"...Did I actually make a contract with him?" Akira rubbed the back of his neck. "I really only talked to him for about...five minutes total."

Airi coughed, trying to hide her laugh. "Right, you said you've been strengthening your bond with Yaldabaoth in disguise." She giggled at his blanch, smoothing down her black skirt as she adjusted her legs. "Were you good friends?"

Letting out a heavy sigh, he collapsed next to her and hid his face in her shoulder. "I went through so much abuse..."

Jumping from the ledge, Morgana padded up to the group as they sat down. "It still counts. He did it in master's name." He stated, grooming a whisker. "In any case, we aren't the only Persona users to exist. I can feel the remnants of a god in this town...No doubt someone was chosen to go against them."

Akechi flinched. "Another god..?" He grimaced, looking away, conflict in his eyes. "Is it wise to stay here any longer, then?"

Taking off her dusty blue coat, Haru shuffled on her legs to sit closer and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Don't worry, Akechi-kun. We won't let anything happen to you." She smiled even as he brushed her off with an irritated frown. "You're one of us, and we already beat one god into submission." She giggled daintily at the memory. "We can do it again."

"Hell yeah!" Ryuji grinned, pumping his fists. "Ain't nothin' that can bring us down!"

They all nodded with a smile on their faces. They wouldn't be able to forget that final battle with the distorted god. It was such a close call that they almost died and doomed humanity. Knowing that people believed in their abilities had strengthened their resolves to be stronger than his. That was the only way that Satanael was summoned with his full power. Anything after that would never be able to compare.

"So..." Ann began, twirling a ponytail. "Doesn't that mean that they're our senpais?"

Makoto blinked. "Do you think Yukiko-san is mine then?"

"Could be." Futaba answered distractedly, eyes glued to her screen. "It's only you who's feeling those feels with her. Maybe you guys should make out and see how that effects you."

Makoto blushed furiously, covering her feverish face while Yusuke furrowed his brow. "Why would they do that? What would that accomplish?"

The hacker snickered, hugging her olive jacket closer to herself. "Maybe she's her soulmate and that's why she's all tingly-"

"All right," Airi held out her hands in a stop motion, rolling her eyes. "Enough of that. It's getting late and we still haven't washed off. We should go to the hot springs now."

"Agreed." Akechi grimaced, getting up from his seat on the mat, brushing imaginary dust off of his blue knitted vest. "I don't want to be thinking something's destined for me anymore."

Getting up from the floor, they put on their complimentary slippers and headed down the stairs, Akira hiding Morgana in his bag. Following the signs on the walls, they headed toward the back of the inn on the first floor to where the locker rooms and hot springs were located.

Turning the corner, they paused, tensing at the police uniform on the woman casually leaning against the wall. She was fiddling with her phone, and looked up at the sound of their footsteps. "Oh, hey!" She grinned, giving them a wave. "I don't recognize you guys. Welcome to Inaba!"

Airi smiled politely, inwardly panicking. Why was there a police officer hanging around in the exact same inn they were in? "Thank you, keisatsu-san. Are you here for a soak as well?"

Chie shook her head, putting her phone in her pocket, her hand grazing against her baton. "Nah. Yukiko's a good friend of mine, and we were thinking of having a group dinner again."

Brown eyes sharpened at the action, and Akechi plastered a smile as well. "Oh, is that so? Well, don't let us keep you. I'm sure they're waiting for you now."

She laughed, not noticing the subtle dig for information. "Yeah, it's been a while since Rise and Naoto are in town!" She brightened. "We should hang out! There's not much to do in Inaba, but we could show you around tomorrow if you're staying that long!"

A smirk grew on his lips and Akira nodded. Perfect opportunity presented right in their laps. "We'll take you up on that."

"Awesome!" She grinned before her eyes widened. "Oh! I almost forgot! My name's Satonaka Chie! It's nice to meet you guys!"

Glancing at one another at the name, Airi smiled, stepping forward. "It's nice to meet you as well, Satonaka-san. I'm Airi, and this is Akira, Akechi, Makoto, Ryuji, Ann, Yusuke, Haru, and Futaba." She introduce them, gesturing to each person named.

Chie rubbed the back of her head as she laughed awkwardly. "Just Chie if you don't mind! And wow, you guys are a big group!" She gazed at all the teenagers with a smile. "Are you on a road trip?"

"Something like that..." Makoto answered quietly, her smile slightly nervous as she fiddled with a button on her blue blazer jacket. "We were just going to spend the night. This was the only place to rest that showed up on our GPS."

She nodded in understanding. "Well, you won't be disappointed!" She grinned, leaning against the wall. "The hot springs are amazing! And they're gender divided now, so you don't have to worry about the guys being perverts." She raised a brow at the male teenagers, stopping at the blond. She stilled, feeling her chest pulse with a familiar thrum. Was this what Yukiko had meant?

