Persona 5: Tainted Soul
Chapter 9: Thoughts of The Artist -Wonders of Art, On Stage!-
As a large zipper portal opened at a nearby bookshop, two figures stepped out and surveyed the area. One was a male, in white samurai-esc armor like that of Nobunga, with blonde hair and blue eyes, as the other was a female, same hair and eyes but wore a more regal outfit.
Soon, the door to the bookstore opened as Touma smiled at the newcomers.
"Glad you two showed up when I called you, Kouta, Mai." the writer noted.
"Well, with what Decade and Nadeshiko talked about, we had to. Helheim is our responsibility after all." Kouta nodded to the writer.
"Though with what you said, it seems most of the situation is done, other than the culprit who is misusing the fruits." Mai noted.
"I'm afraid that's not the reason why I called you." Touma sighed, "It's because… I saw that the Wild Card power's been tainted. This doesn't feel like Igor's mark has been passed down properly."
"Hm, and with the seal still intact, we can rule out Death marching in again." Kouta noted.
"So, that begs the question. Who's pulling the strings here?" Touma noted as this did pose a problem to many lives now.
Opening: Like Flames - Tensura Slime Season 2 - Opening 2
/PRELUDE/
As Revi and Vice flies through the night sky, we see glimpses of Ichigo and Naoya before the title zips past the duo
/Fate repeats all over again, The voices of my heart say
Time is not enough, it's over/
It soon jumps to Cody standing alone in a hall of mirrors, Vice being on the other side of the mirror before he turns around to see Mementos and the various monsters wandering it's corridors.
/Belief that makes me who I am, light doesn't fade away
Made my mind up now, it's better/
Meanwhile, Ren is sitting alone in the jail cell of the Velvet Room, looking towards the camera as a ghostly visage of Arsene appears before him as he smiles wickedly.
/Yeah I know it's not an easy road, lured by your hands/
It then jumps into a montage of Ryuji jumping for a bit before running, Ann with her back towards the camera fixing her hoodie, an artist holding his paintbrush in front of himself with one eye closed, a cat wandering through an alleyway, Makoto practicing judo, a NEET looking over something on her screen, an heiress looking over her garden, a gymnast practicing her routine, and finally a detective looking over some notes
/Even if it rains don't be swayed, being same as always/
It then jumps to Ichigo watching over the streets of New York, Nigo standing in the middle of a ruined battlefield alone, V3 looking towards the Pyramids of Giza, the prone body of Riderman on a beach in Tahiti, X floating down into the depths of the Mediterranean Sea, Amazon roaring into the night sky causing birds to fly up from the trees of the jungle, and a pair of graves in the middle of a beach with the helmet of Stronger resting on the left grave while a bouquet of flowers was near the right grave.
/Want to feel my destiny, Open my eyes to be braver/
As the shadow of the villains of past Rider and Persona titles haunt Cody and Ren, they soon turn to see a light where they notice the chains holding them back. Luckily, they spot Touma turn towards him and reach out for them, allowing them to break out and transform.
/Get up now Get up now stronger I believe in myself
Stand up now Stand up now shouting
I'll never run away/
It then transitions into a battle scene where Revi and Vice team up as they battle alongside the Phantom Thieves, transforming into their different forms to help each team member. Meanwhile, Ren soon awakens Arsene as several silhouettes of other Personas appear behind the original Phantom Thief before he and Ren perform Eigon.
/I might lose control... It's a perfect world/
It then transitions into showing Cody lost in the devil's world before he sees the Deadmans standing in his way, as Aguilera summons the eight Palace holders behind themselves with her Vistamp.
/Destroy all of it, in the end it's for our good/
As he panics, he notices the spirit of Maria embracing him before he sees the past Riders from Ichigo until Saber appears by his side, their lights shining down enough to allow him to obtain the Rex Vistamp, summoning Vice in the process.
/Let me shout like flames/
Afterwards, he and Vice share a high-five before it jumps to an ending shot of the twelve heroes standing behind a spotlight in their Metaverse garbs.
"Cody? COOODDYYY? CODY!" Vice moaned.
"Ugh, what is it Vice?" Cody responded with a groan, lifting his head from his desk as he was using this free time for a nap.
"I'm bored!" he groaned.
"And I'm still exhausted from the fight a few days ago. Your point?" Cody responded back.
"Come on, we haven't had a lick of things to do as Phantom Thieves or heroes." the demon complained, "What the heck are we going to do for battle?"
"That's because I'm still a student in school. Not everything is going to be exciting, Vice. Be glad that we even have anything thanks to that 'Phan-Site' that got posted up recently." Cody pointed out.
"Yeah, Mishima's really putting the work to the site too." the demon added.
"Huh?" Cody looked to the demon, "Pardon? How does he fit in this?"
"Well, I saw that he was the guy who made the thing." Vice revealed.
"And… how?"
"Oh I looked into his head when he was asleep." Vice pointed to the sleeping teen.
"You can see people's thoughts!?" Cody got out in shock.
"How else did I check Ryuji's empty mind?" the demon chuckled.
"Hm? What was that?" Ryuji grumbled from his own classroom, as luckily he didn't fully hear it.
"Alright, it's test time folks!" Cody's teacher said as she placed down papers on each desk as many students groaned out in response.
"Alright, you be quiet, Vice. This is important." Cody said to the demon as he straightened himself out.
"Sure, I'm gonna go wandering around while the test is happening." Vice reassured him before he began wandering Shujin as it seemed the demon could stretch far enough.
He could tell the atmosphere had changed since the arrival of the Phantom Thieves and the birth of Revice. People were always hopeful as they moved around the school.
'Guess being heroes does pay…' the demon thought to himself.
"Finally found you." A calming voice rang out to the demon, as nearby he saw a woman in white, slowly walking to him.
"Wait, hold on. You can see me?" the demon asked, confused.
"I can, for I am practically a goddess…" She nodded to him. "I came to see you and need your help… Vice."
"Wait, are you a sempai?" he asked.
"I am. I'm married to the one you'd know as 'Gaim'." She informed him.
Vice's eyes quickly bugged out, "Wait hold on, Mai?! The Woman of the Beginning?!" he gasped.
"Yes. You and your partner and his friends need to meet with someone soon, one who'll help with this situation we may have found." Mai informed him, as images of a book store appeared in Vice's mind before Mai soon faded away.
"Hold on, that's Touma's bookstore…" he noted, "I gotta tell Cody!"
