Chapter 26: Strength
5/20, Friday
DEADLINE: June 5th
DAYS UNTIL EXHIBIT ENDS: 16
Steal Madarame's heart.
•Akira•
The day started like normal, and after a boring day where he answered every question the teachers shot at him in an attempt to catch him not paying attention, he was riding the train back to Leblanc.
"First I change out of my school uniform and into something… dark… then I meet with Kitagawa."
What, art thou not going to purchase a trench coat? Arsène questioned sarcastically.
"Can't overwhelm him during the first session," he grinned. The train arrived at Yongen-Jaya, he walked to Leblanc and quickly switched clothes. He swiftly walked back out before Sakura could pull him into washing dishes or scrubbing the floors, and within minutes he was on another train heading back towards Shibuya.
He got off at Station Square and began walking to the atelier, entering the residential section the shack was located in and clicking his tongue when he saw the state of the building once again. He didn't care for the reason why, anyone living there, especially a teenager like Kitagawa, was just not right.
He buzzed the doorbell and waited. "Yes? Who is it?"
"Starr-san."
"Ah! Come in!" He could hear running until the microphone shut off and huffed in amusement. The door opened and Kitagawa eagerly waved him inside. "I have everything set up."
"Lead the way." They walked into the same room that Kitagawa had Ann model in, and he set his bag down before awkwardly standing in front of the stool. "So, am I standing? Sitting? How uh… should I pose? Kitagawa-san?"
Kitagawa didn't answer right away, flitting around the room and murmuring to himself as he looked over various papers and art supplies, before looking at him. "Apologies. I have several poses I'd like to try drawing. Here, take a look at my sketches."
He walked over and raised his eyebrows at the dozens of different drawings, all showing him in a different stance, with different expressions, and different clothing, though most were still basic line drawings with not too much detail. "Uh…"
"Yes, I know… normally I would have more options for you to choose from, but another project from Kosei stole some of my attention," Kitagawa sighed. "Regardless, does any catch your eye?"
'Normally he has more,' he says, Arsène scoffed. This collection is already overwhelming.
Quite impressive, though, Apsaras commented.
"They all look good for sketches. I suppose this one?" He picked at random, choosing a picture where he was in a sitting pose, one leg stretched out and the other up on the seat with him. One hand was laid out on the armrest, the other holding some dark object.
He mostly chose it so that he could be sitting down, considering he'd likely be posing for several hours… and quickly regretted the decision.
While Kitagawa at least had the foresight to have a chair with armrests at the ready in case he'd chosen one of the photos involving his resting his arms on them, the pose was more difficult to keep than he'd thought. His foot kept slipping off the chair, the arm he was resting would sometimes drop off the rest, and the arm he was posing as if he were holding an object was getting sore as hell.
How many hours now had it been…? He was afraid of moving to check, for one because he might not be able to return to his previous position, and also because he was afraid it would only be about thirty minutes, meaning he'd have several more agonizing hours to go.
Morgana had fallen asleep a while ago while resting in his bag. At first, he'd tried exploring the shack again, examining the door and its lock to make sure he would be able to unlock it when he needed to, but with how small the place was he'd finished quickly.
Lucky bastard.
Ω • Ω • Ω
•Yusuke•
Sketch sketch…
Hm… yes… he could partially see it… he glanced towards Starr-san, the boy staring at nothing in particular with a blank look on his face, his arm and leg trembling slightly. He frowned at the sight. He needed a different expression, but Starr-san wasn't exactly a professional. He couldn't be expected to hold an expression for several hours.
Sketch… sketch…
Still, it was the gap between mental image and reality that was hindering him currently. It was… the little inconsistencies that were irritating him. Starr-san was wearing dark colors as he'd asked, but they weren't the right shade. He asked for longer clothing or some type of cape-like accessory, and while he was wearing a turtleneck and jeans, it didn't take up the… space that his image did.
Sketch… Sketch…
Ergh… he was losing it. His mental image. There was no emanation around of… something, some dark aura that he could see in his image, surrounding Starr-san. He wasn't wearing a smirk, there was no mix of gold and silver spilling from a white—
"Put on a mask."
He surprised himself when he spoke, and clearly surprised his model. "Huh, whuh…?" Starr-san blinked and sat up slightly looking around in confusion. "Excuse me?" He put his pencil down and looked around, before spotting a can of white paint. That would do. He grabbed a brush and the can, stalking closer to his model. "Oi, now wait a min—!"
He slathered the brush in white before beginning to paint his face, using careful flicks of his wrist to make sure none hit his eyes as he painted around them. "Hmm…"
Starr-san twitched, before closing his eyes and muttering to himself, "Ann better thank me for taking her place here, I swear to god."
"Shh, I need to focus."
"Focus my ass…" Ignoring him, he stepped back and observed him. Silver eyes were now surrounded by a white, painted-on mask, its design matching a 'domino' type mask, almost bird-like in appearance—
A black aura exploding out of him, a rebellious spirit, with flecks of red and silver intermingling. His cloak stretched out behind him, fluttering in the wind as blood red gloves clasped a beautiful, silver knife, gleaming in the light of the moon. A smirk was on his face, beneath the mask reflecting the light of that same moon. And in that mask, his silver eyes were flashing between gold and a kaleidoscopic rainbow of colors, energy within begging to be unleashed.
