Sae made her way to Mitsuyo Togo's house. She had to see if that rumored calling card was true. It would be absolutely huge in her case if so. The prosecutor knocked on the front door a few times, anxious awaiting a response. Unfortunately for her, there was no one home. "Really? It's after school…" Even if Mitsuyo wasn't home, she expected Hifumi to be. "Oh, wait…" Hifumi Togo, that's right. She was usually found at the church in Kanda, so perhaps she would be there. Still, it was odd that the girl wasn't home if her mother was a target.
"…."
Sae remained silent for a moment. Just to make sure she was searching for the right person, she decided to look up Hifumi's name for a photo. When she found a standard one, from a magazine cover, she furrowed her brows in confusion. "Wait, have I seen her before…?" She recognized the girl's face vaguely. Like she took a passing glance at her once. It only stuck out to Sae because it felt very recent…
"I think…" It was slowly coming back to her. Wasn't she the girl with Makoto's group at the courthouse the other day? Sae barely remembered because she wasn't really paying attention to Makoto when she arrived. She just barely acknowledged them after all. Now, was this all just a coincidence, or was there some deeper meaning to it all? Sae just felt like she was missing a few vital links to closing things off. Hopefully this rumor could lead to something, she would take anything at this point. For now, she decided to try heading to Kanda to see if Hifumi was there.
.
.
Inside the Palace, the battle with Shadow Mitsuyo kicked off. Shadow Mitsuyo swung her hands forward, sharp string shooting out from her fingertips. Everyone jumped to the side to avoid the numerous strings, watching as they cut through the walls and the floor with relative ease. "I see…so because she was using Dragon, it stands to reason that she's some sort of marionette…" Crow surmised.
"Now ain't the time for all that!" Skull shouted while landing on his feet, calling forth Seiten Taisei. "Go!" His Persona swung its staff around before releasing a powerful bolt of lightning in Shadow Mitsuyo's direction. Shadow Mistuyo blocked the Ziodyne by bringing up a few strings in front of her, causing the lightning to eventually fizzle out. "Are you effin' serious!?"
"I've seen how you fight numerous times. Did you really think I wouldn't be prepared for this outcome?" Shadow Mitsuyo scoffed while moving her fingers forward, attempting to slash Skull with her sharp string. She missed, since Noir dove in to knock Skull out of the way. "Speaking of, aren't you numbers a bit skewed?"
Oh crap, that's right. Shadow Mitsuyo eventually realized that Violet was missing, but Crow was in her place. It was a mere question, but one they couldn't really afford to let her press. Panther was already on it though, shooting at Mitsuyo with her gun. "I don't think that's what you should be worried about right now!" Panther's aim was a bit wild, so the bullets were going all over the place, but that was even more of a reason for Shadow Mitsuyo to be worried.
"What's wrong with you!? Bringing guns!?" Hissing, Shadow Mitsuyo used her wings to fly into the air.
"Hecate!" Panther's masked burned away as she called forth her Persona. Hecate twirled around before releasing flames in a large fan shape towards Shadow Mitsuyo. Since her target was in the air, that gave her a little more room to work with as the fan-shape spread outward the longer it traveled.
Shadow Mitsuyo was just about to dodge when something exploded on her back. It was a rocket from Noir's rocket launcher. "Agh!?" Shadow Mistuyo grunted as she was shot out of the sky, and right into Hecate's flames for extra damage. As she fell, Fox and Crow jumped into the air, the two of them slashing at her with their swords. They got some good damage in and landed on the ground.
"Nice hits guys! I know she's feeling those!" Oracle exclaimed.
"Keep it up!" Mona shouted.
"You can concede at any time, Mother." Dragon said while twirling her staff around. "The numbers aren't in your favor. This will not be a fight you can win."
"How DARE you speak to me that way!?" Shadow Mitsuyo snarled. "Do you have any idea what I've sacrificed to make it this far!? I will not be called a loser by my own daughter! I REFUSE!" Shadow Mitsuyo was clearly angry, but despite that anger she had a smirk on her face. "But I've come prepared for all of you…"
"Prepared?" Queen asked while cautiously putting her guard up.
