"Sweet jesus hun, you look horrible" the queen gawked as she saw Evan's for the first time since he arrived earlier in the day.
"My emotions got the best of me today Lala-chan, but rest assured things are going to be better soon" the boy responded with a smile. Lala-chan reached out and held onto Evan's hands.
"Evan, please tell me you're safe" the queen stated plainly looking into the boy's eyes for any red flags. Evan chuckled softly before giving Lala-chan's hands a reassuring squeeze and releasing them.
"It's not like that Lala-chan. I finally am starting to feel safe again, and it is only a matter of time before I am actually safe." With that Evan said goodbye and started to head home leaving the poor queen perplexed with his statement. The wordage of his statement did not have her confused, it was what he meant by there only being a matter of time before he is actually safe.
Evan walked through the front door of the apartment to find it surprisingly empty. Lately, it seemed like Shikora was home all the time. If anything, the man was probably scoring with another victim who was promised a specific spot in a movie or on a television show. Hopefully, if that was true, it would be his last victim ever. Evan made his way to his room and stared out the window. He started to feel butterflies in his stomach as the conversation with everyone flooded his mind. He knew he was ready to do this, but would it be enough?
As he started to contemplate the entire plan, the boy looked down and reached into his pocket. He leaned back against one of his walls and slid down it. With a heavy sigh he pulled his hand out and stared down at the vial now sitting in the palm of his hand. Once again, the dreaded thoughts of 'would it be enough' started to flood his mind as he clutched the vial and rested his head back against the wall.
Ryuji paced back and forth while a very irritated Mikoto sat at a restaurant table working on the calling card.
"Ryuji, would you please sit down and help me? You're really starting to bug me with all of this pacing" Mikoto stated looking up at the blonde. Ryuji did as she asked and sat down, but a new irritating action took over the last. The blonde was bouncing his leg under the table with his upper body leaning on the table, so the entire table was shaking as Mikoto was trying to write. Eventually, the poor girl laid her pencil down carefully, looked down to brush the ruffles out her skirt, then looked up at the blonde with the nicest face she could make at the moment.
"Do you wanna talk about it?" she asked as she watched Ryuji's facial expression change from one of anxiety, to one of embarrassment.
"Is it that obvious?" the boy asked as he ran his hand through his hair.
"I'd hardly call the pacing and leg shaking obvious" Mikoto explained sarcastically.
"It's just…..I can't help but worry about Evan right now. Shikora beat him pretty bad last night, and now we just sent him back to that apartment as if nothing happened. What if he was there when Evan got him and started beating on him again?" The boy's leg started shaking again as his anxiety started to rise. Queen reached over and placed her hand firmly on top of his leg until it stopped shaking.
"And what if Shikora wasn't even home when Evan got there?" Mikoto asked back as she left her hand there incase Ryuji started to shake his leg again.
"I don't know" Ryuji whispered as he stared off into the distance.
"You want to know what I think?" Mikoto sighed, hoping to get the blonde focused on the task at hand. Ryuji turned and looked at her without saying anything. "I think that you're worried about something that up until this point no one had any control over; however, it's never going to be fixed if you don't help me make this calling card so that Evan can give it to Shikora. Believe me when I say that I understand how much you want to be there for him and help him." Mikoto stopped really quick and thought about her own situation before continuing. "We all have someone that we want to help out no matter the consequences, but we have to remember that anything, no matter how small it is, can help make the situation better. I believe that making this calling card is the next small thing to making Evan's situation better."
As Mikoto finished, Ryuji stared at her and thought about what she was saying. "You know what Mikoto, you're right! I shouldn't let all these 'what if' scenarios fill my head when we are going to take care of it before they can even happen. As you said, I need to remember to do my part to help him by continuing to do the little things for him, like helping you with this calling card."
With the motivation switched back to the calling card, Mikoto picked her pencil back up and started to write as Ryuji did his best to help out. When they were done, the two of them read it over a few times and were pleased with it. The two paid for their drinks and made their way outside of the restaurant. Once they were outside, Mikoto handed the card off to Ryuji and reminded him to bring it with him tomorrow so they could hand it off to Evan. The two were about to part when Ryuji turned back towards Mikoto.
"By the way, who is it that you want to help out?"
The blonde's question made Mikoto sigh and smile a little. "Much like the person's heart that I want changed, it's a secret." And with that, she walked off towards the train station to catch the last train before they stopped for the night. Ryuji stood there a little perplexed before he just shrugged and headed off towards his apartment.
