Chapter Text
Sumire holds her phone in her hands as she looks at the seven people standing before her in the PE faculty office. She nervously puts her phone away to give them her full attention, prepared with the mindset of acting like Kasumi. Ren stands in the middle, and is the first person to speak up from the group.
"What do you want to talk to us about, Sumi?" he asks. There's a look in his eye that hints that he knows what Sumire is talking about.
Sumire takes a deep breath, before looking at Ren sternly, "Senpai. You're the leader of the Phantom Thieves, aren't you?"
She can see the other members of the Phantom Thieves freeze in place as their eyes widen in surprise. Ren, on the other hand, gives no noticeable reaction, staring directly into her eyes with intimidation.
“You have a problem with that, Sumi?” Ryuji's eyebrows narrow into Sumire.
Sumire panics, “N-No! I don't! I promise not to tell if you are or not! I just… I think I have the same power as you!”
The other Thieves watch as she pulls out her own phone. Sumire holds out her phone to them to show her home screen. There's many apps that are seen on her phone, but they all notice the red app at the bottom of the screen. Yusuke continues to sketch on his large drawing pad. “You also have the same app? When did you unlock this power?”
“Sometime earlier this month. I was taking a stroll and I was suddenly in some kind of spaceship? It started to crumble just a few minutes later and I heard a voice calling out to me… Cendrillon was her name, I think?” Sumire puts her phone back into her pocket. “I’m sorry if this isn’t accurate. I haven’t tried going back to that world ever since I got that power.”
Ren's bag starts to shuffle viciously, before Ren pulls down the zipper, letting the cat out of the bag. “Morgana, what are you doing?”
“Ren, she might have unlocked her Persona in the middle of Okumura's palace!” Sumire does her best to ignore the talking cat. They don't need to know that she could hear him, after all. “Maybe you could ask her if she saw anyone with a Black Mask before she got out!”
Ren scratches the back of his head. “I'm sorry, he's a bit of a chatty cat. He's also a member of the Phantom Thieves. You don't mind Morgana being here, right?”
“Ah…” Sumire shakes her head. “It's fine. Morgana can stay.”
Morgana immediately leaps out of Ren's hands to rub his face against Ann's legs. Ann carries Morgana, cradling him as he purrs loudly. She looks at Sumire, “Did you see anyone else in the area?”
“I…think I did?” Sumire starts, trying to come up with a solid lie. “They were standing in front of a man and they fired a gun. Then, the man disappeared, and they noticed I was standing there. Before I knew it, I was running away quickly, not just because the place was collapsing, but because they ended up running after me with this… maniac look.”
“What did they look like?” Haru speaks quietly.
“Uh–” Sumire closes her eyes to think. “Honestly? I don't think I remember. The only thing I can remember is how scary their black mask is and the terrifying voice that came from them.”
She watches Futaba and Haru frown. Haru doesn't even look her in the eyes. At least, Sumire hopes she isn't. “Dad…”
Nobody speaks for minutes. Sumire thinks to herself and to Cendrillon.
It may be the time to reveal your cards, Princess.
His palace?
Yes, of course. Just tell them you need your help to clear his palace.
I feel nervous about this, Cendrillon.
They aren't going to know about what you've done to him.
Still, we don't know what's going on in the palace. Maruki only said it's used to force someone into forming a complete palace, but what if it's into pieces like Okumura's spaceship? What if he's permanently broken from your power?
We don't know until we see for ourselves. Ask them to help you. Then, we will see if Maruki's research was in vain.
Don't say that! I don't want to jinx it! This is only going to be temporary, after all.
Sumire stutters, “U-Uh, I have another thing I wanted to show you.” The Phantom Thieves raise their heads to the sound of Sumire’s voice. She opens up the app on her phone, enabling the voice command feature. "Goro Shido."
"[HIT]."
It’s the first time she sees Ren dropping his usual poker face around his friends. She can see his eyes clearly through the fake lens of the glasses. “Goro…? H-He has a palace?”
Sumire nods her head slowly. “A palace, if that’s what it’s called. I was only throwing out random names when I was investigating the app, I swear! I wasn’t trying to target him! I don’t know why his name works or anything, but when I tried names of your past victims, it told me that the location was destroyed or something like that, so that’s why—”
“Kasumi-san, it’s okay,” Makoto assures. “Did you get the distortion or the location yet?”
“I know the distortion.” Sumire taps the button again. "Palace."
"[HIT]."
“An actual palace?” Ryuji questions. “Just like that other time…”
“Ugh,” Ann cringes at the thought. “Don’t remind me of his palace…”
“Fuck, I'm so stupid.” Ren interrupts, looking away from everyone’s gazes. “It's my fault, isn't it? I’ve been so busy with handling Phantom Thief business and keeping up with my confidants that I haven’t spent time with him for about a month. And now he has a palace?”
“Don’t kick yourself, Senpai. It’s not your fault he formed a palace! Maybe he’s overthinking…?” Sumire says calmly. She needs to switch the topic before they discover what Maruki did to Goro. “I-I wanted to give you a request. Please help me change Akechi-senpai’s heart!”
The Phantom Thieves think, reading each other’s faces to get an idea of what to do. It’s quiet, until Futaba speaks from the back of the group. “I think we should do it. I know Ren would want us to.”
“I don’t want to force all of you to go.” Ren responds. “I know how much you all dislike him, you don’t need to–”
“Ren…” Ann approaches Ren, placing her hand on his shoulder. “Our feelings towards Akechi-kun aren't going to stop us from helping him. We know how much you care about him and how close he is to you. We’ll be here for you, just like how you did for us.”
