Shiho Suzui was a girl that really enjoyed her sleep. The time she spent outside of school and sports was few and far between so when she could get a good night's sleep, she was happy.
So when she receives a call from Ren Amamiya at 6 in the morning on her only day off, of course she's going to be mad.
"Ren, I swear to everything you hold dear, if this call isn't important I'm going to be very very upset. Do you understand?" She said groggily as she sat up in her bed."
"I know, I'm sorry for calling so early. Could I meet you somewhere? I could come to you if you don't want to get out of bed," he offered.
"Nah it's alright. I'll be over in like 30 minutes or so." Shiho shook her head as she stretched, yawning as she really woke up. She got ready and left in record time, heading for LeBlanc cafe where Ren was waiting for her.
As she arrived at the familiar scenery of the back alley area where LeBlanc sat, Shiho sighed as a feeling of security surrounded her. Something about the small, slightly busy alleyways seemed comforting to her. Perhaps it was because this was where the Phantom Thieves had met the most often, whether for metaverse business or just fun. Regardless, she actually found herself looking forward to seeing Ren as she rounded the corner near the second hand shop and into the alleyway in which the cafe resided.
She reached for the door and hesitated when she saw the "closed" sign hanging on the door still. She knew she had an invite, yet it still felt wrong to just walk into a closed shop. The sight of Ren sitting at the counter made her erase those thoughts as she opened the door, hearing the familiar ring of the bell that signifies a customer was entering or leaving.
"Care for some coffee?" Ren asked as Shiho walked in and sat next to him. He knew she wasn't really one for coffee. Even so, it was just courtesy to ask.
"No but thank you for asking as always," she smiled. "What'd you want to talk about?"
"Straight to the point huh? And here I was hoping to learn more about you," Ren said with a sly grin as he looked away.
Shiho on the other hand was slowly turning red from the implication of his words. Before she could speak though, he began talking once more.
"Nah, I'm just teasing," he laughed as he saw her bright red face. "I wanted to talk to you about your awakening. I wasn't there when it happened so I want you to tell me in detail about everything that related to your awakening. I- I have an idea but I don't know if it'll fully work." He checked his phone and noticed the time. Sojiro would be arriving soon to get LeBlanc ready for opening. Writing a quick note for Sojiro, Ren turned to Shiho. "We should head upstairs. We open in about an hour and we may need some privacy to talk about this."
As they climbed the stairs to Ren's room, Shiho's embarrassed expression was replaced by seriousness as the two arrived. She sat on the couch while Ren pulled up a chair. "My awakening… it may have begun on the day you four took down Kamoshida. I just… I saw red. I know I told you not to let the rumors get to you and all, but hearing what he said about me… I kind of snapped. I wanted to prove him wrong. I wanted to shut him up somehow but I know you said it was dangerous. I wasn't going to disregard what you said just for my own personal satisfaction." The girl took a deep breath and sighed. As much as she wanted to put her history behind her, she knew it was still important.
Ren was surprised at the thoughtfulness of the girl. In the past, he hadn't had much time with her. He regretted his decision to not talk to her more, yet as they say, hindsight is 20/20. He never knew the Shiho that Ann knew. Yet if he ever wanted to know, this was the closest he was going to get. The Shiho he knew now was nothing like the meek yet courageous girl that he had seen jump from the rooftop of Shujin academy. Perhaps this was her true self.
"I heard a voice call out to me, but I wasn't sure if I was hearing it correctly. I remember hearing a certain phrase. 'I am thou, thou art I.' That was all I heard before the voice vanished for a while. When we had first investigated Madarame's palace while scouting without you, we arrived and I was wearing my metaverse outfit. There was no real indication or anything, I just knew from watching you guys what I should do. From there, I tore off my mask and knew everything that I needed to do."
Ren was astonished by this revelation. The removal of one's mask signified the acceptance of their true self. The mask was something one wore around others. By taking it off and unmasking yourself, you made way for your persona. When any of the Phantom Thieves of the past had awoken their persona, almost all of them had a vengeful, violent awakening. However it seemed that Shiho didn't need any of that. Was the trauma she endured so much that she had somehow already awoken her persona much earlier than she even knew?
