She could feel fear begin to grip at her. This had to be Kamoshida's doing. It was the end of the day, so very few people would be around.
Her hands were shaking, and her legs refused to move.
"Niijima-san, did you hear?" her teacher questioned. "They need you in the P.E Faculty Office."
Slowly, she got on her feet, making her way out of the classroom, hearing the whispers of her classmates as she walked by.
As soon as she finished dragging her feet out of the room, she got a text message.
Ren: Don't panic, ok? I have a plan.
She quickly responded.
Makoto: A plan?
Ren: I'll call you and record the conversation. But if you feel uncomfortable, get out of there.
Makoto: I'm not sure he'll let me.
Ren: I'll think of a lie to get you out of there. Just follow along.
Knowing that she had Ren's support, she felt just a little bit better.
He was certainly crafty.
Makoto: Thank you so much.
Ren: Don't mention it. Stay safe, ok? Ryuji and I will get there as fast as we can.
Makoto: Of course.
"Hey!" Morgana called. "Set your bag down there so I can sneak around, ok?"
"Are you sure?" she asked. "I don't want you getting hurt."
"Don't worry about it!" Morgana ginned. "I can handle this no problem."
She took a few deep breaths before continuing, making her way to the P.E Faculty Room, and into Kamoshida's office.
"Niijima-san, there you are." Kamoshida grinned. "Close the door, will you?"
Reluctantly, she did so. After she did that, she set her bag down on a nearby table, allowing Morgana to sneak around while Kamoshida wasn't looking.
"Niijima-san, we need to talk." Kamoshida began. "I'm a little concerned about who you've been hanging around with."
"If this is about Re- Amamiya-kun, I'm simply his tutor." she lied. "The principal himself requested I tutor him, Sir."
"Niijima-san." Kamoshida muttered, his tone growing more hostile. "I've seen you with Amamiya and Sakamoto. Those two keep bothering my athletes, and I wouldn't want you to follow their example."
"It's simply out of concern, sir." she excused. "I saw that the athletes were injured, so I was worried about them."
"You never seemed to notice until recently." Kamoshida pointed out.
"T-That… it was brought to my attention." she stammered.
"By those two punks, right?" Kamoshida said, narrowing his eyes.
"Sir, I'm not sure calling them that is-"
"Stop it." Kamoshida cut her off. "You're making my athletes uncomfortable. This is your final warning."
She knew that the best course would be to agree to his demands, while secretly meeting with the others.
But she couldn't let go of the rage she felt at what he had done to Shiho and the other athletes.
The urge to defy him right to his face grew stronger by the second.
"I'm afraid that I can't do that." she told him. "If there's even a chance that something is happening to them, it's my responsibility to help them."
"That's a shame…" Kamoshida trailed off.
She watched as Kamoshida locked the door behind her.
Immediately, she reached into the pocket, grabbing her phone.
"S-Sorry, I need to take this!" she quickly said.
She brought her phone to her ear.
"Hey." Ren whispered. "Pretend I'm a family member coming by the school."
"Sis?!" she exclaimed. "What are you doing here?"
Kamoshida's eyes widened, suddenly hesitant.
"You're seeing the principal, sis?" Makoto asked, continuing the ruse. "Ok, I'll be right there!"
She quickly unlocked the door, but Kamoshida seemed to have caught on to her ruse.
He grabbed her skirt, trying to tug it down. She was about to throw a punch when she saw Morgana leap into the air.
"This is for locking me up!" Morgana hissed, clinging and scratching at Kamoshida's face.
The gym teacher cried out in pain, releasing his grip on her and reaching for Morgana.
"Go! I'll catch up!" Morgana yelled.
She quickly grabbed her bag and ran out the door as fast as she could.
She saw Ren and Ryuji right outside, running up to her.
"Makoto, are you ok?!" Ren exclaimed.
"That bastard didn't touch you, did he?" Ryuji scowled. "I swear, if he did…"
"He tried, but I managed to get away." she told them. "Unfortunately, I don't think I recorded anything concrete."
