Disclaimer: Fate and Persona are owned by different companies, and I hold no ownership and all that jazz.
8/20
Hakuno liked to think she wasn't an angry person, she did her best to reign in her emotions, more so lately as she had been more temperamental than usual for reasons she didn't fully understand.
But. This time she felt her anger was justified, the raging cursed flames of Avenger cackled, and with just one thought she could bring him out, his claws would make mincemeat of this absolute waste of space.
But…
Taking a shuttering breath to stay calm, she felt Futaba clutch onto both her and Akira's back as the man took a step towards her, she could smell the cheap cigarettes and alcohol radiating off of the scum from here.
The man didn't answer Sojiro's statement and just leveled a haughty smirk in their direction, "What are you doing here Youji."
"You know, just dropping by to see my niece, it is the day she killed Wakaba after all Figured it might be the best day to talk about possibly getting custody." Hakuno felt herself scowl. "You know, as her only blood relative-"
"I already gave you most of the inheritance for her custody! Was that not enough for you!?" Hakuno chose to ignore Sojiro waving at them behind his back, he was trying to tell them to leave and that he would deal with it.
But, Futaba was stuck to the ground, the Hermit's body had locked up in fear, a side glance at Akira and she could see his fists clench, slipping on her communicator she had a somewhat stupid idea. "Akira… do you have a plan?" She pushed more Magical Energy into the Mystic Code, she felt a small shock come from it but Akira wincing told her it worked.
He gave a subtle nod before mouthing, Mona.
The little guy was most likely asleep, cats are supposed to sleep long hours… Hopefully, he was still wearing or close enough to his communicator that it could still work.
"Morgana, do you hear me?"
"Mrow?" He sounded tired, probably sleeping but this was important, "Mreow…I mean, yeah! You alright?"
"Well you know how the courts are, blood is thicker than water and all that. And having a criminal so close to her," He tutted at Sojiro, barely glancing at the three of them before taking a step closer, "It has to be bad for her health."
"Like you care! After all you've done to her!? You think I would let you take her back!?" Sojiro was fully blocking them from his view, in a feeble attempt at getting them to leave it to the 'adults'.
"Can you… spook someone? Like really scare him?" Getting him to leave would be the highest priority, Futaba was shaking like a leaf, and she decided that he would be their next target in Mementos.
"Y-yeah! Totally!"
… He didn't sound confidant but she trusted Morgana, the not-cat was incredibly resourceful.
"Don't pretend I don't see how shaken she is! See she is practically shaking in her boots! What, you drag her out to see that dump?"
"She paid respect to her ancestors, Something you clearly hadn't bothered to do." She could hear Futaba whine and that made him perk up.
Disgusting.
"See! She is still a total wreck~ Man, you really haven't been taking good care of her? And…" Sojiro stepped back as the man said, "Clearly, you raising her is not for 'good for her' bringing her to that old-"
"Shut up." She wasn't surprised by Akira's tone, "Sojiro is a great Father." The man barely glanced at him, Akira took a step forward and Futaba's other hand clutched onto Hakuno's back. "Far better than any I've seen." She probably should be offended as Ritsuka was decent but Akira hasn't met her parents yet.
"Akira…" It was hard to make out Sojiro's expression without seeing his face, but it was clear to them what he thought, "Why don't you kids-"
"You're Wide Open!" Morgana's shout was accompanied by sharp cracking and blinding small lights. "MEROWW~!"
"What the!?" Morgana's claws must not have dug deep as Futaba's uncle shouted and tossed off of him before warping to the top of Leblanc's awning. Morgana cackled as he threw more firecrackers at the man, causing him to widen the gap between the two parties. How Morgana had access to them completely confused her, and Futaba's grip slacked on her before she let out a scared laugh.
"Morgana?" Sojiro sounded gobsmacked, which Hakuno was as well, the rage she felt faded to more what the fuck. Why did their not-a-cat have access to fireworks?
"Oy! What the fuck!" The uncle hissed, "That's your cat ain't it!" Seeing the flinch on Sojiro's face made him smirk, "Fine! Be difficult. I'll see you in court for assault." Morgana threw another firecracker that popped at his feet causing him to jump as he escaped.
"I… ok, what did you kids do?" Sojiro looked up at Morgana who tried his best to look innocent, "No better yet, Morgana how?"
"Maybe his instinct was to protect us? Cat's are extremely loyal." Akira quickly added, "Ain't that right Hakuno?"
"At least Morgana is? He is incredibly smart?" She was still confused about the firecrackers. "Morgana, where did you get firecrackers?" She waited for an answer that didn't come, as the not-a-cat quickly removed himself from the scene.
Hakuno sighed, the adrenaline in her system fading away and making her tired, "Sojiro… can we go home?"
"...Yeah, we'll talk about this tomorrow." Sojiro sighed, giving a final glance at where Morgana would have been if he hadn't teleported, "That damn cat I swear can teleport I never know when I'll see him…" He sighed as he muttered, Futaba grumbled as she said a quick goodbye and left for their house.
