"So nothing changed, huh?" Ren noted. He was lucky that nothing within Kamoshida's palace had changed. Every detail down to the point was exactly the same.
This time around however, he was much more powerful. He had equipped Morgana with the same weapons and armor he had fought with against Maruki and Adam Kadmon. Needless to say, it was the most powerful gear he was able to get in their time together.
Although his Persona wasn't quite experienced, the weapons more than made up for the difference in power. A single hit from his slingshot was able to take down some of the weaker shadows while still dealing major damage to some of the bigger threats.
In all honesty, calling them threats was an overstatement. Ren's personas were significantly stronger than any of the shadows that resided within Kamoshida's palace. Battle hardened personas were able to understand fights more clearly, allowing them to do more damage and take less. It was an odd quirk with them, however Ren just chalked it up to some metaverse business. The science behind it didn't really matter to him. He was just glad that his compendium kept up to date with when he was sent back somehow.
"We should get out of here," Ren motioned to Morgana. "Our route is secured. The only thing left to do is to send the calling card, get back in here, and finish the job."
"You're pretty professional, you know that?" Morgana told him. "I think it's pretty important that you take this as seriously as you do."
"Well, this isn't really something we can half ass now, can we? We're still dealing with someone's life here so we have to be proper about it. As much as the man might deserve it, the Phantom Thieves were never killers," Ren lamented. The death of both Kobayakawa and Okumura still affected him, though he reminded himself that there was nothing that they could've done to prevent it.
As the two made their way out of the palace, Morgana was still curious about something. "How do you think they'll do when we fight for real? They haven't really set foot in the palace before so do you think they'll be fine?"
"I told them to learn how to meditate and also got them on a workout routine. I know fighting in the metaverse is typically done with personas, but having that edge on mental and physical health goes a long way. The skills we cast in there can be pretty exhausting. Not to mention, when they awoke to their personas in our original time, they fought without any hesitation. It just came natural to them."
"How are they gonna awaken their personas anyway? You said that they were in pretty stressful positions last time, right? That they were backed into a corner and had no other choice?" Morgana questioned.
"No, they've already awoken them," Ren said. "They just haven't quite realized it is all. As soon as that knowledge that they could do something existed, I knew something had changed within them. Their rebellious spirit is overflowing, I can tell you that much now."
"You think they'll know how to use that power?"
"Like I said, they fought with pure instinct the first time around. I don't suppose it'll be very different this time. I trust them."
They arrived at the exit, returning to the original world fairly late in the day. It was evening when they got back, but it marked one of the fastest times that he had ever secured the route to a palace's treasure. Normally, they would take maybe even a week as they acclimated to the harsh nature of clearing palaces. This time around, two days was all they needed.
In his off time, Ren made sure to progress through the palace with Morgana, securing their route for the coming battle.
They spent the remaining week laying low, making sure everything was ready for Kamoshida's downfall. Ren created new calling cards, having learned how to draw their own logo from Yusuke. He made each and every card slightly different, leaving no room for any laziness on his part. Their debut act was important. The appearance of the Phantom Thieves of Hearts in a public setting would arrive on one fateful morning.
April 18th, 20XX. An average Monday morning if not for the large commotion that crowded the halls of Shujin Academy. Black and red cards littered the halls, posted on every door to every classroom each one of them condemning one man.
"Suguru Kamoshida, the living embodiment of Lust. Your students have suffered long enough to the blind eye turned away by your peers. Your perverse acts and misdeeds against the students of Shujin Academy will not go unanswered any longer. We shall make you confess to your sins and put you where you belong. Your distorted desires will be stolen away from you without fail."
-The Phantom Thieves of Hearts
"What the-" came the voice of the man in question. "Who the hell put these up?! When I find out whoever did this…" Kamoshida's voice rang out through the halls of Shujin. Long gone were the culprits involved in the case. Instead, the one responsible for it was hiding in plain sight at his desk in rook 2-D.
Ryuji- Duuuuude that was so good
Ren- And it only gets better
Ann- What's with the name though? Phantom Thieves of Hearts?
Ren- The hearts that we steal are their desires. At least, their distorted ones like the cards say.
Shiho- So you planned all of this out, Ren?
Ren- Yeah, as bad as it might sound, Kamoshida had to be my first target. If we're gonna make anything change, we've gotta drum up some support from the people around us before we aim any higher.
Ryuji- So what do we do anyway? Obviously he's not gonna just admit everything when there's no solid proof.
Ren- Just meet me on the roof after school. I'll explain everything once we're there.
