Save The Queen

How could she forget? The things Kaneshiro said to her, ordered her to do…eugh. “It was…terrifying, honestly. I was standing with the others, pleading them to drop the case with Kaneshiro that I had gotten them into. And then they seemed to have an epiphany. Moments later I was sucked in; I felt sick.” A deep breath.

“A huge bank, floating in the sky above the city. People who looked like walking ATMs all over the place, no doubt how Kaneshiro viewed the people of the city. Everything was so far out of my reality that I had to pinch myself to make sure I wasn’t dreaming. They explained to me how they change hearts after revealing themselves as the Phantom Thieves.” She looked down, remembering. 

“I guess you could say they kind of…used me as their way in. In that world, I was considered a ‘special customer’ of Kaneshiro’s, which allowed them to get into the Palace. I steeled myself, promising to make myself useful. When we got in, I demanded an audience with Kaneshiro, and at his command, the Shadows let us pass. As we spoke to him, I got angrier and angrier…especially when he started bringing up my sister. When they had us surrounded, I begged him to stop, but he just kept talking…” Her fists clenched. “Endure it…do as I’m told…” She sighed. “Then, I felt her. Heard her calling. Johanna. I accepted myself – my strength, my weakness…I found my own justice, and awakened to my Persona.”

   “There’s plenty of time to come up with a plan of attack.” Pause. “Or rather, of revelation.”

   Charlie offered as supportive a smile as he could muster, and reached out without thinking, gave her shoulder a squeeze. If you ever need a friendly ear, it said. Didn’t take some sort of emotional master to understand that that particular sisterly relationship was…complicated. Harder still not to think of his own parents. God, how long had it been since he’d even spoken with them? That it even took a moment to narrow it down set a pang in his chest. Though they had a strained relationship, to say the least, they were still family. Wouldn’t be right to push it, though. If Makoto didn’t want to talk, then that was fine.

   “It’s just through the TVs.” Ducking down, Charlie automatically hooked one leg through the now-rippling screen, then his head, and then the other leg.  The traversal back to the real world was second habit, almost relaxing in its way.  After a brief pause, his arm emerged back through the screen, thumb up, as if to say, ‘perfectly safe.’ (For him, at least, it was.)

   The apartment was modest, at best, but certainly decorated in such a way that a clever eye might cotton to his occult pursuits. The genuine copy of the sword he’d summoned in the subways hung on a wall, though not necessarily in a prominent position. No, most of the walls were adorned with pictures, and posters – of a younger Mr. Tunoku smiling with a group of friends, a signed Risette poster made out to him, a simple, old shrine charm… a bunch of mecha models, some dolls… Yes, either an adventurer of the supernal posing as a gym teacher, or an utterly out of touch nerd.

  Perhaps having expected this venue of return, the landing zone below his TV – this one a more up-to-date model – was softened by pillows. When Makoto emerged, he was there, with a water bottle and towel in hand. (Supernatural transmigration could be taxing on the body, after all.) “Welcome to Chez Tunoku.”

Head down, Makoto startled a bit upon feeling the larger hand upon her shoulder. She looked up and offered him a sad smile. You’re a good friend. she thought, but couldn’t get the words out.

The trip back was certainly...different, to say the least. While the MetaNav made her feel like she was being pulled and sucked into and out of the Metaverse, going through the TVs felt like falling -- like she had been tossed into an endless void of black and white. She had to stifle a scream as she followed Charlie through, but moments after it had begun, she found herself on her hands and knees on a pile of pillows.

Realizing her clothes had (thankfully) returned to normal during the trip, she stood up shakily and pressed her skirt down. She accepted the towel and water, wiping the small beads of sweat from her brow. “Thank you, Charlie.” She took the opportunity to look around while her mouth was full of water. Wow, a signed Risette poster? Never took him for the type... Taking in the strange models, quaint furnishings, and other aspects of the secret agent’s room, her eyes finally rested on the the group photo as she swallowed.

