A/N: Regarding fight scenes, it's always tough to write video game fight scenes while staying true to the game mechanics. Suffice it to say, the way I write fights is probably not how you would actually play them in a game (and probably not the most efficient way of using the characters' skills in a game setting).

20XY/07/26 (Wed)

Evening

"Whoa," Oracle said, almost as soon as they crossed over the threshold into the remnant.

Joker looked back at her. "What is it?"

"The security level's increased again," said Oracle. "It's not a big increase, but it's a little worrying. Stay on your toes, Joker."

Joker nodded, leading the others up the remnant's shadowed version of a stairwell. Unlike the previous remnants, which had only looked like darker versions of their real-world locations, this place appeared to be more severely distorted. The building was still recognizably an apartment complex, the same way that Sae's Palace had been recognizable as a casino, but the path to the third floor was more complex and convoluted than it should have been, filled with Shadows lurking in the darkness.

The door to the third floor had been locked. They'd been forced to climb out onto the balcony of the second floor and weave their way through various apartments and air vents until they made their way to the third floor. By the time they made it to the third floor balcony, switching in and out between the front and back lines, several of the Phantom Thieves were breathing hard.

"The distortion is definitely more severe here," said Mona, as they gathered around the door to Iwakura's apartment.

"What changed?" Queen asked.

"I wonder…" said Fox, "Could it possibly be because we changed Masaru's heart?"

"Maybe," said Oracle. "It's like the more we change things, the more whatever's causing this becomes aware of us."

"So it's angry because we aren't letting it do what it wants?" Panther asked, eyes narrowing in anger. "That jerk! Joker, we have to put a stop to this!"

"And we will," said Joker, taking out the key that they'd stolen from a Shadow on the second floor. "Everyone be on your guard." He slipped it into the apartment's lock. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the other Phantom Thieves fan out around him, raising their weapons.

The door swung open, revealing an empty apartment. No one moved immediately, Joker looking meaningfully at Oracle. She raised her hands, summoning her console to her again.

"It's clear," she said. "I don't think there's anyone here."

"Wait, so Iwakura's not even here?" Skull asked. "Did we come all this way for nothing?"

"Chill out, Skull. It's probably because he's not home in the real world yet," said Oracle. "I'm sure he'll turn up when he gets here."

"So we wait for him?" asked Noir.

"That seems to be our only option," said Mona, taking a step into the apartment. "Everyone, get ready."

A stakeout, Naoto mused, was mostly an exercise in boredom and concentration. She sat at the driver's seat, her eyes on the house, her ears tuned to the steady clicking sound of Kanji's knitting needles.

So far, the night was quiet, which wasn't necessarily a bad thing. Quiet nights gave her time to stop and think, to piece together all of the information she had already obtained. She felt like she was walking a spiral, circling the same issues over and over again, but drawing closer to the truth each time. She had all of the pieces. She just needed a little more. The first spark of connection.

She reached for the travel mug in the cup holder, taking a swig of coffee.

The odd thing about today, her conversation with Alibaba. Something the Phantom Thief had said still stuck in her mind.

You can't be trusted…

"Hey, Naoto," Kanji said. The rhythmic clicking came to a stop. "Someone's coming."

Naoto drew herself out of her thoughts, eyes moving towards the window. A teenager was walking up to the stairwell, carrying a backpack over one shoulder. He dug his key out of his pocket, listlessly pulling the stairwell door open. As he moved, she saw his face in profile, matched it with the image she had seen from Shujin Academy's records.

Yuichi Iwakura.

"That the kid?" Kanji asked.

"That is," said Naoto. "Stay on your guard. Things might start to get interesting."

Iwakura's Shadow came into the apartment about twenty minutes after Joker and the others had taken up hiding places. In real life, Yuichi Iwakura looked like any ordinary high school student at Shujin, unremarkable except for his penchant for dressing like a delinquent. Inside the remnant, Iwakura was dressed like an ancient warrior. Dark Japanese-style armor clung to his body, and he held a drawn blade in his hand as he stepped into the room.

