Captain Blues: *stares at Persona 5 Tactica with a deep glare* Okay! So, apparently, Repaint your Heart DLC takes place During Sae's Palace, and Tactica as a whole happens after Persona 5: The Royal but before Strikers. With my plans regarding Maruki, S.E.E.S, and that storyline. We can work with that. We can work with this. So unless some OTHER Persona 5 game comes out (Persona 5 Arena) we have a full-ass cast to work with.
So from here on out, spoilers to Tactica. Now, time to start the show!
Persona V: Reversing the Wheel of Fate
Chapter Eighty-Three
[Opening Scene: Shibuya – Shibuya Central Street (Morning)
Theme of Anger: Disquiet -Tactica- from Persona 5 Tactica]
Makoto screamed as she slammed a grimy-suited man on his back in an alleyway. Behind her, three other men lay on the ground, groaning in pain as Ryuji and Eleonora walked up. After the storm let up, Ryuji had to run after Makoto as she stormed out of her apartment and toward Central Street.
He had the foresight to call Eleonora on the way to have her meet them to create some sort of plan but the moment Makoto saw the slimy-looking men trying to coerce some of the teens, she had snapped and went full Kiryu on them.
"Damn," Ryuji whispered. "I get why but damn…"
"No less than what they deserve," Eleonora murmured. "Come on."
Ryuji nodded and strolled further into the alleyway where they watched Makoto reach down, grab the hurting man by his vermillion button-down shirt, and shout, "Where is Kaneshiro?!"
Ryuji and Eleonora watched on as the man looked up at her with a dazed expression on his face and spat, "I ain't saying shit!"
Makoto scowled as she slammed the man's head against the ground hard, causing the man to groan in pain. "Where?!" Makoto exclaimed as she rammed his head back against the ground. "Where?!"
"Oh shit. She's going to kill him," Ryuji murmured in realization as he stepped toward Makoto, who lifted the man's head off the wet and stank alley water.
"Where?!" Makoto demanded as she slammed the man's head back against the ground. "Wh—"
"Okay, that's enough," Ryuji hastily said as he pulled Makoto off the groaning man. "Makoto, what the hell are you doing?" Ryuji hissed as he looked at the enraged girl. "We're trying to interrogate him, not kill him."
"They have Eiko and Oribe! Anything else would be a mercy to what I want to do to him!" Makoto exclaimed, her irises flaring yellow as she stepped to Ryuji.
"I get that but we won't find them if you keep popping off like you're fucking Batman!" Ryuji shouted back.
"You don't understand, Ryuji! This is all my fault! I have to make it right, no matter what it takes! I can't allow myself to sit on the sidelines while they suffer in the hands of a rapist and murderer!" Makoto shouted. Ryuji looked at her eyes and saw the yellow glow. She was on the verge of something he couldn't battle right now.
Not in his state.
"I was unable to stop him once...I won't allow myself to fail again," Makoto told him, her voice breaking. "I can't..."
"I get that you're upset, Makoto," Ryuji slowly began with a placating tone. "But killing this guy isn't going to help. It'll get you arrested faster than it would help them. And you know that. We'll find a way but not with you staining your hands with his blood, you feel me?"
Makoto stared at him as the glow in her eyes faded away. "I-I'm sorry..." Makoto whispered. "I just can't sit idly by..."
"I know," Ryuji said. "But we'll figure it out. Now..." Ryuji whipped his head at the groaning man, bent down, and grabbed him by his shirt. "Look, fuck-face. Unless you want my partner to fuck your shit up further, where is Kaneshiro?"
"I don't know," the man wheezed as he curled into a ball. "P-Please….No more…."
In a normal situation, Ryuji would have felt pretty rough seeing someone like that but he didn't forget that this guy was part of the Yakuza, the same Yakuza that kidnapped two of his compatriots.
"This is bad, guys," Eleonora murmured with a frown on her face as she stepped in between Makoto and Ryuji. "I went around to see if we can find any information from their person and all of them have nothing. Not even a phone."
"You guys looking for Kaneshiro?" a new voice spoke up.
[Theme of the Artist: Mysteriously from Persona 5 Tactica]
Ryuji, Makoto, and Eleonora turned round to see a girl with long blue hair that reached the middle of her back, dark red eyes, slightly tanned skin, and tattoo sleeves on each arm. She wore a black gas mask that hung around her neck, a white sports bra, a black coat wrapped around her waist, and black pants, both of which were covered with black, red, blue, and green paints, and black shoes.
