Chapter 24: Keeping Tabs
{R}
To his sister's ever smug and cat-like satisfaction, as soon as Ren mentioned the request invovling the Shujin bully again to Ann and Ryuji, they didn't mind going to Mementos that day at all. If anything, they wanted to go and finish it as soon as possible, wanting to stop the bullying before it got worse. Mona also agreed, so they went straight into the mental labyrinth.
With Rogue at the wheel, they searched for their target, a boy named Daisuke Takanashi. As they drove though, Joker noticed his sister would always take the opportunity to ambush the Shadows, not once avoiding one, as well as gathering every flower they saw. Just like whenever she grinded in a video game... Not that he was any better, but still, he wondered if the same grinding logic could be applied to real, if supernatural, life since they would get tired.
He originally thought to leave the "experience" grinding be, but when they found that their target wasn't on the first floor, he said as they disembarked the Monamobile and descended the escalator,
"Rogue?"
"Hmm? Yeah Joker?"
"Do you mind if we don't ambush any Shadows? The less tired we are, the less we need to rest," he said. "I was hoping to go to Madarame's Palace tomorrow since this is just one request."
"Oh." His sister chuckled sheepishly. "Whoops. My grinding habits came up, huh?"
Joker smiled in amusement. "Yes."
"Wait, that's why you kept running into them?" Panther said from behind them.
"Well I don't mind since I got to use my Persona more but...I do wanna get at Madarame so I'm fine with that too."
"Me too," Mona said. "Since I agree with your reasoning."
Now he smiled in gratitude for his friends.
"Thanks everyone..." he said as they all stepped off the escalator. "I know we should just do Madarame's Palace but..."
"Come on, do we really got to say it again?" Skull said as he swung an arm over his shoulders. "We're fine, bro. We wanna do this, got it?"
Joker grunted at the rough gesture but continued to smile nonetheless.
"Uh huh. So let's find our target already!" Panther then said.
Suddenly the air groaned.
The panther wannabe squeaked in fear. He, Rogue and Skull tensed and searched their surroundings.
"What was that...?" their lightning specialist said.
"Classic horror sounds?" Rogue offered, serious despite the silliness of the words.
"Oh don't worry, that's just the wind."
"The wind?!"
The tension broke as the blonde complained to the not-cat, who wilted at upsetting his "lady", until his sister and their faux-blond friend snickered at his behavior and he got mad at their amusement and mentioned about this Shadow called the Reaper. That made everyone explode into a cacophony as Rogue, Skull and Mona argued over the latter not giving important information, in this case about the Reaper, and Panther tried to calm them all. Joker couldn't help but chuckle at it all, glad his sister was just as lively as ever, before helping the lady in her endeavors in keeping the peace.
That was helped by the fact that Jose passed by, congratulating and thanking them for opening the door. Rogue threw Mona into the air to transform him and chase after the explorer, everyone else panicking over the rush. Thankfully for them, Rogue did manage to catch up with Jose and use his services, mainly him refining the crystal skull into a ring and getting a couple of items. After her purchase, they learned about the game he wanted to play with them and a bit more about the flowers he wanted.
So it was with light hearts that they changed Takanashi's heart, thus Rogue brought up the results of their exams from this morning and teased Panther and Skull about theirs, to their chagrin, Mona's exasperation, and his amusement.
[G]
Akechi sighed in annoyance as he annihilated yet another Shadow that tried to touch him as he made his way further inside the Palace. He wished there was some way to have the guards recognize him as a "non-threat" to their ruler, but with how distrustful the man was in real life, it was no surprise he continued to have his forces attack him whenever he "checked" on him. And his cloaking ability only made him blend into shadows easier. It did not actually make himself invisible. So he was still exposed just as any other person when in open and well lit areas.
Oh well.
At the very least he could let loose without a care for decorum or his act, destroying Shadows left and right with Loki's flames of darkness and heat and his own serrated sword, while he focused on getting around the other security measures. Though he would admit he did enjoy how powerless they were against his might. But then again, the Shadows in here were insects compared to the other Palaces, so how weak they were was to be expected but still. No matter the gap in strength compared to his, it was still satisfying to be stronger than them.
Akechi smirked.
Though not as satisfying as seeing the old man shocked to see him here and send his guards in a vain attempt to get away from him.
This time he had Robin Hood vaporize them in light before pouncing past the remains. The old man screamed in fear before he choked for breath as Akechi grabbed his neck and pushed him onto the ground.
