Fandom Persona 5: The Meta War CLOSED

[TreasureSniper]

A lot had transpired over the course of a few days. But Sougo had already prepared for this beforehand. With his confession, he was able to finally bring the investigation to a halt, while getting something brownie points with a few parties, truly a fruitful endeavor. While there were still many cases that were open, including the one involving the school gym teacher, things were looking up for students of Shujin. He was especially happy with the performance of the Phantom Thieves, noting that they will be a valuable asset to him.

"Hey Prez. Why the long face?" Sougo greeted Makato with a friendly smile. Unlike the other students, Sougo didn't seem to have any apprehension about talking to Makoto, going as far as to give her a nickname when addressing her despite her protesting against it many times. "Lighten up a little! It's not every day we crackdown gangster-like Kajiki. With any luck, the school board will start taking our suggestions and cases more seriously." There was a certain warmness to his voice. Something that's only present with a few people he talks to. "Speaking of which..."

Sougo leaned closer to her ear, to whisper to her about the current evidence stack on top of the gym teacher. "Hey listen, I don't care who he is, he shouldn't be above the rules of this school. If anything he should be held to a higher standard considering his position. Though truth be told, Kamoshida was just another small fry. The next sacrifice is to further boost the student council's influence.

 

[That Weird girl]

Seeing Sougo did make Makoto smile a little since he did give her a little nickname. She did protest about it but he kept on doing it so she kinda accepted it now. “I think they will…they have to since we managed to crack the case of Kajiki….speaking of which it is weird how he just turned himself in.” Makoto was wondering how a person could change so fast in a day it seemed. She didn’t know that the Metaverse existed and that you could steal the heart of bad people which would be a crime kinda.

“Oh the pervert?” Makoto whispered assuming he was speaking about Kamoshida since it was well known that he bended the rules and thought he was higher than the school. Makoto nodded when he told her about the evidence stacked against him, he should be checked and not be above the rules. But yes he was just another small Fry but he seemed to be hurting people. Maybe she would have more luck talking to someone already on the team. Sougo was one of the people that Makoto felt comfortable around and she knew that he wasn’t that warm with many people. Sougo also knew about her sister and how the relationship between them was rough but they loved each other.

“I’ll see what else I can find out,” Makoto said to him in a whisper, “maybe one of the track team members knows something….” Her mind went to a girl named Kiyoko Tadashi, surely she would have dirt on Kamoshida.

————/——————/-/

Ann looked at Tuskishima and smiled at his generosity for helping her. She was surprised that someone would approach her with all the things people said about her, some of it was good, some of it was bad. "That would be very kind of you," Ann said to him, "its just I don't understand the grammar and the alphabet..." She sighed in frustration.

Ann was not doing very well in English class and she needed to get up her exam scores so she would not fail. She saw Makoto and Sougo in the hallway and scoffed at Makoto. She was not a very big fan of her like a lot of people but she also did not even know her that well. Morgana rolled hid eyes while in Ann's bag getting impatient and wanting some food.

SirNateUnknown nolongermoo TreasureSniper

 

[SirNateUnknown]

Nodding his head along to her words, he lowered himself and squat down. He studied closely the current page that she was on, tapping a finger against his chin. "Ah, well think of it as this." He pulled out a small note from his pockets and wrote down a simple line of alphabets in both hiragana and the alphaber relevant to it, making a list of how certain sounds are translated into the alphabet.

Making a "Ko." with his lips, he tapped his finger against the words "co" and "ko". Multiple times he repeated those words to link each of the translated letters into application, then he wrote down the a few simple examples with a sentence that would help give an idea on how grammar works. "Just take it one by one, no need to stress over it if you don't understand." he uttered with a smile, though her eyes had moved away from him and towards the doors. Something else caught her attention? he turned around and saw a glimpse of makoto and sougo, well that's peculiar.

What were they doing? their expressions were filled with determination, or at least that wss the hin he got from it. But it was not his business to toil, turning his head back to face the paper beneath his hand. He adjusted his knee and accidentally knocked Ann's bag to topple on to the side, shaking morgana who is not aware of being in the student's bag. "Oh, My apologies." He uttered before he readjusted the item. Only to realize that the zip was slightly parted, hmm? the bag was kind of heavy and he swore something else was in there other than books.

 

[TreasureSniper]

Seeing Sougo did make Makoto smile a little since he did give her a little nickname. She did protest about it but he kept on doing it so she kinda accepted it now. “I think they will…they have to since we managed to crack the case of Kajiki….speaking of which it is weird how he just turned himself in.” Makoto was wondering how a person could change so fast in a day it seemed. She didn’t know that the Metaverse existed and that you could steal the heart of bad people which would be a crime kinda.