The minute Ryuji walked through the front door, he felt a pair of eyes staring at him. The blonde sighed before taking off his shoes and turning towards his mother.
"You're late Ryuji, your supper has been sitting over there getting cold for the last hour and a half" came the stern words of his mother as she crossed the room to get closer to him. "I understand that you enjoy hanging out with your new friends, but would it kill you to let me know when you're going to be late? Ever since that whole Kaneshiro business went down in Shibuya, I get nervous about you staying out late. Promise me that everything is okay?"
As his mother pleaded to him, she reached out and gave his face a gentle stroke. The blonde wiggled away from her touch and slumped his bag back over his shoulder.
"Everything is fine mom. You have nothing to worry about. I was talking with the student council president about something and lost track of time. I promise I'll start letting you know when I'm going to be coming home late so that you're not sitting here worrying. Okay?" As Ryuji finished he tossed his bag into his room and went out to reheat his dinner.
"Sounds like a deal" his mother responded back warmly before wrapping the boy in a hug and kissing his forehead. "Just remember that there is no better love than a mother's love." With that his mother retreated into her bedroom to get some sleep for work the next day. Ryuji's eyes followed his mother until she disappeared. He placed his food in the microwave and walked away to text the group chat that the calling card was done and ready. Everyone replied back that they were ready to put an end to this. Ryuji sent a message saying that he would hand the card over to Ann in the morning so that she could give it to Evan. Once he sent his last message he went back to the microwave and got his food out. He quietly tiptoed into his room and ate his dinner in silence as he sat there and pondered.
Evan finished getting ready for bed and looked through all of the messages from everyone else in the group chat. He, more than the others, wanted this nightmare to be over and was happy that the conclusion to it all was finally coming to fruition. He placed his phone on the charger and sent a text out to Mishima asking if he wanted to hangout after school tomorrow. Evan figured he needed to have a clear head going into a fight, and who better to help him keep his mind clear than Mishima. Within seconds Mishima had texted him back and had accepted his invite to hangout after school.
Evan smiled softly to himself as he read the text over and put his phone away. He was awake long enough to hear the front door swing open and crash against the wall. The crash was soon followed by a loud slam as the door was forced shut. The familiar sounds of stumbling against the furniture were caught next upon Evan's ears as Shikora made his way through the apartment. Luckily, Shikora didn't bother with Evan's room thinking him to all ready be asleep with what time it was. The last thing Evan heard was springs in Shikora's mattress as he crawled into it before passing out.
The next day at school, Ann made her way into the classroom to see Evan and Mishima deep in conversation at their desks. The two seemed to have really connected and Ann was happy to see the two in such good spirits. She decided now wasn't the best time to give him the calling card and was going to wait until a bit later in the day when she could get Evan alone.
Evan noticed Ann standing in the doorway to the classroom and gave her a friendly wave. He felt a tiny bit closer to her after clearing a little bit of the air with her in the palace the other day. Ann gave him a little wave back and made her way over to her desk. Mishima gave a little chuckle causing Evan to look back at him.
"And what may I ask are you laughing at?" Evan asked starting to chuckle a little himself.
"It's nothing, just wasn't expecting someone to openly start waving to Ann-chan. So many people try to avoid her still after everything with Shiho and Kamoshida. If anything, it was refreshing to see something a little wholesome." Mishima smiled. It was nice to see one that didn't seem forced spread across his face. According to a few of the students in their class, Mishima was starting to seem like his old self, before the whole Kamoshida incident.
"Wait until people drop dead when they see me fist bumping with Ryuji and Akira" Evan joked causing the two to laugh a little louder and smile brighter at one another.
"By the way, what were you thinking about doing after school?" Mishima asked causing a head turn by both Ann and Akira, who had officially arrived at school, as they were passing by their section on the way to their desks.
"I was considering just going up to the roof to talk about something for a little bit."
"The roof isn't accessible to us though."
"Is the great Mishima too scared to sneak up onto the roof with this bad influence?" Evan kidded in a sarcastic tone watching the boy start to laugh again.
"Okay, okay, I get it. I will join you for a rooftop rendezvous" Mishima laughed out quick as the teacher walked in. The two shared one more smile before Mishima turned around and paid attention as their lectors started. It was going to be a long day, not just at school, but after school as well. Classes, conversations, and battling.
"He can't dawdle" Morgana grumbled from inside Akira's desk during a break between classes.
