2026-07-15: Winds of Change

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<Pose Tracker> Hibari Aoki has posed.

PREVIOUSLY

A week and change ago, Hibari Aoki had been on a trip to Mementos. One of the things she does there is check on the Shadow of someone she knows is present, Kenzo Aoki (no relation) who she has... complicated history with. As a result of that history, it was with Kenzo's Shadow that she first awoke to her Persona months ago. While she wasn't able to deal with the Shadow by herself, or even with just Ogre and Phoenix (who knew more of her story with him than most people), she kept an eye on him to make sure he wasn't about to be a big problem.

This time, something was different. And so she'd called Ren, who she knew, for a second opinion; their chat had been interrupted by Futaba, who she didn't, but clearly knew something about Shadows. The three of them had gone down to Mementos together and come to the conclusion:

Something was changing with Kenzo. And left to his own devices, he was likely to become a Palace Ruler... and soon.

But the Phantom Thieves don't act unless everyone is in agreement, and so a few days ago, Hibari met up with them to explain exactly what had gone on between her and him, why she wasn't eager to see him and had previously warned Shujin students like Ren (even before she knew they were Phantom Thieves) to stay away from him, and *exactly* what the pair of Navigators - herself and Futaba - had seen.

And that leads to...

TODAY

Hibari has been nervous for the last four days - ever since she talked to the Phantom Thieves, and set a firm date on when they were going to do this. The fact that there were now exams next week was not helping, even though she is typically not quite as worried about those as some people. But there wasn't any way to put it off, and even if she could, she probably wouldn't. Better now than later. Can you imagine having to plan a Palace trip *during* exams? Even disregarding how much harder it was to deal with a Palace than Mementos...

The one part of the plan she was only tangentially responsible for was the calling card. Hibari is aware that notice was sent to the Palace Rulers because some of those ended up very public, but she didn't actually know that it was a requirement until she was told. She'd accepted it quickly, though. She even volunteered to help write it, seeing as she knew him best.

Morgana had been instrumental in actually delivering it, sneaking it into Kenzo's locker. There was a concern when he'd taken it out - along with another letter someone had put in there - and had simply not paid any attention to it, chatting with one of his classmates (Riki Narita, an occasionally mischievous third year who has a bit of a reputation as a flirt) and shoving it in his bag.

But he'd read it as soon as Riki left. Whatever he'd seen seemed to work; he'd gone red-faced - and with that, it was on.

Getting to the gateway in Mementos was easier than it could have been but not quite as easy as when it was a smaller group. Hibari - Mujina, really, since she was in her cognitive outfit by then, long coat with a fur ruff, black leggings, and her mask - had a Persona that was well-suited for the task.

Danzaburou made an excellent scout. Mujina had occasionally paused to let a small tanuki or two with the same faint bluish outline as a Persona down from the catbus; some time later they returned, with an idea of the upcoming area's layout and Shadows. (As a Navigator and analyst, Futaba can tell that those critters are not really individual beings, but part of the essence of Danzaburou, the tanuki lord. Necronomicon may have something that passes for high-tech scanners, but Hibari has her little informants; they're more like a spell effect than a creature.)

She'd also been able to help with stealth, but while she'd had no problem hiding four, seven was a little more complex, so they'd needed to sneak on their own some too. "Sorry," Hibari had said, apologetically. "If I spend all my effort keeping us invisible I won't have anything left for an escape, or for the Shadow... so maybe we should sneak a little too?" Still, her efforts made it *easier*, just not trivial.

It helps that she knows where they're going. Mementos shifts, but she's charted paths to Kenzo's Shadow multiple times, and she's gotten good at it by now. So it's not too long before the group can get to the portal, swirling black and red as the tracks distort and twist almost through 180 degrees.

"Here we are," Hibari says. This doesn't look very different than any other portal in Mementos to the little 'pocket zone' that distorted people claim, or conquer, for themselves, but there's a sort of nonphysical tension that suggests that that timer is still there - though it isn't worse than expected, it's also not better.

"...are we ready?" Hibari has been, for the last while, playing with something in her pocket. Now that they're here, Hibari actually pulls it out - a pair of baoding balls, metal spheres that she spins around and around and around on her palm using mostly her fingertips. They chime occasionally. She doesn't seem to really be thinking about it. 

<Pose Tracker> Ren Amamiya has posed.

    Ren hasn't been having the best time lately either for a variety of reasons. The big one they're willing to admit to is that they've been sleeping poorly due to nightmares, ever since the Mizunagi incident. As the days wear on, they're starting to get more exhausted. They've been fully not participating in getting ready for the upcoming joint school festival thing. Fortunately, as the Scary Transfer Delinquent, no one wants or expects them to help anyway.
    
    But this is important, and not something they can skive off on. They promised Hibari they'd help, and more importantly, this is not something they can put off. There's an extremely hard time limit. The sooner, the better, then. Morgana delivers the calling card and confirms Kenzo sees it, and then it's go time.
    
    They watch Danzaburou's little informants with interest when they go and come back; they're also fine with sneaking as needed. Having something to concentrate on helps keep bad memories at bay. Morgana of course provides transportation for most of the way there, as usual, and once they near the distorted train-track portal, they peer into it with narrowed eyes.
    
    "I'm always ready," Mona declares/boasts, having poofed out of catbus form and into regular not-a-cat form, paws folded over his chest.
    
    Joker nods with a slight noise of agreement, tightening their gloves one after the other. "We should be prepared for a tougher fight than usual for one of these guys," they comment.
    
    "Yeah. If he's about to pop a Palace... who knows how he might be different from the usual Mementos missions," Mona agrees.
    
    That won't stop either of them, though. Joker takes a moment to look over their shoulder at the others. A bigger group than usual is on standby with all the encounters they've been having in Mementos with the Wild Hunt of late; maybe they're being overly cautious, but if they show up, they'll cause hell without a doubt. The Phantoms can't afford a battle on two fronts. 

<Pose Tracker> Ichika Kawase has posed.

Ichika's done her best to be supportive. She's been busy with studying for exams and all, but Hibari is one of hers, and that's something that transcends finals. Right? ...Hopefully.

Regardless, Ogre is here now, and she's been sneaking around. "It's cool," Ogre had said when Hibari apologized. "We're used to a little actual work here."

But there they are... the strange portal, which even if it isn't unusual, is still strange at baseline to Ichika. She feels the 'tension' now that she's right up close to it.

...She has also commented on how cute the little guys are, but she doesn't belabor it. She's seen them before.

Mona is ready; Joker is ready. "I'll keep us up," Ogre says when Mona mentions he might be different. And sure, maybe they'll be cautious, but...

Ogre punches her fist into her other hand, nodding once. "Ready." 

<Pose Tracker> Futaba Sakura has posed.