Despite the chaos and commotion raging on throughout the school, the Phantom Thieves remained calm. Kamoshida's reputation had taken a blow. Word of his calling card would spread throughout Tokyo through the likes of any form of social interaction. But with nothing more than a few words, the people would want more. Proof, evidence, whatever you wanted to call it, was needed to solidify the accusation.
There was no real threat in making threats. It all came down to the execution. The Phantom Thieves of Hearts would lay their groundwork today. All that was left was for the public to react. Ren had to make sure that their publicity didn't get to them. They weren't to be put on a pedestal as saviors or heroes.
To be absolutely honest, they weren't trying to be publicized. However the nature of the calling card was one that promoted the receiver to believe that their secrets were close to being revealed. They needed to feel threatened in order for their treasure to manifest itself in their palace.
It was a conflict of interest that no one wanted. Yet it gave the public something to hold on to. A ray of light that shined down on their bleak world. Given too much light though, and they would go blind. It was the root cause of Mementos fusing with the real world. It was partly why the Phantom Thieves had disappeared in the first place.
The need for freedom and security was a conflicting idea. Too much freedom led to a ruinous world. The world would fall to anarchy. To ruin. Too much security led to a dystopian society, devoid of any and all free will under the guise of being a threat to the status quo. Ren knew that their role in society was too powerful to be left alone. The fact that they could change the hearts of practically anyone meant that society believed they could change the hearts of anything.
They became too reliant on the idea of the Phantom Thieves that they never once stopped to ask what they were capable of. The depths of mementos reflected society shackling themselves to a higher power, believing that their captors would do everything for them. The holy grail, Yaldabaoth's manifestation, was a product of society's laziness and over reliance. Their ignorance to who truly ruled blinded them to the truth.
The Phantom Thieves needed to rectify all of that before it could happen once again. There was no telling what else might have changed within the span of the week that Ren had changed. The effects it had on mementos should have been minimal, but there truly was no telling. To minimize any future complications, they needed to be sure that the future never happened. And Ren knew it was possible now. All he needed was enough time and soon enough, Yaldabaoth's plans would crumble right under his feet.
For the time being, they had to focus on their task at hand. Kamoshida was just a stepping stone in giving the other members experience within the metaverse. Classes ended at the same time as they always did and Ren waited for Ann to leave before making his own move.
As he stepped out the door, Ren had noticed Kawakami's sullen, downcast expression. It seemed like her debt to Takase's guardians was weighing down on her a lot more than Ren had realized. He knew he had to do something to help her out as soon as he could. He still remembered the maid service's line. All he had to do was call.
He made his way up to the roof and was met by the faces of his friends waiting for him. In his bag, Morgana shuffled around, signaling for him to open it to let him out.
"Wait, a cat?" Ryuji questioned.
"Morgana. I'll explain later. You guys sure you're ready for this?" Ren asked them. "I know you guys all have something to say about Kamoshida but…" he sighed. He knew in all of their operations that there was a risk of the shadow's death. That was technically unavoidable. Yet the only reason a shadow had died before was through the interference of a certain mole.
"I think we're ready," Ann told him. "I don't really know what you have in mind, but Kamoshida has to stop. Not just for me. For the other kids in our class too. If- if there's something I can do, then I can't say no to it. I'm not gonna back down now."
"Yeah we can't just let him keep getting away with the shit he does," Ryuji added. "He-" Ryuji cut himself off. The details of his leg injury never made it past closed doors. Either through intimidation or the belief that no one would believe him, Ryuji never actually told anyone the root cause.
Yet here, among the only people he could really call friends, the people he had only been talking to for a week since he had come to Shujin. These were the people he felt he could trust. "He's the reason that the track team was disbanded. That shitty ass teacher is the reason I can't run anymore. And not because of the track team being gone."
Ann's eyes widened. She had known about Ryuji's leg injury, but never pried for further information. Hell, nearly the entire school knew about it but no one seemed to care enough to ask him about it. All they cared about was that he was the reason that the track team was no more.
"He could die from this," Ren said idly. The group went silent. Though he knew where their convictions lied, it was up to them to see it through. Although Ann and Ryuji had their reservations, reasonable ones at that, he knew that the threat of Kamoshida's actions would outweigh the slight chance that his death was on their hands.
After much silence Shiho began to speak, "And I could've died from him…" she said quietly. Both Ann and Ryuji immediately looked at her, disbelief and confusion spread across their faces.
"Wh- what do you mean you could've died from him?"
