Persona V: Reversing the Wheel of Fate
Chapter Eighty-Two
[Opening Scene: Shibuya – Hasegawa Temporary Residence (Blue Hour)
Theme of Investigation: Monochrome from Persona: Revelations]
Slowly.
Gently.
This was how a Phantom Thief was supposed to operate.
Morgana liked to live up to this saying. He didn't remember who told him this nor how he remembered it, but he did and he followed up to those words. Softly, the four-legged thief crept through the halls of the Hasegawa home until he made it to Akane's room.
Morgana stood on his hand legs and rubbed his paws together but just as he jumped up to turn the knob, Sumire whispered, "What are you doing, Morgana-senpai?"
Morgana squeaked in terror as his fur stood up, leaving him puffed out. He turned around with a glare as Sumire let out an apologetic giggle. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you," Sumire told him with her hands raised in surrender.
"Y-You didn't scare me," Morgana whispered back as he used his paws to try and smooth out his fur, only to fail, causing his pout to deepen. "What are you doing up anyway? You're supposed to be sleeping with everyone else."
"I couldn't sleep," Sumire explained. "It's been a long day and my body won't stop buzzing."
"Weird. You're supposed to be super exhausted after going through a palace. Then again, you are a weird persona user yourself," Morgana said. "But still, you need to go back. Akane. She's in her palace again and I need to see if it's something I can stop in Mementos or if it's progressed into a full palace yet."
"Morgana-senpai, you said a lot of words that I don't understand," Sumire apologetically commented. "But, I should at least come with you to explore this place. That way, you can have some help in case your investigation goes badly."
"Why do you keep calling me that?" Morgana asked.
"What?" Sumire asked.
"Senpai," Morgana answered.
"Well, you and Ren have been doing this a long time it seems. Since I'm new to this power and you two are very experienced in this field, it seems natural to call you both senpai," Sumire explained.
Morgana opened his mouth to dispute this but then he grinned. "Well, you aren't wrong," Morgana said with a cocky tone. "Very well, Sumire-kōhai. I know I just threw a lot at you, but it's something only the first Phantom Thief can handle. But like I told you earlier, It's not something you have to worry about."
"But what if you get hurt, Morgana-senpai?" Sumire asked. "Just yesterday, you and Ren were almost killed in that…what did you call it earlier, palace? What if you get into danger again and you're all alone? What then?"
"Sumire-kōhai…" Morgana grumbled. "Alright. Fine, you can come with me. But only for a peek, and then we are zooming out."
"I won't let you down, Senpai," Sumire promised as she bowed.
"Now, keep a lookout while I unlock the door…." Morgana instructed.
Sumire nodded and looked away.
After a few minutes, Morgana finished his lockpicking and landed in front of Sumire. "All done. Now, let's get in there."
Sumire nodded and Morgana led her into the room, which, as Morgana expected, was empty. "She's truly gone," Sumire whispered as she shut the door behind her.
"She's in cahoots with her shadow," Morgana explained. "Which means she'll be busy for a hot minute. Alright…Since we don't have a phone, I'll have to do this the hard way. I hate doing it the hard way"
Sumire tilted her head.
"The hard wa—" Sumire started, only for Morgana to tune her out as his eyes glowed an ethereal blue.
[Theme of the Hard Way: Jail Fall from Persona 5 Scramble: The Strikers]
"There are two ways to enter a palace, Kōhai," Morgana announced as the mirror in front him him cracked and exploded, with the pieces falling down the red, black, and purple portal that lay within the mirror. "The first is the safe way, Using Ren's phone, the app, and the codewords. The second way?"
The wind's power behind him and Sumire increased as Morgana's glowing eyes showed a reflection of what looked to be an amusement park. "Is the way I go about it. The unpredictable way!" Morgana exclaimed before he jumped through the portal and Sumire fell after him.
[Scene Change: Between Worlds
Theme of Transformation: Anime 01 from Persona Q2 New Cinema Labyrinth]
Time seemed slow as Mogana and Sumire fell into the portal that led to an unfamiliar palace.
