Hey guys and gals, welcome back to MHA: The Value of a Thief and this time around we will more properly begin the infiltration of Kaneshiro's Palace.
Not only that but we will also be giving a bit more focus since as you all have noticed I am bringing her in a lot earlier than usual.
The reason for why I'm doing this is because I have a lot of plans for some original stuff after Futaba's Palace and I didn't want to just leave Haru out for so long.
But with that said, how about we get this chapter started.
Disclaimer: I don't own anything except my Oc's
Kaneshiro's Palace
Third person P.O.V.
"L-Let me go!" Haru struggled, being held in place by the Shadow as it carried her while following Kaneshiro through the hallways of the Palace.
"Oh shut up already," Shadow Kaneshiro growled, looking back at her. "First thing I'm going to do when we get back is shut your trap."
"Why are you even taking me?" Haru demanded to know, making Kaneshiro chuckle.
"Come now, you already know the reason why. Miss Haru Okumura. The Daughter of Okumura Foods?" Shadow Kaneshiro stated, causing Haru's eyes to widen.
"Y-You know about that…" Haru questioned, causing Shadow Kaneshiro to give her an evil grin.
"Well of course I do, after all your father is quite the high-valued customer of mine," he grinned, making Haru's eyes widen.
"No! No you're wrong! My father would never work for someone like you!" She yelled.
"Oh poor little brat, it's almost pitiful how much you don't know about how the world works" he smirked "Your father's been working for my boss for years now, I was the middle man that did the business part with him but everytime I only got a small cut of that money while my boss got the rest."
"But after that little incident back in March, his dealings with my boss are happening less and less, and now that Madarame's little forgery scam is gone, I'm gonna need a better way to get more money on my own, so you'll work as the best hostage so Okumura will get his perfect little tool back to him." he grinned.
"Tool…" Haru muttered, looking down. Ever since her Father began trying to get into politics, he began to lose the parts of himself that she loved so much, the parts that cared for his employees, the part that wanted to make good food for anyone but now all he cared about was having the Okumura name rise through the ranks… to the point that he was even in talks to sell her off in an arranged marriage so he could get some political help.
Haru had just tried her best to ignore all of this, not wanting to believe that these things she heard were all true or that at some point her father would realise what he's doing and put a stop to it.
But now… hearing it first hand, she realised just how far her father was going to achieve this ambition.
'Everyone else…is so amazing… all of them are fighting back against the world that's held them back…and if they can do that…then so can I!' she thought, as she opened her eyes.
"At last…"
"Ah" Haru gasped, her eyes flash yellows as she grunted in pain but unable to clutch her head due to the Shadow's hold as a pink energy sparked around.
"I see you finally made up your mind...my dear, fated princess."
"Huh? What are you do-no…." Kaneshiro realised, seeing her glowing yellow eyes "I won't let you! Snap her neck no-gaaaahhh!"
Before they could do anything, an invincible force pushed Kaneshiro back as the Shadow holding Haru was killed.
"Freedom from you must stem from betrayal. So that is the question? Do you yearn to betray the one you love or do you want to remain the Princess that you were?"
Haru clutched her head in pain as she shook her head before looking up "Yes…I will do it… I will no longer look away… I will end what is happening… WITH MY OWN HANDS! STARTING WITH YOU!" she yelled, glaring at Kaneshiro.
"Now tell me…who shall you betray?"
"Grr! Everyone, kill her!" Kaneshiro yelled, as a large army of Shadows surrounded her.
"... my heart has been set…you should already know…" Haru looked, her golden eyes shining brilliantly.
"Yes, that gaze...! I am Thou, Thou Art I! Let us adorn your departure into freedom with a beautiful betrayal!"
A simple but elegant black mask took its place on her face. Haru rose to her feet calmly and gripped the sides of the mask. With a hard tug on both sides, it came loose with a spray of blood as she called her other self's name.
"Milady!"
A plume of blue fire enveloped the girl, and a strong gust of wind blew from the fire in all directions.
"NOOOOO!" Shadow Kaneshiro yelled, covering his eyes at the bright light.