His eyes were bright-orange, and, Joker noted from his hiding spot, alert. He looked very different from the first time when Joker had seen him, when his Shadow had stood listlessly in the center of the warehouse floor.

Oracle and the others were right, Joker thought, his eyes on Iwakura as he paced the area cautiously.

Something was definitely aware of them.

He could see the thread.

It was a shimmering thing, gossamer-fine, thickening only when it wrapped around Iwakura's limbs. And in the dimness of his third eye, he saw something else. A shadow that surrounded Iwakura, guarding him, shielding the thread from Joker's touch. Somehow, he got the sense that the Shadow was just waiting for him to leap at the thread.

Joker scowled. It looked like this time, changing Iwakura's heart wouldn't be quite so easy. Thankfully, they had a back-up plan.

He looked over to the left, catching Skull's eye. Joker raised his hand, pointing at Iwakura with two fingers and cocking his head at the Shadow. Skull grinned back, raising his hand in a thumbs up to show that he had received the message.

They launched at Iwakura all at once.

Or rather, Joker thought, it would have been more accurate to say that he, Skull, Queen, and Panther launched at Iwakura at once. He felt power rush through him as Skull skidded to a stop, summoning Seiten Taisei to cast Matarukaja.

"How do you want to do this, Joker?" Panther asked, as Iwakura turned towards them in a rage.

"Take him down."

"You got it!" Panther raised her hand to her mask, and Joker saw power flare up around her, building, as she concentrated. He glanced back at her, then at the other two people at his side.

"Skull!" he said. "Queen!"

"On it!" said Skull, charging forward.

Iwakura slashed his sword at him, and Skull caught it with his club, turning the blade to the side as he pushed Iwakura back. He let out a shout of effort, shoving forward and knocking Iwakura off his feet. As Iwakura stumbled, Skull leaped back and Queen stepped forward, freeing her revolver from its holster. She emptied it in several quick shots, shooting from her hip. The bullets struck Iwakura's Shadow dead on, and he grunted with the impact, gouts of darkness pouring from the wounds like blood.

His head turned slowly, a disjointed movement, his eyes focusing on Queen.

Queen was already getting out of the way.

"Seiten Taisei!" Skull shouted. "Get wrecked!"

Seiten Taisei materialized, spinning his staff. As he brought it down, a colossal hand appeared in the air overhead, slamming down into Iwakura with enough force to rock the apartment.

"Yours, Queen!" Skull said.

Queen raised a hand to her mask. "Feel my rage!" she said, as power started to swell around her. "Anat!"

Anat came into existence, arms spread wide. A glowing blue light appeared between her hands, slamming into the fallen enemy. Joker threw his arm up over his eyes to shield them, looking away from the glare of the blast. When the brightness cleared, Iwakura was lying on the ground, his armor chipped and holes ripped in the fabric of his robe. As Joker watched, the holes started to fill, shadows swirling around him and filling in the gaps.

He'd been expecting this. Masaru hadn't stayed down either.

Joker raised his pistol as Iwakura tried to rise, leaping to the side. He emptied the clip in one burst, Iwakura dropping down to the ground again with a stunned look on his face.

"Panther!" Joker said.

Panther opened her eyes, the power around her surging to life. Hecate appeared in the air as she let out a roar of rage, flames rising up around her. The fire slammed into Iwakura before he could even think of rising again, driving him into the floor.

"Let's finish this!" Panther shouted.

The three of them nodded, charging forward. Skull and Queen reached Iwakura first, weapons flashing as they attacked him. Behind them came Panther, her whip snapping through the air. And in their wake, Joker followed, leaping into the air towards the thread. Iwakura was down, overwhelmed by power, and there was nothing stopping him from drawing his knife, slicing clear through it.

The thread snapped, and Joker saw the cut end start to retract. He followed its passage with his third eye, watching as it soared through the shadows. As it vanished, he caught a glimpse of something on the other side of the thread. Something standing alone against a red and black sky.

