[June 26th, early morning, Shibuya Central Street]
As the sun set and rose, it should just be another day for Shibuya. Another day of normalcy, shrouded in the threat of mafia and extortion. However, as everyone went on their routine, all they could see was nothing but red and blue.
To be specific, the entirety of Shibuya Street was covered in calling cards. Both in red, and blue.
Some of the pedestrians had their phones out and started recording, while some other approached with confusion.
"What the- is this some kind of marketing campaign?"
"Look, there's a bunch of there, too!"
"It said it's from the Phantom Thieves…"
"The Phantom… and The Fools?"
"...Junya Kaneshiro? Who's that?"
Standing among the crowd of pedestrians, Aoi stepped forward and took two off the wall. One red, and one blue. And as her eyes scanned through the text on the calling cards, a small sigh escaped from her mouth. On the one hand, she was slightly disappointed by the change of event, letting them taking the lead again. But, on the other hand…
"I guess you guys are taking care of that prick then, Phantom Thief."
Walking away from the gathering crowds, Aoi took out her notebook again. She flipped to the pages containing Kaneshiro's name and crossed it out. However, her cold gaze turned to the newly added name next to Kaneshiro's.
Okata Taiga.
Or in other words, that prick who personally threatened the Akashis. Especially Naoko.
"...It's a shame, but… you're next."
Closing the notebook and putting it back in her backpack, Aoi walked off and disappeared into the crowd.
Meanwhile, staring at the street filled with the calling cards, Hinaki and Hajime couldn't help but be surprised. They were supposed to visit the Akashis after they heard what happened with Naoko from principal Hoshido, not see this.
"That's…" The two squeezed through the gathering crowds, and Hinaki took a calling card off of the wall. "...It's about the mafia."
"...Kaneshiro… Junya," Hajime's eyes widened at the mention of that name. "So that's the boss's name, huh?"
"It is," She nodded. "The calling card left nothing for speculation, after all."
"Then… that's good to know," Letting out a small breath of relief, Hajime set his eyes on the calling-card-filled wall before them. "Finally, some good news after nothing but bad news for the last few weeks."
"But it shouldn't be that."
Surprised by Hinaki's words, Hajime turned toward her. "Hime-sama?"
"We are relying on vigilantes to fix problems like this, and it shouldn't be like that," Hinaki sighed, shaking her head. "I guess this is the only way now…"
"You have a point, Hime-sama," Replicating her reaction, Hajime set his gaze back on the callings. And that group of teens in WIlton flashed in his mind again. They're nothing but a group of teens like him, and to think they're going after a mafia boss…
"...Good luck, Phantom Thieves."
[Inside Public Prosecutor Office, ground floor]
"Here, breakfast for you, Sae."
Putting down the sandwich and canned coffee on the table, Konan sat down on the seat across from Sae. Right now, they were at a table on the ground floor of the Public Prosecutor Office, not too far from a nearby convenience store too.
"Thank you, Konan."
However, watching how the young prosecutor still buried her head behind the screen of her laptop, Konan couldn't help but let out a sigh. Right now, as much as she wanted to say otherwise, all Konan could see was an overworked person. A cog that's carrying too much weight, way over its limit.
"So Sae, I… how many days had you stayed here?"
Even though she couldn't see Sae's reaction, the pause of her typing said enough. "...A couple of days, I did go back home for a shower though."
"We both know whether you had a shower or not isn't important, Sae," Shaking her head, Konan peeked over the laptop screen, her brow furrowed at the dark circles around Sae's eyes. "You know, I'm gonna take the coffee from you, it'd only do more bad than good."
"...Why?"
"Because you're relying on it too much," Konan deadpanned. "Just… can't you at the very least just take a few minutes break and have some breakfast?"
"I'm not a PI like you, Konan. A break is a luxury for me-"
"Oh c'mon, a few minutes wouldn't hurt, right?" Cutting Sae off, Konan put her hands on the top of the laptop screen. "Please?"
"You're going to slam my laptop shut if I say 'no', right?"
"Knowing you, I need to be more assertive," The young Private Investigator said, letting out another sigh. "So please, just a few minutes break, okay? At least like, do it for me or something?"
"I…"
For a few moments, a thousand replies rushed and passed through the tired mind of Niijima Sae. She had every right to just say no, with the biggest reason being that there's just no break for a public prosecutor. And that's before the whole Phantom Thieves situation.
However, she just couldn't refute Konan's words. Ise-san already said similar words to her not long ago too, just to add more to that.
"...Fine, I'll take a few minutes break then," Closing the laptop, Sae took the sandwich on the table and took a bite. "...Oh, eggs and ham, huh?"
"We've known each other for years. Of course, I'd know what your favorite is," Supporting her head with her palms, Konan let out a cheeky smile. "Actually how many years has this been?"
"Ten years, ever since you just barged into my business in High school," Sae replied, without skipping a bit. "Time flies…"
"Yeah, and now Makoto-chan is at the same age as when we met…" Trailing off, Konan's eyes widened for a little. "Actually, how's Makoto-chan, since now you're practically living here."
"...Me and Ise-san talked, and now she's living at her place with Shinji-kun," The young prosecutor paused, letting out a sigh as she took a sip of the canned coffee. "I guess giving some distance between us would help."
"That's… wait, you mean Shinji-kun as in…"
"Yep, they got back together."
"...Huh, that's good to know," Nodding, Konan suddenly found herself at a loss of words. Of course, she wanted to pry deeper about them. But this just seemed like a sensitive topic for Sae. "Anyway, maybe… we can have a dinner tonight, just take some time off from work?"
"You know that I'm busy-"
"C'mon, just one night, please?"
"...I'll consider it," Tugging her hair aside, Sae opened her laptop again. The few minutes break was over now, back to work and the cases.
However, before her hands touched the laptop's keyboard, her phone suddenly buzzed like crazy. Pulling it out, her raised gaze widened at the notifications. And in the meantime, Konan watched her reaction with concern.
"Sae? What happened?"
"...It's the Phantom Thieves," Sae said, closing her laptop and starting to pack her belongings. "Shibuya is full of calling cards right now, and it's for Kaneshiro."
"...You mean THAT Kaneshiro?"
"I can't be sure, but it seemed like it." Standing up from her seat, Sae took both the coffee and half-eaten sandwich. "Anyway, I got to go. And… I'll think about your offer."
With that said, Sae walked toward the elevator at a quick pace, leaving Konan all alone. And as there was nothing but her own thought accompanying her, followed by hesitance.
"I guess… that's the only way to deal with him."
[Akashi Bakery]
For Ryota and Ritsumi, they had expected to just have another day under the fear of the mafia's threat. But when they arrived at the bakery, they certainly didn't expect to see a sight like this.
The entire street was covered in those small calling cards, just like what they had seen on the news about Madarame's exhibition. However, unlike the rest of the street, only a red calling card was on their bakery's roller door.
The two approached them and took it from the wall, reading it with confusion, curiosity, and anxiety.
To the Akashis,
We are going after the source of those threats you and Naoko suffered through.
And we promise that Kaneshiro and his goon can't threaten and extort you anymore.
We know it's a tough ask, but please, believe in us.
Everything will be alright.
From The Phantom Thieves of Heart, The Phantom/The Fools.
With their gazes slowly widened with each word they read, Ritsumi and Ryota found themselves in disbelief. For once, there seemed to be like… something resembled a light for them.
It's nothing more than an ember, but it's enough amidst this endless darkness.
"Ryota… that's…" Trailing off, Ritsumi's voice quivered. "Are we…"
"...I guess this is the best chance we have," He replied, letting out a shaky breath. "But Naoko, do we tell her?"
"Of course we do," Ritsumi said. "She… she needs to know."
