Chapter 30
Akira jerks up with a gasp at the high pitch of his alarm. As soon as it's shut off, his body relaxes and his head falls back onto the soft pillow underneath. Beside him, Morgana yawns loudly and Akira can feel the mattress starting to shift beside him as the cat starts to move. Akira isn't sure how the other does it. It feels as if he hadn't slept at all, his eyes are heavy and the dim morning light from the window makes them burn. Every part of his body feels heavy, the muscles sore and burning. With a sigh, Akira manages to throw the blanket off of him, ignoring the burning numbness in his shoulder as well as the noise Morgana makes as the blanket, presumably, lands on him.
It takes another long moment before he's swinging his legs off of the bed and attempting to stand up. Instantly, his knees threaten to buckle as if there was nothing there to support him. Widening his stance, Akira manages to stay upright, and slowly goes about getting himself dressed.
The descent into LeBlanc is painful, the muscles in his thighs protest every movement of his legs and Akira isn't sure what to do besides lean heavily onto the sink as he washes his face. He slumps over the sink longer than necessary and sucks in another deep breath which does nothing more than flare up the pain across his sides.
Climbing back up the stairs was even worse than going down and a hiss brushes over his teeth as something in his leg twitches and causes him to stumble onto the attic's landing. For a moment, he just stays there, kneeling on all fours and coating himself in dust, wondering if he should just stay there forever, but he knew he'd be in trouble if he did, something that would cause even more pain than he was already in. So he pushes and pulls until he's back to standing.
"Sore, huh?" Morgana asks, though Akira feels that it might have been more of a statement than a question. The cat is on the table beside the attic's railing, slowly climbing into Akira's school bag.
He doesn't respond, but Morgana continues, "You did push everyone pretty hard yesterday. Even I'm feeling pretty sensitive... I hope this body doesn't chafe."
Did I? Akira questions. At the time, it hadn't felt like they'd been pushed past their limits. Thinking about now that he, and the others, had to live with his decision to keep going forward, Akira felt a weight sink in his stomach. They'd managed to find the treasure, but everything inside of him is burning and sore.
Would they be recovered enough when it came time to send the calling card? There wasn't a lot of time before Madarame revealed his new piece and even less time between then and when the exhibit would end.
Guilt followed him on the walk towards the station. He wonders why he didn't do things differently, why he hadn't listened to the others at the time, and if his attempt to help Kitagawa and Madarame was worth what he was putting the Phantom Thieves through.
I should apologize to them. The thought jolts across his mind suddenly as the station tunnels start flickering outside of the subway's windows. It seems like a good idea, though he has no idea how to go about it. He's never had friends to apologize to before now and no way of knowing what the right thing to say was.
When the train pulls into the station, Akira still has no idea what to say or how to relieve himself of the guilt that's piling up inside of him. He knew that Ryuji's leg was sensitive, especially after the incident with Panther, he also knew that Kitagawa was like him. Now that he thinks about it, Akira's genuinely surprised that the artist hadn't collapsed inside of the MetaVerse like he had several times.
Akira sinks into his seat behind Takamaki with a sigh. He glances forwards, trying to measure how tired she is or if she's in just as much pain as he's feeling now, but her features are blocked by a curtain of shiny blonde hair. He gives up when the bell rings and Usami-sensei steps into the room.
Her lecture is hard to listen to. His body still aches, the chair beneath him pushes flatly and relentlessly against his sore muscles and distract him from the litany of words coming from the front of the room. His eyes drift closed, still heavy and burning, and he's uncertain of the time that passes between each blink he takes, but Usami-sensei's words start to drift together into something he no longer understands and Akira falls back into the MetaVerse, into sweat and fire. There's ash and ice exploding all around him. His heart is racing, sweat and blood run down his face, under his mask and in his gloves. There are voices and screams, melting flesh and agony flashes in front of him in crimson blurs.
Akira jerks awake when something touches his body. The classroom is still in front of him, everything is exactly the same, everything except for him. His heart races, making his chest burn as his lungs suck in more and more necessary air.
In front of him, Takamaki is turned towards him. She stares at him with wide eyes, frowning, and Akira can't think of anything to say. The white board under his arm remains blank and he's not quite sure where the marker went.
She stares for a couple more seconds before turning back into her seat and facing the front where class still continues without them. Being a distraction is another thing he has to apologize for when he gets the chance.
The school bells seem to fade into one another, but something about the lunch bell is unique in its uniformity. The sound of the entire room jumping to their feet startles him and makes him jump up from where he's been listening with his eyes and ears closed.
Food sounds good. Akira thinks to nobody but himself. It was a strange thought to have, he also thinks. Hunger is something he hadn't noticed for a long time, but something about moving into a strange place, with strange people and with strange things happening, something about it makes him hungry for more than just food, a squeeze that he feels in more than just his gut. He's just not sure what it is yet.
Akira lets Morgana squeeze into his bag before he shoulders it before heading towards the door and the stairs, he tails after the people coming down from the floor above and stands in line behind them. Almost immediately, their conversation switches topics and waters down into sharp whispers. He tries to ignore them, to become invisible by hunching his shoulders and staring at nothing in particular. It doesn't seem to help, though, so Akira tries to control the heat storming into his face as they say crude, embarrassing things about him, picking him apart with vicious words about things he hasn't done, about the way he dresses, everything about him comes under scrutiny while he stands behind them.
By the time he makes it to the front, his face feels like it's been set ablaze and he has trouble pulling his gaze up enough to point at what he wants to the student working behind the counter.
Akira spots Ryuji and Takamaki near the edge of the roof, sitting on patches of bright light with food between them. Ryuji is sitting up, his spine long and curved, his face towards the door that Akira had just walked through. Both of his legs are extended, spread out with his knees and thighs glowing underneath the spring sun, bare, with the fabric of his trousers are bunched up high on his legs. Bags of shifting ice sit wobbly on both of Ryuji's knees, another one lines up along Ryuji's right shin, held in place by Takamaki's shoe propped against his leg.
The embarrassment shifts into shame, just as heavy, but Akira starts thinking that maybe some of the things that other people say about him is true.
He thinks about walking away, of distancing himself with the roof door and handing Kitagawa's problem by himself, but before he could get his feet to move, Morgana slides out from underneath his shoulder and crosses the distance between Akira and the others as if there wasn't anything wrong here.
As much as he wants to leave, to give the other Phantom Thieves better things without him ruining their lives, it wouldn't be fair to leave right then. Not without apologizing.
On uncertain feet, Akira crosses the same path that Morgana had, he feels the same sun that the others do. He stands in front of his teammates and shifts his weight from one sore foot to the other.
Ryuji yawns and blinks up at him, "Siddown, bro, you're blockin' the sun."
Akira does as he's told, sitting close enough to the other two that he can hear as they breathe quietly. He pushes his bag from his shoulder and places it to the side.
"Wasn't it curry on Tuesdays last semester?" Ryuji asks as Akira starts separating parts of his lunch for Morgana.
"Hmm." Takamaki says, pulling her phone from where its placed on her stomach. Unlike Ryuji, she'd been completely prone since he arrived, aside from the leg she's using to put pressure on the pack of ice on Ryuji's leg. "I thought curry was Thursdays?"
"Curry buns were on Thursday." Ryuji counters, rubbing at his leg. Dark hair jumps back into place along his shins and calves and the blond grunts quietly as he moves onto the opposite leg. Akira's hunger starts to wane.
"Oh yeah!" She says while typing. "Shiho used to say that those were the best about Thursday practices."
His phone vibrates and he reaches into his bag to pull it out, unsure who it might be.
Takamaki? It's a message directly from Takamaki instead of in their Phantom Thieves chat.
She's sitting right across from him, so he's not sure why she doesn't just say something.
Akira looks at her from around Ryuji, but the girl remains prone, using her uniform blazer as a pillow as she stares up at the blank blue sky above.
It's easier on him, he supposes, though he's not sure if she's taken that into account when she did it, and if so, why she bothered being considerate of him when he'd done the complete opposite the day before.
Akira swipes the message open and reads it carefully while Ryuji and Takamaki continue talking about Shujin's changing lunch schedules.
"Were you having a nightmare earlier?" Takamaki asks privately.
"Your friend is very observant." Arsene comments deeply, "Unsurprising, women are fickle in that way."