A house?

The vision faded as he landed on the ground, crouched in front of Iwakura's Shadow. His armor was already fading, and he was looking up at them with a bewildered stare, even as his Shadow was engulfed in light.

"Wh-What?" he asked. "Who are you guys?"

"What happened to you?" Joker asked.

"Do you remember anything?" asked Queen.

Iwakura shook his head. "Remember—?" he asked. "What—no, wait! It was Keita. Keita's idea to go there. It was—."

The light engulfed him, drowning out his words.

"Wait!" Panther said. "Where's 'there'?"

Iwakura didn't have time to answer. The light engulfed him and he was gone, fading away. At the same time, a tremor ran through the remnant, plaster raining down from the ceiling as the place began to fall apart. Joker straightened up, looking around. There was no helping it.

"Let's get out of here!" he said, waving everyone towards the door.

The entrance to the remnant closed behind them as soon as Akira stepped into the stairwell, leaving nothing but bare wall where it had once been. Morgana pressed his paw against it as they stepped through, testing the solidity of the wall.

"It's closed," he said. "There's no going back through there."

"Man, not again," said Ryuji. "Why won't these Shadows give us any useful information?"

"I saw a house," said Akira.

The others looked at him.

"A…house, Joker?" Yusuke asked.

Akira nodded.

"What does it mean?" asked Haru.

"I don't know yet," said Akira. "But we'll find out." He looked at Futaba. "Keita is Keita Nakahara, isn't he?"

Futaba nodded. "He's one of Iwakura's delinquent friends."

"Then he's who we're going after next," said Akira. He was tempted to go after Nakahara tonight, but he could already feel the overwhelming exhaustion that came after using his powers. He inclined his head towards the stairwell door. "Let's call it a night."

"Um, Akira?" said Ann from beside the door. "You…might maybe want to take a look at this."

Akira frowned, edging his way forward towards the door. Ann was crouched down next to it and had it open a crack. He stepped carefully around it, making sure he couldn't be seen from the street, and peered out through the crack. A black car was parked just in front of the apartment building, one that hadn't been there before. While it was too dark to make out who was inside the car, there were definitely people there. Two, he thought, one small and one large.

"They're just sitting there," Ann said. "They haven't moved."

"Could this be a…stakeout?" asked Yusuke.

"Let me see," said Makoto, stepping forward. She peered through the crack, her eyes widening. "That's Naoto Shirogane."

"Are you sure, Mako-chan?" asked Haru.

"I'm positive," said Makoto.

"But didn't Futaba fix that bug?" Ryuji asked. "How's she still following us?"

"I did fix it!" Futaba said. "She's probably tracking us some other way."

"She's not a detective to underestimate," said Morgana. "If we go out there, she'll see us for sure."

"What do we do, Akira?" Ann asked, looking back at him.

Akira frowned in thought, looking at the car under the lens of his third eye. The two people inside it glowed a bright gold, but there was no sign of any of the threads around them, any of the darkness he had seen around the others. He let his third eye lift, backing away.

"Close the door," he said.

It shut without a word, the others huddling around him. Akira studied the stairwell. Five floors, with Iwakura's apartment on the third. If Shirogane was here, then she had to have figured out that he was targeting Iwakura. And all of the apartments' doors were visible from the street, so she was probably watching Iwakura's place from the car.

He checked his watch. It had been about five minutes since the change of heart. Would Iwakura already be awake?

Iwakura was a delinquent, and he had gone to Shujin, where the Phantom Thief hype had once been strongest. It was worth a shot.

"Futaba," Akira said. "Do you have Iwakura's phone number?"

"Phone number, address, blood type," said Futaba, shrugging. "I have it all. Why?"

"Give me the number," Akira said. "There's something I want to try."

