Boku no Hero: Royal
So... Hey there everyone, or the remains of any reader that still waited more than a year for me tu update this fic.
I am truly sorry, and I feel kinda ashamed for taking me this long to update, so instead, I will just drop the chapter and stay in the corner, enjoy... I guess.
Last Update: August 06th, 2023
Elapsed Time: 1 year, 6 months, 23 Days (573 Days)
Effects, Time and Place
Thoughts
Collective Thought
"Remembered Dialogues"
"Dialogues"
Translation Words
Boku no Hero: Royal.
Chapter 9: Welcome to Mementos
Unknown Location
The pain in his head was intense, he felt like he was spinning in the air and crashing into a wall. Mirko stood up and opened her eyes, observing that she was in the Shibuya subway. However, it appeared somewhat different; the environment was gloomy and dark, illuminated by dim greenish lighting.
"Where the heck am I?" asks Mirko looking around.
"Sensei," says Kree calling her.
Turning around, he sees her pupil holding a girl with short brown hair, a blue motorcycle suit, and an iron mask.
"Let me go!" the girl demands, struggling unsuccessfully.
"Well done, rookie," Mirko approaches his pupil "Well, well, you don't seem to be over 10 years old," the heroine mocks.
"I'm 15," the girl corrects.
"This is strange, Lady Mirko. They must have a teleportation gift," says Kree.
"It's not true," the young woman answers.
"So, what did you do? Where are we?" Mirko asks seriously.
"Definitely not in Shibuya," the girl answers.
"Kuda, Dredge," Kree called to his companions, but was surprised when he saw them with fur, like when they were alive "WOW! And what happened to you?" Kree asks, the wolves bark, but only the Austrian is confused "I don't understand you, why don't I understand you?" Kree takes the girl and corners her against the wall "Enough games, where are we?" Kree asks seriously.
"Gh, we are in Mementos… A Cognitive Palace," the defeated girl answers.
"Mementos? Cognitive Palace?" Mirko asks without understanding. "We're not here to play games, brat," Mirko comments annoyed.
"Queen, Queen answer…" a small voice is heard.
"Shit!" says the girl with the mask.
"A communicator, how convenient," says Mirko taking the communicator from the girl.
"Hey!" complains the girl known as Queen.
"Rookie, check that he doesn't have any weapons," Mirko orders.
"Ehhhh," Kree looks away.
"I refuse!" Queen answers angrily.
"You shut up, just do it, rookie," says Mirko.
"Okay, hands and legs apart," says Kree, lightly kicking the girl's feet.
"Careful where you touch," Queen clarifies.
"I'll have it," Kree replies.
Kree began to check the girl's clothes to make sure she didn't have any tools that could help her escape. He didn't expect to find much because of how tight Queen's suit looked, but as a man it was somewhat uncomfortable for him to do so. However, that discomfort disappeared when he found a few things.
"Gauntlets?" Kree asks, holding up the weapons. "A revolver?" he says, now holding the pistol.
"Well, well, 15 years and carrying weapons, that's about, hmmm, 3 years in prison," says Mirko.
"Actually, is 5 and… Shit!" Queen scolds herself.
"Thanks for the clarification, now," Mirko gets serious as she corners Queen "Why does a 15-year-old girl carry a gun and steel gauntlets?" the heroine asks seriously.
"T-they're fake, they're imitations," the girl explains.
"They look pretty real to be like that," Kree comments, looking at the revolver.
"They are very well made, they are fake," Queen answers.
"So, how about we play Russian Roulette?" Mirko asks, smiling.
"W-what?" the nervous brunette answers.
"Fenrir, the weapon," Mirko orders.
"Here you have it, Lady Mirko," Kree empties the revolver except for one bullet and turns the magazine over.
"Let's start, if it's fake, it shouldn't go off, right?" Mirko watches the brunette getting more and more nervous.
"I felt the weapon quite real Lady Mirko," comments Kree.
"We're about to find out," Mirko points the gun at her head, uses the hammer of the weapon to load it and prepares to pull the trigger.
"Wait!" the defeated girl screams. "Don't do it, you win, it's real," Queen says, defeated.
"Those are the words I was hoping to hear," Mirko hands the weapon to Kree "Then explain to me why you have a weapon like that," the heroine asks seriously.
"It's hard to explain, the gun only works here," the girl explains.
"Don't try to fool us," says Mirko seriously.
"It's true, it only works here, I swear," Queen replies.
"Fenrir," Mirko turns to look at his pupil.
"I emptied the entire gun barrel, Lady Mirko. You were never in any danger," Kree smiles, crossing her arms.
"B-but, I saw you put a bullet in," says Queen surprised.
"You mean… this bullet?" Kree answers, pulling out the extra bullet from behind Queen's ear as if it were a magic trick "Checkmate, my dear," the Austrian comments, smiling victoriously.
"I-I know my rights," says the girl, somewhat intimidated.
"Go ahead, it will be very interesting to see how you defend yourself from carrying an illegal weapon as well as gauntlets, but now, take off that mask," the heroine removes Queen's mask revealing dark brown eyes and pink lips "You... you look, familiar," says Mirko observing the girl's features.
"Lady Mirko, we should find a way out of this place," says Kree holding Queen.
"Yes, but first," the heroine uses Queen's communicator "Can you hear me, brats?" asks Mirko.
"Woah, who are you? What did you do to Queen?" a male voice asks.
"We captured her, unless you want her to spend 5 years of her life in prison, you will come here," Mirko demands.
"Mementos roads are dangerous, look, we will meet in a safe area, follow the Kaitul Road until its entrance, then you will reach the Chemdah Road and-"
"What the hell are you saying?" asks Mirko, frowning.