“Oh the pervert?” Makoto whispered assuming he was speaking about Kamoshida since it was well known that he bended the rules and thought he was higher than the school. Makoto nodded when he told her about the evidence stacked against him, he should be checked and not be above the rules. But yes he was just another small Fry but he seemed to be hurting people. Maybe she would have more luck talking to someone already on the team. Sougo was one of the people that Makoto felt comfortable around and she knew that he wasn’t that warm with many people. Sougo also knew about her sister and how the relationship between them was rough but they loved each other.

“I’ll see what else I can find out,” Makoto said to him in a whisper, “maybe one of the track team members knows something….” Her mind went to a girl named Kiyoko Tadashi, surely she would have dirt on Kamoshida.

"Good..good..I'll do some of my own investigating..like usual.." He gave the girl his usual confident wink. Despite Sougo's status as vice president, he is notorious for being a troublemaker for the teachers, especially ones he doesn't agree with like Mr Ushimaru. "Don't go in too deep though, there are a lot of bad people in here and out there. Leave that part to me." Makoto had an image to uphold, and besides, he liked playing the "bad" guy. "Whatever happens, know I've got your back, Prez. " He gave her reassurance that she wasn't alone in this fight against injustice. "Oh... and about Kajiki. I heard that he received some sort of a calling card a few days before the confession. It was supposedly from a group that calls themselves the Phantom thieves." It was important for him to point her in the right direction. Who knows, she too might prove useful in his plan. "Excuse me for a moment." Sougo had something he wanted to deal with immediately.

Sougo made his way to the table where Ann and Tsukishima were. "It's always good to see people taking an interest in their studies, especially when they help each other out." He greeted the two with a smile. Tsukishima was a reasonably nice person for the most part. While Sougo has been at odds with him before, he knew his limits and was always respectful about them. Some would say he was even fond of him, seeing him as a person who had what it takes to get the job done. "Don't worry I won't take up too much of your time. Takamaki-san, I need to see you and Akiyama-san after classes end. We have....much to discuss." And there it was again, that sly smile. "And please be sure to bring the contents of your bag as well..." It wasn't too hard to spot the cat inside the bag. "Alright that's it from me, carry on with your lesson, Haru. I'll see you at the student council meeting later." And with that, he gave them both a wave and headed back to Makoto's direction.

 

[That Weird girl]

"Thank you Sougo," Makoto smiled at him reassuring her that he had her back in this fight against injustice. She did however wonder about the phantom thieves a little bit now and was wondering where she could find them. She did not think she could provide any usefulness to Sougo in the investigation part, he had a certain confidence about him that Makoto wished she had. She did hold him in high respects for sure and she did the same for Haru too.

Ann nodded and she wondered what he could have to say to them. She then turned to Tsukishima and smiled at him awkwardly trying to divert his attention, "So where were we? She brushed a stand of her hair back like she was some sort of big shot that Sough had wanted to talk to things about but she was trying to get back into focusing.

"No way Takimaki-san? No way in hell Agata-san would respect her," A student whispered to his friend, "she is not the respectable type..." A little mean Ann thought to herself sighing that everyone still thought she was Kajiki's girl. So after school was when they would meet up? Well Ann was going to have to text Shiro about it.

 

[nolongermoo]

Lightly brushing the patched up bruise on her cheek as she passed by her fellow
students, Kiyoko actually was content with them not noticing her today. If it weren't
for volleyball then Kiyoko might as well be nobody, so maybe that's why she kept
playing or maybe it's because it was the only thing she had left after she lost track.
She wasn't rally sure at this point, however she decided not to dwell on it for her
sake.

With this free period Kiyoko wondered what she should do with the free time. She
could always visit the nurse, but that would mean having to explain where the bruises
came from, and Kiyoko couldn't lie to save her life. Telling the truth was out of the question,
not that anyone would believe her, and getting on Kamoshida's bad side was like hell
itself. Sighing, it looked like she'd just have to make due with bandaging herself still,
just like the rest of her teammates. Deciding on just grabbing a drink from the vending
machine and sitting at in one of the empty walk-way outside.

Cracking open the soda and taking a sip, Kiyoko shrugged off her school bag, grabbing
her phone and a textbook from inside. She might as well be productive right? Responding
to some messages from her guardians and checking social media, eyebrows furrowing.
"Huh...who's this Kajiki guy..." She mumbled, reading a few comments before leaving it alone.
She had to many of her own problems to be worrying about someone else's. Placing her phone
back in her bag, Kiyoko finally grabbed the textbook and got to work, not worrying about her
surrounding at the moment, since no one really seemed to bother her.​

 

[Nellancholy]

In the meantime, Shiro had spent the last few days attending to business as usual. The gang was fending for themselves well enough so far, but it'd probably pay to find proper shelter soon. Maybe one of the older warehouses down by the harbor...or they could check if any factories in the industrial zone had recently been vacated. She inhaled slowly...and spat out her breath. That'd be a bit of a hike, she'd have to make sure they were ready.

