4/26

Ryuji crouches in the alley outside Shujin. The sun is only just starting to light the clouds overhead. This is the earliest he's been awake since the track team disbanded. He's missed the quiet and the cool caress of the air. A few students, mainly those from the archery and basketball clubs, have already entered the school. As Kamoshida monopolizes the gym after school, the morning is the only time some teams can practice.

His uniform is pressed and buttoned up. His mom had been so happy when he'd asked her to show him how to use the iron. No one must recognize him. Ryuji Sakamoto is not known for having a crisp, cleaned, well-ironed uniform.

Of course, his blonde hair presented a different challenge. He'd wound up going to a joke shop near Shibuya and purchasing a fake wig. It’s simple, not like those crazy ones modeled after anime characters. Short, brown hair that hugs his skull. It is uncomfortable, but that doesn’t matter.

He hefts his bag. "Alright," he says. "Let's do this."

Ryuji walks out of the alley in an approximation of the walk he's always seen good students use. He does not slouch, and his hands are at his sides. He wears a neutral look, as opposed to his usual scowl. A small handful of students climb the steps of Shujin, and none cast more than a cursory glance in his direction. His destination is not far. The bulletin boards just through the front doors.

Once inside, he pulls out his phone and leans against the wall. He smiles as if he's just received a funny text and moves his fingers as if to reply.

The few students he entered alongside turn the corner ahead and are gone. He shoves his phone back in his pocket, darts up to the bulletin boards, and zips his bag open. He grabs the gloves he bought, pulls them on, then reaches in and withdraws a fistful of calling cards. He's coated them with the same cheap adhesive his wig utilized, and when he presses them up on the board, a few slide down to the floor. It doesn't matter.

He spends, by his count, twenty seconds at his task. Then he whips around, rips his gloves off, shoves them back in his bag, and speed walks back out the entrance. Once he’s back in the alley, he breathes a sigh of relief.

"Hell yeah," he whispers to himself.

He takes out his phone and texts the group.

RYUJI: MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!

#

Kamoshida rereads it.

Sir Suguru Kamoshida, the utter bastard of lust:

We've watched you. We know all about the twisted shit you do to students who can't or won't fight back. Society might’ve given you a free pass, but we won't. We're going to steal your sick desires and make you confess your sins with your own mouth.

Look forward to it, asshole.

From,

The Phantom Thieves of Hearts.

They are everywhere. Wherever Kamoshida looks, students hold them. There must be a dozen scattered throughout the first-floor hall alone.

"Fuck," he mutters.

What the hell did this mean? Did someone have evidence? How? He'd been so careful. Had that Suzui bitch woken up? Who were the 'Phantom Thieves?'

Kamoshida hears the whispers and musters the harshest glare he can. "Get the hell to class!" He shouts - the hallway empties. Kamoshida is alone. His thoughts pound in his skull like an earthquake.

They can't do anything. No one can do anything. This is some bullshit kid crap. There's no evidence. Nothing physical. Though, that's not exactly true.

No. He needed to calm down.

There's nothing these Phantom Thieves can do to stop him. There's nothing anyone can do to stop him. Kamoshida turns and marches towards the faculty room. "Alright then, Phantom Thieves," he says to no one. "Try it."

He swings the door to the faculty office open and steps inside. A half dozen heads turn his way. No one says anything. Kamoshida runs his eyes over them, starting with Inui, who looks away. He can see the damn red and black slips of paper they all struggle to conceal. No one can meet his gaze. All save Sadayo Kawakami. Her face is pale, and she looks very shaky, but she holds the Calling Card in one hand, and she asks, "Kamoshida-sensei, what is this?"

There is a snarling thing with raised hackles in his mind, but Kamoshida forces a smile onto his face and says, "I have no idea, Miss Kawakami. I just walked into school and saw those everywhere."

"What they're saying," Kawakami continues, and her mouth works silently for a few moments before she can say, "is it true?"

"Is what true?" Kamoshida demands. Damn you. I'll make you say it!

"K-Kamoshida-sensei has a point," Ushimaru puts in. "These," and he holds up the card he had just tried to hide beneath the notebooks on his desk, "are very vague. Why they could mean anything!"

"Fine then," Kawakami replies and clears her throat. "Kamoshida-sensei, what do you think 'twisted shit,' in this case, means?"