"You've been in here far too many times, and I've seen you fight. I know what makes you tick." As Shadow Mistuyo spoke, the strings on her fingers slowly began to change colors. Orange, blue, green, yellow, purple, light blue, red, and white.
"What's that…?" Joker questioned.
"Uhhhh…!" Oracle was not liking what she was seeing based on the readings. "Guys, be careful! Those strings are charged with elemental energy!"
"Let's start with you three!" Shadow Mitsuyo swung her strings at Fox, Mona, and Skull. The three of them could only defend with how fast the strings were coming, but their elemental weaknesses were struck and they were thrown violently into the nearest wall as a result.
"Ah…!" Dragon gasped.
"She's going for your weak points! You gotta be careful!" Oracle reported while typing a few things while within Prometheus. "I got your backs! Here come the buffs!" With that in mind, Oracle casted Heat Riser on everyone to give them an edge on battle.
"Are you guys okay?!" Noir said as she and Panther went to help the three who were struck.
"Oh, I'm pissed now!" Skull grunted.
"We have to move carefully!" Mona said.
Joker, Crow, Queen, and Dragon were keeping Shadow Mitsuyo busy while Noir and Panther supported the others. "Rangda!" Joker summoned a Persona while leaping into the air, pointing his hand down. Together with Randga, he released a potent explosion of fire on top of Shadow Mitsuyo. She was able to block this and actually fired back with strings that shot from her palm. "What?!" Joker was ill prepared for this, having to cross his arms to endure a bombardment of string that cut into his body. "Tch!"
"Aegis!" Dragon jumped in front of Joker, using Belle Star's shield to protect him. She was not immune to the damage coming her way, but she was great at sponging it. "Now, Ultimate Excalibur Attack!" Belle Star raised her sword and brought it down on Shadow Mitsuyo, landing a direct hit that pushed her back. "Excellent!"
"Anat, full throttle!" Queen revved her bike and drove it towards Mitsuyo while she was stunned. She slammed it into Shadow Mitsuyo's body, but the ruler of the Palace didn't budge. "Huh?"
"I see if I want to win, I have to start by evening the odds!" Shadow Mitsuyo grabbed Queen with her string, constricting her tightly. She spun around before throwing Queen towards Noir with all her might. Noir had no time to react and just let out a yelp as Queen crashed into her, leaving the both of them stunned from the impact.
"Ow…" Noir had stars around her head.
"Oof…sorry…" Queen grunted while lying on top of Noir, still constricted by string.
"I see…" Crow glanced at Noir and Queen. "So she knows how most of you fight. Unfortunately for her, she hasn't encountered me before." With a slight smirk, he summoned Robin Hood. "Show her what we can do, Robin Hood!" Robin Hood took aim and let loose multiple arrows of light and darkness towards Shadow Mitsuyo.
"If it's not one thing it's another…!" Shadow Mitsuyo grumbled, using her strings to defend herself from Crow's onslaught. This did leave her open to Dragon, Fox, and Mona's attacks. They stuck her with their weapons just after she finished defending herself from Crow's attacks. "Ugh!" With the boost Oracle gave them, the damage she received was higher than before.
"So long as we hold the numerical advantage, you won't be able to gain any momentum in this battle." Crow said with a matter of factly tone.
"I agree. Which is why I've called all the guards to this throne room! They'll swarm all of you and then we'll see who's laughing!" Shadow Mitsuyo laughed. She was waiting for the throne room doors to burst open again, but…that didn't happen. "…What?"
"Did they all quit?" Panther snickered.
.
.
In reality, the guards were all distracted. First off, considering the amount of guards that were taken down over the course of the Phantom Thieves numerous infiltrations meant there weren't a lot to begin with. Secondly, Violet did follow the group into the Palace, but figured Mitsuyo would pull something like this, based on the past experience. So she thought the best way to help Joker, Dragon, and the others were to distract the guards. She was on the lower floors, taunting the guards with her gymnastics to stay out of their reach. "Come on, you won't catch me like that!" Violet said with a smile.
