#rebsku

[pulaasul]

Rebelling Skull - 4

A Sequel to Femoral Meeting.

After meeting an organization dedicated to exterminating Shadows, Ryuji finds his path crossing with  said organization more times than he’d like. Is it mere coincidence or simply something from a past he’s unaware of, haunting him?

1 I 2 I 3

Ao3 I FFN

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~ Let's go to that place we love

You can make it. I believe in you. ~

As soon as everyone on stage sang the final note, the song stopped.

"Thank You! Shujin!" The idols yelled at their microphones.

However instead of loud cheers erupted from the audience, screams of fear pierced everyone's ears as the surroundings turned green and a lot of standing coffins appeared in place of the people.

Ryuji and Anne were now donning their masks without their usual Phantom Thief outfits.

"Sakamoto!" Mitsuru's voice rang inside Ryuji's mind. "What's your status?" She asked.

"Panther and I are surrounded by panicking students," Ryuji relayed their situation. "Alongside the coffins from before." He added as he removed his blazer and gave it to Anne.

Anne immediately wore the blazer and released her hair as she looked around for Futaba.

"I can't find Oracle!" Anne exclaimed in alarm.

"Kujikawa, prioritize the people on stage." Mitsuru ordered.

"I am right by the entrance," Futaba interjected through the link. "I had to get away from the panicking students." She explained.

"Good, you reconvene with your teammates," Mitsuru ordered. "Sakamoto, Panther, and Oracle once the three of you reunite, you round up the people wearing rings similar to Rise's companions and place them onstage." She added. "Kujikawa, I'm assuming you have you have one of those rings as well?"

"I do." Rise confirmed.

"Give that one to Sakamoto so they'll have a reference." Mitsuru instructed.

"What do these rings do exactly?" Anne voiced her concern. "And why only the people wearing them?"

"Those rings prevent a person's shadow from going berserk," Mitsuru explained. "The people not wearing those rings has a probability of turning into a shadow and attack innocents," She added. "We're simply preventing a worst-case scenario from happening."

"Roger that!" Ryuji and Anne nodded. "Leave it to us."

"Yeah, yeah sure," Futaba gave a sound. "Just that we need to stick to our codenames," Futaba growled. "They exist for a reason."

"I see..."

"You can call me Skull." Ryuji immediately informed.

"Very well," Mitsuru conceded. "I'm leaving you in charge of your group's tasks, Skull."

"Leave it to us!"

"Saka-" Mishima tried to talk to his companions only for Anne to cut him off.

"Call me Panther and him Skull," Anne informed. "What happened to Ren could also happen to us," She explained. "Can I count on you, Mishima?"

Mishima gasped but nodded in approval. "What's this about the rings?" He asks. "You've been mentioning rings recently."

Ryuji looked at Mishima's hand. He was wearing a ring that had a dim glow.

Suddenly a humanoid being with red hair in a white flowing dress arrived and gave Ryuji the same ring before it promptly disappeared.

"Wha-what was that?!" Mishima panicked.

"Calm down Nishima," Futaba admonished as she descended from her Persona. "These are what makes stealing of hearts possible," She explained. "I see you're wearing one of these rings as well," She unceremoniously grabbed the boy's hand and inspected the ring. "Hey Kirijo, do these rings glow?"

"Affirmative," Mitsuru responded through the link. "I fear some rings just glow in the dark."

"So you gave us a sample," Anne supplied. "Just to be sure."

"Precisely." Mitsuru nodded.

Ryuji removed his shirt and gave it to Futaba as Anne immediately worked on her hair.

"Why'd you give me your shirt?" Oracle looked at the shirt and Skull.

"Same reason." Ryuji shrugged.

Futaba nodded and wore the shirt over her school uniform as Anne styled her hair into pigtails. The cat-masked blond then swiped a cap from a panicking student and forcefully placed them on top of Ryuji's head.

"What was that for?!" Ryuji reacted.

"For you." Panther rolled her eyes. "Kirijo and her allies may know about your identity, but others are still in the dark about it." She explained.

"We can count on Nishima to keep these under wraps right?" Futaba chimed in.

"You can count on me." Mishima nodded with determination.

"Anytime now." Rise voiced out through the link. "I can't hold off these shadows for much longer."

"Be on the defensive," Mitsuru advised. "Use Makarakarn and Tetrakarn." She added. "Wait for all of us to arrive."

"Just hurry!"

----------

"Artemisia!" Mitsuru yelled as she summoned her Persona who simply whipped the air around her.

Ice Pillars and ice blocks appeared and encased the Shadows inside them.

Karasuma was busy herding the students and teachers wearing rings, as instructed by the Kirijo, while she was busy handling their attackers.

"Double time!" Karasuma urged the teachers and students. "We need to go up on the stage."

Karasuma's words got everyone rushing towards the stage dodging the coffins and ice pillars that were in the area.

Mitsuru on the other hand switched to erecting ice walls to hinder the shadows from approaching the civilians. She does so by having Artemisia strike the floor with the whip.

---------

Rise was busy defending her fellow idols onstage. She has Himiko in her battle mode and erected translucent hexagonal walls around the stage.

Suddenly, a bunch of fireballs was coming their way.

"Gaaaaaah!" The female idols screamed in fear.

As if in agreement, the people on stage began to herd themselves at the back entrance only to see more of those creatures backstage, eliciting a similar response.

A scream.

Rise was quick to sense the shadows and was able to erect hexagonal walls in front of the idols and reflect the incoming attacks at them.

"Risette." Everyone stared at her in amazement.

A fireball struck the hexagonal walls, which was reflected, but they vanished.

"Gather around me." Rise ordered. "I can't erect these walls around us if you're spread out like that." She explained.

Himiko re-erected the translucent hexagonal walls just in time for another attack to be reflected.