"I didn't tell you this but…" Shiho hesitated. She was vulnerable. She was scared. Although he hadn't crossed the line yet, Shiho was entirely aware that Kamoshida was teetering on the edge. Had he snapped, he would've done something unspeakable. And that would've been it.
"I didn't want to go on. Coming to school everyday, enduring everything that he- that he did to us. It was becoming too much for me. I saw that look on his face. Saw the way he looked at my teammates. Saw the way he looked at you, Ann. I just- I couldn't tell anyone. I was scared," Shiho said as tears threatened to slip. She wiped them away as she continued.
"I didn't tell you this but Ren knew. I saw him in the alley of the school after practice. And I just broke down. I couldn't handle it. He just knew everything. He knew what was going on and he's been here for a couple weeks now! How is it that he knew and said something while everyone else just stands by and lets him get away with all of that shit?" Shiho's fists were clenched, nails digging into her palm as she tried to calm herself.
"He said Kamoshida was gonna get what was coming to him. If this is it, I don't want to back down now. I know I might not be much of a help, but I want to help him see this through. To see Kamoshida regret everything that he did. To see the kids that he hurt be free from him. I'm sorry I never told you, Ann. But it has to stop somewhere."
"Shiho…"
"I won't force you guys to do anything but I'll ask now. Are you coming or not?"
Shiho was the first to respond, immediately agreeing. Ann and Ryuji both looked at each other and contemplated before nodding their heads.
"Let's get going then. I'll bring you guys to the front of the palace. I'll be honest and say that I don't know the exact position that we'd land if were to use the nav up here." The group made their way out of the school, leaving the school premise before ducking out into the alley and out of sight.
As the MetaNav pulled them out of their world and into the metaverse, three of the four Shujin students suffered the telltale headache that everyone had on their first time entering the metaverse. As they opened their eyes, they found that, while they were still right outside the gates of Shujin Academy, something was wrong.
Gone was the modern look of the school that they knew. Instead, it was replaced by a dark, gothic castle. They turned to view their surroundings. Nothing outside of the school seemed too out of the ordinary. The only glaring issue was within the school itself.
They turned to see Ren, completely changed. His Phantom Thief outfit was such a 180 from the way that they usually saw him that they weren't even sure at first if it was him.
Before anyone could say anything, a certain member made his appearance known. "I am not a cat!" Morgana said as he stomped the ground from behind Ren.
"Wha- what is that? Some kind of monster cat thing?" Ryuji said much to the annoyance of Morgana.
"It's Morgana. I told you I'll explain later but Morgana was stuck here when I first came into this place, so I got him out."
"Wait so that's the cat that was in your bag?" Ryuji asked. To be honest, everything seemed so absurd. The idea that the cat from the real world was the thing they were now seeing in the metaverse just didn't make sense.
"Yes. Welcome to the metaverse," Ren said with a sigh. "This is where Kamoshida changes. The things that happen here rely mainly on the idea of cognition," he explained. He pulled out his gun and showed them. He shot towards the ground and much to their surprise, it had seemed like he had actually shot a bullet.
"This gun is nothing but an imitation. In the real world, this thing is practically useless. But here, you guys believed it was real and so it became reality. What we do here won't have a major effect on Kamoshida. Not until we find his treasure and take it. His treasure represents his malicious desires. The reasons behind his behavior. Without it, he'll become practically harmless."
"So where do we find it?" Ryuji asked.
"Morgana and I have already cleared a path to the room. All we have to do is get in and get out. But it's not going to be that easy. The ruler of this place, Kamoshida's shadow will know once we've got a hold of it. He won't let us take it without a fight. Trust me, I've tried to take treasures without alerting the palace's owner but I-" Ren cut himself off, realizing that he was giving far too much information. Sure it was possible that he could claim he had changed the hearts of people before, but he didn't want to risk having to explain the whole time jump that he went through. It seemed too outlandish for anyone to believe him.
"Since you guys haven't manifested your mask yet, it's safe to say you guys should stay back and watch for a bit. Who knows? Maybe you'll awaken midway through and jump in," Ren suggested. He knew he could take on Kamoshida's shadow by himself. He understood the risks of even bringing them in the first place, yet he was willing to take that risk for their growth.
His reasoning for allowing Shiho to come with them was partially due to curiosity and his own belief that if she wanted to see her tormentor fall, she would see what happens behind the scenes. He was curious if Shiho had any potential as a persona user. She hadn't awoken any sort of arcana yet so there was no telling. At the same time, he never had a real chance to create any sort of bond like that with her just yet.