However he soon looked at the clock and sighed, "I'll tell him after the test…"
XXX
"Finally over for today!" Cody groaned out, finished with today's test.
"CODY! CODY! BIG NEWS! BIIIGG NEWSS!" the demon shouted as soon as he saw that the test was over.
"If it's about Ryuji's scores or more teasing? Forget it…." Cody responded.
"No! We got double vets calling us out!" the demon shouted, causing Cody to stop in his tracks.
"Vets?" He questioned with a ponder before realizing, "Oh! Another Kamen Rider help?"
"Yeppity do!" the demon exclaimed, "And it's special too!"
"How special?" the boy asked.
Vice soom smirked, "How about a Helheim salad with a side of Wonder World goodness?"
Cody did a double take as he recognized those three words, the boy didn't think that Vice was talking about those Kamen Riders, was he?
"Hold on, you're pulling my leg here." Cody said before he asked, "You mean to tell me that Gaim and Saber could be involved?"
"Hehe, looks like it's a double showing of nostalgia!" Vice cackled out, giving his usual devil horns hand sign.
"Well crap…" the boy noted, "Well we should probably tell the others then."
"Righto, chief!" Vice saluted before he went back into the boy as he texted the group. Hopefully whatever this new mission is, won't be too difficult. Right?
XXX
"Woah… so the novel that Touma Kamiyama wrote was real too?" Ann noted as she held the book that the 2020 season of Kamen Rider was based on.
"Yeah and most likely linked his world to ours and wanted to view it himself." Cody nodded, finishing what he learned and was informing the others about.
"And as for Gaim? I mean, it's not every day a couple of space gods ask for your help." Morgana asked, as he was surprised about Gaim's story.
"Trust me, there's way more to Kamen Riders than it seems. Not all are bug heroes or people just kicking a monster until they explode." Cody noted to the cat, as it was true with every rider. Even at the most basic of ideas? It's very complex.
"Still, we've already encountered six different Kamen Riders during all this, and that's outside the fact we have met other Persona users on top of that." Ren noted, "It's almost fascinating that we have met so many sempais."
"Hehe makes you wonder? Is this fate? Destiny? Or two writers just having fun?" Vice snickered to himself with a wink.
Knock it off, Vice. Your Deadpool side is showing again.
"So what are we waiting for? Let's get going!" Ryuji said only to be tugged and held back by Ann.
"Hold it, Ryuji. We're still not done with school yet." Ann sighed.
"Speaking of, how was the test for you guys?" Cody realized as he asked the trio of thieves.
"I think I did alright." Ren said with a thumbs up held up. But Ryuji and Ann?
"Ugh… don't make me remember it…" Ryuji groaned out.
"I thought my head was about to burst…" Ann chimed in as well as the two had their heads lowered.
"What's that old saying?" Morgana noted, "Two peas in a pod are the same?" The cat shrugged softly with a sigh.
"Makes you wonder if they were separated at birth or something." Cody chuckled.
"And you make three, Mr. 'Worst Day Ever'. " Vice added in with a snicker.
"Hey!" The three in question got out, angered by that comment.
"Still, once we're all done we should suit up before meeting with Mai-sama. Best be prepared if it's going to be this rough." Ren stated.
"Yes sir." he noted, making Ren chuckle.
"Come on guys, I'm no sir." the leader chuckled, "I'm only 18 years old, you know."
"True, but you are still the leader, Joker." Morgana noted with a snicker.
"And we gotta follow the boss' plans to a tee." Vice noted with a joking salute.
"Since when are you a team player?" Ryuji questioned before seeing the crossed fingers behind the demon's back.
"Anyways, we'll meet up in Shibuya in an hour after school is out." Ren said to the group as this gave everyone time to prepare for this mission.
XXX
Meanwhile, Julio was examining some of the dead samples of the Helheim fruits that were left behind after the infestation died.
"How interesting…" he noted.
"Anything we could use, Julio?" Olteca questioned, hoping whatever this was would prove useful to the Deadmans.
"Almost. We could include the enticing nature the fruits possess into our Vistamps." he noted, "We just need a fresh sample and after we add it into the stamps…"
"This means we get more members! Lucky us!" Aguleria said with a smile.
Julio nodded, "Indeed, Aguilera-sama. And it would also help expedite our search for worthy sacrifices."
"Then we should tail Revice and his team and see if we can find something of use?" Olteca smirked, turning to a few willing Deadman members who would be of use.
XXX
After school, the group was walking through Shibuya to get to the bookstore that Touma worked at. Ryuji let out a large yawn as he stretched.
"I'm so bored after that test." the delinquent sighed.
"Tell me about it. I could go for some ice cream right about now." Ann nodded.
"We can snack later, we have a job to do." Cody chimed up, as he wanted to be serious for this, as its not every day some kids get to meet practical gods.
However, Ann soon noticed something from the corner of her eye. She turned around and noticed that nothing was there.
'Am I… Am I imagining things?' she thought.
"What's wrong?" Ren asked, "Do you need to go to the bathroom or something?"
"Er, no I'm fine! Just my imagination is all." Ann waved off, figuring it was nothing.
"You sure, you didn't see a groper or something?" Ryuji asked, acting a bit protective.
"The only perv I see is you Ryuji." Ann sighed, waving off.
While they were talking, Morgana and Vice spotted something as well. It was kinda hard at the moment, but there was definitely someone watching from afar.
"See that too, Mona-chan?" the demon asked the cat.
Morgana nodded as the group got on the train. Within the train, Ann, Vice, and Mona stayed vigilant as they kept watch of the mysterious person. Once they got off the train and onto the escalator, the model spotted the person once again.
"Oh my gosh, that guy got off!" she shouted.
"What is it?" Ren asked the blonde femme fatal.
Ryuji then began to fake a yawn and stretch, but his face gave a 'play dumb' look to the others, something he learned on the streets.
"Come on." he noted as the group walked up the stairs.
"I knew I wasn't seeing things…. Someone is following us." Ann said as she shivered slightly.
"Let's stay together for now." Ren noted, "Likely they might back off if we have the numbers game."
"And if they don't, I'll just give them a lariat!" Ryuji smirked.
"I'll claw them too for harming Lady Ann!" Morgana hissed.
"How about a devilish haunting on top of that!" Vice added.
Soon, they got to the top of the stairs and as the person approached, Ryuji, Ren, and Cody quickly turned around and readied themselves for a potential fight.
