AN: I got a bit distracted by the holidays and went a few days without writing anything. But it's done now, and I hope you all enjoy it.
Also, I forgot to mention in last chapter's ANs, but Urano's gun growth under Shinya was a reference to Myne's tendency to become an expert in a subject when she has a strict and skilled teacher (merchant stuff with Benno, Ferdinand's broad and brutal education, etc.).
AO3 – Thank you epikachu, SaulAxel, Kryuzei, LuckyGunnerMat, and Anon. SaulAxel and epikachu, just wait and see. Kryuzei, you haven't seen anything yet. LuckyGunnerMat, if you're referring to the name of the group, I'm just planning on going with 'Phantom Thieves of Heart' like canon.
April 18 – Monday
Makoto Niijima's PoV
The school day passed by without incident. Nonetheless, rather than enter the Metaverse at Shujin, Makoto led Urano, Morgana, and Ryuji to her home to activate the MetaNav there.
"Do we really gotta do this?" complained Ryuji during the walk over. "Even if Takamaki spies on us, it's not like she'll be able to follow us into the Metaverse without the app."
"Did you seriously forget how you first ended up in Kamoshida's Palace?" criticized Morgana. "If Lady Ann is standing close enough, there's a chance she'll get pulled in with us."
"We don't even know if she's following us," retorted Ryuji.
"She is," interjected Urano, glancing behind them. Makoto and the boys followed her gaze and glimpsed some blonde hair moving behind a street corner.
"Told you so," said the not-cat smugly.
Ryuji grumbled a bit, but they were able to get to Makoto's house before a fight broke out between the two. Upon arriving, however, their plan hit a snag.
"Sis!" exclaimed Makoto, surprised that Sae was home. Thankfully, her sister was packing a small suitcase, so she didn't notice Makoto and the others' looks of alarm. "What are you doing home so early?"
"Just grabbing some essentials," Sae answered, zipping up her suitcase. "Things are busy at the prosecutor's office. I'm going to be spending the next several days there, so you'll be on your own for a bit. Everything should be back to normal by your birthday, though, so you don't have to worry about me missing it."
Her sister then looked over at Makoto and the others. Sae's eyes narrowed, especially at Ryuji.
"Are these new friends of yours? I don't recall meeting them before."
Makoto's mouth went dry. She felt like, under the prosecutor's strict gaze, any lie she said would be seen through. Fortunately, she wasn't alone.
"My name is Urano Motosu," greeted the bookworm with a bow, although Makoto heard some nervousness leaking into her voice. "And he's Ryuji Sakamoto." She gestured to Ryuji, who was petrified by Sae's stare. "We're both second-years at Shujin. I promised to tutor Ryuji a few days ago. However, I don't have any tutoring experience and was feeling nervous, so Makoto agreed to help me out."
"Y-yeah!" confirmed Ryuji, panicked. "That's all I'm here for! I swear!"
Sae looked to Makoto for confirmation, and she nodded. The pressure from Sae's gaze lessened but didn't fade.
"I see… Sae Niijima, of the prosecutor's office," introduced the woman. She looked back at Ryuji and spoke in an intimidating tone. "I think you can guess what will happen if you do anything… unseemly while I'm not here."
"Y-yes, ma'am!"
"I don't think you have anything to worry about," commented Urano, deadpan. With the remainder of Sae's scrutiny on Ryuji, the bookworm's nervousness had faded. "As you can see, Ryuji's the type to get bossed around by women."
To Makoto's surprise, this earned a small chuckle from Sae.
"Good," said her older sister. She looked back over at Makoto. "Take care, Makoto."
"I will, Sis."
With that, Sae left. At Makoto's suggestion, the spent a few minutes doing schoolwork (in case Sae realized she forgot something and came back home). Ryuji complained at first, but Urano proved herself to be a surprisingly competent tutor.
When Makoto's sister didn't return, the Phantom Thieves (temp.) finally activated the MetaNav and used the Morgana-mobile to swiftly rendezvous with Futaba at the castle.
Urano Motosu's PoV
"It's about time, inmate!" complained Caroline as soon as I entered the Velvet Room. She was angrier than usual. "Know your place!"