Their past interactions had been simple, straightforward, and very honest. He remembered her words regarding the rumors. He remembered her visit back to Shujin prior to Ann's confession to him. He still remembered how awful he had felt when he had rejected her. Truth be told, he did feel affection for her, yet he didn't want to cause any turmoil within their group if they ever started dating.
Shaking his head, he pulled out his phone and used the MetaNav to move them all. Their vision began to blacken as their bodies shifted from the entrance of the palace to the final safe room just outside of the treasure room. The idea behind traveling in the metaverse relied on the user's knowledge of the safe room.
If they knew where the safe room was and had been in it before, it was possible to move from safe room to safe room without any issues. So long as they were inside of a safe room already, they could enter one door and exit another in a completely different place seamlessly. The same worked with the entrance of the palace as they all had one thing in common: the amount of authority held over these places were very low.
The nature of the safe room was that the palace owner didn't have any sort of real control over it. They would never know if there were intruders in any of these safe rooms, and the shadows didn't even think about going into them. They were hidden in plain sight.
As they exited the safe room and entered the treasure room, Ren noticed the same absence of Kamoshida's shadow as when they had first infiltrated. He knew he was lurking somewhere though, waiting for them to come take his treasure.
As they entered the room housing the treasure, Ren turned to his companions. "You guys should wait up here for a bit. Kamoshida's shadow is waiting for us to try and leave with his treasure right now. I don't want you guys getting caught in the crossfire so try to stay out of his sight until you manifest your persona," Ren instructed.
Despite Morgana's ogling of the treasure, the two phantom thieves began to make their way out with it. As they made their way down the steps, Morgana had some questions.
"How do you know they're gonna manifest their personas? Didn't you say they did it before and helped you through the palace?"
"To be honest, I don't know for sure if they'll manifest their personas now. It's just a hunch, but if the fight goes the same way I remembered…" Ren paused, sighing as he recalled how the fight had gone down. The roles of the cognitive Ann and Shiho would likely be enough to push them over the edge.
"If it's the same as I remember, I'm sure they'll come through."
As they approached the door, a volleyball was launched from out of nowhere, knocking the treasure out of their hands as Shadow Kamoshida entered in an over exaggerated flip. The shadow was followed by a cognitive Ann,
The fuse was set. Now, all it needed was a spark.
Whether he realized it or not, the cognitive Ann was part of the catalyst that had awoken both Ann and Ryuji's personas. Considering their history in the past as friends up until high school, it was understandable that Ryuji would be irked by the sight of her in Kamoshida's castle. Even more understandable was Ann swing herself in that state. Sure, she knew it wasn't actually her, but it still stung.
"And what do we have here?" Shadow Kamoshida asked. "A good for nothing troublemaker and his pet? Where's that track runner of yours? What, couldn't make it because of a bad leg?" As the shadow continued to mock Ryuji, the boy in question could swear he could hear his heartbeats. He clenched his fist as more and more was said about him.
"I'm sure the entire track team hates him now. Or should I say former?" The shadow laughed as Ryuji's anger grew. The jabs at Ryuji continued to grow as Ren continued to watch. As much as he didn't want to hear it, he knew Ryuji would have to awaken somehow.
"Silent, huh? You know, I like you! Not you entirely but the fact you don't talk much is great! Just like all the girls that come in for their, ahem, special lessons," Shadow Kamoshida laughed. It was hard to listen to. Ren wanted nothing more than to pummel the shadow into the ground. But he had to hold. He needed them to awaken their personas.
"God I was so close! That whore Suzui or whatever? Man, so close you know? Just when I was gonna reel her in, she stood showing up without any explanation. Ah well, I guess her other slut of a friend is gonna have to do. That like half American girl or something? Who cares. I don't care about all that shit, I just wanna see what's under all that. See what she can do for me."
The air around the spectators began to grow cold. Every word that came out of Kamoshida's mouth threatened to tip them over the edge. Ren could feel it from where he was standing. The pure hatred and malice that they felt for the teacher. He had to step in before they did anything rash and revealed themselves.
"You're wrong, Kamoshida," Ren began. "You really think you can get away with it just because everyone else stays quiet about it huh? You think you're invincible just because you haven't been caught yet? I'm not about to stay quiet. Hell, you're not about to stay quiet. I'll make you confess every last one of your crimes."
As he spoke, the atmosphere changed a little. The previous hatred and malice began to shift to determination and ambition. The roots of their rebellion began to take hold as the fight with Kamoshida was just about to begin.
