Chapter 26: Not All That Glitters
{R}
As they left the school, Aki went ahead to meet Yusuke to take a brief detour at Untouchables, so he, Ryuji and Ann were the first to arrive at the new HQ. However, it didn't take long for them to catch up and then they did another crash course on the basics of the Metaverse with Yusuke. During the explanation of how Palaces were formed though, when Mona said they were born from strong distorted desires, Ryuji "simplified" it by saying,
"They basically gotta be criminals. Real bastards like Kamoshida and Madarame."
"Oy," Aki said, lightly kicking his shin in annoyance. "Mona said strong distorted desires. That don't mean they gotta be criminals."
Ren nodded in agreement.
"But why else would their desires be distorted?"
He...had no retort for that.
And unfortunately, neither did Aki.
Because what other reason could a desire be distorted if they weren't already distorted in some way?
His hope grew though as Mona said, "True, it's more likely that an evil person would have a distorted desire, but that isn't the only reason it's distorted. A distorted desire happens when that desires is so strong it warps their view of the world."
"Like how Kamoshida thought he was the king of the castle but that isn't the truth," Ren said in epiphany.
"So basically it means they're delusional in one way or another?" Aki said.
The non-feline nodded. "Exactly."
"I see..." Yusuke said.
"All right all right I get it..."
The rest of the conversation went on without much fuss as they then explained about Personas, the MetaNav and how their operations worked, like their unanimous vote rule and their inventory bag. With the lesson done, and a reminder and confirmation from Yusuke of their deadline, they went near Madarame's shack and showed off the MetaNav working.
There was, however, one more thing they needed to do.
"Now that we're here... There's one more thing we need to do before I pick team members," he said.
"Huh? What is it?"
"Ah," Rogue said in a knowing tone. "Yusuke's codename right?"
"Oh right," Mona said. "We still haven't decided on his codename yet."
"Oh! It has to be 'Kitsune'," Panther said. "What with the kitsune mask and everything."
"Hell yeah," Skull said at the fire specialist's suggestion. "That really leaves an impression."
Yusuke was drawn from his trance and he said with curiosity, "Are you talking about me?"
"Yeah," his sister said. "We're tryin' to come up with a codename for you."
"What do you want your name over here to be?" Panther said.
"I'd say..." The artist pondered for a few moments. "'Da Vinci'."
"Uh..."
"Nope."
Joker held back his chuckle.
"Yeah sorry bud, but that don't really fit. I know Da Vinci's an artist but he was also a bunch of other stuff."
"Hmm. Fair point."
"Well you look like a kitsune so..." Skull had a look of inspiration. "I know! You're Abura-age."
Mona snorted.
Panther snorted from restrained laughter.
The rest were silent.
"Really?" Rogue said, deadpan.
"What? Come on. It fits! He's a fox and likes foods and foxes like abura-age..."
"But a sushi wrapping? That's lame. If we're gonna go with the fox logic, I'd prefer Panther's."
"I don't mind it."
"Wait what?!" Mona said.
"Then it's decided!" Skull said.
Panther glowered at him."Uh uh, no it's not! I'd die of laughter!"
His sister snorted. "Here lies Panther. Cause of death: asphyxiation from excessive laughter."
"Rogue! That's not funny!"
Joker hid his mirth. As tempting as it was to settle on the name for the humor behind it, and it did fit too considering Yusuke ate so much at the diner he worried for his wallet, however...
"It's too long," he said after composing himself. "We should try to stick to one or two syllable codenames if we can help it. Three at max. So that it's quick to say in the heat of battle."
"How about Fox then?" Panther said.
Joker smiled. "I like it." He said to Yusuke, "You?"
"It's acceptable."
"Then that's settled," he said before they could digress further.
So he had the newly christened Fox in the frontlines along with Panther and Mona. With all their preparations done, they began their infiltration. In the lobby of the treasure hall, past a gold statue replica of Shadow Madarame, there was another brochure that showed the layout and how much left they had to go.
Their first obstacle was essentially a laser maze room, but with his and his sister's Third Eye, it was easy enough to navigate it to reach the hall that led to a control room, though Rogue had trouble recuiting the Shadows they faced on their way there. As for the Shadow guarding the room—which was a blue, shell tooting, tengu—it wasn't too hard, especially with Fox exploiting the weakness of its normal tengu minions. When it was eliminated though, instead of the usual drops, it left behind a card with art on it, which his Third Eye revealed to be the spell "Media". He wasn't sure what it was but since it was a card, he suspected it was an item so he saved it for later.
