Persona 5 Royal: Bitter Fool

by Slasher71

Helping others was never the wrong choice. But the life of Ichihara Tadashi is destroyed when he steps in to help someone. Friends turn on him, his parents push him onto someone they didn't even know away from his home town. Tadashi comes to Tokyo hoping to serve his time and move on with his life. But malevolent forces have other plans for him.

6. Chapter 6 - Pure Intentions

Chapter 6 / Pure Intentions

Monday / April 18th, 2016 / Shujin Academy - Hallway / Early Morning
Ichihara Tadashi

"There's something I'd like to ask you. It won't take long," Kawakami-senpai had pulled me into the hall after the morning announcement. I'm not sure why I was being singled out but why should I be fucking surprised at this point. I can only assume Kamoshida had something to do with this.

"Ask away," I knew it had to be something ridiculous.

Only a moment after that I saw the door from the counselor's room open and three individuals stepped out. The first was Kamoshida himself, followed by a red haired girl… wait I met her before. Now that I think about it, I never got her name. She wore the girls uniform, but she also wore black tights and red shoes on her feet. Likely to match the red ribbon she had in a bow in her hair that was in a ponytail. Her eyes met mine and she smiled a bit. Following behind her was… I think it was the school counselor? I dunno.

"I see you're already getting on top of the problem I'd mentioned this morning, Kawakami-sensei. I appreciate the support," Kamoshida had a grin.

But it was pushed aside because the girl nodded towards me, "Thank you again."

"I already told you that you didn't need to thank me," I shake my head.

"Oh, you know this guy, Yoshizawa?" Kamoshida eyed me.

"Yes, he lent me a helping hand earlier," she looked at Kamoshida. I guess her family name was Yoshizawa. Better than thinking of her as, girl with a red ribbon.

"I recommend you steer clear of the likes of him if you have any consideration for your future. Remember the discussion we just had? There are a number of students in this school you shouldn't get involved with. This one's at the top of the list," Kamoshida was putting on his best bullshit caring teacher act but honestly I don't think Yoshizawa was that dumb.

Her eyes widened and looked at me, "You're the delinquent transfer student?"

I shrugged, "It's what they say I am."

Kawakami cut in before Kamoshida could, "Sorry to interrupt, but I need to use the guidance office."

"Oh, pardon me. We should be going too-don't want to get in the way of guiding this delinquent and all" Kamoshida and the counselor behind him walked off.

"Please, excuse us," Yoshizawa gave a short bow and then walked off.

I watched her go and scratched my head. She was incredibly formal.

"After you," Kawakami urged me inside. After which she had me sit at the table and then sat across from me. "I'm going to get straight to the point: did something happen between you and Kamoshida-sensei?"

"Why? Is it something he told you?" I rolled my eyes.

She straightened in her seat, "Well there was that little exchange just now, but that's not all. He gave me a brief lecture this morning, and your name came up. Something about the dangers of a lack of supervision."

So Kamoshida was putting pressure on Kawakami, likely to attempt and put me on a shorter leash at school, and so he can hear about any behavior I do in the meantime. Not to mention a tactic to show that he had influence with everyone in the school so it was no use trying to get a faculty member on my side.

"I don't think any of my interactions with Kamoshida have been unwarranted or not within reason for those situations," I told her after a moment. Just another way of answering without answering. It is impossible to know what kind of actions those would be without knowing what the situations were.

Kawakami sighed. Once more I noticed how extremely tired my teacher looked. And when she looked up at me she seemed surprised, maybe because I looked concerned for her. "I don't mean to pry, but just make sure you don't cause trouble, okay? Oh, and one more thing. That girl outside the office-you didn't make a pass at her, did you?"

I was so caught off guard by her change of subject that I couldn't help the outburst, "Excuse me!?"

"I'll take that as a no. But Kamoshida-sensei has a real close eye on you. Apparently, you've been getting involved with Sakamoto-kun. You seem acquainted with Yoshizawa-san as well. Maybe you're just naturally drawn to athletes?" Kawakami shook her head. "Sorry, bad joke."

"I think you don't know enough about Sakamoto," I said. "And honestly, I only ran into Yoshizawa once when we were coming to school one morning and ended up standing next to each other on the train. And I don't give two shits about that asshole Kamoshida."

"Ichihara-kun, do not talk disrespectfully about a teacher," Kawakami quickly said.

"Only if you stop talking shit about my friend and making presumptions about my relationships with others," I glared back.

She was shocked by my quick retaliation, and maybe it was a bad move on my part but Kawakami relented, "Yes, that's fair. I apologize for the accusations on my part. But I'm sure you understand that all your actions are under scrutiny. I want to impress upon you that I have my responsibilities to confront you from things that I hear."

"I understand that, but weren't you also the one that accepted me into your class because you wouldn't be held responsible for what I did? So why should you give two fucks about what I do?" I felt that my anger was not letting up.

She looked down at the desk, "You're right. Sorry, that's all I wanted to say, you can go."

I got up and made my way to the door of the guidance office then looked back, "Kawakami-sensei, you look like you need some rest. Don't overdo it okay? And sorry for the outburst. I just want someone to believe me for a change. Even now, I've only ever done what I believe to be right. And that's something that isn't going to change for me, not now, not ever."

Without looking back, I left the office.

---

Monday / April 18th, 2016 / Shujin Academy - Library / After School
Ichihara Tadashi

Yesterday was quite the event. I had wanted a chance to relax, but ended up busy. Different from the norm, for sure. Ryuji took me to a shop, a place that dealt in replicas of weapons. It was a hobbyist shop, for sure. The owner had been cold to us until it seemed like we had a legitimate interest in his wares. An airsoft shop called Untouchable. The owner was named Munehisa Iwai. Interesting guy, and definitely knew what he was talking about when it came to his goods. Honestly, I didn't know much about it so I was only able to passably sell that I was just getting into it recently.

Either way, I had a limited budget for things, but some of the items we had been finding in the Palace he seemed interested in, so I was able to sell that off and get decent things for all of us. The weapons we used so far had been what we manifested as part of our awakening to our Personas. Considering the nature of the Palace I would presume that our will of Rebellion and the weapon it gave us best reflected our own ideals. Would make sense why I had a knife instead of something like a lead pipe that Ryuji manifested, or the whip that Ann had.

After I had bought a number of things and bagged them up, he told me to come by again. Iwai-san likely was curious as to why I was looking for specific items. I hated lying to people, but it seemed that this business in the Palace was going to require an amount of subterfuge to get all the supplies necessary.

That reminds me of my interaction with Takemi Tae at the clinic in Yongen-Jaya backstreets. Morgana insisted that it would be helpful in the Palace. Like a lot of things, medicines had an immediate effect. Meaning acquiring different sorts of medicines could be useful. But knowing their effects on us would require experimentation. I was going to have to figure out a way to take notes and verify good methods on distribution among the team, situations in which to use what medicine.

Due to my "talent" for having multiple Persona, I was the leader in combat by default. It didn't bother me, what did was the dangers we faced, and I didn't want a misjudgement on my part ending with someone getting a serious injury.

Also Morgana was now staying with me at the café. It hadn't been hard to convince Sojiro, which was surprising. He thought it would be beneficial to me to have a pet to take care of. Under normal circumstances, he was right but the only thing Morgana needed from me was to operate or reach things he couldn't deal with as a cat. As part of the arrangement, Morgana had agreed to teach me how to make tools that would make infiltrating the Palace easier. He was really trying to sell me on the Phantom Thief part of it.

I get it, taking the concept of the Phantom Thief, it absolutely applied to the situation. Stealing the treasure in the Palace was just the goal. The point was that Kamoshida would be left without the distorted desire. What the treasure was, or what we did with it after didn't matter. Honestly, I wasn't doing it to avoid expulsion either. A girl that didn't even know me, who expressed concerned for me, had attempted suicide. And because of the actions of Kamoshida. Making that man have to deal with the consequences of what he did… that was why I was in this fight. Even if it meant becoming a thief in a way.

I entered the school's library and looked around. Today, I just wanted something not related to that though.

"Is this your first time at the library?" the girl behind the desk asked. She was obviously a student. I guess there was probably a library committee or something that had different students looking over the library. "Wait, are you, the transfer student?"

Why the fuck does that matter? I raise an eyebrow, "Is that a problem?"

She shook her head, "No, no, no, no, no! I was just curious is all. Um...you can borrow any book here, but you can only check out one book at a time. So you have to bring it back before you can get another."

