Chapter 19: I've Got the World on a String

After school, Hifumi took the train towards Shibuya. Usually she went straight home, so that someone would be with her father while her mother worked, but today she had secured permission to spend a few hours with her new friends.

True, she barely knew this group (she had glossed over that point with her mother), but even so, she found herself looking forward to doing something different for a change.

Her phone buzzed in her pocket. She had a message from her father. Her heart thumped; could it be an emergency?

But when she opened the message, she smiled with relief. He had sent two emojis: two girls holding hands (Hifumi thought this was meant to represent a couple, but she knew her father meant it to represent friendship) and a heart.

Lately, his health had taken a turn for the worse and he'd started worrying about all the time Hifumi spent at home with him. He wanted her to make friends, people who would still be there for her after he was gone. She ran her fingers over the message as if she could touch him through the phone—reassure him that things would turn out okay.

The meeting place was a karaoke club. With a little thrill, Hifumi wondered if this was the Phantom Thieves' usual hideout or just one of many.

Goro Akechi was waiting for her in the lobby. He led her back to a private room. The hallway was deserted and silent except for some heavily muffled sounds of music and laughter. It sounded far away. Not that she was disappointed; she was here on a more important mission, after all.

Then he opened the door, and suddenly she was right in the midst of one of these private parties. The three girls inside were laughing and seemed to be having a good time, just like anybody else at a karaoke club.

"Your meeting place is cheap, soundproof, and on the train line. Clever," Hifumi acknowledged when they got to the room.

"Thanks! We met here once with the — ah, the others. Other friends," said Takamaki.

Goro said, "We should be clear to talk about the Phantom Thieves. I think Togo-san already knows about that group of miscreants. Am I right in that?"

Togo nodded, the corners of her mouth turning up. "I guessed when my mother had a sudden change of heart."

"Mitsuyo Togo, right? I remember her," said Takamaki. "I'm glad that worked out for you."

"Thank you." Togo gave Takamaki one of her rare genuine smiles. "Then…can I assume you are all Phantom Thieves?"

Goro shook his head. "No. Only Takamaki. This is my group."

Togo's eyebrows raised in surprise. "Oh, but I thought — hm. Never mind. Why don't you tell me what this is all about first."

"Fine, with the stipulation that if you tell anyone about this, we'll all deny it. Agreed?"

Togo looked around the group, evaluating their seriousness. She nodded her understanding.

Goro said, "To put it simply, this is another group, like the Phantom Thieves, that can operate in the Metaverse — the world of the subconscious. You've already seen it with your own eyes."

"Those strange creatures that invaded my church…those were from the Metaverse?" said Togo.

"Yes…though I would say it was the other way around: you and I entered the Metaverse, the Shadows didn't enter reality." Did they, though? Are you absolutely sure that's how things happened? The thought struck him suddenly, bringing with it no particular reason for its existence. He faltered, searching his memories, but came up empty.

Suzui leaped into the silence, explaining, "Everyone here can move between the Metaverse and reality. We've all been there at least a few times."

"Right," said Goro, picking up the thread. "There are, however, also indirect ways to manipulate the Metaverse for profit. Perhaps you've heard about a new wave of mental shutdowns?"

"You mean like the berserker attacks people were having last year? That's happening again?" Togo asked.

Goro nodded. "They're related phenomena. I believe the mob we saw last night is part of this new wave. We stopped them from harming anyone, but I think that when a mob like that is successful, the result is a mental shutdown. There have been dozens already this year."

Togo said, "I see. This comports with what Niijima-san told me last night. Then I assume you want to find this new perpetrator and bring them to justice, just as the Phantom Thieves did last year."

"That's it, in a nutshell."

"But you said on TV that what the Phantom Thieves did was dangerous and lawless."

Goro couldn't help smirking. "It is."

"Yeah, well, sometimes there's no other way to get stuff done," said Takamaki, giving him the side-eye.

"Also true," said Goro. "That's the deal. This work is morally dubious, very dangerous, and must be kept completely secret. However, I believe there's no other way to end Mental Shutdown Syndrome for good."