Resting his thumbs in his pockets, Ryuji stared down at her, a frown on his lips.

Yusuke raised a brow, crossing his arms over his pin striped beige jacket. "Perverts? For what reason?"

The group sweatdropped at his obliviousness.

She blinked, and blinked again. "Er...Well, I'm not gonna stop you for any longer!" She smiled nervously. "Enjoy your soak!" She tried to walk past them toward the lobby. Brushing against the blond's arm, she flinched as the touch zapped her like an electric socket, even through her thick uniform. She walked faster, speeding down the hall.

Tensing, he swerved his head to watch as she quickly retreated, eyes wide as goosebumps rose underneath his sweater from the cold temperatures.

Now that the group was alone, Morgana sneaked his head from the small opening in the bag. "So. Any of you get a feeling with her?"

Slowly turning back to the group, Ryuji nodded. "Y-Yeah...I get what Makoto was talkin' about now." He gingerly rubbed the spot that had touched the police officer. "Can't believe she's a fuckin' cop though..."

Ann snorted, resting her arm on his shoulder. "Poor you," She mocked teasingly. "You're going to abide by the law around her."

Akira reached up to adjust his glasses, pausing when he realized he didn't wear them anymore. "If we can believe her, their members are all in town." He stated quietly. "Right in this inn..."

Ann perked up. "Right! She said "Rise" is back in town. You think that's Risette?" She clapped her hands excitedly at the thought of meeting the more experienced idol.

Futaba popped her head out from behind Airi, hugging onto the older girl's arm. "Are we doing our ultimate showdown tonight?"

Haru gasped her chin thoughtfully. "Perhaps we should wait until tomorrow morning?" She suggested, lacing her hands in front of her white button up. "We're all tired from the drive."

Idly brushing hair out of his eyes, Yusuke turned to look at her. "Are you suggesting things will turn hostile?"

They quieted at the thought. Would they have to fight the older group? They didn't really know each other, after all. They had no knowledge of whether or not these other Persona users still had access to the Metaverse. Whether or not they were stronger or weaker. They wouldn't want to wreck the town with their battle, physically or metaphysically. They also didn't want to harm them if they were innocent, which was very possible.

"Let's..." Airi sighed, hugging Futaba into her side. "Let's save it for later. I really just want to drown myself in the hot springs right now..."

"Oh!" Morgana gasped, eyes shining at the thought. "P-Perhaps I should stand guard for you girls..." His eyes darted to Ann before a blush overtook his muzzle. "Just in case they attack us!"

Akira deadpanned. "No." He walked into the men's room, ignoring the feline's protests. The other guys followed after him, and the girls went into the women's room.

Hopefully the hot mineral waters could soothe their thoughts for now...

His phone rang, piercing the silence of his small house. Stubbing his cigarette, Yu picked it up. "Narukami here."

"Yu." Yukiko spoke. "Are you aware there's a group dinner today? Naoto and Rise are back in town. I contacted the others to let them know to meet."

He blinked. "Oh, right. Are we going to Aiya's?" He stood up from the porch, grabbing his jacket from the rack as he readied himself. He had been so spaced out lately that he completely forgot.

"No." She replied quietly. "We're having dinner at the inn. There are some new guests here that seem...strange."

His eyes narrowed. "Strange? How?" Holding the phone between his ear and shoulder, he shrugged on his jacket and walked toward the entrance. "Should I come to investigate?"

"...I felt Sumeo-Okami again. Only when I locked eyes with one of the girls, though."

He stilled. What? Sumeo-Okami? Her Persona? "Are you sure?" He asked fervently, gripping the phone in his hand. "Who was this girl?"

"I don't know her name, but- Oh, Chie came back. Hold on a moment. Chie! Did you meet them?"

"Yeah...oh my god, you were right, Yukiko. You were so right." He heard through the speaker, though quieter since the she was farther away.

"What happened?" He pressed.

There was a bit of crackling and Chie's voice came through. "Hey, Yu. Yukiko handed me the phone. I met the group and got their names, well, their first names anyway. They're on a road trip and said they were supposed to leave in the morning, but I offered to show them around town so they're staying longer now."

She paused, breathing heavily. "I...I felt her. Haraedo-no-Okami. I don't know how or why, but when I accidentally touched one of them, I felt like he zapped me."

He furrowed his brow. Zapped her? Like a Zio? "So...you felt your Persona when you looked at one of them, and Yukiko felt her Persona when she looked at another one?"

"Y-Yeah..." She breathed shakily. "Yu, you told us we don't have Personas anymore. What gives?!"

"...I never said that." He answered after a moment, frowning guiltily. He remembered that he never fully explained to the group back then. "I only said that they weren't needed anymore."

"...Wait, what?" She snapped. "So we still have our powers?!"

"What?" He heard Yukiko gasp in the background.