"We're completely surrounded!" Rise called out loud to her link.

"We're close by." Ryuji's voice replied.

"As are we," Mitsuru assured the idol. "Just hold out a little bit longer Kujikawa."

"Just hurry!"

----------

"Go, Captain Kidd!" Ryuji yelled as his Persona appeared behind him.

Captain Kidd shot out three cannonballs from his cannon of a right hand and blasted away three Oberons approaching the hexagonal walls.

"Carmen!" Anne yelled. "Maragidyne!"

Carmen appeared behind Anne as she shot three fireballs on the floor that sprouted into three stationary fire tornadoes that burnt the three Skadis preparing to attack.

"Wow!" Mishima gaped in amazement. "Are all the thieves as powerful as you?" He fired off a question.

"Kinda not the time Nishima!" Futaba exclaimed. "Risette!" She called out. "Let us through!"

A hole appeared on the wall of translucent hexagons not a moment later, just enough for everyone from their group to get inside.

Futaba exited from her Persona and went alongside the students and teachers from their group into the enclosure that Rise has erected.

"Artemisia! No mercy!" Mitsuru declared.

Artemisia rose in the air and began whipping all the shadows that surrounded Rise's enclosure, encasing all the shadows in the vicinity in ice. The few that were impervious to the ice attack were done in by Karasuma's fists, although they merely flew a few feet away rather than disappear completely.

"Sheesh, That woman's scary!" Futaba observed.

"No, no, no the guy she's with is scary," Ryuji shook his head. "Did you see how he just punched the Shadow?"

"Kinda not the time!" Anne hissed.

The enclosure opened once more, on Mitsuru's side, and let the Kirijo's group through.

Karasuma immediately approached Sugino and Yamamoto and gave the both of them a smoke grenade each.

"On the count of three, we're dropping these here and make our escape." Karasuma instructed.

"Creatures are also present backstage sensei." Sugino informed.

"The smoke would only blind us." Yamamoto added.

"I can guide us outside." Futaba offered. "Although I cannot guarantee that there won't be any of them outside."

"Oracle is right," Mitsuru stated. "These Shadows are present outside."

"Then what do you suppose we do Kirijo," Karasuma bit out. "This is your jurisdiction."

"Does anyone have dormina?" Mitsuru questioned the Persona users present.

"I do." Panther voiced out.

"Put them to sleep." Mitsuru ordered.

"You can't do that!" Some of the idols protested. "What guarantee do we have that you won't ditch us?" They questioned.

Karasuma simply waited for the Kirijo's response.

"I have to agree, we need to go outside." Ryuji voiced out.

"Care to elaborate Skull?" Mitsuru challenged.

"We're sitting ducks inside the gym," Ryuji replied. "We're surrounded," He gestured at the surrounding hostilities. "If we're outside we can have a bit more room to move and we can use some of our skills freely." He added.

"Right, you have God's Hand and Agneyastyra." Mitsuru hummed. "How do you suggest we move with these many people?" She questioned.

"Hey, Oracle." Ryuji faced the youngest of the thieves. "Can Necronomicon carry passengers?" He asked.

"Let's try," Futaba answered. "Necronomicon!"

A spaceship appeared above Ryuji and tentacle-like things descended from the UFO and wrapped themselves on Skull's and Oracle's wrists, elbows, and ankles. The tentacles then began to raise the two of them and let them inside.

"What do you think?" Futaba asked.

After a few seconds of discussion, the UFO hovering over everyone disappeared as Ryuji and Futaba inside dropped down.

"Oracle says, she can fit more than half of them in there," Ryuji informed. "I can take the other half."

"Magnifique!" Mitsuru praised. "Your Personas can double as vessels for everyone." She pointed out. "We can transport them from one place to another without risk of injuring them."

"I am not getting inside that-that thing." One of the female students protested. "I've seen way too many anime to know what happens inside." She cringed at the mere thought.

"Well then, the boys will go with Oracle and the girls will go with Skull," Mitsuru ordered. "Kujikawa I want you to place Makarakarn and Tetrakarn walls in front of Oracle's and Skull's personas so stave off attacks from the shadows." She issued. "Panther you're with me."

"Let's go! Captain Kidd!"

"Come on! Necronomicon!"

Captain Kidd and Necronomicon appeared by their summoner's sides.

The girls boarded the ship that Captain Kidd was standing on one by one while the males were lifted into Necronomicon via the tentacle-like things that sprouted from the Persona's underside.

"Sugino, Yamamoto, and I won't be going inside," Karasuma informed. "The three of us will throw a smoke grenade to obscure the enemies' view on us."

"Will you be able to catch up with us?" Mitsuru questioned.

"Shouldn't your Persona's whip be able to latch onto them should they fall behind?" Futaba stated, through the link.

"Don't worry." Yamamoto chuckled. "We'll be able to catch up."

"No need to worry," Karasuma assured. "We'll run once the smoke grenades are thrown."

[pulaasul]

Rebelling Skull - 1

-----------

A Sequel to Femoral Meeting.

After meeting an organization dedicated to exterminating Shadows, Ryuji finds his path crossing with  said organization more times than he’d like. Is it mere coincidence or simply something from a past he’s unaware of, haunting him?

FFN I AO3

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As Mitsuru walked through the hallway towards Shujin Academy's Principal's office, she can't help but notice that some students were wearing familiar rings, familiarly unique rings. She put the observation at the back of her head when she arrived at her destination.

Mitsuru knocked three times on the door.

"Come in." Someone inside prompted.

Mitsuru opened the door and she was greeted by a man sitting behind a table.

"Kirijo-sama." A man greeted as he stood up from his chair. "Shujin Academy thanks you for your donation." He bowed in gratitude. "Your donation to the school will surely help our students in achieving their dreams." He extended his hand and offered a handshake.

