Good Day Readers! Obviously, I do not own anything connected to the Persona series in general or Persona 5 specifically, I DO own Chiba Natsumi and Anais Ouvrard, along with Natsumi's immediate family members and the original Personas that will be showing up on occasion.
To MCRDanime, thanks for the review, I will be doing a Strikers but it'll be separate from this story… which might take a while to get through since it seems to have become quite the massive project.
I would appreciate any responses that you have, please enjoy.
Chapter 44: - Death, Chariot, Magician
Takemi Tae sat within her office, organising the medicines she had stocked up, noting down what she needed to get more off, and ensuring she knew what new concoctions she'd be applying to her guinea pig when he next came in. Though the thought of the curly haired boy she'd been using in her medical tests immediately made her think of the girl who had accompanied him and her unusual request.
Takemi immediately locked her eyes upon the pieces of paper that she had organised. It was extremely basic work, but it would be enough for a complete amateur like Chiba to help out that stubborn friend of hers, now she just needed to stop by and pick them up. But the girl hadn't been at LeBlanc recently, well Takemi did have her contact information so just decided to send her a message.
Tae: Hey, come down today.
Tae: I've got your information for that friend.
Natsumi: Understood Doctor.
She was a weird girl. To so easily response to what was clearly a shadily worded message, not to mention she had turned to the aid of arguable the most hated individual in the medical community – well in Japan at least, overseas she was still respected – in order to get her friend back on track. There was also the irritating fact that she knew the family name of Chiba from somewhere, it was itching at her mind persistently.
Takemi stubbornly returned to her work, sorting and organising the patient records, even looking at the flyers that she hung in her office and seeing if any needed replacing or updating. Takemi didn't know why she was so concerned about the girl's impending arrival; she didn't get like this before Amamiya proceeded to turn up for his experiments. Takemi shook her head and tried to understand what her brain was up to.
"I'm not too early am I, Takemi-sensei?" Chiba's voice sounded. Takemi turned around to see the girl standing in the doorway dressed in her student uniform, well Takemi didn't want to make the girl end up being late, an afternoon arrival would have been better, but it also meant that there was a higher chance of her running into Amamiya.
"Nah, it's actually good that you're here this early. Means you're not interrupting any of my other patients," Takemi stated. Not that there was many of them, but some instinct told Takemi that the girl would not be happy to find her friend taking part in, technically, a sketchy drug trial. Her showing up earlier was much better in Takemi's mind.
Takemi motioned for the girl to follow after her and they entered into the private room that Takemi used for her examination. The doctor sat down in her chair and proceeded to pull over the papers she had constructed from various other articles detailing this sort of knowledge. Chiba sat down in the chair across from Takemi and the doctor set the papers down near her.
"Here is all the information I managed to get; you'll first have to evaluate exactly what's state his leg is in before starting any treatment. I've marked which ones to use at different intensities," Takemi explained. Chiba proceeded to pull the papers and immediately began to leaf through them, giving each page only a quick glance but making sure to look carefully with some intensity at each of them before moving on.
"Thank you for this Takemi-sensei," Chiba admitted. Takemi raised an eyebrow upon hearing her voice again and it immediately confirmed something that the doctor had expected from their second meeting; Takemi took up and quickly grabbed a cup, with the quick and precise movements born from years of practice stretching back to her childhood, Takemi quickly crafted a slightly cloudy drink, which she placed beside the girl. "Um… what is this?" Chiba asked. She was blinking her green eyes at the cup as if not understanding what it was for.
"A medicine I made to deal with strained vocal cords. I heard it the first time I heard you speak," Takemi admitted as she sat back down. Chiba's hand seemed to move on impulse towards her throat, gently pressing over an area directly above the area between her clavicles; as a doctor, Takemi's interest was piqued and she wanted to ask the necessary questions; what strained your voice? How long had it been like this? Were you doing any unnecessary vocal exercises?
But Takemi held herself back, after all this girl wasn't a patient of hers, merely seeking medical advice for someone else who was extremely stubborn. Besides the girl could be getting medical advice from another source or had been unaware of her condition until this very moment. Chiba didn't say anything and instead just reached out for the medicine and quickly swallowed it in a few gulps.