Once again, they needed a password for the terminal, so they went and eavesdropped on some guards to get clues for it. This time it was apparently "Madarame's feet", to his, Panther's and Rogue's disgust, but at least it was easy enough to figure out what the Shadow meant. They backtracked to the statue, only occasionally fighting because Rogue kept trying to recruit Personas, found the password to be 1120 from the statue's plaque, and not only turned off the lasers, but also opened up all blocked hallways, letting them get to the next path through...
"Paintings? Really?" Rogue said, unimpressed on top of her building frustration from her failed negotiations.
"Well he's 'supposed' to be an artist," Skull said with quotations.
"But what are we supposed to do with them?"
He and his sister shared a knowing look before she walked forward...and stepped right into the painting.
"What the hell?!"
"Thought so," Rogue said from inside the bamboo painting.
They jumped and brandished their weapons when all of a sudden they heard Madarame say,
"How dare you trample on my tranquil bamboo garden with those grimy feet! You shall not leave alive!"
Joker frantically scanned the area to see if he was nearby, but after a few peaceful moments and finding nothing, they relaxed.
"Phew... False alarm," Skull said. "But seriously, how'd you figure we needed to get in 'em?"
"Intuition, my dear Wilson," Rogue said in the best "Herlock" impression she could manage.
Joker chuckled as the others grew confused before he said, "Come on."
Then he went in after her. Despite there being no threat yet, he still wanted to get through the paintings as soon as possible. After the somewhat disorienting experience of using them as paths, they went through a vent, fought another Shadow that his sister managed to recruit this time, and found another safe room.
"Should we continue on after our respite?" Fox said as observed the room.
Joker checked the brochure to see their progress, making note of how much was left, how much time and resources they spent today, and how many days until the deadline. Putting all those factors together, he said,
"I think we should stop for today. It'll be late if we keep going and I don't want to push you too much too soon."
The artist in question looked ready to protest, but upon seeing the rest of the group agreeing with his plan, he sighed and follwed suit. Joker, however, frowned in worry and said,
"Fox, if you have something to say, you can say it."
The boy tensed as everyone turned to him concern.
"Is somthing wrong, Fox?"
"Yeah, what's up?"
He shook his head. "It's nothing. Our leader made fair points, it's just..."
"You wanna make more progress and feel up to it?" Rogue said with a knowing look.
Joker knew it was because she felt the same before, if not still did.
"Ah...yes, it is exactly that."
"Hey, don't worry about it. We do this all the time. We'll make it," Skull said with an encouraging grin.
"Yeah," his sister said. "There's a lot of things we gotta consider when we do this. Like, ya know, gettin' back home before it gets too late."
"Ah...yes...that is true..." Fox said, understanding yet still was downcast.
So Joker stood up, with Panther following him funnily enough, and they both made their way to him.
He put a comforting hand on his shoulder, startling him somewhat as he said,
"We will change Madarame's heart. I promise."
"Uh huh! We all will. Including you, right Fox?" Panther said with a bright smile.
The young artist was a bit dazed but then eventually smiled back.
"I know and I thank you for it."
Now Joker also smiled, his friend's morale now back up. Unfortunately though, while they back tracked to get chests that they had gained access to thanks to raising all the shutters, Rogue continued to have a hard time recruiting Shadows, and thus her morale dropped as her frustration grew once again.
He will have to try and come up with some way to help her with that. Maybe he could ask Mona on how.
(A)
Akira grumbled, trying to forget about the fights they did in their infiltration. But, of course, it ended up yielding the opposite effect as her memories played back again and again of either failed negotiations or nearly succeeding...only to fail last second. It hadn't been hard in Kamoshida's Castle. True, she had a fail or two in there but it wasn't like this. Why was negotiating harder for her now and not Ren? He seemed to have about the same success rate as the last Palace and nothing seemed to be different...
But then she remembered that the current Palace belonged to an "artist", who were typically odd and hammy in her eyes...just like her brother.
She groaned. She would have to come up with new techniques that she could do to deal with the current Palace's Shadows.
Akira was glad that Mr. Shimizu finally came at that point for homeroom and said,
"Okay everyone, settle down, I have an announcement to make..."
