5/14/20XX
Sunday: Daytime
Madarame Art Exhibit
With Midterms wrapped up, the Phantom Thieves, plus a rather unenthusiastic Ryuji, went with Miku to the Art Exhibit Tsubasa and Yusuke invited them to. "Wow... There's a lot more people here than I thought there'd be..." Miku said, surprised by how crowded the exhibit was.
"I'm still surprised you ended up coming too, Ryuji." Kirika teased. "I thought you said that art 'wasn't your thing' dess."
"You told me to come, remember?" Ryuji sighed.
As the thieves finally reached the exhibit, Miku could see a large crowd forming around one man in the center of the room. Upon getting a closer look, Miku was able to spot an older man in a traditional Japanese kimono who was being interviewed by a woman reporting on the exhibit's opening. Seeing this, Miku decided to stop and listen in on the interview.
"Your imagination continues to astonish us." The woman said. "It's hard to believe such expansive styles all stem from just one person... Where in the world does all of your inspiration come from?"
"Well, it's quite difficult to put into words..." The man said, putting a hand on his chin as he thought. "But... They naturally well up from within my heart, like bubbles rising one after another in the spring."
"Naturally, you say?" The woman asked.
"What's important is distancing oneself from worldly desires like fame and fortune." The man continued. "My atelier is a modest shack, but it's more than enough to pursue true beauty."
"A shack?" Miku thought to herself.
"I see. So the act of emptying one's mind gives rise to inner beauty." The woman stated, summarizing what the man had said. "Impressive as always, Madarame-Sensei!"
Madarame chuckled at the compliment. "The title 'Sensei' doesn't mean much to me." He said. "If you're able to look at my works and feel something, that's all I could ever ask for. So please, take a look around and enjoy the exhibit."
The other Phantom Thieves listened in on the interview as well, equally as intrigued by it as Miku was... except for Ryuji... "So, that's Madarame?" Shirabe thought aloud. "Not gonna lie, I expected him to be a little younger than that..."
"He seems like a really nice guy.." Hibiki interjected. "I could see myself being a fan of his art!"
Ryuji scoffed. "If you say so..."
While the other, interested thieves shared their positive opinions on Madarame, something about him just didn't sit right with Miku. But before she could explore that train of thought further, someone came walking up to them. "Kohinata-san!" Yusuke said as he happily walked over to her, with Tsubasa not too far behind. "You came!"
"I mean, I did promise that I would." Miku replied.
"I'm more surprised you managed to convince your friend to join you." Tsubasa added in reference to Ryuji.
"Yeah? So what?" Ryuji barked.
"Make sure that you don't get in the way of the other guests." Yusuke said in a deadpan tone before turning his attention swiftly back to Miku. "Come now. I'll show you around. I'd like to speak more about the picture I'd like to draw, too."
"O-Okay." Miku replied as she started to follow Yusuke through the exhibit. "I'll see you guys later."
Tsubasa waved the two off as she turned her attention back to the other four. "Feel free to take a look around the exhibit. If you need help looking for any specific art piece, just refer to this map." She said, pulling out some maps and handing them to the thieves. "Now, if you'll excuse me..." With that said, Tsubasa left the other thieves to their own devices, smirking to herself once she was far enough away from them.
Meanwhile, Yusuke was showing Miku around the Art Exhibit. While she had her doubts about Madarame due to that one shadow in Mementos, she couldn't help but appreciate the artwork on display. "Wow... I didn't realize there were so many different types of Japanese art." Miku said.
"Usually, one concentrates on their own style. However, Sensei created all of this by himself." Yusuke stated. "He's special."
"Interesting." Miku replied, listening to Yusuke's explanation as she looked at the various artworks, before her eyes spotted one in the corner of the room. "Oh? That's an interesting piece."
Miku had seen an art piece that looked like the view of a pond with the sun setting behind it, which intrigued her. "You... find it interesting?" Yusuke asked. "Why is that?"
"I'm not exactly sure, to be honest. But something about it just speaks to me. It feels like a lot of anger and frustration went into this piece. It just seems strange that something like this came from Madarame, when he seems so calm and collected in his interviews. Maybe it's just me, though?" Miku stated, only stopping when she noticed that Yusuke seemed tense. "Is everything okay, Yusuke-san?"
"Don't mind me." He answered. "There are better pieces than... This one. Come now, this way!"
Yusuke began to walk away from the painting to show Miku more of the exhibit, but something about Yusuke's reaction to her statement really stuck out to her. "That was... Odd..."
