(Took a bit longer than I hoped, but work has been crazy with the holiday deadlines. Updates will probably be a bit unstable until after the 10th of Jan. From there I am hoping things stabilize a bit more and I can go back to one chap a week, but hopefully more.)
— –Ren Amamiya– —
Leaning against the station wall, Ren rolled the stem of a poppy between his fingers. He'd found it growing through one of the cracks in the pavement, a slight burst of red in the grey of the city. While Shinjuku always had its decorative planters and trees to brighten the city, lately things had begun to feel… different.
He cast a glance around the station exterior. It wasn't just this one flower. Nature seemed to be reclaiming the city in subtle, vibrant ways. The hedges looked fuller, the trees greener, and stray blooms were popping up in places they had no right to be, from gutters to the edges of the sidewalk. Even the people passing by seemed infected by it. He spotted a woman rushing past in a dress covered in sunflowers, and a salaryman adjusting a floral lapel pin.
Maybe it was just a coincidence. Maybe he was just looking for patterns where there were none. But the city felt less suffocating than usual. Flowers were supposed to bloom in spring, not in the heat of summer. Yet, here they were, thriving.
He let the poppy spin between his thumb and forefinger one last time before looking up at the sky. Today, they were going to awaken a new Persona. He hadn't really sat down and considered the weight of that in a long time, but despite all their battles, there was still so much they didn't understand.
What is a Persona, really?
He remembered the answer he'd found while digging through psychology textbooks in the library with Makoto. In simple terms, a Persona was the mask you wore to face the world, a necessary armor to navigate society. Tartuffe, his own Persona, represented that concept with terrifying clarity.
Ren was an impostor. He was a hypocrite. He was an actor.
Tartuffe was a reflection of that internal truth. The entity had no real face, no true voice; it possessed only the imitations and shapes it had stolen from other shadows. Ren had been forced to wear a mask for the sake of his survival his whole life, and for the longest time, he believed that even "Ren Amamiya" was just another costume he zipped up in the morning.
The moment the thought crossed his mind, he felt Tartuffe stir within the depths of his soul. It was a low hum, almost like a chuckle at the irony of it all. Ren looked down at the ground, staring at his own shadow stretching across the pavement. For a second, the silhouette didn't seem to match his posture; he could almost swear it was looking back at him, amused.
Tartuffe didn't need to speak for Ren to understand him. After all, they were one and the same.
The connection brought a genuine smile to his face, and in the end, he couldn't help but let out a quiet chuckle, harmonizing with the presence inside him.
Maybe... maybe that's where he'd gone wrong all this time.
He had spent so long viewing himself as nothing but a collection of masks. It was hard not to, given his circumstances. But when he looked in the mirror these days, he didn't see a stranger anymore. He didn't see an impostor. He saw himself.
Perhaps that was why he had always hated taking pictures before. He'd made excuses about being camera-shy, but deep down, he had felt strange seeing his own face reflected back at him. It felt uncanny.
It hadn't felt right back then. But, for some reason, it did now.
Ren Amamiya wasn't the mask. Maybe he never had been. The actor and the role... they had always been pretty similar, after all.
He felt the shadow under his feet stir at the thought, and Ren couldn't help but narrow his eyes slightly as he looked at it. Personas weren't supposed to be able to manifest in the real world, at least not without a lot of strain, and not without an evoker. While Tartuffe hadn't fully manifested, this was still far more than should be possible.
Still, the more he focused, the more he felt Tartuffe, just barely out of reach, under his feet.
"How long have you been lurking down there, buddy?" Ren muttered under his breath, half-expecting a response. Yet, instead of answering, his Persona simply pulled back. The sensation vanished, leaving the shadow underneath him as just that, a shadow cast by the afternoon sun.
Part of him wanted to roll his eyes at Tartuffe's theatrics, but another part understood. Just because Ren was pulling back his own mask a little, it didn't mean his other self was ready to drop the act just yet. It felt strange, knowing that your own Persona, your own soul, was keeping secrets from you. But perhaps that was exactly what he deserved.
Tartuffe was a reflection of himself, after all. Maybe one day they'd be able to have a proper conversation like Shiho and Circe used to have all the time.
Which brought him back to his original train of thought. There was still so much they didn't know about Personas and the cognitive world.