Ren watches the Phantom Thieves’ reactions carefully. Sumire can see how determined the group of thieves are to change Akechi’s heart. They’ve fallen for the hook. Ren only gives a somber smile in return. “Thank you. We still need to find the location, though.”
Ryuji throws his fist in the air with energy. “Alright, let's start guessin’!” Yusuke holds a pencil in his hand, prepared to write down a list of words tested for guessing Goro's palace. Ryuji rapidly fires random locations. “TV station, school, police station, subway station—”
The group continues to throw random places around for 10 minutes with no success in their sights. Futaba slumps back in a chair, asking a question to Ren. “What place does he hate? His house? His bedroom?”
“It’s something that we haven’t guessed.” Yusuke holds up his drawing pad with a list of places they’ve already said. “Seems like it’s nothing relating to his job.”
Morgana hops onto the table, flicking his tail. “That narrows it down to… absolutely nothing! We’ll be here forever if we keep guessing.”
“Maybe we should try again another day?” Haru proposes.
Futaba groans, resting her head on the table in defeat. “Maybe… I think at this point, I might as well start guessing fictional places. Wherever this is, it’s not a place on Earth, that’s for sur—”
“[HIT].”
“Earth?!” Ryuji shouts loudly, followed by Ann immediately putting her hand over his mouth.
“Don’t be so loud, idiot!” she whispers.
Ren rushes to the phone on the desk. He lifts it up briskly to read the location on the Meta-Nav. He shakes his head in disbelief. “There’s no way,” he says, in denial. “There’s no way it’s actually that bad, right?”
Silence.
Looks like Maruki did his part. Who knew forming a palace was so easy?
Cendrillon, his palace is the entire world!
So what? You still need to go through with the plan. They’ve already fallen for the trap, Princess.
I feel so bad. Nijima would’ve been an easier target.
Whether or not this is Nijima’s or Akechi’s palace, what’s done has been done. Focus on your task, or you’ll die trying before Maruki finishes his last piece of research.
“When should we go to his palace?” Makoto sits upright, waiting for an answer.
Ren turns around to face the rest of the Thieves. “Is everyone down for exploring tonight? I need to see it.”
Everyone nods their heads. “I want to go too, if that’s alright,” Sumire offers. “I’ve only used my power once, but I want to help Akechi if his distortion is really that huge.”
Morgana tilts his head before meowing, “Ren! Let’s get Kasumi into the Metaverse. Extra fire power means an easier time in the palace!”
Ren smiles, “You can come along too, Sumi. Stay with us and don’t stray far.”
Goro stares blankly at his bedroom walls.
He skipped the school festival and work today with the excuse of “being sick”.
The walls feel empty in his “home.” A hospital would’ve been more decorated than this.
He feels tired. He doesn’t know why.
For some reason, his own father doesn't care about him missing work or the school festival today. It's an odd reaction, but it does ease his mind knowing that he doesn't have to talk to him today.
Goro groans, turning on his phone to 3 missed notifications from Ren. He doesn’t feel like getting up in the end. He curiously opens the Instant Messenger app and reads the missing texts from Ren.
“Why now?” Goro murmurs. “Do you even care about me? Or is this pity?”
He doesn’t know why he feels this way.
Joker feels the same dizzy spell he’s acquainted with as he travels between dimensions. He feels the power in his veins, recalling all of the Personas he has in his mind. He sees a Velvet door in front of the large palace that stands before him. It seems ordinary. Stone brick walls, large wooden doors at the entrance, glass panes that stretch around the perimeter… yet the castle feels different than a normal palace.
Maybe it’s the Metaverse getting into his head.
“Woah, that’s your Metaverse outfit?” Panther asks, with a grin on her face. “It’s so cute!”
Sumire looks down at her own outfit. She has a ruby bolero jacket with coattails running down to the floor. Her sleeves are ruffled and she has black pantyhose matching with her black stilettos. Her hair is tied up with a single black ribbon keeping her hair together. She’s wearing a strapless white leotard, with white gloves, and a chain belt with one golden rose on her right hip.
The one thing that Joker notices is the fact that she wears a white mask with black highlights.
“Our masks match,” Joker points out. “That’s cool.”
“Thank you,” Sumire says.
Queen lifts her head to gaze at the giant castle, inspecting the finer details from afar. “Mona, is this castle different from the other one you’ve been to before?”
“It sure is!” Mona runs and leaps onto Joker’s shoulder. “It’s less disgusting than Kamoshida’s, but it feels a little sad, doesn’t it? Like… fear. In a way. Maybe envy?”
Sumire jumps back in surprise after Mona speaks. She blinks a few times before pointing at the weird looking creature in front of her. “W-What is that?!”
Mona flicks his tail angrily, “Oh come on! I’m Morgana! Ren’s cat?! How many times do I have to go through this?” Mona looks at the other thieves, “Why do you all react the same way?”
Skull makes a side comment, “Sorry that we’re the weird ones for thinking that a talking cat is definitely not ordinary.”
“Hey! I heard that!”
Sumire circles around Mona, thinking to herself for a brief moment, “Can I pet you?”
“Wha–” Mona coughs. “Fine. Only my head.”
Sumire giggles as she lifts up Mona like a toddler, petting his head with care as she looks at the Phantom Thieves of Hearts. “So, these are your outfits?”