"...Right."
[Meanwhile, inside a certain club]
Under the violet light, Kaneshiro sat at the corner of his couch with his girl by his side. He had heard about what happened with Okata, and he definitely would scold him later on. Not that he did anything too wrong in his book, just… too early.
That family still had some value in them, they should just squeeze them out first. THEN they collect that debt for the girl…
However, before a mere chuckle could be let out by his own thoughts, it was interrupted by someone barging into the room. It was Fujimura, who Kaneshiro only remembered because he was handling most of the driving for him.
"E-excuse me, sir, but…" Noticing the glare on his boss's face, Fujiwara gulped before holding up two cards. More specifically, two calling cards, one in red and one in blue. "Uh, I found them on the car. There's something written on them…"
"Hm? Read it," With his glare softened for a bit, Kaneshiro leaned more into his cough, crossing his legs.
"Um, but…"
"I said, read it!"
Shocked and terrified by the sudden outburst, the driver gulped again. Casting his gaze on the red card in his right hand, he started reading.
"Sir Kaneshiro Junya, the money-devouring sinner of gluttony,
You indulge in scamming others with horrendous methods that target minors exclusively.
We have decided to make you confess all your crimes with your own mouth. We will take your distorted desire without fail.
From Phantom Thief of Heart, The Phantoms."
For minutes after he finished reading the red calling card, the room was filled with nothing but silence. With his own heartbeat slowly getting louder, Fujimura kept his eyes on his boss. Who had nothing but a scowl.
"...What's on the other card," He finally said, gesturing at the card in Fujimura's other hand.
"But sir… isn't it bad?"
"Didn't you hear what I said, read it!"
Taken back, Fujimura halted for a few moments. With a hesitant nod, he cast his gaze to the other calling card. And once again, he started reading.
"To Kaneshiro Junya,
You think you can be above justice, threatening and causing the suffering of innocents for nothing but your own gluttony.
We have seen enough.
We will take your distorted desire, and make you face the long overdue karma.
From the Phantom Thief of Heart, The Fools."
Seeing Kaneshiro's scowl only worsened when he finished reading the calling card, Fujimura lowered his hand with a clear shiver. Of course, there was no 'higher-up' for him to worry about, Kaneshiro was the higher-up here. However, first it was that kid who barged in and got himself beat, then more of those children coming in. And now this…
"S-sir? Isn't it… bad?"
"What of it?"
"I-I mean, your name is clearly written on it…"
"So? So some kind of "Phantom Thief of Heart" will steal my desire or something?" Kaneshiro retorted, leaning forward with a glare. "Just keep quiet for now, and stop wasting your time worrying about shit like this."
However, instead of the usual nod of obedience, the hesitance was clear in Fujimura. "But… sir, it's… posted all around Shibuya. And it's spreading online as well-"
"Then?" Hearing no response from him, the Hangure boss groaned out of frustration. "Fuck it. Fujimura, tell everyone to bring me their earning"
"I guess I'll have to do some clean-up…"
"Y-yes sir!"
With a frantic nod, Fujimura hastily moved out of the room. Leaving Kaneshiro alone with his girl, who stayed silent throughout the entire conversation. However, the fear and anxiety were still clear within her gaze.
Unaware to all of them, deep inside the void called "Kaneshiro Junya's heart". His shadow stood with arrogance and anger, as he tucked his silver suit. A suit weaved by nothing but suffering from the innocents.
"Phantom Thief? Don't make me laugh."
[Meanwhile, Shibuya Crossway (Current Phantom Thief Hideout)]
With the thieves all gathered in their hideouts, they could hear the murmurs from the passing pedestrians. Even though they could only make out a few words among the murmurs, it was enough for them to be sure of one thing.
"So have you seen the central street?"
"It's those 'Phantom Thief' thing again, huh?"
"Maybe we should go and check it out?"
"The news sure spread quickly," Ren said, pushing his glasses. "With this pace, Kaneshiro definitely had seen it."
"It's all over the street, it's hard NOT to see it in the first place," Ann said, looking worried at Ryuji. "But Ryuji, your leg's alright?"
"Welp, I'm fine, surprisingly," Ryuji said, struggling to keep a yawn from forming. "But… man, I hate stayin' up all night, man."
"Well, we can't just post the calling card when there are that many people in the street, after all," Shinji said, giving him an apologetic nod. "Sorry, but that's pretty much our only way."
"Still, the only way to confirm it is to get into the palace and check," Akira said, shifting his gaze onto him. "But Shinji, you don't need to write that letter to Ritsumi-san and Ryota-san… why?"
For a few seconds, Shinji found himself pondering. It was a move that he didn't put much thought into, just a move out of impulse after the hospital visit. But…
"...I just want to give them a bit of hope," He said, his grip on the steel fence tightened. "When Makoto and I went to the hospital, I… I see them just engulfed by despair. They've lost Kimiko before, and now Kaneshiro is threatening Naoko too."
"I know it might give them something to figure us out, but… I want to just… give them something," Pausing for a moment, Shinji turned toward Akira. Determination was clear within his gaze. "I want them to know their suffering won't last a single day longer, that there's a spark in the darkness."
"Shinji…" Trailing off, Akira took in a deep breath and patted his shoulder. It might be a bit reckless, but he understood. "So, failure is out of our option then. Even if it's obvious from the beginning."
"Yeah, we can't," Makoto spoke up, her arms crossed and squeezed tightly. "For everyone's sake."
"Makoto-Senpai, you're… gonna be alright?" Shiho asked out of worry.
"As I said, Shin-chan'll be there to keep me in check," She nodded, giving Shiho a faint smile of reassurance. "Besides, it's more than personal matters. It's not a fight for revenge."
"Well, we can talk more after the heist," Keigo said, phone in his hand and with the Meta-Nav opened. "Still, ready?"
In response, everyone nodded. And with the familiar artificial voice, the world around them bent and distorted.
[Kaneshiro's palace, Underground Vault]
As the distortion around them passed, the sound of blaring sirens was all the thieves could hear. Accompanied by the crimson tint in the night sky, it served as the confirmation they needed.
Without a word needed to be said, the thieves broke into a dash into the vault. After all, they couldn't teleport into a saferoom when the alarm level was at its max. And they kept running, only killing the shadows in their way.
Before long, they were inside the bottommost floor of the underground vault. Only to be faced with a giant vault door, with roll after roll perpetual spinning dials. And to make it worse, Kaneshiro's shadow was there, waiting for them.
"So you decide to show yourself, huh?" He said, keeping a shit-eating grin on his face. "Try to think you're big shot and expose me, you think it'd change anything?"
"Yeah, we are," Joker said, pulling out his dagger. "We said we're going to change your heart, and we're good at keeping our promise."
"We're gonna make you confess to everything you've done. That'll save all those people who're suffering 'cause of your shitty actions," Skill added, full of anger. "You think you're above the police just because they're strugglin' to deal with you, but that's when we're gonna come in."
"So? Don't you know how this world works?" Kaneshiro laughed, his grin shifted into a smirk. "Those in power work the ones below them to the bone for money. And right now, I'm at the top."
"Accept your fate and bow before me!"
"We'll never agree to that!" Fox shouted, his glare clear behind the mask.
"Hierarchy? You have to be out of your mind," Panther said.
"All of that was forced on me too, you know!" For once, the smirk on Kaneshiro's face turned into a scowl. "I went through shit until I crawled my way out of the dregs! Do you know how much I sacrificed?!"
"Now, it's MY turn to profit on everyone else!"
"That doesn't mean shit," King said, tightening his grip on his billy clubs. "You think you have the right to make other people suffer just because you went through shit?"