 
PREVIOUSLY, ON DEEP SPACE NINE:

Futaba frowns intently as she adjusts her headset and leans forwards. She listens... and... abruptly gets up and leaves her room.

It is perhaps the fifth time she has left her house since her heart was changed. Her destination was Leblanc.

The reason remained unclear.

NOW-ISH:

"We're closing in on the distortion," Futaba reported like twelve minutes ago. "It's definitely on this level. It's a little funny how the paths are totally different than they were the first time. Is that normal for Mementos, Joker?"

For Futaba, this is perhaps still a try-out period. She doesn't have to commit yet. Coming on one ride-along isn't committing. She might just owe the Phantom Thieves a favor. Nevertheless... she seems to be enjoying herself, sitting in the middle left seat in the Monabus.

But now she's on her own two feet. The red lenses of her goggles gleam in the light. "Def," she concurs on Getting Ready. "You've got at least nineteen hours, so if you want to double check your loadouts and hotbars, now is the time!"

"Heh heh! That's Ogre for you," Futaba then says as she makes her preparations with preternatural speed. "Get ready to crush your foes and hear the lamentation of their mutuals!" 

<Pose Tracker> Tsubasa Seki has posed.

    "Nah. We goin'."

    That's what Tsubasa said, if they heard a lick of Hibari's nervousness over the timing, as dedicated as Ichika is on this one.

    (Easy for them to say... when they're not literally imprisoned, they do just fine in school without even trying all that hard...)

    Phoenix's orange feather cloak, pulled up over their head to obscure the rest of it alongside that grey witch-hat mask, is the loudest part of them right now; the ninja robes, beneath it, are dark grey save for the white sarashi bindings at belly, ankles and wrists. (They do, at least, have orange gloves, though their tabi are a much more sensible brown.) They're used to Mujina's informants, by now; they have even, privately, been heard to call them kinda cute.

    Not in front of everyone, though. Like. They got a rep.

    "It's cool," Phoenix assures her, when Hibari worries over being able to keep them hidden. "We're good at that. Check it --" They proceed to FUCKING HANDSPRING between flickering subway lights.

    Showoff. IT WOULDN'T BE SO EASY WITHOUT THE TANUKI PHOENIX!

    "I'm good," they confirm, at the precipice. And to Futaba, they boast, a strange mirror of Mona: "Ain't need nineteen hours. Two, tops."

    It's fine, because Phoenix is only metaphorically a bird, and Mona isn't really a cat.

<Pose Tracker> Haru Okumura has posed.

It's a busy time for everyone, between finals, the school festival, and Phantom Thieves business. Haru's had her own things on her mind as well, but she's tried her best to be there for Hibari leading up to the start of the mission. As such, she's among the Phantom Thieves who accompanies her into Mementos.

"We've grown quite accustomed to stealth, being Phantom Thieves and all." Haru assures Hibari, no apologies needed for doing their jobs. "Though your little friends are quite a refreshing way to scout a path~." Not to mention cute.

In any case, they've made it to the area of Mementos where Kenzo's distortions lie. Haru readies her axe, glinting in the darkness of Mementos. "I do enjoy crushing our foes and hearing the lamentation of their mutuals." Haru chimes in with Futaba. That is to say - she's ready, too.

<Pose Tracker> Hibari Aoki has posed.

Mujina fully intends to explain the informants if asked. Ren doesn't, which surprises her, but maybe it's just not the time. She already knows Ren has a pretty good idea of what she can do if not necessarily how she does it, and it's not like they seem particularly risky. (To anyone but Hibari, anyway. Smash too many of them and she'll probably break Danzaburou just like if he got attacked directly.)

She does agree with Haru, "They are, aren't they?" Don't worry, Phoenix, she won't spill that you think they're cute. "Just don't expect them to bail you out, usually... that's up to me."

One day, Hibari will figure out how Mona does that trick with the bus.

...Well, probably she won't, actually. But she'll try.

Hibari does force herself into a slight smile, which is at least mostly visible; it mostly covers her eyes and nose, her mouth is only partially covered from some angles. "Well, I'll try not to take your whole job away from you," is her response to Ogre, and by extension Phoenix. Especially at the handspring. *She* can't do a handspring like that.

And it's true! It isn't as if she can stop them from fighting *entirely*; she's at her best here, in Mementos, when they have a specific goal that they've already been to more than once, rather than exploring deeper or hunting down treasure. Plus, it's easier in Mementos to sneak by in general than it is in a Palace - while you can get a Palace on high alert, nobody's managed anything to get *all of Mementos* on alert before, and it's probably for the best because how would you even do that? You'd need the whole world's attention on you...

"Mementos does change," she agrees with Futaba. "But it's not too bad, or hard to find your destination, if you've got a goal you've been to before. Exploring blind, though..." That's how you can get into real trouble down here.

Let's be honest. Hibari is particularly chatty because she's nervous; it's one of the ways she handles it, by smiling a lot but also rambling a little more than she really should. But she's started to realize it. She shoves the baoding balls back into her coat's deep pockets, takes a breath -

And steps inside.

---

The distortion is severe. It feels like being spun more than usual, like the twisted space that made the tracks run up the wall went through a little extra half-twist. And inside -

It looks like the usual kind of pocket for the Shadow Selves... except for the walls. In many of the little pockets the walls have patterns on them, and the patterns are scored deep here; red cracks like a fractal pattern on the wall, and just at the edge of your vision no matter where you look, a kind of network or spiderweb of shimmering light. These are visible in some places in Mementos anyway, especially deep, where the distortions get worse - they're just more obvious here, probably because the distortion is also worse than usual.

And there's Kenzo. Kenzo is a third-year, dark-haired, tall, and generally considered handsome by most of the student body. He'd be more handsome if he wasn't smirking.

"Well look who's back," he says, looking at Mujina. "Here to run away again? Or - look, you brought your friends." His gaze passes onto the Phantom Thieves. Mujina he clearly recognizes, but she's the only one; his gaze lingers on Ogre and Noir for a long, uncomfortable moment, passes onto Futaba and practically dismisses her, then Phoenix, Joker, and Mona.

"It's not going to make a difference," the Shadow-Self Kenzo says, mostly to Hibari. "I'm important, and you're nothing, no matter how many times you come back." His smirk widens as Hibari freezes up, in a way that Ogre and Phoenix are most familiar with -

Hibari has trouble with direct confrontation. Demons are one thing. Even Palace Rulers, okay. But people, just people - that's different. Good girls don't argue and talk back. She averts her gaze, even through her mask, breathing faster -

"You're wrong," Hibari says, quietly. "You don't get to tell me what I am..." She loses it, for a moment, but then picks it up: "And your family can't save you all the time. Are you even anything without them...?"