Mitsuru looked around the principal's office and saw a few opened boxes that contained a few things that would personalize the room. She looked at the name plate placed on the table and read it.

Mitsuru nodded as she walked inside the room and shook the principal's hand. "The pleasure is all mine Namikaze." She greeted back.

"I do hope that the donation does go to the facilities that would benefit the students and its teachers." She added. "We take these things seriously at Gekkoukan."

"Yes." The man, Namikaze, nodded. "Gekkoukan is still one of the country's most prominent private schools in all of Japan." He smiled. "All schools, Shujin included, has made it our goal to at least scratch the surface of Gekkoukan's prestige."

"I see." Mitsuru sighed. "I had hoped that, that wasn't the case."

Namikaze narrowed his eyes at the Kirijo, confused at her words.

"What do you mean?"

"Let me make one thing clear Namikaze." Kirijo stated as she glared at the school's newly minted principal. "Make sure that the money does indeed go towards the benefit of the school's student body. " She demanded. "And not go to some underhanded way in a misguided attempt to gain prestige as you put it." She glared at the principal. "The needs of the students outweigh the need for reputation."

Namikaze gulped as he cowered under Mitsuru's glare.

"It's because of that prestige that Kamoshida's victims had gone on unheard for so long."

"Rest assured Kirijo-sama, the money you donated to the school will go towards the students' benefit." The principal assured the Kirijo head.

"Make sure of it." Mitsuru nodded. "Apart from personally handing in the donation, I also came here for another reason." She admitted.

Mitsuru dug inside her blazer's inner pocket and brandished a photograph of one Ryuji Sakamoto.

"I would like to inquire as to what really happened to him." Mitsuru placed the photo on the table.

"Sakamoto?"

"Yes." Mitsuru nodded. "I am worried that the money I gave this school would add more cases like his." She explained.

"With all due respect Kirijo-sama." The principal responded. "Why the interest in Sakamoto's case?" He asked. "Shouldn't you be inquiring about the female team of volleyball players?" He continued. "You may not be aware but he's a delinquent."

"Delinquent or not, he did not deserve to have his leg broken and his life ruined." Came Mitsuru's quick response. "Or are children who made mistakes and strayed from their paths not qualified to be given even a sliver of respect and fairness?"

N-no." Namikaze stammered. "O-of cou-course not."

"Is it not the obligation of teachers guide children in their path and correct them if they stray?"

The school principal nodded in agreement.

"In that case." Mitsuru stated. "Would you kindly give me the details of what happened?"

------------

"See to it that none of the sort will happen again." Mitsuru growled. "The lives and wellbeing of your students should always take precedence over prestige and rank."

"Of course Kirijo-sama." The principal bowed in respect.

-----------

Mitsuru was walking towards the school gym after her talk with the school's principal.

"That went better than expected." The Kirijo mused to herself as she exited the school building.

"What's the CEO of the Kirijo group doing in a school?" Someone commented leaning on a wall.

The comment halted the Kirijo from her tracks.

"Hello to you too Karasuma." Mitsuru greeted the commenter.

"My question still stands Kirijo." Karasuma responded before standing up straight. "While Shido's grip on your organization is gone, I do hope you are not on a mission."

"You can be assured Karasuma, I came here as the CEO of the Kirijo group." Mitsuru placated the man's worries. "I made a donation to the school and had a nice chat with the principal." She admitted. "I did ask about a case that was related to last year's incident."

"Kamoshida?"

"About Kamoshida, Yes." The Kirijo affirmed.

"He was the Phantom Thieves' first victim." Karasuma hummed. "Or at least the first one that had a change of heart." He continued. "He admitted to sexually harassing his students, especially members of the female volleyball team."

"Add serious physical injuries to his list of crimes." Mitsuru shared. "A few parents recently filed cases regarding that."

"I've heard of those." Karasuma nodded.

"Now I'd like to return your question to you Karasuma." Mitsuru looked at the man before her. "What's an agent of Japan's Ministry of Defense doing in a school?"

"Officially, I'm here as a bodyguard to one of the school's guest." He admitted. "I was requested." He continued. "Personally, I'm simply here to watch how one of my students grew."

"I remember." Mitsuru nodded. "I heard you taught a group of Middle School students for a special program." She hummed. "The Class 3-E project." She added. "The same project where a known assassin has successfully disguised himself as one of the teachers."

"The program's aim was to give an advantage to the people shunned by society." Karasuma informed the Kirijo. "However we cannot deny how good of a teacher that assassin was."

"It makes you think." Mitsuru sighed. "We have a hardened killer getting close, caring and forming a close bond with their students."

"Then there's the likes of Kamoshida and Madarame." Karasuma nodded.

As the two continued their conversation, they eventually arrived at the school gym's closed doors. The government agent simply opened the door. They were greeted by the sight of one Rise Kujikawa being called on stage.

[pulaasul]

Rebelling Skull - 2

A Sequel to Femoral Meeting.

After meeting an organization dedicated to exterminating Shadows, Ryuji finds his path crossing with  said organization more times than he’d like. Is it mere coincidence or simply something from a past he’s unaware of, haunting him?

1

FFN I AO3

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Songs featured in this chapter are Rise's own song True Story and After the Rain by the idolgroup W from the Idolm@ster Side M game.

True Story

After the Rain

https://www.project-imas.com/wiki/AFTER_THE_RAIN - Lyrics so you can sing along, and there's an English translation.

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Shout, friends! Just those words you really mean

And let your voice be heard all over the world

Stand up when you hear the knock on the door

It's me, come on out;

As Rise sang the song, the entirety of Shujin's student body cheered as they sang along. A lot of them were waving their hands in support and solidarity.

"Cannot believe that the new Student Council President managed to drag in Risette." A boy cheered. "THE Risette!"