"If you're trying to justify your action, then you're doing an atrocious job at it," Raven added. "Besides, didn't you just get your old boss killed so you can be at the top?"
In a sudden, a look of shock emerged on Kaneshiro at Raven's words. However, as quickly as the look emerged, a smirk followed.
"...Oh, so you've heard it all, huh?" He said, looking as if somehow this revelation gave him a moral high ground against the thieves. "Listen, you don't just work hard, but work smart as well. And that's what I did."
"By getting people killed so you can make people suffer for money?" Swan retorted, gripping the handle of her swordwhip.
"What a pathetic excuse of a man…" Majesty added.
"That's how the world works, kiddos. Everything only works for the one who gets the spot," Kaneshiro laughed, hiding the fact that their words did sting. Even just for a little. "Look at me, I'm the perfect example of work smart instead-"
"We've had enough of your bullshit, Kaneshiro," Queen interrupted him, revolver in her hand. Struggling to keep the urge to point it at his smug face. "You think we're gonna change our mind just because of some nonsense like you've been through stuff?"
"You can keep spilling bullshit, but we're making you face the consequences," King added, holding his billy clubs tightly. "Giving you some much-needed beatings."
"...So you kiddos just HAVE to be naive and stubborn as shit, huh?" Kaneshiro said, as his body started to twitch. As if something was about to burst out from within him, or… he was starting to molt. "Fine, I'm not scared to get my hands dirty anyway."
And then, Kaneshiro started… changing. His eyes bulged and enlarged until it's about to pop out from the sockets, then the black ooze emerged from his eyes and spread throughout his entire body. With a cough that led to a laugh, he started rubbing his palms, just as a pair of insect wings burst through his suit. And now, his eyes were completely replaced by bug-like red eyes. No, it wasn't bug-like, it was a pair of compound eyes.
"Wassup Yo?! Now come and get some!" The now morphed shadow yelled, with a sudden change in attitude. Instead of the sleazy mob boss beforehand. Now he was acting more like… a rapper, a crude imitation of one. A mockery of them.
"A fly, huh? Fitting," Even with his eyes covered by his mask, King's glare was still as clear as day. "Now we got more reasons to punch the smug smirk off of his face."
"You filthy fly on dirty money…" With her fist tightened, Queen slammed her fist into an open palm. "I won't forgive you, never."
As the thieves immediately readied their weapons, a squad of guards suddenly emerged from the ground and surrounded them. Unlike the guards they had faced before, these new ones were wearing outfits that resembled a suit. In a way, they were more akin to Secret Service agents than just mere guards.
"He just not gonna play fair…" Joker murmured, but not before a smirk emerged on his face. "Well, I guess we're gonna spread out for a bit then."
"Let's do this," Jester said, his scythe formed in his hand. "For everyone's sake."
"Gyahahahaha!" With a mocking laugh, Kaneshiro pointed at them extravagantly. "Aight, here we go, you pieces of shit!"
Without any hesitation or delay, the thieves split up and engaged in combat with those guards. Even though they had more reinforced gear compared to the other guards they had faced before, it still wasn't enough under their counterstrikes.
With each shield the guards brought, the thieves shattered it with one strike. With each strike, the thieves dodged with ease, a million more wounds appeared on those guards. Each crushed mask, each pool of black goos they left behind after their defeat…
There was one thing clear, and it's that those guards were nothing challenging for the Phantom Thieves. No matter with their number, their power with their Personas, or their teamwork. For the thieves, it was nothing but another bump on the road.
As the last guard fell before the thieves, they could see the shock and fear on Kaneshiro's face. After all, the probability of "his premium guards being easily wiped out by the thieves" was not in his mind. Even with his move to put them to sleep, Mona still easily countered it…
"That's all you got?" With his pistol raised and pointed at him, Joker smirked. "For a guy to consider himself invincible, you're pretty bad at being that, man."
"Hiding behind a shield held by someone else, you're nothing but just a coward," Queen added, pulling the hammer of her revolver as she aimed.
"Urgh… I paid them extra, and this is what I get…" His fist tightened and shivered in rage, Kaneshiro took his step back. One at a time, toward the vault door behind him. "Guess I'll have to bring out the big guns then."
With that said, the center of the spinning vault door suddenly opened like a door. And without a second thought, he climbed into the vault itself. Slamming the door shut before the spinning 'dials' around the center stopped, and the ground started shaking.
The thieves fell to their knees from the trembling ground, the trembling that only intensified with each dial on the wall that stopped turning. For a moment, it didn't feel like it was locking them out of the vault itself, but to keep something inside caged.
It wasn't a lock for them, but a lock for something worse.
With each stopped dial, the vault door wasn't the only thing that started changing. All of a sudden, the wall of the room expanded into a full-blown arena. Instead of just a vault room, it's now more akin to the platform of the Colosseum. And they were the gladiators, about to face something truly monstrous.
And on top of it all, pillars suddenly extended downward from the ceiling, stopping midway from the floor. However, it wasn't what the thieves were focusing on. In some way, they didn't even notice those pillars above.
As the final dial halted, the vault door split in the middle and opened, revealing… a giant piggybank made of steel. But from the spring on each of its legs, it wasn't just a static piggybank, but something more.
Looking up at the piggy bank before them, Jester said with a frown on his face. "You just have to jinx it, Joker?"
"Well, him having… this is certainly not on my bingo card for today," Joker sweatdropped, but still pointing his pistol at it.
"I don't think 'a giant piggybank' is on anyone's bingo card either," Raven chimed in, deadpanned. "But things are getting a bit more complicated now."
"Behold, my magnificent… Piggytron!" In response to his words, the 'eyes' of the piggy suddenly opened. And two miniguns emerged. "Now Die!"
In an instant, Piggytron opened fire.
Eyes widened in surprise, the thieves immediately moved away and scattered. There were only two of those miniguns, and they got a lot more than just two members here. It couldn't just target them all at once.
"Arsene!" Stopping his dash into a slide, the crimson-winged demon materialized behind Joker. "Eiga!"
"Blast it into pieces, Captain Kidd!"
"Show your might, Zorro!"
"Dance, Carmen!"
"Come, Goemon!"
"Johanna, fire!"
In an instant, multi-colored energy struck the Piggytron and exploded, leaving a layer of smoke that obscured it from the thieves. However, before the smoke faded away, Kaneshiro's laughter had confirmed one thing for them.
"You think that'd work against my magnum opus, Piggytron?" Just as they feared, other than some scratches, there was no clear sign of any damage to it. "Do you know how much money I've spent on it? How much of MY money?"
"Like if we care," Jester said, his mask melted away in the azure flame as Moriarty emerged behind him. "Mangum Shot!"
"La Pucelle! Kouga!"
"Fou Roux, Atomic Shard!"
"Odani-dono! Psio!"
"Napoleon! Emperor's Rush!"
With another barrage of attacks, another wave of explosions emerged on Piggytron. But another burst of bullets retaliated through the smoke, forcing them to dodge once again. And as the smoke faded away, the top part of Piggytron suddenly opened up. And within it were a row of missiles.
And it fired immediately, not giving them a moment for breather at all.
Eyes widened in shock, the thieves scattered and ran toward the back walls. However, even though the missiles impacted the ground, the shockwaves of the explosion still knocked them away. Down on the ground.
"How's that, huh?" With his voice of arrogance ringing throughout the entire colosseum, another set of missiles emerged on the top of PIggytron, ready to barrage the thieves again.
"D-dammit…" Jester groaned as he struggled to stand back up, using his scythe for support. "We can't really deal with it in the normal way."
"We didn't even make anything more than a dent on its hull," Mona said, as Zorro materialized and healed their wounds. "We need something else."
