4/16
Akira sweats all through his morning class. "Don't worry about it," Morgana whispers from time to time. "No one can see me in here." The cat treats his desk's underside as a crawlspace. He lays on his side, tail swishing lazily against Akira's thigh.
"This was a bad idea," Akira says.
"It'll be fine."
Morgana had insisted on being brought to school. His reasoning had been to oversee Akira's 'progression.' Akira does not know what this means. He did not know it entailed keeping a cat in his desk at school.
Oddly enough, no one seems to notice, and the day passes with startling regularity.
Ryuji texts Akira and Ann after lunch.
RYUJI: Yo! Let's meet on the roof after school! Time to take down the castle!
ANN: Don't text us when we're in class!
RYUJI: You guys are actually paying attention?
AKIRA: I have a cat in my desk. I haven't heard a word anyone's said all day.
RYUJI: HUH?
RYUJI: Oh right, Mona. How's he doing?
"Tell him I'm fine."
AKIRA: He says he's fine.
ANN: Guys, enough! We're gonna get in trouble!
RYUJI: After school then?
ANN: OMG YES OK?
RYUJI: Cool.
School ends. Akira holds opens his bag and Morgana hops inside. "I'll meet you guys upstairs," Ann says, as she stands. "I've got to drop off some forms at the faculty office."
"Okay."
Akira leaves the classroom, and does his best to ignore the stares of the students. He ascends to the third floor and is about to continue his climb, when someone coughs their throat clear behind him.
He halts, mid-stride, and turns around. Makoto Niijima stands in the hall, a brow creased sentinel. "The roof is off limits, you know."
"Oh, uh, I was looking for the library."
"On the roof?"
Akira shrugs. "I don't really know my way around yet."
Makoto regards him silently for a few moments, then sighs and shakes her head. "I didn't mean to be inquisitive. Come on, I'll show you where it is."
Crap.
"You have to go with her now," Morgana hisses from the bag. "She'll get suspicious if you don't."
Akira steps from the stairs and says, "Thank you."
Makoto half-turns away from him, and averts her eyes. "I should point out, that if you were looking to start our study sessions today, I'm afraid I can't. I apologize, but after yesterday..." She trails off.
"Oh, yeah. Hey, don't worry about it. I just wanted a book." Akira tries to smile, but Makoto doesn't see it. She sets off down the hall. Akira follows.
The library is claustrophobic with desks, tables, and stacks. A mass of eyes shoot his way once Akira enters, and despite the large sign over the door that reads, 'Quiet Please,' whispers sprout in force.
"Isn't that the second year with the record?"
"What's he doing here?"
"He's not going to study, is he?"
"I don't like this, he's got a crazy look in his eyes."
"You don't think he's going to attack us, do you?"
Makoto steps up alongside him, and the murmurs dim but do not die. She turns to Akira and says, "I'm sorry about-"
"It's fine," Akira mutters. He grabs a book off the nearest shelf and shambles over to the circulation desk. "This is the book I wanted anyway."
Makoto glances at the title. "'The Biology of Shrimp?' That's an, um, interesting choice."
Crap. Crap. Crap.
"You are awful at this," Morgana whispers.
"I need it for, uh, work. And food. I help make food for work."
"Oh."
The girl at the circulation desk does not meet Akira's eyes as she checks the book out. When he takes it back, she gasps out a little frightened squeak. Akira scowls, tucks the book under his arm, and turns to leave.
"Kurusu-kun," Makoto says.
Akira looks at her. "Yeah?"
"We'll begin our sessions on Monday, alright?"
"Sure," Akira says. "Sounds good. I'll see you then, Niijima-senpai." He nods to her, once, then slides open the door to the library and rushes out.
Makoto stares at the open door. 'The Biology of Shrimp?' Yeah, right.
#
Ryuji paces the roof in small circles, fists clenched. "What'd ya mean, we gotta wait? That's bullshit!"
Morgana sighs. "Look, genius. Remember when he first flew into Kamoshida's Pleasure Hall? Akira and I got stomped on. We would've been screwed if you hadn't awakened Captain Kidd. And yesterday, if Lady Ann hadn't summoned Carmen, we would've been in a real mess."