It turned out the announcement was that the school was going to participate in a "city beautification project" by, simply put, picking up trash in Inokashira Park, and that it would be done on the thirtieth of May. Of course no one was happy about that. As for herself, she wouldn't mind it too much so long as they had the right equipment to clean up without worry about dirt and similar disgusting items...which she wasn't that hopeful for, considering this was Shujin. Though she would admit she was glad they would at least be in their gym uniforms when they did it. A chance to wear pants during school hours was always a plus for her.
Ryuji, however, made it very clear he thought it was all bullshit in the chat just when Mr. Shimizu finished his announcement.
As well as use "scandal" as a verb.
Ann: Pretty sure "scandal"'s not a verb.
Akira: Nah but it could end up bein a slang use if he keeps doin it.
Ann: Don't give him ideas.
Ann: Though I agree. This clean up seems like a desperate move.
Ren: On the bright side we can help the environment a little.
Akira covered her snicker. After checking to see if she could reasonably get away with not paying attention to homeroom for a while, she looked back at chat.
Ryuji: Really dude?
Ryuji: Didn't think you'd be the "save the environment" type.
Akira: He prefers "gentleman" type more than anything.
Ren: Again, just trying to look for a bright side.
Ann: Well when you put it that way I don't mind it a little then.
Ren: Plus the park would look nicer if we cleaned up.
Akira: There you go. See? Gentleman.
Akira: Or rather gentleman thief.
Ren: A park should show the beauty of nature, a treasure for anyone living in the city.
Ryuji: Geez you sound like Yusuke...
Akira: Ikr?
Ren: I shall take that as a compliment.
Ryuji: ugh the girls are going nuts here.
Akira: Lemme guess: Doc?
Ryuji: Yeah. They keep saying that Maruki's "hot" and "kind" and "sensitive" and stuff. Everyone thinks he's their type.
Akira: Well while I have a hard time seeing him as "hot", I'm gonna have to agree with him bein nice.
Ryuji: What you too?!
Ren: I actually agree with Aki.
Ann: Me too.
Ryuji: What the hell guys?! Why're you agreeing?!
Akira: Well he WAS pretty nice in my counsel session.
Ren: Same here.
Ann: And mine too.
Ren: That's why I agree with her and Aki.
Ryuji: Woah really?
Ann: Well even if he wasn't, you should still go. That's why we gave it a try after all.
Ryuji: All right all right I'll go...
Ryuji: Soon.
Ann: Ryuji!
But it was too late to scold him further as he left chat. Still, they talked a little bit more now that they essentially had another deadline in place. It was best they either finished the Palace before then or finished whatever was left of the Palace they needed to go through after the cleanup very quickly. They sent a message to Ryuji about that but, when school ended for the day, Ren wanted to be sure he read it, which, well, she didn't blame him for considering how Ryuji could be sometimes. However, Ren was going to go hang out with Ann so he wanted her to do it. So, here she was, looking for Ryuji, which didn't take long. She found him leaning near the stairs at the first floor, with a rather pensive look on his face.
"Hey, you got Ren's message right?" she said, first wanting to get over her "chore".
"Huh? Yeah. Got it. We'll work harder," he said without his usual energy.
Akira frowned behind her mask. "What's up?" She paused. "Wanna talk about it?"
He looked at her, contemplated on whether he would answer, then sighed and said,
"Yeah, sure. But...mind if we go somewhere else? There's this place I know. Got the best ramen in town."
Well, while she was worried on the small chance of ending up not liking the ramen...she said, "Sure. Lead the way."
The place in question was in Ogikubo, the lighting and walls making it a bit too dreary for her liking. As they waited for their orders to be cooked up, she looked at Ryuji, prompting him to speak but waited whenever he felt he could do so. And, after a minute passed, he did.
"Is Maruki really that nice?"
"Still can't believe it? Even when all of us went?" Wait. "Except Mona of course."
Ryuji was briefly amused before he returned to his somberness. "Yeah. I mean...he pretty much said he's supposed to. I don't think I can just bust my guts like that."
"You know you don't have to."
"Huh? But...ain't that the point of counselin' and therapy and stuff?"
"Well yeah, but you don't have to talk about it the first time you go there if you don't want to. Or even the second time. If you keep going that is."
He frowned. "Then...what are you supposed to then?"
"Just talk."
"That's it?"
