Disclaimer: Persona 5 Characters except Fujin Katsuo belongs to Atlus, this fanfic has no commercial purpose.
"Kaneshiro! Get back here, you son of a bitch!" I saw him running away while we were fighting those monsters. I chased him down to the door where he was standing in front, back when we entered a hallway made of glass.
"Hey, wait! Don't go alone!" The leader tried to stop me. I didn't listen to his warning because my mind was under an unstoppable rage.
Kaneshiro made fun of me, mocked me, he wounded my pride and my family's honor. He was the Fortunato of my Montresor, and just like that, I knew what kind of fate waited for Kaneshiro as soon I get him on my hands.
When I opened the door, he went to another one from the right. I chased him through there, but at the moment I crossed that door, it locked itself. There was no turning back; I decided to move along the halls with office desks and surveillance cameras. To me left, there was a large window, showing all the money where fatso had been hoarding for a long time—such a disgusting pig.
From the other side, there was another hall like the one I was, but the Phantom Thieves were fighting those monsters in such narrowed space. It looked like a race from what I could see. I wouldn't let them reach Kaneshiro unless I am the one giving the punishment he deserved. I sneaked and ambushed enemies on my way, which was sort of difficult because not many of them were weak to Faust's physical attacks. The best I could do was inflicting Fear and bailed them. Each move I made started to worn me out, never thought that using Faust could consume me physically or mentally. The best way to save energy was by using a chain with a hook attached to it and my sawed-off shotgun. When did I get those? Who knows, it was better than being empty-handed.
At the end of the hall was an elevator, which was convenient for me, too convenient if I had to suspect. I took it to move on; he most likely was on the first floor. Dammit, who could ever imagine that fighting like this would be hard? Not only that, but while the elevator was going down, something caught my attention. On the walls, I saw my reflection: I was using a weird outfit that resembled military renaissance clothing.
It was entirely black from the torso with armor plates and shoulder pads. The sleeves were in pattern from red and black that looked like flames. I got a cape from the same pattern colors, only covering my whole right arm. The gloves were also black with red only on the fingers while holding spikes from the knuckles. I was using black pants that were a little adjusted, but easy to move. The boots were towering up to my knees and also armor plates covering my toes. Finally, I was using a mask covering my mouth and a headband with horns. I looked like a devil or Oni from what I could tell. I didn't get why I was using that, but the textiles from the clothes were soft, though.
I thought to myself, when I awakened that power; I got that outfit. What was the meaning of that? I had no clue about the purpose of using that get up. The Phantom Thieves were using costumes, too; I had to assume that they had this power before me. For how long was she with them? If her sister discovered such a show, I could only think of one hellish family dispute. I couldn't imagine if my parents would find this too. The best answer would be too early for Trick or Treat.
The elevator stopped; there was a massive room with a lot of stairs. Kaneshiro was on the bottom of that room, waiting for me. I walked down until where he was. Another guard was by his side. What a coward was letting others fight for him while watching, I hated people making others fight each other for their amusement.
"Looks like one of my special customers arrived; I hoped you enjoyed your stay here," Kaneshiro was standing there, thinking he was untouchable.
"I have to say. You got the worst bank ever: No signs for directions, no friendly staff, and no restrooms. The only thing I have to admit is the taste for interiors, too bad you failed in everything else. What? Not enough money for a better interior designer? What cheap swine!" I said, feeling confident in my skills.
"That is going to be over once I accomplish of kidnapping you," He smiled mischievously.
"Why? You said a ransom for my family, but you know they have nothing. You took everything from us, and yet, it's not enough for you?" I said, feeling angry by the fact such a guy would hoard to that extent.
"Well, I made you an offer to work for me, it isn't too late to accept it," Kaneshiro said.
"Working as what? Another grunt? As if! You should have a better position to offer me!"
"I'm aware of it; I'm offering you the position of a hitman."
"What!? Are you serious!?" I said, shocked and probably beyond comprehension that I started laughing uncontrollably. "Hah! That's a terrific joke! You truly lost your marbles on thinking I'm capable of doing such a ridiculous thing!"
