Chapter Text
“I lost…” the Shadow behind them finally whimpered, Joker quickly pushed herself out of Skull’s arms and stopped Mona’s healing before limping over to him, “It’s over… when you lose…”
Valkyrie had to hold Panther up so she wouldn’t collapse, Mona was nearly on the ground and Skull’s leg was shaking worse than ever. Nobody had the energy or fight to stop Joker from approaching the Shadow alone…
“We finally got you… you’re done,” with a shaky hand she pulled her pistol out, pressing it up against Kamoshida’s forehead, “You tried to take… EVERYTHING from me!” she hissed out, her free hand gripping her bleeding side in pain
“You’re right… go ahead… finish me off… it’s your right… you won, do that and the me in reality will go down too…” his sickening voice didn’t even have a hint of arrogance left, just the dull tone of defeat
“I… I should kill you!! I… I want to!!” her gun started to tremble, her arm was shaking and tears were dripping down her cheeks
“It’s your call Joker…” Mona spoke softly, she couldn’t really tell if he approved or disapproved of killing Kamoshida
“Whatever you decide…” she hadn’t even noticed Skull coming up by her side, “We’re with you”
Valkyrie and Panther stayed quiet, all of the Thieves looked at her with understanding… this choice is MINE to make… I could do it right now, I could kill him for what he did to them… for what he did to me!!… I SHOULD kill him!!
The gun in her hand trembled and shook more until finally… BOOM!!!!
6/23, Thursday
Ren snapped awake in her bed, her bleary eyes blinked rapidly to try and clear the morning sun from her vision before she reached up to rub the sleep out of her eyes. It was in some way a relief for her that her nightmares had been more or less replaced by that memory as of late… The feeling of her glove tightening on the grip. The resistance of the trigger as she pulled it. The thundering sound that rang in her ears as Kamoshida’s Shadow lost his brain. There was something so strangely euphoric about it… It was a thrilling and captivating feeling to experience… The feeling of a life ending by her own hands…
Was it frustrating that the school had a memorial for the bastard? Absolutely. But was it still worth it? Absolutely… Even if he’d only ever be remembered as a good and honest man, she knew that he got what he deserved, she knew that he was burning and rotting in hell for what he did to her… For what he did to all of them…
She sat in bed for a few more minutes before finally rolling out of it to get ready for school. While she was getting ready she couldn’t help but let her thoughts run rampant over everything that had happened since that day…
“I’m glad that you got revenge on Kamoshida, but I’ve got something important that I still need to do… don’t worry, you’ll see me again once I’ve accomplished my goals,” Morgana had grinned up at her that evening, the last evening that she had seen him… None of them had known where in the world the little not-cat could have gone but after several weeks with no sign of him? They had all more or less assumed that he really wasn’t going to be coming back anytime soon…
“You have chosen to stray from your morals… as such, we will no longer be assisting you in any manner,” Lavenza had frowned at her, a look of remorse and regret clearly painted across her face, “I wish you luck in wherever you go from here, Trickster, but this is goodbye,” she still didn’t really understand what the whole deal with the Velvet Room even was, but after a full month without being able to visit the strange place? It was starting to feel more like a distant memory than anything…
Of course, even with Kamoshida out of the way? Things weren’t great… A grimace came across her face as she remembered what she had heard just a few days ago outside of the Principal’s office… A conversation the man seemed to be having with someone on the phone… “Yes, I will require some of it to plant on Kurusu-kun… Not at all, it is certainly worth the risk if I can get that criminal out of this fine school… Yes, exactly, I’ll need it before the first of July…”
Whatever it was that he was going to plant on her? It couldn’t have been anything good… But what was she supposed to do? She had pretty severe doubts that Niijima-senpai would even believe her if she tried to tell her about this… She could tell the other former-Thieves but… What could they do about it?
Her hand tightened into a fist on her bag’s strap as she left the cafe to head to class. She couldn’t help but think that there had to be something she could do about this… There had to be something she could do to stop herself from getting expelled and thrown back in jail…
She tried to keep her mind off of it for now though and tried to keep a faux-happy look on her face as she bumped into her boyfriend on the way to school. She felt bad about lying, of course, but she just couldn’t bring herself to tell Ryuji that she was going to be expelled soon… Of course… he was unfortunately a bit more observant than she would have expected him to be…
“Hey, Renren? Is everything alright?” he asked as they walked off the train together
She hummed softly, acting oblivious as she co*cked her head back at him, “Of course, why do you ask?”