The biggest example was Circe herself. Not long after Shiho had used her Theurgy for the first time, Circe had transformed into Selene. The very fact that Personas could transform, or evolve, was something he hadn't ever expected. But it was also something they needed to learn more about if they were going to survive what was coming.
Could Tartuffe evolve too? If so, what were the requirements? Could Selene evolve again?
Then there was Yusuke, who had somehow managed to form a closer bond with his persona. His mask had changed slightly, and in turn, he'd somehow become one of the most competent members in their team in just one infiltration. If everyone else managed to achieve something similar, just how much stronger would they become?
Judging by just how careful they had to be with Okumura's Palace, that was strength they would need. Because who's to say just how much stronger the defenses and the shadows in the heads of the Antisocial Force would be.
Before he could get lost in thought, his eyes finally caught a glimpse of the person he'd been waiting for.
"Haru!" He called out.
At his call, she turned to look at him, her face instantly brightening as her steps quickened, nearly skipping the last few meters to reach him.
Watching her approach, Ren couldn't help but feel somewhat conflicted. On one hand, he'd given her the chance to have the power to act. But on the other, he was leading her into danger. Into the Palace of her father, where she would have to see his true face.
It was something he'd really wanted to avoid. Maybe it was selfish, but he didn't want to see the spark leave her eyes, like it had done with Yusuke. The artist lived for painting, but even now, he could barely find the inspiration to paint. It was a heavy burden, and it was one that Ren himself had placed on his friend. He didn't want to repeat the same mistake with Haru. He wanted to try to preserve the kindness in her smile.
But in the end, maybe the mistake would have been to not have given her the choice. From what Mona had told him, after infiltrating Okumura's house, Haru was already starting to lose that spark.
Caring for people was exhausting.
"Is that for me?" Haru's voice broke through his thoughts, sounding light and teasing.
Ren blinked, before realising that he was still holding the small poppy in his hand. As he lifted it, a small, pale butterfly fluttered off from its petals, catching the sunlight before drifting away.
"It is now." Ren answered with a genuine smile as he offered the flower to her.
Haru grabbed the poppy, admiring it for a few seconds before placing it in her hair.
"You really like poppies, don't you?" She asked him with a light giggle. "Hibiscus flowers were my favorite, but I have to say, these ones are really growing on me."
"I just think they are neat." He answered, causing her soft smile to grow as they began to walk towards a more private corner to enter the Metaverse.
— –Haru Okumura– —
Standing in the center of the expansive living room, Haru looked up at the massive portrait dominating the wall. It was a painting of her mother and her father, commissioned years ago based on an old picture of her parents. In the oil and canvas, they looked so happy. Her mother's smile was gentle, and her father's eyes held a warmth that she hadn't seen in reality for a very long time.
"Father, I'm heading out for some time." Haru spoke up, her voice soft but steady. She didn't turn her eyes from the painting, afraid that if she looked at the real man, the resolve she was building might falter.
"Are you going to that coffee shop again?" Her father asked her.
"Yes." She answered, finally turning around to look at him after taking a deep breath..
Kunikazu Okumura sat at the dining table, eating his breakfast with mechanical precision while absentmindedly answering messages on his tablet. He didn't even glance up at her.
He was probably scheduling another meeting, or perhaps reviewing stock prices. He'd been especially busy ever since the masquerade. Busy, but in an overwhelmingly good mood. There was a manic energy to him lately. After that night, he'd finally allowed her to leave not only her room, but the house again. It was almost as if he'd forgotten just how badly she'd done on her exams.
Perhaps he thought that she'd learned her lesson. Or perhaps, in the grand scheme of his ambitions, it simply didn't matter anymore. After all, now he had far more important things to worry about than her.
Part of her felt hurt by the thought, but another felt strangely relieved. Because for the first time in a while, she could move freely.
"Hey dad…" She muttered quietly, low enough that he didn't even seem to register her words. "I'll make things right."
He didn't respond. He didn't even pause.
With a heavy heart, Haru turned her back on him. Leaving her house, she finally stepped out into the city, the summer air feeling like a breath of freedom.
To be honest, she wasn't sure what she was supposed to expect when Ren had offered her the chance to join the Phantom Thieves. She'd spent her fair share of lonely nights scrolling online, reading wild theories on the Phan-Site about how they stole the hearts of their targets. Mind control? Magic? Blackmail? In a way, some of the wilder theories had actually gotten closer to the reality than the skeptics realised.