"Good to know, thank you," I said and walked away before I made the girl more flustered. Eeesh, I guess some girls just couldn't handle those rumors about me though. I don't feel like I look particularly dangerous though. It was disappointing to learn just how much stock most of the student body put into rumors. High school was already enough to worry about though. Rumors of a delinquent teen going to your school would make it more than likely prone to want to keep away. Especially at this school. Shujin Academy was primarily a college prep school to begin with. So what threw me off was when people found it so crazy that I studied. Well, I didn't really have a particular goal in mind for my future. Not anymore. Either way, I couldn't help but feel I was ahead in my studies though. It was strange how most of what we covered in class felt like something that should already have been covered. Was that fast track program I had been in before really been teaching me materials that far ahead? Maybe I was just thinking about it too much. I hadn't even lived in the city, so I thought the fast track program Takayama wouldn't be as good as it apparently had been.

Ryuji had already sent me a message, asking me to go to the Palace today. Honestly, things have been so crazy lately that I feel like I just needed a day to be a student. That was what had brought me here to the library. I could use a good book to read. Or at least some subject matter that actually challenged my mind. Everything in class had just been a rehash of things I had already recovered. And my memory was pretty damn sharp. I'm sure Morgana didn't enjoy being stuck in my bag but I wasn't going to neglect my studies. If anything this was a time where I got to relax and recharge my batteries as it were. This was a welcome break. Before I became the Phantom Thief, I needed to make sure my mind was just as sharp as my knife. Calm decision making skills would be needed when facing adversity.

I ignored the fact that students tended to get out of my way as I went through the different bookshelves. I should probably move forward with my studies instead of letting them become stagnant. I would absolutely hate to get lazy just because I already knew most of what they were covering. Let's see… What should I look into? Honestly, although I can't stand it, I should probably pick up my studies in math. I was about to start studying calculus. We had been focusing on trigonometry for quite a while. I wasn't a fan of huge formulas, but once you knew the flow and process, they were easy enough to solve. That was usually the trick though. Math was always about process, and finding the correct one to apply to a problem. If you had the correct formula, you could find the answer. The main problem was finding the right one for the right situation. I settled on one of the math books and then absently moved to a table and sat down without really looking at my surroundings.

It got distractedly loud for a moment as I heard whispering nearby.

"Hey, isn't that the transfer student? Ichihara or something? He just sat next to the student council president. Who does he think he is?" One voice said.

"He should really back off. I mean look at all those huge complex books that the president has. That has to be for college exams right? He'll just be getting in her way," Another voice said.

I had already opened the book on the table before I looked over and saw a girl diligently writing notes in a notebook while looking at an open textbook. There was also a distinct stack of books next to her as well. She has brown hair, and looked to be a bob cut with her bangs blunt, but more notably had a braided headband. The most distinct feature I couldn't help but notice were her red eyes. Her eyes shifted from the open textbook to the notebook she was diligently writing in. She had on a long sleeve white turtleneck but over it she wore a black halter vest. The skirt she wore was the standard black and red pleated plaid skirt that the girls' uniforms had. But she had on black tights and looked like brown boots. The only reason I could see these details was because I had unintentionally sat next to her. I guess she was the student council president from what the others had been saying.

She had a striking appearance to say the least. Organized, clean and with purpose. Well, I shouldn't pay that much attention to her, but she was definitely attractive. Easy on the eyes was how my asshole of a Father would likely put it. Now that I think about it, I'm glad I don't have to deal with those zinger comments anymore.

I opened the book I had grabbed and thumbed through the pages. Hmm, I guess I had covered some of this before. Well... it would likely be a good place to review things. I pulled out my notebook and started doing some of the practice problems… and trying to do them without a calculator. I'm not sure how much time passes but I look over to see that the girl is noticeably stuck on a problem. What was she working on? I couldn't help but glance over at her notebook.

Hasn't she been on that problem a while now? This is going to drive me nuts. She was now going through a few different books but after about ten or twenty minutes she seemed to be getting frustrated. I could no longer just sit here silently. Especially since I was fairly confident in what she wanted.

"You're looking for Cognitive Response Theory," I spoke loud enough for her to hear me. I flipped the page in the math book and moved to the next practice problem.

"Really? I don't see it in any of these textbooks," she said and was looking for relevant textbooks.

"That's because it's a social psychology question, or rather sociology. You don't have anything like that in that stack of books. Not sure if you'll find much help here. This library doesn't seem to have much on psychology," I say as I was more mindlessly solving the practice problems. I guess I remembered more than I thought. I looked at her, "Do you need a definition?"

"Yes. I had run over the term a few times in these journals. There were questions on it for one of the college exam prep tests but I'm having a hard time finding good research materials," she admitted.

"Well it's easy enough to understand," I looked back to my notebook and continued to do the practice problems. I kept my eyes on my own problem as I explained it to her, "Cognitive Response Theory is about how an attitude can change following the receipt of a persuasive communication. Specifically based on the cognitive response that communication evokes in an individual."

She was quickly scribbling down what I said, "That sounds kind of vague actually."

"Would you like an example then?" I asked, looking up at her and pushing up my glasses.

"That would be much appreciated," the girl nodded.

"Let's say you hear a politician that is advocating for cutting the military budget in favor of increasing a program in education. You have one of two different results. A positive cognitive response and a negative cognitive response. A positive response means you think that the military isn't a priority in a time of peace, and education is always important. It means you are more likely to support him. A negative could be that you have a family member in the military and you know that they are in desperate need of funds to keep the military properly equipped in case of an attack or national emergency, so you would be unlikely to support him. Cognitive Response Theory essentially is this process. When you initially hear the presented argument you will invoke a counter-arguing message to actively refute the arguments being made by the communicator. The stronger the counter-arguing response, the more unlikely you will accept the change being proposed. While the weaker that response is will mean the more likely you will not fight against that change," I went into full on tutor mode. When was the last time I got to study and just be a student? It seems like my whole life had just been on a roller coaster ever since being fucking arrested and charged with goddamn assault. I wish I could get those thoughts out of my damn head.

She had written down my every word verbatim. "Thank you for this. Actually, do you know of any good books I could get on this subject?"

"I would check science journals and periodicals. Look for Sociology and keywords like Cognitive. Although, you might want to look into stuff on Systematic and Heuristic processing, if you are trying to cover your bases with those subjects. But is that really something on the college prep exam? They don't typically go into that much depth in psychology or social psychology in high school," I find myself asking, genuinely curious.

"You say that, but you didn't seem to have any problem answering my questions," she seemed amused. She smiled at me, and I swear to God my stomach completely flipped upside down in response. "I'm sorry I've been completely rude this whole time. I don't think I've seen you before. I'm Niijima Makoto, a third year student and the student council president."

I had heard about her before now. Generally hearing who is on the student council is something you just learn about anyway. It was kinda weird just running into her here of all places. "I haven't been here very long. I'm a transfer student. I'm Ichihara Tadashi, a second year student."

That seemed to surprise her, "I'm surprised you know so much." Normally I might have taken offense to her coming to certain conclusions about me. Then again with the rumors about me going around the school, it was not surprising that she would get some version of it to hit her. But her tone implied that she was impressed. But maybe she was more referring to me knowing such complicated subjects and being a grade level below her.

"It isn't a big deal. I love to study, and sometimes I can go onto long side tangents and end up learning about things I probably don't even need to know," I said with a nervous laugh and then put my notebook away. "Honestly, the classes seem to be way behind where my studies were. So I was a little worried that I'll get lazy if I don't try to keep pressing forward."

"That's actually pretty impressive. I think most would take the easy way out," Niijima then looked at her phone. "Well, thank you again, Ichihara-kun. I have to get going. I hope we can talk again."

I nodded and watched as she expertly put everything of hers away in an organized fashion and almost effortlessly picked up the large stack of books. "Have a good day," I added for some stupid fucking reason.

She nodded as she slung her bag over her shoulder and then left the library. I sighed heavily and looked at the Calculus book. Oh how much I don't care to calculate variables right now. I closed the book. I could hear people whispering again. I wonder if Niijima-san was someone that cared about rumors? Why am I even thinking about this?

---

Monday / April 18th, 2016 / Yongen-Jaya Backstreets - Clinic / After School
Ichihara Tadashi

Since Niijima-san had left the school, there hadn't been too much reason for me to stay just to hear people in the library whisper about me. So meeting up with Morgana we headed back to Yongen-Jaya.

"Tadashi, I was thinking about that clinic. We overheard some interesting things last time," Morgana brought up.