It was dark on the street between Naoto's car and the apartment building, but she thought she saw the door to the stairwell move. Naoto frowned, waiting for the door to open fully, but it never did. In an apartment complex in a city as crowded as Tokyo, it could have been anything. It could have been that Iwakura had forgotten to lock the door, and the wind had nudged it open. It could have been another resident pausing to go back for something on the way downstairs, or children at play peeking out into the street.

It could have been anything. But Naoto let her hands rest on the steering wheel anyway, fingers drumming against it as she waited.

A bright flash of light in Iwakura's apartment made her jump, the crack of an explosion audible even from here. Kanji sat up straight, turning towards her.

"What the hell was that?!" he asked.

The lights in Iwakura's apartment had gone out. Naoto hesitated, tightening her grip on the steering wheel. She was torn, momentarily, between the proper procedure for this, and the need to make sure Iwakura was alright. Kanji looked back at her.

"Naoto?"

Naoto grit her teeth, unclipping her seatbelt. She threw the door open, leaping out of the car. Kanji followed, the two of them running towards the front door. She had a split second to register that the door was unlocked, and then the two of them were racing up the stairs to the third floor. They emerged on the third floor balcony, and Kanji didn't even bother to knock, kicking the door open.

"Hey!" he yelled. "You alright in here?!"

Smoke poured out of the apartment, accompanied by the steady beeping sound of a smoke detector. Iwakura was lying on the ground, his eyes wide. He pointed at the open window.

"Th-The Phantom Thieves—," he said, "—they were in here!"

Kanji took a step into the apartment. Naoto stopped by the door.

Something wasn't right.

Thoughts rushed her all at once, threads of consciousness running down several parallel lines, all converging on a single truth. The air carried the acrid scent of black powder, there was a charred circle in the carpet roughly the size of a small firework, scraps of charred paper littered the ground. The front door was unlocked, the window was open, there were no signs of footsteps on the carpet.

Naoto went tense, her eyes drifting to the door that led into the stairwell.

"Kanji, it's a trick!" she said. "They're getting away!"

Kanji's eyes widened, and he looked back over his shoulder at her. He charged past her, pulling open the door to the stairwell.

"Get back here, you punks!" he yelled. Naoto caught sight of movement, of people running down the stairs in a confused rush before Kanji was on them, taking the steps two at a time.

She heard the door at the foot of the stairs slam open, heard an engine rev. Naoto looked out from the balcony, watching as a blue van skidded past the apartment building, making a turn on two of its wheels before it vanished from sight. Kanji burst out onto the street, looking around frantically for the van.

"Kanji!" Naoto called.

Kanji's head spun towards her at the sound of her voice. Naoto dug into her pocket, pulling out the car keys. She threw them at him, and he caught them in one hand, running for the car. He leaped into the driver's seat, not bothering to adjust it for his height, and hunched over the steering wheel. The car came to life with a whine, peeling out of its parking slot and taking off after the van.

"This is the Phantom Thief Joker," Akira had said a few minutes ago, speaking to Iwakura through the phone. "Right now, you're feeling confused. Disoriented. You don't remember anything from the last week or so. Is that correct?"

"Y-Yeah—," Iwakura had said, sounding both scared and angry on the other end of the line. "H-How do you know that—?"

"I know that because I saved you," said Akira. "Something happened that caused you to lose your heart. I gave it back."

"Lose my heart?" Iwakura asked. "What are you talking about? Is this—is this a prank call? You better not be punking me, you little shit."

"This is not a prank," said Akira. "Look out your window."

There was a pause on the other end of the line. Akira heard shuffling from Iwakura's apartment.

"Are you looking?" he asked.

"Yeah, I'm looking," said Iwakura, grudgingly. "What am I supposed to be looking at?"

"Do you see that car?"

"The black one?" Iwakura asked. "Yeah, I see it."

"The person in that car is a famous detective. She is watching your apartment."

"She's watching my place?" Iwakura asked. "Why?"

"Why isn't important," said Akira. "I need you to distract her for me."

"And why the hell should I help you?"

"I saved your heart," Akira said. "Now, you owe me. Help me with this, and we'll call it even."

