AN: I should mention that, going forward, the Confidants don't really take place at any specific time unless I include them in the story. Like the game, these events could more or less happen whenever.
By the way, I noticed that I accidentally listed Lovers as Rank 1 in the Confidant section for Chapters 17 and 18. I've gone back and fixed that.
FF – Thanks NightmareKnight1. You aren't wrong about the Confidant advancement speed, though I currently have no plans to do Faith or Councillor.
AO3 – Thank you Jacob6446, psycheTerminal, and SaulAxel. psycheTerminal, I do enjoy writing this story quite a bit. SaulAxel, I hadn't thought about it before now, but I'd imagine that Confidant ranks are based on both parties' feelings; even if there are lies involved, the two people do genuinely become closer to one another.
The Lovers & The Chariot
Ann Takamaki's PoV
Not long after speaking with Shiho, who had finally regained consciousness, Ann met with Urano in a diner to talk about her conversation with her best friend. The model also made a promise with the bookworm to train their hearts to be stronger in order to power up their Personas… even if neither girl knew what a 'strong' heart was like.
They'd figure it out eventually. Hopefully.
"…Let's train together and make our hearts super strong!"
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Rank Up!
Confidant: Ann Takamaki. Arcana: Lovers. Rank: 3.
.
Hmm… Come to think of it, Urano has never really been bothered by all the negative rumors about her. In fact, back before Ann first spoke with the bookworm, a gossipy classmate tried insulting Urano, only for her to brush it off like it was nothing. That felt pretty strong-hearted…
Having Urano insult her ended up not being all that effective. Ann still wasn't sure where she went wrong…
Although, talking about her parents and her childhood to Urano afterward did make the model feel more motivated than ever.
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Rank Up!
Confidant: Ann Takamaki. Arcana: Lovers. Rank: 4.
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The bookworm also shared her own childhood with Ann. Despite the magnetic personality Urano seemed to have, she apparently used to only really hang out with her mother and her childhood friend/caretaker.
Also, surprisingly enough, Urano used to be even more obsessed with books than she currently was! How do you stay in a library past closing time and get locked inside without noticing until the people searching for you finally find you!?
While telling Urano about her first meeting with Shiho, Ann realized that the two girls were actually a bit alike. Both Urano and Shiho could be brutally honest at times, and neither had judged Ann for her reputation or appearance.
Maybe the similarity between the two was why it felt so easy to open up to Urano. However, Ann vowed to herself not to fail the bookworm like she had Shiho.
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Rank Up!
Confidant: Ann Takamaki. Arcana: Lovers. Rank: 5.
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…Speaking of which, Ann would totally be failing Urano if she let the bookworm waste her natural good looks! It took a bit of pestering – as well as a promise to study hard for the upcoming midterm exams – but Ann was able to convince Urano to put some effort into her appearance and raise her womanly Charm.
Urano Motosu's PoV
I was hanging out with Ann when she got a call from her modelling agency, asking her to fill in for a model who didn't show up. Ann asked me to come along since it was close, and I didn't really have any reason to say no.
When we arrived, the other model involved in the photo shoot – she asked to be called Mika, no honorifics – seemed really excited to be working with Ann. However…
"Hey, can you teach me how to be a better model? You know, your everyday routines, stretches…"
"What kind of stuff do you eat?"
"…Do you weigh yourself?"
As Mika's smile grew more and more stiff, it became increasingly obvious that her cheerful personality was fake. Ann remained clueless, though, continuing to give honest but unhelpful answers to Mika.
"So… You're gonna keep it all a secret from my, huh?" said Mika, pretending to be hurt. "I get it. I guess it's hard trusting someone you just met…"
"Th-that's not it!" denied Ann, falling for Mika's act. "I just…"
"Ann, she's not actually sad," I interjected, not happy to see my friend being taken advantage of. "She's just trying to manipulate you."
"Manipulate me?" went Ann, looking lost. "How? We haven't been talking about anything important."