Unlike the drugs she'd been feeding to Amamiya for her research, this one wouldn't have any adverse side effects like causing her to faint or anything dramatic, it might just give her a tingling sensation or heat up her throat. Takemi watched as the girl gave a small cough as if trying to expel something from her throat. Chiba even proceeded to rub her hand up and down it in a practiced manner, she certainly seemed familiar with how her vocal cords could function.
"Thank you, Takemi-sensei," Chiba admitted. She proceeded to gather up all the files and organised them into a neat pile which was quickly slipped into her bag, Takemi found that action very familiar almost as if she had seen it somewhere before, but the gut feeling she had indicated that it belonged to a much older black haired individual. "Goodbye," Chiba bid. She proceeded to rise to her feet and walked out of the room without looking back.
'I've got to get rid of this itch I keep having.' Takemi decided. Perhaps figuring out where she knew the surname from would finally allow her mind to properly rest.
*Persona 5 Royal*
Ryūji stared at his phone in, well he wasn't entire sure if he was just nervous or outright terrified. He didn't even care if the teacher – what class was he in again? – noticed that he was staring at his phone. He was already tense over waiting for Madarame's Change of Heart or even any news about Madarame from Yusuke. And the way this message had been worded in a way that played off of that stress.
Natsumi: Ryūji, my house, this afternoon.
Natsumi: Do not miss it. Come in exercise clothing.
Natsumi: It's not training.
Honestly, even though he trusted Natsumi to have his back in a fight when they were acting as the Phantoms, that didn't stop Ryūji from being rather terrified of her. There was just something about Natsumi that was so intimidating; before he knew her, he'd never flinched when thinking about her, but now Ryūji did… maybe it was because he was well aware of how easily Natsumi could kick his ass.
Ryūji: Okay, I'll be there.
"OI! Sakamoto!" Ushimaru's voice roared. A torpedo chalk swiftly smacked him between the eyebrows and he almost tipped his chair back from the force of the blow, right… he was in Social Studies. Ryūji set his chair back on the ground and tucked his phone away before rubbing at the area which had been attacked.
Thankfully the bell soon rang, which released Ryūji from any further punishments as he bolted out the room like the ex-runner he was. Ren was only a few steps away, so he quickly grabbed his best friend's arm and pulled him away before Ushimaru could come out and collar him for having his phone out in class. He pulled the curly haired boy until they were outside and he turned to face the boy who was swaying in place slightly.
"Hey man, sorry but I'm gonna have to bolt. Natsumi's got somethin' planned for me and well… I think if I don't show up, she might be a little mad," Ryūji admitted. He slumped down slightly as he told Ren what happened; a small airy sound came from in front of him and Ryūji lifted his head to see that Ren was trying to restrain his laughter. "Hey!" Ryūji protested.
"Fair enough, best not to incite the wrath of our weapons master," Ren commented. That was the nickname that the rest of them had taken to calling Natsumi, but then again it made sense since it was only thank to her that they could actually wield their weapons without – well in Ryūji's case mostly – falling flat on their faces. "I'll talk to you later okay," Ren stated. He lifted a fist towards Ryūji and the blonde punk grinned broadly and knocked his own fist against Ren's, with that Ren turned his back to head away, at that moment Morgana popped out of Ren's bag.
"Whatever you do Ryūji, don't make her mad," Morgana teased. Ryūji flipped the cat off in response, before deciding the damn cat had a point and bolted towards the train station since he needed to get home and change before meeting up at Natsumi's house; Ryūji ran as fast as he could manage with his bad leg, silently cursing that bastard Kamoshida for breaking it the way that he did.
Ryūji just managed to catch the train back to Shibuya, slumping down in his seat out of relief that he'd made it safely. Ryūji pulled in deep breaths in the practiced manner to get his breath back before the train reached his stop, once it did the blonde was out of his seat and on the run again back to his home. Luckily for Ryūji, when he reached home, his mum happened to be out; Ryūji felt a pang in his heart despite the smile that came to his lips at his amazing mum, Ryūji knew he was lucky to have someone like her.