Kamoshida turns his back on them and puts his hand on the door handle. "I'd say it means fuck all, and if these Phantom Thieves had something to say, they should've come out and said it. And I'll thank you not to make any unfounded accusations against me, Miss Kawakami." He throws open the door and steps outside, his vision growing spotty.

#

Makoto sits in class. One of the Calling Cards is in her desk. She's read it a half dozen times. Nothing the teacher says sticks. But, to be fair, no one else looks like they're paying any attention either. She runs her thumb over the cheap paper once more. What is this thing?

What's more, her thoughts can't help but return to one specific person.

Kurusu.

He wouldn't do something like this. Or would he? Could he? What did any of it mean, anyway?

Makoto is not someone to speak out of turn in class, but she can't help it. Saying it in her head alone isn't enough. "What the hell is going on?" She whispers.

#

Akira finishes washing his hands and holds them beneath the dryer. "Remember," Morgana tells him, from his bag. "Low profile. Nothing to draw attention to yourself today. Just go to class, and leave at the end of the day."

"Yeah, I got it," Akira replies as he shoulders his bag. He heads for the exit. "You just worry about keeping an eye on Kamosh-"

A Shadow appears before him. It stands dead center between Akira and the exit. Unlike last time, it looks directly at Akira. It lifts its sword into the air and swings it down as Akira yelps and throws himself backward.

“What are you doing?” Morgana hisses as they hit the floor.

Akira looks up. The Shadow is gone. “There was a Shadow,” he says, quickly.

“What?” Morgana asks. “Where? Here?”

“Yes,” Akira says, and he pushes himself to his feet. “I saw one the other day. It was marching in the hall. I thought it was a hallucination, but I just saw another one, standing right in front of us.”

“Well, I didn’t see it,” Morgana insists. “And besides, there can’t be Shadows here. They can only exist in the Metaverse and-”

“I know that,” Akira insists, moving for the exit. “But we don’t actually know how all this works. Maybe the Shadows can-” His words become a gasp because when he exits the bathroom, hands seize his uniform's collar and lift him into the air, and thrust him back inside. The mad eyes of Suguru Kamoshida bore into Akira's own, and there is a snarl across his face. Akira has never seen someone snarl before, not in real life. It is a terrible thing.

"Time's up," Kamoshida whispers and shoves Akira up against the stalls.

Akira shimmies around in the man's arms and lets the bag drop to the ground. Kamoshida puts his foot against it and violently slides the bag away from them. Akira watches as Morgana exits the bag. He looks at Akira, but Akira shakes his head, just fractionally.

"Did you hear me?" Kamoshida demands, and Akira looks at him. Kamoshida's face is his entire world now. Akira can feel his pulse beating in his chest like a horse galloping across concrete.

"Yes," he replies. "I heard you. But Ann is-"

"I don't care," Kamoshida growls out. Akira's eyes flicker towards his bag, and he sees that Morgana is gone. "You had enough time. You're gone."

"C-come on," Akira pleads. This is genuine. We're so close! Just one more day! Don't do this to me now! He can hear Morgana's words in his mind. The longer you wait, the worse he'll get. Did they wait too long? Kamoshida must've seen the Calling Card, and it must've driven him over the edge.

"You're assaulting me right now," Kamoshida tells him. "You keep trying to punch me because you're a violent criminal, but I'm too fast for you. Eventually, I subdue you, and you tell me Sakamoto put you up to it. I take you both to the Principal and get him to kick you out. You're going to go back down whatever hole you got out and..."

Akira is not listening anymore. The walls of the bathroom have become sterile white. The sink has become a bunk on which he will sleep. The door is locked now. Back in the box, he thinks, and something in him rages against the idea. Akira begins to lift his hand.

"Stop."

Kamoshida turns. Akira looks over the man's shoulder. Ann Takamaki stands at the entrance to the boy's room.

"Stop," she repeats, eyes wide, skin pale, hands shaking. "Please, stop."

"You can't be in here," Kamoshida drawls, as if drunk, and idiotically, Akira finds himself agreeing. He notices the bag at Ann's shoulder twitching. Morgana.

"Don't hurt him anymore," Ann begs. "Okay? I'll do what you want." The words hit like the train Akira had witnessed bash through the station. "I know what you want. I know what you were trying to get Akira to do. I'll do it."