I sighed, then explained.
"First, she buttered you up with compliments to try and get you to spill your modelling secrets. Then, when that failed because you don't have any modelling secrets, she acted sad to guilt you into sharing."
"What!?" exclaimed Ann, turning at Mika.
The model in question had stopped hiding her true emotions and was openly glaring at me, which was pretty much an admission of guilt. She'd probably reached the limits of her patience because of Ann's answers, then snapped after being exposed.
Unfortunately, Mika quickly regained control of her temper.
"That's so horrible!" she cried, again pretending to be upset. She spoke loudly enough for the nearby photoshoot workers (or whatever they're called) to hear. "Why would you say something so mean to me? I just want to model for this magazine that I love! Everyone tries so hard to make sure their product is the best… So I just want to do the best I can too!"
Ann and I were caught off guard by the sudden shift in Mika's emotions. I could see the photoshoot workers looking over at us with concern. Mika was trying to play the victim and make us out to be bullies. That minx!
My first instinct was to deny her accusations. However, I stopped myself from doing that, remembering about the first impression bias – a psychology concept I'd read about where the first piece of information we receive colors our perceptions of a subject. Put simply, the photoshoot workers would likely believe Mika over Ann and me.
"W-wait!" cried Ann, trying to deny Mika's claims.
I racked my brain for a way to convince everyone of the truth, frustrated by how Mika was manipulating the narrative, when I had an idea.
"No, it's fine, Ann… She's right," I told my friend, feigning shame. I turned to Mika and bowed. "What I said was out of line. Because of everything Ann's been through lately, I got overprotective of her and said something I shouldn't have. I'm sorry…"
While I couldn't see their faces since I was still bowing, I could tell that Mika was stunned by my apology. I overheard one of the photoshoot workers say 'Shujin' and had to suppress a smile.
Mika wasn't the only one who knew how to manipulate the narrative. And, since she'd made herself out to be a kindhearted individual, she had no choice but to continue playing the part by 'forgiving' me. I could see the frustration in her eyes as he spoke.
"Wow," whispered Ann to me once the photoshoot workers had returned to their preparations. "You totally stopped her in her tracks. That was pretty incredible!"
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Rank Up!
Confidant: Ann Takamaki. Arcana: Lovers. Rank: 6.
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I thanked Ann, though truthfully, I wasn't satisfied with merely stopping her. Maybe Mika was right about me being a bully, because I approached the model before the photoshoot began and enacted my revenge.
"You know, all that talk about exercise and diets made me realize how impressive models are," I told Mika in an 'innocent' voice. I pulled out my phone and showed her a picture of Futaba. "I mean, sure, my little sister here is adorable, but she'd never be able to do all of that." I sighed dramatically. "She constantly gorges herself, mostly on sweets and junk food, and you'd think she was allergic to exercise with how much time she spends on her computer. She could learn a lot from you…"
Mika responded by giving me a death glare so intense that I genuinely worried I might've just caused her to form a Palace.
The shoot began not long after. I entered Mika's name into the MetaNav (no match found, thankfully), then watched her and Ann work.
…Urgh, I hate to admit it, but Mika is a legitimately good model. The rage from my earlier comments had been completely suppressed, and the poses she struck fit perfectly with the clothes she was wearing, drawing out their beauty.
Unfortunately, her skill also made Ann's inexperience painfully obvious to everyone, Ann included. By the end of the shoot, Ann's spirits had dropped.
Her gloominess didn't last long, however. Ann quickly became fired up, praising Mika for all the hard work she'd to put into becoming a model, declaring Mika strong and herself nothing, and angrily vowing to become a real model herself.
It was impressive how Ann was able to not only praise Mika so genuinely, but also bounce back so quickly.
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Rank Up!
Confidant: Ann Takamaki. Arcana: Lovers. Rank: 7.