"I have so many questions," said Togo, sitting back and looking at a point near the ceiling. When she lowered her eyes again, they were glinting with suspicion. "If you didn't know there was going to be an attack on my church last night, why did you contact me?"

"Because Amamiya recommended you. He said you have a top-notch mind for strategy, and this team could use that. That you also have a Persona is just icing on the cake, actually. I wasn't expecting that."

The compliment didn't fluster Togo at all. She launched immediately into another question. "If Masayoshi Shido was behind last year's events, is he also behind the new ones?"

Goro shook his head. "I have reason to believe he isn't. So far, everything leads back to someone going by the name Myojo. They lead a group called The Way of the Starlight. I think that's how these crowds are mobilized. Myojo directs them using a phone app."

Togo scowled. "I can't allow that. You could call the Phantom Thieves vigilantes, but they followed a moral code. This is just…mob rule. Total chaos."

"We never caused any mental shutdowns. Not even by accident," Takamaki interjected. "This is totally different."

Sae said, "Truthfully, we don't know much about who's behind it or what their goals might be. Nevertheless, as a former prosecutor, I couldn't agree more; this simply can't continue."

They all nodded grimly. Regardless of the difficulties, they all seemed to be of one mind. Things were going surprisingly well; Goro was thinking (a little smugly) about whether Ren's recruitments had gone so smoothly when Takamaki dropped a grenade on the table.

"Hey, Akechi. You did tell her about Shido, right?"

His glare could have melted ice, but Takamaki met it with equal ferocity, insisting, "We all know. You have to tell her."

Goro gritted his teeth. He had intended on getting around to it later…at some point…if it became relevant….

"What about Shido?" asked Togo. Something about the sharpness of her tone clarified the situation. If she was on the team, Goro doubted he'd be able to hide much from her.

"I worked for him last year," said Goro, forcing the words out of his mouth. "To a large extent, the crimes he confessed to…are my crimes as well."

"Then why aren't you in jail?" Togo demanded. "After he had to —" she stopped herself, but Goro had a good idea what she was thinking. Why did Amamiya have to go to jail, and not you?

"It's a long story, but suffice to say…it seems Shido isn't done with me yet."

"Whoa!" said Takamaki, making a time-out motion with her hands. "What does that mean?"

"He contacted me yesterday," said Goro. "He's the one who kept me out of jail. He wants me to help the mental shutdown victims, if I can."

"Why didn't you tell us?" Takamaki demanded.

"I just did! It happened yesterday, Takamaki."

Before they could get into an argument, Suzui said quietly, "The Phantom Thieves…they really can cause a person to change that much?"

"Seems like it. I don't trust him, of course, but his request seemed genuine to me," said Goro.

"So you're going to do it?" asked Takamaki incredulously.

"What, now I shouldn't help people?" he shot back, exasperated.

"Then you're still working for him. That is troubling," said Togo. The awkward silence seemed to expand like a balloon until it filled the room.

A phone dinged; everyone made a show out of pulling out their phones and checking them.

Hifumi Togo excused herself and went out into the hall.

Suzui broke the tension. "Oh my gosh!" she cried, as soon as the door was closed.

"Better she finds out now," said Takamaki with an exaggerated shrug. She seemed to be working hard to act like she didn't care, but she nibbled at her fingernails nervously.

"Well, what about the rest of you? Any of you have a problem with helping people if it's at Shido's request?" A bit of sarcasm crept into Goro's voice.

"Of course not," said Sae decisively.

Takamaki sighed and shook her head. Suzui also shook her head, still looking pensive.

"Why don't I talk to her?" Sae suggested. "I've been known to be persuasive."

Takamaki and Suzui agreed that was a good idea, and they all started chattering about what type of tactic would work best on Togo.

Goro silenced them all with a wave. "No…I'll talk to her. You all order some snacks. I'll be right back."

Takamaki stopped chewing her nails and picked up the karaoke song catalog. "Well, I don't know about the rest of you, but I'm going to sing a song!"