"Where are you going? Is that how you treat a guest, Madarame?"
"You... I..."
"You what?" he said, tilting his head innocently even though he had an inkling on what he wanted to say.
"I...haven't...done..."
As amusing as it was to see the fake artist powerless against him like that, it would be annoying to wait so long for him to finish his sentences, especially since he was already lax on how much time he spent to get to the inner sanctum. So Akechi eased his clawed grip on him, and the man gasped for air. Akechi allowed him a few seconds before he said,
"Well? What is it?"
"I...haven't done anything wrong..."
Oh you've done plenty of wrong, Akechi thought as his mind listed all the charges he would have if they came to light. But he knew that wasn't what Madarame meant and he wouldn't toy with the old man any longer.
"Oh really? Then why haven't we received your latest due payment yet?" he said, gripping his neck just the slightest harder to have him tense and squirm.
"I'm working on it!" the Shadow said with a slight wimper. "I haven't been getting as many offers lately but we're finding more new clients as we speak!"
"Then why haven't you mentioned this?"
"Because..." Akechi squeezed briefly in reminder. "...because I was about to finalize a deal that would add twenty percent more to the money... So please..."
Ah. So that was why. He was hoping to make it a "surprise" and a "gift" to excuse himself for being late. As Admiral Hopper said, "It's easier to ask for forgiveness than it is to get permission". Akechi, however, wondered if the executives would be offended by this and thus send him back to "off" the businessman, but he was one of the more lucrative fundraisers, so he doubted it. Still, Akechi couldn't just let him go like that. Working for the same organization though they were, a part of him still found his acts appalling. And not only that, he was a specialized hit man. He had a reputation to uphold. So he said,
"Very well. I'll let you go and inform the others of your progress. However..." He leaned in and gripped his throat hard enough to make him choke once again. "...try something like this again, and next time, you won't be as lucky."
With that, he let the old man go, leaving him panting on his knees, and he began to walk away.
Before he did though, Akechi said over his shoulder,
"It's been a pleasure doing business with you, Madarame."
It was less bothersome to get out than it was to get in, thanks to the Shadows not reforming until at least a day or less, otherwise getting around the security measures again would've been even more annoying. However, just as he reached the center of the garden that bridged the main building and the treasure hall, the Japanese doors began to move. Akechi tensed then dove straight for the nearest hiding spot as...
"Woah! The hell?!"
...five figures arrived and stood before the laser wall he had just passed.
Akechi frowned.
No...could they be...?
He activated his cloaking powers while he shifted into a more optimal pose within his hiding spot as the red latex clad girl said,
"Are these...infrared lasers? There's no way we can get past them."
The white hooded one replied.
"It ain't infrared if you can see 'em, you know."
And Akechi froze.
That was a familiar voice he did not think he would hear.
The unexpectedness of that meant he was easily startled when the shortest one, a cat-like being, spoke,
"This level of security just proves there's something worth protecting up ahead."
But that breach in his concentration made him shake his head and refocus and listen as they noticed the sign that warned the personnel about the lasers and the door beyond it. In other words, they had no way to advance, if their reactions weren't enough of an indication.
"What?! So, it's...never going to open?! How're we supposed to get past that?!" the one that looked like a thug said, likely encompassing all their feelings on the matter.
If this was Amamiya-san and her friends...then Akechi surmised the skull masked one was the dumb blond he met only once before. Meanwhile the boy in a blacktail coat with a white mask, he realized now that he was actually looking at their faces, was her brother. The only ones he wasn't sure of were the red cat girl and the black cat...mascot, but he had a guess that the latter, from how he looked, was Amamiya-san's cat, Morgana.
How that was possible, he wasn't sure and he wanted to know.
Especially since the cat seemed to know a way to unlock the door from the real world, much to the confusion of the skull thug.
"I'll explain later. Come on, let's go!" the cat said before running off as cats usually did.
The rest of the group was clearly exasperated, what with their postures and sighs.
"So? We gonna go back?" the blond thug said.
"We might as well," Amamiya-san's brother said. "We don't have other clues to go on."
"And even if we grappled over the lasers, I doubt we can bust that door," Amamiya-san said.
"Okay then," the red cat blonde said. "Let's head back."
The group departed then. Amamiya-san followed at first but paused in her steps...and turned his way.