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We talked a little more about how Ann could improve and came up with a pretty good idea of how to get started. After all, I'd already promised to have an exercise session with Ryuji once he found somewhere for us to train…
Ryuji Satamoto's PoV
It'd taken a while, but Ryuji had finally found a gym to use – Protein Lovers – and set up a training session with Urano. Ann would also be there, since she apparently wanted to get into better shape, too, though she ended up being a bit of a pain in the ass.
"I want to tone up too, so I need to start lifting weights," said the model. "Plus my shoulders are drooping, I want to make my biceps leaner, and I need to straighten my back out! Obviously, I want to cut down on my waist size too... and firm up my butt and calves!"
Ryuji had to explain to Ann that doing all of those things in a single day would leave her too sore to get out of bed, at which point she asked him to come up with a training regimen for her. Not only was having that work dumped on him annoying, the payment she offered was going on a date with her, which was just cringe-worthy.
Plus, when he brought up how hot one of Ann's fellow models was and asked to be introduced to her, both Ann and Urano got angry at him. What the eff was that about!?
However, things got better once the three of them started working out. The girls got focused on exercising and burned off their anger along with their calories. The session ended up being pretty fun.
The only hiccup was when he ran into Ikeda, a former member of the track team who'd graduated from Shujin. Ryuji felt a familiar stab of guilt and apologized, remembering how his actions had cost Ikeda a letter of recommendation for college.
But that feeling of shame was quickly washed away when Ikeda told Ryuji that Kamoshida had never intended to write the letter of recommendation and that he was happy about where he was now. Ikeda even admitted that he regretted not doing more to protect the team from Kamoshida, which earned Ryuji a smug 'I told you so' from Urano about how what happened wasn't all his fault.
Still, apparently the track team was being re-formed under the leadership of Yamauchi, who had basically been Kamoshida's lapdog. It gave Ryuji a bad feeling, so he decided that he'd look into it more later. Everyone from the track team might hate him, but that wasn't a reason for Ryuji to let them suffer.
Fortunately, despite her misgivings about the track team, Urano agreed to help him out. That was a huge relief to Ryuji. The bookworm had her quirks, but she was reliable when it really mattered.
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Rank Up!
Confidant: Ryuji Sakamoto. Arcana: Chariot. Rank: 5.
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Not long after their workout ended, Ryuji got a text from his mother, asking him to pick up some things for dinner. He said his goodbyes and left for the store.
After Ryuji depart, Ann talked to Urano about how Shiho would be moving soon and resolved herself to keep improving so that her best friend wouldn't have to worry about her.
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Rank Up!
Confidant: Ann Takamaki. Arcana: Lovers. Rank: 8.
Urano Motosu's PoV
One day at Shujin, while I was talking with Ryuji about where we should work out, we stumbled upon the track team beating up one of their members, Nakaoka, for allegedly having told Kamoshida their secrets. Ryuji intervened to try and stop the violence, and the student leading the attack revealed that Yamauchi was the one who'd informed him of Nakaoka's supposed misdeeds.
"Wasn't Yamauchi Kamoshida's lapdog?" I asked, frowning as I recalled the name from my previous conversation with Ryuji. "He doesn't really sound all that trustworthy. Did he give you any evidence? I mean, for all we know, Yamauchi lied about Nakaoka being the rat because he made a deal with the real snitch."
Like last time, however, the members of the track team got angry about my criticisms and stormed off. Nakaoka wasn't really all that thankful either, complaining to Ryuji and me about our past actions before leaving.
(Until that moment, I'd actually forgotten that Nakaoka was one of the track team members that I'd told off.)
Ryuji proved to be the bigger man, not getting caught up in the past or caring that Nakaoka might've been the one to tell Kamoshida about his parents. He was going to ignore burdens like those and focus on being free, a sentiment that I could appreciate.
Even though the two of us would force one another to do things we didn't like – exercising and studying, to be specific – our friendship was the opposite of a burden.
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Rank Up!
Confidant: Ryuji Sakamoto. Arcana: Chariot. Rank: 6.