"Yup."
"Then what did you guys talk about?"
"Well, okay, we did end up talking about serious stuff, but only 'cause I didn't mind. It was nice tellin' him about it and not get looked at like I'm some kinda criminal."
"Huh..." Ryuji said, turning distant as he mulled it over.
"Like I said, you don't have to the first time. Just talk about whatever you feel like talking. He won't mind." A thought occured to her. "If anything, it's like what we're doin' now. You tellin' me something bugging you, I listen to it and we both see if we can do something about it."
Ryuji was still contemplative, but looked more and more set on a decision as the moments passed.
And then he said, "All right. I'll go." Though he added, "Tomorrow though. I gotta run some errands for Ma today."
Oh right. She knew Ren would usualy restock their items but since Ryuji was going shopping...
"Mind if I come along?"
"Sure. No problem."
She smiled even though it was hidden. "Thanks."
He grinned. "I should be sayin' that to you. You were the one who helped me earlier."
"Then let's call it even."
They chuckled right as their orders were served. Thankfully she did end up liking the ramen in here, just as Ryuji boasted. When they were done, she texted her brother her new plans and then tagged along with her friend, chatting about all sorts of things as they went to Shibuya to shop for groceries and items, meeting up with Mona who told her Ren was still with Ann.
On her way home though, as she passed Buchiko in the shroud of dusk, she paused and looked to see a man with a green sash seemingly mumbling to himself. She wondered why he seemed familiar until Mona popped out of her bag and said,
"Isn't that the politician you saw when you were working in the beef bowl shop?"
"Oh yeah. I think it is."
"Hey...maybe you can learn how to negotiate with Shadows from him?"
Akira stilled.
"You know what Mona? I think I'll do just that."
{R}
Ren stared.
"Can you say that again...?" he said, even though he wasn't sure if he wanted her to.
Still Ann said, with a smile unbefitting of her request, "I want you to say stuff that'll get under my skin! So that I can train myself to be unfazed by it."
"What...kind of things exactly...?"
Because he certainly could think of plenty of insulting things but he didn't want to say any of them to her.
Striking a pose reminiscent of Feathermen, Ann said, "We've already started! I won't let that hesitation shake me!"
Ren could only be bemused by the entire situation. He doubted any of this would work, especially since he won't mean his words, but...it was hard to say "no" to that determination.
And who knew? Perhaps it would actually work in the end. So the least he could do was put some effort into this.
"You..." he said as he thought over what he knew of Ann so far. "...don't do well in school."
Okay that was a pretty weak one. He could've easily said "You're dumb", so it was no surprise that Ann was still cheery and said,
"Yeah, I know. And?"
Ren held back a sigh and tried a different angle.
"You..." He thought back of how she was like before she awakened Carmen. "...take on too much."
"Uh huh uh huh. What else?"
Ren felt himself twitch, annoyed at himself. Still not working. He just couldn't say anything legitimately insulting towards Ann, even though he knew it was what she wanted. But...everytime he thought of the words, the time when Ann cried and cried after getting that call from Kamoshida would flash in his mind. At this rate, he was going to...
"Heh heh...is that all?"
Ren looked at the girl with a cheeky smile.
And then it hit him.
He couldn't actually say anything insulting to get under her skin, but that wasn't the only way to do it.
He smirked and interlocked his fingers. "Well unless you want to hear me say 'I love you', then yes."
As he hoped, the blonde girl was astonished, then blushed and crouched as she covered the evidence of her embarrassment. He laughed. She glowered. But the effect wasn't as strong with her face still red like that.
"So does that mean I win?"
"That's cheating..."
"But you asked for it," he said, still smirking.
That fell away though as she grumbled and now covered her whole face. He frowned, crouched beside her and placed a hand over both of hers, hoping to gently push them away.
"I'm sorry. Was that too much? It was the only thing I could think of to do as you asked..."
"I-It's okay... You're right. I did ask for it..." she said as she, thankfully, allowed her face to be shown.
"Well...technically you won since I did admit defeat."
"Well, you got under my skin so you won too," Ann said with a pout.
He smiled. "A draw then?"
She smiled back. "Okay. A draw it is." Though as they stood up, it was replaced with a pondering frown and she said, "Though...I'm starting to think this won't really make our Personas stronger..."
Just in case, Ren closed his eyes and reached out for the ones residing in his soul right now to see if there was even a minute change.