"Yeah…" Raven nodded, taking out his light machine gun. "Maybe freezing it with ice and shattering it would help?"
"Maybe," Joker said, pulling out his dagger. "Can't really be sure unless we do some experiment."
With that said, the thieves moved out again, with Fox and Raven taking the lead in their charge. Just as they thought, the pair of miniguns opened fire again, followed by another barrage of missiles.
Quickening his pace, Raven and Fox slid on the ground and aimed their guns toward the missiles. And they pulled the trigger without a hint of hesitation, with their bullets ripped through the missiles. In an instant, the missiles blew up and created a smoke wall between them.
And that's what they needed right now.
"Fou Roux!"
"Goemon!'
Another barrage of ice shards sped through the smoke wall created by the explosions, impacting the pig-like fortress and growing like a virus. Eroding the steel hull, making it more prone to be broken.
With light glowing from within her rifle's chamber, Swan peeked over the smoke and fired. Shattering the ice on Piggytron, alongside a layer of steel it eroded. Right now, the hull of Piggytron wasn't a flawless, impenetrable layer of steel. But a hull with a crack, an open wound.
Not letting this chance go to waste, Majesty and Panther followed up with their weapons. And through the dissipating smoke wall, a barrage of bullets and arrows struck Piggytron. More specifically, the opened wound Fox and Raven created moments ago.
However, Kaneshiro also knew about this as well.
All of a sudden, its 'legs' compressed like a spring and bounced, lifting it off of the ground and retracting it. And it dropped to the ground, sending a gigantic shockwave and knocking the thieves away.
"That's effin' cheating, man…" Skull groaned. "But… Did we do anything?"
"it cracked the outer shell, so that's a start-" Looking up, Jester's gaze widened at the sight before him. Even though electric sparks could be seen from the cracked part of Piggytron, it started to… 'heal' itself. "You've gotta be kidding me."
"Hahahaha! Look how my nano-self-healing works beautifully! My invincible Piggytron!" Kaneshiro's voice once again rang throughout the arena, Piggytron's miniguns pointed at the downed thieves. "I told you, just bow before me and I might consider to let you go. But nah, it's too late now!"
"At least we know this piggybank is not invincible…" Using his scythe as support, Jester got up in a kneeling position. "We just need to exploit the crack we made, and quickly too."
"Easier said than done, Jester," Majesty said, standing up with a hint of shaking in her knees. "But…it seems like the only way."
"So how are we gonna deal with the healing stuff?" King asked.
"Well, we have the number to spare…" Jester trailed off, glancing at the grappling hook in his waist's holster. "I have an idea."
"We can have Raven and Fox ice as much space as possible, then someone to break the ice, And then someone else to break this pig in one move," He said, "While the rest of us keep it busy and buy time."
"I was going to say that's pretty obvious, but…" Joker chuckled, pulling out his pistol. "That's probably the best chance we have."
"I agree, but who's gonna do it?" Swan asked, cocking her rifle. "A charged round from my sniper could break the ice without problem, but it's not that deep."
"I can help with Memento Mori, that should do the work," Jester said, showing his new hand cannon. "So for the kill shot…"
"I think Queen and King should do it," Panther chimed in, catching everyone by surprise. "They should end it."
"Panther…" Eyes widened in surprise, Queen exchanged a glance with King. They knew it was a great weight on their shoulders, but a second chance wasn't something in their option right now. Besides, to defeat him in one strike… In other words, they needed a finishing move.
And they just happened to have the perfect one.
"We need some speed for our belts to work at maximum capacity, but… that should do it," Sharing a nod between them, she took a deep breath and turned toward the thieves. "We'll be counting on you all then."
"Same here," Joker nodded, pulling the slide of his pistol. "Well then, about the whole buying time part…"
"Those pillars in the ceiling should let us grapple on them," Raven pointed out. "Then how about The Phantoms move on the ground, while we, The Fools go on the air to distract him further?"
"Relying on our grappling hook?" Majesty took a look at her grappling hook. "That's new, but I can try."
"Can't be a phantom thief without some good ol' grappling action, after all," Jester said, chuckling to himself. "Sure, let's do this."
"It doesn't sound as cool as you think it is, Jester," Swan deadpanned, sighing at she pulled out her grappling hook as well. "But either way, let's do this."
With that said, the thieves moved out again. Picking up their pace with each step toward the mechanical piggy bank before them.
In return, seeing how the thieves moved out again, a snark grin emerged on Kaneshiro's face. Inside the protection of his beloved fortress. "You're still being this stubborn, huh?" He said, pulling the trigger and opening fire.
"Now!" Jester yelled, firing his grappling hook and latched on the pillars on the ceilings. Followed by the sound of the others firing their own grappling hooks, pulling themselves into the air.
"Moriarty! Eiga!"
"La Pucelle! Kouga!"
Their Personas behind them, a blast of light and dark struck Piggytron. Even though it didn't do much damage, it was enough to catch Kanesiro's ire. With a groan coming from the giant fortress, one of the miniguns pointed upward. Directly at them.
However, before it could open fire, The Phantoms on the ground immediately moved in. And Joker took the lead, as his mask disappeared in blue flame. And a tall purple woman with two sabers emerged.
At the same time, drifting Johanna into another sharp turn, Queen twisted the handle. Dashing toward Piggytron.
"Yaksini! Strike!"
"Johanna! Freila!"
In an instant, Yakisini dashed and slashed as more bombs blew up. Leaving the Piggytron tattered with dents, all of them recovered within seconds. And then a barrage of bullets rained upon them as retaliation, as the thieves scattered to avoid it.
Taking the chance offered to them, Majesty pulled back her bow's string and fired. The arrow split apart in mid-flight, turning into a rain of arrows.
Behind the protection of his beloved Piggytron, Kaneshiro growled in frustration. He couldn't just let this be the end of him. Piggytron was his magnum opus, his invincible fortress. Turning his gaze at the console, he slammed on one of the buttons.
In response, the top of Piggytron opened up fully. And it was nothing but heads of countless missiles, and fired toward both teams. High above in the ceiling among the pillars, and on the ground.
Without a word needed to be said, the thieves immediately split up. Just as the same thing happened to the barrage of missiles, splitting up and going after them.
Using the anchor point to swing instead of pulling her in, Majesty wrapped the wire around her leg. Putting all her faith in the hook and the wire, she took out her bow while hanging upside down. Faced with the missile on her back, she shot an arrow right into the middle of it. The said missile blew up in an instant.
Zipping through pillar after pillar, Raven frowned at the sound of missiles still following him. Even with sharp turns after sharp turns he made, the missiles still followed closely. This shouldn't be possible under the laws of physics.
"I guess this is how the Metaverse works then."
Muttering under his breath, he retracted his grappling hook. Just as gravity started to pull him back, his trusty light machine gun materialized in his hands. And he opened fire, the bullets ripped through the missile and exploded.
Meanwhile, choosing to face the missiles head-on, Swan slashed through them one by one. Destroying not only the missile chasing after her, but also the ones after Jester and King.
"Jester! You're ready?"
Pulling out his hand cannon, Jester could see the glow on its cylinder. The same familiar glow he slowly grew accustomed to, but still surprising to see. He thought he'd start charging for the Memento Mori after dealing with the missiles, but somehow it charged without him even noticing.
Maybe it was his proficiency in using it, but it didn't matter right now.
"Yeah!" Jester nodded, turning around a pillar and toward Piggytron. "Raven, Fox, now!"
Without a response needed and Fou Roux already behind him, Raven aimed his light machine gun and fired again. Followed by another barrage of ice shards, hitting each other in mid-flight and mixing.