"Something the matter?" Ren asked in a passive aggressive manner.
Yet standing there was a young man, around the same age as Cody as he looked older with short dark blue hair, as he wore a white shirt, blue tie and a school badge on him but from a different school.
"Hey uhh… do you mind?" Ryuji asked casually.
"Is there something the matter?" the strange boy asked.
"Yes there is… You've been stalking us, haven't you!" Ann accused, as she pointed at the boy.
"Stalking you…? That's outrageous." the boy noted.
"Uh oh, looks like the asylum's missing a guy." Vice quipped.
"All I've been doing is trying to catch up to you." The boy said, though oddly looking around Cody for a moment.
"Because?" Cody asked, waiting for the strange boy's answer.
"Because… I've… I've fallen in love!" He said, swiftly approaching Ann as this did shock the group.
Ryuji nearly choked on the food he was eating and Morgana?
"LET ME AT HIM! LET ME AT HIM!"
"You should calm that cat down…" the boy said with confusion to the cat's behavior.
"RYUJI I CAN AT LEAST TOLERATE WITH LADY ANN, BUT THIS MAN IS WHERE I DRAW THE LINE!" Morgana yelled.
"And… why were you?" Ren chimed up, not listening to the cat's protests.
"Because the moment I saw her, I knew this was the moment I needed…. Please…" the boy said, reaching into his bag as at first it seemed like he was going to purpose.
Cody and Ryuji quickly prepared for a fight, but instead… pulled out a sketch book and pen?
"Please! Model for me!" The boy requested Ann as this shocked everyone.
…
"Wait, you're an… artist?" Cody guessed.
"Okay, that explains the mascara." Vice commented.
"I am. And I knew from seeing this nice young lady that she would be the perfect model for my next piece!" He nodded in response.
They soon heard a car horn sound off as a black car parked near him. The back window soon opened to reveal an older man with gray hair and in traditional Japanese clothing.
"My goodness Yusuke… I had wondered why you left the car. You had me scared for a moment." The elderly man said with a heavy sigh of relief, "So this is where your passion led. All's well that ends well."
"Yes, sensei. I knew she was the right choice for my next piece." The boy, now known as Yusuke said as he bowed gently. "Sorry for worrying you. Oh, where are my manners? My name is Yusuke Kitagawa. I am a second-year at Kosei High's fine arts division."
Cody couldn't help but do a double take at that name, "Wait, Kosei?! That's like… one of the best art schools in the country!"
"It is, and I'm under the tutelage of my sensei here. Madarame Ichiryusai." Yusuke informed the group.
"Madarame…" Ren noted, "I mostly know him because he chose to do an art piece based on one of Touma's books."
"Ah, you know your stuff, shonen. Yes, I was the artist who did Kamiyama-sensei's book of Wonder Fantasy." Madarame nodded.
"That's so cool!" Ryuji and Cody noted, "You got to work with the writer of Kamen Rider Saber!"
"Bah! That show for simple minded brats? Please. I only did it because I was inspired by the world Kamiyama-sensei created in his novel! Not because of some childish nonsense." Madarame spat out in disgust.
Ren quickly turned to the two, "Easy guys, don't let your inner fanboys show." he warned the pair as he did not want them to blow their lids off at a famous person. Kamoshida was one encounter too many in his eyes.
"Er, r-right… sorry. How foolish of us. We should've known it was for the book." Cody apologized, biting the inside of his cheek from the obvious lie he made.
"Regardless, I guess I should go." Yusuke noted, "Madarame-sensei's exhibition will begin at the department store near the station tomorrow, as a way to help calm the people down after the strange infestation of plants. I'll be there to help out on opening day. Please come by. And if you're still interested to model for me, miss. Please fill free to say so."
He then turned towards the boys and gave some tickets, "And as you have great respect for Kamiyama-sensei's work, I could give you tickets to the exhibition as well, since Madarame-sensei's art piece of Wonder World will be shown there as well."
"Thank you very much. We'll do our best to be there." Ann smiled softly as she bowed in thanks for the gifts.
"Well then, I hope to see you all there tomorrow!" the artist said before he turned to Cody, "And as for you, Aldrich-san…"
He then looked towards the blonde boy and tilted his head in confusion.
"What's wrong?" Cody asked.
"Interesting…" Yusuke observed as he walked around the boy and Vice, "You have this strange aura around you."
"I kinda get that. I mean… it's only been me and my sisters after all." Cody said with a soft shrug.
"Yes, and I have heard the rumors that you harbor a demon as well." Yusuke noted, "To think it would still lack a physical form is almost interesting."
"Good lord… it's reached this fa-wait what now?" Cody groaned out with annoyance, only to catch on to what Yusuke had said, "What do you mean?"
"I can just… sense something about you. And then it rang on me that you're the rumored demon boy I've heard about…. Fascinating… I think I want to draw you as well." Yusuke said, showing he wasn't trying to be malicious, just intrigued.
"Yusuke, I think it's time to go." Madarame said, as he was amused that the boy had found two different models.
"Of course, sensei." Yusuke said before bowing as he soon got in the car and drove off alongside Madarame, leaving the group there.
"Well then… that was something…" Vice noted.
"I swore I was ready to punch that smug artist…." Cody growled, "Saber is so much more than a 'kids show'!"
"I'm more confused by the fact that Yusuke could sense Vice." Mona pointed out, "That only happens with Persona users."
"Maybe he has some sort of connection or something?" Ann noted with a shrug as it was odd.
"There you guys are!" a rather familiar voice shouted. As the group looked they see a young lady with long brown hair, a red shirt hidden beneath red overall pants and holding up a baby with a lion onesie on it.
"Ah! You're Mei Sudo!" Cody pointed out with awe.
"Aw, lookie there!" Anna cooed with delight at the baby Mei was holding. "I take it this is your son?"
"Mhm, our little Iroh." Mei smiled, hugging the baby softly, "Rintaro is on duty today so I have to take care of him for a bit. But that's besides the point. You guys took a while to get here, what hold you guys up?"
"Er… just a misunderstanding with an artist we thought was being a stalker." Ann waved off as it was still fresh in everyone's confused mind.
"So, you're the guys everyone's been raving about?" Mei observed with a smile.
"Shh! Not so loud!" Cody hushed as he was worried about observing bystanders.
"Right, forgot about that." she noted, "Anyways, follow me. Touma and Kouta-san are waiting for you guys."
