the child that looked like Monigami, I was honestly afraid to look, but he left me no choice but to look! That's when I felt the most corrupted… well, anything! The aura sprung to life as if his entire existence was corrupted, and the way he looked like a rich gangster with a old powdered wig didn't help at all. But I had nothing to fear, if the charms could manifest it's true power in the Cognitive World, I see no reason why I shouldn't use the one that has my purest emotions inside it…

"T-Take this! Charm of the Holy Grail!"

It shined a pure light that tried to influence Monigami's Shadow to give up his old ways, this was made from the peak of my purity. I only make this charm on occasions when someone needs to experience the same purity I always feel. But try as I might, the charm wouldn't correctly heal him, he hasn't changed at all! I tried using a couple of other pure charms in desperation, but it's no use, he's still overpowering my charms, HEX was right! None of my regular purifying tricks were working! This is terrible, how am I supposed to help if this child is that corrupt!? Doll-Hakaru wasn't doing too well either, he hid behind a stove hoping no one would see him.

"Hmm… I know you from somewhere, only I do not recall when I met you…" He tilted his head as he tried to identify me, but I went with my gut and spoke aloud: "You must be Monigami's true self. I-If that's the case, I sentence you to immediate purification!" "Oh… I remember now, you're that crazy lady who's obsessed with purification! I suppose you want revenge at me for peeing in the ocean, am I right?" A statement like that triggered me again, this was the forth time in one day where I lost my composure, isn't that a thought?

"It's more than that you disgusting little brat, you hurt my allies, you poison yourself with food that you can't handle, and your mind is twisted enough to think that you would rather just eat by yourself than with others!" "Can you blame me? My father used to get addicted to this stuff all the time. You hang with the wrong crowd enough times, and you become fucked up. It starts as something minor like saying bad words, the next thing you know, you'll be drunk on a dime as you grow addicted to that alcohol smell!"

"Well, it's because of that smell that got me raped! Do you know how much it pains me to remember that I was once corrupt!? The water is the source of all things pure, it contains the very energy we need to stay healthy!"

"What's the point of water if all it does is keep you 'hydrated'!? I think the ocean sucks balls because it's nothing but one ass big sea lasagna! Maybe it's because I don't share the same views on water like you do that caused me to go wee wee in the sea sea. I just don't see the value in water, sure I drink milk and juice occasionally, but it never compares to the fun I had with alcohol!"

"My dad's friends told me that it was the best stuff you could ever drink, and they weren't wrong! I loved every ounce of alcohol that was given to me by those men, and although I had a bit of trouble drinking the fucking thing first, I had a wonderful time thinking of that little struggle I had with it's taste! It was so fowl, so ruthless, so unforgiving, it slowly turned an innocent baby like me, into a monster! A monster who feeds on beer and wine! Sure me and my dad kept it a secret from our mother for a while, but all the fun had to end somewhere… She sniffed us out, and she forbidden any further use of alcohol, what a horrid woman she was back then!"

"But that's when the real fun begins! After that, my parents started to become obsessed with trying to get me a babysitter that'll distract me from the horrors of drinking. Eventually, they became as twisted as I am, getting me toys that I keep breaking, believing every little thing I say, and they always kept falling for the same act every single time. They started to believe that I was their one and only angel, and that anyone who has a messy room in my presence is the devil!"

I can't believe him, those sinister expressions, that corrupted voice, he is the most foul, most repulsive being on Earth! But if my current charms don't work on him, what can I do!? Takeyoshi was still struggling as he was even madder at Monigami than ever!

"You… monster… the next time I talk to your real self, I'll clobber you!" "Aw… is the little baby gonna cry? You are nothing but a little jackass who can only raise a fuss! And if you even try to kill me, my parents won't take it kindly!"

"I can't believe what I'm experiencing… You are the most corrupt person I've ever met! And you're just a kid! It's clear to me now that you are too good for regular purification! What you deserve is something far worse than some regular lucky charm…" I felt an incredible anger burning through my veins, a rebellious flame, just like they said. I was ready to let him have a piece of my mind, but then, I felt it! My own aura, this whole time, I never had felt it before because I was too focused on everyone else. By focusing on my own anger, I channeled an aura, and it was not what I had expected at all!