"That's fine. Your safety is more important." Ren insisted.
"We need to get back to the castle. Are we prepared?" she asked.
"We got the medicine and the models!" Ryuji nodded. "Let's go."
Ren and Ryuji stood close by as they ran out the school, keeping watch for Kamoshida.
"We won't let that pervert touch lay a finger on you." Ren promised.
"I'll knock his effin' teeth out if he tries anything!" Ryuji scowled.
"B-But… you'll be expelled." she warned.
"Doesn't matter." Ren shook his head. "I won't just sit by and let him do whatever he wants. Especially when he's messing with my friends."
"Same here!" Ryuji nodded.
"G-Guys…" Makoto whispered, trying to hold back tears. "Thank you…"
Thankfully, it seemed Morgana had caused enough chaos that no one was paying attention to them as they ran through the halls.
Speaking of which...
"Yah!"
She felt Morgana leap into her bag, snickering to herself.
"You got away?" she asked.
"Of course! I'm an experienced Phantom Thief." Morgana bragged.
They snuck away into a nearby ally, making their way to Kamoshida's castle.
"First thing's first." Mona began. "We need a codename for this guy."
"Ohh, a codename! That sounds awesome!" Ryuji grinned. "Make it simple, but cool-sounding too!"
"Then… why not Skull, after your mask?" Queen suggested.
"Hell yeah!" Skull grinned. "I like it."
"Heh… I think Bonehead would be more fitting." Mona grinned.
"Can it, cat!" Skull exclaimed.
"I'm not a cat!"
As Joker tried to calm them down, Makoto glanced around, seeing one of the wardens around a strange blue cell door.
"My master wishes to speak with you." Justine explained.
Cautiously, she went inside the door, sending her back to the Velvet Room.
"Well done." Igor praised. "It seems you remembered my words… it is truly worth rehabilitating you."
"I'd ask what that meant, but I doubt you'll give me a straight answer." she sighed.
Caroline slammed her baton against the cell. "Show some respect, inmate!"
Igor simply chuckled. "I do not mean to withhold information. Continue to find allies who share your ideals and lend you aid, and I shall explain it all."
"Will you lend me aid as well?" she asked.
"That is why you are here today!" Igor grinned. "As you were chosen to wield the wild card in this game, you can handle more than one Persona. We shall assist you in nurturing this power."
"How so?" she asked.
"Execution." Igor replied.
"W-W-What?!" she stammered, backing away.
Igor laughed again. "Don't be alarmed. Persona are part of your personality. You will simply be discarding old parts of your personality for new ones.
That… didn't make her feel better at all.
Igor instructed her to choose two of her Persona for execution. After some thought, she decided to offer Pixie and Jack-o'-Lantern. She cringed as she watched the wardens operate two guillotines to execute her Persona, causing waves of energy to shoot out and form…
"Um… can I get a do over?" she pleaded.
"NO!" Caroline shouted.
She sighed, glancing at her Persona.
The phallic horned imp, which she now knew as Incubus, snickered mischievously.
"Excellent." Igor complimented. "Now, continue to gather Persona, and continue to execute them, so that you may play your integral role against the coming ruin."
"We will provide a variety of rituals relating to executions to aid in your rehabilitation." Justine added.
"And if you actually put in some effort, our master might grant you other rituals as well!" Caroline explained. "Feel free to cry tears of joy, inmate."
Honestly, she felt more unnerved by this than grateful, and that wasn't just because of the Incubus.
Something about this didn't sit right with her…
"Your heart steadily grows more rebellious… your rehabilitation is going well." Igor told her.
Rebellion… Well, if going against Kamoshida was rebellion, then so be it!
"I have prepared a small gift for you in recognition of your efforts." Igor said.
Perhaps she was just being paranoid. Igor did have a lot of faith in her, and that faith made her feel a deepened bond with him.
HUNGER CONFIDANT: RANK 2
She suddenly found herself able to focus on her surroundings much more, as if she had a third eye.