Meanwhile, weaving between the minigun's bullet and the missiles, Fox's mask faded away in azure flame. And behind him stood Goemon, blowing cold air toward the giant piggy bank and froze everything before them.
"King, Queen!"
"Roger!" King responded, feeling his feet landed on one of the pillar's sides and launched. With a shockwave blasted from his feet, shattering the pillar into pieces.
He could feel the turbine of his belt spinning at great speed, taking in the wind. Fist squeezed tight, King curled his body and extended his leg.
Meanwhile, releasing the break on Johanna, Queen sped toward Piggytron. The sound of Johanna's roar mixed with her belt's turbine spinning from the wind, she twisted the handle further and hopped on the seat.
With a deep breath, she leaped into the air and front-flipped. And extending both of her legs into a dropkick.
In the meantime, letting his body drop as he gripped the hand cannon with both of his hands, Jester toward the spot between Queen and King. Just as Swan did the same and aimed in the same spot.
"Memento Mori!"
"White Out!"
Pulling the trigger in unison, a bullet engulfed in light and a bullet engulfed in darkness soared through the colosseum. Hitting the spot right before King and Queen's kick struck, they exploded. Revealing the mechanical interior of piggytron as their kick hit.
However, it wasn't enough.
All of a sudden, King and Queen were repelled and dropped to the ground. Followed by another shockwave that knocked everyone down, back to square one.
Groaning in pain as he struggled to stand up again, Jester glared at the now-healing Piggytron. It was slower than what it was before, but it's still healing.
"It's still not enough…" He said, as his leg gave out and forced him down on one knee. "Dammit."
"Jester… here," Resting one of his arms around her neck, Swan helped him to stand. And with La Pucelle floating behind them, a green aura glowed around the thieves. Relieving them from most of the pain.
"This thing is stronger than it looks, that's for certain," Helping Swan's effort with Zorro, Mona winced as he stood.
"Well, our attack is definitely doing some number on it," Joker said, standing back up. "We just need a bit more damage."
"Easier said than done, man," Skull said, resting his bat on his shoulder. "But how about we do it at once?"
"That'd be hard to coordinate our attack," Raven shook his head, putting the entire weight of his body on the cane sword. "Its healing is slower, but still too fast."
"See? You're not gonna win, just lie down and accept your fate, yo!" In a sudden, Kaneshiro's voice rang from Piggytron again. The cocky tone was so clear, they could imagine the disgusting grin on his face.
And it pissed Queen off. Even more than before.
"...Accept our fate?" She muttered, fist gripped tightly and shaking. "So you can just keep reaping from innocents… even their life?"
"Just like what you did to Dad?"
"...Oh, so that guy is your dad, huh?" Kaneshiro replied after a long silence, but they could hear how he was grinning, widely. "I told you, I'm the perfect example of 'work smart'. Your dad is just an annoyance that just had to get in my way, so I just get rid of him."
"...You piece of human trash…" King muttered, eyes widened at his nonchalance.
"So? I'm still here, and y'all just down on the ground-"
"Shut the fuck up!" Interrupting him with a yell, Queen glared at the giant fortress before them. "All those years of suffering, it all started with you and your bottomless, gaping pit of greed that you call a soul… And you think we'll just lay down and let you win?"
"I'd rather die fighting, than accept any so-called 'fate'," King added, turning back at his teammates. "Jester, you're alright for another try?"
"...I can still afford another Memento Mori," Jester nodded, taking a long glance at his hand cannon. "Besides, even if he can tank 100% of our power, I'm sure he can't take 120% of it."
"In this case, then I'll help with that," Joker said, pulling the slide of his pistol. "Same plan?"
"Same plan."
Without a word needed to be said, the thieves moved out again. And Jester stayed where he was with his hand cannon raised, as its cylinder started to glow.
However, with the glow in his gun, Kaneshiro immediately targeted Piggytron's miniguns toward them. Only to be interrupted as a different barrage of attacks struck, knocking it off.
"Carmen! Burn it!"
"Blast it away! Captain Kidd!"
"Come, Zorro!"
"Arsene, ravage him!"
Sending another barrage of attacks, the squad scattered and rolled away from the minigun's fire. And Majesty dashed alongside Swan, their blades grinding along the ground and sparking.
Just as the minigun's fire was focused on the trio, Majesty and Swan leaped. Their blade turned from sparks and engulfed in flame and electricity, with the flame on Majesty's naginata burning from bright red into be multi-colored.
"Blade Of Yomi - Second Form: Psycho Flame!"
"Thunderous Slash!"
Slashing downwards, they sent a wave of flame and lightning toward the giant piggy bank. Of course, it wasn't enough to break the hull, but that's enough to buy them time.
Feeling the slight exhaustion from the energy that went to this one shot, Jester tightened his grip on his hand cannon. He couldn't miss this shot, he couldn't afford it. And the same could be said for Joker, as his one-handed grip tightened around his pistol.
"Raven, Fox, now!"
"Roger!"
With a nod, Fox and Raven sprung into a mad sprint with their Personas behind them. In an instant, the ground before Piggytron was covered in ice, spreading and catching onto the giant fortress itself. Growing and eroding the steel hull, like a fungus.
"King, Queen!"
Using the grappling hook to pull himself high in the air, King summoned Napoleon again. In an instant, an air blast propelled him toward Piggytron. However, it didn't stop at just a single blast, but one after another.
Spinning because of the wind, his belt's turbine roared. Louder than it had ever been, and grew even louder as it popped out from its frame to further speed up. Followed by a blue flame shooting out from the belt's vents. Just like how it was when he first awakened, only to be much more intense.
Halting his spin, he extended one of his legs. And with another blast from behind, he rushed toward it.
"Ruinous… Retribution!"
At the same time, Queen released the brake of Johanna. Rushing toward Piggytron at full speed, she twisted the bike's handle. The engine roared as it kept going, but still not loud enough. Not enough to match her rage.
She could feel it, the fact that there was a limit to Johanna's speed. It was a high bar to reach, but it was still too low. When her full-powered kick wasn't enough, doing the same thing wouldn't give a different result.
"Johanna, I know you can hear me," Her grip on the bike's handle tightened, Queen lowered her gaze to her other self. "I promised that we'll let them feel our rage, and right now… this is our only chance."
"That's why… Please, give me your all!"
Even though she couldn't hear a word from Johanna, a small level suddenly formed next to the left handle. Not a word was needed, but Queen could hear her other self's response. Without hesitation, she flipped the switch and pushed down the handlebar.
"Johanna, REDLINE!"
In response, Johanna started to change. Its armor opened and re-shaped itself, pulling its wheels toward its center. Turning its silhouette from one that resembled a heavy bike into a sports bike. Trading its heavy nature for speed, trading armor for a way to break its limit.
As the front lifted into a windshield, Queen lowered her body and further twisted the bike's handle. Blue flame harshly blew out six exhaust pipes, making everything around her blur. And it roared, finally matching the rage in her.
Even with the face in Johanna's front lifted into a windshield, the wind turned harsh. Feeling the harshness of the wind blowing against her face, she gritted her teeth and endured. She couldn't afford to take a turn, or else she will crash, hard.
Amidst the harsh wind and the roaring engine, Queen could hear another roar within it. Her belt's turbine accepted the harsh wind and spun, followed by more flame bursting out from the four vents.
Tightening her grip and taking a deep breath, she pulled the brake harshly and let the bike rise. Leaping as the bike torque forward. With a front flip, she extended both of her legs for another kick.
"Full-Metal… Judgement!"
Meanwhile, just as the two were about to hit Piggytron, Jester tightened his grip on his hand cannon as its glow intensified. Along with the smoke the cylinder was emitting, it was shining brighter than it had ever been.
And that meant the recoil would also be much more than before. But this was a risk he was willing to take, there wasn't another choice that he could work with right now.