"I don't think he is doing it to dawdle" Ann interjected before Morgana could go on one of his tangents. The last time he did, the classroom filled with one too many cat related noises because as his temper grew, so did the octave of his meow.
"What makes you think he isn't doing this to dawdle?" the cat plainly stated stretching one of his legs out of the desk quick to get some feeling back into it.
"Call it a hunch," Ann argued softly sitting back in her chair. "Most humans have hunches and you of all people should know that since you claim deep down that you are a human."
"Hey! I am a human!" Morgana snapped causing a few in the room to look around hearing his meows ringing out from somewhere in the room.
"Will you shush!" Ann squeaked, sitting back up relatively quickly and looking around to make sure no one had noticed that the cat noises were coming from their direction.
"Could you at least go up there after them just so we know that Evan won't be late to our meeting?" Akira asked and then pondered for a minute. "Maybe give them about ten minutes to themselves beforehand. I feel like this is important to him if he is doing it the day that we are sending out the calling card"
"You can count on me" Ann smiled and looked over at Evan watching him interact with Mishima and seeing the same genuine smile cover his face like when he is with Ryuji.
Evan tossed a bottle over to Mishima as the boy turned towards him after cautiously closing the door to the rooftop. Surprising he caught it and held it up victoriously. Evan raised his up to cheer for him as the boys shared a laugh just like they had been all day.
"You've been very cheery today Evan" Mishima observed as he sat down on a table that was on the rooftop.
"I have a lot to be happy about today" Evan commented staring off into the distance while sitting down next to Mishima.
"Is that what you wanted to discuss with me?" Mishima pondered while playing with the label on his drink.
"In a way I guess you could say that. But to start off, I kind of, want to ask about the Kamoshida incident."
"What about it?" Mishima flinched thinking back on everything. The abuse, the sex scandals, the bruises, the near expulsion, and the attempted suicide. Seeing his demeanor change, and how he flinched at the topic, Evan reached over and grabbed Mishima's hand giving it a gentle squeeze.
"I think you know what I'm asking Mishima." The words hung in the air as Mishima now looked off into the distance. The boy felt a hand caress his face and steady him. He hadn't even noticed that he was shaking, but he left the hand lead him until he was staring right into Evan's eyes. "Mishima, I would never ask you about this if it wasn't important to me, but there is a part of me deep down that wants to, no, needs to know."
Mishima took a deep sigh and closed his eyes. Evan reached up at wiped a sole tear that had threatened to roll down his cheek. "Kamoshida would beat us, basically tormented us. The girls had it worse. He would touch them inappropriately and drove one girl, Shiho, to attempt suicide. He would spike the ball at us, well me mostly, and have us leaving practice with some many bruises. It was a dark and scary time for so many of us, but then the Phantom Thieves changed all of that. Kamoshida confessed his sins and ended his rein of cruelty. I've healed up quite a bit, but the trauma is still there."
This time Evan brought his hands to his own face to wipe away a few tears that had escaped as Mishima told him all of this. Evan managed a thank you without his voice cracking due to the emotions he was feeling. Mishima just nodded and took a swig of his drink.
"There's a reason I asked you about this," Evan started as he stood up from the table and turned to face Mishima. "I know you witnessed Shikora hitting me that one night at crossroads, but as you have probably surmised from that interaction, it hasn't been the only time. The most recent beatings have been some of the worst, but I'm still here and hopefully soon it was all come to an end."
As Evan said all of this, he was slowly taking off his jacket and school shirt. Mishima's eyes went wide as discolored marks started to reveal themselves. Mishima stood up and reached out to Evan touching one of the marks. His touch was soft against Evan's warm skin. He felt his stomach hinge and flip in his body at the same time as he saw just how vulnerable Evan was in this very moment. They were staring into each other's eyes once again reading one another's pain and sympathy. They were so caught up in the moment that neither of them heard or saw the rooftop door swing open.
Ann gasped and covered her mouth watching as panic washed over both boys and blushes spread across their faces. Mishima quickly ripped his hand away as Evan scrambled to put his shirt back on. The two looked deadpan at Ann, who could have sworn she saw both of them wipe at their eyes, but she continued to approach them. She knew what her purpose on this rooftop was, but as she approached and stood in front of them, all that came out of her mouth was "Evan." She dragged out the second syllable to put an emphasis on her breaking tone.