"Well that's certainly different from how most of us awakened," Ren told her. He went into detail about the awakenings of the Phantom Thieves, current and future. Her curiosity got the better of her and she finally decided to ask him why he wanted to know.
"As you've seen before, we work in groups of 4 people on the floor at once in order to minimize the chance of getting caught. I want to try and change that. While for now we will only end up with 10 people, I want to increase that number. In my past, you never had a persona. Yet if you can somehow awaken one, who says the others can't? I want to see who else has that potential if they want to help us," he explained.
"Are you sure about that? How safe is it?" Shiho asked. She shifted in her seat, laying down with her arm over her forehead. Morgana sat beneath her on the floor, letting her rub his head as much as she liked.
"I don't know. The idea never crossed my mind until your awakening. I trust these people. It's not just anyway that can awaken."
Although he was unsure of the potential, the bonds he had forged with his confidants had allowed him to peer into the secrets of the arcana. They had learned the truth while he had too. It allowed him to fuse new personas, ones he called "ultimate personas," as they wouldn't have been possible if he didn't have the close bonds like he had with his friends.
At the top of the list, Kasumi, Hifumi, and Mishima were the ones he was most curious to see if they could possibly have a persona. To be honest, he wasn't even sure if Sumire still had hers. He knew her grief and trauma was tied into the death of her sister. Could she still have that potential?
Ren began to turn towards Shiho as he spoke. "I think it's entirely possible for them to…" He found himself speaking to himself as the girl on the couch had fallen asleep. It was clear the girl still overworked herself. Even with the fall of Kamoshida, she still worked herself to the bone to always improve. Considering Sundays were their only days of rest, he understood how important her free time was to her.
He checked his phone once more, shooting Ann a text to let her know where Shiho was before he checked the time. LeBlanc was opening soon. He decided he'd get ready to help Sojiro out for the day. He didn't want to leave Shiho alone even if it was just LeBlanc. Despite the changes to their timeline, he knew the girl still held some emotional scars.
"You're with her until she wakes up, alright?" Ren told Morgana.
"Leave it to me!" He replied. Morgana hopped up onto the chair that Ren had been sitting in, staring towards the stairs to act as Shiho's guard.
It wasn't until around one in the afternoon that Shiho woke up. As her eyes fluttered open, the sight of a room that wasn't hers and was immediately put on edge. Her panic subsided as she realized just where she was. The smell of coffee and curry was pungent and she felt at home in the attic room of LeBlanc. She looked over to see Morgana sitting in the chair that Ren had been in during their talk. The soft taps of rain hitting the window and roof put her at ease. She loved rainy days. The rhythmic tapping always calmed her, giving herself something to listen to in the deafening silence. She realized that Ren had moved her to the bed after having fallen asleep on the couch.
'That idiot…' she thought to herself with an embarrassed smile. He could've just let her stay on the couch, yet he chose to take the time to give her a more comfortable sleep. She was grateful to the people in her life. While it was true that her school life had gone to shit when Kamoshida had targeted her, he was no longer in the picture. For now, she could look towards the future. She wanted to improve. Not just for her friends but for herself.
She folded the spare blanket that Ren had draped over her, placing it on the couch for him before deciding to tidy up the place a little. Her footsteps had caught the attention of the black haired Phantom Thief and he came up with a plate of rice and curry for her.
"Good afternoon to you," he said as he placed the plate on the table. "It's a little past lunchtime so you're probably a bit hungry. It's on us so don't worry about it. We're pretty empty right now but I gotta get back to help Sojiro."
"Thank you," Shiho replied as she moved back to the couch to eat. She had to admit, as much as she hated being woken up so early in the morning, if this was the outcome she couldn't really complain. Seeing Ren in work mode was also a pleasant sight. She loved the curry from LeBlanc. Something about Sojiro's recipe always brought a sense of nostalgia to her.
As she ate, she checked her phone to see a few messages. She laughed a little as she saw the order and content of the messages.
Mom- Where are you?
Ann- Your mom just called me asking where you were
Ann- You're lucky Ren told me or she probably would've sent a missing person's case to the police by now
Mom- I hope you aren't causing them too much trouble! Get home safe.
