[June 20th, evening]
To say that Ise was conflicted… would be a big, big understatement.
Knowing what was actually happening, she… found herself kept seeing the shadow of the past looming over her son's shoulder. Shinji's shoulder. On one hand, Ise could recognize the pain of trying to get over the past, but on the other hand…
"Um… I'm back, Mom."
Surprised by the sudden intrusion of a familiar voice, she turned at the front door. Shinji was standing there, somewhat embarrassed and nervous. Thankfully, he seemed… fine, very, very fine.
Choosing to bury all those conflicts deep into her mind, Ise put on a cheerful smile and greeted him.
"Welcome back! I… Are you hungry, Shin-chan? I think I still have something left here."
However, all Shinji had was just… an unreadable face. As much as Ise tried to figure it out, all she could see was… guilt and a hint of fear. How his gaze widened at her, it didn't feel like he was scared of her.
He was… scared for her.
"Shin-chan? Something's wrong?"
He didn't answer at first, but merely kept his gaze instead. Until he finally snapped back to reality and hastily shook his head.
"Nothing, I'm just… Just call me when dinner's ready," With that said, Shinji immediately turned. However, he stopped a few steps into the staircase, turning back at her. "Actually… Mom, are you… disappointed in me?"
Ise's features froze, hastily shaking her head, "Of course not! Why would I be disappointed in you?"
For a split second, Ise wished she knew nothing about Shinji's activities. Maybe, ignorance was bliss, after all. However, all it was just mere wishful thinking, a wish that would never come true.
Shinji merely nodded in response, continuing his steps up the stair. The shroud of guilt and heaviness remained as he disappeared around the corner. Now, the silence was what was left around Ise, as the doubt crept in and filled that void.
It was wrong, it was all wrong.
Hearing how the door closed with a soft click, Shinji looked down at his hand that held onto the door knob. It looked like nothing had happened, it felt like nothing had happened.
Shinji closed his eyelids, forming a scowl as he leaned against the door with his forehead. Even if silence was what should be accompanying him, it was more obstreperous than ever inside. The words of Akira echoed and replayed like a broken record, with more and more people's words laying on top.
"That doesn't mean it's worth all the pain you're bringing to everyone around you."
"I dunno, just… stop."
"That doesn't mean you should do that for us!"
"Then how can I make up for Kimiko?"
"You just HAVE to get into more shit than before, huh?"
"It's all I can do…"
"I… I just don't want to wake up and find out that you're dead."
As Makoto's voice surfaced, Shinji felt his entire body freeze. Maybe it was because of her, or what she said. At this very moment, he couldn't know which is which.
She was right, Shinji was about to die, right in front of her. If not for Akira and the others being here in time, he very wouldn't be here at all.
His arms slumped and swayed without any hint of strength, just as he also slumped down and sat on the ground. Curling his legs and using his knees to support his elbows, Shinji buried his face in his palms.
And a joyless chuckle leaked from the gaps between his palms.
"Right, Akira's one of the Phantom Thieves, Makoto awakened… whatever that was," Shinji let his palms fall from his face, giving out a long breath. "I guess I can just let them do their thing…"
With the latter half of the sentence left unsaid, Shinji pulled out his phone. The red-eye-like icon started back at him like an all-seeing eye, judging him for his action or inaction. He tapped open that app that barged its own way in, showing a menu with just one column available.
Target: Kaneshiro Junya.
Location: Shibuya
Distortion: Bank
Shinji stared at the names, his gaze gradually filled with hesitation. But after a while, he sighed once again.
"...How can I just ignore this?"
[June 21st, Izumo Household]
Shinji stared at the two billy clubs on his study table, tainted by splashes of a deep shade of crimson. Some of it belonged to him, while some of it belonged to those… goons in the mafia. Or the "Hangure" group as some people called it. But to be honest, Shinji didn't care, not at all.
He picked it up, clutching his eyes shut for a moment before stuffing them into his shoulder bag. Shinji knew the ramification of his idea, the logical part of him wanted him to just stop. But he couldn't, he knew he couldn't either.
With a deep breath, he opened the room's door and downstairs. With each step, it only felt heavier and heavier. However, the weight multiplied as he saw someone sitting by the table, staring at him as he was walking down.
"Shin-chan? Where are you going?"
It didn't have to take a genius to notice how… nervous she sounded. And for a split moment, the thought of "Ise knew" surfaced. However, he pushed it down as quickly as he could, putting on a comforting smile.
"It's… nothing big, I'm just going to school to take some things, that's… pretty much it."
Of course, even Shinji himself could feel how fake this excuse was, and he was pretty sure Ise didn't buy this excuse either. In response, she merely paused and… stared at him, she looked like she had something to say. And in one tiny part of his mind, he wished Ise would scold him and just stop him.
"...Oh, it's… good to know, you've been out of school for a while, after all," She offered a comforting smile, but all Shinji felt was a sting in his heart. A deep sting. "Um… I actually come back early, so… how about some ramen tonight?"
"...I…" Trailing off, Shinji tightened his grip on his shoulder bag's strap. Trying his best to squeeze out a smile in return. "Sure."
"Okey-Doke! I'll remember to buy groceries on the way back," Ise nodded. "I um… enjoy your trip then!"
"...I'll try to."
[Afternoon, Shibuya Station Square]
The sun was blazing high in the air above, casting down merciless heat upon everyone under them. And Shinji was one of them, with his steps slowed down and stopped in the middle of the square.