"You mean that super stimulant or whatever that the guy was threatening Takemi-sensei about? I'm curious about it too. If medicine has immediate effects in a palace then…"

"Exactly!" Morgana said from my shoulder. "It could have amazing properties that could give us an edge in a close battle. It's possible the Shadows will only get stronger the further we get in and…"

"...and we can't rely on being able to get away from those enemies. Yeah, I see the point. In that case, you just head out and I'll go into the clinic. No need to explain why I bring a cat with me everywhere," I sighed.

"That's true. Try and get some good stuff," Morgana said as I let him hop out onto a nearby stone fence. "I'll see you back at Leblanc."

I scratched the back of my head as I headed down the next alley and the clinic came into view. I stepped in and saw her sitting behind the counter and raised an eyebrow at me when she recognized me.

Her dark blue hair was cut short, likely so it didn't get in her way as she worked. But she had brown eyes, and they narrowed on me as I walked up to the window of the counter. "Here again? The medicine I sold you last time is not enough?"

"I heard you had a more special medicine," I replied knowing that this was not my most graceful of hints.

She motioned to the door as it unlocked and she brought me to the examination room. Walking to the door, she locked it behind herself before turning to me. It was when I got a full look at her. Underneath her lab-coat was a green dress that only went as low as her upper thigh, a red grommet belt, and the black studded necklace choker. And she wore black platform high heels.

"Seems like you stuck around a bit after the last time and did a bit of eavesdropping," Takemi-sensei sighed. "I mean you were standing right outside the door and I doubt it could have been anyone else."

"That man shoved right by me and started yelling at you. Would you have just walked away as if it wasn't your problem?" I countered.

"Oh, worried about me?" she teased.

"Why not? You helped me," I said.

"Alright, Ichihara. To be honest, I got a bit carried away with that particular formula. Still doesn't explain why a high schooler like yourself would be so interested in that medicine," Takemi was suspicious of my motives. I understood that, but if Morgana was right and her unique formulas and medicines could give us help in the Palace it was worth the effort to make this connection. "What exactly are you up to?"

More lies I had to come up with? I scratched the back of my head, "For school, it's important that I am as good as I can be for the desired results."

"Like, exams? Entrance exams for college maybe?" Takemi came to her own conclusion, I didn't refute them. "So you're looking to improve your concentration and reduce fatigue? Hm, that's not the best idea."

"I know. A proper diet and hydration along with a nominal sleep schedule should be all I need to get the results. I'm well aware of the methods. And if I had the resources and time to implement a schedule like that I wouldn't have to resort to something like this. As a baseball player I know the importance of upkeeping my body. But there are circumstances I can't control," I was talking in circles.

"And energy drinks and products similar to that aren't giving the results you need?" she seemed impressed at the very least that this wasn't some kid looking for a miracle drug. "But developing that formula isn't cheap, it's nearly the price of a car with the ingredients involved. How do you propose to buy something like that?"

That was a problem. Even though we were able to make money off of items, as well as gather actual yen from Shadows in the Palace, it would still take a good amount of time to build up the funds for medicine like that.

"Then, would I be able to work for it?" I asked instead.

"Like part-time help?" Takemi considered it. "You said you did baseball right? Do you consider yourself someone with a good amount of stamina?"

"I do," I nodded. While I wasn't as in shape as I had been in the summer, I was still no slouch when it came to physical activity. The physical education classes had more than enough proof of that. Even Kamoshida couldn't say anything bad about my performance in class, despite him more than likely wanting to.

"Truth be told, I have been looking for a young person around your age to help me out. I haven't had any luck, even after putting an ad in the paper. So this is the deal. You'll participate in my clinical trials for my medicine. In return, I will sell you medicine you want, at a much lower price. A benefit for you and me," Takemi offered.

"Alright, I'll do it," I agreed. I had no reason not to. I doubt I would be able to find a good arrangement elsewhere. And her being a small practice in the back alley near Leblanc was to my advantage. The fact she came to Leblanc for coffee from time to time also made it easy to explain how we knew each other. But that was just me worried about future problems, presuming things went well in Kamoshida's palace.

"Good, in that case, sit down on the bed and I'll be right back. We'll have your first trial be today," Takemi said as she disappeared for a moment.

Sitting on the bed, she came back and offered a beaker with red liquid in it. I took it and gave it a look.

"Worried about the side effects, huh? Well, you can relax," she sat down in her chair as she looked at me. "Rest assured, my autopsy is guaranteed to find out exactly what part of it killed you." She laughed at my brief reaction to her words. "You'll be fine."

"This was the agreement," I nodded and then quickly drank the medicine in a swift motion. It was bitter, yet also sour. It felt odd but I was feeling alright.

"Wow, impressive. Not bad, for a high schooler," Takemi said but then she leaned in watching me.

It hit me all at once and the last thing I remember was Takemi pushing me down onto the bed before I blacked out.

My eyes opened again and felt my head pulsing.

"Good evening," a voice welcomed me.

I sat up slowly and turned to see Takemi writing notes. "Was I out long?"

She checked the time on her computer, "A couple hours at most. Do you remember anything from the moment you took the medicine until now?"

"No," I shook my head. "Not at all."

"You briefly woke from your coma, but you were completely dazed during my examination. And…" she leaned forward and put her hand to my head. "Other than that you eventually lost consciousness, and fell back asleep." She laughed a bit.

Curious, I looked down and saw that my shirt was slightly open and my buttons were a mess and not done the right way, "Should I be concerned?"

"Oh worried you were trying to put the moves on your doctor?" she chuckled again. "I was checking your breath and what not, but it seems you weren't coordinated enough at the time to quite put it back the correct way. Either way, you are such an idiot to have just drank that medicine I gave you."

"We made a deal," I said.

"That's true. I just didn't know if you were serious or not. I guess you just surprised me," Takemi admitted. "By the way, the reason you lost consciousness was because of the taste. It produces a foul smell when it mixes with gastric juices, similar to surstromming."

I raised an eyebrow, "Isn't that some delicacy in Sweden?"

"Only one of the foulest things you'll ever smell in your life. I'd avoid it like the plague. Still impressive that you manage to down the medicine and keep it down despite the taste," She was smiling as she wrote down more on her notes. "Thanks to you, I was able to get some good data. Okay, it's my turn to make good on my part of the deal. That's why I waited until you woke up. I don't want the general public to know about my original medicines. So, you're strictly prohibited from disclosing what happens here to anyone. Understood?"

"Of course," I agreed without hesitation.

"Then it's a deal. As long as you come here for it, I'll give you the medicine at a good price whenever you want. I may even add additional selections, in time. I look forward to your continued patronage," Takemi smiled.

She had to have a reason for these clinical trials, and from her demeanor and way we had interacted up to this point I couldn't imagine it being for anything nefarious. No, she was a doctor. And even better if her medicine went a lot further to help us in the palace.

"When do you think you can come back for the next clinical trial? I'm going to need you if I have any chance at perfecting this medicine. The sooner, the better," she asked.

"What if I give you my contact info? My schedule can be a little hectic with exams and school work," I offered instead.

"Hmm, alright," Takemi and I swapped contact info. I bought a number of the new things she offered me before I left and started home. Takemi, double checked I was okay before I walked out the door, getting close and looking at my eyes. "I know you don't live that far from here. Should I walk you home?"

"I should be fine," I assured her, but she looked concerned.

"Text me when you arrive. If not I'm going to go out hunting for you," she remarked.

"Alright, I will," I told her before leaving.

She was a good person, and attractive. Not to mention younger than I would expect someone to be with their own medical practice.

Either way, the goal was achieved. New equipment, and medicine acquired for the assault on the Palace. Guess there was really only one thing to do.

---

Wednesday / April 20th, 2016 / Kamoshida's Castle / After School
Ichihara Tadashi

Fuck me. Why couldn't I be studying right now? Ironically, I'm standing in the library of this castle but the problem was its contents. I mean, how narcissistic can you fucking get? All of the books on these shelves were filled with garbage related to Kamoshida. Normally seeing a library this big would be enough to think I had found some sort of haven. Now it was just a means for me to be pissed off. "Is nothing fucking sacred to this guy? Other than his dumbass self?"

"What has you so pissed?" Ryuji asked.

"Look at this bullshit," I pulled a book from the shelf and opened it. "This book is all about him. Called the King book but it's all self serving bullshit. Also it just repeats itself. Like a fucking idiot that just wants to relive his goddamn glory days that must have lasted like a whole five minutes. He wins a goddamn medal and he thinks he is the best thing to land on the fucking planet."

"Joker, calm down," Ann, or rather Panther as it was the codename we had settled for her, appeared next to me with a calming tone and put a hand on my shoulder..