After following Yusuke around the exhibit for a couple hours, Miku finally left the exhibit, making sure to say goodbye to Tsubasa first. But, once she was away from the exhibit, she texted the others to check in on them.
Miku: I just got done talking with Yusuke. Are you all still there at the exhibit?
Hibiki: Ryuji and I left around the same time. We're currently at the arcade.
Shirabe: Kiri-chan and I just left the exhibit now.
Shirabe: Kiri-chan told me to say that we can see you, Miku.
Miku looked behind her, and true to Shirabe's word, Kirika and Shirabe were walking towards her, the former of the two waving at Miku. Miku waved back before going back to her phone.
Miku: Okay. Then, could we meet up at the Hideout? There's something I wanted to talk about with everyone.
Hibiki: Sure thing! We're in the middle of a round of Air Hockey, but we'll be right there after we're done.
"Works for us, dess!" Kirika said, herself and Shirabe having caught up with Miku.
Miku: Sounds good. We'll see you two there.
With that said, Miku put away her phone and walked with Kirika and Shirabe to the hideout. "So, what did you want to talk about?" Shirabe asked.
"I'll wait until Hibiki and Ryuji are with us to go into the details, but something seems... Off about Madarame..." Miku replied.
Thieves' Hideout
After waiting for half an hour, Ryuji and Hibiki finally came to the hideout. "What took you two so long, dess?" Kirika asked.
"Sorry!" Hibiki apologized. "Ryuji and I were in a very intense game of Air Hockey and we lost track of just how long we were playing, so we ended it in a stalemate."
"Which I still think is bull..." Ryuji added. "I was about to win and you know it."
Hibiki nervously chuckled at Ryuji's comment. "S-So, what did you want to talk about?"
"There's something that's been bugging me." Miku said, grabbing her phone and pulling up a page on Mishima's Phan-site. "This."
"What about the Phan-site?" Ryuji asked.
"On the way here, Miku said that something about when Madarame used the word 'shack' stuck in her mind." Shirabe explained. "She thinks the comments might be referring to him."
Curious, Hibiki read one of the comments that Miku was showing them.
"A master of the Japanese arts is plagiarizing his pupil's work. He makes his pupils live in a shack and treats them like slaves. He teaches nothing and bosses them around. He treats them inhumanely, as if disciplining a dog."
"Abuse on top of plagiarism, huh?" Kirika thought aloud.
"But Madarame seemed like a nice guy..." Hibiki said, doubtful that the comments were referring to him.
"I had my doubts about the comments at first when I saw them yesterday, too." Miku admitted. "But when I was walking around the exhibit with Yusuke earlier, he seemed frustrated when I was surprised that one of the pieces was Madarame's work. Needless to say, something about his reaction seemed off..."
"If this is true, then it'll be a huge scandal." Ryuji added. "He could be our next target."
"Don't be too hasty, dess." Kirika said. "With him currently being in the limelight, it would be dangerous for us to make a move without solid proof that these claims are true."
"I know! I know!" Ryuji responded, getting a doubtful look from the demon girl, which he ignored, turning his attention towards Miku. "By the way, what did you do about that whole modeling thing?"
"Yusuke-san gave me his contact info, as well as the address to his sensei's atelier." Miku said, which sparked a mental lightbulb in Ryuji's mind.
"He said he lives there, right? Perfect timing!" Ryuji exclaimed. "Let's try goin' tomorrow. We can meet up at Madarame's house right after school!"
"H-Huh?" Miku asked. "Don't you think it'd be suspicious for me to show up literally the next day to be his model?"
"What?" Ryuji asked in response. "We're just gonna go to Kitagawa, and maybe Kazanari if she's there, too."
"Oh, that's what you mean..." Miku said, starting to realize what Ryuji was getting at, before she began to worry about something else. "But do you think it's a good idea for all of us to go? I mean, it'd be kind of weird for all five of us to show up at his doorstep when he'd only be expecting me."
"You three can go on without us." Shirabe spoke up. "Kiri-chan and I have plans tomorrow anyway."
"Oh?"
Kirika began to chuckle nervously. "W-Well, a while ago, Shirabe convinced her grandparents to let me stay with her at their family's Inn... And they finally said I could move in."
"That's great to hear!" Miku said, giving Kirika a hug.
"You're not upset?" Kirika asked. "I know I've been helping you with creating tools at home, so I figured you'd be upset that I wouldn't be there as often..."
"Why would that upset me? It's clear that you and Shirabe have become close friends like Hibiki and myself, so it's only natural that you'd want to be closer." Miku said, which made both Kirika and Shirabe blush. "Besides, I'm sure you'd just be able to use your magic to warp over to our place and help whenever I needed it."