“Are these...the friends you mentioned?” Standing beside the young Charlie were a dorky-looking boy with light brown hair and a larger guy with dark hair and reading glasses. Further left, a pretty boy with bright blonde hair spiked to one side. The front row were all females -- on the far right, a beautiful black-haired girl who could only be called a princess. Beside her, a pretty girl with long brown hair and sunglasses perched on her head, and in the middle, a very energetic-looking short-haired girl. To the left, a short dark-haired girl with glasses, and on the far left -- wait, what? Her brow furrowed. It was hard to tell, but it almost looked like a younger Detective Shirogane from the Tokyo PD.

me usually:

me seeing @charge-johanna responded:

me usually:

me when senpai notices me:

“I’m sure I will.” Sae nodded lightly as her share of breakfast was placed before her. It was a simple meal, yet she couldn’t remember the last time they’d sat down together in the morning. After a certain point she’d been coming home late and leaving early, spending more time at work than at home. Things had changed, undoubtedly for the better. “Yes, you all managed to shake things up, to say the least.”

Obscured between small bites of her meal, she wore a fond, almost prideful smile. “But it definitely needed to happen. We’ve been able to root out a great deal of problematic people within the system.” Sae was cynically aware that corruption ran deep and that even with Shido’s confessions of names upon names, they hadn’t managed to snuff it out completely. Still, it was a huge step in the right direction.

“Honestly, had things gone different I could have ended up in a similar position. Yet another corrupt adult, blindly feeding into injustice…” It almost felt like a miracle that the Thieves had stepped in when they did to help her avoid such an awful fate. “I’d even go so far as to say you all saved me.” Realizing she’d deviated quite a bit from the original question, she shook her head. “Which is to say I’m not troubled at all.” 

Makoto breathed a sigh of relief, and for more reasons than one. Obviously, she was glad that they hadn’t caused too much strain for Sae, but there was something more. Something in how the question had been answered. The simple elegance, deep thought, and genuine gratitude in Sae’s response was the final proof - her sister was truly back to her old self.

“I’m...happy to hear that, Sis.” She stirred her coffee with one finger. “I won’t lie, there were many days where I thought you didn’t really care about me anymore...” she paused, remembering how frightening her sister had been. Right now, you're useless to me. All you do is eat away at my life! How could she forget those words? 

“But I knew you’d come around. I so badly didn’t want to have to force your change of heart, and I’m glad we didn’t need to in the end.” She remembered her inner conflict; going into Sae’s Palace on her own just to see if it really existed. Trying to deny that her own family was a target. “You were...the only one of our targets who was willing to listen to reason.”

   It was a strange thing to parse, now that Charlie had reason to take another fresh look at the television stack. When it had been Teddie summoning the portal, they were rather out of place; even Inaba had been migrating away from the old bunny-ear display. But, as he’d discovered, you can get used to anything if you do it enough. “How do you fit through a cell phone screen? My TVs are much larger.” A gentle rebuttal: a tease, really. 

   Fondly, Charlie’s gaze swept over the Other Samegawa. Sometimes, he’d come here just to think. Still got a Wifi signal, probably leaking through the stack from his apartment. “Mm. It was a special place. I just added a few things for convenience.” Such as the deep blue armchair at the water’s edge, a fishing rod beside it. Of course, there weren’t any fish in his mind’s river, but that was the point. The meditation mattered. 

   “The next step is making contact with your friends.” Without, and this was the tricky thing, placing undue questions on Makoto’s loyalty. Charlie remembered how much his hackles were raised when Naoto had proven herself onto the Midnight Channel investigation; and he didn’t even have the level playing ground of being a peer. He signified authority, adulthood: as far as their presence online had implied, everything the Phantom Thieves were against. Whether he actually embodied those values was immaterial: he was perceived to be, and that was the same.

   “But there’s time to think that out; I’m in no exceptional rush. Preferably, we could just talk it out honestly, but you understand the group dynamic better than I do. Moreover, you have a curfew, right? I don’t think ‘I plumbed the depths of the public psyche with my gym teacher’ would fly as an excuse. This portal will take us back to my apartment in Asakusa.”

“Yeah, you’re right.” she mulled the thoughts over in her head. Makoto had no idea how the group would take it, or how she could even bring it up in the first place. Hey, I know Kamoshida was the reason we started this, but his replacement is actually a pretty good guy! Also, he knows everything about us now. or I found out the new gym teacher is a Persona-user! Maybe he could help us out? She sighed. No matter what way she spun the words, she would sound like a traitor. “I’ll have to tell them eventually. But...” there’s no way she could do it alone. They’d all need to see for themselves the man she’d chosen to trust. “I think I want you to be there with me.”