Ann looks up at Akira and mouths the words, "Lady Ann?"
Akira shrugs.
"My point is, we need to be cautious. We need to prepare. We should stock up on medical supplies we can use when we're inside."
Ryuji's jaw drops. "Like potions in a video game!"
Morgana rolls his eyes. "Well, if your cognition allows you to view them that way, then sure. We should also bring food. The Palace is huge, and we don't know where all the safe rooms are. Hell, we don't even know the general layout of the place. We could be in there for hours. If we run out of energy, or get hurt too badly, it'll be difficult to get back out."
"Alright," Ann says. "Food shouldn't be a problem, but where are we going to get medical supplies? I don't think they sell more than aspirin and bandages at the pharmacy."
"Well, about that," Morgana says, and turns to Akira. "Remember that super-sexy doctor we met yesterday?"
Ryuji grins. "Whoa, dude! Details, now!"
Akira explains about Takemi. "She runs a clinic in my neighborhood."
"Exactly!" Morgana says. "She could sell us medical supplies."
Akira looks at the cat. "You want me to ask a doctor to sell us medicine to use in a cognitive castle?"
"No, obviously you'll make something up!"
"Just make something up?" Akira asks. "What am I supposed to say?"
Ryuji raises his hand. "Hey, Mona, I've got a question."
"What is it?"
"Should we bring guns?"
"Huh?" Everyone asks.
Ryuji reddens a little and clears his throat. "Well, the Personas are great and all, but every time we've used them, we get all tired and shit. Shouldn't we get some other weapons? Akira's got his dagger, Ann's got her whip, you've got a sword, and I've..."
"Got a pipe?" Ann asks.
"Yeah, I don't know what's up with that, it just kind of appeared in my hands." He shakes his head. "But that's not my point. If everything in that world is based on cognition, then couldn't we bring guns in and freak the shadows out or something?"
Morgana looks up at the blonde boy. "Ryuji, that's..."
"Dumb," Ann finishes.
"Brilliant!" Morgana shouts.
Ryuji blinks. "Wait, for real?"
"Seriously?" Ann asks.
"That could totally work!" Morgana says. "Even if the weapons are fake, the shadows won't know that. From their perspective, we're thieves. They'd expect us to have working guns."
"So toy guns would work like real guns?" Akira asks. "That seems like a really dangerous theory to test out."
"Trust me, it'll work," Morgana says. "Not bad, Ryuji."
Ryuji beams. "In that case, I've got the perfect place to get em! It's an airsoft shop in Shibuya. Really out of the way."
"Alright then," Morgana says. "Then this is the plan for today. Akira and I will go to the clinic and convince the doctor to sell us medicine."
"You mean, I'll convince her to sell us medicine. You're a cat."
"Whatever. While we're doing that, Ryuji, you take Lady Ann to this soft air place and buy some guns."
"Wait, why do I have to go?" Ann asks.
"Because someone's going to need to make sure he doesn't go overboard and draw suspicion."
"Oh. That's a good point."
"Alright!" Ryuji says, pumping his fist into the air. "Let's rock this shit!"
#
The clinic is a short walk from LeBlanc. It is a hole in the wall, a few steps up from the littered sidewalk. An ugly blue sign is the only indicator of its purpose.
Akira grips the doorknob. He feels a soft, pulsing vibration. What's this? He walks inside. Music blasts his eardrums. Morgana yowls from inside the bag. The beats are fast and vicious. The guitars screech, the drums pound.
The singer belts out something Akira thinks is English, but the voice is so scratchy and warped, he cannot be sure.
The auditory assault hits him from all sides, it promptly shuts off, and all he hears is ringing in his ears.
He is in a waiting area. The walls are a dull, metallic grey. Two tattered, red cushioned couches sit parallel to one another. A blank bulletin board. A magazine rack with dusty, yellowed publications. Alongside the door he's just entered, is a potted dracaena. It's dead.
"Sorry about that."
To his left is a large service window, behind which sits Doctor Takemi, feet up upon a cluttered desk. A large, expensive looking radio hangs over the desk's edge.
Her smile is coy. "I don't get a lot of patients around this time."
