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It was always strange, getting Mementos requests. These people could be true Shadows, or they could the the victims of a particularly cruel bullying scheme. Akira knew this all too well, having had his name show up on the Phansite far too often for comfort. Luckily for his anonymity, Mishima moderated the posts before they were allowed on the site, deleting any mentions of Kurusu Akira before they could see the light of day.
Yet, sometimes, a real request was obvious.
It was hard to explain, but there was a vibe to it, that the joking or bullying ones didn’t have. A sort of desperation, like the requester didn’t have anywhere else to turn. The newest request posted had that sort of vibe to it, one even Mishima had pointed out when he’d forwarded the post to Akira.
RedVictory [2016/09/17]
Hi, Phantom Thieves. I’d like to request that you change the heart of a student at my school. There’s something strange about him, more than just normal oddities. He used to be nice, even a bit of a pushover, but lately.......something happened. Suddenly he’s different, like a whole new person. He’s hurting people, really badly, but nobody believes me. He doesn’t even believe me, and I’m not sure if he even knows he’s doing it. Please, Phantom Thieves. You’re my last chance. His name is Mutou Yuugi. Please hurry. I don’t want anyone else to die.
The last line sent the whole team into a panic. If people were dying, then this was much, much more than just a standard request. They couldn’t afford to sit on this one like they did with so many others, because lives were in the balance. So after a trip to Takemi’s to stock up on medicine, they headed into the bowels of the subway.
“Mutou Yuugi, Mementos. Match found. Beginning navigation,” the MetaNav chimed, just before the world dissolved into the disgusting fleshy mass that made up humanity’s Palace. The Monabus was silent, only the purring of the engine and occasional warning for a shadow breaking the tension. Everyone was too preoccupied, wondering how many people this student killed, whether intentional or not. He couldn't be too bad, since he didn’t have a Palace, but bad enough to have the seed in Mementos.
Outside, music floated through the air. The melody was haunting, childlike in its random tinkling of bells, the sound both too kind and too eerie to stand. “The walls are filled with human screams, and will soon be made of mine~” sung a high, sweet voice. Everyone shivered, a chill running down their spines.
Thankfully, it wasn’t much longer until they reached the tear, slipping through quickly. Almost immediately, they realized something was different about this shadow. It took the shape of a boy no taller than a first-year middle schooler, its eyes the normal yellow, but that’s where the similarities ended. It blurred between glaring angrily and sobbing, form warping and tearing like it was trying to escape its own skin. Occasionally, a second face pushed its way out of the main head, before quickly being reabsorbed into the body. It turned to them, eyes glinting almost orange in the light.
“What? Are you here to hurt me too?” it spat. The Thieves stopped short, waiting for Joker’s signal.
“We don’t want to, but we will if we have to. You’re hurting people, Mutou,” Joker said firmly. Mutou’s Shadow screamed, burying its face in its hands. The Thieves tensed, hands flying to their weapons. Skull grit his teeth, drumming his fingers restlessly against his thigh as the Shadow wailed.
“Liars liars liars liars liars! You’re just like all the rest of them! You’re gonna hurt me and then I’m gonna have to stand here and take it! I’m tired of it! I’ll kill you first! ” it screamed, folding in on itself and dissolving in a puddle of ink. From the remnants rose a pair of Inugami, glaring down at the Thieves. The Inugami were intertwined tightly, woven together in a painful spiral such that you couldn’t tell where one ended and the other began. Noir, new as she was, couldn’t hold back the horrified gasp. Joker couldn’t blame her. It was different from Palace shadows, seeing a Mementos shadow. It was like seeing a person suddenly collapse.
The left Inugami was rabid, snapping and snarling like a wild dog. The right Inugami was cowering, twisting around and under the left like it was trying to hold its partner back. “ Come, thieves! Attack me! I dare you! ” the left Inugami screeched, frothing at the mouth. “Don’t hurt me! I’m so tired of hurting all the time!” wailed the right Inugami. From inside Necronomicon, Oracle winced. Its stats were arguably normal, and by all accounts it should’ve been an easy fight. Except, of course, nothing could be that easy. The longer she looked, the stranger the stats were. It was like looking at one Shadow, but one that had two sets of stats. Seemed like the strange duality of the Shadow’s human form extended far deeper than they’d thought.
“Be careful! It’s strong against fire and curse!” she warned. Joker nodded sharply, waving off Panther and replacing her with Mona, swapping Arsene for High Pixie.
The Thieves wasted no time, though now it felt more like putting the poor thing out of its misery. It took too long, and far too much SP, before it became clear nothing they did was going to stop the Shadow. It was near-impossible to knock down, and no matter what they did it just wouldn’t stop. The Inugamis swirled in a neverending vortex, neither separating long enough for the Thieves to knock down the other. Eventually, the Thieves conceded. They just couldn’t beat this shadow, not yet. The Inugami screamed until they were out of earshot, rage-filled sobbing echoing off the walls like a child throwing a tantrum.
They’d have to regroup to fight another day, unfortunately. Looks like Mutou’s shadow, like Yoshikuni before him, wasn’t quite as straightforward as it had seemed.