This is a fanfic. BUY THE FUCKING MERCHANDISE!
Standing in front of a changing room, Weiss was doing her best to remain still rather than pace around.
Arriving inside of the clothing store, it did not surprise her when she had attracted the attention of several workers in the building. After an explanation of her intentions, the attention had turned to Akira. Thankful that she was not the one being swarmed by employees, she watched as Akira was hounded by suggestions.
Weiss had to say however, she was impressed by the amount of patience the odd boy produced when it came down to the tsunami of voices that blended together with one another. Eventually the boy raised his own voice, so he could be heard by the masses. He was thankful for their efforts but said that he would like to try to find his own clothing.
Akira did manage to find a few articles of apparel that he thought would look nice. But he wanted to try them on first before paying for them. The boy also wanted Weiss' opinion on what he wore. Though she knew it would feel odd, Weiss decided to be generous and indulge him.
Waiting around however, Weiss began to think back to the earlier moments in the day and it then came to her. "Akira?"
"Yes, Weiss?" Akira asked, his voice bouncing off the confines of the cubicle among the rummaging to clothing.
"What exactly did you mean when you said that you have had a familiar experience last week?"
There was a small pause of silence. Hearing a lock click, the door to the changing room opened and Akira only poked his head out. "Familiar experience last week?" He asked with confusion and a puzzled expression while turning his head.
Weiss only gave him a flat stare. She knew that he had a good memory. Her first-hand experience was when she asked him a question about what he knew about what types of Dust there were. Not only did he name them while signifying their elements, but Akira even listed some possible mixtures and their properties that were at least at the beginning of an advanced level of knowledge.
"…Oh, that." Akira's eyes widened a bit in realization before bringing his head back in and closing the door. "Well, that refers to family issues." He answered as he proceeded to change.
That answer did not satisfy the female as she only folded her arms. "Could you maybe be more specific?" Weiss questioned.
"…You seem extremely curious all of a sudden." Akira commented behind the door. "Is there something I should be worried about?"
"What makes you say that?" The girl asked incredulously. She then sighed in defeat when Akira didn't answer. "Well… what you said earlier seemed to make you… not very happy. That just reminded me of what you said last week so… I'm just curious. When talking about your time as a Phantom Thief, you only managed to mention everything that happened in…" The name of the location was on the tip of her tongue.
"Tokyo."
"Tokyo, thank you." Weiss nodded. "While there was all of that, you never mentioned your family or your life before all of that."
"Because they honestly didn't seem relevant at the time." Akira opened the door to poke his head out once more, this time showing that he had a bit of red material covering his arms. "Again, you are extremely curious all of a sudden." He had a raised eyebrow, puzzled as to why Weiss was questioning him.
"Well…" She started, not exactly believing she was resorting to childish reasoning. "I told you about my family. I think it's only fair that you tell me about yours."
"…You didn't tell me anything." With a blink of his eyes, Akira shook his head with a straight face before closing the door again while slipping in.
Silently, Weiss stared at the door for a few seconds before frowning. "What?" Her question came with a demanding clarification judging by her tone.
"You didn't tell me anything." Akira repeated himself. "Everything I know I had discovered myself."
Opening her mouth, Weiss tried to come up with something but then it failed to come to her mind. She growled in frustration. Blinking immediately after, she quickly looked around to see if anyone was watching or listening in on their conversation. Thankfully, nobody was.
On Akira's end, he fell silent as well. As he buttoned up the new shirt he picked out, he silently began to think to himself. Looking towards the mirror, he stared at the black-haired boy in the reflection as if something was familiar with it. Tracing the material of the clothing, he felt just how expensive it was and it brought back memories.
Akira exhaled through his nose, resting his face into the palm of his hand. "..." Eyeing the changing room door, he knew that Weiss was still waiting for him even though she could have left whenever she felt like it. "My parents were not exactly functional people if you must know."
Weiss straightened her back a little with surprise with Akira's sudden confession of what she tried to pry from him. Quietly, she processed his answer. "…How exactly?" She asked.
"My father was a busy man that only focused on work and ignored us. Mother was occupied with… her own activities."
"…I see…" Weiss said quietly, understanding why Akira said what he had spoken. It meant something to her… seeing Akira at least being able to trust her with such information despite it being short and curt. "Perhaps I should change the subject." She attempted to diffuse the odd situation. "You seem to be extremely interested in reading books. How did that start?"
"When you're locked in your father's study by your mother, you eventually get bored of banging on the door while screaming."
…Just her luck…
With that bit of information revealed to her rather bluntly (she was not sure why Akira even told her that), Weiss decided to keep her mouth shut. It was at that point she noticed something. "How long does it take for you to change clothes?" She asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Apologies." Akira answered. "I'll start speeding up then."
Taking in a breath, Weiss held it in to calm herself. Yes, his answer irked her a bit. But she shouldn't let that get the better of her. All she could do was continue to wait. Akira said that he would hurry up, so at least there was that.
"Right, finished."
Seeing the changing room door from the corner of her eye open, that movement took up her attention and Weiss turned her head.
Akira stepped out from the door to reveal that he was wearing some rather formal clothing. Against the white setting the building provided, Akira had on a black tuxedo that had very faint pale vertical stripes evenly spaced out. The piece of clothing only had the upper-button at his stomach fastened while the lower one was loose. Underneath the tuxedo was a red dress shirt. Also making him stand out was a yellow tie that was fastened to the dress shirt by a tie bar, so the bright material wouldn't move too much.
Below the waist was a pair of dress pants of the same color and design like his tuxedo along with black dress shoes that had brown soles. To finish off the look, Akira fiddled with the black gloves on his hands before adjusting his glasses.
"So, Weiss," He started off by holding his arms out for a second before letting them loosely fall to his sides. "What do you think?" Akira's question was accompanied by a shrug of his shoulders.
"You… look adequate." Weiss complimented. While he did look nice, the yellow tie part was certainly something that was throwing her off a bit. Some people could say it does compliment the red dress shirt underneath, but it still would be considered a glaring piece.