"Told you so." Shirabe said, which made Kirika blush harder.
"Well that takes care of that issue, at least." Ryuji added. "We'll be sure to let you two know how our investigation goes once we leave Madarame's tomorrow, that is, if you're still down for it, Miku."
"Of course." Miku replied. "The sooner we can confirm or deny these rumors, the better."
"Alright!" Ryuji cheered.
Sunday: Evening
Tachibana Residence
With the plan set in motion, the thieves returned to their various homes for the night to be ready for tomorrow. Once they got home, Miku and Hibiki helped Kirika pack her things for the move to Shirabe's. "And you're sure you're fine with this, dess?" Kirika asked.
"Yes, Kirika." Miku reassured her friend. "I meant what I said back then. If you truly want to live with Shirabe, then by all means, do it."
"Besides, you can always come back when you feel like it." Hibiki added. "Just be sure to give us a heads up, and we'll make sure the room is ready for you, okay?"
Kirika started to tear up from Hibiki and Miku's kind words. "Now I know I can't be a real demon, because you two are making me all emotional, dess." Kirika lunged at the two girls, pulling them in for a big hug. "Thank you both so much for being such good friends!"
"I'm glad we were able to become friends, Kirika." Hibiki said.
"We'll be sure to let you and Shirabe know what we find out about Madarame as soon as we can." Miku added.
"I know you will." Kirika replied, wiping the tears from her eyes. "And make sure to keep Ryuji out of trouble, dess."
"Easier said than done, I'm afraid." Miku chuckled. "Well, we better get some sleep. Goodnight, Kirika."
"Goodnight, dess!"
5/15/20XX
Monday: After School
Madarame's Shack
After classes wrapped up for the day, the thieves went about their separate plans: Shirabe and Kirika went to the former's family Inn to get the latter unpacked while the others went with Miku to get whatever information they could on Madarame.
After a decent walk from Shibuya station, they arrived at the address Yusuke gave Miku. "So, this is the place?" Ryuji asked.
"According to what Yusuke-san sent me." Miku answered, equally as surprised that someone like Madarame would be living here. Doubts aside, Miku walked up to the door and placed her hand on the doorbell. "Well, here goes nothing..."
Miku rang the doorbell and, after a brief moment of silence, Yusuke answered. "Who is it?"
"It's Kohinata." Miku answered. "I was wonder if I-"
"I'll be right out!" Yusuke said, interrupting Miku as he sprinted for the door. "Kohinata-san...And you two, as well?"
Hibiki was shocked at Yusuke's quick change in tone when addressing herself and Ryuji, but the latter wasn't as bothered. "Sorry to disappoint." He said.
"I don't recall inviting you." Yusuke retorted.
"Well, Yusuke-san, you see..."
"Are the rumors about Madarame true?" Ryuji asked, interrupting Miku a second time. "The plagiarism? The abuse? We read about it online."
"Ryuji!" Both Hibiki and Miku hissed at Ryuji, giving him a death glare at how reckless he was being.
Yusuke, however, started to laugh. "Preposterous! Not only is the plagiarism impossible, but abuse?" Yusuke verbally lashed out at Ryuji. "He welcomes pupils into his own home! This is not an act of violence; it is charity!"
"B-But..."
"And myself and Kazanari-Senpai are currently residing here and studying under him." Yusuke continued, not giving Ryuji a chance to retort. "I'm saying it's not true, so it's beyond doubt."
"Y-You might be lyin' about it!" Ryuji finally retorts.
"That... That is utter rubbish..." Yusuke said, shaken by Ryuji's words for a moment before recomposing himself. "I had no family when Sensei took me in and he raised me into what you see now! If you continue to ridicule the man I owe my life to, you will rue this day!"
Hearing the commotion outside, two people emerged from the inside of the shack: Tsubasa and Madarame himself. "Kitagawa. What is going on out here?" Tsubasa asked.
"I'm sorry." Yusuke apologized to Madarame and Tsubasa. "These people are slandering you with baseless rumors, Sensei."
"Rumors?" Madarame asked, looking at the visibly shaken Ryuji and co. before letting out a sigh. "...Forgive them, Yusuke. They must've heard some bad rumors and came in worry for their friend's safety."
"...Understood, Sensei." Yusuke replied hesitantly.
"Even I doubt a cranky old man like myself could be liked by everyone. But Yusuke has done nothing wrong. I beg of you to look upon him favorably." Madarame said to the thieves as he began to apologetically bow, which surprised his pupils. "But enough chatting on the doorstep. Come in, everyone." Saying this, Madarame went back inside the shack to leave the teenagers to talk amongst themselves.