“Yes.” Noir spins around. “We also use codenames in the Metaverse as well!”
“Codenames?” Sumire puts down Mona gently.
Joker grunts in confirmation, pointing at each thief one by one, “Skull, Fox, Panther, Queen, Noir, Mona,” he points to himself. “Joker.”
“Ohhhh.” Sumire nods as she follows his hand. “Wait, but we’re missing one…”
Joker points to the flying UFO that floats above them. “Oracle. She navigates.”
“Hello!” Oracle shouts from above.
Sumire tries to wave back, “Hello, Oracle!” She stops waving and bows in front of the Phantom Thieves, “It’s nice to finally meet all of you. I hope we can work together!”
“Oh!” Skull lifts his metal pipe over his shoulder. “We gotta give Kasumi a codename now, right? Since she’s working with us and all that…”
“I suppose so.” Fox says, framing his hands in a way to catch the scenery of an amateur Persona user exploring her first palace. He shifts his hands slightly, “Stay still. I need to draw a sketch of this! This is the only time I can capture the emotions of nervousness in such a unique way!”
“O-Okay.” Sumire freezes in place. “A codename, huh…”
“Well then, what should you name yourself?” Mona asks. “Maybe we could call you Rose for that golden rose on your belt!”
“Violet.” Sumire’s breath hitches as she continues. “My sister was named after that flower. I want to fight with her in mind.” Joker can see the way she fidgets around. Must’ve been her nerves.
“I think it’s a lovely codename,” Noir compliments. “It’s efficient and easy to pronounce too. I think everyone would agree with me that it’s the perfect codename for you.”
“Really? You think so?”
“Of course,” Queen reassures. “Violet. I’ll make sure to remember that then. Is everyone prepared to infiltr—”
“Welcome! Welcome!” They hear a new, but familiar voice joining them in their midst. The palace door opens to a cognition of a boy wearing a white regalia and golden epaulettes on his shoulders with royal blue embroidery. His pants match the pristine white of his coat, falling in clean, tailored lines above his black oxford shoes. Resting atop his messy, black hair is a silver crown with black sapphire gemstones that matches the color of his eyes. “Oh? I don’t think I’ve ever seen you before.”
Joker takes a step back in surprise. Goro sees me as this? A prince?
Violet leans over to Joker to whisper. “Is that…?”
“It’s a cognition,” Joker says. “I’ll explain more later. The important thing is that this is what Goro thinks of me, and the cognitions aren’t real, so any cognition killed wouldn’t do anything to the real version of the person. You should still stay on his good side, though. We’re still not sure what he would do.”
Queen steps forward and bows before the prince. “We come in peace? We… are here to visit Prince Akechi.”
The cognition only giggles, “I know, I know. Allow me to guide you inside. Goro hasn’t been feeling well lately…” Joker lifts an eyebrow before following the prince. His hand is on his dagger in case of any danger, and he knows his team is behind him, following his lead. The prince stops and curves his lips upwards into a cheeky smile. “Don’t be nervous. I won’t bite you, unless you want me to.”
“Why should we trust you?” Skull asks.
“Well, it’s okay if you don’t trust me. I come from a neighboring kingdom, after all." The prince bows, keeping his crown on his head as he introduces himself. "Prince Ren Amamiya, at your service.” The cognitive Ren—no, Amamiya—winks, wrapping his arms around Skull’s upper body unwarranted. “Now that I’ve introduced myself, I think it’s only fair if you do the same thing too, handsome.”
Skull flinches, ripping Amamiya’s hands off of his shoulders, “I-It’s Skull.”
“Oh, a codename!” Amamiya pouts. “Am I not interesting enough for your real name?”
“No!” Skull says, clenching the pipe in his hands. “It– Okay– This is just getting weird, man!”
“Hey,” Panther laughs awkwardly, stepping between Skull and Amamiya before it becomes violent. “Let’s all be friends, okay? No violence, I hope.”
Amamiya’s eyes light up, “And you must be?”
“Panther…”
“Miss Panther. May I have your hand?” he asks, offering his right hand to Panther. “As a prince, I only provide the utmost respect to the kindest ladies and gentlemen of the land, you see.”
“Ah…” Panther stutters. “W-Well…”
“Hold it right there!” Fox yells. He immediately rushes towards Amamiya with a pencil in hand. “This… Yes! I must sketch you! You shall be my newest muse!”
“Oh?” Amamiya questions, before straightening his back for good posture as he stays still with a princely smile. “Make sure you get all of the finest details, then. I don’t settle for anything less. Take all of the time you need!”
As soon as Fox starts to draw the cognition, Oracle gives a side eye, “He’s acting like an annoying bishonen character from an anime…”
Noir looks at Joker, “Are you always this romantic, Joker?”
“By the looks of his face, he looks just as shocked as we are…” Queen states as the rest of the Phantom Thieves watch their friends get along with Amamiya.
Why is Goro’s cognition of me acting like this? There’s no way I actually act like this to my friends, right? Joker stays silent. Wait, does Goro think I act like this?!
“Voila!” Fox says, flipping the sketchpad to face Amamiya. “I have finished the rough draft. Unfortunately, I will need to take some time to completely copy this sketch onto a canvas for painting.”
Amamiya smiles, “It’s okay. Please show me once you’re done, though! I wonder how it will turn out.” He gasps before bowing. “Forgive me! It seems I’ve gone a little sidetracked! No worries, allow me to take you to the grand foyer. Goro’s room is on the second floor, you see.”