.
.
"Where are they!?" Shadow Mitsuyo snarled. Her word was absolute, and she expected her guards to be present!
Dragon took advantage of this opportunity, her mask burning off while she pointed a hand forward along with Belle Star, using her other hand to steady her arm. "Megidola!" She yellowed, releasing a potent blast of almighty magic from Belle Star's hand. It was in the form of a beam, so it struck Shadow Mitsuyo, carrying on until it destroyed the poorly repaired wall from a prior visit.
"Nice hit!" Panther grinned.
Shadow Mitsuyo wasn't very happy with the way things were turning out. But she still refused to lose. "I will not…be defeated by a bunch of petty thieves!" She then slammed her hands down on the floor, causing the throne room to rumble.
"Watch out, she's about to do something big!" Oracle warned. "Everyone brace yourselves!"
Everyone did take Oracle's warning to heart and prepared to defend. Numerous elemental strings rose up from the ground by the dozens, all exploding violently. Due to the wide range of the elements and the strings, everyone's weakness was struck in some way. This attack did take a lot of effort from Shadow Mitsuyo, but it was worth it to see the Phantom Thieves scatter and thrown about so haphazardly. "Take that!" Shadow Mitsuyo huffed, panting softly.
"Shit…" Skull groaned. He wasn't the only one reeling from that attack. The others were down for a big as well.
"That was unexpected, but I should've seen that coming." Crow sat up. Unlike the others, he wasn't quite as injured. "This is annoying…I could end this in an instant if I had the opportunity. But no, they wish to spare her life…a simple shot to the head would be the fastest solution…"
"Is everyone alright…?" Joker said while quickly standing up.
Oracle was already on it. "I'll heal you guys right awa-!" Before Oracle could finish, string wrapped around Prometheus. Shadow Mitsuyo swung Prometheus around before throwing it into the wall. Since Oracle was inside, she was violently jostled by the impact. "Ack…um…hold on…"
Shadow Mitsuyo was well aware that even after that attack, it far from guaranteed her victory. She was still vastly outnumbered and it was apparently not as effective as she would've liked. Since her guards refused to respond, she had to thin their numbers and take them out one by one. She knew precisely who to start with. Shadow Mitsuyo created a complex wall of string in front of the scattered Phantom Thieves, while making her way to a dizzy Panther. "You."
"Guh…" Panther was reeling from the ice strings. She glanced up, eyes widening as she spotted Shadow Mitsuyo looming over her. Before Panther knew it, she was tied up by string.
"This is all your doing. All because you couldn't leave well enough alone. Things were just fine until you had to stick your nose into Hifumi's business!" Shadow Mitsuyo growled.
Panther did struggle a bit, but her gaze held nothing but defiance. "I'd do it all over again for her too! I don't regret reaching my hand out when she needed it!"
"If you hadn't, then you wouldn't end up in this situation." Shadow Mitusyo brought her string down on Panther, but Dragon jumped in at the last second with Belle Star's Aegis. "Hifumi!?"
"Dragon…!" Panther's eyes lit up.
"Too close…" Joker said. They were still stuck behind string, but he and the others were making their way to breaking those strings down to aid Panther and Dragon.
Shadow Mitsuyo growled before pulling her string back, only to strike Dragon's shield again, over and over. This made Dragon grimace. After all, she wasn't nullifying the damage, only reducing. So she was still sustaining injury as Mitsuyo continued to slam against her shield. "What are you doing!? Why are you protecting that girl!?"
"Because she's important to me!" Dragon shouted at the top of her lungs, gritting her teeth as she could feel her Aegis beginning to crack from the constant pressure. "She's the one who reached out to me, she's my first friend…she's the one who helped keep me going when you did everything you could to crush my spirit! So if you think I'm going to stand and let you hurt her, you have another thing coming!"
Shadow Mitsuyo scowled at her daughter's defiance. "I've had enough of your attitude!" The strings changed entire to fire based ones, and she swung them at Dragon's shield. But to everyone's surprise, the shield didn't shatter. It just cracked severely, as Dragon refused to yield.