A small violet light pulsated against Morgana's chest as his body changed into green energy that looked similar to the wind while the outline of his body glowed with that same violet light but kept the shape of the four-legged cat.
The wind and the violet outline then took the shape of the anthropomorphic cat form and then exploded with a burst of violet and green wind, revealing Mona.
Meanwhile, Sumire's body turned into a shining silhouette, all except for her eyes, which glowed an ethereal blue. Blue flames, in the shape of ribbons, exploded from the silver rose that created her chain belt and flowed around her.
The flaming blue ribbons then wrapped around her chest, where they rightened and solidified into a strapless black leotard with a sweetheart neckline, along with her scabbard and her rapier.
The burning blue ribbons then wrapped around her feet and legs to form a pair of thigh-length hose and stiletto lace-up pumps that resemble ballet shoes on top of them. Blue fire ribbons then wrapped around her arms and neck as she crossed her arms in front of her to form her red gloves, black choker, and black bolero jacket with gold buttons, ruffled flared sleeves, and three floor-length coattails.
She opened her eyes as the blue ribbon of flames slowly wrapped around her hair to put it into a ponytail, tightened, and solidified in a black ribbon. Finally, Sumire tilted her head as a dot of blue flames appeared on her forehead and as she closed her eyes, the flames spread while taking the shape of her mask before it exploded, revealing a black mask with silver highlights on her face.
[Scene Change: Unknown Palace
Theme of Unknown Palace: Forest Kingdom from Nier: Automata]
When Mona and Sumire landed on the ground, Sumire looked at her clothes in wonder. "Whoa, I'm back in those strange clothes…" Sumire whispered as Mona walked ahead of her and looked at the sky.
"This isn't good," Mona whispered.
Sumire turned around and felt her eyes widen in surprise.
The two persona users were standing on a cliffside, where they could see a forest of red and white plum blossom trees with bright orange torii gates that were interspersed throughout the forest, along with shrines with gold fox statues in front of them, until they saw the middle of the forest.
In the middle of the forest was a 5-story pagoda that shared a resemblance to the Toji Temple, where it had a bright gold torii gate in front of it.
Behind the forest of red and white plum blossom trees was a large gilded bird cage, and within it was an amusement park, where the two could actively see fireworks going off in the distance, glittering the sky with various shades of red along with gold and black.
"This is weird," Mona murmured.
"Maybe it's because it's undone, but this place seems rather….Nice," Sumire said with a pleasant smile.
Mona narrowed his eyes as he noticed movement in the forest. "Don't start labeling the place, Kōhai, because the palace is complete," Mona told her.
"How do you know, Morgana-senpai?" Sumire asked.
"Because there is a Shadow," Mona warned as a Shadow, dressed as a traditional miko, with white hakui with red sode-kukuri through the sleeves and open shoulders, a bright red nagabakama with a red obi, white tabi, and straw sandals.
The Shadow had long inky black hair that was tied into a low loose ponytail by a white ribbon with bangs that hung above the forehead of the Shadows' porcelain mask that resembled the face of a beautiful pale-skinned woman with soulless brown eyes.
The shadow walked with their head bowed and their palms pressed together as if they were praying as they walked. Sumire placed a hand on her chest and murmured, "That Shadow…They seem, sad…"
"Sad?" Mona asked.
Sumire nodded and said, "Yeah. But for what reason, I don't know…"
Mona didn't know why, but he could feel the sadness from this Shadow.
But why?
"…We've gathered enough information. We should go for now," Mona whispered.
Sumire nodded and Mona turned back around, his eyes glowing an ethereal blue.
"Let's go…"
[Scene Change: Shibuya – Hasegawa Temporary Residence (Morning)
Theme of Hasegawa Temporary Residence: Puzzling from Persona Q2 New Cinema]
(Kowashitai!
[I'm breaking down!]
Daijisou ni kakaeta watashi o zenbu
[All the walls I've built up around my lonely heart]
Kimi ga kono kodoku o Itami o iyasu no!
[You're the one that takes it all away My solitude and all my pain!])
Zenkichi was startled awake by his ringtone going off. He fumbled around on his dresser for both his glasses and his phone.