She wears a white medical coat over a short, dark blue dress cinched with a thin red belt. It looks more like something one might wear to a club, rather than a doctor's office. At the angle she's sitting, the coat has slipped down to her upper arms, and Akira can see her shoulders, pale, bare, and curved. She's still wearing the choker. And the high heels.
He feels his face redden. "That was loud," he says.
"Smooth," Morgana whispers from the bag.
"That's the only way to play it. Otherwise, what's the point?" She bats long-lashed eyes at him, reaches into a drawer and pulls out a clipboard equipped with a form. She extends it out to him. "Here, fill this out."
"What's this?" Akira asks, accepting it.
"I need your information. You are at a doctor's office, after all." She tilts her head. "Oh, I know you. You're that kid who showed up at LeBlanc last night. Boss did say he had taken a tenant upstairs." She looks him up and down. "You're cute in your uniform."
"I-"
She leans forward, folds her hands together, and rests her chin on them. "So, what brings Sojiro's ward to my little clinic? Are you feeling under the weather? Kids your age have a habit of running themselves ragged."
Akira remembers Sojiro's words. She's out of your league. Of all leagues. Hell, she's playing a whole other sport.
"I need some medicine," he says. He makes no move to fill out the form.
Her smile remains, but her eyes go hard. "Oh?"
"Y-yeah. It's for my exams. To help my energy levels."
Takemi unfolds her hands and leans back in her chair. Her painted nails drum against the top of her desk. "So, you need medicine to help with your exams?" He nods. She stands. Vanishes around the corner.
The sky blue door in the lobby clicks unlocked, and Takemi opens it. "Come with me."
He follows her into the hall. She leads him to a small, examination room. The exam table is blue, plush, and covered with sanitary paper. She gestures to it with her thumb. "Have a seat."
Akira sets his bag - Morgana included - on the ground, and hops up onto the table.
Next to the table is a small desk and swivel chair. Takemi drops into it, and spins around to face him. "What kind of game are you playing?" Her voice is still cool, still seductive, but there's an underlying harshness to it. "Is someone putting you up to this?"
"No, of course not."
"Then I suggest you come up with a better lie. Because 'medicine' and 'exams' rarely go together."
"I'm not lying," he says. He feels dirty, like he's just stepped through a cloud of dust and dirt. He realizes he is squirming beneath her maple brown gaze, but he can't stop. "It's for my entrance exams. For college. I really do need it."
"Hmm." Her eyes glaze over and she stares up at the ceiling. She purses her lips and mutters a few things under her breath. Akira sits in silence. The full weight of what he is attempting to do crashes down upon him. I'm trying to illegally obtain medicine. Holy shit! I'm trying to ILLEGALLY. OBTAIN. MEDICINE. Why hadn't he thought this through? If Takemi reports him, he's finished. He'll get kicked out of school. He'll be in violation of his probation. He'll have to go back to juvy, and then to jail!
Oh my god. Oh my god. Oh my god. Oh my god.
"How badly do you need it?"
Akira blinks. "Sorry, what?"
Takemi smiles at him. "How badly do you need it?"
"Um, pretty badly."
"I see." She reaches out and snatches the clipboard out of Akira's hands. "Didn't write anything, huh? Well, never mind. Neither of us want this on the books. You understand that this is shady? As in, extremely shady. As in, you don't seem to grasp how shady this is, shady. So, let me ask you this. Have you ever been sick? Really sick, I mean?"
Akira shrugs. "I've gotten a cold a few times. Some sore throats and stuff."
"But no mono? Pneumonia? How about chicken pox? Anemia? Anything in your blood?"
"Uh, no."
"I see." She smiles. "Good." She stands. "Please wait here."
Takemi walks out of the office. Morgana's head pokes out from the bag. "How is this convincing her?"
"What'd you expect?" Akira whispers. "I've never had to convince someone to sell me medicine before!"
"But you're so confident in the Metaverse, why can't you put some of that charm to use out here?"
"What charm?" Akira asks. Then he shakes his head. "Never mind that. This was a bad idea. We've got to get out of here. I could get in a lot of trouble for this, and -" He shuts up as the door opens.