"I'm sorry to disappoint you, milord, but my associates and I were not affected in the slightest," Arsène said, cutting it short.
He stopped his meditation and shook his head. "I don't think so either."
"Huh... Then what am I doing wrong...?"
Before he could help her deliberate on it, her phone went off and it turned out to be a reminder from her agency to double check the dates for any assignments given to them. Ren frowned. He was worried if that happened to her but Ann reassured her, with a hint of pride in her smile, that she hadn't missed a single one. Though, admittedly, she was worried about it possibly happening to her...if only because the photographers would be confused if a "sub" showed up to the shoot instead of who was intended. Ren was easily able to infer what a sub was, but the topic made him curious and he said,
"How long have you been modelling?"
Ann's cheer returned as she said, "Since I was a kid. It was when I was still in Finland. My parents didn't have enough models for their show so they had me as a sub."
That caught off him guard. "A show in Finland? You mean...a fashion show?"
"Huh? Haven't I told you?"
He smiled with amusement. "I'm pretty sure you didn't tell any of us," he said. "Unless you told Ryuji when you were younger."
"Oh." She laughed sheepishly.
But still, she went on to tell him about her parents being fashion designers that put on some of the most extravagant shows she's ever seen and that they would do them all over the world.
However that also meant she only got to see them, at most, for half a year, if not less.
Ren's felt his heart ache at seeing her look so despondent and resigned.
So taking out a page from her book, he decided to say, "Well at least you have more freedom that way."
It thankfully did the trick and she cheered up, though only somewhat, as she noted that meant she wouldn't have to think about how to deal with her parents should they grow curious about her "thief activities", so it was likely for the best.
Ren couldn't help but smirk and say, "Yeah. With your acting, they'd probably be able to tell a mile away if you're up to something."
"Ren!"
He laughed as she slapped him on the arm but it had little strength to it so it didn't hurt. Still he apologized for teasing her, suggested they take a seat and she accepted both. But then...she went on to talk about how it was harder to deal with her parents' absence when she was younger. She only had her live-in caretaker with her and no friends.
"What about Suzui?" he said.
Though he suspected the answer.
Her smile turned reminiscent. "Shiho's my only friend. Well, was my only friend. I have you guys now, but...even though I had her, I was still lonely sometimes."
"I see..."
It made sense. He felt Ann was the kind of person who preferred to spend time with people more than anything else.
"That's kind of why I like modelling actually... It almost feels like I'm connecting with my parents."
"Really?"
"It sounds silly, doesn't it?"
He shook his head. "Not at all. You started to like it because of your parents. I'm not much better. I'm pretty sure I started reading because Mama would read bedtime stories to me."
Ann looked at him, bemused. "Really? Bedtime stories?"
Ren laughed again. "Yeah. Though not really the usual 'bedtime' stories...she would usually read the books she likes and thought would be fine for a kid too. That's why I ended up reading the Arsène Lupin books actually."
"Wait, you mean your Persona?"
"Uh huh."
Ann laughed but unlike the students from school or in his memories, it wasn't mocking in the slightest. "Of course that's why your Persona's Arsène. I'm guessing one of them is your favorite book?"
"Well less one book and more one of the stories, but yes."
"That's nice. Though..." She frowned. "...as nice as it is to model, it's also why Kamoshida really started being interested in me and how everything started... I'm not sure if I..."
"Don't."
"Huh?"
"Don't dislike it just because of Kamoshida," he said, a bit harsh.
That of course startled Ann.
Ren flinched and gave an apologetic look. "I'm sorry. I know it's your choice, it's just..." He looked at his feet. "He already did so much. I would hate for what he did to end up ruining something you like to do..."
The silence that followed was awkward for him. He didn't know what else to say and he didn't want to look at Ann in case she was upset with him in one way or another. But that fear was unfounded as Ann said,
"Yeah you're right." He looked up to see her eyes glow with determination. "That's all the more reason to get stronger. Not only so I won't be beat by stuff like that but also to help the Phantom Thieves." Then she smiled like the best thing ever happened. "They are important to me after all."
Ren sighed and gave a small smile, thankful she wasn't upset.
"Thank you Ann."
"I should be thanking you! You're the one helping me get stronger after all." She hummed. "I hope I can be strong like this villain from an anime I watched as a kid."
He twirled a hair in curiosity. "A villain huh? What kind of villain?"