Akira nodded his head. "Very well." He said. "Just let me get changed so I can go pay for these."
"Actually, you don't have to." Weiss informed him, causing Akira to stare at her with a bit of confusion and interest. "You can wear the clothes you want to buy up to the cashier and they will register it."
"Hm, convenient." Akira commented before slipping back into the changing room. A few seconds later, Akira had managed to gather his old Phantom Thief outfit. "Shall we get going then?" He motioned with his head.
Weiss nodded and the two of them walked over to the cashier. The worker saw them, and Akira gestured to himself and the new clothes he was wearing. As the stranger nodded their head, typing a series of numbers into a machine and it presented what Akira was going to buy as well as what the price of each item was.
Pulling out his wallet, Akira fished out the necessary amount of Lien and handed it over to the worker who took it. Tapping a few more buttons, the register opened and then the cash went in while some came out. "Sir, your change is-"
The doors at the front suddenly burst open, slamming onto the walls next to them with an ear-piercing bang and causing everyone to turn in its direction. Belatedly, they heard something rolling along the floor. When they turned to the source, many pairs of eyes widened at the few canisters that came to a stop on the floor near where they were standing.
"What the-"
Everyone near the canisters were sudden blown away when each item sudden exploded. The shockwave was enough to throw Weiss and Akira in separate directions of each other while debris flew all over the place.
Weiss' landing was decent as she collapsed onto the floor. Coughing at the sudden impact though, she groaned while looking around. Shaking her head, the girl did her best to comprehend what was taking place at the very moment. Hearing heavy foot wear around her, she looked up.
Despite all her training to try to become a huntress, Weiss froze at the sight of a figure in black with a white Grimm mask on their face.
Akira's fall was not so fortunate. A rack that held clothing careened right towards him and struck his head due to the explosion. Being knocked down due to such a powerful force, Akira fell, and his head was slammed against the counter that he was near. He collapsed to the floor like a sack of potatoes.
Head in pain. Ears ringing. Blurry vision.
Akira accounted for all those facts while he panted heavily. Gritting his teeth with his eyes closed, he shook his head as if to rid himself of the pain.
Opening his eyes, a sudden feeling of vertigo washed over him. There was a change in the air as his surroundings changed color. The white walls became a red open space. Noises abruptly faded out, replaced by muffled silence. Other people, Weiss, workers, and shoppers were nowhere to be seen.
The ambiance in the air didn't bring any comfort to Akira's heart at all. He recognized the world around him and the feeling. Squinting while still panting, he clutched his head while gritting his teeth. "The Metaverse…" He hissed. "How…"
He then saw Shadows. The black masses moved about the area.
"…r!"
He heard something. Looking up, he froze and wished that he didn't.
"…ker!"
His friends, the Phantom Thieves, scattered like when he last saw them.
"…oker!"
The Shadows inched towards them. Sluggishly, the masses moved closer to the corpses the were presented in front of Akira. "…No…" He grunted in frustration, watching while feeling his body be unresponsive.
"Joker!"
Gasping, Akira blinked, and it startled him. Panting once again, he found that the red turned back to the original white. The clothing shop was in absolute shambles. But that was not what caught his attention.
"…Guys?"
Akira's question was a breath of disbelief and desperate hope
The rest of the Phantom Thieves… Among the debris, among all the chaos, they stood. As if they were healthy. Like they were there, in his sight. Their bodies were on their feet and they were looking back at him. They had spoken to him!
…But…
"Joker! Come on, man, you have to get up!" "Ryuji" exclaimed, waving his arm around in a general area.
"Skull's right!" "Ann" threw in her own voice, gesturing in the exact direction that Ryuji was pointing out.
"Those explosions can only spell trouble!" "Yusuke" added.
"What they said!" "Morgana" ran up from Akira's side, hopping up and down urgently. "This isn't the time for lying around!"
Narrowing in eyes, the feeling of confusion bubbled inside. "…Morgana?" Akira breathed despite registering everyone else that had spoken. He was doing his best to overcome the massive throbbing inside of his skull.
"Yes, it's me!" The "cat" answered, narrowing his eyes with a frown of concern. "Are you okay? You didn't hit your head too hard, did you?" The figure then shook their head. "Never mind that, you need to get back up!"
Akira still stared at the feline that was in his vision with a very puzzled look. Opening his mouth, the raven-haired teen decided to not speak despite the sudden reveal and turn of events. Even if it was catching him off guard. To be more accurate, he couldn't speak due to shock.
Trying to move his arms, he then saw that his weapons that were originally on his Phantom Thief outfit were now scattered next to him. Grabbing Arsene's Cane, Akira rolled himself onto his front. Eyeing the counter above him, he groaned in effort trying to reach the surface. Successful, he dragged himself up and scanned the area now that he had a view that was better than the one against the floor.
It was not a pleasant sight.
Akira suddenly felt his blood freeze when he saw a figure in black and a white mask, probably a White Fang member. Not due to the sight of the actual body, but what they were doing. They were reaching down to Weiss who was paralyzed on the ground in fear.
When she was grabbed by the black-clothed arm, something snapped inside of Akira.
"GET AWAY FROM HER!" He roared loudly, swiftly climbing up onto the counter and launching himself towards his target. Grabbing the mask of the White Fang member while landing on their shoulders, Akira yanked the accessory off while jumping into the air.
But Akira wasn't done by a long shot. Seeing the surprise on the Faunus' face, the male teenager took full advantage of the shock. With his cane, Akira slammed weapon against the arm of the White Fang member that gripped Weiss' wrist. Landing on the ground, the active human swung his equipped arm and whacked the back of his target's leg. Watching them buckle down to their knees, Akira finished off his assault by smashing the cane right against the White Fang member's face.
After the three successful strikes in a row, Akira stopped when he saw the body be knocked down. Taking in air, he tried to steady his breath. Looking over towards Weiss, she was started and shaken a bit judging by the look on her face. "…Are… you okay?" Akira managed to breath out.