In the hallway, Hifumi took out her cell phone and checked her messages. This time it was from her priest, Father Inagawa. It was the first line from Psalm 27: "The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? the Lord is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?"

Her smile slipped as she thought of the conversation she'd had with Father Inagawa following the attack. Faith was all well and good, of course. But it was just a fact that no one in her congregation could defend against this kind of attack. No one but her.

There was a short burst of loud music as Goro Akechi slipped out of the private room and closed the door behind him. Hifumi wondered just what he was going to say. Was he going to try some lame excuse?

"Listen," he began, "I'm not going to grovel or beg, but I want to be clear. I'm not proud of the things I did for Shido. It was always my intention to tell the police about the things I witnessed, but the Phantom Thieves got to Shido before I could. I'm only working with him now to undo some of the harm he did…the harm we did. I understand if you don't believe me, but that's the truth." He sighed, then added, "Takamaki was right. It's only fair that you know everything before you make any decisions."

"Okay," she said.

"Okay?" he asked, sounding doubtful.

"As it happens, I'm a big believer in redemption," she said pointedly. "Whatever you did last year…if you're trying to stop these horrible attacks now, then I want to help. I just have one question."

"Sure, go ahead."

Her gaze grew steely. "Your team is all girls. Is this some kind of…harem?"

Goro blinked, his eyes perfect circles. "Um…no. No, it is not."

"Fine. If you're lying for some reason, it won't take me long to figure it out."

Akechi chuckled, a bit of his TV charm shining through. "I have no doubt."

Returning to the karaoke room, they found Ann wrapping up her song.

"Togo-san has agreed to join us," Akechi announced.

"Welcome aboard!" said Takamaki.

"We're pleased to have you," said Sae.

"Yay!" said Suzui, clapping.

Togo blushed a little, overwhelmed by their excitement. She'd spent so long being shunned by her shogi peers and ignored by her classmates that she couldn't help but feel embarrassed by this kind of attention.

"Um, just one thing…about that text…I should explain," Togo began, sitting down. "My father is gravely ill, so I always need to keep in contact. Will it be possible to check my phone frequently?"

Suzui assured her that of course they understood, but once again, someone had to throw sand in the gears. This time it was Sae.

"Your phone won't work in the Metaverse," Sae told her immediately.

"Then…can we minimize the time we spend there?"

Goro tsk'd with annoyance, but he had no choice. "If we have to work around it, then that's what we'll do."

Togo nodded. "Very well. I suppose that's all I can ask."

Suzui changed the subject. "Do you know what your code name will be?"

"Code names…?" Togo murmured. "I see, that does make sense. Can it be anything?"

"Anything but Queen," said Goro.

Togo's face fell. "Then I may need some time to think about it."

"What does her Metaverse outfit look like?" asked Suzui.

"It's a hakama, like you'd wear at an aikido tournament," said Sae, looking a bit like she wished her costume had been a hakama.

"Don't teachers sometimes wear hakama as well? She is supposed to be guiding us, so what about…uh…Professor?" Suzui offered.

"That seems rather far above my pay grade," said Togo apologetically.

"How about something historical, like Shogun?" suggested Goro. "It doesn't have to be literal. Takamaki goes by Panther."

"A bit…militaristic for my taste," said Togo.

"Who's your Persona?" asked Suzui.

"Minerva. The Roman goddess of wisdom and justice."

The girls cooed admiringly. Sae again looked slightly envious, like she wished her Persona was the goddess of justice.

Reading from her phone, Takamaki said, "OK…Minerva's symbols include olives, owls, spears, and shields."

"Olive is cute," said Suzui with a shrug.

Sae said, "What about Owl? My Persona is associated with ravens, and we've also got a Crow…."

Togo twiddled her hair. "Lance? That fits with both shogi and Minerva. Can it be something aspirational?"

"As long as it's short and pronounceable," said Goro, already tiring of the topic.

"So, not 'Sugoroku'…."