When the light died down, we see Haru standing there in her Thief attire which consists of a dark purple cavalier hat with a feather plume tucked into a royal purple hatband, a long-sleeved pale pink blouse with a white neck jabot (held there by a red gem pin), a black corset vest with gold buttons, bloomers that match her hatband, black pantyhose, a holster belt carrying ammo and lace-up pumps. Her mask and gloves were black and violet, respectively.
Behind her was her Persona, a tall, elegant figure of a lady with no head, holding a masquerade ball mask to where her face would be. A fan was held delicately on the other hand. Upon the Persona was an elegant pink ball gown, the front of which parted to reveal an almost cartoonish number of guns that were primed, ready for firing.
"I am no longer my father's subservient puppet… I AM BEAUTY THIEF! THE ONE WHO WILL END MY FATHER'S AMBITION! STARTING WITH YOU!" she declared, pointing at Kaneshiro while Milady aimed the guns at the Shadows around them before the scene shined.
Apartment
Third person P.O.V.
"Hmm…mmm…ugh…huh?" Haru groaned, as she slowly opened her eyes as she found herself in a room she didn't recognise "Where am I?"
"Ah! You're awake!" She heard, looking over to see Ann and Makoto walking up to her.
"Takamaki-san, Mako-chan…what are you doing here?" Haru asked, looking around "Where are we?"
"Ah my place, the guys are out getting us some food" Ann explained, sitting down "Ren and Makoto found you passed out after awakening your Persona."
"I awakened my Persona…" she muttered, looking down "That's right I did awaken my Persona and used it to fight Kaneshiro's Shadows…"
"Haru, what happened back there?" Makoto muttered, with a worried expression as Haru began explaining what happened.
"Holy crap" Ann blinked surprised "You're Dad was making deals with Kaneshiro, you really think he was telling the truth?"
"Why else would he be so interested in me…" she muttered before closing her eyes "But I never thought my father would make deals with a man like him, even if it was just as an inbetween."
"So what are you going to do now Haru?" Makoto asked, as Haru sighed.
"Well…I want to try and stop my father from what he's doing. I know he wants to get into politics but the way he is doing it is just horrible…he's treating everyone like a tool for his own ambition, even myself." Haru said, before turning to Ann "I know you're already dealing with the Kaneshiro mess…but could you help me with this as well."
"Well, I'm fine with doing it but we'll have to ask the others first." Ann said, crossing her arms "But from what I'm hearing, it sounds like we'll be having two new members on our team! And girls as well, I love the boys but it was starting to get cramped."
"Two?" Haru blinked, looking over at Makoto.
"I um, decided to join two" Makoto admitted "This whole mess was my fault as well, even you getting infected with Kaneshiro's Quirk so I just felt like I needed to fix it myself."
"Ah! Mako-chan!" Haru cried, moving up and hugging Makoto, making her blush "We'll do our best together! Alright."
'New OTP…Selected…' She thought, looking at the two of them with a grin on her face before realising something. "Ah, actually there's something I should probably say."
"Huh?" The two blinked, as Ann turned to Makoto.
"I'm…really sorry, about everything" Ann told her, surprising Makoto and Haru.
"What do you mean?" Makoto asked, crossing her arms.
"For, you know…blaming you for Kamoshida's sexual harassment…" Ann told her "You see…I realised later that Shiho was calling out for help… even asked Ren if he could train her instead of Kamoshida… and I didn't realise any of it… I didn;t want to admit the guilt I felt about it so I took it out on you Niijima-senpai. I'm…VERY SORRY!"
Makoto was surprised when Ann suddenly gave her a bow "Hey, there's no need for that. In fact, I think the two of us might be similar."
"Huh?" Ann blinked, looking up.
"In the end, I wasn't able to save anyone... Not Suzui-san, not any of Kamoshida's other victims, not even any of Kaneshiro's victims. I kept telling myself that I wasn't at fault because I was simply following orders... But that was all a lie. It felt like I would be admitting to my own worthlessness had I not shifted the blame off of myself. Fear of that worthlessness was probably why I acted so harshly towards you and your friends. I'm deeply sorry as well."
"That's enough you two" Haru said, making the two blink "Both of you messed up, so do you think you can make up?"
"Hehe, Okumura-senpai's right. Can we just call it even Nijima-senpai?" Ann asked, looking over at Makoto.
