The Indeterminable Breaking Point
4/12/16
Shujin Academy
Yuki couldn’t focus on classes that day. After learning that Suguru Kamoshida still possessed a palace in this reality, she couldn’t bear to let anything happen this time around. However, everything has changed, from the point of infiltration to Morgana not being available as of yet, to even Ryuji’s position of knowing which students are already being abused.
Everything threw her for a loop; honestly, she wondered if the knowledge she has of Kamoshida’s Palace back in her own timeline was even accurate to some degree. She would hate it if she relied on her knowledge of the layout within Kamoshida’s Palace from once upon a time ago in another reality only to find discrepancies and accidentally lead the team into a trap.
Anyway, she has three utmost priority objectives to accomplish to be able to storm the castle.
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The first includes recruiting Morgana and Ann. She remembered that she was supposed to visit the Velvet Room; on the other hand, she was unsure how she would access it this time. In the previous reality, Yaldabaoth had permitted her access to the Velvet Room at certain locations, in addition to within the Metaverse and Mementos. That also does not count the various times she was dragged into the Velvet Room within her dreams. This time around, the real Igor and her Velvet Room attendants Lavenza and Felix were there to guide her, with no crucial need for her to keep an eye out. Regardless, Morgana would be waiting for her the next time she came by; his presence on the team is crucial to manpower and especially navigation and support since Futaba is still keeping her isolated.
For a split second, Yuki contemplated whether anyone else outside of the Phantom Thieves she knew would be able to harness the power of a Persona if they also got exposed to the Metaverse; she would imagine some people could, but she’d have no way of ascertaining for certain. That being said, it would help in not over-exerting themselves too much earlier on. She remembered the time when she was still fresh to the whole Metaverse phenomenon; it tired Ren out so much he went straight to bed; with time, that lessened somewhat. However, finding more members wasn’t an absolute priority; she didn’t want to drag people who weren’t willing or able to deal with everything the Metaverse presents, figuratively as well as literally.
Besides, the four of them (Ann, Ryuji, Morgana, and herself) were able to accomplish the feat by themselves with the prep of course.
The second is to determine whether certain events can be altered or negated entirely. Yuki’s mind drifts to Shiho; if she was able to change the scope of this timeline to save Shiho and some other events, she would.
The third objective is to scope out the differences in the Metaverse and reality between this reality and the one she (really, he) came from. She did not want any surprises to trip her up; they could make or break her strategies and her ability to use her prior experience to her advantage. As she expected, this would be difficult to gauge right from the very beginning.
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The end of school rolled by; she was about to meet up with Ryuji to discuss their plans for what they should do next; Ryuji already had information on the students being abused, and Yuki the knowledge of her previous experience (though she didn’t reveal anything to Ryuji yet).
Just then she got a call. Her ringtone started playing. She picked up.
A male voice spoke up. “Trickster.”
Yuki was confused. “Is that you, Felix? I’m surprised that Velvet Room attendants know how to operate the phone.”
Felix scoffed. “Miss Yuki, we Velvet Room attendants are not as bewildered by the world as you may think. I’m more accustomed to the world outside the Velvet Room than many of my other siblings, if you require an explanation.” He cleared his throat. “Moving on, the Master has instructed me to inform you that you may drop by the Velvet Room as soon as you can. He has seen fit to locate the Velvet Room entrance in several locales, all of which you may be familiar with. You will need your key to unlock the Velvet Room door in order to enter.” His voice dropped as he seemed to be listening to something. “He also has informed me that Morgana is now available for you to come by… and assist you on your journey.”
Yuki nodded. “All right, I’ll stop by today. Are these entrances located in the same areas I am accustomed to seeing them at?”
Felix cleared his throat. “Yes, please be sure to have your Velvet Room Key on hand at that time. If you do not possess it, you will not be granted access within.”
The line dropped.
Yuki shot a quick message over to Ryuji. Sorry, I have something I need to do. I’ll also start prepping for when we return to that castle.
Ryuji sent back a message. It’s fine. I think we also need to prep; I don’t want to go back to that castle and be a sitting duck. In the meantime, I’m going to find Shiho Suzui. You may not know her, but she’s Takamaki’s friend and a player on the volleyball team. She also seemed to be the most open out of everyone on there; I’m going to try and ask her to step forward. There also seems to be rumors about her and the treatment she received from Kamoshida.
Yuki messaged back. Right, just be careful. If she’s definitely abused, then you might make her panic or remember some bad details. Also, try not to be too suspicious or blunt; we don’t need Kamoshida to catch wind of this.