Blinking, Weiss quickly nodded while startled. "Y-yes, I… I'm fine." She nodded her head quickly. But then her gaze went down. "…You're hands…"
Swallowing, Akira was confused but brought his hands up to see that they were coated in blue flames. While being shocked, Akira brought them closer as it intrigued him at the same time. As if it were something he had not seen for a very long time.
"…What's wrong, Joker?" Out of the corner of his eye, "Makoto" walked over and saw what he was staring at. The brunette ignored Akira gazing towards her out of the corner of his eye in shock. "Whoa… that's kind of weird."
"Yeah… no kidding" "Futaba" spoke up, shuffling over to get a good look at Akira's hands, causing the boy to be a bit startled (which confused Weiss a bit). "It's like… that fire when we use our Personas except… well… we're inside of the real world rather than the Metaverse."
"Does that mean he can…" "Haru" voiced out slowly, peering over his shoulder. But the raven-haired teen didn't dare look over his shoulder as the voice made him shiver a bit.
Something then clicked inside Akira's mind, body, and what he felt like could be his soul. It swelled inside like a balloon. All of this…power… and emotion spread like wildfire, bringing a warm yet painful burn around his body.
"Miss Juwel!"
Hearing a voice, Akira and Weiss both snapped their heads over to see two men in suits try to dash over towards the entrance. Looking over to the front of the store, the two of them saw that three White Fang members were throwing a girl over towards the trunk of a car.
Akira's instincts caused him to act immediately as well. Running towards the vehicle, he only managed to see what kind of car it was and what the license plate number was. The car screeched away from the store, escaping everyone's sight in seconds.
"No, no, no!" Akira looked over to see one of the men shouting in terror. "Those damn Faunus actually managed to take Miss Juwel from us! Did they specifically target her here?!"
"We can follow them though!" The second man tried to reassure his partner. Pulling out an electronic scroll, he waved it around. "Remember that we still have the tracker on her, so we'll know where they're headed. Not only that, but the authorities will have been notified. They'll save her!"
"But they destroyed the cars around us!" The first man gestured around to show that the vehicles on the streets were indeed broken. "Even so, this is the White Fang! They're most likely going to kill Miss Juwel when they get the chance even if surrounded by the police."
Hearing this, Akira looked in the direction of which the vehicle had escaped. Sentences soon started bouncing around his brain.
As if their spirits were aiding him to the end. Like the fire when Personas were being used but, rather than the Metaverse, it was within reality. Something clicking inside of his mind and what could possibly be his soul. Having a tracker on that girl.
It was then was developed.
A potential plan.
Running over towards the two men that were supposedly bodyguards, Akira stood in front of them. "Do you have another one of those trackers on you?" He asked immediately.
"W-what?"
"Do you have another one of those trackers on you?" Akira repeated himself.
"We-well, yes, but-"
"Give them to me, now." Akira demanded holding his hand out. Only a second passed due to the men looking at each other and it was too much time for Akira. "Just do it! From what I can tell, that girl you both are worried about is in danger! It also seems like you both feel like you can't do anything – but you can! So, please, gentlemen, the trackers!"
Taken aback by his sudden rise in volume, one of the men immediately held out a small pill that had a red light blinking at the top of it. Most likely because they were at a loss and couldn't think up of a plan. Akira snatched the electronic while taking the scroll out of the other man's hands.
Quickly running over towards Weiss, Akira shoved the tablet item against her body. "Take this."
Just like the men, Weiss was startled at the sudden action. But she managed to hold the device as Akira let go. Unfortunately, she shoved it right up against Akira's chest. "What do you think you're doing!?"
"I'm going to try to save a life!" Akira replied, pushing Weiss back a bit while dropping the tracker in his pocket. "I'm going after that car. Unfortunately, I'm going to try to be going at a speed that's high and there is the risk of me dropping that scroll. Me dropping it means I'll have to run back which gives more time for the White Fang to get away!"
"And what am I supposed to do with this then?!" Weiss questioned, shaking the device.
"You're going to have to be my navigator." Akira answered. Seeing Weiss open her mouth again, Akira cut her off. "Look, there's no time!" He stated as he pulled out his scroll and began tapping a series of icons "You know Atlas better than I do, so just tell me which way to go to catch up to them!" Finishing his words, he ran towards the street. "Make sure to answer your scroll as well!"
While he moved though, everything was going too fast for Weiss for her to think properly. Opening her mouth, her jaw only moved but no sounds came out at the beginning. "Wait a min- How are you even going to catch up to them?!" She asked. "They're already who know how far now since they're in a car! There's no way you can catch up to them without a vehicle-"
Her question was answered, much to her shock, by the following event.
"Mercurius!"
When Akira got on both legs and one hand, sort of like an athletic runner, the blue flames that were once on his hands came back into play. But the fire soon began to cover his entire body, just coating the clothing and flesh. Within a second, a large being began to materialize as if it were pulling itself away from the flames. Just as it flipped backwards, it then landed behind Akira looking ready to run and the fire disappeared.
The thing was mainly blue. It was in a blue leather outfit that covered the entire body. The only opening on the clothing was a hood along with a small zipped loosened down to its chest. Where the hood way, Weiss could make out a black skull with a pair of red wings replacing what would usually be a set of eyes. At the back of the hood behind the neck was a black cape.
Gold was another factor that was used in its appearance. Two gold discs were right around the shoulders of the figure. The thing even wore gold arm braces and boots of the same material. In its hand was some sort of golden rod with a pointy end.
At the boot were two massive, feathered wings. The accessory was colored very oddly. At the top quarter of the wings was a light blue color. The next quarter was white. After that came a dark blue. To finish it off was the color silver.
Pressing the tips of his shoes firmly against the concrete, Akira shot off his spot like a bullet. The entire world was a slight blur as the boy just ran as he would in any situation where he needed to go fast. Continuously moving his legs back and forth, Akira suddenly stomped on the ground to stop himself.