"Even...?" Makoto asked, confused. After thinking about it for a few seconds, Makoto chuckled to herself. "You're right... How about we leave this conversation in the past?"
"Mh-hm!" Ann said chipperly as she finally sat down at the table across from Makoto. "But... One more thing... You're not worthless, Niijima-senpai. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise. You were a bit reckless, yeah, but you're the reason we found a way into Kaneshiro's Palace."
"Takamaki-san's right, And now you even obtained the power to change people's hearts. You did that all by yourself, Mako-chan!" Haru told her.
"Hehe, thanks you two…really." Makoto smiled, before they heard the door open.
"Hey guys! We're back!" Ryuji called.
"Ah sweet! Food here!" Ann grinned, standing up.
"Oh that's good, I'm actually really hungry right now" Haru smiled, "Oh by the way, Takamaki you don't have to call me Okumura. Haru is fine."
"Yeah, same here. After everything we've been through it feels kind of weird." Makoto said, making Ann blink.
"Hehe sure thing, and you can do the same, call me Ann." she grinned, as the three left the room to get some food.
Opening: Flyers from Death Parade, lyrics be Leeandlie
WOAH! OH! WOAH! OH! OH! YEAH! YEAH!
In the middle of the city we see a gigantic statue of the number 1 hero All Might, however on his chest was a spray painted logo of a top hat and mask with flame coming out the eyes.
YEAH! YEAH! OW!
We then see a blur zoom past the statue, with the camera barely following its movements.
It's your haze of delusion versus reality
We see Joker running from rooftop to rooftop, with a light shining on him as several helicopters chased after him
Just keep stirring the pot to find your individuality
Arsene then flew up behind him before Joker jumped off the rooftop and grabbed his partner's Chain to help him fly.
Delete another problem that is plaguing your mind
We next see Skull running down the highway as several police cars chased after him, a wild grin on his face as he ran
From day to day! To end to end! That's entertainment of our lives
Captain kidd then sailed up and caught Skull as he cheered into the night sky, as face of pure joy behind him
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! Dancing through the skies
Several paint marks were slashed at the walls, as we see Fox painting everything in the alleyway around him
Let's celebrate our time, and party while we're still alive
He then spun around as Goemon showed and blew his smoke allowing the paint to glow revealing he had painted different hero posters and stop signs.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! Dancing through the skies
Panther then jumped down onto some train tracks and began dancing, as she began spinning around like a Ballerina
Kick your worries to the side and aim up to the sky.
Carmine then appeared behind her, and below a flaming tornado that spun around her as she smiled up at the beauty.
EVERYBODY! Put your hands up!
We see Queen riding on Johana with Mona on her back, as the two of them drove up an elevator through a window.
We'll be flying~ Can you imagine it?
We see a large UFO flying above the city with Oracle inside, before she tapped a few commands into it
Search and you'll find the stage set within your dreams.
The UFO then began flashing several colours like a Disco Ball that lit up the entire city.
The place where you're the one
Down below we see Noir and Milady dancing like in a ball on Shibuya crossing before the two spun around.
That's where you're meant to be!
Noir then struck a pose as Milady revealed the variety of guns below her dress.
EVERYBODY!
We then see the Thieves falling through the sky towards a variety of statues of Pro Heroes.
Put your hands up!
We see both Panther and Mona aiming firing their guns at a statue of Ryukyu which crumbled into pieces.
We'll be flying!
Then Skull and Fox quickly moved past a large statue Edgeshot, cutting it in half.
Can you imagine it?
Next we see Queen and Noir crashing, punching the large statue of endeavour into pieces.
Search and you'll find the stage you set within your dreams
In the UFO we see Oracle typing in a few more codes with a grin on her face, before snapping her fingers causing her UFO to drop a huge bomb towards the All Might statue.
The place where you're the one, that's where you're meant to be
Joker then grinned as Arsene threw him towards the bomb which he shot with his pistol causing a huge explosion of colours.
FLYIN! Within these memories!
We see the whole team of Phantom Thieves cheering at the beautiful explosion they were witnessing.
FLYING! That you're slowly forgetting!
Joker smirked before he spun around and landed towards the ground as the train passed by him.
