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Kamoshida’s Palace
An unnatural gust of wind had pushed Ryuji, Ren and Morgana as well as Kamoshida and his guards back a few steps. When Ryuji took his hands off of his eyes, he was fully able to see what just happened. Ann, who had just been tied up and at Kamoshida’s will, had now broken free in what he could only guess to be a Metaverse-Outfit. Behind her floated her persona, her eyes blazing as she looked down on the men that had just tried to push down Ann before. Beneath the persona’s heel knelt a man with a heart-shaped head. A thorny leash led from his neck to the persona’s hand. A second man seemed to be dragged behind her at all time, just floating, pulled by his neck as if he was always trying to keep up with his master but failed. When Ann started moving, knocking one of the guard’s swords out of his hand before splitting her shadow-version in half, he noticed his jaw dropping. When she ripped off the red cat-mask and had her persona scorch their enemies with a blast of fire, he heard Captain Kidd chuckle before whistling inside of his head.
Kaneshiro’s Palace
They had been fighting side by side for a few months now but with Makoto on their team, Ann had gotten more opportunities to just watch the rest of the Thieves fight. Ren and Arsene were something of an athletic duo with Ren flipping out of the way to avoid attacks and Arsene floating through the air with his wings. Makoto’s strikes were powerful, either on the back of Johanna or with her knuckles alone but every move she made was done with precision. Yusuke’s movements were swift and graceful. He removed his mask in one fluent motion as much as he removed his katana from its sheath before charging at the enemy with even and silent strides. Morgana was small but he was agile, not just with the help of Zorro. And while Ren, Yusuke, Makoto and even Morgana all had their intriguing styles of fighting, every time they strolled through Kaneshiro’s palace and she was on the back-up-squad, somehow she was always drawn to watch Ryuji. There was something so raw in the way he ripped off his mask or when he just straight-up charged at a shadow with his club in hand. And while Yusuke’s moves were smooth and fluid, Ren was athletic and Makoto was powerful yet precise, none of them quite drew her attention as much as him. There was nothing elegant or smooth about the way Ryuji fought, it was just raw power. Whenever Ryuji’s turn came up, she would watch Kidd emerge from his mask, standing proudly atop his ship as he either conjured balls of electricity or steered his vessel right into the fray.
“My, my…. What a handsome pirate.” Carmen purred in Ann’s head, causing the blonde to furrow her brow.
Ann decided to not comment on that and instead continued to watch her 4 teammates fight at the front while she took a breather with Morgana.
When Captain Kidd blasted another shadow with his ship, Carmen gasped in excitement which in turn caused Ann to turn red. “What the hell, Carmen?” she asked herself.
“Forgive me, I just can’t help but marvel at this sight.”
“He’s a skeleton. How attractive can you find him?” Ann sighed internally.
“A skeleton who still puts on fine threads.” Carmen argued before saying “Besides, looks aren’t everything. What truly makes him stand out is that he is a rebel. He doesn’t ask for permission or forgiveness and he has no interest in the rich men except for the obects that make them rich.”
“That’s… what pirates do, right?” Ann asked.
“He is the captain of his own ship, taking orders from no one.” Carmen continued to purr. “And if that isn’t hot...”
Ann sighed. She was considering whether she should force herself to look away in order to not give Carmen anything more to gawk upon, however she found herself drawn to watching the fights as well. She furrowed her brow “You think he’s hot?”
The persona chuckled “Don’t you think so too?”
“Again… he’s a skeleton.”
“Yeah but that presence...” Carmen purred.
Ann furrowed her brow “I thought you’re the one that does all the seducing, not the other way around?”
Carmen puffed on her cigar “If a guy knows how to play the game, it can be nice to be seduced too.”
Ann’s cheeks turned red with embarrassment when every time her eyes landed on Ryuji, Carmen let out another chuckle.