(Reincarnation
(Oh~)
Realization
(Oh~)
Reincarnation,
Kiete shimaitai
[I want to disappear])
"I gotta change this song," Zenkichi grumbled as he found his glasses, slipped them on, and immediately found his phone. He quickly answered the call and greeted, "Hasegawa reporting."
"Turn on the news. And hurry!" Sae's voice commanded.
Zenkichi reached for his remote and flipped on the television. He switched to a news channel and to his shock, an image of Madarame and a woman were on the news.
[Theme of Good Morning Japan: Vehicle Handling from Persona 2: Innocent Sin (PSX)]
"Good Morning Japan! I am your host, Yoshizawa Shinichi and this is my cohost, Higurashi Kikyō, and we report the news for the city of Japan and the civilians who love her," Shinichi greeted.
"That we do, Yoshizawa-san," Kikyō agreed. "And today, we are reporting on the bombshell reveals of the self-proclaimed "Infinite Font of Ideas" Madarame Ichiryūsai."
Zenkichi blinked.
What?
"It's been a chaotic twenty minutes since Madarame called a press conference and revealed what he called his "Sins." And as always, we are here to deliver it to you," Shinichi said. "We go now to the footage we caught just twenty minutes ago."
Zenkichi watched as television changed to the teary face of Madarame, who sat with microphones in front of him.
[Theme of Regret: Regret from Persona 5]
"I…" Madarame mournfully began. "I have committed grave offenses. Not only as an artist. But as a human being as well." Madarame paused for a moment, trying to fight back the tears. "There is no easy way to say this, so I will just say it. I tainted this country's art world. Everything that has my name on it, was stolen and plagiarized."
Zenkichi heard the sharp gasps in the audience that watched him. "Even my greatest work, the Sayuri, was tainted by my hands," Madarame continued. "The woman who created that art, Kitagawa Shizuru, is the true painter of the Sayuri. She was a kind woman, a gracious woman. A woman that was far too pure for my selfish desires of her…"
Madarame sniffled and said, "I was supposed to be her friend, but instead, I coveted her. I wanted all of her and when she couldn't give it, I allowed her to die."
Zenkichi's eyes bugged out of his head.
"What?" Zenkichi breathed.
"You must keep watching," Sae told him.
"I allowed her to die from her seizure!" Madarame exclaimed. "And then, I took her son, Kitagawa Yusuke, and the Sayuri and used them both. The painting brought me the acclaim and adoration of the art world, and her son continued to give me art once he was old enough. I had told Yusuke that I took him in to honor his mother and our friendship but the sick truth of it is…I took him both as a trophy and as petty revenge for her turning me away…But that is not all."
"With the adoration of the art world, students far and wide sought my teachings, and instead of giving them the gift of knowledge, I used them. I abused them. I ran them dry of their talent to line my pockets with money and get myself deeper into the art world. And when it was done, I would toss them away like garbage," Madarame continued. "Some tried to fight back, tried to tell the truth, but I made sure they never had a career in the art world because I feared the truth getting out. I did this to many, including Nakanohara Natsuhiko and Yusuke himself. But for the girls, I did worse."
"For the girls that wanted my tutelage, I would force them into giving me their bodies along with their art and their talent. I treated them all like toys. And when I was done, I would toss them away. Most never recovered and lost their love for art. But for others, like Samonosuke Kana, they would lose their lives to suicide…I treated them all like livestock and robbed them of their voice. And if it wasn't for the Phantom Thieves of Heart, they would have remained v-voiceless," Madrame's body began to shake as he began to violently sob. "H-How could I…I possibly apologize to—to everyone for what I've done?!"
"I can't believe it," Zenkichi whispered. "Sae, what happened to him? The news said this happened twenty minutes ago."
"Because of his age, Madarame was taken to the hospital for his interrogation after he voluntarily turned himself in," Sae explained. "The things that he has confessed to are monumental…"
"I can see that…" Zenkichi murmured with wonder.
"This just in, during the replay of Madarame's confession, Tōgō Mitsuyo, the mother of The "Venus of Shōgi" Tōgō Hifumi, has also called for an emergency press conference!" Shinichi revealed.
