Maeve Valor
The Piratess Captain
~A couple of days later, before the celebration~
As much as she appreciated Baron’s help, there was just something off about him; something familiar that she could never quite put her finger on. Another thing that was odd was that at one point he said he knew about Ann and Shiro both being high school students who attended Shujin. To Masami, there was a great possibility that he too went to Shujin. It was either that or he was a creep that liked to follow high school girls in his free time and judging by his character Masami thought that the likelihood of that being the case was slim to none.
All this speculation was purely out of curiosity though. What really weighed on her mind was that she had been part of the Girls Volleyball team for the past few weeks and didn’t have very much information about Kamoshida to give to Sougo. With all things considered, he had actually been treating her as one would with a business partner but at this rate, she was fretful that he might consider the time he has invested in her to be a lost cause and report her along with her family anyway. She despised the power he held over her with what he knew and how she had to be worried about not pleasing him by having a lack of valuable details. Even though Masami was trying to turn over a new leaf by working with the Phantom Thieves, she wished she was able to find something to level the playing field, but Sougo was too smart to leave traces of anything demeaning if there was any. So until she found anything considered remotely incriminating on Sougo, she had to go by his rules.
She debated on resorting to more drastic measures in order to gather more intel from Kamoshida, but she wanted to run it by Sougo first. During this meeting with him that she was currently going to, she wanted to bring it up to him. Especially since their meetings had occurred so seldom to where they were either cut short or just canceled altogether due to him seeming to have become more busy outside of the Student Council as of late. It worked out just as well though because most of the time when this happened, she had to train with the Phantom Thieves and Baron.
Masami opened the door to the student council room arriving on the dot to the time they previously agreed to meet up at.
At last, Sougo finally had some free time for his own business. Juggling phantom thievery and academics had been a lot tougher lately with the increase in workload. But he was happy to see that his investment of training the thieves was starting to become a lot more fruitful. With the defeat of the Matriarch, cult activities have finally started to die down, and the students at Shujin have finally dropped any pretense of joining such an organization.
On the other hand, the other half of investments had not been as fruitful. Kamoshida has been on his “best” behavior as of late. Well, as good as it gets anyways. Its tough, but they are basically in some sort of deadlock where they are essentially merely tolerating each other’s existence. With the full time employment of Maruki, Kamoshida’s leverage on Kasumi had somewhat dissipated, but he still had a lot of power over the overall sports related events and clubs of the school.
Thankfully, the thieves still technically owed him from all the way back in the Kajiki incident.And he is planning on leveraging this by asking them to have Kamoshida to be their next target. As it stands, they are the only ones that can actually prompt the pervert to manifest his treasure. While Sougo alone would likely be able to easily carve a path and wreak havoc in his palace, the only thing he would be able to do is kill the man. And as much as he wanted to, he’d rather not have the entire school go through a traumatic experience on his behalf. Additionally, the presence of other metamercs in this high traffic area would increase the probability of him meeting one.
So much to do, so much think about. Sougo continued reviewing the documents assigned to him. He was impressed by how fast work could pile up for a salaryless job. Nonetheless, he continued to chip away at the pile, knowing that he had a lot of catching up to do in other areas as well. But at least he managed to convince the student council to let him bring his own swivel chair.
And right on queue, Masami entered the student council room, much to his delight. Seeing as he already had the backing of phantom thieves on his side, there wouldn’t need to rely on Masami’s more traditional way of gathering information. Seeing as she was part of the Phantom thieves as well, perhaps it was best to relieve her of her workload. “Ah Ogawa-san. Right on schedule.” he greeted the girl with his usual smile while glancing at his watch.
“Let's get right into it shall we?” Pulling out a separate file, he was about to list down a few things he thought about the current state of their “business” relationship. “Our investigation as of late has been rather lackluster to say the least. Without sufficient evidence, I won’t be able to make convincing accusations to have the school remove him. The only thing we have right now is rumors and hearsay, which doesn’t really amount to anything.” For the first time in a while, Sougo sounded disappointed with the development of these current events, but he also understood that such things couldn’t be helped, at least not for now. Sougo sighed, shifting his face to lean on the palm of his hand, looking like a displeased critic in a movie screening.
“It seems to me that this relationship is not as beneficial as I initially thought it would be.” He tapped his fingers on the table, thinking about his next few steps carefully. “What are your thoughts on this topic?” He finally asked the girl, still tapping his fingers. From his perspective, from a transactional standpoint, this relationship no longer made any sense. Though he does enjoy her occasional quips and comments on other matters. He patiently waited for the girl to give him an answer. But from the way he sees it. It’d be best to just forget about the entire operation. He didn't have any further plans of blackmailing her anyways since she will still be working for him, just under a different name.
Masami clenched her fists at how he mentioned that their arrangement wasn’t that beneficial, but she calmly held herself together as she responded with, “I know I can get something on him, just give me a bit more time.”
She then looked away as she continued much to her chagrin in what she was about to say, “The festival featuring all the clubs of the school is coming up. I’m thinking about volunteering to be part of the clean up crew to get some one on one time with Kamoshida in order to speed things along. I know it’s risky, but such risks might be necessary in order to get the information we need.” She had an idea already as to what Sougo would say, but she was at the end of her rope at this point. She had to ensure that he wouldn’t report her parents, at least not until she felt ready to take them on in Mementos so that they could admit all their crimes rather than leave the judicial system to rely on circumstantial evidence.
Truth be told, Sougo was actually ready to just let her off the hook until she suggested she would be willing to have “one-on-one” time with the pervert. He was impressed by her tenacity, though he did think she seemed a bit desperate to satisfy him despite not having any personal vendetta with him. “Well, if you think that will work, be my guest. Just don’t go doing anything reckless.” The potential for entrapment was strong in this plan, but Sougo didn't see any issue with that. If anything, it could snowball towards bigger things if executed correctly.
“Also.. I’ve noticed you have yet to expose your parents for the charlatans they are.. Is there any particular reason for this?” This question was mostly asked out of curiosity. The last time he visited her shadow, she seemed desperate for a way out of her current swindling lifestyle and yet here she is clinging to it. “Having second thoughts?”
Masami scrambled to think up an excuse as to what has been holding her back. When she couldn't think of anything she was only able to say with a forced scoff, "Far from it. It's just that other matters have come up to factor in that I need to consider before jumping into turning them in." She said this in hopes that he wouldn't pry, but by this point she knew him well enough to know that he wouldn't just leave it at that. In many ways, they were similar because if the situation were switched, she definitely wouldn't let this answer slide.
To support this answer she then said, "Just know this, I am looking into the best interest of others. Not just myself." The words came out a bit more forbidding than she had meant for it to be, but she felt that her point was made all the same.
Sougo sighed upon hearing her answer. It didn't sound like she was lying per say, however, she cleverly avoided anything specific towards how exactly she was “caring” about the interest of others. “Hmm and here I thought you were the type to only look out for yourself. A swindler with heart. You are truly an amusing character, Ogawa-san.” He chuckled a bit, thinking how funny it was for he of all people to use caring about the best interest of others as an excuse.
“Very well, I shall allow you to wait longer on that decision. However, if you wish to continue swindling, I suggest you avoid setting your targets on the students of Shujin.” He gave her a stern warning. She of all people should know full well how protective he is towards the student body, or at least that's how he appears to be. “If you’re having a hard time with something you shouldn’t have to face it alone. After all, we are partners, we need to lean on each other.” Sougo has said this same exact line to the Phantom thieves once. He said this line out of concern towards Masami’s cold feet. He would just go with his usual blackmail tactics, but felt that this would be a more effective method.
In response to his mini lecture, realization hit Masami like a ton of bricks as many pieces clicked into place as to why Baron seemed so familiar to her. She recalled Baron saying exactly the same thing during the training sessions and before the Phantom Thieves infiltrated Matriarch Suzuki’s palace for the last time. This led her to think about the cadence in his voice matching Sougo, how Baron seemed to be a calculative person as well, hell even his physical mannerisms were similar. There was no doubt in Masami’s mind that Sougo was in fact Baron. This was exactly what she needed in order to have leverage with him, but she needed to be very careful since the stakes have been raised because Baron was a force to be reckoned with. Sougo was already a capable person as is, but knowing he was Baron made him all the more dangerous to deal with now.
Upon putting this together though, she tried her best to keep her poker face on and tuck this away for after this meeting to figure out how to use this knowledge to her advantage. For now, she needed to focus on acting casually. “While I appreciate the concern, I think I’ll use my own methods on solving my problem. I’ll let you know if I need any help with Kamoshida though. Will that be all for this meeting? I kind of have places I need to be,” she stated rudely, wanting to immediately get to work creating a plan.
Her response was rather rude, which was somewhat out of character as she usually at least attempts to be polite in their conversations. He was somewhat disappointed that she was not willing to open up to him, but then again, given the circumstances of their “friendship”, such a response was not completely unexpected. “My doors are always open.” He gave her a signature smile and a wink, showing his more carefree and playful side. “There is…one more thing…” His face shifted into a more serious look before he finished his sentence.
“What is your opinion on….these Phantom thieves? They’ve been making headlines lately, and many members of the student body seem to have taken a liking to them.” Of course he already knew who each and everyone of them were. He just wanted to see how Masami would react to being questioned on the matter. Sougo was pretty good at telling when someone was lying, so It’d be interesting to see what Masami had to say on the matter.
To Masami, everything that came out of his mouth seemed to take on a different meaning now. She looked away as she thought about how to respond through the perspective of herself if she never joined the Phantom Thieves. With unwavering stoicism she looked him in the eyes as she said, “I support the Phantom Thieves’ cause, but I don’t think that they would support people like me. Sometimes it takes more than just stealing a heart to change a person."
Masami was a complex individual in that she knew by being a member of the Phantom Thieves she was doing good, but she felt like she didn’t deserve the trust, kindness, and support the others had shown her. Especially since she was still acting as a grifter. Masami understood now that Baron knew what she did in her pastime yet still kept quiet letting her train with the rest, but what of everyone else? If Shiro found out that Masami was still conning people even after giving her a second chance by letting her join the crew, would she still treat her the same? Would any of them still do so if they knew? These questions constantly plagued her mind ever since she went back to hitting the streets to prey on people that day after stealing the Matriarch’s treasure.
She gathered that he knew she was Swan so she really didn’t care how he read into her words. It was all the truth. “I hope that answer satisfies you Agata.”
“I see.” Sougo replied as his face returned to his usual carefree demeanor. He noticed that she seems pretty uneasy with herself despite them having an overall casual conversation. “Hey, lighten will you! I was just asking for an opinion. No need to get all serious.” He laughed it off before turning his eyes back to his papers. “Maybe, maybe not. But we will save the discussion some other day. I think I’ve taken enough of your time for the day. Take your time with the information gathering. Just bear in mind that with each passing day, more students are suffering silence under him. If all else fails, I still have my ace in the hole.” Sougo gave the girl a playful wink. He knows something she doesn't. Something everyone will soon find out.
“Isn’t that an oxymoron? Lighten up, but remember that others are currently in distress. No pressure,” she smiled a little back to him and then did a lazy salute to him with two fingers. “Until next time, Agata.”
After she walked out of the room she thought more about the situation and came to the conclusion that she was in a better position than she originally thought. Not only will she have some information to hold over Sougo, but now she can also use this knowledge to have Baron help her steal the hearts of her parents. The only thing that was stopping her before was experience, so if she relied on the experience of another person such as him, there shouldn’t be any issue to succeed in her directive. Aside from that, she can also ensure discretion since she assumed Baron wanted to keep his true identity hidden and she wanted to keep the problem she had with her parents under wraps as best as possible.
She waited a couple of hours after the meeting before setting her plan in motion by sending Baron a message saying, “Hey, can we meet in Mementos tonight around 6:00 PM? I have some personal issues I’d like to discuss that I need assistance with. And no, this isn’t me calling for a therapy session. The assistance I need does involve Mementos. I don’t feel that this is something to trouble the others with so it will be just me showing up. I hope that’s okay with you.” She wanted to convey the message as if she was finally letting herself “lean on others”.
Sougo was surprised by the girl’s sudden request. So far, none of the other Phantom thieves had the nerve to meet him alone. And to do so casually as well, truly playing into Baron’s curiosity. "I'll be there." He gave her a simple and direct reply without revealing how curious he was about the matter.
As per usual, Baron had arrived 15 minutes earlier than his usual time. On his way there, the shadows understably cowered before his presence, hinting at how powerful he actually was. Despite their time together, so far he has yet to summon his persona in front of the thieves and solely been relying on his consumables and physical prowess.
He still wondered, wouldn't his friends be a more appropriate partner to solve this problem with? Time to find out. He waited patiently for Swan to arrive, sitting lazily on the seat of the subway. "So, to what do I owe the pleasure of this private meeting, Swan?" He spoke with a curious and casual tone.
Masami heard his voice echo through the now empty, eerie corridor of the station while she walked down the steps as the black feathers of her mask bounced along with each step. She was anxious about what she was about to do, but there was no way she could turn back now. She still felt like she could have prepared herself better, though when it came to Baron there would never be enough time for preparation. “Oh I think you already have an idea as to what this private meeting is about. As an ex-metamerc I assume that you would never ally yourself with people unless you have looked into them. So I’m pretty sure you know the fact that I have parents that are the worst kind of criminals. How am I doing so far?” She grinned smugly at the mentor.
“Oh?” Baron raised an eyebrow towards her response. To see her so confidently lay out her current information, and essentially taunt him with it. It was exhilarating. From the way she talked, it is very likely that she has not only found out who he was. But there was one thing that still bothered him though. If she knew was an ex-meta merc, why wasn’t she so cautious with confronting him?