"Goddamit! Head to the entrance of that floor. You need to reach a similar floor with yellow lighting," explains the voice.
"Hmm, it better not be a trap or they will pay dearly for it," says Mirko.
"No, it won't be, give the communicator to Queen, please," the voice asks, Mirko obeys, but stays close.
"Queen here," the girl answers.
"Great, Queen, take them to Chemdah Road, we'll meet at the Safe Zone," the voice says.
"Okay, we'll see you there as soon as possible," Queen answers.
"Fine, be careful with the shadows, if you have to fight, do it," the voice mentions.
"Understood, see you there, Queen out," communication is cut off.
"So?" Mirko asks seriously.
"We will see you on the Chemdah Road, we'll be safe there," says Queen, lowering his mask.
"How do we know it's not a trick?" Kree asks seriously.
"We have no reason to deceive you. We are already wanted just for making a couple of criminals confess, the fact that the heroine Mirko disappears along with the winner of the Yuuei Sports Festival would create a wrong opinion about us," says the girl.
"Confess? Criminals? Wait, you guys, are the Phantoms Thieves of Hearts?" Mirko asks in disbelief.
"Yes, there is no point in hiding it anymore," the girl replies dryly "Follow me, we have to get to the Chemdah Safe Zone, we have to hurry if we don't want to be found," says Queen.
"By whom?" Kree asks.
"There's no time, we have to move," Queen walked in front of both heroes with caution, but Mirko stops her.
"Ap, ap, ap, you're not going anywhere girl," Mirko said while cuffing the young girl.
""H-Hey! What do you think you're doing?" Queen asks angrily.
"I don't trust you, it's to make sure you don't try to escape," explains Mirko.
"I find no flaws in her logic," Kree answers.
"That's dumb," Queen replies.
"Wouldn't you do it with us if you could?" the Austrian asks, raising an eyebrow.
"I guess… so," the brunette sighs defeated.
Everything seemed to be relatively normal between the travelers, they were always aware of Queen escaping, but they noticed her somewhat nervous and always checking every corner, what they didn't know was that Queen was afraid of the dark, and now she was on a large but slightly narrow subway track, as she approached another corner the girl opened her eyes and hid, forcing Mirko and Kree to do the same.
"Why are we stopping?" asks Mirko.
"A Shadow," Queen answers.
"A what now?" Kree asks now.
"Hide, we must not be seen," says Queen.
"Where the fuck are we going to hide? This is a train track" Mirko complains. "There's only one, I say we kick his ass," says the heroine emerging from her hiding place.
"No, wait!" Queen whispers trying to stop her.
"Hey, ugly," says the white-haired girl to the enormous black mass that had several faces on its body.
The strange creature roars and runs towards the heroine to attack her, but she smiles confidently, when the creature hit the ground, Mirko jumped and kicked it in the face, knocking off the mask it was wearing, the creature began to writhe until it fell to the ground, melting completely.
"See, it was easy," says the heroine looking towards where Queen was.
"It's not over yet," says Queen nervously.
A strange shadow begins to grow behind Mirko, the heroine turns around when that strange black mass begins to take a different form, Mirko didn't see the kick coming from that black mass. Kree caught her teacher to prevent her from hitting the wall. They both saw how the shadow exploded revealing a strange being, quite tall, with blue skin and a white outfit, in his right hand there was a double sword, the most terrifying thing about the creature was that it had no face, it had a hole all over its face, as if something had gone through it.
Additionally, two more figures emerged behind him. The first was a large man similar in build to the previous one; however, his skin had a pinkish hue, his attire was grey, and he wielded a double-edged sword. This one did have a face, but it had no mouth. The last being to appear looked like some sort of large man with red skin, blue clothes and holding a strange large spear.
The heroes looked at the creatures in surprise, they had never seen anything like it.
"What the heck are those things?" Kree asks just before dodging an attack from the red-skinned creature.
"There's no time to think," says Mirko dodging the other 2 "Show me what I've taught you, rookie!" says Mirko kicking the blue-skinned being away.
"Understood, Lady Mirko," says Kree dodging the other being.
"Stop, you need my help," says Queen.
"How do we know you won't escape?" Mirko asks, dodging the monster's huge double sword.
"I'm a vigilante, not a villain!" Queen replies angrily.
"She has a point," Kree says.
"It's not enough, she ends up winning if we let her free, she will run away and escape from us when the danger passes," Mirko answers.
"I'm the only option they have to beat those things," Queen claims.
"I've faced worse things than a trio of troglodytes," says Mirko "How would you help us?"
"The rules of the Metaverse are different, those things have different abilities, physical attacks are not the only viable option," Queen answers.
"FINE! Fenrir, free her!" Mirko orders.
"Right away," Kree dodges the red monster and kicks it away, runs to Queen and removes the handcuffs "Don't do anything weird," says the Austrian.
"I have to," says Queen seriously.
When she was released, Queen ran straight to where Mirko was, the rabbit heroine was sent flying by a blow from the pink monster.
"It's my turn," says Queen helping her.
"What are you talking about?" asks Mirko.
"From this, Come to me, Johanna!" Queen shouts.
The girl's iron mask disintegrated in blue flames, which grew behind Queen who jumped into the air and landed on a grey motorcycle that emerged from the flames, the motorcycle had a small front windshield where a female face could be seen. Mirko opened his mouth as he saw the girl riding the motorcycle now without her mask and with a smile.
"What the heck is that thing?" Mirko asks confused.
"Johanna, Mirko; Mirko, Johanna, introductions made," Queen starts his bike a little and accelerates against the monsters, skidding and sending the red-skinned one flying, causing him to crash into the others.