"That is a thief's skill, allowing one to use their sixth sense to see what lies hidden." Igor explained. "Please continue to further devote yourself to your rehabilitation."
She still wasn't quite sure what he meant, although perhaps that was because the word rehabilitation was slowly losing all it's meaning for her.
Having no further business in the Velvet Room, she exited, returning to find the others staring at her.
"Uhh… are you ok?" Skull wondered. "You were kinda just standing around there for a while."
She paused, wondering how she could explain it without sounding like a lunatic.
"Well, I was… sorta of in my own mind." she tried to explain. "And… by executing old Persona, I can gain stronger ones."
Ren grinned. "That's great. It'll make getting through here a lot easier."
"I'm surprised you believed that so easily." she commented.
Ren shrugged. "I doubt you'd lie about this. And, well…" he trailed off, glancing at the castle. "After seeing what was in there, what you said doesn't seem that crazy."
"Point taken." she nodded.
After double checking their provisions, they entered the castle.
"...And the Mandrake is weak to fire." she noted.
"Are you memorizing the weaknesses of everything?" Skull asked.
She nodded. "It'll allow us to defeat them more efficiently."
"That's amazing how you can memorize all of that!" Mona praised.
She smiled at the praise, before glancing around the area.
"Joker… this is where we ended up when we first came here, correct?" she asked.
"I think you're right, Queen." Joker confirmed.
Joker opened a nearby door, revealing a miniature library.
"Woah… what the hell's in all these books? Skull wondered.
"It looks like they have names on them." Mona observed.
She carefully scanned through the bookshelf.
"Wait…" she whispered to herself. "This book has my name on it…"
She opened the book, immediately regretting it when she saw what was inside.
The book was filled with pictures of her. There was one of her soaking wet in the rain, one of her stretching in her gym uniform, and one from just a few days ago, of her... bending over to grab a piece of paper Kamoshida had dropped.
And finally… a picture of the horrified look on her face when he had gripped her skirt.
Rage gripped at her with every picture, and her grip on the book grew tighter as well.
"Queen, what's wrong?" Joker asked.
"These… are a bunch of perverted pictures of all the girls!" she exclaimed.
"That sick son of a bitch!" Skull snapped.
"Maybe we should head somewhere else…" Joker suggested.
"Hold on…" she said.
She used her Third Eye, looking around the library until she spotted some books that stood out.
A book about a King, a Queen, and a Slave. They were about Kamoshida, Ann, and Ryuji respectively.
Seeing open spots in the bookshelves, she slotted the books in.
"Um, I know you like to be organized, but is now really the time?" Skull asked.
"It's not that." Queen insisted. "I just thought that…"
As she placed the last book, they heard a rumbling sound, and they turned to see a bookshelf moving to the side.
"A secret passage!" Skull grinned. "This castle's gotta be filled with these things!"
Figures." Joker agreed. "Kamoshida probably has a lot of secrets he doesn't want people to know."
"It looks like a shrine…" she observed. "Oh God…"
The others looked inside of the shrine, all of them surprised at its contents.
"It's… a bunch of pictures of Suzui…" Skull muttered.
"We'll make him pay…" Joker promised.
"I know it's hard… but if Kamoshida hid this room, there might be something important in it." Mona reasoned.
She nodded, taking a moment to mentally prepare herself before looking through the room. Eventually, she stumbled upon a key and a map of the area.
"This should let us move onwards." she mentioned.
She took another quick glance around the room before leaving, not wanting to stay any longer than she had to.
They continued their trek through the castle, eventually finding themselves in a cathedral-like room.
In the middle of said room stood an enormous statue of Kamoshida.
"Someone's compensating." Joker snarked.
"Well… he certainly thinks highly of himself." Mona deadpanned.
"And it looks like he's not the only one." Joker mentioned.
In front of the statue were the principal and the other teachers at Shujin.
"Hail King Kamoshida! Hail King Kamoshida!" They chanted repeatedly. "Praise be to King Kamoshida, who blesses Shujin with his presence."