“Its never a good idea to assume things.” He spoke, slowly walking closer and closer to the girl. His aura of intimidation had increased exponentially, significantly much stronger than what he has showcased before throughout the training sessions. It was true, he had been holding back, but just how much is the real question. At this point, the communicator device given to her began beeping furiously, attempting to warn the user of a dangerous entity approaching her. If she were to inspect the device, she would see a skull icon on top of Baron’s portrait, which simply read as “level ??”.
“I would say pretty good. But you’ve made the mistake of showing your hand too soon..” In a blink of an eye, baron disappeared from her sight completely. There was no sign of any movement, so footsteps, no airflow of a speedster. The next second, she would feel a hand holding onto the shoulder, which would sense immense chills throughout her body. “So, why am I here?” In truth, Sougo just wanted to mess around with her, since she seems to have an interesting personality. He already had a vague idea of what she wanted, but Sougo, just couldn't help himself to make a scene like this.
Despite feeling fear course through her, she still managed to speak evenly though she dared not move an inch with his grip still having a firm hold on her shoulder as she spoke, "Fine, I'll get to the point then. Help me take out the shadows of my parents or else I will reveal who you really are. I have a batch file linked to an email set to send a message tomorrow to the other members of the Phantom Thieves if you so much as destroy my persona or dispatch me in any way, so I would think very carefully about your next move if I were you, Agata Sougo.” This was no bluff on Masami’s part. It was the only preparation she felt could really make a difference should he try anything to combat her. She hoped that his alliance with the Phantom Thieves was something he valued enough to at the very least not risk harming her.
“Hahaahahh!” Sougo released his grip on the girl as he walked in front of her, not worried in the slightest. Though he was thoroughly entertained by these theatrics. The swindler was trying to blackmail the Baron of blackmail. “And therein lies your mistake, my dear apprentice.” He pointed to her as his laughter subsided. Baron walked back towards the subway seat, and sat back down, returning to his relaxed posture. “You assume that I care if your friends know who I really was.” Baron explained, while crossing his legs. “Even if they did, they still need me for their future operations. Palace guardians aside, the stronger Meta Mercs would make mince meat out of all of you without my intervention.” He explained calmly while looking towards the ceiling. “I am your deterrent, your arms dealer, and mentor. The way I see it, you need me more than I need any of you.” To a certain extent, what he said is true. But he’d rather not have his investment go to waste after all this time. And truth be told, he is rather fond of this group. “If blackmailing me with my identity is all you got..then I am afraid you’re out of luck…” he sighed, feeling both impressed and sorry to see all of Masami's efforts going to waste. “But if you need help…..you could have just asked..” he added to the back of his sentence, hinting that he was still very much willing to help her despite her attempts at blackmailing him.
At first with each word Sougo spoke, Masami’s anger began to rise as the words sank in. She knew everything he said to be true. Even after her life thus far being taught by her family how to deceive and outsmart people, in this moment she knew that there were some things she still wasn’t adept in like he was. And suddenly her irritation came to a cease when he still offered to help her. “You would still help me?....”She furrowed her brows looking down with guilt.
“Don’t tell me, ‘but it’s going to cost you’, right?” She asked still skeptical that he would just help her out of the goodness of his heart, if it was even called goodness. “Do you really expect me to believe that you would just let this whole debacle go and help me steal my parent’s hearts?”
“Of course I would. Afterall, we are partners right?” It was difficult to tell how sincere or sarcastic he was, but perhaps deep down he did grow to care about her well-being, or she's just a asset worth investing in. “Yes it will, but we can save that discussion some other time. I can’t have a member of my team wallow in self-pity like that. Its bad for team morale.” He gave a half-hearted explanation towards why he was helping her, which was somewhat believable. “I expected you to carry out this operation with your teammates, rather than entrusting your chance at true redemption to a total stranger that you know next to nothing about.” He quickly criticized her idea of “expectation.” He probably wouldn’t forget this transgression, but at the same time, he wouldn’t hold it against her, much.
“In anycase…” pressing a button on his watch, he would send her the location of her parents in mementos to her watch, indicating that he knew the purpose of this meeting beforehand. “Lets get going, we don’t have the Mona Mobile with us, so we gotta cover ground on foot.” He sighed, as he slowly walked towards the direction of their targets.
“Right,” Masami said, looking down at the watch to see just how far they had to travel to get there. She then walked alongside him as she reflected on what was going on. Since he was helping her, she wouldn’t need to worry about him having information on her and her life as a swindler. In her mind, this was collateral damage that she felt was necessary. Even though she had yet again had a debt to pay in regards to him, she knew it would be worth it if it meant that all the criminal activity done by her family would finally come to an end.
“And by the way… I would rather ask a stranger to help me than my friends, because at least I wouldn’t need to worry about the stranger looking down at me…. But I think I may have asked a friend to help me anyway,” she mentioned, with this being the closest it would be for him to get an apology from her due to her stubborn nature. Yet in this moment, it was only then that she started to feel that they were truly partners even though Sougo had repeatedly tried to drill that in her head leading up to this event.
“Yea yea..just don’t go telling the others about this. I don't want them to think I am playing favorites.” He answered her, shrugging off his supposed kindness as something that should be kept between them. “And if they would look down on you for that, they weren’t your friends to begin with.” His words were harsh, but the way he sees it, true friends wouldn’t be so critical of her, given her troubled upbringing. Sougo had a similar past, though unlike her, he didn't have any friends he could fall back on. The world was cruel, but that made him strong, unfeeling, unrelenting and unforgiving. Or at least thats he convinced himself to be. “I’ll help you reach your parents, but you have to be the one to finish the job. Got it?” He wanted a poetic end for their charlatan saga.
“I wouldn’t have it any other way. In fact, I’d be pissed if you didn’t give me the luxury of doing so,” Masami smirked at this and gave Baron a thumbs up with a wink. Though she jested about this upcoming battle, she had mixed feelings about it. Not that she was having second thoughts at all, but more so she was stressed about seeing their true colors for the first time and what they really thought of their daughter. In her experience being in the metaverse so far, these shadows did not filter their thoughts and did not sugarcoat their words. Going into it, she knew that it was not going to be pretty, and would leave her scarred. She knew she needed to face them though and so she prepared herself mentally as they made their way through along the beaten path of the dirty railways that snaked around Mementos.
“Here, you’re gonna need this.” Sougo tossed her one of his beloved sidearm. It was a lot heavier than it looked, almost like it was a real gun. “The shadows here are a few levels above you. This should even the playing field for you. Though it has a killer kick to it.” He warned the young lady about the strong recoil of his weapon. Most people wouldn't be able to tell with the way he fires them so effortlessly when fighting shadows. It was rare for Sougo to lend out his own personal firearms, but since he didn't bring his armory today, he didn't have much of a choice.
Masami caught the weapon, but with the weight it had she slightly lowered it in surprise so she inspected the firearm, impressed by the definition in it. Model in the real world or not, the craftsmanship was intricate so Masami wondered what it took for him to get his hands on it. She couldn’t see a shop owner so freely selling it over the counter with that much detail involved. “Thanks, but I think I can handle the recoil,” She said before looking around to make sure no shadows were nearby before she tested it for herself by aiming at a pipe that hung above a junction in front of them. The gun did kick back and probably would have left a bruise if they were in the real world, but it still hurt cause even with the warning, she wasn’t ready. “Owch damn… alright I see your point,” she pouted before putting the gun away for the time being.
“Always learning from experience, I see.” He chastises her for not believing his words. Baron moved forward while using the watch to guide them both. Giving directions to follow every so often. Most of the shadows were too afraid and weak to even approach the duo. Though every so often, one or two shadows would be brave enough to approach them only to be one-shotted by the Baron’s pistol. After a few more minutes of walking, they had finally reached a dead end where the shadow of her parents resided. “They are just up ahead. Are you ready?” Baron upholstered his own gun, and gave a few spins, something he did quite often before and after the start of a battle. “In battle, do not hesitate, no matter what you see or hear, remember the task at hand and focus on that.” Dealing with normal shadows is easy, but to see someone you know turned into such twisted creatures can lead to….complications.
Masami bit her bottom lip nervously. She wasn’t even trying to hide her wariness about going into this battle. She shook her head to stave off her nerves and took a deep breath. “I am ready. I know how they work, so this will be tricky. But don’t worry, when the time comes I know I’ll be able to finish them,” she nodded with determination.
She took a couple of more beats before taking the lead to approach her parents. The similarities Masami had with each parent was evident. Even though her mother had long, dark brown hair much unlike Masami. The shape of her eyes as well as the upper part of her face in general was reminiscent of Masami’s facial features. Her father had black slightly wavy hair which is where Masami got the texture of her hair from. The slim, lower part of his face was the part that matched her own. Together, they both really were an unassuming couple and didn’t stand out at all if anyone were to meet them in passing which was exactly what they aimed to be perceived as.
Upon approaching them, they broke this facade and craned their necks to notice her in an almost unsettling way with a growing smile as a predatory fashion. “Masami! Our pride and joy, our little princess. Have you gathered that money yet?” Her father was the first to speak.
Her mother was then the next to speak with a slight frown, “Those clothes really don’t flatter you. Is this why you haven’t met your quota this month? How do you expect anyone to take you seriously and believe your grifting with that on? Remember what your father and I have always told you…”
“Always dress the part you are acting as,” They both said simultaneously talking down to her.
Masami gritted her teeth and spoke back to them, “I’m not here to discuss the quota. I’ve come to set things straight and steal your hearts, or whatever is left of them at least.” With that, she summoned Scheherazade to get ready for what comes next.
“Stealing our hearts? What do you… oh I see. I do recall hearing about these Phantom Thief people. So you two must be part of this group. Though I am surprised Masami, after all your mother and I have done for you, are you really going to treat us like this?” Her father asked, trying to play the victim.
“It doesn’t matter though darling. We’ve beat her into submission before, we can do it again. If all it takes to get her back on the streets to get money for us is a beating, then so be it,” Her mother spoke of the abuse so nonchalantly making Masami wince slightly at hearing it.
“My my, such strong words from such despicable people.” Despite his care-free response. There was a slight hint of anger within Baron as he had always believed familial ties were the most important thing a person could have, or at least he used to believe that. Hearing openly profess that they were the source of her misery…it was unforgivable! Every child deserves a parent, but not every parent deserves a child. The baron’s fist tightened, as a golden aura briefly enveloped his body, his cloak violently flowing about like his entire body was emanating a strong wind of destruction.
Fortunately, this display of power did the last long, as finally calmed down, the bright aura dissipating along with his anger. “You two should be thankful your daughter has decided to be your judge. I know many others who would not be so kind with their verdict.” He was of course referring to the MetaMercs, as well as himself. “Now then, let’s see what we can do about those nasty hearts….” Baron shifted to a running stance with both his arms out to side, fingers flared out, looking like they were about claw some faces off. Once again, the baron disappeared from sight, immediately reappearing right in front of both the parents. Placing both his hands on their heads, he violently rips their “faces” off with forward momentum, forcing them reveal their true forms. Jumping back to Masami side, he gives her a nod of affirmation, signifying the start of the battle. Unholstering his gun, Baron would fire a few rounds onto the ceiling, causing large chunks of rubble to fall onto the parents, giving the duo some cover to prepare for their next attack. “You’re up swan!” he signaled her to go on the offensive, curious to see what she had in store.
When Baron unveiled her parents to Masmi she was surprised at how morphed and detestable their forms were. She had suspected their souls to be hardened, but she hadn’t expected them to be fully made of stone like they were before her. She had to remind herself though of Baron’s words not to hesitate at all. So she got into her fighting stance as she took out her newest weapons she had acquired from Mementos on a different occasion, the twin chakrams. “Right! No holding back!”
These ones were much lighter and gave her much more control in contrast to the one large chakram she previously had. Not to mention one other feature these new ones had that Masami was pleased with.
To start the battle she threw one of them out hitting the figure with wings which then bounced off her and onto the figure that was her father as her mother screeched from the blow she took. The contact made a horrible noise of having the metal grind against the stony exterior and after a bit of attempting Masami flicked her wrist, commanding it to return back to her as she sent out Scheherazade to follow up. She threw out her claymore embedding it in the ground separating her parents so that one would not be able to help the other immediately as she grasped the winged being and with a gravelly voice said “Dormina” since she was obviously the weaker one of the two.
Masami briefly looked at her watch, seeing that it now recognized them as “Al-Lat” for her father and “Manat” for her mother.
“You know…they say that the toughest obstacle a boy will face is the father of the daughter. But….” His voice trailed off as he charged forward, performing his signature “flash steps” a few times, before reappearing in front of the beast face to deliver a mighty backhand to his face, sending him flying across the floor and embedding him into the wall. “You seem pretty easy to me!” Baron just couldn’t help taunting shadows that have an inflated sense of self worth. “Well come on then! Show me what you got! You’re supposed to be the man of the house right? Hahahha!” The masked man condescendingly gestured to him to strike him. Sougo got into a boxer’s stance and playfully threw a few practice punches in the air.
