Chapter Text
On his way back to Yongen-Jaya, Morgana spoke up. "Joker, we're being followed." Ren was immediately on alert, Morgana's usage of his codename snapping him out of the usual post-Metaverse tiredness. He looked around for anyone out of the ordinary, but couldn't see anyone. He activated Third Eye, but only saw a trail of footsteps that led... behind him?
He whirled around -much to Morgana's dismay- to find a woman in her mid-twenties with long red hair and wearing a suit suitable for a business woman. Academically speaking she was quite a beauty, she had an elegant and imperious air about her that only added to the intimidating aura she projected. Thanks to Third Eye, he could see that she had a device worn on her necklace that pulsed from the same power as Yukari's Evoker. "Can I help you?" Ren asked.
The woman shook her head. "No, but I believe that I can help you."
Ren smirked. "I'm flattered, but I'm afraid I'm spoken for."
The woman's eye twitched before she touched her temple. "God, it's Junpei all over again." She reasserted herself and addressed him. "My name is Mitsuru Kirijo. I'm an associate of your sister."
"I'm guessing you're not here to get me a guest star role on Neo Featherman Again." Ren said.
"Do you ever stop making jokes?" Mitsuru asked, "Wait. Don't answer that. No, I'm her associate from her... ah..."
"Other job?" Ren prompted.
"Indeed." Mitsuru said, "Is there anywhere we can talk privately?"
Ren nodded. "Yeah, Café Leblanc. Let me go ahead of you so I can get my guardian to leave the store to me so we can talk freely."
He slipped into the crowd and headed toward the café. Sojiro was gone, having already locked up for the night. Well, that was easy. He changed into more comfortable clothes and opened the door for Mitsuru.
She looked around. "Hmm. It's quaint, I suppose." She took a seat at the counter. "Do you have tea?"
Ren circled around behind the counter. "Afraid not. We do coffee and curry, nothing more, nothing less."
She arched an eyebrow, and Ren could feel the weight of her judgment upon him. "Shame. Well, to business then. To put it simply, the Kirijo Group is in the business of supporting heroic groups of Persona users. This is for the Kamoshida takedown." She took a fat envelope out of her purse and passed it to Ren. He looked inside it and whistled. That... was a lot of money.
Mitsuru then produced what appeared to be a credit card and placed it in front of him. "This is for you. Use it for any purchases that fall under operational expenses. It will be paid off daily. Don't worry about the credit limit."
Ren shook his head. "I can't accept that. A credit card is too easily traced, and I'm on probation. The last thing I need is the cops hauling me away because they figure out what I'm doing. The chances of that are probably low but given my previous experience with the Japanese legal system, I'm not taking any chances."
Mitsuru's concerns about Ren were assuaged a little. Despite his constant jokes and snark, he seemed to be cautious when it was warranted. "They won't get that information without a warrant, and even then, I'll have my legal team create a fake purchase history for you."
Ren blinked. "What?"
Mitsuru laughed. "Did I stutter? I made sure to understand your legal situation so that the Kirijo Group would be able render aid to you in ways that would not compromise your probation. Officially, you are the first beneficiary of the Aragaki Foundation, a charity that provides assistance to troubled youth who are striving to uphold truth, justice, and the sanctity of life."
Ren shook his head, "But... why? What did I do to deserve all of this? I'm just some kid in a crappy situation that got lucky."
Mitsuru frowned. This was the first time she had ever heard a Wild Card express self-doubt. Makoto Yuki had always displayed a quiet confidence that inspired those around him to rise to his level. Yu Narukami was -in Mitsuru's opinion- the archetypical Wild Card. Even during his darkest hour, he never allowed doubt to creep into his mind. "I won't pretend to know you, Amamiya-san. But if history is repeating, then you have friends who can answer that question for you." She placed a business card on the counter. "If you have any questions or other...sensitiveitems that you need disposed of discreetly, call that number. The... person who will answer was a Wild Card like you, albeit temporarily." At his puzzled expression, Mitsuru sighed, "It's a very long story. Regardless, if you have any doubts in yourself, they will be there to listen if you need it. Have a pleasant evening."
Mitsuru walked out, leaving Ren alone with Morgana and his thoughts.
Morgana hopped out of Ren's bag and on to a stool. "Well, that's handy. I never thought we'd have a full corporate zaibatsu behind us! Well, it's not unheard of for gentlemen thieves such as us to have shadowy benefactors. We should take great care in how we-"
Ren got up and began to walk out.
"Hey, where are you going?" Morgana asked.
"I just need to be alone for a moment." After checking that he had his phone and key with him, he walked out of Leblanc into the night air. He found somewhere secluded to sit, a bench that was usually occupied by an old man that liked to listen the radio. For the first time since awakening to his power, he stopped to think about everything that had happened thus far. And it... didn't quite feel real. It didn't feel real because he was too used tolosing. He had lost his birth mother at age five, to which he had pleaded with his father to allow him to take his mother's family name as his own, a child's desperate attempt to cope with something he didn't understand yet. He had lost his freedom because he did the right thing, tried to stop a man from assaulting a woman, but was only punished for daring to be good.