Her thoughts turned to Sae. She likely wouldn’t be home, and even if she was, would she even care? Probably not. “No, I don’t have a particular curfew.” she spoke, sounding tired and defeated. “The only person I live with is my sister, and most of the time she barely notices me...” She was starting to feel really anxious about this whole thing. Joker...how will you react? “I still think we should leave though - I’m starting to feel this place weighing down on me.

“I did, actually.” Sae smiled over the rim of her mug, drinking deeply while Makoto rattled ideas off. She’d imagined them starting off on a similar path, so there was no reason to deviate with what was laid out. It wasn’t like they needed a strict game-plan for the day, but it was nice to have some structure. “I see no problem with that. It’s closest to the station, anyway.”

Leisurely window shopping… to think some months ago she would have been in vehement disagreement with such a plan. It just went to show that she was taking strides back in the right direction. “Why don’t we have something light? Then we can have lunch while we’re out.” Coffee had served as her breakfast of choice many times, but it wouldn’t see her through a day’s worth of walking around. Not to mention she couldn’t even remember the last time they’d sat down for breakfast together. 

She’d leave their first meal up to Makoto’s discretion- aside from the rare mishap regarding spice levels, everything her sister cooked was palatable for her. 

Makoto nodded and got to work. She knew her sister wasn’t a fan of spicy food, so she decided to go for natto on rice. She added a fried egg on top of each bowl to give them some extra protein for the day, as they would (hopefully) need it. Simple and light -- she hoped it was to Sae’s liking. Setting the bowl and a pair of chopsticks down in front of her, Makoto offered a smile. “Enjoy!”

Perhaps it was the calming aroma of the coffee and food, or the quiet ambiance of the room -- or maybe a bit of both, but Makoto saw something in her sister’s face that she hadn’t seen in a long time. Peace. It was refreshing and relieving at the same time. She closed her eyes. “So how has work been going? Have things settled down a bit since, well, you know, we’re out of the picture?”

   That brought a smile, if a surprised one, to Charlie’s face. “Don’t censor yourself for my sake. I’ve heard a heck and a darn it or two in my days.” The conception of a Palace, though, made it fade. It was a lot to take in. He’d need to get it repeated to be written down – most of his best work came from staring at a notebook until it all clicked. 

   “Familiar as anyone.” His old contact had once referred to Medjed as small-time, but then again, his forte was more in tapping information than brute-forcing into it. He began to shrug, but stopped himself. Makoto had proven herself to be a mature individual. If she was worried about Medjed, then he’d take them seriously. “I don’t know the details, but…it’s easy to be a troll on the internet. It’s when you meet someone face-to-face that you can begin to discern their true character. Unless they have your identities…” This time, he did complete his shrug. “They can’t do much. Public perception – at least, at school – is with the Thieves, not Medjed. They’d be seen as the villains, not you, for following through on their threats.“

   The train of thought pulled into the station as finally, they approached the seam – a wink of green and white among the unpleasant veins of the Other City. Hidden as it was behind several sharp turns, Charlie still wasn’t happy with it. “It isn’t the most subtle, but it works,” he murmured, sheepish. An outstretched hand grabbed the crowbar that had sloughed into being, and the otherwise solid concrete peeled back as easily as wallpaper. Through this crack was a shock of fresh greenery, and the sound of running water. “This is my… hide-out. We can head back into the city from here.”

   Yes, it was a Mock Samegawa. Were it not for the subtle things – the misty skies that pulsed black-and-red, the seemingly wasteful odds-and-ends scattered around the edges, and the stack of old bunny-eared televisions in a pile dominating the fishing pier… Well, alright, fair, that one wasn’t so subtle. Still, it was a place of peace, as near as Charlie could recall. Stepping through the tear in concrete, he held the crowbar in place, at least until Makoto was through. “I’ve reinforced this place. No shadows can come in or out, and it leads back to a safe exit.”

Makoto laughed at the ridiculous sight atop the pier. “You really weren’t kidding about the TVs, were you? How do you even fit through those?” It wasn’t a jab at Charlie, but an observation at how small they were. Televisions sure had come a long way - she thought of her plasma screen at home - perhaps he was really onto something with the technology thing. “It looks like I’d get stuck, and I’m smaller than you.” 