"Really?" Kamoshida asks as if he doesn't quite believe her but wants to.

She nods. "Yes. Tonight. Right? At your place? Tonight."

"Tonight," Kamoshida says, and it is not a question.

"Tonight," Ann repeats. "Just, please stop it."

Kamoshida lets go, and Akira sinks to the ground. He scrambles away from Kamoshida as the man turns and faces Ann. "Alright," he says. He lifts one heavy foot and tramps his way towards the exit. When he stops next to Ann, Akira feels bile rise in his throat.

Kamoshida lifts a hand and rests it against Ann's cheek. She flinches, but she meets him in the eye. Akira feels something scream within him, and he begins to rise, but Ann flicks her eyes in his direction, and he knows enough to stop himself.

Kamoshida says nothing, then he lowers his hand and walks out. He utters a final, "Tonight," before he is out of sight.

Ann pivots and dashes to Akira's side. Morgana struggles his way out of the bag. "Are you okay?" Ann asks.

"We need to get out of here," Akira tells her. "You can't be in here."

"Did he know about the Calling Card?" Morgana asks as Akira rises to his feet. "Did he know it was us?"

"No," Akira replies and shakes his head. "He didn't even bring it up. I think..." and Akira looks at the door where Kamoshida left. "I think he's finally lost it. I think whatever effect the Calling Card had on him pushed him off whatever tightrope he was on."

"Come on, Akira," Ann tells him. "We should get to class."

"Ann," he says and takes her hand. "Thank you."

Ann sighs and nods. "Let's just make sure we steal this bastard's Treasure."

#

The four thieves crouch on the balcony that overlooks the Treasure Room. From their roost, they see that the Treasure has materialized into the form of a giant, kitschy, red plush crown. The room swarms with guard shadows.

"Everyone clear on the plan?" Mona asks.

Panther nods. "Yep. I take the lead on this one, and then you scatter them with Zorro."

"And Skull and I finish them off," Joker says and smiles. "Sounds good."

"No questions, then?" Mona asks.

Skull raises his hand. "I got one."

Mona sighs. "What is it?"

"Is no one going to bring up how awesome the Calling Card was?"

"Seriously?" Panther asks. "This is not the time!"

"Hey, I put a lot of effort into it. And I risked a hell of a lot getting into the school this morning." He crosses his arms, a pout on his face. "Someone could've said something about it."

"Skull," Joker says. The thieves turn to look at their leader. He smirks. "The Calling Card was awesome. I especially liked the end. 'Look forward to it?' Perfect. And your infiltration of the school was brilliant.”

Panther frowns. "That was pretty impressive, actually. I'm kinda surprised you even thought to wear a disguise, even if it was just some cheap wig."

Skull beams. "That's what real thieves would do, right?" He drives a fist into his palm. "We gotta keep up our rep! You know, like those guys on the news from a few months ago. What were they called again? Tatter-"

“We should get moving,” Joker says quickly.

"Right," Mona says, glaring at each of the others. "Now that we’ve finished massaging Skull's self-esteem, can we get on with this?”

Panther winks. "Leave it to me!" She vaults over the balcony. As she falls, she draws her submachine gun and begins to spray.

The bullets pepper into the guards, shattering the silence. A few cower behind their shields, while others fall in the hail. Many die in puffs of ash. Others try to raise themselves back up.

"Now, Mona!" Panther shouts as she lands.

The cat is already falling. "Zorro, Magaru!" Wind whips from the Persona and slams into the remaining shadows. Those that do not die are stolen from the floor and hurled into heaps upon the mounds of Treasure.

Joker and Skull hit the floor seconds behind Mona and dart forward.

"Wreck em, Cap!" Skull shouts, and his Persona bursts forth, levels its cannon, and sends bolt after bolt of lightning. Electric current rips through their enemies.

"Arsene!" The final strike comes in the form of the terrible and familiar black and red coils, hurled from the Persona's sable, corvid wings.

A single, wailing moan is all the last Shadow can manage before it evaporates.

"Treasure Room, secure!" Mona cries and leaps into the air, waving his arms wildly.

"Now that's an ambush!" Skull shouts and high-fives Joker. "Nice shooting, Panther!"