Panting slightly, he looked down at himself before looking around. From what he could tell, the store that had been destroyed was no longer in sight. It only took him a few seconds for him to make that distance. He was… surprised. Never did he expect that he would have the ability to achieve such high speeds. Using a Persona nonetheless. It seemed as if his little hypothesis was right on the mark.
"Holy shit, dude…" Akira was startled when he saw "Ryuji" walk in front of him and looked up at the Persona currently in use. "Hey, Morgana, check it out!"
"I can see that!" "Morgana" exclaimed in fascination. "It's crazy enough that Joker can use Personas in the real world. But to use mine as well… I'm not sure what to say about the situation."
Akira however tilted his head in confusion. "…How?" He asked as he got strange looks. "You're all… you're all supposed to be dead…" His words came slow and were filled with deep confusion when the rest of the Phantom Thieves came into his view. "How is it that you are standing right in front of me?"
All of those in his sight went silent. "…Akira…" "Makoto" said slowly. "It's as you said… we're all dead but you… You should already know and remember that…"
Hearing "Makoto" say that, it caused Akira to freeze for a moment and look down in shame. "…Sorry…" He hoarsely croaked. "…I am so… sorry…"
"That can come later!" "Futaba" scolded him, causing the boy to snap his head up. "Don't you have someone that is supposed to be navigating you through Atlas?"
…That's right!
Looking down at his right hand, he saw that he was still holding onto his scroll. Akira had already placed a call before running. But the one he was trying to contact on the other hand.
"Come on… Pick up…" Akira urged to himself, putting the device to his ear while still looking around and suddenly seeing that he was alone once again.
…Wait, how did "Futaba" know about Atlas?
Break
…He could summon….
Akira Kurusu… could summon…
A massive wave of thoughts went through her head within seconds. Akira could summon. What was that thing he summoned? How did he move so fast suddenly? Was it because of his summon? Was that it? Did he have more on hand?
What he had done… it should be impossible. Her sister had told her that summoning was unique to the family. Well, glyphs technically. But that referred to what they could do as well.
…Wait a minute… Something had just occurred to Weiss that made her have to rethink of everything. It took her that moment to remember that Akira was not from Remnant. So that probably meant that her family glyph rule did not register in his instance. But did that mean that everyone where he was from could summon?
…Probably not. Something like that would perhaps spiral out of control.
Still lost in her thoughts, it was then she felt something vibrating against her body while hearing a humming sound.
Looking down while lifting her hands a bit with surprise, her eyes fell upon the pocket of her jacket. Reaching down with her free hand, she fished her scroll which was the inanimate culprit. Speaking of culprits…
Tapping the icon to answer her scroll, she held the device to her ear after seeing the caller identification. "What in the world was that?!" Weiss shouted into her mobile electronic in moment of disbelief. "How were you able to move that fast?! Was it because of that thing you summoned?!"
[I suppose I can answer you, but right now is not exactly the best time, Weiss!] Akira spoke with a bit of edge to his voice. [Right now, I need some way to know which way to go to catch up to the White Fang! So, do hurry up and tell me which direction I'm supposed to head in!]
Holding her scroll out, she stared at the object in complete astonishment to the tone Akira was using with her. After a moment, she sighed while rolling her eyes. Looking down at the tablet in her other hand, she ran straight over to a damaged counter and brought her scroll back to her ear. Putting the tablet down, she made a small pinching motion to zoom the screen out and something caught her off guard for a single second.
"How in the world are you on that street?!" Weiss questioned. "That's nearly three blocks away and you traveled there in a matter of seconds!"
[Weiss-]
"Yes, yes, directions." She rolled her eyes again at having to be reminded once more. Looking down, she brushed her fingers against the screen. On the device, one black dot was moving while one red dot was still. She assumed that the red one belonged to Akira.
Break
[Start moving to the right.]
Hearing Weiss' instructions, Akira looked over in the direction that she said to move in. Craning his neck to pop a couple of air bubbles inside, Mercurius was right behind him when beginning to run once more.
Bolting down the street, the boy could feel the wind rushing past his face and through his hair. That exact air however was causing him to squint, almost blinding his vision. To counteract this effect, Akira placed his free arm above his eyes in a horizontal pattern.
[Stop!] Weiss' voice shouted into his ear, causing the boy to screech to a halt while raising an eyebrow of disbelief. [You went too far! Go back a couple of streets and turn to your…] He heard Weiss mumble to herself for about a second. [Left! Make a left after two streets, so turn on the third one!]
Exhaling, Akira made a break for it in the other direction. This time, he made sure that his pace was a bit slower, so he could count. Turning where he was told to, Akira jumped suddenly when an oncoming car nearly crashed into him.
[Good, now continued down that street until you get to the end.] Weiss instructed him, unknown to the potential pain he almost had experienced. [After that, turn left once again.]
The corner of Akira's mouth twisted down in distaste when he now saw that he had to deal with traffic on the streets or people on the sidewalk. Ignoring the gazes he was receiving due to the large Persona behind him, Akira tapped his foot in thought swiftly. Running through the people forced him to go slower to avoid any collisions. Traffic would allow him to go faster, bit risk potential high impact.
[What are you waiting for? Get moving! Don't you want to save that girl?!]
Right, traffic it was then!
Dashing onto the streets, Akira immediately jumped up and above a car that was moving in the opposite direction. Landing on top of that exact vehicle, he leapt forward while performing a front flip. With the help of Mercurius, Akira's impact when hitting the road wasn't so bad thanks to its powers with wind. It proved to be even more useful as both Akira and the Persona slid right under an oncoming truck.
Getting right back up to his feet and running. Akira saw the oncoming traffic he was going to have to face. He couldn't risk moving to the other side of the road where it was already packed. Hopefully the dexterity he had used in the Metaverse helped him in this situation. Also, he hoped that he could work with one hand.
Still running, Akira jumped to the side to avoid a car and truck. Kicking off a lamppost, Akira soared through the air for a split-second before his hand and feet were planted against the side of the container that the truck was carrying. Strongly pushing off the truck, Akira hopped off onto another truck's shipping container side. Kicking off the surface, he reached his hand out while Mercurius did the same thing in order to grab the horizontal part of another lamppost. Spinning around a couple of times, Akira soon released his grip to fly a fair distance.