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, "Right, sorry. Thanks, Panther. It's probably stupid for me to get worked up about. I mean this Palace is a giant fucking monument to his narcissistic ego." I closed the book. I looked at it again when I went to put it back on the shelf. It's too conspicuous and was deliberately out of place in this library. Ugh.. this was not a library! Something about how this book stood out bothered me. "This book was incredibly out of place..."

"Maybe we should take it with us for now? It might be useful for something," Morgana suggested.

"Right," I put the book on the inside of my coat and it seemed to magically connect. I didn't even feel its weight. That was certainly convenient. I moved back to the door with the others behind me. "For now we'll explore the other area's." I opened the door and moved to the corner, glancing down the hall. All I can really say is that the power of Persona was also surprisingly practical and made it easier for us to sneak around. I could move in short bursts to move from cover to cover with relatively no sound at all. This made it easier to sneak up on Shadows and attack them. I think what was more eerie about it all was just how natural it felt to me. Was it because of Arsene? I mean that would make sense. He was a gentleman thief from a series of novels. Though how he is now a Persona… I'm not sure that was related actually. Arsene was the representation of my rebellion right? So what did that mean?

Arsene was the one who said it best. Thou who art willing to perform all sacrilegious acts for thine own justice! And it was definitely true. There isn't anything I wouldn't do for what I believe to be right. I doubt there were any mistakes with how Arsene put it. He was telling me that this was the right thing to do. Like what my Grandfather used to say. Life is about being selfish. I think I was starting to see what he truly meant when he said that. It meant that doing the right thing wasn't always what people wanted. Sometimes they wanted to be left alone. Some people wanted to suffer by choice. Not everyone wanted to be saved. I'm not sure I could ever understand that way of thinking. Still… willing to perform all sacrilegious acts for my personal justice. That was what I was committing to here. I couldn't look back from this point on. I was here in this Palace with the intention to steal the Treasure. An object that was the core of Kamoshida's twisted distorted desires.

Cloaked in Shadows I moved behind couches and shelving units that went around the side of the hallways and got to another doorway. Just like this, we moved from room to room, each was like a small study. But I continued to find books that were out of place. I took each with me. I ended up with the King, Queen and Slave books. It was still odd how I could place them in my coat and essentially forget they were there. They also didn't make any additional noise or hinder my movement to sneak around. However, along the way we found a door locked in place with metal bars… and a contraption that was clearly meant to unlock it but it was obviously missing a key. Being out in the open we kept moving and went the only way left to us and entered a large room. This must have been the main library. I could immediately sense that something was off.

I suppose that was another thing I should mention. Third eye. It was an ability I had been so generously gifted by Igor to have. It was incredibly useful. It made it easier for me to find things of value around us so we wouldn't waste time. The books I had in possession were also something that made the Third Eye respond to. That was what had led us to this large library. It was the end of our path at the moment. But I could tell that there was something to be found in this room. "Let's try and find something here. Something about this room feels off," I say to the others and shut the door behind us.

"You guys go ahead," Morgana stayed by the door. "I'll keep an eye to make sure no Shadows come this way."

I nodded and we all split up. I moved to a section of the library and looked at the books and let myself sigh, "More trash disguised as books. Seriously...this place can't fucking disappear fast enough." I shook my head and looked down the line. Nothing really popped out at me.

"You alright, Joker?" Ann asked as she walked up next to me. "I know we've still got a ways to go but we have time. Taking a rest is important too."

"It's fine. I was just thinking about Suzui-san," I admitted and ran my hand along the books. "And you, to be honest."

"Me?" She asked after a moment.

"You don't have to answer me. It's probably not my right to ask, but did he ever touch you?" I looked over but she averted her gaze when she realized my question.

"Is that important to you?" Ann countered nervously.

"It won't change my actions either way. Suzui-san's own actions are enough and all the motivation I need to commit to this," I told her honestly.

"Not for your expulsion?" Ann asked.

"I was expelled for defending a woman before. I have no qualms of it ending up the same way. I don't care if I end up in juvenile hall until I'm an adult. My conscience is clear and I know I did the right thing. I promised my Grandfather I would always do right by me. To live selfishly and uphold my own beliefs. Even if they conflict with others," I explained as I moved down to the next section of the books.

"You're... a lot different than I initially thought you were like," Ann said after a moment.

I found an odd space between books. The books also didn't move. They weren't real. But there was clearly space for another... ah. I reached into my trench coat and retrieved one of the books, and compared the titles. Ugh...these books were all related to the girls on the volleyball team. This made me sick but I pulled out the Queen book and put it in the spot. It slipped in with ease. "Kamoshida...you are such a scumbag," I turned to Ann and pulled out the other two books. "Looks like these books go into spots like this. The titles are likely connected."

"Joker, I..." Ann said and tentatively took one of the books.

"You don't have to tell me but I just want you to know that it isn't a burden you need to carry on your own. I'm willing to listen. Anytime," I said in a soft voice.

She nodded and then without saying anything walked off.

"Oh dude, you figure it out?" Ryuji asked and came over.

"Yeah, did you see any openings for a book?" I asked.

"Oh yeah. It's over there," Ryuji pointed across. We both moved over to it and I looked at the titles. The book I had was the King book. I read the titles...yeah this was definitely narcissism central. I looked to see Ann giving me the thumbs up. She must have found the spot for the other.

I put it into place and then we could hear a loud click. We turned and watched as one of the shelves slid back and then disappeared into the walls and revealed a new room. I moved to it and into the new room. There was a large X similar to the one that Ann had been constrained against. What bothered me was what surrounded it. Pictures were all over the ground. I turned and kicked a chair, sending it spiraling into the wall and causing it to turn into debris. "That fucking son of a bitch," I growled.

"Joker..." Morgana had come up and saw the pictures. "They're of Suzui."

"Shiho," Ann breathed.

"We'll get that asshole. No mistake about that. But come on, Joker," Ryuji called out to me.

I took a deep breath, "Sorry. My temper is just getting the best of me." I turned and then I noticed something in the corner of the room. "Looks like we found our way to keep moving. Alright, let's keep moving."

The rest nodded and I went to take the lead again. Kamoshida... You'll pay for everything. For the rest of your miserable life.

---

Wednesday / April 20th, 2016 / Kamoshida's Castle / After School
Ichihara Tadashi

We had been cautious in our movement through the Palace, but even still a couple hours and the elimination of Shadows along the way had gotten us to the end. Not to mention that part of what Morgana had up his sleeves. I was now outfitted with a grappling hook, that was more… snappy… then I would expect from it. Morgana had designed it and said that similar to how we maneuvered from cover, the concept was the same. Our cognition held a lot of the power on how we moved. Meaning that it was my own thoughts and such that allowed me to move in a way that I believed I should with the powers I had. Well, add that with the third eye ability that I got from Igor and I was now able to much more efficiently survey a room without taking too much time.

I guess it was literally a mind over matter kind of ability. Either way, it's because of the combined skills and abilities we were able to get this far. We had also collected three of something called a Will Seed. Morgana said they could have more subtle effects on Kamoshida but were valuable and should take them. I trusted Morgana considering how up to this point he had definitely been honest. And when we gathered all three they combined to make some sort of odd crystal. And we found out that just having it let us use a more potent healing spell.

Managing our stamina was the real key to our progress though. And I insisted that everyone not rely heavily on their Persona. In order to summon our Persona meant being able to pull off our masks. To really prevent that from not being possible, we needed to be ready with martial arts like proficiency at keeping enemies away. There would be no purpose for having weapons on us otherwise.

I got a lot of practice using the grappling hook as we went up, but some parts I needed to bring everyone along one at a time. Not the most ideal, but the others didn't seem confident enough to give the grappling hook a try.

Now was the last part of the puzzle. The Treasure… the core of the Palace.

"Whoa, what is this place!? Holy Shit! That Treasure thing's gotta be in here!" Ryuji said as we entered a room full of gold trinkets and coins. Well yeah...this place was pretty hard to get to. Getting this far hadn't exactly been easy. We had to take a few breaks along the way and we might have slipped up a couple times but we managed to fight our way through and be somewhat conservative with our strength.

"Let's not make ourselves at home. So try and keep your voice down Skull," I said in a neutral tone as we walked a bit further in.

"Hey, what is this? It's... floating in the air," Ann was pointing to the weird distorted bit of air floating above us.

Morgana was grinning, "That's the Treasure. We finally found it!"

"Mona, keep your voice down. Aren't you the master thief here?" I shake my head. "So it's this...cloudy looking thing. Kind of hard to steal like this."

