Joker looked at the Shadow rather skeptically. "A Shadow. Okay. You look like me. But - "

"Don't. Say it." Shadow-Rei interjected suddenly, her eyes widening slightly with fear and panic.. "You're not ready for that discussion, not yet. I hate to say it, but that demon did us enough good that I'm willing to tolerate this stupidity for a bit longer."

Adler appeared between the pair. "Heed not this deceptive figment," she said.

"You're one to talk." Shadow Rei countered. Then she turned back to Joker. "We'll get to that some other day. For now, Phantom Thieves, well...there's something you need to know. All the mental shutdowns and psychotic breaks in Tokyo aren't accidents. There's someone else around. He goes around in a black mask and kills Shadows."

Joker felt unsteady on her feet. "Whaaat? How do you know?"

"Saw him do it." Shadow Rei shrugged. "And I decided that I'd rather run into the perv's castle and make myself a little nest than stick around."

Joker frowned. "If you're really me, why would you do that?"

"I'm not stupid enough to pick fights I can't win." Joker winced. "I just want to be left the Hell alone. But…" She sighed in exasperation. "That's not happening as long as this stupid 'game' is going on." She held up a hand. "Like I said, not today. I want to live too. And Adler there is way more useful than I ever could be on my own." Joker winced again. "For now, just be aware Black Mask is out there, and we'll talk again when I feel like it." Shadow Rei turned to go.

"Wait!" Joker shouted. "You can't just leave it like that!"

Shadow Rei looked over her shoulder. "What, that bit about the Wild Card? Well, okay. I know a little." She stopped, as if to gather her thoughts. "The Wild Card isn't actually a normal human ability, like everyone else's potential to wield their Personas. There's at least one other Persona user in this city with the Wild Card. He's got over a hundred Shadows locked up in his head, ready to be released. But...we can't do that yet. Not fully. Something went wrong."

"Huh?" Joker only felt her confusion growing. "What do you mean?"

Shadow Rei shrugged. "I'm not the one to ask."

Morgana shook his head. "This Wild Card stuff is new to me too."

"And there you have it. You'll have to ask the freak with the nose." Shadow Rei grinned with amusement. And then she vanished.

Skull shook his head. "Freak with the nose? That was weird. And what's your Shadow doing running around on her own anyway?"

"I...I don't know." Joker said. "Let's...let's just get out of here? Please?"

Of course, it wasn't that simple. Shiho had to retrieve Ann's gym uniform. That left the rest of them in the alleyway, still in the Metaverse. Rei swallowed. "There's nobody here." She went around the corner. "The first one to peek gets it."

"Whaaa?" Ann shouted. "Really? Out in the open?"

Rei sighed. "I can't take the uniform any more. If some Shadow tries to peek….whatever. They're not human."

And with that, Rei was gone. For a few minutes everybody else just stood around awkwardly. Then Ryuji started to edge towards the street.

Makoto smacked him on the back of the head without looking up. "She'll kill you."

Ryuji rubbed the back of his head. "It ain't like that. I was just...y'know, curious."

Makoto shook her head. "Even if I was, and I'm not, it's still rude without asking. Like trying to peek at someone's tumor or something."

Ann nodded. "Besides, there's probably nothing to really see."

Rei's voice came floating down the alleyway. "It involves tape." Everyone winced at that. "Go to an internet cafe and look it up later. There's vids that won't set off the porn filters. If you want to see what I look like without clothes, buy me dinner first."

"Wait, f'real?" Ryuji exclaimed. Then he seemed to realize Rei'd actually offered to share pics of . . . some kind. "I mean, I guess there's people into that stuff, but…" he corrected, to try to make it seem like he wasn't interested.

When Rei reappeared, it was in her tight jean skirt and a red blouse. "Yeah, yeah. Trust me, I've heard it before." She held up a hand. "You get one screwup of each type, then I get to beat you up. Deal?"

Everybody chuckled nervously, Ryuji most of all. "Yes Ma'am, got it!"

"Good." Rei said, slouching against the building. "You know, even if it isn't the real world, feels great to be myself this close to Shujin."

"Before the end of the year." Makoto said. "We'll figure something out before then."

Ann nodded along enthusiastically, adding "I don't know what Ryuji would do with the girls' uniform, and I'd go insane with those scratchy pants." Rei gave her a weird look. "Hey, I know it's different for you, just not too clear on 'how.' I didn't actually talk with Kimiko, there was just a quick lecture."

Rei brightened for a moment, then shook her head. "It's. . . it's fine guys," she said instead. "That's my problem, not our problem." She hefted her backpack. "Our problem is explaining where a bunch of high school students came up with a sack of gold."

Ryuji smirked. "Same place we're getting the guns. As long as it's real, he'll take it. Probably take a huge cut for himself too…"

Rei nodded...as Ann pulled out a gold olympic medal. "Ooooh." She took it without another word from Ann. "Yep, this is….hey. Damn, it's heavy."

"Well, it's a gold medal, isn't it?" Makoto asked. "Wouldn't you expect it to be heavy?"

"Probably…" Rei said uncertainly, but then Shiho reappeared. "Right." She said. "Ann, go get dressed and let's get the Hell out of here." Ann ducked out of sight, and was much quicker about the change than Rei had been. They quickly walked the path that would take them back into the real world, and popped out down the alleyway from Haru.

Who blinked.

Rei blinked, then the rest of the Thieves followed.

Haru blinked again. "Sorry," she said. "I could have swore…"

Rei smiled. "Nope, we just turned down this way. You must have been distracted."

"Oh, I must have been, Amamiya-sa…" Haru said, then squinted as she got closer. "Oh, I'm sorry."

