Welcome back guys!
This chapter will reveal a whole lot of stuff sooo yeeah.
I'd like to thank all the positive responses I've gotten to this story! Getting PM's asking stuff about the story is a weird and amazing feeling. Having someone interested in something that you're a part of gives you a feeling that's, for a lack of better words, out of this world and I can't thank you guys enough!
Finally, I have a final design for Takuya's thief motif and Persona! I have a VERY weird art style, which you'll see on deviant art when I reveal them.
Now, let's return to the story!
"I can't believe you guys ditched me yesterday!" Ryuji exclaimed. "I was almost forced into a world I want no part of!" He huffed.
"What are you talking about? Ann asked.
"Weird stuff went down in Shinjuku last night..." Akira gave his condolences. "Still, we got a name and info on the mafia, so it was totally worth Ryuji's act of sacrifice."
"Yeah, well I'm sure whatever you guys had to put up with wasn't nearly as bad as what I had to do! Seriously, that guy was a total weirdo!" Ann rolled her eyes. "You know what though? I'm not going to complain, Ryuji!" She gave a commanding glare his way.
"Hey! I've got a right to though! I almost got..." Ryuji was interrupted.
"Must we continue to bicker?" Yusuke held up his phone, "Shall we?"
"Go for it." Akira said casually leaning on a rail. "We've got the name so all we need is a location and the distortion."
"Right, we don't have any clues as to what those two are, so we'll just have to use our phantom noggins!" Morgana said enthusiastically.
Ryuji slumped over, "Uhhggg, that's gonna be immmmpossible! Do yah know how many buildings are in Shibuya?!"
"No... complaining!" Ann repeated her last remark.
"Hmm. Shall we start with the distortion first? Since we know not of the actual location, we could guess by association by knowing the falsified version." Yusuke added.
"How about a computer or something? You can control what hardware and software you're running at all times, so..." Akira said.
No candidates found
"It'll be somewhere he can feel in control all the time, so... a garden?" Ryuji answered.
No candidates found
"He likes money, right? How about one of those money baths you see on the internet? Ann answered.
No candidates found
"Uhhg... You guys are totally missing the point! Where do people go to hoard money?" Morgana sighed.
"The bank, why?" Akira asked.
Candidate found!
"Ok, that's a hit!" Yusuke relayed the success, "So, somewhere in this city, this 'Kaneshiro' believes he owns a bank."
"You know, that's more realistic than I thought it would be." Ann was mildly surprised.
"Now then, where would Kaneshiro think his bank would be?" Morgana inquired.
"If we're talkin' places you'd want to stash money, how 'bout his own hideout?" Ryuji mentioned.
"What about a real bank?" Ann added.
"Wouldn't that defeat the distortion part?" Akira asked. "I'm sure It'd be more grand, like an entire city or something."
"Palaces emanate a passionate madness, so I must agree with our leader." Yusuke stated. "It must be on a grand scale to make up for the expectations of a mafia boss, no?"
"You ain't talkin' Shibuya, are you?"
Result found!
"Wait! We found something?" Yusuke was surprised.
"Wait?" Ryuji looked at his fellow thieves, "I say somethin' right?"
"Does that mean Kaneshiro thinks his bank is..." Yusuke was appalled.
"Yeah, all of Shibuya..." Akira was just as taken aback. "Guys, we're up against one heck of an ego."
"No kiddin' right?"
"He really is a terrible criminal." Morgana frowned. "This'll show everyone who doubts our justice."
"For sure, let's get this party started." Akira grinned.
"Are we going to be okay going into the metaverse while in a crowd?" Ann asked.
"Eh, no one notices if a piece of trash goes missing from a trash can, how can this be any different." Ryuji said.
"Your metaphors could use some work, but that can wait. Shall we enter?"
The group nodded in agreement and walked forward into the metaverse, using their navigational app that mysteriously entered their phones. Reality around them was bent and twisted into what Kaneshiro believed Shibuya was to him on a cognitive level. When the entered, their appearances changed from their normal school attire to their much more flamboyant and stylish thief motifs, along with Morgana becoming anthropomorphic.