But for today...she reached into her pocket, producing the wallet she had lifted from some tourist's pocket earlier. All the cards and photos had long since littered the floor in some dusty alleyway. As for the cash...it was almost tapped out as well, but it'd be enough to feed the gang for a couple days. The temptation to get a little something for herself was great, but...

A clean-cut young man dressed for the office stepped alongside her, a smile on his face. A stack of glossy, colorful papers sat in his palm. "Hey there, si- miss! Do you have some time to-"

"I'm not going to your audition." Shiro frowned.

"It's not-"

"And I don't have any money either." Even so, Shiro found herself slowing down a bit to glare.

"Oh, I'm not asking for money, miss." The man held out one of the papers. Reluctantly, Shiro took it. "Don't you feel like things are getting worse and worse these days? Everything's getting costlier now, pollution's on the rise, and the government and corporations are walking hand in hand to trample on us regular folk. But don't you worry any more!" Clearly, he had rehearsed the speech enough that he wasn't used to tailoring it. "Our Matriarch Suzuki is truly the visionary to save us all from the hardships of modern life! She was the first graduate of the University of Tokyo to synthesize academic fields as disparate as psychology, physics, and economics into a grand unified theory of salvation! Come on down to her seminar and you'll see what the hype's all about!"

"..." Shiro didn't even bother dignifying that with a response. As she turned and left, she found herself looking over the leaflet nonetheless.

IN PAIN? NEED HEALING? ENEMIES AND OBSTACLES IN YOUR PATH?

PLEDGE TO ATTEND MATRIARCH SUZUKI'S "HEALING AND VICTORY THROUGH THE METAVERSE" SEMINAR AND GET TO KNOW THE ORDER OF METATRON TODAY!​

The leaflet prominently featured a photograph of a beaming, slim middle-aged woman in a pantsuit, her head shaved and a Buddhist rosary in her hand. That'd be Matriarch Suzuki, then. The rest of the space was allotted towards the usual sales pitch and history. It seemed that the Order of Metatron had formed only a couple of years ago, and they claimed that the Metaverse was a theoretical space in which one's spirit could battle opposition and overcome them in real life as well.

That sounded...very convenient. But how much did these people really know...?

Shiro shook her head as she struggled to extricate her gaze from the red and black textures covering the leaflet. Even Thrud had fallen silent for a moment. With a snort, she balled up the leaflet and hurled it aside.

 

[SirNateUnknown]

The sudden intrusion to the two as Sougo approached them, with those dark colored eyes studying his fellow council members expression. What's with all the secrecy? He couldn't help but feel that something big is happening between them. He nodded along to the blonde's words, responding to their reminder of the meeting in The student council. "Of course." he uttered softly with a smile but was left bewildered when they exited the room. What on earth was that all about? shaking his head, he returned his eyes to the bag he had accidentally toppled earlier. Wondering what Sougo meant, Why was the contents of this bag important too? was there something suspicious inside of it? His eyes squinted at the object, but shook his head and return his attention back on the piece of paper and books that was on the table.

He nodded to ann resuming their lessons only to hear the whispers of rumors that began to fill the room, He sighed. Standing up from his squatting position and approached the source of the sound, with his figure towering over the two. He smiled and kindly ask them to shut up, "Hello there, I do apologize but this is the Library so do keep it down. I'll be happy to help you in tutoring a subject you may struggle with in exchange." He proposed the idea, hoping that at the very least either his intimidating height worked or their respect for his reputation would be quick to silence them.

With that, he patted their shoulders and returned to end as he squatted down once more while scribbling down on his notes. Resuming his explanations to her, making sure to repeat the words until she understood what it entails. He may seemed calm and unbothered by what just happened, but deep inside he was alert and began to piece together whatever those two would have to say in the student's council meeting. only time could tell.

 

[That Weird girl]

"Hey thanks for that," Ann said to Tsukishima knowing that he would be able to shut those kids up. She was going to have to work on her reputation now since Kajiki was finished. She wondered if Tsukishima had potential to be a persona and she supposed as one of the founders of the phantom thieves she should be looking for new recruits. Carmen was surely enjoying the company of Tsukishima and she was feeling a little flirtatious but Ann ignored her.

"Ann!" Morgana yelled but meowed to everyone else, "did you topple the bag?!" Ann was listening to him nodding getting what he was saying and started to repeat the words back to him. Morgana sighed in annoyance as he sat in the toppled over bag waiting for the two to be done with their studying, "Be quiet Morgana," Ann whispered to the cat in the bag, "after school we will meet up with Sougo and..." She then looked at Tsukishima and smiled awkwardly wondering if she should take a chance in telling him about everything.