His life was going too well since coming to Tokyo. Instead of being that weird, easily bullyable kid whose only real weapons were words, he had friends. Real friends that cared about him. Despite him thinking it would never happen, he was falling in love for the first time. It was only a matter of time until something happened to make him lose again, wasn't it?
"Penny for your thoughts, Trickster?"
Ren jumped out of his seat. "Who- Oh." It was just Arsene. He had been so mired in his doubts that he'd been frightened by his own Persona. He was pretty sure that was a new low.When I told Morgana I wanted to be alone, I meant you too.
"Well, that would be a trick, considering I'm you."
Ren barked out a laugh. "Of course, we're both smartasses." He rolled his eyes. He guessed there was no other way around it.What do you want?
"It's okay to rely on others, you know."
Ren swallowed thickly.But I thought that I'm not SUPPOSED to rely on others. I thought I was the Wild Card! The man who can do anything, who's never wrong, knows exactly what to do in any and all situations. I'm not any of that. I'm not some noble hero. I'm just a kid that wanted to kick his pedophile gym teacher in the f*cking dick for treating his friends like sh*t.
"And for threatening Makoto."Arsene noted."Trickster-"
STOP CALLING ME THAT! I get enough of that cryptic crap from Igor, I don't need it from you too!
Arsene started over."Ren, stop this, stop looking at only the worst parts of yourself and your past. Yes, you are a fundamentally good person. Yes, the powers that be have punished you for that. Yet, you still believe in your justice. And you've inspired others to take up arms with you."
Ren wept due to the conflict between his self-doubt and his deeds.I told you, Arsene, I'm no hero.
"Who said you had to be?"
Ren blinked the tears out of his eyes.What?
"You said it yourself. You're just a kid that wanted to sh*t in the bed of a tyrant. Maybe that's all you need to be. Yes, people will look up to you. That's inevitable. Many will do it without ever knowing who you really are. What you need to do is lean on the people who truly know you."
Ren knew who Arsene meant.I can't just call her at eight in the evening and trauma dump on her.
Arsene was silent. With shaking hands, Ren pulled out his phone and pulled up Makoto's contact information. His finger hovered over the call button. What if he woke her? What if he caught her in a bad mood?
"Damn it, I'm spiraling." He muttered.
He wasn't sure what happened next. Maybe he hit the button. Maybe Arsene possessed him... somehow and made him hit the button. Regardless, his phone was calling Makoto, He told his doubts to go to hell and raised it to his ear.
"Hello?"
He smiled despite himself. "Hey, Niijima-san. It's Amamiya."
"Yes, I know how caller ID works, you dork. What's going on? You usually don't call this late?"
Ren started fumbling over his words. "I- ah, I'm just having a rough time right now, and I just... wanted to hear your voice."
There was a pause on the other end as Makoto contemplated that."You know you can come to me with anything right? Just because we have to be adversarial in public right now doesn't mean that I'm not here for you if you need me."
Ren had to clap a hand over his mouth to keep from crying. He took a breath to steady himself. "Are you sure? I don't want to trauma dump on you if you don't want me to."
"I'll tell you mine if you tell me yours."
Before Ren or Makoto knew what was happening, the floodgates opened. He told her about his mother, killed by a careless drunk driver and how he had chosen to honor her. She told him about the death of her father, assassinated by mobsters. He told her of his fears that things were going much too well and that he was afraid -so deeply afraid- that he was about to lose something again. She told him about how she felt like nothing but a burden to her older sister- and how she wasn't afraid to remind her of that.
They cried together. They did what they could to ease the other's burdens through words alone. The physical distance between them meant nothing, for it felt that each of them was beside the other, a guardian angel doing their best to guard them from their pain.
After they said goodbye and the call was ended, Ren said the words that he knew would be extremely unwise to say to her at this point. He knew the desire to say it was because they had shared so much of themselves in so short a time. They were both emotionally vulnerable and drunk on falling in love for the first time. To say it to each other now would be to court disaster.
"I love you."
He got up and headed back to Leblanc, blissfully unaware that in an apartment in Shibuya, Makoto Niijima said the same thing.
Before they went back to Madarame's Palace, Ren made sure that they made use of Mementos to get Yusuke up to speed on their battle tactics. It wouldn't be prudent to get into a fight with Madarame and have issues mid-battle.
His model building tools also arrived from home. His parents had even bought him the airbrush paint kit he'd had his eye on before his probation had started. Thanks to the generous support of the Kirijo Group, Ren was immediately able to go and buy new weapons for everyone.