"Just hold on a second. I was planning on telling you more when we made it this far. Simply finding the treasure isn't enough. We'll need to make it materialize before we can steal it," Morgana just had to say something like that. It wasn't like I thought it would be simple. I just wish Morgana didn't have to go a roundabout way of getting us to this point. Was this supposed to be some stupid test before he believed we were ready? Doesn't matter, it wasn't like Morgana was going to hold it back when it came to pulling this off. He still needed us in order to achieve his own goals.

"Whaddya mean...?" Ryuji asked.

"Desires have no physical form by nature. Hence, we'll first need to make the real person aware that their desires are in fact a Treasure. Once they're conscious that their desires might be stolen, the Treasure will finally show itself," Morgana gave a rather concise explanation. Though not explaining the method.

"But how do we do that?" Ann followed up.

"We warn them. Tell them, 'We're going to steal your heart.' That should be enough," Morgana made it sound like it was such an easy thing to do. God, this was dangerous.

"So we're gonna send a calling card? That's totally what a phantom thief would do!" Ryuji once more had zero filter and just spoke what he was thinking. Though honestly I liked that about him.

"Once we do that, the Treasure will appear for certain. ...I think," Morgana conceded.

"That again?" Ryuji scratched his head. "Either way, sounds like it's worth givin' it a shot."

"Our infiltration route is secure. All that's left now is to pump out a calling card in reality, then come back to take the Treasure!" Morgana surmised.

"This is it, huh?" Ann took a deep breath. "I can't believe we managed to get here in just one day. And that is with us getting used to our powers and using them to sneak around."

"Certainly not the most conventional way but at least with this we know we did what we could to stop Kamoshida. So for Suzui-san and everyone else that has suffered because of that asshole… we won't lose," I shared a look with everyone.

"Damn right," Ryuji hit his fists together.

"Yeah, I'll do this for Shiho and for me," Ann added.

"Once we send out the calling card, there will be no turning back. Just let me know when you're ready. We'll head back to the hideout and send out that calling card," Morgana said after a moment.

"I guess that's it for now. Do we want to go through the route one more time or just get out of here?" I ask the others.

"We did a lot today. I think we know it pretty well. We should get out of here and get some rest and ready the calling card," Ann said.

"I second that," Ryuji agreed.

"Alright then, let's get out of here." I nod. First, some rest… then the calling card. Everything would change after that. I wanted to believe it would work. It had to. If it doesn't, then I'll have to follow my vow I made to Arsene. Thou who art willing to perform all sacrilegious acts for thine own justice! No matter what, even if I had to do it myself. I would make Kamoshida pay. No matter the consequences.

---

Friday / April 22nd, 2016 / Shujin Academy / Early Morning
Ichihara Tadashi

I couldn't help but raise an eyebrow when I walked into the school. Well, it seemed Ryuji spared no expense when it came to the calling card...and posted tons of them all over the bulletin board. Ann came walking up next to me as we both watched the commotion by the board. "I guess we'll find out quickly if it is effective or not," I commented.

"A calling card?" one of the students was looking at them.

"I heard it was already posted by the time everyone got here this morning," a guy said as he was talking with his friend.

Ann and I moved up to the board, naturally curious as to what Ryuji had thought of to put on the calling card. It was crowded so Ann read it out loud for my benefit.

"Sir Kamoshida Suguru, the utter bastard of lust. We know how shitty you are, and that you put your twisted desires on students that can't fight back. That's why we have decided to steal away those desires and make you confess your sins. This will be done tomorrow, so we hope you will be ready. From, the Phantom Thieves of Hearts," Ann finished and turned to me and then looked at me. "...Wow."

I shrugged, "Definitely direct." I looked and noticed that Ryuji was nearby. Ann and I moved over to him.

"Not bad, eh? I looked up a bunch of similar stuff online for reference," Ryuji admitted but seemed pretty proud of his work.

"Um... Yeah... I know what you wanted to say but it sounded like an idiot trying to be an adult," Ann sighed.

"I wasn't expecting Shakespeare but…" I scratched my head.

"Your logo's a little lacking, too," Morgana commented while peeking out of my backpack and over my shoulder.

"OK, y'know what?! Th-That ain't true!" Ryuji defended himself.

"Did Kamoshida-senpai do something wrong...?" a female student at the bulletin board asked her friend.

"Does this mean the rumors are true?" her friend added.

"Wait a sec... Is someone gonna take something from Kamoshida-senpai...? What's with this weird logo? And who're these Phantom Thieves of Hearts people...?" The guy from before was likely someone who had some insight around him.

Ryuji shifted a bit on his feet, probably wishing the calling card was better received, "...It got everyone excited, so it's all good, yeah?"

I shook my head, "Who gives a shit what the other students think? It isn't for them."

That was when we noticed Kamoshida walking up to the bulletin board and took note, then called out loudly, "Who's responsible for this...!?"

"...Look at that. A predictable reaction for someone who knows what we mean by distorted desires," Morgana seemed impressed by that response.

"I think it's hittin' him pretty hard," Ryuji noticed.

"Watch what you say," I commented quietly. But my comment is likely lost with Kamoshida's voice raising up suddenly.

"Did you do this!? Or was it you!?" His yells quickly scatter the crowd and they are now all retreating to their classrooms. He turned and saw us and walked towards us, "...Was it you two!?"

Not that I'm surprised but I know he wasn't including Ann in this accusation. I just looked at him annoyed by his tone… and well it isn't like it took any effort on my part to be annoyed by this man. Considering Suzui was in a hospital in a coma because of him. "What're you talking about? Isn't it a little early for you to be accusing us of something? You usually don't get around to it until school is nearly over."

"So, you're playing dumb...?" he glared at me.

"Think whatever you want, asshole. You wouldn't believe me no matter what I say anyway," I met his glare head on and refused to budge. Thankfully Morgana was pretty good at retreating into my bag before people noticed him. Well I guess he had to have some measure of skill as a thief. He had been showing me how to make tools to use.

"Eh, it's not a problem. You'll be expelled soon enough anyway," Kamoshida commented. Then something weird happened. I don't know why but my Third Eye ability told me something had happened. Kamoshida stormed off, still mad.

Yeah, heaven forbid anything were to happen to ruin your little paradise. All so you can prey on students unable to go against you. How many other girls came as close as Suzui to doing such a thing? It was in motion now. We would make him pay, one way or another.

Morgana popped his head out once more from my bag, "Judging from Kamoshida's response... I'm sure we had an effect on his Palace."

"Does that mean the Treasure's appeared?" Ann quickly asks. "We'll be able to get it today, right?"

"It's not just 'today.' It's ONLY today," Morgana emphasized. "The impact of seeing a calling card doesn't last long, and it cannot be repeated. This will be our one chance to steal the Treasure."

"No pressure," I mutter.

Ryuji grinned, "One day's more than enough for us. Let's meet up as soon as class ends."

"Right, so try to focus a little bit. And stay loose," I advised them before we split up. Today is your day, Kamoshida. I hope you're ready for a goddamn change of heart. And I hope the fucking guilt makes you choke.

---

Friday / April 22nd, 2016 / Kamoshida's Palace / After School
Ichihara Tadashi

Upon entering the Palace we began to retrace our path through the Palace along the established path we had made just a couple of days ago. We did so expertly. Even with the Palace on high alert it was hardly a factor because of how well we knew our path through. We needed to keep it up. We wanted to limit our encounter with anything until we could get to the treasure… or at least before we made Shadow Kamoshida make any bold moves. That was the hope at least. When we reached the throne room… the path above had been locked up… and the doors to the throne room were wide open.

"He's daring us to come right to him," I commented as we stood outside the door.

"We don't have much of a choice," Morgana said.

"Don't worry, we got this!" Ryuji offered some support.

"Just be cautious," Ann warned.

"What the hell's goin' on here, though? The door's just sittin' open, and there aren't any soldiers around," Ryuji added as we walked into the throne room. This place was... extravagant albeit insulting. Instead of normal columns they were busts of women with curves overly emphasized. What a sexist pig.

"This place is probably undermanned now that they all got assigned elsewhere," Morgana commented.

"A lot of good that did them," I muttered as I cautiously looked around. Nothing is this fucking easy.

"Either way, we win as long as we can steal the Treasure! Let's keep going!" Morgana urged as we rushed through the throne room and to the staircase that led to the door up top. Behind it, we went to the final door and into the Treasure room. And sitting there about as obvious as you can be is that of a crown, and every bit as extravagant as you would believe.