Carmen wanted her to but she knew that if she did not ell him then he would find out soon anyway. Why was Mister vice president wanting to see her and Shiro? What could he possibly want from them?

--------------------------------------------

Makoto knew that she had some time before the meeting so she decided to visit Kiyoko and see what she had to say. She stepped in front of her holding her bag, "Where is the bruise from if you mind me asking? I don't think falling would cause a bruise like that." Makoto was very observant and could see that she was hiding something.

"Don't worry you are not in trouble," She said knowing that her presence was intimidating. She hoped that it was from Kamoshida so she could have more evidence against him. One student named Ryjuji was watching the two girls talk and raised an eyebrow. His fists balled up at the mention of Kamoshida but he knew that no one would believe him at all. They all thought he was a wackjob for punching Kamoshida although he did have a good reason to do so or at least he thought so.

 

[nolongermoo]

Out of all days, she'd be noticed by the student council. The president at that.
Despite being a terrible liar, Kiyoko had no intention of ratting out Kamoshida
straight away, especially to someone she didn't trust. Even though Kiyoko wasn't
really in any friend groups, she was well aware of the rumors around school untop
of the ones about herself. Lot's of students didn't seem too fond of the student
council and she could kinda seem why. Plus there was alwya sthe high chance of
no one believing her.

"It's just a bruise. Why do you wanna know?" Kiyoko questioned, setting her textbook to
the side. Even with Makoto stating that she wasn't in trouble, it felt like she was nonetheless.
Feeling like she came off pretty rude, she decided something she could do was tell half-of the truth,
hopefully enough to get the girl of her back. "Look, it was just from volleyball practice. I messed
up a recieeve and the ball hit me in the face pretty hard." She explained, praying the Makoto would
take that and leave. It was honestly the best Kiyoko could come up with on the spot.

In truth, Kiyoko did miss a recieve, she had been off balanced and the ball bounced off her hands
and behind her. It was Kamoshida who yelled at her for doing incorrectly and before Kiyoko had
realized what was even happening, he had rose his fist and brought it down on her cheek. The rest
of the other players had either winced or looked away and Kiyoko had to endure the rest of practice
with a sore face. A guy, whose name she figured out later was Mishima, offered her a gauze
after the fact. Which reminded her she had to thank him later.

Standing up, she put her stuff back in her bag. It was still some time until she actually had to
leave, but Makoto didn't have to know that. Kiyoko had found her anxiety peaking and she felt
like any second now, she'd break and just tell the truth. She had even begun to avoid the brunette's
gaze to her dismay.​

 

[Nellancholy]

While Shiro had plenty else on her mind, the situation regarding the Metaverse had gotten more and more troubling, not less. After all, the app hadn't disappeared, and neither had their Personae.

Kajiki wasn't apparently a "user" of the Metaverse, whatever that meant. His greedy, vain ego and ambition had created the palace and his Shadow in the Metaverse, alongside all the other monsters within. And when his desires were stolen, he lost the will to continue. He never actually knew what was going on. But now it seemed like there were people who knew about it to some degree, and wanted to exploit it...

Shiro glanced around. They weren't that common...yet. But she couldn't help but notice posters or badges of the Order of Metatron here and there. What were they to do, fight them? Do the same to them that they already did to Kajiki? Did they even do anything wrong?

Shiro frowned. She didn't want to see more of Ann than she had to, but...

She sighed and pulled out her phone.

"Hey Panther. You don't have anything better to do, right? I'll be at the gate when you get out."
TreasureSniper That Weird girl

 

[That Weird girl]

Soon Ann was understanding English better thanks to Tsukishima. Unfortunately it was almost time to go home and school to let out so Ann couldn’t finish her question she was working on. But her phone did a little ding and she picked it up from the table seeing a text from Shiro. She had to admit she didn’t expect Shiro to text her at all for at least a couple of days…it must be some pretty urgent stuff then.

“Thanks for helping me out,” Ann said and smiled at him, “but I need to be somewhere with a friend…” Ann packed up her things in the bag earning a hey! From Morgana. The things were hitting him in the back and in the head and he was also still shook from Tsukishima knocking the bag over.

“Got it Heartbreak, I’m bringing Mona with me…also for some reason Agata-San wants to meet with us.”

Unlike Shiro Ann was embracing her new role and was pretty excited to see where the Phantom thieves go next. She was happy now that Kajiki was out of her life and maybe she could do some good and right her wrongs. She didn’t exactly enjoy Shiro’s company but she was all she had that knew about the Metaverse.

School finally let out and Ann hurried past students holding her bag and made sure she wasn’t being followed. She didn’t want nosy Makoto to poke her nose in her business. Why was Sougo asking to see them? Were they in trouble? God the Vice President asking to see her was nervewhacking to say the least. Should she dress up a bit?