In his preparations to complete the infiltration, Ren also formed new bonds. A reporter with an unfortunate alcohol problem that he and Ryuji met during a foray into Shinjuku to run down some intel for a Mementos request. Ren thought that the Devil Arcana was particularly apt for someone with alcoholism. He carelessly voiced this to Ryuji, who agreed without further comment.
Other encounters made him happier. A chance encounter with a struggling veteran politician yielded a deal and a bond of the Sun. He also happened to meet Shiho Suzuki's therapist, one Takuto Maruki, who told him he would be working at Shujin for the rest of the year. Ren suspected that the school was being forced to do something for Kamoshida's victims, and this was the bare minimum. Better late than never.
Finally, all preparation had been completed. The infiltration route was secured. The plan to steal the Treasure was in place. All that was left was the calling card.
Just as with the calling card for Kamoshida, they went to Ren's attic room to work on it together. "A calling card, hmm?" Yusuke asked. "Of course, we are gentlemen thieves after all. Suave maneuvers such as that should be run of the mill for us."
"It ain't just for show, dude." Ryuji said. "The calling card is an essential step."
"Oh, why's that?"
"Something something cognition?"
Morgana groaned. "That's... technically correct."
Ann leapt into the actual explanation. "We have to force a change in his cognition, like how we forced open that security gate. This time, we're forcing the Treasure to appear rather than that blurry mass that was there before."
Ryuji and Ren worked on the body of the calling card while Ann and Yusuke created a new logo for them. It was a top hat with flaming mask underneath. Ren passed the calling card to Yusuke. "What do you think?"
He nodded. "Yes. This will be the beacon that draws attention to him, right before we drag his litany of sin into the light."
"Dude, do you always gotta be so dramatic?" Ryuji asked.
Yusuke raised an eyebrow. "Do you not?"
"Alright." Ren said. "Let's send the calling card tomorrow. Anyone have any ideas on where?"
"Could I not just give it to Madarame directly?" Yusuke asked.
Morgana shook his head. "No, that's a last resort. I'll place multiple copies of the calling card outside his exhibit. Make sure your schedules are clear."
Ryuji checked his phone. "Uhhh... yeah. I'm good."
Ann snorted. "Please, what do you have going on?"
"Stuff."
Ann decided to let him keep his secrets for now. "Sure. I don't have any modeling commitments until next week, so I'm good to go." She gave Ren the side-eye. "You don't have any dates with Niijima, do you?"
Ren coughed. "Uh... no."
The date was set. The card was ready. They were prepared. There was just one last thing to do.
Follow through.
Yusuke watched silently as Madarame's personal assistant brought him the calling card. Perfect, everything was going according to plan.
"Sir? This was posted outside."
Madarame raised an eyebrow. "So? Get rid of it."
The assistant shook his head, "Sir, I really think you should read it. It's already being talked about online..."
Madarame took the calling card and began to read it out loud. "Sir Ichiryusai Madarame, you believe that your home is a museum of all the futures you've stolen and of your counterfeit fame. Prepare yourself, for we will steal your distorted desires without fail. For every dream and future that you've crushed under your heel, we will make you confess your crimes from your own mouth. From The Phantom Thieves." He shook his head. "No, how- No! This is utter nonsense!"
In a flash of cognition, Yusuke saw the Shadow Madarame. "Tch, those damn brats! Don't they know that I can do as I please! I'll make sure to use their blood to color my next masterpiece!"
As Yusuke's awareness came back to reality, he walked over to Ren and the others. "It's time."
Ann placed a hand on his shoulder. "Are you sure about this?"
"My mentor is dead. Swallowed up by his greed." Yusuke said. "I will mourn the man I knew when the time comes. But for now, we must attend to our task."
Ren pushed his glasses up his nose. "It's showtime!"
The plan was simple. With the Treasure protected on all sides by lasers, they would use the crane up on the gantry to lower Morgana down so he could grab it. To ensure they went undetected, they would need to cut the power.
Ryuji took a breath and stretched his legs. The first part of the plan was all him. He knocked and the door. "Hey, there's some weird guys out here!"
He ran away, moving just slow enough for the guard to catch his scent. Ann ducked into the control room, cut the power and made for the rendezvous point. Ryuji knocked out his pursuer and did the same. Ren threw the switch to lower the crane and Morgana snagged the Treasure. Everything was going perfectly. Which meant it was probably about to go off the rails.
The lights came back on, and Madarame saw that the painting was gone. "Lock the doors!" He barked at the guards. "Don't let those thieves escape!"
Ryuji was the last to join the group. "What the hell are we gonna do now?"
Ren cast his eyes around. "There, that window out on the gantry!"
"Joker, we don't even know where that goes!" Morgana said.
Ren shrugged and started running. "It's not like we have a choice!"
"Damn it!" Ann said as she ran, "It's happening again!"
"What is?" Yusuke asked.
"We're springing the trap!" Ryuji yelled as he jumped through the window.