Kaneshiro’s Palace
They had managed to get down to Kaneshiro’s vault when Ren decided to switch teams to give Ryuji and Yusuke some rest, calling Ann and Morgana into action. They had unlocked the second ring and walked down into the next cellar when the main-group got entangled in a confrontation. Ryuji and Yusuke used the time to stay back and rest up, an attentive eye on the battle so that they could step in should things get tough. Ryuji was nursing a thermos of coffee as he watched his team clobber some shadows. Their leader, fierce as always, managed to keep going without a break through each and every one of their infiltrations while still making sure that his friends were rested up and didn’t overwork themselves. Sometimes he even had more of a hunch when someone had enough, before the person themself knew. To his left stood Morgana, the talking and persona-wielding cat that made up for his size with his huge ego. He had to be fair though, Morgana did have some skill and if the cat hadn’t taught them the basics back then in Kamoshida’s palace, none of them would be alive at this point. And for the fact that he was so small, the cat could pack a surprising punch with his saber. To Ren’s right stood Makoto, their newest team-addition with the badass bike-persona. But even without the bike, she had proven rather quickly that you shouldn’t cross her, no matter in what universe. Johanna’s engine roared as Queen steered her into the crowd of shadows only to whip the bike around at the last moment, causing an explosion of Nuclear Energy in the midst of their enemies, dazing one of the shadows.
“This is it!” Morgana called out “Hit the confused one!”
Ann cracked her whip beside her before she lunged forward to bring it down in the dazed shadow’s face. When the shadow went down, her persona followed suit by releasing a barrage of fire-balls at all their enemies.
“What a woman….” Kidd whistled through his teeth as he lounged on his ship.
“Dude, that’s a bike.” Ryuji replied, crossing his arms in front of his chest as he leaned against the wall.
Without being physically there, Kidd still had the power to smack him over the back of the head from the inside “Not the bike.”
“Ow…” Ryuij whined to himself before he looked at the starting set-up. The only woman he could see beside the persona-users was… “Ya mean Carmen?”
“Carmen….” Kidd rolled the name around his tongue as if he was tasting expensive wine.
Ryuji raised an eyebrow “She has two guys on a leash and steps on one of them. You into that?”
Kidd pointed his saber at him “That only shows that she is a woman who takes what she wants and will not put up with anything less.”. He sighed as he watched Carmen spinning and rendering all their enemies’ buffs useless before taking a puff from the cigar in her mouth.
Ryuji shrugged “I don’t know… doesn’t that sound kinda difficult? I mean… I only know Ann and she can be pretty annoying...”
“Trust me boy, there once will come the day that you will realize that a real woman has character and is not afraid to show it. Those are the kind of women that you want on your ship.” he whacked him over the head again.
“Ow, what’s with the hitting all the time?” Ryuji complained only to be shushed by his persona, who was already entranced with Carmen’s movements again. The blonde grumbled to himself before casting a closer look at Ann’s movements. Everything she did, she did with a certain seductiveness. While Makoto was just powerful and straightforward, Ann would throw some rolling hips and poses into her attacks and waiting-stance. It did make it hard to look away. Because she wasn’t just looking good while fighting, she was also efficient. Efficient in a way that he would have never thought she could be. Back then when they had found her tied up in Kamoshida’s palace after she had ignored his statements that it wasn’t safe to come with them, he would have never thought that they would get her out of there. That she would awaken to a persona was something that had left all of them surprised, but most of all him. Because he had known her for longer. Because she always seemed like she didn't stand up for herself. Even when the rumors started to get out of hand, she would always opt for ignoring the stares. But there she had been, tied to a cross and about to get killed by shadow-Kamoshida, when that gust of wind blew all of them away and the fiery dancer that she was able to summon from then on appeared to cut Kamoshida’s knights in half.
Kidd chuckled in his head “You see it too now?”
“I mean… Carmen’s hot...”
Kidd sighed “She’s not just a sight to behold. She has claws and she will fight, using her stunning appearance to reel in her enemies. A hellcat. A true femme fatale.”
Ryuji realized that he had heard Ann using the same term before once. He leaned his head against the wall as he continued the talk with his inner self “I dunno… sounds like a lot of arguing...”
“Because they will fight for their freedom. And they will not follow a man’s orders just because he orders for the sake of it.” Kidd replied. “And isn’t that a lot more intriguing?” he leaned back on his ship “I know my answer.”