While she didn't really talk about her family all too much, she was still very much grateful for her loving parents. Ann as well had been the single greatest blessing Shiho had ever received. Without her, she honestly didn't know where she would've been right then.
Time passed and LeBlanc was closing. All the while, Shiho had stayed up in Ren's room reading, grateful for the hospitality of Sojiro and the kindness of Ren as she lazed around and relaxed on her day off. It was a nice change of pace from her usual Sundays.
The rain continued to fall as Ren walked her back home. Surprisingly enough, they had realized that they didn't live too far from one another. The reason they never saw each other on the train was due to Shiho's tight schedule as an athlete. She would get up much earlier than him and would have taken a different train to get to the school early. When Kamoshida's case was brought up, her schedule was freed up a bit. This had led to their meeting at the train station.
It was around then that they started gathering at LeBlanc for some of their Phantom Thieves meetings. Of course, they still gathered on the rooftop whenever they needed to, but the revelation that Shiho lived so close to him meant that it was sometimes more convenient to just meet at the cafe instead.
Meeting at LeBlanc also helped to introduce some of his other confidants to his friends. While it wasn't often, Takemi would sometimes stop by LeBlanc for her breaks. It helped everyone get a little closer to one another. After all, in the past, his confidants knew nothing of the Phantom Thieves besides Ren's involvement.
He trusted everyone enough for them to finally meet. After all, the Phantom Thieves of Hearts were nothing without its members and the support they received. His confidants all contributed a great deal to the overall success of their goals. To not meet the members of the group they had supported for so long just didn't seem right.
More importantly, Ren believed a strong bond was important between everyone. Especially for what he wanted to do with the Phantom Thieves. His plan was to create a network of thieves. To do so, they would need the manpower.
His talk with Shiho was paramount to the success of his plans. Should the others be able to awaken personas, the scale and scope of their operations would expand significantly. Of course, not everyone was going to be able to manifest their personas. It was unreasonable to think that. Still, Ren could only hope that some of them had the ability. When the time came, he would be ready.
As he arrived back at the cafe, Sojiro was sitting by the counter talking on the phone to who Ren could only assume was Futaba.
"Ah, he's back. I'll be right over," Sojiro said before hanging up. "I take it she got back alright?" He asked expectantly.
Ren nodded much to Sojiro's satisfaction. "Good. This isn't going to be a weekly thing is it? If you want me to I guess I can spare some time for you guys," he asked.
"Nah it's nothing like that," Ren told him. In truth, he saw Shiho more like a sister than anything else. While he did like to tease her occasionally, he knew she could take it.
"Alright well either way I'm glad you're making friends here. It's tough being in your situation but you're all good kids. Don't make me regret saying that now, you hear?" Sojiro said before laughing. "Alright kid, I'm heading out now. Don't forget to lock up."
As Sojiro left, Ren couldn't help but wonder what else could have changed. In the past, Sojiro had been rather cold to him for quite some time. Yet here he was and Sojiro was already comfortable enough around him to joke about how he would close LeBlanc to make time for him if he was dating Shiho.
He had his friends to thank for the changes. Sojiro had never actually disliked him. Sure, his attitude was somewhat abrasive but it was only in Ren's best interests. Seeing him surrounded by good friends let Sojiro ease up a bit. It was a relief to see he had already gotten close to some of the students from his school despite the inevitable rumors.
As Ren headed back up to his room after locking the place up, his thoughts drifted and his eyelids fell heavy—a telltale sign of his impending visit to the velvet room.
When he woke, sure enough he saw the familiar blue color of the place he had spent a great deal of time in. While they didn't show it, Caroline and Justine were glad to see him, though they knew the one behind the desk had called him in. They still hadn't yet realized Yaldabaoth's trickery. And they wouldn't. Not until the Phantom Thieves were ready and assembled. While it was true that Ren was monstrously powerful, he still couldn't do it alone. The monster that was Yaldabaoth was still incredibly strong. Not to mention, Ren wasn't ready for any curveballs that could've been thrown in by his changes to the timeline.
As he stood up to face the long nosed imposter, he briefly smiled at the twin wardens who looked away in a small bout of embarrassment.