She pockets her phone and heads out of the classroom. She was about to descend the flight of stairs when Kamoshida walked by and saw her. Speak of the devil.
“Amamiya-san, welcome to Shujin.”
Yuki grits her teeth but maintained a neutral demeanor. “Thank you. Can I help you with something?”
Kamoshida was seriously not trying hard to cover his disgusting tendencies. “You have a nice figure and a limberness to you. Why don’t you join the volleyball team? We could use more fit people.”
Yuki put on a forced smile. “I already have a job that I have to go to after school, a job at my guardian’s cafe. I should really get going right now; if I don’t get there soon, he may call me or even the police.”
Kamoshida stepped in front of her. His voice took on a more sinister tone. “Might I ask you to reconsider that decision? I won’t ask you to commit to it every day; I’d hate for you to write off this. The volleyball team is what Shujin’s famous for, with my coaching; wouldn’t you agree that joining the volleyball team would allow for you to gain more opportunities later on?”
Yuki kept on her forced smile. “I’ll certainly think about it, but for now the answer is…”
A voice rang out. “Mr. Kamoshida, let her go!”
Kamoshida was peeved by that interruption that he turned to look. Yuki craned her head to look as well while keeping Kamoshida in her field of vision. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Mishima.
That was surprising; Mishima was apparently not Kamoshida’s lackey this time around and was jumping in to intervene. She could remember that the Mishima of her reality had been abused to no end by Kamoshida that he fell into doing Kamoshida’s dirty work.
Mishima walked up to them and inserted himself between them. “Mr. Kamoshida, what are you doing to her? She clearly looked uncomfortable talking to you.”
Kamoshida chuckled. “Isn’t personal recruitment supposed to mean engaging with them in a conversation?” His face hardened. “Mishima, back off. We were just having a productive conversation about her possibly joining.”
Mishima astonishingly stood his ground, despite being completely dwarfed by Kamoshida. “She clearly said she wasn’t interested multiple times. Shouldn’t you let her go if she’s not interested no matter what you say?”
They stared at each other. A crowd was beginning to form around this sight, students eager to see them throw down with each other. Finally, Kamoshida had enough; he didn’t want a spectacle to come about this. He shot a venomous look at Mishima and lumbered off.
Mishima untensed and looked at Yuki. “Amamiya-san, right?”
Yuki nodded. “That’s right. You’re in my class too, isn’t that right? Your name is Mishima Yuuki.”
Mishima sheepishly laughs. “You got me. Are you doing okay?”
Yuki nodded. “Fine. I had it handled, but thanks for stepping in to help.”
Mishima nods. “No problem. Kamoshida-sensei certainly gives me the creeps; I’m happy I stepped in to diffuse that. Who knows what might have happened? I have friends in the volleyball team that look completely beat up. They refuse to say anything to me, even though I worry about them. I don’t want you to end up like them.”
Yuki smiles. “You’re a good guy, Mishima. You sure you stepped in to help me and not to score brownie points with me?”
Mishima blanched and blushes. “No, no, no… I mean you’re a girl, but... I didn’t... want you to accidentally get hurt.”
Yuki grinned. “How sweet. I’m fine, though. I can take care of myself.”
Mishima groaned. “You sure do act like a gaijin. With your looks, I would have you pegged for one. You sure?”
Yuki nodded. “Perfectly fine. I’m not going to be someone who doesn’t show any gratitude, however.”
Mishima seemed content with her answer; he walked off, tilting his head in acknowledgment.
Yuki found herself before the Velvet Room door near Untouchables. In another reality, she was Ren Amamiya, manipulated by someone he thought he could trust to assist him throughout his journey. It was laughable when he found out the person assisting him had been an imposter, who was actually pulling the strings all along as the Holy Grail and seeking to dispose of anyone who opposed it.
She breathed in and breathed out, then she rummaged for her Velvet Room key. She found it and brought it out. It resonated, then swung open. She stepped through the door and found herself in the chair in the flight cabin. Igor was sitting at a table across from her, flanked by both Felix and Lavenza.
Igor smiled. “Welcome, Trickster. It is your first time visiting the Velvet Room, of your own accord, with many times to come. Now, we must discuss the duties Felix and Lavenza will occupy.”
Yuki was confused. “By the way, I have been meaning to ask. How are you going to fuse personas in here? You can’t exactly fit a guillotine in here, much less two.”