"You saw us in the alley yesterday yet ignored us," said Justine coldly. "Should this be taken as a sign that you intend to abandon your rehabilitation?"
Jeez, they were mad. But it wasn't like I had choice! If I'd entered the Velvet Room, my body would've remained motionless in the alley outside of Untouchable! Even if Ryuji was there, doing that would've just been asking for trouble. Nevertheless, seeing how upset they were, I did feel guilty about it.
"Sorry," I apologized, bowing slightly. "Is there anything I can do to make up for it?"
"Hmph," snorted Caroline, turning her face away from me. "It'll take more than words to make amends for your blunder. However, I suppose that there is something you can do for us. If your performance is satisfactory, then I suppose we might forgive you."
Caroline then explained their request, her eyes visibly lighting up as she did so. Once she finished her explanation and extracted a promise from me to fulfill it in the future, I turned to Justine and asked her a question.
"Your sister's a total tsundere, isn't she?"
Both girls just looked at me with confusion, though.
"Tsun… dere?"
"That better not be an insult!"
Huh… For guides to a world shaped by human thought, Justine and Caroline knew surprisingly little about humanity. It was weird…
"Perhaps we should begin discussing the purpose of this meeting," interjected Igor. This made the girls immediately shut up. "Excellent. Now…"
Igor proceed to give me an 'assignment' to help me fully utilize the power of the Wild Card. He had Caroline and Justine request a specific Persona from me – Jack Frost with Mabufu – which I proceeded to create. It took a fair bit of trial and error, but that was time well spent.
I left the Velvet Room with a new Persona and Confidant, both of whom were adorable.
.
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…
.
Confidant: Caroline and Justine. Arcana: Strength. Rank: 1.
Morgana's PoV
"Urgh, how long'll this take?" muttered the newly christened Skull (AKA Ryuji). He was referring to their motionless leader, whom they had dubbed 'Harlequin.'
While they'd been waiting for Harlequin to finish up in her mystery room, Mona (Ryuji's surprisingly decent suggestion for Morgana) had explained to the remaining Phantom Thieves (temp.) about the need for codenames to avoid accidentally influencing Kamoshida's cognition of them.
When Makoto/Queen asked why their leader and the not-cat didn't already have codenames, Mona pointed out that there wasn't any need before now since Futaba – who chose Oracle for herself – was fully aware of their infiltration from the very start.
"Just be patient," snapped Mona, annoyed at the blonde thief. Despite how hard the not-cat had worked convincing Harlequin to let him have Sojiro's leftover curry from yesterday, Skull's bottomless pit of a stomach had ensured that there was nothing left over.
Skull scowled at Mona, but before he could make a retort, Queen asked the not-cat a question.
"U-um, is there any way for me to modify my phantom thief outfit?" she asked, blushing.
"Aww…" moaned Oracle, who had been speaking with Queen moments prior. But your yakuza look is so cool."
Ah, right. Yesterday, Queen had been embarrassed about being told she looked like a delinquent. Mona guessed that, due to the adrenaline rush of awakening her Persona, Queen hadn't realized that she looked like a yakuza biker (or maybe she'd been unconsciously avoiding that truth) until Oracle had pointed it out.
Well, whatever the case, the not-cat had a solution. Probably.
"Maybe," answered Mona. "In Oracle's Palace, Harlequin used my car transformation as a basis to turn her outfit into some desert clothes. If I remember correctly, she said 'Urano Mode Change to… Tomb Mode!' and did something like this…"
The not-cat struck a pose, bringing his right hand to his face and dabbing with his left arm. He held it for a moment, then stopped and returned to his explanation.
"…Although, I suppose that your codenames and 'Castle Mode' would be more appropriate."
"Is the dab really necessary?" asked Queen, her face reddening slightly.
"Yes," replied Mona, Oracle, and Skull at the same time.
Harlequin had only posed during her transformation because it fit her cognition of what a person needed to do in order to transform, but in doing so, she established the Metaverse's rules for how to perform a 'Mode Change.' Now, it would be impossible to 'Mode Change' without striking the signature pose… at least by the same TV logic that had spawned the concept in the first place.
