2nd May 20xx
"Whatever you decide, we'll bear the responsibility with you, for real."
Ann Takamaki turned her head around and locked eyes with her classmate Ryuji Sakamoto, who rarely spoke in such a subdued voice, if ever, making it apparent that he emphasized with the gravity of the situation, her situation. Hearing that usually loud and cheerful voice get that eerily calm made the swirling maelstrom of emotions and thoughts in her head just more dizzying, though, and all the soothing intentions immediately disappeared when the blonde-haired girl returned her gaze to the kneeling man before her.
Suguru Kamoshida.
Or rather, his shadow, as they are apparently called. The root of all the misfortune that befell them.
Ann thought back to her best friend Shiho, who was still comatose from her suicide attempt after the repeated physical abuse she suffered from Kamoshida. The gym teacher, supposed to be someone to be trusted, to be looked up to as a former Olympic medallist, revelled in his position of power and made no effort to hide it.
Even if she knew that the man responsible for everything that had happened was Kamoshida, Ann herself felt guilty.
Guilty of everything that has happened to Shiho, who only got Kamoshida's questionable-at-best attention after Ann successfully stopped his advances; trying to force her to sleep with him whilst simultaneously threatening to take away Shiho's spot in Shujin High's volleyball team if she didn't comply. Slapping him in the face for touching her left thigh in that car made her feel liberated, empowered even... if only she knew that he would vent his frustration on her best friend.
Her thoughts shifted back to Ryuji, who got his leg broken by Kamoshida, shunned by his now former teammates for standing up to the teacher. Any athletic aspirations her classmate might have ever had were destroyed in a matter of minutes, simply for daring to stare down the injustices he and his supposed friends had to deal with.
Abuse. Threats. Injustice. Ann pondered on the words, on the suffering a single man caused to plenty of people.
Kamoshida viewed himself as a king in the world of his distortion, but every action he took in the real world made it abundantly clear that he was a tyrant with no mercy for any person he perceived beneath him. People either didn't dare to stop him or turned a blind eye to his crimes. As long as both conditions were fulfilled, Kamoshida would never be brought to justice.
And then there was Ren Amamiya. The new guy, who joined their class just a few days prior. While she could somewhat understand the gravity of getting expelled from school for a second time in the matter of a few weeks – while having a criminal record! —, she couldn't quite fathom why he'd lend his aid so willingly to her. Her curiosity was piqued, but so was her doubt: If what Morgana, their human-turned-cat guide in the Metaverse, said was true, then their Persona are a projection of their true self, the nature of the one actual personality they are, without any masks to hide behind.
One mask. One personality. One Persona. Ann pondered on the words, on the number one that made it seem like an absolute rule.
But Ren was different; he wielded multiple Persona like it was the most natural thing in the world. Did that mean he had multiple masks, multiple personalities to hide behind? Which was the real one? Or was it something different altogether? It didn't help that in the real world, she could never quite meet his gaze, no matter how much she tried, making the transfer student even more of an enigma with his tendency to rarely speak. Ren always seemed to shift uncomfortably around whenever she did, hiding his eyes between a thick pair of glasses and his hair, which definitely needed a proper trim. Whatever the case, Ann still found herself to be glad to have another ally, someone besides Ryuji to brave the mind-boggling and dangerous cognitive world with, even if she didn't quite trust Ren yet.
Speaking of all that cognitive world mumbo-jumbo; she didn't really manage to wrap her around all that stuff that Morgana told her, Ryuji and Ren. Never mind Morgana's entire existence being something straight out of one of her daydreaming sessions in class, when she felt her mind drift to all sorts of weird places. It didn't seem like the cat fully understood his appearance or this fantastic world, either, which made all the uncertainties worse. Destroying a shadow might disable the real person in the real world, he, she or it had said, possibly in every literal sense of the word "disable".
Uncertainties. Might. Possibly. Ann pondered on the words, on the implied risk of what the four of them were doing.
Was that a risk she was willing to take? Ann wasn't sure of it. One thing though was obvious from the start, though. This grotesque, perverted landscape was a picture-perfect depiction of what Kamoshida's heart looked like. It completely complied with the image behind the facade of the athletic teacher, showing his misogynistic, abusive and ruthless side on full display. Kamoshida acted for God knows how long on these traits, on these instincts. Should a person like this really be allowed to live?
As the question formed into her head, Ann almost unconsciously raised her right arm, targeting Kamoshida with her open hand as she could tell that her Persona, Carmen, did the same. She felt the fiery energy accumulate behind her, as if it absorbed all the anger, hurt, disdain, and pain of the past days and weeks, while her gaze kept mustering the kneeling man before her.
Suguru Kamoshida.
His broken shadow closed his eyes and let his head hang, silent tears rolling down his cheeks and resigning himself to his fate.
Ann fired.
A deafening explosion followed by whirling smoke ensued. Where the shadow of Kamoshida once kneeled, only the dancing flames left were telling the tale of what had just transpired. As Ann took a deep breath, the smell of burnt wool drifted up her nose.
'He deserved it', Ann thought. 'Kamoshida needed to be stopped. Justice has won.'
The blonde girl slowly closed her eyes.
Carmen's soft voice rang inside her head. 'Did it really?'
Ann didn't dare to answer.
20th November 20xx
In an isolated cell at the Tokyo police station, prosecutor Sae Niijima sat in front of Ren Amamiya. Straightening her posture, she mustered the bruised and battered teen.
"Ren Amamiya. The mastermind behind all the uproar, all the chaos, all the killings", Sae addressed the boy. "You will tell me everything you know, and I will bring you to justice." She nearly spat the last word.
Ren perked up, seemingly surprised at the mention of the last word.
"Justice?" Ren chuckled hollowly. "That word has lost its meaning quite a while ago, Niijima-san."
Author's note: Hi! I figured I needed a good writing exercise, so why not take an often-discussed AU where Ann goes through with killing Kamoshida in his palace and see where it goes? Make sure to let me know your thoughts!