He took a deep breath and shifted his legs for a better foundation. It was all or nothing.
"Memento Mori: Nihil!"
Feeling the sudden recoil from his fired shot, Jester didn't just get knocked down on the ground. Instead, he flew backward for a few meters, landing with a harsh roll.
or the bullet, it didn't just soar through the space, it ripped through the space as it flew. And it struck the ice, at the exact same moment as King and Queen's kick landed. Shattering the ice and the steel hull it eroded, followed by another explosion.
The kicks struck, digging themselves deeper into the mechanical inside of Piggytron. Much deeper than their last attempt, as sparks started to emit from it.
Curling their legs, King and Queen leaped backward and flipped through the air. Landing in unison, just as more sparks emitted on Piggytron. And then, it blew up, leaving Kaneshiro's shadow stumbling and falling down from the fireball that was what was left of Piggytron.
Downed before the burning remains of Piggytron, Kaneshiro's face formed into a look of fear. And he hastily hogged the pile of gold bars behind him, turning back at the approaching thieves.
Before he could even say a word, he was greeted by the end of a barrel. A revolver's barrel.
"So… you win," He said through quivering lips, glancing up at Queen's burning glare. "What are you waiting for, just kill me and avenge your daddy, Niijima."
"...Who is Hisoka?" She said after a long pause, keeping her finger off of the trigger.
"You know, you're making it harder by keeping me alive for this long-"
"Answer me, who is Hisoka?" Queen cut him off, and her grip tightened. "You didn't just ask for his service once, but multiple times… Answer me!"
However, instead of any answer, Kaneshiro merely responded with a laugh. It was like she was asking the wrong question, focusing on the wrong thing. And the thought of this irritated Queen even more, pushing her limit.
"Oh, if only I do… You know, the number one requirement to be a contract killer is their anonymity," Kaneshiro said. "I have never seen him, all I know is his "Hisoka" name, that's it."
Queen didn't respond with her words, but her grip tightened so it started to shake. She kept the finger off of the trigger, but the thought of pulling the trigger right here and now had definitely crossed her mind.
Thankfully, before she would make a decision that she'd regret, a hand gently held her shoulder. She didn't need to look back, the familiar warmth had said enough. With a deep breath, she slowly lowered her revolver.
"What? You're not gonna avenge your daddy, huh?"
"Killing you is just gonna give you an easy way out," Queen shook her head. "You're going to pay for what you've done with the rest of your life."
However, all Kaneshiro responded with was a laugh. Not a laugh to mock the thieves, but more like a laugh of self-pity. A stark contrast from the cocky demeanor he exhibited earlier, as if it was the true Kaneshiro under all those wealth. Just like how he looked under all those suits, a mere fly.
"It's always those so-called justice…" He trailed off, falling quiet for a few moments. "So this is the end of me, beaten by a bunch of idealistic kids who believed in some justice."
"You know, y'all got all this power… I'm surprised y'all don't use it more for yourself," Kaneshiro continued, looking at the thieves before him. "Do you know how much money you can get from these palaces? That you're free to do whatever you want with people's hearts?"
"We're not like you!" Skull retorted.
"That's the difference between good and evil, Kaneshiro," King said, stepping forward. "It's not whether we have power or not, but what we choose to use our power."
"You had your choice, and we have ours."
"...Where did you find meaning in that naive sense of justice?" He paused for a moment, again. "You know, there's already someone else who's taking full advantage of what these palaces can offer."
"What?' Joker said, his eyes widened in surprise.
"I'll let you into something…" In a sudden, a small smirk emerged on Kaneshiro's face. As if for once, even after his defeat, he managed to 'win' over the thieves about something. "There's a criminal who's exploiting these palaces for their own gains. Doing whatever they damn well please."
"They don't care what the consequences, mental shutdown, psychotic breakdowns… Think of him as the Hisoka that works in palaces."
"That's… is that the same person Madarame's shadow spoke of?" Fox murmured, rubbing his chin.
Meanwhile, Raven's gaze sharpened. Not just in recognition, but also like a detective who found another lead.
"Then who the hell is that someone, huh?" Skull stomped the ground, with a clear frown. "Spill it!"
"Don't even bother," Kaneshiro snickered in return. "Even with this many of y'all, you're nothing against him…"
"We'll… see about that," Jester said, wincing as his arm twitched in pain.
"Better be careful then," His smirk widened, Kaneshiro leaned back in the pile of gold he was sitting on. "Who knows if you can survive an encounter with him, or not…"
With that said, his body started to glow. And disappeared before the thieves could even get another word on him, followed by the entire vault's rumble. Startling everyone.
"Shit shit shit, what's going on?" King said, frantically looking around.
"He's back to his real-life counterpart, so the palace's gonna crumble in no time," Joker said, glancing over at the pile of gold bars. "But uh… I guess that's the treasure?"
"A pile of gold bars… how the hell are we gonna carry it-" Cutting himself off early, Skull's gaze widened as he noticed a certain not-cat in front of the gold bars. Even though he couldn't see the not-cat's face, it was clear that he was drooling over the treasure. "Oh Mona, not again!"
"Not again what?" Queen asked, completely clueless of what was going on.
"Treasure… TREASURE!" With his eyes (literally) sparking, Mona leaned in and rubbed his face against the gold bars before him. And of course, he meowed, a lot. "I love being a human! This is the best!"
"What's gotten into him?" Majesty asked, suddenly feeling like it wasn't a question she should ask in the first place.
"I don't think I've ever seen that back in Madarame's palace either…" Raven added, his feet feeling how the ground's shake intensified. "But still, shouldn't we just start to get the heck outta here?!"
"Y-yeah!" With a groan, Panther rushed in and grabbed Morgana. Resisting the frailing limbs as she tore him away from the 'shiny gold', she threw him high into the air.
With a familiar 'puff' sound and a cloud of smoke, Mona-bus landed with a little bounce.
"You shouldn't throw animals, dammit!" Even though there was no mouth on the Mona-bus, his voice still came in loud and clear.
"But you just say you're a human-"
"Enough already!" Cutting Joker off from his comment, Panther stomped the ground, frustrated. "Get the gold bars into the van, and everyone gets in!"
Without even a nod between them, the thieves immediately moved out, took what they could from the gold bars, and stuffed it into the Mona-bus. Still, somehow, by some miracle or quick thinking, they managed to stuff most of the gold bars into the Mona-bus, while also leaving enough space for everyone to get in. Especially in their size now.
Unfortunately, because of the urgent matter, Raven is on the wheels again.
"I know what you're gonna say, but we don't have time here," Raven said, putting the Mona-bus into second gear. "And sorry Mona."
"Huh? Wha-"
Stepping firmly into the gas pedal, the Mona-bus sped through the crumbling colosseum, and right into the walls. Breaking the wall and everything behind it, only to reveal…
Nothing. As in they're literally in the air.
"...Oh, crap," Eyes widened at the night sky and horizon before them, Raven felt his heart sunk to the bottom. "I forgot we're technically in the air."
"Shit!"
"SHIN-CHAN, SAVE ME!"
"I HATE YOU RAVEN!"
"AHHHHHH!"
In the end, the so-called 'grand escape' that the thieves made, ended in a freefall from at the bank itself. Accompanied by the screams of dread and horror from the thieves as they felt. It shouldn't even be a sentence that made any sort of sense, but it did. In this case.
[Shibuya, Central Street]
Back in the real world, the thieves found themselves right in the middle of Shibuya. As if right before the famous crossroad. The only thing was… that they fell to the ground. Still, even with how big their group was, and their screaming, they still hadn't got much attention from the pedestrians.