“At least make this a warm up for me!” It was pretty obvious he wasn’t taking him as a serious threat or perhaps he had something up his sleeve. “So what kind of justification do you have for treating your daughter so poorly? Was it because you needed the money to pay a debt? A chance to boost your feeling of self-worth by fleecing the less intelligent folk? Surely deep inside within that rotten heart of yours, you still had some love for your offspring?!” The last line was particularly filled with disdain, almost as if he had a personal vendetta against the specific matter. While taunting the shadow, Baron had prepared a flash grenade behind him, something he would toss onto the shadow right as it would charge him. A chance to reposition and attack from another angle. Despite how it looked, this wasn't all fun and games. Baron was simply testing to see how vulnerable this shadows are towards taunting. At the same time, he wanted to exercise caution with his strength. The last thing he wanted to do was accidentally murder the girl’s parents.
“Ergh, you know nothing of what it means to have a child, boy. The hardships that come with it.” The beast grunted, the face was unchanging and the voice echoed, sounding like it was coming from inside the stone figure as if it was an empty shell. He moved away from the wall and stabilized back onto all four of his feet before continuing, “We raised her and honed her skills in order to at least get SOMETHING back after Himari gave birth to that wretched girl. They drain your money, your time, your very being and what do you get in return? No thank you AND she brings a boyfriend along with her to rebel against you. Or are you one of her targets she is stringing along that we tasked her to go after? I forget, there have been too many.” Even though his face did not move, there was a clear tone in his voice that he was smiling; showing that he knew what Baron was trying to do by attempting to get a rise from him, but it proved unsuccessful and he was in fact now trying to do the same to him.
He slammed one of his front legs down, and a barrier formed around him looking like he used the 'tetrakarn' ability.
Against Manat, Scheherazade was unable to put her to sleep and Manat retaliated by taking advantage of this close proximity, "Psiodyne!" Scheherazade was then knocked back as Manat flared her wings getting ready to take flight. "How dare you! You robbed us of our hopes and dreams. We provided for you throughout your life so you owe us!" She charged forward passed Scheherazade and straight towards Masami, grabbing her by clenching her claws into her arms and lifting her as she soared upward. "Your very existence belongs to us and it always will!"
Masami struggled to break free as she let a lifetime of anger subdue the pain. "I robbed you?! You two have robbed me of the ability to connect emotionally to people! You robbed me of having a normal childhood!" Finally Masami was able to break an arm away, letting herself receive deep scratches from Manat's Claws before she took out Baron's gun. Since she only had the one arm available she used the center of her own chest to back up the recoil and aimed as she pulled the trigger hitting her squarely in the stomach area. She let go of Masami and flew back as Scheherazade dived to catch Masami over her shoulder as she fell.
“Ah It speaks, yet the only the thing that comes out is garbage!” Baron tossed the grenade that had been cooking in his hand, providing him with ample time to reposition himself for a counter attack. After seeing it cast Tertrakarn on itself, he knew he couldn’t just brute force his way out of this one. Taking out the watch from before, the scans on her parent’s shadows were finally complete, revealing to the Baron that the weakness of Al-Lat was Light-based attacks. He smiled underneath his mask, while replacing the current magazine of his pistol with another from one from his utility belt. He always made it a habit to carry a handful of different ammo types with him. In this case, he was swapping it out for his light-based rounds. They weren’t as strong as his normal elementless rounds, but they were more than enough for the likes of him.
He brandished his pistol and twirled it stylishly in front of his opponent while waiting for him to recover the flash bang. Seeing a sign post sticking out of the wall, Baron would kick the pole, completely uprooting it from the ground and sending it flying towards the shadow. Just as he expected the pole went flying back to him with equal force upon making contact with the shadow, therefore expending the physical shield it had casted on itself. Baron had anticipated this, simply kicking the pole away as he sprinted towards the beast. Just before he collided with the beast, Baron would slide downwards, positioning himself right under its belly and unleashing a stream of light blast onto its belly at point-blank range. Continuing with the momentum of his slide, he would eventually find himself behind the beast. By now the Shadow should be considerably weaker, and as promised he wouldn’t be the one to finish him off.
Turning to Masami, he could tell that she was fighting tooth and nail in this battle. From there, Baron's once cold frozen heart thawed out just a bit, finally deciding to give her a small helping hand. Grabbing Al-Lat by the tail, Baron would pull on him while moving with spinning motion until he finally lifted him off the ground. Once he generated sufficient momentum, the masked man would release his grip on the creature’s tail, sending it flying towards his partner’s general direction.
Baron would follow the beast, leaping upwards to pursue it. Within the next second, he would reappear from above Al-Lat, kicking off the ceiling of the mementos, he would push himself downwards onto the shadow, tackling the four legged beast downwards, forcing it to rapidly descend near the area of the winged beast. “THIS IS GONNA HURT!” He shouted with full vigor and finesse.
Now that both of her parents were next to each other, Masami took this chance to hit them both. "Scheherazade, finish them off! Eiga!"
The persona became one with the cursed energy that had originated from Masami and sunk into the ground quickly. The red shadow now streaked across the floor to the couple blocking them from escape as its aura surrounded them as if it were flames with the way it moved. Scheherazade morphed from the red shadow on the floor to her usually silhouetted form once she reached them and unsheathed her claymore and slashed the both of them in one clean slice with a final attack at the same time causing them both to be defenseless.
Masami approached them and held up Baron’s gun in their direction, “Hand over your treasure, and leave this place to repent. But before you do…” she decided to ask them both one last question before forcing them to leave.
“Did you ever love me?...” She asked, refusing to look away from their faces yet still had the tone of a desperate child.
Her father put down what she assumed was their treasure as her mother was the one who began to answer her, “Of course we did… at one point in time.”
“We were overjoyed to have you at first… but we were so young when we had you. We realized we were not ready, not equipped to support you properly. Naturally, we relied on unlawful methods to get money,” he looked away ashamed as both him and his spouse began to disappear.
“And when you started copying us with what you saw us doing and were more successful than were at it due to your age. We weren’t able to just let you stop,” The mother finished as Masami began tearing up, not knowing what to say. It was the sad reality that what she had expected from them was true.
Seeing Masami pull off an impressive maneuver to vanquish both shadows at once was most satisfying. As he saw the two shadows begin to show their true feelings to their daughter, he couldn’t help but stay silent and let them speak their mind. He too longed for catharsis with his own relationship with his parents. But unlike her parents, they didn't have any shadows that he could change hearts of. Perhaps that was the worst part of the relationship, showing that they were not twisted at all. He gave the girl some sufficient time to recollect her feelings before slowly approaching her, reluctantly placing a comforting hand on her shoulder as she cried. “And so ends the saga of the Charlatans… you did well.. Swan” he congratulated her in facing not just her parents but also making peace with her past. He was proud of her, perhaps she would be the most worthy apprentice among all the phantom thieves, at least for the time being.
“You’ve extended your second chance to not just yourself, but also your parents. A kindness that few would provide, especially to those who have wronged them.” Baron explained, before retracting his arm turning to face the exit. Their mission was done. Hopefully this little favor would ensure her continued cooperation. At the same time, he was genuinely happy that the girl was able to resolve her grievances. But unbeknownst to both of them, this feeling of respite would not last long. “Let’s go, we’ve accomplished our mission. As I said before, I’d appreciate it if you could keep this operation between us. Revealing this to the group may cause…unnecessary complications..” He didn’t want to cause unnecessary drama with such blatant displays of favoritism.
For a long time, Masami felt her emotions curl in on itself, unable to leave from the spot she stood at as she couldn’t stop from crying softly until Baron anchored her back into reality by his encouraging words. Once he was done she sniffled back the rest of her feeling, trying to reel in the tears as she wiped her eyes. She gave him a small smile as she felt a huge weight being lifted from her, knowing that she had him to thank for it. A favor that she knew she probably would never be able to fairly pay him back, but strangely enough she didn’t mind. This mission started because she couldn’t stand the thought of needing to pay him back, and now she felt accepting and with an even bigger debt that needed to be paid.
“Ah so you do care if they find out,” she teased, feeling her usual demeanor start to come back. She then bent down to pick up the items the shadows left behind. One was a family portrait from when she was a newborn baby that showed all three of them happily together. She had never seen this picture before so Masami tucked it away for sentimental reasons. The other item was a purple card that was engraved into it the word “Tetrakarn”. From prior knowledge, Masami knew that she could use this card to later on give this ability to Scheherazade to learn by absorbing it.
“Don’t worry, your secret is safe with me. There wouldn’t be any benefit in it, if I told them anyway,” Masami shrugged as she holstered the gun just in case any wiley shadows approached them on the way back. Plus, she was starting to really enjoy using it. “But I will say this, you shouldn’t distance yourself from them for too long. You should be able to freely lean on us as well. And I don’t mean just out in the battlefield. But that’s your prerogative, until then you got me at least, “ she winked to him as she began following him out in the direction of the exit.
“I’d prefer to avoid unnecessary loss of efficiency and cohesion within the team.” Baron swiftly replied as he continued towards the exit. She wasn’t wrong about being distant towards the others, but knowing his past experiences, it was better for him to keep things this way. “I said that all of you should lean on each other, that unfortunately, does not include me.” His tone was rather cold with this reply, a hint towards a negative experience he had in the past. Though part of him did like having at least one other person he could lean on, but she didn't need to know that. He sighed, thinking how much he has grown soft over the past few weeks with the Phantom thieves. Although she didn't know this, it was always a risk for him to go out to mementos without prior preparation. Being a metauser of this strength in low level areas tends to attract unwanted attention.
Judging from his response, Masami thought it possible that he may have been burned in the past by getting too attached to the wrong person or people. She really couldn’t fault him for acting the way he has with the Phantom Thieves, especially since she herself couldn’t bring herself to ask them for help. She knew all too well the difficulty in letting yourself trust others; so she left it at that, respecting his space on such matters.
Upon exiting the “room” of her parent’s shadows. He noticed something was amiss, there were no other shadows nearby. It was completely silent. The only thing that could be heard were the passengerless trains in the background and strong howling winds of the tunnels. Baron’s instincts were telling him there was an impending danger nearby, he just couldn’t tell what it was. It was far too early for the reaper to show up, and the shadows on this floor should pose no threat to him. On the other side of the room, he could spot a weak dying shadow evaporating into nothingness while covered in some sort of purple liquid. As the shadow finished “dying” he could vaguely see a humanoid silhouette hiding behind it. There was a noticeable gleam to him, almost like he was holding something shiny.
“We need to move, NOW!” Baron shouted. Without any prior notice, Baron grabbed the girl, bridal style. He didn't have time to be polite, if this person was who he thought he was, they were both in a lot of danger. Baron would perform a few massive leaps into the air, while carrying her, trying his best to put as much distance between them and the enemy. Seconds later, a few shots of purple streaks could be seen coming from the opposite direction where he was running from. The shots were loud, and powerful, clearly something of significant caliber and power. Despite his evasive movements, eventually even the great baron was struck by the shooter’s shots, a testament to the gunmen’s skill.
In spite of tanking a few shots, Baron continued moving at full speed. Eventually, the shots stopped coming. A few minutes later, the masked man finally stopped jumping to place the girl down. His breathing became labored as he spoke to the girl. “You….you need to get out of here..” the masked man unholstered his pistol and swapped back the magazine, preparing himself for the inevitable confrontation. “The exit path is….. just ahead.” Baron began to lean on the wall next to him. Not letting the venom get the best of him, he pushed against the wall to force himself to stand up right. “...Just…..go…I’ll join you…lat-..” Before he could finish his sentence, Baron would eventually collapse onto the ground face first onto the floor, revealing deep bullet wounds behind him. The holes were oozing out the same purple liquid from before. Masami was about to kneel down to try and mend his wounds somehow, until she heard something.
Suddenly, a whistling sound could be heard emanating throughout the corridors of mementos. The sound got stronger and stronger until finally, the mysterious shooter revealed himself to the duo. “Yo~!” He greeted them with a playful salute, revealing the full splendor of his metaverse outfit which resembled a cybernetic bounty hunter with cobra motives. With a high tech looking-gun resting against his shoulder, he gleefully walked closer to the two.
From the way he walked and whistled he seemed like a cavalier person.”Guess today is my lucky day! Here I was looking for some swindlers to kill and instead I find the Great Baron in my sightlines.” He jovially narrated his predicament, enjoying each step he took towards the downed masked man. At this point, Masami’s watch would begin producing that all too familiar beeping sound, indicating that this foe was not one to be trifled with. “You can leave now girl. He’s the only one I want.” The figure made a dismissive hand gesture to the girl, looking like he was shooing away a cat rather than a person.
Without a second thought Masami took a step to the side so that she was even more in between the stranger and Baron.“No,” she said simply as she wondered to herself what the hell she was doing. If even Baron recognized him as a danger then what the hell was she doing getting in his way. She had to remind herself that she wasn’t the selfish Masami that thought about her own well-being anymore. And besides that, he had just helped her with a task she couldn’t have done on her own and he was obviously willing to put his life on the line to save her. She felt that she had to do the right thing and stick by him.
“Before laying even a finger on him you’ll need to get through this ‘girl’ first. Scheherazade,” she threatened with ample determination as her persona appeared next to her. She surprised even herself with how protective of him she sounded against who she presumed was a Metamerc.
“Spunky little one aren’t we?” The figure commented on Masami’s attitude, as he disassembled his gun, returning it to its base configuration which resembled a pistol. “Ask yourself this, young lady..is this guy really worth all the trouble you’re getting into?” He slowly raised his gun to face her. Unlike Baron, his aura was ghastly purple but was just as equally intimidating as his.
With a pull of the trigger, his gun would violently release a purple mist towards the girl’s direction. While the poison gas wasn’t as potent as his envenomed bullets, inhaling them would result in a decrease in stats. Her vision would also begin to blur, as she would struggle to even stand straight. “You’re lucky I’m a professional!'' The figure spoke while walking gently pushing her to the side as he continued walking to Baron.