And behind him—!
Ahahaha! A demon- no, a fallen Angel, black feathers curled through the air as they fell from wings that had a very faint rainbow sheen upon their black coloration, a red suit was upon its body, and flames of the same color formed a face, a top hat and horns sat upon its head. You gaze upon a being chained to the depths of hell… and yet you seem enraptured!
Sketchsketchsketchsketchsketchsketchsketchsketch—
The Fallen Angel placed his hands upon Sta— Joker's shoulders, sharp nails careful not to cut him. His wings flared and blue fire joined the mix of red, black, and silver, chains erupting around them. Several of them had broken links, and another set exploded out of the ground around himself, though all of his were sturdy, unbroken.
Sketchsketchsketchsketchsketchsketchsketchsketch—
Pain blossomed for a moment as another voice boomed, different from the angel's. Beauty and vice… you are constrained, but you know which is which deep within, do you not?
Sketchsketchsketchsketchsketchsketchsketchsketch—
Sketch.
He snapped out of his daydream, looking at his paper. In his stupor, it seemed he had finished his sketch…
It showed Starr-san lounged in the chair, but not in a lazy fashion. He had a smug expression on his face, partially hidden by his half-mask— as half of it was melting away into a blue fire and showing his face, and a knife being twirled in his off-hand. Behind him was the Fallen Angel he'd envisioned, looming over the boy— but not threateningly… more protectively. He knew what he would call the finished piece, even now.
'Certainty of the Inner Self.'
Truly, there was beauty there. Being so in tune with your inner self? So certain of your true nature, relishing in it, being happy with it, rebelling against the notions of what is 'the norm,' and enjoying just being yourself, even were that person an outcast? Amazing.
"Starr-san, would you like to see the finished sketch?"
"Asshole, goddamn covering me in paint, going to have to wash all this off before I leave…" Starr-san sighed and walked over. He turned to look down at the sketch pad and froze, his eyes widening. "Whoa…"
"Ah, so you like it?" He placed a hand on his chin, frowning at the paper. "It certainly is one of my better ones, in my eyes, but of course, this is only the sketch phase. It shall look much better when I've finally painted."
"Ah… yeah."
"Is there a problem?"
"No… No, no problem. It looks really good. I like it a lot, Kitagawa-san."
"Hm. So, will you be fine returning again for another sketch?"
"Another?"
"Yes, I'd like a good number to choose from before I begin painting."
"But… don't you need to submit your new art piece for Madarame to use before the end of the exhibit?"
"Ah…" He frowned at the reminder. "Well…"
"Do you really feel comfortable letting him take credit for YOUR hard work? Come on, Kitagawa-san."
"I don't wish to talk about this."
"What about the model's opinion, huh?" Starr-san crossed his arms, staring at the paper. "What if I say that I'm not comfortable with him taking the art that I helped create and taking credit for its creation?"
"I suppose… well…"
Starr-san just sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. "Alright, I'll let this go for now. How about I come back tomorrow as well for another sketch? I know you're freakishly fast at this, but you've only got barely more than two weeks until the end of the exhibit. I don't want Madarame… pressuring you about your work."
"Thank you, that would be helpful." He smiled and agreed, taking the finished sketch and placing it aside.
"And I suppose I'll need to buy a mask before coming here again, instead of having to deal with this again," Starr-san mumbled. A drop of paint ran down his model's cheek, and he twitched as he resisted the urge to paint a new picture, inspiration striking him.
"I will clean up here, feel free to use the bathroom and wash before you leave. You have been an excellent help, and model, today."
"Right. I'll see you tomorrow, then." He just nodded in acceptance, not truly paying attention as he began looking over his drafts. Now, which ones did he want to sketch next? Of course, it was up to Starr-san as well, but perhaps he could try finishing some of the sketches on his own while he was still inspired…
Ω • Ω • Ω
•Akira•
"Sheesh…" he sighed and ruffled his wet hair, still damp from the bathhouse. He'd gotten most of the white paint off at the shack, but he still felt the need to have a thorough wash. He grabbed his phone and opened the group chat with one hand, the other grabbing a pencil and his homework.
Chat Room: The Phantom Thieves
You— You'd better thank me for what I went through for you, Ann. Because that was torture.
Several minutes passed before he finally got some replies.
Ann— Thank you, from the bottom of my heart!
Ann— (シ_ _ )シ
Ryuji— was it really that bad?
He snorted at the emoticon Ann had sent of her bowing before typing out a response to Ryuji.
You— I had to sit in the same position for several hours straight as he completely ignored me and focused on that damn pad.
Ryuji— sounds ruff
You— Morgana slept through most of it, of course. I couldn't even distract myself by speaking with him.
Morgana scoffed next to him. "Well excuse me for being so bored with nothing going on!"
Ryuji— Course the cat likes catnaps
"H-How dare he!"
You— Morgana was very offended by your words, Ryuji.
Ryuji— Then Monamona shouldnt spy on ur txts
Ann— At least Kitagawa-kun didn't try and get you naked.
You— That you know of.
Ann— Did he try?!
Ryuji— yeesh
You— No, which slightly offends me. I'm probably the most beautiful boy in Shujin, and he doesn't want me naked?
Ann— Ugh
You— On a more serious note, we might have to take this Palace even more seriously.