He quickly changed clothes and then bolted out the building to get the train to Yongen. Once that bit of his journey was done, Ryūji decided to change gears, so that instead of sprinting all over the place he was lightly jogging in order to reach the building Natsumi lived in – that empty place wasn't any home – to ensure his leg didn't give out like it had back in the Palace. Upon arrival, he quickly knocked on the door and it practically jumped open.
"Come on in," Natsumi insisted. Ryūji just caught the sight of a light blue shirt and dark blue skirt before the girl walked away, after getting his trainers off Ryūji followed after her into the front room and found her stopped near the couch "Lay down there," Natsumi ordered. With the way the cushions were positioned, it made it clear where his head was supposed to go, still nervous about what Natsumi had planned but glad he wouldn't be moving yet, Ryūji led down.
Right after his head had hit the cushions, Natsumi had seated herself in a chair beside the couch, nothing happened immediately afterwards beyond something rustling beside him, but Ryūji was getting antsy. He wasn't the kind of guy to stay still, he preferred actually moving especially if he was running but exercise in general was more his speed than sitting down and being still. Suddenly a pressure appeared near his right ankle and Ryūji instantly shot upright.
"What are you doin' Natsumi?" Ryūji asked. He stopped himself from swinging his leg up and jumping to his feet only after seeing that Natsumi had gripped both sides of his right pant leg and had been pushing it up when his actions stopped her; Ryūji spotted some papers resting in her lap and wondered what she could need those papers for and why she was lifting his pant leg.
"Assessing the state of your leg," Natsumi answered. She proceeded to continue pushing it up, until it reached passed his knee and she stopped it there; Natsumi then release the pant and rested her hands on his lower leg. "I went to Takemi-sensei and ask her for advice about your leg. We need you in fighting fit condition for more Palaces, if your leg acts up and you fall again… I don't want your life in danger," Natsumi admitted. A grim expression on her face as she thought of that possibility.
"Oh, right," Ryūji spoke. For all that Natsumi terrified him, he had to remind himself that she was a real kind person, Ryūji decided to trust her and proceeded to lie back down on the couch, he could feel the presence of Natsumi's fingers on his leg but beyond the delicate presence she exerted nothing else happened.
"You didn't trust her and I probably couldn't talk you into getting treatment from a stranger. So, I'm the next best thing," Natsumi explained. Ryūji knew she was right; he was never going near that terrifying punk rock woman again! Ryūji didn't even believe that woman was a licenced doctor no matter what her office looked like or how spookily accurate her questions were about how his leg had been injured.
"Thanks, Natsumi," Ryūji admitted. He knew that he needed his leg in better condition than it currently was and his running with Ren made that all the more apparent; his stamina was absolute shit! He was nowhere near as quick as he used to be and it wasn't getting better fast enough, maybe this therapy thing would be the missing piece he needed to get his leg back on track and stamina up.
"Of course, Ryūji," Natsumi responded. However, her tone wasn't what Ryūji had been expecting, it sounded kind of like she was dismissing his thanks which wasn't something that the blonde punk wanted, for all his actions there was one thing Ryūji valued more than even his ability to run; that was his family and friends. Ryūji pushed himself upright which stopped Natsumi from pressing at his leg and she proceeded to look at him.
"Nah, I really mean it. This isn't somethin' I ever thought of doing. I was just so mad at Kamoshida for what he did to me, gettin' better was the last thing on my mind," Ryūji explained. He'd wallowed in his rage, lashing out in every direction he could – except for his mum, he'd never hurt his mum the way that bastard had – just to do something with the fire that burned his heart. Ren, Morgana and Natsumi coming in with the Metaverse brought the first spark of focus to his randomly wandering mind.
"Like I told Shiho, getting better is the best revenge, we've already torn him apart. Now his victims – including you – can deal the final blow by getting better and moving passed him," Natsumi explained. Ryūji was surprised to hear that Natsumi was referring to Suzui by her first name, but his attention focused upon the rest of her statement; the more Ryūji thought about it, the more a massive, ear-splitting grin spread across his lips.
