Catch-22: The Face to Face
By: M14Mouse
Summary: The gang starts exploring the palace with some surprises.
Disclaimer: Don't own them.
We look into mirrors but we only see the effects of our times on us – not our effects on others." – -Pearl Bailey
"This is my father's palace," Haru said softly behind him.
"Yes, it is," Yu said as he examined his surroundings.
"Why a spaceship? I mean I don't get it," Ryuji said.
"When I was younger, Father loved models. I remember watching him put a few together when I was a little girl. Somewhere space themed but he liked model planes and cars too. I didn't think it grew from there. It might have been after seeing all of this. It seems ages ago," Haru said as she waved her hand at their surroundings.
Makoto reached out and touched Haru's shoulder.
"We should proceed," Morgana said.
"Agreed," Ren said with a nod.
"WAIT! Sensei needs a codename," Futaba shouted.
"Oh, I thought that you decided on Gambit," He said.
"No, I got out voted," Ryuji grumbled.
"Yes, it was a terrible name," Yusuke said to Ryuji.
"It was awesome," Futaba added.
"Not this again," Makoto said with a sigh.
"Don't you want to choose, Sensei?" Ann asked.
He smiled softly.
"Even if I choose one, you will still be calling me Sensei," He said amusedly.
"I think that he is right on that one," Ren pointed out.
"How about Gambler?" Haru said.
He tilted his head in her direction.
"Oh?" He said.
He watched as Haru's face turned red.
"Well, you look the part and the others did say that you had dice."
"Oh, and cards. They burn up nicely," Yusuke said happily.
He heard Veles grumble in his ear.
Something about fire and stupidity.
He isn't above the notion that he didn't say anything until after he set them on fire.
He grinned as the group stared at them.
"Don't worry. I have more cards. At the time, we didn't know what they were for. We were experimenting."
"Yes, Sensei and I have been working on making cards since Joker has so many blank cards. We thought that we should put them to use," Yusuke said to Haru.
"Oh, how clever," Haru said.
"Have you decided on a codename for yourself, Haru?" He said with a grin.
If Haru's face hadn't been red before, it did now.
"No…Noir," She stumbled over the words.
"Ah, is there a reason?"
"When I was a little girl, I always watched tv shows and movies about heroines of justice. I remember sitting in the back of my grandfather's shop and watching them on little tv in the corner. Grandfather always made a comment or two about the show when he passed by. I always imagine that I was the infamous "Beauty Thief" to take down the criminals that try to take over the shop and save the day. Silly, huh?"
"Not really," He said.
"Did your grandfather….?" Makoto started to ask.
"Yes, he passed away many years ago," Haru answered.
"So, how did Noir come from Beauty Thief or did I miss something?" Ryuji said.
"I guess that the movies that Haru watched were the Noir type," Makoto said.
Haru nodded her head.
"I think that it is a pretty awesome codename," Ann said.
"Agreed," He said.
"It is settled! Gambler and Noir!" Futaba said as she clapped her hands.
"We should get moving. Any shadows in the area?" Ren asked.
"A few." He and Futaba said together.
He lowered his glasses and winked at Futaba, who grinned mischievously.
"Oh, we are going to have so much fun today, Support Buddy."
Veles grumbled.
It looks like we will be working together, Disco Ball.
I am not a disco ball.
Whatever you say, Disco Ball.
Be nice, Veles. You are going to be working with Necronomicon after all.
Futaba looked at him in awe.
"Why am I a little afraid of these two working together?" Morgana said.
"We promise not to take over the world," Futaba said cheerfully.
"Too big. Too much work. I have enough paperwork," He said as he nodded his head in agreement.
"Maybe, just Japan?"
"It could work. Still a lot of paperwork."
"We could have everyone else do it. Look! We have plenty of people here!"
He stared at the group and examined them carefully.
"True. They could do an adequate job."
"I'm not sure if they are serious or not," Haru whispered to Makoto.
"That is the thing. I don't think we know either," Makoto whispered back.
Ren coughed.
"Anyway, we should be going."
"Excellent idea. I also like to note that they are two shadows with significant strength. Maybe a cognitive version of someone?" He said.
"You can sense that, Sen…I mean, Gambler?" Morgana said.
"Sort of. It could be just a strong shadow or cognitive version of someone here. I just won't know until I get closer or adjust to using my persona. Give me a moment. I will check it out," He said as he tapped the tip of the cane onto the ground. The shadows pooled under his feet and wrapped around him.
"SHIT!" Ryuji's voice shouted.
"Wow…." Makoto said in awe.
"Urgh…my stomach," Morgana's voice echoed through the shadows.
"That is amazing. Can you all do that?" Haru's voice said in awe.
"No, definitely not!"
"Nope but I can fly!" Futaba's voice said.
He chuckled softly as their voices disappeared.
You are going to give those kids heart attacks one of these days.
Over that?
Veles chuckled softly.
Traveling through shadows was like traveling through the labyrinth. The paths would twist and turn. He could easily get lost, which he did the first time that he and Veles tried traveling this way. He learned to focus his attention on the strongest source of energy near them. Most of the time, it was a strong shadow or something important.
There.
He tapped his cane again and rose out of the shadows. He made sure that he appeared out of sight.
Another lesson that he learned as well.
It only took a moment to get his bearings.
He frowned.
Oh…he shouldn't be surprised.
Sugimura.
He met Sugimura once and that was enough to leave an unpleasant taste in his mouth. He even irritated Theo and that took work.