The group soon followed Mei through Shibuya as they soon arrived at a nice, small bookstore that was labeled as 'Pens of The World' on it as they entered inside. Luckily the store said 'closed' on it so there were no customers before she led them to the back of the book store.
The inside had a simple bookstore they would see in Shibuya but what caught the group's eyes was the store's centerpiece, a large diorama showcasing a fantasy world, alongside a working train circling the area.
"Woah, to think we're standing in a replica of the Saber team's homebase." Cody noted as he and the others looked around the bookstore.
"Thanks! For some reason, I just can't write without it being there." A familiar voice rang out as from the side came the man himself. Short black hair, with a fedora on top, a white shirt with a red vest and tie on top and a pen in his pocket.
"S-S-S-Saber!" Cody gasped as he and Ryuji were amazed that Touma Kamiyama, Kamen Rider Saber, was standing before them.
"Yeesh, and here I thought George was a fanboy." Ren noted.
"Hehe, I see you're both a fan of me?" Touma chuckled as it was nice to hear it from such youth.
"Y-Yes sir! It's such an honor to be meeting you in person!" Cody said with a hearty bow.
"Same!" Ryuji hastily agreed.
"Well, it's only to be expected that they know about you." Another familiar voice joked, his voice causing the boys' ears to perk up. Walking in wearing a white, shogun-esc armor with glowing blonde hair and blue eyes was none other than the Fruit God of Helheim, the Man of Beginnings, Kazuraba Kouta, aka Kamen Rider Gaim.
"And Gaim is here too!" Ryuji gasped.
"I'm glad to see you all made it." Mei said, walking into view.
"Two legends in the same room!" Cody noted as he recalled the group's prior encounters before he almost passed out.
"Is he going to be alright?" Mei asked.
"He gets like this because of how much Kamen Rider means to him." Vice said, now slightly visible.
"Easy now, we still have a job to do." Ann said, helping the boy get back up.
"Y-Yeah, sorry about that…" the blonde boy apologized.
"So, I guess we should cut to the chase now. Why did you guys call us here?" Ren asked the legends.
"Well with what Mei has told you. Somehow someone entered Helheim and took some of its fruits and started to try and spread them to Earth once more." Kouta noted.
"And they did so using Megiddo." Touma said, "And that should be impossible as the Alter Ride Books are supposed to be locked away."
"So that's why you two are asking for our help…" Cody realized as they nodded.
"Well we already took care of Helheim, kind of." Ryuji recalled, "I mean, we already got Kamakiri back from that guy."
"Not exactly," Kouta revealed.
"What?!" the Phantom Thieves gasped.
"Turns out that two seeds were stolen from Helheim, and we still have our Alter Ride Book thief walking around." Touma noted.
"Ugh, just when we thought we were done with that freaky forest…" Ryuji bemoaned.
"Maybe we can find them at Madarame's showcase tomorrow?" Ann noted as she took out the tickets Yusuke gave them, "After all, one of the advertised paintings is one of Wonder World so who knows?"
"Very good idea, Ann! Then we can catch them in one go too!" Ryuji smirked.
"Heh, the showcase huh? Guess it's better to start there then roaming around this 'Mementos' until something comes up." Touma chuckled.
"Yeah, let's just hope we don't get jumped on again." Cody noted before getting up, "Anyways, we'll try our best to help you, sempai!" he declared.
"I know you will. I'll even have something prepared for you to use soon." Touma smiled, "Think of it as my gift to you for not only your hard work and help, but from one Rider to another."
He then tossed something to Cody, who caught the object and examined it. It appeared to be a handmade Vistamp with what seemed to be a marlin on it, but very poorly yet he could instantly feel the power of Saber within it.
"Take that to whoever helps you make your Vistamps, and he'll help fix it up for ya." Touma said.
"You truly couldn't have made something better, Touma?" Mei sighed at the work on it.
However Cody nodded and the group made their leave.
"That Cody kid's got some potential." Kouta observed, "He's got a good heart, demon aside."
"Well, if I know anything about partners, teammates and friends much like you, Kouta-senpai? It'll take time but they'll be inseparable." Touma noted.
The Man of the Beginning nodded, "I just hope that Cody won't have to suffer that fate." he hoped
"You and me both…" Touma nodded in agreement.
XXX
"Hold on, what's this?" George asked as he examined the incomplete Vistamp.
"Well… It's a handmade Vistamp give to us by Touma-senpai…" Cody said as the inventor, while shocked, looked disgusted by the poor quality it was made in.
"This is… just poor showmanship." George said with a saddened tone, "He honestly couldn't have gotten better plastic? Some of the residue of the glue and pieces are still there! Ugh… It's going to take a bit of time for me to make this into a proper Vistamp." He sighed, "Still, saves me the trouble of finding Saber's R-Factor."
He then remembered something, "Speaking of, I'm already finished with fixing Kamakiri." he told Cody, tossing him the said Vistamp which now sported Gaim's helmet.
"Awesome! This could prove useful for whatever mission we're on!" Cody beamed. "Um… any progress on sis?"
George shook his head gently, "Still not much change from the last time, kid. She's thankfully still stable, but it's like she's in some form of a trance. This doesn't look like any natural coma"
"Dammit…" Cody grimaced, as Vice did his best to comfort the boy. "Please sis… wake up soon… Alice and I need you…"
"Come on Code, I'm sure that Maria will pull through." the demon reassured him.
"I know… Just… scared…." Cody sighed out.
Vice patted the boy's back before sighing deep down. He too worried but what made Vice more worried, what if this was going to be a repeat from long ago? The demon hoped not as while the contract was still in place, it's hard to say if Cody could recover like before?
Vice can only hope with these new friends and life things can get better for Cody soon.
XXX
DAY 1 OF INVESTIGATION
"You know, thinking back…" Ryuji noted as they walked to the showcase, "I remember the guy we fought for the Kamakiri and Kong stamps mentioned Madarame by name. Think he was salty or something?"
"Maybe? I mean it's hard to say which Madarame he was talking about." Ann pointed out.
"Well for now, we should probably keep that little detail in mind." Ren said, "Anyways, we've arrived."
Of course, like most showcases of art, it was filled with mostly critics, media and only a few people who just wanted to see the art. It already had the air of snootiness and superiority as it always seemed like it was meant for high classes instead of the passion of the artist.