Ryuji— Y?
You— Kitagawa-san managed to sketch Arsène and my Thief Attire.
"Huh?!" Morgana suddenly jumped up and looked at him with wide eyes. "When was this?!"
"Right before we left. You never took a look at his final sketch, remember?"
He could see the bubbles of Ann and Ryuji pop up and down frantically as they tried to respond, before all of a sudden his phone rang. He raised an eyebrow when he saw it was a linked call between all of them and picked up. "Dude, you can't just drop a bombshell like that! What the hell?!"
"Yeah, what do you mean he drew Arsène?! Did you describe him or something?!"
"Not at all. He was in one of those trances he seems to get into before he suddenly grabbed some white paint and splashed it on my face." He heard Ryuji snort before he continued. "After that, he got all quiet and began drawing at an incredibly rapid pace. Eventually, he showed it to me, and it was clear as day. Arsène and my Thief Attire— with half my mask melted away in flame."
"The shit?!"
"Huh?!"
"I feel like we're going in circles," Morgana muttered.
"Look, I don't understand either. Unless he somehow has access to the Metaverse as well and saw us in there, but the likelihood of that is abysmally low. He would have brought it up in some way besides just… taunting me with the information that he knew about us. Instead, he simply asked me my opinion on the art."
"So we gotta do this thing before he puts up the art of you as a Phantom Thief at the exhibit, huh?" Ryuji sighed. "Wait, is it that bad? It's not like anyone's gonna look at that and immediately think 'oh hey, that dude's a Phantom Thief!'"
"Ryuji… huh, actually, you've got a point."
"Not necessarily. Several days ago, on Wednesday, May the fourth specifically, I had a thought—"
"How did you remember which day specifically?!"
"Because I'm just that good," he shot back at Ann. "Anyway, I won't go into the whole train of thought that led to it, but I thought about how psychotic breakdowns and mental shutdowns are very similar to the change of heart we incurred on Kamoshita."
"Oh yeah, I remember this conversation," Morgana muttered.
"Isn't it possible that there is someone else out there, with access to the Metaverse, using it to influence people's Shadows and create these travesties?"
"Uh, I guess?" He could practically hear the gears turning in Ann and Ryuji's heads.
"And… if they are dickin' around in Palaces or whatever… then they'd know about Personas and all that, yeah? So if they saw that paintin' of Akira without part of his mask and Arsène…"
"Then they'd know who a member of the Phantom Thieves is!" Ann and Ryuji said in sync.
"To be fair, it would likely be difficult to match half a face to a single person in the vast city of Tokyo, or perhaps they don't know about Personas, but I don't want to take that risk."
"That's probably for the best," Morgana muttered.
"Yeah… guess we'd better get a move on, huh."
"Yeah. That's tomorrow, though. For now… I've got to make some lockpicks."
"Have fun with that. I've got some video games callin' my name."
"I just bought some new fashion magazines I need to read through!"
"And even when we're not in the Metaverse, I'm the most productive one," he grumbled. He worked his tools and focused, creating another pick, as well as a Goho-m for emergencies. As he set his tools down he frowned. Ryuji and Ann would be entering the Metaverse on their own, and while he trusted they could handle themselves, he was worried…
Maybe he should take a visit to the Velvet Room and get himself some new… firepower, just in case he needed to jump in after them.
Ω • Ω • Ω
5/21, Saturday
DEADLINE: June 5th
DAYS UNTIL EXHIBIT ENDS: 15
Steal Madarame's heart.
Morgana yelped suddenly as, while on their way to Shujin, he pulled out his phone and they dropped into Mementos. "Whoa, whoa, warn me about this! What're we doing here, anyway?"
"Relax, I just need to sort out my Personas. In case there's an emergency and the others need me in Mementos."
"Eh? But won't we be late for school?"
"Depends on what the time differential between the Velvet Room and reality is, but I should be able to do this quickly." He thought to himself, adjusting his mask. Out loud, he spoke "I'll only take a short while. We'll be out of here quickly."
Justine looked up as he walked over to the prison door, nodding when she saw him. "Do you intend to enter the Velvet Room, Inmate?"
"I do."
"Very well." The door creaked open and they walked inside. As always, Justine somehow ended up on the other side of the bars while he appeared behind them. Igor's too-wide smile greeted him, as the ethereal music of the room lightly caressed the back of his mind.
"It seems you've grown quite used to coming here. Are you becoming accustomed to infiltrating Palaces by now?"
"Of course. It's second nature by now."
"My, how quick. Regardless, you have yet to obtain a truly acceptable number of Personas. This is not the full potential of the Wild Card." he raised an eyebrow as Igor chuckled. "Hm, I suppose this can be an opportunity to help further your rehabilitation along. This is not mandatory, of course, think of it almost as a test of strength."
"Sounds fine to me. What will I be doing?"
Justine spoke up, flipping through her clipboard. "We will have you bring us the mask we specify."
"You just gotta show us the Persona we ask for!"
"Whether you gain it through fusion or negotiation, either will fulfill the requirements."
"But it'll be a lot easier to fuse it, rather than hope you stumble across the right Persona in a Palace!"
"First off… we would like you to bring us a Jack Frost."
"Hold on, Justine! That's too easy! It should be a challenge!"
"What would you suggest, then?"