Queen sighed, then took a deep breath. Skull and Oracle rushed over to her sides, practically bouncing on their feet as they joined her.
"Queen Mode Change to…"
"Skull Mode Change to…"
"Oracle Mode Change to…"
"…Castle Mode!"
AN: since I don't feel like trying to describe their outfits, I'm just going to list them here. Makoto is wearing Erza's standard armor (Fairy Tail; essentially knight armor and a skirt), Ryuji is in Berserker Lancelot's armor, minus the helmet (Fate/Grand Order, Stage 2 ascension; a black knight), and Futaba has Ortinax Mash without the shield (Fate/Grand Order; high-tech armor that is somewhat revealing).
Urano Motosu's PoV
Upon returning from the Velvet Room, I learned that everybody now had nicknames and that everyone other than Morga… Mona had used my 'Mode Shift' to change their outfits. Shockingly, only Oracle's new look was all that revealing, probably because she was a closet pervert. I wasn't a closet pervert, though, so my mishap in the tomb must've just been a fluke!
"Harlequin Mode Change to… Castle Mode!"
AN: Urano in Jeanne D'Arc outfit, no cape (Fate/Grand Order Stage 2 ascension; holy maiden + armor)
…Well, the new outfit's skirt emphasized my legs, but it didn't actually reveal more than my Shujin uniform's skirt. I think I'll stick with this look for the rest of the Palace.
"This is definitely better than what happened last time," I murmured.
"Last time?" repeated Queen, puzzled. I cringed, realizing I'd spoken aloud. "Did something happen to your outfit in Oracle's Palace? Mona only said that you produced some desert clothes."
"Come to think of it, you suddenly changed back to your standard look after we arrived at the tomb," said the not-cat. "Was there something wrong with them?"
"Nnnnno?"
Urgh, I suck at lying on the spot. It was obvious from the looks on their faces that nobody believed me, and that they were all curious to know the truth.
"Fine," I sighed. "On the drive to the tomb, I checked underneath the cloak I made and… um… foundasexybellydanceroutfit."
Reactions were mixed. Queen's face grew as red as mine undoubtedly was. Oracle burst into laughter ("Mwehehehe!"), entertained by my mortifying experience. Skull also blushed, although I got the feeling that it wasn't due to secondhand embarrassment like Queen. As for Mona…
"Get your head out of the gutter, Skull!" snapped the not-cat.
…he picked yet another fight with Skull. And, like usual, Skull took the bait.
"Hey! I don't want the hear that from you of all people!" retorted the blonde. "We all know about how you were at that Palace version of Takamaki!"
"Hey!" yelled Mona, his own cheeks reddening. He opened his mouth to fire another insult back, but I cut him off.
"Enough!" I shouted, cowing the two guys. "Would you two cut it out! Morgana, stop provoking Ryuji! I don't know what your problem with him is, but either talk to us about it or suck it up instead of acting like a brat!"
"Y-yes, Harlequin!" replied the not-cat, acting like Skull had to Sae earlier.
"And Ryuji, stop letting Morgana provoke you! He's a grade schooler, for crying out loud, so be the bigger person!"
"G-got it!" went Skull. After a moment, his fear was replaced with confusion. "…Wait, a grade schooler? How do you know that? I thought Mona lost his memories."
The others were also confused, especially Mona himself.
"Well, yeah, but it's pretty obvious if you think about it," I answered. "I mean, Mona's short, which by Metaverse logic means that his original body is also on the shorter side…"
"Urgh!"
"…and his voice is too high-pitched for him to have hit puberty…"
"Oof!"
"…and the dramatic way he always tries to act, like calling us phantom thieves and posing, is just like what a little kid playing hero would do."
"Ack!"
The others seemed to accept my logic, even if Mona found it upsetting for some reason. Oracle tried to comfort the not-cat with some words of sympathy about being younger than everybody else and a head-pat, which only made him more miserable.
"…Can we please just stop talking about this and enter the castle?" asked Mona gloomily.