By this time, schools would end pretty soon, so the number of pedestrians wasn't too many.
Shinji took a deep breath and pulled out his phone, the crimson-eye stared back in silence. He froze for a few moments, but still tapped it. Just like last time, the same interface showed up, and the same box with the same name.
Target: Kaneshiro Junya.
Location: Shibuya
Distortion: Bank
He rested the phone against his forehead and shut his eyes. And the sound around him faded away, replaced by a nauseating ring. And everything flashed before his eyes, the day he heard about what happened with Naoko, all those talks he had with her. The threats, seeing Makoto in that club, seeing her in that outfit inside "Kaneshiro's heart".
Seeing Akira, and what he said. It felt like something was wrong, but Shinji kept this feeling in the back of his mind. Maybe he was afraid, afraid to face the music.
"I mustn't run away," Shinji murmured under his breath, his other hand's grip on his shoulder bag tightened. "I mustn't run away, I mustn't run away, I mustn't run away…"
He opened his gaze and glared hard at the name on his phone.
"Let's hope my words did get through the thick skull of yours."
"I'm sorry, but…" Taking in another deep breath, Shinji tapped the 'Navigate' button on the app. "I can't run away."
"I can't let injustice happen like this."
In response, a sense of nausea suddenly struck him, and he clutched his head. Teeth gritted, he saw how the world around him distorted with a ripple of crimson and black.
Before long, the now familiar sight of the verdant-shade sky was what he could see, along with the cry of panic and horror from a short distance away. He watched how the street was illuminated by the slightly brighter shade of green, and how the… bodies of ATM-people lay in the back alley, or just the side of the street.
And it boiled his blood.
Shinji reached into his shoulder bag and pulled out the billy clubs, and wore the shoulder back like a backpack. As he stared at the staircase to the floating bank, he took out both of his billy clubs, his glare steeled.
Then he started walking, onto the first step of the staircase.
[Meanwhile, Kosei's Student Council room]
To say that Hinaki was worried for Shinji… would be a giant understatement. Ever since what happened, all she heard was just things getting worse and worse. First was what's happening with Shinji, then seeing it herself, then what happened with Naoko…
But right now, things just got into a whole new level of "bad".
"Your call cannot be reached. Please call again later, or leave a voicemail…"
With a clear frown on her face, Hinaki lowered the phone and stared at the screen. It was showing the name "Izumo Shinji", and the fact she's been trying to call him for the last fifteen minutes straight.
"What is going on…" She murmured to herself, pinching her nose bridge as she flipped through the list of contacts. Until she ended on the one labeled as 'the Izumo family'. "He is definitely going to hate me for doing this, but…"
With another sigh, Hinaki called the number and pressed the phone to her ear. And just after a few buzzes, the voice of Ise rang from the other end of the phone line.
"Uh… hello? What's the matter, Higashikuni-san?"
"Hello, Izumo-san," With one of her hands still on her forehead, Hinaki tried her best to mask a sigh from escaping. "I know it's been a while since I called you last time, but I can't get in contact with your son."
"...What? Wait, he said that he's coming to Kosei today. Maybe…"
Hearing how Ise didn't even have the strength to finish her sentence, Hinaki's face paled in response. "Izumo-san, he didn't come to Kosei today at all. He's still absent for today."
"...I should've stopped him, he's… going to those mafia guys, isn't it?"
"So you know?"
"It's hard to not know when my fellow teachers showed me that video, I… I never knew how to open up about this for him," Even though all Hinaki could hear was the subtly muffled voice on the other end, she could still recognize the pain within. "I should've stopped him, I really should…"
"I… Ise-san, do you have any clue where he'd go?"
"That's the thing, I have no idea…"
"That's bad…" Murmuring under her breath and quiet enough to not be picked up by the phone, Hinaki gave out a long sigh. "I'll call his… old friends to see if they got any clues."
"...I… Thank you, I'll try to get anything to help too."
"...I'll try my best."
With that said, Hinaki cut the call and let out a tired groan, burying her face in her palm again. She took in a few deep breaths and grabbed the phone that she put down, scrolling to the name "Ichijo Akira" in her contact list.
She stared at that name with her finger hovered above it, but with a steeled gaze, she tapped the name.
[Later, inside Kaneshiro's palace, the street]
Akira immediately called for a meeting after school when he got Hinaki's call, and to be honest… it didn't take them long to realize where Shinji might've gone. With Ann remembers her own… "second arrival" at a palace.
"Of course, he'd come back here, I should've expected it…" Staring at the floating bank with the blaring siren, Jester groaned to himself as he turned back toward the fellow thieves. More specifically, Makoto. "You're okay with it, Niijima?"
"Shinji's the priority here, I… I just hope we'll be quick enough to find him."
"Then… Usually we should just assign a codename for you first, but that can be later," Joker said, as the rest of the thieves nodded in agreement. "So for now… let's just call you… "Q" until we got a full codename, okay?"
"...Why specifically "Q"?" Skull asked out loud, but received no reply from Joker.
Without another word, Makoto - Codename Q (for now) - nodded in response. And the team immediately sprung into action, rushing to the palace.
[With Shinji, inside the bank]
Hiding behind a long piece of furniture, Shinji clutched his left arm, bleeding from a stray bullet that grazed it not long ago. He hastily took out a small piece of bandage and wrapped it around the wound, taking in a few deep breaths to calm himself down.