"What are you saying? I truly mean it, especially after discovering that traffic incident back in March," Kaneshiro smugged, and my laugh was cut short after hearing him. "Yeah, I know that as well. You and your family been under my radar for so long; I was about to give up. Of course, until I heard in the news about a young man killing a girl with a car. What I found surprising was the fact that he wasn't arrested or even shown the name on the public.
"No prosecution, nothing. I had only the suspicion that someone could pull the strings that quickly; either was my boys and me, a politician, or Fujin Marou, former head of the clan. That finally hit me the realization. Fujin still had the money and connections despite falling of grace. I couldn't allow him to have them for so long. That's where you entered into my plan," Kaneshiro chuckled, thinking to be the smartest around here. One thing was clear: He just signed his Death Sentece.
"That's it! I will rip your fingers off and feed you with them like goddamn candy!" I rushed towards him with the chain at hand. The moment I swung it at him, the guard moved and blocked the attack. He shrugged it off as it was nothing.
"Fine then, let's see if you can deal with my top security guard." He let his guard stepped in front. "Try not to damage him too much. He will be useless if I can't do negotiations with only his corpse to offer," The guard transformed into a Demonic Warlord, a Floodbringer Demon, and a Tornado Devil.
"Well, shit..." I wasn't too happy to fight with all of them at the same time. I pulled out my shotgun to damage them. The blast wasn't powerful enough; I made one of them flinch a little. The Tornado Devil buffed its leader while Floodbringer Demon used ice magic on me; it froze me like an ice sculpture. With no way to defend me, the Demonic Warlord moved towards me, and with a single strike, it shattered me with all its might. I took massive damage, leaving me lying on the floor, losing consciousness. For the first time in my life, I got defeated in a fight, with a sour taste in my mouth.
"Is he still alive? If he's not, you are the ones paying the money," Kaneshiro asked the Demonic Warlord.
"He is still breathing, sir. Want me to carry him to your office?" The Demonic Warlord asked him while waiting for orders.
It was hopeless. I wasn't able to move because of how injured I was. I never got a chance to fight them all alone. No matter how much I desired to act by myself, I expected someday to end up dead because of my luck. I gave my best shot, and I screwed it anyway. Sorry, but it was the end of the road.
When the Demonic Warlord tried to grab me, an event which I would call it deus ex machina happened: "Matador!" Someone shouted while damaging the Demonic Warlord.
"Captain Kidd!" Another person also shouted while damaging the Tornado Devil with lightning.
"Carmen, go!" Another one made the Floodbringer Demon sleep.
"Johanna!" I heard Makoto's voice as she threw an energy ball to the last one, killing it instantly.
"Sorry for the wait. We got some inconveniences along the way,'" the fox-suit man dragged me out of the fight.
"You are quite troublesome, good thing we came in time," the monster cat was happy that I didn't die. "Queen! Joker! Finish them all quickly, he needs our help!"
"Got it," their leader nodded to the monster cat.
"Understood," Makoto replied too.
The Phantom Thieves came to save my ass from a terrible fate. I saw everything blurry, but I could only hear the. Why? Why wasn't I strong enough to fight back? "Let…me…go..." I tried to talk, but my voice was so weak.
"Sorry, you are in bad shape," the monster cat told me.
"You aren't in good condition to keep fighting. Don't worry. They can handle them easily," the fox-suit guy informed me while carrying me from the shoulder.
I saw them annihilating the monsters one by one. They were stronger without my help. Just like that, they emerged victorious against those monsters. Despite their victory, Kaneshiro ran away once more.
"Where is Kaneshiro…!?" Makoto looked around.
"Grrr, he took off while we were fightin'..." The skeleton guy was upset.
"Yes, he seems to have been in a hurry. He left this behind," The fox-suit guy picked up a notebook from the floor while still holding me from his shoulder. "R=C=0, I=1, H=2…What could this mean?..."
"It doesn't matter right now. We need to get him out of here," Makoto asked them to carry me into a safe place.
"I saw a Safe Room right there. Hurry up and take him there!" The cat-suit girl ordered everyone else.
Their leader carried me from the left shoulder while walking across the room. When we entered, I had a warm sensation inside. We were out of danger. They put me on a sofa while one of them gave me some medicine. I barely was able to stand on my own.