Landing at the end of the street, he looked over to his left before making a break for it.
[One street down then make a right. Right! Not left! You over shot it! Now make another right.]
Akira continued following Weiss instruction clearly, messing up a couple of times but managing to get back on track. Zigzagging through the streets, Akira sped his way through traffic while hoping that he was going fast enough.
[At the end of the street, make a left. Hurry! They're on the bridge!]
Just before turning the next corner, as Akira ran closer to it, he saw what Weiss was talking about. Such a large structure was massive, as to be expected. Going to his left, Akira saw that the street was fortunately empty so he was going fast. Looking to his side to get another look at the bridge, he saw the vehicle that he was after. The car that was white with some black accents.
But then something else caught his eye that made him slow down.
[What are you doing?! Are you going to let them get away?!] Weiss nearly screamed into his ear but settled for exclaiming her disbelief.
"…Weiss…" Akira spoke slowly. "…You didn't tell me that they were on a drawbridge."
[Drawbridge? What are you-] Weiss paused, as if she were realizing something before her eyes. "…Oh… they're on the Kreis bridge… Separating one part of Atlas to the next…]
"And it appears that it's time for the bridge to draw itself up." Akira commented.
Just as he said, the massive structure was being lifted. Akira heard could practically hear the mechanized groaning despite it all being in his head. A ship was slowly passing its way through the space that had been made specifically for it. The large boat took its sweet time and it cause Akira to have to think quickly.
"What about waiting for the bridge to lower?" Akira snapped his neck around to see "Yusuke" supplying an idea. "You appear to be fast enough using Morgana's Persona."
"…" Akira opened his mouth, tilting his head while narrowing his eyes to get a better look at who was supposedly in front of him. "…No, that won't work." He answered "Yusuke", rubbing his own head. Oddly enough, that idea was in his brain a couple of seconds ago. "We don't know how long it will take for the bridge to lower and they could get away by then."
"Then how about a different path?" "Haru" suggested. "If that route takes too long, how about a new one?"
That too Akira considered. However… "Weiss is most likely looking at that right now." His response was curt, feeling his head throb a bit. "Plus, once more, time is an issue."
"Can't go one way because of the bridge. Can't go the other because of a long route." "Morgana" summarized what had already been clarified. As the "cat" folded his paws, he looked over to the large structure that the ship was still trying to move under. The very sight caused "Morgana" to smirk. "Guess that leaves the third option."
While "Morgana" Spoke, Akira looked down the road that led to the bridge. After that, he looked in the opposite direction.
When he looked directly at the bridge though, an idea sparked in his head while "Morgana" stated what he was thinking.
Break
Weiss was amazed when Akira had made fast progress.
But she didn't have time for that feeling now.
"Okay, so the bridge doesn't work…" Weiss said to herself, swiping through the map. The fact that the black dot was moving away from the red one was slightly distracting. But she did her best to make sure that didn't take up her mind. Distractions meant that she wouldn't' be able to think properly.
"Come on… come on…" She continued muttering. "There has to be some way that Akira can use…" Still trying to figure out a way through Atlas was annoying. This Kingdom was just one large maze. Then again, any large area with streets could be considered that.
Wait… she found it! Albeit, it was a bit of a long way. But after a quick estimation, Akira could make it judging by the speed he could move at.
"Akira, I think I found it!" Weiss reported, bringing her scroll back to her ear to speak of her good news. "First of all , you need to-" She cut herself off when she saw the dot moving in a certain direction she did not expect at all. "What are you doing? The bridge is in the other dire-"
…The bridge was in the other direction… and Akira had just zoomed towards an opposite point. Gauging the personality of that raven-haired teen…
"…No, Akira." Weiss said, shaking her head as if trying to stop him. "Don't do it, Akira."
He responded by hanging up.
Break
Pocketing his scroll, Akira took a deep breath.
Hopping a bit on the spot, he looked back to see Mercurius doing the same thing. Exhaling once, Akira bolted down the street straight towards the edge of the sidewalk. Just as he made it to the edge, he leapt as far as he could.
After kicking off the cement, Akira felt himself soar through the air thanks to the leg and wind power the current Persona provided. But it wasn't enough. He still knew there was a fair distance he still had to travel. Yet he was falling and soon to plunge into the cold water that was below.
"Susano-o!"
Quickly, Akira felt the lightness of his body disappear and be replaced with the regular weight of his old one. He began to feel as if he was building muscle suddenly. Strength coursed through his body as he physically felt as if he could lift some heavy stuff.
The Persona Mercurius meanwhile disappeared in the process. Its skinny arms and legs began to develop muscle. The upper-blue body remained the same color while growing abs. The lower body however began to be covered with metal sheets in a skirt-like fashion and iron pants. The shoes shrunk down into metal sandals. From what was originally a blue outfit, it spread out at the back of the neck to form a large reddish-brown cape. White hair grew out from under the hood, causing the clothing to disappear completely to allow room for two large horns to present themselves proudly.
The new Persona crossed their arms as one of them held a massive, jagged sword. Just before Akira had hit the water, he landed right on top of the blade. Almost floating, Susano-o seemed to be in some sort of tranquil state. Suddenly, the large Persona released a mighty swing, launching Akira across the water.
But following that swing was a small sheet of ice, providing a landing surface for Akira while allowing the boy to slide across without a problem. But when reached peak speed though, a ramp made of the element was formed. Once again, the teen was airborne. It did not worry him however as it was all a part of the plan.
"Seiten Taisei!"
Just like with Mercurius, Susano-o began changing as well. Body parts started shifting. New parts began growing. All within the span off less than a second. Soon enough, the large, punk-looking monkey was riding onto top of a cloud that had angry eyes.
Landing his feet right against the giant rod the monkey-king Persona, the being swung and launched Akira an even farther distance. Soaring, Akira almost hit the ledge of the bridge but then landed in the middle of the streets.