"Yeah, you know that actually sounds real cool when you say it like that," Ryūji decided. He'd already worked out so much of his anger at Kamoshida on the ugly Shadow he'd fought and watching the bastard's Change of Heart had made him feel vindicated; but some of it still remained. "So, what have I gotta do?" Ryūji asked. Perhaps channelling his rage into actually getting better would be a good way to finally get rid of it.
"First of all, I need to establish how bad your leg is. Then, following Takemi-sensei's advice, I can use that to help you strengthen your leg again," Natsumi explained. Natsumi returned to her prodding of Ryūji's leg and he tried to remain still, but a few movements caused him to yelp or shuffle in his seat. "I know you're running with Ren, but how much and how stressfully?" Natsumi asked. The sensation of Natsumi's fingers left and then scratching of something on paper sounded.
"It can get kinda intense, but I think that's on me. I get a bit competitive, with myself, to push myself to get faster," Ryūji answered. He remembered the first time he'd run with Ren, knee lift sprints all the way around the school, those had been easy as breathing to him before the track team got dissolved, but that day it felt like his legs refused to move afterwards with how tight they became and he could barely get any air into his lungs when he stopped. It had been a real blow to Ryūji's pride, especially when his legs started shaking.
"That competitive energy is good; it'll drive you to get better and overcome the challenges such a process will present. But you can't push yourself too hard, too fast. It'll actually make it worse rather than better," Natsumi explained. That didn't sound good to Ryūji, it sounded to Ryūji like Natsumi was telling him that he wouldn't be able to keep on running!
"But if I don't push myself, how will I know I'mma gettin' better?!" Ryūji demanded. He couldn't just stop running, it was a great way for him to relieve the build-up of stress, plus it was how he and Ren hung out; Natsumi lifted her eyes which were icy in their intensity and Ryūji leaned back. Seriously, those eyes were terrifying, especially when that face was so carefully blank as it currently was, the terror factor of Natsumi's burning eyes were cranked up.
"Physiotherapy takes time Ryūji. It's unfortunate but true. You'll be in your best state for fights, where we will need you most of all," Natsumi insisted. Argh, damnit! Why did Natsumi have to have such a logical head on her shoulders? If it was Morgana, he'd probably be able to argue with the arrogant feline, but Ren and Natsumi… no way. "I'll ask Ren to keep an eye on you in your running sessions, he has a better chance of keeping a hold of you than I will in those moments," Natsumi stated. The words took a while to actually settle into Ryūji's mind, but once they did, a sparkle appeared within his brown eyes.
"Wait, so I can still run?" Ryūji asked. The light of his happiness must have shown on his face because Natsumi allowed a small snort to escape from her as her shoulders jumped slightly; Ryūji liked it when Natsumi smiled and laughed, not in a romantic fashion, just a general he was happy she seemed happy since it was something that she seemed to do very little of and in Ryūji mind, she needed the warmth fuzzy feeling after Madarame's Palace sent her into shock… least that was what Morgana had caused her freak out moment.
"Yes, you still need to keep exercising, it'll actually be good for you to keep moving. Just not so intensely as before. Instead of sprinting everywhere, try jogging instead, or as slow as a run as you can manage," Natsumi explained. Okay, that might be something he could manage to do, actually he could try the hard exercises in a slower form which might be able to help him improve better. "I'll still have Ren keep tabs on you, just in case," Natsumi added on. Hopefully, Ren could approve of Ryūji's idea.
"Alright! Let's do this!" Ryūji cheered. He flopped back down, in a rather happy mood as he allowed Natsumi to continue with whatever it was the crazy 'doctor' had told her to do.
*Persona 5 Royal*
Morgana strode calmly across the wall, a few locks picks clutched within his mouth as he made his way to Natsumi's house. Via Ren, of course, she had confirmed Morgana's availability for a lesson tonight and with Ren out with Iwai then it was probably a good time to get the teaching underway. It would be good for them to have another lockpicker on their team, just in case anything went wrong.
The human turned cat, for he was, leapt onto the ledge of a window outside of a bedroom, a quick little scratching at the edges summoned Natsumi to his location. She opened the window and welcomed him in, Morgana easily leapt into her room and looked around. It was much nicer than the loft that Ren had to stay in with a decent looking bed in soft greens and blues, a deep red wood wardrobe with matching desk and bedside table. But that was it, the same empty feeling of the house was even present here.