"What?!" Sae exclaimed.
"We will now switch over to life coverage!" Kikyō exclaimed.
The screen then switched to Tōgō Mitsuyo, dressed in a black suit and tie, and like Madarame before her, she looked as if she had been crying.
"Good morning, and thank you for indulging me," Mitsuyo began. "Many of you know me. But for many who don't. My name is Tōgō Mitsuyo. The wife of the late Tōgō Mitsuhide and mother to Tōgō Hifumi, your reigning Shogi champion. And I have sinned against the memory of my late husband and my daughter…"
"Oh no, don't tell me," Zenkichi started. "it's happening again?"
"When I was younger, I didn't have an easy life. My family and I were poor. Poorer than most. Father owed a lot of debts and to repay them to keep himself and his family alive, he would offer my body to his collectors," Mitsuyo began. "It started when I turned twelve until I turned eighteen. That was when I met Mitsuhide. We were the same age and he was a kind and gentle boy. We fell in love immediately, even though I was unaware, at the time, that he bought me from my father to use at his leisure…"
"We soon got married but despite this, I had to continue to sell my body to keep my family afloat, all while Mitsuhide promised that once his Shogi career took off, we'd be okay," Mitsuyo revealed. "And I believe him. But soon, I quickly became pregnant. I never wanted children and Mitsuhide and I often fought about whether we would even keep her or not. But he wanted a child and I loved him so much, that I decided to keep her. In return, he made a promise that if anything should happen to him, the unborn child would take care of me until my dying day. When Hifumi was born, I wanted to love her and I tried, I really did try, but in the end, I despised her. I despised her because she looked exactly like me and I knew that the baby that I was holding was my nest-egg should anything happen to Mitsuhide…And eventually, it did."
Mitsuyo let out a soft sigh as tears fell down her eyes. "As we got older, Mitsuhide became famous and rich off of his skill as a Shogi player, and finally, all the promises he made were coming true. But then, suddenly, he died, and all of the terror of being that eighteen-year-old girl, looking down the barrel of a life of prostitution came back until I remembered that promise. It was that promise that made me turn from a widow who grew to love her daughter…to a heartless monster."
Mitsuyo looked at the camera in front of her and revealed, "My fear of returning to the streets and selling my body made me rig my daughter's career in Shogi. Starting from her sixth opponent on, I rigged her matches. Whether by paying money or selling myself, I had Hifumi's opponents take a dive in order for her to win and garner more money. And when I felt that I wasn't earning enough, I had Hifumi, against her permission, perform gravure shoots every other day. And recently, I tried to sell her off to a prolific author in Sendai for an amazing amount of money…"
"My daughter was unaware of me selling her to the author or fixing her matches and I didn't even know until the Phantom Thieves sent their message…But I realized after they did that I had done what my father did to me, and more so. I violated my daughter in every conceivable way and if I could take it all back, I would…And so, I humbly ask to be arrested for the crimes I have committed. Please! I beg of all of you, please arrest me!" Mitsuyo implored. "Please, before I hurt my daughter again!"
Zenkichi let out a deep sigh and asked, "Sae? This is going to be a long day, isn't it?"
"Yeah…It will be…" Sae replied.
[Scene Change: Shibuya – Hasegawa Temporary Residence (Morning – Akane's Room)
Theme of Hasegawa Temporary Residence: Puzzling from Persona Q2 New Cinema]
"The Phantom Thieves…" Akane whispered with wide eyes as she sat in her bed, watching the news regarding the confessions of Madarame and Mitsuyo. "They made more people confess! Maybe…Just maybe…They can make that pathetic man confess to his sins too…"
[Scene Change: Shibuya – Sakura Residence (Morning)
Theme of Sakura Residence - Sad Memories From Tokyo Mirage Sessions FE]
Sitting alone in a room at her desk, huddled underneath the covers was Sakura Futaba. And she was watching the news regarding Madarame and Mitsuyo with interest in her sad eyes.
"The Phantom Thieves….Could they be the ones to help me?"