The process of my awakening had stopped, for I felt an inner-darkness that no one has ever felt before. This darkness led to one conclusion: I was corrupt. I stopped in my tracks halfway through my sentence as I was shaking in fear of myself. I was scared of me, because of what I had done in the past. I was played with, I forced those who were infused with darkness to suffer, I got some slob arrested, I lashed out against my team when I didn't know they had good intentions, and now I'm threatening a child who doesn't understand what's good in this world!

The problem was, I was so close to awakening, that it just stopped when I felt regret. But that power I almost felt, it was too aggressive, I couldn't awaken like this, that's not who I truly am! If I had awakened now I might've killed Monigami. I didn't want to stain my hand with his blood anymore, I didn't want to fight anyone anymore! I just wanted to make up for my sins against humanity, but then: "Oh no, not again!" the other Monigami shouted, paranoid of my attitude, what does he mean by 'not again'?

Just then, Monigami sends all the nearby Shadows on top of me which reminded me about one of the poses I took during my rape. The painful memory that corrupted me while simultaneously being around other corrupt beings, along with my own destructive aura, it hurts so much… I felt like I was going to cry, I was scared of what was about to happen to me and Takeyoshi, I was afraid to go on... But if I don't do this, then it'll hurt even more. If I don't do this, then there will be no one left to stop him along with anyone else who is just like him. If I don't do this, the entire world will be corrupted. At this rate, there was only one thing left to do, it was the only one thing I will do… AWAKEN.

But how? I couldn't just do this by myself, especially not with this dangerously enraging aura! I then remembered that my life was in peril, anything other than awakening was out of the question. The first thing I tried was promising myself to never use anything corrupt against the corrupt, so I prayed in my head as the bad memories went away: "Dear God, I have never felt so sorry in my life. I have done so many bad things to evil humans who have harmed others for their own sake. Please forgive me for my sins, I promise I'll never harm another human being if that's what it takes I'll quit using the corrupt charms that made me as corrupted as the child in front of me. I beg of You, please don't let people like him defy who You are… Amen."

I let loose a few tears as I hoped that He would understand my cause. I was about to cry harder before remembering that God was truly forgiving, if I did bad things for the sake of good, that wouldn't send me to heaven. All of a sudden, I felt a tingling sensation. It was unlike anything I've ever felt in my life. It wasn't aggressive at all, it was as peaceful as can be. My darkness was fading away into nothing as my oath was sealed in blood. It was right then and there that I knew I was ready to awaken...

I started by calming myself down, despite the circumstance I'm in, deep breaths and letting a couple more tears flow was the first step. I then tried my hardest to tune out the corrupted forces by focusing my mind on everything that was pure. Those things were Doll-Hakaru, Takeyoshi, Hero and Gremlin. They helped me become calm, they supported my actions while I helped theirs, and even if I were to deny them now, fate will always bring us together. I felt a warm feeling in my heart as my own purity kept getting stronger and stronger. This wasn't about revenge anymore, this whole time it was about purifying the souls of the corrupt.

Even if I must commit something atrocious like stealing the hearts from someone corrupt, there's no point in just laying down defenseless as a crab without its shell. Therefore, if children like him were corrupted by adults, there may be a chance that when he grows up, he'll become even more corrupt than ever. I have made my decision. I will rebel against this child's wishes and purify his corrupt soul. No more nonsense about anger and frustration, I have successfully calmed down, but my intentions of rebellion are as clear as a cloudless sky, and as pure as the angels from up above…

"What you really deserve... is a change of heart!"

(I am pleased to introduce myself. Thank you for calming me down...)

I can feel it. A rebellious spirit all my own is calling to me. My head hurts a little in the process of my awakening, but it was nothing compared to the pain of the past. But to overcome one's pain, one must believe in their own will and learn how to rebel. I did both of those things, the contract was signed, and the pure spirit inside me began to appear…

"I am thou, thou art I. Our mind is calm and collected, like the drifting rivers flowing through a beautiful grassy forest. No feelings of doubt exist within our heart, and the symphony of the ocean shall extinguish the flames of sin. To overcome corruption, and to prevent ruin, one must first gather their innocence. Purity is innocence, but that doesn't mean one should abandon that pledge. In order to regain our innocence, one must be willing to overcome the shackles in our soul. Break free from the chains that keep our subconscious held, and let our emotions speak for themselves…"

"Yes. I am ready."