Ann walked out of school and saw Shiro waiting near the gate for her. “No way she did not ditch us,” Morgana poked his head out from the bag surprised that she needed them.

——————————————-

“And you didn’t go to the nurse?” Makoto questioned t the girl. She was going to press her more but school let out and she decided to let her off for today. The girl left her alone seeing that she was packing her things and headed towards the meeting that she, Sougo, and Tsukishima were attending.

Ann Takimai was looking suspicious recently and seemed to be up to something. Ever since Kajiki was gone Ann had been carrying a bag that had something in it…and she wasn’t as sneaky as she perceived but she knew that Sougo would probably have it handled.

 

[SirNateUnknown]

Tsukishima smiled warmly at the student as she thanked him for something so trivial, of course he would have done that for anyone. It was not his to judge nor others, rumors are after all not a confirmed fact. Why would he let that influence his judgement? it does more harm than anything and he knew that well first hand.

"No need to mention it Takamaki-san." He uttered to the girl though it seems her mind had already wandered off somewhere else as she seemed to hold her attention to her bag quite closely. Curiosity rose further than ever and was he hearing things? he could swear that there was a cat's voice just now.

Could it be? turning his head to gaze at the light haired student and her bag, he tries to think twice before even dared to utter a word regarding his questions. As absurd as they may sound, his ears couldn't have deceived him. If his suspicions are correct then as a member of the student council, he must scold them. Still squatting down on the ground, he outstretched a hand towards the girl.

His eyebrows knitted together, as his gaze grew sharper. "Takamaki-san, may i check what's inside your bag for a moment?" He whispered, trying his best not to draw any unwanted attention lest more unsavory rumours spread once more. He awaited their answers with utter patience, persistent as he didn't want to let this go till hsi doubt were either debunked or confirmed.

That is till an audible ring came from her phone, well saved by the bell it seems. He could only watch as she rose from her seat and hurriedly packed her things, giving him a quick thank you and left. He could only wonder what on earth made the student's footsteps to leave in such a hurried manner, iit didn't look quite right.

But it was not his to judge nor to ask, matters not. He will have to ask them another time it seems, sighing as he rose onto his feet and took the notes along with his pen into his pockets once more. Dismissing himself from the library, heading down towards the student council room.

 

[TreasureSniper]

At the student council meeting, much of the discussion was directed towards the mundane stuff. However, the most notable takeaway from it was regarding the investigation of the school volley ball team about rumors of physical abuse. There has also been speculation about sexual harassment, but it was difficult to find any hard evidence. Other than that, Sougo had also proposed a school pet to ease the tensions of students. A ridiculous solution, yet no one seemed to oppose him.

Right after school, Sougo patiently waited for the two girls at the gate of the school. Everyone else had already left, so there should be no one else around. "Good to see you both again." He greeted them with his usual business smile, as he took out something wrapped in cloth from his bag.

"It's amazing isn't....how Kajiki just confessed to everything...he seemed really scared of something or better yet...someone. You guys wouldnt happen to know anything about that would you?" Sougo said as he unwrapped the packed object. It was clear he obviously was hinting at their involvement. "Akiyama-san, I believe this is yours.." Sougo finished unwrapping the object, revealing it to be Shiro's flip knife. The boy played with the knife a little, showcasing that he too had experience with such an object.

"Its against the rules to bring stuff like that to school. But seeing that you're still bringing your cat around... you two seem to be the rebellious type." He joked as he put away the blade of the knife and handed it back to Shiro. "So..what do you know about the phantom thieves?" Of course, he was already in the know, but they had no way of knowing that. This was just a test of character. He wanted to see how would they react to the threat of their identity being exposed.

 

[Nellancholy]

By now, the appearance of Ann and (unfortunately) Morgana had become quite familiar. She wasn't (just) some vapid, self-centered girl who'd disregard human decency for the sake of her own comfort. Perhaps there was something resembling...friendship starting to grow between them. Of course, such things never came easy. For one, it seemed she couldn't quite shake the tendency of coming along with annoying men. Right on schedule, she arrived with Agata in tow. And just as quickly, he began with his annoying inquiries.

"You may as well have kept that." Despite saying so, Shiro took the knife from his hand, sliding it back into her pocket. "And thievery?" She stretched out her arm and looked away from him, making a show of examining her short, uneven fingernails. "If you're going to besmirch me, at least try some new and exciting accusations. Perhaps then they will stick. Who knows? Perchance I was behind the fire in the slums last week." Her eyes flicked back for a moment to glare at him. Somehow she got the feeling she had seen him before...once, or twice. "If you're hunting for thieves, you won't find any here. And if you care so much about catching criminals, maybe you should have gone after a knave like Kajiki instead of leaving him for US to deal with." Despite her best efforts, she was genuinely aggrieved. "His greed would not have stopped at consuming my home if I hadn't done something about him! So, spare your concern for people who will listen to the likes of you."