"You want this, huh?" Shadow Kamoshida said, pointing to the treasure. "This right here is the proof that I'm king of this castle. I won't let anyone take it. You see, the people around me are too afraid to say anything. And how is that my fault? They're the one keeping all the secrets. How can you blame me when they let me do whatever I want? You see, I'm the king of this castle, and I'm allowed to do whatever the hell I want!" The shadow said as it shifted to its true form.
The grotesque caricature of Kamoshida came to life exactly as he previously had. And thus, the battle commenced.
Suguru Asmodeus Kamoshida. The man behind all of the sexual harassment and assault. His downfall had just begun.
He opened with a volley of volleyballs, sending multiple flying at ridiculous speeds. Ren dodged with grace as he began to pull off his mask. Morgana however, wasn't so lucky. He was hit with a stray ball, grimacing from the pain but ultimately staying up.
"Persona!" Ren called as his mask came off. "Kali!"
The goddess of death manifested within Ren's chains as he prepared an attack. The speed of Kali's slices were unable to be seen by the naked eye, yet the slightest glint made it known that she had moved at all.
The after image of a hundred cuts began to appear as Kamoshida fronted all of the damage. It dealt a heavy blow, yet it wouldn't be enough to truly damage Kamoshida. After all, his goblet sustained his health and would continue to do so unless they did something about it.
"Aim for the cup! It heals him!" Ren yelled back to Morgana. Ren himself weaves through another of Kamoshida's attacks. He swung his knife at the chalice, taking off a decent chunk of its golden exterior as Morgana and Zorro began their own assault on it.
Kamoshida began to lose his cool, the temperature around him rising, forcing Ren to retreat and group back up with Morgana.
"You all good?" Ren asked as he hit Kamoshida with a psychic attack.
Morgana began to heal himself with dia as they both felt Kamoshida's power begin to spike. Both of them braced for impact as a storm of volleyballs were launched at them. Their preparedness was a godsend.
The three continued to battle it out, trading blows, healing, and exerting themselves in a battle for salvation. Their three spectators remained as spectators for the longest time. It was until around halfway through the battle, when a cognitive Shiho arrived, did their will and spirit of rebellion begin to truly awaken.
As Ren switched masks, bringing out Alice and hitting Kamoshida with a megidolaon, he felt the stirring of two familiar personas. Both Ann and Ryuji were fired up, the cognitive Shiho being the last straw for them to break free and accept their true selves. Their personas were the same as ever. They began their assault with an attempt at hitting the treasure, though they failed to see the cognitive Mishima who warned Kamoshida of their attempt.
Now, out on the field we're the four founding members of the Phantom Thieves of Hearts. They were back again going against their first ever target. The battle seemed to come natural to them. Almost as if their bodies subconsciously already knew how to fight.
Even without giving explicit commands, Ren watched as Ann and Ryuji seemed to adapt to whatever situation was thrown at them.
A stray zio from Ryuji hit the cognitive Mishima, knocking him over. A focused agi finished off the chalice that Kamoshida had been drinking from.
Their battle continued to rage on as both sides continued their fight. Ren knew he couldn't send anyone at the moment to try to knock the crown off of his head. Both he and Morgana had been his initial opponents. Ann and Ryuji had too much of a history with Kamoshida to be able to get away with sneaking off. It seemed Ren had to get lucky with an attack to the crown to finish off the shadow.
However, what he hadn't accounted for was the other variable in the fight. From out of nowhere, the crown had hit the ground. Along with it, a certain Shiho Suzui came down too.
With the cognitive Mishima down, Shiho was able to slip by without any suspicion or alerts as she knocked the treasure off of Shadow Kamoshida's head.
"No! My- my precious!" The shadow said as the treasure began to roll away. The shadow was left defenseless as it seemed to shrink in defeat. All that was left was to actually defeat it.
They began to whale on the shadow, leaving it broken and battered. Ren handed Shiho his knife and offered that she take the final blow to end it all. Although slightly reluctant, she obliged and swung Ren's knife one last time to finish the fight.
The monstrous Shadow Kamoshida had faded away leaving only the human form. As it tried to run away, it was instead stopped in its tracks by an agi landing mere inches from its feet.
"You're done, Kamoshida," Ann said, looking down on the shadow. "Go. Go and confess your crimes. You have a duty."
"I- I understand. I will return to my real self. I will make sure that I see it through," the shadow said. It began to glow as the shadow itself was defeated. The palace was collapsing.