She grins and throws up the 'V' sign. "We did it!"

Joker stands before the crown. "So this is it?" He asks. "Figures."

"Alright,” Mona says. “Now, we need to get this thing out of here."

"How?" Skulls asks. “It’s huge.”

"We carry it," Mona says. "How else?"

Panther sighs. "I was afraid you'd say that."

#

Joker, Panther, and Skull hoist the crown off the floor between them and cart it out. Mona takes point out of the Treasure Room and into the Throne Room.

Halfway down the gaudy rosy carpet, a volleyball hurtles through the air, smashes into the crown, and sends it flying from the hands of the thieves.

"What the hell?" Skull shouts.

Joker spins about in time to see a caped figure arch through the air over them and land in a crouch alongside the throne.

Kamoshida straightens and extends his hand. The crown pulsates, shrinks to the size of a melon, and catapults through the air and into his palm.

The mad whites of his eyes rim his golden pupils. His lips curl into a snarl. "This is mine!" He shouts, voice cracking. "Mine! I earned this! I've earned the rights this gives me! That's what makes me King! No one can have it!"

Skull shakes his head. "Man, now who sounds like a little bitch?"

Panther unfurls her whip. "Give it up, Kamoshida! We're taking that whether you like it or not."

"No, no, no, no, no! No! NO! NO! NO!" Kamoshida screams. He hunches over, his breathing ragged and hollow. "What don't you get? This is how it works! ALL OF IT! If I achieve results, I get to do what I want! It's right! It's fair! That's what I do! I achieve! Everything else is compensatory! That's why no one ever stops me!"

"What you did to Shiho wasn’t right or fair!" Panther shouts back.

The scowl becomes a juvenile little smirk. "Yes it was. She wanted it. You all do." He spreads his arms wide. "You all do! Why wouldn't you? Look at me! I'm a success! I'm attractive! I have a legacy! What do any of you little shits have?"

Joker draws the pistol from his coat and aims. "A soul."

He pulls the trigger.

Kamoshida's head snaps back. An awful, still second passes, and then his body collapses before his throne.

Skull blinks and looks at his friend. "Dude."

"That conversation was pointless," Joker says and holsters his weapon. "Let's take the Treasure and get out of here." He starts up the steps. Then the laughter begins.

Kamoshida's head snaps up, a red hole in the center of his forehead. "Fine," he howls, between manic bursts of glee. As if pulled by strings, he lifts off the ground and returns to his feet. "Fine! No more guards! I'll kill you damn thieves myself! After all, this is my Castle! This is my world! My rules!"

His scream rises in pitch until it becomes a distorted, cataclysmic wail. Joker leaps away as Kamoshida expands.

His skin turns a viscous pink, and two additional arms burst from his stomach. His face deforms until his mouth becomes an animalistic caricature, and a slick purple tongue the size of an automobile lolls from it and pendulums through the air. His hair shrinks into his skull, and a twin set of horns bursts from the round, sick dome. Upon this rests the crown. A trophy materializes between his thighs, pairs, and pairs of squirming feminine legs flailing about like maggots. In one arm, he clutches a fork; in another, an enormous glass of red wine. Yet another holds a sword, while the last of his limbs grips a dinner knife. The eyes in his head are bulbous and bloodshot. His head tilts back, and another screech shakes the room.

"Holy hell!" Skull shouts. "Are you freakin' kidding me?"

"This is his shadow's true form," Mona says as he backs away. "His true power."

"Don't you little shits understand who I am?" The thing roars. "I AM KAMOSHIDA!" It swings its sword. The blade slices through the air, and the thieves fling themselves away.

"How are we supposed to get the Treasure away from that thing?" Panther asks once she’s regained her footing.

Joker pulls out his gun and fires, but the bullets ricochet harmlessly off the King's hide. "Damn."

"Screw this," Skull shouts and runs forward. "Fry em, Captain!" His Persona materializes and hits Kamoshida with a bolt of electricity, but the thing barely flinches.

Instead, it thrusts its golden knife at him.

"Crap!" Skull shouts and steps aside in time, but not quick enough to avoid the dagger's flat side. It smashes into him and sends him cartwheeling through the air. He lands in a heap by the feet of the other thieves.

"Skull!" Panther shouts, running up to his side.