A few days after the masquerade, immediately after regaining her freedom, she'd gone to Leblanc to meet with Ren.
It was funny, she'd seen a picture of his room back during the park cleanup that their school had organized. But it wasn't until she stepped in that she realized just how beautiful a garden he had created. A garden dedicated to one singular flower.
It was almost endearing…. No, not almost. It was incredibly endearing. A little too much for her heart to handle in that moment.
As someone who spent her days talking to vegetables on the school roof, she knew what she was looking at. All those flowers were so unbelievably well taken care of. The leaves were glossy and firm, the soil perfectly aerated, the stems strong. She'd never seen flowers so healthy and vibrant in such an unlikely environment. It was clear just how much patience, care, and affection Ren had put into the garden he'd created in his room.
Just sitting there, breathing in the scent of damp earth and greenery, was enough to put her in a good mood. It made the room feel less like a hideout and more like a sanctuary.
Really, maybe she had his green thumb to thank for how well she'd taken the explanation.
Makoto and Ren had sat across from her, spending a few hours explaining everything to her about the Metaverse, Personas, and Palaces. It was a story so outlandish, so filled with cognitive pseudoscience and monsters, that she had almost thought they were playing a cruel prank on her. But in the end, she could see it in their eyes. They were being completely genuine.
It felt like a fairytale. A dark, twisted, wonderful fairytale.
Going into the minds of those whose desires had been corrupted, and stealing said corrupted desires to help the people come to their senses. It was the kind of magic she had always wished existed.
Now, as she walked down the steps of the subway station with Ren, she couldn't help but take in a deep breath. She had braced herself for stale air or a heavy atmosphere, but what greeted her was not the familiar, crowded concrete platform she used from time to time.
It was a beautiful garden.
"This is beautiful." She couldn't help but mutter as she hurried down the stairs, for a moment, she even ignored the other people waiting for her at the station as she knelt down to look at the flowers.
They looked unlike any she'd seen before, they were familiar, but at the same time, they all looked unique. Almost as if she were stumbling onto a garden filled with entirely new flowers. Makoto had described this place as the Collective Unconscious, as the amalgamation of everyone's minds. She'd described it as a dark and gloomy place at times. But looking around her, she couldn't help but feel slightly overwhelmed.
Finally landing her eyes on Ren, whose outfit had changed, just as they'd told her it would, she couldn't help but ask him.
"Did you grow these flowers here?" She asked, breathless.
"Kinda?" Ren answered her, tilting his head slightly as he looked at the flowers around her.
"We brought the first set of seeds, but it was Jose who planted all of them here." Another voice called out, and as she turned she saw a blonde man with a skull mask. Ryuji Sakamoto, going by the explanation they'd given her. "Kid's weird, but he's nice."
"Jose…" Haru echoed, remembering the vague story that Ren had told her about the kid who was somehow connected to the place. A guardian of the metaverse, or something like it. According to Makoto, if "Oracle", their navigator, couldn't find her Shadow, then they'd probably have to ask him for help. "So he's the reason for the flowers…"
"Well… if you think about it, in a way, you're kind of the reason the Metaverse ended up like this." Another voice called out, and as her eyes finally landed on him, she couldn't help but let out a massive smile.
"Mona! Is that you!" She called out, completely abandoning decorum as she rushed the weird talking cat. She scooped him up, scratching behind his ears. "My goodness, you can really talk! Look at you! You're so soft!"
For a moment, she'd been so lost by the sudden appearance of what appeared to be a living mascot character that she hadn't registered his words. However, as the initial excitement settled, she paused, tilting her head while still holding the cat.
"Wait... me?" She finally asked, glancing around at the vibrant ecosystem surrounding them.
"Yeah. You were the one that got Ren obsessed with gardening, weren't you?" Ryuji answered, letting out a slight chuckle as he watched Mona squirm but ultimately accept the affection. "That gave him the idea to bring seeds from the real world down here to see what happened. Which spiraled into... this."
Haru let out a quiet giggle as she heard him, she turned to Ren, who was busy discussing something with a short girl with orange hair, Oracle, or well, Futaba Sakura. The two of them appeared to be trying to find something and after a moment they seemed to have discovered it as they began to walk in her direction.