“That aside, this place is really nice. It looks almost...real. Did you base it off a real location? You’ve done a great job with it, and I definitely don’t feel the threat of the Shadows in here.” She got the same feeling in here as she did in the Palace safe rooms. The feeling of calm; that she could relax here despite not being in the real world. She closed her eyes as she took in the deceiving sounds and smells of the modern oasis. Deep breath in. Slow breath out. She knew it was just a replica from Charlie’s cognition, but God did it feel good. “I love it.” she spoke with a gentle smile, “A lot.”

“I’ll head to bed as soon as I finish up this paperwork. It shouldn’t take me too long.” For once it was viable for her to get everything squared away and be free from work’s looming obligations, if only for a day. With that goal in mind she opened her laptop once more, only to pause as Makoto took her leave. Sae blinked, wondering if agreeing to a day out was really something worthy of being thanked.

Compared to how things had been over the past couple of years… that was most certainly the case. “It’s no problem at all.” Sae was aware that she had changed drastically in the wake of her involvement with the Phantom Thieves, but Makoto hadn’t really gotten to see it, much less hear about it. That’d be something to change as well, then. She saw her sister off with a smile, then settled in with her computer to knock out the remainder of her work.

–

Sunday morning arrived without incident and Sae rose to see it bright and early. Before anything else she knew she ought to get some caffeine into her system. “Hey, are you awake?” She called gently as she made her way back to the kitchen. Even if she couldn’t get herself to sleep in on the weekends, she didn’t want to deprive her sister of the luxury. There was really no rush, though she was looking forward to the day’s events. 

Refreshed and happy, Makoto was already up and brushing her hair when she heard her sister’s call. “Yep! I’ll be out in a minute.” She finished up the process quickly, adding her signature hairband daintily on top to bring it together. It wasn’t like she could really do anything fancy with her short hair anyway. Exiting her room and heading to the kitchen, she poured herself a mug of the coffee Sae had made, and sat down.

“Good morning!” she exclaimed, voice full of spirit. “Sleep well? I sure did.” She stirred some milk into her coffee as she let it cool. “I’m excited for today. We should start in the Shibuya underground! They’ve got lots of neat jewelry shops, book stores, and other stuff! Unless you had another idea, of course. Really, I’m okay with anything!” Realizing she was rambling, she sipped her coffee. When was the last time she’d been this excited to spend time with Sae?

☠

Always the contrast to him. Whereas he holds the raw resolve to brutishly push his way forward, in a way, Queen knows how to compliment that. It’s her reasoning tied with a watchful eye that ensures such reckless nature doesn’t get caught in a web where a way out tucked to the realm of impossible. “Read my mind. Thing is, I don’t want to make seem like we’re so– how ya say it, dependent on him being around. How the hell can show we’re trustworthy otherwise?” That much has been a thought bothering him for far too long.

Looks like any deeper introspection would have to way. Once the dark leather shot into view, those heavy footsteps shot to a pause. Seizing up briefly, being offered that open option had caught the delinquent by surprise. Even now she was still going by that code of group decisions? Skull had a pretty good feeling that her smarts could cook up the optimal strat. It was a welcomed pressure the more he reeled it in his mind, time to do her a little proud, soon enough was the decision reached after a quick glance to the MetaNav.

“Let’s get outta this one’s way.” He’d whisper back.

”It’s those aura ones that are the most trouble, yeah? We’ll leave ‘em as the priorities since we are runnin’ on a timer.” As the planning was meshed together, the hulking footsteps of the shadow could be heard stomping by as they dove into the shadows. Secured in stealth, not a instant was wasted the second it was out of sight. Jumping out quickly, little time was wasted, the blond booked it quick down the new tunnel. Their surroundings were twisting up the further they traversed, the crimson pulsations upon the walls growing stronger, a hint they were on the right path.

“Since we’re limited on the supplies, it’s like ya always say.” He mentions with a grin. “We gotta pick our battles in order to keep in peak form.”

Delighted to hear Ryuji talking so rationally, she offered a smile. “Glad to hear you’ve been listening. You’re surprising me at every turn today, Skull.” 