A really nasty expression crosses Kenzo's face, his face reddening, and he looks at the Phantom Thieves instead. "You're the ones who left that note, aren't you? I know who you are, you were on television! My uncle says you should be jailed. Or shot," he adds. "Nobody will miss you either. Phantom Thieves - what a joke! You're just a bunch of nobodies - "

Kenzo twists, falling into himself as a Shadow appears in his place. A mostly nude man kept decent by a red sash that partially wraps around him, flowers growing from his head, long blonde hair tumbling down his back. Two more Shadows appear from nowhere, furious red faces in the shape of a magatama, flanking him to either side.

"I'm not! I'll beat you and show everybody you're nothing compared to me!"

The attack is immediate from Shadow Kenzo: a blast of explosive wind aimed near Morgana and Ren, and a second directly under Hibari's feet, which lifts her up in the air and drops her down - heavily on her back, because she landed badly. The Ara Mitamas flanking him follow up with blue-white nuclear fire, discharging their Frei spells at Haru, Futaba, Ichika and Tsubasa! 

<Pose Tracker> Ren Amamiya has posed.

    It truly is a busy time. There's still Furudate to deal with at some point, but while there's no rest for the wicked, there's got to be rest for the just if they don't want to get burned out. With finals and winter break coming up, Joker's inclined to tell everyone to get some rest before they do any more heisting--barring an emergency, knock on wood that doesn't happen.
    
    They'll ask Mujina about the little tanukis sometime. Now is indeed not the time. As for Mona's bus trick... maybe Danzaburou could do something like it. After all, there is a widespread cognition that tanukis can transform into things. Would that count...?
    
    "Two? Hah! With this team, we'll be back in time to catch the next train!" Mona boasts even more, as if egged on by Phoenix building on their boast. Any high fives Phoenix might offer will be met with a mighty leap and a high four (because he may not be a cat, but he still has a cat's body). It feels like it's so rare he's on the active team, and he's raring to go and prove he's as reliable as ever!
    
    (With Mujina and Futaba around, he's quickly going to become obsolete when it comes to navigating, after all...)
    
    "Yeah," Joker tells Futaba of Mementos, meanwhile. They consider the strange structure of Mementos as Mujina explains more, then add, "We'll have to introduce you to Jose sometime. You two might vibe."
    
    They mean that in a good way.
    
    Joker then nods to Ogre, smiling slightly, when she asserts she'll keep everyone healed. They don't mind taking up healing duty, but it's rarely necessary when Ogre's on the active roster.
    
    That smile grows into a sharp grin at Futaba's cheering and Noir chirping how much she loves crushing and lamentations. "Queen will regret missing this," they quip. Maybe this is to put the leader of the back-up team in Noir's head in the context of something she enjoys so much that the two can eagerly do together when they aren't all on a mission; maybe not. You can't prove anything.
    
    Mujina takes the first step inside the distortion; Joker is close on her heels, and so are the others. It is more severe than usual, they note as they look around with a frown. Fractals score deep in the walls, like this entire area's about to break apart--or maybe explode into something much, much bigger.
    
    Their gaze settles on Shadow Kenzo. Their expression remains stony when he starts talking shit. This is normal for Shadows. They do glance at Mujina in concern when she freezes up, but they give her an encouraging nod, and she stands up for herself.
    
    "Us, nobodies? Hah! Who's the one in the news all the time, you or us?" Mona taunts as he draws his cutlass from the ether. "We'll show you you can't just hide behind your family to do whatever you want!"
    
    Joker likewise draws their knife as Shadow Kenzo transforms into a more monstrous form--for a relative value of 'monstrous.' They recognize this as a Narcissus, and honestly, it says a lot about his state of mind. "It's not all about you," they say quietly, eyes narrowed.
    
    Those gale winds slam into them and Mona at once, and the Magaru pins Joker down as they have to hunker down to avoid getting blown away like Mujina was. Mona, whose soul resonates with wind and therefore resists it, rides the blast and flips in midair to land on Joker's shoulders, slingshot in hand and projectile drawn back.
    
    "You think that can beat me? You're even more delusional than I thought!" he taunts again before firing several of those slingshot "bullets" rapidfire at the Narcissus and the Ara Mitamas. They won't do a lot of damage spread out by that, but they'll do plenty to distract them and give the others a chance to recover and react.
    
    Joker isn't just crouching there, either. While Mona opens fire, they concentrate, letting their soul take on a different Persona. "Nekomata!!" they call as blue fire burns away their mask, and Nekomata--also wind-resistant, like the other not-a-cat here--leaps into existence, then at the Narcissus, claws-first. Her Terror Claw might just be what Shadow Kenzo needs to put the fear of God (or should that be Satan?) in him.

<Pose Tracker> Ichika Kawase has posed.

Ogre is pleased to be called out by Futaba. "How's it going back there?" she asks, since Futaba's still theoretically new to all this. But then--crush their foes!! ...she doesn't get the reference, but Haru seems happy, so Ogre grins back.

She won't reveal Tsubasa's secret.

They totally won't need nineteen hours.

"Heh," Ogre answers Hibari at the matter of their job. "We'll do good together."

Ogre feels the spin here, though. It's a little nauseating before she catches herself. And there, the walls have... patterns. It's disturbing there, too.

Ogre lifts her head to stare back at Kenzo's Shadow when his gaze lingers on her. She hates the way he's like this--but she knows. This is a Shadow. They're usually not real nice.

"You tell him," Ichika says to Hibari, calm and sure--she's proud of her.

But Kenzo twists and--

Hm. Of course that's what he looks like. Those Shadows--

"No!" Ichika goes for Hibari as soon as she falls, reaching up her shield to block the nuclear fire discharged at her with a grunt. The shield takes a heavy impact and is burned for Ichika's trouble, knocking her backward but not off her feet.

"Sorry dude," Ogre says, "But you're just another bully."

She steps in front of Hibari, and Momiji appears, trailing green sparkles that fall over Hibari where she'd fallen--and Ichika moves to Cover her for the next few moments, using her Shield Diarama. 

<Pose Tracker> Haru Okumura has posed.

"We're in your hands!" Noir nods, as to bailing out. "Hopefully, it won't come to that, right?" Because they'll make quick work of Shadow Kenzo, surely.

Truthfully, Noir is far too terminally offline to get Futaba's reference, too. She just took her entirely at her word. Who doesn't love crushing their foes? "It is a shame." She nods, as Joker jokingly laments that Queen had to miss out on this. "Between finals season and the School Festival... I'm sure she would enjoy a little stress relief as well."

Shadow Kenzo finally makes his appearance, and he has an awful lot to say - mostly about himself, all while insulting others. Noir feels his gaze linger upon her - as if sizing her up. "It's nice that you think so highly of yourself... but that means precious little when you're so empty inside." Noir replies, disgust in her voice.