He peeked over the furniture and noticed a long… monster guard that approached his position, completely unaware of the fight he just went through not long ago. With his steel gaze locked onto the guard, he tightened his hold on his baton and waited. Waiting for the moment it turned around.
Once the guard did turn around, Shinji sprung into action and jumped onto the guard's back. Using his entire body to make the guard lose its balance and fall, he quickly climbed onto it and raised his billy club. Then he struck down as hard as he could, right on the guard's head.
Again and again, until the mask shattered and the whole body dissolved into black goos and away from existence.
Panting heavily, Shinji stood up and looked at where the guard once was. For a second there, the better judgment inside asked out loud. "What's the point of doing this?"
"To get back at Kaneshiro, for everyone," Murmuring to himself, he turned his gaze ahead. And standing before him was another group of guards, batons, and shields in their hands. "I guess stealth is out of the options now."
He could feel his grip on his batons shaking, partly out of fear. Maybe it was because of his life, because of how everyone would react… how Makoto would react if he died. But right now, Shinji didn't care, he didn't want to care either.
Taking in a deep breath and tightening his grip, he took a step forward, a step toward the guards.
"I'll get it done, whatever it takes."
With a few short breaths to ready himself, Shinji sprung to his feet and dashed. He leaped as the guards closed in, using his momentum and body to bring one of the guards onto the ground with him. Then he immediately smacked his Billy Club onto the mask, smashing it into pieces.
However, before he could move on to the next guard, a heavy strike from a baton hit directly onto his stomach and sent him to the wall. Crashing and definitely having a few of his bones broken, Shinji groaned in pain before trying to stand up. Teeth gritted, he ran again and swung his clubs, only to be blocked by the riot shield they were using.
He glanced down, and with quick thinking, swept the exposed legs and made the guard lose its balance. Taking the shield as the guard's grip loosened when it was falling down, Shinji blocked another strike from a different guard. And then he headbutted that guard's head, cracking it's mask and only to be fully broken as Shinji stabbed the club to finish the job.
He could feel blood dripping on his face from his forehead, but he didn't care, not one bit.
Suddenly seeing a few more batons coming right at him, Shinji rolled and barely avoided them. He threw the shield in his hand as hard as he could, then dashed again, trying to ignore the limp in his legs.
Then he jumped, once again.
With her legs around the shadow's legs and hand gripping the edge of the guard's mask, Q ripped the mask in one go before jumping away. Landing after a backflip in the air as she watched the guard dissolve and turned into a different kind of monster.
More specifically, a few monsters. Two of them were… near-naked women with white wings, a red humanoid… horse-man, and an oni-like monster with dual-ended swords.
"Two Angels, A Orobas and a Sui-Ki!" With Odani-Dono right behind her, Majesty shouted to her fellow thieves. "The angels are weak to guns! barrage them!"
"You got it!" Using Skull's back as a springboard, Mona jumped with his slingshot pulled. A wave of tiny balls sent flying led a barrage of bullets onto those Angels alongside even more bullets.
"The Orobas is weak to Ice! Raven, Fox, do your thing!"
"Don't have to say it twice, Majesty," Raven nodded, switching his target at the red horsemen. "Fou Roux! Atomic Shard!"
"Goemon! Bufu!"
As ice shards cut and grew from said wound, the Orobas found themselves to be trapped in place. Only to be shattered with both blades by Fox and Raven.
"The Sui-ki is weak to Nuclear, Q!"
"Johanna!" Without any hesitation, the heavy bike emerged and formed under Q as she revved the engine. With smoke coming out from the back wheel as it spun violently, she released the brake and let the momentum carry her.
A few small holes opened on the armor part next to the back wheel, and a couple of small bombs were shot out. Landing near the Sui-ki, it exploded in a vibrant shade of cyan.
With all of the shadows knocked down, the thieves wasted no time and surrounded them with their firearms. With a revolver materialized in her hand, Q hardened her glare as she stepped closer.
"Where is Shinji?"
Looking up at her, the shadows merely laughed in response. "...You mean who?"
"We heard the siren, you all definitely knew where he could be," Jester pressed on, tightening the grip on his hand cannon. "Don't play stupid on us."
With their gaze scanning their surroundings and realizing there was no way out, the two fallen angels spoke up. "You mean… the intruder before you?"
"That moron…" Jester murmured under his breath, seeing that Joker chose to step up.
"Yes it is, and where is he?"
"... In the waste process floor… in the basement…"
For a few long moments, silence was the only thing that filled the entire hallway. And as the thieves had their gazes widened, the angels continued.
"He came in and fought like a crazy person, cost us a few guards, but we still caught him… And Boss ordered us to take him there…"
[Meanwhile, Waste Process]
How did he get here?
With a headache that threatened to split his head wide open, Shinji groaned as he opened his eyes. And his gaze widened in horror at the sight before him.
Dozens or even hundreds of humanoid ATMs are being taken and shredded, with the familiar sight of green bills spilling out from inside. And not just one, but a few more… machines that were all doing the same thing.
Realizing that he was laying on the ground, he struggled and powered through the pain to stand up. And stood before him… was Kaneshiro, or that… weird purple version of him.