Takemi returns, a small vial of red liquid in her hand. "Here," she says, and hands it over to him.
"What is this?" Akira asks, as he takes the vial. He sniffs it and cringes. It's powerful, like citrus.
"Something I've been working on." Takemi leans against the room's desk. "I'm not going to just sell you medicine without getting anything in return. So, let's make a deal. I sell you medicine, and only medicine I deem safe for your use, and you help me with my little experiments."
Akira looks at the vial, then back up at the doctor. "You want me to drink this?"
"And you want me to sell you medicine."
"But what's in it?"
"It's something I'm developing. I want to see its effects on a regular body. You'll drink it, and I'll record the results."
"What's it going to do to me?"
"I don't know," Takemi says. "That's why I need to test it. How about it, guinea pig?"
"My name's Akira. Akira Kurusu."
"And my name's Tae Takemi. And if you want me to sell you that medicine, you'd better drink mine."
Akira steadies his hand, wets the inside of his mouth with his tongue, throws back the medicine and swallows.
#
Akira's head feels like it has been stepped on by a horse.
Several times.
The dull fluorescents above burn into his eyes. He groans, and throws his arm over his face to shield them.
"That was interesting."
Doctor Takemi sits at the desk, a smile on her face. She's scribbling on the clipboard. Everything comes back to him in a rush.
"What happened?"
"Do you want specifics?" Takemi asks.
"Well, yeah."
"First, you ingested the medicine. Then you promptly passed out. Your heart rate, respiration, everything was normal. A few minutes passed, and then you woke up."
"I don't remember."
"That's probably for the best. You started yelling at your bag."
"My bag?" Akira looks down at it. How long was I out? Morgana's been in there the whole time!
"You referred to it as Morgana. You kept shouting, 'Shut up, Morgana! We've got to get to the castle!' over and over again. That went on for about another minute."
"Did, uh, the bag reply?"
Takemi looks flustered for a moment. Then she chuckles. "No. Fortunately, your bag didn't respond. You should apologize to it later though."
"Right, so I guess everything-"
"Hold on. I'm not done. Then you zeroed in on me for a while."
Akira gulps. "What do you mean?"
"For a solid five minutes or so, you kept referring to me as, 'Sexy Lady.' You tried to sing that song too. Your English is terrible, by the way."
Akira's cheeks are on fire. "I'm really sorry."
"I'm not. It was hilarious."
"Is, uh, that all?"
"Pretty much. After your attempted advances, you passed out again. This time for half an hour. And then you woke up."
Akira sighs, mortified. "My head hurts."
"That's to be expected. It should go away in a bit." She sets the clipboard down and withdraws a small slip of paper from her coat's pocket. "You upheld your end, so I'll do the same." She holds the paper out to him, and Akira takes it, careful not to touch her fingers. "That's a list of medicine I'll be comfortable selling to you, at a discount."
"I... thanks."
"It's mostly relaxants. Simple ones. Honestly, a lot of it's no stronger than aspirin. But, who knows? You help me out some more, and maybe I can sell you more."
"Wait, does that mean...?"
She grins, full and wide. "This is only a first test. I've got a couple more I need to run." She holds out her hand. "So, do we have a deal?"
Akira's throat tastes like ash. His head pounds. But, he has what he needs. He reaches out and shakes her hand. "Deal."
#
That night, Akira apologizes to Morgana for yelling at him while under the influence of Takemi's bizarre concoction. Then he texts the others.
RYUJI: Dude! That's awesome! We're gonna kick this palace's ass!
ANN: Way to go, Akira!
AKIRA: Thanks. How was the gun store?
RYUJI: Freakin' rad!
ANN: Terrible.
RYUJI: What're you talking about? You were psyched about that submachine gun you picked out!
ANN: Yeah, I was. But you're not allowed back there. EVER. AGAIN.
RYUJI: Why the hell not?
ANN: Because you kept asking weird questions.
ANN: Like, 'How much damage will this one do?'
ANN: And, 'Do you think this will scare them enough?'
ANN: The guy thinks we're going to rob a bank or something!
AKIRA: Did you tell him it's just for a castle?
RYUJI: Relax, Ann. Guys like him always look suspicious. We got the guns, didn't we?