Seems he wasn’t the complete brute she originally took him for. It was a pleasant proving-wrong. Then again, it’s not like she was all that met the eye, either. Makoto had her share of pent-up anger deep within, just waiting to be released in the heat of combat. She had a feeling she could just control it better than the delinquent she walked beside.

She followed closely, keeping a keen eye out for more Shadow activity as they made their way through the grim tunnels. Ducking behind a corner here, sprinting for a platform there, they avoided fighting as much as possible. Eventually the path widened, and they came to a point where the rails were uprooted and stuck out of the ground at bizarre angles, a swirling mass of red and black in their midst. Jackpot. 

☠

”I’m just waiting for the day one of these things get crazy enough to drop somethin’ a nuke on us. ..Then again, hell, who knows.” He mused openly as they continue their travels. Makoto’s thoughtful disposition always prompted him to think, to let imagination intertwine this new wayward reality and see what sense they can make. Talk about giving ‘Learning is fun’ a whole new meaning.

Speaking of obtaining a higher education.. That certain mention caused him to briefly freeze up like a dear in headlights. “!! Keh, c’mon!”

Can’t school just stay at school with her!? (He knows she’s just concerned, but still!)

”Tell ya what. The day those damn problems and questions jump off the paper and fight me, I’ll gladly put the same focus to use. That pen being a sword crap is overrated.” At least when it wasn’t spinning matters that moved the heart! Thankfully, everything seemed clear at this part of Mementos and it was deemed save to move on. Ryuji contently didn’t waste a beat, continuing down these outright depressing railways to continue their exploration. Her question hadn’t went unheard.

“It’s to get the jump of this one student’s shadow, remember? This Kazama guy, some asshole bullying students assist in dirty work for this gang he’s in, so they’ll take the fall and have screwed over reps.” A tint of his internal agitation could be easily felt in his words, his anger on the matter was being masked. “So we’re here to give him my favorite kind of ‘classroom lesson.’”

“I know that, but still...it was reckless of us to go alone.” Couldn’t we have waited until Joker wasn’t busy? was what she wanted to say, but she could hear the urgency in his tone. She knew how much it meant to him, and she was no different. Where matters of the school were involved, the determined Student Council President would stop at nothing to help the students. Especially when it involved gang activity.

“...But it’s okay, we’ll be fine if we watch each other’s backs” is what came out instead. She wasn’t about to let Ryuji see her fear. And she doubted anything she could say would stop him anyway. “Though I must admit, finding the target is a lot more difficult without Mona’s help -- and not just because of the sense. Walking through Mementos is much less pleasant than driving.”

☠

”Uhhh, my head..” Post battle made for the perfect times to show a pinch of weakness. In the world of hard knocks, experiences made for the best/painful teacher. Proof of that is the way he was nudged up against some cratered concrete to begin with. Squinting stubbornly through his mask, it was the sound of a friend that snapped proper attention back into him.

On top of that, he couldn’t be more thankful for the sight of her. Reaching out, the thief’s broad hand would encompass her’s as he pulls himself back onto his feet. As the leftover burn carries through him, he’d wiggle his shoulders to rid of dust and kinks. “Owe ya one Queen..”

”Is it just me or are these shadows learnin’ the more we kick their ass? I never seen one whip out some moves like that before.”

“It’s certainly possible.” she mused, “There’s a lot we don’t know about them; the capacity for adaptive thought; the willingness and dedication to learn...who knows what else they might be capable of?” She re-equipped her knuckles as she pondered.

“We can’t underestimate them, no matter how weak they seem. Try to be a bit more careful, okay?” Makoto was stern, but she cared. “Though I have to say, Skull, I’m glad to hear you considering stuff like that.” she chuckled under her breath -- she was such a mom friend. “I only wish you could use some of that perception in the classroom.”

doesthatsexy:

“You won’t receive any mercy because of our relation. This is a competition I will most certainly win.” 

☠

”I.. I mean no but– damn it! That could definitely change down the line!”

”Even if it’s from the double sisterly trouble of scary looks, I ain’t gonna hesitate to take you Niijimas down!”

“Oh yeah? Well, you’re sort of running out of time. And while I may not be the most socially adept, I certainly have more charm than the -- how did Mona put it? Blonde Monkey?”