“Thank you, Prince Amamiya-senpai,” Violet says.
“You don’t need to be so formal! Amamiya is enough.”
“Amamiya…senpai?”
Amamiya nods, “Acceptable.” He chuckles. He starts to walk towards the palace. “If you want to get into the palace, I suggest following me.”
“Yes! Get us in, please!” Mona says with a big smile as they enter through the large wooden doors.
“The grand foyer is this way.” Amamiya says. He runs his hand through his hair as he chuckles to himself. The Phantom Thieves see walls of polished marble between columns of smooth stone, with wall trim patterns painted in gold. They stand in front of a set of mirrored stairs, identical staircases that lead up to the second floor. Two hallways extend on either side of the stairs, each leading to endless doors and areas of the palace. Shadows roam around the place, completely ignoring them to do their jobs as servants.
Joker notices how much his own cognition’s outfit matches with the walls, as if he was truly the prince of Goro Akechi’s palace. He still does not pinpoint Goro’s true feelings about him.
They step on each stair slowly with diligence, until they reach the second floor. “To the left, please,” Amamiya gestures, allowing the group to go first before following behind shortly.
A regular wooden door is at the end of the hallway with a sign that has the name “Goro” written on it.
Amamiya knocks on the door. “Hello?” No response. He tries again. “Goro? Are you in there? It’s me, Ren. I haven’t seen you in so long.”
Silence.
Amamiya sighs, “No answer again…” He turns to face the group of thieves. “I’m sorry. He doesn’t seem to be available at this time.”
“Oh? Well, we needed to see him at this time!” Queen says, standing in front of Amamiya. “This is an important matter!”
Amamiya shakes his head. “Goro doesn’t feel very well for some reason. If you really need to talk with him, maybe you guys can help me cheer him up?” Amamiya offers. “He has some important things he cherishes in this palace… somewhere.”
“What are these items?”
“Umm…” Amamiya pauses to think. “A photograph. A briefcase. And a letter, I think? I know what the first two are, but I don’t know the contents of the letter.”
Oracle immediately starts to scan the palace floors. She gasps at the size, “W-Woah! This is a huge one!”
“His distortion is the whole world, after all…” Panther says. “But, since these shadows aren’t attacking us, we should be able to finish this faster than the other palaces, right?”
Violet leans over to Joker to whisper, “Shadows?”
Joker quickly answers, “Creatures from the Sea of Souls. They usually attack if we get caught by them, but seeing how none of the shadows are actually attacking us… something is definitely weird about this palace.”
Queen says with a cough, “As long as nobody tries to “ravage them”, we should be able to secure the route to his treasure by the second time we enter this palace. Right, Joker?” Joker lowers his head with a small frown. “Joker!”
“I won’t, I won’t!” Joker covers his mouth to hide his cheeks. “Goro’s genuinely important to me. I don’t want to let him down.”
Queen turns to the cognition, “We’ll accept the deal.”
Amamiya clasps his hands together excitedly, “Excellent! Thank you! Now, go on, meet me here once you get all of the items.”
“Hold on, wait a minute, I don't really get it, man.” Skull scratches his head. “Couldn't you just do this yourself? You practically live here, don’t you?”
Amamiya shakes his head. “I can’t, unfortunately. I need to make sure the throne room remains locked.” Amamiya cries, a small tear appearing on his face as he explains himself. “A monster has appeared recently, so security has increased around that room specifically. I’m not sure where the monster came from, but I wish he would go away to stop messing with Goro’s mind. I don’t want him to be sad anymore. I just want my friend back.”
Noir pats him on the back gently, “Don’t cry. W-We’ll help you with finding those items.”
“You will?”
“Yes, of course!”
“Promise?”
“Pinky promise!”
Amamiya sniffles, wiping away his tears. “Okay…” He smiles, looking at the clock above Goro’s bedroom door. The clock hands are frozen in place. “I must go now! Please return to the grand foyer after collecting all the items.” Amamiya bows to the thieves before walking back down the long hallway.
Once they no longer see Amamiya in their sights, they let out a breath they’ve been holding in the entire time. Surprisingly, Joker is the one who breaks the silence this time.
“Something is wrong with his palace,” Joker says. “I can't pinpoint what it is.”
Violet only stares at him with a solid poker face. Joker assumes she’s nervous of being part of an infiltration for the first time.
“No, Joker is right!” Mona climbs Joker’s shoulder. “We entered the palace and we’re in our outfits! Keep your guard up! We have no idea what those shadows are capable of!”
“Right now, we're viewed as guests,” Queen states. “We should stay in line and play along with the cognition. Oracle, can you find an item on this floor?”
“Not that I can see…” Oracle moves her head rapidly. “Maybe it's on the first floor?
“Let's head down, then. We'll start on the first floor,” Queen says. “Lead the way, Joker.”
They roam through the halls while watching the shadows clean every inch of the palace walls. Strangely enough, none of the shadows seem to care enough to attack the large group. Instead, they chat amongst themselves, gushing over Goro as they stay productive.
“Have you heard? Shido-kun got the top scores in all of the subjects among Shujin’s third year students! He’s so cool!”
“Didn’t he solve that one incident with the dead man hanging from the power lines just the other day? When did he have the time to do that??”
“Maybe…should I ask him out? Ah, but I heard that his father is very strict! If I could win the blessings from his father, then I should be able…”
Joker holds onto the handle of his dagger as he keeps listening to their voices. Sounds like they love him.