8/21
"I'm sorry you kids had to see that." Hakuno had arrived early at Leblanc, she had paused and looked into the small cafe, the Futaba and Akira were sitting next to each other at the bar as she walked in. Sojiro's eyes didn't even glance in her direction, the small ashtray by the door was full of burned cigarettes.
Sojiro looked tired.
"It's not your fault," Futaba yawned "I did some digging into Uncle's stuff and found out he is in a lot of debt if you just tell that to the Police then-"
"Futaba, I thought you stopped doing that kind of stuff..." Futaba began to protest but was quickly cut down by Sojiro's glare, "I swear that he won't take you, I know that Akira can't trust the legal system, But I have a few connections left. I won't let him take you two away."
They needed to get him to confess, if not then if he does go to the police they will look closely at Akira and Futaba, they can't afford to have the cops get close to them right now. If the Cops even looked in Futaba's computer, while it would probably take them quite a long while to crack it, they most likely would find something to incriminate her, whether that be the bug in Kobayakawa's office or the myriad of things that could link her to Alibaba.
The only reason she hadn't burned her way down to Mementos yesterday was because Futaba had texted her and asked to meet today to discuss it.
Futaba's face scrunched up, "Sojiro, see Uncle is in so much debt, I have proof of gambling, illegal activities all of it!" Futaba was shoving her phone into Sojiro's face, Hakuno placed a hand on Futaba's shoulder causing her to flinch. As she lowered her phone back on the table Sojiro only spared it a glance.
"Futaba, this… is a criminal offense, far worse than what he did. You can't use illegally gotten info in court." Futaba froze, "Besides…" His sigh was full of tiredness and defeat, "I wasn't there for you when you needed me…maybe… maybe there might be a better home for you somewhere else."
That…
Was the stupidest thing Sojiro had ever said in Hakunos' opinion.
"Stupid! Stupid! Do you not want me to!?" Futaba's emotions were high and Hakuno could feel the flicker of something else in the room. The hurt in Sojiro's eyes was evident to them all.
But Hakuno was worried about the heat coming off of Futaba as she wrestled with her emotions. Futaba's eyes glistened with falling tears as she bolted upstairs with Akira right on her tail.
Good.
She will have some words with Sojiro.
Hakuno did her best imitation of the Tohasaka glare, "That was stupid."
"H-hey!"
"Sojiro Sakura, you just told your daughter that you want to get rid of her." Sojiro flinched, "Do you have any clue how much she loves you? She does her best and you spit in her face that you don't want her around anymore!?"
Sojiro had his head in his hands, "I didn't mean it like that."
"Go upstairs, and talk to your daughter." Hakuno grabbed Morgana who was trying to slink away. He could escape with his Magecraft but he knew better than to run away twice.
Sojiro nodded slowly and hesitatingly headed up the stairs.
"Morgana… we are heading to Mementos."
Akira and Futaba had met up with her before she steeled her nerves to descend with only Morgana as a backup.
"Did you really think we would let you have all the fun?" Hakuno rolled her eyes at Futaba's snark, "It would've taken you guys a while to find it, he's at a level we haven't even discovered yet."
Hakuno frowned if he was that deep then it would be trouble, "Futaba waved her hand, we just got to get as close as we can I can take care of the rest." Hakuno glanced at her in confusion but nodded.
Teleporting to the nearest safe zone Morgana grumbled that they had a few floors down still, "Mona why did you have fireworks?"
"Well," The car sounded bashful, "I get bored when Akira leaves, some days I sleep other days I work on making Phantom Thief stuff."
"You can always join me if you want," Akira noted as they dodged a particularly large Shadow, "Just not to work."
Morgana's horn beeped, "Can't always be attached to you, gotta figure my own things out as well you know? I can't hold you back every day." Hakuno calmed her nerves, it was terrifying to be stuck in a place as deadly with as few people as they had. But to get back at him for causing the people she cared about pain? Of course, she is willing to dive into the deep and protect her friends.
They only had to finish one fight, Avenger's Flame of Love and Hate made quick work of the Anubis. The Jackle God couldn't defend against the Almighty spell.
The door leading to the next area was still sealed and Hakuno had an inkling it would remain sealed off for a while longer, she had no clue what decided to open the door but Futaba had proposed Popularity. "Alright let's see." Futaba hopped into Necronomicon, and a soft cackling could be heard from the UFO.
Necronomicon churned and crunched, it vaguely reminded her of an old computer the way it sounded in pain. A flickering red and black vortex hazily appeared in front of the door, Hakuno could feel the dripping of Magical Energy as the hazy form began to solidify.
"What… the fuck." Ah, so she wasn't the only one confused by this development. Futaba's magecraft was portal creation? If it was couldn't she have made one in the beginning? Would they be able to delve deep into Mementos, figure out Morgana's identity, and figure out how to turn him human?
Futaba panted, clutching her knees, "According to Necro's data, this should lead directly to him. Whew, I'm spent." Futaba just dropped and fell on the floor, "Morgana mind navigating? I need a break."