Igor nodded. “There are more ways than just that. By the way, that is what Felix will be doing, in the meantime. He will be in charge of Fusion, and as you know, as you grow stronger, more and more methods of fusing and indeed, execution, will be made available to you.” He gestured to Lavenza. “Lavenza will be in charge of your Compendium, in addition to the Lockdown status, once you have attained that.”
Yuki nodded. “Speaking of the Compendium, do I retain my Compendium from the previous reality?”
Igor tapped his fingers. “Unfortunately, it does not seem so. Owing to your current existence as another version of yourself, it does not stand to reason that whatever progress you may have carried over to this reality. However, I will be fortuitous and grant you the fusion recipes you carefully have cultivated in the previous reality.”
He drummed his fingers. “Now, onto business. Originally, the former Yuki Amamiya never had a Velvet Room guide aside from Felix to assist her in her journey. Considering your circumstances and your familiarity, we have both agreed that Morgana will likely be a great aid to your present journey as the Trickster of this reality. As such, I have used my power to create him.” He shifts his voice. “My dear Morgana, please show yourself to our esteemed guest.”
Footsteps rang out from the private cabin behind Igor. As the door opened, she looked downwards and expected to find the lovable bipedal furball she kept toting in her bag. All she saw were shoes.
Yuki was confused. Shoes? She looked upward slowly, taking in what she saw. When she came to Morgana’s face, she gaped in pure shock. Who is this!? This isn’t the Morgana I know. Who is this imposter?
A velvety voice emanated. “My name is Morgana. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”
Yuki, mouth still agape, looked at Lavenza. “Who made Morgana a human?”
Lavenza smiled. “Master did, of course. At first, he did make Morgana into a cat as he had done previously, but Morgana made some very convincing arguments for why he should have been a human.”
Yuki gulped. Human Morgana looked visually stunning; at the same time, it just didn’t sit well with her. “Does he still have memories from the previous timeline?”
Lavenza shook her head. “In this case, he is very much a tabula rasa; on the other hand, we did fill him in on some information about what happened in the previous timeline. That being said, he’s not the same Morgana you once knew.”
Morgana, for those of you wondering, was tall, well-built, and looked like an actor with his looks, with parted black hair, stunning blue eyes, and a smile that would sweep anyone off their feet.
Yuki gestured to him. “So I’m taking care of him? I’m not paying for his rent, you know. Yuki’s parents would kill me if I asked something like that. Also, is he going to school or what? He looks like he’s high-school-aged.
Lavenza waved her hand. A folder and a briefcase appeared. Yuki immediately got suspicious at the sight of that briefcase. “The folder is some cognitive actualization we’ve done to help him get transferred into Shujin. We also made sure that the paperwork looks legitimate, along with the grades. The briefcase… well, you’re going to have to ask your caretaker to help take him in. Offer him half of it for the next 9 months; the other half will be his allowance.”
Morgana walked over to her. “Hey, gorgeous. Might I ask you for a…?”
That was far as he got before Yuki had enough and knocked him out with a whack to his sensitive area. He keeled on the ground, groaning. Yuki was sufficiently creeped out; she never expected Morgana to try to put a play on her. “You know, I never really wanted to imagine this could happen, but now that it did, I’m putting my foot down. Mona, get your sorry ass up. We’re leaving. Don’t ever hit on me again. If I don’t see you up, I’m leaving you here.”
Morgana rubbed his head as he got up, groaning. “She sure is temperamental. Coming! I want to live life outside the Velvet Room as a human!”
When they left, Lavenza sank downwards, exhausted. Felix smirked. “He sure is a handful. I’m glad that the Trickster can restrain him like that; he can be quite the feisty person.”
Lavenza sighed. “You don’t know the half of it, Felix. Believe me, Morgana seems quite more tempered here than back there.”
Shujin
Roughly around the same time frame
Ryuji was looking for Shiho Suzui. Hopefully, she hadn’t left the premises just yet. However, he was having trouble finding her. He even checked the rooftop and other areas where students would hang out after school.
Eventually, he found her in the courtyard. Ann was talking to her; he figured, since they were best friends and rather attached to the hip together. When he broke up with Ann, Shiho surprisingly didn’t cut ties with him, messaging him every now and then. If only Shiho could have reined in Ann… he shook his head. He was seriously here for a different matter, something far more serious.
Ryuji approached Shiho. “Suzui-san. Takamaki.”
Ann was peeved. “The hell was with that greeting, Sakamoto? You think you can muster up a little more emotion?”