“Oh! I found something!” Oracle says eagerly. “The ballroom! There’s an item in the ballroom! It’s just ahead in this ro– Woah…”
The Phantom Thieves stop in place to admire the gigantic ballroom. The room has the same color scheme as the rest of the palace, but it has the largest windows from the floor to the roof, with elegant chandeliers hanging from the ceiling. The floor is covered with many hexagonal tiles, each connected by the sides with a golden outline.
“Damn, this ballroom is massive!” Skull says. Every time a Phantom Thief takes a step, it echoes throughout the entire ballroom with ease.
A blue pedestal stands oddly out of place compared to the room. On the floor is a thin, square stone with an indistinct pattern carved on one side of it while the other, left blank. It glows as the Phantom Thieves approach, as if it calls out to them…
“It’s glowing?” Violet asks. She leans over to pick it up from the floor, and looks at the pedestal.
“Try putting the stone on the pedestal. Something may happen…” Fox advises.
The pedestal shines as the stone gains its color gradually. They feel the room shift while watching the stone in front of them project into the ballroom. The ballroom becomes a park, and they see a young boy laughing to himself with two toys in his hand. He’s so focused on his toys, he runs straight through Violet like a ghost.
“Let’s stand to the side for this one,” Queen says. The Phantom Thieves stands behind Queen as they watch the scene from afar.
Goro sits at a bench in Inokashira Park. He watches his father talking with a photographer and his wife. He doesn’t pay attention to what they talk about, only focusing on reading a book while enjoying the ambience of the bird chirping, the water flowing, and the sounds of multiple cameras being propped up in the middle of the park.
A young child at the age of five runs in the park. He plays far away from the adults, but not so far he stays out of their sight.
Everything is peaceful in the park, except when it’s not. He heard footsteps rapidly approaching from behind.
The same messy-haired boy waved with two action figures in his hands. “Hello!” He pulled himself up onto the bench to sit next to Goro. “I want to play Featherman with you. Do you like Featherman? It’s my favorite TV show!”
Goro buried his face deep into the pages of his book. He does not want to chat with some random child.
Unfortunately for him, the kid is persistent. "My name is Ren. Amamiya Ren. I'm five!" The kid swung his legs underneath the bench. "What is your name?”
Goro, wanting to be left alone, decides to answer in hopes that the child would eventually leave after finding out how boring he truly is. "Akechi Goro.”
“How come you don’t have Shido?”
He answered truthfully. “He thinks I’m not worthy enough to be a Shido. Could you leave me alone now?”
“Oh. That’s mean.” Ren stayed quiet for a few seconds, rocking his legs back and forth before his curiosity bubbled back up. “How old are you?”
“Ugh. I’m seven,” Goro muttered.
"Woah, so you're like... older than me!" Ren gleefully smiled at the older boy, bright and unbothered by the tone of Goro’s response. "That's so cool!"
“Not really. Now leave me alone,” Goro repeated, continuing where he left off in the book. Now then, the story of Robin Hood—
“Wanna play with my toys?” Ren interrupted once more. Goro groaned as Ren shows him his two Featherman action figures. “I can be Red Hawk and you can be Black Condor!”
Goro shut the book closed for good. If he’s not getting any sort of peace from this kid, he might as well play with him until he goes away. “Fine. I’ll be Black Condor.” Ren lended him the figure and the two of them start to play with each other.
Goro found himself with a smile on his face by the time the photo shoot began.
“Here,” Goro handed back the action figure to Ren, patting himself down to get rid of any dirt and sand that landed on his pants. “I need to go take some photos with Father.”
Ren grabbed the figure back and smiled, “Okay, Goro. Good luck on your photo shot!”
“It’s shoot! Photo shoot!”
“Photo shot.”
“Whatever,” Goro rolled his eyes, not upset at his new friend. Goro walked with modesty to his father. He stood proudly in a proper posture. “Hello, Father.”
“We’ll start our family shoot now.” Shido stood in front of him with a stern look on his face. He lowered his voice to make sure only Goro could hear him. “Don’t mess this up, Akechi. You will never be a true Shido if you fail to follow simple instructions.”
“I understand, Father.”
At the age of seven, Goro knew what needs to be done. A perfect family photo, a father and a son, going through a stroll in the park to show the world how much his father loves him, of course! Because he wouldn’t be a great leader to Tokyo if he wasn’t a good leader to his lovely son. He hates his lies. Ironically, smiling for the camera was a good way to become as much of a liar as a Shido.
From the corner of his eye, he saw a small Ren sitting next to his mother.
“Mommy, can I play with Goro after he’s done?” Ren asked with a bright smile on his face.
His mother shook her head quietly, “Oh, but Shido-kun’s going to go somewhere else after this shoot is done. He can’t stay around. Why don’t you play with your toys alone until Daddy’s done taking pictures? We can go to Wild Duck Burger to get you that new kid’s meal!”
All of the girls stand in front of the boys, cooing as they watch the two children playing with Featherman dolls in their hands. Joker is covering his cheeks, unable to stop himself from blushing over the sight of seeing his younger self again. Mona's eyes open in surprise, “That’s you and Akechi?!”
Panther squeals as she points at the younger version of Joker projected in the room. “You were a cute child, Joker!”
“They were both very adorable,” Noir adds. “I never knew this was how you two met for the first time!”
“I-I don’t exactly tell this story to anyone,” Joker stutters for the first time, struggling to find the Persona that could help him face his newest troubles.