Futaba’s Palace
“Blast ‘em, Captain Kidd!” Ryuji yelled as he ripped off his mask to conjure the pirate to start an attack on the floating sarcophagus, but the attack had no impact. The sarcophagus opened and out came a black hand, moving in strange patterns before a pillar of light was shining on Ryuji and sheets of gold were flying around him, faster and faster until they set free a blast of Bless, toppling Ryuji and Kidd over, barely clinging to life.
“This is bad!” Morgana yelled from the sidelines “Can somebody heal?”
“On it!” Ann called out, looking forward to trying out her new healing-spell. “Carmen!” she called out as she tore off her mask.
While healing-spells normally were nothing more than a move of the hand from the personas, this time around, Carmen blew a kiss in Captain Kidd’s direction, not just shocking Ann but also everyone else that wasn’t one of the two involved personas. A sparkling green heart was traveling from Carmen’s hand towards the injured Kidd, bursting on impact, surrounding the persona and its user in green magic, lifting them off the ground again. While Ryuji was quite dazed with everything that just happened, Kidd pointed his finger at Carmen and gave her a wink and a grin.
Joker was the first to be able to tear his eyes away from the odd display and ordered Arsene to land the finishing blow, causing the sarcophagus to fall to the ground and disappear in front of their eyes.
With the threat gone, the group had a short while to gather themselves again. Ryuji climbed to his feet again, awkwardly rubbing the back of his neck. When he met Ann’s eyes, he noticed that she was red with embarrassment as well before she quickly turned away.
“What was that spell, Panther?” Yusuke asked, amazed.
Ann froze in her spot as she was struggling to come up with a believable story while also cursing Carmen, who was chuckling to herself inside her head. “Um… that’s… just my new healing spell!” she quickly and loudly exclaimed.
Morgana tilted his large head “But… I know that one too and Zorro doesn’t do it that way...”
“Well…” Ann replied before furrowing her brow and stomping her foot “It’s the first time I used it, how the hell am I supposed to know how it works?” she threw her hands in the air, perfectly aware of the fact that she was grasping for straws “Maybe that just was her standard way of doing that spell?”
“You know it wasn’t.” both Carmen and Kidd told their partners inside their heads, causing both of them to turn red and quickly start walking.
Okumura’s Palace
“Agi!” Ren yelled, causing one of his masks to manifest and to send forth a small ball of fire, sending the shadow in front of them to ground.
“It’s weak to fire!” Futaba exclaimed “Burn it to a crisp!”
“Your move, Panther!” Ren called out to the blonde.
“I got somethin’!” Ryuji called out before summoning Kidd “Tarukaja!”
The pirate manifested with a wide grin on his bony face and a chuckle as he casually lounged on his ship and moved his hand while calling out “Give them hell, beautiful!”
When Carmen and Ann were engulfed by red energy from his buff, the persona chuckled “Wouldn’t you like to see that?”
“I can’t wait to watch.” the pirate replied with a smirk. “You certainly know how to bring the heat.”
Carmen chuckled as she raised her hands to conjure a fireball. While normally a persona that wasn’t doing a spell would manifest back into the user’s mask, Kidd actually remained floating in place, his eyes glued to Carmen as he ignored Ryuji’s knocking at the bottom of his ship, eager to bring this embarrassing situation to an end. On the other side, Ann wasn’t behaving much different as she buried her face in her hands over Carmen’s and Kidd’s flirting. Her persona however didn’t pay her any mind when she cast Kidd a fiery look as she conjured a huge fireball in her hand. She didn’t even acquire her target when she shot it straight at the shadow without even looking, setting it on fire before it dissolved from the lingering flames. Kidd leaned on his ship and whistled through his teeth as he looked at the scorch-crater that she left behind.
“Not bad.” the pirate said with respect before tipping his hat “Just how I expected.”. With that he gave in to Ryuji’s desperate pleas and shifted back into the metal-mask.
Carmen cast the pirate one last wink before she as well retired into her mask-form.
For a moment, no one was talking. Ryuji was awkwardly whistling and Ann was looking anywhere but at her team in the hope that no one would ask.
Haru however, being the newest member of the group, was rocking on her heels when she said “That was so sweet. I didn’t know that personas could support each other like that.”
Futaba nodded “Yeah… Carmen and Kidd really must have quite the connection. How did you guys do that?”
“Uh...” Ryuji dumbly replied “… Training?”
“Yup!” Ann quickly added just for the sake of not giving anyone else the opportunity to do so. “Ryuji is coaching me to get more fit. Maybe that brought our personas closer too!”
The rest of the Thieves seemed to accept their lie, however it still didn’t taste like victory for the blondes when they had their personas still chuckling in the back of their heads.
12/24
After Ren had freed her from her cell within the Velvet Room, Ann decided to sit in there a little longer. Before Ren had given her back her will and power to rebel, things had been awfully quiet inside her head. With Carmen gone, she found herself all alone with her doubts and fears but now that she was back in her red suit, she could feel her presence again.
“It’s good to be back.” Carmen said within her as she slowly seemed to crawl back into every cell of Ann’s body.
“I’m glad to have you with me again.” Ann replied to herself. “I’ts… been a while since I’ve really been all alone.”
“But you’re never completely alone, darling.” Carmen said. “You have your team to rely on, not just me.”
Ann sighed “I know… but somehow I’ve gotten used to arguing with myself.”
Carmen chuckled.
“When you were gone… there were so many things that I kept wondering about.” Ann said “Like… you are a woman who toyed with men and played her looks to get to them to do what she wanted.”
Carmen chuckled “And?”
"What does that say about me?" Ann asked "Is this how I see every man? As some idiot that I can manipulate by shaking my hips?"
"Do you think that that's what I think of every man?" Carmen asked in return.
Ann pondered for a moment before she asked “Your whole thing with Kidd… is it something like that too? Or do you… actually like him?”
For once, her persona seemed to have troubles to look for the right words. Eventually she said “You see… The men that I toyed with and seduced, they would have given me nothing on their own. But that’s not how it should be. If someone only wants you for your looks, then he is not worth more than a quick night for your own enjoyment. You shouldn’t use your looks to impress others, you should use your looks to get what you want from those that you know aren’t worth your love and devotion.”
“And… you consider Kidd worthy?” Ann asked.
Carmen chuckled “He’s a pirate, isn’t he? Not some fancy man, parading around to find the prettiest of women to woo. He doesn’t seem to see a pretty piece of meat, he sees skills and he admires those.”
“That… sounds really nice. I never thought of it that way.” Ann had to admit. “I think I get it now… You value your freedom so much that you would die for it and Kidd is a pirate, so the embodiment of freedom. You like him because he represents the same values as you. He wouldn’t cage you in because he knows how important freedom is.” the blonde couldn’t help but smile “I think you’d make a pretty cute couple. And you’d look great as a pirate-bride.”
A smile curled Carmen’s lips “You are aware that I am nothing but a part of you. The things that I admire about Captain Kidd are the things that you admire about the boy.” Carmen said.
“Wh- WHAT?” Ann shrieked before quickly shaking her head. “No, no, no….”
Carmen chuckled “And you already think about marriage? Calling us a pirate-bride?”
Her face turned beet-red as she jumped to her feet “I… I was talking about you!”
“I am thou, thou art I, remember?” Carmen said, puffing her cigar.
Ann stomped her foot “Gah, that’s not what this is about!”
The persona tilted her head, her eyes blazing with fire, when she asked “Isn’t it? Don’t you think that the boy’s will to fight for what’s right is the most admirable thing about him? The fact that he would go through fire for his friends, no matter the consequences for him? That he’s willing to get shunned for his actions when no one but him is able to see the truth that is right in front of their eyes? Don’t you admire that?”
Ann stared at nothing “That….”
“The things about him you complain the most about are those that could likely be performed by you too.” Carmen continued “It isn’t just him that tends to blurt things out or talks too loud.”
The blonde shrunk in her spot when she had to admit that she was right.
“Both of you aren’t the smartest.” Carmen patted her shoulder when Ann was about to complain. “Sorry, sweety.”
“And the biggest reason why you were so mad at him after that ship-explosion was because the trait that you admired so much about him almost cost him his life.”
Ann chewed her lip and stared at the ground. If this would have been a conversation with a physical person, she would have avoided her gaze but Carmen’s eyes bore into her, no matter where she looked.
“I know I’m not wrong.” Carmen shrugged, twirling the leash of one of her lackeys around her finger. “I am your true self and I know what’s going on in our heart. Contrary to you though, I’m not trying to argue against what our heart is telling us.” she puffed her cigar once more before saying “You made up that canon of me standing on Kidd’s ship but the truth is, that you want to be as close to the boy as I want to be to that pirate.”
“So you crushing on Kidd ever since spring...” Ann pieced together “Was… my thoughts that I projected onto you?”
“We’ve been working as a team for some time before too, but you only started to have these thoughts during Kaneshiro’s palace, didn’t you?”
Ann chewed her lip “He… was so eager to protect Makoto, someone that we didn’t even know before and who wasn’t the greatest towards us at first. He still stepped into the street just to stop that Taxi because we would have lost their car otherwise...”
“And before that, you rekindled your lost friendship.” Carmen concluded.
The blonde sighed “But why was this the moment of truth? Him almost getting hit by a car because he was saving another girl? Really?”
“It wasn’t because he was trying to protect another girl but because he was protecting. He didn’t make a difference between who the person was to him. He saw that there was something wrong happening and he stepped in to fight it. With everything in him.” Carmen replied.
Ann sighed “So… what now?”
Carmen shrugged “Well, now you know.”
“But what am I supposed to do with that?” Ann whined.
The persona tilted her head and sat down on her lackey’s back “Did you really think that you could set up Kidd and me without… you know… setting up yourself?”
“Yeah…?”
Carmen sighed and shook her head as she patted her shoulder, just like she had before when she had told her that both blondes weren’t the brightest. Given that the two were one and the same, Ann was very much aware of just what she meant with that gesture. She couldn’t object anything though and just resorted to pouting.
“I am thou, thou art I.” both of them sighed at once.
Ann’s eyes went wide when she realized “Wait, wait, wait… if all of the things that you’ve said and done were because of what I was thinking… then Kidd did all the things that he did because Ryuji….”
“There you go...” Carmen patted her shoulder once more.
Ann decided to not say anything but instead hurried out of her cell.
Ryuji was sitting in his cell, patting the mask that had returned to his face. His talk with Ren still weighed heavy on his mind but at least the familiar warmth of Kidd had returned with his Phantom Thief-attire.
He could feel the pirate’s bony hand on his shoulder before the familiar voice echoed through his head “What’s botherin’ ya, kid?”
“I dunno.” Ryuji replied. “Just was… a weird day. And it’s about to get even weirder.”
“Are you done rebelling?” the pirate asked.
Ryuji sighed “Course not. But this’ll be the biggest battle yet. If we lose now, the entire world is lost!”
“You got a good crew standin’ behind ya.” Kidd said. “You don’t have to fight on your own.”
“I know. I still don’t want anyone to get hurt...”
“And that’s why you got me.” Kidd smirked. “And if we should go down in battle, then we will have support to bring us back up.”
Ryuji scoffed “You’re just hoping to get another healing kiss from Carmen.”
Kidd chuckled “So what if I am? That woman knows how to burn things down and make you feel like a new man.”
“You’re pretty obsessed with her.” Ryuji remarked.
“Don’t you mean “we”?”
“Eh… what?” Ryuji asked, dumbfounded.
“I am thou, thou art I, remember?” Kidd asked with a smirk in his voice.
“Yeah but you’re the one that won’t shut up about how great Carmen is and all that shit!” Ryuji’s voice got shrill. “Ann’s great but…”
“But what?” Kidd asked. “You two have defied the corrupt system together and are about to save the entire world. A bond forged in battle by two rebellious souls that burn for the same thing! Would you rather be with someone blindly admiring you and cheering you on from the sidelines, or an equal, that will move into battle by your side?”
“I… guess the second?” Ryuji asked before furrowing his brow “Where is this coming from anyway? You’re a pirate, don’t they have nothing but quick flings in every port before moving on on their own? Aren’t you “married to the sea” or some shit?”