They ended up on the roof of the museum. Thanks to Ren's Third Eye, they found their way to another portal like they'd seen in the room with the counterfeit Sayuri puzzles. "Joker, we have no idea where this leads!" Yusuke said.
His warning was ignored. The Phantom Thieves dove through the portal, and it deposited them in the courtyard where they deactivated the laser grid.
"Wait!" Morgana said, "Something's wrong here, the Treasure doesn't smell right!" He put the painting down and ripped off the covering. It was just a face on a blank canvas. "I knew it! It's a fake!"
Ren saw movement out of the corner of his eye. "Move!" He grabbed Morgana by the scruff of his neck and hauled him out of the way before an electric trap would've fried him.
Madarame laughed. "Don't you know? Counterfeits are accepted in the world of Japanese art! I thought you called yourselves thieves!"
They turned around to see Madarame flanked by Shadows, one of which held a painting. The true Treasure, undoubtedly. "What happened to you, Sensei?" Yusuke asked. While he was willing to change Madarame's heart, there was a small part of him that wished that the man he thought he knew still existed. "What made you so obsessed with money and fame? How can you not understand how much it pains me to see you like this? You, the man who raised me as his own child?"
"Don't flatter yourself boy. The only reason I took you in was because of my ties with your mother." Madarame said.
Yusuke was taken aback. His mother had died when he was three years old, or so he'd been told. "My mother?"
"Yes, she never lost her passion for painting. Even after her husband died. I... looked after her. You see, her talent was nothing short of a savant, despite her failing health." Madarame explained. "Now, I suppose I can grant you a gift before you die. A glimpse at the genuine Sayuri!"
The Shadow holding the painting stepped forward. It was the Sayuri, but instead of the fog obscuring the woman's arms, it could easily be seen that she was holding a baby boy.
Yusuke recoiled. "Mom!"
Madarame grinned. "Indeed, Yusuke! It was a self-portrait!"
The puzzle pieces clicked together. "You bastard." Yusuke growled, "You... you killed my mother!"
"Wait, what?" Morgana asked. "How do you figure that?"
"He's right." Ryuji said, "Remember what he told us last time? Before Fox's Awakening? That he stole the Sayuri from the woman who painted it after she died!"
"I wouldn't say killed... I mean she had a seizure in front of me!" Madarame said, "I just wasn't able to call for help in time. Such a shame..."
Yusuke laughed. "I have to thank you one final time,Sensei," The derision sounded foreign coming from him, yet it was fully deserved, "Every reason for me to forgive you has disappeared! Like blossoms in the wind!" He placed his hand on the hilt of his sword and another on his mask. "Come then, it's time for you to taste the cold steel of justice!"
Dark energy began to swell around Madarame and the Shadows. "You don't get it, none of you do! I make the rules in the art scene. Anyone who wants to participate does so at my allowance! I am more than just the summit! I AM THE GOD OF JAPANESE ART!" In an explosion of cognitive energy, he transformed, becoming four floating paintings. Two eyes, a nose, and mouth.
"Well, that's new." Ryuji quipped. "Let 'er rip, Captain Kidd! Blast the eyes!" A bolt of lightning dropped on the right eye and did all of nothing. "Oh, that's bullsh*t!"
"Let's try this! Dance, Carmen!" Ann called for a blast of fire to hit the eyes but once again, nothing happened. "What?"
"Shoot 'em down, Arsene! Snap!" Ren had Arsene target the eye that his friends had failed to damage. This time, it stuck.
"You brat!" Madarame hissed. "Take this!" The eyes glared at him, causing ice to form around Ren. Then the ice exploded with magical energy, freezing him solid.
"You'll pay for that!" Yusuke stepped forward before calling his Persona, "Goemon, Giant Slice!" His Persona lunged forward and cut one of the eyes in two.
"Oh, why didn't you say so?" Ryuji said, "Go, Captain! Headbutt!" Captain Kidd shot forward and rammed into the remaining eye, destroying it.
Ann was next, and she did what she did best. Fire. "Carmen, Maragi!" Both of the remaining paintings were lit on fire in the aftermath of her attack, but were still standing. "Joker, can you finish it?"
He could not. He was still frozen.
"Don't worry!" Morgana said, "I've got it! ZORRO, SHOW YOUR MIGHT!" Vicious blasts of wind eviscerated the last two paintings. The remains of the paintings dissolved into pitch-black ink, from which Madarame emerged.
"Enough!" Yusuke said, "I will not allow you to prevail here today, Madarame! Your reign of terror over the world of art ends today! GOEMON, STRIKE!" He ripped his mask off, and scarlet flame erupted around him. "FALL! LIKE PETALS ON THE WIND! HASSOU TOBI: HYOKETSU!"
Yusuke flickered out of sight before swarming around Madarame, besieging him with innumerable attacks. With every slash, he left ice crystals behind, gradually encasing his former teacher in a prison of ice. He reappeared beside his friends just as he sheathed his sword, causing the ice to explode in a giant snowflake pattern.