"Tch… so it's all about the good press he brings to the school." Skull muttered. "They don't care about what he's done."
"Remember, these are just cognitions." Mona pointed out.
"Even so… some of them might not be far from the truth." she muttered, remembering the principal's words.
"Heads up, guys." Joker called. "There are tons of guards coming!"
At least half a dozen guards charged into the cathedral. Knowing that taking them all on would drain all of their resources, she quickly looked for an escape route.
"Up there!" she shouted, pointing to a platform above.
They climbed up some boxes to the upper platform, running until they reached a strange looking door, leaves covering it like chains.
"Hold on." Joker instructed, bringing out his dagger. "I'll cut the-"
"YAH!"
She punched the door as hard as she could, sending it flying off its hinges.
"...Oooor that works to." Joker said in disbelief.
They entered the room, ominous whispers unnerving them as they glanced at the lone object in the room: a skull.
"Ooooh!" Mona grinned. "This is a Will Seed!"
"A will seed?" she reaped.
"A mass of distorted desires taken form." Mona explained.
"Umm… what?" Skull questioned.
"Should I use smaller words?" Mona sighed.
"Ugh, forget it!" Skull yelled. "So what do we do with this thing?!"
"We take it, of course, just like any other treasure here!" Mona grinned.
Joker shrugged, walking up to the skull and picking it up.
"Alas, poor Yorick!" Joker dramatically said. "I knew him well!"
She let out a small giggle, while Skull just looked at him in confusion.
"Who the hell is Yorrick?" Skull wondered. "Was he one of the students?"
"Uncultured numbskull!" Mona chided. "Don't you know Shakespeare?"
"I don't have a spear to shake!" Skull protested. "I only have this iron club!"
Before Mona could argue with Skull anymore, the room around them suddenly began to morph.
"W-What's going on?!" she stammered. "Was that a trap?!"
"I don't know!" Mona cried.
"What do you mean, you don't know?!" Joker exclaimed. "You told us to take it!"
"Guys…" Skull gasped. "I don't think we're in the palace anymore."
They looked over their surroundings, finding themselves in an audience of people. But for some reason, no one in the audience seemed to notice them.
"Where are we?" Queen wondered.
"It looks like some kind of TV studio." Joker noted. "But why's everything in black and white?"
"Hey guys, look over there!" Ryuji yelled. "It's Kamoshida!"
On stage was Kamoshida, as well as two hosts.
"Welcome back, everyone!" the female host greeted. "Since this year's World Championship will be held soon, we invited the leader of the men's volleyball team! Everyone, please welcome Mr. Suguru Kamoshida!"
"H-Hello everyone, I'm Suguru Kamoshida." he said, looking a tad nervous. "I'm happy to be here today."
"Hang on…" Skull muttered. "Don't he look a little younger here?"
"Now that you mention it…" she trailed off, seeing what he meant.
"Let's see what happens!" Mona suggested.
"You're quite popular, Mr. Kamoshida!" the male host noted. "And you have been ever since you began your career. It's quite incredible."
"Oh no, I'm just a regular guy." Kamoshida modestly said.
"Really?" the male host questioned.
"There's no need to be so modest!" the female host beamed. "You've starred in many commercials, and you've donated a large sum of money to the high school in your hometown!"
"Indeed, that's not something regular people do!" the male host nodded. "But Mr. Kamoshida, I had a question I wanted to ask."
"Oh, of course." Kamoshida nodded.
"Do you remember what you felt during your last match the moment you won?" the male host asked.
"Well… I suppose I was very happy and excited at the time." Kamoshida answered.
"Did you feel a lot of pressure to win the match?" the male host asked.
"Of course. A lot of pressure." Kamoshida answered honestly. "Besides having to train constantly, I also had to take care of other members of the team."
"How were you able to do it?" the female host wondered.
"I had to constantly be focusing, even to the point of exhaustion." Kamoshida explained. "To be honest… I'm a little pressured now too. I'm not good with crowds."