ANN: I guess that's true. We got you a pistol, Akira. I hope you're okay with it.
Morgana sets his paw on Akira's leg. "Ask them what they got me."
AKIRA: Morgana wants to know what you picked out for him.
ANN: Oh.
RYUJI: He needs a gun too? But he's a cat.
Morgana's jaw drops. "Are they serious? They didn't get me anything?"
AKIRA: Morgana does not approve.
ANN: We're sorry Morgana! :(
RYUJI: I've got it! There's this slingshot in my room, from when I was a kid. He could use that!
"A slingshot? Tell them that this is unacceptable! Tell them I demand more!"
AKIRA: Morgana does not approve. Again.
ANN: I feel really bad. I just assumed that Morgana could hold his own. He's the Metaverse expert after all.
Morgana reads this and recaptures some of his poise. "Lady Ann does make a good point. Fine. Tell Bonehead that I'll deign to use his childhood toy."
"Bonehead?" Akira asks.
"Y'know, because his name is Skull."
Akira smirks. "Heh. That's good."
AKIRA: Morgana deigns to use the slingshot.
RYUJI: It's a good slingshot...
ANN: So that settles it, yeah? We're going in tomorrow?
AKIRA: We are.
RYUJI: Alright! Kamoshida's Treasure is as good as ours!
The chat wraps up, and Akira sets his phone on the desk in his room. Once back from Takemi's Morgana had insisted that he clean his room a bit, if only to make it more livable for him. It is still messy, but Morgana seems satisfied.
"Now then," the cat says. "I'm going to teach you how to make infiltration tools. It's a staple in a thief's arsenal and-"
Akira's phone rings. "Uh-huh," Akira says, and picks it up. "One sec."
Probably Ryuji. Or Ann. Something they forgot to tell me about the gun shop.
He does not check the caller ID when he answers. "Hello?"
There is silence on the other line. Then a faint voice, says, "Akira?"
Akira sits and stares at the wall for ten seconds, before he is able to say, "Mom?"
#
"Just like your father."
His mother looks at him from across the dining room table. When she shakes her head, it is slow and sad.
"Just like your father."
"I'm not-" Akira begins, but he cannot finish. Nausea hits him. The aches return. His head hurts, but the pain is right behind his eyes, where he cannot get to it.
"Just like your father," his mother says.
"Come on," he says. He rests his head against the wood table. It is cold steel. "Come on, I've got this."
"Just like your father."
"Stop it."
"Just like your father."
"Shut up!"
"Excuse me?"
He sits up. The pulsing behind his eyes has lessened, but persists. Sae Niijima glares at him from across the table.
"I would suggest you mind yourself," she says.
Akira squeezes his eyes shut and tries to shake his head clear. "I thought you were my mother."
"There is no situation in which a woman wants to hear that, Kurusu. Least of all, this one."
"Sorry." He clenches his hands so his nails bite into his flesh. The pain helps him focus. "After we recruited Panther-"
"Let's stop for a moment," Sae cuts in. "So that you can reexamine your position. Do you think lying to me is your best course of action?"
"I'm not lying."
"You just told me that an app on your phone allowed you to enter the collective human subconscious, and that you found a castle belonging to your gym teacher, and that a talking cat told you that if you stole the castle's treasure, it would make him an honest man."
"You know what happened."
"I know a man confessed to his crimes. I know the Phantom Thieves claimed responsibility. And that's all I know."
"I'm not lying."
Sae regards him for a moment. "Very well. Tell me what happened next."
##
A/N: I hope you're all having a lovely week. I feel like this is a good time to announce that I'll be taking a week off from posting either this coming week - the week of the 24th - or the following - the week of the 31st. I haven't decided on which yet. I'm actually really excited about Chapters 13 - 15 as they deviate from the game significantly (in my opinion). Please know, this DOES NOT mean that Crimson will disappear like so many fics before. I have an additional three weeks' worth of material already written. However, there's a lot happening in my personal life, and taking a break from posting for one week will allow me to maintain that buffer. Thank you for your understanding. I'll make a decision by Friday, but I'm presently leaning towards the break being on the week of the 31st.