She did her best to keep a straight face as she turned away again and pulled out her phone, sending a message to Ann who was right there.

"How about you at least TRY to run him off? We've got enough to deal with considering how those Metatron people have been popping up more and more lately. Do you know anything about them?"

That Weird girl TreasureSniper

 

[That Weird girl]

Ann watched the two and checked her phone hearing a beep. It was kinda odd texting when she was right there but Agata-san was right there. It was quite a surprise that he was ASKING them about the phantom thieves when they kinda were the phantom thieves. Ann went into a internal panic racking here brain for a response that would run him off, god he was a sneaky ass. Ann always remembered him causing a ruckus for some teachers who he did not like and perhaps even making their life hell. He was quite the intellectual too so Ann could not see herself lying to him easily since he would catch her.

"The phantom thieves? Now Agata-san that is the most ridiculous thing you ever asked," Ann forced a laugh, "besides why would I associate myself with such criminals?" Ann hoped that Sougo would go away from them now even though he knew about them so basically Ann was lying straight to his face and he would be amused by her antic.

"Metatron? You mean the weird cult? I don't know much why do you ask?" Ann turned around and glanced at her phone and typed that out quickly and heaved a sigh, the last thing she wanted was to interact with those people again but they were popping up and causing trouble. She was the perfect person for that cult to pray on, a vapid self centered girl. She was trying to be less self centered now but her reputation was that of a self centered girl.

Nellancholy TreasureSniper

 

[TreasureSniper]

Shiro's response...was amusing, to say the least. Sougo was used to taking verbal abuse from a lot of people, so much so that he learns to read between the lines and what they are actually saying. "You have me mistaken, Akiyama-san. I am not accusing you of anything. I am simply requesting information about apparent perpetrators that call themselves the phantom thieves. Based on the calling card left for Kajiki, it is speculated that they are the ones responsible for his sudden shift in behavior. Some would even say, a change of heart.." And ended the sentence with a grin. "But, I find it interesting that you would self-implicate yourselves like that." He was of course referring to her use of "US" in her previous statement.

"And from Ann's lackluster acting, I can deduce you two have some level of involvement with what happened to Kajiki, if not a direct one. In any case, it doesn't matter to me. In fact, I am curious to see what is their next move." Depending on what they do, this could be a mutually beneficial joint venture. "Though....I'd be more careful about who you share this information to. Not everyone is pleased with having their pawn taken away from them." In the grand scheme of things, Kajiki is just a small pawn. "And they're a lot bigger things out there, that these Phantom thieves might not be able to handle. At least...not alone." He gave a small hint that an alliance was possible and favorable.

"Oh and before I forget.....If you insist on bringing the cat around, you shouldn't put it within the confines of a small school bag. Here." He handed Ann a small collar with a name tag on it. "The school has already approved of having a student body "pet" to "lighten the mood". So it might as well be this cat. As long as it's wearing the tag, the school should allow it to walk around freely. But not in class!" It was important he made that distinction.

On the ground, Sougo could some of the flyers left by the cult folk. "Hmmm a worrying sight." He spoke wondering what to do next.

 

[That Weird girl]

Ann still wasn’t sure if her next encounter with Tusukisima would be pleasant since she kind of ran off from him. Maybe the guy wouldn’t mind now that the school approved pets now but you never know with these student council types…

“Thanks,” she nodded and took the collar and a name tag from the Vice President. She put the collar around Morgana and lifted him out of her bag and onto the ground.

“Ann your bag has so much stuff in it…” Morgana complained and then glanced at Sougo and quickly went quiet. He wasn’t sure who this was but he knew that he was with the school because of his uniform. Morgana then looked on the ground at the flyer left by Metatron not sure what to make about this. Now he knew that there were more worse people than Kajiki out there but he wasn’t sure who would be the next target.

Morgana had a bad feeling about this cult since they seemed like they doing some bad stuff. He was pretty sure they would need more members of Phantom thieves before heading in. He wondered if anyone else could be a Persona in this school but one thing was that he was not going to let Ann try to deny them being apart of the thieves.

 

[Nellancholy]

Finally, they had a bit more room to talk. Shiro had gotten used to acknowledging them as a group of two, avoiding thinking of Morgana as much as possible. Even so, he HAD contributed towards saving their lives, even if it was out of his own ego or a desire to show off. "A collar befits your stature, Morgana." Shiro quipped dryly. "Without a home in that...other place, I suppose you will spend your time loitering around these parts, making a nuisance of yourself as always."