"I actually have some quick errands I need to run, so I must be off." Tsubasa said as she walked through the thieves and Yusuke. "I'll see you later, Kitagawa."
Yusuke waved as Tsubasa left the shack, before turning his attention back to the thieves. "That was discourteous of me... I'm sorry." He said, apologizing for his outburst, before an idea sparked in his mind. "...I know! I think you'll be able to believe in Sensei if you saw that painting. Follow me."
The thieves follow Yusuke inside the shack to a room upstairs. Inside the room were various boxes, an easel, and a shelf next to the window filled with painting supplies and a blue binder. Walking over to the shelf, Yusuke pulls out the binder, flipping through the various artworks within. "When you see this, I'm sure you'll forget those idiotic rumors." He said, before finally pulling one of the pieces from the binder and holding it delicately. "This is what I wanted to show all of you. Sensei's maiden work, his masterpiece. 'Sayuri.'"
The painting he showed the thieves was that of a woman with a long black ponytail in a red shirt staring down at a mysterious blue mist with a cherry blossom tree branch behind her. "This is the painting that inspired me to become an artist." Yusuke stated. "Although the original was stolen, its whereabouts unknown..."
Needless to say, the thieves were in awe of the Sayuri. "Beautiful." Miku said, unable to say any other words to describe what she was looking at.
"I don't know all this art stuff, but even I can tell that's impressive." Ryuji added, impressed by the artwork, for once in his life.
Yusuke put the painting away before continuing. "When I first saw you, I felt the same powerful emotion as when I saw this painting. I wish to pursue beauty like this. And I believe drawing you will be part of that pursuit." Yusuke said, making Miku blush. "I implore you: seriously consider my offer. However, I must ask that we discuss this further another time, for I must assist Sensei today. If you'll excuse me, then."
With that said, the thieves walked out of the shack to discuss their findings, and their lack of any true leads towards the Madarame claims. "Those two... seem like nice guys, don't they?" Ryuji asked.
"It seems like Madarame really is a good person. I can tell that Yusuke-san really respects him, too." Hibiki agreed. "Do you think the rumors could be wrong?"
"Maybe." Miku answered.
"Looks like we're off the mark this time. Let's go home." Ryuji sighed as he started to walk towards the train station. "Still, I'm surprised that it really was a shack."
"Right?" Hibiki said. "Who would've guessed?"
Ping
Miku heard her phone go off, which made her look down and see something that surprised her. "Miku? Is everything alright?" Hibiki asked.
"The Meta-Nav is reacting." Miku answered.
"What?!" Hibiki and Ryuji gasped.
"You have a hit." The Meta-Nav alerted audibly.
"A hit?!" Ryuji asked.
"But how is that possible?" Hibiki asked. "Was it listening to our conversation?"
"I don't know..." Miku replied. "But, regardless of how it happened, this could only mean that Madarame has a Palace, just like Kamoshida did."
"Really?" Ryuji asked. "That old man? Having a Palace?"
"I... I can't believe it." Hibiki added, equally as shocked as Ryuji. "What should we do?"
"We need to find out what we can." Miku said. "If we can at least get an idea of what we're getting into, then it will be easier for us to come back with Kirika and Shirabe."
"Yeah, but, how exactly are we going to get into his Palace?" Ryuji asked.
"Well, we already know how the Meta-Nav works." Miku stated. "If it's anything like last time, then all we need is the name of who controls the Palace, where the Palace is in reality, and what they view the place as. We already have the first two, now we just need the latter. Any ideas?"
"I've... got nothin'." Ryuji sighed. "Either of you got anything?"
Hibiki thought for a moment, before letting out a defeated sigh. "No... I'm still too surprised by this to think straight..."
Miku, while also surprised by the fact that Madarame has a Palace, continued to think. "Well, Madarame is an artist, so maybe his Palace has something to do with buildings related to art..." She thought aloud, before one place came to mind. "A Museum?"
Beginning Navigation
Shadow Madarame's Palace
After the Meta-Nav went off, The trio found themselves transported to what looked like a parking lot in the middle of the night. As for the shack that was Madarame, Yusuke, and Tsubasa's home, it had transformed from a almost broken-down building to that of a massive golden complex. "It really is here!" Warrior exclaimed.
"It's so extravagant... to the point that it's gaudy." Echo added. "If his works are already as popular as they are in reality, why does he fantasize about a museum?
"You got a point... It ain't related to plagiarism or abuse, either." Skull added. "Perhaps it has to do with pursuing beauty?"
