The Puppet on the Strings

Dethroning the King

Ryuji falls to the ground, struggling to get up before the next attack. I leap away from his strike, Ann quickly aiding Ryuji while Morgana hangs from the banister. I glance up again, but let my eyes fall back to the cognitive y/n. Her knuckles are white, in between each finger a throwing knife. I rush towards her, rolling as she throws a blade past my ear. Shadow Kamoshida swipes a gold fork past my arm, catching a loop on my coat and pulling me up to him. I grip the prong, swinging my body weight on top of the utensil. Carmen throws a ball of fire at the shadow's arm, causing him to drop his fork and have me fall to the ground. 

"You okay, Joker?" Ryuji asks, sending Captain Kid to electrocute the shadow. 

"I'm fine." My eyes drift back to y/n. 

"Keep your focus. That isn't her," Ann reminds me, having Carmen heal my wounds. 

A loud clang shakes the floor. I look to my right, the crown now rolling on the floor. When I look back up, Morgana waves to me, jumping to the floor. "Focus, guys! He's distracted!"

We look to the shadow, seeing him flail his arms. "Into position, guys!" I call out, the four of us rushing to the shadow, weapons drawn. "All-out attack!"

~~~ 

I grip my bag tightly, looking at the TV screen above me. The train shakes a bit as it moves. Maybe I could stop at the diner in Shibuya before going home. 

I head above ground once I'm off the train. It's already evening. My phone buzzes, a text from Akira appearing on the screen.

Wanna hang out tomorrow?

I text back an approval for the plan, heading into the diner. I have too much on my mind right now. I wish he could come out now, but whatever he was doing after school today may still be going on now. 

~~~

All of us were panting heavily, Morgana back in his cat form. "That sucked..." Ann stated in between gasps of air.

Ryuji is holding his phone, eyes now wide. "Look at the nav!" 

Ann and I look at our own phones, the navigation app pulled up. "The destination has been deleted."

"... It's true. We can't go there anymore."

Morgana looks up at us. "What about the treasure?!"

I have my hand in my pocket, feeling the cool metal against my palm. Weird. I don't remember having it in my pocket. Not only that, but it's smaller than it should be. I pull it out of my pocket, but it now looks like an Olympic medal. 

"What the...?" Ryuji mutters. 

"A medal? Wait, where'd that crown go?" Ann sounded just as confused as Ryuji.

"What's going on?"

Morgana is sitting on the ground now, looking to Ryuji and Ann. "It means, that was the source of Kamoshida's desires. To him, this medal is worth as much as that crown we saw in the Palace."

"An Olympic medal..." Ryuji mutters. "So, that perv kept clingin' to his past glory and couldn't let it go..."

"But... this means that Kamoshida's heart might have changed, right?" Ann questions aloud.

"Probably," Morgana answers. I look down to him, frowning. 

"Our expulsion's on the line here!" Ryuji exclaims.

I sigh, looking towards the school. I notice y/n running out the school gate, Kamoshida watching her leave. His once harsh look he was giving her as she left melted into sadness. I wonder if that was because of us...

"Ugh... I feel all antsy! Ain't there a way to check now?"

I look to Ryuji. "I think we'll be alright."

"How can you be so sure?" Ann questions.

I shrug, not wanting to explain entirely. They may recognize y/n's name, but I don't think there's a need to mention her yet.

"We just don't know if everything's okay yet..." Ryuji mentions. 

"I'm pretty sure it'll be fine. Remember how Kamoshida's Shadow said that he's returning to his self in reality? Suguru Kamoshida was a scum. Still, he did seem to regain his conscience somewhat at the end," Morgana explains. 

He's right, though. They may not have noticed, but it seems Kamoshida has changed to some degree. Enough so that his frustration melted away so quickly. "I'm sure it worked."

"There are definitely those who have been saved thanks to what you've done."

"Anyway, I guess we gotta wait," Ryuji states.

"Let's go home," I state. I was getting tired, but I also want to see y/n. I shouldn't tell her about what I've been doing, but I want to be sure she's okay now. If it didn't work, it's best I stay by her until it does.

"Yeah, let's go."

We head out of the alley, heading for the station to get home. I grab my phone, texting y/n to see if she wanted to hang out tomorrow. It was starting to shift into evening. Honestly, I'm too exhausted to make plans tonight. Besides, sleep for tonight would be best for both of us.