With that out of the way, Shiro looked to Ann, keeping her voice low. "And what do you propose we do now? It seems we are not the only...guests in the Metaverse. I, for one, could hardly care about the affairs of this lofty, dissolute sorceress." That's what she said, but it was certainly true that she had a certain worry. A whole other world made from people's...hearts? And the ability to manipulate it to change people utterly...it still didn't bear thinking about. "Ha, but a bleeding heart like you surely can't keep your nose out of a mystery like this. If you ask nicely, I'll come. And we'll get to the bottom of this."

"Just...the three of us." She wasn't too sure, but the others might be interested in bringing along some backup.

 

[That Weird girl]

Shiro knew her so well...Ann could not keep her nose out of this and she had a feeling that the so called savior was not really a savior and was a fraud who used her power to get what she wanted. Ann was definitely going to do some investigating on the woman online later but now she knew that they needed to find out what was happening before it could get out of control. "Shiro, will you please come with me and Morgana to find out what is going on? Now that we have powers we have to use it for good."

"Looks like we gotta head to Momentos," Morgana said, "best bet to finding the cult leader..."

"Momentos?" Ann asked with a confused face, "whats that?"

"Momemtos is a palace," Morgana explained, "but everyone in society shares it and it has levels to it that go down...if the cult is brainwashing people then we will be able to see it in there...also I have a trick to help us traverse it." Morgana had not a lot of knowledge of the Metamercs but he knew that they were not the only persona users in the Metaverse.

"How do we get there?" Ann asked holding out her phone and it seemed like her question was answered as the world began to turn into red and black and the three found themselves in front of the subway station. Morgana was now a biped cat again and he glanced to the girls to give them a warning, "Now this is a lot more different than Kajiki's palace...we are not the only Persona users out there and some are not as friendly as us and have a broken morality." Ann nodded wondering how tough things could get.

 

[Nellancholy]

"Hm." Shiro's mouth curled into a frown. Just like that, the helmet was on her head again, a leather jacket wrapped a bit too snugly around her. "Would that I never have to see this again..." Morgana's form in the Metaverse was far more unsightly than his form outside of it, and really Panther's wasn't much better. She shouldered her gun like it was a backpack, scanning their surroundings. The structure of the station and the lines seemed vaguely familiar, though as she turned her head to look at the map and schedule, the signboards began to ripple and shift like ink poured into clear water. Of course they did. Nothing could ever be easy in this place.

Shiro allowed herself ten seconds or so of silence. No train came. Which meant that this version of the subway network was probably far more desolate than the other. If only it were the case in the real world as well...lots of movies tended to show people hiding out in subway tunnels and stations, though that was quite impossible in places where they were well-trafficked and frequently monitored.

With disappointment weighing in her heart, Shiro took a step off the platform, the gravel on the tracks crunching under her feet as she started walking. "We didn't come to this decrepit place to sightsee, now did we? Let's go." Despite the fact that they seemed to be the only living things in sight or hearing, she couldn't help but continue feeling uneasy. Like a mouse on the forest floor, or a fly in the spider's web, she felt like there was not one, but many foes lurking just out of sight, waiting to pounce...

 

[That Weird girl]

The metaverse was still a little weird to Ann as she now was dressed in a costume resembling a panther. She held her whip that Sougo gave her in the last dungeon and her gun was holstered on his side. Her confidence was increasing though and she felt like she could handle whatever came her way. She followed Shiro down onto the tracks but Morgana stayed there on the platform which caused Ann to glance back at him with an annoyed face, "Are you coming or not?"

"Walking is for chumps," Morgana said and suddenly transformed into a bus and went in front of Shiro and honked his horn. Ann was quiet as she was really confused on what happened and how Morgana could do this. "I can shape shift," Morgana said to answer their question, "but I swear I am human! I have to be!"

"Well that is pretty nice," Ann commented and walked to the Morgana bus and pet him and then flicked his nose. Ann then got in the bus waiting for Shiro to get in too. The girls would be able to cover more ground now that Morgana could transform into a bus. Ann was pretty sure someone was down here though and would probably try to kill them. But she trusted that they would find the cult leader and take her down before she could raise an army.

"Ow Panther!" Morgana complained, "you as well? Well lets go before someone like that man comes and offers us a deal and you have to act." Ann crossed her arms, "shut up Mona!" It was clear that Ann was kinda a little insecure about herself since she was 16 and that was normal. But she would not let that take her away from the mission and finding the cult leader.

 

[TreasureSniper]

The deeper they went, the more silhouettes closed in on them. The long winding tunnels seemed to be filled with an endless amount of shadows, giant blobs of blackness that were hostile. And yet, strangely some of them seemed afraid of the trio, visibly cowering away as they got closer. "Run! MetaMercs!" One of the shadows shouted, as it awkwardly hobbled away. The shadows here seemed to have mistaken them for something or perhaps someone else.