Right, he was fighting the guards... His memory was somewhat blurry, but he did remember it just turned to black with a sharp pain behind his head-
"You're finally awake, huh?" Kaneshiro said, stepping closer to him, both arms behind his back. "You annoying pest."
"That's good… saving me time to look for your sorry ass," With a self-deprecating chuckle, Shinji formed a loose palm as he faced the shadow.
"Still trying to fight, for what?"
"Isn't it obvious? For justice, and for Naoko and her family."
"Justice? How childish are you to believe in that?" In response, Kaneshiro merely laughed. "Justice is decided by people in power, the victor! And now, I AM the victor."
"That means I can decide what's justice," A disgusting grin formed on the shadow's face, as he casually stepped closer to Shinji. "Besides, you're just as selfish as me. Hurting people to 'Protect them'. You're not trying to protect anyone, you're just doing this to satisfy your ego, to be a so-called 'Hero'!"
"No, I'm merely trying to make up for my sin," Hardening his glare, Shinji took in a breath. "I stood by and let injustice happen, and I won't let the same thing happen again."
Even if he didn't want to admit it, Shinji could hear the better conscious saying otherwise. Maybe he was just trying to be a hero, just like when he was a child.
And this was just another failed attempt amidst others, a childish wish, a childish dream.
Taking in another breath to calm his nerves, he was about to retort when he heard a group of footsteps closing in. Then a familiar voice followed.
"Shinji!"
He didn't have to turn back to recognize whose voice was that. And he didn't want to turn back either, he couldn't convince himself that he could face them.
"Ah… what a reunion, isn't it? And I thought the club yesterday was good enough," As those sets of footsteps from the thieves, Kaneshiro raised his hands and signaled. Suddenly, a group of guards emerged from the shadow, their guns aimed right at him. "One more step and this pest will be filled with bullet holes."
"You fucker…" It was Akira's voice.
"Now, where were we?" Widening his smile into a grin, Kaneshiro turned his gaze back to Shinji. Whose hands were shaking, subtle but noticeable. "Right, the whole 'hero' thing."
"Y'know, the more I think about it, the more common I think we are," With a chuckle, he slowly walked around him. "Humans are selfish creatures, and we're just doing things to satisfy our wants."
"Actually, I think you're even better at hurting people than me! You're such a selfish person!" With the grin fully widened, the shadow spread his arms wide. "You mom uh… right, Ise! She's a really nice piece of work, and… huh, that'd be a great addition to my club. Alongside your two girlfriends."
"Don't you fucking dare…"
"Or what? You have nothing to beat me with, you're the loser here," Kaneshiro laughed. "You're just a kid playing hero, and you just failed it all!"
Shinji merely glared at the shadow as hard as he could, but the shaking couldn't stop. "I failed it all…"
"No, you're not, Shinji!"
Surprised by Makoto's words, Shinji turned back at her.
"You are a selfish guy, but…you're selfishly selfless," With her white-gloved hands tightened into a pair of fists, Makoto continued. "You want to be happy by making others happy, right?"
"Besides, in Kanji, "Pain" and "Happy" are nearly identical," Akira added. "Adding one stroke to "Pain" turns it into "Happy ". You want to add that stroke to everyone, right?"
"Carrying all the pain and burden so the people behind you would gain happiness, that sounds pretty selfish… no, egomaniacal in my books," He continued, arms crossed. "But that isn't a bad thing. A hero's nature is being an egomaniac, after all."
"But if you take one stroke away from "Happy", it turns into "Pain"," Shinji said, not able to even just look at them. "I wanted to fight for justice so I can add that stroke, but all I did is just take that from everyone."
"Then don't fight for justice, fight for someone. Fight to protect that fragile happiness," Makoto said, taking in a deep breath. "Don't turn away from what you feel, face it head-on."
"I trust you, Shinji."
His eyes widened, and for the first time in his life, Shinji found himself genuinely speechless. Even after all this, what he had done…
Not willing to finish that thought, Shinji lowered his gaze to the ground. "Face it head on… huh," He murmured, nodding… to everyone, not just himself. As he clutched his eyes, he let out a breath, a new wave of resolve clear within his gaze. "...I'll try it out."
"You're done with licking each other's wounds now-"
"Quiet, you fucking nouveau riche!" Shutting Kaneshiro off, Shinji turned and faced him. Fist tightened. "Even though you just love to talk shit out of your ass, I'd say you got something right."
"I am a selfish person, I am an egomaniac, I am the worst person imaginable!" He shouted, his gaze locked on the shadow. "I'm not fighting for justice. I'm fighting because I am selfish enough to not let the people I care about be hurt!"
"And I want to be the hero to protect them all!"
"That 'justice' you are talking about... it's sickening! Boring! And maddening!" Seeing how Kaneshiro was shocked by the sudden resolve in his words, Shinji couldn't help but grin. "And if that's justice, then I'll gladly be the evil to crush that justice!"
"This is me, Izumo Shinji! The name of your demise!"
Also surprised by the words that came out of Shinji's mouth, Makoto couldn't help but let a smile emerge. "So he had made his choice," She said, holding her hands on top of her heart.
And in this moment, Shinji's heart harmonized with his words, and responded.
"You definitely have me waiting, Shinji."
Within an instant, a head-splitting headache struck Shinji, the same exact headache he witnessed in Makoto. Clutching his head, he kept standing and not allowing himself to fall down.
"Tell me, do you trust your heart?"