Ryuji sighed. Ann, ever the drama queen. “By your own standards, you should be grateful I’m even talking to you willingly after everything you’ve done, including to me and others. I’ll have my own little lecture with you about what happened today. For now…” He turned to Shiho. “Can we have a chat? Privately, in the student council room.”
Shiho was interested. “What did she do that should warrant a lecture from you, Student Council President?”
Ann hugged Shiho and stuck out her tongue. “You’re not taking Shiho away from me! We promised to go shopping this afternoon in Roppongi!”
Ryuji sighed. “That's the Acting Student Council President to you. I haven’t usurped the position from Niijima-san. As to your question, Suzui, she did a PDA to one of our newest transfer students.”
Shiho was not surprised. “That’s Ann for you. I am surprised that she kissed someone. Transfer student… Do you mean that 2nd year girl that shares the same name as that idol?”
Ryuji nods. “That’s the one. Anyways, Suzui, this won’t take long. I just need to ask you something.”
Ann points a finger. “Hey, why are you ignoring me!? I want to sit in.”
Ryuji shakes his head. “Takamaki, this is private for both me and her. This is in regards to those rumors about her.”
Ann wags her finger. “Well, the Shujin rumor mill is wrong. Shiho, are any of those true!?”
Ryuji could see Shiho shake with some emotion. Fury or disgust, or perhaps sadness? “No, they’re not.”
Ann poses triumphantly. “There! You see, Shiho says there’s nothing wrong. Drop it, Ryuji.”
Ryuji is exasperated with how the conversation is going. Fine, he’ll pull out that card. “As part of the Student Council, it’s my duty to ensure that the students are doing fine. Shiho, I just want to confirm that in a more private location.”
Ann looked reluctant to buy it, but Shiho nodded. “Go, Ann. We’ll still have time to go shopping. Besides, Ryuji said it won’t take long. He’s just looking out for us as someone who’s elected to the Student Council.”
Ann looked unconvinced, but she let it go. “Alright, I’ll be in Shibuya then. Meet up at the Shibuya Underground Mall?”
Shiho smiled. “You got it.”
Ryuji nods. “Suzui, if you’ll follow me.”
They began the trek towards the Student Council room. Shiho remained silent; it only stands, since she and Ryuji never properly had a lengthy conversation, particularly in person.
It seemed like no time had passed when they got to the Student Council room.
Ryuji opened the door and gestured. “Suzui, please sit.”
Shiho sat down. Ryuji took a seat opposite her. “Suzui, are what the rumors saying about you true?”
Shiho shook her head. Ryuji sighed. “Shiho, you can drop the act.”
Shiho was confused. “What act?”
Ryuji looks at her. “I know. I could notice the demeanor you gave around Ann. It felt forced to me. You can come out to me, Shiho. I’m the only one here. I promise no one else apart from my partner will hear this, especially Kamoshida. My partner and I are working to expose Mr. Kamoshida’s crimes and get him fired. However, no one else from the volleyball team had said a word, despite my best attempts to grant them anonymity. You’re the only one, Shiho. Don’t let him get away with this.”
Shiho slumps down. “You knew that my cheerful self was all just an act?”
Ryuji scratches his head. “Sorry. I didn’t mean you shouldn’t have done that. You didn’t want to worry Ann, I understand that. However, she’s your friend, Shiho. If you keep this to yourself and if something happens to you, she’ll never forgive you for not telling her nor herself for not picking up the signs.”
Shiho half-heartedly nods. “You wanted to know about what Mr. Kamoshida does?”
Ryuji put on a very disgusted grimace. “That man… he has to go. The only thing is, everyone involved is too afraid to speak out against him. Shiho, I need your help if we’re to deal with him. Otherwise, he’ll just keep abusing the volleyball team. Suzui, will you--.”
Shiho yelled. “You don’t know anything!”
Ryuji was stunned, falling silent. In all his time, Shiho had never been one to yell. She had always been quiet, in school. She always kept to herself, hanging out with Ann mostly besides her volleyball practice.
Shiho repeated in a whisper. “You don’t know anything, Sakamoto…”
Ryuji brought up the nerve to respond. “Enlighten me, Suzui. If I’m to have any chance with ensuring Mr. Kamoshida desists from his abuse and that he pays for his crimes, I need to know everything.”
Shiho covers her face with her hands. “Sakamoto… I’ll tell you everything. I’ll tell you about the monster that is Mr. Kamoshida.”