Akira looked over at the scenery. Other than the usual darkening of the scenery, the architecture was identical. What wasn't, were the individuals dotting central street.
Ann reeled back, "What are those...?!"
Yusuke's eyes widened, "Are those walking ATM?... That must be his cognition of people."
"He can withdraw money from anyone he wants, whenever he wants because of blackmail..." Akira said sympathetically.
"He sees everyone in Shibuya as his patron!" Yusuke followed.
"I can't believe the distortion is affecting ALL of Shibuya!" Morgana was shocked.
"We need to steal this guy's treasure as soon a possible." Akira said with confidence. "Let's get started!"
"Right!"
The Phantom Thieves began their search looking high and low through the main part of Central Street. They found only the aftermath of Kaneshiro's gluttony. On their way back to where the entered, they pass by the alleyway where they first started looking for the mafia boss.
"Hey Akira, isn't that the alley where we got jumped by those creeps and we met Takuya?" Morgana asked.
"Yeah, are you saying we should look down there?"
"Yeah you dummy! Of course! If Takuya has a connection to Kaneshiro, then there might be a cognition of him around. That or he's in the bank itself."
The group went to the exact location Akira pointed out to them. What they found was a young man chained to the wall of the alley way. Tears streaming down a bruised and beat up face. It was Takuya, or a cognition of him.
"Takuya...?" Ann gasped.
"What do you want..?" The voice whimpered, "Just leave me alone already! Please!"
"Who did this to you?" Akira asked.
"Me, I did this!"
"What...?!"
Takuya's cognition began wailing, "I deny him, so there's no where else I belong! I'm a street rat through and through! I'm such an idiot! Why can't I just give up and realize that I'm nothing compared to him! He's invincible! There's nothing I can do so I run like a coward!" What began as sorrowful turned into the ravings of a desperate being, trying to break free.
The whole group was taken aback by this crying boy, who they've only heard about from Akira and Ann.
"He's not a thug, he's just trapped..." Ann said. "No wonder he's so defensive around strangers."
"I think we should head back to the entrance... I don't think we'll get much information out of him." Morgana said.
The group left behind the chained man behind and headed for the entrance, which they made it to unharmed.
"Guys, we need to take this guy down..." Akira remembered their previous encounter.
"We need to find the palace first..." Morgana followed up.
"We've checked forward, left and right, what about up and down?" Yusuke added.
The group looked up. They witnessed a humongous floating cylinder with a bank on top. It was a sight to behold.
"It's a huge flying bank! What even man?!" Ryuji flipped out.
"No wonder there aren't any tracks left behind." Yusuke said.
"Hey Morgana, could you turn into a helicopter or something?" Ann asked.
"No... just a car."
"You're useless! Don't you have some secret gadget or somethin'?!" Ryuji yelled.
This insulted Morgana. "Shut it! I'm not some robo-cat! I'm not even a cat to begin with!"
"This may be the limit of what we can do today." Yusuke remarked.
The group exited the metaverse and split up, going their separate ways for the night.
Later that night...
Akira's phone buzzed. Ohya the journalist contacted him.
Ohya: Evening! Got a minute to talk?
Akira: Slow news day, huh?
Ohya: Funny, I want to give you a word of advice.
Akira: Oh? Is this about Kaneshiro?
Ohya: Yeah. When you left, I decided to do some more research on him and well... He's a lot more dangerous than I thought!
Ohya: The police haven't been able to track him down and I'm pretty sure he's got some really shady connections.
Ohya: He's not someone a teenager like you should mess with. I think it would be best if you back off.
Ohya: Well, that's all. Do what you want with my warning. It doesn't really concern me.
Akira put his phone back in his pocket. "If we thought like that, all the good we've done wouldn't have happened." Morgana said.