Planting his feet and hands to gain grip on the pavement, Akira summoned Mercurius once again and dashed down the lane. Running past cars, he made sure that he was keeping up a fast speed. That one vehicle that he was focused on was just in his sights.
Within seconds, he had caught up to the car he was chasing. Reading the licence plate, he was confident that he was behind the correct vehicle. Or else what he had in mind to do was going to be incredibly awkward for the ones that were not his targets.
No doubt that they were seeing a teenage boy in a suit chasing them down with a giant figure right behind him. So, he had to act fast.
Quickly running to the left side of the car, Akira glanced over quickly to make one final confirmation. That attempt was left unanswered as the windows were up and showing his reflection rather than the inside. Deciding to take the risk, Akira leapt high up and to his right. With the power in his legs, Akira went over the car. Grabbing the top of the vehicle, the boy swung down and smashed through the window.
Unfortunately for him, Mercurius was a little too big for the vehicle for the moment.
Landing in the back seat of the car, Akira found himself surrounded by three White Fang members. He quickly registered where each one way. One was driving, the second in the front seat, the last right next to him.
"What the-"
"How-"
"When-"
Swiftly, Akira drew Arsene's Cane from his clothing while punching the Faunus right next to him in the face while all of them were confused. Snapping his hand down, the boy grabbed the adult and yanked them in front of himself to act as a temporary shield. Just as he had done so, the front Faunus drew a pistol and pointed it in Akira's general direction.
Immediately taking advantage of their hesitation to accidentally shoot their comrade, Akira smacked the gun out of their hand with his cane. Feeling the White Fang member in his grip struggling, he smashed their face once again using the equipped weapon. Right after that, the figure grabbed the teenager's weaponized wrist, preventing him from moving it.
Throwing his temporary body shield to the side, Akira lunged forward with a left-handed punch. Snapping that exact hand back and forth, he landed a solid blow against his current opponent's face. Bending his right arm, Akira attempted a back-handed blow using Arsene's Cane but then the driver stuck their arm out to prevent the blow from landing on their friend.
Striking a fist down on their arm, Akira had his attack released. The teenager then attempted to hit the driver with a swing. The driver raised their arm against though to shield themselves from Akira. The White Fang member in the front seat then punched Akira square in the face, causing the boy to recoil back and drop Arsene's Cane.
Feeling his back hit the seat of the car, Akira was stunned for a bit. That gave the perfect opportunity for the White Fang member at the front seat to grab his collar and slam his head against the dashboard. They then reached down onto the car floor to grab the pistol and pointed it at the boy's skull. Akira managed to get out of his daze just in time to snap his head back while dragging the gun forward. The White Fang member did not expect such a quick reaction, accidentally firing their gun and shooting the driver's leg.
Ignoring the scream of pain from the driver, Akira balled his right hand into a fist. Akira then swung up and to the right to land a blow right against the front seat member's face. Crawling back up an inch, Akira hand one hand over the seats and the other holding the small handlebar above the back door. With both his feet, the raven-haired boy planted both his heels against the front seat rider's face to knock them out.
It was that that point, Akira realized that the car had swerved severely. What came after that was hitting the side of the bridge, rolling over the edge, and they started falling immediately after. The flipping of the car didn't help his situation either, causing him to be thrown around like a pinball.
Damn, he was too busy to take care of the shot driver. The bullet really caused them to lose control.
Okay, priorities. Hostage. Must save them. That was the reason why Akira had run perhaps through a quarter of the Kingdom. Secondary, but just as important as a priority, at least make sure none of the White Fang Faunus die. Yes, they may be terrorists, but that doesn't really mean they deserve to die in the first place. These were people, let them pay for that they had done with jail time.
Grabbing onto the back seating, Akira hoisted himself up to see that who he presumed to be Miss Juwel was zip-tied at the back. No gag, odd. He at least would have expected screaming and shouting during his fighting. Maybe she was threatened to be quiet. Not wanting to waste any time even shrugging his shoulders at his thoughts, he grabbed the girl and pulled her up.
"What the- who are you?!" The girl questioned critically, struggling in his grip due to being touched by a stranger. Her efforts were futile though as Akira pulled her close to him. The next one to grab was the Faunus knocked out in the back seat. Easy since this one was bouncing around closely to him. Kicking off the ceiling, Akira struggled to keep hold of Miss Juwel and the unconscious soldier.
Getting his face smacked by flailing hands, Akira glanced over in a bit of irritation. But he still extended his arm to grab the conscious driver who was in a panic. The final Faunus fortunately fell right onto his body. With two people for each of his arms, it was tough for Akira to hold them together but he managed.
Preparing for impact, he scrunched his face up for the incoming pain he may end up feeling. While that happened, his mind didn't have time to think things fully through so he summoned up the first Persona that came to mind that could perhaps help them survive upon impact.
"Anat!"
From his back, silver-steel grew out. As if it were pushing out of him, the ultimate Persona of Makoto finally emerged in less than a second. The massive construct that almost resembled parts of a motorcycle immediately embraced each one of the people that Akira held onto.
A single second passed before Akira's head banged against Anat's body while hearing a crashing noise.
His world then went black.
Break
Smoke…
The foul smell plagued Akira's nostrils and he sneezed.
Groaning, his eyes blearily opened and he was forced to blink a number of times to gain proper vision. Breathing heavily, he tried moving his body but then a sharp pain snapped through it. Agony spread from his legs all the way up to his head, causing him to lose his focus for a moment. Everything was so disorienting for the boy it was incredibly tough to keep his goals in mind.
Due the stinging of his brain, Akira moved his head around. A couple of meters away, he could see that vehicle that he was in before impact... How long had he been out for? Wait, what about the people he saved.
Craning his head around once more, he noticed that his skull rubbed against an uneven, rough surface. Was he laying on rocks? Didn't matter now. To his left, two of the White Fang members were laying on the ground with Miss Juwel nearby. The girl was not facing him, but he could tell she was still conscious due to her struggling to break free.
…Wait, where was the third White Fang member?