"Where... are we?" I asked them while still feeling light-headed.
"We are in a Safe Room; Kaneshiro has no control over this place," Their leader told me the state of this room.
"Kaneshiro? Where is he!? I will make him to... Fucking shit, my ribs!" I jumped from the sofa, but I was so pumped up that I didn't notice my pain until it was too late.
"Hey, stop moving! They harmed you pretty badly," the monster cat tried to hold me on my seat.
"Sorry, he escaped while we were fighting," The leader apologized to me.
"What were you thinking!? Do you have any idea of what would happen if we weren't able to get you on time!?" Makoto yelled at me, almost holding herself from crying.
"Take it easy, Queen. He just tried to help us," the leader calmed her down.
"No, she is right. It was my fault being stupid of thinking I could handle Kaneshiro by my own," I sighed, dissapointed of myself. "Without you guys, I almost kicked the bucket. How pathetic. I don't even deserve your pity on a person like me," the mood of the room felt depressing. "Just end with this, put me out of my misery."
"Man, don't be so dramatic. A thank you is all we need," I was shocked of hearing unexpected kind words from skeleton-guy. "Someone pathetic wouldn't say somethin' like that. You showed us how stronger you are of admittin' your limitations."
"That is really kind of you saying that, Ryuji," The cat-suit girl complimented him.
"That is true. A man recognizing one's weaknesses is a sign of improvement," the fox-suit guy complimented me as well for my actions and words.
"Why? Why are you telling me this?" I was confused about how they were treating me.
"Because you are not alone in this, we are impressed with your courage," the leader respected my actions, despite I did nothing but being a fool. "Just don't do that again, please."
"I guess," I chuckled.
"We accomplished this together, and I'm glad that you awaken your Persona." Makoto smiled towards me, and I felt her warm honesty.
"Persona?"
"It is the power of the heart. You chose to reject Kaneshiro's offer and to pursue your own goals as an act of rebellion." Makoto said, loud and clear.
I felt Faust nodding with satisfaction in my heart. Once again in a long time, I wasn't feeling alone. "You know guys? I tried to act by myself because I was afraid of being a load for you. I mean, I just got here like none of my business and starting to act like one of you. Isn't that funny?" I laughed at how things turned around. "I guess I can't do anything except knowing when to fold 'em."
"Speaking of which, can we call it a day? Everyone is looking tired to continue," the monster cat expressed concern for the other's well-being.
"I agree. Let's go back," the leader told the others to move out of this place.
'Now returning to the real world from Kaneshiro's Palace. Thank you for your hard work,' The voice from the app spoke through the leader's phone.
We returned to reality. It was a weird experience, to be honest.
"So, I didn't introduce myself properly. My name is Fujin Katsuo, but my name ain't important, so don't bother to remember it anyways. I already know Niijima Makoto, but I don't know the names from all of you," I asked politely for their names, being honest to them was for the best.
"Sure, I'm Kurusu Akira. As you can see, I'm their leader, but I don't like to brag about it," He was really modest. "This is Morgana; he is our guide and mentor from the Metaverse," the cat showed up out of Kurusu's school bag.
"And don't forget Master Thief," and he wasn't humble, though.
"I'm Sakamoto Ryuji, nice to meet ya," the guy with blond hair smiled while presenting himself.
"Oh is my turn? I'm Takamaki Ann, I'm a model, and I could say I like sweets," she tried to be formal, sounded nervous.
"I don't think you need to tell me anything other than your name," I said.
"I suppose I'm next. My name is Kitagawa Yusuke, as you can see I'm not a Shujin student," the blue-haired guy was a polite person from his mannerisms, a little old fashioned. His uniform was from Kosei.
"Well, nice to meet you all, I guess," I replied. "I have to make things clear before any of you are asking me a couple of things. I'm done with Shujin, so I'm no longer the senpai from all of you. No honorifics too, I'm currently working so I'm not studying a career for the time being," I was hoping they could understand my situation.
"Why are you not studying a career?" Makoto asked me.