"She's taking a lot of damage…" Crow said.
"Dragon! Hang in there!" Noir was making short work of the string with her axe, chopping through it after a few swings.
"That ain't good, right?!" Skull said. "We gotta help her!"
"Wait…!" Oracle said, now having recovered from her brief stint of dizziness. "It's okay!"
"I've had enough of you!" Dragon shouted, despite numerous injuries starting to appear on her body. "It ends here, Mother! Whether you like it or not! I'm going to protect her! I'm going to protect them, no matter what! That is my vow as a member of the Phantom Thieves! JUST YOU WATCH MEEEEEEEEE…!" Dragon's green eyes shone brightly, a fire of determination burning with him. On top of this, there was a blue aura starting to appear around her body. Another swing of the blazing strings broke her shield and Dragon held her ground. Belle Star was above her, shrouded in a bright light.
The light from Belle Star was so bright; everyone had to shield their eyes. "W-What is this!?" Shadow Mitsuyo asked.
"I've seen this before…" Joker's eyes went wide. Could it be…?!
"Mwhehehe!" Oracle said with a mischievous smile. "That was the push our Dragon needed! NOW ROAR!"
Belle Star's armor shattered off completely, and her appearance changed drastically. Her hair was a long flowing brown; her eyes burned a bright yellow, under her armor was a green dress, and white angelic wings sprouted from her back, altered slightly with some hints of dragon on them; and no longer did she have a shield, but she held a sword with strange symbols along the blade. But no doubt, it was Excalibur in the purest sense that Dragon could muster. The final touch was a golden crown on the top of her new Persona's head. Hifumi's heart resolved and as a result, Belle Star evolved as a result. In fact, it was no longer Belle Star floating behind Hifumi, but rather…
"Fumi…" Panther let it slip, but she – just like the others – was in complete awe at what she was looking at.
"Do you think a little change like that is going to stop me from punishing you!?" Shadow Mitsuyo swung her blazing strings at Dragon once again.
"Venus! Let us strike!" Dragon commanded. Venus brought her sword forward to block the blazing strings. Even if she no longer had a shield, the new sword served just as well, if not better. The best defense was a good offense in this case. Dragon's own resolve at this moment was the reason she didn't entirely crumble to that attack. She was still weak to fire, but she refused to yield to it, and Aegis' increased defensive ability aided to this.
"What-!?" Shadow Mitsuyo's eyes widened. Before she had the chance to say or do anything else, she was slashed with Venus' sword, which threw her back into a wall from the increase in power. "Ugh!"
Dragon then turned around, smiling softly towards Panther while extending her hand out. "Are you okay?"
The string around Panther loosened considerably. She returned the smile and took Dragon's hand to stand up. "Yeah…"
"YOOO!" Skull was popping off for Dragon, now that they were able to group up again. "That was effin' awesome!"
"How do you feel?" Crow asked Dragon.
"Ready to put this to an end." Dragon said before looking at Joker. "I can rely on you, right…?"
"Yes." Joker said with a firm nod.
"All of us, too!" Fox said and the others agreed.
Dragon kept her smile at them, before turning to the Shadow of her mother who was recovering from that hit. "Good. The Treasure is on her and she doesn't intend to let it go. So…I ask that you leave her to Panther and I. I ask that you all retrieve the Treasure when the moment arises."
"Me…?" Panther blinked, but she knew that Dragon was placing a lot of trust in her. "Okay! This is going to be her last surprise!"
"So we wait for your signal?" Mona asked.
"Mhm." Dragon nodded.
"I won't lose…I WON'T LOSE TO YOU!" Shadow Mitsuyo said while shooting her strings towards Dragon.
Dragon used her improved Aegis to defend against these strings. They weren't even fire based, for Shadow Mitsuyo's rage just made her attack with non-elemental strings. "Those words are mine..!"
"Don't push yourself, Dragon!" Panther warned. Dragon had sustained the most injury just protecting everyone.