Arsene's words make him curious. How much did the other see and hear just from residing in him?
Akira isn't sure what how to respond to either conversation. Both seemed to call for an affirmative. He had been having a nightmare earlier and Takamaki seemed to observe more than Akira did, even with his thief vision.
"I was. Sorry for distracting you during class." Akira says back quietly.
"Remember when they served natto pancakes?" Takamaki says to Ryuji as she pulls her phone back up to her face. Somehow, she manages to talk and type at the same time.
Akira's not sure how she does it. As soon as his phone lights up, Ryuji's reply and Morgana's comments start fading from his attention.
"You type so formally." She says with a face, then, "I've been getting them too…"
Akira isn't sure what to say besides, "Sorry." Like Ryuji's pain, everyone's exhaustion, and now Takamaki's nightmares, they were all his fault.
Takamaki doesn't respond, so Akira is able to listen to Ryuji start talking without being distracted.
"Wish I could just jump in an ice bath right now." The blond sighs, "I ain't been this sore in a while."
Part of Akira agrees, he's been this sore before, has felt the same fire, the same stiffness, in his muscles and joints, but it's never been because of fighting for something, or fighting at all, actually. But that was back home, which might as well be a life that belongs to someone else. He's still the same Akira, from the same town, but it's been two months, and his parents still haven't called.
Maybe they've moved on… Akira vaguely considers. Before, his parents merely pretended that he didn't exist, but now he wonders if they've already forgotten him completely.
"Would it truly be wrong if they did?" Arsene questions. The voice makes Akira shiver despite the sun making his skin hot and his legs sticky.
Akira's not sure what to say, which is odd, now that he can say anything, even if it's only to his other self.
His nose burns and his eyes itch, but Akira continues eating. Being hungry would only make him feel worse.
"Akira?" Ryuji questions, "Bro?" He says again, just before Akira's vision is blocked by his teammate.
"You're crying?" Takamaki asks, which makes him feel as if he's shrunk down.
Akira just hopes he sinks into the floor, somewhere he can be alone.
Akira's not sure what happens next, but his vision fades and he hears the wind in his ears but doesn't feel it on his skin. The sun still burns and feels heavy, pressing against his front and his back impossibly.
"Shh, Akira." Someone says in one ear. In the other, "It's okay, bro."
Akira wakes up and opens his eyes. It feels as if the day had been reset. His eyes burn and his entire body is sore and heavy. The air is calm, and the Tokyo sky is a blank blue.
His two teammates are on either side of him, Ryuji's hair is prickly against his ear and his glasses are pressing hard against the other. Takamaki's arms are wrapped around him in a loop as she continues to whisper to him. Morgana's more familiar presence is heavy in his lap, squished warm between Ryuji's body and his.
Akira, much like the last time he'd been this close to the other two, isn't sure what to do besides wait for it to be over.
The next bell rings loudly behind them and Akira sighs in relief as the moment concludes. His three teammates pull themselves away from him. Takamaki lingers behind him, holding him firmly.
"It's okay." She whispers against his spine. The words creep against his skin and Akira shivers once more as the blonde finally pulls away.
Despite the strange events and his half-eaten lunch, Akira does feel okay. His body is still sore and the weight of Madarame is still heavy on his mind, but he's able to keep going without being crippled by either and he's not sure why.
Akira takes his seat at his desk and doesn't fall asleep during the rest of his classes, pre-occupied by the odd contact with his teammates and the continuous whispering from Morgana as the cat tries to gather his attention, only to be drowned out by the continuing lecture.
"What was that about, Joker?" Morgana is finally able to ask once the school day is over with.
Akira shrugs. He's still not entirely sure himself.
"You're weird, you know that?" Morgana comments in reply as he sneaks from the desk into Akira's school bag.
Akira doesn't reply, knowing that the cat wouldn't be able to see it. Instead, he aims for the door and jumps as Ryuji suddenly appears in his path.
"Let's go somewhere." The blond says before turning away and walking towards the stairs.
Akira would rather go home and sleep, but he finds himself following the other down the stairwell and across campus.
"I uh," Ryuji says once they're away from the school, "I wanted t'say sorry, if I made you upset from before."
Akira stops walking, unable to process and walk at the same time.
Sorry? Akira questions, unable to understand what the other would have to apologize for.
Ryuji's foot slides over the pavement in front of them, kicking up dust and rocks, when his shoe reconnects with the ground, he speaks up again, "Usually it's my ma that I'm making cry… It's been a while since I did it to one of my friends. So… sorry again, man."
Akira finally snaps out of his stupor when Ryuji finishes talking and jerks his phone out of his pocket.
He should be the one apologizing, not Ryuji.
"It's not your fault." Akira offers quickly, then jerks his phone back once Ryuji's finished reading. "I should be the one apologizing to you." Akira says, meaning it completely, and the fact that Ryuji offered him anything at all made him only mean it more.
"To me?" Ryuji asks, incredulous. "What for?"
"For yesterday, in the palace. I pushed everyone too hard. I shouldn't have done that." Akira admits, feeling guilty all over again.
Ryuji drops the hand keeping Akira's message in place only to sling it over his shoulder. The blond pulls him close like they'd been on the roof, only this time it his Ryuji's side against his with Morgana still between them.
"You're a little right about that, I guess." The teen sniffs, stepping forward and dragging Akira forward by the grip on his shoulders. "I mean, even with my leg bein' all screwy, I'm still in better shape than Ann or Yusuke, and it was still pretty bad. I mean Yusuke didn't even go to school today, but uh-" The blond trails off quietly.
Ryuji squeezes his shoulder tightly, pulling them even closer; Akira has to fight to keep his balance as the other boy starts talking again. "If we didn't want to be there, we wouldn't be, y'know? I mean, with Kamoshida, we couldn't give up or who knows what that bastard would've done. It's the same way with Madarame. Yusuke'll be better by our operation on Friday and he'll take that bastard down. You shouldn't worry about him, or Ann either, she's stronger than she looks, y'know." Ryuji finishes with a smile.
"What about you?" Akira asks, only because Ryuji's saying all these things but the blond looks the worst out of all of them.
"Me?" Ryuji questions, "I'll be fine bro. If anything, taking these bastards down has been helping my leg. So worry about yourself, Ann told me you kept falling asleep during class." The blond smiles at him again and leads him into a restaurant he's never been to before.
He's not mad? Akira wonders. It didn't seem fair, that Akira had done the things he'd done, but nobody was mad at him, that they still wanted to be around.
Ryuji sits down across from him, sliding into a booth and ordering for both of them before Akira even opens up the menu.
"How's Morgana doin' by the way?" The blond asks, sipping at a dark drink.
The cat peeks his head of Akira's bag and stares across the table, then back towards Akira, "I'm feline fine. And at least somebody cares… even if it is only Ryuji." Morgana replies.
"Uh." Ryuji says before slamming his fist down on the table, "What the hell, you stupid cat, I was being nice!"
"I am not a cat!" Morgana barks in rebuttal before sinking back into the bag.
"Well, you're actin' pretty catty for a guy who ain't a cat." Ryuji huffs sourly.
Akira thinks back on Ryuji's words again and tries to imagine… He's not sure what he tries to imagine. None of his teammates were upset with him, they didn't think he'd done anything wrong.
Then why do I still feel this way? His teammates' placations didn't crush his guilt into pieces and the truth didn't scatter it in the wind.
Sakamoto, Takamaki, and Kitagawa all wanted to do this with him, to steal hearts and solve the mysterious ruin, yet Akira still felt like they might leave at any moment and he's not sure why nor is he sure what he can do if they felt that way.
Plates of shredded beef appear on the table and Ryuji helps himself without preamble. Akira watches him for a moment, wondering what wrong thing he might do that causes the other to leave.
By the time Akira starts digging into his own meal, Ryuji is already standing up.
"I gotta head out, I still gotta finish all the calling cards before tomorrow." The blond says, throwing down money onto the table.
Akira nods and Ryuji heads towards the door with a limp, something Akira feels he wasn't meant to notice.
Instantly, Akira feels awkward being alone while sitting in a table meant for multiple people.
The food Sakamoto had gotten for him is good at distracting him from other problems, but while he eats, Akira still considers the Phantom Thieves.