Sighing heavily, he rubbed his temple as he felt a headache come on. This wasn't how he wanted to let them know. "I told you guys that I had a contract with a man named Igor, in a place called the Velvet Room. He allowed us, or well..." He paused. "Margaret allowed us to delve into our Personas. It's how I had so many abilities, remember?"

"Right..." Chie replied slowly. "And?"

"So, once we defeated Izanami-no-Okami, our contract was finished." He swallowed, repressing the urge to cry in frustration even as his eyes began to moisten. "...I can't enter that room anymore. Mari closed the TVs, and she hadn't found the room either, so...what was the point of having Personas anymore? That's why I told you guys we don't need them now."

They weren't needed anymore. Their job was finished. They saved the town like they were supposed to. They risked their lives only to be forgotten by all except for those involved. He should've been satisfied with it, happy even that he and his friends could live in peace, but he couldn't.

He could only feel emptiness as they switched from fighting for their lives almost every day to just doing paperwork at the station. It was fine in the beginning when they were riding their high out after their victory, but as the years came and went without any action, he found himself falling into a daily schedule that slowly choked him.

He felt lost. Discarded by his parents, by Igor, by himself as Izanagi-no-Okami fell into a deep slumber in his heart from neglect...He met their expectations, right? So why was this emptiness his reward?

He heard a sigh, the speaker crackling at the sound. "Yu...You shouldn't have lied to us."

"I know..." He whispered, sitting down on the ledge in front of the door. "I just...didn't want you guys to get your hopes up."

She sighed again. "Well...now we know that we still have our Personas, what do we do about these kids?"

"Not sure..." He answered, putting on his shoes. "But let's try to meet them, us and them. I have a theory, but I'll be able to confirm it once I see them face to face. If you and Yukiko felt something when looking at those specific kids, then I probably have a counterpart too."

"Oh, right..." She oohed in understanding. "Hey Yukiko, you think it's gonna be Airi?"

"Mmm, no..." He heard the inn owner reply. "I can see that blue haired guy as his counterpart. Kimisawa-san would probably go with Naoto..."

"Well," He interrupted, grabbing his keys and opening the front door to his house. "I'll be there in a couple minutes. Tell the others what I told you, and if they protest, you can let them know I'll explain everything."

"Gotcha." Chie replied. "Mari-chan's coming too, right? She's the deity around here, after all. Maybe she can sense something with her powers."

"Yeah, I'm going to go pick her up from the TV station now."

Hanging up, he closed the door behind him and opened the driver's seat of his car. Starting the engine, he slowly backed out of his driveway and headed down the streets. He no longer lived in the Dojima residence, having moved out a couple years ago to live with Mariko. Nanako cried a bit, but she knew he was only a few minutes away. He would never leave this tiny town that became his home.

The Inaba TV station wasn't anything special, but it was where most of the entertainment in this town was broadcast over the TVs. It was why Mariko was working here since her powers correlated with TVs and weather. Checking his watch as he pulled into the parking lot, he saw she would've gotten off her shift a few minutes ago.

The doors to the building slid open and a woman walked out in a black suit. She had grown from her old punk outfit, replacing the white vest and plaid skirt with a black business suit. No longer wearing black and white striped stockings, it was plain black, enveloping her slim legs. She didn't have the Velvet Room cap anymore, showing off her still short black hair.

With a fond smile, Yu got out of his car to give his girlfriend a kiss. She was one of the only reasons why he could still smile and try to keep going. Her and their friends anchored him here, making this town home for him. Some days, he still couldn't believe he was dating a literal goddess. "How was work?"

Reciprocating the intimate motion, she leaned her head against his chest, breathing in the now familiar aroma of cigarettes. "It was fine. I'm making tomorrow sunny, but the day after that will be raining."

He nodded and gestured to the car. "C'mon, there's a group dinner today at the inn."

Getting into the passenger's side, she raised a brow. "At the inn? Don't we usually eat at Aiya's?"

Closing his door, he put on his seat belt again. "Not this time. Yukiko called me to let me know there's a group of teenagers staying at the inn."

"So..?" She gave him an odd look as he backed out of the parking lot and onto the street. "Are we babysitting or something?"

He stared straight ahead at the road, his hands gripping the steering wheel. "...She and Chie both said they felt their Personas again when they made contact."

Her eyebrows rose up. "...They're sure about that?" She looked down at her lap speculatively. "I did sense something earlier, but I thought it was my mind playing tricks on me."

He glanced over at her. "What did you sense?"

"...Personas." She answered quietly. "Very powerful ones."

He nodded. "So I was right. They are Persona users." He slowly turned the car at the corner. "I wonder though..."

She blinked and looked over at him. "Wonder what?"

He hummed as the inn slowly came into view. Parking the car away from the two in the parking lot, he turned off the engine.

"I wonder...if they're The Phantom Thieves."

Keisatsu - police officer