Yusuke soon arrived, wearing a suit as he went to greet Ann and Cody, "Oh, you came!" before saying the same towards Ryuji and a more unimpressed manner. "Make sure that you don't get in the way of the other visitors." he warned him.
"Che, stuck up…" Ryuji said under his breath.
"Easy now, play nice." Ren said, trying to make sure Ryuji doesn't do his usual monkey brain moves again.
Yusuke soon showed Ann and Cody around, leaving Ren and Ryuji by themselves. Morgana was a bit worried for the girl, but felt that Cody would be able to protect her. However, Ryuji soon spotted Madarame talking to a camera crew.
"We continue to be truly surprised by your imagination." the reporter complimented him, "You have such expansive styles, it's hard to believe that it all came from one man. Where in the world does all your inspiration come from?"
Madarame chuckled, "Well it is a bit difficult to put into words. They naturally well up from within my heart like bubbles rising one after another in a spring."
"Naturally you say?"
"What's important is to distance oneself from worldly desires such as money and fame." the elderly man chuckled, "Just look at Kamiyama-sensei, he is able to create fantastical worlds the likes of which many dream to see, and yet he is so humble despite that. I couldn't help but create a visual image of the world he created."
"Geez, even if he talks like that, I feel such lies coming from his mouth." Vice commented with annoyance.
"Then he must be hiding something! We gotta see if he has keywords here and hope the app will pop up." Ryuji noted.
"Easy now, don't want suspicion on us." Ren reminded him as the group continued onward.
"Here is one piece I was granted to show here." Yusuke said, as he showed Ann and Cody the art piece. It was a snowfalled art that shined from the rising sun as the snow on the ground was being poured on by snowflakes that changed into cherry blossoms petals.
"It's very beautiful." Ann praised as she smiled at it.
"Thank you. But I still feel like I'm lacking compared to sensei." Yusuke sighed out.
As the two stared at it, Vice felt like something was… off about all of the paintings.
"Hey Code… think he ripped someone off with these things?" Vice crasly mentioned, "There's no way someone can mimic this many styles and not act like a plagurist."
"Hm… hard to say. I'm not much with art so I can't tell much difference." Cody admitted.
"Well there was Sally, who you used to talk to all the time." he pointed out.
"Only because we were classmates." Cody huffed, "'Sides she was just a friend."
"Yeah, though I know we've been fooled by too many bootleg toys, so I know when someone's faking something." Vice noted.
"Good point…" Cody nodded, as he understood that but still was unable to see much difference.
XXX
As they finished with their investigation, the quartet of thieves met back up at Cody's house to discuss something. Cody even placed the Gunderphone on a stand to allow Vice to talk with the rest of the group.
"So wait, Vice thinks something's fishy with Madarame?" Ren asked.
"I'm telling ya, my 'rip-off' senses are tingling!" the demon stated, "Something's up with that Madarame guy and it ain't his beard!"
"I knew I was right! Let's go get him, now!" Ryuji grinned.
"How? We don't know any keywords that could get us in." Ann pointed out.
"Uh, hello? Plagurist! That's one!" the demon shouted.
"And? What else?" Ann questioned the demon.
Vice was about to say something else but stopped, "You win this one."
"Can always just spit ball it and see what sticks?" Ryuji shrugged.
"Wait, let's check the Phan-site and see if anything about Madarame lines up with what Vice is saying." Cody said as he and Ryuji pulled up their other phones and began to look through it.
"Aha! Bingo!" the delinquent shouted, finding the post, "Here, check this out!"
A master of the Japanese arts is plagiarizing the pupil's work. Only his public face is shown on TV. His treatment of the pupils who live with him is awful. He teaches them nothing and bosses them around. He treats them inhumane, as if disciplining a dog.
-StandAndDeliver
"Huh, would you look at that." Cody commented.
"What?! How could he do that to Yusuke!?" Ann got out, angered to hear that Yusuke could be treated poorly.
"Yeah, this is sounding like Kamoshida all over again." Ryuji snarled.
"Then we're in agreement. Madarame is our next target." Morgana said to them.
"Yeah, so the guy who used Kamakiri wasn't completely blowing smoke up our asses." Vice said, "That begs the question of if he was also the one who opened a rift to Helheim or stole an Alter Ride Book."
"I wonder if we can ask that Shadow from before about this?" Ann pondered, "At least this time, we won't have to deal with any Inves roaming around Mementos. Oh! Actually, we just need to talk to him in reality."
"And how do we do that? It's not like Vice where he can possess things and let us speak." Cody pointed out.
Vice soon began to timidly poke his fingers together, much to the thieves' confusion.
"Vice…? What do you want to share with the class?" Ren asked sternly.
"I um… may have let some of your Personas house in the Gundephone?"
"Why's that?" the leader asked the demon.
"They wanted to have some fun like me! And talk with you all. They may be wandering spirits, but they have the right to talk to the outside world too." Vice stated off, as it seemed he wanted to give the other Personas some way to see more of the group and the world.
"That maybe true, plus we could get some insight into how Mementos got connected to the Rider worlds." Cody noted, "Especially since Helheim's connection with Mementos bled into the real world."
"I did ask and they don't know the reason either." Vice informed with a shrug. "As far as we know? It truly could be Decade's fault of all of it."
"So I guess that's that." Ren noted.
"Hey, Ann? How did that modeling thing go?" the delinquent asked.
"O-Oh! Um… w-well… I mean.. I haven't really taken him up on it yet." Ann confessed, "I'm still kinda embarrassed about being a model for an art piece. It's so different from simply posing for pictures!"
"But she got his contact info though, right?" Ren asked Cody and Vice, as the two nodded.
"He's also got his sensei's atelier, whatever that is." the demon said.
"And since Yusuke lives there, that has to be the best case scenario we got!" Ryuji cheered, "Ann, you're the best!" he said before pulling the girl in for a big hug.
"D-Don't hug me so suddenly!" Ann said with a blush from the surprise hug.
"I'm telling you, accidental confession." Vice whispered to Cody.
"Nah, I'm thinking it's the usual shojo-like confession." the boy dismissed, he did not want to lose that bet with Vice.
"You read shojo manga?" Ren asked with a cheeky grin.
"I read many types. Shojo is cute." Cody said, not hiding any doubt or worry for his reading choices.
"Fair point, I like a good seinen or shonen myself." the leader noted, "Anyway, we should investigate Madarame's place first.. If we need to have help from Yusuke, we'll try something else." Ren informed the others.