Another pause on the end of the line. Akira could tell that Iwakura was thinking about it.

"I've been in trouble with the cops once already," Iwakura said. "My old man'll kill me if it happens again."

"You won't be in trouble," Akira said. "She thinks she's protecting you. Act as if you're in danger. Pretend you're afraid of me. All you need to do is lure her away from her car."

Iwakura fell silent for another long moment. "Who are you anyway?" he asked.

"I told you," said Akira. "We're the Phantom Thieves. Do we have a deal?"

"You really are the guys that busted Kamoshida?" asked Iwakura. "…Fine. I'll help you. Gimme a sec."

The Phantom Thieves piled into the van in a panic, Makoto leaping into the driver's seat without a word. She slammed her seatbelt into place, looking back at their pursuer. Haru and Futaba were lagging behind, running towards the van.

"Hurry up!" Makoto shouted.

Haru grit her teeth, leaping the last few feet. She nearly slipped, but managed to grab onto the door, hauling herself into the car. Futaba put on a burst of speed, breathing hard, her glasses askew. She tripped, falling forward. Akira leaned out of his seat, grabbing onto her forearms with both hands. Adrenaline fueled him, giving him the strength he needed to pull her into the car.

Yusuke leaned over him, slamming the van's door shut as soon as Futaba's feet were clear. The engine came to life with a roar, tires squealing as Makoto put the car in drive. It whipped around the corner with enough force to rattle them. Ann and Haru cried out from the backseat, Morgana yowled, and Akira, Yusuke, and Futaba went down in a tangle of limbs. The impact slammed Yusuke's elbow into Akira's ribs and knocked his head against the wall.

"We're being followed!" Haru warned from the back.

Morgana leaped into the backseat to get a better look. "It's that detective's car!"

Akira rubbed at the back of his head, sucking a breath through his teeth. He extricated himself from the tangle, sitting back up and looking over his shoulder. The black car pursued them, a large man hunched almost comically over in the front seat as it picked up speed.

"Are we seriously being chased by some dude in a Prius?!" Ryuji asked.

Ann let out a gasp. "That's Kanji-san!" she said.

"Who?!" asked Ryuji.

"The tailor!" said Ann.

"The what now?!"

"Everybody, shut up!" said Makoto, spinning the wheel. The van tore around a corner, narrowly dodging a line of parked cars. Ryuji let out a shout of fear, shrinking down into his seat and throwing his arms up over his head.

"Watch out, watch out, watch out!" he shouted.

"I know how to drive, Ryuji!" Makoto growled in impatience. "Are we still being followed?"

"He's gaining!" said Ann.

"Not for long," said Makoto, her eyes on the road ahead. A busy intersection was coming up, and the light was yellow. Ryuji made a noise of uncertainty.

"Makoto…" he said. "Makoto, we're not gonna make it. Makoto—!"

Makoto floored it, the van tearing through the intersection in the split second before the light changed to red. Four lanes of traffic surged in to fill the gap. Akira nearly let himself breath out a sigh of relief.

"He's still there!" Haru warned.

"Effin' how?!" Ryuji asked.

Makoto let out a shout of rage, turning the wheel onto a highway express ramp. People yelped as she pulled onto the highway, cutting in front of speeding cars to pull into the left lane. In the backseat, Ann threw her arms over her head, taking cover as Makoto pushed the van for another burst of speed, the van rushing away.

By the time they were sure that they had lost their pursuit, everyone was shaken, and Makoto was breathing hard, half-slumped over the wheel. Akira wasn't sure where they were—Makoto had taken them on a few circuitous detours—but it looked like they were close to Akihabara.

Ryuji opened the door and slid out of the front seat, legs shaking. He gulped down a breath of air, leaning against the van. "Dude what the hell was that?" he asked. "That guy's a maniac!"

"At least we got away," said Ann, letting out a sigh of relief.

"Speak for yourself," said Morgana, stepping out of the car. His fur was standing in every direction. "My fur's all messed up!"