"Forget Risette!" Another student grinned. "They managed to rope in Kanamin and other Idol groups!"

"I know right!" A girl agreed. "They even managed to get HighXJoker and W to perform earlier!"

"Risette!" Mishima cheered. "THE RISETTE!"

"Calm yourself man.' Ryuji chuckled. "I know it's unbelievable."

"Speak for yourself Ryuji." Anne rolled her eyes. "You were just gushing about Risette yesterday."

"Can you blame me?!" Ryuji countered. "It's effin' Risette!" He justified. "At least I know how to control myself more than others." He added as he took a glance at Mishima who nodded enthusiastically.

"Do you think she'll sign me an autograph?" Mishima asked his companions.

"Don't get your hopes up." Ryuji grinned. "They prolly have a lot of security, we won't be able to get close."

Anne simply shook her head and sang along to the song.

Get ready for your True Story.

With a raise of Rise's right hand, the song ended.

"How is everyone doing?!" Rise greeted her audience.

The audience cheered even louder at the question. Some jumped in glee and even shouted in both awe and admiration.

"I see." Rise chuckled. "Is everyone enjoying the show?!"

"YES!" The audience enthusiastically responded.

"Such an energetic bunch." The idol commented. "On behalf of my fellow idols here, I would like to thank the Student Council and the school's administration for making this concert possible." She bowed in front of the audience. "There are a few reasons why this concert was made possible."

The audience fell silent at the announcement. They didn't think that they were special enough to be given a special concert by these top brand idols.

"Last year, Suguru Kamoshida was arrested for sexual harassment." Rise stood up straight. "Recently, a lot of new cases of physical assault and injury surfaced against him."

The peanut gallery were silenced at the mention of the disgraced teacher, as a few of the students looked at the male members of the volleyball team. Mishima felt uncomfortable at the stares he was receiving.

Ryuji simply put his arm over Mishima's shoulders and squeezed them as he ignored the stares he was also receiving.

"The injuries may not have been fatal, but it certainly broke a lot of dreams." Rise somberly added. "To offer some words, please help me welcome back the idol group W."

Two men wearing identical outfits, in different colors, walked on stage. One of them was wearing a pair of eyeglasses.

"Thank you Risette." The man with glasses spoke. "I'm Kyosuke Aoi."

"And I'm Yusuke Aoi." The other twin stated. "But I'm sure you already knew that." He joked.

The audience laughed at the joke the eyeglass-less twin made.

"You knew us as athletes before we retired." Kyosuke continued.

"We retired early because of the injury I got during one of our games." Yusuke admitted. "But before we continue I'd like to call onstage others."

"Other athletes who faced relatively the same troubles as Yusuke." Kyosuke supplied.

"Help us welcome Tomohito Sugino-senshu and Takeshi Yamamoto-senshu" Rise introduced as another set of two athletes walked on stage.

The crowd has gone wild with their cheers as two of Japan's celebrated baseball players were on stage. The largest cheers came from the active athletes of the school, especially the baseball athletes.

"Hello Shujin." Sugino waved at the crowd. "How's everyone doing?"

The greeting from the athlete just made the cheers from the audience even louder.

"What an energetic bunch." Yamamoto chuckled. "Aren't they?"

"That I can agree on." Sugino joined in.

"Is this what an idol really feels like?" Yamamoto questioned. "It's kinda bizarre." He commented.

The people on stage opted to wait for the peanut gallery to calm down before proceeding with their objectives.

"Pretty much." Both members of W shrugged.

"Sugino-senshu and Yamamoto-senshu are here to tell us their respective experiences." Kyosuke voiced out as the audience quieted down.

"Guess I'll start." Sugino grinned. "My career as a baseball player was halted before it even started." He shared.

A lot of people gasped at this information as Karasuma at the back simply shook his head with a small hint of a smile adorned his face.

"I'm not naming any specific schools but one of the middle schools I attended had this stupid segregation policy." Sugino continued. "The failing students of the graduating class were to be separated from the other students and were prohibited from ever participating in any club activities." He supplied. "I belonged to that group of students."

"Cruel." One person from the audience commented.

Anne and Mishima simply looked at Ryuji, who was clenching his fists as they listened to the baseball athlete's speech.

"My grades suffered due to my low self-esteem." Sugino admitted sheepishly. "I just couldn't imitate the power and pitch of a very popular baseball player at that time." He supplied. "Hence why I was put in that class." He added. "But that didn't stop me, a teacher in that class taught me not to give up on my dreams."

Mitsuru looked at Karasuma but the man simply shook his head as if response to an unspoken question.

That's when it dawned to Mitsuru that the teacher the athlete was talking about was the very same assassin that disguised himself as a teacher.

"He also taught me that I should also have another goal." Sugino continued his spiel. "'Life is too unpredictable' was what he always said and there may be a possibility that our dreams won't ever come true."

Sugino paused for a few moments and gauged the audience's reaction, He noticed that some of the boys were slack jawed while the girls were covering their gasps at his revelation.

"So instead, he asked us what we would want to become if our ultimate dreams were to be, for lack of better term, cancelled." Sugino let his other hand hold the microphone. "He never did let us answer that question, instead he offered a piece of advice." He smiled as he reminisced on the teacher. "He simply told us to also work towards our other dreams so that we may live a successful life even if our primary dreams were nulled."

The audience simply did not expect that the Slithering Sugino would've faced problems as dire as he did.

"Guess I'm up next." Yamamoto chuckled. "I am more of an average student." He laughed. "I slept in class, failed in school and all that."

This got a lot of chuckles from the students.

"I used to believe that the only thing I'm good at was baseball." Yamamoto shared. "Then came a time when I broke my wrists from practicing so much." He smiled.

Another round of gasps were heard in the gymnasium.

"Because of that, I tried to take my life."