Not long after, Ryuji contacted me about investigating Yamauchi. We followed him to a restaurant and eavesdropped on him as he talked to another teacher. Well, I eavesdropped while Ryuji hid in the bathroom and listened in via phone call since they would've recognized him and gotten suspicious.
I'd brought a book to read, so we were prepared to wait as long as it took for Yamauchi say something incriminating… but it ended up taking less than an hour for Yamauchi brag to the other teacher about everything. It was almost a let-down how easy it was.
Almost.
Ryuji recorded the whole thing, and we agreed to show everyone on the track team. Those guys might be jerks, but they didn't deserve to be taken advantage of by a shitty adult, much less two in a row.
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Rank Up!
Confidant: Ryuji Sakamoto. Arcana: Chariot. Rank: 7.
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Once the teachers were gone, Ryuji came out of hiding and we had some monja before going.
I guess the third time's the charm, because the track team finally listened to Ryuji and me. They wouldn't let people like Kamoshida or Yamauchi push them around anymore.
Of course, Ryuji also had the dumb idea of telling them that they could punch him until they felt better. His idea was so terrible that I didn't intervene when the track team took him up on his offer, hoping that they would beat some sense into him.
Ryuji thanked me for helping him, though I don't really feel like I did much beyond moral support and using my phone to let him listen in from the restaurant bathroom. Anybody could've and would've done the same.
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Rank Up!
Confidant: Ryuji Sakamoto. Arcana: Chariot. Rank: 8.
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"Nah," disagreed Ryuji when I told him as much. "A normal person wouldn't've gotten involved if they disliked the track team as much as you did. I guess I'm pretty lucky that you're a weirdo."
"Rude," I complained jokingly. "Just for that, we're studying extra hard tomorrow!"
The two of us laughed, although Ryuji got nervous after a moment and tried to confirm that I wasn't serious.
(I wasn't, though Makoto independently decided to go all out during our group study session.)
Ann Takamaki's PoV
Shiho wanted to return to the rooftop of Shujin but hadn't recovered enough to climb the stairs herself, so Ann enlisted Urano's help and the three girls went up together.
(Shiho's family had also come along, though they stayed in the building. Unsurprisingly, they hadn't wanted to visit the site of her attempted suicide.)
Shiho and Urano got along pretty well. Even though this was the first time they'd spoken to each other, Ann had apparently told the both of them enough stories about one another that they felt like they'd already met.
Shiho talked to them about her attempted suicide, then explained that she'd come here to prove to herself that no part of her still wished to die. Having accomplished that, Shiho credited Ann for the change and explained that she'd drawn strength from Ann's own optimism and unwavering desire to improve.
…Ann hadn't realized that she was so important to Shiho. She'd always assumed it was only the other way around. However, if she was a source of strength for Shiho, then Ann would never stop chasing her dreams!
"I'm… I'm going to become a real model!" declared Ann. "That way you'll be able to keep seeing me… and keep giving life your all… I'm gonna be in a bunch of magazines, and I'll say tons of good stuff in interviews… So… So…" Ann forced back tears. "Stay healthy. Work hard, but not too much… and keep in touch. Just… take care of yourself…"
"Ann…" said Shiho, walking over to give her a hug. "I love you… Once I can smile again from the bottom of my heart, I'll come visit…"
"Y-yeah…" agreed Ann.
After that, her best friend departed with her family, leaving Ann alone with Urano. Ann proclaimed to the bookworm all the things she would do to improve her modelling skills, but she was only able to keep up the cheerful mask for a little bit before the tears started to flow.
"I guess… I'm all alone again, huh…?" sobbed Ann.
"You have me…" replied Urano, hugging her like Shiho had not five minutes earlier. It felt… comfortable.
"Urano…" said Ann softly, a warm feeling welling up inside of her. One that, without her realizing, had been steadily growing every time she interacted with the bookworm. "…I lo–"
"…And Morgana and Futaba and Makoto and Ryuji, too," finished Urano, not noticing that Ann had begun to speak.