"Ow…" Ann groaned, rubbing her rear as she stood back up.
"I think I cracked my ass…" Ryuji muttered, leaning on his good knee as he panted.
"Ann! Are you alright?!" Yusuke suddenly said out loud, the panic on his face was as clear as the sky above them. "Is yours cracked as well?!"
"Wha- NO!" Eyes widened, Ann retorted. "Of course not!"
"But isn't it supposed to be cracked though?" Makoto said with an amused smile. She knew how bad this joke was, but it was refreshing to have the mood for some joke like this, Or maybe, Shinji was rubbing off on her.
"Urgh, you know what I mean!"
"Don't entertain Yusuke about his shenanigans," Hifumi said, shaking her head with a tired sigh. "I've had enough of his stuff already, not more of it, please."
"More importantly, it's dangerous for us to charge out like that!" Taking the initiative again, Ann turned her glare toward Keigo. "And you! Do you know how many years of our lives you took?!"
"Yeah… can't we just ban Keigo from behind the wheel?" Shiho added, helping Akira to stand up. "God, I thought I was gonna die…"
"My heart can't take any more of this, man…" Akira added, leaning against his girlfriend for support. "From now on, Keigo is banned from driving, B-A-N-N-E-D!"
"I mean, I did save all of you from certain death-"
"It doesn't matter!" Everyone yelled in unison, cutting Keigo off from finishing his defense.
However, feeling a lack of weight on his shoulder, Ren's gaze scanned around him. "Wait a sec, where's Morgana?"
"Oh yeah, I was thinkin' why he's not-" Ryuji suddenly paused as his gaze turned to the road before them. "Oh shit, there he is!"
And Ryuji's right. Laying motionlessly on the asphalt road, a certain black cat was covered by a golden suitcase. Normally, from the pedestrian's perspective, he should appear from nowhere. But in this case, it seemed like no one really batted an eye.
"That briefcase…" Shinji murmured, his gaze widened in recognition.
"It appears to be the source of Morgana's demise," Yusuke chimed in again, earning him a hand chop to the head by Hifumi. "Ow."
"Kitagawa Yusuke!"
"W-well, it does look just like that!"
"I don't care if it looks like that or not, you're not considerate!"
"Wha…"
"No, that's the same Kaneshiro uses." Choosing to ignore the one-sided bantering between Hifumi and Yusuke, Shinji continued his thoughts. "Is that what his treasure is then?"
Makoto nodded, suddenly noticing the signal light on the other side. "Hey, the light's red!"
Thankfully, they managed to get back Morgana and the briefcase before any car would have a threat of running over them. With the amount of confused gazes from the pedestrians, they quickly moved to somewhere else. Namely to the secluded spot next to the statue of Hachiko.
And one more thing.
"So…" Pointing at the exhausted (and still unconscious) Morgana lying on top of his head, Keigo deadpanned. "Why?"
"That's your punishment for scaring us to death," Ren deadpanned in return, a literal 'eye for an eye'. "And your mistreatment of a precious animal too. Not to mention you're doing this to a cat too."
"From now on, you are the designated resting spot for Morgana," Akira added, also keeping a deadpanned gaze on the half-Frenchman. "This will continue until further notice."
"...Fine," Keigo sighed, choosing to accept his fate in this matter.
"But still… it takes some time for it to sink in," Makoto said, looking at the golden briefcase that she's holding. "We really did it, right? We really changed Kaneshiro's heart…"
"I'm sure we did," Akira said, his mouth lifted into a small smile. "He faded away and the whole palace collapsed, that's pretty much as much of a confirmation you can get."
"So does the same thing happen to the other palaces as well?" Shinji asked.
"Yep," Everyone replied and nodded in unison, without any hint of hesitation as well.
"Mom was kind enough to send us away when her palace collapsed," Hifumi said, casting her gaze aside. "But we encountered the same thing in Madarame's palace."
"Same for Kamoshida," Ann added. "Too bad Shiho and Akira left before it start crumbling."
"Well, I just let my steam out, and I just want to get away from his face," Shiho sighed, twirling a strand of her hair.
"Either way, we can only wait for the effect of his change of heart to take place," Ren said, choosing to drag the conversation back from that little detour. "But we've changed Kaneshiro's heart for all intents and purposes. And everyone's going to be fine, including the Akashis."
Even though there was a bit of hesitation on their face, Shinji and Makoto nodded after a few moments. Ren was right, they beat Kaneshiro and took his treasure. Everything should be fine from this point onward.
And for once, there's a huge weight being lifted off from their chest. And they could finally move forward.
For them, and for everyone.
[Meanwhile, Izumo Household]
Sitting alone in the dinner table, Ise's gaze lingered on the letter before her. Even if the words on the paper note tried it's best to reassure her, but it did nothing but make her worry even more.
Sorry, Mom, but Makoto and I had to leave early. We got some important stuff to do.
We're sure that we'll be back before dinner though!
Also, don't tease us for inappropriate things like making a baby when we're back! We're not doing those things!
-Shinji, Makoto.
Tearing her gaze from the paper to the empty house before her, Ise couldn't help but let out a long breath. Not one out of disappointment or anything similar, but one that felt like it confirmed her suspicion. She had hoped that she heard it wrong last night, but things weren't adding up.
[Last night]
Even though Ise never mentioned it, she was a light sleeper. To be more clear, a very light sleeper.
It wasn't because of any trauma or something like that, it's just because she needed to. After all, how else could she wake up at the first sound of her alarm clock, and go to school on time?
Of course, it was a bit of an over-compensation, but she was too used to it anyway.
However, this time, it wasn't the sound of her alarm clock that woke her up. It was Shinji's voice, strangely.
"So what about Yusuke's part, do we need to meet him too?"
Stirring awake from the voice, Ise glanced over at her room's door in confusion. And that confusion only intensified as Makoto's voice responded.
"He told me that he already dropped them off at Keigo's place. So we'll get it in Keigo's place," She said, pausing for a moment. "Actually, I should call Ryuji too."
"Maybe you should call him outside instead? Can't afford to wake Mom up, after all."
"You have a point. Then… let's get going then."
"Yeah, let's finish this."
With that said, Ise could hear hushed footsteps from outside which faded. Ending with the sound of the front door opening and closing, and now she found herself sitting up on her bed. Her mind in nothing but confusion, and a bit of surprise.
What in the hell were they going out for? And who were the people they never mentioned, did Shinji get into a bigger group from nowhere?
Reaching her phone that she placed next to her bed, Ise winced at the brightness of her phone screen. However, she endured and opened her contact list. Her finger hovered above the call button next to "Shin-Chan", and… hesitated.
She wanted to call him and just ask what he was doing. But she also knew that he'd just lie to her about it.
"...It's better to ask them tomorrow then."
With a sigh, Ise let the phone fall to her side, staring at the ceiling above. And before long, the want to sleep overtook her.
Back to the present time, Ise let out a sigh. As much as she hoped it'd not be true, Shinji and Makoto were hiding something from her. Something that's either it's too important to tell her, or something they couldn't just speak the truth.
"Why can't you just tell me the truth, Shinji…" Trailing off, she was about to reach her phone when she noticed a notification on her phone.
It was breaking news from her news app, and it was about something happening in Shibuya. Maybe it was a hunch deep in her heart, but she opened that news entry. Instead of following the original plan she had in mind.
And her eyes widened at the article's title.
"Breaking: Shibuya Central Street covered in mysterious calling cards."
"...Calling cards?" Her finger swiped down on the phone screen, showing the pictures of the central street covered in calling cards. In both red and blue. "That's… isn't that the Phantom Thief's calling card?"
"There's… no, there's no way," Shaking her head, Ise's gaze returned to the letter on the table. And there's that sinking feeling, one that she can't erasure no matter what.