He has no idea what he's doing, but he's expected to lead them, to ensure that hearts change and that his teammates stay safe.
There are no answers in the bottom of the bowl that Ryuji had gotten for him, so Akira leaves the restaurant without them and heads towards the station in hopes that being less tired will solve something.
"You okay, Joker?" Morgana asks suddenly. They're on the train back to Yongen, seated close to the doors and Akira is staring out the window when the question gets asked.
Akira stares down at the bag in his lap and the head sticking out of its zipper and nods without thinking about it.
He's still tired, but after his talk with Ryuji and the food, he's feeling better about what he's done and what happened on the roof.
They'll write. Akira is sure of it.
Morgana turns quiet and Akira turns back towards the window and sighs in relief when Yongen-Jaya blurs into existence in front of him. Nobody else gets off with him and Akira steps onto the station, heading towards LeBlanc.
"Hey, Joker?" Morgana speaks up again. Akira feels the cat squirming just under his shoulder before he spots the cat staring up at him. "Why don't you head to that doctor's place? Maybe she can give you something useful? Like what you used when Lady Ann got hurt."
Akira considers his teammate's words and tries his best not to remember the feeling of blood all around him. Takemi had already given him quite a few things, mostly for his scars, but she did mention she'd start selling things to him as part of their deal. He heads into LeBlanc first and takes a portion of the money that they'd found in Madarame's palace before heading back outside.
Sakura-san stares at him with a hard expression but continues his conversation with one of his customers and says nothing to him; Akira has a feeling that he might say something later.
"Can I help you?" Takemi asks without looking up her desk. Akira stands there silently, feeling awkward once again, wondering if he'd made a mistake in listening to Morgana.
After a long moment, Takemi finally looks up. "Oh." She says, which makes Akira want to leave even more. "Come back to the exam room."
Akira heads towards the door and drops his bag in front of it, leaving Morgana behind as he crosses the entry. When he steps into the room, Takemi's head is ducked back down to the thing on her desk: a stack of papers that he can't see clearly.
"What seems to be the problem?" Takemi asks with a loud scratch of pen on paper as he takes a seat on the examination table. "Or are you here about what I said a few days ago?"
Akira pulls his phone from his pocket and begins typing, by the time Takemi rolls her chair over to him, he's done with his message.
"Do you have anything for sore legs?" He asks, unsure if he should mention that he wasn't buying it for himself.
"Sore legs as in exercise or something else?" Takemi questions.
Akira thinks about it for a moment before indicating the first one.
"Hmm." She says. "Any previous injuries? Aside from the obvious?" Takemi stares at him the same way that Sakura-san just before he'd came in here.
"It's been broken before." Akira says. Takemi's face changes and Akira isn't sure what it means before both of his legs are being pulled in the doctor's lap. She tugs on the ends of his trousers, pushing them up past his knees and exposing them to the office's cold air. A chill ripples up from his ankles, making the hair stand on end as Takemi dips her face towards his legs.
She turns one over, then the other, and examines every inch of skin and every scar she finds before she turns back towards him with a frown.
"There's signs of inflammation around your knees, but they've never been broken before." She assesses drily. Akira's heart sinks. "Which is surprising, considering the obvious signs of nutrient deficiencies." She comments, drawing a dark-colored nail down the line of his shin.
Takemi scoots her chair back until it collides with her desk causing the numerous mugs sitting on top of it to jump and clink together. "Regardless," The doctor continues, pulling open the bottom drawer of her desk, "A deal is a deal. Right now, all I have to offer you right now are muscle relaxers and pain relievers. Normally, I'd go to the mountains and collect a larger variety of products, but I wanted to make sure you would actually come through before I wasted time gathering for you."
Akira finds it difficult to imagine Takemi outside of this place, even though he's seen her at LeBlanc and at the bathhouse, he can't help but think that this is where she belongs.
"2000 for each." Takemi issues firmly, pulling out familiar looking containers. "I won't ask what they're for, or where they're going, as long as you keep your promise."
Akira reaches into his pocket and pulls out the stack of money he'd taken from the attic. He hasn't counted it before and wonders why he hadn't before coming in here.
Slowly, he separates the bills into small stacks until it's all accounted for, then again just to make sure. It's enough to purchase eight of Takemi's products, enough for everyone, excluding Morgana, twice.
One for tomorrow and one for Friday. Akira notes before handing the stack over.
"Wow." Takemi says. Akira catches her lips curling into a wide smile as she accepts the money. "Should I high school student really be carrying this much money around?"
The doctor does another count of his payment before throwing the stack on top of her desk. "I'll bag it up after we're done here." She says, taking to her feet.
Akira watches her walk towards the back of the small examination room, towards a set of machines and tubing that he can't identify. Takemi's hands rotate small valves and flick switches until one of the machines start humming softly.
Eventually, Takemi returns with a small cup filled with red liquid. "The Plague's newest creation." She says with a different kind of smile before extending it towards him.
Akira takes it and stares down into the plastic cup. The liquid is bright red, like apple skin, and heavy like syrup. It smells unlike anything he's ever experienced and feels his stomach clench in rejection before he's even opened his mouth to taste it.
"Hurry and drink before the zinc oxidizes." Takemi instructs, sliding back into her chair with an armful of equipment.
Akira nods, more to himself than anything, and slowly tips the plastic cup against his lips until the liquid slides heavily over his tongue and down his throat.
Bitter… Scatters across his brain as he continues the ordeal of swallowing, whatever it was, it was thicker than it looked.
"Huh." Takemi says suddenly, "I can't believe you actually did it."
Akira tries to catch onto her words, but Takemi's voice starts fading, and when he tries to look at the doctor, his vision spills with blank spots. His hand reaches forward, unseen before his eyes, just before he falls over.
The floor is cold against his face and that's the last thing he remembers until he wakes up.
The cold has spread over his chest and toes when he realizes that he's awake.
Akira clears his throat, trying to relieve the stickiness from before he fell asleep, and pushes his hands against whatever he's on top of until he's sitting back up.
"Oh, you're awake." Takemi's voice says, sounding far away.
Akira opens his eyes and stares across the tiny room. The doctor isn't hard to find, sitting in the same chair she'd been in when she handed him her medicine, only now she was facing away from the bed he was lying on, staring down at the crowded desk.
Akira slides his feet across the bed and tries to take to his feet but stop when they collide against the cold ground. Akira bends over the edge of the bed and stares down at his bare toes, then at bare legs, and finally his bare stomach and feels Takemi's medicine starting to squeeze painfully inside of him.
What's going on? He asks himself, panicked.
Akira traces wires hanging from his finger and arms, bright red and loosely wrapped around his arm like a snake.
"Done." Takemi speaks up again before turning around to face him. "You seem surprised."
Akira nods idly. There was panic inside of him at being exposed in front of the doctor again, of the secret that they were sharing, yet it felt like that feeling belonged to someone else. The heat of shame burned inside of him, but it felt detached as well, not unlike how the personas live inside of him; part of him, but also something else entirely.
"You know, a lot of boys your age wouldn't be so scared of waking up without their pants in front of a pretty doctor." Takemi informs him with a smile. "Then again, I guess you're not like most boys your age, are you?"
Akira isn't sure what to think of that, let alone respond, but her words make him feel lonely, remind him of the distance between him and his teammates.
He supposes he's not like other people at all, really.
"Anyways, I didn't do anything, if that's what you're worried about." Takemi admits evenly, "Your clothes were in the way of my equipment, so I removed them."
It made sense, he supposes, if he were at a normal hospital, he might not have thought anything about his lack of clothing.
"Once I remove the devices, you can get dressed again." The doctor instructs, pointing a painted nail towards the end of the bed where his school uniform is neatly folded into a small pile with his cell phone right on top.
Akira leans over and grabs the device as Takemi starts unwrapping the wires from around his arm and hand. Checking the time, he's surprised at how little time has passed. Somehow, it felt like he'd been asleep for much longer than he'd actually been, barely an hour had passed since he stepped into the clinic.
"Hmm. All done." Takemi says, pulling away the last of the wiring and equipment. Akira watches her stand up again and tuck it in the back of the room where she'd gotten it.
