Spectra (Ryuji x OC)

6 • Mementos

5/6 Lunchtime

"Looks like you'll just have to live a normal, honest school life for the time being. Still, make sure you stay prepared just in case anything comes up, all right?" Morgana said.

They were standing in front of the staircase talking. I leaned against the wall around the corner, listening in while pretending to look through my book in hand.

"I'll be keeping an eye out for info on any big shots that might be comin' around," Ryuji said.

"And I'll try to dig up some dirt online," Ann told them.

"We went and formed the Phantom Thieves group, but we can't even find a target..."

"There, there..."

"I guess sometimes things just don't go the way we want 'em to. Hey, why don't we try asking Spectra?" Ryuji suggested.

"You're right, she was there in Kamoshida's Palace before any of us knew about it. Maybe she has another target," Morgana said.

"Dude, I just realized something. I know who the girl is, the one who helped us at that weird castle," Ryuji said suddenly.

"Hmm?" Akira hummed.

"The new girl? Yuki Kan? She's in my class. She's Spectra"

"I've seen her a couple times but most of the time she seems to blend in. She's too quiet to be Spectra," Ann told him.

"I don't know, it doesn't seem like her," Akira said, shaking his head as he agreed with Ann.

"You don't seem like you when you're wearing the mask," Ryuji pointed out.

"He has a good point, Joker," Morgana says. "But it's not just personality, both of them look completely different. Kan has short hair, Spectra has long hair. I'm not sure if your looks can be affected that drastically when going from the real world to the Metaverse"

"It's not like you know everything about it, Morgana"

"Hey, I know more about it than you!"

"Calm down, we don't want to draw attention," Akira stepped in.

"Wouldn't hurt to ask her though, right?" Ryuji asked.

"I suppose it wouldn't," Ann mumbled. "But is she someone we can trust? Spectra, I mean"

"She helped us"

"But it could've been for her own gain, we don't know anything about her except a name. She doesn't even have a mask when she's over there. Just who is she?"

"She could be someone with a lot of power that we want on our side," Akira said.

"I agree. Before talking with Yuki we see if we can find Spectra and ask her some questions. Then we worry about if she's Kan or not," Morgana finalized.

"How are we supposed to find her? We don't have any targets or know who she's after, or who she is," Ann said.

"There's something I want to show you guys, after school"

I walked away, passing by some other students whispering amongst themselves. I heard some mention of the Phantom Thieves of Hearts, calling cards, Kamoshida, and a Phan-site.

The Phan-site, after I looked it up on my phone, was a site created by an anonymous user to allow others to post about hearts they want stolen. There was also a poll on it, "Do you believe in the Phantom Thieves?" It asked. A lot of what people were posting was saying it was nonsense, but there were a couple of those who believed.

5/6 After School

I found the group in mementos, just like I had thought after hearing them talking in the hallway, taking down a Shadow. When they beat it they looked over at me, some of them surprised by my appearance.

"You don't get this, do you?" I ask.

"Get what?" Joker asks.

"Those calling cards, they're public, now everyone knows about the Phantom Thieves. But the Phantom Thieves are more than just you, I'm one of them too. The one rule I have is to keep it secret, keep my presence unknown by my targets"

"But don't you want to be known for all the good you're doing?" Skull asks me. "At least some recognition?"

"The idea of Phantom Thieves is that no one knows about them. Only the people being targeted. But you've ruined that"

"How did you manage to send out calling cards without the public noticing?" Panther asks me.

"I send it out, to that specific person, then I steal the Treasure. But I don't leave the calling card somewhere anyone could find it, I dispose of it directly after. No one will believe anything without proof or evidence"

"We need the recognition though, in order to make our way down through Mementos," Skull said.

"That's right," Mona agreed. "The more we're known the more areas should open up in the depths, and it'll hopefully give me my memories back or turn me back into a Human"

"And it doesn't feel too bad having people cheer you on"

"Don't go throwing away my unknown reputation as a ghost just because you want to be known," I told them, pointing a finger at Skull's face.

I turned around and started to walk away, but Skull never seemed to be able to just let me leave without making the conversation longer than it needed to be.

"Who are you?"

"We have code names for a reason. I don't want anyone to know who I am"

"But we're allies, aren't we?" Mona asked. "You can trust us"

"Do you trust me?" No one spoke. "Exactly. We don't know each other. For all I or you know we could be the ones causing the mental breakdowns"

"What?" Joker asked, the others staring with wide eyes at my words.

"You all know what I'm talking about. The mental breakdowns are caused by someone killing people's Shadows. That's what happens. I don't know who is the one doing it, or if that's even what's happening. But, I can tell you for certain I'm not, and I can tell you are all too new to this to purposefully cause harm to others"

"So there's another Metaverse user?" Mona asked in awe.

"I'm not sure. It could just be nothing, and they aren't related at all. I haven't focused too much on it because I figured I'd eventually learn something about it"