Igor went on and on about ruin this and ruin that. He'd heard it all already. Or so he thought.
"Your path to rehabilitation is not yet complete. And I fear there may be much more that even I cannot predict about this world. I can see another of your kind. One just like you."
Ren narrowed his eyes. One of his kind? Just like him? Was it another persona user? It was understandable really. There was no way he was the first one to have awakened a persona. Perhaps it tied into Izanagi, the persona that he picked up. However, when he tried to switch, he found that it was gone.
As Igor continued, the rest of what he had to say was all the same. His mind wandered about, speculating what his previous words meant. He hadn't seen anything suspicious. There wasn't anything strange with the phan-site. No requests were done without their knowledge. So who could have had access to the metaverse?
As Igor finished his speech, Ren sank back into unconsciousness, letting himself get some much needed sleep for what was to come.
The day of the art exhibit had arrived and much to their relief, their plans seemed to be coming along smoothly. Yusuke had been hesitant to befriend the group yet the opportunities and inspiration that they gave him were too much to pass up. They were a lively bunch, those Shujin Kids. He even began to appreciate his own schoolmate Hifumi more.
Much to his surprise, his requests for a model were often answered. Ren had explained to the Phantom Thieves the nature of the enigmatic artist. Yusuke may have been very blunt and straightforward but there were never any ulterior motives or desires to be bad. He simply wanted to perfect his art.
Along with Ann's initial piece, fully clothed of course, Yusuke had broadened his horizons. A portrait of Ren sitting with Morgana, Sumire and Kasumi against the setting sun, and so much more, Yusuke began to finally appreciate the art that he could call his own. After all, there was no way Madarame would take credit for the portraits of people he didn't even know.
The beginning of Madarame's art exhibit meant that their calling cards could finally be brought out in the least conspicuous manner. If they had just left them at the art studio, Yusuke would know. Other than the exhibit, they would have had no other way to contact Madarame, so their time was spent in mementos completing requests, hanging out with each other, or sometimes just grinding out whatever they needed for the coming future.
As they wandered the art exhibit, Yusuke walked with them, talking about the pieces as he acted somewhat as a guide for his friends. They approached a quiet section of the exhibit and Ren knew now was the time.
"They aren't his, right?" He asked Yusuke.
The young artist hesitated before responding. "Of course they're his. This is his art exhibit after all. There would be no reason for him to display art that isn't his."
"Really? Then why is your art on display?" Ren countered. "You don't have to lie to us, Yusuke. We know that he takes the credit for your art."
Had he never met them, Yusuke would have gotten angry right then and there. How dare someone accuse his teacher of plagiarism? Yet he just took a deep breath, shaking his head.
"It's true. Everything you say is true. Madarame is nothing but a thief. The majority of the works on display are not his. While there are some, the works mainly consist of old works done by his past students… and my own works." He was frustrated. Although he was grateful that Madarame had taken him in, the artist within him was disgusted at the disrespect for the art that he flaunted.
"Do you want to change that?" Ren asked.
"Change… that? What are you asking me? Do you believe a man such as Madarame can simply change?" It was a fair reaction to the abuse he had suffered. Although Yusuke may not have outright understood the extent of the damage Madarame had done, his mind did. As much as he didn't want to admit it, Madarame's behavior had taken a toll on Yusuke's psyche.
"Meet us in front of the studio in two days. You'll see the change can always happen. The heart is a fragile thing after all. You never know what the heart thinks of those around it. Hopes, dreams, desires. All of it lies in the heart. Hearts can change, you know," Ren said as he turned away. "I believe you may need some time to think about what we've told you. Please consider it."
Ren walked away and the Phantom Thieves followed. Yusuke stood motionless as he clenched his fist. Change Madarame? There was no way they could do it… right? If it was as simple as they made it sound, he had to meet with them. He wanted to see what may have lied in Madarame's heart. What secrets did he bear?
While Yusuke considered their offer, the Phantom Thieves of Hearts were already at work. Ren had already explained the plan to everyone. They would scatter calling cards throughout the exhibit for Madarame to see. While that was happening, they would be waiting for Yusuke in front of the art studio. Although they weren't exactly sure if he would show up, Ren assured them that everything would be fine.