"None of your vitals acted irregularly while you were out, but I suggest you drink plenty of water when you get back home. The medicine you had, when combined with gastric acids, creates a foul smell, due to the hydrogen sulfide used as a partial stabilizer, not unlike surströmming, if you're familiar with it. It's non-toxic, of course, but it does tend to cause dehydration in the cells due to the gaseous reaction." Takemi tells him quickly as she falls back into her chair with paper and pen, as if all of the information came to her easily.
Akira had a feeling Takemi was much smarter than either he or Morgana had expected.
"That aside, I collected a lot of valuable data while you were sleeping, so maybe it was for the best." She says with a short chuckle, "It'll actually take me a few days to analyze everything, so try not to fall anytime soon. Got that?" The doctor asks, still not looking up from the sheets of paper in her hands.
Akira nods anyways and sighs quietly as he finally pulls his shirt and pants back on.
"Your stuff is in the baggie by the door." Takemi informs him as he's pulling on one of his socks.
Akira nods once more as he finishes pulling on his clothes and chances another glance at the doctor as he moves towards the exit. Takemi doesn't look up at him at all, even when he bends over to pick up the noisy plastic bag she'd placed in front of the door, the doctor seems completely transfixed in the paperwork in her hands, her pen gliding quickly down one of the first few pages of a heavy ream of printed paper. Akira isn't sure what has her attention so drawn or if he should even be curious about it at all.
Deciding that he'd rather not know, Akira finally steps out of the clinic with what he came for and sighs heavily into the cold alleyway of Yongen-Jaya. Somehow, the sun had disappeared from the streets when he'd been with Takemi, making the streets darker and colder than he'd remembered them being a few moments ago. Akira sighs again, the panic and stress from before finally starting to settle in under his skin. The hand that's holding Takemi's baggie begins to shake with excess energy and the crinkling noise that it makes forms a static that accompanies him on the short walk to LeBlanc.
"Joker!" Morgana's voice calls out to him as he approaches the café, "What took you so long? I was starting to think that I might have to get Boss to come find you." The cat is squatting next to the door to LeBlanc with Akira's bag right next to him. With the alley being so dark, Akira can only see the details of either of them—Morgana's bright nose and eyes and the reflective material on the straps of his bag— so he crouches low as well, bending numb knees towards the dark concrete and scooping up his bag over his shoulder and Morgana into his arms before scooting him on top of schoolwork and food wrappers before he finally walks into the café for the night.
Sakura-san is still behind the counter when Akira walks past the counter and some of the customers from when he'd walked in before are still there as well, it's not busy enough for his guardian not to notice him, but the older man doesn't look up as Akira makes for the stairs and disappears up them.
The attic is dim until Akira finds the switch on the wall and casts the room in pale orange light. He drops Morgana off on the table against the attic's banister, leaving his schoolbag along with his roommate before moving to the other side of the space and crawling onto the mattress in the corner of the room.
Akira sucks in a deep breath, wondering why he's still shaking, why everything still feels weird.
Nothing happened. Akira says to himself, repeating Takemi's words from before as he watches his hands to continue shake, fingers coiling around nothing now that the bag is out of his hands. The shake spills out from his hands and through the rest of him as the cafe starts to bleed out, the bell above LeBlanc's only door chimes quietly enough that Akira can barely hear it over the sound of his own breathing.
His entire body is shaking by the time he drags himself to the bathroom to get ready for bed. Water drips off of his chin and slides down the jittery surface off his fingers. The shaking turns to swaying. His feet move under him, throwing his weight forwards then backwards and the image of himself is nauseating in its movement but Akira is having difficulty focusing on anything that isn't watching himself brush his teeth and even that loses clarity as he spits plaque and mint and blood into the basin in front of him.
Akira stumbles on the stairs heading back to the attic and bumps into the wall and the banister twice on either side before he manages to spot the dimly lit bed in the corner of the room and meander towards it.
His mind, like his body, fidgets and twists as he climbs into bed by the light of his cell phone and only just remembers to plug the device in before falling into Tokyo's darkness.
Morgana's sudden pressure on the bed makes him jump, the sore muscles in his stomach react all at once and he jerks straight upwards with the sensation that he might throw up before it, the nausea and the muscle tension, disappear instantly at the sight of Morgana's deep blue eyes catching on moonlight.
His body loosens, dissolving like sand hit with water and Akira slowly settles flatly onto the bed with a sigh.
"Rest up, Joker." Morgana advises. "A good night's sleep is sometimes the only advantage you have in a fight."
Akira's not sure what Morgana means by that, but he finds himself nodding into the darkness of LeBlanc's attic as he finally drifts off to sleep.
On Thursday morning Akira wakes up more anxious than when he went to sleep and the constant glow—though it was more like a heat, since it couldn't be seen—from the personas within him as they moved around, made him jittery as ate breakfast. For some reason, Akira got the feeling that the spirits, or whatever they were, inside of him could feel what he was feeling or at least understand him in some way; that confusion only made him more nervous.
Somehow, he manages to catch a seat on the train rather than standing and the trek to school seems like an eternity before he's able to squeeze out onto the platform.
"Oh! Kurusu-kun!" A voice says before he's being jostled from the side.
Akira's first instinct is to jump back to create distance and summon forth one of the bustling personas inside of him, but when he jumps, all he does is ram himself into someone getting onto the train and lose his footing. No flames envelop his shaking limbs, and nothing happens to the voice that continues to talk to him.
"Oh shoot! I didn't mean to scare you!" The voice says, suddenly attached to the sleeve of a Shujin uniform as it curls into his vision. "It's just me, Mishima!"
"L-let me help you up." Mishima says and the hand in front of him shakes just like Akira's does.
Akira grabs onto the extended hand, it's cold, but sweaty, and let's Mishima help him get back onto his feet. Once he's standing, Mishima starts leading him, first by his hand, but his classmate moves his hand around his shoulder, much like Ryuji had done in the past, except he and Mishima are roughly the same height so when the dark-haired teen starts talking to him, Akira can feel his breath against his skin.
"I uh, actually knew which station you'd be getting off at… Heh." Mishima says and Akira is too frazzled to create more distance between them. "U-uhm, that came out wrong! I just meant, um, when Kamoshida gave me your file, it had your address on it and I just traced the train's path from there to here."
Akira isn't sure what to say to that or why Mishima would do any of those things, so he continues walking with Mishima's arm around his shoulders, feeling out of place.
"I uh, needed to talk to you, a-about, you know, phantom thief stuff… and I didn't know if your phone was being tracked or… something, so I thought it would be better to talk in person." Mishima continues.
The mention of the Phantom Thieves, somehow, makes Akira even more nervous and Mishima's weight across his shoulders makes him even more aware of how much he's tensing up.
Cautiously, he glances around the station, looking for anything suspicious— the student council president, one of the teachers, police, anybody that could get him expelled and thrown in jail for what they were doing. When it seemed clear enough, Akira finally turned towards Mishima and felt his feet stutter at the strange look in Mishima's gaze; intense, dark eyes remind him of Takemi from the night before and Akira feels his body tingle the way it does inside of the MetaVerse.
I can't mess this up, he could tell everyone… Akira sighs to himself, taking a deep breath as he continues walking in sync with the stranger next to him.
"T-that's probably just me being paranoid…" Mishima laughs, "Maybe all these all-nighters in a row are taking a toll, or something. Anyways, I… I picked out a target for you and I want the Phantom Thieves to make him pay." The arm hanging loose over his shoulder gets tighter and Akira can feel Mishima's chest contracting quickly against his. "He's a bully at our school and it's starting to get pretty serious. It's not anything big, like a celebrity, but it will definitely help get your name out there, even if it's only a few people right now."
Mishima's hand reaches into the pocket of his school blazer and Akira can't really do anything except watch as a folded piece of paper disappears inside of his uniform and doesn't come out. Akira feels his face starting to burn under the extended touching and swears the skin on his cheeks were going to peel off when Mishima's hand, hopefully unintentionally, scrapes against a place on his ribs that makes him jerk away from the other.
"Try to get it done quickly, before something bad happens, alright?" Mishima requests, finally separating from him so they're only walking side by side. "And I'll be doing my part by keeping the PhanSite clear of any trolls so only the real supports can get through!"
Mishima dashes forward and onto the steps of Shujin Academy, then turns back, suddenly taller than him. "See ya!" He calls out before disappearing into the mass of black and red uniforms.