“You just… I dunno… seem kinda outta it lately?” he shrugged a bit, some slight suspicion showing in his gaze
“...just a little tired, sorry,” she offered with as sweet of a smile as she could manage
“You ain’t sleepin well lately?” he of course asked next
She gave a soft giggle before squeezing his hand for a moment, “I promise, it’s fine, just a little worried about my grades is all”
“Pfft, the hell you got to worry bout your grades for? You’re the top of our class,” he shot back with a slight grin, though she could tell that he really said that to call her out for lying…
“Hey, now that I’m at the top I’m expected to keep that position,” she said with a shrug, further digging into her lie
The faux-blonde hummed softly, clearly still not believing her story one bit, but he luckily at least chose to leave it there… Admittedly though she couldn’t quite tell if that was simply because they had arrived at the school, and as such? Had to go their separate ways.
“Ya wanna go runnin after school today?” he asked with a slight hopeful tinge in his voice
“Sorry, I really would but I’ve got something I’ve gotta do today,” she lied with a slight frown, “Tomorrow?”
“Sure,” he shrugged that off easily enough at least
“Good, see you then,” she grinned, leaning forward to peck a kiss on his cheek before she had to quickly leave and get to class
“See ya Renren!” he called back after her, reluctantly going on his own way.
Things seemed normal enough at Shujin, or rather, as normal as they could be… Her classmates still talked sh*t about her constantly, but she did her best to ignore that as much as possible. She waved softly to Ann as she slid into her seat behind the blonde just a few short moments before Kawakami walked into the room to begin the school day, not that Ren was all that focused on that of course…
The Principal might have one of those Palace places… like what Kamoshida had… Maybe I can try to figure out the other keywords so I can get in there and figure out a way to stop him from expelling me… Or something…
The tightness of the trigger. The smoke billowing out of the barrel. Black blood splattered all across the king’s throne.
I don’t want to kill him… but that might be the only way to keep me out of prison…
ARE YOU QUITE CERTAIN THAT WE SHOULDN’T INVOLVE THE OTHERS?
Yes Maupin, I’m certain, for the hundredth time
I SIMPLY ASK BECAUSE YOU DO RECOLLECT WHAT HAPPENED DURING OUR LAST BATTLE, DON’T YOU?
The knife digging into her side. Flesh gored from her ribs. Pain, unending pain.
Kinda hard to forget…
INDEED, AND YET NOW YOU WISH TO VENTURE FORTH ALONE? WHY?
They’ve all moved on, their lives are normal again… I don’t want to drag them back into that weird other world just to help me out again…
I AM QUITE CERTAIN THAT YOUR BOYFRIEND WOULD LEAP AT THE CHANCE TO ASSIST YOU IN ANY MATTER AT ALL
Yeah, he would… but you remember what he said, right?
5/26, Thursday
“Are you feelin alright?” he had started with a frown that evening as the pair laid together on her bed in her attic bedroom
“Hm? Of course… why?” she raised a slight brow at him but he just quickly looked away from her…
“I just… ya know, after what happened with Kamoshida? N’ his Shadow?” he muttered softly, the arm he had draped around her pulled her ever so slightly closer
“...what about it?” she carefully asked, resting her head on his shoulder with a sigh when he didn’t answer for a moment, “Come on, tell me…”
“...I know ya did what you had to do, and I agree that asshole deserved it, without a doubt but… I just keep… I keep seein it in my dreams,” he grimaced, looking back at her at last with worry and dread filling his eyes, “I keep seein the look on his face when you shot him… and I was wonderin if you’ve been losin sleep over it too?”
She hummed softly, frowning ever so slightly… In truth? She had been seeing it… almost every single night… but she wasn’t losing sleep over it at all, if anything? She felt like she was sleeping easier than ever before…
“...n-no, I haven’t really experienced that,” she quietly muttered, averting her eyes out of shame
He just held her a bit tighter though, “Well good… and don’t think I regret anythin, alright? You gave him what he deserved, end of story, and I stand by that”
“Right…” she quietly whispered, guilt already filling her chest…
—
THEN PERHAPS YOU SHOULDN’T KILL THE PRINCIPAL… PERHAPS YOU SHOULD ACTUALLY ENACT THIS ‘CHANGE OF HEART’ THAT ZORRO’S WIELDER HAD EXPLAINED TO US
If I can, I will… I don’t want to kill him… but I am NOT risking traumatizing Ryuji any more than I already have, alright?