Kree helped Mirko to stand up, they couldn't believe what was happening, from the fire that appeared a strange motorcycle came out and now the girl was facing those monsters.
"We have to help them Johanna, let's show them our power," the girl starts a little more and a bluish energy came out of the motorcycle, this energy was shot against the pink, skinned monster and to Mirko's surprise, he fell to the ground, feeling in pain.
"What the…?" asks Mirko.
"The rules in the Metaverse are strange, a Sui Ki is weak to nuclear attacks like mine," explains Queen referring to the pink-skinned monster.
"Sui Ki?" Kree asks.
"That's right, the monster I took down is a Sui Ki, the one without a face is a Fuu Ki, and the red-skinned one is an Oni," explains Queen.
"Oni, Sui Ki, Fuu Ki, are demons from Japanese and Chinese mythology," says Mirko.
"Familiar with that?" Queen asks, dodging the demons.
"Kinda," answers Mirko.
"Ladies!" Kree shouts, dodging the attacks of both beings. "May I interrupt you?!" the boy asks, kicking the Fuu Ki.
"I'm coming, Fenrir," says Mirko kicking Oni hard.
"No! Physical attacks are not very effective against Oni!"
The monster grabbed Mirko's leg and threw it forcefully towards the wall, the blow was brutal, and a small part of the wall was destroyed.
"Mikro-sensei!" Kree shouts as she runs towards her teacher, but Oni gets in the way. "You're in my way!" Kree dodges Oni's attacks and touches his chest. "Game Over! You bastard!" Oni recoiled from the blow, but his gaze was blank and white. "It worked." The Austrian runs towards Mirko, but a hand stops him. "What?" He turns around and sees Oni looking at him and throws him away from Mirko.
"Fenrir!" Mirko shouts, standing up.
"I don't understand, my Astral Plane didn't work," thought Fenrir surprised.
"I'm coming," said Queen, using her motorcycle to reach the Austrian. "Are you okay?" asked the brunette.
"Give me information, you said that the Sui Ki is weak to your nuclear attacks, tell me the weaknesses of the others," asks Kree standing up.
"Oni has no weaknesses, physical attacks and projectiles are not very effective on him either. Fuu Ki on the other hand, is weak to electricity, but physical attacks are a viable option," says Queen.
"Well, let's get started," Kree frowns and runs towards Fuu Ki.
The monster tried to use its weapon against the Austrian, but the latter dodged it without problems and kicked its leg hard, forcing the being to kneel. Following that, Queen throws her revolver at it, which Kree manages to catch.
"Oh yeah, it's about time," says the boy smiling.
Fuu Ki rises and attempts to strike Fenrir, who deftly evades and swiftly counterattacks. As the monster discharges its weapon once more, Kree avoids the attack by leaping, subsequently firing three bullets. These shots hit Fuu Ki in the stomach and then in the right leg. Kree quickly maneuvers to position himself beside Fuu Ki and fires his gun again. Fuu Ki fell to the ground, but tried to grab his gun, which Kree shot, moving her further away from the thing.
"Don't even think about it," says the Austrian seriously.
At the same time with the women, Mirko continued hitting Oni who barely felt the blows, Queen attacked Johanna and knocked Oni away from the heroine.
"I don't think they have much energy left, just a little more and we can defeat them," says Queen seriously.
"Well, I can't wait to bring them to justice," says Mirko, wiping away his sweat.
"Justice? They are shadows, technically they don't exist, nothing happens if you eliminate them," says Queen while launching a nuclear attack at Sui Ki, knocking him out.
"I see, then I don't have to hold back," Mirko says smiling as he looks at Oni.
The heroine runs towards the monster and gives more powerful blows, Oni tries to hit the heroine with his weapon, but the white-haired girl jumps and kicks Oni's weapon hard, destroying it, the monster roars and now manages to catch the heroine in his hands, Mirko just kicks him in the jaw to free himself, jumps and spinning in the air gives a huge kick that knocked Oni down, the monster was just about to stand up when Queen accelerated and ran over him, Oni turned completely black and exploded into several black particles.
Hold Up!
Kree continued to aim at Fuu Ki while Sui Ki was still unconscious, Queen and Mirko approached the shadow seriously.
"Your companions were defeated," says Queen.
"I know," said Fuu Ki tiredly.
"Wait, that thing talked?" Kree asks.
"Yes, shadows can talk here in the Metaverse, luckily, it seems to have some sense of self-preservation," Queen watches the shadow.
"What do you want from me?" asks Fuu Ki.
"We need the Shadows to stop bothering us while we go to Chemdah, so give us whatever money you have and don't talk to anyone about this," Queen says seriously.
"Money?" Mirko asks, lost.
"Okay, this is all I have," the monster throws a total of 2050 yen "Thank you, for sparing my life, I will not disturb the other shadows," the being stands up and disappears with the Sui Ki.
"Well, we're done here," Queen says seriously.
"Wait, what just happened? Why did that thing give you money? Where's your bike?" Kree asks.
"I'll explain it to you in the Safe Zone, let's go," says Queen calmly.
"Lady Mirko?" Fenrir looks at his master.
"For now, we will follow her," is all the heroine says, following the motorcyclist closely.
The three of them continued walking for a while, it seemed safer now, there were no more shadows so they could walk relatively calmly, although there were still doubts, the girl had her mask on again and there were no signs of her motorcycle, Fenrir asked about it again, but Queen said that everything would be explained in the Safe Zone, the Shadows can't get there.