The girl offered a small grin and said, "I think I can help you guys out."
"Whoa," Ryuji breathed as he stood up from the cowering man.
She was very attractive.
Almost distractingly so.
Just like Ann.
"Who are you?" Makoto asked as she stepped up to the girl.
"No need to try and hurt me. I'm just a tagger," the girl said. "You can call me… Guernica."
"Wait," Eleonora gasped. "You're like a world-famous street artist."
"And also wanted by every cop in Tokyo," Makoto added with suspicion. "What are you doing here of all places?"
"Having trouble working on my next piece, that's what I'm doing here," Guernica answered with a slight grin that didn't reach her eyes. "I was going to the Millennium Tower to try and get some inspiration until I heard some serious thrashing coming from over here."
Guernica eyed the trio down and asked, "So, which one of you three were the ones to hurt these guys? Was it you, brown eyes?" Makoto frowned. "Or maybe it was you, cutie." Ryuji swallowed. "And I doubt it was you, You look too pure to get your hands dirty." Eleonora scowled.
"Or, maybe I'm wrong," Guernica said with a shrug. "Maybe it was all three of you that did this."
"It was me," Makoto declared. "And I won't have any trouble "Thrashing" anyone else until I find Kaneshiro."
"Man, you got some fire in you," Guernica commented. "Well, maybe we can help each other out, then. Because I have what you're looking for. Information."
"Isn't that convenient," Eleonora stated with a suspicious leer. "And how do we know you aren't working for him? Leading us into his trap?"
The girl sneered.
"I'd rather see him dead than profiting off of people like this," Guernica spat with anger in her eyes.
"She seems legit," Ryuji said. "But you said that we can help each other. So that means you're looking for some help too, right? What do we have to do to get that information?"
Guernica opened her mouth to answer, only for a loud growl to fill the air. With a blush streaking across her face, Guernica scratched the back of her neck with a sheepish smile as she answered, "Some food would be nice. I'm starving."
While Makoto and Eleonora face-faulted, Ryuji grinned and replied, "My kinda gal. Let's grab some grub."
A pink cockatoo with a crystal necklace and pearl rings on her front talons stood watch of the entire scene and chuckled with a malevolent gleam in her blue eyes as she stared at the group as they retreated.
The cockatoo tilted her head and flew off into the sky.
[Scene Change: Shinjuku – Crossroads (Morning)
Theme of Crossroads: Crossroads from Persona 5]
When Ren awoke the next morning, the twins were nowhere in sight and there was a text message from Ohya to meet him at this place as she found out information regarding Kaneshiro Junya.
But what threw him off was the place she wanted to meet him at was a bar of all places. And apparently, it was open. Who would go to a bar in the middle of the morning?
Ren walked into the establishment and noticed a person standing behind the counter. "Welcome, welcome," the bartender greeted. The bartender narrowed their eyes and asked, "How old are you, boy?"
"Lala-chan!" Ohya exclaimed from…upstairs? Ren could hear various thumping sounds before he listened to her rush down the stairs, where she popped out from the backdoor with a sheepish smile. "He's with me!"
Lala turned their attention to Ohya with a critical look on their face. "I had a feeling you and Sojo wouldn't work out, but to target such a young one this time? For shame, Ohya-chan."
"H-Hey! It's not like that!" Ohya exclaimed. "He's adorable, yes, but he looks like my nephew! Besides, I'm still very much happy with Sojo!"
"Oh, that is very good, I'm glad," Lala said with a sincere smile. "You do seem brighter when you're with him."
"Of course I do! I love that surly old man," Ohya pouted. "And way to have faith in me, by the way! I'm not that big of a screw-up am I?"
"Not at all, Ohya-chan," Lala answered. "But you do tend to get in your own way sometimes."
Ohya stood agape before her shoulders slumped. "Come on, Ren, let's go take a seat and plan a way to kill my best friend," Ohya grumbled as she took Ren's hand and dragged him along.
"You know you love me!" Lala called out.
Ohya didn't respond but once they sat down, Ohya whispered, "I do but don't tell them that."
"My lips are sealed, Ohya," Ren said with a small grin. "So, I got your text. What do you got for me?"
