thenearshore | [Closed] A Gathering of Thieves

Entry tags:

[Closed] A Gathering of Thieves

Who: The Phantom Thieves and their Shinki
What: Information Sharing.
Where: The Far Shore, the Park
When: July 26th, Late Afternoon
Summary: 3 new gods arrive to find that 2 of their closest friends are dead, and they are responsible
for two other people as well. A talk is needed.

Warnings: Major Persona 5 Spoilers in comments, also probably language.

[Arriving here with little warning had been jarring enough, but when the Phantom Thieves realized that they weren't alone, and that two of their number had no memories, it was time to confer somewhere. Temples and the like had felt a little raw, and not wanting to stray too far from the Far Shore until they had their bearings, the group had gathered in the park. Akira, Ann, Futaba, Makoto, and Ryuji, along with the shinki that had unwittingly become part of their circle, all standing around in a small clearing, talking. It should've been a positive occasion, but there was no denying the shroud that hung over the group. There was a lot to talk about, and things that needed to be agreed upon.

The question was...how to even start?]

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[He wasn't heading in any particular direction, just wandering, when he hears the sound of splintering following loud thumps not far from the path he's taking. Into the trees he goes, following the noise until he happens upon Makoto... a very red and angry looking Makoto.

You'd think that one would have the sense to not sneak up behind her the way he's doing, but this is Ryuji and he's far past the point of caring by now. Besides, it's not really sneaking up as much as it is not making himself known until he's behind her, hands sliding into his pockets as he slumps his shoulders.]

What'd the tree ever do to you?

[She doesn't pause in her furor, her fists grinding against the wood, flinders flying off in all directions as she pounds away. It's easier than she imagined, if she just thinks of that guy's face.]

Ryuji.

[Another swing, a vicious right cross, and she tears through more of the trunk with a resounding crack. That broke her concentration on the routine enough to whirl around, expression a little wild, her breathing heavy. Slamming her fist one final time against the oak, she meets his eyes with her own, like cherry-red coals burning in her sockets.]

I want to strangle something but I can't. What would you propose I do to get out some frustration?

[He jumps when she slams her first one last time against the tree, but he doesn't back down or away. Not this time. Instead he takes a brave step toward her, followed by another and his hands come up in front of him as if to show surrender.]

Just don't strangle me, alright? [That's where he'll stop, still leaving a couple of feet in between him and the raging girl in front of him.] We're all stuck on the same stupid boat here. You were the one who told me that we gotta keep our heads on straight, and yours is lookin' a little crooked, yeah?

[His own is far from being on straight, still trying to absorb everything that's going on between them all... Akira not feeling like Akira to him... Ann, too. Everything is messed up and nothing makes any sense.]

[It's the placating hands that do it, forcing her to tear her gaze away from him, her fists lowering to her sides. Still, no. That's not enough to completely push back the fury inside.]

Are we? I saw him die Ryuji. I got to watch as that snake killed him.

[She felt his fear, the gun barrel pressed to his head, and those last dying moments. It was fleeting, but enough. She knew, and it was tearing into her, biting to the quick. She...they...hadn't been good enough.]

I'm trying to keep it together. For his sake. For Ann's sake. For that poor little girl. But all I can see when I close my eyes is that.

You ain't the only one who's gotta see that shit, y'know!

[He loses his hold on that carefully kept temper of his at the mention of Ann and of him - the stupid crow who picked away at them and everything they worked so damn hard to achieve. He rode on their backs like a parasite...]

Every time I close my goddamn eyes, I just see Ann disappearing. Hell, all of us. So yeah, I'd say we're stuck on the same effin' boat here! And this other kid, I don't even know 'im, but he's just a kid. Same as the rest of us.

[That. That's not helping. The rage around her flares up, his anger literally feeding hers, the red aura deepening.]

Ryuji. I know. What you saw. That kid deserves better, yes. Mabel does too. But you're not like me. You're not...Bellona.

[Belligerently, she steps forward, and it takes an effort of willpower not to grab him.]

...I can barely keep my temper, Ryuji. Whatever gave us these new powers...I can't keep it together like you right now. You of all people should know how hard this is for me.