"Yes!" He exclaimed, opening his eyes and staring at the frightened form of Kaneshiro before him. And right now, his gaze not only was filled with rage but also resolve. He's not going to let his words be empty, not at all.
"Good! Then allow us to forge our long-awaited contract!"
Taking in a deep breath, he could see how his vision got blocked. As he touched his face, he could feel something, a mask. A full-solid mask with a pattern of exchanging black and white, emitting from the center like light rays. Shinji could already feel the mask that was attached to his skin, but he knew what he had to do.
"We selfishly take all the pain and bear them all, so others will enjoy happiness! We are not fighting for any so-called 'justice', we are fighting for whatever we like, whoever we like!"
Tightening his grip on the edge of the mask, he started to rip it off.
"I am thou, thou art I! We want to protect other people, and we'll trust our hearts!"
It was painful, it hurt a lot. However, Shinji knew it was the right thing to do, he couldn't let the mask cover his sight, to turn him away from his heart. And with gritted teeth and all his strength, he ripped the mask off of his face.
Blood splattered from where the mask once was, and the mask itself cluttered on the floor. Through the heavy pants, he looked down and noticed a small burst of blue flame emerge and covered his waist.
And a belt emerged. One that was nearly identical to Makoto's belt, but with a white base instead of the black belt for Makoto. With an oval front buckle with an azure-shaded turbine, there were also two markings of a 'crane' on either side of the buckle. With the same four round-shaped vents on each side. Alongside 2 Trapezoidal side buckles next on the side, just like Makoto's belt.
"Let's do this, Shinji."
"Yeah, let's do this, Napoleon."
Taking in a breath, Shinji held his left fist tightly above his heart, slowly lowering it until it was right above his belt's buckle. Then he immediately threw his other arm diagonally to his left, slightly bent toward himself.
"HENSHIN!"
In response, the azure turbine on Shinji's belt immediately started spinning, absorbing the wind around him. And the discarded mask suddenly burst into the same blue flame, spreading from the ground and covering Shinji's body.
With a constant barrage of wind coming from where he is, both Kaneshiro and the thieves had to Shield their faces with their arms.
As the turbine roared louder, the flames on Shinji's body were blown away by the gale. It revealed an all-black zipped-up leather biker jacket alongside biker pants of the same color and texture. And on his hands were a pair of navy blue leather gloves that extended to the middle of his forearms, with a pair of high heel biker boots in the same shade of navy blue.
Suddenly, more flame emerged and wrapped around his chest, revealing a silver vest-shaped chest armor with blue lines cutting through the middle and going along the edges. And on the back, an insect-wing-like decal engraved itself into it, alongside a number of marks inside the 'wing'. Finally, a lone round shoulder armor formed on his left shoulder, with a dark-blue shaded side cape that extended from the bottom of the armor, covering his left arm.
As the turbine glowed blue with its intensifying speed, he spread his arms and felt the wind blowing against him. And the blue lines on his chest armor glowed, as a sense of strength rushed through his entire body.
Suddenly, the turbine on the belt extended outward to further increase its speed, accompanied by blue flame bursting out from the vents. He kept his gaze ahead, tightening his loose palms into fists.
The flame that burst out from the vents grew larger as the turbine retracted, and a figure formed right behind Shinji. A figure cladded in a red long coat, a few medals hanging on his chest, over the black suit underneath. With a white mask that had an 'X' shaped visor over his face. With one hand holding the rein on the white horse he was riding, and a one-handed sword on the other.
With the flame around Shinji dissipating because of the wind, Shinji looked down at his gloved hands. "...It finally feels right now," He murmured, moving his gaze and locked onto Kaneshiro before him.
And the shadow was shocked at first, then became furious.
"Get this little shit!" He shouted, as a squad of guards with batons appeared from nowhere and formed right before him.
However, watching the guards approaching him, Shinji merely felt a… weird sense of calm and confidence surging inside. "Napoleon, do you think we can win or not?"
"We definitely can."
"Good to know," With his left fist held right above his belt, and his right arm thrown diagonally to his left side, a smirk emerged on Shinji's face.
Without another word, Shinii leaped into the air and flipped. He grabbed a guard's head and brought it to the ground, crushing it into a pile of black goo.
Rolling on the ground to avoid a baton's strike, he noticed how the guards swiftly surrounded him. Then a number of batons suddenly struck, sparks and flashes emerged on the batons as they sent electricity throughout Shinji's body.
He gritted his teeth and endured it all, and his fists started to vibrate violently. Then he slammed his fist into a guard, and it flew away and crashed into the wall with a loud "boom". Breaking the guard's formation.
"Tarukaja."
As the belt responded and spun, a red glow emerged from the ground and covered him. And he dashed, pulling out his billy club and throwing it at another guard.
"Napoleon! Zan!"
(Zan: light force damage to 1 foe.)
As the club made contact with the guard, it suddenly sent out an explosion of shockwaves. Sending the guard flying and crashing into the machine that was grinding the humanoid ATMs and blew up, as the club bounced back into Shinji's hand.
Turning back and facing more guards, he dashed and sent a flying knee to one of them. Its mask shattered and fell to the ground, and he delivered another roundhouse kick to another guard.
His masked gaze locked onto a different guard, he sent a right hook with all his might. As a wave exploded from his fist, it not only shattered the mask but sent it crashing to the ground. Cracks emerged on the floor around the body.