…FINE… WE SHALL PROCEED THROUGH THIS TRIAL OURSELVES THEN…
Her grip on her pencil tightened ever so slightly… She was practically counting the seconds before she could enter the Principal’s Palace…
—
“Beginning Navigation,” the voice on her phone chimed at long last
She had to hold in her cheer of excitement when she finally guessed the correct keywords after nearly an hour of just throwing out random words… But finally, finally the world around her began to fade away once more in warbles and tides of black and red…
Power and euphoria filled her body and soul as her clothing erupted into blue flames and changed shape once more. Even after over a full month without venturing into the Metaverse? The clothes fit her just as well as ever.
Joker felt a grin breaking out across her lips as she looked up at the sight of the Cathedral of Wrath… It’s run-down decrepit appearance, it’s shattered windows, the slight glimpses of gargoyle-esc guards patrolling the area… As dangerous as this was? She felt a huge rush of euphoria accompany her adrenaline.
Still, she had to be careful about this… Without her former allies she was weak and potentially frail… And without the Velvet Room she’d be unable to fuse her Personas, leaving her stuck with her current lineup of La Maupin, Kelpie, Jack-o-Lantern and Berith… No healing… I’ll need to rely on Takemi’s meds…
She did her best to carefully and quietly approach the entrance to the courtyard in front of the Cathedral, hiding behind a stone wall so that she could look in and examine enemy patrol routes to try and find the best way forward… Her red gloved hands trembled due to the feeling in the air… It was so different from the Castle… the enemies practically radiated with a menacing red aura that made it abundantly clear that they were on a completely different level compared to the shadows she faced before… The shadows she sometimes struggled to beat even with four other people by her side…
ARE YOU QUITE CERTAIN THAT YOU CAN HANDLE THIS, MY DEAR?
Of course I am… I just need to find the best way forward without getting detected-
In that very same instant? The entire courtyard erupted in massive pillars of Cursed demonic energy! Enormous laughing demon visages erupted from the ground, disintegrating each and every last guard in a single instant…
What the…
“I know you’re there,” a voice called out from nearby just before she saw him…
A figure, wearing a black and blue striped bodysuit, emerged from the Cathedral… It was impossible to see what he looked like though due to the giant helmet that covered his entire head. Joker gulped nervously, if the guards felt stronger than she was ready for then this strange man felt like he wasn’t even the same species as her… His presence was overwhelming and intoxicating… His arrival brought with him a potent and rancid stench of blood… She felt like a mortal meeting a god, like the reality of her own microscopic existence was just laid bare before her…
“Come out, NOW,” the man shouted in a low, gravelly tone, “The Metaverse is simply filled with other intruders recently, isn’t it?”
Taking a single moment to gather her courage, she let her expression firm into a deep and powerful glare as she took a step out from behind cover to look at the stranger…
“Who the hell are you?” the man hissed as he quickly approached her with a hand lingering on the hilt of a longsword at his hip
She considered the question for a moment… Part of her wanted to lie, to make something up, but another part of her felt as if she needed to say something that would affirm her strength in the face of this bizarre man… So perhaps the truth was the better option…
“You hear about the Phantom Thieves?” she carefully asked, her own hand lingering on the dagger at her waist
“The Phantom Thieves?” the man repeated, spitting out the words as if they disgusted him, “...I seem to recall hearing something about them, they pranked a teacher shortly before he died, correct?”
“It wasn’t a prank,” she coldly answered before she pointed at her own chest with her free hand’s thumb, “I’m the one who killed him”
That immediately seemed to give the man pause, just like she had been hoping…
“You?... You mean to say you killed that teacher’s Shadow?” the man let out a single harsh laugh, “Forgive me if I find that hard to believe, what with your strength or lack thereof”
“I’m a lot craftier than you might give me credit for,” she hissed in response through gritted teeth
Something about this man felt wrong to her… There was something in the air, a slight hint of something… A reverberation of anger or… Madness?… It made her uneasy, it made her body wish to tremble, but she couldn’t allow that… She had an idea in her head that if she showed weakness to him? Then she was as good as dead…
“You’re rather lucky you know, Phantom Thief,” he spat out the last two words just like before, “if I were using my full power when you entered I likely would have attacked you on sight”
“What do you mean?” she carefully asked, ever so slightly shifting her position to be more ready for an attack
“What I mean is, when I go all out? It can be… a bit difficult to control myself,” the man huffed out a slight laugh, “And you would have died from a single stroke of my blade, like the weakling you so clearly are”
“I’m not weak,” she growled out
“You’re pathetic,” he brushed her off with a wave of his hand, fully taking his hand off of his sword’s handle as if to say that she wasn’t a threat at all, “But more importantly… what the f*ck are you doing here?”