The Phantom Thieves had met up in LeBlanc the day they had planned to steal Madarame's heart. It was bright and early. The delivery of their calling card depended on it. The plan was simple: Morgana would go in with the calling cards in his mouth. He'd be in and out while workers set up the exhibit for the day, never to be seen.
Everyone else would be close by to back him up should he be caught. Should the plan fail, they still had a backup ready. They would act as though Morgana had taken that from the exhibit itself, showing it to whoever may have caught them to push the blame onto an unknown sender.
Luckily though, their plan went off without a hitch. Morgana's inconspicuous, small, and agile form meant that he had easy access into and out of wherever they needed to be. If not for him, their calling card to Madarame would have been significantly harder. If everything were to go as planned, the only one caught on the security recordings would be Morgana.
After they exited the art exhibit, the only thing left to do was wait. They went around Shibuya doing whatever they could to fit in with the crowd. By the time Madarame had read the calling card, they were nowhere to be found. As they arrived at the art studio, they were glad to see Yusuke had made it. As much as he wanted to believe Madarame could be good, his curiosity got the best of him. He wanted to see the truth.
As they entered the metaverse, they were unaware of two pairs of eyes that had seen them. Kasumi and Sumire Yoshizawa had seen their friends head off somewhere. However, just as they arrived to call out to them, the group had just vanished, shimmering out of existence. They would have a lot of explaining to do.
As the Phantom Thieves entered the metaverse along with Yusuke he was pleasantly surprised to see the changes they had undergone. To him, their Phantom Thief outfits were extraordinary. He recognized that they all seemed to suit the wearer and wanted nothing more than to paint them a picture right then and there.
While Yusuke was gushing over the many different looks of the Phantom Thieves, the scenery around them changed as they arrived in the safe room closest to where they would face off against Madarame. Yusuke was left with Ann to stay with him while the rest of the group would go off to finish their mission.
Ryuji rushed for the control room while Morgana got into position. Ren waited at the lift controls while Shiho watched everything. On her count, the theft of the dummy treasure was underway. The lights shut off as Ren lowered Morgana down to where the false painting was sat on display. Shiho acted as their eyes, telling Ren when to bring Morgana back up.
Just like that, their plan to steal Madarame's treasure had gone off without a hitch. Of course, the fight was still to be seen along with Madarame's secrets leaked. They had planned for Yusuke to bear witness to everything that he had to say, hoping he would awaken his Persona.
As they arrived in the courtyard where the door to Madarame's closet was, they were soon met by the man's shadow. He had been anticipating their arrival after the first time the lights had gone out. Now was the moment of truth.
"Did you really think I would allow you to steal this?" Shadow Madarame asked as he motioned to the real treasure in the arms of one of the guards. "Is this what you're looking for?"
The signature glow of a palace treasure shined from the painting. Although none of the other members of the Phantom Thieves knew what it was, Ren looked towards Ann and Yusuke as they hid, watching on.
"Counterfeits are accepted in the world of art. What you and the rest of the world will never see are the true meanings behind these paintings. Yusuke's mother was the only reason I took him in. Her passion for painting never wavered. Not even after the death of her husband. Her skills and talents were unmatched. That's why I decided to look after her. If I were to say, she and all of her works of art are the product of my own."
Yusuke grew agitated from behind their hiding spot. A voice seemed to call out to him. 'I am thou, thou art I.' He felt his anger rising as he listened to Madarame speak.
"Well, I suppose since you'll all die here, I can give you a glimpse of the genuine Sayuri." The guard holding the painting held it up for all of them to see. "The portrait of a mother and her child. The woman who knew her death was coming painted her last wishes for the son she would leave behind. Yusuke Kitagawa was that son. Not even he will know the truth behind this painting."
"Oh, will I not?" Yusuke said as he walked out of his hiding spot. "Who will not know the secret behind the Sayuri? Who will not understand the meaning behind the woman's gaze? What happened to the artists whose artworks you've stolen? What happened to the lives of the people you cast away before me? What happened to my mother?"