She covered her mouth as she was put aside, though that didn’t seem to do any good since she had already inhaled too much of the gas. “Marakukaja,” She managed to have coughed out to at least neutralize her defenses as well as raise Baron’s. As she focused on keeping her balance, she pointed to him and Scheherazade understood that Masami wanted her to stop the man. The persona tried to do so by taking out her claymore and tried to slam it over him expecting to at least deter him momentarily from moving onward, potentially once again blocking him.
Masami then took out one of her chakrams and threw it out in his direction in an attempt to land a hit on him even with her blurred vision. She wanted to try everything she could to hold him off, yet she didn’t know for how long she would be successful in doing so.
The figure sighed in disbelief, seeing the girl still foolishly attempt to stop his advance despite being clearly outmatched. Merc would effortlessly catch the claymore of the persona with his bare hands, stopping it dead in its tracks. “You know…there is a fine line between bravery…and stupidity…” Hearing the chakrams flying through the air, the armored man turned around, kicking one of the flying blades to the ground and catching the other one mid-flight. “Can you guess which one are you?” There was a hint of annoyance in his voice, as winded up his arm to throw the chakram back.
Fortunately for Masami, he wouldn’t get the chance to finish this action. Within a split second, Baron went from lying down on the floor, to standing up. Taking out an object from his cloak, the small handle would quickly grow to the size of his usual buster sword before he took a swing at the unsuspecting merc. He managed to get clean hit on his back. He would then follow it up with another strike, only for it to be blocked by his forearm guard. “HAAHAH playing possum are we? Didnt think you were the type to rely on cheap tricks like that!” The merc laughed as he backed away from him.
Judging from the breathing pattern, Baron was still powering through envenomed bullets, but he knew if he didn't intervene things would get ugly real fast. “What can I say?.. I am just full of surprises..” He tried his to retort in his usual carefree tone, but the truth is it was` painful to say anything. Now, the merc was caught between Baron and Swan. Perhaps the tables have turned for the better. The Merc’s attention was completely invested on Baron, completely ignoring Swan. From Masami’s perspective, she could see a deep gash on the Merc’s armor, where Baron had struck before. “....Swan…get out of here..this is my fight…” Once again, he was trying to get her to leave.
Masami shook her head, refusing to go as she started to hatch a plan. "You should know by now that I'm too stubborn to do that Baron. And for your information, I consider myself neither stupid or brave. I like to think of myself as impulsive," she said as she motioned for the chakrams that the MetaMerc deflected to return to her as discreetly as possible while he was distracted. She then embedded cursed energy to it and signaled for Scheherazade to flank the enemy before dashing toward him as she threw the chakrams out aiming for the hand he held his weapon in. This was not her main goal though. As the chakrams made contact, she swiftly took out Baron's gun, maneuvering in front of the MetaMerc and aimed at the gash in his armor firing into it several times before letting the recoil throw itself back up and over her shoulder in the direction of Baron to catch.
The masked villain would be shocked at the sudden strong attacks that impacted him from behind. Despite hitting its mark, the merc held onto his weapon with a deathgrip, though he was impressed by her ingenuity in the face of facing a physically superior opponent. Using the small moment of distraction to his advantage, Baron would kick his opponent away to create space between them before snatching the flying gun mid-air. Baron quickly unfolded his buster sword and placed it back on his belt for unholstering his other gun, combining it into its sniper rifle configuration. The rifle began to glow with golden energy as multiple powerful rounds were discharged from it. The golden streaks of energy would pierce the opponents armor multiple times.
The merc recoiled backwards in pain, clutching onto his chest which at this point was riddled with holes that began to bleed a black liquid. “Follow my lead.” Baron spoke, separating his gun once more and throwing one of them towards her direction. Masami caught it with grace as she made her way jumping to the other side of their target. Baron would throw his last flash grenade onto the masked foe before charging onto him, firing a barrage of bullets towards his direction while motioning Masami to do the same. She immediately did as was told, shooting one precisely aimed bullet after another. As he got closer, he began sliding onto the ground to get a better angle at the less protected areas of the bodies. The momentum would carry him forward and allow him to reposition himself behind that merc. “This clinches it!” Standing back up behind the Merc, he would press and activate the combining mechanism on his gun, opening it, preparing it to receive the other half of the gun to return to its sniper rifle configuration. “Do the same thing you did with your chakram!” He instructed her to empower his pistol with the dark element, giving it an extra kick, while his own gun began glowing gold.
Now having made her way around to also be behind the Merc and was now next to Baron, she quickly waved a hand over the gun, making its aura glow a brilliant red with a few smoke lines of black mixed in as she aimed it at him. They shot simultaneously at the MetaMerc creating two orbs of opposing forces, red against gold, with him in the middle, getting the full impact of each. Wind picked up from the blasts making whatever loose fabric they each had flow back. As the lights started to subside she held the gun upward and next to her face. "Is it over?" She asked, waiting for the debris to settle.
The combined power of the two metaverse users combined into a volatile ball of explosive force. The projectiles would hit merc with full force, sending him flying across the room and deep into the wall, creating a dark tunnel into the abyss.
Baron breathed, inhaled and exhaled. Still trying to recover from the venom coursing through his veins. “No…we…people like him dont go down that easy….” Baron replied. He slowly motioned for Swan to get moving, cautiously moving away from the hole. Suddenly from the hole, the familiar voice of the Merc called out to his own persona. “Jormungandr!” This was then followed by the violent rumbling of the ground beneath them, until eventually, a massive Cobra-like snake emerged from the ground, attempting to swallow the two whole in its maw. At the last second Baron would push Swan out of the way, as he was carried off into the ceiling, where the snake continued to burrow upwards with Baron in its mouth, leaving behind a big gapping hole that went all the way to the surface of mementos.
Masami looked up, deciding that the ceiling was too high for her to jump up through, so she had no choice but to take the stairs up to find them. She ran as fast as she possibly could, hoping that Baron would still be at the very least alive when she got to him.
Upon reaching upstairs, Baron could be seen lying on the ground, just a few meters away from Mementos. He struggled to get up after an attack like that, but from the looks of it, managed to fend off the creature and its owner as well.
When she spotted him she got down next to him and lightly shook the mentor, not even checking to see if the Metamerc was still there. “Baron? Baron, you chivalrous asshole, you didn’t need to jump in for me. You better stay alive,” her words came out as uncouth yet the expression of how she said them contrasted into worry as she placed a hand on his abdomen uttering, “Recarm”. Even though she wasn’t equipped to heal him of the poison, she knew that it would at least help him until he was able to acquire a cure from wherever his personal stash was. She then waited, expecting him to wake up. Looking down at him in this state, she felt guilty as if this was all her fault. “I’m so sorry Baron. Damn it, I knew I should have done this on my own,” she scolded herself while this was the first time she had apologized to him.
Baron said nothing at first, remaining motionless on the ground. A few seconds later he would cough and move again, revealing that he wasn't even unconscious, just resting there out of exhaustion. “You know…usually people would thank other people when they do something nice for them instead of calling them an asshole…” He joked while propping himself back up onto his feet. From his belt he would grab a vial filled with a mysterious liquid. He would shyly slide his mask up a bit to drink potion, finally counteracting the venom inside him. Baron breathed a sigh of relief, finally feeling better again as he dusted the debri on him. “As if you could have pulled this off yourself….” Despite what she may think, Baron wasn’t angry at all at the fact that she asked for help. In facting, it made him feel happy that one of the team members was comfortable enough to ask something from him. But then again she did try to blackmail him……
“How about you listen to my orders next time? You could’ve gotten killed tonight had I not intervene in the last few encounters.” Now, there was a hint of annoyance in his voice for this sentence, but he seemed relieved to see that she was healthy enough to continue to condescend him. “No more free favors for you!” He sighed once more, noting how much trouble he had gotten into just to fulfill her request. He really has gotten soft.
Regardless of how much he was berating her on the events of the evening, she was very glad to see him conscious, knowing that he would be able to heal from the damage done.
As for his recommendation on following his orders next, she knew that if it were to happen again she would react the same way as she did. “Not a problem. I don’t think I’ll be asking for another favor in quite a while if at all. And hey, I could’ve gotten killed, but I’m still here. I think you need to give me a bit more credit, partner. If you want consistency with someone following your orders, you should hang around one of the other Phantom Thieves members more often… aside from maybe Shiro.”
She knew that she wouldn’t have been able to deal with everything that had happened to her, but at least he wouldn’t have gotten hurt like he did. On the other hand, she probably wouldn’t have been able to steal her parents' hearts to begin with. She inwardly retracted her statement, once again feeling thankful for his help even though she felt like she didn’t deserve it since she tried to blackmail him. She looked away timidly as she then started to say, “But all jokes aside, you’re right. You do deserve a thank you. You could have easily turned me away, but you didn’t. I know that you’d probably say it was to keep me in good standing to continue happily working on the Kamoshida case, although what you've done today helped me all the same anyway.”
"Believe what you want. I fulfilled my end of the bargain. And you will fulfill yours.” And just like that, Baron slips back into this cold and calculating businessmen persona. “If I were you, I’d be concerned about who hired that metamerc to off your parents. People like him don’t come in cheap. So I’d suggest looking into who they’ve wronged recently to narrow down the culprits.” For him, it was back to simple business. Well, as simple as it can be at least. In his line of work, it pays to be professional when dealing with clients. And as much as he has become fond of this group, they should still be treated as just another client.
“It really could be a whole list of people that it could be. Narrowing it down might be difficult. I don’t usually prod into their dealings, but over the next couple of days while they are reflecting on their behavior, I will make sure to acquire such intel. Who knows, they might end up trying to send them after me next,” She put a hand to her chin in thought. He made a good point that she really hadn’t thought of until he brought it to her attention.
“Well we probably shouldn’t stay out here for too much longer, huh?” She was about to get up but then stopped as she said, “Oh, I still haven’t given you a proper thank you.” She paused, placing a thin finger to the cheek of her mask tapping it in thought. She wasn’t used to the mere act of thanking someone so it was quite difficult for her to think of something. Not to mention she didn’t really have anything to give to him. Suddenly a thought came to her with a blush making her currently glad that her mask covered most of her face. As she contemplated the reward, she felt that it was unconventional yet fitting in light of recent events. Plus he certainly would have earned such a prize. The only question was, would he allow it? “Okay I got it but, you got to take off your mask first.”
As if she would be able to see his eyes in the first place. He already had a hunch on what she was gonna do. But even a guy like him isn't mean enough to deny such a thing. "Is this still part of your request?" He joked and sighed. No harm in humoring with her request for a token of appreciation. He slid his mask upwards, revealing his rather sweaty face. Despite having the same face, he looked very different from his usual self in school. Much more hardened, serious and ruthless. "Well, what's so important that you require me to expose my visage?" He asked sarcastically.
“Just shut up and take my thank you,” She said embarrassingly as she took off her own mask revealing that she was still blushing knowing that he would notice. When she looked at him she had to admit that she had always found him appealing, but that was never a factor in her mind that would have changed her opinion of him whether she did or not. This time it was different though, after today she was starting to see him in a different light.
Even with her blush she refused to let herself crumble in front of him like a lovesick fool. She leaned forward letting her nose brush the side of his as she placed a hand on his chest and with her other hand she slyly gave him back his gun, slipping it into his holster with a sleight of hand wondering how long it would take for him to notice. She wanted to know what his reaction would be with anticipating a kiss before she then just kissed him on the cheek. “There, now I won’t tell the others about how I’m your favorite if you don’t tell them about that, okay?” She smiled.
Sougo stared into the girl's eyes, his vision unflinching. As expected she went in for the kiss on the cheek, which was the safest option. He thought it was funny how much she was blushing even before the kiss, practically looking like she was having a fever. But in all honesty he didn't expect her to follow through with it. He found it pleasantly surprising and surprisingly pleasant. He also noticed that she slipped his gun onto his holster, a very useful skill to have. After her lips parted from his cheek, he would slowly slide back his mask in place. But if she was quick enough to notice, she would see a small smile. "You're welcome…you're good with your hands. That can come in useful later…" He was quick to change the subject back to something more professional.
This time Masami actually welcomed his deflection into a different topic. She wasn’t completely ready to come to terms with the feelings she deep down knew she was starting to have for Sougo. The ex-swindler wasn’t too shocked to hear he immediately noticed that his gun was safely back in his possession. There was a reason why he had the reputation that he did. She scoffed as she stood up while putting her bird skull mask on, “While it is useful, it’s also what got me in trouble with you in the first place as I’m sure you haven’t forgotten.”
She then looked at his wounds and asked, "you'll be okay heading back on your own though right?"
"Hm….don't you worry about me Swan, I'll be fine. And I'll be sure to utilize your skills cautiously." Once again, he placed his on her shoulder, but something felt different this time, as if there was more mutual understanding between them. "You've become a very important member of this team. I'll be sure to take care of each and everyone of you." There was a sinister undertone, though knowing Sougo, it's probably all part of his galaxy brained plan.
And so just like the first day they became partners, he ended things with a hand on her shoulder and a vague statement, yet Masami interpreted it as him reassuring her rather than before where he seemed to try to give off a feeling of superiority. “I’m sure you will. Goodnight Baron,” She took out her phone giving him one last look before pressing the familiar icon of an eye before leaving the metaverse. Just like that, the masked man disappeared from sight in the next second.