"We have to leave," Ren told the others. They began their rush to the safe room, utilizing the MetaNav to escape as quickly as they could. As the world around them rippled and faded to black, the real world came into focus.
The group was sat around on the rooftop as if nothing had happened. Luckily, the roof was still considered off limits. There wasn't going to be anyone else there other than them.
In Ren's hand, Kamoshida's treasure, his Olympic gold medal sat. Of course, it wasn't the real one. Instead, it was a mere replica of the original, though it would still sell for a bit.
"One down," Ren said as he looked down at the medal. He flipped the coin and sighed in relief as the weight of a tremendous burden was lifted off of his shoulders. Although he knew he couldn't quite rest just yet, he was glad that his first fight was over just as he had planned.
"So…" Ryuji said, tapping Ren on the arm. "Personas, huh? How'd you come across this stuff in the first place? What even is that place?"
"It's a long story…" Ren sighed. He wasn't sure if he should tell them about the whole timeline shift. He was torn. On one hand, they deserved to know. On the other, he wasn't sure if this timeline would play out exactly the same as it had before. He had already altered it significantly with the saving of both Kasumi and Shiho. The initial focus of the Phantom Thieves, as he had always reminded himself, was always so that people didn't have to suffer after seeing the actions of people like Kamoshida.
"But I'll tell you, though I doubt it'll make sense."
The four students shifted their seats as they all got closer, wanting to hear his story.
"It all started a couple weeks ago. Though, it played out a bit different to how we just did it," He began. "Kamoshida's palace was something Ryuji and I discovered when I had first gone there on my first day of school."
This instantly raised eyebrows and questions.
"What do you mean on the first day? That day was when you me and Ann met, right? I know for sure I was never in there until just then."
Ren's eyes conveyed a deep sense of sorrow as he smiled, reminiscing about the past. Now was the time. Now more than ever. He had to tell them.
"I know you won't believe me, but the world that we see isn't always moving in one direction," Ren said vaguely. He sighed, shaking his head. He had to be clear. "In the time I'm from, all of this stuff happened differently. I'm sure you guys will understand when I give you the details."
The other three students stared at him in confusion as the reality of his words began to set in.
"What, so like you're some sort of time traveler or something?" Ryuji raised an eyebrow.
"It's not so much time travel in the typical, going back in time sense. The me right now is the me you would've met anyway. It's just, I have all of the memories of our future selves. Or rather, what would've been our future selves if I hadn't gone and messed with the events," Ren shook his head. "But, it was worth it. At the end of the day, Shiho's fine and you guys awoke to your personas."
"Wait what do you mean Shiho's fine? What about her happened in your time that she wouldn't be?" Ann asked. She had a feeling she knew what. She just had to confirm it.
"She was the reason us three and Morgana formed the Phantom Thieves in the first place. So that no one would ever end up in her condition again," Ren clenched his fist as he recalled the events that took place. "Shiho was his first actual victim." Silence hung in the air as Ren's words sank in. He didn't explicitly say it, but they knew.
"So she… she jumped," Ren said, digging his nails into his own palms. "That was our resolve. She was our light. But now, when I had the chance to do it? I had to help her. You might not believe every word I say, but she can confirm that she's had suicidal thoughts because of him. She just never acted on them for your sake, Ann."
A thick silence hung among the air as emotions began to run loose.
Shiho broke the silence. "He's right, you know." Tears threatened to spill as she talked about her treatment. "We talked about it before… I guess that world was where you came out from, huh?" Shiho had seen him in that alley. He had never elaborated as to where he had come from that day, but now she knew.
"I know how much that man hurt you guys. Trust me. Something needed to be done and you guys are the only ones I know and could trust. Now, all we do is lay low and wait for Kamoshida's recovery when he'll admit to everything he's done. While we're waiting though, I do want to keep on moving," Ren told everyone. "He's a future teammate and although he's weird, he's dependable. He needs people to support him."
Ren stood up from his chair, planting his hands on the table as he scanned the eyes of his friends.
"Our next target is his foster father: Ichiryusai Madarame."
Apologies for the time between updates but get used to it. I'm nearly done with Persona 4 Golden and really want to do something with them eventually, either in this fic or another that I might eventually get to.
Again, let me know how the story is going through the reviews. It helps me know what you guys like or don't like and I don't mind adjusting some things for reader enjoyment.
One final note, as far as pairings go, I actually don't have anything planned for that. If you guys want something specific, I'll think about it. As always, thanks for reading and I'll get started on the next chapter soon enough.