Consequently, the ice imprisoning Ren also disappeared. "Ugh, what did I miss?"
Madarame snapped his finger, and four clones of himself appeared, each had elemental power swirling about them. The one in a red robe stretched forth its hand and a blast of fire knocked Yusuke off his feet. The exact same thing happened to Ryuji and Ann, as they were attacked with wind and ice.
Ren narrowed his eyes. Four clones. All with different elemental affinities. The perfect playground for a Wild Card. "High Pixie!" A fairy Persona appeared and blasted the yellow robed Madarame into nonexistence with wind. "Jack Frost, Hee-Ho!" The demon snowman that was becoming a staple of Ren's arsenal destroyed the red robed Madarame. "Naga!" The snake man appeared and shot lightning from his spear, nailing the green one. "Orthrus!" The two-headed dog materialized and eliminated the final Madarame clone with a gout of flame.
Madarame was stunned. "What? How did you do that?"
Ren grinned. "They don't call me Joker for nothing. Come, Archangel!" The armored angel dove at Madarame, bringing his blade down on his head.
"This isn't over yet!" Madarame summoned another round of clones.
"Flauros! Break them! Maratunda!" The robotic demon's magic sapped the defense of all the enemies arrayed against him. He snapped his fingers. "Crush them!"
His teammates, galvanized by Ren brute-forcing his way through a wave of clones leapt to their feet and all attacked the clones that were vulnerable to their damage. With their defenses compromised, they were easy pickings.
"No! You can't do this!" Madarame cried. "Don't you know who I am?"
Ryuji ran at him. "Yeah!" Ryuji said. He drove his mace into Madarame's gut before firing his shotgun point-blank. "THAT'S WHY WE'RE KICKING YOUR ASS!"
"Mona!" Ann said, "Let's do that super move you came up with!"
Morgana grinned and produced a bouquet of roses, willed into existence by his feelings for Ann. "This is how I really feel!"
"Aw, thanks!" Ann said before reaching into the bouquet and pulling out two submachine guns. "You have such great taste!" She leapt into the air and fired at Madarame, keeping him suppressed until Morgana threw a massive bomb that looked like it should've came from an ACME crate. Ann lit the fuse with Carmen, and the bomb exploded.
Ryuji shook his head. "The hell did I just see?"
Ren used Third Eye to check Madarame's status. He was on his last legs. "Fox, finish it!"
"At once!" Yusuke dashed forward and slashed at Madarame twice. Seeing that he was still reeling from the attack, he somersaulted backwards and pulled out his rifle, drilling his foe with a precision burst.
Madarame was knocked off of his feet. "No... no! How are you doing this?"
"Because justice is on my side, Madarame. And I will never relent. GOEMON! Rising Slash!" Yusuke's Persona delivered the final blow. A globe of light flew out of Madarame and resolved into the genuine Sayuri.
Madarame clung to it like a child clings to their favorite stuffed animal during a thunderstorm. "You can't take this from me! I need it! I don't want to be poor again!"
Yusuke wrenched the painting from Madarame's grasp and flicked the tip of his blade up to his throat. "No, Madarame. The show is over, and you have lost. Confess your sins, leave nothing out. And... give credit to your former students for their work."
"All of them? Even the ones that killed themselves?"
Yusuke's eye twitched and he pressed the blade against the man's throat. "Did I stutter?"
"I'll do it! I'll do it! Just don't kill me!" Madarame begged.
Yusuke sheathed his sword and began to walk towards the other Thieves. "Thank you for your final lesson, Sensei." Madarame began to disappear and the Palace started to shake. "The sin of vanity is poison to the spirit of an artist."
They decided to reconvene at Leblanc the next day for debrief. Most of the battle against Madarame had been a comedy of errors, and that needed to be addressed. In the end, it was decided that the primary reason was their chain of command was basically Ren, then everyone else. Ryuji volunteered to be their second-in-command, but was shot down by Ann and Morgana when Ann had pointed out that his battle strategies would just be "Okay, we have to hit it very hard."
Yusuke deferred, as he was the newest member, and Morgana was content to stay in his mentor and navigator roles. Ann also declined.
This would mean a new member was needed. Luckily, Ren knew just the person for the job. The question was if everyone else would be alright with it. "Okay, I have an idea." Ren said, "For a new member of the team who could act as a team advisor and second-in-command for myself."
"Who?" Ryuji asked.
Ann saw what was coming from a mile away. "No! Absolutely not!"
Yusuke leaned in, "Ann, shouldn't we at least hear him out?" He turned back to Ren, "Who is it?"
"Shujin Academy's Student Council President." Ren said, "Makoto Niijima."
"Again, no!" Ann said, "How do you know she won't just turn us in? She's investigating us, isn't she? She was tailing me the other day and everything!"