Akechi's breath caught in his chest and he froze, coiled and ready to react for any possibility. Amamiya-san seemed to tilt her head in confusion and readied to scrutinize his hiding spot, but at that point, her brother had noticed her lagging behind and came back with a worried frown.
"Rogue? Is something wrong?"
"Rogue" he assumed was Amamiya-san considering that she jolted before looking at her brother.
"Oh. Nah," she said, glancing where he was hiding again before shaking her head. "Just thought there was a Shadow."
"Hmm... You're sure?"
"Yeah, I'm sure, Joker. Now come on! Race you out!"
"Wha—hey! That's cheating!" he said in complaint despite the smile on his face.
"Nah! It's called bein' smart!"
And the two ran off in laughter, contrasting heavily with the atmosphere of the Palace.
He...wasn't sure whether to be baffled or enraged or...
Envious? Loki offered with a smirk.
Wistful...? Robin Hood suggested with a frown.
...intrigued. He was intrigued that not only Amamiya-san, but her brother, their friends and presumably their cat were also Persona users. Many questions involving their powers swirled in his head, such as when they acquired them and how strong they were, but most importantly of all...
...were they the Phantom Thieves of Heart?
That girl truly was interesting.
(A)
To her satisfaction, she managed to, at least, tie with her brother when they managed to reach the "exit warp" of Madarame's Palace. Though she did end up quite sweaty because of that. Still, she didn't let that stop her from saying in between heavy breaths,
"So...? Mona? Wanna...tell us how're we gonna get past that door?"
He did. Simply put, the plan was to open a door that had the exact same design as the one Mona saw in Madarame's house...right in front of the man himself. The reasoning for the action was easy enough for her to understand. But Ryuji was, understandably, doubtful, even with Mona insisting it would be fine. All he needed was a hairpin to get rid of the lock. Had it been before they met, Akira would've commented about the fact he was a cat in form, but then remembered he made tools in the real world. So she refrained herself. There was only one other problem with the whole plan...
"So what're we gonna do 'bout Kitagawa-san? How exactly are we gonna time it so that you unlock the door just when Madarame sees it?" she said. "He's more likely to notice someone messin' with the door before Madarame does and'll probably stop us before you open it."
"Well I was thinking someone could distract him for a while..." Mona said, eyeing Ann.
"No."
Everyone but Ann herself was startled at Ren's sudden refusal.
"But I didn't even finish—"
"You wanted Ann distract him?"
"Uh..."
"Oh...that's what you mean..." Ryuji said. "That'd totally work!"
"No."
"What...? But why...?"
"No means no. I won't change my mind on this," he said, glowering at the two other boys.
"But...Lady Ann's our best chance at keeping him distracted..."
"Yeah. And if she models nude then he's more likely to accept since that's what he wanted in the first place and it shows she's serious, right?"
"For real?" Akira said, deadpan and now glowering at them along with her brother.
"Do you want me to button mash the both of you?" Ren said.
"Urk!"
"I'll do it."
They froze. Then turned to see a determined Ann.
Akira didn't need to see Ren to know he was extremely worried as he said, "Ann, you don't—"
"—have to do it?" she said, her smile somewhat bitter but then her fire returned. "I know. But it's our best shot, right? He won't let anyone else in unless I do that, right?"
From how Ren grumbled, she also knew he didn't have much in the way of ideas right now. Yet still, he kept his gaze locked with Ann, probably seeing—hoping—if she would back down, but she didn't. So after a while he sighed.
"Okay, if you're sure," he said. Then to Mona, "But can I come along? I won't go inside. I'll stay nearby just in case."
"No," the not-cat easily said despite Ren's earlier hostility. "I need the rest to wait in the Metaverse so that the door doesn't reset its lock. There should be a control room inside."
Ren grumbled again, glaring at Mona and ready to protest, so she said,
"Then just me and Ryuji should be fine, right? We're just gonna go in, shut it down, and get out. So it should be fine for Big Bro to be nearby in the real world to help Ann and you if somethin' goes wrong."
Ren gave a her a brief smile of gratitude before giving a pleading and hopeful look at Mona.
The not-cat contemplated on this for a bit then said, "That should work."
"Okay."
With that, they decided to do Operation Mirrored, as Ren dubbed it, tomorrow. The sooner they did it, the better.
"Of course, nobody believed the rumors of this. Even more so when people said their lives were changed by the Phantom Thieves after posting on the Phantom Afficionado site, more commonly referred to as the Phan-Site. It was a no-name website with no credentials whatsoever. There was no reason to believe the site.