"Maybe..." Echo thought, before her train of thought was interrupted by the sound of an impact on one of the cars in the parking lot. "What was that?"
The trio quickly looked around the lot, before noticing a blue blur scale the wall next to a big truck and vanishing over said wall. "Was that a person?" Warrior asked.
"Only one way to find out. Let's go after them!" Skull said, running in the direction of the blur.
"Ryuji! Wait!" Warrior exclaimed, chasing after Skull.
"Hibiki- And she's gone too..." Echo sighed. "Well, I better go after them..."
And so, the thieves chased after the blue blur they saw. Until, eventually, the blur vanished from Skull's sight as it leapt into the building through an open plate in the skylight on the roof. Figuring that the blur went through the opening, Skull was about to open it, until. "Skull!" Warrior shouted. "Wait for us!"
Skull turned around to see Echo and Warrior, who weren't exactly happy at the moment. "What are you thinking, running in alone like that?" Echo asked.
"I don't want to lose that thing!" Skull replied. "Besides, I know you two could easily catch up."
"The point stands that it was dangerous to run off on your own." Echo restated. "Regardless, I'm sure we'll run into whoever or whatever that was at the parking lot eventually, so there's no need to rush things."
"...You're right..." Skull said. "Sorry 'bout that."
"Now then, if this is anything like Kamoshida's castle, then security surely hasn't made it easy for them to get far." Echo continued. "Let's try to avoid confronting any shadows until Imp and Maiden are back with us, okay?"
"You got it!" Skull and Warrior replied.
Now sticking close to one another, the thieves entered the museum through the skylight, making sure to avoid any shadows they spotted and doing everything they could to not alert security.
After a while, and with no sign of any threats, the trio entered a room with hardly any form of security, taking the moment to take a look at their surroundings. "What is this place? A portrait exhibition room?" Warrior asked.
"Wait a sec! You guys might wanna see this." Skull said, turning the girls' attention to one of the paintings in the room. "Ain't this that guy we saw in Mementos? Nakanohara?"
"It is! Natsuhiko Nakanohara." Echo gasped, taking a closer look at the plaque in front of the painting, only to stare at it in confusion. "That's odd... There's no title to this artwork. Just his name and what I can only assume is his age."
Warrior looked at the various other paintings in the room, before walking back to the group in confusion. "I don't recognize any of the other people, but I can only assume the names and numbers are there for the same reason as it is for Nakanohara-san's painting." She said. "But... Why?"
Before the others could think about what these paintings could mean, a voice could be heard down the hallway.
"Who are you?" The voice asked. "Do you know who is responsible for this?"
"Was that... Tsubasa-san?" Warrior asked.
"Whoever it is, it sounds like they've run into Shadows." Echo said.
"Well, what are we standing around here for, then?" Skull added. "Let's go, before things get ugly for them!"
Following where they heard the voice, the trio were shocked by what they saw. Much to Warrior's suspicions, the voice they heard belonged to none other than Tsubasa Kazanari, who was currently surrounded by three Shadows. However, unlike the Shadows in Kamoshida's palace, the ones in Madarame's were dressed like that of museum security guards. "I'll ask again, do you know who is responsible for these paintings?" Tsubasa asked the Shadows.
"Keep your mouth shut, trespasser!" The Shadow retorted.
"Tsubasa-san!" Echo called out, which quickly got Tsubasa's attention.
"That voice... Kohinata?"
"What the? Thieves?!" The Shadow gasped, calling forth more Shadows that formed a circle around the trio while they pointed their weapon at Tsubasa. "Don't try anything stupid or the girl gets it!"
The trio of thieves grit their teeth. Sure, they could handle the Shadows surrounding them easily, but by the time they would be finished with them, Tsubasa would probably already be dead. However, no one was prepared for what happened next. "You would do well to not underestimate me." Tsubasa said, before charging at the Shadow, grabbing their weapon from their hands, and pushing them back with a well aimed strike to the Shadow's ribs.
Unfortunately, as impressive as the maneuver was, it hardly did any real damage to the Shadow, who got up and hit Tsubasa right where she hit them, knocking her straight to the ground. "How dare you resist!" The Shadow shouted. "Such an act of defiance has made you all lose the right to even be judged by the great Lord Madarame. Kill them all!"
On the main Shadow's orders, the other Shadows transformed into their true forms, forcing the trio of thieves to fight them off. Thankfully, however, the thieves dealt with the lesser Shadows with ease. "Heh, that was almost too easy!" Skull taunted. "Who's next."