"The lives of my past pieces of art are no matter to me. Their works are my works. There was never a need to know what happened to them afterward. As for your mother… she just happened to have a seizure in front of me. That's when a thought crossed my mind. If I don't call for help and leave her be, I can have her paintings with no strings attached." The man's shadow grinned as he recalled the memories, furthering Yusuke's building rage.
The mask had appeared on his face, burning into existence in the tell tale blue flame that had always manifested their masks. "You killed her," he said grimly.
"No, of course not. I'm no murderer. I'm an artist, Yusuke! And just like your mother, you're one of my art works. Ripe for the picking. So much untapped potential! If I'm to steal ideas, it's so much easier to do so from children who won't talk back to their elders.
Yusuke began to laugh as the voice inside his head began to overtake him. "I thank you, Madarame. Every reason to forgive you has disappeared without a trace at this very moment. You aren't some rotten artist. You're a despicable fiend who wears the skin of an artist."
"All you useless brats barging into my museum and doing whatever you want… Those who have the connections make the rules; those who don't, follow them. I make the rules in the world of art. I am the supreme being. I am the god of the art world!" Shadow Madarame began to shimmer.
"This isn't good. Get back!" Morgana called out to everyone. As Madarame began to change, so too did Yusuke. He grasped at his mask as pain overtook him. His head was pounding as the voice inside his head continued to call out to him.
'I've been waiting for this moment. We've been waiting for this moment. How foolishly you averted your eyes from the truth. Let us now forge a contract. I am thou, thou art I. The world is filled with both beauty and vice. It is time you teach people which is which.'
"Come, Goemon!" As Yusuke spoke those words, his entire appearance changed in a flash of blue fire. "A breathtaking sight... Imitations they may be, but together, they make a fine spectacle… Though the flowers of evil blossom, be it known. Abominations are dated to perish!" A flash of frost blasted around Yusuke's Persona. The grass in the courtyard was white on the tips, frozen over by his wrath.
Shadow Madarame matched this, turning the ground around him black as he melted away, only to return as a monstrous being made up of multiple portraits.
"Use every element you have on the mouth! Anything that you all have works on the nose be it elemental or physical. Use anything physical to deal with the eyes!" Ren called out to the party.
Heeding his words, the party sprung into action. Shiho immediately placed a debuff on the nose, lowering its defense.
Ryuji immediately rushed the eye, summoning Captain Kidd as they both went to attack the left eye. Ann called for Carmen who blasted the mouth with Agi while she whipped the right eye. Morgana and Zorro hit the mouth with Garu. Yusuke unsheathed his blade and with the aid of Goemon, cut straight through the right eye, finishing it off.
They all were forced backwards as the mouth went to bite them as one of the eyes also attacked with an almighty skill, gracing Ryuji who had been the closest out of everyone. The nose also launched a flame straight towards Yusuke who was knocked over from Goemon's weakness.
As the party regrouped, Ren rushed forward, attacking the other eye that hadn't yet been finished off with his knife, slashing it to the pieces before it had the chance to repair the eye that had already been lost. Having gotten his damage in, he fell back, making sure to not get hit.
The mouth went on the offensive, once again trying to bite them. It targeted Ren who gracefully dodged as he was already on his feet, dashing back after his own attack. The nose once again launched flames towards Yusuke. However, they never met their mark as Ann had taken the hit, knowing that Carmen's nature would reduce the damage of the hit.
Ann stood her ground as Carmen began to heal Yusuke of the damage he had suffered from the last blow. Morgana helped out as well, healing Ryuji of the slight hit he had received from the mouth after his initial attack.
Now, all that stood was the mouth and nose. Shiho opened up the next round of attacks by hitting the nose with a defense decreasing debuff.
"Focus the nose! It can target your elemental affinities and do a lot more damage than normal attacks," Ren called out.
Again, Ryuji rushed forward first, smacking the nose with his bat as Captain Kidd zapped it with a bolt from Zio. Ann and Carmen synced up, firing off Agi and burning the nose. Morgana followed up with Zorro, hitting the still burning nose with Garu, doing much more damage than normal.