She wanted to say Shinji had nothing to do with this, but the turning cogs in her head kept screaming otherwise. The timing was just too convenient.
"...What the hell did they get themselves into?"
[Meanwhile, Tokai University Tokyo Hospital]
For once, Naoko felt like she's dying out of boredom. Mom and Dad called her earlier and mentioned the calling cards in Central Street. And from what she saw on Twitter, it was a beautiful sight to see. It's a shame that she couldn't be there in person.
"But this is the price of being stupid and acting irrationally, I guess," Letting out a small sigh, Naoko touched the bandage wrapped around her head.
The doctor mentioned that it'd only take a few more days before she's let go. A few days too long, she'd say herself. However, there's nothing much she could do here.
Still, Mom also mentioned in the call that… Kaneshiro just contacted them and called off the 'debt' they owed him. As if… no, he definitely had a change of heart there. There was no way to have someone just have a complete flip in one day. Let alone just hours after the calling cards were posted all around the central street.
"They really do some swift work," Saying to no one in particular, she stared at the ceiling above. "Maybe I should call Akira to congrats them on this?"
"...I'm rushing to the conclusion here."
Hearing how the faint echo of her voice faded, Naoko let out another sigh. Actually, she probably sighed over ten times just for the last few hours. She lost count after the tenth sigh she did.
She didn't know how she should feel about it, about everything. She knew it was stupid to stand up against that guy and get her head hit, but was it the wrong thing? No, of course not. However, she still felt guilty for making Dad and Mom worry. Or even Shinji, who just had to bring Makoto over to check on her as well.
They didn't get to meet her, but she could hear them outside that night.
Shaking her head, Naoko closed her eyes and tried to fall asleep. Maybe a good nap would clear her mind, just clear enough so she could find an answer to the doubt she had.
And there she was, slowly but surely falling asleep. Letting her mind slowly fall into the comfort of dreamland, and hopefully a place for enlightenment as well.
Falling…
Falling…
Falling…
Falling… to where?
As this single question hit her, Naoko started to feel like there was something odd about this. She wasn't falling asleep, but falling in an abyss. It wasn't physically falling, but it sure felt like this.
"What is going on?" She 'said' out loud, but nothing came out of her mouth. "What is… wait, this feels familiar-"
Before Naoko could even finish the sentence, her body suddenly started to roll. It shouldn't be possible, even if her falling wasn't supposed to be possible either. But why was she rolling now?
"What the-"
Looking up, she found herself face-to-face with a giant… masked man, his baton raised. She didn't have the time to take a closer look at it, but the only notable feature she noticed was that… it looked like a guard. In all suits and everything.
However, it wasn't the time for that.
Eyes widened, and she immediately rolled away from the guard. Its baton struck the ground they were both on, leaving a crack in the… steel floor? She looked down at the floor, and one thing was sure.
She wasn't in the hospital. Hell, she was wearing that weird pseudo-cowgirl fit again!
Hearing the steps, Naoko's gaze returned to the giant man before her. And in an instant, a wave of fear emerged, as she hastily crawled backward. Just trying to get away from it as possible.
"No no no no no no-"
"Don't you dare!"
Before Naoko could register the intrusion of that voice, a spear flew and impaled the man. Hearing the sound of another set of steps enclosing her, someone leaped and took ahold of the spear. With a swift kick, the man flew away.
Twirling the spear with great proficiency, the other guy turned back and hastily kneeled before her. "Wild! You're alright?"
Still shocked by what happened, all Naoko could do was nod.
On a closer look, the guy before him was in a white buttoned shirt with a piece of shoulder armor on his left shoulder. And a leather belt that strapped diagonally across his body, seemingly holding that armor in place. There was also a blue side cape hanging from the armor, and the black pants, boots, and black glove. But that wasn't her focus here.
Instead, it was the mask on his face, with his eyes hidden under the vertical slits on the mask. It reminded her of a knight's helmet. And oh right, he got short blue-tinted black hair too.
It reminded her a bit of Akira, but this guy before her feels a lot more… NPC-like?
"W-who are you-"
"Knight! Wild! Watch out!"
Eyes widened, the guy before her turned and hastily grabbed her into a bridal carry. And just as the two dashed away, a missile impacted the spot they were on and exploded. And the shockwave still knocked them down on the ground.
"What the hell is happening…" Groaning in the ache from her butt, Naoko looked and saw… a giant piggybank on the far end. With the same suited man as earlier in front of it. Meanwhile, there were the same weird masked people around her. All of them were seemingly tired and injured.
And one of them was the same girl with the rose mask, her gaze filled with nothing but worry.
"I… I'm fine," Naoko said, getting up and kneeling on the ground.
"Same here, Rose…" The guy who just saved her groaned, using his spear to help him to get up. "But Kaneshiro just had to have this many dirty tricks up his sleeve, huh?"
…Kaneshiro?
Her gaze followed where his looked toward, ending on the giant piggy bank. Was that Kaneshiro, or was Kaneshiro in it? All of a sudden, a million more questions just surfaced in her mind. Doing nothing but fueled her confusion even more.
"That's… Kaneshiro?" She muttered, barely louder than a whisper.
However, she still got an answer. From a voice of her own. A voice that's so similar, yet so different.
"Yes and no," The voice said, sounding very surprised for some reason. "But you're here again. That's weird."
"I'm here again?" Naoko blinked. "So… that wasn't a dream?"
"I'm certain it's not, but now's not the time!" In a sudden, that voice was filled with urgency. "I'd like to send you back to where you're from, but as much as I hated to say it… We're gonna need to fight."
"We need to… fight?"
Looking at the suited men who were approaching her and everyone else, all Naoko had in her mind was just one sentence. Partly stemmed from what the other voice said, but also from everything around her.
What in the hell did she get herself into?
(To be continued)
Preview:
As Kaneshiro's change of heart took its effect, everything started to return to normal.
However, the news of a malicious Persona user still weighed heavily on their heads.
Meanwhile, a concerned mother confronted her children for an answer.
And in a time so close yet so far away, Naoko embraced her rage.
Next Chapter:
"(Ab)normality"
Stay Tuned!
So, almost 2 months after Chapter 50, Chapter 51 is finally here!
Well, I thought Kaneshiro's boss fight would be a bit easier to write. But even if I have a full plan on how it'd go, it's still... a lot. Actually, this chapter is the 2nd longest chapter. The longest chapter is weirdly Chapter 35, which is oddly all about the clean-up event XD.
But still, finally, Kaneshiro's palace is done! I mentioned that I wanted the tone after Makoto and Shinji's awakening to be lighter than before. Well uh... that didn't really happen. But now Kaneshiro's done, maybe things would actually be lighter in tone than before. But considering what's happening with Ise, and a certain mysterious and malicious Persona user (heh)... who knows?
Next, I want to talk about the couple... special moves that the thieves pulled off at the end of the fight. So first, Johanna's new... name/form. It actually was going to just be "Johanna - Form 2", but it did sound pretty boring. In the end, I took a full Warframe reference here, just like how Gauss's "Redline" boost everything for him, same for Johanna with her "Redline".
Also, Shinji's "Ruinous Retribution" and Makoto's "Full-Metal Judgement" are my official names for their own Rider Kicks. It just sounds a cooler than just "Rider Kick".
And for Akira's "Memento Mori: Nhiil", "Nihil" is Latin for "null". Which... would play a bit more parallel in next chapter ;) Can't really spoil things here.
And now, onto the elephant in the room. We have another member from the... 'other team'. I think I made it pretty clear on who he really is though XD.
Either way, I hope you all enjoy the story so far, and reviews and favorites are welcomed! :D