"I don't even feel these…!" Dragon said with a slight smirk. The resistance she had to physical attacks increased considerably. "But I want her to feel this! Force Strike!" The impact of the strings rebounded against Venus' sword, and back to Shadow Mitsuyo, causing her to flinch and be thrown backwards slightly.
"Hecate, let's go!" Panther took advantage of this opportunity. Hecate gathered enough magic for a large fireball and threw it towards Shadow Mitsuyo to follow up. The fireball exploded on Shadow Mitsuyo, and with her cry of pain, the Treasure flew from her body. The key she was clutching onto.
"DAMN YOU!" Shadow Mitsuyo grunted.
"There it is!" Queen said.
Shadow Mitsuyo immediately attempted to fly after the airborne key, but she was prevented from doing so by Fox, Crow, and Mona, who were using their guns to keep her at bay. "Gh…!"
"Go get it, Joker! We'll keep her busy!" Queen shouted.
Joker nodded and started to run after the key. Of course, the key would fly through the open hole in the wall! Joker dove down, using his grappling hook to latch on a brick while he dove down. Unfortunately for him, Shadow Mitsuyo went out of her way to spite him, and fired off a quick string to break the brick Joker was using. As a result, he lost his balance in the air and started to tumble a bit. "Gah…!?" Great. So now he had to grab the key and somehow stick this landing without ending up as a pancake on the ground.
Luckily for him, Violet then appeared from one of the lower floors. She could see a small object falling and Joker going after it. She sprinted across the garden, jumping onto one of the golden statutes, and into the air by using that as a foothold. She spun around, kicking the key towards Joker and winked after. "I got your back, Senpai!"
Joker had so many questions. He didn't think that Violet was actually here, and he wanted to know what she was doing! But those were for later, because she just saved his ass. With the key now flying in his direction, Joker was able to grab it, turn around, and fire his grappling hook once again to the wall to stop his descent. "I got it…"
Violet landed on the ground, smiling towards Joker. "You should hurry back up there. You don't want to miss the action, do you?" With her part done, she was already making her exit from the Palace. She was certain the others could wrap things up from here.
"Heh…" Joker gave a slight grin as Violet left. It was at this moment that there was a white glow from his pocket. "The wishing stone…?"
Shadow Mitsuyo was surrounded by the other Phantom Thieves, panting heavily. How did the tide of battle slip so far out of her favor!? "This…this can't be…" She grunted, looking around before her eyes landed on Dragon and Panther. "You two…this is all your fault!"
"I will not shy away from my actions towards you, Mother." Dragon said while shaking her head. "But this is where it ends. I'm going to put an end to your twisted idea of victory! This will be the coup de grace!" She glanced at Panther, who gave her a nod in return. The two of them pointed towards Shadow Mitsuyo and spoke in union.
"IT'S SHOWTIME!"
Panther and Dragon sprang into action as the scenery changed to that of a forest. They were standing on a bit of a high cliff, Dragon's back to of the edge while she smiled at Panther, extending her hand. "I trust you."
"I wouldn't let you fall anyway." Panther said with a smile of her own, before the two of them jumped off the edge together.
As they fell towards Shadow Mitsuyo, Dragon pulled out that great sword that belonged to her cognitive self and watched as it split into two swords. "Panther!"
"I got it!" Panther nodded as Dragon threw her one of the swords. As soon as Panther grabbed it, it lit up in flames. They were just ad-libbing this Showtime, but at the same time, Panther already knew what Dragon was going for and aimed to follow her lead. The moment they landed on the ground, they began to circle around Shadow Mitsuyo, jumping past her while slashing at her with the twin swords. Shadow Mitsuyo was unable to keep up. Every time she looked at one of them, the other struck when she wasn't paying attention. The two of them were quickly whittling her down.
Dragon and Panther met up in front of their target, merging that sword back into its great sword form, while the flames around it still burned hotly. "This is our chance!" Dragon exclaimed, leaping forward with Panther, both their hands on the hilt of the sword.
"We won't miss!" Panther yelled. The flames around the two of them took the form of a roaring dragon.