Because Ann didn't seem like the kind of person to like villains.
But as she went on to describe the villain, a female thief who was always defeated but always came back for more, and she told him why she admired her, he understood. Though she knew she was villainous, she admired the tenacity, freedom and beauty of her. A true femme fetale who knew what she wanted.
"I hope I'm getting closer now, even if only a little."
"I'm sure you are," he said, hopeful and sincere.
They debated a bit whether to do "another round" since the first one was a draw, but he managed to convince her not to because of the time and thus he returned to the café at dusk. In the middle of waiting for their dinner to be ready, he got a call from Ann. He briefly thought she changed her mind about the "game" but dismissed it as he answered, knowing she wouldn't do that. He was right. She just wanted to call about how, on her way home, she practiced her catwalk and a little girl noticed and mimicked her, even stood side by side for a while. The mental image brought a small smile on his lips.
"Do you think she thought I was cool...?"
"Definitely," he said. "I certainly would like doing a catwalk with you." He paused. "Actually why don't we do that?"
"Come on, stop it. Just thinking about girl copying is enough to make me blush. Don't make it worse!"
"Aw...but it'd be fun. I could wear tuxedo and a top hat and maybe even a cape and you could..."
"No way! I'm just a human disaster. I wouldn't want anyone else copying me...especially that little girl..."
"Isn't that why you wanted to get stronger?"
A pause.
"Yeah. That's right. Looks like I have a long way to go... But I'm not giving up!"
"That's more like it."
Another giggle. "Thanks for hearing me out. Bye!"
"See you."
Aki and Mona were understandably curious about the exchange so he told them about it as they had their meal. As he thought, she laughed when he mentioned Ann's little "game" and the results of it while Mona scolded her for that. Both were sympathetic about her loneliness, though Mona more obviously showed his crush when he spoke of it. Once they finished dinner and chores though, he got an invite from Mishima about "business" in Shibuya's Central Street. He was tempted to ignore it for the night but when Aki asked him about the message and he answered, she said,
"Can I tag along? There's something I wanna do by Buchiko."
Since Aki clearly had plans, he decided to go along with her and see Mishima.
Though he would admit, when they arrived at Shibuya and he saw her go up to a politician speaking, he was now tempted to stay with her. But Mishina was waiting for him and Mona had elected to stay at Leblanc to make a grappling hook for Yusuke after Aki reminded him of her request to make one for every Phantom Thief, so he moved on.
(A)
Akira observed and made mental notes on how the man spoke, comparing it to the mental techniques Doc told her in order to remember them. She would've continued to do so if the one she was observing hadn't noticed her being attentive compared to all the passersby and his small audience, asking if she was interested in politics. She wasn't, but she didn't want to miss the chance of learning from him so she simply pretended she was. It was easy enough to convince him, especially since he actually remembered her from their brief encounter in Ore no Beko.
She had to hand it to him for that. She was pretty much a random stranger after all.
Though she wasn't sure what to think of him after he introduced himself as Toranosuke Yoshida, a former Diet member attempting to be elected despite seven straight losses. He had made good points in his earlier speech before he noticed her, but she wasn't sure whether it was genuine or he just wanted his old, and cushy, job back. So she just held the sign he gave her by his side, silent as he gave yet another good speech that she agreed on many points, like how the old and the strong trampled the young and the weak, but was unsure if it came from the right place.
But then the few who listened started talking.
They doubted too but...it was more because he had no reputation to back him up, except for being, as one put it, a "washed out politician". Akira gritted her teeth and clenched the sign's handle. Unlike her though, instead of getting agitated at them, Yoshida-san attempted to calmly discuss with them, even when they would have none of it. And yet, despite no one but her really caring about his speech, when they moved away from his makeshift podium and Yoshida-san had a small but bright smile, one that made the wrinkles on his face become more prominent.
"Thank you. That is all for today," he said. "Well, what did you think of my speech?"
And she felt the guilt crash down on her for doubting his intentions.
There was no way someone who wanted to get a comfortable job would deal with people heckling him and still smile afterwards.
So she said what she had always thought.
"I liked it. I think we should do the best for everyone. Or as you'd put it, 'best interest of all'."
Yoshida-san was taken aback but soon that small smile widened. "Ah, so you feel the same then?"
She nodded.