"Hm… make sure it has the Mabufu attack too! Got that, Inmate? A Jack Frost with Mabufu!"
He was getting a bit tired of looking back and forth from either warden as they spoke but chuckled anyway. "Alright, sounds simple enough. I was looking to do some new fusions anyway."
"Speak with us again once you have it."
He took Justine's clipboard and began swiping, finding the various combinations he could create from both the Personas he had on hand as well as the registered ones. Right away, he found the perfect fusion. Combining Succubus and Saki Mitama would create a Jack Frost, and even though it didn't know Mabufu, the Arcana Boost he got from Mona's Confidant easily put it over the edge.
'A winter fairy of European descent. He leaves ice patterns on windows and nips people's noses. Though normally an innocent creature, he will freeze his victims to death if provoked.' After reading through what the compendium had to say about the creature, he selected Dekaja, Mudo, and Energy Drop as the spells to keep, and sent the Personas to the guillotines. Justine and Caroline threw the sheets over them after they were wrenched from his mind, dragging them into the execution devices. Here we go again.
He turned away as the blades dropped, before looking back as the energy combined into his new Persona. Standing in front of his cell was a small, perhaps four or five feet tall,, white snowman. It wore a blue cap, collar, and shoes, and smiled widely at him. "I'm Jack Frost, hee ho! I know I'm just a mask, but take good care of me-hee, ho!" He transformed into a mask and flowed into his head, and in the brief moment he was blinded by the light of it, the guillotines vanished.
"Well, better Jack Frost than Jack Slash," he muttered. "Maybe I should make another Persona too…" He scanned the clipboard, humming.
Shouldn't we be going soon?
'In a minute, in a minute.'
Soon enough, he'd sacrificed several more Personas, spending some money so that Berith could be combined with Incubus into a Hua Po, one of the tiny fairies that flew around Madarame's Palace, before spending some more money to resummon angel and combine her with Hua Po, creating Ame-No-Uzume.
'Japanese goddess of entertainment, she governs many sacred dances. She is most famous for luring out Amaterasu, who had barricaded herself inside a cave.' After reading out the description, Arsène snorted in his mind. So, thou wants another pretty woman inside thy head? Well, I cannot blame thou, thou art the other self of Arsène Lupin!
'Can it. It's just because she has some good healing abilities, and her electric attacks are less costly than Izanagi-Picaro's.' He shook his head and began the execution process, Hua Po and Angel getting dragged out to be combined. Still, Izanagi, Ame-No-Uzume… how many more gods would he be stuffing into his head?
Bright light signaled the birth of his new Persona, who floated before his cage. She was a beautiful woman with long black hair that reached her thighs who floated two feet above the ground, wearing an odd outfit that almost seemed to be made up of a hand fan on her chest, cloth draped over her forearms billowing behind her, and more cloth around her lower half, though her feet were barefoot. On her thighs and ankles two concentric circles were painted, as well as on the fan covering her chest, the two fans she held in her hands, on her cheeks, and on the fan that covered her eyes.
"I am Ame-No-Uzume. I shall be your new face. Now come, let us rejoice in the melody that draws forth true might." Another flash and she and the guillotines were gone.
'Alright, let's show off this Jack and get out of here.' He tapped on the bars next to Caroline as he handed Justine her clipboard back. "So? I've got Jackie ready to go."
"You do, huh? Alright, Inmate, sit down!" He raised an eyebrow, before sitting cross-legged on the floor, the two children stepping in front of the cell door.
Justine checked over her clipboard and nodded, "It seems you have indeed brought the specified Persona."
"Hmph. Fine, I'll take it."
"You're welcome," he snorted at her.
"Hey, no backsass, Inmate!" She whacked the bars, glaring at him. "Especially from someone with such weak Personas!"
How dare she!
"Though, I guess you do deserve some praise for finishing your penal labor. You might actually complete your rehabilitation."
"In order to promote that process, we would like to offer you the use of a new facility."
Caroline looked over and raised an eyebrow. "Hmph, it's rare to see you smile, Justine."
"You are the smiling one, Caroline. Did something happen to make you so joyful?"
"Me?!" He smirked at the back and forth, causing the angry girl to look at him. "Hey, are you laughing at us?!"
"More you, than her, honestly. Getting a lot of tsundere vibes here."
"Know your place, Inmate!"
Justine nodded alongside her twin. "As wardens, we simply feel satisfaction in seeing your rehabilitation progress. That is the extent of it. I find it upsetting that you would see such a matter as a source of amusement."
"It's like you forget where you are, Inmate. You've got some real guts though! With that spirit, you should have no trouble making progress!"
"This may be a prison, but I think you've forgotten that prison breaks are a thing." He tapped on the stone wall of his cell. "One day I'll be getting out of here."
"Hmph! Not until your rehabilitation is completed you won't!"
"Think you can stop me?"
"Oh I know I can!"
Justine shook her head at the back and forth they were having. "Very well then. If you have the will to continue with your penal labor, we can grant you further freedom within this prison. It is a deal between us, the wardens, and you, the inmate."
"Not like you have the right to turn it down though! Hard work is what you're meant to do, Inmate!"
He chuckled at her tone, accepting easily. With greater freedoms within this solitary cell, our powers shall grow even further!
I am thou, thou art I…
Thou hast acquired a new vow.