"Well then, our wish for absolute purity will come true in time. But in order to make it possible, we shan't be using our gift to hurt those who may already be corrupt. Instead, we shall use our powers to save others. Purity does not bite, it allows itself to be close to corrupt beings so it can cleanse them with all their heart, instead of letting their emotions hinder them. Do not be afraid to fight if we must, but be cautious, our strength will not be as powerful as our friends, but we'll do everything in our power to help them bring out the best in one's spirit…"

A blue fish shaped mask appears on my face as a graceful wind knocks away the Shadows. I gently peel it off so it doesn't bleed as much, and a blue flame spawned from my pure heart. My dress became even more beautiful as it had a bright blue scale pattern like a graceful mermaid, my charms were now made of real gemstones of all sorts, and my hair moved in a pattern like the waves of a beautiful shore.

A beautiful mermaid with ruby-red hair awoken as her graceful presence alongside mine was extraordinary to those who have never seen my beauty this close before. I was someone who attracts all those who opposed me, but I always led them astray. This is who I am, I would never hurt anyone like Monigami, I just wanted him to see the light…

"Whoa…" "I never expected her to be so calm about her awakening." Takeyoshi and Doll-Hakaru watched as my cleansed heart spoke to Monigami...

"Monigami, your actions may be unforgivable, but I see the light within your heart. All I want to do now is to make you happy, without any need for violence. I shall accomplish this by stealing your corrupt desires, and purifying your soul." "Aw shit! Don't you look at me like I'm that redeemable! I can fucking cuss whenever I want you whore!" He seemed stressed, I still smiled regardless.

"What foul language. I don't care. I just want to see the best out of anyone who is corrupt." I saw two Shadows approaching me, they may be entirely corrupt, but that won't stop me from seeing small fragments of light within their hearts as they ranted: "Hey! Don't you look at my master like that!" "We shall make you pay!"

The two shadows formed into two different beings. One represents how much he hates the sea, and one represents how cruel he is to his babysitters. While the rest of the team was startled by their sudden appearance, I accepted their flaws of being corrupt and I walked towards Takeyoshi to heal him…

"Whoa… they look tough…" "Do not be alarmed. I shall help you in any way I can…"

I place my right hand on Takeyoshi's shoulder. It glows blue as Takeyoshi glows blue with it. He began to feel a lot better now that I was there to help him. He jumped back on his feet, and he felt as if nothing bad happened to him at all. I smiled at him with a smile that reminded him of his mother, a lone tear dropped from his good eye as I hugged him for comfort. I'm so glad that he helped me get over my fear of corruption. Now I know what to do when I sense corruption…

"Thank you 'Siren', you know, the girl who attracts men to their doom…?" "No. Thank you for helping me overcome my past. This is what purity truly feels like. No doubts, no negative emotions, not a single grudge, just pure, honest, acceptance. Ariel. I thank you too. Let us return the favor for their help together."

"I'm glad we are so accepting Akiyo. The decision is yours. Will you fight to protect, or will you protect who fights?"

"Both… We'll do everything in our power to help Monigami turn over a new leaf. Takeyoshi, are you ready?" "Oh heck yeah! Let's do it Siren!" "Alright. Let's help him Ariel."

I felt inner-peace within my soul as the Shadows came towards us. My Persona Ariel created a bubble wave to push back the Shadows a bit. Takeyoshi turned his stick into a whale once more and then it crushed the sea hater. The cruel one knocked down Takeyoshi, but I wasn't afraid. Before it could get another blow on the child, I created a bubble shield around him that popped and bounced the attack in the opposite direction.

"Huh? I'm safe! Thanks Siren!" "My pleasure." My own pure soul must be getting to Monigami as he gets even more enraged...

"Oh fuck! Stop smiling you damn bitch!" "We should've collected you while you were still up for grabs!" Said the cruel shadow.