"I'm glad. I'd like to think I'm capable of making of moving speech," he said, still cheerful. But then he frowned and sighed. "However...there are times, like today, when the audience has a difference of opinion on a topic."
That was putting it lightly.
"Some feel I should worry about getting elected before I worry about others..." He glanced at her. "Do you agree?"
"Well..." she said, giving it some thought out of respect. "...if you wanna be practical yeah."
"I see..."
"But I wouldn't want that. I wanna support you because you care about others."
Once again he was astonished before he returned to being grateful.
"Thank you. I'll keep those words in mind," he said.
"Good. Gotta keep your chin up and stuff for people like that."
Yoshida-san chuckled. "Well, I have grown accustomed to those types of reactions, for the most part. Although... I don't know if that is necessarily a good thing."
Akira decided to laugh...because she wasn't sure what else to say when she wasn't much better off. That is if she didn't get mad about it.
Thankfully for her, she had the perfect diversion.
"Aki?"
"Oh hey Big Bro," she said as she turned to him.
"What are you doing here?"
"Well..."
She explained what she did as well as introduced him and Yoshida-san to each other, the two easily becoming friendly with each other. After that, they said their farewells and went down into the station.
"So? What'd Mishima ask for?"
To her surprise, her brother's head slumped and sighed before he regaled her on their publicist's understandable, but ultimately wasteful, endeavor of meeting some "Phans" to go on a double date only to be ditched by the girls last minute. The publicist had the decency to admit his mistake of not finding more info about them and promised to make up for the little debacle with more intel, hopefully enough to do another quest.
Akira had to use a lot of self-restraint on her laughter while they were on the train.
{R}
Much like last time, Ren and company waited for the last arrivals to come, this time it being Yusuke and Ryuji, before they began their infiltration. It was a good thing they were waiting as Mishima sent a message that he found out there's a bully who's after other bullies for some sort of twisted sense of justice. Not long after that, Ryuji was the first to show up of the two.
"Hey bud. How'd the session go?" Aki said.
"Uh...I guess it kinda went well?" he said aa he leaned on the railing.
"Kinda?"
Ren looked at him dubiously.
"I mean I didn't feel like talkin' about what happened with Kamoshida yet so we were trying to find other stuff to talk about and...it got a bit awkward. But then it ended up bein' nice by the end."
"Huh. Weird."
Indeed, considering how well theirs went. "Maybe he was trying very hard with you since you were the one who resisted the most?" Ren said.
"I didn't do any resisting."
"Not like that, Ryuji."
It was just then that Yusuke appeared and so the discussion was ceased and they went in. After giving Fox his grappling hook, Joker had him, Rogue and Skull be the initial lineup so that their newest member would get used to fighting with the other two. Though they wouldn't need to fight right away as their first obstacle for the day was another painting maze, this time with different subjects for each canvas and even some being empty. It was easy enough to guess they needed to "activate" the blank ones if they wanted to proceed. What wasn't easy though...
"Alas the world is a desert filled with laymen who can't understand true beauty...
"... People come to their shrine gates, offer their money, and return home fully satisfied. Art is practically the same! It is all just a matter of imagination.
"... Too many young people do not see the value in youth these days... ... Is it truly wrong for an expert such as myself to capitilize on that youth before it wastes away?
"... Art, life, water... They are all identical. The one who ascends to the summit is the victor!"
...was that for every painting, they heard Madarame's thoughts, and none of his team liked them one bit and gave a piece of their mind.
"I thought beauty was in the eye of the beholder, asshole."
"Hey! Even if it's true, that doesn't give you the right to trick people!"
"What the heck? That's nothing more than an excuse. I mean look at me. I'm a cat but that doesn't stop me from trying. His age shouldn't be stopping him either."
"What a piece of shit! That's just a pretty way of sayin' 'people are stepping stones', you bastard."
At least they did until they reached the last one, which said,
"Beauty is merely a mirage... Transforming that into money is what brings about true happines. My fine mansion, my lifestyle among the chosen few... Those things are the true 'art'!"
And Fox said, morose, "'Beauty is merely a mirage'...? So running your atelier in that run-down shack was just an act..."
Everyone, including himself, flinched and grimaced.
"Sorry Fox..." Rogue said first.
"I'm sorry too," Joker said.
"We kinda forgot that..."
But before they could apologize further, the betrayed son shook his head.
