"Breaking News" The television blared as Sojiro bid farewell to the last customer during the lunch hour.
"Shujin Academy was just attacked by an unknown terrorist group." The television continued, stopping Sojiro from what he was doing. "According to initial investigations, no one was awake during the siege."
Sojiro dropped everything he was doing, flipped the 'closed' sign on his door and grabbed his car keys.
The TV changed scenes and showed the entrance of Shujin Academy as the reporter thanked the newscaster.
"We have Police Officer Sanada to discuss a few more details of this terrorist attack." The on-scene reporter as another man stood beside him.
Sojiro chose this time to turn off the television and rushed towards the school.
After rushing towards the school to fetch his daughter, he decided to grab Ryuji and Anne as well. The trio showed signs of being banged up, which made him fear for the worst. He's just glad that the trio were relatively safe.
"What the hell happened at school for you to be banged up like that?" Sojiro asked as he dabbed some antiseptics on Ryuji's wounds. "Don't tell me you decided to play hero and fought some of those terrorists." Which made the Sakamoto wince a bit.
"There were no terrorists." Futaba interjected as she removed the blazer from her person. "That was a cover up." She added.
"Futaba-chan's right." Anne agreed as she got out of the restroom, wearing Ryuji's shirt. "It was the Shadows that attacked us." She informed.
"The Shadows from that metaverse thing from last year?" Sojiro asked in surprise, that he unintentionally dabbed on Ryuji's wound a little harder.
"Gaah!" Ryuji hissed.
"And done." Sojiro announced. "Wear this." He threw one of Ren's shirt at the wounded boy.
"The same one." Futaba answered Sojiro's question as she fixed her hair and Ryuji wore the shirt given to him.
"Are all of you okay?" Makoto demanded.
"Do you require any assistance?" Haru asked in concern.
"Where are you now?" Makoto asked.
"Makoto calm down." Anne reassured. "Boss fetched us and we're currently in Leblanc." She explained to the phone on the table that was on loudspeaker.
"You do not leave there." Makoto ordered. "Haru and I will be there shortly." She finished as she ended the call.
Ryuji and Anne looked at each other.
"It's probably better that they hear everything from you." Sojiro piped in as he gave the trio a plate of curry each and cup of juice each. "Even after knowing your activities last year and Wakaba's cognitive psience, I still can't believe what you told me."
"Even we can't believe what just happened." Anne exclaimed. "And we experienced it."
"What's unbelievable was how powerful that Kirijo person is!" Futaba exclaimed. "She was able to communicate with us even from far away." She added. "Either that or she has someone powerful to assist her in doing what she did earlier."
"Wait Kirijo?" Sojiro questioned. "The CEO of the Kirijo group, Mitsuru Kirijo, is involved in all of this?" He asked in disbelief. "What kind of mess are you kids into now?" He growled.
Ryuji was about to explain when his own phone rang. He looked at it and saw that his mom was calling.
"Sorry Anne, can you guys handle this?" Ryuji asked. "Ma's calling, she's probably worried sick now."
"Go reassure your mom Ryuji." Futaba assured, as disrespectful to her elders as ever. "We'll handle Sojiro."
Ryuji nodded and headed upstairs for some privacy.
"Here's the rundown of what has happened in the past few days." Anne explained as she began to narrate.
"Are any of you injured?" Ren's voice questioned over the phone.
Ren had called Anne's phone as Makoto and Haru arrived at Leblanc. He was worried to what his friends experienced.
"We'll explain later, Makoto and Haru just arrived." Anne stated. "Ryuji's mom just called." She explained.
"Why don't you guys talk upstairs?" Sojiro suggested. "You can get more privacy up there, a customer might walk in the middle of the conversation."
"Thanks Boss." Ren expressed his gratitude over the phone.
"Ren?"
"Ren-kun?"
"Hello Haru, Makoto." Ren greeted. "Where's Ryuji?" He asked.
"He's upstairs." Futaba answered. "His mom called."
"Futaba, call Yusuke." Ren ordered as the group went with the owner's suggestion.
As if on cue, Futaba's phone rang.
"Well, I guess, Inari's a step ahead of us for once." Futaba commented.
"None of it was true." Ryuji answered everyone's queries. "It was a cover up by Kirijo herself."