Now she accepted him and his antics as she felt a change within herself. Happy that her parents were finally going to accept responsibility for all that they have done and Masami can now choose the kind of person who she wants to be. She didn’t know the kind of person she will be by the end of this venture being with the Phantom Thieves, but she knew that from this point on, she could freely decide her own path.
All this speculation was purely out of curiosity though. What really weighed on her mind was that she had been part of the Girls Volleyball team for the past few weeks and didn’t have very much information about Kamoshida to give to Sougo. With all things considered, he had actually been treating her as one would with a business partner but at this rate, she was fretful that he might consider the time he has invested in her to be a lost cause and report her along with her family anyway. She despised the power he held over her with what he knew and how she had to be worried about not pleasing him by having a lack of valuable details. Even though Masami was trying to turn over a new leaf by working with the Phantom Thieves, she wished she was able to find something to level the playing field, but Sougo was too smart to leave traces of anything demeaning if there was any. So until she found anything considered remotely incriminating on Sougo, she had to go by his rules.
She debated on resorting to more drastic measures in order to gather more intel from Kamoshida, but she wanted to run it by Sougo first. During this meeting with him that she was currently going to, she wanted to bring it up to him. Especially since their meetings had occurred so seldom to where they were either cut short or just canceled altogether due to him seeming to have become more busy outside of the Student Council as of late. It worked out just as well though because most of the time when this happened, she had to train with the Phantom Thieves and Baron.
Masami opened the door to the student council room arriving on the dot to the time they previously agreed to meet up at.
At last, Sougo finally had some free time for his own business. Juggling phantom thievery and academics had been a lot tougher lately with the increase in workload. But he was happy to see that his investment of training the thieves was starting to become a lot more fruitful. With the defeat of the Matriarch, cult activities have finally started to die down, and the students at Shujin have finally dropped any pretense of joining such an organization.
On the other hand, the other half of investments had not been as fruitful. Kamoshida has been on his “best” behavior as of late. Well, as good as it gets anyways. Its tough, but they are basically in some sort of deadlock where they are essentially merely tolerating each other’s existence. With the full time employment of Maruki, Kamoshida’s leverage on Kasumi had somewhat dissipated, but he still had a lot of power over the overall sports related events and clubs of the school.
Thankfully, the thieves still technically owed him from all the way back in the Kajiki incident.And he is planning on leveraging this by asking them to have Kamoshida to be their next target. As it stands, they are the only ones that can actually prompt the pervert to manifest his treasure. While Sougo alone would likely be able to easily carve a path and wreak havoc in his palace, the only thing he would be able to do is kill the man. And as much as he wanted to, he’d rather not have the entire school go through a traumatic experience on his behalf. Additionally, the presence of other metamercs in this high traffic area would increase the probability of him meeting one.
So much to do, so much think about. Sougo continued reviewing the documents assigned to him. He was impressed by how fast work could pile up for a salaryless job. Nonetheless, he continued to chip away at the pile, knowing that he had a lot of catching up to do in other areas as well. But at least he managed to convince the student council to let him bring his own swivel chair.
And right on queue, Masami entered the student council room, much to his delight. Seeing as he already had the backing of phantom thieves on his side, there wouldn’t need to rely on Masami’s more traditional way of gathering information. Seeing as she was part of the Phantom thieves as well, perhaps it was best to relieve her of her workload. “Ah Ogawa-san. Right on schedule.” he greeted the girl with his usual smile while glancing at his watch.
“Let's get right into it shall we?” Pulling out a separate file, he was about to list down a few things he thought about the current state of their “business” relationship. “Our investigation as of late has been rather lackluster to say the least. Without sufficient evidence, I won’t be able to make convincing accusations to have the school remove him. The only thing we have right now is rumors and hearsay, which doesn’t really amount to anything.” For the first time in a while, Sougo sounded disappointed with the development of these current events, but he also understood that such things couldn’t be helped, at least not for now. Sougo sighed, shifting his face to lean on the palm of his hand, looking like a displeased critic in a movie screening.
“It seems to me that this relationship is not as beneficial as I initially thought it would be.” He tapped his fingers on the table, thinking about his next few steps carefully. “What are your thoughts on this topic?” He finally asked the girl, still tapping his fingers. From his perspective, from a transactional standpoint, this relationship no longer made any sense. Though he does enjoy her occasional quips and comments on other matters. He patiently waited for the girl to give him an answer. But from the way he sees it. It’d be best to just forget about the entire operation. He didn't have any further plans of blackmailing her anyways since she will still be working for him, just under a different name.
Masami clenched her fists at how he mentioned that their arrangement wasn’t that beneficial, but she calmly held herself together as she responded with, “I know I can get something on him, just give me a bit more time.”
She then looked away as she continued much to her chagrin in what she was about to say, “The festival featuring all the clubs of the school is coming up. I’m thinking about volunteering to be part of the clean up crew to get some one on one time with Kamoshida in order to speed things along. I know it’s risky, but such risks might be necessary in order to get the information we need.” She had an idea already as to what Sougo would say, but she was at the end of her rope at this point. She had to ensure that he wouldn’t report her parents, at least not until she felt ready to take them on in Mementos so that they could admit all their crimes rather than leave the judicial system to rely on circumstantial evidence.
Truth be told, Sougo was actually ready to just let her off the hook until she suggested she would be willing to have “one-on-one” time with the pervert. He was impressed by her tenacity, though he did think she seemed a bit desperate to satisfy him despite not having any personal vendetta with him. “Well, if you think that will work, be my guest. Just don’t go doing anything reckless.” The potential for entrapment was strong in this plan, but Sougo didn't see any issue with that. If anything, it could snowball towards bigger things if executed correctly.
“Also.. I’ve noticed you have yet to expose your parents for the charlatans they are.. Is there any particular reason for this?” This question was mostly asked out of curiosity. The last time he visited her shadow, she seemed desperate for a way out of her current swindling lifestyle and yet here she is clinging to it. “Having second thoughts?”
Masami scrambled to think up an excuse as to what has been holding her back. When she couldn't think of anything she was only able to say with a forced scoff, "Far from it. It's just that other matters have come up to factor in that I need to consider before jumping into turning them in." She said this in hopes that he wouldn't pry, but by this point she knew him well enough to know that he wouldn't just leave it at that. In many ways, they were similar because if the situation were switched, she definitely wouldn't let this answer slide.
To support this answer she then said, "Just know this, I am looking into the best interest of others. Not just myself." The words came out a bit more forbidding than she had meant for it to be, but she felt that her point was made all the same.
Sougo sighed upon hearing her answer. It didn't sound like she was lying per say, however, she cleverly avoided anything specific towards how exactly she was “caring” about the interest of others. “Hmm and here I thought you were the type to only look out for yourself. A swindler with heart. You are truly an amusing character, Ogawa-san.” He chuckled a bit, thinking how funny it was for he of all people to use caring about the best interest of others as an excuse.
“Very well, I shall allow you to wait longer on that decision. However, if you wish to continue swindling, I suggest you avoid setting your targets on the students of Shujin.” He gave her a stern warning. She of all people should know full well how protective he is towards the student body, or at least that's how he appears to be. “If you’re having a hard time with something you shouldn’t have to face it alone. After all, we are partners, we need to lean on each other.” Sougo has said this same exact line to the Phantom thieves once. He said this line out of concern towards Masami’s cold feet. He would just go with his usual blackmail tactics, but felt that this would be a more effective method.
In response to his mini lecture, realization hit Masami like a ton of bricks as many pieces clicked into place as to why Baron seemed so familiar to her. She recalled Baron saying exactly the same thing during the training sessions and before the Phantom Thieves infiltrated Matriarch Suzuki’s palace for the last time. This led her to think about the cadence in his voice matching Sougo, how Baron seemed to be a calculative person as well, hell even his physical mannerisms were similar. There was no doubt in Masami’s mind that Sougo was in fact Baron. This was exactly what she needed in order to have leverage with him, but she needed to be very careful since the stakes have been raised because Baron was a force to be reckoned with. Sougo was already a capable person as is, but knowing he was Baron made him all the more dangerous to deal with now.
Upon putting this together though, she tried her best to keep her poker face on and tuck this away for after this meeting to figure out how to use this knowledge to her advantage. For now, she needed to focus on acting casually. “While I appreciate the concern, I think I’ll use my own methods on solving my problem. I’ll let you know if I need any help with Kamoshida though. Will that be all for this meeting? I kind of have places I need to be,” she stated rudely, wanting to immediately get to work creating a plan.
Her response was rather rude, which was somewhat out of character as she usually at least attempts to be polite in their conversations. He was somewhat disappointed that she was not willing to open up to him, but then again, given the circumstances of their “friendship”, such a response was not completely unexpected. “My doors are always open.” He gave her a signature smile and a wink, showing his more carefree and playful side. “There is…one more thing…” His face shifted into a more serious look before he finished his sentence.
“What is your opinion on….these Phantom thieves? They’ve been making headlines lately, and many members of the student body seem to have taken a liking to them.” Of course he already knew who each and everyone of them were. He just wanted to see how Masami would react to being questioned on the matter. Sougo was pretty good at telling when someone was lying, so It’d be interesting to see what Masami had to say on the matter.
To Masami, everything that came out of his mouth seemed to take on a different meaning now. She looked away as she thought about how to respond through the perspective of herself if she never joined the Phantom Thieves. With unwavering stoicism she looked him in the eyes as she said, “I support the Phantom Thieves’ cause, but I don’t think that they would support people like me. Sometimes it takes more than just stealing a heart to change a person."
Masami was a complex individual in that she knew by being a member of the Phantom Thieves she was doing good, but she felt like she didn’t deserve the trust, kindness, and support the others had shown her. Especially since she was still acting as a grifter. Masami understood now that Baron knew what she did in her pastime yet still kept quiet letting her train with the rest, but what of everyone else? If Shiro found out that Masami was still conning people even after giving her a second chance by letting her join the crew, would she still treat her the same? Would any of them still do so if they knew? These questions constantly plagued her mind ever since she went back to hitting the streets to prey on people that day after stealing the Matriarch’s treasure.
She gathered that he knew she was Swan so she really didn’t care how he read into her words. It was all the truth. “I hope that answer satisfies you Agata.”
“I see.” Sougo replied as his face returned to his usual carefree demeanor. He noticed that she seems pretty uneasy with herself despite them having an overall casual conversation. “Hey, lighten will you! I was just asking for an opinion. No need to get all serious.” He laughed it off before turning his eyes back to his papers. “Maybe, maybe not. But we will save the discussion some other day. I think I’ve taken enough of your time for the day. Take your time with the information gathering. Just bear in mind that with each passing day, more students are suffering silence under him. If all else fails, I still have my ace in the hole.” Sougo gave the girl a playful wink. He knows something she doesn't. Something everyone will soon find out.
“Isn’t that an oxymoron? Lighten up, but remember that others are currently in distress. No pressure,” she smiled a little back to him and then did a lazy salute to him with two fingers. “Until next time, Agata.”
After she walked out of the room she thought more about the situation and came to the conclusion that she was in a better position than she originally thought. Not only will she have some information to hold over Sougo, but now she can also use this knowledge to have Baron help her steal the hearts of her parents. The only thing that was stopping her before was experience, so if she relied on the experience of another person such as him, there shouldn’t be any issue to succeed in her directive. Aside from that, she can also ensure discretion since she assumed Baron wanted to keep his true identity hidden and she wanted to keep the problem she had with her parents under wraps as best as possible.
She waited a couple of hours after the meeting before setting her plan in motion by sending Baron a message saying, “Hey, can we meet in Mementos tonight around 6:00 PM? I have some personal issues I’d like to discuss that I need assistance with. And no, this isn’t me calling for a therapy session. The assistance I need does involve Mementos. I don’t feel that this is something to trouble the others with so it will be just me showing up. I hope that’s okay with you.” She wanted to convey the message as if she was finally letting herself “lean on others”.
Sougo was surprised by the girl’s sudden request. So far, none of the other Phantom thieves had the nerve to meet him alone. And to do so casually as well, truly playing into Baron’s curiosity. "I'll be there." He gave her a simple and direct reply without revealing how curious he was about the matter.
As per usual, Baron had arrived 15 minutes earlier than his usual time. On his way there, the shadows understably cowered before his presence, hinting at how powerful he actually was. Despite their time together, so far he has yet to summon his persona in front of the thieves and solely been relying on his consumables and physical prowess.
He still wondered, wouldn't his friends be a more appropriate partner to solve this problem with? Time to find out. He waited patiently for Swan to arrive, sitting lazily on the seat of the subway. "So, to what do I owe the pleasure of this private meeting, Swan?" He spoke with a curious and casual tone.
Masami heard his voice echo through the now empty, eerie corridor of the station while she walked down the steps as the black feathers of her mask bounced along with each step. She was anxious about what she was about to do, but there was no way she could turn back now. She still felt like she could have prepared herself better, though when it came to Baron there would never be enough time for preparation. “Oh I think you already have an idea as to what this private meeting is about. As an ex-metamerc I assume that you would never ally yourself with people unless you have looked into them. So I’m pretty sure you know the fact that I have parents that are the worst kind of criminals. How am I doing so far?” She grinned smugly at the mentor.
“Oh?” Baron raised an eyebrow towards her response. To see her so confidently lay out her current information, and essentially taunt him with it. It was exhilarating. From the way she talked, it is very likely that she has not only found out who he was. But there was one thing that still bothered him though. If she knew was an ex-meta merc, why wasn’t she so cautious with confronting him?