Rei thought quickly. "Oh, no, that's my name. Amamiya Rei."

"Oh, I thought you were your bro - "

Rei quickly said "Cousin, actually. Anyway, seeya!" She turned around and tried to saunter away, but instead she just stumbled.

Heru swallowed. "Is she all right, Niijima-san?"

"Yes." Rei said.

"No." Makoto said at the same time.

Rei glared at Makoto. "I'm. Fine."

Haru smiled. "Amamiya-san, you've been crying. Permit me to help."

"I'm fine." Rei repeated, with a little less conviction.

Ann put a hand on her shoulder. "Rei, you're exhausted. We all are."

Haru continued to smile. "I can at least summon a rideshare for you. I'm afraid I won't be able to come...I have...somewhere to be."

"That's great." Ryuji said, cutting off another objection from Rei. "I'll make sure she gets home." He quickly rattled off the address for the cafe. "Senpai, why don't you bring the others and we can talk in Rei's room?"

"That...was surprisingly sensible coming from you, Ryuji-kun." Makoto said with a slight smile. "Let's do that."

"I can make it on my own." Rei insisted. But the car pulled up, and Haru gently reached out and pushed her towards it. Rei nodded to her. "Th...thanks, Miss."

"Just call me Haru," the girl said.

"...Haru-chan." Rei replied with the best smile she could muster. Then she got into the car, with not a little more pushing from Ryuji, and the door closed. Haru leaned down to explain the situation to the driver

They hadn't made it down the block before the facade broke.

"What the Hell happened?!" Sojiro said after taking one look at Rei's face.

Ryuji growled. "Kamoshida happened. Had her pants down by the time I broke down the door." He managed to miss the other girls making shushing noises from the table.

Sojiro immediately turned grim. "Is this Kamoshida the teacher who was giving you a 'hard time'?" Rei swallowed, but nodded. "My prices just went down. You should have said this was the kind of trouble you were having!" Rei's head was shaking helplessly as Ryuji started to help her towards the table. Sojiro sighed. "No, no, take her upstairs. Get her to bed if she wants, otherwise….I dunno. I'll close up."

"Please don't close the shop on my account," Rei said quietly. "I'm pretty sure between you and Mako-ch...Makoto if he shows up here he won't be leaving. Nothing's going to happen before the after-work school crowd leaves."

Sojiro frowned, but nodded. "Anything else I can do?"

"...coffee." Rei said. "Whatever's good to go on drip."

"Never you mind about that. Coffee's bad for nerves anyway." Sojiro said. "I can manage some tea." Rei nodded, and allowed herself to be led up the stairs.

Morgana was looking increasingly baffled. "Is Rei going to be okay?" he asked, the second Sojiro was out of earshot. Everyone quickly took seats, setting up a card table rescued from the basement.

Shiho sighed and picked him up to pull him into her lap, scratching behind his ears. "It's complicated, Morgana."

Rei sat down on her bed. "Guys, it's...okay, I'm not fine but I will be. We're out of danger, right?" She sighed. "Sojiro's coming back, so we can't really talk about the whole thing. And I still haven't got this place set up. I need some privacy around here…"

Ryuji grinned. "Well, then, what do you need? We've got all that gold, right?" Rei raised an eyebrow. "We can go out and get the stuff you need and help you get set up."

Makoto smiled. "That's actually a good idea. What were you thinking, Rei?"

"Well...the rafters can be used to drape some heavy blankets or something, separate my living area from Chief's stuff," Rei said. "Maybe in an L-shape, so Morgana can be off in his own corner too when he wants to be? Get a litterbox - "

"Hey! I can use the toilet!" Morgana shot at her.

Rei sighed. "I was going to say, we can get one of the fancy ones with the cover and then let you pick out what to line it with for a place to nap." She gave him a patient smile. "You'd prefer to have some space to yourself, right?"

Morgana had the good grace to look sheepish. "Okay, yeah, that does sound nice."

"Right. I'd do it myself, but Chief would kill us all for letting me out." Rei declared suddenly. She put several thousand yen on the table. "This is what's left of the seed money for the heist. Please…"

Everyone was caught off guard when Sojiro came up the stairs with a tray and four cups. "Coffee for Makoto-chan, tea for the rest of the girls, I know Ryuji likes cola so I brought this one up special…" He handed him a bottle. "And here's for Morgana." A saucer was put on the ground, which Morgana happily started to lap at. "Right. In the morning, I'm taking you to school and having a word with that gym teacher. For now...well, I've got to get home. I'm trusting you guys to lock up."

"Th..thanks Chief." Rei said.

Makoto nodded as well. "Actually, most of us will be leaving, but I believe Ryuji and I will return later to assist Rei with finishing her room."

"Well, I can't say no to letting a girl have more privacy than my storage room," Sojiro said with a shrug. "Especially after...this." If he'd heard about more than plans for the private area, he said nothing. "But that will have to wait till tomorrow, you hear? For tonight you should rest."

Rei thought about it. "I don't know if I'll sleep, but you mind if I head out for a minute? I think there was a TV and DVD player at the junk shop."

"You spotted that?" Ryuji asked.

Rei grinned. "I see all."

After a dinner of suspiciously fresh curry, Rei pulled out the box containing her personal possessions. At the bottom lay three DVDs, their covers extremely worn with age. With some reverence, she pulled them out and checked the discs like she always did. With a smile, she noted the only scratch, on the first one.

Morgana tilted his head at the odd, almost ritualistic, behavior. "What are those?"

Rei's smile turned sad. "My three favorite movies as a kid. The rest of the collection's back at Dad's place." She selected one. "I thought Mom threw these copies out." She picked out the copy of The Little Mermaid and gave Morgana a look. "Mind if I play this one while I do my homework?"

"Of course not. It's your room." Morgana said. "I'd honestly have thought, after everything you've been through, you'd skip it."

"Can't." Rei said with a sigh. "Somehow I've kept my grades up through all this. I'd be going to cram school too, but they won't take me this year."

Morgana seemed to shrug at that, while Joker pulled out her math and got to work. Unfortunately, it didn't take long for Morgana to regret his life choices, starting from surviving Kamoshida's Shadow and going on back to when he was a baby. That he couldn't remember any of this wasn't particularly relevant.

When the opening musical number started, without so much as missing a single calculation, Rei began to sing. Loudly.

"Rei?!" Morgana shouted. She didn't even notice. The noise was horrific. Every note was dissonant, the words were half a beat off, and even if they weren't she couldn't seem to decide whether to sing in Japanese or English, switching mid-word. "Rei!" If she heard, the named girl gave absolutely no sign.

Fortunately, the jaunty little sea shanty only lasted about a minute before the movie actually began and Rei's attention wandered again. Morgana peeked out, but the team's leader didn't seem to have noticed anything had changed. "...Rei?"

"Yes?" Rei looked up from the work. "Do you need something?"

Morgana starred in slowly growing horror. "You….I thought there was a Shadow in the music somehow!"

Rei blinked in surprise. "Oh, sorry, I tend to sing when I'm distracted."

"...that was singing?"

Rei looked a little annoyed. "Yes. If you don't like it, why don't you go curl up downstairs?"

Morgana shook his head. "No...it's...fine…"

Once the movie was over, Morgana cautiously stuck his nose back into the room, to see Rei had moved on from math and was just setting aside several literature books. She looked at the English and snorted. "Ten minutes." It only took her eight.

Morgana watched her work with wide eyes. "How-"

Rei sighed. "I've been fluent in English since I was ten. Online chat rooms with other transkids. Better than all the repetition in the world."

Morgana looked at the stack of completed papers. "That's...impressive. What's it all for, though?"

"I'm gonna be a doctor." Rei said it in a matter-of-fact way. "Yeah, it's true they normally don't let criminal masterminds into medical school, but once it's off my record forever they won't need to know. So, grades have to be tops."

Morgana hopped up on the bed. "Well, as long as that's what you want. Still, it's getting late."

"...yeah, at least for today." Rei said, joining him on the bed.

Rei next awoke in what she was coming to think of as her 'other bed.' She groaned and tried to roll out off the cot. Operative word, tried. She quickly realized that it would be impossible, what with her wrists being tied down. "Wait, WHAT?! What is WRONG with you people?!"

Justine just made a note. "Patient, we told you to report back here when you had multiple Personas. You made things significantly harder for yourself, which reflects poorly on us as your assistants."

Caroline looked down at her from above, giving Rei a distinctly disoriented feeling. "Still, I said we'd show you something good." Rei's eyes widened as the syringe popped into view.

Justine nodded. "Caroline wished to proceed directly to the electroshock therapy, but Master Igor decided to wait a little longer."

Rei felt a little prick in her arm, then the pain started. A few moments later, whatever was in that syringe started taking effect and everything began to swim around her. She felt, as much as saw, the Shadows she had tied herself to in the Palace swimming around her. "Focus, Patient!" Caroline's voice cut through the odd euphoric feeling that was threatening to overwhelm her. "You need to force through it."

"Wha'm I focussin' on," Rei slurred, but she tried to pull the Shadows she saw together.

"A little more," Justine's voice said. Rei tried to obey, but then it slipped, and she was suddenly fully awake again, sitting up in the bed. Justine made another note. "How are you feeling?"

Rei glared at her. "Like I'm going to throw up."

"That's normal." Justine said.

Caroline grinned. "Do you feel any more connections?"

Rei thought about it. "...yes, actually, it's weird."

Justine nodded. "The more Shadows you are connected to, the greater your power will grow."

Caroline had her stern face on as she added "You'll only be able to hold a few of them at a time, though. Return to us when you need different abilities."

"Will I have to do that again?" Rei asked.

Caroline laughed. "Why, want another shot?"

Justine sighed. "Please don't tease the patient, Caroline." She looked at Rei. "No. This procedure will only be medically necessary when your bonds have grown to the point that you need to process them. You may attempt it whenever you wish."

"As for changing out the Shadows linked to your Adler, that's just some quiet meditation in the cell." Caroline explained. "You'll pick them out, concentrate on them, and Adler will be changed to match what you feel you need."

"Got it." Rei said, standing up and looking straight at Igor. "Now, I've got questions."

"I'm sure you do," Igor, who had been quiet all through the 'treatment' and explanations, said. "But first, congratulations are in order. You have successfully completed your first task. In addition, you did so while finding allies who share your values, and will soon find your place in the world that is to come. Your rehabilitation has now begun."

Rei groaned. "This is why I hate you guys," she said, without much venom. "I'm getting a headache."

Justine put her clipboard down. "That is not a known side effect of the drugs you were just given."

"No." Rei agreed. "Just a side effect of not knowing what's going on in my life."

Igor laughed. "You are a most interesting patient. However, while you have begun, ruin is fast approaching. You must gain the power to fight it."

"O...kay." Rei sighed. "Well, I gain power by making attachments to people, and taking Shadows into my Persona, right? So keep doing what I'm doing?"

The bell tolled. "Indeed...and now our time is up." Igor said. "Farewell for now."

Rei realized she still had questions, but suddenly she felt...so...sleepy…

Rei walked up the steps to Shujin, then glanced sidelong at her guardian. There were a number of students staring at the unusual, almost unheard-of sight of an adult bringing someone to high school. "I should probably just go to class, huh?"

"I'll try having private words first, yes." Sojiro agreed, looking surprisingly grim. Then he looked up at the teachers watching the entrance, including a man in a muscle shirt. "That him?"

Rei gasped softly. At first, it was a brief pang of horror, but then she saw the dark circles under Kamoshida's eyes, and the defeated glint there. He just nodded at her. "Go to the gym, Amamiya-san. Assembly this morning."

"Ren, go to class." Sojiro countered. "If there's no one there, then go to the gym."

Kamoshida sighed. "Are you her dad? Yeah, go ahead, beat the crap out of me. Just leave my teeth in, I still need them for a bit." Sojiro was so surprised he didn't even move for a sec. "After the assembly," Kamoshida added. "But by then the cops'll probably have me."

Sojiro's jaw dropped. "What's going on here? Ren, what happened last night?"

Rei only barely managed to check herself. "I have no idea. Sensei, about what happened last ni - "

"That was. . . just the last straw, I guess." Kamoshida said, looking a little confused. "I nearly threw up after practice...look, can you just get to the gym? Your dad can come too, no point hiding it."

The auditorium was filled with Shujin students, most of whom hadn't even bothered to go to their classes. As a result, instead of neatly standing in rows and organized by class, everybody simply ended up standing with the people they came in with. Rei found herself next to Haru, who gave her a nod and friendly smile. "Ren-kun. How's your cousin?"

It took Rei a second to remember that particular deception. "She will be fine," she answered, making certain to deepen her voice. "I'm afraid she was . . . assaulted. So she might be delicate for awhile."

"Oh!" Haru put a hand to her mouth in shock. "I'm glad I was able to help."

Rei couldn't help but smile. "Trust me, she's more grateful than she let on. She . . . can be a bit proud."

Haru smiled. "Well, perhaps we can go see her after school today."

Rei cursed internally. "I'm afraid that will not be possible. I am required to return home immediately following school because of my probation…" Then she had an idea. "I will send her a text message. Is there somewhere you would prefer to meet?"

"Big Bang Burger's probably too public…" Haru said nervously. Rei raised an eyebrow - it really didn't seem like the kind of place the gentle, sophisticated girl would eat. "Oh, I can eat there for free."

Rei suppressed a chuckle. "I suspect Rei would prefer somewhere less fattening to eat...but it is an acceptable meeting spot. I assume you mean the location in Shibuya?"

"That's right!" Haru smiled. "I might not be recognized at some other ones."

"Very well. I'll make the arrangements," Rei said.

Haru sighed. "I do wish you wouldn't be so formal." Rei just shrugged helplessly, not really having a good answer. Haru frowned, but movement on the stage caught her attention. "Oh, there's the Principal."

Rei completely failed to keep the scowl off her face while she looked up at the man. Kabayokawa was busy scanning the crowd. Suddenly, their eyes met and he smiled at her. "Amamiya! Get up here!"

Rei briefly felt her blood run cold, but rescue came from the most unexpected of sources. "Stay where you are, Amamiya." Kamoshida said. "This message is for everyone." He walked out onto the stage. When it looked like his boss was about to shout something, he shouted over him. "Is that everyone!? May I have your attention?!" The school slowly quieted, the discussion dying to a low murmur.

"Good...I have an announcement to make," Kamoshida said, collapsing in on himself. "I...have been reborn. That's why I called this assembly. I need to make a confession. Some of you may have noticed the police if you arrived early this morning. They are here for me, at my request.

"I have engaged in behavior...not becoming a teacher," he continued. "I have physically abused all of the students in my club. I have molested the girls, and even . . . even had sex with some of them." The murmurs started up again, but he silenced them. "I thought of myself as the king of this school, my own private castle. I could do no wrong. I...I was wrong." He fell onto the stage in a full-on kow-tow. "For those affected….and for those this confession will affect, my apologies won't be anywhere near enough, but it is all I have to offer. That...and my arrest." He looked straight at Rei. "This loss was of my own making….and I will take whatever punishment the law and society deem appropriate to atone. Effective immediately, I resign my position at Shujin Academy."

Rei swallowed, and ran out of the gym.

She almost wasn't able to intercept Kamoshida as he left the gym. The police seemed determined to get him out unnoticed, but they proved to be no match for Rei's new powers of observation. She got to the side entrance they were pulling him through just before they got there. One of the cops stepped in front. "Kid, I don't care what he did to your girlfriend. It's our job to see him get to the trial healthy and in one piece."

Kamoshida held up a hand. "I'll speak to her." That surprised her entire escort. "In private."

Rei submitted to a brief patdown, getting a weird look from the officer performing it. "Two minutes, kid," he said, before she was able to go around the corner.

"...thanks," Kamoshida said, and Rei's jaw dropped. "You had...something...to do with this, right? The weird calling card had 'kid' written all over it, and you and Sakamoto were the only ones willing to call me out." He waved her off. "No, no, it's fine. I threw it in a trash can. I was...completely out of control. I see that now. I haven't been...in control in a long time."

"May I ask...why?"

Kamoshida stopped and looked up into the sky. "There was a woman. There always is, isn't there? Lost her when I was spending so much time training for the Olympic team, and then you get into all the parties and the drugs and stuff and it's hard to keep sight of what's important. Whatever you did….you got my head back on straight. If I ever see daylight again after today, I promise to do it right this time…" He gave her a weak smile. "You know, back in the day I'd have beat you up. But you're stronger than I'd have ever given you credit for. Don't let that ass Kabayokawa get to you before you get to him, huh?"

"Eh?" Rei asked.

Kamoshida raised an eyebrow. "You're gonna do him next, right?"

"I can neither confirm nor deny," Rei replied. Honestly, as a matter of fact, since she hadn't thought about it at all.

Kamoshida chuckled. "Smart answer. Anyway, that's all I had to say. Go on. Don't give the other bastard an excuse."

Rei gave him a weak smile. "For what it's worth...I wish it hadn't been necessary."

"Me too, kid. Me too…"

Rei was intercepted at the stairs by Makoto, who sighed. "Okumura's confused as heck, you know."

"...do you have her contact info?" Rei scratched her head nervously. "Sorry, but after...that...I just couldn't let it go."

Makoto nodded. "I don't, but she said she'd go straight to Big Bang and wait all day. What was up with that?"

"Date, I think?" Rei sighed. "Or at least she wanted to check on Rei after last night." She looked around. "Is Haru-san using the roof now?"

"Fortunately, no." Makoto said. "Also, after that classes are canceled. There's detectives wanting to talk to each class, but they're going in order. So we have a little time if you think we need a quick meeting."

Rei shook her head. "Not until after they've gone through our classes. They're going in-order right, then everyone's dismissed?" Makoto nodded. "Okay. For today, just say nothing. I think Ryuji can handle that much….or he'll tell them the truth, which is almost as good. After we're done, we go our separate ways for today. I'll get to Shibuya, sell the stuff we lifted like Ryuji said, and then go on my 'date.' Tomorrow after school we'll figure out what to do with the cash. Sound good?"

"If no one else objects," Makoto said anxiously.

Rei was just about to continue when the Ambassador's phone vibrated. He sighed, and pulled it out while Rei just smiled at him. "Hey, I'm just the most important teenager in the world," she said with obvious humor. "Obviously, if there's something going on go ahead."

"An issue with security," the man explained. "Nothing major. One police officer from the Tokyo Metropolitan police."

Rei's entire demeanor changed in moments. "Do you have a description?"

"I'm afraid not. I can check."

Rei frowned and looked out the window, but it was useless as the window only faced the back wall and the river. "Tokyo Metro cops never work alone. I know that from Mako-chan. Higher level NSB might…."

The Ambassador shook his head. "Unlikely. And the Public Security Intelligence Agency wouldn't be so blunt. We're going into lockdown, just in case."

Rei frowned. "It could be the Kirijo Group, but they'd just identify themselves as such." She frowned. "Is it a man or a woman?"

"I assume a man. They would have identified a woman."

Rei smiled. "Oh, I've been looking forward to this." The Ambassador looked surprised. "I hadn't gotten there yet. Show him into another interview room. Let's let him stew for a couple of hours. That'll give me long enough to finish this and have a meal." She paused. "Okay, feed him too." Her smile turned feral. "Self-righteous bastard."

"Are you quite certain, Miss Amamiya?" The Ambassador looked surprised. "He could be here to - "

Rei gave him her trademark smirk. "Oh, I'm fairly sure he's here to bring me in. I'm also pretty sure he's not here on official authority. I'm the only one whose identity he definitely knows, that's still in Japan anyway. Possession is nine tenths and all that. So we're better off keeping him distracted here than letting him loose."

A shake of the head. "You have a devious mind, young miss. I expect you'll go far."

"Right. While we're letting him cool his heels, let's continue."

The cops had taken over the Student Council room, probably among other things. Rei sighed and took her seat. "Yes, sir," she said without hesitation. "I'm the probate. Yes, Kamoshida targeted me. No, I really don't feel like talking about it."

The officer, stared at her. "Amamiya-san, you're - "

Rei growled. "Read. The damn. File. Transgirl. I'm using a sports bra and loose-fitting pants. Do the math." She sighed. "No, I have no idea why he suddenly gave up. I'm no psychiatrist."

"Well, we'll look into it," the officer said. "Do you wish to make any other official statement?"

Rei shook her head. "Do you need someone to press charges? Otherwise, no."

"No...his confession is sufficient," The officer said uncertainly. "Just...one other thing. You spoke to the man before he was taken away. What did he say?"

She shrugged. "Not much more than what he already said on stage. I was just confused." She sighs. "Anyway, can we please not let this get out. The principal's abusing the morality code to force me to attend as a boy. Which is. . . I could probably win in court if I wouldn't go to jail for trying."

The young man snorted. "I probably should put this in the official record and haul you downtown. But under the current circumstances, we'll let it go. It's not worth my job trying to get you in trouble with the rules tightening up next year. As long as you stick to the law, we'll let the school deal with you."

Rei sighed. It was probably the best she was going to do. "Fine."

Immediately after she was released, Rei made her way to Untouchable, only stopping to change at Shibuya Station in the family restroom. Grateful the police hasn't searched her, she had let Morgana out of her bag as soon as was practical and presented them to the shady proprietor.

Iwai spent almost five minutes looking over her take. "Where did you get all this? I don't deal in fake or stolen goods."

Rei shrugged. "Honestly, I am pretty sure it's fake." The man gave her a sour look. "Well, the Olympic medal is anyway. But it's a really good fake except for one point. Whoever did it either used lead, or solid gold. I'm pretty sure the real thing isn't either of those."

Iwai raised an eyebrow. "I can check that."

"Go ahead." Rei said with a shrug. "Even if it's lead, it'll still have some metal value. Anyway, no one's going to come looking for a bunch of solid silver and copper nicknacks, I know that."

There was a long session of very careful weighing while Rei bit her lip nervously. "I'll be," Iwai said at last. "You're right, someone was a real dumbass. You're sure you came by this legit?"

Rei sighed. "That's going to depend on your definition of 'legit', but no one was hurt, no crime was committed, and no one's going to come looking for it. I can promise you that much on my life."

Iwai raised an eyebrow. "On your life, huh? What makes you think I can't hold you to that, if you're hearing I'll buy stuff like this?"

Rei's smile was simply confident. "I'm actually just that sure it won't matter, because it won't happen."

"Uh...huh." Iwai glanced around. "You into something, kid?"

Rei thought about her response. "It's just possible. It's not illegal because, as far as I know, no one's heard of it."

"I've heard of some wild things," Iwai pointed out. "If the cops come around wondering about this stuff, I'm pointing them at you." Even as he spoke, he pulled out the cash and started counting out small bills. "If you come by more and you're not in jail, I can maybe pay you more next time."

"No worries."

There really wasn't much to say about Big Bang Burger. With the space-themed decor and furniture typical of fast food throughout Japan and the world, if you had ever been inside one of the establishments, you had been inside of all of them. There were teenagers from all of the schools around Shibuya noisily lining up to get their alleged after-school snacks of 'beef' on what were most likely bread buns and soggy fried potatoes.

Rei looked around for a bit before she realized Haru wasn't out front. Instead, she had - somehow - taken over a small, discreet room for kid's birthday parties and was sitting primly in the back corner, sipping at a soda. Rei took notice of the employees glaring at her when she went in without buying anything. "Haru-chan," she said with a smile. "What's all this? Did you rent out the room just for us or something?"

"Oh, no, of course not," Haru said. "But my father owns the restaurant, so as long as it's not actually being used by paying customers I can bend the rules a little. As long as I don't do it too often." She went silent for a few seconds, then coughed. "Uhm, I have an account. Just go out and let the counter know what you'd like."

Rei shook her head. "No thanks. The line's a bit long." She closed the door.

Haru smiled. "Of course. We can get something later." She patted the seat next to hers indicating Rei should use it. "Are you all right? Do you need to talk about it with someone?"

Rei sighed. "N-no."

Haru put a hand on her shoulder. "No you don't need to talk, or no you're not all right?"

Rei pulled her legs up to her chest in the slightly-too-small chair, keeping them tightly together. "I'm...I'm definitely not all right. But I'm not ready to talk." She smiled. "Thanks for trying to help, though. You just met me yesterday, and all…"

"Nonsense." Haru said firmly. "May I ask...did this have to do with a Shujin teacher?"

Rei gulped. This is bad. I should have just told her. But...there were already too many people who knew what 'Ren' really was. She'd just have to try to keep this up. "I don't go to Shujin," she tried to point out, which was technically true. 'Rei' didn't.

"The door isn't locked," Haru pointed out. "Was it Kamoshida?" Rei nodded, squeezing her knees even more tightly. "Then you should know that he turned himself in afterwards."

Rei couldn't hold back a slight comment. "Getting off too easy...but it's the best we're going to do. I already know I'm not the only one, just the last." She sighed. "Can we not, Haru-chan?"

Haru smiled. "Of course. I don't think anyone's ever called me that so quickly...or in a long time. Everyone's usually too intimidated by my family."

Rei grinned. "Well, call me Rei-chan, and how about we make a deal on that?" Haru raised an eyebrow. "Don't tell me about your family, and I don't have to be intimidated." That got a laugh. "Seriously, if you just need someone to talk to, I'm available after school." She paused. "Just...uhm, no offense, but I don't ever want to go back to Shujin, so we can coordinate by phone."

Haru immediately looked crestfallen. "Father screens my contacts."

Rei closed her eyes to think. "How closely? Would he catch it if you added a home phone to someone who doesn't have one?"

"...that might work," Haru said. "I hope so. It's been so long since I had anyone to talk to."

Rei smiled. "Well, for today, that'll do. We can figure out something better if it comes up." She smiled at her new friend. "In the meantime, well, we're in Shibuya. There's gotta be something better to do than stuffing our faces."

Haru smiled. "I'd like that, I think. Is there a cafe?"

"...no, but I know about one."

The pair arrived at LeBlanc shortly thereafter via the subway. Rei had been surprised to find out Haru didn't have a smart card, but they'd worked out how to deal with the machine to get her one easily enough.

When they arrived, Sojiro looked up from his coffee to give Rei a surly look, but then he caught Haru standing behind her. "Oh...I see," His scowl briefly changed to a grin. "So the little troublemaker found another friend, huh?"

Rei chuckled nervously. "Sorry I didn't come home right away, Chief. I know things were...awkward, when I don't go to Shujin like my cousin…" Please take the hint, please take the hint.

Sojiro caught it. "Yeah, well, anything you buy for this girl's coming out of your pay…"

"Oh, that won't be necessary," Haru said. "I'll pay our check. Rei-chan said you serve good coffee."

"Well, you might say that," Sojiro said sheepishly. "Would you like a dessert as well?"

Rei bit her lip. "That one's on me. Definitely."

"Oh, but I - "

Rei smiled sheepishly. "I made'em. I can give them to my friends if I want to."

Haru looked at Sojiro questioningly. When he nodded, she smiled. "All right, I accept." The pair of them sat down at the third table, and soon enough there was coffee in front of both of them, along with a tart in front of Haru. She took a sip of the coffee, then exclaimed "Oh, my. This is amazing, Chief-san."

Sojiro chuckled while Rei couldn't restrain a giggle. "Just Chief, Haru-chan. It's a title. Sojiro-san's my guardian." She said the last by way of explanation.

Haru paused, then realized that Rei was staring expectantly. "Oh, oh my, I'm sorry." She picked up the treat, with its' whipped topping, and bit into it. "Oh!" she exclaimed. "You made this?"

"Hey!" Sojiro interjected. "You're not as amazed by my coffee!" His smile informed the two he was joking.

Haru nodded. "Yes, the coffee is excellent. What surprised me is that Rei is just a high school student. The appearance wasn't all that it could be, and the crust was only passable, but she did extremely well on the filling. If I hadn't known better, I'd have assumed it was from a professional bakery having an off day."

Rei blushed. "I've been working on it," she said. "I never expected to have to sell them for my pocket money, but any port in a storm, right?"

They talked a little longer, until Rei heard steps coming down the stairs. She looked over her shoulder at Makoto, who was smiling. "You should have said you were back. Okumura-san." She nodded to Haru. "Would you like to come up?"

Haru frowned, suddenly checking her phone. "Oh, my. I'm sorry, I lost track of the time. I should really be going."

Rei sighed. "Of course. Haru-chan, feel free to come by any time after school."

Once Haru had left, Sojiro turned a little more grim. "Now that that's out of the way, perhaps you'd like to explain why you ran off right after that trash walked off the stage?"

Rei sighed. "No. I mean, yes, I'd like to explain but I just can't. I just...it was so sudden, I had to know what the hell…"

"Did he say anything that made sense?" Sojiro asked.

Rei thought about it, then shook her head. "No. Yes and no. It matched that whole 'reborn' thing he was going on about, but he didn't say what about my case caused him to change his mind about everything he's done since he freaking won the Olympics." She shrugged. "It was stupid, I'm sorry…"

Sojiro shook his head. "Go on. Your other friends had been here awhile, but they wanted me to keep you down here anyway. Okumura was just a good excuse."

Rei frowned, but followed Makoto up the stairs. Morgana was sitting at the top, and smiled. "M'lady, your chambers await." Rei looked suspicious, but she realized there wasn't as much light as there should be, or at least not as much natural light. At the top of the landing was a lamp that had had an LED light bulb placed in it, necessary due to the close proximity to the woven wool blankets now hanging around. One of the shelves had also been moved from its' place against the wall to opposing the other one, with a heavy curtain along the back. Another curtain was hung by a dowel clamped to each of the two shelves, creating a sort of antechamber while allowing access to the shop's supplies.

Rei pulled the curtain aside. There wasn't actually much different about the room itself, but there had apparently been enough time to finish cleaning, and someone had purchased a pair of small portable filing cabinets that were now doing a passable job of being clothes drawers, along with another line hung up between the shelves and the far wall to hang clothes from. At the far side, Morgana's new bed was also there, just as Rei had suggested. The desk had been pulled out, so that the small TV could be watched from the bed or anywhere in the room.

Sitting on the bed was Ann, with Shiho next to her. Ryuji was sprawled out on the couch, but he looked up. "Hey. How do you like it?"

Rei couldn't fight it down any more. Tears escaped the corners of her eyes. "Guys...you didn't have to do all this."

Ryuji grinned. "It wasn't too much. Between me and Makoto, we got all the heavy stuff moved, and Shiho did most of the climbing. Only took an hour." He put the remains of the money on the table. "Besides, you did pay for the stuff."

"I guess I did…" Rei said, still sniffing. "I'd have helped."

Shiho smiled. "I wanted to do something nice for you."

Ann nodded. "If it wasn't for you, we'd have never gotten rid of Kamoshida."

"Something would have happened eventually," Makoto demurred. "But we did speed up the process. So, Rei, sit down. I believe we had more to discuss."

Rei nodded. "Ye-yes. The 'split', I think they call it."

"Shouldn't we divide it evenly?" Morgana asked, jumping up on the table.

Rei chuckled. "Well, I'll hold on to your share...and after you guys were so nice, I hate to do this, but…"

Ann frowned. "What's this about a 'split' anyway?"

Rei sighed. "Stuff that originates from the Metaverse sometimes has some reality when it's brought back. I managed to snag enough in precious metals that even after the cut the guy who runs Untouchable took we made money on this, so…" She sighed. "Anyway...I'd like a fifty percent share."

Morgana rasied an eyebrow. "Why?"

Rei shrugged. "I bankrolled this whole thing. Fake firearms, airsoft guns, martial arts weapons, fake and real grade? Snacks, medicine, bandages? It's not cheap guys, and I have an expensive surgery coming up." She held up a hand. "The thing is, if I take half that would cover my expenses and leave me slightly ahead of the rest of you if you agree to split the rest evenly."

Makoto frowned thoughtfully. "That does make sense, and I suppose none of us did it for the money…"

Rei perked up a little. "If we decide we want to do this again, make that an official rule going forward? If anyone else wants to sponsor a heist like that, they take their own fifty percent in the future, of course, not just me."

Ryuji groaned. "Where am I supposed to get that kind of money?"

Rei chuckled. "Well, we made out pretty good this time, and hopefully we won't need to stock a complete arsenal every time we head out."

Makoto shook her head. "That assumes we will head out."

Morgana frowned, looking at her. "You mean to tell me you don't want to be a Phantom Thief?"

Makoto was thoughtful. "In all truth, I'm not certain. We did this because there were few options to prevent a grave injustice, but on seeing the results I feel we should be cautious going forward."

Ann sighed. "Yeah. Kamoshida was a real creep, but does anyone deserve what we ended up doing to him?"

"Yes." Rei and Shiho said at the same time. "It's better than killing him." Shiho added.

Rei, still looking pensive, said "Okay, Makoto already knows this, but I'm going to continue exploring the Metaverse, with or without you guys." Shiho, Ryuji, and Ann all stared at her. "I didn't say I was going into any more Palaces or anything like that, but Morgana was human, right? Then he got somewhere deep into the Metaverse, and now he's. . . well, a cat. Do the math?"

Ryuji shook his head. "No offense, but I don't wanna end up a cat or a chick...but if we can pick up more stuff, well, I guess I can use a part time job."

Shiho nodded. "Yes, I definitely need something." Ann gave her a concerned look, but she shook her head. Rei caught it, and looked at Shiho questioningly. "It's nothing."

Rei sighed. "Okay, so I'll take half today and you guys split the rest evenly?" At the sounds of agreement, Rei pulled out the envelope she had put the money into, and carefully counted it out. By the time she was done, everyone's eyes were wide in astonishment. "So, yeah. As for our next move...well, I say we lay low for a bit. Just until the police go away."

Shiho quickly snatched up her own share. "Yeah, that sounds good. I'm in for whatever you have planned," she said, a little too quickly.

Makoto put her own money into her purse. "We'll have to be careful spending it, too. Wouldn't do for our various guardians to find out we had this much with no explanation."

Ann grinned. "How about we celebrate, as long as we've got it?"

"Have something in mind?" Rei asked.

Shiho coughed. "Ann was talking about this hotel the other day. There was a really fancy buffet…"

"The Wilton," Ann confirmed. "I was there on a modeling job, and it all looked sooo good."

Makoto frowned. "Aren't places like that really fancy? I would worry a bit about Ryuji."

"Oi."

Rei frowned. "I wouldn't have anything to wear someplace like that either," she said. "All my really nice dresses are at home."

Ann gasped. "Are you serious? You came to live in Tokyo and not one dress you could use to go out?"

"...well, it all had to fit in two boxes and a suitcase and - " Rei started.

Ann grinned. "We'll go to the Wilton after the next job, tonight we go shopping!"

Makoto coughed. "Rei may be in a bit of trouble after her 'date'. I suggest tomorrow?"

"Date?" Ann was even more scandalized-sounding, to the point where it would be funny if Rei weren't caught up in it. "Seriously, who's the lucky boy, or girl? Kimiko mentioned some transgirls prefer girls too…"

Rei coughed. "Jeez, it wasn't a date. She's engaged…"

Makoto raised an eyebrow. "What?"

"Ring," Rei said. "She keeps the gem on the inside of her hand so it's less noticeable."

Shiho winced. "Ow. That's got to be painful."

Rei sighed. "I was hoping to ask her about it at some point, but it didn't seem right today."

"Well," Makoto said, forestalling any further outbursts from Ann, "It sounds like a much better mystery than 'how do we bring the school's serial rapist to justice' at any rate. Perhaps a subject for another time. As to the celebration...Once Rei-chan has suitable attire, we can consider where to go that might not draw so much attention. You too, Ryuji-kun," At Ryuji's protest, she chuckled. "A nice shirt will suffice, I think. You probably shouldn't put in an appearance in that T-shirt in a fancy restaurant."

Morgana pouted. "Besides, they probably wouldn't let a cat in."

Rei smiled. "You know, I think my extra pay includes juuuust enough for something I'd been meaning to do once I found out I'd be living in Tokyo."

"...and, that was it." Rei said to her host, standing up to stretch her legs a bit. "I mean, it wasn't the formal declaration or anything, but once nobody tried to actually call an end to things, we weren't going to stop being the Phantom Thieves."

"And I can certainly extrapolate from there." The Ambassador said, putting his notepad away. "You discovered that Kamoshida was far from unique."

Rei nodded. "Something like that." She looked down at her phone. "Well, the cafeteria's serving dinner."

"We can have the chef send something up. There's no need for you to eat with the staff."

Rei shook her head. "Nah. I'm good. Besides, once I'm out of here I'm going to have to get used to it." She smiled. "By your leave, sir?" she said, switching to her halting Dutch. He nodded at her and smiled.

After a quick dinner of foods Rei considered far too heavy to be healthy, along with several of the side salads, she retreated to her room to shower and change. She checked her clock again. A bit over two hours...good enough, he ought to be going crazy by now. She stretched, and then made her way to the windowless meeting room. The interior was nice enough despite that, with wood paneling and actual furniture, along with sufficient light, but there was no mistaking that the purpose of this place was privacy.

There was only one figure sitting at the meeting room table, lonely amongst the eight chairs. He was tall, unusually so for a Japanese person even in modern times. His build was powerful, but not overly muscled - a man who doesn't so much work out as exercise to a precise plan to aid him in necessary physical activity. His face was far too young for his grey hair and eyes, and Rei decided after a moment it must be a quirk of genetics. In truth, they had never held still long enough around each other for her to decide. He wasn't, as Rei had predicted he wouldn't be, wearing the uniform of a common officer. Instead he was affecting plainclothes, a dark suit and tie, stiff and formal. It didn't suit him, truthfully - something about his normally laid-back attitude. He looked up at her, and their eyes met. There was nothing particularly laid back about him right now. "Amamiya Ren-san," he said, causing Rei to bristle. "You're under arrest."

Rei rolled her eyes, but kept her tone neutral. "Narukami."

A/N: And that concludes the first 'book' of The Masks I wear. If my current rate of work holds, you can probably expect another novel's worth by late fall, but for the time being I'm going on hiatus to make sure all of my plans for the second book, hopefully a full novel's length, will be coherent and I won't seriously contradict myself.

Also, if you're reading the AO3 version, you'll note I've updated the tags to include some warnings. I sincerely regret my decision not to include them to begin with, and if anybody was hurt by encountering those things unwarned, I sincerely apologize here.