"What do you mean?" Ren questioned. "The news said that the school was attacked."
"By Shadows." Anne supplied. "Not by terrorists but by shadows."
"That's impossible!" Morgana denied the claim. "Shadows can't exist in the real world." He added. "And the Metaverse is gone." He continued.
"We don't exactly know what happened." Futaba chimed in. "One second I was in the middle of class and the next I was surrounded by upright coffins and the surroundings turned green and black." She continued.
"Not to mention that the shadows we fought were the people who didn't turn into coffins." Anne added.
"Did any of you experience the same thing?" Makoto asked the others.
"No, nothing of that sort happened here." Ren answered.
"I can confirm that." Morgana chimed in.
"I'm afraid no." Yusuke denied. "I was in class when it was suddenly suspended because of what happened at Shujin." He stated over the phone.
"Classes went on as normal for Haru and I as well." Makoto nodded. "Up until the sudden suspension." She finished.
"I must admit that I was worried for everyone's safety." Haru admitted. "I immediately rushed to Mako-chan's side before making the call."
"They're upstairs." Sojiro's voice was heard over the phone.
"Thank you, Boss." Yusuke thanked the owner.
A moment later everyone was in the same room except for Ren and Morgana.
"In any case, are the three of you okay?" Ren repeated his question from earlier. "You did mention getting into a fight with Shadows.
"We're relatively fine." Futaba answered." Although Ryuji's weakness to wind was exploited a few times." She informed everyone. "His shirt was torn open and even managed to nick his torso." She finished.
"Ryuji are you fine?" Came Ren's voice.
"Are you fine?" Was everyone else's reaction.
"Chill guys." Ryuji reassured everyone. "Boss already patched me up with some disinfectants and band aids." He informed everyone. "Hey Ren." He changed everyone's focus. "Boss let me wear your shirt, my PE uniform got torn by a shadow." He explained. "As Futaba said."
"Which shirt?" Ren asked.
"That white V-neck shirt." Ryuji answered. "Boss immediately handed me one of your shirts after patching me up." He explained. "Don't worry, I'll get this washed and return it when you come for a visit."
"Keep it." Ren chuckled over the phone.
"For real?"
"Yeah, consider it a job well done forkeeping everyone safe in shadow fights in my absence." Ren praised.
A faint blush appeared on Ryuji's face, mostly unnoticed.
"I-I don't know what to say." Ryuji admitted.
"I'm serious, a shirt is a small price for everyone's safety." Ren shrugged. "In any case, can you give everyone else a complete rundown of what happened at school?" He asked the trio. "I'm still a little iffy on what happened.
"I agree." Morgana voiced his agreement over the phone. "The Metaverse should have been gone, and that included our ability to summon our Personas."
And so Anne, Ryuji and Futaba took turns to explain what happened during the Shadow Attack.
"Not only is Kirijo-san a powerful woman, she's also a Persona-user herself." Haru shared her thoughts.
"So in this strange event, only people with Personas can roam around freely," Makoto mulled "and anyone without a Persona will risk getting turned into a shadow."
"Not necessarily turn into." Morgana interjected. "I feel like their shadows had gone berserk and took over." He explained.
"I am somewhat glad that Ryuji's status as Persona user was compromised." Ren admitted.
"I guess you can find a silver lining there." Morgana sighed. "But that was still a dumb mistake Ryuji." The cat chastised over the phone.
"What was that?!" Ryuji growled.
"No, that wasn't at all Ryuji's fault." Makoto voiced out. "If anyone from Shujin encountered Kirijo-san they'd most likely be scanned for a Persona." She explained.
"If anything, it's thanks to Ryuji's quick thinking, he was able to preserve our identities." Anne praised. "And the person Kirijo-san sent was none-the-wiser." She smiled as she put an arm over Ryuji's shoulders.
"I guess the monkey can think of a good plan sometimes." Morgana fired.
"What was that you dumb cat!"
"Wait, we aren't going to talk about that Akechi look-alike?" Futaba asked.
"What is there to talk about?" Haru asked. "Didn't he introduce himself as Ken Amada?" She continued.
"What if that was really Akechi?" Futaba countered. "Hiding behind an alias and all that."