Just listen close to the song that lies within you~
Ren then gets up in his school uniform with Morgana in his bag, before he waved to us and walked back towards the crowd of people passing by.
Soul~
My Hero Academia! The Value of a Thief!
Awhile later
Third person P.O.V.
We see the Thieves currently watching TV while eating some PIzza, currently watching the reruns of the U.A. sports festival that occurred earlier that day.
The current match that was going on was between Midoriya and Todoroki, with Todoroki stomping his foot to create a massive ice wall which Midoriya smashed to pieces using his own quirk which sent a powerful shockwave by flicking his finger.
"Whooooo Aaaaaaaahhhhhhhh! He smashed it to pieces!" The voice of the announcer, Present Mic yelled.
"Holy crap! So that's that One for All thing" Ren muttered, as they watched the match with Midoriya once again shattering another ice wall.
"One for all?" The others asked, looking over at Ren.
"Sumi had mentioned that Midoriya suddenly got a new Quirk out of nowhere. He had somehow unlocked a Persona and gained a new Quirk along with it. But he had no idea what I was talking about and mentioned something called One for All." Ren explained "I have no idea what it is, we kinda promised not to talk about it any further. Best I can guess is that he got it recently."
"Wait, is that possible?" Haru gasped, looking surprised.
"How can you be so sure?" Makoto asked, crossing her arms.
"I mean, just take a look at his hand" Ren pointed out, as they saw Midoriya's bloodied and swollen fingers as Todoroki closed the distance between the two "Anyone can tell his body isn't used to the Quirk yet, probably shouldn't talk about it to anyone else though."
"Oh yeah, kinda like how we had to get used to our Quirks upgrades" Ryuji nodded, making Makoto blink.
"Huh? What do you mean by that?" Makoto asked, with raised eyebrows.
"When we awaken our Persona's it also upgrades your Quirks or gives a new one to those who don't have one" Morgana explained, hopping up.
"Wow! Really, like what?" Haru asked.
"Well for example, my Fox ears used to just work at the same level as a human but after awakening my hearing and all of my senses were strengthened, specifically when I am focusing enough." Yusuke explained.
"Yeah and my sleep gas Quirk used to just be turning Sugar into a gas before Awakening." Ann followed up.
"Now I really wanna know what my Quirk has turned into" Haru smiled, before turning to Makoto "What about you Mako-chan?"
"H-Huh, o-oh yeah" Makoto smiled, as the others looked at her.
"Mako-chan are you alright?" Haru asked, looking a bit worried.
"I-I'm fine, I've just been a bit curious…do you mind if I see the app Amamiya-kun?" Makoto asked, making Ren blink,
"Huh? Oh sure, and you can just call me Ren." Ren told her, handing Makoto the phone with the App on it.
"Hmm…so that's how it works…you just put in a name, a place and a distortion" she muttered, handing him back the phone "That explains why you needed the name to change the heart."
"Pretty much yeah," Ren nodded as Haru turned to him.
"Um Ren, is it alright if you could check something for me…" Haru asked, while Ren glanced at her.
"Sure, what is it?" "Could you check if my father has one of those Palaces?"
An awkward silence passed through the room as they looked at the girl, having already been told about how she awakened her Persona.
"Are you sure about this Haru? I mean you may not like what you see if we go into the palace" Morgana asked, looking at the Heiress.
"I promised myself and with Milady that I would stop my father with my own hands…so I have to know for sure." she nodded as Ren handed her the phone.
"Alright, as long as it's just checking… it's your choice…" Ren said, "Just say the name and if it finds him, then it means he does have a Palace."
"Thank you… Kunikazu Okumura." Haru readed, before waiting in anticipation as the screen loaded.
ERROR
"The hell?!" Ryuji blinked in surprise.
"Wait, does that mean he doesn't have a Palace?" Makoto asked, but Ann shook her head.
"No, it usually says something different when they can't find one…" Ann muttered "Does it say anything Haru?"
"All it says is, Target is too far from Palace to confirm. Does that mean anything?" Haru asked.
"Ooooohhhh, that makes sense" Morgana realised, jumping onto the table.
"Do you know what's happening Morgana?" Yusuke asked, with a raised eyebrow.
"I think so yeah, Haru. Is your father in the city right now?" she asked, but Haru shook her head.