Akira feels himself start to deflate once Mishima starts walking up the steps. Was he always like that? Akira can only recall having talked to the other boy once or twice, and he seemed just as quiet as Akira himself, yet in the meager time that Kamoshida has been gone, the stranger that Akira knew was even more strange now.
Mishima doesn't say anything to him as he walks into their shared class just on time, but Akira keeps his guard up anyways, glancing at the dark-haired boy just a few rows over every few minutes to make sure no other surprises happen without him being aware. But Mishima remains quiet and ignores him when the lunch bell rings, and Akira dismisses himself to the roof.
Ryuji ends up limping through the door just when Akira sits down next to splash of sunlight Morgana is curled up in. Akira isn't as lucky, sitting on cooling concrete with the spring breeze is manufacturing chills between the seams of his uniform, but he finds that he doesn't mind being slightly uncomfortable, he could have sworn that it was warmer when he stepped off the station near Shujin, though. He finds that he doesn't mind being slightly uncomfortable, things could be a lot worse, and he has that to be grateful for at the moment.
A weight is thrown into his lap and has him wincing as Ryuji throws his hand up in greeting.
"Shit, sorry, dude." The blond says, sliding in to straddle the patch of sunlight Morgana's plastered to. Sakamoto busies himself with tugging and rolling up the legs on his trousers and pulling off his blazer to expose the rest of one of his very bright t-shirts.
Akira wonders how someone could want more of the cold, but busies himself with examining the thing that Ryuji had thrown at him.
Bread? He can't help but wonder why Sakamoto had given this to him. Akira was the one dragging them all into danger, yet the blond not only stuck around, but gave him food as well?
It was strange.
Setting it aside, Akira digs into the schoolbag that Morgana had abandoned and pulls the plastic bag of Takemi's supplies from it and digs inside of it.
He offers one of the containers of Takemi's medicine to Ryuji.
His teammate stares at the jar in his hand for a moment and Akira is about to wonder if he had somehow offended the other boy when Ryuji speaks up.
"This is the stuff that you used on Ann, right?" Sakamoto asks quietly, rolling the jar around to read the labels.
Akira nods in reply despite Sakamoto not looking at him at all and, for some reason, he's glad that he's alone in that moment when he recalls the feeling of Takamaki's blood seeping into his gloves, her gasping breathes filling up the air as she lie there, dying.
What Akira had used was supposed to fade his scars. It was only by luck that it had fallen out of his pocket and something that he can't even name that it had actually worked like he'd begged it to.
Maybe the cognition had something to do with it. Akira attempts to rationalize, even though he has no way of actually knowing.
"Pain relief and muscle relaxer." Ryuji reads off, "If it works anything like it did back then, I bet I'll be able to run a marathon and kick Madarame's ass back to back." The blond laughs, smiling up towards the clouds.
That smile turns towards him, pivoting sharply, "Thanks, bro! I feel kinda bad now, I only hit you in the junk with some bread."
Akira shrugs in response and the rooftop falls quiet until the rooftop door creaks open, revealing Takamaki.
"Hey guys, you'll never guess who bought me lunch." She greets, holding up some of the bread that Ryuji had given him. "And then guess who bought you three some lunch?" She adds, holding up more identical packages.
"Damn, both of you guys got me somethin'?" Ryuji questions, tilting his chin back to stare at Takamaki upside down.
"I mean, last time, we celebrated after and I was too tired to properly enjoy all of the desserts, so I figured we'd do a little celebration before-hand, y'know?" Takamaki explains with a laugh before lowering herself on Ryuji's other side.
"It'll be different this time, Lady Ann." Morgana speaks up suddenly, "You guys are a lot stronger than the fledglings you were in Madarame's palace, plus we have Fox helping us out now."
"His persona seems really powerful." Takamaki comments, passing bread to each of them, Morgana included.
"Yeah, that samurai thing nearly cut Madarame in half and that's just when Yusuke made the deal or whatever it is." Ryuji adds.
Akira agrees, Kitagawa and his persona are both strong, yet he can't help but find the artist strange and unpredictable. He had no idea what it was that Kitagawa wanted or why he continued to help the Phantom Thieves.
But without his help, Akira wasn't sure that the three of them could take down Madarame's palace. The continuously increasing security and sheer number of shadows, not to mention the things that only Kitagawa would know about Madarame that allowed them to even progress through the museum, without Kitagawa, they probably wouldn't be as close to the treasure as they were now.
For that, Akira is grateful to Kitagawa, but he's still unsure why he doesn't trust him as much as his other teammates.
"W-what is that, Ryuji?" Ann stammers suddenly, pointing towards the innocuous white jar in Ryuji's lap.
"Akira got it for me. Pain and muscle stuff, though I've never seen this brand before." Sakamoto answers.
"Isn't this the same stuff that you…" She trails off, tugging the jar close.
"Yeah…" Ryuji sighs.
"Should work wonders on your leg then." Takamaki says softly, handing it back.
Sakamoto laughs, "Here's hoping."
Akira felt apprehensive in handing Takamaki an identical jar, he hadn't even thought about how seeing it might affect her, but, to his surprise, she accepts it with a smile.
"So I finished up printing off the calling cards last night, they're pretty sick. The guy's weird, but he's one hell of an artist; you guys are gonna be so surprised." Ryuji starts up. "I'd kill to see the look on Madarame's face when he finds out the Phantom Thieves of Hearts are coming after his ass."
"What do you think his treasure will be?" Takamaki questions around pieces of bread.
"Probably a painting? Maybe his first paintbrush or something?" Ryuji guesses.
"I mean, Kamoshida's was his medal, so a painting would make sense…" Takamaki sighs, then speaks up louder. "U-uhm, are you guys nervous about this? I mean, we're getting stronger and all that, and Yusuke-kun is really determined to make him change, but… what if it doesn't work like before? Or we go too far? I'm just… worried, I guess."
Akira nods before he realizes that he wants to, Takamaki's words resonated within him, sinking as quickly as a bullet might—the fear, the doubt, considering everything that might go wrong.
Part of him hopes, though, that everything goes correctly, that nothing terrible happens when they enter Madarame's for the last time.
"We shouldn't start doubting ourselves now, we're too close to Madarame's treasure to back down now." Morgana advices, swallowing down the last chunk of torn up bread from Ryuji's hand.
"I guess you're right, Mona. We need to be at 100% if we're going to make him have a change of heart." With that, Takamaki climbs to her feet, trash and medicine in hand. "I'll head back early so nobody notices anything, make sure you two keep your heads down until this is over, I heard from one of the third years that the police are coming here to re-investigate Kamoshida's confession."
"I'm gonna hit up the place tonight, cover every shitty painting with them, everyone in the city is gonna see what a bastard he is before he's even woke up." Ryuji announces to her as she retreats.
"Just don't get caught, Ryuji!" She calls back.
"Yeah, yeah. Thanks for the heads up." Ryuji says, waving her off and climbs to his feet as well just a moment later. "We get to choose the celebration after this one, so you better find someplace good for us to eat."
Ryuji waits by the door for a few seconds, then wrenches it open. His teammate turns towards him once more and smiles. "Later, 'Kira." He says finally, before walking away.
Akira sighs into the still air. He's not sure what to do. They can't stop being phantom thieves, but Akira is scared of moving forward, of risking not only his life, but the lives of the people who trust him. If they get caught, even Sakura-san might get into trouble. If they end up causing a mental shutdown, everything that they did would have been for nothing.
Just before the bell rings, Akira slides down the stairwell and into his seat. He doesn't mention Mishima's target or his own doubts to Takamaki as he sits down behind her or to Ryuji as the blond climbs down the stairs beside him along with a string of other students.
Akira sinks into the bed in LeBlanc's attic and unscrews the lid to Takemi's medicine. Mint permeates through the air along with other sharp scents that Akira can't name. Carefully, he dips into the mixture, cold to the touch, and presses it into his skin, rolling sore muscles underneath his clothes while Morgana cleans himself on the other end of the room. He doesn't pull any of the other products out from under the bed or from the shelves and finally sinks into the mattress. His knees and toes tingle and he barely feels the sensation fading as he finally falls asleep.