Ohya blinked and then said, "Wow, dial back the leader tone, Ren." Ohya winked while Ren flushed and sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck. "But, I do got some shit for you. And it only took me three hours to accumulate it all. A new record."
Lala walked over to the table and sat down a can of Sprite for Ren and a glass filled to the brim with what looked like soda for Ohya. "One Sprite and a Coke with rum," Lala said.
"Look at this. See Ren, this is their trick. Buttering us up so we don't kill 'em later." Ohya smiled at Lala good-naturedly while Lala snorted. "Thanks Lala-chan."
"Don't mention it. Just don't forget, this is your only drink for the day. Savor it," Lala instructed before they walked away.
"I totally forgot," Ohya whined. "I'm trying not to drink so much. I got black-out drunk on like the second date with Sojo and nearly fucked it all up so I'm trying to keep sober."Ohya blinked. "Why did I just tell you that?"
"I dunno, I just have a friendly aura. Makes people want to tell me their secret," Ren winked.
"Maybe you do. I did the same to your Mum after we dropped off that therapist at Shujin," Ohya informed. "Seems you both have that air about you, yeah?"
"Yeah," Ren murmured with a small smile at the mention of his mother.
He wondered what she was doing today…
"So," Ohya began as she rapidly tapped the table. "Let's talk bidness. We're here for Kaneshiro Junya."
[Theme of Kaneshiro Junya: Dungeon ~ Black Market ~ Megami Ibunroku Persona]
Ren steepled his hands together with a focused look as Ohya took a sip of her drink. "So, not much is known about the guy's past. We don't know who his parents were, his first job, the school he went to, nothing. What we do know, is that his name started to sprinkle in with names from the illustrious Omi Alliance."
Ren nodded.
"Started as your standard Yakuza punk. Picking fights, extortion, robberies. Standard shit like that. But, without warning, his name exploded in the news in the death of a prolific police officer. Detective Niijima Nenji."
Ren's eyes widened in surprise.
"Niijima Nenji?" Ren asked.
"Oh yeah. His death was a huge thing back in the day," Ohya explained. "My senpai at the time was investigating how it all went down. Essentially, he was investigating a gang that had ties to the Omi Alliance. That gang reportedly conned women, both from here and abroad to abduct them into sex work. There was even word that drugs were used in this. From what the reports said, Nenji was getting close to busting the case. Until that day…."
"What happened?" Ren asked.
"Well, the only thing we know for sure was that he was with his daughter when it occurred. A truck driver, who was high on drugs, was speeding down the road. Nenji, and his daughter, were pushed into the street right in the path of the driver. He died on impact trying to save his daughter's life," Ohya revealed. "His daughter had seen the man who had pushed her father and fingered Kaneshiro as the "trigger" man."
A sinking realization filled Ren as he understood why Makoto had used that name. Was Niijima Nenji her father? Was she instigating something that would get Kaneshiro caught?
'Makoto…What have you done?' Ren asked himself.
Ohya took another sip of her drink and said, "Everyone knew that it was hit from the jump, considering all of the evidence, but in the end, the judge let them off on some bullshit technicalities. Corruption at its finest."
Ren narrowed his eyes.
He was starting to get a clearer picture…
And that picture was giving him a familiar bad feeling in his gut.
And it was growing with every second.
"So, Niijima Nenji's death is ruled as accidental, everything is swept under the rug, and Kaneshiro walks," Ohya concluded. "There are rumors that Kaneshiro became some big shot in his own Yakuza but he's done a good job at keeping his name out of the press circuit and the courts…up until your kidnapping, of course."
Ren stood up from the table and said, "Thanks for the help, Ohya. I have to run. I forgot I had an errand to do. Let me know when you want to do that interview with me, alright?"
Ren did not wait to hear an answer from her as he sprinted out of the bar.
[Scene Change: Shinjuku – Streets (Morning)
Theme of Danger: Troubled from Persona 3]
Ren ran out of Crossroads as he pulled out his phone began to call Makoto. He placed his phone to his ear but didn't receive an answer.
"Shit," Ren cursed as he called Ryuji. But once again, there was no answer. Finally, he called Ann, who picked up on the second ring.
"Ren? What's going on?" Ann sleepily asked.
"Ann, that gut feeling is back," Ren warned. "And I think Makoto is the cause of it."