“Its never a good idea to assume things.” He spoke, slowly walking closer and closer to the girl. His aura of intimidation had increased exponentially, significantly much stronger than what he has showcased before throughout the training sessions. It was true, he had been holding back, but just how much is the real question. At this point, the communicator device given to her began beeping furiously, attempting to warn the user of a dangerous entity approaching her. If she were to inspect the device, she would see a skull icon on top of Baron’s portrait, which simply read as “level ??”.
“I would say pretty good. But you’ve made the mistake of showing your hand too soon..” In a blink of an eye, baron disappeared from her sight completely. There was no sign of any movement, so footsteps, no airflow of a speedster. The next second, she would feel a hand holding onto the shoulder, which would sense immense chills throughout her body. “So, why am I here?” In truth, Sougo just wanted to mess around with her, since she seems to have an interesting personality. He already had a vague idea of what she wanted, but Sougo, just couldn't help himself to make a scene like this.
Despite feeling fear course through her, she still managed to speak evenly though she dared not move an inch with his grip still having a firm hold on her shoulder as she spoke, "Fine, I'll get to the point then. Help me take out the shadows of my parents or else I will reveal who you really are. I have a batch file linked to an email set to send a message tomorrow to the other members of the Phantom Thieves if you so much as destroy my persona or dispatch me in any way, so I would think very carefully about your next move if I were you, Agata Sougo.” This was no bluff on Masami’s part. It was the only preparation she felt could really make a difference should he try anything to combat her. She hoped that his alliance with the Phantom Thieves was something he valued enough to at the very least not risk harming her.
“Hahaahahh!” Sougo released his grip on the girl as he walked in front of her, not worried in the slightest. Though he was thoroughly entertained by these theatrics. The swindler was trying to blackmail the Baron of blackmail. “And therein lies your mistake, my dear apprentice.” He pointed to her as his laughter subsided. Baron walked back towards the subway seat, and sat back down, returning to his relaxed posture. “You assume that I care if your friends know who I really was.” Baron explained, while crossing his legs. “Even if they did, they still need me for their future operations. Palace guardians aside, the stronger Meta Mercs would make mince meat out of all of you without my intervention.” He explained calmly while looking towards the ceiling. “I am your deterrent, your arms dealer, and mentor. The way I see it, you need me more than I need any of you.” To a certain extent, what he said is true. But he’d rather not have his investment go to waste after all this time. And truth be told, he is rather fond of this group. “If blackmailing me with my identity is all you got..then I am afraid you’re out of luck…” he sighed, feeling both impressed and sorry to see all of Masami's efforts going to waste. “But if you need help…..you could have just asked..” he added to the back of his sentence, hinting that he was still very much willing to help her despite her attempts at blackmailing him.
At first with each word Sougo spoke, Masami’s anger began to rise as the words sank in. She knew everything he said to be true. Even after her life thus far being taught by her family how to deceive and outsmart people, in this moment she knew that there were some things she still wasn’t adept in like he was. And suddenly her irritation came to a cease when he still offered to help her. “You would still help me?....”She furrowed her brows looking down with guilt.
“Don’t tell me, ‘but it’s going to cost you’, right?” She asked still skeptical that he would just help her out of the goodness of his heart, if it was even called goodness. “Do you really expect me to believe that you would just let this whole debacle go and help me steal my parent’s hearts?”
“Of course I would. Afterall, we are partners right?” It was difficult to tell how sincere or sarcastic he was, but perhaps deep down he did grow to care about her well-being, or she's just a asset worth investing in. “Yes it will, but we can save that discussion some other time. I can’t have a member of my team wallow in self-pity like that. Its bad for team morale.” He gave a half-hearted explanation towards why he was helping her, which was somewhat believable. “I expected you to carry out this operation with your teammates, rather than entrusting your chance at true redemption to a total stranger that you know next to nothing about.” He quickly criticized her idea of “expectation.” He probably wouldn’t forget this transgression, but at the same time, he wouldn’t hold it against her, much.
“In anycase…” pressing a button on his watch, he would send her the location of her parents in mementos to her watch, indicating that he knew the purpose of this meeting beforehand. “Lets get going, we don’t have the Mona Mobile with us, so we gotta cover ground on foot.” He sighed, as he slowly walked towards the direction of their targets.
“Right,” Masami said, looking down at the watch to see just how far they had to travel to get there. She then walked alongside him as she reflected on what was going on. Since he was helping her, she wouldn’t need to worry about him having information on her and her life as a swindler. In her mind, this was collateral damage that she felt was necessary. Even though she had yet again had a debt to pay in regards to him, she knew it would be worth it if it meant that all the criminal activity done by her family would finally come to an end.
“And by the way… I would rather ask a stranger to help me than my friends, because at least I wouldn’t need to worry about the stranger looking down at me…. But I think I may have asked a friend to help me anyway,” she mentioned, with this being the closest it would be for him to get an apology from her due to her stubborn nature. Yet in this moment, it was only then that she started to feel that they were truly partners even though Sougo had repeatedly tried to drill that in her head leading up to this event.
“Yea yea..just don’t go telling the others about this. I don't want them to think I am playing favorites.” He answered her, shrugging off his supposed kindness as something that should be kept between them. “And if they would look down on you for that, they weren’t your friends to begin with.” His words were harsh, but the way he sees it, true friends wouldn’t be so critical of her, given her troubled upbringing. Sougo had a similar past, though unlike her, he didn't have any friends he could fall back on. The world was cruel, but that made him strong, unfeeling, unrelenting and unforgiving. Or at least thats he convinced himself to be. “I’ll help you reach your parents, but you have to be the one to finish the job. Got it?” He wanted a poetic end for their charlatan saga.
“I wouldn’t have it any other way. In fact, I’d be pissed if you didn’t give me the luxury of doing so,” Masami smirked at this and gave Baron a thumbs up with a wink. Though she jested about this upcoming battle, she had mixed feelings about it. Not that she was having second thoughts at all, but more so she was stressed about seeing their true colors for the first time and what they really thought of their daughter. In her experience being in the metaverse so far, these shadows did not filter their thoughts and did not sugarcoat their words. Going into it, she knew that it was not going to be pretty, and would leave her scarred. She knew she needed to face them though and so she prepared herself mentally as they made their way through along the beaten path of the dirty railways that snaked around Mementos.
“Here, you’re gonna need this.” Sougo tossed her one of his beloved sidearm. It was a lot heavier than it looked, almost like it was a real gun. “The shadows here are a few levels above you. This should even the playing field for you. Though it has a killer kick to it.” He warned the young lady about the strong recoil of his weapon. Most people wouldn't be able to tell with the way he fires them so effortlessly when fighting shadows. It was rare for Sougo to lend out his own personal firearms, but since he didn't bring his armory today, he didn't have much of a choice.
Masami caught the weapon, but with the weight it had she slightly lowered it in surprise so she inspected the firearm, impressed by the definition in it. Model in the real world or not, the craftsmanship was intricate so Masami wondered what it took for him to get his hands on it. She couldn’t see a shop owner so freely selling it over the counter with that much detail involved. “Thanks, but I think I can handle the recoil,” She said before looking around to make sure no shadows were nearby before she tested it for herself by aiming at a pipe that hung above a junction in front of them. The gun did kick back and probably would have left a bruise if they were in the real world, but it still hurt cause even with the warning, she wasn’t ready. “Owch damn… alright I see your point,” she pouted before putting the gun away for the time being.
“Always learning from experience, I see.” He chastises her for not believing his words. Baron moved forward while using the watch to guide them both. Giving directions to follow every so often. Most of the shadows were too afraid and weak to even approach the duo. Though every so often, one or two shadows would be brave enough to approach them only to be one-shotted by the Baron’s pistol. After a few more minutes of walking, they had finally reached a dead end where the shadow of her parents resided. “They are just up ahead. Are you ready?” Baron upholstered his own gun, and gave a few spins, something he did quite often before and after the start of a battle. “In battle, do not hesitate, no matter what you see or hear, remember the task at hand and focus on that.” Dealing with normal shadows is easy, but to see someone you know turned into such twisted creatures can lead to….complications.
Masami bit her bottom lip nervously. She wasn’t even trying to hide her wariness about going into this battle. She shook her head to stave off her nerves and took a deep breath. “I am ready. I know how they work, so this will be tricky. But don’t worry, when the time comes I know I’ll be able to finish them,” she nodded with determination.
She took a couple of more beats before taking the lead to approach her parents. The similarities Masami had with each parent was evident. Even though her mother had long, dark brown hair much unlike Masami. The shape of her eyes as well as the upper part of her face in general was reminiscent of Masami’s facial features. Her father had black slightly wavy hair which is where Masami got the texture of her hair from. The slim, lower part of his face was the part that matched her own. Together, they both really were an unassuming couple and didn’t stand out at all if anyone were to meet them in passing which was exactly what they aimed to be perceived as.
Upon approaching them, they broke this facade and craned their necks to notice her in an almost unsettling way with a growing smile as a predatory fashion. “Masami! Our pride and joy, our little princess. Have you gathered that money yet?” Her father was the first to speak.
Her mother was then the next to speak with a slight frown, “Those clothes really don’t flatter you. Is this why you haven’t met your quota this month? How do you expect anyone to take you seriously and believe your grifting with that on? Remember what your father and I have always told you…”
“Always dress the part you are acting as,” They both said simultaneously talking down to her.
Masami gritted her teeth and spoke back to them, “I’m not here to discuss the quota. I’ve come to set things straight and steal your hearts, or whatever is left of them at least.” With that, she summoned Scheherazade to get ready for what comes next.
“Stealing our hearts? What do you… oh I see. I do recall hearing about these Phantom Thief people. So you two must be part of this group. Though I am surprised Masami, after all your mother and I have done for you, are you really going to treat us like this?” Her father asked, trying to play the victim.
“It doesn’t matter though darling. We’ve beat her into submission before, we can do it again. If all it takes to get her back on the streets to get money for us is a beating, then so be it,” Her mother spoke of the abuse so nonchalantly making Masami wince slightly at hearing it.
“My my, such strong words from such despicable people.” Despite his care-free response. There was a slight hint of anger within Baron as he had always believed familial ties were the most important thing a person could have, or at least he used to believe that. Hearing openly profess that they were the source of her misery…it was unforgivable! Every child deserves a parent, but not every parent deserves a child. The baron’s fist tightened, as a golden aura briefly enveloped his body, his cloak violently flowing about like his entire body was emanating a strong wind of destruction.
Fortunately, this display of power did the last long, as finally calmed down, the bright aura dissipating along with his anger. “You two should be thankful your daughter has decided to be your judge. I know many others who would not be so kind with their verdict.” He was of course referring to the MetaMercs, as well as himself. “Now then, let’s see what we can do about those nasty hearts….” Baron shifted to a running stance with both his arms out to side, fingers flared out, looking like they were about claw some faces off. Once again, the baron disappeared from sight, immediately reappearing right in front of both the parents. Placing both his hands on their heads, he violently rips their “faces” off with forward momentum, forcing them reveal their true forms. Jumping back to Masami side, he gives her a nod of affirmation, signifying the start of the battle. Unholstering his gun, Baron would fire a few rounds onto the ceiling, causing large chunks of rubble to fall onto the parents, giving the duo some cover to prepare for their next attack. “You’re up swan!” he signaled her to go on the offensive, curious to see what she had in store.
When Baron unveiled her parents to Masmi she was surprised at how morphed and detestable their forms were. She had suspected their souls to be hardened, but she hadn’t expected them to be fully made of stone like they were before her. She had to remind herself though of Baron’s words not to hesitate at all. So she got into her fighting stance as she took out her newest weapons she had acquired from Mementos on a different occasion, the twin chakrams. “Right! No holding back!”
These ones were much lighter and gave her much more control in contrast to the one large chakram she previously had. Not to mention one other feature these new ones had that Masami was pleased with.
To start the battle she threw one of them out hitting the figure with wings which then bounced off her and onto the figure that was her father as her mother screeched from the blow she took. The contact made a horrible noise of having the metal grind against the stony exterior and after a bit of attempting Masami flicked her wrist, commanding it to return back to her as she sent out Scheherazade to follow up. She threw out her claymore embedding it in the ground separating her parents so that one would not be able to help the other immediately as she grasped the winged being and with a gravelly voice said “Dormina” since she was obviously the weaker one of the two.
Masami briefly looked at her watch, seeing that it now recognized them as “Al-Lat” for her father and “Manat” for her mother.
“You know…they say that the toughest obstacle a boy will face is the father of the daughter. But….” His voice trailed off as he charged forward, performing his signature “flash steps” a few times, before reappearing in front of the beast face to deliver a mighty backhand to his face, sending him flying across the floor and embedding him into the wall. “You seem pretty easy to me!” Baron just couldn’t help taunting shadows that have an inflated sense of self worth. “Well come on then! Show me what you got! You’re supposed to be the man of the house right? Hahahha!” The masked man condescendingly gestured to him to strike him. Sougo got into a boxer’s stance and playfully threw a few practice punches in the air.
“At least make this a warm up for me!” It was pretty obvious he wasn’t taking him as a serious threat or perhaps he had something up his sleeve. “So what kind of justification do you have for treating your daughter so poorly? Was it because you needed the money to pay a debt? A chance to boost your feeling of self-worth by fleecing the less intelligent folk? Surely deep inside within that rotten heart of yours, you still had some love for your offspring?!” The last line was particularly filled with disdain, almost as if he had a personal vendetta against the specific matter. While taunting the shadow, Baron had prepared a flash grenade behind him, something he would toss onto the shadow right as it would charge him. A chance to reposition and attack from another angle. Despite how it looked, this wasn't all fun and games. Baron was simply testing to see how vulnerable this shadows are towards taunting. At the same time, he wanted to exercise caution with his strength. The last thing he wanted to do was accidentally murder the girl’s parents.