"Nonsense. What I've been through doesn't matter to you. What happens to me later doesn't matter. All I want is to see your master smile and say 'thank you'." "What are you a psychopath!?" The cruel shadow questioned, Takeyoshi didn't seem to like what he said: "Hey! No one talks to Siren like that! Oh magic stick, turn into a refrigerator!"

A refrigerator appears and I engulf it in a bubble. It floats up as Takeyoshi and I distract the Shadow with all of our might. While I kept shooting more passive bubbles, Takeyoshi threw some cooking supplies at it. I then used one of the charms as I glowed a bright blue color.

Using the Charm of the Weight of one's Sins, created during a period of me feeling the weight of corruption, I made the fridge get heavy enough to go through the bubble to hit the Shadow on the head, thus knocking it out. Takeyoshi was automatically impressed while Doll-Hakaru began to worry about the number of Shadows that were popping up...

"Whoa! Super Charms!" "The security is getting stronger! We better recover the boys and get out of here!" "One moment Doll-Hakaru…" I said as I focused my power into a single area.

I created a bubble force field around Monigami and his crew thereby distracting them while we grabbed Hero and Gremlin and headed to the exit. We soon realized that I had the power to heal any sort of illness by holding someone's hand. I cured Hero and Gremlin as they were beginning to recover. Hero responded with surprise and a scream, while Gremlin woke and blushed a little.

"Wha!? W-What did I miss!? How long was I out!? Is that you Akiyo?" "Yes." "Dang, you seem calmer than usual." Gremlin said as he placed his fingers on his chin looking at my new dress. Takeyoshi pointed to me with a smile as if he wanted the two to see me like this: "Introducing the newest member of the Phantom Thieves: Siren!" I waved at them as I saw Hero blush a bit more while Gremlin gave me the thumbs up.

"The thing that was holding me back all this time was my fear of corruption, and the feeling I felt when I felt my own corruption. Now I desire something more, to see the best of everyone I meet. And although I can't do anything to stop myself from sensing corruption, I'll always have you guys to assist me when there's trouble. Thank you all for helping me stand up to corruption."

"I'm glad you decided to become a better person, but… does your outfit have to be sexy!?" Hero suddenly shouts, completely astounded by how pure my outfit looks, and how it nearly made him leak blood from his nose. Gremlin doesn't seem to care but Takeyoshi was all the more excited.

"Well I don't mind it if you guys don't, I think it makes her look more attractive. Y'know like a real siren, good name as always Takeyoshi." "Yeah! She could attract enemies to have their butts kicked, it's ingenuous!" The child does not understand that I have become a pacifist, so I must deliver the message clear. "No, I shall not fight as often as you do, but I will do anything to keep you all safe from the horrors of the Cognitive World." I said without regret being very accepting of my new powers. I noticed Doll-Hakaru as he felt proud and yet sad because of what's about to happen next...

"Thanks for everything… I guess it's time for you four to head back…" "Huh? Doll-Hakaru? Not again!" Takeyoshi has been through saying goodbye, I can tell because he is starting to frown again. I have been told a ruler's Cognition can't leave their Palace, but I can help.

"Are you worried you'll be caught…? Not to worry, my Charm of Invincibility shall be of service." "B-But, the charm must've already used its magi-" I place my finger on Doll-Hakaru's mouth, shushing him. I place the charm in the palm of his floppy hand, it glows bright with a light that never burns out. The other three quickly figured out what was going on as I made the charm even stronger. Since this is the Cognitive World, whatever charm I use will be more effective. And with my Persona's power, the gemstone went from a crystal blue into a beautiful shade of silver.

"Now as long as you hold the charm, you'll never be caught again." "Wow… thanks Akiyo." Doll-Hakaru smiled with newfound hope, that was the kind of expression and happiness I'd expect from people like him. Even if it was just a toy, I knew that he wouldn't give up on us even if he was made by Monigami's imagination.

"Heh. What a clever girl we bumped into, right Harry?" Gremlin elbowed Hero as the coward rubbed his head with an awkward smile: "Yeah… clever! Let's go with that…" he chuckles with embarrassment. Takeyoshi, with his face slowly lifting in spirits, hugged me now that he knows Doll-Hakaru shall be safe.