Oracle runs up to Joker in excitement. “You owned Red Hawk and Black Condor? From the original limited set?! And you never told me? Do you still have them?!”
“W-Well, I have Black Condor. It’s still standing in my parent’s house. Red Hawk on the other hand, I gave it to Goro.” Joker replies. “I’m not entirely sure if he still has it on his end, though!”
“He better! Or I’ll never forgive him for throwing away a beloved toy!”
“I’m more amazed at how you’ve managed to form a connection like this, especially with how Akechi-kun reacted,” Fox mentions, listening in while drawing.
Skull looks at Joker, impressed, “How the hell did that even work? He clearly hated your guts, but you somehow still got him to play with you?”
Joker, still embarrassed from watching the moment, puts his hands up in defense. “Hey– This was a moment before I learned how to read the room! I didn’t think I would revisit this moment!”
Violet lets out a small laugh, “I’ve never thought I would see you this flustered, Joker-senpai.”
“All of you only caught me in a moment of weakness!” Joker accuses. “Queen! Tell them to stop!”
“Please focus on the task at hand and retrieve that photo,” Queen requests. “We can talk about Joker as a child outside of the Metaverse once we finish exploring for today.”
“Queen! You’re supposed to be on my side!” Joker can see a tiny smile creeping on Queen’s face.
“Noir makes a good point. You and Akechi-kun were adorable children when you two were young.”
Joker faces away from the thieves, grabbing the photo from the pedestal to stop the memory from playing. He looks at the photo. It’s a picture from that same day, a picture of Goro, in a black suit, posing modestly with his father in the park. Joker feels nostalgic after looking at the old photo.
“Goro, why do you keep this photo? I thought you hated your dad.”
“I do hate him, and every photo we took together. Except for this one…”
“Why's that?”
“Because it was on the day I met you.”
Joker turns back to the thieves, who all looked instantly heartbroken that the projections of his child self were gone. Joker’s cheeks are still burning as he slips back into his poker face. “L-Let’s just move on already! We still have three other rooms to find and check!”
“Right!” Oracle wears her goggles, pulling up the map to view their next path. “Looks like the next item issssss that way! There’s another set of stairs there!” she says, pointing to the door on the other side of the room.
“Onward!” Violet says cheerfully, as the group starts walking past the door.
Maruki sits on the couch across from Goro Akechi. Goro notices how Maruki observes him, how he pays attention to the little details that paint a whole picture. Maruki writes with his pen on the notepad as Goro covers his face. “Something is wrong with me, but I don't know what it is.” He exhales. “I'm questioning if I was ever good enough to be Ren's friend. It sounds stupid, but…”
He pauses. How does he truly feel about Ren? It’s not all because he wasn’t good enough to be his friend, isn’t it? Goro can feel it. There’s a new emotion that arises in his mind when it comes to Ren, and he knows he could pinpoint that feeling. Except, does he want to?
Goro uncovers his face. “Even when the entire student body knows about his criminal record, he still manages to make many friends. Remember how in our last session, I told you about how my father forced me into becoming a Detective Prince or whatever?”
Maruki quickly finishes writing before nodding. “Yes, I do.”
“I did some thinking.” Goro lays on the sofa on his back. “Maybe there's something wrong with me. Ever since I became this “Tokyo celebrity”, Ren has been talking to me less often. I found myself busier and our days never aligned, and I guess Ren must've felt neglected which is why he hasn't messaged me in… about a month.”
“And Shido wouldn't let you quit, either.”
“Exactly.” Goro closes his eyes. “It's not just that either. It's the fact that I… I love the attention I'm getting right now as the detective prince. The Phantom Thieves messed up on their latest target and it gave me tons of popularity. I've heard what the people called me, and they think I'm the hero who's trying to defeat the Phantom Thieves.”
“Really? Last session, you’ve mentioned that you hated your job as a celebrity detective.”
“Don’t get me wrong. I still hate being as famous as my father. But… solving crimes and being at least acknowledged for solving them? I feel like the hero I always wanted to be.” Goro grins, “It would be a perfect job without those older policemen ignoring me, or those crazy fangirls who rip each other apart, and the part where my father has to breathe down my neck for PR, but I still feel fortunate to have this job.”
“It’s good you enjoy your job, Shido-kun.” Goro wishes he wasn’t called that. “To work an enjoyable job is to live a good life.”
“Even so, I can't help but feel… jealous. Of Ren. He has… friends. Many other friends.” Goro opens his eyes. “Too many friends. It should've been me who has that attention. Closer than fans. Closer than colleagues. Friends.”
Maruki clicks his pen, getting ready to write down more notes. “Go on.”
Goro can feel his blood boiling, “Keeping up with my public appearances gives me no time to spend with others outside of work and school. I find myself feeling more alone when I’m allowed to give myself some free time, even when I’m surrounded by fans. I do see Ren sometimes after school as I head out. He hangs out with his friends from time to time. He's always smiling so cheerfully around them, it hurts. I can see it now. He's smiling. And laughing. And he wants to hurt me so I let him. I let him play with my heart, while he goes off to hang out and date a cute girl.”
“Date? He’s dating someone?”
“Tch, maybe he’s keeping a secret or whatever, but he surely has to be dating at least one of them in his little friend group. He’s been getting closer with Nijima lately… He just chooses not to tell me, that’s all.” His heart burns as he expresses his thoughts. It makes his head feel dizzy, his arms feel heavy, and his legs weak as he thinks about Ren with Makoto. Good thing he laid down before thinking these thoughts.