"Keep an eye on Lady Ann, Barney." Morgana warned the demon.
"Pft, how could I have your hairballs all over her?" Vice smirked.
As the others talked, Ryuji put Ann down before noticing the blush on her face.
"Hey, you doing alright there?" he asked her.
"Y-Yes… just don't do that again…" Ann huffed as her blush remained, "A-At least not in front of the others…" She muttered that last bit.
"Oh, right. Got it." he noted with a smile before walking off, leaving the girl behind as she tried to calm herself down.
XXX
DAY 2 OF INVESTIGATION
As the boys waited for their contact, Ryuji began to ponder something.
"Hey, Ren?" he asked, "Do you think we'll meet another Wild Card user like Amano-san?"
"Hard to say. At this point, I wouldn't doubt us facing off against god." Ren noted with a chuckle before the boys fell silent for a moment.
"Hard to believe we're not the only Persona users in the world." the delinquent noted, "I mean, so far we've met two adults who had that same power as we do. Who knows how many more people like us are out there?"
"Or how many will come after us?" Ren pointed out.
"Excuse me, but are you two the ones that I was supposed to meet?" a voice asked as the IRL version of the man they fought a couple of days ago arrived, "I was contacted by the administrator of the Phan-site to find two Shijun students here, one with a cat in his bag."
"That's us. We can help give whatever info you have to the Phantom Thieves." Ryuji nodded.
"Thank you, my name is Natsuhiko Nakanohara, the one who was posted about on the Phan-site, and the one who posted about Madarame on the same website." he said.
"So you're the user StandAndDeliver?" Ren asked.
"I-I am…"
"Right then, what do ya want?" Ryuji asked.
"I am one of Madarame's… former pupils." Nakanohara confessed, "He gave me lodging at his home, where I thought only about art. I genuinely wanted to be an artist alongside another pupil, a very talented man who was multiple years my senior. Obviously, Madarame kept tabs on him. Everything he made was claimed as a Madarame original."
"So Vice wasn't bullshitting on us." Morgana observed.
"Yep, looks like we found our whistleblower." Ryuji noted.
"He wasn't the only victim though…" Nakanohara continued, "In response to Madarame's actions, that senior pupil… he took his own life. He must have been unable to bear seeing his work praised under Madarame's name. Or at least, I thought he had taken his own life, but after I disobeyed Madarame's orders and left, I saw him again holding what looked to be a toy book claiming to want to rewrite his fate."
"My god…" Ren got out in shock. "Wait, toy book?"
"Indeed." he confirmed.
"Guess we know who took it." Ryuji whispered. "Any idea where we could find this guy now?"
"Regardless, he quickly pressured other parts of the art world to destroy my life as a painter. And so, I asked that senior pupil where I could get something and instead, I was given a seed that I was told to plant." he said.
"So wait, YOU were the one who brought Helheim to this world?!" Ryiji gasped.
"That's what its called?" He asked.
"Ryuji! Shush!" Morgana hissed out, knowing any more info about who they are, are leaked could compromise everything.
"Forget that, do you know where this senior of yours is at now?" Ren asked.
"I believe he was stalking around Madarame's place, likely he's planning on ambushing him via creating some kind of monster from that book." the former painter said, "Regardless, please. Make both of them have a change of heart. Not only for me, but to save the life of another man as well."
"Another?"
"Even now there is still one young man remaining under Madarame's tutelage." Nakanohara further revealed, "I think he's about your age."
"Yusuke…" the boys muttered under their breaths.
"Not only is he a talented artist, he also owes Madarame for taking him in after his mother passed away. He is the perfect target." the former painter said.
"We'll send our message to the Phantom Thieves and hope for the best." Ren nodded to him. Soon once Nakanohara left, the three members turned to each other to discuss for a bit.
"Seems like we have a lot on our plates this time around. Not only a Palace user but an enemy from Saber too." Morgana noted out. "Man, just what is going on lately?"
"I don't know, but I really hope we're not in too deep about all this." Ren hoped.
After walking a short distance away, Ren took out his phone and activated the Metaverse app.
"Alright, think we have our keywords?" Morgana asked.
"Hmm… maybe… 'Rich'?" Ryuji offered.
"Plagurist too, that was the first keyword we really got for him." Morgana agreed.
"Seems like only that works. Keep spitballing ideas." Ren informed as this could be tougher than they thought, "We don't have much time after all. The exhibit ends at June 5, which is likely when our Megiddo wannabe will strike next and kill him."
"Then we're not only attempting to change Madarame's heart but stop that guy from killing anyone." Ryuji nodded, "Hm… I remember hearing this word during the interview. Shack."
XXX
Meanwhile, Ann, Cody, and Vice arrived at a seemingly slapdash house.
"Hey, did Kitagawa-kun really give us the right address?" Cody asked.
"Well the door plate does say Madarame." Ann observed.
"But this toolshed is a house? This feels so fake!" Cody grimaced.
"Uhh… you ring the bell." Vice said to Ann.
"Me!? Well, the walls won't collapse when I do, will they?" the model asked cautiously.
"Let's not sneeze and blow this house down." the blonde boy joked.
The two then stepped up and rang the door bell. It soon took a moment but the door opened as Yusuke was there now greeting the two.
"I see, Takamaki-san and Aldrich-san." he observed.
'People really do live here…' Cody thought.
"So, your master lives here?" Ann asked him.
"Oh he's not here right now. I'm mostly by myself here." Yusuke informed.
"Yikes." Vice said.
"Wow, so it looks like the rumors about him were false." Cody lied, as in reality what he saw only confirmed them.
"Of course, Sensei is very caring after all. Come, come. Please." Yusuke said, letting the two enter into the housing.
As the two walked in, Vice spotted a surprisingly beautiful painting of a woman in a red dress.
'Wow… she's pretty…' he commented, catching Cody and Ann off-guard.
"Oh wow! What's this?" Ann asked.
"This is his maiden work as well as his most representative piece. It's titled Sayuri." he explained.
"It's honestly beautiful and amazing." Ann smiled.
"Yeah.. Even I can tell this is perfect work." Cody admitted honestly.
"Indeed, this is the painting that inspired me to become an artist." he said with a smile on his face, "Much like how my own sensei was inspired by Kamiyama-sensei's novels."
He then turned towards Ann, "When I first saw you, I felt the same powerful emotion as when I saw this painting."