“Ergh, you know nothing of what it means to have a child, boy. The hardships that come with it.” The beast grunted, the face was unchanging and the voice echoed, sounding like it was coming from inside the stone figure as if it was an empty shell. He moved away from the wall and stabilized back onto all four of his feet before continuing, “We raised her and honed her skills in order to at least get SOMETHING back after Himari gave birth to that wretched girl. They drain your money, your time, your very being and what do you get in return? No thank you AND she brings a boyfriend along with her to rebel against you. Or are you one of her targets she is stringing along that we tasked her to go after? I forget, there have been too many.” Even though his face did not move, there was a clear tone in his voice that he was smiling; showing that he knew what Baron was trying to do by attempting to get a rise from him, but it proved unsuccessful and he was in fact now trying to do the same to him.
He slammed one of his front legs down, and a barrier formed around him looking like he used the 'tetrakarn' ability.
Against Manat, Scheherazade was unable to put her to sleep and Manat retaliated by taking advantage of this close proximity, "Psiodyne!" Scheherazade was then knocked back as Manat flared her wings getting ready to take flight. "How dare you! You robbed us of our hopes and dreams. We provided for you throughout your life so you owe us!" She charged forward passed Scheherazade and straight towards Masami, grabbing her by clenching her claws into her arms and lifting her as she soared upward. "Your very existence belongs to us and it always will!"
Masami struggled to break free as she let a lifetime of anger subdue the pain. "I robbed you?! You two have robbed me of the ability to connect emotionally to people! You robbed me of having a normal childhood!" Finally Masami was able to break an arm away, letting herself receive deep scratches from Manat's Claws before she took out Baron's gun. Since she only had the one arm available she used the center of her own chest to back up the recoil and aimed as she pulled the trigger hitting her squarely in the stomach area. She let go of Masami and flew back as Scheherazade dived to catch Masami over her shoulder as she fell.
“Ah It speaks, yet the only the thing that comes out is garbage!” Baron tossed the grenade that had been cooking in his hand, providing him with ample time to reposition himself for a counter attack. After seeing it cast Tertrakarn on itself, he knew he couldn’t just brute force his way out of this one. Taking out the watch from before, the scans on her parent’s shadows were finally complete, revealing to the Baron that the weakness of Al-Lat was Light-based attacks. He smiled underneath his mask, while replacing the current magazine of his pistol with another from one from his utility belt. He always made it a habit to carry a handful of different ammo types with him. In this case, he was swapping it out for his light-based rounds. They weren’t as strong as his normal elementless rounds, but they were more than enough for the likes of him.
He brandished his pistol and twirled it stylishly in front of his opponent while waiting for him to recover the flash bang. Seeing a sign post sticking out of the wall, Baron would kick the pole, completely uprooting it from the ground and sending it flying towards the shadow. Just as he expected the pole went flying back to him with equal force upon making contact with the shadow, therefore expending the physical shield it had casted on itself. Baron had anticipated this, simply kicking the pole away as he sprinted towards the beast. Just before he collided with the beast, Baron would slide downwards, positioning himself right under its belly and unleashing a stream of light blast onto its belly at point-blank range. Continuing with the momentum of his slide, he would eventually find himself behind the beast. By now the Shadow should be considerably weaker, and as promised he wouldn’t be the one to finish him off.
Turning to Masami, he could tell that she was fighting tooth and nail in this battle. From there, Baron's once cold frozen heart thawed out just a bit, finally deciding to give her a small helping hand. Grabbing Al-Lat by the tail, Baron would pull on him while moving with spinning motion until he finally lifted him off the ground. Once he generated sufficient momentum, the masked man would release his grip on the creature’s tail, sending it flying towards his partner’s general direction.
Baron would follow the beast, leaping upwards to pursue it. Within the next second, he would reappear from above Al-Lat, kicking off the ceiling of the mementos, he would push himself downwards onto the shadow, tackling the four legged beast downwards, forcing it to rapidly descend near the area of the winged beast. “THIS IS GONNA HURT!” He shouted with full vigor and finesse.
Now that both of her parents were next to each other, Masami took this chance to hit them both. "Scheherazade, finish them off! Eiga!"
The persona became one with the cursed energy that had originated from Masami and sunk into the ground quickly. The red shadow now streaked across the floor to the couple blocking them from escape as its aura surrounded them as if it were flames with the way it moved. Scheherazade morphed from the red shadow on the floor to her usually silhouetted form once she reached them and unsheathed her claymore and slashed the both of them in one clean slice with a final attack at the same time causing them both to be defenseless.
Masami approached them and held up Baron’s gun in their direction, “Hand over your treasure, and leave this place to repent. But before you do…” she decided to ask them both one last question before forcing them to leave.
“Did you ever love me?...” She asked, refusing to look away from their faces yet still had the tone of a desperate child.
Her father put down what she assumed was their treasure as her mother was the one who began to answer her, “Of course we did… at one point in time.”
“We were overjoyed to have you at first… but we were so young when we had you. We realized we were not ready, not equipped to support you properly. Naturally, we relied on unlawful methods to get money,” he looked away ashamed as both him and his spouse began to disappear.
“And when you started copying us with what you saw us doing and were more successful than were at it due to your age. We weren’t able to just let you stop,” The mother finished as Masami began tearing up, not knowing what to say. It was the sad reality that what she had expected from them was true.
Seeing Masami pull off an impressive maneuver to vanquish both shadows at once was most satisfying. As he saw the two shadows begin to show their true feelings to their daughter, he couldn’t help but stay silent and let them speak their mind. He too longed for catharsis with his own relationship with his parents. But unlike her parents, they didn't have any shadows that he could change hearts of. Perhaps that was the worst part of the relationship, showing that they were not twisted at all. He gave the girl some sufficient time to recollect her feelings before slowly approaching her, reluctantly placing a comforting hand on her shoulder as she cried. “And so ends the saga of the Charlatans… you did well.. Swan” he congratulated her in facing not just her parents but also making peace with her past. He was proud of her, perhaps she would be the most worthy apprentice among all the phantom thieves, at least for the time being.
“You’ve extended your second chance to not just yourself, but also your parents. A kindness that few would provide, especially to those who have wronged them.” Baron explained, before retracting his arm turning to face the exit. Their mission was done. Hopefully this little favor would ensure her continued cooperation. At the same time, he was genuinely happy that the girl was able to resolve her grievances. But unbeknownst to both of them, this feeling of respite would not last long. “Let’s go, we’ve accomplished our mission. As I said before, I’d appreciate it if you could keep this operation between us. Revealing this to the group may cause…unnecessary complications..” He didn’t want to cause unnecessary drama with such blatant displays of favoritism.
For a long time, Masami felt her emotions curl in on itself, unable to leave from the spot she stood at as she couldn’t stop from crying softly until Baron anchored her back into reality by his encouraging words. Once he was done she sniffled back the rest of her feeling, trying to reel in the tears as she wiped her eyes. She gave him a small smile as she felt a huge weight being lifted from her, knowing that she had him to thank for it. A favor that she knew she probably would never be able to fairly pay him back, but strangely enough she didn’t mind. This mission started because she couldn’t stand the thought of needing to pay him back, and now she felt accepting and with an even bigger debt that needed to be paid.
“Ah so you do care if they find out,” she teased, feeling her usual demeanor start to come back. She then bent down to pick up the items the shadows left behind. One was a family portrait from when she was a newborn baby that showed all three of them happily together. She had never seen this picture before so Masami tucked it away for sentimental reasons. The other item was a purple card that was engraved into it the word “Tetrakarn”. From prior knowledge, Masami knew that she could use this card to later on give this ability to Scheherazade to learn by absorbing it.
“Don’t worry, your secret is safe with me. There wouldn’t be any benefit in it, if I told them anyway,” Masami shrugged as she holstered the gun just in case any wiley shadows approached them on the way back. Plus, she was starting to really enjoy using it. “But I will say this, you shouldn’t distance yourself from them for too long. You should be able to freely lean on us as well. And I don’t mean just out in the battlefield. But that’s your prerogative, until then you got me at least, “ she winked to him as she began following him out in the direction of the exit.
“I’d prefer to avoid unnecessary loss of efficiency and cohesion within the team.” Baron swiftly replied as he continued towards the exit. She wasn’t wrong about being distant towards the others, but knowing his past experiences, it was better for him to keep things this way. “I said that all of you should lean on each other, that unfortunately, does not include me.” His tone was rather cold with this reply, a hint towards a negative experience he had in the past. Though part of him did like having at least one other person he could lean on, but she didn't need to know that. He sighed, thinking how much he has grown soft over the past few weeks with the Phantom thieves. Although she didn't know this, it was always a risk for him to go out to mementos without prior preparation. Being a metauser of this strength in low level areas tends to attract unwanted attention.
Judging from his response, Masami thought it possible that he may have been burned in the past by getting too attached to the wrong person or people. She really couldn’t fault him for acting the way he has with the Phantom Thieves, especially since she herself couldn’t bring herself to ask them for help. She knew all too well the difficulty in letting yourself trust others; so she left it at that, respecting his space on such matters.
Upon exiting the “room” of her parent’s shadows. He noticed something was amiss, there were no other shadows nearby. It was completely silent. The only thing that could be heard were the passengerless trains in the background and strong howling winds of the tunnels. Baron’s instincts were telling him there was an impending danger nearby, he just couldn’t tell what it was. It was far too early for the reaper to show up, and the shadows on this floor should pose no threat to him. On the other side of the room, he could spot a weak dying shadow evaporating into nothingness while covered in some sort of purple liquid. As the shadow finished “dying” he could vaguely see a humanoid silhouette hiding behind it. There was a noticeable gleam to him, almost like he was holding something shiny.
“We need to move, NOW!” Baron shouted. Without any prior notice, Baron grabbed the girl, bridal style. He didn't have time to be polite, if this person was who he thought he was, they were both in a lot of danger. Baron would perform a few massive leaps into the air, while carrying her, trying his best to put as much distance between them and the enemy. Seconds later, a few shots of purple streaks could be seen coming from the opposite direction where he was running from. The shots were loud, and powerful, clearly something of significant caliber and power. Despite his evasive movements, eventually even the great baron was struck by the shooter’s shots, a testament to the gunmen’s skill.
In spite of tanking a few shots, Baron continued moving at full speed. Eventually, the shots stopped coming. A few minutes later, the masked man finally stopped jumping to place the girl down. His breathing became labored as he spoke to the girl. “You….you need to get out of here..” the masked man unholstered his pistol and swapped back the magazine, preparing himself for the inevitable confrontation. “The exit path is….. just ahead.” Baron began to lean on the wall next to him. Not letting the venom get the best of him, he pushed against the wall to force himself to stand up right. “...Just…..go…I’ll join you…lat-..” Before he could finish his sentence, Baron would eventually collapse onto the ground face first onto the floor, revealing deep bullet wounds behind him. The holes were oozing out the same purple liquid from before. Masami was about to kneel down to try and mend his wounds somehow, until she heard something.
Suddenly, a whistling sound could be heard emanating throughout the corridors of mementos. The sound got stronger and stronger until finally, the mysterious shooter revealed himself to the duo. “Yo~!” He greeted them with a playful salute, revealing the full splendor of his metaverse outfit which resembled a cybernetic bounty hunter with cobra motives. With a high tech looking-gun resting against his shoulder, he gleefully walked closer to the two.
From the way he walked and whistled he seemed like a cavalier person.”Guess today is my lucky day! Here I was looking for some swindlers to kill and instead I find the Great Baron in my sightlines.” He jovially narrated his predicament, enjoying each step he took towards the downed masked man. At this point, Masami’s watch would begin producing that all too familiar beeping sound, indicating that this foe was not one to be trifled with. “You can leave now girl. He’s the only one I want.” The figure made a dismissive hand gesture to the girl, looking like he was shooing away a cat rather than a person.
Without a second thought Masami took a step to the side so that she was even more in between the stranger and Baron.“No,” she said simply as she wondered to herself what the hell she was doing. If even Baron recognized him as a danger then what the hell was she doing getting in his way. She had to remind herself that she wasn’t the selfish Masami that thought about her own well-being anymore. And besides that, he had just helped her with a task she couldn’t have done on her own and he was obviously willing to put his life on the line to save her. She felt that she had to do the right thing and stick by him.
“Before laying even a finger on him you’ll need to get through this ‘girl’ first. Scheherazade,” she threatened with ample determination as her persona appeared next to her. She surprised even herself with how protective of him she sounded against who she presumed was a Metamerc.
“Spunky little one aren’t we?” The figure commented on Masami’s attitude, as he disassembled his gun, returning it to its base configuration which resembled a pistol. “Ask yourself this, young lady..is this guy really worth all the trouble you’re getting into?” He slowly raised his gun to face her. Unlike Baron, his aura was ghastly purple but was just as equally intimidating as his.
With a pull of the trigger, his gun would violently release a purple mist towards the girl’s direction. While the poison gas wasn’t as potent as his envenomed bullets, inhaling them would result in a decrease in stats. Her vision would also begin to blur, as she would struggle to even stand straight. “You’re lucky I’m a professional!'' The figure spoke while walking gently pushing her to the side as he continued walking to Baron.