"That fucker would wish he had something like this," I crossed my arms and felt fucking disgusted.

"Aww yeeeeaaaaaaah! The Treasure has appeared!" Morgana was...excited, to say the least.

"Man, it's huge," Ryuji scratched his head.

"What do you think? It's just as I said. Now we can steal it!" Morgana gets closer to the Treasure. "Ahhh... this shine brings tears to my eyes..."

"It kinda pisses me off," Ann remarked.

"Finally someone with a sensible opinion," I agreed.

"Why's it so pretty...? Isn't this Kamoshida's desire?" Ann was understandably disgusted by it. My guess is it is about how Kamoshida perceives it to be.

"I would wager the depravity of his desire might make it look so… extravagant," I shook my head. "We know by now that what he sees as acceptable or beautiful is praising his every step and bending to his will."

"Bastard," Ann gritted her teeth.

"T-Treasure..." Morgana was basically drooling.

"Uh, the cat's actin' awfully excited," Ryuji said looking at Morgana.

"What's wrong? Is something...?" Ann started.

"No, I don't think so," I sighed as we watched Morgana jump onto the floating crown.

"Meeeeeeeoooooooow!" Morgana let out an uncontrolled cat noise. As if it wasn't obvious enough that Morgana couldn't control himself.

"Morgana! What the fuck are you doing?" I sighed. But Morgana ignored me and made all kinds of cat noises that indicated that he was really enjoying himself. Just what in the hell was his problem?

"All right, that's enough, you stupid cat!" Ryuji yelled and finally snapped Morgana from his stupor.

Morgana jumped back down and cleared his throat, "Oh, um, yeah... Forgive me for displaying such an insolent sight in front of a lady..."

"You were completely out of character too. What was that about?" Ann eyed him.

"I couldn't stop it either... To think I'd be drawn to human desires this much..." Morgana then made a leap in logic. "Doesn't that prove that I'm human!"

"No," I said flatly. Morgana glared at me, but I just did the same back to him. "Oh so you are listening to me now? Just think about the individual that gave birth to this distortion."

"You're right," Morgana nodded.

It was a fact that Morgana had been influenced by it though. There was probably a clue about him within that fact but there wasn't time to speculate on that.

"How should we know what it proves anyway?" Ryuji added.

"A-Anyway, you guys need to carry it!" Morgana switched the subject.

"All you do is bark orders..." Ryuji moved to the floating crown. "Still, that was easier than I thought. I thought for sure there'd be some insane trap or something."

"You can say that, after we have gotten this massive piece of garbage out of here," I moved to the crowd as well.

"His Palace will disappear if we take this back, right?" Ann moved up with me. "And Kamoshida will change too..."

"That should be the case," Morgana said.

"So far everything has gone as Morgana told us. I think it's a good chance at least," I said as I looked at the floating crown. "Is this thing going to suddenly get really heavy when we go to move it?"

"We don't have much of a choice though," Ryuji said. We all reached out and took hold. And just like I thought, it was quick to become heavy.

"Fuck," I grit my teeth.

"It's heavy..." Ann groaned.

"To think it'd go so well... I've even found three Persona users in the process... My judgment was correct. I made the right choice in making a deal with you. Nyahaha," Morgana is proud and…hm? Oh it's that confidant I get with getting closer to others. I guess it was the second time with Morgana. Still, I glared at him.

"You are lucky you are too short to help. But I'll have you know, you'll make up for this later," I look at him. "Alright let's move. Try and keep it close. Skull, you first. Panther and I will make sure you go the right direction...and Mona will be on the lookout for enemies. Got it? Now let's move."

No one questioned my orders and so we started to move. Morgana kept the doors open.

"Oh God, stairs," I muttered as we got to the top.

"Can't we just toss it down and pick it back up?" Ann suggested.

"I don't mind," I shrug.

"No you can't!" Morgana stepped in. "We don't know what will happen if it breaks."

"I seriously don't think that would be a problem," I glared at him.

"Let's just keep moving," Ryuji said through gritted teeth. So we took it slow and went down step by step. Then we finally got to the ground and moved past the throne to head to the exit. God, we still had a ways to go.

"Go, go! Let's go! Ka-mo-shida!" an annoyingly cheerful voice rang out. Then something came flying and hit the crown out of our hands and fell away from us. Then Shadow Kamoshida appeared over our heads and landed, quickly picking up the crown. The moment he touched it it had shrunk to be able to fit in his hand.

"I won't let anyone take this!" he declared. A cognition of Ann came running up to the Shadow Kamoshida and put her arms around his neck.

"Son of a bitch. We should have just chucked it down the stairs," I groaned.

"Wait, that is what you are hung up on?" Ryuji glanced at me, to which I just shrugged.

"This proves that I am the king of this castle-it is the core of this world!" Shadow Kamoshida had a shit eating grin on his face. The cognitive version of Ann stroked Shadow Kamoshida's chest, it was disgusting.

"That rat bastard... That's how he sees me, isn't it?" Ann says with barely contained anger.

That was how he saw her? I clenched a fist. He really did touch her didn't he? Made her experience things she didn't ask for...all for his own pleasure and using Suzui as his bargaining chip. This Mother Fucker...

"Yo, pervert. Were you waitin' to ambush us?" Ryuji asked

Shadow Kamoshida laughed, "I just made it easier to find you. I'll dispose of you myself. Right here, right now."

"That's our line, you sexually-harrassin' d-bag!" Ryuji called out.

"What a selfish misunderstanding," Shadow Kamoshida scoffed.

"How is it a misunderstanding? You were doing things that you kept in secret from others!" Ann was barely controlling herself.

"People around me were the ones who kept it secret. Adults who want to share in my accomplishments, students who have the drive to become winners. They willingly protect me so that we all may profit from it," Shadow Kamoshida explained it so easily, but this was a fact we had already seen first hand. No adult was going to believe that Kamoshida did anything wrong, because if something happened to him their children wouldn't benefit from it. I imagine being on a winning volleyball team coached by a gold medalist would be quite the thing to put on your resume to get into college. That sure as hell didn't make it right.

"Profit?" Ryuji shook his head.

"There are too many imbeciles who don't understand that," Shadow Kamoshida gave us a glare. "Including naïve brats like you and that girl who tried to kill herself."

"True, she's a total idiot... letting you manipulate her, trying to commit suicide. And I'm even more of a dumbass for not realizing that. But no matter what kind of fool someone might be... They don't need your permission to live their lives!" Ann called him out. I could only let her words sink in as to how she felt. I guess there was still some time before we truly trusted each other. But she wasn't hiding it from us now. Ann was still finding her strength and this fight would make her stronger. For that, I'll support her all I can.

"Drop the attitude, you mediocre peasant. There is no wrong in using my gifts for my gain! I'm a cut above all other humans!" Shadow Kamoshida dared to say.

"Above...? You mean beneath. You're a goddamn demon obsessed with your sick desires!" Ann pulled out her whip. I followed suit and pulled out my knife.

A strange glow surrounded Shadow Kamoshida as he laughed, "That's right. I'm not like you... I am a demon who rules this world!" Kamoshida pulls the cognitive version of Ann close to himself and the treasure, and then he starts to change. The forms of all of it collide together into a black substance and then he grows until his form completely changes.

"Wh-What the hell...?" Ryuji quickly pulled out his weapon and Morgana pulled out his sword.

Shadow Kamoshida laughs, "I'm allowed to do whatever the hell I want!"

"You're wrong. You lost that chance the moment you took away other people's ability to choose! Now we're going to make sure you can never fucking do it again!" I yelled at him.

"You goddamn, no-good, shitty brats! Haven't you been taught not to point at people? Huh? I'll teach you what happens to those who get in my way!" The new Shadow Kamoshida declared. He was certainly...something. He now had four arms, each with something in hand. The right lower arm held a golden knife, and the bottom left hand held a knife. His upper right hand had a glass filled with a red liquid and...was that the cognitive version of Ann inside it? Then his top left hand had a whip...I think. The other distinct part of him was that hugely impossibly large tongue. Also at his sides were small people? But they were chained to a large golden ball sitting behind Shadow Kamoshida. And in front of him was a golden trophy that was filled with...girls? But you could only see their legs. God, this was fucking disgusting.

"Let him have it guys!" I put my hand to my mask and didn't hesitate, pulling it off and summoning Arsene. However, the others poured on their attacks as well. Doing all we could to quickly damage him before he could even act.

