Chapter 36: Countdown
Ω • Ω • Ω
6/3, Friday
DEADLINE: June 5th
DAYS UNTIL LEGAL ACTION: 2
Await the change of heart.
•Akira•
"Kawakami-sensei, I already know."
He watched from around the corner as Chouno spoke with Kawakami, Morgana poking his head out of his bag to try and peek as well. He'd told Morgana everything that had happened during Operation Maidwatch, mostly so that he could have Morgana take some digs at Ryuji over it occasionally as revenge for backing out as the faux-blond did. Now he just needed to think up something for Mishima…
Even though thou was planning on ditching them the whole time?
'Shut up, not the point.'
The school day had just ended and as they were leaving the school he noticed Chouno grilling Kawakami, just as the teacher/maid had spoken about the previous night. "Looks like Kawakami's being driven into a corner by Chouno, huh? Come on, let's talk to her so we can help her out."
He hadn't honestly been planning on getting involved, but… For one, his curiosity about why Kawakami moonlighted as a maid was stirred. And, of course, his promise to himself that he would never again say that someone else in trouble wasn't his problem. If Kawakami needed help, and so had gotten a second job, or she was being harassed by Chouno, he wouldn't ignore that.
"As I've been saying…" He shouldered his bag and walked over, interrupting them. Kawakami's eyes flit to him, and she nodded at him tiredly. "Oh, Starr-san. Get home safely, alright? Now then, I have another matter to attend to myself, so if you'll excuse me…"
"Oh no, we're not finished talking yet!" Chouno wagged a finger, standing in Kawakami's way. "There's been a number of scandals on this campus. We're all being called into question, yet you leave work earlier than anyone—and you barely make it to the faculty meetings! So explain yourself! Are you running around at night?!"
'She's grilling her good, sheesh.'
"Get in there and give her an out, Akira! She said she'd do anything if you helped her out, right?
Yep, she certainly did. That was a thing she said, and he had never been more upset that he was sharing a bed with his not-cat because it meant he got no time alone to think about what exactly she would do while— I'm going to cut that thought off right there, Trickster.
You know, if you wanted a cute maid, you could resummon Silky, my lord.
'Yes, thank you, Apsaras…'
"Actually, I did have another question for you, Kawakami-sensei. Do you have any more time to help me?"
"'Another question', Starr-san?"
"Er, yes, that's right!" Kawakami leaped onto the explanation like a starving man onto food. "Starr-san has a lot of questions because he's from overseas, you know? So I take time at night to help him…"
"So you give individual lessons outside of school hours, hm? What passion! You are the ideal teacher! That's exactly what we need at this school! My apologies for suspecting you. Well then, keep up the good work you two."
'Well it certainly didn't take much to convince her,' he thought to himself.
"She just kind of convinced herself…" Kawakami shook her head and looked at him. "But, that cleared up her suspicion, so… thanks."
"Of course. But… there is something I wanted to ask for in exchange." She gave him a look and he raised his hands. "Whoa, not that kind of thing. A very innocent thing."
"Here, come with me for a minute." She sighed and led him around the corner, by the walkway between the classroom and practice buildings. "We can't talk about this at school, so… here, this is the number for my night job. You can call and request me, but just be careful it doesn't show up in your call history, okay?"
"Sure. Thanks, Sensei." She nodded and walked away, and Morgana hopped up onto his shoulder.
"Well, you handled that professionally! Good work!"
"Of course. I'm always professional." He turned around to begin leaving school for the day and spotted Ryuji in the distance. The faux-blond froze when he saw him, before spinning and sprinting down the stairs. "Get back here! Coward! Running now as well, huh?! I'm gonna kick your ass, lightning boy!"
"I take it back," Morgana groaned, bouncing around in his bag.
Ω • Ω • Ω
He waited until the last customers and Sakura had left the building, cleaning the dishes in the sink as he waited. His body was sore, though thankfully not as sore as after a Metaverse visit. He had spent most of the afternoon at the park with Takemi, doing various exercises for her 'experiments'.