"What are you doing here Ann?" Evan asked as he quickly threw his jacket back on and stood in front of Mishima protectively. He knew that Ann was not there threatening them, but for some odd reason he felt cornered even through she was a friend, so his instincts took over and he became protective.
"I just wanted to come and check on you," she stated approaching him and placing a gentle hand on his shoulder. "I saw you both come up here, but when neither of you had come down after a little bit, I got nervous and came to see if everything was okay. I should've known that you were fine, but my mind kept playing bad case scenarios like what if a teacher caught them and he was in trouble and wouldn't be able to come hangout tonight?"
Evan was starting to catch on to what she was saying, but he also wasn't stupid. He could believe that someone potentially saw them come up to the roof, but at the same time, the last time he saw Ann was when they all left their classroom on the second floor. They could've been heading to the library on the third floor for all she knew, so somehow, she must have overheard them discussing the rooftop. Well, maybe it wasn't her, he loved the blonde, but this had something else written all over it, something more strategic. This would shift the blame of her actions over to either Morgana or Akira since they were also in the classroom this morning. Evan nodded to himself before grabbing his bag and turned around to Mishima.
"I'm sorry to cut this short, just know you don't have to worry about me for much longer. Unfortunately, I did forget that Ann and a few others had plans with me tonight and I can't be late to that get together. I know I don't deserve it at this moment, but could I ask you to accompany Ann and myself to the entrance?"
Mishima's smile came back in a flash as he agreed, and the trio made their way to the ground floor. At the entrance, Evan gave Mishima a hug before waving to him as he headed off towards the train station.
"Ann" Evan called out as the two walked in silence towards the station.
"Yeah Evan?"
"Please, promise me that you won't share with the others what you saw up on the rooftop."
Ann stopped dead in her tracks as the marks on Evan's body started to flood her mind. Her hand balled up into a fist on its own as she shook the thought from her mind. Evan's blue eyes connected with hers as his lips were moving and a muffled sound came to her ears. It was distorted and she quickly shook her head refocusing herself on the rest of him. The fuzziness of the noise finally coming through clearly,
"Ann, please promise me" the boy begged as he took a step closer to her hoping that would help elicit a response from her.
"I'm sorry Evan, and I promise I won't tell them, but we should get to the station as quickly as possible. They're all going to be wondering where we are if we don't get to Crossroads soon." Evan nodded and the two continued on their way to the station. The entire trip after that was pretty much quiet. Ann, even while trying her hardest, still couldn't get those marks out of her head. Evan, with his hands in his pockets, sat looking out the window. There was still a lot going through his mind. His feelings were a whirlwind of emotions ranging anywhere from nervous to excited.
The two got off of the train and headed towards Crossroads. Ryuji was waiting outside. His face was deadpan at first as he watched the two figures approach. The minute he could make out Evan and Ann, his expression changed to one that was quite serious. He let them pass, before following closely behind them. Lala-chan was in her usual spot behind the bar puffing on a cigarette. She made a little gesture with her head as to where the others were before taking a nice long drag and getting some waters together for them. Akira and Makoto were setting on one side of the table discussing something while Morgana lay on the table relaxing. Futaba was busy on her laptop. Her hands were a wild flourish as they moved across the keys on her keyboard. Every now and then, one of them would shoot over and scratch at Morgana causing the cat to stir a little. Yusuke sat on the same side as her, flipping through an arts magazine.
"Lets talk shop" Evan announced as he approached the table with Ann and Ryuji trailing a few inches behind him. Everyone stopped what they were doing and looked up at the boy. Yusuke closed his magazine and laid it gently on the table while crossing his legs to get comfortable. Futaba kept her laptop open but the sound of clicking could be heard signaling that she was either closing out of a few things or minimizing them. Makoto fanned out her skirt and moved over with Akira to give the others room to sit. Ann moved first, followed by Ryuji, and Evan sat next to him closes to the outside of the booth.
"Well, now that everyone is here, we can start" Makoto began as she poked at Morgana to get his attention.
"So, we have determined where the treasure is and secured our route," Morgana started while working in a stretch, "we also know that Ryuji and Makoto have finished the calling card which was given to Ann. Did you remember to hand it over to Evan?" Ann quickly snapped into action from the question and grabbed her bag. She rummaged around in it for a few seconds before pulling out a red card and sliding it across the table to Evan.
"Just did it" the girl chuckled dryly while avoiding Morgana's gaze.
"So, all I have to do is make him read this card?" Evan asked as he looked it over before looking up over the top of the card at everyone.