He instead brought up his fork and right into the trophy that I initially was filled with girls...but he stabbed into one and pulled it out, it was simply just the lower half of a female body and he put it into his mouth. "Time to heal!" He swallowed it down. "Come at me, you pieces of shit! I ain't lettin' you sleep tonight!"

"Everyone, aim for the trophy!" I called out.

"Don't you dare, you fucking brats!" Shadow Kamoshida said but in his current state he really had zero mobility. He had reached with his arms but that was about it. He quickly ordered the small people at his side to attack...and they sent several fast moving volleyballs towards us. And holy shit there were a lot of them. I managed to move out of the way but Ryuji got hit. He seemed to easily shake off the hit.

I switched Personas, "Berith!" I had him smash at the trophy. Ryuji and Ann quickly followed by using their lightning and fire attacks respectively. Morgana hit it with a wind attack and sent the trophy falling over and shattering on impact. There wasn't any time to waste.

"...Ack! No way... This was from when I won the national..." Shadow Kamoshida was staring at the broken pieces of the trophy.

We took the moment to advance and all pulled out our respective guns. I had a handgun, Ryuji a shotgun, and Ann a tommy gun. Morgana, of course, had his slingshot. "Time to give up the treasure, Kamoshida."

"You think that you can get away with doing such a thing? Do you realize who I am? I am Kamoshida! Don't you get it?" He growled at me.

"Who the fuck cares about who you are? The only thing anyone will remember after this is all the people you've hurt!" I yelled back at him.

"Bullshit! I am Kamoshida! I'm the king!" Shadow Kamoshida dismissed my words.

"You look down on everyone... but you're seriously lame right now," Ryuji shook his head.

"We came all this way to steal that crown! Will you just give it up and hand it over?" Ann demanded.

"Silence! I won't let the likes of you have this," Shadow Kamoshida brazenly resisted.

"You still have the energy to say that? Then we're going to up our game as well!" Morgana called out.

"Everyone, go!" I said jumping forward, using the Persona to increase my speed along with everyone else. This was the all out attack that Morgana had taught us. It involved using the same burst of speed to sneak around cover to cover, but this time it was used to overwhelm the enemy and attack him in all directions in something that is highly coordinated. A mistake would be highly damaging to us. We hit him hard but then retreated back. He still had stamina to spare it seemed.

"I'm the king! If I'm not, then who is!?" Kamoshida seemed mostly unaffected. "How dare you keep defying me. Looks like I gotta bring out the big guns! Slaves! Bring over you-know-what."

"We're not going to get anywhere with brute force," Morgana said.

"Then we switch it up," I noted as I eyed the crown. "Mona, think you can get that off his head?"

"Leave it to me Joker. Just keep him distracted while I move into position," Morgana fell back.

"Panther, Skull. Keep the pressure up and we'll end this quickly," I order as I switch Persona. "Arsène!" I had him hit Shadow Kamoshida with a smash to the side of his head.

"Take this!" Ryuji summoned Captain Kidd and landed another hard hitting physical attack.

"Carmen!" Ann spun and landed a powerful fire attack. This was more than enough time to get Morgana up to the terrace and out of Kamoshida's view. He quickly moved to counterattack but his attacks lacked any real power behind it. His frustration was becoming more and more obvious.

"Slaves!" Kamoshida yelled as the small guys were suddenly free from the ball they had been attached to. "This is my kill shot! The one from when I was still active and the best! I'll show you just how great King Kamoshida is! What's the hold up? Where is my ball?"

Then… Mishima walked out? No it was obviously a cognition of him. "I-I'm so sorry, King Kamoshida. I-I have it right here!"

"Too slow, Mishima. Worthless chump," Shadow Kamoshida said. "Now pass it to me! Don't tell me you can't do something as simple as that!" The cognitive version of Mishima tossed the volleyball up in the air. Shadow Kamoshida jumped and spiked it. It came down towards us and all we could do was put up our best defense against it. The impact wasn't as bad as I expected it to be, which had Shadow Kamoshida annoyed. "Hey, shit-for-brains. Get off my court!"

"I'm sorry King Kamoshida!" the cognitive Mishima ran off.

"Next slave, get out here! Hurry up with my damn ball!" Shadow Kamoshida demanded.

Then I watched as a girl… dressed up in the most minimal amount of clothing, like a bikini costume and a fluffy bunny tail, and even wearing bunny ears on her head. This was the cognitive version of Suzui Shiho.

"King Kamoshida," she said, that familiar voice I had only heard in a single conversation I had with her. "I've brought you your ball, just like you asked."

"Now there's a good girl, Suzui. Yeah, all women should obey my orders like this-ain't that right, sweetheart?" Shadow Kamoshida was… gloating?

This son of a bitch, "You Mother Fucker! You have no right to say her name!"

"You've gone too far, you piece of shit!" Ryuji's voice joined mine in anger.

Cognitive Suzui served up the volleyball, and he spiked it towards us. It was like an explosion. The impact sent the three of us spiraling back. But I quickly summoned a different persona Angel and with it was able to redirect myself towards not Kamoshida but the cognitive Suzui. Even if it was just a cognitive version of her I couldn't hurt her. Instead I grabbed her and in a swift motion sent out my grappling hook. Pulling me and the cognitive Suzui out of Kamoshida as he tried to attack us.

"Th-thank you," Suzui told me as we came to a stop.

"Suzui! You unfaithful slut!" Kamoshida growled. This had been more than enough to keep him distracted.

I looked at the cognitive Suzui, realizing that she looked grateful. Then she ran off, out of the throne room, without looking back. I wonder if this was representative of how Kamoshida looked at me. A threat to his kingdom, that I would come in and steal what was his. Considering he took action against me before I had even stepped foot in Tokyo, it made the most sense. I looked up above Kamoshida and grinned. Time was up.

"Wait, wait! Weren't there four of you? Where'd the other one go!" He looked around, but it was too late.

"The Treasure is ours!" Morgana swooped in and knocked the crown clean off his head and sent it spiraling over us. It was enough time for us to recover.

"No! No! My precious!" Kamoshida cried out.

"Now quickly! Let's finish him off! Give it everything you fucking got!" I called out.

All of our attacks landed on him with crushing efficiency. We devastated him completely. Causing him to collapse back to the ground and return to his previous form. As soon as he did the crown reverted to a smaller size and the Shadow made a mad dash and swooped up the crown. He broke a large nearby window and stumbled out of it. It opened onto the balcony but there was no real exit.

He panicked, looking around desperately to find an exit, "Nngh..."

"What's wrong? Not running away? Why don't you run? Aren't you a great athlete?" Ann was letting her frustrations come out in force now that we had forced him into a corner.

"It's always been like this... all those goddamn hyenas forcing their expectations on me...! I'm doing this all for them! What's wrong about demanding a reward for that!?" Shadow Kamoshida wouldn't even look at us now.

"Now you're makin' excuses...?" Ryuji shook his head. "We'll do something about that distorted heart of yours."

"Hrrgh..." Kamoshida knew he was out of options.

"Scared? Right now, you're seeing the same view that Shiho did." Ann was calm. Alright, Ann. I wanted to beat the living shit out of this guy for what he did. But Suzui-san is your best friend. I could concede that if anyone gets to have the honor of kicking his ass, then it's you, not me. I'll leave him to your capable hands. "I'm sure she was scared too... except she had no choice but to jump... What will you do? Will you jump? ...Or would you rather die here?"

Shadow Kamoshida turned to us and eyed Ann. "N-Ngh,"

Morgana crossed his arms, "Do you want to finish him off? It's your call."

"No, please wait! I beg you... Just forgive meeee!" Shadow Kamoshida was growing more desperate.

"Shut up. I bet everyone told you the same. But you... you took everything from them!" Ann had taken off her mask. Her Persona, Carmen, was at her side and launched a fire attack that barely missed the cowering Shadow Kamoshida.

Shadow Kamoshida shrieked, "I accept defeat... You want this? Take it." He tossed it to me. I caught it and was glad it was no longer a monstrous heavy crown it had been before.

"Panther, your call," I met her eyes. "Do what you have to."

"Go ahead and finish me off... You do that... and my real self will go down too..." Shadow Kamoshida was really defeated now. To think he was capable of actually sounding like this. "You have that right since you've won..."

Ann let a blast go.

"Ann!" Ryuji called out without thinking. But there was nothing to worry about.

"If his mind shuts down, he can't admit his crimes," Ann said simply. But I knew that it wasn't what she wanted to do.

"You're kind, Lady Ann..." Morgana commented. Although he was wrong. Life wasn't always the kind option. In this case...the kind option would actually be to kill the bastard. But that was exactly why he had to live. Plus a momentary relief wouldn't be nearly as good as hearing him confess to everything he's done.