After a few minutes they arrived at a room where the subway tracks supposedly started, but there were stairs that led to the upper floor. When they reached the upper floor, the lighting changed from greenish to yellow, and they seemed to be in the train waiting area.
"Ok, we are at the end of the Chemdah Road, we are almost there to reach the Safe Zone," says Queen.
"This place, Mementos, where is it located? And why does it look like Shibuya Station?" asks Mirko.
"Mementos is the Cognitive Palace of the masses, you could say that we are in the subconscious of every person in Shibuya," explains Queen.
"That's impossible," Mirko answers.
"Not quite," Kree answers "This space… Cognitive, as you say, would explain why my Quirk suffered an alteration," Kree says looking at his hands "Take us to your group quickly, I need answers," Kree asks.
"This way, we're close," Queen starts walking to climb another few steps.
That section appeared less intimidating compared to the previous floor. Although there were some shadows, they promptly retreated upon being noticed.
"Did those things ran away?" Mirko asks.
"But on the previous floor they chased us and even fought with us," says Kree confused.
"It's because those shadows contain extremely weak enemies, as I said, some shadows have a sense of self-preservation, they know they won't be able to defeat us and decide to flee," explains Queen.
"Cowards," Mirko complains.
"And what exactly are you doing here in Mementos?" Kree asks.
"As I said, it's better if you hear it from our leader, I'll just say that we came to Mementos to help people," says the brunette.
"But… you have such impressive power, why do you act as vigilantes? Did you take any exams to enter Yuuei or any other hero school?" Kree asks.
"Just… Let's go," Queen says, somewhat monotonous at the question.
After a few minutes they reached another set of stairs, and as they went up, they saw a small waiting booth, there was a group of people in strange outfits. A boy with a traditional kitsune-style half mask and a dark blue jumpsuit with a long white collar, a girl with a red panther mask, a latex suit tight to her body, a boy with an iron skeleton mask and a black thug suit, the last one was a boy with a white mask and a black thief suit. Queen approached them hugging them while Mirko and Kree stood ready for anything.
"You had us worried, Queen," says the girl in the red suit.
"Yes, when we arrived at Mementos and we didn't see you, we were scared, we thought they had caught you," answers the boy with the skeleton mask.
"Then we found out you were on the Kaitul Path and we got even more scared, it must have been terrifying," comments the boy with the Kitsune mask.
"Calm down guys, I'm fine, just that, we have a little matter to discuss," says Queen looking at the heroes, everyone got nervous seeing the number 5 heroine and the winner of the Yuuei Sports Festival
"Aw shit, this is bad," said the guy in the skeleton mask.
"Okay, we're here, now, we want answers Phantom Thieves," says Mirko seriously.
"We're safe here, I guess we can't hide it anymore guys," says Queen sighing.
"Fine, take a seat, we will answer all your questions," says the black-haired boy with a white mask.
"Okay, first we want to know… What the hell just happened?!, Who are you guys?!, How did we end up in a twisted version of the Shibuya subway?!, Why did that girl summon a strange motorcycle?!, And why are we facing 2 Chinese demons and a Japanese one?!," the heroine screams.
"I'll explain it," a child's voice is heard, behind the thieves came a strange anthropomorphic black cat with a big head and blue eyes.
"Who is the cat?" asks Mirko.
"I'm not a cat, my name is Mona," the being answers "He is our leader, Joker," he points to the boy in black "She is Panther, he is Skull and that one is Fox," he says now pointing to the girl in red, the one with the skeleton mask and the one with the Kitsune mask "Anyway, take a seat heroine Mirko, we will explain everything to you," the heroine and the Austrian sat on one of the benches.
"This is so strange," says Mirko.
"We are in the Cognitive Palace of the masses, Mementos, here the twisted desires of people take physical form, we are a group of thieves who are dedicated to stealing the twisted desires of those people so that they do not commit crimes again, we are the Phantoms Thieves of Hearts," says the proud cat.
"Now, tell me why that girl summoned a motorcycle out of nowhere," Mirko demands.
"Oh, that's a Persona, it's the manifestation of an individual's Willpower, many have one, but only the chosen ones can manifest it," explains the cat.
"Johanna, Johanna," said Fenrir "I've heard that name before,"
"She was a woman from the Middle Ages, she was pope of the Catholic Church for a short period of time," explains Queen.
"Her Persona is based on Pope Joan's strong conviction," explains Mona "Our Persona allows us to fight against the dangers of the Metaverse, like the shadows you faced," says the cat.
"That… Makes sense," Kree says.
"Does it?" asks Mirko.
"It works almost similarly to my Astral Plane, another universe that is not physical, but is not entirely ethereal either, that is why my Quirk did not work, we are in another universe, one ruled entirely by the mind, that is why Kuda and Dredge look alive," Kree calls his wolves who appear calm.
"Those wolves are an important part of your life, aren't they?" Mona asks.
"Yes, they were with me all my life until they died," Kree answers.
"It's the effect of the Metaverse, even though they died, your mind and heart keep them alive, that's why they look like that," explains the cat.
"Do they look alive because I keep their memory alive?" Ferir asks.
"Exactly," answers Mona.
"How do they steal people's desires?" asks Mirko.
"It's simple, we look for the cognitive version of that person, and we convince them to leave their evil path, of course, they always look for a fight, but by defeating them and leaving them weak they are more susceptible to change, but it is important to steal the core of their desires, their Treasure. In addition, there are people with such distorted desires that they get a special place, we call them 'Palaces', they are more complicated to deal with. "So far, we have succeeded. The abusive teacher and the plagiarizing artist had such distorted desires that they weren't in Mementos, but had their own Palaces," says the cat.