[And how much admitting that costs her.]

You call this keeping it together!?

[If that's what she believes then maybe he's put on a better front than he thought because this is far from keeping it together. There are a lot of shitty things that have happened in his life but having to "name" Ann and essentially brand her with some weird symbol so that she can become some "tool" is by far the crappiest thing that's happened thus far. There's only so much shit someone can take before they start to break, and it seems that the two of them may have found their limit.

There's a subtle crack in his voice when he yells back at her, the heel of his shoe digging firmly into the dirt when she steps towards him and he holds his ground against her. Despite the red flares lighting up around her, she's still Makoto. They're still teammates and classmates... Phantom Thieves.]

Yeah, I'm sure it's crappy for you, too... but you aren't some shitty god. You're Makoto.

[Is this his way of trying to comfort her? It might just be.]

[He's more together than her right now. Her aura should be some indication of that, as red wisps start reaching for him like fingers. His belligerence isn't helping matters because she'd had to do the same thing to their leader. She's still near the breaking point though, those red tendrils swirling dangerously. He's Ryuji, he's just going to make matters worse, and her eyes only get redder and redder, deep boiling pools of wrath. The only thing that keeps her from slugging him is the fact that he is Ryuji but that's beginning to seem like a poor excuse.

Until he says something unexpected.

You're Makoto.

She freezes, the light seizing up, not vanishing yet...]

...Then...what is this? [She doesn't snarl but she does speak with the low voice of someone filled with anger and no valve.]

This...anger. It isn't going away. It's not like in the Metaverse.

[Well, looks like he's hit something that isn't a nerve for once. There's a first for everything, he supposes.

He rubs at the back of his neck, buckling a little under the pressure and tenseness that hangs in the air between the two of them. He's not really sure how to answer that question.]

I know as much as about it as you do, and I'm guessin' it ain't much.

[He regards the red tendrils coming at him with a hard stare. Were this under any other circumstance, he may have thought they were pretty cool, but his excitement is dampened by... well, everything. He offers his answer with a sheepish, crooked smile.]

Maybe it's got somethin' to with those sweet new powers of yours.

I wouldn't call them sweet.

[She takes a step back, disgustedly staring at the aura, the tendrils retreating as shame becomes more her dominant emotion.]

From what I was told, they feed off of my anger, and the anger of people around me. I get stronger...faster. Like something out of a manga, which is absolutely absurd.

[The Unstoppable Bulk or something.]

It's going to take adjusting, and I can't control it well yet. Sorry...if I seemed like I was going for you.

[Well, maybe they will be later, when they can all control whatever it is this place has given them. He doesn't exactly have full control over his either, nor does he know what kinds of speeds he's capable of reaching but it's something he's willing to test out.

He rolls his shoulders in a shrug, backing off a little from Makoto with a step or two in the opposite direction to give her a little space. He slips his hands into his pockets and sways.]

Nah, it's fine. You're pissed, I get it. Ain't like you're alone feelin' that way. If it woulda made you feel better to take a swing at me, I coulda let you. [A beat...] Just gimme a heads up or somethin' first if you do.

It's not...

[She jerks her head from side to side.]

It's not that I wanted to hit you. It's like...I couldn't stop myself. My anger feeds on yours, now. So when you...act out...

[Well, she genuinely hopes you get the idea, if the rather pointed look she gives the receding red aura is any indication. She doesn't want this, at all.]

I would really, really appreciate it if you could keep your temper in check. I'm going to ask the same of everyone else. Until I'm better able to control it. I might...hurt someone and I couldn't live with myself if I did that to you. Or anyone else.

[He falls silent at her words before offering a crooked smile.]

You know I can't make any promises but I'll try. Just frustrated is all, tryin'a figure out all the shit that's goin' on and put it together with what people are tellin' me.

[And his smile fades as he meanders over to the tree and he slaps a fist against it in a much weaker hit than Makoto's capable of.]

It's not makin' any sense. I thought the plan we had worked.

That's enough. Try, Ryuji. Until I can figure this out.

