Taking Hearts, Breaking Limits (Persona 5 Royal x Final Fantasy VII)

XIV

4/25 - Monday - After School

Cloud's POV

So... yeah, Omnislash happened. He's done it before a lot of times anyway, so no big deal.

It was the opposite for his teammates though. As he grabbed his blades from the ground and started reassembling them, Cloud noticed his friends looking at him with their eyes wide and jaw dropped.

"What. The hell. Was THAT?!" Skull exclaimed.

Cloud tilted his head. "What was what?"

"Uh... the super awesome thing you just did!" Panther said.

"Oh... that? What about it?"

"YOU JUST SINGLE-HANDEDLY TOOK DOWN KAMOSHIDA!" Mona shouted. "STOP ACTING LIKE IT'S NOT A BIG DEAL!"

"But it's not-"

"It is though!" Joker butted in. "How in the world did you do that?!"

"I'll tell you another time."

"Awww... are you for real, dude?!" Skull said disappointed.

"Shut up. Let's just go get-" Cloud turned around to the crater, but Kamoshida wasn't there. "Where the hell is-"

"Look! Over there!" Panther called out. She pointed towards him, limping towards a balcony. She quickly summoned her Persona and shot a fireball to stop him in his tracks and he immediately did. He just stood there now, shaken and terrified.

"What's wrong? Not running away?" Panther taunted him. "Why don't you run? Aren't you a great athlete?"

"It's always been like this... all those goddamn hyenas forcing their expectations on me!" Kamoshida ranted. "I'm doing this all for them! What's wrong about demanding a reward for that?!"

"Now you're making excuses?" Skull scoffed. "We'll do somethin' about that distorted heart of yours."

Kamoshida hopelessly stood there, staring out the balcony. He had nowhere to run.

"Scared?" Panther said. "Right now, you're seeing the same view that Shiho did. I'm sure she was scared too... except she had no choice but to jump. What will you do? Will you jump? Or would you rather die here?" After she said that, flames started blazing on the hands of her Persona.

"Do you want to finish him off? It's your call." Mona asked.

"No, please wait! I beg you! Just forgive me!" Kamoshida pleaded.

"Shut up." Panther silenced him. "I bet everyone told you the same. But you... YOU TOOK EVERYTHING FROM THEM!" she launched a fire blast right beside him, causing the Shadow to shriek in fear.

"I-I accept defeat!" Kamoshida surrendered. "You want this? Take it." he threw the Treasure to Joker. "Go ahead and finish me off... you do that, and my real self will go down too. You have that right... since you won."

Everyone let out a tsk. Sure, he was a really bad guy who ruined countless lives, and Cloud didn't mind if they killed him, but did he really deserve be killed?

Panther looked like she was having none of it though. She clenched her fists, and another fire blast fired at Kamoshida.

"ANN!" Skull shouted, worried she was gonna kill him. Luckily, it was another warning shot.

"If his mind shuts down, he can't confess his crimes." Panther said. Everyone took a sigh of relief. 

"You're kind, Lady Ann." Mona said.