It shall become the wings of rebellion
that breaketh thy chains of captivity.
With the birth of the Strength Persona,
I have obtained the winds of blessing that
shall lead to freedom and new power…
Strength Arcana, Twin Wardens: Rank One
As the booming of breaking chains filled his head, he saw a small flash of light appear on Igor's desk, which quickly manifested into a new card. The roman numeral of eleven appeared on top of it, XI, and the words 'La Force' on the bottom, with the picture of a man holding open a lion's jaws on the front of the card. Huh, looks like he just saw the creation of a card in real-time.
"Oh, so we have a bond? Very intriguing."
"It was bound to happen, Justine. He's our Inmate, after all." Caroline refocused on him, tapping her baton against the bars. "Now then, it's time for your next task!"
"We request that you bring us an Ame-No-Uzume."
"Oh?" He smirked. "I al—"
"With the Frei skill." His face fell, causing Caroline to smirk. "Don't think I forgot that sass earlier, Inmate. Now get going."
He grumbled, getting up. "I'll show you sass…"
Trickster, I believe we should be leaving now. We don't wish to be late for school, correct?
'Fine, fine…' He turned and left the Velvet Room, sulking all the way to Shujin.
Ω • Ω • Ω
"Akira, Morgana, we're countin' on you. You've gotta find some kinda way to open that door and have Madarame see it…"
"Well, Ryuji, you and Lady Ann might have the tougher job here."
"Whaddya mean?"
"While Akira is making sure that Madarame finds the open door, You two have to be inside the Palace, get through the cognitive door, and make sure that the door stays open. Probably through some kind of control room."
"That might be tough with just us," Ann muttered. "I mean, what if we have to fight some Shadows that aren't weak to fire or lightning? Akira's multiple Personas have always been our trump card."
"Hm… Morgana, after you unlock the door, head into the Metaverse. See if you can reach the others and help them out. Your healing and wind spells should help."
"Alright, good thinking, Akira!"
"Everyone agreed then?"
"Yep! Leave the security shit to us!" Ryuji cheered, throwing an arm over Ann's shoulder and grinning, all while giving a thumbs up.
"Don't worry, we'll be able to handle our end," Ann smiled.
"Great… let's do this." He pushed his glasses up, and they turned to begin walking towards the shack. As they neared it he nodded at Ann and Ryuji, before they slipped down an alley and entered the Metaverse. He continued, finding the Atelier and ringing the bell.
"One moment!" He heard something crash and snorted when Kitagawa opened the door, paint splattered on his clothing. "You've arrived!"
"Indeed. I see you're… ready to start."
"Ah, this. No, just some extra projects for class."
"How many projects do you have?" He sighed and shook his head, following Kitagawa inside. As they ascended the stairs to the second level, Morgana jumped out of his bag, lockpicks in his mouth, heading for the peacock door while he walked towards the art room.
Once more Kitagawa gestured towards his various half-sketches, and he leaned over the table to look at them all. This time he didn't really care which he choose, since as soon as he heard Madarame enter the shack, he'd be making an excuse to leave, and have Madarame see either the unlocked door or see him enter the locked room.
Several minutes passed as Kitagawa set up, during which he became antsy. Would Morgana be able to unlock the door? Sure he could in the Metaverse, but what about in the real world? He was just a cat here… Nodding, he decided. He'd quickly go and check on Morgana before coming right back. "Kitagawa-san, let me just use the restroom before we begin. I wouldn't want to sit there for quite some time while my bladder is full…"
"Good idea. Very well, I'll continue setting up."
He walked out and towards the bathroom, but then quickly jogged down the hall to find Morgana still attempting to unlock the door. "Really?"
"It's hard to do this with paws!"
He rolled his eyes. "Alright, just make sure you get it done. I need to go so Kitagawa doesn't get suspicious. It's vital that—"
"Yusuke, I'm home!"
"Fuck."
"Ah!" Morgana began working faster when he heard Madarame, nearly dropping a pin. "Crap, come on…"
"Welcome home, Sensei! Starr-san, are you—" Kitagawa walked into view at the end of the hall, turning to look down said hall at him in confusion. "Starr-san? What are you doing over there?"
Oh dear, this could get… problematic.
'No kidding…' Madarame just got home and would likely walk upstairs to find them soon. Kitagawa was walking down the hall towards him. And the damn door wasn't open! Alright, plan B.
"Move it!" He grabbed Morgana by the scruff of the neck with one hand, before taking the lock in his right hand and clenching hard. "PSI Rebellion α!" Tri-colored light shone out between his fingers, before the lock completely shattered and he tore it off the door. "Morgana, get into the Metaverse, get ready to help Skull and Panther out when the door opens! And take the lock, I don't want any evidence!"
"Got it!" Morgana vanished right in front of his eyes, taking the crumpled metal with him, and he blinked as he remembered that the not-cat could go into the Metaverse at will without the app.
"Starr-san?"
"Ah, sorry, Kitagawa-san, I had forgotten where the bathroom was from last time when I found this door. This pattern is rather interesting, do you know what's inside it?"
"Oh, this? It's simply a storage area for old paintings."
"Really…" Well, clearly it wasn't just for that if it was locked so tightly, and so intrinsic to Madarame's cognition. "May I take a look inside before we return to our sketch? I'd love to see the paintings stored inside, especially if they're old works of yours, or especially Madarame-san's."
