When the thieves returned from Hawaii, they were taken by surprise at the news that Shujin's principal had died in a traffic accident. To make things worse, the rumor mill had spun a tale that the Phantoms were the culprits, extrapolating from the cover-ups and Kamoshida's change of heart. Makoto had gotten nervous when her sister said it was very probable and struggled to undo that notion, the thieves changed hearts, they didn't cause mental shutdowns nor were they killers!
The Shujin crew was incensed that their peers thought they had killed the principal, nobody had a beef with him. "Those three were here, right? Then let's squeeze answers outta 'em!" The other teen Phantoms agreed, so Akira called them into Mementos. - The adults stood under the stares from the teens. Panther asked if they were to blame for the principal's death and if they going after Kamoshida was what led the man to suicide. Skull then argued if they should just have let Kamoshida run unchecked.
"It was no suicide." Shade had a grimace as her cat snorted. "His mind was mush, even after death. Sissel tried to contact him, but he had no conscience." They blanched, did this mean it was...? Strix straightened her tie. "I'm sure it was a mental shutdown. The assassin is the culprit." Joker glanced at Muse, wondering why she looked sick, but the detectives began speaking about more pressing matters. "As for the assassin's backer, we have reasons to believe it's Okumura Kunikazu."
Shade explained how they found links between several attacks by the hitman and the CEO's success. "From this, we deduced that he is the one giving orders to the culprit." Strix showed her phone, the Metanav had turned up a result for that man. "He has a Palace, but we chose to wait for you to return." Muse bit her lip, disliking the railroading those two were perpetrating, despite it being a necessary evil. "Naoto, I hope you know what you're doing." She could only pray this plan wouldn't backfire horribly.
The teens reunited in Akira's room once the adults were done informing them about Okumura. "That settles it! He's totally our next target!" Yusuke was unsettled by the Phantom Thieves fad. "If we jump into this too carelessly..." Ann voiced her agreement. "We might want to let things calm down a bit first..." Ryuji became snappish, seeing them as cowards that didn't want to hear what people wanted. The tension was palpable, the thieves weren't unanimous about this heist.
The teens were in disagreement with whether they should target Okumura, despite the new info they had obtained. Some were overwhelmed at the public scrutiny, people wanted, demanded them to act. "Are we really doing the right thing...?" The cat got up from his seat. "What's with all the hesitation?" He berated the teens for being selfish, more preoccupied with their image than doing the right thing. "Being hyped up because of the popularity is fine, but getting conceited over it is unacceptable."
Ryuji barked back, as the cat only reached to them with the goal of recovering his memories and becoming human. "I'm more admirable than some lustful monkey!" Morgana scoffed at their indecisiveness and proclaimed that he'd steal Okumura's heart alone. "Well, this is goodbye!" The cat turned around and left them behind without glancing back despite Akira's and Ann's protests.
~m~
Sae was still feeling some stings from the fall at Ichijou's hands. "Tsk, why won't she work with her superior? And threatening me to leave Shirogane alone..." The prosecutor gritted her teeth and she stalked towards the one person Ichijou listened to. "Those two must know something about the psychotic outbreaks." Mitsurugi frowned when Niijima barged into his office. "Is there an issue?" The woman slammed her hands on his desk, bristled with anger at that detective.
"I am sure that Ichijou is hiding information pertinent to my case." The Chief closed his eyes, irked at the liberty she was taking. "Let me guess, the mental shutdowns and psychotic breakdowns." The man took off his glasses to rub the tension off his brow. "Niijima, may I give you a warning?" Mitsurugi got up from his chair with a serious gaze. "Cease using aggressive tactics and basing your steps on speculation." Then he stared her down, cowing her into stepping back.
"I am notified by detectives about prosecutors who attempt to skirt the line, and you already have a list of transgressions." She was infringing on police work, so they might get hostile. "Ichijou-!" The man wouldn't have any of her accusations, silencing her with a glare. "Badou was the one to alert me that you are badgering people to get your way." She froze, recalling the domestic case where she argued with the couple, that man had glared at her when she cowed them into confessing that they were neglecting their child.
"As for whether Ichijou and Shirogane know something, I can't say." Those two were secretive about what they did under Kirijo. "They are field workers, so it's no wonder they have a different insight about those cases." Sae grimaced at the scolding, seeing the point, but unwilling to bow. "I can't force them to talk. You should foster trust with those detectives, only then you will get your answers." She cringed, feeling phantom pains.
"And the first step is to reassess your usual methods." Mitsurugi waved her off. "It's about time for my guest to arrive, so I ask you to leave." Right when Sae reached for the doorknob, a man with a thuggish stance entered, staring her down with a raised brow. "Don't mind her, she's already dismissed." She glared at the man with a savage grin before closing the door. "Hey, Mitsurugi, it has been a while, no?" The Interpol agent stepped up for a handshake. "Thanks for coming, Agent Rou."
~m~
Morgana had been stuck in a downward spiral since the strange dream he had, wondering if it was about his origins. And now that he had broken off the team, he was afraid of what the Phantoms would say about him not being human at all. "I came from the same place as Shadows..." The cat recalled seeing gold reflected by the metal tracks, the same supernatural hue as those creatures. "... Am I... truly human?" He shook his head, he'd be the one to steal Okumura's heart!
As Morgana ruminated on his strange dream and stewed on his feelings of impotence, he got hounded by the little scarfed bastard that was Sissel. "What do you want from me?" The blackie looked at Morgana and nuzzled his neck. "Nyan." The tuxedo sighed, wondering how sapient Sissel was. "You can come along, but don't get on my way!" The blackie nodded and matched pace with Morgana's dead sprint, brushing past a girl. The tuxedo twitched his whiskers, could he take the kitten along?