"DRAGONFIRE STRIKE!" One strike. The two of them ran through Shadow Mitsuyo with this roaring dragon as the scenery returned to normal. The flames consumed the palace ruler and the two of them came to a halt, panting heavily while turning around to see the results of their Showtime. Shadow Mitsuyo was flung into the air, spinning around before she crashed into the throne.
"NNNNOOOOOOOOoooo…" Shadow Mitusyo whined as she lied on the ground, the power she gathered vanishing while she returned to her normal appearance. "I…I lost….again…" All she could do was lie there and stare at the ceiling.
"Was that enough!?" Skull asked.
"I'd be wary, just in case." Crow said.
Joker managed to return to see the end of the conflict. "I got the Treasure." He said while holding up the key.
"That's great…now we only have one thing left to worry about." Fox said while staring at Shadow Mitsuyo. The others were watching silently as Dragon made her way to her mother's shadow.
Dragon was really tired, but she slowly approached Shadow Mitsuyo and took a seat next to her. "Mother…please talk to me. Was winning really that important to you? You've done so much for the sake of 'my' victory, but it just seemed like you were only obsessed with victory itself…I remember a time you used to smile so earnestly. Now, you rarely smile, and when you do, it's not a happy one. It's a vindictive smile…"
"…." Shadow Mitsuyo remained silent.
Dragon frowned, then lifted her mask up. For this, she wasn't Dragon right now. At this moment, she was Hifumi again. She wanted her mother to see her for who she really was now. "Mother!"
The truth was simple: Shadow Mitsuyo couldn't look at Hifumi. With the sense beaten into her, and having witnessed Hifumi's growth herself, she was…ashamed. Guilty of her actions. The weight of it all hit her all at once. Looking at Hifumi made her realize this. "I was always a loser. Even if it was just once, I wanted to taste success. I could never win on my own, so I had to use you, Hifumi, I had to."
"…." Hifumi frowned. "So you were only using me to win this whole time, is that it? Even at the cost of my own happiness…?"
"I never wanted to make you unhappy! Never…" Shadow Mitsuyo spoke earnestly, but even she realized how ridiculous that sounded coming from her. "It's just…you when you won that grade school competition, people started calling you a genius girl. Ever since then, I couldn't get it out of my head. You had real talent…and the first thing I thought to do was exploit it, even when your father was set against the idea. I wonder if I should've listened to him…if I did, I could have paid more attention to his health? I don't know…"
Hifumi remained silent for a moment. That grade school competition, she did remember that. "…When I won that day, you looked so happy." She said quietly. "You gave me a big hug and lifted me into the air. When that happened, I wanted to win more for you and for Father. In fact…" She gestured to the red ribbon in her hair. "I remember after I won that competition, you went out and bought this for me. I was so happy…and as you can see, I still wear it to this day."
"You were so pure…" Shadow Mitsuyo began to sob. "I used your talents for profit and shut down anyone who had to play against you. I did it for the sense of conquest and victory! But I was stifling your talents all this time…I even went so far as to try and blackmail Mika and your friends. I just…wanted to do whatever I could to make sure I could win, since I knew I was going to lose everything around me eventually. Just look at your father! He doesn't have much time left, and I haven't been able to do a single thing for him…" At this point, the Palace began to rumble. They didn't have a lot of time before it collapsed. "And then there's you…"
"What does this mean?" Crow asked.
"It means this whole place is about to fall apart with us inside…" Mona answered, already moving to turn into a bus so everyone could get inside.
"…I…see." Crow wasn't going to question the Mona bus. Not at all.
"There's still a little time!" Oracle spoke aloud, but mostly to Dragon. She knew Dragon had plenty on her chest, but she wasn't going to get through all of it.
"There's me…?" Hifumi blinked slowly. She was aware of the situation, but it couldn't end so soon and not like this.