"We've heard enough. We won't let you hurt her anymore! Come, Milady!" Noir raises her voice, as he continues insulting Hibari. Milady dances by Noir's side, enveloping her in supernatural energy. The Ara Mitama open up with their own attacks, launching nuclear energy. Like Hibari, she doesn't respond well to these, staggering backward at the force of the blast.
Haru Okumura says, "Ah...!" Noir flinches, trying to keep her calm. "Milady, Makarakarn!" She commands, as magical shields envelop herself, prepared to reflect the next volley back at Shadow Kenzo's command of Shadows." 

<Pose Tracker> Tsubasa Seki has posed.

    Phoenix is doing their own work, with regards to Furudate; but nothing they've found suggests the kind of urgency that this does.

    And, of course -- "Hell yeah," Phoenix high-fives (high-fours!) Mona, right on cue. There's a little cut-in flash card as if it were a Western comic book, even.

    (... the problem is, Phoenix isn't exactly the kind of touchy-feely guy who'd tell Mona they're glad he's around.)

    "Well, yeah," Phoenix says, of the secretly cute tanuki. "They're, like, also you. Yeah?" The tanuki are part of Mujina's Persona, Mujina's Persona is Mujina...

    It's something like that, right?

    (They look back to Mona for confirmation.)

    Those walls, though...

    Phoenix frowns, looking at them, beneath their witch-hat mask.

    Their hands curl to fists, beside themself, as they hear him call her nothing. "Shut ya mouth," they issue, but of course he won't. "Hibari-chan's worth eight hundred an' eight a ya to me, ya fuck."

    They earn nuclear fire for their trouble -- and it hurts as much as the regular kind; there's not a Japanese person alive who isn't as afraid of the bomb as they are of a house fire. That association is deeply entrenched, built on the backs of a thousand pictures of burnt-out buildings.

    Of course, Phoenix leaps right into the blast. Sure, they're weak to fire, and nuclear fire is fire bold and underlined, but when has that EVER stopped them?! (They'll be fine, Ogre's right there.) The flames lick at their feathers, as they slice right through, their circuit-like greatsword landing heavily behind one of the Ara Mitamas.

    "Noir!" They yell, to Haru, seeing her choose violence with that Makarakarn. "Good shit! Fuck him up!" They have to yell that, of course, to cover for their anguishingly long animation of hefting that greatsword out of the ground, planting a foot to slice it horizontally at the Ara Mitama in a swing which takes them in full revolution.

<Pose Tracker> Futaba Sakura has posed.

 
(In the Monabus, Futaba answers Ogre with a cheerful, "It's amazing to see everything like this. There's so many layers!" She doesn't elaborate.)

In they go.

Futaba lifts her goggles off after getting a good look at Kenzo. She's looking at the Shadow and staying, it must be said, in the back. That said, there are several other people bigger than her in the group, and she's the one with the least XP of all of them.

Kenzo disregards her. Futaba is frowning.

"This guy is so full of it it's spilling out his ears," she says, once he's done. And then oops he is becoming a shadow and Futaba leans back a little and BLOOP there's the saucer and UP she goes and that means it is Necronomicon that gets hit with fire, *Not Futaba*.

The UFO makes a loud 'blurp!' sound and wobbles for several seconds, Futaba letting out a high-pitched screech before settling down.

"Uuuugh... Hold on, I'm scanning for the weak spot!"

Time... Time...

"The little ones resist fire, but the main Shadow's weak to it! Try using single-target Ice on the Mitamas!" comes Futaba's curiously-clear voice from her lofty perch. A beat or two, and she adds - possibly as Phoenix commits to their attack - "The Mitamas resist getting beat up! Phoenix, look out--!!" 

<Pose Tracker> Hibari Aoki has posed.

Kenzo's appearance as a Narcissus may surprise some people. He's not, really, that vain about his appearance; he looks good and he does know it but he's not obsessed with it.

But looking at it deeper... it makes sense. Kenzo believes - *knows* - that the most important person in his life is himself. Other people - like, say, Hibari - are relevant as long as they make him feel good about himself, or get him something he wants. But ultimately, he's a scion of a powerful family, and she isn't; his parents know he can do no wrong, and he knows he can get away with things other people simply can't because of who he is. He understands that negative consequences do not apply to him; that he can simply ask for them to disappear.

What could be more self-centered than that?

Hibari's hard landing seems to have knocked the wind out of her for a moment, but she pushes herself to a sitting position quickly, even if takes a moment longer for her to actually get up. She'll be fine, but Kenzo knows how to get under her skin, and apparently that also means that Shadow Kenzo can get through her Persona's defenses to an extent. So she doesn't immediately strike back, trusting Ogre to cover her while she tries something. "Thanks, Ogre!"

But the others do.

"Like I would want to be a flea-bitten furball!" Kenzo doesn't know Mona, and doesn't know where to verbally stick the knife, so he's just lashing out at random. He covers his face when Mona shoots sling bullets at him, though, and one smacks him in the shoulder instead.

It does what Mona intends; it keeps him busy while Ren summons Nekomata to rake. The Terror Claw bites - well, the claw does, the terror doesn't appear to have stuck quite as well, but it *definitely* gets his attention. If wind doesn't work -

Shadow Kenzo's eyes flash, and swirling lights envelop Mona and Ren, as well as others in close proximity - Tsubasa and Haru. The whirling ribbons of light meet and burst in a mind-dazzling blast - it's Tentarafoo, so confusion is a sudden concern!

But not for Haru, because her wall of light has reflected the sparks back at Kenzo, leaving her safe and unaffected. And while Kenzo has some resistance to that, he isn't immune; the Shadow staggers back, dazed out of his follow-up attack!

Unfortunately that leaves several Ara Mitamas on the loose. And while the Mitamas do resist being punched, they are slightly less (but not *not*, unfortunately) resistant to being hit with a greatsword. It sends one of them flying, but they fly all the time, so it spins to a stop about ten feet away, dizzy but still in the fight. No fire this time; it sends itself flying at Tsubasa, spinning to strike repeatedly with its body!

The remaining one hangs back and makes a particularly angry face. Light surrounds the group of Shadows as the Tarukaja takes effect.

By this point, though, Hibari is back on her feet, and Danzaburou is rising behind her as she summons him once again. This time she's demonstrating her power to be *dis*ruptive instead of helpful: "Hapirma!" she calls, as strangely coloured light surrounds both Ara Mitama. Who immediately droop, uncertain of themselves and temporarily more defenseless. The one spinning after Tsubasa slows and spins in place, sluggishly.

Because really, a Mitama that is happy, and not angry, is barely an Ara Mitama at all... 

<Pose Tracker> Ren Amamiya has posed.

    "More or less... I think," Mona tells Phoenix, who is not precisely sure if the little tanukis enjoy transient property, but it sounds solid enough.
    
    But that was earlier. This is now.
    
