The name I call you by

Rookie days (9)

POV: Ann
A large wooden drawbridge stretched out before me, my eyes widening at what stood before me.
"I-is that-? No way, that's impossible!" A tall brick castle, the sky behind it distorted shades of red and pink.
"Futaba, Sumire, are you-?" Wait a moment...
I glanced around and found no other signs of anyone else coming in with me; no signs of anyone being here at all, not even shadows.
"What the... this is creepy." I could feel my expression falling, my eyes narrowing and lips tipping down. Memories of Kamoshida are the last thing I wanted to re-visit, so why..?
"Is the metaverse trying to tell me something...?" My mind filled with doubt for a moment, but I shook it off.
"No, no way. I'm not going to doubt Akira like that, it's not fair to him." I took a deep breath, the air here a bit too warm and a bit sour- I hated how accurate it was- and took a few steps inside. I'm a Phantom Thief now, a strong willed, persona wielding Phantom Thief; there's no reason for me to start fearing over things that happened in the past.
My thief instincts kicked in the moment I stepped inside the castle, the rd rug underfoot making a soft rustling noise as my boots went over it. No shadows...
Not sure if that's a good sign or not.
The grip I had on my whip tightened slightly as I began to ascend the marble stairs, making my way further into the palace without issue. Eventually, I got back outside again, a tower looming over me and blocking out any light that may be coming in from behind it.
"It's way to quiet... I don't-" I cut off, a loud scream coming between me and the sentence I was about to finish.
"W-what the-?!" I glanced up and say Ryuji (-?) falling from the sky; it was made more clear when he hit the ground, landing on his feet but falling a second later. Honestly, I can't help but feel bad for the guy; Kamoshida did a number on him too.
"What are you doing here? Aren't you suppose to be with Fox?" Code names.
Ryuji rubbed the back of his head and glanced up at me.
"Yeah, I'm suppose to be. Speaking of... where's here anyway?" He pushed himself up from the ground, the two of us now standing eye level.
"I'm... not fully sure, actually. So far, it's been a direct replica of Kamoshidas palace, but I haven't run into any shadows yet."
"Whoa really? Sounds creepy..." Ryuji glanced around, his eyes locking on to the tower I'd been making my way to.
"What's with the big tower?" Geez...
"Do you not remember? Up there is where the treasure manifested last time." My statement was made using a tone that suggested this to be common knowledge; between the two of us, I would've expected it to be, at the very least.
"And? We already beat Kamoshida, sent him running back to his pathetic excuse for a real self. What the eff is the point of going back?"
"There hasn't been anything around here, so I though maybe the final room of this place may hold some answers." Though, his argument made plenty of sense as well. My plan was based off of a theory, and a loose one at that.
"Geez... I feel so clueless without Joker or Morgana here, it's hard doing this solo. I don't get how Morgana might've done it for so long." I shook my head to clear away some of my stress, the pressure of it stayed despite my efforts.
"Well, you aren't on your own anymore. Let's get going up; your idea is the only one we have right now, and not staying here sounds like a better time than staying." And... it seemed Ryuji noticed. However, he's right; whatever may be lying at the end, I don't have to face it on my own.
"Yeah, let's go." That being said, I'm still probably a better leader than Ryuji in this situation.
My mind flashed back a few months, ending up at a certain diner after a certain palace.
"..are you okay with being our leader?" The diner wasn't all that quiet, but we all made sure to keep our conversation on the down low.
"Of course." Akira's response came after a moment of what I'd assume as internal debate, keeping his voice low too. Akira always had been more of the quiet type... strong and silent, I guess. Some women like a man like that.
"No objections here! I can't handle all that responsibility stuff." Ryuji didn't perfectly follow the example, but still spoke quieter than usual. Despite the run in earlier, he seemed to be in a pretty good mood; I'd dare to say he's even hyped himself up.
"Where's my say in this...? But Lady Ann made the recommendation, so I'll allow it." Morgana was the next to speak; his initial response wasn't much of a surprise, either.
A small smile pulled at my lips at the memory; it seemed so long ago that we first defeated Kamoshida, just to be back here again.
"What's on your mind? If you thought of something funny, it doesn't hurt to share." Ryuji settled into conversation as we walked; maybe that'll pass the time faster.
"No, I was just remembering something from a while back. It seems like so much time has passed since we defeated Kamoshida, but it's only been a few months."
"Yeah, the time passed by quickly and it feels longer now. I guess this place is making us both a bit nostalgic of our rookie days." He's always been able to take things lightly; I almost envy that in him.
Still, though, a lot has happened in the span of a few months; more than I can keep track of, honestly.
"It would definitely make for a good story, though, what do you think?"
"Huh-? You mean about the Phantom Thieves? Yeah, I guess so; wouldn't be as cool if it was all fiction though, huh?"
My smile grew wider and a laugh passed between my waiting lips.
"Yeah, It wouldn't. It's been scary at times, but the palaces have been pretty fun with everyone. I wish people weren't so horrible, then none of this would've had to happen." I paused, and Ryuji picked up my sentence.
"Yeah, and Akira wouldn't have had to go through all the bullshit with the cops." His tone took on a slightly sharper sound. It still bothers him... I'm pretty sure it still bothers all of us, though.
"I don't like talking behind peoples backs, but I still don't see why Akira decided to mend relations with Akechi after everything that's happened. The mental shutdowns, almost having our identities exposed, and..." I trailed off, Ryuji should know what I mean.
"But we shouldn't worry about that. As Akira would say, the past has happened, there's nothing left there for us. This conversation won't change any of that, but we don't have to forgive him for it either." A solid nod was the answer to my statement.
"Yep, that sounds about right." Ryuji finished his statement just as we reached the flights of stairs leading up further into the tower.
"Alright then, let's go."
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