"Why didn't you study to be heroes?" asks Mirko "Those skills would be very useful for the hero society, why become vigilantes?" asks the white-haired girl.
"It's more complicated than it seems," says Panther.
"Why? If you have the same power as your partner, why not be heroes?" Kree asks.
"Man, we wanted to…" Skull says, "But it just wasn't possible,"
"How so?" Kree asks again.
"Because our powers only work in the Metaverse," the leader speaks "Outside of here, we belong to that 20% of society that was not 'Blessed' with a Quirk that allows them to help people," he says seriously.
"Mukosei," says Mirko "You donn't have a Quirk… Out of this world?" Mirko stands up seeing them.
"No, we don't have any, but when we first came here, we were able to help," Joker answers.
"But taking justice into your own hands doesn't make you any better than the villains," Fenrir comments.
"And what did you want us to do? "No authority at our school believed us," Skull explains. "We couldn't fight back, no hero could help us, so we decided to help others, even though that would mean breaking the law," he states.
"There are other ways," says Mirko.
"Like what?!" the girl with the panther mask asks. "My friend was abused by that teacher and almost threw herself off the roof of our school. There was no time to call a hero, there was no time to stop her from doing that crazy thing. I couldn't help my friend before but now I can!" The girl looks at Mirko. "The adults didn't help us at all." Mirko looked at the girl who was looking at her angrily.
"Come on, we'll guide you to the exit," says Joker.
"Wait!" Mirko says, "If what you say is true, it means that you are not related to the Mental Breakdowns and Shutdowns, right?" asks the heroine.
"No, we are not, when we were at Madarame's Palace, he told us that there is another person using the Metaverse, we believe that he could be committing those crimes," Joker answers.
"Who is your next target?" Kree asks.
"What?" Joker asks back.
"You are still working, who were you after?" asks the Austrian.
"Kaneshiro Junya," Mirko opens his eyes and approaches Joker.
"We've been trying to find the bastard for months; I've searched all over Shibuya for his drug smuggling. How did you know about him?" asks the heroine.
"He threatened us," Fox answers, standing in front of the heroine seriously.
"We have limited time. We were departing from his palace when we encountered you," says the Queen.
"We received reports of disappearances in Shibuya, coupled with significant drug smuggling activities," states Mirko. "We attempted to locate Kaneshiro, but it was as if he did not exist," remarks the heroine.
"Because he couldn't, he didn't act directly, he sent his henchmen," Queen answers, at that, Mirko comes up with something.
"But there are already people who have seen it," the woman comments.
"What's your point?" Joker asks.
"I want to catch that bastard, take us to him," the heroine asks.
"No," Joker answers dryly.
"What?" asks Mirko.
"It's dangerous, he has images that could seriously jeopardize our civil identities, taking him with him without proof would be very risky," explains Joker.
"Besides, we know you don't like teamwork," Panther replies.
"In fact, we're surprised you had anyone in charge at all," Queen says, looking at Kree.
"Ouch," says the Austrian, pretending to be offended.
"The rookie is a great student, this is the kind of thing a hero needs, whether I like it or not, I've been part of a team before, why would it be any different now?" asks Mirko.
"Because the Metaverse is not like the real world, there are different rules that put our lives and the lives of the person in question at risk, and I don't know about you, but we don't want to be associated with those deaths," says Joker, crossing his arms.
"That and you probably want to arrest us," Skull completes.
"But you can't expect us to do nothing, I know your intentions are good, but there are rules in the world, you can't just break them," says Fenrir.
"Don't lecture us." Skull says "You were born with an incredible Quirk. You can help people. We can only do it here, we are not the bad guys, we have made justice come to those you can't see," the blond emphasizes "We do what stupid adults don't want to do,"
"Respect your elders," Kree points at Skull "Not all adults are rotten," he says seriously.
"But the majority is, those rich people who believe they are above others, are all rotten no matter how 'decent' they seem," Kree pushes Skull slightly.
"Repeat that," Kree challenges Skull.
"Fenrir," Mirko speaking.
"Rich adults are rotten to the fucking core," says Skull.
"Skull, stop it," Panther mentions.
"You don't know my family," Fenrir pushes Skull who returns the action. Fenrir was stopped by Mirko while Skull was stopped by Panther and Fox.
"Enough, both of you," says Panther.
"Rule 2, newbie, falling for your opponent's words leads to failure," Mirko answers seriously.
"That's enough, we are not enemies, and time is running out," comments Joker.
"How about a truce?" suggests Mirko.
"Truce?" Queen asks.
"Yes, I want to catch Kaneshiro, you want to catch Kaneshiro. Vigilante activity is prohibited in Japan, we will help you with Kaneshiro, but, when everything is resolved, you will stop being the Phantoms Thieves," says the rabbit heroine.
"You can't ask us that!" Skull complains.
"We help people!" Panther completes.
"There are people out there who need our help, we can't abandon them," says Fox.
"I have an idea," says Mirko "How about this? Disband the Phantoms Thieves, graduate, and take up a profession as heroes, with your ability in the Metaverse, it could work, it would be like taking a break before making your actions completely legal," suggests the heroine.
The thieves looked at each other before having a small meeting amongst themselves while the heroes waited.
"Meeting," says Mona gathering her companions.
"Her proposal doesn't sound so bad," says Queen looking at his team.
"But it will take us a long time to graduate, and we can't test our Metaverse abilities in the real world, so how will we be heroes?" Skull asks.
"We run more risks being illegal," Fox answers.
"And our families too," Panther adds.
"Besides, we're doing this for Kaneshiro, I doubt we'll have any more problems later," Mona answers.