The entire school were surprised at the revelation. Some people were covering their mouths, some were even slack-jawed at the information.

Out of all the students, Anne was the most affected by the information. She remembered the day her best friend jumped off of the school building just to escape Kamoshida's cruelty. The pain and grief that event caused her came back with full force.

Ryuji, the ever supporting friend, simply placed his other arm over Anne's shoulders and squeezed it tightly.

Anne simply clung to the boy's uniform like a lifeline.

"As ridiculous as this would sound, I thought that the baseball god had no use for me and decided to throw me away." Yamamoto gave a hearty laugh.

But nobody saw the humor of the statement.

"I was saved by my best friend." Yamamoto grinned. "Well he really wasn't my friend at the time." He chuckled. "Anyway he saved me by being his self-deprecating self." He added with another chuckle. "He had told me before that effort was the only way that's why I broke my hand practicing."

Elsewhere a man with brown hair smiled at the words.

"That was when my dad approached me." Yamamoto wasn't finished. "He told me that I shouldn't focus on one thing and one thing only." He continued. "We swooshed, swished and bam the sushi's complete." He laughed.

"I didn't understand the last part." A few murmured.

"His dad basically trained him to make sushi." A few of the athletes answered to their peers.

"That and he basically pushed me to be my savior's friend." Yamamoto smiled. "He's got me a lot opportunities both in and out of sport events."

"That means I'm up next." Yusuke voiced out. "Well we already told you our story." He chuckled. "But there were things we left out."

"Yusuke and I promised to be on the same team always." Kyosuke supplied. "That's why I also retired from playing." He added. "But back then I had nowhere else to go to."

"Then we met someone." Yusuke smiled. "He proposed the idea of being idols to us." He admitted. "We were reluctant at first."

"But the prospect of being on the same team was enticing." Kyosuke admitted. "In the end we accepted the offer that's why we're here."

"So basically what the four of us are trying to tell you." Sugino began.

"Is that you do not need to focus on one dream only." Yamamoto added.

"Think of other dreams." Yusuke supplied.

"And have something to fall back." Kyosuke continued.

"To live a fulfilled life even if things do not go as planned." Sugino added.

"Because nothing in life ever goes the way we want it." The four of them chorused.

"Wow what an inspiring message from our athletes." Rise praised. "I hope everyone present will take their words to heart." She added. "As sad as I am to announce this." She voiced out. "But we're almost at the end of this concert." She announced.

"Before we end, Risette, do you have something to fall back to?" Kyosuke hurriedly questioned.

"Of course!" Rise affirmed. "My grandma taught me how to make tofus." She shared. "If I'm not an idol now, I'd be inheriting our shop in Inaba," She announced. "Oops sorry grandma, I hope my fans wouldn't hound the area." She sheepishly added.

"I'm sure your grandma can handle the customers." Yusuke assured.

"Oh she definitely can." Rise nodded. "To end this on a high note, W will sing their song 'After the Rain'".

"I would like everyone backstage and for Yamamoto-senshu and Sugino-senshu to join us for this number." Kyosuke asked his idols and athletes. "Sing with us."

The different idols at the back walked on stage at the prompt as both Yamamoto and Sugino looked at each other and shrugged. They faced the former athletes and nodded, delivering their answer.

"Is everyone ready?" Rise questioned.

The people on stage cheered in affirmation.

"On one!" Rise started.

"Two!" Kyosuke and Yusuke yelled in unison.

"Three!" Everyone finished.

The speakers started blaring the opening tune of the song as everyone on stage started clapping their hands.

WE GO! Every time.

KICK OFF! We can start this now.

WE CAN! Run forwards to the goal we are aiming for.

The Idol twins began to sing as their fellow idols and the two athletes clapped in the back.

An indication of rainfall somewhere in the sky

[pulaasul]

Rebelling Skull - 5

A Sequel to Femoral Meeting.

After meeting an organization dedicated to exterminating Shadows, Ryuji finds his path crossing with  said organization more times than he’d like. Is it mere coincidence or simply something from a past he’s unaware of, haunting him?

1 I 2 I 3 I 4 

Ao3 I FFN

---------

With the plan in place, they were able to escape the school's gymnasium relatively unscathed. Anne and Mitsuru worked together to protect the transports' rear side while Rise, holding onto Ryuji's arms, worked on establishing the reflective hexagonal walls in front of Captain Kidd and Necronomicon.

As soon as the group found a large enough area that had little Shadows roaming around, Rise made quick work of them, sending the walls flying into them as they rotated.

After making sure that the area around was safe, the refugees, for lack of a better term, were unloaded one by one from the makeshift transports they were using. They huddled together in a circle, the girls gathering together in the insides, while the boys formed a ring around them.

Rise stayed in front of the refugees offering both defense and navigational advantages from the ground, while Oracle watched from above to offer support and further advantage to navigation.

"A horde of Shadows incoming everyone!" Rise relayed.

"A lot of them block or repel the elements that you specialize in." Oracle added.

"Skull, use Agneyastra." Mitsuru barked. "Panther, replenish Skull's stamina every time he uses his Persona."

"Roger!" Anne and Ryuji confirmed as they faced the shadows that appeared.

"Go!" Mitsuru yelled out. "Artemisia!" She bellowed as she pointed towards the approaching horde of Shadows.

Artemisia appeared behind Mitsuru and brandished her whip and flailed it around, sending a barrage of icicles towards the enemy, freezing them in place.

Some icicles were redirected back at the Kirijo but her Persona's whip just shattered those immediately.

"Let's do this Captain Kidd!" Ryuji yelled as he pulled his mask.

Captain Kidd appeared behind the Skull-masked Persona-user and raised its cannon-arm up in the air and fired a set of three cannonballs into the sky. A moment later, a number of falling fiery balls hit a large group of shadows, knocking them all down.