"Ever since you met that girl, I've noticed how you've started to change. I…I didn't want to face your growth. So I ran away and tried to keep you down…" Shadow Mitsuyo could not look her daughter in the eye. "When I look at you now, I start to wonder where I went wrong, and what I could've done differently. But you're…you're a very good kid, Hifumi. You have been for a long time, despite everything I've put you through. But I understand that you hate me, I sincerely wish I was a better mother…"
"It's not too late…" Hifumi said with a gentle smile. "I…I should be saying this to the real you, but I have to get it off my chest now. I could never hate you, Mother. I hate the things you've done, but I wanted to change your heart because I love you. And if it wasn't for you…I wouldn't have met my friends."
Shadow Mitsuyo was completely taken aback. She thought Hifumi went through with this because she wanted her to get karma for her actions. But that wasn't the only reason. "Hifumi…" She slowly turned her head to look at Hifumi, managing a very small, sincere smile. "I was so obsessed with a victory of some kind….but I never realized until just now…that bringing you into the world was my greatest victory yet."
"…!" Hifumi's eyes widen. She felt the tears stinging her eyes and she quickly hugged Shadow Mitsuyo tightly. She really wished this was happening in the real world, but she would get to that later. The palace rumbling was getting more intense and she couldn't waste more time here. "I have to go…but we'll talk later, in the real world…"
"Yes, we will…the Togo Kingdom is yours now, Hifumi…" Shadow Mitsuyo nodded, slowly fading away to return to her self in reality. As for Dragon, she had to quickly hop into the Mona car. She took a little too long, but the engine revved and they were out of there.
.
.
The group landed just outside of Hifumi's house. It was a bit of a tumble since they made a hasty exit, but everyone was accounted for. "Is everyone okay?" Haru asked.
"A little sore, but I could be worse." Makoto said.
"That was quite an experience…" Akechi was dusting himself off. "So that's how that works…good to know."
"I hope you keep that in mind for our big operation!" Futaba was chiding the new guy as always. "But also, that was so cool, Hifumi!"
"Ah…do you think so?" Hifumi was a little bashful.
Ren walked to Hifumi, placing the Treasure in her hands. It was only right that she get to see what it is. "This is for you."
"Oh, thank you." Hifumi said, staring at the Treasure. It was the King piece of shogi.
"A…shogi piece?" Ryuji scratched the back of his head. He was expecting something a little more…more.
"Considering what we just heard, I think it makes sense." Yusuke said.
"Mhm." Hifumi clutched the piece closely. "This is what I used for the winning move of that grade school competition. So…this was the root of my mother's twisted desire…"
"I wish we could've asked her more." Morgana said. "But we still managed to do it all the same. That's victory enough!"
"And if everything goes well, Niijima will take the bait too!" Futaba grinned.
"I'm starvin' after all that…" Ryuji's stomach even rumbled. "Let's go grab some food before callin' it a day!"
"I swear food is all you think about." Ann shook her head. Yes, ironic coming from her, but she chose to ignore that. "Ramen, to be more specific."
"You're one to talk!" Ryuji, however, wasn't going to ignore this.
"Come on, let's find someplace to eat." Ren said.
"I appreciate the offer, but I'm afraid I'll have to skip out on this outing." Akechi said while adjusting his tie. His relationship with the Phantom Thieves was purely business, so he didn't feel the need or want to surround himself with their company if he didn't need to. He just...didn't want to get friendly with them. It wasn't something he could afford to, especially not now. "But you all enjoy yourselves. I hope our operation for Sae-san goes as smoothly as this did." With that, he made his exit.
"...Cool. I can text Kasumi to meet us." Futaba said once Akechi was out of sight and mind. With Akechi now gone, the others began to make their way to a nearby place to eat.
Hifumi lingered behind for a moment, staring at the shogi piece in her hand, then at her house. "…I'll protect everything that I hold dear…that's what my power is for…" She then looked ahead, only to see that Ann was the only one who was waiting for her to catch up with the others. They gave each other soft smiles once more, and Hifumi placed the shogi piece in her pocket before walking to Ann, so they could catch up with the others.
The Togo Kingdom may have fallen today…but it would rise again soon enough, even stronger than before with Hifumi's new resolve….