Faith | Akira Kurusu x OC | Persona 5

Faith VIII | Asphyxia pt. 2

PROTIP: Yuuen was trapped in Taiga's palace for 9 days before she was located.

(No the title is not a Tokyo Ghoul reference)

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"Ugh! This door is so frustrating! Why won't you open up!" Yuuen cried trying to pry open the door again with her fingernails but only recoiling back to realize some of her nails are breaking in the process.

She didn't know why but she felt desperate to leave this place.

More than she'd felt the past few days.

Before she wanted to leave, but for some reason almost felt like she couldn't.

But today was different.

'If she could just pry open this door she'd be able to leave!' Is what she told herself but from the searing pain from her nailbeds and the soreness of her arms she'd known it was almost impossible.

"If only I could get something to stick in between the door..." She huffed looking at her bloody nails and still broken wrist with a slight cringe.

"I might have to wash my hands first though...." She shook her hands lightly, not really caring if a few droplets of blood fell onto the pristine white tile flooring.

But as she began to walk back to the only bathroom within the Inner Halls, located in her room, she passed by the familiar library that she'd spent most of her time in (besides her bedroom of course).

She paused, deep in thought as an idea popped into her head.

"A book might do the trick..." She noted before turning back to the task at hand, which was to wash her hands. Breaking out into a light jog, ignoring the coldness of the tiles on her bare feet, despite the fact, her feet had basically become numb to the pain.

-=-=-

"They haven't arrived at the Grand Corridor yet?!" Taiga snapped, feeling another migraine begin to form.

"N-no Sir." The guard shivered, afraid of what the Master's anger might entail for him.

"Is it possible they know we're onto them?" Taiga questioned to himself silently, as his eyes trailed back and forth along the paper.

"Doesn't matter, the only way to escape is through the entrance they made, if we ambush them there, they can't avoid us." Taiga sighed, anger lessening in his voice as the fear of them actually being able to steal their treasure kicked in.

This day was beginning to turn out more troublesome than he'd originally thought.

-=-=-

"Joker, are you sure this is the right way?" Queen questioned, feeling quite lost among the familiar walls of the palace.

"We'll never know until we try." He stated as he moved from hallway to hallway, trying his hardest to remember the walls he passed by on his original way in.

He remembers that there was more than one way to the treasure and they'd just happened to choose the easiest and fastest way, but if he could remember, he was sure the way they were going would lead them to the same place.

Sure he'd managed to lift his team's spirits once before, but if he manages to get lost once again, those spirits would plummet, making it almost impossible to lift them up once again.

Well, his own spirits would probably plummet as well.

Which made him beyond nervous, they'd already spent more time than he would have liked in the palace, making their chances of actually seeing Yuuen become less successful.

'Yuuen...' He realized feeling his heart clench in a weird way as fear clawed into his chest.

Sure he'd known that she was trapped in here and something could have happened to her, but it never fully dawned on him that there's a possibility they wouldn't be able to save her and she would be trapped in here the rest of her life, or killed.

And beyond that guilt a familiar, yet unacknowledged feeling burrowed its way into his heart.

Loneliness.

He hadn't seen Yuuen is several days and the last time they spent time together didn't end out so nice. 

They fought and Yuuen ran away from him.

Although it had only been a little over a week, he was beginning to seriously miss the way her eyes sparkled when he made her coffee for the umpteenth time that day. Or how his cheeks felt hot as she let out a rare yet stunning smile. Or maybe how proud he feels when he manages to make her laugh, showing off her pearly white teeth.

Despite the fact just thinking about her made his heart race again, he couldn't help the overwhelming sadness that came along with it.

He can't shake the feeling he gets when he remembers the frightened look in her eyes as he yelled at her for pointing out his flaws.

She paid enough attention to him to realize the latent shadow roaming around in his deepest insecurities, long before he found out himself.

And he never took the time to acknowledge her own problems, or perhaps how she might have been having trouble with her father.

Guilt.

He hated this feeling.

But he swore to himself he'd make it up to her.

Which is why he had to focus because, despite his aching legs and tired muscles, he was going to save her.

Soon the familiar golden trim appeared among one of the hallways.

The hallway leading to Yuuen's treasure.

He picked up the pace, feeling his heartbeat in what he couldn't decide if it was anxiety or excitement.

The team seemed to notice it as well as they enthusiastically began to run alongside their leader, hope finding its way into their hearts again.

Soon as they turned the corner, the familiar dark brown door appeared. As after making sure there were no more guards, he reared into a sprint.

They'd finally reached the treasure room.

Catching his breath, he braced himself for what was ahead.

And with a hard shove, with the help of Skull, he pushed open the door, revealing a small figure who flew back in shock, dropping a book beside her.

And as she turned around to look back at the mysterious visitors that opened the door, her auburn eyes widened.

The team froze. Instantly recognizing those familiar auburn eyes, who despite her unusual outfit and skinny frame, was still exactly the same as they had remembered her.

And as her eyes landed on the black-haired leader of the group, she stood there in shock.

As for the first time all week, his breath got caught in his throat.

-=-=-