Suddenly, he saw a shadow loomed over him and looked back, another guard was standing up straight, baton raised. But before it could even move an inch, a loud gunshot rang and echoed. And the shadow limped and fell.
"We got the other lackeys!" Following the voice, Shinji saw Akira shouting at him, stuffing his hand cannon in his holster. "You get the big guy!"
And Akira's words held true, as Shinji saw the other Phantom Thieves fighting the other guards. He didn't know who most of them were, but he was thankful for their help. Turning back, Shinji sighed at the sight of another group of shadows. More precisely, six Sui-Ki and a giant Oni.
"This many, huh… 160 BPM it is then." Standing up, he pulled out both billy clubs from the holsters in his side buckles. And a little smirk formed on his face. "Zan!"
With a sudden blast of shockwave as he stomped the ground, Shinji leaped through the air and did a frontflip. Once he landed in the middle of the group, he immediately swung and struck the Sui-Kis with his clubs.
Each step, each strike, all following the rhythm of 160 bpm. It wasn't just a fight, but a dance—a dance of violence and efficiency. Every strike would always set up for another, not letting any of them take advantage of the gap of each beat.
However, the Sui-Kis still overwhelmed him with their number, pinning him down on the ground with their blades. Barely handling them with the steel sleeve in his gloves and boots, Shinji gritted his teeth as he struggled.
Suddenly, a bike flew through the air sideways and crashed into the Sui-Kis, knocking them away from Shinji. Hastily sitting up and looking at where the bike went, he saw Makoto stopping her bike sideways with a leg out. Her glare at the Sui-Kis was clear.
"Frei!"
In response, the armor part above the bike's back wheel opened up and shot out a few bombs, exploding in bright cyan as they impacted the ground near the shadows. Releasing the brake and letting the engine roar, Makoto sped through those Sui-Kis, turning them into pieces.
With smoke coming out from the wheel as she forcibly slowed her bike, she jumped and did a frontflip, landing next to Shinji.
She held out a hand toward him, a small smile on her face. Shinji paused for a few long moments, but took it and stood back up. Even though there was no word spoken between them, the soft smile on their face widened.
However, a huge "bang" sound interrupted their little moment, and they looked over at where the sound came from. The last remaining Oni picked up the glaive from the ground, leaving a crater at where it impacted.
"I guess he finally greeted us, huh?" Shinji said, as their hands were unlinked, and he took out his billy clubs once again. "You did some swift work for his lackeys."
"They're about to get you, dummy. You'd know how I respond," Chuckling to herself, the smile quickly faded as she readied her fists. "Crank it up, Shinji."
"Yeah, let's finish this, Makoto."
With that said, cyan light glowed from Makoto's legs as Shinji's vibrated violently. And the two leaped and flipped in unison, as their fists planted themselves into the Oni's abdomen. As the cyan-colored energy and shockwave exploded from their fists, it was sent back for a few meters.
However, with a rage-filled roar from the shadow, it rushed to its feet and swung at the two. Only to be easily dodged as the two rolled away, and their Persona both materialized.
"Tarukaja!" "Rakujaka!"
As an aura of red and purple light glowed around the two, the two sprung to their feet and rushed. They weaved through the blind swings from the Oni, and Shinji took the opportunity and swung his billy clubs directly at its head. Then he tanked a swing with his costume's armor pieces, holding the glaive in place as Makoto sent a flying knee to it and followed with a roundhouse kick.
Feeling the shadow's grip on the glaive loosen, Shinji pulled as hard as he could and struck it with his billy club. The glaive immediately got snapped in half, and he threw both parts away.
The two sprung to their feet again, approaching the staggered Oni with their fists held back. And the same cyan glow and vibration appeared on their fists, way brighter and more intense than the ones before. With a heavy step together, sending their fists and planted them right into the Oni's abdomen.
And their glare intensified, as they kept pushing onto the shadow.
"Steel… Fist… JUDGEMENT!"
With their shouts in perfect unison, the shockwave and cyan light exploded and blasted the shadow away. It crashed harshly into the wall, creating a huge crater in the drenched wall. But even after it all, the Oni was still alive and kicking. With another rage-filled roar, it staggered toward them.
"Still isn't enough, huh?"
Exchanging a knowing glance with each other, the two switched their position so Shinji was on Makoto's left. Their belt's turbine started spinning violently, flame burst out from the belt's vents. Makoto slowly raised her arms to her left side before swinging them to her right, as Shinji threw his right arm across his shoulder with his left fist tightened on top of his belt.
With the glow and vibration emerging on their feet, they jumped high into the air. They held their knees close to their chest as they reached the apex of their jump, and started spinning from the front.
Then they extended their legs as another shockwave exploded, propelling them toward the Oni at high speed. Fists tightened as they shouted in unison, again.
"Double RIDER KICK!"
Their kick impacted the shadow's chest, they kept on and pushed it crashing back into the wall. And as their extended legs bent when the Oni crashed to the wall, they jumped back with a backflip. Landing gracefully as the shadow exploded.
Panting heavily, Shinji was about to take a step forward when he felt his legs give up, only to be held up by Makoto's arm.
"Shinji, you're alright?!"
"I'm fine, just… I've never been this tired since you kicked my ass back in our Aikido class."
"...Dummy."
"I know."
Makoto turned back and noticed how the rest of the guards had been taken care of, they were gesturing over to the exit. Without another word, Johanna materialized next to her. And she dragged him and sat on the backseat, his arms wrapped around her.