"Are you nervous? I didn't even notice." the male host commented.
"Well, that's good!" Kamoshida grinned. "I was worried I looked like a nervous wreck!"
The three of them, and several members of the audience, shared a laugh.
Again, she wondered just what they were hearing right now.
"I can relate." the female host admitted, giving a sympathetic smile. "TV hosting is highly regarded, but it can be tiring as well. I always need to act when the camera's on. A shame we can't be our true selves."
Kamoshida's eyes widened, and he found himself nodding.
"To be honest, I've been a big fan of yours for a while." the female host confessed. "You looked so dashing when you were playing at the Olympics, and so happy when you brought home a gold medal! Would it be alright if I asked you more questions later?"
"U-Uh… umm…" Kamoshida stammered, his face flushed.
"Um… Mr. Kamoshida, did you hear her?" the male host asked. "We need an answer."
"Ah, well, um…"
The female host gave a small giggle. "Mr. Kamoshida, are you a little shy?"
The conversation ended then, and the room began to morph back into where they were before.
"I don't know what that was… but I feel more refreshed." she noticed.
"Yeah, me too." Skull agreed. "Like I could fire off a couple more lightning bolts."
"Must be because of the Will Seed." Mona told them.
"About what we just saw…" Joker trailed off. "Do you guys think that could have been Kamoshida's past?"
"He did look a little younger." Skull agreed.
"I suppose it would make sense that we'd see his memories in his palace." Mona said. "Let's keep on the lookout for more!"
It didn't take long for them to find another. On the roof of the castle, they climbed a tower until they found another room containing a Will Seed.
Once again, they took the skull from its pedestal, causing them to see into what looked like a hotel room.
Kamoshida was on his hands and knees, and in front of him stood the TV hostess from before.
"I can't believe I admired you!" the woman shouted in disgust. "You're just some worthless pervert!"
"Please, forgive me!" Kamoshida pleaded. "I didn't mean… to touch you. It's just… we were having a good time and… I was drunk, so I thought-"
"That's no excuse!" the woman shouted.
"Please…" Kamoshida repeated. "I can't betray my team. My fans! My company! They need me to be a role model. An ideal athlete! If you take volleyball away from me, I'm nothing!"
A flash of light occurred, and when it faded, the woman was gone, and Kamoshida was on the hotel bed, speaking to someone on the phone.
"Kamoshida, what happened?!" the voice on the phone said.
"I made a mistake…" Kamoshida replied. "An unforgivable mistake! I… I'll have to ask her for forgiveness."
"What?!"
"I'm finished…" Kamoshida sighed.
"I see…" the man on the other line said.
"I'm going to call the police on myself." Kamoshida said. "So I have to go-"
"Wait! Stop!" the other man desperately called. "Mr. Kamoshida, please do not act rashly. Just leave it to me and the rest of the company."
The vision ended there, and they found themselves back in the Will Seed room.
"That looked like another part of Kamoshida's past." Joker noted.
"Yeah, he was with that same TV hostess from before." Queen recalled.
"He must have done something to her too!" Skull muttered.
"I wonder what that company did about this incident?" she wondered.
"There should be at least one more." Mona added. "Let's keep a look out!"
"Dormina!" Ren shouted.
Arsène slowly lulled the enemy to sleep, Skull stepping in to give it a rude awakening.
Captain Kidd slammed into the shadow, waking it up and bringing it to its knees.
"It's weak." Mona pointed out. "You might be able to reason with it now."
She nodded, narrowing her eyes. "Are you willing to talk now?"
The shadow scoffed. "Why do you not finish me?"
"I want your power." she replied. "You can join us, or you can die here."
"Hah!" the shadow laughed. "I see. You live for the thrill of battle as well! You remind me of myself. I… wait! I'm not a knight of this castle. I am Berith! I art thou, thou art I… I shall serve as your mask!"
She smiled as new power filled her body.
"That shadow was really strong!" Mona exclaimed. "Glad it's on our side now!"
"Hey Mona, how close are we to the treasure?" Skull asked.