The ground began rumbling as a massive glowing red shadow migrated to the area. The other shadows seemed to stay of its way, indicating that whatever it was, it was a strong entity that is not to be messed with. "I aint afraid of no MetaMerc!" The shadow proudly shouted, charging forward and grabbing hold of the cat bus, tossing it aside in anger. With the Morgana bus turned over, the shadow reveals its true form.



Shiki Ouji, an exceptionally powerful shikigami. The large shadow raised his hand with arrogance to taunt the group. "Come on then. Strike me!" He was a proud shadow, standing in front of them without a worry in the world. "I dont know what the others are worried about. You guys are nothing compared to me!" The shadow continued boasting knowing it was likely the strongest shadow on the current floor.

 

[Nellancholy]

"I'm not getting inside you, furball." Morgana wasn't necessarily all that suspicious, but he WAS mysterious. No human could turn into such a garish monstrosity, even in this ridiculous dimension. Or...or could they? After all, even she drank that medicine on a pure whim and was healed by it...for a split second she entertained the possibility of transforming herself. Perhaps into a cool motorcycle or something. But quickly, she thought better of it. That'd just be weird, and there was little time to waste.

Ann certainly didn't seem to have any trouble getting in. Shiro sighed and took a seat as well. Despite the red upholstery, it was very fortunate that Morgana's "insides" weren't particularly slimy or moist or smelly. Morgana trundled along at a steady pace, capable at least of "driving" himself well enough. The Shadows before them fell over themselves terrified, scrambling, rolling, or leaping out of his way. That was strange, but welcome. They probably just hadn't seen a car before. She wouldn't want to be run over either, least of all by such an absurd contraption.

It didn't take long for the tunnels to warp and twist, closing in a way that was utterly unlike any human construction. Looking out the window soon grew uninteresting, and there was no sign whatsoever of any clues they could use against the Order. Many strange images and sounds yes, but solid details...

"Argh...!" Shiro's train of thought was derailed as surely as the bus itself. A decidedly flimsy looking creature, talking far too big for a being made of paper decided to challenge Morgana to a wrestling match, hurling him aside. Thank whatever gods were out there that Shiro hadn't closed the windows. Fire filled her again as she stepped off one of Morgana's seats, leaping out through the open window before he even landed. Without even lifting her finger, the visor on her helmet clicked down.

"Bold words for a peasant not worth the paper he's made out of!" Thrud emerged from the flames, her fists clenched. "Yield as your compatriots had the sense to, or fall!" Gripping her lance tight, Shiro charged, entertaining the idea of punching through the Shiki-Ouji as easily as a pencil through paper.

And just as easily as sneezing, Shiki-Ouji swayed to the side, his motion carrying him smoothly into a counterattack with his paper claws. "Dumbass!" The shikigami cackled. "Run at me all you want, I'll fold you just the same!"

Shiro grunted in pain, her back scratched by the Shadow. She set her stance again, eying him closely. Between her and Thrud, they still had the flanking advantage, but...

The other Shadows didn't seem to be spared either. She couldn't see them right now, but she could almost feel them vanishing one by one. Almost as if something else was nibbling at them, like a rat stealing grain...

 

[That Weird girl]

Ann was not so quick and was tossed aside with Morgana to the side which really hurt. "OW!" Ann yelped hitting her head on the top of Morgana which was a weird thing to say...Soon Ann got out of Morgana and joined Shiro and Thrud holding her head and she took out her whip and charged at Shiki-Ouji with him blocking her attack and hitting her with his paper claws. "Guess that is not working," Ann pulled out her submachine gun and fired at the giant paper shadow.

Carmen healed Ann a little and also healed Shiro a little. However the pe4rson who took the most damage was Morgana since he was flung aside like he was nothing. Anger filled him as he returned to his normal form in the Metaverse and blew a giant gust of wind at Shiki Ouji which did stagger him a little for an attack from Shiro or Ann if they chose so.

"HEY! You can't just mess with the phantom thieves like that," Morgana yelled, "Or the coolest member!" Morgana then shot the creature with his slingshot 5 times in the head and followed up with an attack from Zorro who punched it in the face hurting a little. Morgana gulped a little as Shiki-ouji snickered at the cat and reached out and grabbed him, "I am going to fold you..." Carmen then shot a fire bolt at the creature making it drop Morgana on thee ground.

Shiki-Ouji glared at the group as he attacked them all with his paper claws which were really powerful. "No Metamerc ever defeated me!" He then summoned lightening down on the three cackling like a supervillian and he was enjoying this a lot. Maybe he could kill them and gain even more power and influence throughout Momentos.

One thing that Ann was not going to do was die now...after all this and befriending SHiro, well kinda was life changing for her. She had never been this happy before and especially being freed form a toxic relationship.