Persona 5 - The Jester's Point Of View

Scene 180

Under the request of the old man, who is also a cat in this instance, Goro had agreed to head to the Metaverse, the only way proper communication could be held between the two. And that was exactly where he had met the old man later, this one already waiting for him within the depths of Mementos. When he saw Goro enter O crossed his arms, sighing before speaking up. “Took you long enough.”

“Impatient, aren’t we?” He countered with a question, only earning him an eyeroll.

“I need my 16 hours of sleep everyday. It’s called beauty sleep.”

“Beauty sleep you say…” Yet he dared to not comment on it further. A cat and beauty sleep though. Hah, he cannot focus on that right now. Not with more important matters at hand. That conversation would hardly be worth it. “That aside, you wanted to talk about something?”

“Yes. It’s about–”

“Them, isn't it?”

“It’s obvious. Let's not beat around the bush then. So–”

“It’s about how they are handling the news about their Palace, isn't it?” The sentence was cut short, though the wording was oddly specific. It would be a throwaway sentence easily yet enough time has passed to know this mysterious entity better, Pipistrello. It phrased this so casually, no big deal, just the start to some small talk. There was nothing in particular about it, just the usual. 

And yet it would leave anyone cold upon hearing it the first time. No, maybe not. Having it said out loud while knowing what was going on was actually the worst part of it all. It was… A check back to reality. It didn’t strike Goro with any type of surprise, it never would. But still, having it just flat out said out loud like some casula topic had a different feeling to it entirely. It hit where it wasn’t supposed to, resulting in a very uncomfortable feeling overall. 

O turned his head in one go, coming to face the being which had just plopped right out of thin air. No, seriously, like some random prop appearing in a bad movie. Exactly that way. No warning of any kind nor a transition, just a sudden plop in. And his ears were twitching profusely. “Y… Yeah. That–”

“And they’re not taking the news too well. Locking themself in. All because of their little Palace. But they had to learn about it, right~?” It was the tone which pissed Goro off more than anything. It made him want to grab that thing by the collar and throw it far away. But he knew better than to start a fight with that thing, especially since its capabilities are completely unknown. But it was still getting more under his skin than he would ever like to admit. Especially when seeing them like… Well, this…  Maybe that’s why he couldn’t hold back his tongue from one moment to the other. Even if it just slipped out of his mouth, he just… Said it.

“Why did you think this was a good idea!?” A sudden shout, knowing that it would earn him some stares. At least from the cat. Because the entity? What did it do? The response to all of this… Well… 

It was just a laugh, a wholehearted one. No concern whatsoever. Then again, what would one come to expect? “Because it builds character.” That Pipistrello thing answered. “Besides, if you wouldn't tell them, I had to do it.”

Did it seriously have to— “What are you implying?” He kept his voice down however, not wanting to sound agitated, not wanting to growl.

“You always knew about their Palace boy. Or at least for some time. Hence why you were suspicious of them from the get go.”

“I—” That was true. No matter how many times one were to deny it, Goro knew. He did for months now. Though it had not been his aim to know about it, he found out by chance. He found it odd that they wanted to involve themself in the case, hence why he did a bit of a check up. Their name was a match and before knowing it he found himself at this place, the Palace. Or rather right in front of it. There had been an invisible barrier right in front of it, making it impossible to enter. For a bit he had tried to get through it but none of his attacks damaged it for even a moment. Entry was impossible so he gave up. It was another reason why he had to put Shido at ease, why one simply couldn’t get rid of them like anyone else even if that was the plan. By now Goro was more than aware that this was not the only reason yet at the time it had been the reason he believed to be true. 

“Haha, don't worry. It was me who sealed off their Palace.” The being responded, as if it had just read his mind. Maybe it did… Ah, what did it matter? “Just in case you would have gotten the idea to cause them a mental shutdown.”

“Of course you did…” Yeah, nothing was surprising anymore. And he couldn’t say much to begin with. He had no right to speak up.

“Better safe than sorry. Anyways, what they do is their business. But I’m also interested in your choice. What will you–”

“I’m going.” An interruption with no hesitation whatsoever. Yet said with pure conviction. He was more than certain with his response. He didn’t need to wait long for an answer either, not when it was that obvious. Seeing Lukanja like this, let alone the claim they made… ‘ I… I am awful… I am one of the worst. ’ They really believed that, didn’t they? Oh, how ironic. Even daring to assume that they were worse than him. Are they really when they say stuff like ‘ I refuse to leave you alone ’ or ‘ I am not against you. I never was ’ right to his face, unapologetically one may add. He didn’t get it, why they weren’t just turning their back on him. But he didn’t need to get it, not at this moment. They were helping him… Now it was his turn to help them.

“Oho?” Pipistrello nearly snickered, seemingly interested. Then again, it may be an act. But whatever.

“They cannot function like this.” Goro added, nearly finding himself scoffing before turning away from both of them. “Besides I… Owe them. So if they won't do it, I will.”

“Aww, how sweet. But have at it then boy~”

“Didn’t expect you to take initiative.” He heard O add on top of that, as if he was surprised by any of this. Yet at the same time it wasn’t a complaint in any way. He was just caught off guard it seemed. “But sounds fair enough. While you do that I’ll keep an eye on them. Does that work for you?”

“Yeah, please do.” He can handle this himself. After all, this wasn’t the first time he was doing this, especially on his own. All he would have to do is to take whatever the treasure is from this Palace… And he was going to take it from these Shadows cold, dead hands!