"Alrighty, I found her Shadow. She's actually not that far down, but it took me a bit longer since she was hidden away in one of the floors. If all goes well, this should be fairly simple." Futaba told them as she adjusted the visor on her face, walking up to Mona and giving him a nudge. "Your turn, Catomobile."
"Catomobile? Really?" Mona grumbled, slipping out of Haru's hands and jumping down to where she could faintly see some train tracks under all of the flowers.
"It's the next best thing since you said I wasn't allowed to use Pussywag—" She began, her words cutting off as Makoto smacked her in the back of the head.
"We all agreed to not use that name again, Oracle. Especially not in front of our new member." She reprimanded her, causing the short girl to grumble to herself.
Haru would have almost laughed at the interaction were it not for what she saw next. Mona, the strange cat jumped into the air, and in a puff of smoke transformed into a small bus. It almost reminded her of an animated movie she'd seen when she was a kid.
It truly was like a fairytale.
Stepping into the "catomobile" the five, or well, six of them counting Mona, began to drive into the depths of Mementos. It was really a bit too captivating. Yet, in a way, also strangely eerie. She could feel a faint pressure in her body as they began to drive down. A pressure she could only describe as a feeling that she wasn't supposed to be here.
It reminded her of a certain phrase about staring into the abyss, but judging by how calm everyone looked, it must have just been something that she would have to get used to. Or perhaps something she'd only learn to resist once she awakened her "Persona." Whatever it might be.
They drove across the strange flowery tunnels for some time, going deeper and deeper into Mementos, and soon enough, they took a strange turn, arriving at what appeared to be a dead end.
"Just give me a second…" Futaba muttered, her fingers moving across the air as she typed into what appeared to be a floating screen. And then, adjusting her visor once again she let out a grin and a chuckle. "I'm in."
At her words, the tunnel around them trembled for a moment, and then, the wall in front of them began to split open. It was slightly grotesque, but Haru didn't let it bother her as they drove inside.
For a moment, she felt speechless, because they had entered what appeared to be another massive garden, and in the distance, she could see her… her Shadow, her inner self. She was tending to the countless flowers around her, using a golden water can before turning to look at them.
Stepping out of Mona, he transformed back into his strange caricature form as they began to approach her Shadow.
"Oh… guests." Her Shadow called out, her voice sounding so calm and perfectly polite. She set down her watering can and brushed the dirt off from her gloves. "How lovely of you to visit. I was just tending to my garden. It's beautiful, isn't it? Everything here grows so nicely when you take care of it."
Haru took in a deep breath as she heard her Shadow speak. Her Shadow looked just like her, except more radiant, almost painted. She had the same curls, the same soft expression, but her eyes were glassy, the smile on her face stretched just a little too wide.
For a moment, the feeling of wrongness struck her again. Seeing her own reflection, hearing her own voice… her entire body was telling her to run. That this wasn't something she was meant to see.
But, just as she was feeling her body tense up, she felt Ren's hand on her shoulder.
"Be careful, Haru." Ren whispered to her. "Remember what we told you. She will try to provoke you, but you can't fall for it."
"Oh, don't be so grim, sweetie." The Shadow's head tilted, a flicker of amusement crossing her face. "I'm just making things pretty. Someone has to, don't they? You never liked messes. You preferred everything neat, quiet… under control."
"I… I only wanted to help." Haru answered, trying her best to keep her cool. However, just listening to her Shadow was enough to force her to clench her hands into fists, her nails digging into her palms slightly.
"Help?" The Shadow let out a giggle, a sound that was light and airy and utterly devoid of warmth. "Is that what we call it? Smiling while Father sells us off like livestock? Nodding politely while he tramples over everyone else?"
The Shadow leaned forward, her glassy eyes boring into Haru's.
"You're such a good girl. You prune away all the ugly parts, the anger, the resentment, the hatred, just so you can remain his perfect little flower. You let him clip your wings, and you thanked him for it."
"Stop it." Haru whispered, though her voice lacked force.
"Why should I?" The Shadow asked, her smile dropping instantly into a mask of pure, unadulterated bitterness. "You hate him. You hate this house. You hate being a tool. But you're too terrified to admit it, so you shoved me down here. You let me hold all the poison so you could keep playing house."