"That's right" Ryuji stated in a matter-of-fact kind of tone. He smiled at the ginger while trying to hide how nervous he was. The only thoughts going through his head at this time were similar to the previous palaces. 'They needed to do this' or 'They had to succeed.' Thoughts like that, because if he let an ounce of doubt wedge its way in, there was no recovering from that.
"Will you guys be over here then awaiting my text message from when he reads it?" Evan asked while standing up and stuffing the card into his bag. Lala-chan had just entered with their waters and he didn't want her to see the card.
"Why is everyone so serious?" Lala-chan asked while looking closely at all of them.
"No particular reason Lala-chan, we all are just under a lot of stress. School ya know" Evan persuaded as he threw his bag over his shoulder. "I'll be back in a little bit though, and I was hoping it would be okay if these guys could borrow this space for the duration of my absence."
"Evan honey, you all have already turned my bar into a teen paradise." Lala-chan stated dryly before walking off.
"Well, here goes nothing" the ginger said while giving the group a half smile. He ducked out quickly and made his way back to his apartment. He ran to his room and tossed his bag onto his bed and ruffled through it to pull out the card. With the card in one hand, he reached into his coat pocket and held a vial tightly in his palm. He brought the vial hand up to his chest and allowed himself one last long heavy sigh. He took a few more deep breaths before putting the vial back into his pocket and went out into the living room to wait for Shikora. His heart was beating fast, and his palms were sweaty, but he kept his eyes on the prize.
"Do you think he's okay?" Ryuji asked while pacing back and forth near the head of the table.
"For the last time Ryuji, he is fine" Makoto pleaded while pinching the brim of her nose to keep from freaking out on him.
"Please just sit down. We're all on edge waiting for him to come back so that we can head in, but we just have to trust that Shikora will be back soon" Ann offered as a response to hopefully get the blonde to relax.
"I can't help it" the boy sighed as he reluctantly sat back down.
"None of us can" Makoto stated plainly while checking her phone. While it wasn't as obvious as Ryuji's pacing, her constant checking was not going unnoticed either.
"You all just have to calm down and save your strength," Futaba harshly remarked without looking up from her laptop, "We're going to need it when we go up against his shadow."
"No kidding" Ryuji mocked causing the girl to now look over her monitor glaring daggers at him. He started to mumble under his breath as he took out his phone. It had already been two hours since Evan had left Crossroads, and everyone was getting antsy and impatient. He knew that! They just weren't as obvious about it like he was with his pacing. Akira sat reading a book and making sure to give Morgana some pets in between page turns. Ryuji had hoped he could look at him for guidance as to how to deal with his growing anxiety. He seems so calm and serene while turning each page and nonchalantly reaching over scratching Morgana behind the ear. Ryuji leaned back into the booth and signed heavily before laying his head on the table and closing his eyes, his phone was clenched tightly in his hand so he wouldn't miss it going off.
Evan sat quietly on the couch staring at the card on the coffee table. His heart was trying to settle of a rhythm while the anticipation was eating away at him. It couldn't decide if it wanted to beat fast and loud to prepare Evan for Shikora's reaction to the card, or if it wanted to beat slow and cool so as not to make Shikora suspect him as the writer of the card. That technically wouldn't be too far off. He didn't physically write the card, but if he has learned anything from his short time with the phantom thieves, it would be that everything is done and decided as a team.
The sound of the door unlocking drew him from his thoughts as he stared around widely. All the mental preparations up to this point had now gone flying out the window and he watched as the door flung open. In walked Shikora and Evan's heart stopped for a second. Shikora was taking his shoes off and had yet to notice him. His heart decided to go the fast and loud route as Evan tried to find the strength to make it to his feet.
"Oh!" Shikora exclaimed as he saw Evan standing there. "I have great news!" The man shouted as he threw the door close and made short work of the distance between him and Evan. He wrapped his arms around Evan, if was tight but loving all at the same time. It had caught Evan off guard. He kept his arms at his side for a second before he wrapped his back around Shikora. They shook a little as his fingers tried to connect, Shikora's stature proving to be a bit bulkier than the teen could remember.
"The studio took my pitch" Shikora gleamed as he nuzzled against Evan. "They finally listened to me. I never thought this day would come." Evan listened to him as a tear started to fall out of the corner of his eye. This was the Shikora that he remembered. Loving, kind, and warm. He went to respond but his throat made a raspy sound which caused Shikora to pull away and look at his face. A hand quickly was on his cheek wiping it away.