Suddenly, Ann had a new reason to be thankful for Urano's hug – it prevented the bookworm from seeing that Ann's face was as red as her Phantom Thieves outfit.
W-what had Ann been about to say!? 'I love you'!? It had just slipped out without Ann realizing! And… and…!
…Oh… and Ann had meant it. And not in the platonic sense that Shiho had used earlier, either. She really loved Urano. Like, REALLY really!
"Um… Ann…"
What was Ann supposed to do now? Now that Ann was aware of her feelings, she felt too self-conscious to say anything. Was she Urano's type? Heck, did Urano even like girls!?
"Ann… Ann!"
Ann was so caught up in her thoughts that she hadn't realized she was still hugging Urano. By the time the bookworm finally got her attention, their hug had lasted for a full ten minutes. After Ann learned what she'd done, her face surpassed her costume in redness.
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Rank Up!
Confidant: Ann Takamaki. Arcana: Lovers. Rank: 9.
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Luckily (or unluckily), Urano remained oblivious, mistakenly assuming that Ann's tempest of emotions was solely due to Shiho's departure.
Ryuji Sakamoto's PoV
Ryuji met up with Urano at one of his favorite restaurants to tell her the good news about the track team – that they no longer trusted Yamauchi and were going to try getting back their pre-Kamoshida coach. He thought that it was important to tell her how things turned out, even if she was never that enthusiastic about the track team.
Predictably, Urano's only response was to his news was a detached 'oh, that's nice for them.'
Nevertheless, Ryuji felt like stuffing his face to celebrate. He was in such a good mood that he didn't even care when he offered to pay and discovered that he couldn't find his wallet.
"You should really care about that!" chastised the bookworm.
Once Ryuji finished eating, he told Urano about the second part of his news; the track team had asked him to rejoin the team.
"I see," said Urano, though her face was clearly saying 'don't do it!'
"Dude, I'm not gonna do it," Ryuji told the bookworm, causing her to relax. "It felt kinda bad, but that's not where I belong now."
His place was with his friends. Even if they stopped being the Phantom Thieves of Heart, that would still be true.
"When you first came to Shujin, people were talking shit about you," he continued. "But you took it in stride. You just did whatever you thought was cool and didn't care what other people said about you. I think that's why people kinda get pulled toward you, man. Wherever you decide to be, that's where you belong."
"I never realized that," said Urano, taking on a thoughtful expression. "I mean, I do care a little bit about my reputation… But I'd never let it stop me from doing what I thought was right."
Yeah, that sounded about right. To Urano, reputation was an afterthought to resolving the problem at hand.
"Y'know… back before I met you, I kept making excuses for why I couldn't fit in," admitted Ryuji. "It was always because of someone else. Kamoshida, the track team… hell, I even blamed my dad. I was such a freaking loser. But I've realized now… as long as I'm being myself, I'll always find somewhere I can fit in. It ain't really the same place as before, but it's damn good. I'm just glad I found it."
"I agree," responded Urano. "I thought I'd be lost without Shuu. But I found my way again, thanks to you and everyone else."
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Rank Up!
Confidant: Ryuji Sakamoto. Arcana: Chariot. Rank: 9.
.
After his mother, Urano was probably the most important person in Ryuji's life.
Not in the romantic sense. Any such feelings had long since been scared out of him by her bouts of ruthlessness and bloodlust.
Who even said boys and girls couldn't be 'just friends,' anyway? Although, 'best friends' would probably be more fitting, at least to Ryuji.
Urano Motosu's PoV
"What I did was really terrible," said Mika. "I caused so much trouble for everyone… But I'm gonna start working even harder from now on, I promise…"
While accompanying Ann to one of her photoshoots, we learned from an agency employee that Mika had been tricking other models (including Ann) into missing their shoots in order to get more opportunities and boost her own popularity. When confronted about it, Mika 'apologized' for her actions, like the 'apology' she just gave Ann and me.