[Stepping clear, she gives his punch a skeptical look, but her eyes take on a haunted quality. It's...hard...seeing them like this. Split up, leaderless save for a shell with his face and her, unable to keep her temper in check.]

Futaba and I think it's likely an alternate timeline. That's the only thing that makes sense. He obviously didn't in ours, but in some other universe, things may have gone differently.

[Yo, don't judge the punch alright? Not like he's some hulk like you are, Makoto. He can already feel her skeptical look without even having to look but he doesn't say or do anything about it. Instead, he slumps down to the ground helplessly and leans against the base of the tree with a tired sigh.]

Other universe? Alternate timeline? [That doesn't make much more sense than anything else around here.] Damn, you mean kinda like a bad ending in a video game or somethin'?

I...guess?

[Remember that your friend here hasn't played many video games, Ryuji.]

I think it's more like the multiple worlds theory. Every action and choice can create a split timeline. One where a choice was made this way, another where it's made a different way. Divergent realities occur, close to the original but distinct based on that choice.

[She continues with a matter of fact example, happy to have something to focus on.]

For example, let's take the choice of god assignment here. I could easily have been given a different god and ability, like Zeus or Hera. The conversation you and I would be having in a reality where my assigned got was Zeus would be very different. I think it's...like that with him.

All this talk about split timelines and different worlds is givin' me a splittin' headache.

[But he's read enough comic books to be able to figure it out. He scratches the back of his head and taps it against the tree a few times before looking up at Makoto.]

You think there was anythin' we coulda done to stop it in that other world? You said that we beat what's-his-face, so that means in your weird timeline, everythin' worked, right?

Weird timeline? I'm ahead of you, that's all.

[Rolling her eyes at him and puffing a sigh, Makoto goes on slowly, like she's teaching him something.]

I don't know if we could have stopped it. I don't have all his memories, but there's no point in dwelling on what cannot be changed. He's here, and as difficult a pill as it is to swallow, we need to. Any number of things could have gone wrong with that plan, with so much left to chance.

Guess you're right.

[He mimics her sigh with one of his own, this one long and drawn out and tired. He knows it's not something he should be dwelling on, but when you see vessels of your best friends void of their memories of you, it's hard not to dwell even a little bit.

But Makoto's right, as always.]

So that mean the Phantom Thieves are back on? The others're gonna need to know about us since they'll find out eventually, yeah?

As far as you're concerned, had they ever really broken up?

[She finally manages that small, teasing smile she does so well, elbowing him a little.]

But seriously I don't think that the bonds we forged can ever really go away. Persona or no, but here? We're going to need that identity. And that power.

[A pause.]

And they are going to need to know. I mentioned some of it to Shion-kun earlier, just that we have powers, and we're thieves. I just...told him it was the three of us so Akira and Ann won't find out. We'll have to induct them all, I guess. As strange as that will be.

Hey, watch it!

[He rubs where her elbow nudges him, returning the smile with one of his own awkward ones.]

You don't want Akira and Ann knowin' they got personas, too?

[Not sure he really understands what she's talking about, but his smile warms a little at the mention of Shion. Good, he'd met her. Makoto is a good person to have as one's side.]

No, no. I'm sure they'll find that out on their own. It isn't our place to tell them, and I don't think we can. I felt...sick...just thinking about telling them about their past. I think it'll come naturally, maybe seeing us use ours.

[She shakes her head a little.]

I meant we can't tell them that they're Phantom Thieves.

Yeah, I know what you mean...

[Even thinking about telling Ann anything about her past gives him an uncomfortable prickling feeling at the back of his neck.]

They're gonna be wonderin' what the eff's happening when they find out, though. Think we could tell 'em then?

No. They'll have to realize it on their own, else it risks them becoming an ayakashi.

Which is a problem, but one we can get around with care. Mind yourself, Ryuji.

[You know why she's saying that.]

Huh? Whattaya mean, mind myself? I didn't do nothin'!

[No, he doesn't know why she's saying that! He's kept his mouth shut about... most things... since he got here.]

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I somehow missed this one in my earlier tag bomb

fail

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