Furious, the main Shadow transformed into its true form. Once the smoke cleared, the Security guard was replaced with that of an amalgamation of various animal limbs that created a hulking beast of a Shadow. "You just had to say it..." Warrior sighed.
Unable to do much due to that Shadow's punch winding her, Tsubasa could only watch as the trio of thieves tried their best to fight the monster, but they were struggling to do anything to them. "That monster is going to tear them apart..." Tsubasa said to herself, picking herself up off of the ground, with a hand over her stomach. "I have to help them... But if I try to help them as I am, I would only end up getting in their way... But even so, I must try!"
"Despite your wounds, you still wish to fight? Impressive."
Tsubasa heard a voice say. "Who's there?" She asked in return, only for a sudden and intense headache to force her back to the floor.
As this happened, Tsubasa let out a painful scream that altered both the thieves and their adversary. "Tsubasa-san, too?" Echo thought as she watched the blue-haired artist writhe in pain.
"You've carried this resolve within for quite some time, but you've never chosen to act upon it until now."
"Does this mean you're finally done hiding in the shadows of your own heart?"
Tsubasa closed her eyes and smirked. "I suppose it does." She said, standing up to reveal a blue Oni mask that covered the lower half of her face. "I'm done waiting patiently for a change that won't come. Now is the time for me to take my future with my own two hands!"
"That's more like it! Now, let us forge a contract."
"I am thou, thou art I."
"With my blade in your hands, see to it that your enemies are brought to justice!"
With this, Tsubasa put both of her hands on her mask and ripped it off with all of her strength, letting out one final scream of pain as she was engulfed in blue flames. Moments later, Tsubasa emerged from the flames, wearing a black and blue Kendogi with a black carbon fiber undersuit that went around her body, stopping at the neck, wrists, and ankles. Her gloves and jika-tabi that covered the remainder of her body matched the dark blue of her Kendogi.
As for her Persona, behind Tsubasa stood a woman with a flaming ponytail wearing a black and white kimono with red accents and a torn right sleeve that led to a dark void within. On her left side was a sheathed katana which the Persona's left hand rested on. As for her face, it could've easily been mistaken for a kabuki mask with a covered left eye if it wasn't moving like a real face.
"This power..." Tsubasa said as she looked up at her Persona, before setting her gaze on the hulking Shadow in front of her. "It's time for payback!"
The Shadow let out a laugh as Tsubasa proclaimed this. "Is that so? And what do you hope to achieve that the others cannot?" The Shadow asked as it charged towards Tsubasa. "You should've stayed on the ground!"
Despite the hulking Shadow charging towards her, Tsubasa calmly pointed her finger out towards the enemy, which her Persona charged after in compliance as they unsheathed their katana, countering the Shadow's punch with the sword. "Have you already forgotten?" Tsubasa asked, taunting the Shadow. "I told you not to underestimate me, and now you shall pay!"
"Slice them into ribbons, Baiken!"
On Tsubasa's command, the Persona's sword became engulfed in blazing blue flames as they hacked and slashed at the Shadow relentlessly. The thieves could only watch in awe as Baiken forced the Shadow to the ground with ease. Seeing this, Echo knew exactly what needed to be done. "Tsubasa-san! Everyone! Let's finish them off, together!"
"Don't have to tell me twice!" Skull replied.
"I'll follow your lead!" Tsubasa added.
And so, the thieves and Tsubasa charged towards the downed Shadow with an All-out attack, with the latter group finishing off the Shadow with style.
"And Don't come back!/This is where it ends!"
With their foe defeated, the thieves and Tsubasa's Personas return to their owners' masks. "That was incredible, Tsubasa-san!" Echo cheered.
"Yeah! Not to mention how cool you looked while you ordered your Persona to beat up that Shadow!" Warrior added. "You were like a female samurai!"
"You mean an Onna-Bugeisha?" Tsubasa asked.
"Yeah, that!" Warrior replied.
"I think I'll stick to just callin' you a samurai." Skull added. "But that aside, you definitely look the part in your new outfit."
Tsubasa gave Skull a confused look before she looked at herself, noticing her new attire and the mask that covered her face. "When did this happen?" She asked. "I don't remember wearing this!"
"It's a long story..." Echo said, before the sound of footsteps could be heard nearing the room they were in.
"They should be over here! Let's hurry after them!"
"Crap! We gotta go!" Skull exclaimed.
"Right." Echo replied before looking at Tsubasa. "I know you're probably really tired right now, but are you able to run?"
The fatigue of Tsubasa's awakening was finally starting to set in, but she wasn't about to let that slow herself of the thieves down. "...I can manage."