She covered her mouth as she was put aside, though that didn’t seem to do any good since she had already inhaled too much of the gas. “Marakukaja,” She managed to have coughed out to at least neutralize her defenses as well as raise Baron’s. As she focused on keeping her balance, she pointed to him and Scheherazade understood that Masami wanted her to stop the man. The persona tried to do so by taking out her claymore and tried to slam it over him expecting to at least deter him momentarily from moving onward, potentially once again blocking him.
Masami then took out one of her chakrams and threw it out in his direction in an attempt to land a hit on him even with her blurred vision. She wanted to try everything she could to hold him off, yet she didn’t know for how long she would be successful in doing so.
The figure sighed in disbelief, seeing the girl still foolishly attempt to stop his advance despite being clearly outmatched. Merc would effortlessly catch the claymore of the persona with his bare hands, stopping it dead in its tracks. “You know…there is a fine line between bravery…and stupidity…” Hearing the chakrams flying through the air, the armored man turned around, kicking one of the flying blades to the ground and catching the other one mid-flight. “Can you guess which one are you?” There was a hint of annoyance in his voice, as winded up his arm to throw the chakram back.
Fortunately for Masami, he wouldn’t get the chance to finish this action. Within a split second, Baron went from lying down on the floor, to standing up. Taking out an object from his cloak, the small handle would quickly grow to the size of his usual buster sword before he took a swing at the unsuspecting merc. He managed to get clean hit on his back. He would then follow it up with another strike, only for it to be blocked by his forearm guard. “HAAHAH playing possum are we? Didnt think you were the type to rely on cheap tricks like that!” The merc laughed as he backed away from him.
Judging from the breathing pattern, Baron was still powering through envenomed bullets, but he knew if he didn't intervene things would get ugly real fast. “What can I say?.. I am just full of surprises..” He tried his to retort in his usual carefree tone, but the truth is it was` painful to say anything. Now, the merc was caught between Baron and Swan. Perhaps the tables have turned for the better. The Merc’s attention was completely invested on Baron, completely ignoring Swan. From Masami’s perspective, she could see a deep gash on the Merc’s armor, where Baron had struck before. “....Swan…get out of here..this is my fight…” Once again, he was trying to get her to leave.
Masami shook her head, refusing to go as she started to hatch a plan. "You should know by now that I'm too stubborn to do that Baron. And for your information, I consider myself neither stupid or brave. I like to think of myself as impulsive," she said as she motioned for the chakrams that the MetaMerc deflected to return to her as discreetly as possible while he was distracted. She then embedded cursed energy to it and signaled for Scheherazade to flank the enemy before dashing toward him as she threw the chakrams out aiming for the hand he held his weapon in. This was not her main goal though. As the chakrams made contact, she swiftly took out Baron's gun, maneuvering in front of the MetaMerc and aimed at the gash in his armor firing into it several times before letting the recoil throw itself back up and over her shoulder in the direction of Baron to catch.
The masked villain would be shocked at the sudden strong attacks that impacted him from behind. Despite hitting its mark, the merc held onto his weapon with a deathgrip, though he was impressed by her ingenuity in the face of facing a physically superior opponent. Using the small moment of distraction to his advantage, Baron would kick his opponent away to create space between them before snatching the flying gun mid-air. Baron quickly unfolded his buster sword and placed it back on his belt for unholstering his other gun, combining it into its sniper rifle configuration. The rifle began to glow with golden energy as multiple powerful rounds were discharged from it. The golden streaks of energy would pierce the opponents armor multiple times.
The merc recoiled backwards in pain, clutching onto his chest which at this point was riddled with holes that began to bleed a black liquid. “Follow my lead.” Baron spoke, separating his gun once more and throwing one of them towards her direction. Masami caught it with grace as she made her way jumping to the other side of their target. Baron would throw his last flash grenade onto the masked foe before charging onto him, firing a barrage of bullets towards his direction while motioning Masami to do the same. She immediately did as was told, shooting one precisely aimed bullet after another. As he got closer, he began sliding onto the ground to get a better angle at the less protected areas of the bodies. The momentum would carry him forward and allow him to reposition himself behind that merc. “This clinches it!” Standing back up behind the Merc, he would press and activate the combining mechanism on his gun, opening it, preparing it to receive the other half of the gun to return to its sniper rifle configuration. “Do the same thing you did with your chakram!” He instructed her to empower his pistol with the dark element, giving it an extra kick, while his own gun began glowing gold.
Now having made her way around to also be behind the Merc and was now next to Baron, she quickly waved a hand over the gun, making its aura glow a brilliant red with a few smoke lines of black mixed in as she aimed it at him. They shot simultaneously at the MetaMerc creating two orbs of opposing forces, red against gold, with him in the middle, getting the full impact of each. Wind picked up from the blasts making whatever loose fabric they each had flow back. As the lights started to subside she held the gun upward and next to her face. "Is it over?" She asked, waiting for the debris to settle.
The combined power of the two metaverse users combined into a volatile ball of explosive force. The projectiles would hit merc with full force, sending him flying across the room and deep into the wall, creating a dark tunnel into the abyss.
Baron breathed, inhaled and exhaled. Still trying to recover from the venom coursing through his veins. “No…we…people like him dont go down that easy….” Baron replied. He slowly motioned for Swan to get moving, cautiously moving away from the hole. Suddenly from the hole, the familiar voice of the Merc called out to his own persona. “Jormungandr!” This was then followed by the violent rumbling of the ground beneath them, until eventually, a massive Cobra-like snake emerged from the ground, attempting to swallow the two whole in its maw. At the last second Baron would push Swan out of the way, as he was carried off into the ceiling, where the snake continued to burrow upwards with Baron in its mouth, leaving behind a big gapping hole that went all the way to the surface of mementos.
Masami looked up, deciding that the ceiling was too high for her to jump up through, so she had no choice but to take the stairs up to find them. She ran as fast as she possibly could, hoping that Baron would still be at the very least alive when she got to him.
Upon reaching upstairs, Baron could be seen lying on the ground, just a few meters away from Mementos. He struggled to get up after an attack like that, but from the looks of it, managed to fend off the creature and its owner as well.
When she spotted him she got down next to him and lightly shook the mentor, not even checking to see if the Metamerc was still there. “Baron? Baron, you chivalrous asshole, you didn’t need to jump in for me. You better stay alive,” her words came out as uncouth yet the expression of how she said them contrasted into worry as she placed a hand on his abdomen uttering, “Recarm”. Even though she wasn’t equipped to heal him of the poison, she knew that it would at least help him until he was able to acquire a cure from wherever his personal stash was. She then waited, expecting him to wake up. Looking down at him in this state, she felt guilty as if this was all her fault. “I’m so sorry Baron. Damn it, I knew I should have done this on my own,” she scolded herself while this was the first time she had apologized to him.
Baron said nothing at first, remaining motionless on the ground. A few seconds later he would cough and move again, revealing that he wasn't even unconscious, just resting there out of exhaustion. “You know…usually people would thank other people when they do something nice for them instead of calling them an asshole…” He joked while propping himself back up onto his feet. From his belt he would grab a vial filled with a mysterious liquid. He would shyly slide his mask up a bit to drink potion, finally counteracting the venom inside him. Baron breathed a sigh of relief, finally feeling better again as he dusted the debri on him. “As if you could have pulled this off yourself….” Despite what she may think, Baron wasn’t angry at all at the fact that she asked for help. In facting, it made him feel happy that one of the team members was comfortable enough to ask something from him. But then again she did try to blackmail him……
“How about you listen to my orders next time? You could’ve gotten killed tonight had I not intervene in the last few encounters.” Now, there was a hint of annoyance in his voice for this sentence, but he seemed relieved to see that she was healthy enough to continue to condescend him. “No more free favors for you!” He sighed once more, noting how much trouble he had gotten into just to fulfill her request. He really has gotten soft.
Regardless of how much he was berating her on the events of the evening, she was very glad to see him conscious, knowing that he would be able to heal from the damage done.
As for his recommendation on following his orders next, she knew that if it were to happen again she would react the same way as she did. “Not a problem. I don’t think I’ll be asking for another favor in quite a while if at all. And hey, I could’ve gotten killed, but I’m still here. I think you need to give me a bit more credit, partner. If you want consistency with someone following your orders, you should hang around one of the other Phantom Thieves members more often… aside from maybe Shiro.”
She knew that she wouldn’t have been able to deal with everything that had happened to her, but at least he wouldn’t have gotten hurt like he did. On the other hand, she probably wouldn’t have been able to steal her parents' hearts to begin with. She inwardly retracted her statement, once again feeling thankful for his help even though she felt like she didn’t deserve it since she tried to blackmail him. She looked away timidly as she then started to say, “But all jokes aside, you’re right. You do deserve a thank you. You could have easily turned me away, but you didn’t. I know that you’d probably say it was to keep me in good standing to continue happily working on the Kamoshida case, although what you've done today helped me all the same anyway.”
"Believe what you want. I fulfilled my end of the bargain. And you will fulfill yours.” And just like that, Baron slips back into this cold and calculating businessmen persona. “If I were you, I’d be concerned about who hired that metamerc to off your parents. People like him don’t come in cheap. So I’d suggest looking into who they’ve wronged recently to narrow down the culprits.” For him, it was back to simple business. Well, as simple as it can be at least. In his line of work, it pays to be professional when dealing with clients. And as much as he has become fond of this group, they should still be treated as just another client.
“It really could be a whole list of people that it could be. Narrowing it down might be difficult. I don’t usually prod into their dealings, but over the next couple of days while they are reflecting on their behavior, I will make sure to acquire such intel. Who knows, they might end up trying to send them after me next,” She put a hand to her chin in thought. He made a good point that she really hadn’t thought of until he brought it to her attention.
“Well we probably shouldn’t stay out here for too much longer, huh?” She was about to get up but then stopped as she said, “Oh, I still haven’t given you a proper thank you.” She paused, placing a thin finger to the cheek of her mask tapping it in thought. She wasn’t used to the mere act of thanking someone so it was quite difficult for her to think of something. Not to mention she didn’t really have anything to give to him. Suddenly a thought came to her with a blush making her currently glad that her mask covered most of her face. As she contemplated the reward, she felt that it was unconventional yet fitting in light of recent events. Plus he certainly would have earned such a prize. The only question was, would he allow it? “Okay I got it but, you got to take off your mask first.”
As if she would be able to see his eyes in the first place. He already had a hunch on what she was gonna do. But even a guy like him isn't mean enough to deny such a thing. "Is this still part of your request?" He joked and sighed. No harm in humoring with her request for a token of appreciation. He slid his mask upwards, revealing his rather sweaty face. Despite having the same face, he looked very different from his usual self in school. Much more hardened, serious and ruthless. "Well, what's so important that you require me to expose my visage?" He asked sarcastically.
“Just shut up and take my thank you,” She said embarrassingly as she took off her own mask revealing that she was still blushing knowing that he would notice. When she looked at him she had to admit that she had always found him appealing, but that was never a factor in her mind that would have changed her opinion of him whether she did or not. This time it was different though, after today she was starting to see him in a different light.
Even with her blush she refused to let herself crumble in front of him like a lovesick fool. She leaned forward letting her nose brush the side of his as she placed a hand on his chest and with her other hand she slyly gave him back his gun, slipping it into his holster with a sleight of hand wondering how long it would take for him to notice. She wanted to know what his reaction would be with anticipating a kiss before she then just kissed him on the cheek. “There, now I won’t tell the others about how I’m your favorite if you don’t tell them about that, okay?” She smiled.
Sougo stared into the girl's eyes, his vision unflinching. As expected she went in for the kiss on the cheek, which was the safest option. He thought it was funny how much she was blushing even before the kiss, practically looking like she was having a fever. But in all honesty he didn't expect her to follow through with it. He found it pleasantly surprising and surprisingly pleasant. He also noticed that she slipped his gun onto his holster, a very useful skill to have. After her lips parted from his cheek, he would slowly slide back his mask in place. But if she was quick enough to notice, she would see a small smile. "You're welcome…you're good with your hands. That can come in useful later…" He was quick to change the subject back to something more professional.
This time Masami actually welcomed his deflection into a different topic. She wasn’t completely ready to come to terms with the feelings she deep down knew she was starting to have for Sougo. The ex-swindler wasn’t too shocked to hear he immediately noticed that his gun was safely back in his possession. There was a reason why he had the reputation that he did. She scoffed as she stood up while putting her bird skull mask on, “While it is useful, it’s also what got me in trouble with you in the first place as I’m sure you haven’t forgotten.”
She then looked at his wounds and asked, "you'll be okay heading back on your own though right?"
"Hm….don't you worry about me Swan, I'll be fine. And I'll be sure to utilize your skills cautiously." Once again, he placed his on her shoulder, but something felt different this time, as if there was more mutual understanding between them. "You've become a very important member of this team. I'll be sure to take care of each and everyone of you." There was a sinister undertone, though knowing Sougo, it's probably all part of his galaxy brained plan.
And so just like the first day they became partners, he ended things with a hand on her shoulder and a vague statement, yet Masami interpreted it as him reassuring her rather than before where he seemed to try to give off a feeling of superiority. “I’m sure you will. Goodnight Baron,” She took out her phone giving him one last look before pressing the familiar icon of an eye before leaving the metaverse. Just like that, the masked man disappeared from sight in the next second.
Now she accepted him and his antics as she felt a change within herself. Happy that her parents were finally going to accept responsibility for all that they have done and Masami can now choose the kind of person who she wants to be. She didn’t know the kind of person she will be by the end of this venture being with the Phantom Thieves, but she knew that from this point on, she could freely decide her own path.
Last edited:
