Archive of Our Own

"It is your fault." Brazenly accused Zenkichi of his reflection, which looked exactly like him, because Valjean didn't hide in the mirrors on this side. The gesture was more for the effect. Persona would still hear it, whether there's a reflection or not.

Some "dedicated" police workers would have stopped the moment they failed to notice telltale red and black cages with people's wishes locked inside. More persistent ones would have climbed up, then calmly walked down and print a bag badass "safe" sign on a metaphorical entrance to the tower. 

Regrettably, Zenkichi did not fall into their category. He had seen for himself what the Tokyo Tower had become and how the defeat of the Phantom Thieves could have turned out for Tokyo. If there was even a small, tiny chance that Emma was hiding in the tower in its bud, it had to be found and neutralized. Except the tower was perfectly normal, without the scenery of a typical horror movie, and laughed at Zenkichi and his unsuccessful attempts to find the evil influence where it wasn't, to beat it all out without a trace.

In a Claymore of Justice modern style. How true ally of justice was supposed to do. 

Sophia bounced around the place having no idea she broke every horror movie rule too. She mostly stuck to windows though, glazing at the city and framing it with her fingers exactly how Kitagawa has taught her. Sometimes she would ask Zenkichi about interesting buildings on the distance, and he would explain to her what purpose do they serve. Tokyo was his home more than Kyoto would ever be, and he doubted he would have ever left it if not for his wife's murder.

All the more worried he felt, for the town on this side was unnaturally quiet. Zenkichi did not expect the stagnation with which it would welcome him.

It put him on edge. Forced to tread carefully even though Valjean's might was enough to brutalize any enemy in their way. No place should have been so quiet and lifeless. In this unnatural world, there might not have been people, but there were Shadows. But in Tokyo, unlike Kyoto, even those were absent. That worried him. It may have bothered Sophia too.

Zenkichi broke the windows at the top of the tower and waited for the enemies to drop on him. With an annoyed grump, he hopped on the roof when it did not happen, and took a close look in the distance.

“This is ridiculous. Not even one stupid Shadow.”

Shadows were always after their hearts, he learned the hard way. They were eager to steal wishes and feed their insecurities.

“We beat the crap out of them ‘cuz they get in the way!” Sakamoto used to exclaim while ominously cracking his knuckles or swinging his tub. The majority of the team seemed to agree with him, and Zenkichi too beat the lesser Shadows since they hindered the team’s advance to the Jail King. 

Later, when at the car’s wheel again, Zenkichi would ask their universal guide, that’s being the cat, about how does it work. Morgana wasn't eager to provide more answers than necessary, even with Zenkichi as a part of the team, and perhaps it was connected to whatever difficulties the teens have faced before. The cat has said Jails were different from what they have to deal with within the last year. 

“Human Shadow is basically a side of one’s personality they don’t want to see but act upon its desires regardless.”

That, Morgana also noted, was what hadn't changed. He didn't elaborate on what did, however. 

“It is, how should I put it...” Niijima Makoto had struggled to explain, and then sighed, deflated. “It would have been easier to show, but...“

“We have enough problems as of now.” Kurusu had interrupted, severing the building pressure among the thieves. Takamaki put a grounding hand on Sakamoto’s shoulder and visibly pushed him down to prevent from vocalizing his opinion. “We don’t have the time and resources to deal with anything besides Jails.”

Which was true, Zenkichi justified, because their next opponent was Konoe, and even after they stopped him, they had to race back to Tokyo and face Ichinose in the tower upon which Zenkichi stood right now. 

For an adult catering a team of teenagers and making sure they would see the end of the day, Zenkichi truly knew very little of what he was put against.

“Wolf-san?”

“Coming.”

Still, there was something ultimately wrong with just how silent parallel Tokyo turned out to be. Even with the Shibuya’s Jail down and the Tokyo Tower empty, Shadows should have been roaming the streets.

“Found anything, Sophia?”

The girl nodded. 

“Not here. Outside. There.” She pointed at the subway point visible through the broken window. It was Shibuya station, out in the open. Zenkichi could see a familiar red haze swirling at the entrance. 

“And the tower?”

She shrugged. “I can’t smell anyone in it.”

He hadn’t had the reason to make her do another round, as well as subject himself to do the same procedure again. Instead, they made their way towards the subway. 

The entrance to Shibuya station at least looked appropriate for an otherworldly dimension. It was sunk in deep red colors, the darkness enveloping the stairs appeared unnatural, and Zenkichi could faintly hear incoherent whispers that Shadows seemed to emanate. 

“How many are there?” He put a hand on the claymore’s handle. He didn’t like how the whispers grow louder by the second. 

Sophia shifted her stance. “Too many. I can’t smell them all. Does the subway in the human world supposed to be like a maze, too?” Her helmet and visor were on and blazing. He could see her weapons on the ready. Smart girl. 

“No, it doesn’t,” Zenkichi growled and sliced the first emerged from the stairs Shadow in half. “Fall back!”