"Thank you so much Siren! You saved me and all of my friends on the same day! Even a new one…" "Thanks. No one has ever been nice to me since I first appeared in Monigami's cell. I just hoped I didn't get broken like the rest, but you four were the only ones who actually cared about me, I can't thank you enough."

"Don't worry doll me, he may treat you like a doll waiting to be broken…" "But we treat you like a doll who wants to play!" encouraged Takeyoshi. "You can count on us Doll-Harry, we'll keep coming back until we take this guy down!" "And purify his corrupt soul." We all gave him more hope than anything, despite being next to nothing in Monigami's mind, and he was thankful for what we have done to help him.

"Yeah. I hope you guys do that too, for the sake of all of my cellmates, who lost their lives and their purpose in a single day, we'd better get started soon." "I wish we could stay, but we might need more time to prepare, I can't wait to come back soon for you Doll-Hakaru!" "I'm looking forward to it, Takeyoshi."

And then we embraced him with open arms, it felt so warm hugging that fabric skin combined with the embrace of the pure skin of my friends. I shouldn't get used to it, for that'll make me delusional again, but now I know that our combined forces will indeed cause great things for the world. We waved goodbye to Doll-Hakaru as we exited the way we came in, emerging as new men in our own special way. Our clothing reverted to the way it was before we went inside, but I pretty much prefer the freedom I had with my Phantom Thief outfit. The boys and I went to that alleyway again, but this time I was more focused and ready to accept whatever HEX says…

"Congratulations on managing to recruit someone new Hakaru." "Aw shucks! I had some help you know!" "What's your status on the treasure?" HEX questioned. "We managed to get the second key to that unbreakable door. Whatever's inside there must be something very illegal." Jin'ichi reported.

"Excellent. You are slowly but surely becoming expert Phantom Thieves. Now what exactly was holding you back Akiyo…? Or should I refer to you as Siren?"

"Well. I simply choose to let go of my own self-corruption, and then I awoke to a new power when I realized that I can not only see the pure or corrupt from people, but I could also see the light in anyone who repressed their feelings."

"Also, Hakaru and Jin'ichi got drunk, and I defeated some Shadows with the help of my friends!" Takeyoshi shamelessly admits as Hakaru felt offended by such a recalling: "How was I supposed to know that everything had alcohol in it!?" "You guys were doing so good before, but I guess without you, Akiyo wouldn't have become Siren, so thanks for getting drunk!" Takeyoshi smiled despite the awkward situation the teens had gotten themselves into, I couldn't help but giggle a bit.

"Hey Jin'ichi… I'm never eating any cognitive food again…" "Agreed…" The two teens felt pretty ashamed of letting themselves get drunk, but regardless they felt alright with the circumstances they ended up with. Two keys in one day, that's quite the accomplishment.

"Do not threat over something as minor as a small setback, that's only part of your development." "Yeah I know that HEX, but still… Let's never speak of this again, my sister will kill me if she catches me drinking without her permission." We all nodded in natural agreement, we should've done a better job at stopping the teens from eating the alcohol-fused steak, and now we feel just as silly as they were.

"So, we have the two boys and I'm the girl, so now all we need is a cat right HEX?" I asked, HEX smiled in a rather amusing way. "That's right, then and only then will you have truly mastered the ways of the Phantom Thief." "Hey, I'm a boy too you know!" Takeyoshi stated while trying to get HEX's attention, but Hakaru was still thinking about what he thinks should be a part of the crew.

"Well we could just use one of the strays, but my dad has a no pet policy going on, he claims they're too expensive." "Don't worry about a thing Harry, I've got that part covered, let's just say this cat is going to make our lives much easier..."

"Say Mrs. Akiyo? Now that you're officially with us, what are you gonna do?" Takeyoshi asked. "I guess without any hint of corruption left inside me, I'll be happy to help you boys with the plan to purify Monigami. Now that I have learned to have faith in the darkest moments, I just want to see him smile."

"Alright. You 4 will have to go to work tomorrow, Monigami's Cognition might be changing as we speak now that there is an interference." "What kind of interference?" Jin'ichi wondered. Hakaru just shrugged it off a bit as Takeyoshi just displayed a face that says: "I completely forgot!"...