"Only Sensei can go in there."
"Really? Why? I thought it was just a storage room."
"Well…" Kitagawa looked conflicted, but he wasn't sure if it was because he just didn't know why himself, or because he knew what was really inside and just didn't want to say. "Either way, the room is locked."
"No, it isn't." The artist blinked and took a closer look as he stepped aside.
"Wha… Where did the lock go?" He held his hands out to show he wasn't hiding it, and the boy quickly looked around trying to see if it had fallen.
"Perhaps if the lock isn't there anymore, we can go in."
"I…"
"Ah, there you two are." They both looked back down the hall, to see Madarame finally appear. "Wait, what are you doing down there…?"
'There goes my plan of just having him see an open door.'
It's all or nothing at this point. He'll know we're the ones responsible anyway.
Agreed.
'Alright…' He turned and slid the door open, stepping into the dark room. Kitagawa looked with wide eyes as he stepped inside, and Madarame quickly came into sight behind him. "My oh my, it's certainly dark inside this storage room." A flash of his Third Eye revealed that the room was filled with paintings, though with how the world looked through the Third Eye he couldn't tell what was painted on them. All things told it very well could have just been a regular storage area… except for the brightly glowing sheet in the back.
"What are you doing in there?!"
"Hm?" He looked back and raised an eyebrow. "There wasn't any lock on this door, you know. Was this room supposed to be prohibited?"
Kitagawa meanwhile was panicking, taking a step back, away from his sensei. "I-It's not what it looks like!"
Before either he or Madarame could speak again though, he grinned and grabbed the back of Kitagawa's collar, pulling him into the room as he channeled a bit of 'Joker.' "Yoink!"
"No! Get out of there!"
The man chased them inside, and his grin widened. If this didn't open up that cognitive door, he didn't know what would. The plan may have gone a bit awry, but it all worked out in the end. Now, it was up to his team. 'Good luck, guys.'
Ω • Ω • Ω
•Ryuji•
Skull huffed as he impatiently tapped his new weapon on his shoulder. It was some kinda bigass steel hammer, and apparently, Joker'd gotten it at that model gun place. Why the hell that place would even sell something like it, he had no idea, but whatever. Eventually, he started pacing back and forth, huffing.
"Nothin's happenin'… I wonder what's goin' on out there?"
"Chill out, Skull. We just have to wait for our moment then go."
"Yeah, but… How's Joker gonna get Madarame to even see this door's open at all? And won't he just close it up right away? We're gonna have, like, seconds to get in…"
"I'm sure Joker will be able to figure out something. And if he can't then we just have to make sure that we're quick."
"Alright, I get it… But where's Mona, anyway? Wasn't he supposed to get in here when he got the door open?"
"I don't know… maybe—" Mona suddenly fell from the sky out of nowhere, bouncing off his huge head and straight into him. "Whoa!"
"Ow!"
"Ugh, get off me, Monamona!"
"Not my fault you got in the way!" The cat jumped off him and huffed, shaking himself off. "Look, the door's gonna open any second now, Joker just has to show it off to Madarame. Once that happens, we go!"
"Yeah, we get it! We've been ready and waiting to get this done!" He growled in the direction of the door, feeling even more energetic now that he knew it would almost be open.
"Hey, Mona, what's that?"
"Huh? Oh, this is just the lock from the door," Mona responded to Panther's question.
"Why do you have it?" He turned to look and his eyes widened. "Whoa, it's messed up as hell! What happened?"
"Well, it turns out using delicate lockpicks with cat paws is more… difficult than I thought, so… Joker ended up destroying the lock with his psychic power."
"Don't you got paws in here, too? What's the difference?"
"There's a huge dif—!" They were cut off when the doors suddenly rumbled and opened, and the lasers turned off.
"Let's move!" He clicked his tongue at Mona, but they charged forward, straight to the doorway. Another exhibit was waiting, with only one guard standing… guard. "Alright, make sure—"
"Come on, let's kick this guy's ass! Captain Kidd!" The Captain appeared behind him and aimed his hand cannon, lightning exploding out of it. The Shadow cried out as it was electrocuted, spazzing out.
"Skull!"
"Damn it, you Numbskull! We have to rip off their masks, remember? The security level will skyrocket otherwise!"
"It's gonna go up anyway with Madarame panickin' outside! We just gotta kill this guy and move on!"
"Gah… So you're the thieves tearing your way through Lord Madarame's Museum!"
"Hell yeah we are!" Mona groaned and pulled out his weird-looking sword, he and Panther running after him. The Shadow transformed into some strange kind of tiger creature, all orange with black stripes, but kind of shaped like a monkey? It jumped at him, trying to slam him with its paw, so he had Kidd intercept and block the attack.
"Skull!"
He grit his teeth as the blow against his Persona rattled his bones, but he roared and swung his hammer into the Shadow's side and causing it to stumble back a step. "Yeah, how'd you like that one, you piece of sh-?!"
"Watch out!" Panther suddenly tackled him, and some weird long thing that had shot out from behind the Shadow missed both of them. Mona jumped in and sliced it with his sword, causing the thing to recoil and hiss. Did the bastard have a snake tail?! "Dance, Carmen!" Her Persona appeared and blew out a smokescreen from her cigar, probably using that Tarunda attack.