"Me?" she asked.
"Yes. As for you Aldrich-san, I cannot help but feel like i've met a kindred spirit in you." he noted, "That aura, it almost feels calm yet chaotic."
"Aw, you're making me blush!" Vice jokingly chuckled.
"Kindred spirit? Heh, thanks. I'm truly trying my best despite my heritage." Cody smiled.
"I wish to pursue beauty such as yours Takamaki-san, and display the same energy as you show Aldrich-san." Yusuke noted, "And I believe drawing the both of you will be part of that pursuit. I implore you both, please seriously consider my offer."
"W-Wait you're offering me to model alongside Ann?" Cody gawked as this was a surprise.
"Hehe, well ain't this a surprise? I mean, I'll still need to think about it but showing Cody the ropes would be fun!" Ann smiled as the idea did make her wonder how it'd be.
"I don't know…" he noted before spotting something in the corner of his eye, "Yusuke-san? No matter what happens, do NOT leave this house."
"Pardon?" Yusuke got out, confused as did Ann before Cody ran towards where he saw what he saw, "H-Hey, wait!"
XXX
"This place…" a voice spoke, "The place of my downfall. Soon, I'll tear it down, and then show that old fool what it's like to have everything taken away from him!"
"Hey!" Cody called out, earning the attention of the person. "What do you plan to do here…?"
"You, you're the one who works for the man who killed my idols." the man, who looked much more scraggly and ragged, spoke in a manic tone, "You and that whore have one of them don't you?"
"Hey! That's my friend you're talking about!" Cody glared at the man, "She and Yusuke has nothing to do with whatever you're dealing with."
"Oh they do. That boy was like me once upon a time. So hopeful, so full of energy. But then, he used me like a slave, taking my name, my art, my life away from me. But no more! After today, I will rewrite this tragedy into my own personal triumph! VIVA LA STREGA!"
He then took out a brown book with a ripped up cover that covered most of the book apart from the title.
DAIMYO MUSOU HATTORI…
Soon several torn books fly out of the small book before soon forming into a figure. It looked to be similar to many of the kabuki plays of Hanzo Hattori, but more monstrous as the sword was made from a human spine.
"Alright, let's fight samurai with samurai!" Cody declared as he equipped the Revice Driver and took out the Kamakiri Vistamp.
KAMAKIRI!
Once more, the text screen appeared as the boy breathed on the stamp and pressed it on the screen, activating the standby noise.
COME ON! KA-KAMA~KIRI! COME ON! KA-KAMA~KIRI! COME ON! KA-KAMA~KIRI!
Cody: Great, we're dealing with some wack job over this whole thing!
Vice: I wonder if this guy was one of the pupils Madarame dupe into working for him.
Cody: We'll find out after this.
Vice: Yep, though I wonder how pissed the rest of Ann's harem would be after we tell them about what this guy said?
Cody: You are not saying anything!
"Henshin!"
He then activated the transformation and allowed Vice to bring the Vistamp down on him. After performing a brief pose, the stamp broke apart and revealed Revi now in a samura-esque set of armor with a mantis-inspired helmet that had orange eyes even wielding a weapon that looked to be a bladed-esc style of a bow and arrow. Meanwhile Vice gained a helmet that resembled Gaim's own, but with the same mantis theming, two orange shoulderpads, a set of blue coattails on the back and blue and orange boots. This is Revice's Gaim-themed mantis form, the Kamakiri Genome.
BU~DDY~ U~P!
PEERLESS SLASHING! I'M TRAVERSING! KA~MAKI~RI~!
THIS IS OUR STAGE!
"This is my stage now!" Vice cheekily declared.
"Vice! Let's do this!" Revi declared as the two gave their hand off before charging ahead to fight.
"Go, my soldiers. Don't let the Kamen Rider win!" the crazed artist declared as several pages fell from the sky and summoned several monochromatic monsters that wore tattered brown cloaks and wielded what looked to be gun blades alongside the usual Giff Juniors.
Revi quickly got to work as he swung his bow-blade around to cut down the Giff Juniors while firing some energy arrows at the Shimi that tried to attack him. Vice however had to fight against the monsters bare-handed.
"Come on, Revi! It's no fair that only YOU get a weapon!" he complained as he turned to a Shimi that quickly felt some fear, "You have blicky! Give me blicky!" he shouted, running after the Shimi to steal its weapon.
"You're part mantis now! You have forearm blades!" Revi pointed out.
True to his word, Vice's arms created two orange slice-shaped forearm blades for him to use alongside his newly stolen sword.
"OOHH!" he chuckled, "Forgot about that."
"You can be so childish, Vice…" Revi sighed out before spotting Ann arrived.
"You boys okay?" She asked the two.
"Yeah! You sure its okay to be fighting out here?" Revi questioned.
"Trust me." she said before dodging and landing a knee to the stomach into a Giff Junior, "I wouldn't be much of a thief if I didn't know how to fight without my Persona."
"Just make sure you don't get hurt! He'd be mighty angry if that happened!" Vice snickered.
"Why would you bring up Ryuji?!" Ann asked as she tossed one Shimi into several Giff Juniors, a hot blush on her face.
"I didn't say it was Ryuji~!" the demon cheekily pointed out.
"You're so going to pay for that, Vice…" Ann glared as her blush got worse.
"Guys, fight first, argue later!" Revi noted as he kicked the Hattori Megiddo away before regrouping with Vice and Ann.
Shaking off her prior embarrassment, Ann spotted a couple of Giff Juniors and quickly kicked them away. During this, she spotted a loose chain that she quickly used as a substitute for her whip and began swinging it around, cracking it at the mobs in her way. After grabbing one, she spun around with the Shimi and tossed them into the air for Revi to fire his bow at.
"Alright Vice, time to Remix this fight!"
REMIX! BU~DDY~ U~P!
After performing a kickup, Vice did a handstand and placed his feet on Revi's shoulders as soon the bug-visor on Revi's helmet merged to make a mantis face as the bow in hand split apart and formed into twin sickle blades that the mantis uses.
HISSATSU! KO~MAGIRI~! BUTCHI~GIRI~! KA~MAKIRI~!
As the remixed mantis slashed in front of it, the rider soon rushed ahead, countering the swings and slashes from Hanzo as they back up as it gave the two to fight in a duel with each step forward and back was met with a slash or step.
Ann then quickly used her whip to hold down the monster for Revice to finish off with several quick slashes.