"Great!" Echo said. "Now let's get out of here!"
Madarame's Shack
"You have returned to the real world. Welcome back."
Just as the Meta-Nav said, the group found themselves back in front of Madarame's Shack in reality. The trio of thieves were fine, but Tsubasa was exhausted after escaping the Palace. "Hah... Hah... Well, that was... Interesting to say the least." Tsubasa said as she caught her breath "...So, the rumors about Phantom Thieves are true.
"Yeah." Miku said. "Look, Tsubasa-san, we're sorry for getting you wrapped up in that earlier, but we really need you to not tell anyone about what you saw. Can you please do that?"
"Of course." Tsubasa calmly said without hesitation, which surprised the trio. "On one condition..."
"Aaaand there's the catch..." Ryuji sighed. "Lemme guess: You want us to bribe you to be silent? Look, we may be called 'thieves', but we ain't exactly loaded like that."
"No, that's not what I mean." Tsubasa clarified. "...However, I think it may be best to talk about this somewhere more... Private."
Hesitantly, Miku was the one to agree to Tsubasa's request. "...We have just the place." She said as pulled out her phone. "I'll have the others meet us there. They deserve to know what's going on, too."
"Woahwoahwoahwoah, Miku slow down for a sec!" Hibiki exclaimed. "You do realize what you're doing, right?"
"Yeah, are you sure we can take her there?" Ryuji added.
Miku stopped texting Kirika and looked directly at the duo. "I'm certain." Miku answered. "Besides, if she has her own Persona, then there's a good chance she'll have the Meta-Nav, so it's better to hear her out than to just openly reject her."
Ryuji wanted to argue more, but he couldn't. No matter how he thought about it, Miku was right. "...I guess you got a point..."
"Thank you, Kohinata." Tsubasa said. "I promise this will be worth your time."
"I know it will, Tsubasa-san." Miku replied, putting her phone away after she received one final text from Kirika. "Well, let's get going."
With that, the trio lead Tsubasa to their base of operations in Aoyama-Itchome.
Monday: Evening
Thieves' Hideout
Once the thieves arrived at the hideout, they met up with Shirabe and Kirika, catching them up to speed on what had happened at Madarame's Shack/Palace. "Huh... So the rumors were legit, huh?" Kirika said. "And the paintings you saw, you said that one of them looked like Nakanohara dess?"
Miku nodded. "And on the way here, Tsubasa-san told us that she saw paintings that looked just like herself and Yusuke-san." She said.
"I could recognize a few others besides myself and Kitagawa, though." Tsubasa added. "They were also artists that wished to become better through Madarame, before they either left or met worse fates..."
"So you know about the rumors, then?" Hibiki asked.
"I had learned about them shortly after becoming one of Madarame's pupils." Tsubasa stated. "At first, I didn't believe them, but it didn't take long for those beliefs to change..."
"Were you abused?!" Shirabe asked.
"No, but I have witnessed him lashing out upon several of his pupils." Tsubasa said, her fist starting to clench up in anger. "The things I saw him do... They were unbecoming of how a true master of the arts should treat their students."
"He really is abusin' people..." Ryuji muttered in astonishment. "Why haven't you said anything to the cops?"
"For starters, with his popularity, it would be my word against his, making whatever argument I present a fruitless effort." Tsubasa said. "Second, if I did go against him, then he would simply ruin my life the same way he has with his other pupils."
"That's so cruel..." Hibiki said, tears welling up in her eyes from Tsubasa's situation. "But, if it's that bad, then why haven't you left?"
"I want to, but if I did, Kitagawa would be left alone with him." Tsubasa answered. "I want to convince him to leave Madarame with me, but I fear his loyalty to Madarame won't allow him to."
"Tsubasa-san..."
"After a while, I had just accepted that this was how things would be... But then I heard the rumors about the Phantom Thieves and Shujin Academy's Kamoshida." Tsubasa continued. "I wanted to believe those rumors to be true, but I didn't have the slightest clue as to where to look for them. However, while I was working on an art piece of daily life in Shibuya, I saw you all, or more accurately, I saw you disappear into thin air."
"So you saw us enter Mementos..." Kirika said.
Tsubasa nodded. "Needless to say, after that, I decided to keep tabs on you all from a distance to try and confirm if you were in fact the rumored thieves..." Tsubasa then pulled out a map just like the ones that she handed the thieves yesterday. "...To the point of following you back to your hideout and listening in on your conversations."
The thieves collectively gasped when Tsubasa said this. "You put tracking devices on us through those maps?!" Ryuji shouted. "What artist has that kind of tech just lying around?!"