"We've got to find its weakness! Zorro, show your might!" With a wave of his rapier, the Persona launched a blast of wind, but the Shadow was hardly phased. It finally tore its arm away from Captain Kidd, bashing him aside, before opening its mouth and belching out a wave of black fire that looked like what Arsène used. "A curse attack, everyone brace!"
They all vanished their Personas so they wouldn't feel the pain from two sources at once, and he grimaced when it hit him. It hurt, but it wouldn't take him out that easily! Resummoning the Captain, he had him fly forward and ram the Shadow full force. "Come on, you think that's enough to stop us?!" The Captain's ship turned midair, and all its starboard cannons opened fire, Zio bolts exploding outwards to shock the Shadow.
"Panther, trip it up!" Mona yelled.
Panther snapped her whip out and grabbed its leg, pulling hard. "I need a hand!" He gripped her whip and helped her tug, pulling the thing off balance, and it quickly fell onto its back. He whooped and had Captain Kidd take aim again, before its snake-tail shot forward and sunk its teeth into Kidd's shoulder.
"Gah!" He grabbed his shoulder as pain shot through it, squeezing his eyes closed.
"Carmen! Agi!" He heard the Shadow roar in pain, and the snake let go of Captain Kidd. He felt his mask reappear as the Captain vanished, "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine! This asshole's goin' down!"
"It took some major damage from Carmen's attack, it looks like it's weak to fire! Come on, Skull, don't make us do all the work! Panther, I want you to-!"
"What'd you say?!" He shook off the pain and gripped his hammer tight, running towards the downed Shadow. "HA!" He swung down at that tail, crushing it about halfway down its length. Both the main head and the snake head screeched in pain before the snake head dissolved into ash and the Shadow's main body rolled back onto its feet and lunged forward. He grunted as it slammed into him and threw him back, skipping across the ground. "Bastard, runnin' when I've got you on the ropes!"
"Don't get reckless, Skull! Agi! Agi!" Two fireballs slammed into the Shadow and it shrieked in anger and pain, leaping backward. It stumbled around while barfing out another wave of black fire. He braced himself, but Panther stepped forward and snapped her whip. "Maragi!" Carmen inhaled through her cigar, before puckering her lips and blowing out a huge wave of flames.
The black and red fire collided and pushed against each other, before Mona summoned Zorro and had him whip up some wind, powering up Carmen's fire. It washed over the curse attack and swallowed the Shadow, and with one last scream, it turned to ash. "Hell yeah! Awesome work, Panther!"
"You Numbskull, you can't just jump in like that without letting us know!"
"Oh come on, I'm like Joker's right-hand guy, I'm the one who charges in, you should have known I was gonna do that!"
"What?! I'm obviously the second in command, you have to listen when I tell you to do something!"
"Would you two focus?! What if more Shadows show up?!"
He huffed and shouldered his hammer. "Whatever, let's find that security room." Mona shook his head and hopped after them as they began running once again.
Ω • Ω • Ω
•Akira•
"Starr-san, this is bad!"
"Well, let me get the lights before everyone starts panicking." He reached up and pulled the string that would activate the lone lightbulb hanging from the ceiling. The room lit up, and his eyebrows shot up in surprise at the sight of what was on the paintings, with Kitagawa gasping.
Every painting in the room was a replica of the Sayuri. "What the…"
"Hm, this is certainly interesting." He rubbed his chin as he looked around, wondering what use Madarame could possibly have for owning this many copies of the same painting.
The artist stormed into the room by then, glaring angrily. "Get out!"
"Sensei, what is the meaning of this?"
"I suppose I can't keep quiet now that you've seen this…" Akira raised an eyebrow and leaned against one of the many shelves holding the Sayuri's. "Truth be told… I'm in severe debt. I handmade these 'Sayuri' copies and have been selling them through a special connection of mine…"
He held back a snort and crossed his arms, looking at Kitagawa. He didn't look totally convinced yet. "But why?"
"The real 'Sayuri'... was stolen by one of my pupils long ago. I assume they begrudged my strictness… That moment was quite a shock for me… since then I've been mired in a terrible artist's block. Because of this distress, some of my pupils handed their ideas to me from time to time."
Really? That is what the fool is going with?
"I knew I couldn't keep that up, so I attempted to recreate the 'Sayuri' a number of times. However, it resulted in nothing more than replicas…" He took a look around the room and raised an eyebrow. They all looked identical to the one image he'd seen of the original, but he wasn't exactly an art critic who'd know the difference. "That's when someone came to buy the paintings, knowing well they weren't original… It's all my fault. I couldn't pay the price of being famous. As expectations for me rose, it reached a point where I had no choice but to keep making them… I… needed money to further your talents… I ask that you forgive your cowardly teacher…"
Kitagawa stepped forward, holding out his arms. "Please don't…!"
"Alright, now let's slow down here. A couple of things simply don't add up." He interrupted, seeing Kitagawa's mind starting to change. "Let's start with the fact that you said the original was stolen. How did you make the copies?"
"I… happened to find a finely detailed photograph of it in an art book."
"I see. Peculiar. You managed to perfectly recreate the painting dozens of times from a 'finely detailed photograph,' that was presumably rather small?"