"Would you believe me if I told you I seduced her?" Ren managed to ask with a straight face.
Everyone present burst into uproarious laughter. "Ren, no. You do not get to call your corny pickup linesseduction." Morgana teased.
He rolled his eyes. "Okay, maybe I over-exaggerated for comedy. But mypointis that we got to talking about how I feel about the Phantom Thieves, and things escalated from there." Ryuji played a suggestive saxophone riff from his phone. "No, not that kind of escalation. I asked her about what she thinks justice is, and... her sense of justice matches mine. Almost perfectly." He smiled. "She... also said that she has become much too fond of me to turn us in to Kobayakawa."
"Holy sh*t, you're serious." Ryuji said. "I'm almost impressed."
Ann snorted. "As if you've got anything going on!"
"Maybe I do, Ann!"
"Bullllllsh*t!"
Morgana coughed. "Can we focus? Please?" He turned back to the matter at hand, "Does she have her Persona?"
Ren shook her head, "No, but her resolve's so strong that she'll probably awaken the first time she goes in the Metaverse. The only problem with bringing her in now is her investigation. We're basically just waiting for enough time to pass for her to be able to reasonably tell Kobayakawa that she's come up with nothing."
Ann got up "Alright, I guess I'll try to be nicer to her. I've got a modeling thing to get to, I'll see you all later."
Yusuke joined her. "I must leave as well, I need to begin on the paperwork to move back into Kohei High's dorms, as Madarame's...business homewill undoubtedly be the subject of much scrutiny."
"Any sign of a change of heart?" Morgana asked.
Yusuke shrugged. "He locked himself away in his room and refuses to leave. I also heard him crying." He took his leave, returning downstairs to find Sojiro tending the complete lack of customers in the café.
"You headed out too?" Sojiro asked. "Stay safe."
"Thank you, Boss." Yusuke paused for a moment when he saw a spot on the wall that would be perfect for a painting. He took the Sayuri off of his rolling suitcase -the genuine Sayuri was safer with him, he had decided- and decided to offer it to Sojiro. "Boss, this painting deserves to be viewed by the public but the art critics and enthusiasts would call it a fake. Would you mind hanging it on the wall here?"
Sojrio raised an eyebrow. "Let me see." He gave the painting a once over. "This- Is this the Sayuri? Wait..." He thought it over for a moment before nodding. "Yes, I'll display it here. Thank you for entrusting me with this, Yusuke."
"You're welcome." He turned to leave when he was stopped by Ren careening down the stairs.
"Yusuke!" Ren called out, "I just wanted to let you know that if you need anything that you can tell me and I'll do what I can to help."
Yusuke inclined his head, "I appreciate that, Ren. Now that Madarame will not be... directing me all of the time, I may need some help to avoid a slump. I'll be in touch."
Thou hast acquired a new bond... with the birth of the Emperor Persona...
Ann thought it was weird that modeling was her safe space now. She didn't have to worry about Shadows or Treasures, she'd be able to forget about being a Phantom Thief entirely if it wasn't for Carmen's running commentary.
"You could easily outshine that other girl if you stopped being so conservative, apprentie. Why hold yourself back?"
Ann didn't skip a beat, continuing to follow the instructions of the photographer. As per his directive, she leaned forward and blew a kiss to the camera.Because I'm a substitute for this job. I'm not supposed to outshine the other girl.
"Nonsense. You model to be a light for others, yes? So be the other girl's guiding light. In the glimpses I've seen of her, I witnessed the spark of wit. She will be able to keep up."
As Ann transitioned to the next pose she mentally replied.Alright, I'll bite. What do you want me to do?
"Words will take too long, my dear. Let me show you..."
Before Ann could react, a warmth began to spread across her. It came from her heart and reached all the way to her fingers and toes. She understood in a flash. This wasn't some form of control or possession. No, this was something more... symbiotic. After all, CarmenwasAnn. That was the whole point to a Persona, that it literally is your other self. If that was true, then the reverse was as well.
Ann couldbeCarmen.
She felt some idle amusem*nt from Carmen. No, that wasn't quite it. Then it dawned on her. This was what Ann could become, this was what it would feel like to be her without the doubts and the worries, without the fear that she would never be able to take her power back from Kamoshida.
It wasintoxicating. She was beautiful- no, she was sexy. Every eye was on her, the photographer as he turned the flashbulb on his camera into a strobe light, the girl she was modeling with as she tried to emulate Ann, the passers-by...
All eyes were on her. On her terms.
Before she knew it, the shoot was over and the feeling faded. She was back to being just Ann. The doubts and the worries were back, but this time they didn't seem insurmountable. The apex that Ann sought didn't seem so out of reach anymore. She knew that she could make it there, because she had been there, if only for a moment.
Thank you, Carmen. That was... incredible.
Before Carmen could respond, Ann was waylaid by the other model. "Just what do you think you're doing?"