"Evil wins when good people sit around and do nothing. It's why we do what we do." Akira sat on his bed, "Let's get some rest..."
Morgana sighed, "Yeah, we need to find a way into that floating palace, but we can't do anything now."
The two went to bed.
The Nijima Residence...
Makoto and her sister Sae were quietly enjoying their dinner together when Makoto looked down, on the verge of saying something she knew might make the situation darker.
"You know, I've been thinking lately... About those Phantom Thieves. I mean, If dad were still alive... Sorry, this isn't really a great topic for dinner..."
"It's ok, keep going."
"I've just.. I wonder if he would have been on their side, that's all..."
Makoto's statement pushed one of her sister's buttons. "The only reason you have the time to think about such idiotic questions is because you depend on someone else."
"That's not-"
"You don't have single responsibility. You're fed, you're clothed, and you're sheltered... I don't have time to think on such worthless thoughts. Would dad have been on their side? I don't give a damn! All he did was die upholding some lofty sense of righteousness, leaving all the responsibility on me!"
"All I was trying to say was-"
"It's about time you grow up and accept the situation we're in! Right now, you're USELESS to me! All you do is eat away at my life!"
Makoto's eyes widened, "...!"
Sae's look in her eyes went from rage to regret, "Sorry, that was uncalled for... I'm just exhausted... I'll... I'll be eating dinner out from tomorrow on."
Makoto refused to look up, for if she did, her sister would witness the tears streaming down her face.
The next day after school...
School went by and the Phantom Thieves met at their current hideout.
"We ain't got nothin'..." Ryuji hung his head.
"Are we out of luck...?" Ann sighed.
"A helicopter would be great right about now..." Even Akira's spirits were low. His determination was still there, he was just disheartened by the though of his friends getting in trouble if he fails them.
"It's no fair his palace is up in the sky..." Morgana said over Akira's shoulder.
"If only we could contact the real Kaneshiro..." Yusuke pinched the bridge of his nose in thought. He noticed someone approaching, "Hm?"
It was their Student Council President.
Ann frowned, "What do you want?"
"Nothing in particular. Just noticed you're all together." Makoto said, not phased by Ann's introductory statement.
"That so?" Ryuji scoffed.
"You don't seem to be making any progress regarding our arrangement."
"So, you're here to check up on us like a good girl..." Ann mocked, "You know, you might be an honor student and the Student Council President, but when it comes to what we do, you're useless."
Akira thought the words were a bit too harsh, but he remained silent out of understanding for his friends aggravation. In all honesty, he couldn't really tell what kind of person Makoto actually was. Based on first and secondary impressions, all he could tell was that she wanted results, nothing more, nothing less. He didn't approve the blackmail put over him and his friends heads, that's for sure.
"Useless...?" Makoto's look saddened. The memories of the previous night filled her head, the word "Useless" repeating over and over.
"To be frank, yes." Yusuke said coldly.
"Just stay on your high horse and watch, or do you want to eavesdrop some more? It's your specialty after all." Ann mocked.
Makoto's look changed. Her determination to be useful was showing. "So, you want to contact Kaneshiro?" The group looked among themselves wondering why she knew that name. "That is what you were just discussing, no? It seems you just need to know where he is."
"Yeah, something like that." Akira said calm and collected.
Ryuji looked surprised, "Hey, you don't gotta answer her honestly!"
The memories swarmed Makoto again, "I'm not..." she said to herself. "Fine, I'll help you meet Kaneshiro." She walked off.
Yusuke looked towards the group, "What does she plan on doing?"
"No idea, but she had one helluva serious look." Ryuji said.
"I think she might have an idea as to where Kaneshiro is!" Morgana sounded excited.
"I doubt that." Ann was skeptical.
"What ever she plans on doing, It can't be safe." Akira said sternly. "We need to go after her before she gets in trouble."
The group nodded and ran after her.
Central Street, Shibuya...
The group followed as fast as they could without looking suspicious, but were unable to catch up to Makoto. Before they knew it, they were on Central Street.