"I used to love that game!" piped up Sae unexpectedly, leading to the girls all chattering about their favorite board games.

Goro's mind wandered back to the two shogi games he'd played with Hifumi Togo. Twice, she had tricked him into a trap by laying out a tempting piece as bait. He'd taken the pieces but never had a chance to drop them. Sacrifice? Dead-drop? No….

"How about Gambit?" he suggested. "It's a move in which the player sacrifices a piece to gain a later advantage."

The girls murmured appreciatively.

"I like it," said Togo. "Gambit it is."

"Great! Now then, tonight's team-building exercise comes in two parts," said Suzui. "First of all, I made friendship bracelets for everyone! These are kind of a placeholder for something else I have planned, but they'll work for now."

She passed out little hand-woven bracelets to each person. At first glance, they all appeared to be black. But on a closer look, each one had a single colored thread, corresponding to the color of their Metaverse costume. Goro's was dark blue, almost but not quite blending in with the black. Takamaki's was red, Suzui's was white, Sae's was yellow, and Togo's was silver.

"Silver," said Togo with a smile. "How did you know?"

Suzui grinned. "I looked you up online. The articles said silver was your favorite shogi piece, so…."

"I love it," said Togo, slipping it on her wrist.

"This takes me back," said Sae with a laugh. "I used to make these for my friends, too. I wonder if I could still do it?"

"Presents. I like it," said Goro. "What's the next part?"

Suzui's smile got wider until it was almost manic. She waved her arms around her. "Karaoke, of course! Who wants to go first?"

By the end of the evening, Goro had learned a lot about his team's musical taste. Takamaki knew a lot of songs in several different languages, but was equally bad at singing in all of them. Suzui liked high-energy pop music and preferred dancing to singing. Sae was into Visual Kei, which surprised Goro at first, but then he remembered her Palace appearance and it fell into place. Togo was shy and could only be coaxed into doing one song, but she had a pleasant voice and chose an Enka song that matched it well. He himself had a handful of Frank Sinatra standards he'd practiced for just such an occasion — not his favorites, necessarily, but ones he could sing impressively.

Maybe there were some lessons he could take to the Metaverse, too. He thought of Ren and wondered if he considered pointless hang-outs with the Phantom Thieves an important part of team-building. Probably. After all, Ren had had no friends when he started the school year. The Phantoms were his social group. When had they crossed the line from allies to friends? He wished he could just text Ren and ask. Ironically, it seemed they got along better when they were on opposite sides of a life-or-death struggle.

Thinking about Ren and his social group sparked a memory — Ren had once mentioned that he bought the medicine they used in the Metaverse from a doctor somewhere. He must have known about Togo's father, so had he put her in touch with this doctor and his magic pills? If not, then….

Dammit. What had Ren said about the doctor? He lived in Yongen-Jaya? That sounded right, but it wasn't much help. Goro wasn't even sure it was a man, when it came down to it. He weighed swallowing his pride to contact Ren against having Togo hobbled by lack of experience.

When Ren first gave him Togo's name, Goro had expected her to serve as a planner — a theoretical tactician with no actual experience. Now that she had a Persona, her potential was far greater. Experiencing the Metaverse firsthand would only make her that much better at devising strategies. But with her father's illness constraining her time in the Metaverse, she was practically back at square one. Even if it was just back to his baseline expectation, it felt like a setback.

Fine. Time for Crow to eat crow, he decided.

He put in his earbuds and called Ren. It rang through to voice mail, which Goro considered a promising sign; it meant his number wasn't blocked. So he tried text next.

Goro: Hey. I wanted to say sorry for the other day. It was a misunderstanding. You and I are on the same side. I'm going to return Shido's money. I don't want anybody to think I owe him anything. Least of all him.

He waited for a few minutes, but Ren didn't respond. He added:

Goro: Togo told me about her father's illness. Guessing you know all about that. I was wondering if you put them in touch with your Dr friend? Maybe some of those "special" pills would help?