Futaba Sakura's PoV
As soon as the Phantom Thieves (temp.) entered the castle, Oracle used Necronomicon to scan the place and felt a ping.
"My sensors are showing that there's a passageway behind that giant painting," she said, pointing in front on them.
"So it isn't just there out of narcissism?" asked Harlequin dryly. "Well, let's check it out."
Behind the painting, they found an elevator decorated with perverted statutes, which brought them up one of the castle's towers.
"Great going, Oracle!" praised Mona, exuberant. "Kamoshida's Treasure feels much closer now!"
They progressed in the direction in which the not-cat sensed the Treasure. As the Phantom Thieves (temp.) moved forward, Necronomicon picked up on a pair of Shadows that were carrying eye-shaped objects.
Mona recognized the eyes as keys, so they jumped the Shadows, trounced them, and claimed the eyes. This proved to be a wise decision, as the group soon found themselves before a room of swinging axes that only stopped after both eyes were placed in a nearby statute.
Not long after, the Phantom Thieves (temp.) ran into second golden knight. This one transformed into a creepy slime that leered at the girls and resisted all of their elemental attacks. Harlequin and Queen were relieved when it finally croaked, though the latter also wanted to wash her brass knuckles off. Personally, Oracle was never more thankful that she was a support unit rather than a fighter.
Luckily, it turned out that the golden knight mid-boss had been guarding Shadow Kamoshida's throne room. The group climbed up one of the perverted statutes in the hallway outside, entered the throne room through a window, and snuck their way across the room and into the castle's treasury.
There, the Phantom Thieves (temp.) found the glowing, amorphous blob that represented Kamoshida's Treasure. With their infiltration route secured, the group made their way back to the entrance. However, upon exiting the secret passageway with the elevator, they ran into a… complication.
"Intruders!" shouted a Shadow, transforming from a knight to a large demon sitting on an equally large toilet. "Die in the name of King Kamoshida!"
The enemy itself wasn't too powerful. Harlequin quickly put it on the ropes with an Agi followed by an All-Out Attack. However, before its death, it called out to another Shadow that happened upon the fight.
"The intruders have discovered the secret passageway!" shouted the toilet demon, pointing to the gaudy painting. "You must warn King Kamoshida!"
The Shadow obeyed. Harlequin and Skull tried to chase after it, only for the toilet demon to stall them by buffeting everybody with a Mabufula. Harlequin retaliated with another Agi, finishing off the gross Shadow. But, in the time that it took to finish off the toilet demon, the fleeing Shadow had disappeared from sight and left the range of Necronomicon's sensors.
With a sense of defeat, the Phantom Thieves (temp.) exited the castle. Their infiltration route had been compromised. Shadow Kamoshida would undoubtedly be setting up a trap or an ambush at the elevator, meaning that they would have to find another way to his Treasure.
As Oracle flew back home, she wished that Necronomicon was stronger… that she was stronger. Even if that strength was just her Persona being able support more weight than herself and possibly Morgana, then she could've flown everybody straight to the Treasure, skipping over the castle level entirely.
April 19 – Tuesday
Ryuji Sakamoto's PoV
During the school day, Ryuji was fidgety. He couldn't wait until classes ended – more so than usual – and he could reenter Kamoshida's Palace.
"Urgh, I wish I had something to take my mind off of it," he grumbled at lunchtime, having already wolfed down his meal.
Since there wasn't a Phantom Thieves (temp.) meeting today, everyone was doing their own thing. Makoto was busy with student council work, Urano was in the library, Morgana was doing who knows what, and Ryuji was sitting in a secluded corner of the school.
"Aha! I thought I'd find you here."
Although, apparently not secluded enough.
"Whaddya want, Takamaki?" asked Ryuji, scowling. He wasn't in the mood to be pestered about letting her into the revenge scheme. "If it's about Kamoshida, then…"
"It isn't that," denied Takamaki, surprising him. "I mean, could you even get me into your little revenge group? It's pretty obvious that Motosu and Niijima are the ones in charge."
Ryuji felt a vein in his forehead throb. Why did everyone always have to demean him? What, was he a Kamoshida in his past life or something!?