In a matter of seconds, they were swarmed, as though all the Shadows of the city had descended on them at once, as if every Shadow had been driven underground into the subway tunnels, only to crawl back out at the first sniff of the human wishes. The faceless creatures covered in the white masks were bent on tearing them apart, and while they did burst into more familiar monsters after the first strike, they also were uncharacteristically aggressive. They bore little care for their pitiful lives, throwing themselves on the blade in a desperate attempt to land a hit. They didn't turn tail even when Valjean joined the fray, practically obliterating the next wave which exited the subway.

They didn't even go after Sophia, Zenkichi realized, when the girl effortlessly picked up a Shadow on the sideline, completely unhandicapped and free to attack from whatever angle she wanted. No, they went after him, as if he was a prize they were craving, a golden goose to pick bone after bone.

Something nibbed at his awareness and he rapidly turned on his feet, severing a long red appendage extending from the darkness down the stairs. It retreated as fast as a snake, and the zeal with which Shadows attacked seemed to went with it. The last creatures left on the battlefield scattered in panic, making themselves easy targets for his guns and Sophia's lasers.

"You alright?" Zenkichi checked the girl over when the last enemy was shot down and dissipated into black smoke. Sophia seemed alright, if not a bit thoughtful. He frowned. "Got something from them?"

"I'm not sure if it's anything important. I'm a friend of humanity and I can feel everything that belongs to humanity. Until almost the end of the battle, I couldn't feel the connection between these shadows and mankind."

"Why would the common Shadows have a connection?" 

Sophia blinked at him, very slowly.

"They always did."

"Is that... Is that so?" He gave the obscure maw of the subway entrance an entirely weirded look and finally sheathed his sword. He used to think only human-like Shadows were connected to humanity, being an alter ego and vise versa, and treated the simpler Shadows akin to mobs in computer games. Usually, in Jails it was so that the Kings gave orders to monsters, and monsters thoughtlessly followed them, filling the void inside them through regular contact with wishes.

Was it supposed to work somehow differently?

"Sophia, what are Shadows exactly?"

He hoped they weren't humans turned monsters. No, they couldn't have, could they? The thieves dispatched them too swiftly, they would have hesitated or shown remorse for taking lives otherwise. He knew those kids, they weren't that resilient.

"They are suppressed human thoughts given physical form!" Sophia answered enthusiastically as if delighted to be asked the question. "Those are mostly negative and can fester. When there are too many, they become a threat to humanity! And as a humanity friend, it is my duty to protect it, and so I have tools to fight."

You have no such duty. Zenkichi wanted to clarify. No one's duty entails fighting with monsters for the sake of others, especially not yours.

He couldn't say so, of course. The drive to be humanity friend, to be useful in any way possible, was the only thing keeping Sophia online, because her creator denied her everything else. Ichinose discarded Sophia for uselessness, and Sophia's programming turned it into a need to satisfy humanity's wishes to protect itself from self-destruction.

She is lucky Kurusu has found her. In the hands of the other, she could have been twisted into the vicious tool, just like her "younger sister" Emma was.

"Noted," he opted to say instead, tipping his hat down. "So the Tokyo subway is a maze. Go figure. Hope we won't have to fight a literal Shadow Horde every time we go down."

"Are we going down?"

He gave her a look.

"Not when I'm about to be late for work.”

Zenkichi sat in his car parked in front of the Tokyo police station and drank cheap coffee, unsuccessfully trying to reboot his brains and reactivate himself. The fight in the other world didn’t help the matters, making him sore and double exhausted.

By the order which sent him to cooperate with the Tokyo police, the very one which Kaburagi gave him in a cheap bar, Zenchiki had to wake up at an unjustly early hour, make himself not the most nutritious breakfast, kiss his daughter and leave for Tokyo. The plan changed slightly as Zenkichi drove past the Tokyo Tower and could not get the cells filled halls with people (shadows of these people) out of his mind. It was a bad, bad idea to drop into the other world before a meeting, but he couldn't talk himself out of it, even when logic suggested otherwise.

Zenkichi knew the AI couldn’t be there yet, since Konoe’s tech company didn’t even announce their upcoming project, hence Ichinose hasn’t finished the development. The inner demons, however, didn’t let him rest until he parked his car near the Tokyo Tower and instructed Sophia to drag him on the other side. 

He had to clarify those inner demons had nothing to do with Valjean, who was predictably satisfied with the chance to rally his knuckles and faceprint Shadows into the ground, yet unresponsible for Zenkichi’s paranoia and consequence desire to check the Tower out. 

His worries put aside, now Zenkichi was able to concentrate on his current matters at hand, though not before gulping down the remaining coffee. 

Also, if he thought meeting Sophia who didn’t remember him was bad, he was wrong. He never has thought he would suffer internal meltdown crossing the paths with Sae Niijima from the past. 