"You should've learned your place long ago, Sakamoto," the thing that is Kamoshida screams.

Mona hits Skull with a Dia, and the four stare up at the thing.

"What now?" Panther asks.

#

Joker slings back one of Takemi's medicines and feels it work its strange magic on his ribs. Thank God for cognition. He peeks out from behind the pillar he hides behind. Skull fires blast after useless blast of his shotgun into the body of Kamoshida, who roars and swipes at him with the sword once more.

Skull ducks and hobbles away. He's already taken a few hits but has run out of medicine. If this doesn't work, it'll be bad.

"Get back here, you little-" Kamoshida starts, but his words die in a grunt as a wave of fire rushes up his back. He shifts his gargantuan form around and spots Panther. His grotesque face breaks into a grin. "There you are! Get your sexy ass over here!" Panther sprints to the side, and Kamoshida begins to crawl his way after her.

Now.

Joker ducks out from behind the pillar, runs for the spot behind Kamoshida's legs, and shouts, "Andras!" The avian Persona appears before him, and with a beat of its wings, an icy wind bursts forth and swaddles the trophy. Frost strangles it, and Joker hunches over as his Persona vanishes and throws himself at the object. His knife punches through the ice, and with a grunt, he thrusts it upward. The rim cracks and the perverted trophy shatters.

Kamoshida screams as Joker rolls away. The sword, knife, and fork all crash and spark across the spot he’d just occupied.

"Alright!" Panther shouts, coming around his side.

"Nice dude!" Skull pants, his hands on his knees.

Kamoshida ate the female legs from the trophy. He ate them. Somehow, doing so had a regenerative effect, so no matter how much damage they did to his body, so long as he could consume those limbs, he wouldn't go down.

Kamoshida's massive form scuttles towards the three, who have backed into the corner of the throne room. "I'll kill you for that, you little fucks! How DARE you destroy what's mine?"

He raises his weapons into the air, and-

"Now, Mona!"

From where he sits, perched on the chandelier above, Mona smirks. "About time!" He takes a running start, then hurls himself down, directly at Kamoshida's crown.

He smashes into the side of it, and the massive bejeweled thing flies off Kamoshida’s head and clatters to the floor, further down the hall.

All his hands drop their weapons and reach for the now bare spot on his head. "NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! Where is it? WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?" He sees the crown where it lays and begins to drag himself towards it. His voice shrinks to a whimper, "My Treasure. Give it back!"

Joker smiles. "Hit him with everything!"

"Carmen!"

"Zorro!"

"Captain Kidd!"

"Arsene!"

As he inches towards his crown, Kamoshida is blitzed with flames, lightning, biting winds, sharp, piercing tendrils, and then the stings of Panther's whip, the bruisings of Skull's pipe, and the stabs of Mona and Joker's blades.

Still, he tries to reach his crown, but as the attacks pummel him ceaselessly, all the creature can do at last is stretch out one clawed hand in a final, halting effort before it drops to the ground and is still.

With one scathing scream, the monstrous form of Suguru Kamoshida disappears in a great burst of ash.

The thieves are still and stare at the pile until the deflated form of Kamoshida's Shadow digs itself out, and caked in a coat of smoky dust, falls back, and begins to scramble away.

Panther and Skull glance at one another, then both stalk over to the sniveling thing.

"P-please," Kamoshida says and raises a hand in supplication. "Please, stop."

Skull stomps his boot down onto Kamoshida’s leg kneecap. The Shadow throws his head back and screams. "What's wrong?" Skull shouts over Kamoshida’s cry. "Your leg hurt, asshole?"

The man shakes his head back and forth. "They just kept pushing!" He shouts, spit flying with every word. "Every time I achieved something, they just kept giving me more responsibility! Don't you understand? I couldn't keep up! There was always some other hurdle, some other mountaintop!" He looks up at two teens with a sad little smile on his face. "All I've done was for them, so is it so wrong to ask for a reward?"

Panther looks down at him, and Carmen materializes behind her. "This is for every girl you touched." Flames swirl down and consume Kamoshida's placating hand. Kamoshida's screams intensify.

She points to the leg Ryuji isn't pinning down. “This is for every student you tortured and abused.” Fire wreaths the leg, and when they dissipate a moment later, Kamoshida's skin is a popping, bursting mixture of red and black.

