I own nothing. Monika does.
The team, after entering the palace and explaining the surroundings to Makoto, arrived at Shadow Kaneshiro's bank. Sayori raised her shield ever so slightly, anticipating a fight at any moment. The team had a civilian with them now, it was her duty to protect her, as well as the rest of the team, at any cost. If the ATM people dying in the street were any indication, this palace would contain many things to protect them from. As the thieves approached the front desk, they were stopped by shadow security guards.
"Excuse me, but do you have an appointment?" one of the guards asked, gruffly.
"I have to talk to him. Now, let me through!" shouted Makoto.
Suddenly, the voice of Kaneshiro could be heard coming from a P.A. system. "Let them pass."
The security guards backed away and let the thieves walk forward. "Reception is further in to the right. I strongly advise that you do not attempt to go elsewhere."
The thieves complied, heading straight for the reception room. A large stack of money sat on a table in front of them. "How many beef bowls could I eat with this?" thought Ryuji, out loud. Sayori was about to make a snide comment when Kaneshiro's voice interrupted her.
"Unauthorized entry, property damage, and other disturbances. That comes to three million yen in total. You're here regarding that, correct, Miss Beautiful President?" The horrendous visage of Shadow Kaneshiro came onto a television on the wall. He heavily resembled the real Kaneshiro in build alone, but his hair was slicked back and his skin was tinted purple. "It must be quite tough gathering so much money. I'd be willing to give you a loan, you know."
"You gonna call it off, then?" inquired Ryuji.
"No- a loan. The interest rate is ten percent a day."
Sayori and Ann did their best to figure out the math behind the loan, stumbling over their words in the process. However, Makoto managed to solve it before them. "It's three-hundred thousand yen."
"There's no need to be alarmed. I have a more manageable option for people like you," said Kaneshiro.
"That was your plan from the beginning, wasn't it?"
"Quite the impressive insight, Niijima-san. Or, should I say, the younger sister of the beautiful prosecutor, Sae Niijima?" A coy smile grew across his face as he said this.
Everyone except Sayori was shocked to hear this news. Sayori was more surprised that they hadn't figured it out sooner.
"H-how do you know that!?"
"Please don't underestimate our intelligence network. My, what wonderful goods have come falling into my lap. Young women are so useful. They lack physical strength and are dumb. It's as if they only exist to be devoured by the strong."
Sayori felt more disgusted than usual at this comment. She didn't like being reminded of Kamoshida.
"You better be ready, Kaneshiro! We're gonna snatch your Treasure from you!"
"Don't make me laugh, petty thieves! My citadel has the highest security installed in it!"
A group of security shadows appeared before the thieves. "Anyone will do anything for money. I'll rob you of your lives as easily as I breathe air," Shadow Kaneshiro laughed. "...Get them."
The shadows transformed into large, red Personas, similar to the one that Shadow Natsuki had transformed into before. Sayori now knew that these were called Onis. She additionally knew that none of her attacks would be effective on them. Nobody in the team, except for maybe Joker, had the ability to knock down an Oni. They had tried many times. They would have to resort to brute force.
The thieves fought their hardest against the multiple squads of Onis, and they were successful in defeating them. Broken and battered, the thieves began to retreat from the palace.
"Why did the security guards turn into monsters!? And what were those supernatural powers…!? Could those have been the Personas you mentioned!?" Makoto asked, shocked.
"Does it look like the time to be asking questions like that!? We need to retreat! Makoto, make sure you don't get separated from us!" commanded Morgana, before the thieves bolted into the lobby. They were about to bust through the door when they were stopped by more shadows, as well as Shadow Kaneshiro himself.
"You seem to be in quite a pickle. I must say, thieves, I do thank you for providing me with such wonderful goods." A cruel smile grew upon Kaneshiro's face. "...It's time you disappear." The team was soon surrounded by shadows on all sides. "Managing a bank is tough- that's why I make it a case to kill troublesome customers. Having one impertinent brat disappear is enough to set an example in that other world."
"Please, stop!" cried Makoto, desperately.
"Get away from her!" cried Sayori, raising her shield. "I'll smite you where you stand if you come any closer!"
"Ohohoho. As if I care about the thoughts of some little girl," laughed Shadow Kaneshiro. Sayori gritted her teeth at the comment, straightening her shield even further. "I'll eliminate all others besides my goods. You two have no need to worry. I must say, her sister is quite a beauty though. I'll make sure to make her my personal slave. Once I get bored, I'll just sell her off. Oh, poor Sis… She could've been successful, if only her younger sister wasn't so useless."