"Didn't he have a different Persona than the one Akechi used last year?" Makoto questioned.
"Yes, I believe he called his Persona Kala-Nemi." Anne nodded.
"Don't forget, Akechi can use multiple Personas." Futaba reminded.
"Futaba presents a good point." Makoto nodded. "We were caught off guard when we saw Akechi use Loki." She added. "It is possible that Kala-Nemi is another of his Persona."
"Didn't you say that you couldn't get a reading after the gunshot?" Yusuke asked the group's navigator. "Wasn't that the reason why we were forced to retreat and were unable to save Akechi?" He continued.
"I know what I said!" Futaba exclaimed. "I just can't ignore the possibility that the person who killed my mother is still alive." She explained. "And continue to roam freely."
"We understand how you feel Futaba," Ren's voice cooed from the phone. "-but we can't bother ourselves with hypotheticals." He added. "Or we'll lose sight of what's ahead of us."
"I know that." Futaba nodded, eyes downcast. "But still…" She trailed off.
"Nothing." Ryuji interjected. "You got to live in the present." He added. "You got to stop living in the past and look what's a head." He finished.
"Thanks Ryuji." Futaba nodded as she hugged the older boy tightly.
"Ryu-kun!" Houtarou's voice was suddenly heard from downstairs.
Ryuji's immediate reaction was to perk up look at the stairs.
"Ryu-kun?" Morgana voiced everyone's question over the phone.
"Ma?" Ryuji questioned as he quickly untangled himself from Futaba.
The male Sakamoto immediately headed downstairs and was greeted by the sight of his frantic mother with watery eyes.
Hotarou's response was to immediately hug her son as relief flooded her system upon seeing him safe and sound.
"As soon as you stated where you were, I immediately rushed to this place." The female Sakamoto explained as she buried her face to her son's chest. "I just needed to make sure." She added.
"It's fine Ma." Ryuji hugged his mother back. "I'm fine." He reassured. "No one was hurt in the attack." He added. "While I was one of the few people awake, I made sure to hide." He assured.
The rest of the thieves just watched from the room upstairs.
"How about the two of us eat somewhere else?" Hotarou offered. "Then go home right after?"
"What about your other jobs?" Ryuji asked curiously.
"I already called in." Hotarou explained. "They understand."
Ryuji was about to turn around and grab his things, when Anne immediately put his bag on his shoulders and greeted the new arrival.
"Hello Sakamoto-san." Anne greeted.
"Anne-chan!" Hotarou exclaimed. "Ryuji, you didn't mention that Anne-chan was here."
"I just haven't had the chance to." Ryuji sheepishly replied.
"Aren't you going to introduce us?" Makoto prompted.
"Oh!" Ryuji perked up and stepped sideways. "Ma, these are my friends." He gestured to them as the rest of the group met with elder Sakamoto. "The girl with black hair is Makoto Nijima-senpai, to her right, the girl with auburn hair is Haru Okumura-senpai." He gestured to both girls. "You already met Anne."
"Hello." Anne greeted.
"It's nice to meet you Sakamoto-san." Makoto bowed in respect.
"It's nice to meet you as well Sakamoto-san." Haru mimicked the other girl.
"Next is Yusuke Kitagawa, the only other boy." Ryuji gestured towards Yusuke next. "And lastly is Futaba Sakura, the boss's daughter."
"It is nice to meet a fair woman who has birthed someone as vulgar as Ryuji." Yusuke greeted.
"H-hello." Futaba responded as she hid behind Ryuji.
"Hello." Sojiro greeted.
"It's nice to meet you all." Hotarou bowed. "I hope my son hasn't caused anyone problems."
"Ma!" Ryuji whined as he blushed. "You don't gotta do that." He exclaimed. "I've been a good boy alright." He insisted. "Right guys?"
Everyone didn't want to meet Ryuji's or Hotarou's eyes as they thought up of an answer.
"He did cause a few problems." Anne trailed off.
"But he has bailed us out more times than I can count." Haru immediately interjected.
"C'mon guys." Ryuji whined as he appeared redder than before.
"Ryuji!" Hotarou called out. "That's not how you treat your friends." She scolded.
Everyone just laughed at Ryuji's expense and even Ryuji himself joined in.
After a whole afternoon of bonding with his mother, Ryuji kissed his mother goodnight and headed for his own room. He immediately lied down as soon as he was inside when his phone rang.
"Hello?" Ryuji groggily answered.
"The same thing could be applied to you, you know." Ren's voice stated calmly.
"What are you talking about?" Ryuji yawned as he got up and sat on his bed.
"Stop living in the past and look what's ahead." Ren repeated Ryuji's words from earlier. "The same could be applied to you, you know." He pointed out. "You're still blaming yourself with the track team's disbandment." He stated. "Aren't you?"
"Kinda hard not to." Ryuji sighed. "The team got canned after I punch Kamoshida's ugly mug." He admitted. "To everyone else, I did cause the team to disband." He finished.
"Should that still bother you?" Ren questioned. "You managed to find the team a much better coach than Kamoshida and his lackey." He pointed out. "And your teammates already forgave you." He continued. "Even if I didn't want to agree with how they have gone about it." He finished with a hiss.
"I know I should let that go." Ryuji admitted. "But it's really hard to when history keeps repeating itself." He reasoned out. "I ruined the previous team I was in." He started to explain. "Now, I'm about to do the same to you guys."
"Didn't Makoto lay that out earlier?" Ren questioned. "She stated that you're not at any fault for your identity being compromised." He remembered the conversation the team had earlier. "Had Mishima been there, I'm pretty sure that Kirijo-san will have him scanned for a Persona."
"There comes the problem." Morgana inserted himself into the conversation. "Ryuji's most likely going to be sued now that Kirijo has proof that he's a phantom thief." He explained. "Or at the very least use him as a means to their end." He continued." Like how Shido used Akechi."
"Way to bring the guy down Morgana." Ren muttered under his breath. "We also can't ignore the possibility that Kirijo-san is acting out in good faith." Ren tried to salvage the situation.
"Makoto said the same thing." Ryuji pointed out. "She also said I should be prepared for the worst and hope for the best." He finished.
"That is all we can do for now." Ren sighed. "I wish I was there." He admitted. "I might've been able to steer the suspicion off of you."
"Dude no!" Ryuji reacted immediately at the suggestion." You suffered so much for the team." He pointed out. "I can't possibly let you suffer because of me." He finished.
"But still." Ren tried to argue.
"But nothing." Ryuji interrupted. "You've already done so much for us." He reasoned. "It time that I contribute something substantial to the team."
"Finally the monkey gets it." Morgana's condescending voice was heard again.
"What was that?!"
"Ryu-kun! You're disturbing the neighbors." Hotarou reminded from outside her son's room.
"Sorry Ma!" Ryuji apologized.
"In any case." Ren got Ryuji's attention. "I hope you won't be arrested like I was Ryuji." He admitted. "I wouldn't want the same fate to befall on you."
"Hey it ain't all that bad." Ryuji grinned. "I could be shipped to your hometown and gain the ability to have more Personas."
"Ryuji!" Ren hissed. "What I went through was no easy ordeal." He reminded. "While it's true that I was really thankful to have met all of you." He started. "But I could have gone without being tortured and being killed."
"Sorry." Ryuji apologized. "I was just trying to lighten the mood." He sighed. "But seriously Ren, you don't have anything to worry about." He reassured his best friend. "I won't rat anyone out."
"I'm not worried about them." Ren admitted. "I'm worried about you." He exclaimed. "You could face the same horrors I did."
"Like my Ma always say." Ryuji sighed." Hope for the best but be prepared for the worst." He continued. "Frankly, I'm scared but I'm prepared." He admitted.
"That's the thing, you shouldn't have to face that ordeal." Ren argued.
"What can we do?" Ryuji asked "I was given this situation."
"But I promise you this." Ren's voice became resolute." If you do end up being arrested, I will use everything in my power to get you free." He announced. "Just like you guys did for me."
A/N: I've been asked this a few times now.
Why does the Phantom Thieves have their initial Personas instead of their 2nd-tier Personas?
Considering how the P4 Persona Users in Arena have their initial Personas, I decided to go that route as well because if there's one thing in common between the two groups, its that their Personas evolved through the Social Links/Confidants as opposed to P3's Persona evolution being dependent on the plot.
If that makes any sense.