"Anyway, let's get started," the agency employee said to Mika. "You're ready to go, right?"
"Yup!" she replied, her voice completely devoid of guilt or shame.
The employee started to walk away, which made me angry.
"Hold it!" I shouted, causing the employee to stop. "So Mika lied to her fellow models and stole their opportunities, but she still gets to take part in shoots? How is that fair?"
"Well, she did come clean and apologize," answered the employee.
"Of course she did… There was no point in lying," I retorted bluntly, giving him a withering stare. "She'd already gotten what she wanted, and you wouldn't have confronted her if you didn't have solid evidence. If you think her 'apology' was sincere, then you're still as clueless as you were before."
The employee gave a defeated sighed.
"…Look, it's not like we have a choice," he explained, making me realize that he already knew the apology was fake. "Mika is selling like crazy, so stopping her from modelling would be shooting ourselves in the foot. What are we supposed to do?"
I hated that he had a point, as well as the smug grin Mika was giving me. I hated the idea of her getting off essentially scot-free for stealing other models' shoots. If only there was a way to force Mika to give those models shoots without stopping her from modelling…
"Oh, I know!" I cried out just as the employee started to leave again. Everyone looked at me, confused. "What if you have Mika participate in shoots with all of the models she lied to!"
"Huh?" went Ann. "How would more shoots be a punishment?"
"Because Mika would be using less flattering poses and outfits to make the other models look better by comparison," I explained. It would be like a reverse of Mika's shoot with Ann. "She basically stole their opportunities, so now her ill-gotten popularity should become a springboard for their success."
"It would certainly pacify all of the models who are angry about what Mika did…"
"W-wait! But the people want me! Wouldn't damaging my popularity be bad for business!?
I grinned. The employee was intrigued, while Mika was alarmed.
"And the fact that she's so freaked out shows that the punishment will deter anyone from doing this again in the future," I said, gesturing to the panicked Mika.
"Alright," decided the employee. "I'll suggest your idea to my manager, though I can't promise that he'll agree. For now, however, we still have a shoot to do."
The photoshoot ended up going brilliantly. Although Mika was able to maintain composure during while modelling despite clearly being afraid of her potential (deserved) punishment, Ann was able to keep up with her. All of Ann's training was paying off!
During a break the shoot, Ann told me that she wanted to keep improving until she could look back at herself with pride. She wanted to become a ray of light for others, just like Shiho and I were for her.
"You can do it, Ann," I affirmed.
"Yeah!" she agreed, blushing as she smiled. "Forever, okay? Urano, you're… my light."
Ann looked like she wanted to say more, but the break ended before she could speak.
Once the photoshoot ended, Ann and I went to Odaiba Seaside Park and got on the Ferris wheel together.
"Back when I met Shiho, when she saved me…" started Ann. "I realized that personal relationships are something to be treasured. That's why I'm not going to run away anymore. I'll face myself head on. This time, it's my turn to help someone. But… I'm still kind of worried. Do you think you could help me, Urano?"
"Anything for you."
"Mm-hm! You can lean on me too, if you need it…"
"I already am."
We both chuckled.
"I feel like we finally see each other eye to eye, Urano. I'm so glad I met you…"
.
I am thou, thou art I…
Thou hast turned a vow into a blood oath.
.
Thy bond shall become the wings of rebellion
And break the yoke of thy heart.
.
Thou hast awakened to the ultimate secret of
The Lovers, granting thee infinite power…
.
Rank Up!
Confidant: Ann Takamaki. Arcana: Lovers. Rank: 10.
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Ann leaned her head on my shoulder and stayed that way for the rest of the Ferris wheel ride.
Ryuji and I met up and got some ramen. As we ate, he told me that the PTA had aided the track team in getting rid of Yamauchi and reinstating the old track coach.