"Skull, you sure showed me!" Futaba remarked jokingly.

"Let's Dance Carmen!" Anne shouted as she pulled her own mask.

Carmen appeared behind Anne as she fired off a beam towards the sky and made it rain yellow-green dews on the three battling Persona-users.

Ryuji continued to use Agneyastra on the enemies as Anne continued to replenish his stamina when Rise alerted the combatants.

"Karasuma-san, Sugino-senshu and Yamamoto-senshu are approaching." Rise cautioned.

"Risette, you can do battle right?" Ryuji asked.

"Yes." Rise confirmed.

"Cover for me." Ryuji asked.

Ryuji faced the swarm of Shadows and summoned his Persona. "Let's do this Captain Kidd!"

The Persona appeared beside Skull and fired off a barrage of cannonballs that collided with each other and formed a rather large dust cloud. A moment later, lightning came crashing down from the said dust cloud, paralyzing or destroying the enemies as a result.

Ryuji got on his Persona's boat and willed it forward, intending to save the three men.

"Skull! Don't do anything reckless!" Mitsuru barked.

"Skull! Wait!" Rise called out but she stepped forward nonetheless.

"Dammit Skull!" Anne shouted.

---------

Ryuji ran over the Shadows with Captain Kidd's boat as he charged toward the people who volunteered to stay behind while the Captain himself fired off a barrage of cannonballs to the sky and made them collide with each other, calling forth more lightning strikes.

"Get on!" Ryuji immediately beckoned the trio.

"Sorry for this." Sugino apologized as he grabbed hold of Yamamoto before jumping towards the boat alongside Karasuma.

"It's fine." Ryuji dismissed. "Hold on tight."

The boat made a sharp U-turn and made a beeline towards where the others were staying, running over the Shadows in the process once more.

As soon they arrived, the trio jumped off of the boat and immediately deposited themselves into the shelter that the refugees were in.

---------

As soon as Ryuji arrived, Rise immediately let Skull take back his position while she returned to providing defense and navigation.

"Hey guys, I think these people need to sleep." Futaba suggested. "I don't think they can handle what's happening right now."

Ryuji and Anne glanced at their schoolmates and classmates. This was their first time encountering this kind of situation and they'd been thrust into escaping a large amount of Shadows despite their inexperience.

"Very well." Mitsuru nodded. "Panther, you stated you have dormina, correct?"

"Yes." Anne nodded. "But I also have lullaby, a multi-target sleep spell."

"Use that on the group, however leave Karasuma, Yamamoto and Sugino." Mitsuru ordered.

Anne nodded as she summoned Carmen, and not a moment too soon, the shadow-like men that followed her Persona began singing, the notes putting those they'd rescued to sleep, excluding the ones Kirijo had mentioned.

"Look alive people!" Futaba voiced out. "More are coming."

Ryuji and Anne looked in front of them and sure enough a lot more Shadows than before.

"Skull! Look out!" Futaba yelled out.

Before Ryuji could even react, a wind attack was coming his way.

Rise was quick to react and managed to send in one of her Persona's miniature satellites and erected a translucent hexagonal wall, reflecting the attack back to its sender.

"Magnifique Kujikawa." Mitsuru praised.

The battle went on for a long time, and the multitude of Shadows weren't thinning out in the slightest. Ryuji and Anne were showing signs of exhaustion as they continued to use their Personas' abilities from Physical attacks to Elemental attacks.

"There's no end to this!" Anne voiced out.

"Panther! Look out!" Ryuji pushed Anne and took the ice attack, freezing him in place.

"Skull!" Anne yelled as she faced her frozen friend.

"Skull's frozen solid!" Futaba pointed out.

"Come Carmen!" Anne shouted as she glared at the Skadi who froze Skull in his place.

Carmen appeared in front of Anne, slamming one of the shadow-like men down on the ground as the Persona summoned pillars of fire from the floor, incinerating most of the Shadows present in the school area, outside of those impervious to the element.

"Brilliant Panther!" Mitsuru praised.

The Kirijo faced the Shadows that survived Carmen's Maragidyne and glared.

"Artemisia! No Mercy!" Mitsuru bellowed out.

Artemisia appeared in front of Mitsuru and flailed her whip on the ground thrice. Soon after, huge pillars of ice started falling from the sky, piercing most of the enemies, and freezing the horde. Mitsuru's Persona then threw a purple orb at the enemy swarm and exploded on them, thinning out the enemy swarm.

"Be careful everyone! Enemy reinforcements incoming!" Rise cautioned

Sure enough another horde of Shadows started filling up the ranks of the first batch.

"Don't worry! Support's on the way!" Futaba announced as a beam of light was shot to the sky and rained yellow-green dews on the combatants, healing everyone and thawing Ryuji as a result.

"Sorry for that." Ryuji apologized before he faced the oncoming multitude of enemies.

"I'm going to show you what an Idol can do!" Rise declared. "Himiko!"

Himiko appeared behind Rise in battle form and sent three miniature satellites to the front lines, one for each combatant.

The satellites in question erected three layers of translucent hexagonal walls in front of the combatants before they pointed to the sky and shot out multicolored beams.

Suddenly, those same multicolored beams fell down on the enemy swarm, stunning a lot of them.

A few moments later, the same satellites teleported themselves towards the horde of Shadows and exploded, starting the long thinning process.

"Skull, Panther." Mitsuru called out. "Use your full force!" She ordered.

With a nod, Ryuji and Anne summoned their respective Personas and focused on the enemy, charging for a powerful attack.

"Captain Kidd!"

"Carmen!"

Anne and Ryuji yelled out at the same time as Captain Kidd shot out a barrage of cannon balls to the sky. While Carmen stomped then slammed both of her heart-headed men to the ground.