“I’m here to find a way to stop the Principal from expelling me,” she hastily answered in a huff of anger before she had a chance to second guess herself…
Joker flinched slightly at her own words… She knew that she shouldn’t have said that much, now this strange man could potentially figure out who she is in reality… But it was too late now…
The man seemed to consider her words for a moment though, even if she couldn’t see his face? She had a feeling he was looking at her with an unamused expression if the way his arms were folded were any indication…
“And how do you intend on doing that? Are you planning on killing the fat oaf?” he lightly tapped one of his armored fingers against his elbow as he spoke
“If I have to? Yes,” she whispered her answer, tightening her grip on her dagger more and more with each passing second
The strange man laughed, fully and completely laughed, at that… He sounded utterly demented as his laugh became more of a cackle… He laughed and laughed like it was the funniest thing he’d ever heard in his entire life… All the while Joker’s glove creased as her grip on her dagger tightened to the point that she was certain she’d crack the hilt…
After a few more moments the man’s laughter finally died down, his head co*cked slightly at her as he made a slight scoff sound, “How amusing… really though you should do yourself a favor and leave before you get yourself killed like the pathetic little girl that you are”
That was the last straw, she had had more than enough of this asshole’s condescending attitude. In spite of any potential self preservation instinct she had left? She lunged forward, pulling her dagger out in a swift motion to hold the blade right against the man’s throat. At the same time her knee slammed hard right in between his legs while her other hand grabbed at her pistol and pointed it firmly into his stomach.
He let out a slight groan from the knee, though not nearly as much as she had expected, before he growled like a rabid animal… She held firm though, holding both of her weapons against his body, using every last bit of bravery she had to not tremble and shake out of fear…
“I can take care of myself, thanks,” she whispered practically right against his helmet, “Now shut up and get the hell out of my way”
The man laughed again and she could just barely see the faintest hint of red eyes glaring at her beneath his helmet, “I’m surprised you had that in you Phantom Thief!”
“The name’s Joker,” she calmly answered, digging the barrel of her pistol a bit more into the man’s gut, “Now, are you going to get out of my way or am I going to have to kill you too?”
“‘Joker’, hm?” the man hummed for a moment
She could feel his gaze analyzing her, but it wasn’t the same as before… This didn’t feel like a threat assessment, this felt like… Well, she wasn’t quite sure… Something about it made her feel uneasy though all the same…
“...I’ll put it like this… regardless of how rash and foolish you can be? You aren’t nearly strong enough to take down the fat f*ck ruling this Palace,” the man explained in an overly calm tone for a man with a dagger at his throat, “However… there might be a chance that this could work out for the both of us”
“Spit it out,” she hissed, pressing her blade more firmly against his, admittedly armored, throat
“...I can help you… I can show you how to fight and even help you kill this rotten bastard,” he calmly explained
“Yeah? And what’s in it for you?” she quickly shot back
“Well… I’ll admit that I don’t really need anything from you, least of all your help, but… there’s something about you that I like… perhaps we could even work together, as rivals, if this goes well,” the man sounded slightly different than he had before… there was more composure, more peace, in his tone… she didn’t think that he was lying about this offer
“Say I accept…” she quietly started, furrowing her brow slightly as she considered the offer, “What happens next?”
“Well, firstly, you’d put your f*cking gun away… after that? I’d teach you how to fight using the shadows here as training,” the man calmly explained
As much as she was uncertain about this? She lowered her weapons, slowly and casually putting them back on her hips as she took a few steps away from the man. All the while he just kept his eyes on her, his posture quickly shifting back to a more neutral pose, as if she hadn’t just threatened his life…
“...Fine… I’ll accept your deal, but I have one question first,” she asked, to which he made a hand gesture to tell her to continue in response, “What do I call you?”
“Hm…” the man hummed, folding his arms casually as he seemed to really consider her question for a few moments, “You can call me… Karasu”