"So, it's decided," Joker and his team break their circle and look at Mirko "We accept your conditions," he says shaking Mirko's hand.
"Well done kids, now let's get out of here, I feel uncomfortable," answers the heroine looking at the place.
"Mona, your turn," says Panther. At that moment, the cat jumped into the air and was covered by a huge white cloud and fell, transformed into a black van.
"The cat transformed into a truck," says Kree looking at Mona with a rather strange expression.
"For some reason, cats turning into cars is a cognitive expression, we don't understand it either, but it's convenient," says Joker calmly.
"This world is tiring me," Mirko answers with a hand on his face.
"You get used to it," Joker answers, getting into the driver's seat.
As everyone entered the unusual van, they commenced their journey. Mirko observed the other levels of Mementos, noting that while there were shadows similar to those encountered previously, these particular shadows fled in fear from the van.
"How did you find this place?" asks Mirko.
"Mona told us about him," Panther answers.
"How did you know about Kaneshiro?" Kree asks.
"Queen told us," Skull answers.
"Her?"
"She initially blackmailed us to go for Kaneshiro, but at that time we didn't know how to get to her Palace, we needed her name," says Panther.
"Our investigation led us to our school. There were rumors about students from our school who found a 'part-time job' that paid a lot of money, and while investigating we found out that it was drug smuggling," explains Joker.
"Thanks to a poor performance by Panther," comments Skull.
"HEY!"
"To enter a person's Palace, three things are needed: First, the name of the target; second, a distortion; and third, a location," explains Mona.
"Distortion?" Mirko asks confused.
"Yes, for example, the teacher, his name was Kamoshida Suguru, the distortion was a castle, and the place was the school. The bastard thought he was the king of the school, and the students were his slaves," Skull comments.
"How is Kaneshiro Palace like?" Fenrir asks.
"It's a Bank, he thinks Shibuya is his personal Bank," Fox answers "Since he doesn't leave any clues about where he is, his Palace is floating in the sky,"
"Interesting, so what's next?" asks Mirko.
"We need to investigate one last area of the Palace, the treasure is nearby, once we secure the infiltration route, we need to warn the real Kaneshiro that his wishes will be stolen so that they can materialize in the Metaverse," says Mona.
"We need to send a Calling Card to ensure his distorted desires materialize, allowing us to retrieve them," explains Joker.
"This is a bit confusing," comments Mirko.
"It will make more sense when we get there and you see for yourself, Miss Mirko," Fox comments.
"And how will we find them in the Real World?" asks Mirko.
"Shibuya catwalk, but it will be very striking to see a group of young people with the heroine Mirko," comments Skull.
"Uh, how about we take her to LeBlanc?" Panther asks.
"It would have to be at night, when Boss is not there," answers Joker.
A few more minutes of travel and the group arrived at the entrance to Mementos, which looked exactly the same as the entrance to Shibuya Central Station, only red and with a strange substance stuck to the surface. The Phantoms Thieves and the heroes got out of the van, which transformed back into the big-headed cat.
"Okay, stay close, Navigator, to the Real World," Joker says to his phone.
"Returning to the Real World," says a computerized voice.
The place began to distort just like when Mirko and Kree entered the Metaverse, everything turned black and red. After a few minutes, the heroine and her student were at Shibuya Central Station, but there was no sign of the thieves.
"We're back," says Mirko, looking around.
"Kuda and Dredge are back to normal," Kree says, looking at his wolves.
"And the thieves aren't there," the bunny hero mentions "And I forgot to ask where that place you mentioned is," she comments.
"Don't worry Lady Mirko, we just have to ask about the LeBlanc Cafe," Kree answers.
"How do you know it was a cafe?" asks Mirko.
"The leader of the Phantoms Thieves had a somewhat faint smell of coffee, unlike his companions, so we should just ask for a coffee shop called LeBlanc," the black-haired man answers.
The heroes continued walking through the city, until Kree asked an older lady for the cafeteria, the woman gladly gave him the address and left, Kree returned with Mirko.
"Ok, the cafe is in Yongen-Jaya, and apparently it is popular for the curry they sell," Kree comments looking at the brochure the lady gave him.
"Well done, newbie, let's take a direct train to that place," the heroine walks with Kree towards the train that would take them to Yongen-Jaya.
A train ride later
It was calmer than one would think, although it was striking that the heroine Mirko was traveling by train, nothing else interesting happened, when they arrived at their destination, they saw a small shopping district, it was very hidden from the rest of the places.
"Are you sure it's here?" asks Mirko.
"LeBlanc Coffee Shop is close by, over here," turn into a small alleyway and see the entrance to a door with a sign saying 'Open' and above the door was an umbrella that said 'LeBlanc'.
Both heroes entered seeing a rustic but pleasant looking coffee shop, the smell of coffee was soft without being annoying and the aroma was delicious, there were almost no people, so both heroes decided to sit at the bar.
"Welcome," says an adult man in a pink shirt, white pants and an apron, he seemed to be the owner. "What can I offer you?" he asks calmly.
"Well, this is my first time here, what do you recommend?" asks Mirko, the man smiles.
"I'll take care of it. What about the boy?" the man asks.
"Same as her," Kree answers.
"On the way," the man answers, starting to prepare coffee.
A short time passed before another person entered the establishment, it was a very beautiful woman with graying hair and a dark gray formal suit who sat right next to Mirko and looked tired.
"What can I offer you, Miss Prosecutor?" asks the owner.
"Same as always, please," the woman asks.
Mirko looked at the woman, her face seemed very familiar to him, he had seen her somewhere before, the woman looks at the heroine and opens her eyes in surprise.
"Mirko," says the woman.
"Where have I seen you?" Mirko asks, thinking.