"Morgana, I have some milk, water or tea, do you want anything?" Natsumi asked. The girl placed some bottles and a cup in front of him, so Morgana opted for the milk with a nudge of his head; a small saucer of that and some fish chunks on a separate plate were put on Natsumi desk. "Didn't know if you'd eaten or not but just in case you were hungry," Natsumi explained. Morgana smoothly leapt up onto the desk and was please to see several different kinds of locks resting on the desk near her chair. Morgana set the lockpicks down and moved over to the saucers.
"Thank you for the meal Natsumi," Morgana stated. The girl sat down and picked up the tools then slip over a lock. "Just remember to stay calm and take your time. Although I suppose this is going to be much easier than lockpicking under pressure. If something feels off, just speak up and I'll see what you need to do," Morgana advised. Natsumi was a proficient individual, when she kept her cool, likely thanks to her father's teachings giving her a natural dexterity which Ren was a bit lacking in; Morgana expected Natsumi to pick this up quite fast.
"Of course, Morgana," Natsumi agreed. She pulled over a lock that was much smaller than the one they'd found in Madarame's shack and she secured it into a decent sized vice in order to keep it steady while she got to work; she lifted the strips of metal and position the finer ends near the opening for the key, but Morgana had one last warning to give to Natsumi so he quickly moved over and rested a paw on her wrist to stop her.
"Natsumi word to the wise, each lock is an individual, you can't go in thinking they're all the same," Morgana warned. Natsumi nodded her head and turned back to the padlock, she took a deep breath, Morgana nodded – please with her actions – and moved over to take part in the meal that Natsumi had been kind enough to make for him.
As soon as he was finished, Morgana focused all of his attention upon Natsumi and her work, she'd managed to unlock the first padlock and had since moved on to a second, there were five in total for Natsumi to work away at. Occasionally, the girl would stop and ask Morgana for information, so the master phantom thief slinked over to listen to the mechanisms inside as Natsumi worked, gently guiding her movements until she got it right. Other than those odd moments, Natsumi got through the second and third padlocks quite easily. This allowed Morgana time to think and think he did, about one very particular incident that had gnawed at his mind for a little now.
"Natsumi, I was wondering," Morgana spoke up. The girl lifted her head to look in the human turned cat's direction while stilling her hands, Morgana was pleased as this reduced the chance of her making a mistake on her lockpicking. "Why did you randomly freeze up when looking at Atalanta?" Morgana asked. He had been curious about that, no other Shadow – not even a transformed Ruler – had drawn such a reaction from her, yet such an ordinary Persona as Atalanta had. Natsumi gently set her lock pick down and looked down at the lock she was meant to be working on, Morgana patiently waited for the girl to sort through her words; a gentleman such he always waited for a lady to speak in her own time.
"When Joker summons a Persona or frees a Shadow from a Palace, I've been sensing these… connections for lack of a better word to actual people who I know. As for Atalanta, she's the second entity who I've felt a connection to, it just ended up distracting me," Natsumi admitted. As she spoke though, Morgana perked up and focused upon the girl quite intently, for the truth was he actually understood a part of what Natsumi was saying.
"You can see what the Shadows truly are and are sensing connections to people. I can't do that, but all of the Shadows can be connected to Arcana," Morgana stated. One of the many abilities he had cultivated over his experiences – he thinks, but without a memory he has little clue to its' truth – was to perceive the twenty-four Arcana to divide the Shadows by. "Perhaps these Arcana are somehow linked to the people you sense the Personas linking to," Morgana theorised.
"Hold on, Arcana? What do you mean by that?" Natsumi asked. Honestly, Morgana didn't have any idea why the term Arcana was used to describe this classification, he wasn't even sure where it had originated from, but that was the classification so that was what he used. Morgana could at least explain what he knew about the Arcana and the Personas that Natsumi might have had sensed a linking between their companions.