Oh, wonderful. Sounds like I'm organizing a drug deal…or a poisoning, he thought with grim amusement. But it didn't matter what someone else might think; it only mattered whether Ren accepted his reasoning.

To his surprise, what came back was a full list of contacts, about twenty of them. Ren had prefaced the family name of each with a Roman numeral, which made Goro think of his tarot deck. He took out the deck and compared the arcana to the contact list. All the Phantom Thieves were on it, along with plenty of others he didn't recognize. He matched himself to Justice, confirming his hunch. These were all of Ren's confidants, the ones Ren said he couldn't give up.

Instead of feeling elated that Ren finally deemed him worthy to have the list, Goro felt suspicious that it was so easy.

Goro: Thanks, but…are you feeling okay?

No response.

What is going on with you? Goro thought, but he didn't push his luck by sending another message. Maybe he could take a quick trip out to Ren's on the weekend, just to make sure everything was okay….

Shaking his head, he passed along the doctor's contact information to Togo. If Dr. Takemi was as good as Ren said, maybe they'd have some good news soon.

Ren looked over at Morgana, pawing at his phone. "What are you doing?" he asked. Morgana had always asked him to send messages, on account of his difficulty operating a touch screen with toe beans.

Morgana looked up, innocently widening his eyes while surreptitiously pushing the phone away with his paw. "Nothing?"

Ren frowned and snatched the phone away. His frown deepened into a scowl as he looked through his text history. "You — you sent him all my contacts! I had reasons for not doing that, you know."

Stupid glass slabs! What I wouldn't give for an actual keyboard, Morgana thought. Sending Akechi the contacts wasn't what he had intended to do. Unfortunately, Akechi's texts had come at just the wrong moment and Morgana accidentally replied to him instead.

He had actually meant to send all of Ren's confidants a message, asking them to come see Ren and talk some sense into him. Ren hadn't slept the previous night; he was still wearing his clothes from yesterday and his hair was messier than usual. He was unraveling minute by minute, but he wouldn't listen to reason. Maybe, Morgana hoped, he would listen if more voices joined in.

"Well?" Ren demanded. "Why would you go against my wishes like that?"

Instead of admitting that he was calling for help — a plan he hadn't given up on — Morgana dodged the question. "Come on. You used to trust Akechi. Don't you still?"

Morgana could tell by the way Ren's face fell that the question hit him hard. He didn't really trust Akechi anymore, not since finding out that Shido had re-hired him. "No," he said quietly. "And maybe I shouldn't trust you, either."

With that, Ren picked up Morgana and tossed him out into the hallway. He slammed the door behind him and locked it.

Morgana prowled around Ren's house, looking for a way back in. Then, feeling restless, he gave in to his catty instincts, hopping up on the furniture and knocking things over just to hear them clatter. Ren's mother shooed him out of the house entirely.

Outside, he hopped up onto the mailbox and yowled at the house. There was no response from inside.

If this were the Metaverse, I'd… he thought, but stopped himself. That line of thinking wouldn't get him anywhere. Maybe if he could get Ren's attention, his friend would let him back in. But then again, maybe not. Ren was in bad shape lately. His relationships were deteriorating rapidly, not just with Morgana but with his parents, school friends, Akechi, and even that Mishima kid he played video games with…. He paced restlessly along the top of the brick wall that fenced off Ren's yard from the sidewalk.

He had to come at things from a different angle. What about Jose? Apparently he was "attending" the Velvet Room for Akechi, in the absence of Lavenza and Igor. Maybe Jose would have some insight into the situation. He stopped pacing, closed his eyes, and pondered how he could bring Jose to him. Morgana had been born in the Velvet Room. Maybe there was some way to use that connection…?

Morgana thought and thought, but nothing came to him. The warmth of the sun and the brick wall lulled him to sleep before he knew it. He dozed off and woke up cursing the cat form he was stuck in.

…And Jose was right in front of him, sitting on the brick wall, kicking his dangling feet.

"Long time no see, Jose," said Morgana, trying to play it cool, like he hadn't nearly fallen off the wall in surprise.