Hakuno blinked, "We are going to test that later."
Futaba waved her hand, "Did a bit before, snuck in here with Morgana a few days ago, I'm calling it ~Cognition Manipulation~. I can't portal anywhere other than to requests, and it takes a lot out of me. I can use it to make some cool stuff, like when I made the Ballista in my Palace."
Versatile, it fits their primary navigator.
Hakuno picked up Futaba who squawked in protest, "Morgana transform?" Morgana chuckled strangely before turning into a bus, she put Futaba on the back seat of the Monamobile.
Entering the strange portal Morgana remained as the Monamobile with Futaba inside as Akira and herself exited.
"Woo it worked. It's my uncle's Shadow."
"He's just repeating money."
"Ye-p, it's him alright. He forced Sojiro to pay back his debts, he made me go through horrible things… Let's change his heart." Hakuno's heart clenched when Futaba's voice got quiet towards the end.
The Shadow's beedy yellow eyes looked down on them, "It doesn't matter who gives it to me just give me money. It's consolation money! Reparations! You have to! GIVE ME YOUR MONEY!"
The Shadow dissolved and became Girimekhala.
"Magus focus on range!" Akira dashed in as a Phantom Arahabaki appeared followed by a bright light centered on the elephant demon's face.
"Avenger!" Cursed flames licked the demon's feet causing him to stomp it out, with a roar from its trunk his blade swung down on Akira who used his knife to parry the blade into the ground.
A faint white haze formed around the blade as it shot up faster than it fell catching the Phantom Thief off guard but the blade bounced off his skin as it was repelled.
Hakuno peppered the Shadow with another Eiga as the Shadow slammed its hoof down causing the ground to shake and purple hands grasped at her.
It hurt but it didn't hurt enough not to fire another Eiga the Shadow blocked Akira's dagger with his sword before using its trunk to knock him away.
They didn't plan for a long expedition, so Hakuno didn't have to worry about conserving anything "Flames of Love and Hate!"The Shadow perhaps recognizing the danger of the attack had fired its own beam of white light causing both attacks to explode violently.
This… was the first time that Avenger's Skill had been blocked fully by another attack, but she didn't have time to worry as the Shadow looked tired, quickly she focused on "Hack!" the Digital Magecraft stunning the beast.
Akira had snuck behind the Shadow, a ball of lightning emerging from his gun before being fired stunning the Shadow, "Together!" The Metaverse warped and shifted as the two blasted the fallen Shadow forcing it to start dissolving into black dust.
The Show's Over
The familiar form of Youji Isshiki began to form again, it would be so easy to let Avenger burn him, but that wasn't who she was. It wasn't who the Phantom Thieves were. The Shadow was on the ground his eyes dull as he wasn't even paying attention to them.
Futaba must have climbed out of the Monamobile as she walked over to him. "Ah… Wakaba?"
Futaba stared down at the Shadow before shaking her head, "It's Futaba dumbass."
The Shadow gave a dry laugh, "Yeah, I guess so, you're just like her smart, and competent, I'm just a loser. Things would've always turned out this way. People finally started to look at me like they did Wakaba."
"Like mom?"
"Yeah, once I won a lot of money by gambling everyone paid attention to me, they saw me as me. Not someone in Wakaba's Shadow… not the disappointment. It made me feel like I was smart and competent… Like Wakaba!"
"You're just a gambling addict./You're an idiot." Akira and Hakuno spoke at the same time.
"Ha…You're absolutely right… I lost it all within a few days back at the casino, I kept trying and trying."
Morgana rolled his eyes, "Got to know when to stop, rolling the dice is fun but that's how they make their money."
The Shadow began to stand up, "Yeah… I realized that too late…" His Yellow eyes looked into Futaba's goggles. "Futaba, I'm sorry. Please forgive me… Wakaba…" His Shadow began to break down into golden light and turned into an overly decorated golden saber.
The ride out of Mementos was solemn, Hakuno had a few things to think about so she split off from them, hugging Futaba as the three went back towards Leblanc. Hopefully, with the change of heart, her Uncle won't do anything stupid.
But…Arriving at the empty apartment, she remembered that Ann had been invited by Yusuke to hang out giving her a few more hours of alone time, so she decided to take care of something before she forgot again. It's been a while since she last called them, but...
"Hey, Mom."
Author's Notes: Kind of speedran the whole Uncle side part of Futaba/Sojiro's confidant but as it was just one sort of Regular Shadow it didn't pose a whole lot of threat to Akira and Hakuno more so them working together.
Also, this is Sunday's Chapter I just won't be home that day until late so here ya'll go!
Also, Futaba's Magecraft sounds a lot more impressive than it is, It is basically on the level of Projection but limited in scope to the Palace/Mementos in the real world she can't do a whole lot. Basically in gameplay, her Magecraft would let them visit a Single Mementos Request without having to go to that direct floor as long as it's within a certain range of floors you are on. (You couldn't say access floor 10 from floor 1)
Anyways, Cya laters!