    Mujina is struck catastrophically by the Forceful gale, and Ogre goes to her defense; Noir is struck catastrophically by Nuclear fire, and comes to her own defense. That's all well and good; they're all experienced Persona Users. However, while Futaba rises up into Necronomicon and so avoids getting a direct hit, she still screams a lot for someone who's being fully shielded by her Persona.
    
    "Futaba!" Joker and Mona call in unison, Mona leaping off to go to her aid. However, she toughs it out and relays the information she got from her scan, and Joker isn't going to waste her effort. They're the leader; they've got to lead. They give her a sharp nod and turn to the others.
    
    "Phoenix! Use your fire magic on the main Shadow!" Joker calls. They know they prefer to get in there and swing their great sword, but with this party make-up, they've got two (2) fire-enabled people and one (1) ice/water-enabled person, and Joker is in both of those slots, so it's got to be Phoenix with the weakness hits. "I'm going to target the Ara Mitamas. When they're all down, we're going in for an All-Out Attack!"
    
    Mona, however, is given a one-two punch, first in that counter-taunt, then in the Tentarafoo. "Flea-bitten furball?! How dare you!! I'll have you know I don't have any fleas!!" Mona shouts back, whirling towards Shadow Kenzo with his tail frizzing. In that moment when he's distracted, the Tentarafoo blinds him with those bursting ribbons of light, and he staggers, eyeballs swirling. "Meooowwww...."
    
    H-he's not a cat. Honest.
    
    In this state of confusion, he starts slashing wildly with his cutlass, but he's nowhere near any of the enemies. Instead, he might hit one of the team...!
    
    Joker meanwhile manages to avoid confusion of their own by covering their face with one hand--after all, they're making good on Futaba's information by concentrating on a new Persona. When they whirl around, blue flames burn their mask anew, and the Persona that rises above them is a Naga--the one they acquired from Futaba's Palace, and that has since done some hard time in Blue Velvet Jail and learned some new abilities.
    
    "Naga! Flush them out!" they command, splaying that hand from their face towards the Ara Mitamas. The half-snake, half-man raises his spear, and from nowhere there comes a torrent of ice-cold water in the form of a Maraqua to pour down on the angry, angry Mitamas, knocked to either side of the room. Phoenix will need the support if they're going to use magic while that one is trying to punch them in the face with its face--though they should have plenty of time to move with the Ara Mitamas staggering from Mujina's Hapirma. 

<Pose Tracker> Ichika Kawase has posed.

Layers! Ichika just assumes Futaba can sense cool stuff. ...She's kind of curious... But doesn't want to look stupid for not being able to see them herself.

She can agree with Haru about crushing their foes, at least. That is fun. And the lamentations!

"Noir, you OK?" Ogre confirms in the battle though, and when she sees Makarakarn, she's satisfied that she can take care of herself for the moment. But Phoenix... Phoenix is in trouble, too. Now, one might ask, isn't that normal?

That's because Ogre is right there to help.

Joker dishes out orders. Ogre nods sharply. "Right!"

"I don't have ice!" Ogre calls to Futaba, "But I've got a little Fire!"

Joker avoid the confusion, which is good--but Ogre has soemthing for this. "Raaaa--!" Ogre charges Narcissus-Kenzo, and Momiji appears mid-charge to set her shield ablaze. Ogre hits at Kenzo with it, and with the extra time she buys going for a weakness hit, she snaps her fingers and Momiji lets off a Me Patra for the confused members of the group.

"Phoenix!" she snaps. "Get to it! I'll back you up!" 

<Pose Tracker> Haru Okumura has posed.

$r"Gladly!" Noir grins, as Tsubasa encourages violence in her. Equally satisfying is seeing Shadow Kenzo's Tentarafoo deflect against the Makarakarn and ricochet right back towards him, briefly stunning him. "There's your chance, Pheonix~ let's turn up the heat, shall we?" She glances back, encouraging violence in them in turn.

"I'm holding up!" Noir answers Ogre. "We'll just have to keep up a good offence and defence." Especially when Shadow Kenzo has this many tricks and ailments up his sleeve - with the group falling into a state of confusion. "Oh my, Mona... you're not a cat, remember?" Noir tries to remind him, but to no avail.

"It doesn't seem like I can hit a weakness... so I'll assist you with healing our confused allies for now!" Milady rises, green sparkles pouring out from her dress, intended to have a soothing effect that clears the mind. Between her own Patra and Ichika's, they should cover the whole party.

Meanwhile, as the Mitamas swap to resorting to charging them, Noir swaps her Makarakarn for a Tetrakarn, protecting not just herself, but also Tsubasa as they charge into the line of fire. As much as she'd love to be dishing out damage, her own axe attacks won't be too effective - and she's just as happy to enable her friends to deal that damage in her stead. 

<Pose Tracker> Tsubasa Seki has posed.

    "Eh? They resist it?" Phoenix asks Futaba, right after sending one flying. Another one spins in, and --

    PHOENIX RESISTS PUNCHES --

    And we're going to pretend that's because they're Ichika's finest enforcer and not for any other reason. Still, it's not until Danzaburou's spell that they get a minute free from attacking that battering viciously to rip off their own mask. "Aight, let's go! IZBUSHKA NA KUR'IH NOZHKAH!" They yell, in a shower of blood and blue flame, following those orders --

    And one might ask, 'why is that Persona so big?'

    And one might also ask, 'how is it going to FIT?'

    And both of those questions are answered by the fact that it's the spiritual manifestation of Phoenix's power so it's fine, actually.

    The chicken-legs, as always, as each as big as a man; they support an entire-ass hut, the window-hatches flapping like wings, with a -- something -- shadowed inside it. The thatched roof clips through the ceiling, which apparently answers that question. The other question -- where does the fire come in -- is answered by the fence of skulls and spines which forms a skirt around the hut.

    Because the eyes of those skulls glow, as Phoenix calls down the heat. "All right! Turn it up, turn it up! WE'RE GOIN' TO A THOUSAND DEGREES!" Is -- is that what Noir meant? Well, Phoenix heard a rumour that if Crimson Sublation gets that hot, it doesn't just leave a lasting burn -- it burns away all your buffs.

<Pose Tracker> Futaba Sakura has posed.

 
"Don't worry about me! I've got protection *and* mobility!" says Futaba. "If he starts chasing me, I'll run him into a wall!"

Or she could just leave, presumably, but from her tone that isn't going to happen. Futaba Sakura's gaining Battle High...

"Mess 'em up, Mujina!" cheers the Unidentifiable Funky Object, which, it would seem, is in fact Futaba's Persona. The fact that she is completely disappeared from sight, and probably has a kotatsu mode going on rather than enjoying the delicious combination of 'lingering cold' and 'sodden dampness' which would *probably* be in infrastructure...

Well you can't help it if your soul has cabin comforts.