"Well… I'm sure it's nothing to worry about…" "Um guys…? I think my mom goes on a shopping spree tomorrow, so I might be a little late…" "O-Oh dear, what are we going to do without Takeyoshi?" I said a bit worried knowing that Takeyoshi was very helpful and brave the last time we were here. Fortunately, Jin'ichi was just the kind of guy who had the charm to cheer a child up.

"Don't worry Takeyoshi, we won't bother waiting for you. Real life may be your weakness, but me and Akiyo aren't entirely bound to society like you guys are. Straying from it now would surely cause trouble for us. You could probably use the day off anyway, this has been three days in a row since we first started, and the poor kid has seen me cry, been through some serious life-threatening situations, and was accidentally forced to be the only one who could fight until Akiyo awakened. He needs some of that family support in case the real world needs him. Besides, even if we took him with us tomorrow, I'm sure whatever I'm bringing to the table might be a little much for him to handle. You think you can go one day without us, for your mother's sake."

"Oh man. I'll make sure to get plenty of pictures of that room near the locked door." Hakaru said desperately as he didn't want him to cry, but the child didn't, he somehow understood what was about to happen and he spoke with a brave face despite his feelings against being left out. "Okay. But I promise you guys that I'll help my mom's shopping go by extra quick tomorrow! I want to see the thing Jin'ichi has planned, and I'm not ready to miss it!"

"That's what I'd like to hear from a kid like you." Jin'ichi gave Takeyoshi a pat on the back as I clapped for support. The child may be a little late tomorrow, but at least we know he has the strength to make things right. This child has survived Monigami for so long, it almost makes me cry seeing how much he's been through. He was also the one who helped me see my own purity, and a childlike face like his needs to be protected and also has to be helpful at all times!

And so, Hakaru walked Takeyoshi home while Jini'ichi took me home by train. I saw a bunch of corrupt people on the train, but I also began to see a small light fly out from each of those auras. I began to see their repressed feelings alongside their corrupted essence, I was no longer afraid of corruption, and this just confirmed it with Jin'ichi as he smiled at me…

"So… are you feeling any better about being around corrupt people?" "A little… I still sense their corruption, and yet I also see light where I couldn't have before…" "I'm just glad that you aren't scared of those people anymore, I'm sorry I wasn't there to witness your awakening, I'd bet it was pretty good."

"Oh that's okay, you can see what I can do tomorrow, I'll make sure of it. I was just thinking about the way you presented yourselves to me, how did you know I was the right choice?" Jin'ichi kept smiling as he started to explain why he wanted a girl like me...

"Me and my dad had a special job over by the beach one day, and I saw your booth as we passed by. I could tell from the look in your eyes that you needed some professional help. Although, judging from the way some of those criminals were influenced by your charms, I had a small doubt about you at first. Don't you get that feeling, that no matter how hard to try, people just don't take your side?"

"Yeah. I felt so helpless when my sister corrupted me and I couldn't do much against those who were corrupt unless I made the pay for their crimes. But now that I know better, I'll use my newfound knowledge of the Metaverse to help others, no matter who they are."

"Heh. Girl, you've got something that nobody one else has, a sense of awareness. If someone evil comes into your life, you bite the hand that grabs you. That may be good in situations like rape and all, but if they haven't done anything to you or your friends, you're good to relax. Just be thankful you've got someone like me to back you up when the going gets tough."

"Thank you, Jin'ichi, but why would you, a rebellious punk who doesn't have time for relationships, help me?" "Because my life was ruined by Kamoshida. Let me tell you this now, the second someone finds something wrong with you, or at least pins the blame on you, that's a sign that means your life will suck from then on. People will do anything to teach you your place, like abuse, humiliation, all the while making a face that makes you feel helpless. I know, I tried to get Kamoshida to like me, but he just had to ruin my life with a couple of bad examples."

I looked at Jin'ichi's face and he felt quite regretful and angry at the same time, something out of him that wasn't exactly rare for someone who has suffered. Even though his careless attitude was quite amusing, the truth behind his actions was much more impactful now than before...