She twisted the handle and heard the engine's roar, and the bike sprung into action.
[Evening, The hideout]
Gulping a whole bottle of energy drink down his throat in one go, Shinji gave out a long sigh of relief before he looked back up. Facing the thieves, for once without the weird costume inside Kaneshiro's palace.
"So… uh… First, I'd like to apologize for not listening to your words, Akira."
"I was going to scold you on this, but…" Trailing off, Akira just gave out a sigh in return. "Well, your mom is going to have some serious talk with you anyway, I'm not going to add more scolding than necessary."
"...Right, mom's gonna…" Suddenly, Shinji's gaze widened in shock. "Wait, that Kaneshiro knew about Mom! Then… is she safe?"
"She's safe," Makoto said. "I just called her, she's fine."
"Besides, Kaneshiro wouldn't know about anything that happened in his palace either," Ren added, his arms crossed. "So basically, you're fine now."
"...That's good to know," Nodding to himself as he gave out a breath of relief, Shinji paused for a few long moments before turning back at Ren. Then he scanned through the thieves, in a weird sense of awkward silence. "...Actually, I… think I don't know most of you, other than Akira and Makoto."
"...Oh."
As the thieves blinked in slight awkwardness, Ren cleared his throat before stepping forward. "Well, I'm Amamiya Ren, the leader of The Phantom. And I'm a transfer student."
"Oh okay, no wonder why I never saw you."
"I'm Sakamoto Ryuji," Ryuji took the next spot, but not before tilting his head in confusion. "But seriously, ain't you former-vice-student-council-president before? You didn't recognize me?"
"I… I spend most of my time there just watching Tokusatsu shows and movies with Makoto, so… yeah."
"F'real?" Eyes widened, and the ex-runner turned his gaze at Makoto, who just blushed and looked away.
"I'm Takamaki Ann," Ann followed, but there was a slight hint of guilt on her face. "And um… I was quite mean to Niijima before, I'm sorry."
"I… I hurt her much more than what you could, so…" Casting a nervous glance at Makoto, Shinji relaxed as she just shook her head in return. "Well, it's in the past, let's move on."
"Right."
"Kitagawa Yusuke, we're both in Kosei, Izumo-kun," Yusuke said. "You're actually quite infamous, both because of your actions outside of the school, and what happened with Higashikuni-san."
"...That's obvious, but…" Trailing off, recognition suddenly filled Shinji's gaze. "Wait, you're Madarame's pupil… my condolences."
"Thank you."
"And I'm Morgana, nice to meet you," As the last one to introduce himself in The Phantom, Morgana (in his cat form) climbed onto Ren's shoulder and greeted him.
In response, Shinji merely widened his gaze in shock, "...You're a cat, a talking cat."
"No, I'm not! Don't you dare call me a cat!"
"But you're…" Choosing not to finish that sentence, Shinji merely sighed and shook his head. "Y'know what, after seeing everything, and awakening to Napoleon. This is the least weird thing I've seen in this life."
"I'm Kamisaki Keigo, also a transfer student," Keigo was next, as he held out a hand toward Shinji. "I'm mostly here because Kirijo-san asked me to keep an eye on her precious cousin."
"You know I can just tell Mitsuru about that, right?" Akira deadpanned, but the half-Frenchman merely shrugged in return.
"It's an open secret, you hold no leverage against me, Akira."
Chuckling, Shinji took Keigo's hand and shook it. "Well, nice to meet you, Kamisaki."
"I'm Togo Hifumi, but you probably know me," Hifumi said, giving out a long sigh. "Besides, you've caused a LOT of problems for Hinaki."
"I… yeah, I'll apologize to her when I return to school," Shinji nodded with a wry smile.
"Well, I'm Suzui Shiho," Taking the next place, Shiho gave out a bittersweet smile. "You probably remember me from… Akashi-chan though."
"...Yeah, and…" Taking in a deep breath to calm himself, Shinji continued. "Did that creep did… anything to you?"
"He almost did... But Akira here saved me. And I did play a part in changing his heart too."
"Oh that's… good to know," With a breath of relief, Shinji noticed the subtle gaze between Akira and Shiho. And the dots connected in record time in his mind. "And oh, Akira, when's the wedding?"
Suddenly, an aura of awkward silence filled the entire group, and both Akira and Shiho's cheeks both got painted a deep shade of pink. The silence continued further, only to be broken as Keigo couldn't help but let out an uncharacteristic laugh. Then slowly followed by a chuckle from everyone.
"I…" Finding no word to properly respond to his old friend, Akira crouched. His face was buried in his palms. "Not you too…"
"But it's really obvious."
"I know, you don't need to rub salt on our wound," Sighing loudly, Akira stood back up. As he noticed the gaze Makoto gave to Shinji, he clapped his hands together. "Anyway, back to business. Now that you have a Persona and stuff…"
"You want me to join the Phantom Thieves, right?" Finishing the sentence for him, Shinji nodded without hesitation. "Count me in. Kaneshiro's still a threat to us, and it's not like I'd like to rush in alone either."
"That's quick," Ren commented.
"This is just how he is," Shaking his head with a soft smile, Akira noticed the gaze Makoto was giving him. Frankly, everyone else noticed too, aside from Shinji or Makoto. "And well, I think you two have quite a lot of catching up to do. So… let's call it a day."