(Huh, come to think of it, almost all of the times that it's been just the two of us have involved food. Is Ryuji turning me into a glutton?)
"Phew, that was awesome…" said Ryuji with a grin once we finished eating. A moment later, he grew serious. "To tell the truth, I was scared of facing those guys straight up. I couldn't stand how much they hated me. It just made me think about how stupid I was… Most of all, it made me remember how I lost my place with them."
Ah, I see. No wonder Ryuji cares so much about the track team, even after everything that happened. The track team used to be the place where he belonged.
I know that if I messed up so badly that Mom, Futaba, Morgana, and Dad started shunning me, I wouldn't be able to stop caring about them either. They're just too important to me.
"Hey, this ain't like me, but…" continued Ryuji. "…I managed to change because you were here helping me. I got you all wrapped up in this shit, but you stayed with me until the bitter end. You didn't abandon me. So… thanks, man."
"What are friends for?" I replied, waving off his gratitude.
"Nah, you went above and beyond what a normal friend would do."
"I guess I learned that from Shuu. God knows how much I put him through."
I don't know if it was just a matter of hindsight being 20-20 or due to my Shadow Self becoming my Persona, but I'd realized that I wasn't that good of a friend to Shuu. He did a lot for me, and I never really returned the favor.
(Come to think of it, that was also true of my relationship with Mom.)
Well, I wouldn't be making that mistake anymore. No siree!
"…It's funny, huh?" said Ryuji, chuckling. "This started out as us training for the Phantom Thieves. How'd it end up like this?"
No clue. Then again, I also didn't know how moving in with the father I'd never met before led to founding a group of phantom thieves that change the hearts of the wicked.
"Either way, it's my turn now," stated Ryuji. "If anything comes up, you tell me. I'll help you with whatever you need.
.
I am thou, thou art I…
Thou hast turned a vow into a blood oath.
.
Thy bond shall become the wings of rebellion
And break the yoke of thy heart.
.
Thou hast awakened to the ultimate secret of
The Chariot, granting thee infinite power…
.
Rank Up!
Confidant: Ryuji Sakamoto. Arcana: Chariot. Rank: 10.
.
"All right!" he exclaimed, bursting with motivation. "Now that I have that off my chest, let's do this! First up: The Phantom Thieves! I'll be counting on you, Leader. And you can count on me too!"
I resisted the urge to facepalm at Ryuji saying something so incriminating when there were strangers sitting right next to him (though, thankfully, they seemed too caught up in their own conversation to notice).
Despite his assurances, I don't think I could ever count on Ryuji to keep a secret. Honestly, if a member of the Phantom Thieves of Heart exposed our identities — Mishima and Ann didn't count; our group didn't formally exist when I messed up with them — it'd definitely be Ryuji.
I probably didn't have much room to criticize given the aforementioned incidents… But at least I'd never declared it so loudly and publicly!
AN: Yeah, I didn't really like how Mika got off so easily in canon. Literally the only guarantee that she wouldn't do anything underhanded again was her claiming she wouldn't, and her word doesn't exactly mean a lot.
Anyway, I'd appreciate some feedback on this type of Confidant-oriented chapter. It's a bit different from the regular chapter, but I feel hopeful about it.
Confidants: Morgana (Magician, Rank 6), Igor (Fool, Rank 4), Sojiro Sakura (Hierophant, Rank 10), Ryuji Sakamoto (Chariot, Rank 10), Tae Takemi (Death, Rank 3), Futaba Sakura (Hermit, Rank 3), Makoto Niijima (High Priestess, Rank 3), Shinya Oda (Tower, Rank 1), Caroline and Justine (Strength, Rank 2), Toranosuke Yoshida (Sun, Rank 3), Ann Takamaki (Lovers, Rank 10), Haru Okumura (Empress, Rank 1), Sadayo Kawakami (Temperance, Rank 1), Hifumi Togo (Star, Rank 1), Chihaya Mifune (Fortune, Rank 1).