"I knew my life was terrible, but there's only one thing I can do now, be aggressive and as tough as they think I am. The only ones I want to protect though are those who were just like me… Pathetic, worthless scum that are 'worse' than the ones who ruined them, I call them 'poor boys' for short. If you continued down that path of 'corrupt production', you would've become a 'poor girl' if you weren't careful…"

"But I have already sinned. Even after I have regained my light, will God be willing to accept me once more?" "I'm sure the big man in the sky knows about your mission, and I'm sure He knows that it's the best way to make a better world that is 100% sin free. As far as I can tell, your parents would also be proud of you."

"Thank you." "Welp, this is our stop. I'll let you walk the rest of the way back. I hope you'll be alright by yourself." "I am. Thank you… Oh! I almost forgot, what kind of cat will you get?" "It's a surprise." A surprise huh? I can't wait.

The train doors close as Jin'ichi waves goodbye. I returned to my booth, which had a closed sign on it. I used to think of this as a way to divide the good from the bad, but now I see it as a way to help whoever desires my help. Like a siren, I attract those who want me for my looks, but now I make sure to have them take a good look at me before using one of my pure charms. I locked my corrupt charms away in an airtight box never to be seen again. It was a way to throw away my sins, but I still kept them around if there ever comes a time I must use it to save my friends. That would never come across my mind...

Whenever I create an impure charm, I always feel guilty before I soak myself with water. I thought that water was the only way to cleanse my sins, but it turned out that all I really needed to do was see beyond my delusions and become someone new. My family is dead, but I'm still around to carry the tradition, maybe even better than my forefathers ever did. The next day, I managed to take the first day off I had in a long time. I went to Shibuya early to meet up with HEX in the alleyway. HEX smiled at me and then quickly looked away from me, I had clearly doubted his abilities before, but now I've somehow grown used to his rejection. Since Hakaru and Jin'ichi aren't here yet, I sat down next to HEX thinking he was lonely.

"HEX. I don't know who you are. But you helped give me a chance when you knew I was suffering inside. For that, I am in your debt. You may be a strange man, but I've never seen anyone like you who was neither pure nor corrupt, in fact, that's impossible. But what does it matter? It's only what I think of people like you, I'm sure whatever life you lived before you were abandoned was special indeed..."

He doesn't respond. He doesn't even crack a smile. A man like him must really be isolated from the real world to avoid noticing me like that. But it's alright, he seems like the kind of guy you would expect a mission or two from. He's silent, unknown, and unable to be cruel to others, he was everything my sister wasn't. She was a good girl at first, but as the pressures of being a movie star got to her, she just caved in to the corruption, that's all. I still can't forget about that time, but as long as I have faith in my strength, but not too much faith, I'll be an excellent thief of hearts. Finally, HEX replied to that comment I made…

"A true Phantom Thief may steal, but if there was one thing they can't get rid of, it's their friends. Friendship was the reason they were brought together, it wasn't just rage against someone they hate you know. The Treasures they steal may be valuable, but nothing compares to the truly valuable bonds they shared together. Anyone who does destroy something truly valuable is nothing but a shell of man dressed in fancy clothing. The real reason you awakened that day was because of your bonds with your own friends. You opened yourself to a new experience, and it granted you the power to rebel despite being unable to feel rage at that moment. For that, I feel like the Phantom Thieves will be very proud of you…"

He's right... It was because of my newfound friends that I gained the facade to become a better woman. I looked back on my actions, and I was horribly cruel to those who have gotten those corrupt charms. At least my business was successful enough to keep me going for a very long time. My job as a Phantom Thief has been absolute this whole time, and I just didn't accept it until it was clear my life was at risk. I felt confident that my life was taking a turn for the better. Now that I could see the light inside of everyone, and not just the purest of hearts, I felt like a fresh woman who will accept anything and anyone that comes her way!

"Okay, we're here!" "Damn it Jin'ichi… what kind of cat is in this box!?" "Oh don't worry your pretty little heads, he's well-trained."

I watch as Jin'ichi break open the huge wooden box with a crowbar. And inside it… was a humongous cat!! Even Hakaru was surprised upon the box opening! I think HEX was surprised as well, but he doesn't show it. I on the other hand…

"W-W-What the!?" "Say hello to our newest member: Liger!" Jin'ichi announced. Hakaru and I both shouted "Liger!?" at the same time before the liger turned away from us for some reason...

Well, okay… maybe I'll accept almost everyone…