"There are way too many people here! Where did she go?!" Morgana was worried.
*Beep* *Beep* Akira's phone rang. "Hello? This is Makoto Nijima. Just stay on the phone and listen. Make sure to record the call as well."
Akira gripped the phone tightly, "Whatever you're doing, stop! You're going to end up hurt or worse!" He pleaded.
His request went ignored or simply unheard. She was going after Kaneshiro the most direct route possible.
Central Street Alleyway...
Takuya was hanging around his usual spot while not at his job. He just stood there while he looked towards the ground with regret. "Why did I help those two...? All it did was get me into trouble..." He said to himself. All of the sudden, he heard commotion from around the corner.
"Do you know Kaneshiro?" a female voice asked
"What?" a man's voice replied.
Takuya tip-toed up to the corner and eavesdropped. He recognized the female voice as Makoto, the girl with Mr. Glasses that night.
"I heard I could find Kaneshiro if I went to Central Street."
No! What the hell is she thinking?!
"What're you getting at?" One of the thugs replied.
"He's getting students of Shujin Academy to traffic drugs and then using it as blackmail, is he not?" Makoto stared them down. "Tell him that if he doesn't meet with me, he'll answer to the police."
One of the thugs walked up to an uncomfortably close distance with Makoto, "You got some sorta death wish?" He pulled out a phone and called in transport.
What do I do? What do I do? What do I do?! Takuya was panicking. She's gonna die if I don't do anything! Why does this only happen to me?! I can't just do nothing! I'm going to die if I help though! What do I do?!
During the slight panic attack, a black, tinted windowed, card drove up. The two thugs pushed Makoto into the car and drove off.
"Oh god!" Takuya, whether out of desperation or wanting to stop the death of a damsel in distress, bolted it. He ran and leaped onto the top of the car. The Thugs in the car just looked at each other and shrugged. They figured it was a bump in the road Why am I doing this?! How am I doing this?!
After about 10 minutes of riding on top of a car, they stop at Kaneshiro's hideout.
Takuya jumped off the top of the car as they got out. "LET HER GO!"
"Takuya?!" Makoto
The thugs jumped. "Yo Takuya! Where'd you come from and why're you here? You heard the boss, you mess with him again and you're toast."
"I'm here to stop you! Let her go!" Takuya demanded with a shout.
"She's the one who wanted to see Kaneshiro! We're not doin' anything weird. Here, follow us and we'll prove it to you."
"Just take me to Junya already." Takuya gave up his semi-herioic attempt.
The two students were led into a grand room with all forms of debauchery happening, from drugs to alcohol.
"So, look who came crawling back. Looks like the bruises are gone." The fat man gave a dastardly smirk. He gave the guards a signal.
"Right." One thug pushed Makoto to the ground and restrained her. The other pulled a pistol out and knocked Takuya over the head.
The hit only temporarily knocked him out, but he was, like Makoto, restrained on the ground.
"I told you. You've returned, and now, you're my slave." He looked over to Makoto.
"It seems you have a friend here with you. Let's see here..." He picked up her phone and began looking through it, "Makoto Nijima. Student Council President of Shujin Academy and honor student. Quite the super star we have here!" He laughed. "I have plans for you."
"What about Takuya, sir?"
"Oh, I think he's aware of what's coming next." He looks over to Takuya, "Isn't that right, Little Brother."
Finally! You've got the answer you've been waiting for!
Thanks again for all the positive feedback to this story! I'm hoping you stick around for the next chapter when I reveal (most likely) his persona. I want to make it unique from the rest of the Phantom Thieves awakenings, so I'll add in suggestions for music to accompany it (If you chose to partake).
Next chapter might be late. My Grandma had a stroke, so my dad and I are driving out to Michigan to see her for the week. If you find multiple grammatical issues, just know this chapter was slightly rushed out (I only proofread it once). Anyways, see you guys next chapter, that is, if I survive my drive to Michigan...