The result was a barrage of flaming cannonballs falling from the sky as pillars of fire rose from the ground utterly destroying the enemies in front of the group.

"Mitsuru!" Someone called out from the link. "How're you holding up?"

"The reinforcements keep refilling their ranks." Mitsuru answered.

"Stay put, Ken, Koromaru and I are near." Akihiko assured. "Hold out as long as you can." He added.

"What about the box?" Mitsuru questioned.

"Aigis and I are going to the location Mitsuru-senpai." Fuuka answered the query. "We have already separated from Akihiko-senpai's group."

"I see." Mitsuru nodded. "I am counting on you."

----------

As the Persona users continued on battling the Shadows and maintaining their only line of defense, the three of them hadn't noticed that a few Shadows had snuck past their defenses, attacking them immediately.

"Look out!" Futaba yelled as Necronomicon went above the three combatants and fired a green-tinted beam that formed a dome over them, blocking any and all attacks.

"Thanks Oracle!" Ryuji expressed his gratitude before he summoned Captain Kidd and fired a golden fist from his cannon-like arm.

"Good job Oracle." Mitsuru praised. "You as well Skull."

Mitsuru glared at the horde of enemies as she retrieved her evoker and summoned her Persona once more.

"Such Persistence!" The Kirijo growled. "Obey my command!"

Artemesia threw a large heart-shaped ice sculpture into the air before it exploded into a million pieces and rained down on the swarm of enemies.

The Shadows that had been hit by the heart-shaped ice began attacking other Shadows indiscriminately, thinning the swarm.

"Enemies are charmed and brainwashed!" Rise pointed out.

"They'll either heal you or take out other enemies." Futaba supplied.

Anne and Ryuji didn't have time to gawk and admire Mitsuru's work as they too utilized everything in their Personas' arsenal and went full force against the enemy.

"Persona!" Two voices suddenly yelled as a huge thundercloud congregated above the school and multiple lightning strikes hit the swarm of enemies that Ryuji and the others were facing.

As soon as the lightning strikes ceased, the horde of Shadows has thinned enough to see three beings by the school gate. Two men, one was shirtless, were there and a single white dog was.

"Akihiko." Mitsuru called out. "You couldn't have worn a shirt on the way here?"

"What's the harm?" Akihiko shrugged. "I came here to fight Shadows."

"May I remind you that you are a police officer?" Mitsuru growled through the link. "Honestly."

"Don't worry Mitsuru-san." Another voice assured. "I made sure to pack Akihiko-san's police uniform."

"Dependable as always Amada." Mitsuru praised. "In any case, I appreciate your foresight in adding his clothes to pack in this battle." She voiced her appreciation. "However now's not the time for that."

"I agree." Ken nodded.

Ken looked at Koromaru's growling form and knelt beside him.

"Are you ready Koromaru?"

The dog's only response was to howl and summon his own Persona, a three headed black and blue dog with tridents for limbs.

The Persona in question mimicked his summoner's form and howled to create fiery pillars that burned some of the Shadows to crisp.

"Someone's eager." Akihiko chuckled.

"I'll say." Mitsuru smiled. "Summoning Cerberus from the get go." She chuckled. "Good boy, you deserve a treat for that."

"Hear that Koromaru?" Ken grinned. "You get a treat for that."

Koromaru barked as he wagged his tail.

"Now let's end this." Ken stated as he stood up. "Ready Koromaru?"

Koromaru responded by resummoning his Persona, Cerberus.

"Kala-Nemi!" Ken yelled as he pointed his evoker on his chest and pulled the trigger.

Ken's Persona appeared beside Cerberus and began to spin its torso as the three-headed dog howled at the sky.

A pillar of golden yellow papers started appearing in front of the Personas and in the middle of the pillar appeared what looked like multiple straw dolls that floated at the top of the pillar of papers. Not a moment later, the papers started to form a sphere with the straw dolls at the center.

Suddenly black liquid oozed from the ground and a purple scythe protruded from it. Cerberus picked up the scythe with his three mouths and sliced the golden sphere in the sky, slicing the straw dolls inside the sphere in the process.

The effect of the slicing was instantaneous, almost all of the Shadows in the area disintegrated, leaving only the bodies of the students, teachers and visitors in their wake.

"Can I get the remaining Shadows?" Futaba asked in excitement.

"Sure." Ryuji shrugged. "Knock yourself out."

Necronomicon flew towards the weakened Shadows by the courtyard and dropped a green spherical bomb with a burning wick above them. As soon as the wick burned the green bomb exploded taking out the remaining Shadows in the area.

"Victory is ours." Mitsuru declared. "That was a brilliant display of skills from everyone involved."

[pulaasul]

Rebelling Skull - 3

A Sequel to Femoral Meeting.

After meeting an organization dedicated to exterminating Shadows, Ryuji finds his path crossing with  said organization more times than he’d like. Is it mere coincidence or simply something from a past he’s unaware of, haunting him?

1 I 2 

FFN I AO3

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Songs featured in the song are W’s After the Rain from the last chapter and the Pillow’s Funny Bunny

Funny Bunny

After the Rain

--------

As everyone on stage sung the song, the audience sang with the idols as they jumped and cheered with glee, clearly taken in by the performance.

Ryuji was just standing there however. He knew people had been in his position before, he knew that much. The main difference was that he had already given up. He resigned himself to not achieving much in life.

That was why he was so committed on being a Phantom Thief.

Being Skull gave him a purpose, something he knew he was able to do. He believed that he and the rest of the Phantom Thieves were changing the world for the better through the changing of hearts.

He knew he wouldn't benefit from his activities in the long run, at the very least, no one would else from Shujin would experience what he had gone through.

Then these people come in and tell him that it wasn't too late.

Tell everyone that he still had a chance at improving his life, a chance to give back to his mother who had sacrificed heaven and earth for him.