Akira wakes up on Friday with a sense of dread ripping his stomach in two. Today was the day that Madarame would be revealing a new piece of artwork. Today would also be the day that Madarame would find his exhibit covered in calling cards from the Phantom Thieves of Hearts.
Those were the only two things that Akira was sure of when he pulled on his uniform.
The ride out of Yongen Jaya felt like a blur. He tried to pull together everything that he knew about Madarame, about his personas, their abilities, and some of the many painful ways that he could mess this up before he even made it to Shujin.
Nothing bad happens, though, as he rides the train or when he steps onto the station. When he steps into the school, Akira feels like he's just stepped into the MetaVerse, a pressure in the air follows him up the stairs and into his seat behind Takamaki. She doesn't look up when he sits down or even when their homeroom starts for the day.
It feels like the way it did before. Akira unsure, Takamaki unsure, but they both rely on each other.
Akira answers questions in each class, writing, then re-writing with less shaky handwriting and gets most of the questions right. He barely notices the comments people make about him when he does.
Akira plucks at his hair, too, more often than anything else that happens during class. Every few minutes, he glances towards the classroom door, expecting the police to barge in or maybe even Madarame himself.
None of that happens. And when school finally lets out, Akira is tired. Something in his head is long past exhausted and his gaze burns until he finally remembers to blink.
Akira floats down the stairwell, caught in the sea of students that no longer distances themselves from even touching him. He even gets bumped a few times and the panic that flares up, nearly ripping Arsene into existence, when it happens is almost enough for him to miss the days when he was the transfer student with a criminal record rather than… whatever he was now.
Akira makes his way to the station alone and waits on the edge of a long hallway where it doesn't seem too busy. He's staring out of an impossibly tall window, staring down at impossibly busy streets, waiting for something to happen.
Somehow, though, a familiar voice calls to him, even when he hasn't told anybody where he was.
"Will the others be joining us shortly?" Kitagawa-san asks rather suddenly, making him jump in place.
Akira glances up from where he's sitting and staring, and finds Kitagawa-san's standing impossibly tall above him, staring down at him. Akira looks away, back towards the Tokyo blurs and nods at the window.
"This view is… Something I've never seen before." The artist admits. Akira thinks he sounds surprised, but it's hard to tell. "Though, the composition would look much better in winter; black and white. But… ever since that day, it's hard to keep looking at things in such a way. Did you have a moment like that, Kurusu?"
Akira pulls out his phone.
"I don't know what you mean." He offers, confused and numb.
There's a reflection in the window of both of them and Akira sees Kitagawa nod slowly.
"What I mean is, when Goemon… When I heard his voice, I heard my own when he spoke, things that I would never say. After I saw Sensei like that, what he'd been all this time, it felt like those words were pulled from the darkness. Like finding a paint I'd forgotten I asked for. Does that make more sense?" Kitagawa asks soundly.
Akira nods towards the window, knowing that Kitagawa could see him.
Hearing his voice. I thought… Akira isn't sure what he thought, but he felt Arsene's presence ripple under his skin when he thought about him.
Akira knew what Kitwaga meant, but he wasn't sure what the artist wanted, from Madarame or from the Phantom Thieves, so Akira nodded once more and texted his location to his missing teammates.
"It's pretty up here." Takamaki says, sliding against the railing beside him until she was right next to him.
"Are you guys fired up? I got us some energy drinks as a little warm-up." Ryuji says too quickly and a little too loudly. "Ann? Yusuke?"
"No thank you." Kitagawa declines.
"Is it sugar free?" Takamaki questions.
Ryuji scoffs, "Pretty sure the sugar is what gives off the energy, but lemme check."
"I'll pass then." She says, not waiting for any confirmation.
Akira's heart starts racing again, thoughts about Madarame starting to flood back into his head, and he sighs against the window's glass, wondering how they were being so calm.
"We should get going, before the treasure risks disappearing." Morgana advises from under his shoulder.
"Y-yeah." Takamaki agrees, pushing away from the railing and taking a few loud steps away.
Akira stands up carefully, making sure not to jostle Morgana too much, and barely manages to do so before Takamaki is rushing back towards him. She stops right in front of him, face red and fists curled in front of her.
Akira thinks he might be getting punched before Takamaki opens her mouth and barely whispers, "Isn't anyone nervous? Like at all? I'm…"
"Ann…" Morgana whispers back over the squeal of a particularly loud train.
"I'm nervous as fuck!" Ryuji admits loudly, "but we're the Phantom Thieves! We'll get this bastard."
"I must admit, I'm quite apprehensive about what is going to happen, but I won't allow myself to forgive Madarame any longer." Kitagawa adds. "Regardless of emotion, I won't allow myself to fail."
"Dude… That sounded pretty badass." Ryuji gasps, throwing an arm around the artist beside him and spilling some of his opened drink onto the station floor.
"I guess we have no choice but to keep going." Takamaki states firmly.
"Lady Ann, you can still back out. I'd never forgive myself if anything happened to you." Morgana declares suddenly.
"B-back out?" Takamaki jerks back as if Morgana's words had struck her, then launches forward, invading even more of Akira's personal space. "I can't! I wouldn't! For better or worse, I'm a phantom thief!" She yells passionately, pointing right at Akira's chest, where Morgana is hanging.
"Hell yeah!" Ryuji cries out. "Phantom Thieves! Now I'm real fired up!"
"That was very bold." Kitagawa says in way of comment.
Akira feels as if he'd lost track of the conversation, but nods when Takamaki catches his eye.
"Let's do this!" She barks out once more before twisting around and marching towards the exit.
The walk to Madarame's shack isn't a long one, but Akira feels a burn in his legs by the time he's staring down the dilapidated building. Part of him is worried that the building might fall apart when a harsh breeze rips across his neck and is even more worried about what would happen to the museum if that were to happen.
With a deep breath, Akira activates the MetaNav, sinking into Madarame's heart with an unusual feeling binding his heart.
As they run along the halls of Madarame's distortion, Akira can't help but notice how empty each passage is and can't quite remember if it had been the same way when Ryuji had painted Shujin red with Kamoshida's crimes. Still, part of him can't help but feel grateful for the lack of shadows, the other half wishes that he had something to take the wracking vibrations that threatened to trip him each time he stepped forward.
Akira could tell they were closing in on Madarame, even without seeing the artist or following the hidden hallways within his heart, but by the pressure in the air alone, each trembling step forward, Akira could feel it becoming harder to move until it felt like he was wading through a golden fog rather than heading into the depths of the museum. Finally, though, Akira managed to find the control room at the core of Madarame's heart.
Following Skull's cue, Akira lowered the lever on the crane, sinking Mona down until the cat was able to snatch Madarame's desires away in the cover of darkness. Part of him worried, though, that something terrible was going to happen, even as they maneuvered past distorted paintings and shadowless halls.
"T-T-Treasure!" Mona crows, jumping off of the ground and landing on top of where Skull was running with the covered treasure overhead. Both Skull and the treasure toppled over, clattering to the ground with sparks and earsplitting clatters.
Akira knew just by the sound that they were caught.
"Treasure!" The cat purrs, ripping away the curtain that had concealed Madarame's treasure.
"Uh." He says, glimmering cover in one paw and treasure in the other. "Is this… It couldn't be? Get back! It's a fake!" Morgana yells suddenly, leaping backwards just as the treasure- a painting- explodes.
Akira jumps back with an unknown instinct, his feet trembling in heavy boots and fingers the same on a heavier trigger.
Skull and Panther aren't as lucky, aren't as fast and are covered in dripping, wet blackness. It peels off, landing on the floor with a audible sizzle.
"W-what the hell?" Skull stammers wiping at the blackness, only for it to climb onto his hand and not fall off. That same blackness crawls up the inky black sleeve of Skull's jacket and leaves behind trails of itself that bubble up and pop with a rumbling sizzle.
"It won't come off!" Panther exclaims, her whip lost on the floor as she and Fox try to pry off the darkness only to have it spread between them endlessly.
"Thought you'd get away with this so easily, you damn brats?" Madarame's voice grated out as the man suddenly appeared in front of them.
Akira stepped back on instinct, the man's golden presence filling the room with air that was too hard to breathe, let alone fight in.
"Sensei!" Fox growls, pulling away from Panther. "You must hand over your treasure, I do not wish to harm you." The artist says evenly.