"No need to be concerned. I know now his true nature." He sighed. "How foolish I was to have been decieved for so long..."
Joker couldn't help put a hand on the artist's shoulder, startling him as he said,
"That's why you're stopping him now."
"Yeah! Don't forget you're going to fix your mistake," Panther said.
The other gave encouraging nods. Fox looked at each and every one of them in surprise before he smiled, nodded, and said,
"Yes. Thank you."
After that, there were no puzzles, but a bit of a maze as they passed storage areas inbetween the gallery halls and looked in every nook and cranny. That sadly meant they had to fight any Shadows they encountered. But that mattered little to him when Rogue solved her difficulties in recruiting Shadows—her success rate now back to the way it was—found the second Will Seed on the way—"What is this...this sinister looking object? It's so abhorrent and yet...so compelling!" Fox had said when they did, which Rogue teased him a bit for—and neared the area that kept the Treasure. Only one room left between that section and them. But when they got to that "last room"...
"Shit... What the hell is with this place?"
...it was less a "room" and more an open void filled with stairs that mixed and matched like that strange optical illusion stair painting, forming a convoluted labyrinth. The only difference between this and the "painting" was that Japanese banners and portraits of strangers lined the "stair walls".
"Hey Fox?" his sister said.
"Yes?"
"What's the paintin' called? You know, the one with the stairs that keep goin' up and connect with each other to make an optical illusion..."
"Hmm... I believe the one you speak of is actually a lithograph by MC Escher called 'Relativity'."
"Ugh... Course there's art just like this place..." Skull said.
"Should we keep going?" Panther said to him.
Joker scanned the immediately accesible paths in the area. There were Shadows, yes, but even if there was little in the way of cover, there was plenty of space to avoid them entirely, especially if they used their grappling hooks to do so.
"Yes. It's only the 'Treasure room' after this. We do that one on our next trip. Is everyone else okay with this?"
They gave their affirmations.
"All right. Let's go."
What the large eye spinning room lacked in Shadows blocking their path, it made up for in puzzles being their way to unlock progress, the "puzzles" being them picking out of a group of varying numbers for the real "Sayuri". The irony of what they needed to do to move on made Rogue laugh rather hard and long. Joker on the other hand just sneered at the fact. It was easy enough to tell for the first two groups, though Panther and Skull had a harder time with the second. The third group, at nine paintings, however...it didn't seem like the true painting was anywhere.
"Excuse me Fox, but I'm not imagining things, right? The true 'Sayuri' isn't here," Joker said.
He shook his head. "No, you are not. The true 'Sayuri' is indeed not here."
"What? Not here?! Then how're we supposed to keep goin'?!"
They all hummed in thought.
There was the chance that there was no way to proceed, but...he didn't want to think that. So under the assumption there was a true painting, then that meant it was hidden. But where could its hiding spot be? He glanced at the others to see if they were making progress, but then his eyes landed on the wall behind Panther and he noticed something.
"Hey Rogue, can you help me?"
"Uh, yeah sure."
She didn't question him despite her curious gaze. She merely mimicked him as he felt against the wall behind a group of four "Sayuri". As he suspected, there was a notch that, once pressed, revealed a hidden room that not only had a chest, but also the true "Sayuri".
"All right! That's our leader!"
With that, they made it past the golden Penrose stair room and arrived in the inner sanctum. There they spotted the Treasure protected by a very large laser box with guards and Madarame standing before it. They were going to have to come up with a plan for that. But for now, they checked to see if there was a safe room nearby and luckily there was. In there, they discussed their next plan of action.
Because they had one request, they agreed to do that one tomorrow, partially to introduce Fox to Mementos, and then get back to infiltrating the next day so that if any complications happened, they could finish up on Sunday. With that done, they left the Palace and said their good-byes.
As they headed back, all of a sudden Aki giggled.
"What's so funny?" he said, curious.
"I'm just imaginin' how Yusuke's gonna react when he sees Jose."
Oh right. They would have to introduce the little fellow to him.
Author's Notes: I like to headcanon that the villain in the anime that Ann talks about in Rank 3 is actually Doronjo from Yatterman because that was the first thought I had from how she described the villain.
Also the short story from the Arsène Lupin books Ren says is his favorite is "The Queen's Necklace". If you know what the story is, you can probably guess why it's his favorite.
The title for the chapter comes from the aphorism, "Not all that glitters is gold".