"My sister has nothing to do with this!" shouted Makoto.
"Then you better start taking customers tomorrow. All you gotta do is endure it and do as you're told..."
"Endure it… Do as I'm told..."
"You'll earn three million yen in no time. Although, your life and everything along with it will be a complete wreck by then!" said Kaneshiro, following it up with an appropriately evil laugh.
"I've been listening to you go on and on… Shut your damn mouth, you money-grubbing asshole!"
The team watched as Makoto balled her hands into fists tightly. They could not hear what was happening in her head, but they could infer it. Their suspicions were confirmed when they heard Makoto shout, "Yes! Come to me!" Her eyes turned yellow as she began to writhe in pain. She stomped her foot so hard that the tile beneath her shattered into pieces. A large, metal mask appeared across her face. She began to grip it tightly, tearing it off of her face as a massive, blue explosion erupted from beneath her. From the ashes of the explosion came a massive motorcycle, with a familiar face riding on top of it. It was Makoto, now sporting a spiked leather outfit. Sayori began to back off, feeling that Makoto was more than capable of protecting herself.
"I can feel it… My self... Me!" Makoto gripped the handles of her Persona tighter. "Gun it!" She sped directly into the shadows, nearly running over Sayori before performing an 180 degree turn and blowing away the shadows with her sheer speed. "I'll never lose my heart again, never. I will go full speed, non-stop! Right, Johanna!?"
The Oni, as well as a Sui-Ki, appeared once more, but the thieves felt better knowing that Makoto was on their side.
"Don't get all cocky just because I normally behave myself! I am done playing nice!"
"More Oni!? These things are starting to get on my nerves!" shouted Sayori.
It turned out that the hopes of the thieves would be well founded. Makoto could utilize the Nuclear element, which the Sui-Ki was weak to. After a long and hard battle, the security squads were dispatched yet again.
"We know how to get in now. Our objective's been accomplished!" cried Morgana.
"But how are we getting out!?" asked Ann.
"There's only one exit, right? I'm going on ahead, so follow me!" Makoto pulled another 180 degree turn before racing out the front door. Needless to say, the thieves were impressed. However, there was no time to celebrate. The thieves crowded into the Monabus and raced away.
The next day, Sayori was at her library post yet again. Mai was awaiting another one of Makoto's visits, worried about whether this would be the day that she would be fired.
"Y'know, why's the Student Council President gotta be so difficult all the time? Harassing us and stuff. We do good work around here, why's she gotta bother us?" asked Mai, somewhat irritated.
"I dunno," replied Sayori, who was too focused on her fantasy novel to think about it.
As if by fate, Makoto walked in through the door. Mai shot up from her seat at the sight of her, hoping that she hadn't heard her previous comments.
Sayori put down her book with a smile and a short "hello!" upon seeing Makoto enter.
"Student Council President! Welcome! Is it time for another inspection?" asked Mai, who had her hands and arms placed so tightly at her side that she resembled a nutcracker.
"Eh, not today. I'm just here to see Sayori," replied Makoto, waving her hand at Mai as if to try and put her at ease.
"Uh, really? I-I mean, yeah! Feel free!" Mai said, stepping away from her post quickly. She kept her eyes locked on Makoto, as if she was facing down a wild animal that she was afraid would attack her. Makoto rested her hands on the library desk and began to chat with Sayori. Yet, it wasn't the sort of chat that Mai expected. In fact, it was just a normal girls' chat, some nerdy talk about books, nothing that Mai had seen the student council president talk about before.
Furthermore, her demeanor was entirely different. She was calm and composed like usual, but she also didn't appear to have a stick shoved up her ass like usual either. She was, for lack of a better word, normal. As the two continued to talk, Mai felt herself becoming more and more confused.
What the hell am I looking at?
I hope everyone enjoyed that chapter. I suppose now I should tell you my official plan for next week in light of that test. While there will still be a Q&A, in case there aren't too many who have a question to ask, my partner and I will be doing another writing activity for entertainment. We will be choosing random prompts to write about, including, but not limited to the AUs mentioned last week. If anybody has ideas for what to write about in that regard as well, please leave them in a review. I am looking forward to hearing what you all might have to say. Anyway, please read, review, and we'll see you all next week!