KAMAKIRI! STA~MPING~ FI~NISH~!
"Hrmph! Piece of cake!" Vice chuckled as the group looked around, only to find that they were alone as the crazed artist had disappeared alongside the Shimi and Giff Juniors.
"Damn it, he got away." Revi sighed, as he disengaged his Rider form and changed back to normal. "Seems like we got a real piece of work now."
"Yeah…" Ann agreed before hearing more footsteps.
"Who's there!" Cody snapped, already ready for another fight.
"Takamaki-san! Aldrich-san! Are you two alright?" Yusuke said soon walking into view.
"Er, yes! Turns out you may have a stalker who might try to harm you, Yusuke." Cody informed him quickly, making sure to not expose himself as the Kamen Rider.
"Don't worry, I think he won't bother you or your master!" Ann reassured him, 'For now…'
"That's a relief…. Thank you…" The young artist sighed in relief, knowing he and his master are safe, "Though… I do want to ask what all that noise was? It sounded like a serious fight."
"Trust me, the guy was a lot crazier than we expected." Cody noted before he asked, "Pardon me for asking but… does your master have any enemies in the art community?"
"Well, as a famous artist, who wouldn't have such enemies?" Yusuke pointed out.
"Yeah, but do any of them want to kill Madarame?" Ann inquired further.
"We have had many threats against him and me as well, but so far nobody has ever followed up on those threats. Its hard to say which is being taken seriously or not?" Yusuke noted.
"Yeah…" he noted before he recalled that name the man spoke before summoning his Deadman, 'Strega… I wonder who that could be?' He sighed before looking towards Yusuke, "Regardless, we should try and get you and your master under police protection just in case. Who knows if that guy will be back."
"We don't need it much here as this is his private residence. Not many know this location, but… maybe one or two police wouldn't hurt either." Yusuke noted with a nod, "Anyways, we should probably postpone this meeting for now. I'm sorry that I had to cancel on your two."
"It's okay, Yusuke. Better safe than sorry!" Ann reassured, though this was just an excuse to explore the Palace that resided here.
They soon made their leave as Yusuke returned to his residence. However, upon turning around, he could make out the ghostly visage of Vice walking besides them, speaking some sort of garbled voice. The artist was confused as to why he was seeing this as he began to picture a potential painting in his mind.
XXX
"We're back!" Ann called out to the others as the two arrived back at the hideout.
"That was quick. Found anything?" Ryuji questioned.
"We sadly got interrupted by an attacker from something called 'Strega'." Cody responded.
"Strega, that sounds vaguely familiar…" Ren recalled.
"Same, I'll ask Daiji if he can find something out. But for now, I think we should try to go over the codewords to figure out the Palace entrance." Cody stated as this was more important.
"Got it." Ren agreed, "So we already have Madarame and plagurist down. So we only need one more keyword, the location." he noted.
"Ohh! Ohh! Let me think of it!" Vice chimed up.
"What now?" Morgana groaned.
"How about… 'Shack'?" Vice offered the keyword.
"Where would you get that codeword?" Ryuji asked.
"From how run down his place is. Much like a sidehouse instead of the real thing." Vice noted.
Soon, three bleeps were heard from the phone.
"Well, we have our keyword. Does everyone stock up on items?" Ren asked.
"Cody and I stopped by the local mart and grabbed some extra stuff. We're ready to go!" Ann smiled, holding up said bag.
"As for new weapons?" the leader asked Ryuji, "We might need an upgrade to our current arsenal just in case this Palace might be tougher than the previous one."
"I got that too!" Ryuji smiled as he got out a spiked bat, "Though don't know what Cody could need with some of those Kamen Rider weapons."
"It's fine, Ryuji. I already have my Vistamps so I'm good." he reassured the boy.
"A butterfly knife huh?" Ren noted as he briefly swung around his new weapon. "Alright, just give me a ski mask and some cigs and I'll be set." he joked.
"Wow, this is surprisingly high-quality." Ann complimented Ryuji as she felt her new whip, "I like it."
"I like this spiked bat! Gonna make someone see stars and holes when I'm done!" He grinned heavily from the weapon change.
"And as for me?" Morgana asked.
"Here, have a blicky." Vice noted as he gave the cat the stolen weapon from the Shimi.
"Eh… better than nothing I guess." Morgana shrugged.
"Aw, they're bonding!" Ryuji snickered at the small interaction.
"AS IF!" The two shouted in unison.
"Alright, knock it off. We're about to make the jump." Ren sighed before tapping on his phone.
KEYWORDS FOUND. BEGINNING NAVIGATION…
And just like that, they were off, transported into the Metaverse to begin traversing Madarame's Palace. However, unbeknownst to them, a familiar police officer had just arrived and witnessed the whole thing. One with dyed light brown hair in a bowlcut as she took out her walkie talkie.
"U-Uhh… sempai? What's the protocol for Persona shenanigans?"
"Protocol Tensei." He responded.
"Got it! Thank you, Yaiba-sempai." the officer noted before taking out a pair of yellow frame glasses, "I hope these still work in there…"
XXX
A/N
HackerEX: Welp, now we've done it… what I've said this already.
Striberx: Mhm! We're reaching in the next part soon and with two new friends joining them! As well as another enemy once again. :3
HackerEX: Yep, so let's get this straight. I can imagine why you're wondering why Gaim and Saber are sharing the Rider side of the tribute for Yusuke. Well, there's a simple explanation for it, and I promise you that I ain't lying. Ain't that right, GOSEI!?
Striberx: "There's a simple explanation for it…." As in, we felt like it was needed for this. With Saber being a writer and the whole gimmick of Wonder Ride Books being well… Books. It fitted so perfectly alongside Yusuke we had to add it in. As for Gaim? Well, the the idea of changing destiny and such for his story, we thought it would be a good fit for Yusuke.
HackerEX: And that mostly extends to the Persona side of things too… for the most part. I mean, this is still Persona 3-based, but I had to sneak in one P4 character and well, I went with the one that kind of made sense for Akihiko to partner up with.
Striberx: Now some would think it would've been Naoto, but she's a detective more so than a cop.
HackerEX: Plus this is kind of a follow-up of Chie and Akihiko's student-master partnership from Arena Ultimax, and well, Chie's whole character arc back in P4 proper really.
Striberx: Either way, we have lots of ideas and such in store for the next chap and then some. Until then, later minna!