"Niijima's probably told you about our little conversation in the arcade on Sunday. During it, she told me that… that me and Shiho weren't the only ones who'd been burned by evil adults. I already know about what you've been through, but…"
Oh.
Ryuji's anger cooled. Now that he thought about it, Takamaki didn't look angry today.
"I don't think I should share the details," started Ryuji. He knew he hated it when people talked about his shit with Kamoshida. "But, yeah. Urano, Makoto, and Futaba… err, the orange-haired girl… they've all lost somebody important to them. And none of them were accidents."
Urano's friend. Makoto's father. Futaba's mother.
"Although, you're a bit luckier than them," continued Ryuji. Takamaki gave him an affronted look, causing him to hastily explain. "I-I mean, Suzui might recover! Plus, we actually know who to blame. Urano and Futaba are looking for the ones who wronged them, but they haven't found anything yet."
"I see…" said Takamaki, calming down. She frowned, thinking hard about something. "Thanks for telling me."
She walked off, leaving Ryuji alone for the rest of lunchtime.
Urano Motosu's PoV
Infiltrating Kamoshida's Palace – Take 2.
With the elevator no longer an option, we stealthily made our way through the castle. We passed through a room with tables and food (probably the Palace version of the cafeteria) without incident, defeating several Shadows. We even performed a Hold Up, shaking down some Pixies for cash.
Unfortunately, things didn't stay peaceful. In one hallway, I found a bookshelf only to discover that the books in it were completely blank!
"You've got to be kidding me!"
"Halt, intruders!"
…Oops?
My righteous indignance was noticed by several Shadows, who proceeded to attack us.
Strike one.
(Incidentally, I decided to take one of the books for myself after the fight. The pages might've been blank, but it did look nice and could serve as a fancy-looking journal.)
Later, I found some books that weren't blank, only to be disgusted by the contents. The Slave Book… the Queen Book… How dare Kamoshida defile books like this! How dare he torment people like this!
"Ufufu," I chuckled darkly. "He's just begging for a bloody carnival, isn't he?"
"Not again!" cried Mona. "Stop talking about bloody carnivals!"
"W-wait!" exclaimed Queen. "We already agreed to just change Kamoshida's heart!"
"The hell!?" shouted Skull. "Did her clothes just turn black!?"
"She's gone to the dark side," said Oracle nervously. "It's the birth of Dark Harlequin… no… Harlequin Alter."
Again, the shouting drew in Shadows and resulted in a fight.
…Whoops?
"Should our leader really be getting distracted so easily?"
Oof!
I winced at Skull's muttered complain. Although, he wasn't wrong…
Strike two.
Things went smoothly afterward, at least for a while.
"Why is there are church in here?" I wondered as we fought an Archangel, the head of this area. "Does Kamoshida think that the student body worships him?"
"I wouldn't put it past him," replied Skull bitterly.
"Does it really matter?" interjected Mona, exasperated. "Focus on taking this Heavenly Punisher down!"
I winced at the not-cat's recrimination.
Strike three, although thankfully I wasn't out just yet.
"Analysis complete!" declared Oracle from inside Necronomicon. "It has no weaknesses and resists Fire, Ice, Electric, and Bless."
"In that case, we should wear it down with Physical attacks," concluded Queen, who'd taken on the role of our strategist. She summoned Johanna. "Vajra Blast!"
"Lucky Punch!" yelled Mona, calling upon Zorro.
"Headbutt!" shouted Skull, unleashing Captain Kidd.
"Lunge!" I commanded, switching to Bicorn. It was my latest Persona, having originally been one of the Shadows attracted by my shouting.
The head of Kamoshida's corrupt cognitive church was crushed under our combined power, allowing us to continue onward.
Soon, we reached a familiar area – the elevator. A group of Shadows were standing in front of it, ready to ambush whomever rode it up. As expected, we wouldn't be able to use it for our infiltration.
We encountered no further problems as we double-checked the remainder of our infiltration route. Security was actually lighter than it had been yesterday, probably because of all the guards stationed at the elevator. Once again, our pathway to Kamoshida's Treasure was secured and we were free to send a calling card (which Skull volunteered to write).