"Very close." Mona answered. "But if we have the resources, we should explore every nook and cranny."
"I did see an elevator a few rooms back." Joker said.
"Let's investigate then." she suggested.
They backtracked until they found an elevator with statues in each corner.
"These are just statues of women's chests and hips…" she sighed.
"So… would you call it a bust?" Joker quipped.
"Not funny, Joker."
They went downwards on the elevator, only to find another one nearby.
Finally, they reached a sewer-like area, with only one path to traverse.
"I can sense it! There's a Will Seed nearby!" Mona said excitedly.
"But it looks like there's an enemy guarding this one." Queen noticed. "Everyone ready?"
"Let's go!" Skull yelled.
They ran up to the knight guarding the Will Seed, who gave a sinister chuckle when he saw them.
"Hehehe… so you're the intruders I heard about." the knight said. "Why don't we play a game?"
"I don't have time for games!" Queen shouted. "Step aside!"
"W-What?!" the knight gasped. "Are you saying… I should play with myself?"
The knight grew enraged, and morphed into…
"O-Oh God…" Mona paled.
"D-Do we really gotta fight this thing?" Skull groaned.
A veiny green slime appeared, wriggling around as if to show off its girth.
Queen however, seemed unfazed. "It's coming!"
"...Please don't say it like that." Joker muttered.
Queen cautiously glanced over the enemy, trying to gauge its fighting prowess.
"This is the monster guarding the last wish seed?" Queen questioned. "It's… smaller than I expected."
Mona blanched, and Skull tried to suppress a laugh. Joker just shook his head.
"Told you he was compensating." Joker quipped.
They each fired off magic at the shadow, but the shadow simply shrugged off all the attacks thrust at its body.
"Damn it's tough!" Skull grumbled.
"It's getting pumped!" Queen shouted, seeing it prepare a counterattack.
The shadow stood fully erect before trying to pound Queen with its body.
She blocked at the last second, though she still took a considerable amount of damage.
"Are you all right, Queen?" Mona asked as he patched up her injuries.
"I'm fine… but that was quite the intense blow." she winced. "We'll need some protection!"
She quickly summoned Berith, using Rakukaja so that the shadow would struggle to penetrate her defenses.
"Let's take it out from a distance!" she ordered, everyone pulling out their guns and letting loose.
The shadow tried to beat off their barrage of bullets, looking more and more flaccid as the attacks continued.
"I'll finish you off!" Queen, beating the shadow with a barrage of punches and kicks until it dissolved into the ground.
"Hrmh… he wasn't hard at all." she stated.
"...If I didn't know any better, I'd say you were talking like this on purpose." Joker sighed.
"Talking like what?"
"Never mind…"
She glanced around, seeing that all the boys seemed to have been wincing at the sight of her assault on that shadow.
She had beaten countless shadows with her fists already, so she wasn't quite sure why they were reacting this way now.
They made their way into the Will Seed room, and she quickly took the skull, curious what it would show this time…
The room morphed into a dinner, and she saw Kamoshida and a man from a large company seated.
"I'm so sorry." Kamoshida apologized. "I wasn't thinking about the image of your company when I did what I did."
"It's perfectly fine." the company man said. "I called in a few favors and we… talked to that woman. You won't have to worry about her."
"...What?" Kamoshida stated in disbelief.
"Now, you can continue to be the 'ideal athlete." the company man told him.
"A-Are you sure…?" Kamoshida stammered.
"Since you partnered with our company, we've gotten tons of good publicity." the other man grinned. "So just continue to be a famous star in the sports community. I trust that's not too much pressure?"
"N-No, of course not. I'll do my best." Kamoshida promised.
"If you ever feel those… desires again, you could make a request." the other man offered. "We could bring you a woman or bring you to certain… establishments. And if something goes wrong there, contact us and we'll… take care of it, just like we did now."
"Take care of it?" Kamoshida repeated.
"Of course." the other man nodded. "You work quite hard for us, after all, so it's only reasonable that we pay you back."