“Shido-kun, making assumptions like that isn’t a good thing,” Maruki replies. “Just because two people are close to each other doesn’t mean they are dating, they just get along extremely well. You and Ren are close, aren’t you? Does that mean you two are dating?”
Him and Ren. He imagines it now, the two of them holding crepes in their hands as they walk alongside the streets of Tokyo…
The two of them admiring the ducks waddling on land next to the river in Inokashira Park…
The two of them sitting across from each other in the Jazz Jin with beautiful drinks that reflect their souls…
The warmth of Ren’s smile as he wakes up in bed to start the day all over again…
“Shido-kun?” Maruki speaks, breaking his line of thought. Maruki only writes on his notepad again. “Ah, never mind. I think you should think about that for yourself.”
They hear the door opening before Goro could get another word in. His father stands tall with a (not so) gentle grin on his face. “I believe your therapy session with Maruki-san has ended for today, Akechi.”
Goro hesitates at the sight of his father. He stands up, moving to the door quickly to get out of his presence. “Yes, sir.”
He opens the door, and he doesn’t look back.
They make it to the second floor in mere minutes.
“I don’t get it, if the palace is so easy, why exactly is his distortion the whole frickin’ world?” Skull asks, within a single breath. “Isn’t that an odd thing, Queen?”
“Well, we can’t judge, Skull,” Queen answers. “We’ll only have to wait and see.”
“You keep saying that, but surely we’ve done enough waiting at this point, right? None of the shadows even bother to talk to us…”
“It should be a good thing, then. We spend less time in battles and we spend more time getting through this place!”
“We’re making extremely great progress!” Oracle pulls up the map in front of her as she scans the place while they walk slowly. “Look at that! Item in the library! It should be to the second-to-last left door when we turn around this corner!”
They find themselves standing in front of a black-painted wooden door with golden handles. Fox reaches for the handle and turns it, revealing mountains and columns of nothing but books. There’s a desk here and there, along with bean bags huddled together in this circular room. In the middle lies another pedestal that’s identical to the one in the ballroom. They see a familiar looking stone briefcase on the floor, waiting to be picked up and placed on the pedestal.
It’s the briefcase he carries throughout his journey as an ace detective. A celebrity. Mona fiddles with the handle, before lifting it up with his two small hands. Noir giggles, and carries Mona by the hips. “Here you go, Mona!”
“Thanks for the assist, Noir!” Mona tosses the briefcase onto the pedestal and a large desk appears to the side. The whole room transforms into an office, and suddenly, they hear a knock coming from the door.
Goro opened the door of his father’s office. He shut the door loudly and rapidly stomped his way through the room to slam his hands on his father’s desk. “You did something.”
Shido chuckled deeply as he dropped the pen in his hand. “I did nothing of the sort.”
“Don’t lie to me!”
“I will not be disrespected in my own household like this.”
“Why the hell does Ren have a criminal record?” Goro said angrily. “I know you did something. Ren wouldn’t hurt anyone!”
“Hmph. That boy was a bad influence on you.” Shido paused, lighting the cigarette in his hand as he took a brief moment to inhale deeply. “You should forget about that Amamiya boy. I’ve seen the way you look at him. I’ve been feeling graceful lately, so I decided to bring him some mercy. You should be thankful I only got him probation for a year. He wouldn’t see the light of day if it were another time from now.”
Goro froze in place, “You… Why? He’s done nothing wrong–”
“This is what I mean when I say you're growing too soft on him. It's a necessity to keep him away from you at this point.” Shido takes another hit. “You should be thanking me for taking care of that nuisance.”
“Taking care?”
“That brat tried to ruin my plans with that damn woman. I had to get rid of him in a way, of course.”
Goro doesn't know what to ask anymore. “F-Father…”
“You should see the look on his parents' faces.” Shido said. “Fear. Their lovely son gets arrested, with a court order that forces him to spend his probation outside of Tokyo. It’s about time those Amamiyas learn how the world works, Akechi. Strong leaders like me deserve to steer Japan to a better future! Anyone who clearly defies this is nothing.”
Goro couldn’t believe his eyes. He clenched his fists, his anger gradually increasing as he shook his head. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath.
Ren…
“No…” Goro said. “Father, please keep him enrolled in Shujin!” Goro begged, getting on his knees to bow.
“And why should I?” Shido asked. “This is for teaching him a valuable lesson, remember?”
“I’ll…” I’ll do anything. “I–” I’ll do anything. No, don't say that. “I don’t care where he has to live, please let him stay at Shujin Academy!”
His father does not answer his pleas. Instead, he smirked. “Maybe it’s time to make you a proper Shido in this household. I have plans for you this year, after all. You'll be useful to use in the upcoming election.”
Oh no.
“D-Do I have to?” Goro stuttered. What are you doing?
“You will, whether you want to or not. This is a plan I have thought of for months now, and this is the perfect time to enact it now.” Shido closes the laptop on his desk and stands. “If you want your little “boyfriend” to stay with you, you will do as I say as compensation for his mistakes.”
Goro can hear his heart beating faster.
Do it for him. For Ren.
“Akechi Goro,” Shido started. He leaned over the desk and lowered his voice to a whisper. “I want you to become a detective prince.”
Detective…
“A detective?” Goro questioned. “What about my studies? I don’t have enough time to do both, Father.”
“I’ll ask your principal to excuse you from your classes as you work in your first job. You’ll also be working as a celebrity to gather support for my campaign as the new Prime Minister of Japan.”
“Why exactly do you want me to be a detective celebrity out of all things?”
“Have you ever heard about the first Detective Prince?” Shido said, wandering around the minimalistic office room. He took another hit on the ashy cigarette as he spoke, “In Yasoinaba. Naoto Shirogane was his name, if I recall.”
“Inaba? That’s in the middle of nowhere…”
“Yes, yes, of course.” Shido stood in front of Goro. “I want you to become the second coming of the Detective Prince.”
“Was the first Detective Prince that popular?”
“Hmph. Back when you were a young boy, of course he was. He was praised by the media for his talents, and gathered tons of attention for solving crimes at such a young age… Since he was only the Detective Prince in Yasoinaba, it does limit the amount of attention he got.”
Goro raised an eyebrow in confusion. The room was getting darker as the sun set through the window.
“The difference between you and him is that you live in Tokyo.” Goro gulped in anticipation. “Being popular in Inaba is different from being popular in Tokyo. If you keep up with your reputation of being the menacing genius detective of Masayoshi Shido, the people will love you for keeping them safe.”
“This 'Detective Prince' thing worked once, what if it doesn’t work again?” Goro asked. “I can’t guarantee popularity.”
“You can’t guarantee popularity. I can. I’ve already made plans to meet with a TV director. I’ll let you meet with him soon.” Shido smiled slyly. “Have you ever started watching Good Morning Japan? Shinichi Yoshizawa is the director of that TV show. Starting in May, you will be doing interviews twice a week. Fail to show up for an interview, and I’ll make sure your “friend” won't see the light of day.”
Goro knew he signed a deal with the devil.
For Ren…
“Your first amateur detective case… I’ve talked with the police. You will be handling the psychotic breakdowns and the mental shutdown cases.”
“What?!” Goro yelled. “Hold on, you couldn’t seriously expect me to—”
“You are a Shido. Surely you are capable of solving the psychotic breakdown case, right?” Shido growled. “Of course, if you don't find a solution, it's fine. As long as you gather enough attention to boost my popularity, I’ll let that Amamiya brat into Shujin. Once I become Prime Minister, you will stand with me as the son of Masayoshi Shido. Do you understand?”
Goro couldn’t breathe. He felt like he was drowning in a sea of blood. If accepting this deal means keeping his only friend around, he would take it in a heartbeat. After all, he is Ren Amamiya.
Goro nodded. “I understand.”
What Shido said next was something he thought he would have never heard in his life.
“You are like a son to me, Akechi.”
The memory stops.
The library’s lights returned to normal after being dimmed.
“Goro…” Joker mumbles to himself, quietly enough so nobody could hear him. “So that’s why he became a detective. He never told me it was to keep me in Shujin…”
The Phantom Thieves stand still in silence as they try to take in the information. Violet speaks up with a stammer, “You– You got arrested by his father?”
It was about time he told them the truth. Joker confirms, “That’s him. While I was in the streets of Tokyo, I saw him trying to force a young woman into his car. I had to do something, so I stepped in and pushed him to the ground.”
“Man, if I was in your shoes, I would’ve punched him!” Skull says. “Really hard, at his big forehead!”
Queen comments, “That’s how you end up in juvenile detention, Skull…”
Noir gives Joker a gentle smile, “Thank you for doing that, Joker. I’m pretty sure that woman appreciates everything you did that day.”
Joker frowns, “I hope so too, but knowing Shido, I don’t think so.”
“Even though you’ve stopped him once, you can’t do much to stop it again when you’re on probation,” Mona adds. “You’ve done everything you’ve done, Joker. No use fretting on it now.”
The briefcase on the pedestal slowly turns back to its signature silver color, with his own custom logo turning black to mimic the original version in real life. Joker walks slowly to the pedestal to lift the briefcase by the handle.
His briefcase.
“I remember this.” Joker lifts up the briefcase and inspects every corner. It’s polished and untouched, just as he remembers it from the first day they got it.
“A briefcase?”
“What? Don’t you like it? It’s the first time I bought something without my father’s blood money. Being a Detective Prince pays off in some aspects.”
“I wouldn’t think a briefcase would be my first purchase with my own money though…”
“You may not think it’s important, Ren, but this is the start of getting my freedom away from that man! I’ll start saving some money so I can finally travel out of the country…”
“Well, if you’re traveling somewhere, I want to travel with you too, Goro!”
“Hmm. Maybe you should start searching for a part time job too. Having less money is better than having no money, after all.”
“We have one item left to find… Should we call it a day and do this another time?” Violet offers.
“I think we should,” Queen suggests. “We did say we were going to explore the palace for now. We can make some more progress on a weekend to give everyone some time to breathe after exams.”
“Woooo!!” Skull pumps his fist in the air. “Video games all day! I need to play this game that I just bought before exams, I think it’s time I go back home to play it!”
“...you agreed to watch a movie with me later, Skull. Don’t tell me you’re backing out of our plans for tonight, are you?” Panther says, crossing her arms. Skull stays silent with guilt as he looks away in shame. “Did you forget?!”
“I’m sorry! We’ll go to the movie theaters, I promise!” Skull assures. He prays, “Can we go back now before Panther kills me?!”
Joker nods, turning to the door with a smile. He feels fortunate to have these people in his life, as teammates and as friends.
He feels hopeful for the future.