"I think I hit my head," groaned Futaba, pulling herself up off the floor, and up off of Yusuke, with a whimper. She curled up on the bench. Yusuke didn't move, except to make a pained sound. Futaba's eyes widened, and she poked him with her foot. "Inari?" she asked. "Inaaaaaari?"

Yusuke groaned, his face drawn and pale. His cheeks were tinged with green. "I can't go on…" he said, breathing ragged. "My time has come…Leave me to die…"

"You're not dead," said Ryuji, looking into the car. "Come on, bud. Get out of there."

Ann paused to look around, scanning the streets. She bit her lip, looking worried. "You don't think they got a clear look at us, do you?" she asked.

Haru looked back at Akira at Ann's words, a worried expression on her face. Makoto pressed her lips tightly together. Akira tugged at his hair, thinking. They had been on the ground floor by the time their pursuer burst out into the stairwell, and it had been dark. There was a good chance that he hadn't seen any of them. If he was wrong, though…

"Akira," Ann said, hugging her arms close to herself. "I'm working again this week."

"And Shirogane has Makoto's contact information," said Ryuji. "Plus, Haru's pretty well-known, and that's not even starting on you."

"It's likely that Akira will be their first suspect no matter what we do," said Morgana, pacing the street. "We should lie low for a little bit. Try not to be seen together in public."

"That would probably be best," said Makoto, letting out a breath. She looked back at Akira. "What do you think?"

Akira lowered his hands back to his side, straightening up. "Morgana's right," he said. "Let's go home. We'll keep a low profile tomorrow."

"I can't move…" Yusuke mumbled from where he was lying on the floor of the van.

"Inari's really out of it," said Futaba. "Maybe we should drive him back to the café and let him sleep it off in your room, Akira."

At the word 'drive', Yusuke went rigid.

"That won't be necessary!" he said, pushing himself up. His face paled, and he clapped a hand over his mouth. "Hrk!"

Naoto and Yu found Kanji pulled over by the side of the road, arguing with a traffic cop. Yu sighed at the sight, pulling over behind the police car. He got out, Naoto following him.

"Naoto! Senpai!" Kanji said, turning towards them. "Tell them I was helping with the case!"

Yu took his badge out of his pocket, showing it to the traffic cop. "He was working with us," Yu said, "Sorry about the inconvenience."

"Who are you supposed to be?" the policeman asked, scowling at him.

Naoto stepped forward, laying a placating hand on Yu's arm.

"I'll handle this," she said, approaching the policeman. A moment later, the traffic officer sighed and went back to his car, leaving the three of them alone by the side of the highway. Yu turned to look at Kanji, smiling faintly.

"A car chase?" he asked.

"What was I supposed to do?" Kanji asked, slipping his hands into his pockets and scowling at Yu. "Just let 'em drive off? I got the license plate at least."

"Indeed," said Naoto, checking her phone. "Although that only confirms what we already know." She looked up at Yu. "It was the same van. And according to this, that van hasn't left Yongen-jaya since this morning. By definition, both of those things cannot be true."

"They tampered with your equipment," said Yu.

Naoto nodded, slipping her phone back into her pocket. "Most likely," she said.

"And we lost them," said Kanji with a sigh, looking dejected. "I'm sorry, Naoto."

"On the contrary, Kanji." Naoto smiled. "I think we just found them."

"What do you mean?" Yu asked, looking back at her.

"I'll explain later," said Naoto. "For now, this has given me a lot to think about. Shall we head back and meet tomorrow?"

Phantom Thieves Group Chat – 07/27

Akira: Did Yusuke get home alright?

Ryuji: Yeah. Had to stop every few minutes so he could throw up. I ended up missing the last train.

Futaba: You're a good friend, Ryuji.

Ryuji: Tell that to my mom. She's pissed.

Ryuji: Plus all the Kosei rich kids are giving me the evil eye.

Ryuji: ...Wait, Futaba!

Ryuji: Don't actually text my mom!

Futaba: Oops, too late!