This effect was something that Ren referred to as technicals. Some attacks and effects seemed to compliment other attacks. For example, as they had just done, a target on fire suffered higher damage from a wind attack due to the wind fanning the flames. He had told them about the effectiveness of these attack combos and Morgana was already utilizing them.
As the nose burnt to ashes, Yusuke began to attack the remaining mouth with Goemon. One quick Bufu had frozen the mouth, allowing them to get another technical after Ren pulled out his gun, shooting the mouth and shattering it to pieces.
With the paintings out of the way, the black paint returned, forming Madarame's shadow once more.
"There's the main body. Anything goes!"
Shiho began by hitting Shadow Madarame with Sukunda, decreasing the shadow's agility. It was harder for the shadow to avoid attacks while also making it harder to land attacks.
Ryuji opened up by hitting Ren with Tarukaja, increasing the lethality of his attacks. Ann went for an attack, summoning Carmen once more to hit Madarame with Agi. Morgana and Zorro tried hitting with Lucky Punch, hoping to stun Madarame. Although it didn't knock him down, it still hit, dealing some damage. Yusuke used Sukukaja on Ren, further buffing him by increasing his agility to ensure whatever attack he had planned would hit.
"You guys really want me to end this quickly, huh?" Ren asked as he reached for his mask. "Yoshitsune!" He called.
The legendary samurai appeared behind Ren and began to wind up, readying its blade.
"Do it," Ren said. And so Yoshitsune's blade moved. HassouTobi was insanely strong. Especially with the amount of buffs and debuffs on the field, Madarame's Shadow was certain to go down.
And it did go down. Eight slashes later, Shadow Madarame was on his knees, panting as he tried to recover from the severe damage he had just taken. Ren walked forward, snatching the treasure from beside the weakened shadow.
Yusuke approached the shadow as it stumbled back. "No one cares for true art." The shadow began. "All they want are easily recognizable brands. I'm a victim in this too, don't you see, Yusuke?!"
"A fiend like you has no right to talk about true art. You're done for. Along with this whole wretched world."
"The art world revolves around money! You need money to be successful at all, you need it to rise up in the world of art. You know the struggle of a poor artist, don't you Yusuke? I didn't want to go back to that life!"
"Return to yourself in reality and confess your crimes," Ren said as he walked forward.
"You're not going to kill me? What about the other one? The one with the black mask?"
There it was. The revelation that another metaverse user existed. Although Ren already knew the facts behind everything, he hadn't yet told the others. They already had too much on their plate.
"Wait, what other one?" Ann asked. "There was someone here before us?"
"I'll explain the rest of it when the time comes," Ren explained. The less you know of the future now, the better. When it's time, I'll tell you all, I promise.
As the palace began to collapse, the Phantom Thieves turned to leave. Yusuke stood, fist balled as he faced the fallen shadow of Madarame. "Do what must be done. End this abuse." With those words, he turned to follow his friends out of the palace.
He was glad he had decided to meet them. The heart was a fragile thing. Although he understood that their actions would change Madarame's heart, his own heart felt both pain and relief. On one hand, his foster father had admitted to everything. His secrets were out on the table now. It was only a matter of time before he admitted them. On the other hand, he had finally received closure. Although he never thought of it, his entire life had been spent wondering about his mother.
Now he knew. As he followed his friends out of the strange world they had brought him to, a part of him knew it was finally over, yet he still had much more to do. His resolve had become firm. He owed them one. The least he could do was ask to help them in the future.
And so, the curtain falls.
Man, I was playing Persona 3 and my game crashed after like, 2 hours of gameplay. Lost all of that progress so I'm pissed. Anyway this chapter was originally going to end up just being that little bit of Shiho fluff, but I ended up writing more. I really want to do more fluff like that and emphasize the friendships that they all have, but I'm not sure if that's something you all would like.
I'll say it again because this chapter sort of teased Shiho. I don't have pairings planned, but I'm very partial to Sumire. It's very likely that I end up doing something with her but don't be surprised if I don't end up writing any sort of pairing.
Thanks for reading! Expect more eventually. My update schedule is trash but you all probably realized that by now. Please leave reviews too! Although writing isn't my job, I always like getting reviews to see what I need to work on, or to see what I'm doing well.