"I… don't know exactly. I just now each Persona has a corresponding Arcana. Like my Zorro is a Magician Arcana, Carmen is Lovers, Captain Kidd is Chariot, Goemon is Emperor, Phantom is Voyage and Arsène was Fool," Morgana explained. That seemed to spark something within Natsumi's eyes as she focused upon him with a great deal of intensity; seeing those eyes, green with a ring of blue or gold at the centre, seemed to jolt something within Morgana's empty mind before it faded, leaving only the faintest snatch of an aria behind.
"The first time I sensed this connection was when Joker summoned Agathion and that linked it to Skull, you were connected to Cait Sith, I've also sensed links from Boss, Panther, Takemi-sensei, Maruki-sensei, Mishima, Iwai-san and yet some without any at all," Natsumi revealed. Now that was interesting to hear, Morgana could understand links between himself and the other members of the Phantoms, but not those who weren't able to enter the Metaverse yet were intrinsically connected to Ren. But it was curious as to why Natsumi had an empty space for some of them yet not others.
"Hmm, maybe you need to meet both a human and a Persona who resonates with the Arcana before you can identify a link. But is there something else involved or is it just the Arcana," Morgana wondered. It was a possibility; one sensation would inevitably lead to the other being sensed once Natsumi managed to meet the one she was missing, such a curious ability her Second Sight. In truth Morgana knew she wasn't telling them everything, but that was something she had to reveal in her own manner, not something he blurted out.
"I'm trying to understand what you mean by Arcana and how you came across those names… or why Personas would be classified in such a manner," Natsumi admitted. If he had been in his human form, Morgana would have grimaced, he wished his memory hadn't been erased along with his true form; if he just had those memories then he'd be able to properly articulate what it meant to Natsumi.
The girl looked at him for a few moments, before turning back to her lock and continuing to work on it. Morgana allowed her to do this in silence, since she seemed to have the hang of it already, as he was turning over an idea in his head. This whole discussion of the Personas, Arcana and their links to living people can ignited his sense of curiosity and that curiosity demanded to be sated. The plan was risky, true, but it might help them to understand the Shadows more and more information was only more power to them. As Natsumi finished the fifth lock, Morgana made his choice.
"Natsumi, when we next have some free time, let's go down into Mementos. Just the two of us," Morgana suggested. It was a risky manoeuvre to make, but Morgana had been too intrigued by their discussion to simply let it go, he was eager to find answers about what the connection between the Arcana, all those people Ren had bonds with and the Personas truly were. Natsumi's eyes went a little wide, despite the fact that she had terrified the Shadows on the first level into fleeing from her on sight.
"Are you sure that's wise?" Natsumi asked. Ah, Morgana realised that Natsumi had assumed he meant for them to go any deeper into the place they could train; Morgana had no intention of doing such a thing, he was an extremely cautious gentleman and would never subject a lady to such great potential danger. Only when he was certain of his and Natsumi's overwhelming prowess against the Shadows was a concrete fact would he dare to suggest they go further alone.
"Me and you on the first level of Mementos, I don't think there's any need to worry, perhaps we'll have a better understanding of the Arcana link if we go down there," Morgana admitted. Natsumi proceeded to smile at Morgana's words which made the distorted human extremely happy; Ann-dono may be the woman who owned his heart, but that didn't make Natsumi any less of an important person in Morgana's eyes.
"Anything to clear up this mess of a confusion and explain the bonds I've been feeling," Natsumi agreed. A purr that almost sounded like the sound that rumbled within his van mode escaped him, he was greatly pleased to know that Natsumi had agreed to their joint excursion; Morgana just hoped that Ren wouldn't get too suspicious of him randomly disappearing and coming back slightly roughed up late at night.
"Goodnight Natsumi," Morgana chimed. With that he jumped through the window she had opened for him, as he was eager to get back to the attic at LeBlanc, odd as it might be the place had become something of a home for him; he would enjoy the rest he could make in that drafty area and think over the things he had learned today, so many fascinating things and perhaps he'd be able to pluck up that snatch of an aria Natsumi's eyes had summoned again.
"Night Morgana, you get home safe now," Natsumi insisted. Morgana turned and padded off into the night, sure that Natsumi was safe by the closing of the window behind him.