"Oh no…Ren, are you sure? We've barely just got out of Mitsuyo and Madarame with our lives intact. Are you sure it's at that level?" Ann asked.
"I-I am," Ren shakily replied. "I don't know what's going on but this feeling…Its going haywire. Something bad is about to go down…We have to stop it."
"Ren, it's okay. We'll figure it out. I'll gather everyone. What are we doing? Where are we going?" Ann asked.
Ren hesitated.
The bad feeling in his gut had grown strong enough to cause his body to tremble.
He closed his eyes. 'Arsène….I don't know if the theory is true. I don't know if this is just a new game plus for you and the other personas…But I need help in my life. Makoto might be in danger and I need to figure out where to go and what we should do. Please, can you help us?' Ren asked. 'Just this once…Give me a direct sign on what to do…'
For a moment, nothing seemed to happen.
Until the world around him began to freeze.
[Theme of a Distant Phantom: I Will Give You… From Persona 5: The Royal]
"Ren, it takes a lot of power to do this…To be summoned to this world without a full moon in sight." Arsène's voice said from behind him. "Then again, there are a lot of rules that have been broken lately… haven't there?"
Ren twisted around to see himself, dressed in the clothes of Arsène, with the brim of his top hat hiding his eyes as he leaned against a wall. "Arsène," Ren breathed.
"There is a bar here in Shinjuku. It is called "Heartbeats." When J̷̨̧̟̼̗̙̙̙͚̦́̅́́͂͋̿͂̋͠o̶̧̪̲̘̝͇̲̲̖̣̓͒́́͘h̸̟͖͎̰̬̖̫̣̱̜̯͒͜a̴̛̰͎̽̍̐̂n̶̗̮͙̙̳͗͊͋̔͐͌̓͆̈͠n̷̨̺̺̱̹͒̍̆͋̾̈́̐̍̈́̑̆̾͘͘͠a̵̝͓̗̼̫̼̓̊͐͛̾̽̈̿̓̚ͅ was taken from Central Street by B̷̹̽̐̿̇̔́̈̿́̈́̚͝͝͠a̶̯̬̖̜̾̈̔̚e̷̡̼̘̖̫̊̾̆̓̓̌l̷͔̤̭͚̯̹̈́͑̓́͛̉̃̍̏̐͑͝'̷̢̨̘̰̳͇͕͔̺̻̲̟̟́ṡ̶̨̛̛̗̮͔̖͖̱̪͚̙̘̖̈̀̓̓̐̐̌̇̈́̆͘ͅ foot soldiers, he took her there," Arsène explained. Arsène lifted his head and said, "You better hurry, Ren. I can feel ̶̤͇̲̋J̵͔̳̘͉̲̯͆̈̃͋ö̸̡͕̣̝̰͖͚̺̱͔̗̰̭̭̎̄̐̇͛́͑͋͜͝͝ẖ̴͔͎̓͋͗͂̉̾͛̀̉̒̇͂̕ą̷̛̝̲̖͎͎̹̦̼̠̬̘́͒̄͌̐̄͗̔̽͐̒̀̅͠n̶̡̼̰̖̤̼̻̖̥̳̼̦̮̜͓̍͆̒̀̾͆̓̆ņ̶̺̮͒ą̸̢̇̍̈́̉̍̒̄'̷̧̣͇̫͕̮̯͇͕̪̩̼̳̙͉̿̈́̓̆͆̎̋͠s̷̛̛͕̭̤̟͈̘̜̬̙̆̑̈́͒͐͑̄̒̅̍͘͝ presence drawing closer."
"Thank you, Arsène…" Ren softly said.
Arsène looked at the sky and smirked, "It will be difficult to fight a man who thinks he owns all of Shibuya. Especially one that acts like everyone within it is his personal ATM machine to withdraw money to put it in his own bank account. But you can do this, Ren. If I was able to, so will you…Good luck. And don't expect this good fortune to happen again…"
[Theme of Danger: Troubled from Persona 3]
The world snapped back to normal and Ren said, "Shinjuku. Get to Shinjuku."
"We'll be here soon! Until then, stay safe, Ren. Ann out!"
Captain Blues: And with that, we finally begin the arc that's had a long time to simmer. The Kaneshiro arc. Until the next chapter, happy holidays. It's time to set sail.