"I'm planning to study in Europe, but due to some circumstances I rather not talk about at the moment, I can't study at a college from here," I felt a little uncomfortable to say about this with other people. "As you can see, I'm saving money, or trying at least, because it is pretty expensive living alone at this age."
"So, you are pretty much an adult, right?" Takamaki commented.
"Yes, and it sucks," It was.
"Don't you feel a little bit weird to hang out with teenagers?" Sakamoto pointed out; he wasn't wrong.
"To be honest, I don't care at all. You are pretty mature for a bunch of kids. Well, most of you though," I looked at Sakamoto and Takamaki.
"Yeah, Makoto was the oldest member of the group. It wouldn't be any different if you are with us now," Takamaki was feeling comfortable with having more mature people on the team.
"But having a real yakuza in the team will change how we are going to operate on our activities," Kitagawa expressed with happiness.
"Hey Yusuke, don't call him like that!" Makoto tried to clarify it.
"Don't worry, Niijima. It doesn't bother me of what he said about me. I already accepted who I am, but that doesn't define me. Besides, aren't we all outlaws too?" I smirked because I knew we were on the same boat. "Speaking of criminals, how exactly are we dealing with Kaneshiro? And why are you precisely targeting him?"
"We have three weeks to pay him a debt, or he leaks the photos at our school. We need to steal his Treasure so he can confess his crimes before the appointed date." Kurusu explained the situation. That wasn't good at all.
"And how did you ended up knowing that guy? I thought he was tough to find if the police couldn't do it in the first place," I was curious about how they met Kaneshiro.
"I… tried to be the bait to find his hideout," Makoto sounded embarrassed.
"You know, I would be mad at you if it wasn't the fact that I was reckless too earlier. I have no word for it," I said, understandably.
"But her choice gave us the opening to infiltrate his Palace, without her we wouldn't be able to have a chance like this," Morgana explained the reason for her actions.
"Palace? Now you mention it. You guys were using terms I couldn't catch on. Can you explain to me what those exactly are?" I was curious to learn about all that stuff they knew.
Morgana explained to me all about Palaces, Shadows, Personas, Treasures, and the Metaverse. Despite the plethora of information, I was able to understand everything without issues. Knowledge was power, after all.
"Do you have any questions about it?" Makoto asked me if I learned about Morgana's explanations.
"No, I think it is enough."
"For real? Did you understand everythin' about what he said?" Sakamoto was surprised at how much info I got in a short amount of time.
"What? It is not that hard to get once you pay attention to the key points. It was just like hearing Inui-sensei's lessons," it was the best way to compare it with a real teacher.
"Huh..." Sakamoto was lost in thought.
"Are you serious? You never pay attention to class?"
"He doesn't," Takamaki commented about his short attention span.
"Shuddup! How would you know that?" He replied, upset.
"Anyways, tomorrow we are going to talk more about this after school. Make sure you have enough rest when we need to go back there," Makoto told me when we need to be ready for the next time we have to go to that Palace. "I almost forgot, we need your ID if there any other plans during for our activities."
"Sure, there is my number," I exchanged mine with everyone's IDs if they needed to talk with me for an emergency.
"All right seems everythin' is set up. It is almost late, so better catches my train as soon as possible," Sakamoto was in a hurry to find his corresponding station.
"Yeah, me too," Takamaki also commented about it.
"Same," Kitagawa wasn't in haste by his expression.
"Well, see you tomorrow, everyone!" Kurusu said goodbye to the others while taking separate ways.
I went to where my bicycle was; good thing the Metaverse moved to a different time frame than the real world, or someone would steal it by waiting for too long—what a bizarre day.
I couldn't believe what I experienced another world, and I became an ally with the Phantom Thieves. I didn't want to imagine if Akechi would come after me from that point on. I met him yesterday and probably going to arrest me the next time I see him. So much to be acquainted with a famous detective.
I looked at the tall buildings, up to the night sky. I wondered what to expect from that point on. Some people considered the Phantom Thieves as heroes, while others as criminals. Either way, it didn't matter to me.
I saw some raindrops falling. I forgot to check the weather forecast if there would be rain for that night. I left Shibuya before more would come.
Rain, I hated it so much.