"My name is Nijima Sae, I'm a police prosecutor," the woman answers.
"Hmm, no, no, I've seen you somewhere before, but I don't remember where," Mirko answers.
Once again, the entrance bell rang, revealing a young man with black hair and grey eyes, wearing a school uniform and glasses. Upon entering, the boy opened his eyes in surprise when he saw the customers of the place.
"Ah, you're back," says the owner finishing preparing the coffee "Here you go, miss," the owner gives their coffee to Mirko and Kree "Yours is coming out Nijima-san," comments the owner.
"Thank you," Mirko thanks.
Kree watched the boy who just walked towards the stairs at the back.
"Sorry about the boy," says the owner.
"Is it a part-time worker?" asks Mirko.
"Yeah, something like that," the owner answers.
"Hmm, the coffee is very good," says Kree.
"Thank you very much, young man," the owner replies.
"May I ask why are you here, Mirko?" Sae asks.
"I guess you can help me, what do you know about the Phantoms Thieves and Kaneshiro?" asks the white-haired girl.
"I see you're also aware, they are supposed vigilantes who 'steal' people's hearts so they confess their crimes," answers Sae "No hero we've asked for help has been able to give us any useful information, that's why they called you," says Sae "As for Kaneshiro, we have very little information, it's as if he didn't exist, but his drug smuggling hasn't stopped, supposed rumors indicate that in some schools there are students who sell them," comments the grey-haired woman .
"I'm sorry to say that I haven't had any luck so far, neither with Kaneshiro, nor with the Phantoms Thieves. We have no idea how they operate or how they choose their targets," Mirko answers.
"Well, it's only been one day, I'm sure you'll find some useful information sooner or later," Sae replies, receiving her coffee "Thanks,"
"Things have gotten more hectic than before, haven't they?" asks Mirko.
"The League of Villains, the Hero Killer, Kaneshiro and now a group of vigilantes in Shibuya, we've been busy lately," Sae comments, taking a sip of his coffee. "I see you've got yourself an assistant," the woman says, looking at Kree. "And the winner of the Yuuei Sports Festival on top of that," the woman adds.
"Guten Abend," Kree greets.
"What did I tell you about speaking German in my presence?" Mirko scolds.
"Sorry," the Austrian apologizes.
"I didn't understand what you said anyway. This is strange of you Mirko, you don't like working in a team," the woman comments.
"What can I say? I was convinced by his fighting ability. He is a born fighter, he is smart, but somewhat careless, he can improve, that is why I took him," answers Mirko smiling slightly.
"Did you drag him into this with you?" Sae asks.
"More or less, I took it to improve his combat skills, but this came out of the Phantoms Thieves so he's in this as much as I am," the white-haired girl answers.
"Hmph, I see, well I hope you learn something from her, Eisendrache-san," says the woman smiling.
"Fenrir, that's his name, he's still on business hours," Mirko corrects.
"I see, then, Fenrir-san, good luck with Mirko," says the woman.
"I will do it Lady Nijima, I will be ready for whatever comes," the black-haired man answers.
"He has spirit and is a gentleman, you don't find that much these days, especially in young people,"
"You can say that again," Mirko says, finishing his coffee. "Thanks for the coffee, sir. It was delicious. Let's go, newbie," she adds, paying.
"Immediately Lady Mirko," Kree pays her share and both leave the establishment.
"We didn't get any information, but we did get a nice cup of coffee," says Mirko.
"Hmm, nope, we did get information," Kree answers.
"What did you discover?" asks the white-haired girl.
"Not me exactly, but Kuda and Dredge did," he answers bringing out his wolves.
"What did they discover?" asks Mirko.
"The boy, the one with glasses, had the same coffee smell as that Joker from Mementos, that boy is Joker," he comments calmly.
"Are you sure?" asks the heroine.
"Definitely, and that woman, the prosecutor, also had a smell similar to Queen," the Austrian answers.
"No wonder he looked familiar! "Well done, Fenrir," Mirko says, patting the boy firmly on the back.
"It's thanks to my friends," Fenrir answers, pointing at his wolves.
"The advantages of having a pair of the most powerful noses on the planet," comments Mirko "Let's go back to base to get some rest," says the woman.
"First we have to talk to the leader," Kree recalls.
"True, let's go," answers Mirko.
The two individuals waited for the owner to depart from the premises without securing it, assuming that the boy would handle it. Once the owner turned the corner, the individuals returned to the café and observed that the black-haired boy was in the process of closing.
"Sorry, we're closed now," the boy says with a nervous smile.
"Open the door, Joker," demands Mirko, preventing the boy from closing the door. The black-haired boy obeys, somewhat scared.
"What do you want? We already accepted your proposal," says Joker sighing.
"We just wanted to check the place out, tracking you was possible thanks to Fenrir," says Mirko pointing at Kree.
"That Calling Card thing, what time will they send it?" asks Kree.
"After school, the deadline we had to supposedly pay Kaneshiro is approaching," Joker answers.
"Pay him?" Kree asks.
"He extorted us, he wants us to pay him 3 million Yen or he would expose the photos he took, long story," says Joker.
"Imbecile," Kree replies, hating Kaneshiro.
"Well, then we already have a date and the plan, we will see you tomorrow," says Mirko standing up "Think about what we proposed to you," says Mirko before leaving with Kree.
Halfway there they made a small patrol, but suddenly, Kuda and Dredge began to bark violently.
"Wow, guys, what's wrong?" Kree asks worriedly.
"What's wrong, Fenrir?" asks Mirko.
"I don't know, they suddenly went crazy," the wolves run into an alley "Hey, wait!" Kree follows them.