"No, he's on a Business Trip at the moment. He's looking for foreign Heroes for our family company to sponsor." Haru explained "He won't be back until after the Summer."
"Ah I get it, so the host has to be close to the same area as the Palace for the Phone to confirm it" Ren nodded to himself "Didn't know that."
"But wait, Kamoshida was in U.A. when we changed our hearts and Madarame was over at the exhibition," Ryuji questioned.
"All of those places are still in Mementos's range. For a Palace to form outside of Mementos's range the host needs to be in the general area, otherwise the Palace can't form without the Host being there to have it form" Morgana explained.
"You mentioned that during your story, what is this Mementos?" Makoto asked.
"Think of it like a nest of everyone's desires. Where the Shadow's hanging around being the baby birds, so when the Palace forms it's like the Bird flying off on their own to make their own Nest" Yusuke explained with a smile.
"Seriously, how in the world did you come across something like this?" Makoto asked, as Ren gave her a cocky grin.
"I already told you, didn't I?"
"Oh come on, the story about a magic dream prison with a long nose man and two children dressed as wardens that executes your Persona to fuse them together" Makoto sighed before noticing the others going silent "No…"
"Yeah, when an invisible child kicks you in your bad leg you tend to believe in them." Ryuji explained.
"...Okay, now I have a lot more questions," Makoto said, before a ding came on Ren's phone.
Taking the phone back from Haru, Ren checked before sighing "Looks like I got a call, one sec."
Ren stood up and walked a bit away from the others as they continued watching the match before answering "Hey Boss, what's up."
"What did you do?"
Ren raised an eyebrow as he glanced at the phone "Uh, what are you talking about?"
"What did you do?"
"You know repeating yourself isn't going to instantly make me realise what you're talking about right?" Ren told him only to hear Sojiro sigh.
"Look, some Lady showed up that said she wanted to meet with you. She looks like she's part of some big company too."
"Wait, I have no idea who you're talking about? The only person here that it could possibly be is right here." Ren told him.
"Well I don't care, I don't want to keep her waiting so get over here."
"Hah, fine fine" Ren sighed.
"What's going on?" Ann asked, with raised eyebrows while Ren picked up his bag.
"Just Sojiro asking me to head back, apparently someone is there looking for me." Ren explained.
"Wait, you don't think it could be Kaneshiro do you?" Makoto asked, looking worried.
"I don't think he would have figured out where I live that quickly" Ren pointed out "Besides whoever this is, is a woman that looks like she's a part of a big company."
"Oh shit! What if it's Makoto's sis" Ryuji gulped, as Makoto thought about it.
"Possibly, the only reason I could think of wanting to meet with you is to ask about the Kamoshida incident since you were one of the targets," Makoto muttered.
"Maybe you should show us what she looks like, just so we know who we were meeting with," Morgana suggested, and Makoto nodded, holding up her phone.
"Hmm, oh her" Ren blinked, seeing the picture of Sae on the phone.
"Wait, you know her?!" Makoto asked, surprised.
"Not really, she just stopped by the Cafe once" Ren explained, putting Morgana in the bag "She seemed like a regular so I doubt she's the person Sojiro is talking about."
"Oh alright," Makoto nodded, sighing with relief.
"Welp anyway, I should probably head now see ya guys" Ren waved, leaving the apartment while the others continued hanging out.
Leblanc
Third person P.O.V.
"Hoo, finally here…" Ren muttered, as he walked up to the familiar restaurant he was living in.
"So, who do you think it's going to be?" Morgana asked, as Ren rubbed his head.
"No idea to be honest, but only one way to find out." Ren said, walking up to the door and opening it.
"Ah good you're back." Sojiro sighed, standing at the bar while a familiar red haired woman sat opposite of him.
"Wait, you're…"
"It's good to see you again" The woman said, turning to Ren revealing that it was Mitsuru Kirijo in her business "You're Amamiya-kun, correct."
"Mitsuru…Kirijo…" Ren muttered, with a gulp.
Sojiro then walked up to Ren while putting on his hat "Sounds like you're not in trouble, so I'll be leaving the rest to you kid, don't try to embarrass yourself."