"STOP IT!" Kamoshida begs. "PLEASE!"

"And this is for Shiho." Carmen's attack flies towards Kamoshida's face. At the last moment, the fire averts and punches into the tiled floor alongside him. Some of his hair strands twist and curl away from the heat.

Kamoshida gasps, blinking.

Skull takes his foot from Kamoshida's leg. "You're not worth it, asshole."

Panther regards the charred ornamentation around the man’s head. “This is the only crown you deserve,” she whispers. Then, to Joker, "Have you got the Treasure?"

The crown had shrunken to the size of a baseball cap. Joker holds it in his left hand. "Yep."

She nods and presses one stiletto-heeled boot down onto Kamoshida's chest. The man trembles. "We stole it, Kamoshida. Whatever twists you up inside. It's ours now. So, listen up. I don't know how all this works. I don’t know if you’re about to croak or not, but if you don’t, you're going to get yourself - your real self - to confess to everything. All your crimes. All of them."

The thing nods. "Alright. I will. I swear."

“Atone, you bastard. For everything.”

A strange look comes over Kamoshida's face. It features settle. He begins to glow a pale white and starts to fade away. "I will," he says as he vanishes. "I promise."

Panther's boot clicks against the floor.

Joker reaches out a free hand and rests it on her shoulder. "You okay?"

She looks at him and smiles. "Totally. This means we did it, right?"

The room begins to quake. "Actually," Mona shouts as a piece of the ceiling crumbles and dashes to the ground. "This means we did it!"

"What the hell, Mona?" Skull shouts. "You said the Palace would disappear once we stole the Treasure!"

"I said it would 'collapse!' What did you think ‘collapse’ meant?"

"Just run!" Joker shouts, and the four beat it for the Safe Room.

#

Kamoshida smiles to himself as he descends the stairs. Everything had worked out after all.

Takamaki had fallen in line. She had learned what was best for her, just like everyone always did.

It didn't matter what obstacles popped up. Kamoshida walked his own path, and those that stood in his way got crushed. Kamoshida images everything he will get up to with Takamaki that night, and his smile widens.

Please stop.

Kamoshida grasps the stairwell's handrail.

It hurts!

Sweat leaks from his forehead and drips down his face. His breath comes in ragged gasps. He sits on the steps.

What am I doing? What am I thinking?

What has he done?

He sees their faces, one after another. Their horrified expressions, the blood, and bruises upon their bodies. He sees Shiho Suzui and sees her tears as he'd climbed on top of her.

Oh my god.

The girl had tried to kill herself because of him!

How? How could he have done all this? Why?

He drops his head into his hands and begins to sob. "Oh, god. Oh, god, oh, god, oh, god!"

What have I done?

#

They sit against the walls of the alley. No one says anything for some time. Morgana lies curled up beside Akira. Ann and Ryuji sit across from him, leaning against each other, their eyes closed, their mouths opened as they suck in air.

It had been a close call, their flight from the castle. At one point, Ryuji had tripped, and Akira had felt his heart seize. But then Ryuji had stood, and pushed through the pain, and all four had emerged into reality’s light.

It takes a while before Akira realizes he's not holding the crown anymore. "Hey," he says. "Check it out." He holds up, instead, a gold medal with a red lanyard strung through it.

"The hell?" Ryuji asks, straightening. "I thought it was a crown."

"This is the true form of the Treasure," Morgana says. "It's what his distorted desires originated from."

"His Olympic medal," Ann says and shakes her head. "I guess if you're looking to inflate someone's ego, that's one way to do it."

Ryuji groans. "So, like, did we win?"

"We stole the Treasure," Akira replies. He looks down at Morgana. "That means we changed his heart, right?"

The cat nods. "It should. The Palace collapsed, just like I knew it would. I suppose now we just have to wait and see if Kamoshida has changed."

“Or if we killed him,” Ryuji replies.

There’s a beat of silence. Then, Ann asks, “How will we know?”

Akira stares down at the Olympic medal. It is a small thing. “If he dies, it’ll be all over the school. So we have to wait.” He looks up at each of his friends. It wasn’t a mistake. “But no matter what happens, we did the right thing.” Everyone nods, but no one looks satisfied.