Persona 5 - The Jester's Point Of View

Scene 76

Sitting inside the dark room again, having been pushed back there for who knows how long. Their body had tensed up, not sure how to take it nor how to approach it. This plan... How was that supposed to work? They were wondering, at the brink of wanting to just sink into the seat and become one with it. They had been told earlier... "Messing up even one step could be crucial." And they had to start it off, so the pressure was all on them.

"Now then, let me tell you how to materialize the treasure." Pipistrello begun, the tone still uncharacteristically serious but something they had to live with at that point. Besides, they had been too tense at the time to even think about that, let alone comment. "It's simple, really. Confront her, make sure she knows that you know the truth. And that you intend to tell the world about it. Put her on edge."

"On edge? H... How would I even do that without a calling card?"

"Who said that you needed a calling card? That's just an extra step the Phantom Thieves take, no need for you to worry about something like that dearie."

"What do you—"

You'll find a way, surely. It comes with the pressure. Once you secured the materialization I will pull you back."

"Sounds... Simple enough?" What were they supposed to do!? Talk about unspecific...

"It is! Oh, be quick about stealing it too. Time will be ticking once you have put her on alert. You only get one chance so don't mess it up~"

Put Miyuki on alert... How were they supposed to pull that off? All the time they were just awake, thinking about it... There was an idea but... Would that even work? They had to try. And all they could do was pray that this provocation worked...

In any case, time went out when they heard the door open, bracing themself in the progress. The lights got turned on and they were greeted with this face, Miyuki's face. And she seemed to be in an awful good mood, even humming. Yet she wore different clothes... Wait, a new day!? Was that it?

"Good morning Anja–Chan. Did you miss me?" She even asked, having had the audacity. All they could do there was scoff.

"Yeah... Good morning my ass."

"My, you're surprisingly feisty." She commented. "I didn't expect that from a quiet one. But not like it matters. I will shut you up in no time."

"Shut me up? About what? What you did to my father?"

"Hmm... Kind of. We can't have the public find out about this, now do we?" She countered, walking over to a shelf and seeming to roam around in it. They... Didn't even want to know what was in there. And they didn't plan on finding out either. They have to make it quick. Something something... Provoke her... Put her on alert to reveal her true nature or something! Before whatever she will use is pulled out...

"Talk? Who... Who said I will talk?" They brought up, hearing a quick 'hm' escaping the young woman's mouth as she turned for a moment, looking as clueless as someone innocent. Oh the irony here... "I can just send pictures, you know. I... Do have the entries in your journal."

"Ah really? Then I'll just delete them. Or destroy your phone." Miyuki responded calmly, dismissing it quickly and continuing to roam around while humming. That didn't do anything!? And they thought that they had i—

Wait, in the real world it could be very much possible that she had their phone. N, that was most likely the case. How the device functions in the Metaverse doesn't match up after all, mainly because Pipistrello tempered with it there. Heck, they didn't even question why they had their phone in their pocket but... Maybe it had been the figure's doing anyways so they didn't question it either way. Actually, what if the phone in the Metaverse had not even been their own phone!? So Miyuki would have it. And she did say that she sent their mother a text, all so the woman won't look for her child nor worry.

But what would work then? Something to put Miyuki on alert, making her afraid of being caught red handed. Maybe it wasn't them who was terrifying her. After all, who would believe a random person? She could easily sway the masses, convince them that the photographs are fabricated. Someone else needed the information, clearly. Someone else... Someone who was known for this type of stuff... A trustworthy source... Someone even Miyuki knew and—

Ah, right! There was someone! Someone they at least appeared to be close to in public! How did they not think of that sooner!

"And who said that I didn't show them to someone already?" They asked. They will have to apologize later that they dragged someone unrelated into this but it was worth a shot.

"And who would that someone be?" Miyuki asked, still sounding dismissive. Yet her dismissal would come to a halt when they dropped the name.

"Akechi–Kun."

She seemed to drop something on the shelf, closing it while slowly turning towards them, eyes wide as she looked at them. Not to mention that her face went pale. "Wh... What? But... The messages... There was no—"

"Of course there wasn't. Do you really think he keeps that type of information in his chat logs? What do you take him for?" Well, that was a bit of a lie. They didn't send Akechi anything. But hey, not like she had to know. "I mean you two seem to know each other quite well. I think he knows what trouble it would cause if you or any family member found out about those entries."

"He... Deleted the messages?"

"Yep. Pretty much~" They had to play it cool but this was nerve wracking. Oh please let this work, please... They even observed Miyuki, how stiff she went and the sweat dropping from her hands at that moment, said hands even shaking in place. She didn't say anything for a moment, only staring at 'Anja' in disbelief for a moment...

That was until she suddenly headed for the door, trying to hide her expression right then and there, even when they had already seen it. "I'll be back." Was the last thing she said before she turned off the lights and slammed the door close.

They only stared at the spot where the door was. D... Did that even work? Or had they just put Akechi into trouble for no reason? They weren't exactly sure. It could be anything. Maybe they also failed at it. Who could tell!? Not them, that's for—

"Good job Annie." And there it was, the all familiar voice. And it sounded all delighted as well, unable to contain its excitement it seemed. "I knew you could do it. Now come here, there's no time to waste."

They didn't even need to question it nor were they surprised to be honest. Though all they could do was try to remain and sound calm, even if they were anything but right now. "Yes. All set. Let's bring an end to this."