"Even so…" Kamoshida trailed off.
"This is what's best for everyone." the man insisted. "Now then, good day."
The other man left, leaving Kamoshida with his thoughts.
"Best for everyone…" Kamoshida repeated. "So what I did… is forgiven?"
The vision ended, and once again, they were brought back to the Will Seed room.
"So… they took care of the TV host." Joker muttered.
"Damn it!" Skull shouted. "That bastard's been doing this shit for so long!"
"And he keeps getting away with it because people keep enabling and covering him." she spat.
The principal's words entered her thoughts once more, causing her to clench her fists.
"He thinks that as long as he brings good press to the school, he can do whatever the hell he wants." Skull grumbled.
"It looks like we were shown the exact moment his desire began to distort." Mona said. "How he became the man he is today…"
"Regardless of his reasons, what he did is unforgivable." she said.
Seeing those memories only strengthened her resolve.
"Woah, check this out!" Skull called out, pointing to the Will Seeds.
They watched as the Will Seeds spun around before fusing together, forming a strange crystal.
"W-Woah, I never knew- err, I mean, of course! Just what I expected to happen!" Mona claimed.
"You had no idea, did you?" she accused.
"Maybe his amnesia is acting up." Skull sarcastically said.
"Keep saying things like that and I may forget how to heal you!" Mona snapped.
"All right, that's enough you two." she scolded. "We have a treasure to steal!"
"And that's Cait Sith obtained." she smiled as she obtained another persona.
"That's a pretty cool looking cat." Joker said. "Probably the coolest cat I've ever seen."
"What?!" Mona gasped. "But what about me?!"
Joker just smirked.
"O-Oh, I mean, um… y-yeah, Cait Sith is totally the coolest cat!" Mona said. "Not me, because I am definitely not a cat!"
She shook her head, leading the group past a bridge after they had stopped the spinning blades blocking the way.
She quickly noticed, however, that Joker was beginning to fall behind.
"Is everything ok, Joker?" she asked, concerned.
"Y-Yeah." Joker stammered. "I'm fine."
"You seemed to be slowing down." she noted. "Maybe we should end the infiltration here?"
"No, really, it's fine." Joker insisted. "You don't have to worry about me."
He said that, but she wasn't so sure.
She had to remember that he might not be as athletic as her or Ryuji, nor did he have the experience of Morgana.
"Mona, how far until the treasure?" she asked.
"Close… the throne room is right in front of us, and the treasure should be right past there." Mona explained.
"Think Kamoshida's hiding on his throne?" Skull asked.
"If he is, we shouldn't go in through the front door." she reasoned. "Let's look for another way."
They snuck in using a passage overlooking the throne room, hearing Kamoshida berate his guards for failing to capture them as they entered a room behind him.
"Looks like a treasury." Joker observed. "You see the treasure, Mona?"
"Right there!" Mona called.
"Huh? This weird fog thing?" Skull questioned. "I can't even touch it."
"First, we need to make the treasure materialize by making the real Kamoshida aware of his desires, and that we're going to steal them!"
"How the hell do we do that? We can't just walk up to and threaten him!" Skull pointed out.
"What if we did it anonymously?" Joker suggested. "Like… a calling card."
"Exactly!" Mona grinned. "We'll let him know that we'll steal his desires and reveal his crimes to everyone!"
"That's sweet!" Skull grinned. "Just like a real Phantom Thief!"
"So for now, we'll make that calling card and ensure Kamoshida sees it, correct?" she asked.
Mona nodded. "Then we take his treasure."
"Then let's end the infiltration for now." she suggested. "And come back after he sees the calling card."
Their infiltration route secured, they left the castle for the day.
Makoto Confidant Progress:
THE FOOL - Ren Amamiya: Rank 1
THE HUNGER - Igor: Rank 2
THE CHARIOT - Ryuji Sakamoto: Rank 1
THE MAGICIAN - Morgana: Rank 1
THE FAITH - Eiko Takao: Rank 1