Madarame laughs, it fills the room with more than just sound, as shadows suddenly pool up from the floor. A pair of them, just to Madarame's side, holds the treasure that Akira had seen before- The Sayuri. It glows faintly in the air and Akira feels it beckon to him, like the path between him and it were only a step away.
Akira suppresses the urge and sucks in a deep breath, trying to straighten up so he can defend his unguarded teammates.
"Madarame!" Fox shouts. It's the loudest Akira has ever heard his voice and the suddenness of it makes him flinch backwards, drawing the attention of several of Madarame's shadows. "I can't forgive the things you've done. Your actions are unbecoming of an artist; can't you see that? Please reconsider!"
"Were you always such a fool, Yusuke?" Madarame seethes, rasping deeply enough that smoke billows out between his teeth. "I am the only true artist left! I've sculpted the most powerful tools imaginable! Hundreds of them to paint in my likeness, no other artist can claim such prestige. None of them as talented to do what only I can!"
"Tools?" Mona scoffs, "Is that what you called your students?"
Madarame's painted lips stretch wide, exposing rows of bright white teeth. "Only the ones that understand how lucky they are to have me as their teacher. Like your mother was before she tried to leave!"
"My mother?" Fox rasps.
"Yes." Madarame hisses, "She wanted a 'better life' for her child and tried to take off with this." A frail arm lifts up, pointing towards The Sayuri.
"My mother painted Sayuri?" Fox questions, stepping forwards, towards the painting.
"That's not what the signature says!" Madarame laughs, only to start coughing violently. One of which has the artist bending over with a heave and Akira watches, transfixed, as a trail of inky darkness drips out of the artist's mouth and wriggles onto the floor.
"She had a seizure on her way out, hit her head right here." Madarame groans, his voice so distorted Akira can barely understand him, and taps at his forehead.
"I couldn't believe how lucky I was! Even now, whenever I see her face, I think about the look in her eyes as she drowned in her own fluids!" Another laugh sent the man into a coughing fit, making him bend over just as Goemon's massive sword sweeps past where his head was.
"You're beyond redemption, Madarame!" Fox roars, unsheathing his own sword and slashing forward with a violent sweep of steel.
Akira readies himself, gripping his blade firmly before leaping forward and sinking it into the nearest shadow, it screams, bellowing fire into the air before falling into ashes at his feet.
"Joker!" Mona calls out, drawing Akira's attention to his other two teammates, now nearly encased in the painting's black goo. Both of them are shrinking down towards the floor, as if the gravity of the room had somehow shifted and the blackness threatened to block them in.
Several of the shadows had noticed this before Akira could and were marching towards the kneeling pair with only Morgana to hold them back.
Akira rushes into the fray, calling Phoenix into being with a flash of light that washes over the gallery around them in a bright flash.
The goo warping his teammates doesn't react at all to his persona, but several of the shadows melt into the ground and the opening gives Morgana time to call on his own persona and the two attempt at blasting the trap away with a burst of wind.
"Fuck, fuck, fuck!" Skull yelps out, just before the blackness folds in entirely around his form and muffles his cries into a dull scream.
Panicked, Akira convinces Pheonix to send out a blast of wind as well, her wings flapping intensely towards his teammate while Akira defends her from more advancing shadows.
"Joker!" Panther shrieks. "Mona!"
She sinks into the blackness as well, falling to the floor in a crumpled mess of ink.
"They won't last much longer!" Mona cries out, unsheathing his blade and attempting to slash at the mess, only for it to absorb the sharpened steel, swallowing it to the hilt.
"Zorro! Do something!" The cat shouts desperately as he takes to clawing at the mess.
Morgana's persona inflates, growing in size, then flicks his narrow blade in Skull's direction, sending a massive burst of air that whistles as loudly as a train. Akira feels the pressure in the room change, turning frigid as the onslaught of wind continuously pelts at the surface of the blackened figure.
Akira splits his attention between the two figures, shooting and slashing at shadow after shadow until finally, the blackness surrounding Skull's figure starts to slip away. It moves slow, like nothing he's ever seen before, until it seems to fall completely off the blond.
Skull sucks in a deep, desperate gasp and immediately crawls onto all fours to throw up even more of the darkness that had just released him.
Phoenix and Zorro turn onto Panther, throwing the same massive gusts onto her until the same thing happens and Carmen bursts forth, illuminating haunting paintings with bright orange flame.
Captain Kidd bursts forth from thin air and Akira's attention is turned back to Madarame's form as an onslaught of lighting streaks across his golden attire and brings the elderly man to his knees.
"You killed my mother!" Fox shouts, sounding hoarse, just before he leaps into the air, blade streaking like a bolt of lighting as he attempts to sink his blade into Madarame's staggered form.
The gilded floor crackles with sparks as the pointed end of Fox's blade sinks into it, penetrating the ground where Madarame had just been.
Akira sweeps the area, activating the Thief Vision until he spots the blue-sheened artist sweeping across the floor like fog and collecting pieces of the incapacitated shadows.
"I've had enough of these games." Madarame's voice calls out just as Akira loses sight of him again. "Useless tools need to be shattered!"
"Behold, Yusuke, my greatest masterpiece!" Laughing wickedly, Madarame's form sweeps into view, appearing in a cloud of golden mist that is only in front of them for a single breath before it collapses in on itself. Madarame's form grows brighter and brighter, casting each painting in the room with a golden sheen so bright that Akira is forced to cover his eyes from it.
"Hehehe" Madarame laughs sinisterly somewhere in the too bright light. "DIE, PHANTOM THIEVES!" The artist roars thunderously.
Akira rolls back, just barely dodging a presence he was blinded to before it crashed into the floor.
Unshielding his face, Akira glances to the spot he'd just been and finds a crater etched into the golden floor. Floating above that was a blackened weapon attached to an equally blackened arm that seemed to ooze out of a floating painting frame.
Akira barely had time to understand what he was seeing before he was throwing himself backwards again, narrowly avoiding colliding with Mona as the cat dodges an identical attack from a separate source.
Four of the frames floated in the air around them, circling them like the shadows had been doing before. Each frame, like everything in Madarame's heart, was cast in gold, shining blearily into the space around it as it shifted weightlessly though the air.
The next attack had Akira rolling to the side, again, barely dodging one of his teammates before a different frame tried to sweep in with a deadly looking blade.
During the next sweep, he wasn't so lucky, and he hissed quietly as an impossibly sharp blade sliced through his coat and into his skin. Blood shed quickly from the wound and splattered noisily onto the floor with sickening plops. Akira grabs at the wound, trying to dull the pain or draw pity one of his personas and managing neither, and is too distracted to notice the advancing figure in front of him.
A black figure dives into his chest and sends him flying backwards, just as another flies in front of his face. Akira can see his blood on its blade, slicking down in beads as the weapon channels by.
"Fuck!" Skull screams in front of him, just as the blade Akira had noticed too late swipes cleanly at Ryuji's leg—the figure that had shoved, or kicked, him away from the swinging blade.
The stench of blood quickly filled the room and Skull screamed in pain, grasping at the horrendously deep gash across the front of his thigh.
"I got him!" Mona calls out, rolling into proximity with a clash of steel on steel. "Just keep that thing off of me!" He orders.
Akira nods, holding his knife close and pulls Arsene into being with a single breath, there's a long moment of quiet before Akira feels something ripple along his exposed skin and he jerks to the side just in time for his knife to crash against another black blade. The two metals scratch against each other, spitting out sparks as both weapons cry in protest. The phantom limb continues to push forward, making him slide back against the damaged floors as his weapon continues to wobble in protest, threatening to shatter.
Tightening his grip on his weapon, Akira reaches down and pulls his gun back up. His left hand shakes, unused to the weight and the pressure, he fires blindly up at the limb and golden frame and is only sure that he manages to hit something when the painting wails horribly into the air with Madarame's voice.
"You fucking brat!" It roars from just above him.
Akira curls his weapons close, expecting a terrible retaliation, but watches, confused, as the limb reels back into the frame and disappears from sight. The frame clatters to the floor with a heavy thud and groans in pain when Akira shoots at it again.
Arsene swoops down, massive black wings making the air crack like a whip before he's suddenly looming over the painting. Claw-like fingers smash into the ground around the frame, snaring it in place.