Ren nodded while Sojiro left, a few minutes later Ren had prepared two cups of coffee for him and Mitsuru as they sat opposite each other.
Mitsuru took a cup of the coffee and had a sip, before smiling "Hmm, I have to admit… this place might just have ruined regular coffee for me."
"Oh um, I could get you something else-" "Ah you misunderstand my apologies, it was meant to be a compliment."
"R-Right…" Ren sweatdropped, sitting back down "Um…so why did you come all the way out here…how did you even know I lived here."
"Well, do you remember why I was at U.A." Mitsuru asked, to which Ren shook his head "Fair enough, I was looking at the students to see which one would be good enough for my Hero Agencies internship programme, and out of all of those students you impressed me the most."
"R-Really, I wouldn't say I was that great" Ren muttered, while Mitsuru shook her head.
"You certainly were, you managed to lead a group of students that had no experience with using their Quirk for combat against a group of admittedly fledgling heroes but still fully capable and somehow managed to win." Mitsuru continued this by taking a sip of her coffee "Almost as if they already had experienced…"
"Uh what was that?" Ren questioned, but Mitsuru shook her head.
"Nothing, so would you be interested in being one of the students taking part in my Hero internship program?" She asked "You won't be the only one of your classmates going, if that is what's worrying you."
"Um no no…" Ren shook his head, before looking up at Mitsuru "I'm just wondering well um, …when will it be?."
"...The Internship begins in a week's time, sorry for not telling you earlier it took some time to find where you live." she explained "So are you interested."
'...Well I needed to pick a Hero Agency to work for anyway…but it would mean we'd need to work through the Palace by the end of the week…' Ren thought, glancing down.
"...Alright, I'll do it." Ren nodded, making Mitsuru smile.
"I'm grateful that you've taken my offer." she nodded, finishing her coffee before standing up "I look forward to working with you, Amamiya-kun."
"Ah, same to you Kirijo-san" Ren nodded as Mitsuru took her leave.
"That Kirijo…you think she's onto us?" Morgana asked, popping his head out of the bag.
"Not sure, don't really see how she possibly could have gotten a clue though." Ren frowned, rubbing his head.
"Yeah you're right, I'm probably just over thinking" Morgana sighed, shaking his head "Probably just tired from everything that's been happening today."
"Should probably get some sleep" Ren nodded, stretching a bit while he and Morgana made their way upstairs "And then tomorrow we'll head in to begin the infiltration."
Outside we see Kirijo making her way to the parked car and entering inside and finding Labrys waiting for her.
"Heya Mitsuru, so what did Ren say?" Labrys asked, as Mitsuru sat down.
"Yes he did, looks like you won't be the only one going to the Hero Internship" Mitsuru smiled.
"But do you really think he'll help us out if we've been lying to him?" Labrys asked, crossing her "I just think we shoulda been honest."
Mitsuru sighed as she looked at Labrys "I know that you're right, but we still don't know where the Phantom Thieves align, so we need to be certain."
"And if they don't trust us for lying to them…" Labrys asked, making Mitsuru go silent
"I know he probably won't trust me at first…but the Phantom Thieves may be our only possible option. We have to stop him…"
"Yeah, and get my sister back," Labrys nodded, as they drove off.
Yeah this seems like a good place to end this chapter, I'm gonna be honest I wasn't sure where to take this chapter since I wasn't sure if I wanted to begin the infiltration right away or not.
So yeah, this felt like a better start to show Haru's awakening, settle things between Ann and Makoto and begin setting up an arc which will be happening later on.
Also I wanna try something interesting for the Hero Internship arc, I wanna try using different Oc's for it so if you guys got any suggestions or any character you want to see in the Kirijo internship program let me know.
So with that said, the next chapter is going to be the proper infiltration so hope you guys are looking for that but for now onto the reviews.
Chronos0305: Yeah well I wanted to try something different
Shadow Joestar: Yes, yes it will
Gamerlover41592: Thank you
RosyMiranto18: Honestly kinda forgot about that plot point but it does make sense Ren wouldn't suspect her.
Tiger1301: That's literally what it said in the game
Beatles211: Yeah your reviews are too long but thanks for posting them.
Anyway with that said, don't forget to review and favourite this story and of course.
See you next chapter