Ann smiled at the girl, "Sorry, I know I'm only the substitute. I just got really into it, y'know."
Sensing the brewing storm, the manager came over. "Mika, Mika, it's fine if Ann decided to light a fire under herself. You rose to the challenge! In fact, I kinda want to play this up."
"Oh?" Mika said.
"What do you mean?" Ann asked.
"Set up this rivalry between you two, cause hoo boy, I was feeling it! How you two were always chasing the high the other was reaching?Perfection. People will eat this up." He pulled out his phone and walked off, clearly setting up whatever came next for this.
Mika sniffed. "Well, if we are to berivals, Takamaki, what diet to you do to maintain that figure?"
"Diet?" Ann said carelessly, "I don't really do that. I guess I could cut down on the sweets though."
"Wait. I was being upstaged by anamateur?"
Ann could feel Carmen's anger bubble up.Calm down! Please!"Depends on your definition ofamateur, Mika." She stepped in, due to an odd surge of confidence. Was this left over from the...meldingwith Carmen, or was it her? "But you can bet your last yen that I'll be bringing my A-game."
Mika bit her lip and fluttered her eyelashes. "So will I...senpai."
Ann bluescreened for a moment, which gave Mika the opportunity to walk away with the last word.What just happened?
"You did not expect her to use every weapon in her arsenal. Do not fall for her wiles, apprentie. That girl has venom on her breath. She is a shark among the minnows. She will eat you alive if you give her the opportunity."
Ann sighed as she collected her things. There went that idea.I wasn't going to fall for it!
"As your friend Ryuji would say, bullsh*t."
Ann groaned.
As Ren headed to school the next day, he ran into Kasumi again. He braced himself for another assault of thesenpaihonorific. He had no idea why, but it really put him on edge.
At least it would have, until a man from the crowd grabbed her arm. "Hey, cutie. Why don't you come have some fun with me?"
Yoshizawa tried to pull away, but the man's grip was too strong. Or she was afraid of hurting him. It was a toss-up really. "Please let go, I need to get to school!"
No one else was stopping this. Typical. Ren unzipped his bag and grabbed his umbrella. That was Plan B. "Mona, trip him."
"On it, Joker." He hopped out and wormed his way between the creep's legs. He lost his balance, which let Kasumi slip out of his grip. She saw Ren and ran behind him. Morgana hopped up onto Ren's shoulder before slipping back in his bag. He slipped his glasses into his pocket. If he was going to dissuade this jerk, he needed the full force of his glare.
"What the hell? Was that your cat, you-" He stopped dead in his tracks when he met Ren's eyes.
"Back off." Ren said. "She's too young for you, asshole."
The chubby man walked off, cursing Ren under his breath. "Are you okay, Yoshizawa?"
"I am now, Senpai." She said, "But why'd you have your umbrella?"
"Ever seen Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade?" Ren asked as he put his glasses back on.
Kasumi blinked once before her eyes lit up with recognition. "The scene where Indiana's father uses the umbrella to send the seagulls at the plane!" She laughed. "Oh, that would've been hilarious." They continued to walk to the train they had to transfer to. "You know, I should repay you for your help."
Ren was about to graciously decline before he thought of something. "Say, you're on the gymnastics team, yeah?"
"Sure am!" She said brightly.
"Could you show me some of the physical training you do for that? I'm trying to get more in shape, and I think I need a shock to my system to get the gears turning."
Out of nowhere there was a change that came over Kasumi. An edge to her voice, a darkness in her smile. "Be careful what you wish for, Senpai."
Thou hast acquired a new bond... with the birth of the Faith Persona...
Ren chuckled. "I'm in danger!"
Mandatory therapy sessions.
As one of Kamoshida's victims, the school was requiring him to go see Maruki. There was the catch, the usual Shujin Academy idiocy. How were mandatory therapy sessions supposed to help? If someone didn't want to be there, it would just make it worse.
But yet, here he was, sitting across from Doctor Maruki. The doctor was flipping through his notes. "How are you feeling today, Ren?"
Ren went to the old standby to disarm that question. "Well, a bird almost crapped on me. It'd be real swell if someone made a reality where that doesn't happen."
Maruki laughed. "I'll take that under advisem*nt."
Ren narrowed his eyes. Why did Maruki say that seriously? Eh, it was probably nothing. "Can we get on with this? I've got places to be."
Maruki smiled, "Not a fan of therapists?"
Ren shrugged. "I know I'm a mess, I don't need you to tell me that."
Maruki jotted down some notes. "Interesting, you're resistant to theideaof therapy, but you also understand that you might need it."
"Not for the beating Kamoshida gave me." He said, hoping to shock Maruki.
Maruki stared at him. "Would you say you're used to..."
"Having the adults that are supposed to protect kids like me care more about covering their own asses?" Ren asked, "Yeah, I'd say so."