Lila and Ume have also told him that his cognitive version is just as bad. Lila has been wanting to come back and stab him with her fuzzy pencil after she talked with Haru.
He pointed out that she would ruin her dress.
She pouted.
His eyes traveled to the person. Oh. So, that is what his cognitive version meant. She was nothing but a puppet. Just like Lila and the others said. This version of Haru was green. Her dress wasn't like Haru at all. She was in a tight white bodysuit. From where he stood, he could see her robotic joints. Her eyes were vacated like no one was home.
He watched as Sugimura moved her around with a remote in his hands. Bending her in different directions.
All for his pleasure.
You might want to let go of the cane before you break it again, laddie.
He loosens his grip on the knob of his cane.
Oracle?
Support Buddy?
I found them.
There was a moment of pause.
Okay, we will be there shortly. Don't blow up something.
A small smile formed on his face.
Not without you and Fox.
I will hold you to that!
He chuckled softly as her voice disappeared.
He turned his attention back to the pair. Perhaps, he should give Haru some warning.
No…
She needed to see this for herself.
Isis hummed inside of his head.
Do you think this will awaken her persona?
Possible. I think seeing her father would have more of an impact than this but it might be a start of her rebellion.
From what Izanagi and Pyro Jack told us, your rebellion was quite glorious.
Pyro Jack would say that. Honestly, it was short and stressful.
Hee Hoo!
He paused for a moment before the door behind him opened. He glanced over to see his students coming in.
He heard his students grasping behind him. He raised his hand to stop them from approaching the pair. He shook his head at the sight of cognitive Sugimura all over the cognitive version of Haru.
"Once we are wed, you will dress more like this. It shows your best assets," Sugimura said.
"Yes, Sugimura," This version of Haru said in a robotic voice.
"Of course, it will be in private. You must be a lady in public."
"Yes, Sugimura."
"Even if you won't be out in public much, you will mind the house and such."
"Yes, Sugimura."
"Perhaps, we should invite others into our bed. Two beautiful women serving me."
"Yes, Sugimura."
He turned his attention away from the pair to focus on Haru. Her head was down and her entire body looked like it was about to snap.
"Yes, Sugimura."
He watched as her fists tightened up.
"Yes, Sugimura."
He watched as her outfit flicked in and out.
She named herself well. She had a lot of black in her outfit.
"Yes, Sugimura."
"I want to beat the shit out of him, Sensei. Can I?" Ryuji mumbled.
"Me first," Ann mumbled back.
"Ditto," Futaba said.
"Yes, Sugimura."
"I won't be that way. I won't" Haru mumbled softly.
He watched as Haru's thief outfit remained. Her outfit reminded him of those old Three Musketeers movies. He really wanted to ask why his students picked the most uncomfortable outfits to fight in.
"Yes, Sugimura."
"What a horrible creature," Yusuke mumbled.
Clearly, he heard Makoto's fists cracking.
He glanced over at Morgana and Ren, who were also watching Haru.
"Yes, Sugimura."
Haru fell to the floor.
"Haru," He said as he kneeled down next to her.
"I won't be her, Sensei. I won't. I…" Haru mumbled to herself then she grasped.
"Am I…one of you?" She said as she stared at her hand.
"Kind of. Your persona is still very weak," Morgana said.
"Is there a way to make it stronger?" She asked.
"We could do some training. It might strengthen your persona."
"I will do it. I will train and become stronger. I will. I won't be that," Haru said angrily.
"Not today. You need to rest. Trust us when we say that this takes a lot out of you," Ren said.
"Yes, we are going to make a training schedule. When are you available…Sen…I mean Gambler?" Morgana asked.
"I'm thinking that you could handle it since Oracle and I will be going over the information that I discovered in London, Mona," He said.
"Ooo…Illegal stuff! I can't wait!" Futaba said with way too much excitement.
He chuckled.
"Me?!"
"Of course. You were training them before I came along. Besides, you have plenty of help now," He said with a grin.
"Righ…Right! Alright, everyone…let's leave. I will start making a training schedule for Haru," Morgana said with a mixture of awe and happiness.
"Oh, great…Mona's training again." Ryuji mumbled.
"I think that it will be good for us. It will keep us sharp," Makoto said.
Ren and Makoto helped Haru to her feet and they approached the exit again. Luckily, they defeated all the shadows before meeting up with him. So, it was easy for them to carry her back.
Once they appeared in the real world, he could see Lila running toward them. Lila stopped in front of Haru with a concerned look on her face.
"Sensei and Ann have been teaching me all different types of medicines. Not all things can be fixed with them. But they have been teaching me about hugs. Sometimes, they say that it cures sadness. Black Frost loves hugs. It always makes him happy. Would…Haru like one?" Lila said as she opened her arms.
Haru looked at Lila with a mixture of awe and sadness then she stepped into Lila's arms and started to cry.
He heard Ann sniffle behind him.
"Oh, I figured out how not to ruin the pretty dress you brought me or my fuzzy pencils. Next time I see stupid robot man, I will whack him with my vase. Will that help?" Lila said.
Haru started choking on her tears and started laughing.
Lila was a gem.
End of The Face to Face
Next Chapter: The Training Session III
A/N: One of the first things that I planned for this story was a cognitive version of Haru. I kept the original version in my head rather than go with Royal version of her. There will definitely conflicts coming especially between Akechi and Yu. You want to see two sharks circling each other? That is basically going to be Akechi and Yu. Anyway, thanks for the reviews, kudos, favorites, etc. Read and review if you wish.