The Shadow spread her arms wide, gesturing to the garden around them.
"Look at me, Haru. I am the result of your 'kindness.' I am the garden you grew with your silence."
Haru felt a chill run up her spine. Even if she'd been prepared for it, her Shadow was striking directly where it hurt the most. But as she looked at her Shadow, at the twisted, angry reflection of herself, she realized something.
"You're right." Haru said, her voice trembling slightly but growing louder. She stepped away from Ren's hand, standing on her own as she stood face to face with her Shadow.
"Excuse me?" Her Shadow asked, the smile on her face growing ever so slightly.
"I was scared." Haru admitted, lifting her head to meet those hollow eyes. "I thought that if I just smiled, if I just endured it, things would get better. I thought that was what it meant to be strong."
She reached her hand to her Shadow, offering her a handshake.
"But that wasn't kindness. It was cowardice. I was letting him hurt me, and I was letting him hurt others, just so I wouldn't have to face the truth." Haru placed her other hand on her chest, feeling her own heart beating frantically against her ribs. "You aren't just my anger. You're my desire to be free."
The Shadow stared at her, the "malice" in her eyes vanishing as her mouth opened, but no words left her.
"Can you help me stop Father? Before it's too late…?"
At her words, the Shadow in front of her finally broke.
It started as a small, high-pitched giggle, bubbling up from her throat. Then, it erupted into a full-blown laughter that echoed through the garden. It wasn't the laughter of madness, but of sheer, unadulterated relief.
"Wonderful!" The Shadow cried out, clutching her stomach as she laughed, her form beginning to destabilize. Cracks of brilliant, azure light began to shine through her porcelain skin.
Then, moving with a speed that blurred the air, the Shadow slipped past Haru and practically skipped up to Ren. She leaned in close, invading his personal space with a playful, dangerous intimacy.
"Tell me, Ren, how did you know my name? Do you truly know me that well?"
For a moment, Ren looked genuinely startled. He took a reflexive step back, his eyes widening as the glowing entity stared up at him with a mix of adoration and hunger.
"What?" Ren asked, his composure slipping for a fraction of a second.
"Playing the fool, are we?" The Shadow asked, a smirk playing on her lips. She didn't sound entirely convinced, but she seemed amused nonetheless. "So be it. Keep your secrets, my dear Trickster."
She turned back to Haru, her form dissolving completely into a torrent of blue fire.
The flames roared, swirling around Haru in a violent, beautiful vortex. Haru didn't flinch. She let the fire wash over her, feeling not heat, but a surge of power. The flames coalesced on her face, hardening into a black domino mask.
'I am thou, thou art I…'
The voice that echoed in her skull no longer sounded like Haru's soft, polite tone. It was deeper, richer. It was filled with the steel of a woman who had been betrayed and had risen from the ashes.
'You have finally decided to cast aside that stifling mask of the obedient princess. Very well. If you wish to grasp freedom, you must be willing to dirty your hands.'
Haru reached up, her fingers gripping the edge of the mask. It adhered to her skin, painful and tight, but she pulled.
'Let us betray the expectations of this world together!'
With a shout, the mask on her face finally gave way. She felt a pang of pain, but her Persona's voice quickly overwhelmed the discomfort..
'Call my name!' The voice within her roared, demanding to be let out.
"Milady!"
The flames exploded outward, clearing the garden in a shockwave of pure power. Rising from the azure inferno was a towering figure. A woman in a magnificent, voluminous Victorian gown of pink and purple. She had no face, yet she hid that fact with a fan and a masquerade mask.
As the fire faded, Haru stood revealed. Gone were her civilian clothes. In their place, she wore a cavalier hat adorned with a white plume, a dark purple vest with a high collar, and shorts, the dashing attire of a musketeer.
Then, just as quickly as it had appeared, the energy surged and dissipated. Milady vanished back into a swirl of blue embers, returning to the mask that now rested on Haru's face.
The adrenaline crash was instant.
Haru's legs gave out, and she collapsed to her knees. She gasped for air, she felt like she had just run an entire marathon in a few seconds. But even as her lungs burned and her skin tingled from the heat, a smile found its way onto her lips.
She looked at her gloved hands, the hands of someone ready to fight.
After all this time, after all her silent hopes and lonely prayers, she wasn't just an observer anymore. She was finally a Phantom Thief.