"Hey, Fenrir, come back here," Mirko follows his student.
Kree promptly pursued his friends, as their behavior was unprecedented. He wondered whether it might be an effect of the Metaverse. He had no idea, they entered a dead end, Kree saw his wolves barking at a hidden figure in the night.
"Hey guys, enough," Kree approaches his wolves "I'm sorry sir," Fenrir sees an adult man, with a small beard and somewhat expensive clothes, scared.
"Get those wolves away from me," the man asks, only to be met with more barking.
"Sorry guys, stop it," Kuda starts barking at a dumpster "What?" Kree approaches the dumpster.
"Boy, I really have to go, please tell your dogs to leave me alone," the man looked more nervous.
Fenrir opened the trash container, finding a somewhat large black bag, Kuda was barking, but now with a somewhat sad sound. Fenrir looked at his friend and decided to open the bag, finding a young face, scared, he moved away a little, opening his eyes.
"What is a person doing there?" Kree asks, still surprised.
"I-I don't know what you're talking about," said the man stuck to a wall while Dredge growled at him.
"Speak," Kree turns to look at the man with a serious look.
"I don't know, really," the man steps back a little, scared.
Fenrir approaches the angry man and the latter takes out a gun and fires it, but Fenrir manages to dodge it, after that he holds the hand that had the gun and then headbutts the man, he stretches out his arm with the gun and hits his elbow with an open palm to force him to let go, Fenrir kicks the gun that was barely about to touch the ground, moves the man away and manages to catch the gun pointing at him.
"What did you do?!" Kree asks angrily.
"Let go of that kid, a hero can't kill someone," says the man with a slight smile.
BANG
The man felt an enormous pain in his left shoulder, some blood was coming out of there and his face showed enormous shock, Fenrir looked more serious than usual, holding the weapon without a doubt from which some smoke was coming out of the barrel.
"Raaaaaagh!" the man in pain screams, holding his shoulder. "W-what's wrong with you, you bastard?!" the frightened man asks. The man tries to flee, but collides with the imposing figure of Mirko, who was watching everything with a smile.
"Are you leaving so soon?" the woman asks, smiling.
The man was terrified, a child was handling a gun, and he also meets Mirko, his night could not be worse. In his desperation he tried to hit Mirko, but the heroine only blocked it effortlessly, hit him in the face causing him to spin and Fenrir gave him a roundhouse kick to finish knocking him out. Fenrir looked sternly at the man and then at the gun.
"Relax, at least you didn't kill him," Mirko comments, taking the gun away from him, but sees that Fenrir 's gaze is on the garbage container. "Hey, these kinds of things happen in the life of a hero," the woman mentions.
"I'm aware of that, but it doesn't mean it doesn't affect me," Fenrir looks away.
"Here," the heroine gives him a phone "Call the police, have this bastard arrested," Mirko approaches the garbage container to take out the body.
Minutes later the authorities arrived, who helped Fenrir and Mirko, there were also ambulances; the criminal was arrested on charges of illegal possession of weapons, in addition to having a bag with drugs and alleged murder. Kree watched as the rescuers covered the victim's face. The police talked a little with Mirko asking for some information.
"What was the cause of death?" asks the heroine.
"Still unknown, we won't know until the autopsy is performed, but it is suspected that it was an overdose," says a police officer.
"I can't believe it," Mirko looks at the ambulance.
"Given his age and clothing, we believe he was a student at Shujin Academy. We have tried to investigate further, but it was impossible," says an officer.
"I understand, thank you for the information," the heroine walks towards Fenrir. "Are you okay, kid?" she asks.
"Yes, I'm fine, it's been… A long day,"
"It was," the woman smiles "Hey, don't let this scar you, a hero usually goes through things like this several times," Mirko comments.
"Has you been through something similar, Lady Mirko?" Kree asks.
"Several times, too many to have a specific number," answers Mirko.
"I don't understand, what's the point of killing? I don't understand why there are people who kill," Fenrir answers.
"Neither do I, kid. There are people who kill out of jealousy, out of anger, out of some interest, there are even monsters who kill for the pleasure of doing so. Our duty as heroes is to stop those monsters, we do not always come out victorious," Fenrir observes his teacher.
"We can't save everyone," Kree says seriously.
"Listen to this carefully, Fenrir. A hero's duty is to protect the people, but we are few, and they are many; that is why a hero always gives more than his body can bear,"
The rabbit heroine hardens her gaze a little, and touches Fenrir's shoulder.
"We can't make the world completely safe. But we can make it as safe as possible," Mirko concludes, making Fenrir smile.
After the area was secured by the police, Mirko and Fenrir returned to the agency's dormitories, after a quick shower they got ready for bed.
"Tomorrow, we have a serious mission, rookie, I don't want any mistakes," says the woman in more comfortable clothes.
"Understood Lady Mirko, I will try hard," Kree answers seriously.
"Okay, now rest," the woman went somewhere else to sleep.
Kree stared at the ceiling, the Metaverse had him worried, his Astral Plane was greatly affected in a world like that, he didn't know what he was going to find in that Palace. And what happened in that alley will surely mark him for life, a young man, probably his age, lost his life, no, it was taken from him, that only showed him that evil is everywhere, and as heroes, they must stop it.
End of Chapter
...
I have no excuses, seriously, I don't.
Almost 2 years since I updated this story, and it shouldn't have taken me that long, it was translating a story that has already had 40 chapters published.
I'm very sorry, really.
I will try to bring more chapters, I already translate until chapter 20, so I think I should be fine for the time being, that's all, ZarBalor, out.
Glossary
Guten Abend - Good Evening