The light above him darkened suddenly. Doing his best to roll his head up, Akira caught sight of a figure looming over his body. Due to the sun, Akira couldn't really make out the face of the person. But if he had to guess judging by the round top and the white armor, Akira assumed that it was the White Fang member he had just been thinking about.
It was also at that moment; the raven-haired teen caught the sight of a knife gleaming in their hand.
But before Akira could even think up a counter-strategy, another shiny blade came to view when it was stabbed right through the Faunus' throat.
Drops of blood fell onto his face and the sudden death in his eyes caused Akira to freeze. The blade was retracted after a few gurgles from the White Fang member, causing their body to fall right next to Akira and only twitch.
A single boot wiggled itself under the dead body and rolled it farther away from Akira's position. As his head limply rolled to the side, he then saw who had saved him.
Neo bent her legs, bringing her gaze closer to Akira while grinning as if she had done a good deed. While shouldering her umbrella, she wagged her finger at him with her other hand. Right after, she pointed at her eyes and then gesturing to Akira's.
Akira was still too stunned and disoriented to even give a proper response, only settling for giving the girl an odd look of confusion and small disbelief. Neo was just… so nonchalant about the situation. As if there wasn't a dead body right next to her caused by her hand.
The girl then started to reach over towards Akira. The raven-haired teen watched as Neo felt around his chest before pulling out his wallet from his new clothing. His eyes still stayed on her body as she waved the item while standing up before opening it.
Upon her action, she stopped in a moment of surprise. Bringing the wallet closer to her face, her expression soon morphed into scrunched up confusion. Turing it at all sorts of angles, Neo just stared as if it were something completely foreign to her knowledge.
Her lips then turned into the shape of the letter o. Looking over to Akira, she then smirked as if she had planned up something devious right then and there. Reaching into the wallet, she pulled out his ID card with a couple of Lien cards. Bending her legs once more, she snugly fit what belonged to Akira back into his suit and fished out his new scroll.
Opening it, she started tapping in a few icons. From what Akira could tell from her finger movements and how the screen was holographic, she was going into his contact information and putting something onto the list. It only took Neo a few seconds before she tucked the scroll back where it belonged. Standing back up, she skipped away a couple of times while smugly waving his ID card around.
The last things Akira saw just as he was blacking out once more was Neo spin around, wink at him, then shatter into glass.
Break
"Stop right here."
In a different limousine due to the damages that had been done to the original one, Weiss gave her order and the driver followed it. Looking outside of the window, Weiss saw that small crowd was gathered around a certain area. Peeking down, she looked at the tablet that notified her of the position of where those that held the specific tracking device was.
Confirming that this was indeed the location, she looked back up. "Please wait until I get back." After speaking, she saw the human nod their head before she stepped out of the long vehicle. Shutting the door grabbed some attention from the onlookers that were at the back. Approaching, she saw that she eventually acknowledged the looks. "Excuse me."
Her polite words thankfully were enough to cause a tight path for her due to baffling the people of her presence coming to such an event. Slowly squeezing her way through, she eventually somehow managed to make it to the front without any huge complaints.
When she finally made it to yellow tape, Weiss knew that she had made it. Looking around once more, she saw the debris that was caused by a falling vehicle. Her eyes also fell upon a couple of Atlesian soldiers dragging away the White Fang members that she suspected to be the ones responsible for the kidnapping. There were only two of them though, so where was the third? A few more meanwhile were standing around a blanket that had something underneath. Standing at another area, Miss Juwel had a blanket wrapped around her body as she was being calmed by a medic.
…For Akira however…
"Sir, please sit still!"
"I promise that I will be fine after a moment of privacy, just let me go!"
Weiss groaned while rolling her eyes at the absolute fuss that Akira was putting up. The raven-haired teen was struggling to get away from three paramedics. The adults meanwhile were trying to do their jobs and at least bandage the boy.
The white-haired female wondered why Akira was struggling in the first place. He was covered in scrapes and a lot of cuts. Not to mention that who knows what kind of damage could have been done from falling off a bridge.
Still watching the boy, she must have caught his eyes because he had suddenly addressed her. "Ah, Weiss, there you are!"
That one name caused the three on duty with medical practice look over in Weiss' direction. It gave Akira the perfect opportunity to swiftly rip himself out of their grip. Immediately after, Akira ran over towards the back of an ambulance that had the doors open. Hopping inside, the boy then slammed the metal barriers shut.
"Sir!"
Just as one of them expressed their exasperation while trying to open the door, a large, dark blue wing covered the transparent surface. A few gasps escaped the mouths of the workers and bystanders. Weiss had her eyes widen, but she saw that kind of wing before.
What was the name of that things again? …Oh, that's right, Mercurius.
Just as the paramedics stood dumbfounded, the door of the ambulance opened to show Akira still covered in a bit of dirt but physically fine. There were no signs of external injuries done to his body. It was as if… he had somehow healed himself back to full health.
"Right, there we go." Akira stated, dusting his sleeves while readjusting his gloves. Walking straight past the doctors that were still in a stupor, he walked right up to Weiss. "Well, it's good to see you again."
Staring at the boy with her mouth slightly open, the Schnee eventually just shook her head in defeat. "You have so much explaining to do yet so much has happened today." She groaned, turning around while mentally preparing herself to wriggle through a mass of bodies once more. "Just make sure that I get my answers tomorrow or soon after that."
Akira looked at the heiress before nodding his head. "Fair enough." He answered. He would be more surprised if she didn't ask any questions. Weiss did have a mind that held lots of curiosity. Patting himself down to make sure that Arsene's Cane was still on his person, he followed Weiss through the crowd.
"I have your guns if you are curious." Weiss spoke. "They're in the car with your… previous outift."
"Much appreciated." Akira replied, covering his face from onlookers just in case there were any spare cameras aimed at him. He had already exposed himself far enough, he didn't need any more people already possibly posting his face on social media.
Climbing into the limo and closing the door, he let out a breath of relief. Rubbing his forehead, Akira relaxed in the seat while looking out of the windows. He could still see the sea of people curious looking in the direction of the vehicle. So many men and women gathered around a single area.