"Er—"
"Of course, even if that were possible, you managed to sell copies of a photo of the original? I admit, I'm not an expert on the subject, but the people who are should have a keen eye for the fine arts. I've heard better lies."
Hahaha! My, so this is how it feels to be the interrogator? I can see why Holmes enjoyed his detective work so.
"What would you know?!"
"Well, Kitagawa-san? You're the expert. Could he have made so many identical copies from a small, 'detailed' photograph in some old art book?"
"…" Kitagawa looked troubled, he wasn't sure what to think.
"Come now, Yusuke! It was my maiden work! Of course I could—!"
"You know, there's something else I've been wondering. What is this easel here?" He turned to the sheet that had been glowing thanks to his Third Eye and walked over to it. "It seems to be the centerpiece of the room, and it's the only thing covered up. All the 'Sayuri' copies are just stacked up against each other… is something special under here, Madarame-sensei?"
I believe you are enjoying this a bit too much.
He smirked inwardly. 'The others are having fun in the Palace. Why can't I bring out a bit of Joker so I can enjoy myself too?'
"No-!"
He ripped the sheet away… revealing another 'Sayuri' copy. His face became deadpan at the sight before he realized what it probably meant. Kitagawa confirmed it by gasping and stepping closer, gently reaching toward it but not touching it. "'Sayuri'... This… this is the real 'Sayuri'! But you just said a moment ago that it was stolen! "
Hey, hey, anyone got some popcorn?
Here, Kodama.
Thanks, mister Eligor!
This is almost as entertaining as one of my dances, Uzume giggled.
"That's a replica!"
Kitagawa brushed aside Madarame's shout, his own voice rising in volume, pain clear on his face. "It is nothing of the sort! This painting kept me going… it's the reason I made it this far. Sensei… don't tell me…"
"It's a fake! A counterfeit! I heard there was a counterfeit spreading around so I bought it"
"So the artist of the original bought the counterfeit. Riiiiight. And you're telling me the rest of these copies you made aren't also frauds? Your story's falling apart at the seams." He stepped forward and narrowed his eyes. Seeing Kitagawa betrayed like this, the heart-wrenching look on his face— It boiled his blood and made him lose any levity he held. "I couldn't care less for the reasons. But Kitagawa clearly does. Was there any noble goal you had in mind here? Why lie about all of this? Huh, Madarame?! What was the purpose of hiding this from the student who loves and respects you so much?!"
"Please, Sensei, just tell me the truth!"
Apparently, Kitagawa questioning him so fervently was the last straw. "You too? Very well." He pulled his flip phone out, and Akira immediately got on guard. He couldn't risk an encounter with the police now… "I've reported you to my private security company!"
"Oh fuck."
"I've had it set up to deal with some troublesome paparazzi, but I never thought it'd come in so handy."
Trickster, I believe now is the time to flee!
Kitagawa was panicking. "Please wait! Let's talk about this!"
"You can talk all you want to the police… that includes you too, Yusuke."
Well, he couldn't afford another run in with them. He hated leaving Kitagawa, but he needed to go, as Arsène had said. Hopefully, being Madarame's student would make them more lenient. Even with what they'd discovered in that room, perhaps Kitagawa would be able to shelve his concerns until they could deal with Madarame…
He sped past the older man, causing him to stumble back and shout after him. "There's no point! They'll be here in two minutes!"
Shit. Alright, plan B. He pulled out his phone and opened the app. He wasn't sure what would happen if he entered a Palace while inside its real-world equivalent, but here goes nothing!
"Starr-san!" He activated the navigator just as Kitagawa called his name, and he turned with wide eyes.
"Kitagawa, wait a—!"
Akira was cut off as the world warped, and suddenly they were falling.
"—min- oh son of a bitch!"
Joker twisted around midair, feeling his trench coat flapping behind him. "Wha— Joker?!" He heard Skull somewhere below him before he landed and rolled, then looked up hastily, trying to find Kitagawa and catch him before he cracked his skull on the ground. Luckily, he didn't need to. The boy fell right next to him, and directly into Panther's arms.
She stumbled slightly but managed to hold him up. Mostly thanks to Carmen, even though she was more magic-based, she still increased her strength… and Kitagawa seemed like a string bean who wouldn't weigh all that much. "Whoa, are you alright?!"
Kitagawa shook his head, dazed, before looking up into Panther's eyes, causing Mona to squawk in alarm in the background. "...Hm…" He created a rectangle with his hands and nodded. "Yes, I suppose a painti—"
"Alright, down you go." She dropped the artist and rolled her eyes, causing him to snort as he walked up and grabbed the boy's arm, tugging him to his feet.
"Classy response, Panther."
"Screw you."
He just grinned at her, before turning to the artist. "Well, Kitagawa… I suppose you have some questions."
Alright, we're closing in on the string bean's Awakening. I had part of it written out, but it would've made this chapter wayyyy too long, so I cut it off there at the end to save for the next chapter. Hopefully that means I get it done sooner lmao. Again, Yusuke's little visions will eventually be explored, and we've started the Strength Confidant. Excited for more tsundere warden interactions.
Also had some fun writing that fight scene. Tried to make it a bit more chaotic without Joker there to coordinate everyone, and Skull and Mona arguing about who should be in charge. So yeah! Let me know what you think of the chapter, or just leave a 'nice,' both are always great to read. See y'all next time!