The five of us left afterward, this time taking extra care to avoid being spotted. And we succeeded. Probably.
Overall, I'd say that, other than my complete failure as a leader, the infiltration went pretty well.
Toranosuke Yoshida's PoV
Before his speech, Miss Motosu spoke to Toranosuke again, asking him to teach her how to make speeches. When he asked her why, the response he got was intriguing.
"I want to be of use to my friends," said Miss Motosu, making a remorseful face.
Toranosuke wanted to ask more, but he suspected that it wouldn't be a short conversation. As such, he decided to wait until after giving his speech before asking.
Incidentally, the speech didn't go too well. After Toranosuke tried breaking up a fight, a member of the audience disparaged him, calling him 'No-Good Tora' and bringing up his past failings. Toranosuke faltered under the man's criticism, and his speech ended up falling apart.
"Mr. Yoshida, you're a criminal?" asked Miss Motosu afterward.
"There are many who would agree with that statement," he answered. "Whenever someone calls me 'No-Good Tora,' I panic. I went through quite an ordeal twenty years ago… Allow me to explain."
Toranosuke told Miss Motosu about how his inexperience let to 'No-Good Tora's Three Strikes.'
"You said you wanted to learn from me," he continued. "But do you see the man before you? Do you really want receive my guidance?"
"I need all of the help I can get," replied Miss Motosu, becoming gloomy. The remorse returned to her face as she explained why this was so important to her. "Do you remember what I said about wanting to be a better leader? Well, I messed up badly earlier today. I kept getting distracted and bringing more trouble to my friends. Maybe I should just hand things over to Makoto…"
Ah, now Toranosuke understood. Miss Motosu had experienced her first big screw-up as a leader and was now doubting her abilities. Luckily, if there was one thing Toranosuke knew how to do, it was how to persevere through defeat.
"Miss Motosu," he began. "I can't say how capable of a leader you are or aren't. However, I can say with certainty that you will never become a better leader than you currently are if you give up now."
Miss Motosu made a thoughtful expression, considering his words.
"Whether giving a speech or serving as a leader, the most important part about doing it well is believing in yourself. Perhaps one day, I will believe in myself… again."
Miss Motosu smiled.
"You really should be believing in yourself," she stated, her gloominess gone. "Your speeches are really good, including this one."
She'd gone from needing to be cheered up to cheering him up. Miss Motosu was a bit strange, but in a good way.
"Thank you," said Toranosuke. "And if learning how to lead people and give a great speech is still what you seek, then I'd be happy to instruct you."
.
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 Sun Persona,
I have obtained the winds of blessing that
Shall lead to freedom and new power…
.
Confidant: Toranosuke Yoshida. Arcana: Sun. Rank: 1.
AN: I came up with the Harlequin codename after realizing that reusing 'Joker' was a bit confusing. The name was obviously inspired by the Batman villainess, although I became certain about it after a quick look at the Wikipedia page for Harley Quinn's namesake – a trickster that troubles his master (like Myne/Rozemyne with Benno, Ferdinand, Sylvester, etc.) and the prototype for the 'romantic hero' literary archetype (which, according to its Wikipedia page, is a character that rejects established social norms, among other things).
Also, because of how I am, I felt the need to use an online Fusion Calculator to find a way to make Jack Frost with the Personas Urano has (with Liesel replacing Arsene). This is what I got: Arsene + Isis = Nue; Arsene + Nue = Angel. Arsene + Angel = Jack Frost.
Anyway, that's all for now. Bye!
Confidants: Morgana (Magician, Rank 3), Igor (Fool, Rank 3), Sojiro Sakura (Hierophant, Rank 2), Ryuji Sakamoto (Chariot, Rank 3), Tae Takemi (Death, Rank 1), Futaba Sakura (Hermit, Rank 1), Makoto Niijima (High Priestess, Rank 1), Shinya Oda (Tower, Rank 1), Caroline and Justine (Strength, Rank 1), Toranosuke Yoshida (Sun, Rank 1).