"Gather the others!" Arsene says to him, words shifting from being said out loud and being yelled across the void they share.
Akira nods quickly and turns his back to his other half and sets about rescuing his teammates, only to find, when he's about to move, that his foot is caught in place from the black mass Madarame had spit out earlier.
It feels like it's… biting me? Thousands of tiny teeth dig in through the stitching in his clothes, ripping at his skin and Akira tries to tug away from inky darkness but finds that only makes it worse.
Without being able to move, Akira finds his options limited, even more so when the black mess that had only been digging into his boot began crawling up his leg, immobilizing him further.
Firing bullet after bullet, Akira shot at the floating frames that swept across the gallery floor, threatening to kill them in a single slice. Akira shot until his hands trembled with the excess recoil. He shot until the gun in his hands clicked hollowly, then shot twice more, recreating that disheartening sound.
With few options left, Akira threw his empty gun at one of the still fighting frames and gasped in a bubble of air just before the darkness swallowed him whole. Once it did, Akira felt himself falter, the sudden heat of suffocation brought him to his knees and his skin slicked over quickly as the air he sucked in began growing warmer and warmer.
Less pure oxygen and nothing left to convert. Akira recognizes between useless slashes of his knife. Soaked instantly in his own sweat, Akira feels an even darker darkness waiting just beyond his next breath and tries desperately to stall the time before he's shoved through that gate.
The blackness around him opens up with a roar of flame that blankets his skin in blistering heat. Akira wheezes in a silent scream as it roars over his skin, baking parts of his clothes and melting them into his skin, other parts simply shrivel up, screaming in high pitch before crumbling into ashes in the wind along with whatever had snared him.
Even worse than his clothes started to melt into his skin, was the pain in his lungs as he sucked in his first clear breach of air. He choked on his first gasp, then rolled onto his side to avoid throwing up on his own face. There was a long series of retches until Akira could finally calm himself down enough to take back to his feet and continue fighting.
"Morgana! Help Joker!" Panther barked, flaming fingers already directing another massive well of flame onto one of Madarame's pieces.
Soothing, chilly air washed over him as he pushed past his painful limits. Grabbing his knife, and unable to call on Arsene, Akira dashed around a flailing limb and slashed at its gangly appendage at the same moment Fox did, causing it to fall to the ground with two sick thuds as different pieces of it crashed to the ground.
"Ahhh!" Madarame's voice screamed from the painting before the frame clattered to the ground, appearing lifeless.
"Goemon!" Fox shouted. In the next instant, the massive persona slammed two gleaming blades downwards, arcing sharply into the frame's opposite ends, pinning in place.
"Let's handle the next!" Fox suggested, not sounding frantic at all, before dashing towards the closest of two remaining frames.
"Let's go, Captain!" Skull ordered, forcing his persona into raining down a barrage of bullets that Akira had a difficult time maneuvering through until he was just in range to stab at the wildly swinging limb. The grotesque looking limb went still when Akira's hand had already gone numb and Akira fell to the floor with the frame falling just in front of him.
"Pin it down!" Fox barked urgently and Skull glanced towards the other boy for a moment before Captain Kidd's massive boat collapsed on top of the still frame.
"One more!" Mona announced, turning their attention to the final piece of Madarame.
"I can't hit it!" Panther complained, throwing another ball of fire that whizzed past Madarame's final limb and exploded onto a nearby wall, charring it black and orange with flames and embers.
"Let me try!" Skull decides, shooting blast after blast into the wriggling limb. Fox is quick to follow, blasting round after round into the beast until all Akira hears is the sharp tinkling of shells on golden floors over the sound of Madarame's screams.
"Carmen! Go!" Panther orders suddenly. Her persona rushes forward from the edge of the battle and plants two heeled shoes on either end of the portrait.
Akira pants and collapses to his knees as the battle dies down, grinding to a silent halt as nothing else moves in the gallery. The burn of his melted clothes roars up and he rubs at his now exposed skin, hoping that it wouldn't be permanent.
"What do we do now?" Skull questions, bent over but still standing.
"We should shove the pieces back together." Fox states firmly.
"That might work… or maybe not." Mona offers, unsure.
"We'll just… Beat his ass again… Phantom Thieves, remember?" Panther smiles between pants.
"R-right." Skull offers, waving his hand towards his persona.
Akira does the same and watches as the four massive creatures begin closing in on each other, each of them holding a piece of Madarame, until finally they squish the frames into a stack and lower it down.
Madarame appears before them, still in his golden robe and makeup, but with The Sayuri clutched in his arms and a terrified expression on his face.
Akira finds it hard to look at.
Fox approaches first and Madarame screams in terror. "N-none cares for art, for true art!" The elderly man cries out, "Isn't that right, Yusuke? Aren't you tired of it all?"
The teen stops in his tracks before his old teacher.
"I'm a victim in this too!" Madarame wails, "Can't you see that, Yusuke? Don't I deserve mercy in this?"
The artist slinks back, falling back with The Sayuri clutched strongly in his arms, "D-don't you agree? The art world is all about money, after all! You can't have art without money! You can't rise up without wealth!"
Madarame slides backwards, "You understand, don't you?" The artist asks beckons again, "Being a poor artist is truly miserable!"
"Please!" Madarame wails, "Please don't make me return to that life!"
Fox steps forward, advancing until he's able to grab onto Madarame's arm. "Being poor has nothing to do with being miserable!" The younger growls. "A fiend like you has no right to speak about the world of art!"
Dropping his grip on Madarame, Fox grabs onto the painting and wrenches it away from the other. "You're done for, along with this abominous world!"
"No! Don't kill me! Please!" Madarame begs, lowering himself until he's bowing before them. "Spare me!"
"Fox…" Panther says quietly, drawing the artist's attention.
"… Return to your true self." Fox says loudly, "Let your crimes be known to humanity—All of them!"
"Y-you're going to spare me?" Madarame questions.
"Swear it! Swear it on my mother!" Fox barks, sword swiftly working under Madarame's trembling chin. "Swear it on all the lives you've ruined!"
The elderly artist nods against Fox's blade. "All right! I swear it! I'll confess!" He shrieks.
Gasping, Madarame turns back to look up at them. "W-w-what about the other one? With the black mask? What about them?"
"Black… mask?" Fox repeats, turning back towards them.
"Who's he talking about?" Panther questions rapidly.
"Another persona user?" Mona suggests. "Could another one have targeted Madarame?"
"Aren't they gonna be shit outta luck, though?" Skull questions, "The palace gets destroyed when we take the treasure, right?"
"What do you know about the black mask?" Fox attempts, threatening Madarame once more, only for the man to become encompassed in a pure white light.
"…Thank you." Madarame whispers, just before disappearing completely.
"W-what?" Fox gasps, sliding his blade over the blank space just before the floor rumbles dangerously beneath them.
"We'll worry about it later!" Mona demands just as the floor gives another violent rattle.
"I- Woah! We need to get out of here!" Panther shouts.
"I have an idea!" Mona shouts before turning into his bus form. "I won't be able to hold this form for long. Get in!"
Akira steps forward, climbing inside of his teammate's configured body and presses into the gas as soon as the other three are inside. Using Morgana's speed, they're able to sweep through the collapsing walls of Madarame's palace, but massive pieces of it begin to fall all around them, threatening death and Akira feels his heart threaten to rip through what's left of his coat as he maneuvers through the debris and crashes through the disintegrating palace.
"Wait!" Mona calls loudly from outside, just before he shrinks back into his normal form, leaving them falling just past the gate of Madarame's palace.
"W-we should heal your wounds before we leave, Joker." His teammate urges, "Zorro!" He calls out suddenly. The massive figure flares into being, but flickers and fades like a blown-out candle.
"I can't use my persona!" Mona cries out.
"Let me try." Panther suggests, taking in a deep breath before shouting out. Carmen too, appears in a bright flash of fire, but flickers before Panther can ask for anything.
"W-we gotta go! We'll figure it out later!" Skull shouts, yellow gloves pointing towards the sinking floor of Madarame's palace, an utter darkness that's growing closer to them.
Akira activates the MetaNav, dragging them away from Madarame's heart, just as the crackling ground threatens to consume them.