"What's wrong baby?" Shikora asked genuine concern in his voice.
"Nothing, I'm just so happy for you" Evan lied as he looked up into his boyfriend's eyes. A few more tears broke away and started running down his face.
"You sure?" Shikora asked while wiping away those tears as well and caressing his face. Instead of answering, Evan moved in close and pressed his lips against Shikora. They trembled a little as Shikora kissed back and held him close. Evan's hands were now caressing Shikora's face taking in ever detail again as if it was their first kiss all over again.
Evan pulled away, his eyes closed, and face now streaked from tears that Shikora didn't have a chance to wipe away. When he opened his eyes, Shikora was looking back at him with nothing but love and concern in his eyes.
"Evan, please, tell me what's wrong" Shikora begged as he rubbed the boys back and pushed his head into his chest. His entire body was being swallowed up into Shikora's heat. Evan wiggled free of his hold and pushed Shikora away. The movement left Shikora a little stun as Evan turned from his gaze and went over to the coffee table.
He walked back over to Shikora holding something. He wiped the tears away from his face while holding the card up for Shikora to take.
"This, came in the mail for you today while you were at work, and I was at school."
Shikora looked down at the card and read it over while trying to wrap his brain around what it was.
Shikora Kawokasi, the predator of lust and virtue,
You have stolen, sullied, and berated those closest to you. You have used the weak for your own personal gains, whether that gain was for something professional or something personal. We cannot allow for these crimes to go without punishment, so we plan on taking what you treasure most.
Sincerely,
The Phantom Thieves of Heart
"Is this for real?" Shikora asked dumbfounded as he decided to read it through one last time before looking up at Evan. The boy just nodded before watching as the man's expression changed. What was once soft was now becoming irritated and angry. He crumbled up the card and tossed it to the side. Evan watched as it hit the wall and landed in one of the potted plants that decorated the various parts of the living room.
"I'm so sorry" Evan offered along with a hug, but Shikora brushed it off as he started to head towards the kitchen.
"I was having such a good day god damn it." Evan flinched as he heard the fridge door slam shut and watched as Shikora walked into the room chugging it down as he took each step. "I've been planning and trying to get this screenplay into the works, and now finally, after all these months, all the blood sweat and tears, I have a taker. And this group thinks that they can come in and take all of this away from me."
Just then Evan got a freezing chill down his spine as he heard the unmistakable voice of Shikora's shadow. "Try as they might, but they will never take my pet away from me." He reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone to text everyone that the card was delivered. He quickly put his phone back into his pocket and looked over at Shikora. He was now sitting on the couch. His arms were resting on his legs, while his head was resting in his hands. Evan slowly approached and laid his hand down on Shikora's shoulder.
"I just got a text from Lala-Chan. Are you okay if I head into work?" His voice broke a little as he saw pain in Shikora's eyes.
"I should be babe." Shikora stood up and gave Evan another hug. Evan relaxed into Shikora and closed his eyes allowing more of the tears in his eyes to break free. Shikora leaned down and kissed the boys head and gave him a squeeze. "We'll figure this out" Shikora whispered before breaking away from Evan.
"Now get to work before you get in trouble with Lala-chan." Evan nodded and walked off towards his room to grab his things. His heart was hurting, but he knew that this still needed to be done. It was different having what seemed like the old Shikora back, and deep down he had a gut feeling that there was only so much time before he reverted. Not to mention, all the victims that would never get closure if they didn't change Shikora's heart. As Evan finished and was heading towards the front door, Shikora was no where to be found. He assumed he either left, or he was in his study trying to wrap his head around what was going on.
"It's a message from Evan" Futaba stated aloud after checking why her phone had gone off. Everyone was brought back from whatever they were doing as they all checked their phones as well. Ryuji yawned and stretched out from his short nap that he had taken. The others were relieved when they heard him start snoring a little earlier. It meant that he wouldn't be pacing for a little bit.
"Perfect," Makoto smiled while putting her book down, "now we just need Evan to get here and we can all head in."
"It's time to put an end to all of this" Ann added joining Ryuji with stretching. The booth's seat had done a number on her back for how long they all had been sitting there waiting.
"I never would have guessed that we would get through a palace so quickly" Morgana yawned as he sat up and started to scratch himself behind the ear. "I do know that our advancement in the palace is due largely to Evan, but you guys definitely made it easier for him to make that progress."