"…Are you okay?" Slowly turning his head, Akira saw that Weiss was slightly frowning in his direction. The girl had her arms folded, silently scanning the boy for anything that would be out of the ordinary for even him.
"…" The boy waited for a second or two before looking back towards the window. "…I think so…" He said quietly. His answer caused Weiss to not cease her gazing at first. But she eventually gave up.
Now that he was given a bit of quiet time, Akira had the chance to go over his thoughts and the events that had played out. As he went through his mind, a couple of things did not sit very well with him.
First, there was that one White Fang soldier. Could Akira have done something about it? Despite him being extremely disoriented during that moment, would it have been possible for him to still be able to summon a Persona to incapacitate him? At least neutralize the threat before Neo had dealt with it.
Speaking of Neo, what about her? What was she going to do with his Japanese ID card? Judging from the murder she had committed and how she acted, Akira deducted that Neo was possibly used to that kind of work. Considering that she was technically a criminal, did that mean she was going to do something odd with his identification? What about when she added herself into his contacts?
Unfortunately, there was a third factor as well. Morgana… Ryuji… Ann… Yusuke… Makoto… Futaba… and Haru… The former Phantom Thieves… showing up here and there at different moments…
Was that really them?
Or was it all in his head?
Break
Opening his eyes, Akira concluded it was a new day considering the light outside compared to the night when he fell asleep.
Stretching, the boy arched his back like a cat to stretch. After laying his back on the bed, he sighed while rolling his eyes up a bit. Well, it seemed that his headache subsided by a fair amount. It was still there, but it was easily negligible. Nothing too bad or too distracting.
Hearing knocking on the door, Akira turned his head over to the wooden barrier. Quickly pushing the sheets off his body to show that he was wearing the trousers and shirt from yesterday, he walked over. Arriving at the door, he opened it to see a familiar butler he had grown used to.
"Good morning, Mister Akira." Klein greeted with a small bow.
"Morning, Mister Klein." Akira replied with a nod. His eyes then wandered to the area behind the butler and it caught his attention. "Are those for me?"
Klein took about half a second to comprehend Akira's words before turning around. "Ah, yes, they are." The man agreed with the teenage boy. "They are gifts from the Juwels family. Mister Juwels himself is a little eccentric when it comes down to his daughter, so when he caught wind that you were associated with Miss Schnee…"
"He sent over a large amount of clothing as a form of thanks." Akira finished for the butler, causing the adult to nod his head. "…Well, I am in need of more clothing. I'll take them into my room myself, if it is no trouble."
"Oh, if you are okay with it." The portly man answered, reaching into his pocket while pulling out a white envelope. "This is also for you. There is no sender identification, but it was addressed for you." He handed it over to the teenager, who looked over the item carefully. "Also, Miss Schnee has requested that you meet her inside of the library after you finish breakfast. She appears to have more questions for you."
"As she should." Akira replied, shuffling around the butler while grabbing the first box. "Thank you, sir. Tell Weiss that I'll be down soon. I just need to put these away and change." As he lifted, the boy pushed the door open, walked into his room, and put it down next to the farthest wall. Moving back into the hall, Akira carried a second box to that same area. He continued this pattern a couple more times before exhaling.
Looking down towards the envelope that Klein provided for him, Akira turned his head while critically examining it once more. Feeling it, he felt something flat and solid inside of the item. Tearing it open while fishing out the contents, Akira blinked with surprised at when he had been feeling.
It was a completely new ID card in English… for him. His photo was there, but all the written information was printed out in the different language. Name. Age (which was surprisingly spot on). Sex. Birth date (that was fake). All the requirements were present.
Carefully pulling the item away from the paper, he eyed it in awe. He then slowly looked over to the letter.
You naughty boy, Akira Kurusu.
Do you have any idea how much work had to done in order to rush this and get it to you this fast? Not only do you owe me one for saving you, but now two for replacing that fake ID someone scammed you with. Feign ignorance, but you know your stuff. No way are you as innocent as you make yourself out to be.
You are most likely wondering why I did all of this for you. Why, it is because I find you… rather fascinating. I did indicate that I would keep my eye on you, and that I shall.
My means of payment will be requested eventually, so do not forget what you owe. Of course, I offer plenty of other services for appropriate compensation if you ever need. You are a man of hidden depths after all. Who knows what you may require. All you must do is contact me whenever you desire.
I trust that you will keep our relationship a secret or maintain it pleasantly. If you choose not to, I will be rather unhappy. Do not make me do something we both will regret.
I remain in delighted anticipation to working with you.
:D :) ;) ;D ;P
Neopolitan
All he had to do was read the letter over once. So, it looked like he was in debt to a criminal. What sort of compensation was Neo going to ask of him anyways? Criminals are greedy, but sometimes they were reasonable at the same time.
Walking over to the bed-side desk, Akira put the letter down while taking another look at the ID Neo had provided for him. Placing it next to the paper, Akira walked around the bed and into the washroom that was connected to the bedroom.
Exhaling, he scrunched his eyes it felt like there was so much going on now.
Neo sending him a letter. All of that clothing sent by that Juwel family that he was going to have to go through and organize. He was looking forward to Weiss' questions at this rate. Even if she was going to ask so many things, they at least were too his knowledge and wouldn't have to think too hard.
Running the sink, the raven-haired teen cupped his hands. As water piled up against his flesh, he closed his eyes and splashed a liquid against his face. Shaking his head, he felt around for the provided face cloth. Drying his face, he opened his eyes. Looking at the mirror above the sink, Akira froze in shock at the sight that was in the reflection.
"Dude, you okay?" "Ryuji" questioned in concern while the rest of the "Phantom Thieves" also seemed to look a bit worried. "You look like you've seen a ghost."
Phew, done and done. Yes, the idea is bizarre. Some of you may like it… okay. I know there are people that may not… alright. I want to try giving it a shot. That's fine, right? Right?!
Yeah it is.
No flames please.