"I've lost..." Shadow Kamoshida fell to his knees. "You're through when you lose. What am I- What am I supposed to do now...?"

"Isn't it obvious?" I juggle the crown in my hand for a moment. "You're going to pay for every sin you committed And accept whatever punishment is given to you. Do that then maybe you can somewhat redeem the athlete that had to work hard to get a gold medal."

I'm not sure what had prompted that thought, but it was there. Thinking about how things had progressed to this point… it wasn't like Kamoshida had always been as he is now. He had to work to get to this point. And getting a gold medal at the olympics… that was hard work. That wasn't something that just happened. Even people with natural athletic talent had to work hard and practice often in order to get those kinds of results at the olympics. So the man that had worked hard and really achieved something had to be there. Maybe it was an odd thing to think about after all he had done to people. There was no excuse that could be made to justify what he had done to others. But maybe it was just the athlete inside of me. He might be a fucking pig, but I wanted to believe that he at one point had the pride of an athlete.

He nodded, "All right... I will leave now and return to my real self... I'll make certain that I-" Shadow Kamoshida disappeared into a white light.

The moment he did that...the whole place began to shake.

"Hey, just so you know, we don't have time to waste. This place is about to collapse," Morgana said as a piece from the ceiling fell. And he couldn't fucking have warned us about this part before hand!?

"Oh, son of a bitch. Run! Everyone run!" I yelled and turned to do just that. We can't just beat the guy and call it a day? No, of course fucking not! Now we have to run while dodging falling debris! Fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck! "I didn't sign up for this shit!"

---

Friday / April 22nd, 2016 / Outside Shujin Academy / After School
Ichihara Tadashi

We appeared out in the alley across from the school when we came crashing back from the Palace. Thankfully we were all intact. All of us were breathing heavily...except for Morgana… who had jumped onto my shoulder in his cat form during our escape. Bastard.

"That... sucked..." Ann said between breaths.

Ryuji was leaning against the wall but was looking at his phone, "Hey! Look at the nav!"

We pulled out our phones and the app was open but then we got a voice, it was the voice of the navigator, "The destination has been deleted."

"It's true. We can't go there anymore," Ann stated after a moment.

"What about the treasure?" Morgana, of course, has to ask about that.

"Oh you mean, this little thing?" I say as I pull out a large gold medal from the inside of my jacket pocket.

"What the...?" Ryuji eyed it.

"A medal? Wait, where'd that crown go?" Ann asked. It was weird that it wasn't a crown anymore.

"What's goin' on?" Ryuji asks.

"It means, that was the source of Kamoshida's desires. To him, this medal is worth as much as that crown we saw in the Palace," Morgana answered.

"An Olympic Medal..." Ryuji eyed it. "So, that perv kept clingin' to his past glory and couldn't let it go."

I spun it in my hand and took a closer look at the medal, "No not really. Take a look for yourself." I tossed it to Ryuji.

"But... this means that Kamoshida's heart might have changed, right?" Ann asked.

"Probably," Morgana answered truthfully.

"Our expulsion is on the line here!" Ryuji said, though half looking at the medal then the others.

"This is the first successful example for me too," Morgana defended his words. "However, there's no doubt that this has affected Kamoshida's personality quite a lot. The entire Palace disappeared, after all."

Ryuji opted to ignore the medal for now, "Ugh, I feel all antsy. Ain't there a way to check now?"

"I doubt it is as simple as flipping off a light switch. His mind might need time to process the change. Either way we'll know soon enough," I said with a shrug.

"Right..." Ann hung her head.

"Come on, why the gloomy faces? Be happy. We completed this with great success, you know," Morgana chipped in.

"Says the cat with nothing personal at stake in the situation. Unless you're worried about not having a place to sleep," I eyed him.

"That's not what I mean and you know it!" Morgana said.

"We just don't know if everything's okay yet..." Ryuji said after a moment.

"I'm pretty sure it'll be fine. Remember how Kamoshida's Shadow said that he's returning to his self in reality? We all know Kamoshida Suguru is scum. Still... He did seem to regain his conscience somewhat before he disappeared," Morgana said.

"Well you're right about that. Something had definitely changed at the end there," I scratched the back of my head.

"There are definitely those who have been saved thanks to what you've done," Morgana added.

"Yeah..." Ann had a light smile.

"It's also the only thing we can do. So like it or not… it's time to just wait and see what effect we had on him," I shrugged and then stretched.

"It all boils down to what's gonna happen to Kamoshida... or if we're gettin' expelled for real," Ryuji said and handing the medal back to me.

"If that's all, then let's go home. I'm beat. I don't feel like having to run out of a collapsing building again any time soon, thank you very much," I let out a yawn.

"Yeah, let's go." Ann agreed.

"We'll decide what to do with the hunk of metal later. For now, let's just call it a good day's work and ride it out. Whatever might come," I say and then split up from Ryuji and Ann.

Morgana hopped into my bag once more. We made our way to the train station. I got a message on my phone as we were on the train heading back. But Morgana seemed to be sleeping in my bag.

Ann: Thanks. I finally got to avenge Shiho because of you guys.

Ann: I'm pretty sure there was no way I'd have been able to do anything on my own.

Ann: So seriously, thank you. I owe you so much.

Tadashi: Not true, I still owe you dinner.

I type that response with a smile on my face.

Ann: I guess you did promise that, didn't you?

Tadashi: Besides, you helped too.

Ann: You think? I'm glad to hear that.

Ann: Anyway, that cognitive world was pretty crazy, huh?

Ann: What a mysterious place. I can't believe we actually stole someone's heart.

Tadashi: It's more like we ripped all the garbage out for him to see.

Ann: Yeah, hopefully he really will change.

Ann: But speaking of mysterious, there's also the matter of Morgana's transformation.

Which, speaking of Morgana, he has decided to wake up and peek at our conversation. I don't really mind though.

Ann: When we were escaping, didn't he turn back into a cat even though we were still in the Palace?

"Lady Ann is sharp. I'm impressed," Morgana comments.

"Sharp? Are you kidding? You turned back into a cat while we were running away. Of course we're going to notice that," I shake my head.

"Yeah but basically, the Treasure changes the shape of things. Once that's gone, that power no longer works. Though the real reason I changed quickly back then was because I'm so incredibly skilled. How's that? Isn't it amazing?" Morgana explained.

"Give it a break. You just turned back so you didn't have to be the one dodging falling debris from the ceiling," I groan and turn back to my phone to type my response.

Tadashi: He's just a lazy bum that made me do all the work like running and dodging debris. But he claims it's because he's soooo amazing.

Ann: I'm sure Morgana will make it up to you later.

Tadashi: I should start charging him for room and board.

Ann: Haha. I think I feel a little better after talking to you. Thanks Tadashi-kun.

Ann: We still haven't seen any results, but it feels like a weight has been lifted off my shoulders.

Ann: I hope you don't mind talking to me too much.

Tadashi: Don't be silly. I was the one that chased you down before, remember?

Ann: Right. So Dinner is on you?

Tadashi: I keep my promises.

Ann: Haha, I'll see you tomorrow, Tadashi-kun.

Tadashi: Night, Ann-san.

I put my phone away. And looked out the window of the train.

"Would you really charge me room and board?" Morgana asked.

I sighed, "Nah, I'd just kick you out." I then grin at Morgana.

The two of us laughed. What an odd way for a day to end.

---

A/N:

This chapter introduces Makoto in a much different way than the game. And is one of my favorite interactions in the story this far. If you were to optimize your play-through or in new game plus, you are more than capable of hitting first place in exams. This is the same for every one of the protagonists from Persona 3 onward. But I would say that each one of them is "smart" in a different kind of way. Minato is more world smart and insanely logical in his approach (at least in how I showed him in Momento Umbrae). Yu from P4 is just good at memorization, and can recall information really well. For Tadashi I wanted him to be just a hard worker. From his backstory as a baseball player, from his home town to his drive and motivation to always be learning. And so through those interests and the enjoyment he gets from learning. Of the main characters it just makes more sense to me that Tadashi by nature is all about challenging himself, which fits in with the Phantom Thief business.

Now that we've stolen Kamoshida's Treasure things are only going to start picking up from here. And Tadashi is still not sold on being a Phantom Thief. Even as resistant as he is, he is still unable to fight his own compulsions to do what's right. I hope people are enjoying the changes so far. But there will be more to come the further into the story we get. Anyway, I won't linger too much this month. So see you next month with the next chapter.