"Ah, yes. Hope," said Jose.

"Nyah…I'm just Morgana now," said Morgana, combing an ear with his paw and trying to flatten his puffed-up fur. "Listen, I have a question. Actually a lot of questions. But for starters, do you know anything about what's going on with Ren-kun?"

Jose looked vaguely back toward the house. "He hasn't been to the Velvet Room in a long time. He wouldn't be able to see my master, or Lavenza, anyway."

"Why? Where'd they go?" asked Morgana. This was news to him.

"I can't say."

"Aw, c'mon. You can't even tell me? I'm like an honorary Velvet Room resident, y'know," Morgana wheedled.

Jose opened his mouth, but instead of words, the sound of wind came out. As Jose's lips moved, the sound deepened until it was like the roar of a hurricane.

"Okay, okay!" Morgana said, holding up his paws.

"I really can't say," Jose repeated, sounding apologetic.

"I get it. Top secret. Sheesh. Well, maybe you can tell me this: what is it you've been doing for Akechi?"

Jose hesitated, so Morgana added, "I just want to help with whatever it is. Like I did the last time the world was in crisis."

"You're not like the others, though."

"Well…sure…I'm from the Velvet Room. Like you."

"You're not like us either," said Jose matter-of-factly. From inside his coat, he pulled something like toy binoculars: a View-Master. He looked through it at Morgana and said, "Hmm…you do have potential. Fortune. Very well."

Jose stuck the View-Master back in his coat, rummaged around a little, and took out something shiny. It pinged Morgana's treasure sense and his pupils dilated a little, as if they were trying to take in everything about the object. It was long and thin, something like a piece of string, but made of finely wrought metal.

Morgana expected to feel "treasure fever," like he usually did when he saw something valuable, but whatever this was, it didn't quite smell like treasure.

With one end of the cord still in his coat somehow, Jose pulled out enough of the silver string to make a lasso-type loop. He made to throw it over Morgana's head, but Morgana dodged.

"Whoa, whoa! What are you doing with that?" Morgana yelped.

"What I did with all the others. If I bind you with this silver cord, your soul is connected with Goro Akechi's. It's exactly the same as if he'd made the bond himself."

"Did he ask you to do that?" asked Morgana doubtfully. "Seems kinda like…cheating."

"What's cheating? Is it…bad?" Jose asked, just mouthing the word 'bad'.

"Oh boy," Morgana murmured.

"The guest didn't ask me to. It was Myojo-sama who taught me how."

"Ohhhh?" Morgana couldn't help purring a little at this useful tidbit. "And how do you bind people together, if they're strangers?"

"Easy! You just use a silver thread. He gave me some to use."

"Then…you've been tying people together…with silver thread that belongs to Myojo." An idea was forming in Morgana's mind, and he didn't like it one bit. "And that includes Akechi-kun?"

"Of course. Otherwise he wouldn't be able to use those arcana. Fool, Emperor, Hierophant, Hermit, Hanged Man, Tower…I bound them to the guest myself." Jose reached into his coat and pulled out the Persona Compendium, flipping through the pages to illustrate.

"Jose, I'm sure Akechi-kun appreciates what you've done for him, but I think it would be best if you let these people go. Tying them with this silver thread…I don't think it's what the guest is supposed to be doing, if you see what I mean."

Jose hung his little head. "…That's what Akechi-kun said too. Myojo-sama said he was just afraid and it would work out, but…. All right, I can let them go, if you're really sure."

He held up a hand and in it appeared the ends of eight silver cords. Seven of them were tied to the eighth with little bows, similar to a kite string. Jose tugged at the end of one bow, but it didn't come loose.

"What? But that should have…I'll keep trying."

As he and Morgana watched, the cord Jose had tried to untie vibrated. It settled down, then vibrated again. It reminded Morgana of the way an insect struggling in a spider web alerted the spider through the vibration of the silk strands. He had the uncomfortable feeling that he and Jose were the insects, and they hadn't yet seen the spider.