"The enemy's confused Mona! He can't decide on the real enemy...!!" Futaba continues, even as Joker brings out a dream that came from her own heart. Fortunately, this Naga's done hard time, and lockdown changes you. For the worse. In this case, though, it's not THEIR problem.

"Yes! Follow up while they're dazed, finish 'em off! Keep the big Shadow from being able to intervene!"

"Noir's shifting seamlessly back to support... Mona, are you good??" Futaba continues as the Tentarafoo is given some Milady Love. After this there's a slightly muffled, "wh" and a much quieter if clear, "What the heck..."

Concerning. This does mean that there is a conspicious absence of Futaba (though really 99.8% of all Persona/Shadow conflicts have not involved Futaba Sakura - more, if you believe in the theoretical location known as 'Sumaru City' - so her presence is more conspicuous than its absence)...

"Turn up the heat!" comes Futaba's cheering sound, even as she punches a button (unseen) and... something happens. Something emanates over the group, although it's more of a feeling of bodily fluidity and ease of motion, something that will make it easier to *avoid* harm even if it might be just as hard to *do* damage back.

"Stay alert... I don't think it's done yet...!" 

<Pose Tracker> Hibari Aoki has posed.

"I'll explain later!" Hibari doesn't mind talking about Danzaburou - it's not like he's a secret, especially not to Phoenix, and at this point she feels she owes the Phantom Thieves enough that she doesn't mind telling them, either. Ogre and Phoenix working with them goes an awful long way.

Mona flailing wildly is actually a concern because Hibari wasn't actually expecting him to do that. She draws her coat almost like a shield or armor, letting *it* take the worst of it, but her coat is starting to get to the point where it needs an upgrade; the cutlass smacks into her thigh and it's no fun at all. At least it doesn't knock her down again. "Ow! Mona, snap out of it!"

Hibari's better at *causing* problems than *fixing* them. Fortunately, Milady and Momiji are on the case, so Hibari doesn't have to dig deep into her lack of ability to cure status effects to attempt it anyway. She makes absolutely sure Mona isn't going to swat her again by mistake before she turns back, raising her hands.

Meanwhile, Ren does a damn good job sweeping away the Ara Mitamas. They were never the bigger threat here, they're already in a bad state from the Hapirma of all things, and the wave of icy water smashes into them like a waterfall. They don't really have feet to be off as such, but metaphorically, they are off their feet for the moment, swept down into a messy pile.

And Tsubasa - along with their Persona - is bringing the heat. Shadow Kenzo is as vulnerable to fire as any Narcissus - well, he does have a flower on his head, maybe this is the power (?) of plants. The flame washes over him, blasting him off his feet (and incidentally melting that Tarukaja the Ara Mitama used right back off him). He lets out a yell. "You think you're tough?"

Half-downed, Kenzo uses his most powerful technique. Anyone with experience with fighting Narcissus might expect wind, or some kind of Sexy Dance, but what he actually does is rear back, summoning a spear of light into his hand, which he throws up into the sky -

And what falls on the group - the *entire* group, including Futaba as she flies up above and provides support - are javelins made of ice! "You're nothing! All of you are nothing!"

"What is THAT?" Hibari yelps, as she takes shelter, covering her head with her hands as ice rains down upon her. But Danzaburou is there, and Danzaburou smacks its stomach with an echoing thump, like a drum. One, two, three, pon-poko-pon - well, he is a tanuki...

The very ground around Kenzo rumbles and vibrates like it too was part of the drum, knocking him the rest of the way off his feet!

It's time for an All-Out Attack! 

<Pose Tracker> Ren Amamiya has posed.

    So Ogre's got a Skill Card--they all do, really, but Joker's instinct tends to be to rely on their Personas, thanks to be able to switch them out at will. That gives them a lot more elemental coverage than a Skill Card or two could ever give them. They're reminded of their utility when she charges in on Shadow Kenzo with a bit of fire(brand) of her own, and crook a smirk of approval at her.
    
    Mona's still slashing the air--no, at Mujina's coat, alarmingly!--with his cutlass when Noir and Ogre's double Patra waft in on him. This is the equivalent of chugging a double espresso, something Mona is actually familiar with thanks to living with Ren at Leblanc, and his enormous eyes snap open with a comically loud, "MREOWWWW!!"
    
    Noir reminds him he's not a cat. Mona full-body droops. "I-I can't believe I forgot... I'm so embarrassed..." Mujina's scolding (or what sounds like scolding to him) and taking up a defensive posture against him only makes him droop even more as he grimaces. He's supposed to be everyone's mentor, and yet...
    
    But then Futaba asks him if he's okay, and he appears to shake it off--key words 'appears to.' "Y-yeah, I'm fine! Just fine!" he calls to Futaba, eyes narrowing. (He's not, but he doesn't want to admit that. That'd go beyond embarrassing right into humiliating.)
    
    Joker all notes this with a concerned frown, but chooses not to spotlight it and embarrass him more. Instead, they give Futaba a sharp little nod. "All right. We'll keep counting on your back-up, then!" they call her way--and it already feels natural doing so, the way she's getting into it too.
    
    The Phantoms may not kill, but damn do they love to do a violence. Case in point: Phoenix's giant Persona and its giant flames. However, despite his fire weakness, Shadow Kenzo still isn't getting knocked down, even though the Ara Mitamas have been frozen out.
    
    At that moment, from Necronomicon emanates a sort of... feeling--maybe magic, maybe emotional support, maybe it's the same either way in a cognitive world--that lightens Joker and Mona's feet as Futaba gives her warning.
    
    It's just in time. Shadow Kenzo brings down a hail of ice javelins, and both of them dance around them nimbly, evading any direct strikes. Danzaburou drums his belly, knocking Shadow Kenzo down after the Ara Mitamas have already eaten dirt.
    
    There's only a split-second for a hold-up on the trio of Shadows before Joker leaps into action by the chance Mujina has opened. They already called the All-Out Attack, after all; there's no need to hesitate--pulling a gun is just habit. A streak of darkness that cuts through a sudden red, Mona isn't far behind, and the two open up opportunities for the others. 

<Pose Tracker> Haru Okumura has posed.

"Don't worry, Mona-chan! The Shadow was playing a trick on your mind. It's called confusion for a reason, after all, right? " Noir reassures him, the only one on the entire party who seems to take his assertion that he's not a cat seriously.

Surely that's exactly what Noir meant. "That was quite hot. How impressive..!" Her eyes light up as sweltering flames force Shadow Kenzo to his knees.

But as much as they've gotten him down, a cornered Shadow is a dangerous Shadow. The fight isn't over yet, as Futaba warns them. Noir feels glad she held off on the offence just a bit to focus on her defences, as icicles come crashing down against the party. The icicles clash against Milady's shields, but the icy rain pushes Ogre to the ground.

As much as the Phantom Thieves do enjoy taking down their enemies, helping up a friend will always come first. Using the last of her shields to protect herself Ogre, Noir reaches a hand to help her up.