Maruki shook his head, "I understand, Ren. The betrayal that you've felt, both from Kamoshida and the legal system is the kind of betrayal that sticks with you for a while."
Yeah, it's why I'm a Phantom Thief, probably.
Maruki put his clipboard down and leaned forward, "This is a question I've been asking everyone who's seen me. If you could heal your heart of all the emotional pain you've felt from this betrayal of trust, would you?"
Ren's answer was almost automatic. "No way. It's the pain and the struggle that makes me who I am. I wouldn't be nearly as funny without it." He paused, "And I never would've met Makoto if Kamoshida hadn't kicked me around. That's a fair trade, I think."
"So you're alright with pain as long as the triumph is worth it?"
"Yeah."
"it's amazing that you have that outlook, given what you've gone through." Maruki said. "I guess we'll end here, since it's clear you don't want to be here, and you're not in crisis. Unless..."
Ren's interest was piqued. "Unless what?"
"How would you feel about me bouncing ideas for my paper off you? That way you can fulfill your mandated sessions with me and get away without having me try to bang my head against a brick wall."
"Sure, I can do that."
Thou hast acquired a new bond... with the birth of the Councilor Persona...
Damn. Now he really couldn't deflect or ignore Maruki.
Madarame stared into the cameras. He had called for the press conference. It was time to repent.
"I have called you all here... so that I may confess my crimes." The room was dead silent. What crimes? "I plagiarized the work of my pupils, claiming it as my own. When they would rise against me, I would cast them out... and use the weight of my reputation to destroy any chances they had at becoming successful in the art world." He sobbed as he recalled the rest of his crimes. "And the Sayuri... the Sayuri! It was never stolen."
a collective gasp came from the respective reporters.
"No, that's not accurate.Istole the Sayuri and passed it off as my own. I stole it from Fumiko Kitagawa as she lay dying from a seizure. I altered the painting to make it more marketable. I then spread the rumor it had been stolen and used the infamy to sell copies of the altered painting to private collectors for outrageous sums of money, I... I..." He broke down crying, "I have twisted the entire world of Japanese art to my whims and crushed the hopes and dreams of countless aspiring artists underfoot! I don't deserve to be called an artist!" He composed himself, barely. "After this press conference, I will turn myself in so that I may face the cold blade of justice. I will not be taking questions at this time."
As he got up and walked out, chaos erupted as the reporters shouted questions that would not be answered.
What drove him to commit such criminal acts?
Why did he choose to come forward now?
And what did it all have to do with thesePhantom Thievesand their calling card?
So far, the social studies trip had been mind-numbing. Incredibly boring lectures combined with him and Ryuji being press-ganged into wrangling some giant camera cables. Truly riveting.
Then things did a complete one-eighty.
They had met back up with Ann, and Morgana had just stated his desire to go get pancakes at Done Town now that they were free for the day.
"Oh, did I just hear someone mention delicious pancakes?"
A boy wearing a sweater vest and carrying a briefcase walked around the corner. Who also understood Morgana.
Ryuji looked at Ren. This was not good. "No one was talking about pancakes, man."
The boy co*cked his head. "Are you sure about that? I clearly heard someone mention pancakes. I wouldn't be wrong about that, after all, I am Goro Akechi, Ace Detective."
Ren experienced a moment of nirvana. Finally, it was time to fulfill his destiny as a stepsibling of Yukari Takeba. He chuckled. "Ace Detective? More like Ace Defective!"
Akechi blinked. No one spoke. Ryuji valiantly kept himself from cracking up. "I beg your pardon?"
"Did I stutter?" Ren countered.
Akechi had been hard reset, which was Ren's objective. By dragging Akechi's interest to him, he diverted suspicion away from who had talked about pancakes. "Who are you?" Akechi asked.
Ren extended his right hand for a handshake. "Ren Amamiya, Shujin Academy second year and certified smartass."
Akechi's mouth twitched up in a co*cky half-smile. "Clearly." He extended his left hand for a handshake. They stared each other down, neither one giving in.
Ann slid over to Ryuji. "Uh, what's going on?"
"Vibe check." Ryuji said.
Akechi finally relented and switched hands. "It's been a long time since I've found someone that can match wits with me. I could use the practice."
Ren took out his phone, "Sure. What's your number?" As they exchanged contact information, Ren heard the voice in his head that he expected.
Thou hast acquired a new bond... With the birth of the Justice Persona...
After Ren and the others left, Morgana spoke up. "So, it's obvious that Akechi's up to no good."
"Oh, for real?" Ryuji asked, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "I couldn't tell."
"I ran an internet search, and it's not looking good." Ann said, "Apparently this Akechi is the public figurehead of the investigation into the Phantom Thieves."
"Why do you think I exchanged contact info with him?" Ren said with a smile, "So I can keep an eye on him."
Ann laughed, "What do you thinkMakotothinks about that, Ren?"
Ren answered her meritless inquiry with a dignified silence.