When the cafe was clear he waited several minutes just to be sure, then called the number Kawakami had given him on Leblanc's yellow payphone. After ringing once, the voice he now recognized as 'Becky' answered. "Hiiii! This is Becky! ❤️"
"God, I'm already regretting this…"
"Oh, it's you." Kawakami's cutesy voice immediately dropped and he rolled his eyes. "Well, it'll be five-thousand yen with the request fee included, you know. Is that okay with you?"
"Of course."
"...All right, then. I'll head over right away." They both hung up and he sighed, ascending the stairs to his room.
"Well, good luck. I'll let you take it from here."
"You have done nothing to assist in this process so far," he shot back sarcastically, watching the not-cat descend the stairs.
"Hey! I'm great moral support!"
Eventually, he heard the bell over the cafe door ring, and 'Becky' calling out to him. "Hello?"
"Attic," he called back, writing one final line on his homework before slipping it into his bag. He spun on his chair and watched Kawakami walk up the stairs in her maid outfit.
She looked around the room and he was pretty sure that her expression was one of hidden distaste. "So this is your room, huh? Hm, how do I put this…? Never mind. So, what kind of kid are you?"
"Excuse me?"
Kawakami shook her head. "The way you opposed Kamoshida, I'd say that you're earnest and have a strong sense of Justice. That being said… You called a maid service and requested me?"
"What exactly does liking maids have to do with also believing in justice?" He questioned, a chuckle slipping into his voice at the thought. "They're not exactly polar opposite beliefs. Although maybe my criminal record instilled an enjoyment of frilly headdresses in me."
"I really wish you'd take this seriously," she sighed.
"I'm not sure what about the situation requires me to take it so seriously. As far as I see it, you having a… er, well, slightly risqué side job isn't really my business. I'll certainly take a bribe to keep quiet, but I don't see the need in taking one."
"So basically, you'll keep quiet about my maid job for nothing, but you'd still appreciate me doing something for you."
"Sure." Of course, he also wanted to find out why precisely Kawakami needed to moonlight as a maid. Sure, wanting more money was an easy enough explanation, but with how run-down she seemed, he didn't know why she didn't get a more straightforward job on the side.
"Well… how about this? I'll let you skip class a few times." His eyes widened, and she smiled as she placed a hand on her hip. "It's tough not having any place where you belong, isn't it? It certainly doesn't look like you have many friends considering how everyone treats you at school. However, I reserve the right to change my mind if your grades drop."
"As if my grades would ever drop. But alright."
She shook her head but still smiled. "Then it's a deal." He grinned and stood up, offering her his hand to shake. She actually laughed and took his hand to shake it. "Well, you're being formal about this."
Simply shrugging in response, he heard the sound of shattering chains and Arsène's murmurs in the back of his mind. Her assistance in gaining more freedom will surely benefit us greatly…
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 Temperance Persona,
I have obtained the winds of blessing that
shall lead to freedom and new power…
Temperance Arcana, Sadayo Kawakami: Rank One
After they separated, Kawakami looked down at her maid outfit and sighed. "What am I doing here with one of my students…?"
"Housework? I did call for you." She glared at him and he grinned. "Hey, I did say I'd pay the fee. And I can focus on my homework if I don't have to worry about cleaning up."
"Well, as long as you've got the money… feel free to request me in the future if you need help with your housework, okay? It would also put my mind at ease, and I'm, uh… I'm considered over the hill for this type of job, so I don't get requested that often… I'll show my appreciation by making it easy for you to ditch class."
"Sensei, you've already sold me, no need to continue the sales pitch." He then looked her up and down. "But uh… over the hill? You look like you're in your twenties, how old—" he wisely cut himself off at her glare.
"Alright then… Well, if there's nothing else I should get going." He would have made some quip about how it had only been a few minutes, but he was probably treading on thin ice after almost asking how old she was. They descended to the cafe and Kawakami did a little curtsy as they approached the door. "All right, Master, that'll be it for today! ❤️"
"Hngh."
Kawakami just sighed to herself as he mentally recovered from her actions. "Ugh… God, you have no idea how exhausting this job is… Listen—"
"I think I know what you're going to say, and again, I won't be telling anyone."
She nodded, before her face… he wasn't sure how to describe it besides 'transformed.' "It'll be our wittle secret, just for Becky and Master, okay? Can you keep a secret?"
He was pretty sure that sound in the back of his head was Arsène repeatedly bashing his fiery face against something. "…Trust me, this is something I'm going to be taking to my grave."
"What, you're not even gonna play along? You're killing me here." Contrary to her words, he got the sense that she was grateful that he had answered her seriously. "Well, I'll take my payment and head home. Oh, and don't forget to study for your exams, okay? If you waste your time playing around, your grades will suffer."
He rolled his eyes and fished out the five-thousand yen. "What, are you my mom as well as my teacher and my maid?" She scoffed in response before leaving the store and Akira collapsed into a seat. Once again, he was exhausted even though he'd done nothing physical. Is this what having a maid was like? He was pretty sure this was not the intended state of mind after getting one… or it was just because he had to deal with the fact that it was his teacher.
Ω • Ω • Ω
6/4, Saturday
DEADLINE: June 5th
DAYS UNTIL LEGAL ACTION: 1
Await the change of heart.
Akira winced as Makami was executed via Electric Chair, a new ritual added to the Velvet Room. Apparently, he could transform a Persona into various items, but the sight of it was still gruesome. Not as much as the Guillotines were of course, but still.
After the demise of the wolf spirit he gained a Frei skill card, and after closing his eyes and envisioning Ame-No-Uzume, had transferred the ability to her. The card dissolved in his hands as it happened and he smirked towards the Wardens. "Guess who's got the Persona you've been asking for?"
"Oh?" Justine tilted her head ever so slightly as she stared at him. "Very well. Please sit down." He rolled the iron ball locked to his ankle over and sat down on it as the small warden looked over her clipboard.
Caroline looked over Justine's shoulder and grinned. "Ooh, that's…!"
"Indeed. You have brought us an Ame-No-Uzume with Frei."
"Heh. Very well, your assignment's done."
"It is commendable that you have chosen to work so diligently toward your rehabilitation."
Caroline scoffed. "I guess at least you've got the will to work."
"Of course," he nodded.
"Keep that will and you may yet complete your rehabilitation… That said, you have completed the task surprisingly easily."
"You might actually be worth our time after all, huh? Alright, Justine, tell him the next task on the list."
"Indeed. Now then, the next task to be assigned… Be aware that the requests on this list shall increase in difficulty as we go. Are you prepared?"
"Ready and waiting." He internally noted how his neck would develop a crick from looking back and forth at both twins when they took turns speaking as they did.
"How admirable." At Justine's words, the crashing of chains rang out through his mind, the bond between them growing deeper.
RANK UP!
Strength Arcana, Twin Wardens: Rank Two
"Once again, we would like to bestow a new privilege upon you… however, it is exceedingly powerful. We ask that you fulfill another task before receiving it."
"Life won't just hand you success, inmate!"
"Now, for your next task… You must harbor a Flauros with Tarukaja within you. You need only speak with us once you obtain it. We will be able to tell."
"Got it?! A Flauros! With the skill Tarukaja!"
"My ears do work, yes."
"No back sass, Inmate!"
"It's not back sass at all, I'm sassing you to your face." Caroline whacked the cell bars with her baton and he just smirked back at the small girl.
"If you have the energy to mock us, then you have the energy to continue your rehabilitation," Justine scolded him coldly. "You clearly are not strong enough yet to challenge us, but we may set up battles for you specifically designed to test your skills."
"Oh?"
"Caught your attention, huh?" Caroline smirked and nodded. "A couple of waves of enemies with specific rules to rack up points, or maybe one enemy that'll be really tough to beat! You can compare yourself to the previous guests' Cognitive Echoes and see just how pathetic you are compared to them!"
"Hm… it could be good experience to test myself against previous guests… see where I fall short compared to them," he muttered to himself.
Thou will likely fall if thy opponents have the strength of the ends of their journeys, rather than where thou stands now.
"Yeah, probably. Especially without any of my teammates here. Still, it's a good way to gauge myself."
I'm dipping if we go against my True Self.
"I know I'll probably lose, but it can't be that bad."
"If you're done talking with your Personas, then let's get this massacre going!"
Oh boy…
"Bring it." The Velvet Room warped around him and after a moment of disorientation he was in a dark arena and his prison clothes had become his black thieve's attire. "All right!" He grinned and pulled out his dagger as he looked at the teenager standing across from him.
The first thing that struck him was that he looked like an old man with his bowl-shaped silver hair… and also the silver eyes, but maybe the guy was wearing contacts. Seriously? Thou has— whatever. He wore a regular black school uniform that looked like it had 'Yasogami' written on it and was unbuttoned to reveal a white dress shirt underneath that was untucked, and gray glasses.
"Alright, let's go!" He twirled his knife and sprinted forward as the gray-haired boy raised his hand and crushed a card that had suddenly appeared floating above it, light blue with the black silhouette of a man with a pack and a dog—
"Izanagi!" That was all he noticed before the crushed card exploded into blue fire and an Izanagi appeared behind the boy, though obviously a different color from his Izanagi-Picaro, more white and black than red and black—
"Shit!" He bent backward to dodge as Izanagi sliced through the air with its naginata, the blade passing mere inches from his face. The ground rushed up to meet him and he quickly used his hands to flip up into the air, pulling out his gun.
Each bullet he fired was blocked by Izanagi, and the gray-haired boy rushed him. Luckily he hit the ground by that point and deflected the katana with his dagger before he slashed up and cut into his face. The cognitive echo winced and jumped back while he burst forward to capitalize.
As the echo desperately deflected his blows, he noticed that the cognition didn't seem as strong or skilled when it came to a melee fight as he was. "Khoryu!" Then the echo crushed another card that he hadn't noticed, and a massive golden dragon exploded into existence.
Back!
He jumped away and… well, he wasn't exactly able to tell what happened, some incomprehensible explosion of psychedelic energy that obliterated the ground where he had just been standing. 'Okay… so up close he's no threat. It's his Personas that are deadly.'
As the dragon prepared another attack he sprinted to the side and ripped off his mask. "Leanan Sidhe! Rakunda!" As his opponent was weakened by the skill he had to dodge another psychedelic strike before closing in again. He needed to keep the fight close-quarters, where his opponent was weaker, and hopefully couldn't use his Personas in fear of striking both of them.
The dragon tried to lash out at him, but he flipped over its claws and thrust down at the gray-haired boy. When he blocked with his katana, he used the point where their blades met as leverage to throw himself behind the echo and pull out his gun, blasting a full magazine into him.
As the echo stumbled he closed in and slashed his back, the Blizz Dagger causing him to freeze. "Izanagi-Picaro! Cross-Slash!"
"I feel kind of weird attacking my other self, but screw it, why not?" The attack hit hard and the gray-haired boy was sent flying, skipping along the ground like a stone along a pond. Izanagi-Picaro struck again, this time with a Zionga, and the echo spasmed from the electricity. He sprinted forward, wanting to keep the momentum going, but the cognitive being standing up angrily and reaching towards another card caused Izanagi-Picaro to metaphorically raise his eyebrows. "Uh-oh."
It was a mix of blue, red, green, and pale yellow, with pictures of a bull in the red, a lion in the blue, an eagle and angel in the green, and a woman holding two objects with a snake wrapped around her in the yellow. "Izanagi-No-Okami!"
"Izanagi-No-what?" A brilliant white version of Izanagi clad in a suit and tie appeared behind the gray-haired echo, the Persona's naginata was now much longer, with a large ring around the handle.
"Uh, okay, good luck with your journey, kouhai, but I'm not sticking around for this."
In the same instant that Izanagi-Picaro vanished from the depths of his mind back into the Sea of Souls, the cognitive echo threw his hand forward. "By the Myriad Truths! All will be revealed!" He jumped back in preparation for the attack, but it did very little as Izanagi-No-Okami twirled his sword and a brilliant white light washed over the arena.
Game over, it seems.
'Oh screw y—'
Ω • Ω • Ω
After he finally regained consciousness and stormed out of the Velvet Room he made his way to Takemi's clinic, phantom bruises all along his body. Morgana had been, of course, very worried when one moment he had been standing in an alley in Shibuya and the next he had nearly collapsed from having his entire consciousness practically vaporized.
The not-cat demanded he head to his doctor to make sure he was alright and he certainly wasn't going to argue there. A normal checkup would be nice to have, for once.
He let Morgana out of his bag to walk Yongen-Jaya alone and entered the clinic. Unfortunately, Takemi had the next 'experiment' ready and he saw the opportunity for a discount on new medicine, so he grit his teeth and bore with it.
"Alright… there we go. That's all for today." Takemi leaned back in her seat as she looked over her clipboard while he coughed, trying to get rid of the remnants of the bizarre taste in his mouth. "If you're feeling okay, you can go home now."
"Yeah, just… give me a moment." She chuckled at his words before the phone began ringing, distracting her.
"Hello. Takemi-sensei's Clinic of Internal Medicine… What? Again? That's… well, that ship's already sailed, so…" Takemi eventually sighed and hung up. "Ugh… what a pain." He silently raised an eyebrow, and sensing his question, she explained. "Remember that girl from the other day? The Chief of Staff Oyamada's patient? Her dad's been bringing her here to be treated, even though I referred them to a different hospital. I even told them about the medical error I made…"
He smiled at the news, even though it clearly didn't sit right with her. "It seems like they really trust you, Takemi-sensei."
"I'm just a quack though…"
"I don't think so, and neither do they."
Takemi eyed him as she thought over his words. Then, she turned to her desk and began talking. "The medical error I made was well-documented. Everyone in my field knows about it. I led the development of a new drug for an incurable illness called 'Crawford-Ende's disease'. Although I wasn't the one who administered the medicine, it was the cause of the error."
"I don't recognize the disease," he admitted.
"It's a relatively rare disease. With Crawford-Ende's, certain cells indiscriminately attack other cells throughout the body. When it reaches the muscles, the patient slowly begins to die… there hasn't been much progress made on it, partly because of the fact that cases of it are few and far between."
It makes sense, Arsène sighed.
"I worked with a pharmaceutical company that had reached the final stage of production, but… one day I was suddenly removed from my position. That Chief of Staff Oyamada, my superior at the time, took over the entire operation." Takemi clenched her fists and glared at the papers strewn around her desk. "I don't know if he wanted the glory of developing a new drug or to become rich and famous, but… he made careless mistakes and rushed completion so he could use it on a patient named Miwa."
"Ah…" he closed his eyes and sighed. Yes, he could see exactly where this was going.
"Miwa-chan had a reaction and lapsed into critical condition. The chief panicked and laid the blame on me. Miwa-chan and her family resented me… no matter what I said, I couldn't change how they felt about me."
"Well, if they didn't have all the details on what was happening behind the scenes I can understand why, but… none of it was your fault, Takemi-sensei. And from the sounds of it, she's still alive, isn't she? It's not too late."
Takemi just slowly nodded. "The development of the medicine was suspended, so I had no reason to stay at that hospital. At least now I can keep working as a general practitioner, on my own terms… with my guinea pig. After all, that's the new medicine I've been trying out on you. This version is in the final stage of testing."
"Final stage? That's great, isn't it?"
"Right. It searches for those cells that take the offensive and destroys them upon detection. That's why it's harmless for people who don't have the disease… probably."
"Well, I haven't died yet, so it looks like it's going good."
Takemi actually laughed at that, leaning forward in her chair and turning her head to gaze at him. "You have a lot of faith in me. Thank you, my little guinea pig. You'd better not flake on me this late in the game. I'm inching closer to the finish line, but I need your help to reach it. In exchange, I can offer you medicine at a special price. I'm counting on you, guinea pig."
"Yeah. Count on it," he smirked. And at that, he heard the crashing of chains echo within.
RANK UP!
Death Arcana, Back-Alley Doctor: Rank Five
"Now, what should I do about that girl and her dad? Being mean and scaring them hasn't worked. It's been a while since I've had to deal with this kind of nuisance. It's stressing me out. Oh, sorry, that's all I wanted to talk to you about. You can go home now."
"See you next time, Sensei." he collected Morgana on the way back to Leblanc, who he found conversing with the neighborhood cats, quite upset that they didn't have his level of intelligence, and ascended the stairs to his room.
He spent the rest of the afternoon completing the day's homework, all while he got a call from Takemi apologizing for talking so long… and when the little girl and her father returned, he could hear the smile in her voice as she hung up.
Ω • Ω • Ω
It hadn't really set in during the day, but as the sun lowered and evening encroached on Japan, Akira realized that tomorrow was the day. Yes, they had gone through with stealing Madarame's heart, yes, Yusuke had been in the group chat discussing how Madarame had been much more reserved after the theft, but there was still some remaining doubt.
He found himself lounging on one of the booths in the cafe, a cup of coffee sitting on the table in front of him, Morgana lounging on his lap. He scrolled through his phone messages, wondering if he wanted to text anyone to meet up to get his mind off it, though it was likely a bit too late at night for that. He could also request that Kawakami come over, but…
As much as his curiosity was killing him, he didn't have the energy to deal with 'Becky' while the next day's deadline hanging over his head.
His phone vibrated as a message came in, labeled 'Dad', and he smiled as he opened it.
Dad— Hey kid you awake right now?
Dad— Dunno what the time is there but its probably late I can never remember the time difference
You— I'm awake. It's nine in the evening here, and Japan is ahead by about thirteen hours, it's not hard to remember, Father. Is there something you'd like to discuss?
Dad— Stop being so formal with your papa before I take away your game station
You— Good luck with that while I'm all the way in Japan. And never type or say 'Papa' again, it's weird.
Dad— I will get on a flight asap do not test me
Dad— Anyway I wanted to do a vid call. Got the whole fam here
Akira blinked and did the quick math.
You— You have a day game starting soon, shouldn't you be getting ready? And Mom and the twins are there?
Dad— Don't worry about it I'm great at time management. Are you able to video?
He wanted to text back an affirmative, but he glanced down at Morgana and was struck by indecision. It was… very unlikely that Morgana would recognize his dad from a video call, baseball may have been popular in Japan but he didn't think anyone could recognize an Eagleland MLB player at a glance. However…
You— Can't, sorry. Dropped my phone and cracked the camera yesterday, I'll get it fixed soon, however, an audio call is all we can do currently.
Dad— Too bad
Dad— Alright gonna call now
A moment later his phone was ringing. He quickly accepted the call and placed it against his ear. "Hello, everyone."
"Howdy, Kid!"
"My little Star! How's Tokyo?"
"What's up, brat?"
"Kiki!"
"Hiya Kiki!"
He laughed at the sudden cacophony of noise that came from his phone, three adults and two preschoolers all talking at once. "Slow down, I can barely understand you all. Hello Diamond, hello Moon. And was that Aunt Tracey? You finally got time off?"
"I had to kick Chief Strong's a— uh, butt, since he didn't want to lose his Second for even an hour, but I managed to secure a few days off."
"I think he just likes beating people up," he heard his father mutter.
"Isn't that the only reason he keeps setting up so many roadblocks? Besides for the record, of course. Someone argues with him about it and he can challenge them to a fight."
"I thought you already knew that since he keeps coming by asking you for another fight whenever you're back in Onett," Mom laughed.
"Daddy fights Mr. Strong?" Diamond asked
"More like he avoids Captain Strong as much as possible," he scoffed.
"Hey, I'll have you know that I could totally take him. I beat him and five other officers when I was thirteen! I'd just feel bad fighting an old man."
"Says the old man."
"I am nowhere near old!"
"I thought one of the officers ran away?" He could practically hear his mom innocently tilting her head. Not even to mock Dad, just pure innocence.
"Daddy's a liar!"
"Wha— I never lied! One of the officers running away is just them admitting I would have beaten them!"
"Liar, liar," Moon giggled.
"Wow, Old Man, teaching your daughters to lie so young? For shame."
He heard his aunt snort as his dad sputtered. "Now that's what I call bad parenting."
"You can talk when you actually have kids, Trace! Do you even have a boyfriend, or are you still pinning over Noc— Ah, let go, the game is starting soon, you're going to break my neck! Nonononono, waitwaitwait ghk—"
Akira slowly raised his eyebrow as he heard the phone clatter to the ground.
"Mommy, Daddy's turning blue!"
"Blue Daddy, blue Daddy!
"Oh dear… well, I think it's time to go. Bye-bye, Honey, have a good night's sleep! Mom's got to save Dad from Aunt Tracey!"
"I… don't need saving! Gh… put em' up, I'll kick your—!" The call cut off there and he pulled his phone away from his ear, looking at it with an amused smirk. Well, it sounded like everything was normal back across the sea. Maybe he should have been disappointed that his family was acting as if he wasn't even gone, but in all honesty, he was relieved that they were still having fun. He didn't want them brought down because of his mistakes.
Of course, it was likely that his parents at least were covering up their worry about him and were trying to act fine, but he supposed that just meant both parties were lying to each other. He just shook his head with a wry smirk, and Morgana looked up at him. "Hey, who was that? Your family?"
"Yeah. They were calling to say hello," he explained with a smile. "They really are crazy, but I love 'em."
"I wonder… Akira, do you think your PSI, well, do you think any of your family members have it as well?"
"No… no, I don't think so. The closest would be my mother's ability to turn most foods into some deadly slop when she decides to do some cooking. Maybe that's a sort of PSI," he chuckled.
"Hm… I was thinking, your power had to come from somewhere, so…"
"I get it, but my family's pretty much the most cliche country family you could find." Minus the famous MLB father, and non-blood-related uncles that were either a scientific genius or a king. Maybe his mother was an assassin with her skill in creating poisonous foods, too.
"That's nice… I wonder if I have any family… Are they worried about me?"
Akira winced, immediately feeling regret. He should have known a conversation about family around the amnesiac not-cat would have brought these thoughts up. "Maybe, and I'm sure that once you regain your memories they'll be relieved to see you again."
"And… if I don't have anyone?"
He rolled his eyes and scratched Morgana behind one of his ears. "Then I guess that means we're stuck with you, huh?"
"Nya… uh, yeah! After all, what would the Phantom Thieves do without their precious advisor?"
"Heh. Exactly. Hey, why don't we do some more research on my special skill? There was this article I bookmarked back in April regarding PSI that… huh."
"What's up?"
"Looks like the article's gone… weird."
"What was the website it was on?"
"I never looked at the name of it, just the article… Well, not much I can do about it now. Let me finish up my coffee and we'll head to sleep."
"Yeah, you must be tired. Let's get a full night's rest!" Akira just laughed, forgetting about his worries regarding the deadline, and they spent the rest of the night before going to bed in comfortable silence.
I've always headcanoned that, while the Persona 3+4 characters are also strengthened by their Personas, (because how else would they be defeating enemies with their melee weapons?) they aren't as powered up as the P5 cast, thanks to Mementos and Palaces and their cognitions as thieves strengthening them.
So even Investigation Team Boy at the end of his journey is weaker than Joker early-middle of his journey when it comes to a brawl, but his Personas are still massively overpowered late-game one's. There isn't much Joker's acrobatics can do against a Khoryu or Okami. In a place other than Mementos and Palaces, or anywhere where their personal cognitions and the cognitions of others couldn't affect them, they'd be on the same level.
I also thought I. Picaro erasing himself from Joker's mind to dodge a Myriad Truths was pretty funny, so he's bye-bye now. Oh, and of course Door-kun would still obliterate any of them with the Universe and all that. Can't really argue that he's not the strongest of the modern protagonist trio. Speaking of, everyone excited for the P3Remake? I'm looking forward to it, but I've gotta say that I'm disappointed you cant play as Femc, there's cut FES content, and apparently The Answer isn't included… Wouldn't be surprised if its paid DLC content knowing Atlus.
Anyway, we've got Temperance officially started. I really do wonder what Oracle is thinking when she overhears that crap going down in Leblanc. Well knowing her she's probably got a folder filled with their interactions for her own 'private use'. Lord knows she's the most perverted member of the thieves, either just behind or on par with Ryuji.
Another rank up for Death and Strength, and we've also got more of the Starr family showing up, though not physically of course. I can't wait to finally have in person interactions with the family, but that's for later. The last bit of editing I did for this chapter was on my phone through the desktop site, so there might be some errors I'll have to go over later… But yeah, let me know what you think of the chapter, or maybe just a 'Nice,' both are always great to read. See y'all next time!