The storm weathered, all that's left is an All-Out Attack! Joker opens them up, and now it's up to them to follow their act. "Ogre, are you with me? Let's cut this poor excuse for a man down to size!" Noir's eyes glint, jumping into the air with Milady and raising her axe.

"Perhaps he will finally understand what it is like to feel small." She smiles, bringing it down with the force of an executioner. 

<Pose Tracker> Ichika Kawase has posed.

"Cool!" Ogre answers Noir. "Then that's what we'll do!"

Between her and Noir, Ogre finds that the confusion seems to abate. She's used to not being the one dealinga llt he damage--but she can cher when Phoenix does. "GET HIS ASS!" Ogre calls for her partner, and she might've heard that rumor too...

Battle High!!

But Ogre is best relying on her Persona, mostly--this is just a handy coincidence. Ogre'll take it, though--she grins back at Ren.

Mona... is not a cat. And he's fine! Super fine!

But while Ogre attempts to do a violence...

The ice javelins come down. "Agh--" Ogre's knocked right on her ass, her shield not helping at all, in the face of her own weakness. "Shit!"

But Danzaburou uses her element, and--Noir helps her up!! Ogre grips Noir's hand and pushes against the ground, standing up. "I'm with you," she says. "Let's do it." Her eyes glint from behind her mask. So Ogre can get in on this all out attack.

Mostly? By leaping in and starting to swing her shield like a chair, battering the guy over and over and over. 

<Pose Tracker> Tsubasa Seki has posed.

    "Yeah! My blood's boilin'!" Phoenix cheers, feeling Futaba's blessing.

    Mona's is too, though. Phoenix has always held that he's not a cat, but, well -- in precisely the same way that they're not a girl. Does that mean they think he was born as a cat and transitioning into not a cat? Assigned Cat At Birth...?

    Well, those are some deeply thorny questions. Instead of thinking about any of them, Phoenix calls to Noir and Ogre. seeing him healed: "Nice work!" They don't have jack for healing, but they're glad other people do.

    "Hell YEAH I'm tough!" Phoenix yells back to Kenzo -- and of course they're an ore-sama kind of guy, is ANYONE surprised their ego is that big? Let's at least be fair: they'll drop the -sama if they really have to, but definitely not in a fight.

    They bow to Kenzo, theatrically -- but it's just so they can stow their greatsword, pulling out a rocket launcher and a shell to match it. Ker-chunk, it loads up, and once more they summon their -- "PERSONA!"

    The glare of those fiery eyes will give that rocket the heat it needs to tear through Kenzo's defences -- it's Phoenix's special, 'Rocket Sublation'! It knocks them on their ass, but it's devastating for the other guy, too!

    The best part is? Even once they've cast their Theurgy, they're able to hop right back up and load up another shell --

    -- to follow Joker's lead pulling out their gun.

    why is their holdup gun a rocket launcher

<Pose Tracker> Futaba Sakura has posed.

 
"It's starting to freak out," Futaba reports even as Necronomicon banks into a sudden sharp turn and does an immelman-wobble overhead in the background to avoid being speared by an ice javelin. "I bet it can feel the pressure... don't let up!"

Thum-tum-tumpa-tum-tum...

POK

"... Danzaburou knocked it down!? That must've taken a massive amount of," pause for a second completely on purpose, "Guts!"

Futaba's eyes turn towards Mona as he expresses his pride and his dignity. It makes her smile to herself. Silently, and what will probably not be for the last time, she wants to squish his li'l cheeks. This feeling is going to recur. And indeed, it may even be acted upon.

"Open up on it! More! More firepower!" Futaba cheers as gunfire and high-velocity pellet rounds smack into the reeling Shadow. Then, Ogre: "Keep it on the ropes! Yea IS THAT A ROCKET LAUNCH--"

Futaba, it seems, is not joining in the pigpile.

Not today, anyway... 

<Pose Tracker> Hibari Aoki has posed.

Hibari isn't even really trying to scold Mona so much as get him pointed the right way, which is *not* at her! As soon as Patra has helped him out, she gives him a slight nod - if she has anything else to say she's saving it for when they're not in the middle of intense violence. Sounds like Haru has it covered, anyway!

And violence is what it is. Hibari is not quite as good at it - or enthusiastic about it, usually - as most of the Phantom Thieves. So it's them that take the lead: Joker and Mona zipping in first, Noir following through with her giant axe at the same time that Ogre comes in from the other direction with her battering chair. One of those blows sends Kenzo flying out, smashed free from the scrum and launched at one of the Mitamas... which is when Phoenix fires *multiple* rocket launcher shells directly into the now-open target.

(Why *does* Tsubasa own a rocket launcher? Hibari never asked. She probably should have.)

But Hibari...

Hibari reaches into her pocket again and pulls out the baoding balls. They chime louder as she spins them in her hands, using a whole-hand motion as well as her fingertips. It keeps them moving fast; they actually rise up a little bit, moving from her palm to a movement that rolls them up onto the base of her finger too.

"I was afraid of you," Hibari says, as the little balls chime. "I hated what you did, but there wasn't anything I could do about it. You were right; you could make the problem go away, and I couldn't. But..."

"...I can stop you from doing it to anyone else! And - I don't have to be afraid of someone like you, do I? So what if I'm just some girl. I love my family, which is more than I can say for someone like you - I've heard you, the only thing you love about them is what they get you! I'll be able to do something I love instead of just trying to . And I can do it all on my own strength... and my friends'."

"...thanks," Hibari says, awkwardly, to Phantom Thieves and Thorn Gang alike - before she throws one of the baoding balls. It hits Kenzo to complete the All-Out Attack, a blur of momement and a flash of light -

And Mujina, one hand on her hip, the lower part of her coat billowing around her legs.

"I yield!" Kenzo's demonic form collapses in on itself, returning to just the Shadow-Self of Kenzo. Shoulders slumped in defeat, he's half-sulking, as if he hasn't entirely learned a lesson... but as he stands, more of it sinks in. He starts to fade, as many of the Shadows in Mementos do.

"...you're right," he says, as if the words were pulled out of him. "Ha ha... I always hated that you seemed confident, like you knew where you were going. You had a plan for the future. All I had was what my family chose." It probably resonates with Haru; it certainly does with Hibari, if in a somewhat different way. "He's important, my uncle Ippei, and he told me if I was useful, I'd be important, too... And if I didn't, I'd be worthless."

He's still fading. But there's something replacing him: the indistinct form of a Treasure. It's indistinct, but only until someone who knows what they're doing (not Hibari, who still thinks it's just an energy sphere, as she's not scanning with with Danzaburou) grabs it, whereupon it firms up into a coat almost like Mujina's, but not quite. Close enough she could wear it, though, with some tailoring.

Mujina looks at the Phantom Thieves with a 'help' kind of expression. This is the part she hasn't any idea what to do. 