Kidd chuckled as he slapped him on the shoulder “Boy, there’s many fish in the sea but if you catch a mermaid that can operate a cannon and steer a ship clear of a riff, then you work your ass off to never let her go.”
“And you think that Carmen’s that?” Ryuji asked.
“Kid… I know that she’s all that.” Captain Kidd said “And the girl is the same. She burns for her friends and she wouldn’t hesitate to do what needs to be done to help those she cares about. She has freed herself of the shackles that bound her. She decided to take back what was hers: Her freedom.” Kidd chuckled “There’s nothing more attractive than a woman who knows that she’s capable. Someone who can hold herself in battle. Someone who is willing to fight for those she cares about. A companion.”
A small smile tugged at Ryuji’s mouth “That… sounds like Ann.”
“Exactly.”
A small smile tugged at Ryuji's mouth when he remembered all the fun things that they had done over the last few months. He had come to like every single addition of their little group but somehow it was still the nicest to just reconnect with Ann, a friend he had thought he had lost on the way. They still seemed to tick the same as they used to. He had to admit that Kidd was right, Ann wasn't a cheerleader for anyone. That's why it had felt so wrong back then, when she had made that half-assed impression of a cutesy girl, offering him a date in turn of an excercise-regimen. Maybe someone that didn't know her would have fallen for it, despite the horrible acting. But he knew her. The real her. And she seemed to know him too. The blonde rubbed the back of his neck “So… you say that Carmen’s all that but… what if she doesn’t think of you that way?”
Kidd smirked “You saw how she winks at us. And only at us.”
“That makes it clear for Carmen but not for Ann.” Ryuji retorted.
Kidd sighed “Boy… I am thou, thou art I.”
While Ryuji cast him a confused look at first, his eyes eventually widened “Oh….. OOOOH!” he got to his feet and didn’t wait for his persona to reply as he dashed out of his cell.
Both of the blondes didn’t know where they were going but eventually they ended up in the middle of the dungeon. A soft smile played on their lips as they looked at each other with a newfound clarity.
“… Hey...” Ryuji awkwardly said as they took one step after the other towards each other.
“...Hey.” Ann replied.
They didn’t share many more words as they ripped their masks off their faces right before their lips met. The couple was engulfed in blue flames as their personas took form behind them. Captain Kidd had a grin on his face when he offered Carmen a hand to help her onto his ship right before hooking an arm around her waist and dipping her low while she reached out and took off his hat.
By the time Ryuji and Ann unlocked their lips, they turned their heads to see their personas still floating on Kidd’s ship, Carmen in his arms and his hat dangling in her hand while her other was wrapped around the back of his neck.
Both the blonde’s cheeks were red when they turned to look at each other.
“I think they've been trying to tell us something for a while..." Ryuji muttered.
Ann just smiled before she moved in for another kiss.
Maruki’s Palace
They were standing in front of the last stretch of Maruki’s palace when they got surprised by a group of shadows, forcing the group to stand back to back to have an eye on all of their opponents. Ryuji reached for Ann’s hand as they shared a quick glance out of the corners of their eyes.
“Ready?” he asked.
She nodded before both of them reached for their masks:
“Celestine!”
“William!”
Blue flames circled the couple as their two personas materialized in front of them. William was standing on his modernized boat, a grin on his face and the long rifle in his hand. At the bow of his yacht sat Celestine, her legs crossed and her thick, braided pig-tails whipped around by imaginary wind as she sat leaning back on her arms, as if she was sunbathing. The two personas turned their heads to cast a look at their users before the modernized Captain Kidd reached out to pull the woman dressed in punk-clothes to her feet. “Looks like we’re needed.” he said as Celestine came to stand beside him.
She popped her gum “Ready when you are.”
Ryuji and Ann shared another look before both of them cried out in unison:
“Blazing Hell!”
“God’s Hand!”
William steered them straight at their foes while Celestine prepared her fire-spell. Upon impact of the large golden Fist that emerged from the yacht, Ann’s persona summoned a pillar of blazing flame beneath the second opponent. As the two personas floated on William’s ship, looking at the mixture of dust and smoke that they had created, the stitching on Celestine’s jacket was shining bright: Free she was born, Free she will die.