With a nod from everyone, the hideout was quickly emptied, leaving Makoto and Shinji.
As the orange hue of the setting sun shined from outside and into the crossover, Shinji just blinked at the efficiency of the hideout's emptying speed.
"Well, they sure leave fast," Turning back and facing Makoto, he was surprised by a tight hug from her. "...Um… I..."
"Don't you dare say stuff like "You're not worthy", It's not something for you to decide," Cutting him off with her muffled voice, Makoto just tightened her hug. "I miss you."
"...I miss you too," Even though hesitance was clear in his gaze, Shinji still wrapped his arms around her. "I'm sorry, for everything. It… it must hurt, right?"
"It's… the most painful days of my life," Feeling his arms tightened around her, Makoto continued. "So from now on, you have to make it up for me, okay?"
"I will. I promise," Hearing a soft chuckle from her, a soft smile emerged on Shinji's face.
"Actually, Shinji… remember what Ichijo said about the Kanji of "Happy" and "Pain"?"
"Yeah, I do. What about it?"
"...I want to say you're my… you're that one stroke to me," Even though he couldn't see her face right now, he could guess how deep the shade of crimson would be for her.
"I'll try my best to keep being the best stroke it can be then," Closing his eyes for a moment, he turned his gaze at the city view outside. "Well, I… I'm being honest here, to my heart and to you, Mako-chan."
"I love you."
Feeling how her entire body was frozen by those words, Shinji was surprised when Makoto suddenly looked up. Directly into his eyes, as tears of happiness formed around hers. "I… I love you too, Shin-chan."
With a smile on their lips, they moved their head closer to each other, and intertwined their lips. And it lasted forever, for them. As if to make up for all those time apart.
When they finally released their lips, the smile remained.
"...My heart feels a lot better now," Shinji said, as Makoto nodded in agreement. "But uh… still, mom's gonna rip me a new one when I return home."
"I can come with you if you want.I wanna do some catch-up on Ise-san too."
"You don't have to do this, Mako-chan."
"I want to."
"Well, uh…" Rubbing the back of his neck, Shinji awkwardly laughed before releasing the hold around her. And instead, he held her hand, their fingers intertwined. "Let's go then, shall we?"
In response, Makoto smiled brightly and nodded.
(To be continued)
Preview:
With newfound revolves, and newfound teammates, the thieves' infiltration went into full action.
As they venture deeper into the bank, they encountered weirder and weirder encounters.
Including a discovery at the bottom of said bank.
Next Chapter:
"Break A safe"
Stay tuned!
So even though it's a day late than the deadline I set for myself, here's Chapter 46!
And of course, Shinji's awakening!
First, before anyone comments, I know you all were somewhat confused by the second title of this chapter's title "Where You Go". It's actually a reference to a song in the OST for Shin Kamen Rider, which not only fits how the last scene (more specifically, after everyone left.) But also, it's more personal, but the songs gave a feeling of "blew by a breeze of wind", which fits with the title "Gale" (Kinda). So yeah, that's why it's different from what I decided from the last chapter's preview.
Also, I finally can sneak the famous Evangelion reference of "I mustn't run away" here XD. And yeah, Shinji's name does come from Ikari Shinji.
And for his element, it's actually Force from the SMT side of... SMT games. Originally I thought he was going to be an Almighty user. But after Strikers came out, I realized how he literally for the exact same skill set as Zenkichi, I changed the element to something SMT-exclusive to just make it unique (Thank you RosyMiranto18 for the suggestion all the way back then too!)
And oh right, the "Steel Fist Judgement" thing they shouted. It's actually a bit more direct translation of Makoto's famous "Fist of Justice". In Japanese it's actually "鉄拳制裁", which does mean "Steel Fist Judgement" if you translate it directly. And in my opinion, it's a lot cooler than just 'Fist of Justice". So... yeah. I know she shouted "Fist of Justice" in the last chapter during Makoto's fight, I'm mostly just here to kinda ease it in.
Anyway, let's get to the elephant of the room. So Shinji's Awakening, it's actually quite full of Shin Kamen Rider references. Especially on the dialogue XD (I watched the movies five times, and basically paid all my attention to the English subtitle there to remember how they translate it. It's hard.) So here, I'd do some explanation on some of the lines.
First, for the Kanji, it was talking the Kanji of "幸（happiness）" and "辛（Pain）". As you can see, they are just one stroke away from each other. It's one line in the movie that I love a lot, especially how it is tied to Ichimonji Hayato (Kamen Rider No.2). So Ichimonji in Kanji is "一文字". While meant "one word', or "one stroke". Actually, I think I kinda missed the opportunity to name Shinji "Ichimonji Shinji" instead XD. Well, it's too late, and I'm with "Izumo".
And for the "It finally feels right now/My heart feels a lot better now" line, they're actually the same line in Japanese "心スッキリだ (which directly means "It clears my mind". But it isn't the best way in the context.)"
Also, the awakening fight for Shinji is actually a lot less brutal than what I originally intended, I guess the other fight beforehand took the awakening had the brutalty meter dialed to 11, then this awakening fight would be more akin to a hero fight. But still, I like how it turned out in the end.
Overall, the dark part of this arc is finally over, and the tone would be a little bit lighter from this chapter on.
Anyway, I hope you all enjoy the story so far, favorites and reviews are welcome!