<Pose Tracker> Ren Amamiya has posed.

    "R-right! Exactly, Noir!" Mona calls back to Noir, this time rallying for real. He really does appreciate her support on this matter--though she isn't the only one who takes that seriously. Phoenix does too (Mona has not really thought through the implications), and Joker at least gives him the benefit of the doubt (though that may or may not be the same).
    
    Besides, if he wasn't a human or a cat, what else would he be? A Shadow? That's ridiculous. Incredibly ridiculous. So ridiculous it stretches all the way to absurd.
    
    Even though he's been having nightmares too every so often...
    
    But in the charged group energy of an All-Out Attack, he doesn't need to remember that, let alone think of it. The coup de grace falls in the form of Mujina's baoding ball, and all of the Shadows are defeated. The Ara Mitamas vanish, and Shadow Kenzo is left alone in his original form, humbled.
    
    Joker listens to his response to Mujina. It doesn't precisely resonate with them--but they do know something about the pressures of a family that wants you to conform. They catch Mujina's look and give her a little nod before striding up to the forming Treasure.
    
    "You make your own worth by respecting yourself and others. Engrave that in your heart and return to your self in the real world," he tells him. The others might chime in with their own thoughts too.
    
    Once he's fully vanished, Joker snatches up the Treasure. It firms--and the Treasure turns out to be a piece of armor material that sure looks like it'd suit Mujina. "Hm," they murmur, holding it up. Then they dismiss it to Phantom space (patent pending) and turn and nod to the others. "Mission complete. Good work, everyone. Let's head back."
    
    As they all do, Joker looks over at Mujina and Futaba. "You two were a lot of help. Thank you too," they say, echoing Mujina's awkward gratitude from earlier. "Would either of you consider joining the team for good? Your support moves would be a huge help."
    
    Neither of them have to answer right now--and indeed, it's too serious a decision to commit to in the moment anyway--but it might be something for them to mull on over the next few days. 

<Pose Tracker> Ichika Kawase has posed.

Why shouldn't Tsubasa have a rocket launcher? Ichika's cool with it.

And it did take--pause. Guts. Ogre takes a pause, too, and lifts an eyebrow at Futaba in the Necronomicon.

Yeah, she got it.

But back to the battle!!

And then... the end of the battle.

She is unsympathetic to Kenzo at first--after all, making the problem go away with his family's power... it was familiar. But hearing Hibari claim her courage...

And love her family.

"...Anytime," Ogre says to Mujina.

"I never had a plan for my future, either," Ichika says. "Not after... what happened."

"But you can make one now. One based on caring about other people, too."

Ren has it covered. Ogre nods to them.

Then, with the Treasure handled...

"Great," Ogre says, and looks over at Mujina. "That's how it's done," she says. "Not easy... but worth it. Right?"

"I'd be glad to have either of you. Both of you."

Ogre keeps on going. 

<Pose Tracker> Tsubasa Seki has posed.

    "hell YEAH it's a rocket launcher WANNA HOLD IT"

    phoenix no

    (phoenix yes. ichika signed off on it that means it's legal.)

    Thanks to those baoding balls, though, Phoenix does not have to shoot him again. They listen to him speak of his family's plan...

    "... my father had one picked out for me, too. Was supposed to be a politician. Steal women's votes with someone like them. Me an' me big bro... he was gon' be a hotshot doctor, I was gon' win hearts an' minds."

    ... they hadn't told anyone that before, though Makoto surely knew.

    "... but if you let someone else choose for ya, you'll jus' eat shit. If you wanna be important, do somethin' worth braggin' about. 'Til ya do that, you'll jus' be survivin'. Hibari-chan shines 'cuz she's thrivin'... 'cuz she got shit she believes in."

    It's not exactly the kind of advice Joker's giving, but...

    ... Phoenix does get it.

    And when Joker invites them -- both of them -- Phoenix nods, sternly.

    "Hell yeah," they opine.

    Translation: they're for it.

<Pose Tracker> Futaba Sakura has posed.

 
Hibari speaks her truth. Mujina seals the deal. And Kenzo...

            YIELDS

The Shadow speaks. A confession. Something broken, cleansed. Maybe, now, stopped before it could truly rot.

Futaba has nothing to say from her high perch. Necronomicon itself remains stable.

"..." Nothing comes to her. Maybe someone like Kenzo isn't someone Futaba can confront, just yet. The UFO descends gradually, though, and once it's about two meters off the ground, there is a luminous BLOOP and one discharged Futaba Sakura, goggles around her neck.

Then Joker speaks.

Futaba's eyes widen. She seems momentarily frozen; there's not fear or anxiety in her face, simply pure and total surprise. Was she really so shocked, after all of this?

Her eyes turn towards Ogre. Then Phoenix.

It's a serious offer. Coming from all of them...

Futaba adjusts her glasses. "K'," she says. "Let me see the rocket launcher though." Futaba extends her right hand outwards towards Tsubasa expectantly.

SEVERAL FRAMES LATER

Futaba is pointing the rocket launcher at the wall and squinting down the aimy bits. She's sort of biting the tip of her tongue. A casual commitment to such a major cause. Swinging it around slowly, the business end briefly points towards Mona... then over Noir!? --

Futaba ends up handing it back to Tsubasa shortly after they leave, and never gets around to firing the weapon.

"... How's it feel?" Futaba asks Mujina, eventually, probably on the ride home (and likely after staring out the window with her goggles on for like fifteen minutes).

<Pose Tracker> Hibari Aoki has posed.

Hibari usually isn't so awkward about her thanks. She is, if anything, a people pleaser; she works hard to *not* be awkward about things like that. But, well. This is kind of an exception. Especially with people supporting her... she's used to support, but not quite this kind of *vocal* support.

So that's how it's done... Hibari isn't sure that she would have ever guessed it. Her eyes narrow as she thinks about what this means - she can't help herself, it's just how her brain works - but she forces herself to put it aside for now. She can ask her questions later.

... "Don't point that at Noir!" she is quick to blurt out when Futaba plays with the rocket launcher. Fortunately, no explosion ensues.

(Hibari does *not* try the rocket launcher.)

Hibari re-enters the Monabus with a quick pat of her hand on the side/flank as she does - she appreciates you, Mona, even if she doesn't say it! And if she was a little iffy about being hit with a cutlass.

And then Joker catches her by surprise with a question she hadn't even *considered*, with Ogre and Phoenix backing him up as she'd expected. She opens her mouth, then closes it.

"Let's talk about that," she says, instead of giving an actual answer. She is absolutely not up for making that decision on a whim! Not when she feels like this... fulfilled, yes, like she actually did something *right*, but also tired.

"I don't know yet," she says to Futaba. "But I'm glad it's done. I didn't realize how much I worried about him, really, until I don't have to."

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