"I have connections to people with that kind of technology." Tsubasa explained as she put away the map. "But that's not important right now. What matters is that I want... No, I need your help."
The thieves were, understandably, shaken by the revelation that Tsubasa had been essentially stalking them for the past week or so. However, despite this, one of the thieves were still willing to trust her. "You want us to take down Madarame, right?" Miku asked.
"Kohinata?"
"That was what you were planning on asking us earlier, wasn't it?" Miku asked. "Well, what better way to help you do that... Then by having you join us?"
"What?!" Everyone gasped.
"Sure, it's concerning to know that you've been following us for some time now, but I can tell that you had your reasons for doing so." Miku continued. "Plus, from what I saw of you in the Palace, before and after awakening to your Persona, I feel like it's only right that you deserve to join us. That is, if you want to."
Tsubasa recomposed herself upon hearing Miku's explanation. "I would be honored to join your cause." Tsubasa said. "But, are you sure that someone like me would really fit in amongst thieves like you?"
"I wouldn't worry too much about that dess." Kirika answered. "Besides, these four only became thieves a month ago thanks to me. And I'd say they've still got a ways to go before they're true thieves."
"She's right about that..." Hibiki added with a nervous chuckle.
"And considering just how far you've gone just to get a hold of us, I'd argue that you're more than qualified to join us." Shirabe said.
"If anything, all that you're missin' is a codename like the rest of us." Ryuji added.
"A codename?" Tsubasa asked.
"In the Metaverse, we go by codenames so that we may keep our true identities secret." Kirika explained.
"I see..." Tsubasa said as she began to think about a codename for herself. "Then, how does 'Sakimori' sound for my codename?"
"I... Dunno about that..." Ryuji hesitantly replied. "I mean, for one thing, you'd be the only one of us with a Japanese-sounding codename."
"I would be?" Tsubasa asked.
"I suppose we should've told you ours first before asking you to make your own..." Miku nervously chuckled. "Well, I go by Echo, Hibiki goes by Warrior, Ryuji goes by Skull, and Shirabe and Kirika go by Maiden and Imp."
"I can see why that would be confusing for my codename to be 'Sakimori' then..." Tsubasa sighed. "Well, then how about I make my codename 'Samurai'? Seeing that you thought my attire in the 'Palace' as you called it looked as such."
"Works for me!" Ryuji answered as everyone else nodded in agreement.
"Welcome to the team, 'Samurai'!" Hibiki cheered.
"Thank you for hearing me out, and I hope to be a valuable asset to the team." Tsubasa said.
"With that out of the way, it's time to discuss our next move." Kirika said, changing the topic. "I'm assuming that we're all in agreement to go after Madarame dess?"
"Yes."
"Absolutely."
"Hell yeah!"
"Yep."
"Seems like we're all in agreement, then." Miku said upon hearing everyone else agree. "But before we go back to the Palace, I want to confirm something..."
"And that is?" Kirika asked.
"...I want to see just how loyal Yusuke-san is to Madarame."
A/N: And with that, we end this chapter!
So yeah, Tsubasa was the person Miku felt was watching her and Hibiki walk home two chapters ago. I figured it'd be better to have a unique way for her to become involved in the thieves' lives instead of my original plan of having her take the spotlight away from a certain someone who'll make a reappearance in the next chapter.
However, speaking of Tsubasa, now that she's a part of the thieves, it time to properly introduce her Persona:
Samurai: Baiken: Based off the Guilty Gear character of the same name. As a child, Baiken grew up in a Japanese Colony as her home country of Japan was destroyed by the artificial race known as "Gears". However, sometime during her childhood, her colony was raided by the very beings that destroyed her home country. At this time, Baiken was too weak to properly fight the invading Gears, resulting in her losing her right arm and left eye as she helplessly watched her friends, family, and other civilians from her colony get slaughtered.
While the Gears were solely responsible for the slaughter, Baiken had the image of a man amidst the Gears and their chaos etched into her memory. There was no evidence to prove that man was at fault for the tragedy that had occurred, but she knew, deep down, that he was responsible for this. With the memory of the tragedy permanently in her mind, Baiken vowed to exact her revenge on the man that destroyed everything she cared for while ensuring that the tragedy never happened to any of the other colonies, even if it cost her life to do so.
Lastly, I just wanted to point out that Baiken's face as Tsubasa's Persona is meant to be a reference to her reaction to Faust's "Bone Crushing Excitement" super in Guilty Gear Strive.
Anyways, thank you for reading this chapter. I shall see you all in the next one!