"Ryuji?" Anne called for his attention. "Are you alright?" She asked in concern.

"H-huh?" Ryuji turned towards his fellow Phantom Thief. "Y-yeah." He gulped. "I-I'm fine."

"Are you sure?" Anne frowned. "You know you can tell us anything right?"

"Don't worry." Ryuji grinned.

"I'm serious." Anne glared at her companion. "I know people have given you flack over the past years." She admitted. "I-I just don't want you to end up like what Shiho did." She confessed.

"I'm fine." Ryuji insisted. "What about you?" He returned the question. "Are you fine Anne?"

Anne was caught off guard at the question, but she nonetheless answered.

"Y-yeah." Anne stuttered. "I-it's just that, Yamamoto-senshu's words reminded me of what happened to Shiho." She admitted.

Ryuji did not buy Anne's answer. He instead got the both of them to a relatively quiet place and conversed there.

"His words really got to you, huh?"

"Yamamoto-senshu's words just reminded me of my powerlessness and inability to help Shiho under Kamoshida." Anne admitted. "I-I ju-"

"H-hey." Ryuji cut off whatever Anne was about to say. "Suzui already forgave you." He assured his friend. "Even when there was nothing to forgive." He continued. "Both of you suffered under him." He explained.

"Still."

"Still nothing." Ryuji grinned. "Suzui has already moved on from this incident and you should too." He advised. "Besides, bastard's rotting in jail, and won't be released anytime soon." He finished.

"I hope you're right Ryuji." Anne confided her worries. "I really hope you're right."

"Hey hope for the best." Ryuji showed his friend his toothy grin." Am I right?"

"Speaking of moving on." Anne looked at her friend's face. "Got anything else you're good at besides Track, Ryuji?"

Ryuji was taken aback by the question. He did not expect the conversation to go there. Sure the athletes' words were what opened the topic in the first place, but putting him on the spot was not something he expected.

"I-I don't know." Ryuji admitted. "Ever since Nishi-nee started coaching us and tied with sixth graders in a race, all I could think about was joining the sport." He reminisced.

"Nishi-nee?" Anne questioned.

"Nishi-nee lived across us when Ma and I were still living with my deadbeat of a father in Tatsumi Port Island" He shared. "She and her boyfriend were the ones who coached us, a bunch of fourth graders." He sighed. "If only Shujin had her as a coach."

"That's sweet." Anne cooed.

"Other than that, I guess the only thing I'm good at is beating people up." Ryuji continued as he looked at his open palm. "And get myself and everyone I care about into trouble." He added bitterly as he clenched both his hands.

"Ryuji you weren't at fault," It was Anne's turn to comfort her friend. "Kamoshida and your father were the ones at fault, not you." She assured. "Your father took his job loss on you and your mother and Kamoshida was one jealous pervert."

"Got that right." Ryuji gave off a bitter laugh.

"If I may suggest." Someone inserted themselves into the conversation.

"Who're you?!" Ryuji and Anne were on alert at the sudden interruption.

"Sorry, sorry." The man in a black blazer and orange undershirt raised his hands to appease both teens. "I did not mean to eavesdrop." He apologized. "I just happened to hear the full conversation as you conversed in my earshot." He explained.

"S-sorry." Anne and Ryuji apologized as they bowed to the stranger.

"No harm, no foul" The man shrugged. "In any case, I'd like to suggest you play the drums." He offered. "Appearance-wise you aren't unfortunate." He began assessing Ryuji. "You already have a knack of beating things." He added. "We just got to put some rhythm into it."

"I don't know." Ryuji looked at Anne.

"Why?" Anne looked at her friend.

"I've never been good with academics." Ryuji admitted. "I'm pretty sure I'll fail as a drummer." He sighed.

"We won't know unless we try." The man shrugged. "If you change your mind, call me." He smiled at the boy before giving him his business card.

Ryuji and Anne looked at the card.

"Tsunayoshi Sawada." Ryuji read the card.

"What do you think Ryuji?" Anne questioned as her attention went back to her friend. "He does make a good point, you're already good at hitting things." She teased. "Let's just put some rhythm into those."

"I'll think about it." Ryuji sighed. "I really want to help out Ma." He confessed. "With my Track and Field dreams gone, I really don't know what else to do."

"I mean, it's not too late right?" Anne asked. "I mean W retired early because of their injuries." She pointed out. "But whatever you decide, we'll be here to support you."

"Thanks." Ryuji smiled at his friend as they returned to their places and turned their attention to the people performing on stage.

WE GO! Every time.

KICK OFF! We can start this now.

WE CAN! Run forwards to the goal we are aiming for.

The idols onstage sang as they spun in place then gestured towards the audience as the song ended.

"Encore! Encore! Encore! Encore!" The audience yelled.

"Encore you say?" Risette asked. "How about it every one?" She asked her fellow idols. "Do we have room for one more song?"

The people on stage looked at each other before they nodded.

"I guess we have one more room." Kyosuke answered.

"How about we sing Funny Bunny?" Yusuke suggested.

The audience's response was simply to cheer louder than before.

--------

Defying the voice of your king,

You slipped out in the night, laughing

As the song started playing, the audience started to sing along as Ryuji and Anne reflected on their journey as members of the Phantom Thieves of Hearts.

How Ryuji and Anne overcame Kamoshida's abuse.

How Yusuke overcame his mentor's neglect and theft.

How Makoto overcame the late principal's manipulations.

How Haru stood above her father's desires and death.

How Futaba rose above the emotional manipulations of her relatives.

How Ren overcame the case filed against him.

Your dreams aren't fulfilled by someone else

It just comes on a strong wind one day.

The things they achieved as Phantom Thieves wouldn't have been possible if they weren't members of the group in the first place.

In a way, they themselves achieved their own dreams.