"I'm gonna go wait for him outside" Ryuji dryly said heading towards the entrance. He didn't get too far before he felt a hand on his arm.
"Stay here Ryuji, Evan will be here soon, and he might need a little space" Makoto suggested but held firm on his arm. The blonde knew better than to break away, so he just nodded and gave her a half smile. He sat back against the table and kept his eyes glued to the main entrance.
Evan ran upstairs to Lala-chan's apartment where he dropped off his work bag and started ruffling through it. He grabbed a few things that he was sure they were going to need and stuffed them into a smaller bag that was quickly becoming his infiltration baggy. Once he had everything he felt like he needed, he walked over to the mirror and cleaned himself up a little. His eyes were still a tad on the puffy side, and a little bloodshot, but other than that he looked like he was fine. He quickly ran downstairs and walked into Crossroads.
"You're back" Lala-chan smiled as she walked over to the boy.
"I told you I would be" Evan smiled back allowing the Queen to pick his head up once she was close enough to him.
"There's sadness in your eyes honey" the queen frowned and released his face.
"I'll be okay Lala-chan, don't worry about me. Are the others still here?"
"Sweetie, they haven't left that booth." She gestured over to where everyone was patiently waiting. Evan nodded to the queen and thanked her before heading off to the room.
"I'm here!" He exclaimed loudly making sure to wake or scare anyone who had dared to zone out.
"Perfect," Morgana sang as he sprang up and walked close to the table edge. "We have secured our route and the calling card has been delivered. I think it is about time we steal this bastard's treasure." Everyone nodded in agreement as Evan pulled out his phone and began the navigation back into the palace for the last time. Nothing had changed, per se, but security was off the charts as Oracle warped them to the save spot closest to their objective. Evan knew he was never going to get used to the fast travel they could accomplish between rooms thanks to her; nonetheless, it was definitely a handy trick to have on their side.
"Skull, Diva, and Queen are with me" Joker addressed the group as they made their way into the treasure room. "Mona, I want you and Panther providing support." The two nodded and quickly checked their firearms. "Fox, I need you to hang back and protect Oracle."
"I don't need this inari babysitting me" Oracle whined as the group continued walking.
"I beg your pardon, but is that really necessary?" Fox questioned Oracle, but it was Joker who had answered him.
"Both of you need to quit it, and yes, it is necessary." Fox just nodded to him and unsheathed his sword while Oracle folded his arms across her chest and huffed. The minute the officially touched the floor where the treasure was, the entire room illuminated and in the center was Shikora. His back was facing them, and it was clear to them that it looked as if he was holding onto something.
They all took offensive stances and slowly approached. "Shikora, you bastard" Ryuji yelled hoping to get the shadow to turn around. The shadow disregarded the yell and remained facing away, but now that they were getting closer, they could hear that he was muttering something. The four of them couldn't quite make out what it was that he was muttering, and before any of them could Diva shouted "Nataraja!"
Everyone looked at him as he slowly approached the shadow ahead of the rest of them. "I'm sorry everyone, but I can't allow you to take another step." Queen and Joker shared a look before quickly turning their attention back to Diva.
"Nataraja, use circular barrier" Diva called out as his persona got to work. Nataraja's hands disappeared into different voids and brought forth two half spheres. With one it's free hands, Nataraja gathers up the three of them and dropped them into one of the halves. In one quick swift motion, Nataraja clamped the other side down and locked the two halves into place.
"Diva, what are you doing!" Skull cried out as he started banging against the barrier.
"I'm making sure none of you get hurt." His voice trembled as he said it before looking at Nataraja and giving a nod. His persona understood immediately and slammed its hands into the ground. The room started to shake, and a loud cracking sound could be heard as a fissure broke through the floor like an earthquake through a paved road. Nataraja kept slamming the ground until the gap between the Diva and his teammates was wide enough.
Diva looked at each of them before turning around and finding himself face to face with Shikora's shadow. He was clutching something tightly to his chest. He was still muttering as well, and Diva was able to hear him better. He was saying a verse over and over again.
"Please don't leave me" was what Shikora kept muttering. The only thing that was throwing Diva off a little bit was how he was saying it. It was kind of in a melody, which Diva thought was odd, until he thought about it more deeply. He didn't know if Shikora's shadow was going to make a move, but just continued to stand there. Diva decided to take them time to dig into the deepest recesses of his mind to try and figure out why Shikora's shadow might be saying that line. The revelation hit him like a ton of bricks. He eventually put the melody together with a song and was brought back to their first date as they were in the car on their way home.