He didn't even expect to be sent to collect the files on the current case from her. The Tokyo Department chief said she worked on the Shibuya's gangs before, and since Zenkichi's suspect was presumably hiding among them, he would do well by asking her for advice. It wasn't a close call to "working together" as they did in the past (and now already future), yet Zenkichi expected some pleasant familiarity from the encounter.

He was wrong.

Upon entering the courthouse, which was literally a couple of steps from the police station, Zenkichi immediately saw, but honestly did not recognize Nijima. Oh no, she didn’t change in appearance, downing the same business style suit, makeup, and hairstyle. No, she was different from the woman he knew in a different way, the way that stole his breath and seized his heart. 

“Niijima Sae, Special Investigation Unit. Hasegawa Zenkichi, I presume? A pleasure. I have been briefed on your situation.” She extended her hand. “Do you need something specific or would you prefer to get a full file set?”

Zenkichi accepted the handshake, nervous despite himself. He had trouble maintaining his composure, and it definitely didn’t escape her notice. She narrowed her eyes, an unfamiliar raw edge twisting her expression. “Is something the matter?”

“Yes.” He honestly answered, and before she could continue, added. “Wasn’t expecting to be sent to a famous SIU prosecutor.” 

For some reason, it had taken her aback. Zenkichi briefly wondered why so. “I... see. Then let us carry on.” She offered him a freshly printed stack of papers. He took it without further questioning her behavior. “I have looked into Shibuya gangs when one of my defendants appeared to have direct involvement, but I haven’t had an opportunity to investigate deeper and get out more than what was on the surface. That’s all I can provide.”

She wasn’t sending him right away, choosing instead get back to work on her laptop, and after a quick inquiring gaze around, Zenkichi simply opted to take a seat in front of her and examine the documents received. Gladly, Niijima didn't retaliate and allowed him to share a table.

He took a deep breath.

Well. Shit.

Zenkichi could feel his phone vibrating in his trousers, and since he didn’t turn his sound off, it was more likely Sophia trying to get his attention. He had a bad feeling about it. Considering what outright depressing conclusion he has made out of his short observance of older Niijima, he really wasn’t keen on confirming it by taking his phone out.

But it simply cannot be, can it?

There was a day engraved in Zenkichi’s memory. The day Niijima Sae walked into the Kyoto Police Station as if she had owned the place, strolled past every security on her way, and walked in the room he was held into. One moment he was interrogated by his colleagues and blamed for helping The Phantom Thieves escape, the next one he exited the station by her side.

He remembered how she was. Full of steeled confidence. Didn’t raise her voice even once, yet commandeered the attention of the whole room. Walked freely, unperturbed.

Free of burden. 

Now said burden enveloped her like a blanket, heavy and suffocating. Rough edges and tense shoulders, the movements restricted by the need to be acknowledged for her hard unrelenting work. He often saw it in women working in the force.

Once upon a time he even saw it in himself. Working under Kaburagi and trying to get a higher profile, no matter the cost, to get recognition and then repay the bastards who refused to investigate his wife's death. He had learned in a cruel lesson about where such ambitions lead. He really didn’t want to contemplate what has Niijima went through to get rid of them. It was also hard not to since he saw the woman she became. 

With a quiet sigh, he took out his phone. Sophia knew better than to openly speak with other people nearby, - and he warned her not to, - and so she presented him a text message instead.

smarter than Siri: I smell an entrance. 

smarter than Siri: I don't know where.

smarter than Siri: It may be a Jail you have told me about.

an ally of justice: we checked the city

an ally of justice: its empty

smarter than Siri: It is only here. I didn’t smell it in the tower or near the subway. 

Zenkichi flicked his eyes up, swiftly scanning the court building’s interior. 

an ally of justice: right inside?

smarter than Siri: I don’t know. It is just here. I want to see it. I will transfer you inside. 

an ally of justice: NO WAIT

an ally of justice: goddamn it Soph ppl normally can’t disappear into the thin air

an ally of justice: at least wait for me to end my workday kid geez

He really needed to study the files he was given. He could concentrate on them, despite the constant distractions caused by Sophia's endless insistence on hurrying up.

Zenkichi took a short look at Sae, busy with her own work. Niijima was closely associated with the Phantom Thieves, since her younger sister, Makoto, was a direct member of the team. He thought she was originally supporting their charade, except... Prosecutor Nijima Sae was indeed known in her field of work, in particular for her loyalty to the law and commitment to justice. It would have taken a lot of effort to get her to turn against her ideals and beliefs.

But the thieves were known for their ability to steal and change hearts. In a way, he witnessed it himself.

Nijima Sae has never acted as if her heart had been changed. Zenkichi saw the confession videos of Ichiryusai Madarame and Masayoshi Shido, and she was nothing like them.

Yet... Nijima Sae, who sat in front of him now, and Nijima Sae, who he saw in the future, were like two different people.

An entrance is here.

And Zenkichi really wanted to know, an entrance to what.