"Hold on, I still want you" Diva sang out breaking the shadow from his thoughts. Shikora's shadow stared hard at him, and a wave of emotion seemed to come through him.
"Evan, is that you?" the shadow's voice bellowed as he approached the boy. He dropped what ever was in his hands and pulled the boys face up to look at him.
"Yeah Shikora, it's me" he whispered back and removed the shadows hands from his face.
"You remember, don't you?"
"Of course I do," Diva cried out as he felt his fists start to clench up, "just like I remember every affectionate kiss, every hug, your touch against my skin." His eyes started to well up as he looked over at the shadow seeing the same pained face that Shikora wore earlier. "I also remember, every slap, every slam against the wall, every time you would touch me and I didn't want it. You came home and made it seem like none of that ever happened, and while it felt good to feel like we were back to how we used to be, I can't risk you going off on me again. I'm going to put an end to it, here and now!"
With that, Evan reached down into his pocket and pulled out the vial he had been holding on to. Shikora realized what it was immediately and stiffened up.
"Is this what you truly plan on doing to stop me?"
"Yes" was the breathless response that Diva gave him as he started to take the top off.
"Then so be it!" Shikora's shadow yelled out as he started to transform and take the shape of a true dungeon master.
Another set of eyes had fallen onto the vial, and he recognized it immediately as well.
"Don't you fucking do it!" Skull yelled out louder. He was still trying to smash the barrier that he had been placed into with Queen and Joker, but to no avail. What ever material that was used by Diva's persona to make it was not something that could easily be cracked.
Diva could hear the desperate pleas and yells from Skull, but he just turned to him as a tear started to fall and he apologized. Slowly he brought the vial up to his nose and took a deep breath. It was unpleasant at first, but just like before, his body started to heat up and his strength started to increase. There was a shrill battle cry that escaped from the boy before a total silence.
Skull threw his rod at the barrier before falling down onto his knees with his head in his hands. He couldn't believe what he was watching as Queen and Joker made their way over to him to make sure he was okay.
"Skull, what the fuck is going on?" came Panther's voice as she came up to the barrier and started cracking her whip against it. Mona, Fox, and Oracle were right behind her staring at the scene before them.
"He took it" the blonde started to mutter to himself as he ignored everything going on around him.
"What do you mean? What did he take?" Mona asked looking over at Diva and Shikora's shadow. The two forms staring one another down. They were all too preoccupied that they never saw Nataraja coming. Just like with Queen, Joker and Skull, the persona scooped up the other four and locked them into a circular barrier.
"This is bad!" Oracle exclaimed as she looked around at the barrier. Skull had finally lifted his head up hearing her voice. His eyes were starting to get a little red as he locked them on Oracle. She was taking everything in, Diva being on the other side of this gap that had formed (the real reason for her grabbing the others to join the group), the amount of power surging through the room from both Shikora's shadow and Diva, the emotional state of Skull, as well as his 'He took it' mutterings. A loud gasp came from her mouth as she turned to look back over at Diva again, her body trembling.
"What's wrong?" Queen yelled over to her.
"He took the pheromone potion" the girl whispered.
"Wait, the what?" Fox asked as he looked around at everyone.
"The pheromone potion! He took the pheromone potion Shikora's shadow created you stupid inari" Oracle screamed at him as she started banging her fist against the wall of the barrier. The entire group shared a look of concern remembering just what happened to Diva when he had been affected by the aphrodisiac the first time. Joker sat down next to Skull and sighed. There was nothing any of them could do at this time but sit and watch. The power in the room was surging as Shikora's shadow and Diva faced off. None of them could have prepared themselves for this since this was a first for all of them.
As if on cue, everyone else sat down and stared, not knowing what was going to happen, but praying that Diva was going to be okay. Skull couldn't help but think back to that awful ordeal when he was trapped with Diva in that room. Panther also couldn't help thinking back to that whole situation, but for a different reason. 'The best part is, there is so much in his system, I'll be surprised if he'll ever calm back down.' That's what Shikora's shadow said when the pheromones had put Diva into a frenzy that day. She was figuring that vial of the potion was probably more concentrated than spraying the potion around in an empty room.
She looked over at Skull and saw the emotions on his face before turning her attention back to Diva. "Don't lose yourself," she whispered, "we still need you."