"Alright, let's see if we can get in." The felines went to Okumura Foods' headquarters, watching as the scenery shifted. The blackie sneezed at the strange smells from the Metaverse before darting inside, forcing Mona to make haste as well. "Sissel, what are you planning?!" Golden eyes briefly met blue. "You want your Persona? But I don't know if you have a Shadow!" A crooning mewl rang in the factory, the blackie seemed to be laughing. "I already met my other half. And I can sense that it's waiting for me."
Mona stopped cold at the strange presence prickling at his senses. Sissel went straight to the cat with a white ear. "Hey! That's a Shadow, it's dangerous!" The blackie ignored the shout and nuzzled the apparition. "I am thou..." "Thou art I." The cats merged and Sissel's eyes briefly glowed. Mona was gobsmacked, this kitten had obtained his Persona without a fuss nor struggle. Then the cat turned his eerie sight on Mona as if inspecting the tuxedo's appearance.
"The influence of the Metaverse..." Mona flinched, a voice had intruded in his mind. "What-the-whoa?!" The blackie grew taller and stood on his hind paws, clapping his front paws together to clean off the dirt. Sissel was a completely black version of Mona with golden eyes, sporting a scarlet utility belt and collar. "Could be worse." Mona was startled at the voice invading his mind. "Apologies, I can't use speech. This is how I communicate with Shade and Strix."
"Hn, my soul adapted to absorbing my Shadow. Perhaps it's an adjustment by the Temsik. I wonder how Missile reacted." Sissel's mouth didn't move, he was projecting his thoughts directly to the tuxedo. "Eh?! H-How?!" Mona's jaw was fully slack, this was unprecedented for him. The blackie adjusted his collar like a necktie. "I am at the boundary of life and death. I have powers besides Persona, they are Ghost Tricks." That was quite the bomb to casually drop, but Sissel didn't care, basking in the feeling of power under his skin.
Schrödinger was strange, it looked like a simple black cat with a white ear despite the gargantuan size, yet its visage changed for brief instants into a rotting cadaver or a skeleton, only to return to normal within a blink. "Haha... The perfect Persona for an undead cat." Then Sissel fixated a stare on Mona. "Say, why did you break off your team? I could sense you're troubled." The tuxedo sighed, he did need a confidant to share his worries with, so he unloaded everything on the blackie, who simply listened.
"Mona. These thoughts of yours, does it matter if you aren't human?" Mona frowned, Sissel sounded carefree and genuinely intrigued by his mental torment. "What about you? Have you never wished to be human?" Sissel tapped his chin thoughtfully. "Me? I once thought I was human as well, but being a cat is much better. I can eat and nap to my heart's content." Mona envied that carefree outlook. "There's more... I'm worried... And if I'm a Shadow pretending to have a Persona?"
"Haa... I'll say it again. Does it matter? The Phantoms have welcomed you, haven't they? Talk with them before jumping to conclusions." The tuxedo mulled over what Sissel said, wondering if he should have spoken with Akira before bolting. And why did he feel a pull towards human desires? Was becoming human truly worthwhile? "What's that noise? Oh no...!" Both of their hackles got raised, the grating of metal on metal showed that they had dallied too long. "We got ambushed!"
~m~
The detective rolled her shoulders as she walked home, Futaba had contacted her to say that Akira had been acting gloomy lately since Morgana's disappearing act. "The same happened to Mikumo. Did they run off together?" Oh well, she'd check on it tomorrow, today she wanted to get rest. Alas, her peace wasn't to be, as the door was unlocked and she saw two pairs of shoes at the entrance. Naoto frowned at the two idiots crying their woes in her living room. "Sissy... where did you run off to...? Come back..."
"Monaaa... I'll buy all the fatty tuna you want, just appear already..." Both Mikumo and Akira had crashed in her apartment to bond over their missing cats. "... I don't recall giving either a copy of the keys." The senior detective must have picked the lock. "Wait, beer cans?" A nerve snapped inside her and she took away the unopened cans from the pair. "Eh-?" Mikumo found herself pinned to the floor. "OW OW OW! My leg doesn't bend that far!"
"Did you give alcohol to a minor?" The chilling tone made the senior detective gulp with fear. "I didn't even see him grab the cans before it was too late!" She attempted to formulate an excuse, only to get derailed as her leg received more pressure. "OOOW!" The teen shook his head to dispel some of the drunken buzzing. "Eh...? No biggie Naoto. I've taken stronger stuff from my pops-" Akira almost squealed like a little kid at the glare. "What did you say?" "Fuck, I messed up!"
Ryuji jumped at the sound of something hitting the floor he heard from a neighbor upstairs. "Wait, didn't it come from that detective's direction?" He wondered if the woman had caught a perv or burglar to be making this much noise. "Whoever got caught, I send thoughts and prayers for you to survive." He treasured his good looks too much to risk getting a peek. "Sounds like they got tickets to Suplex City."
Akira and Mikumo were forced to sit in seiza and had some thick law books/detective novels on their thighs, the weigh was crushing. "Will you reflect on your acts?" Naoto looked like Enma personified as she sat on the chair, pinning them with a glacial glare. "I will wait until I'm of age..." Both were like wet puppies under that glare. "I won't barge in again..." The teen felt worse than when his mother nagged at him. "At least she only scolded me, Mikumo's surely going to get bruises."
~m~
As the delinquent trio chatted in the patio, an older girl watched their interactions. "Kurusu looks dispirited..." The teen had dark circles and acted sluggish as if he had a bad night's sleep. But Haru was uncertain if she could simply walk up and ask what was wrong, even if Kurusu did help her with gardening sometimes. "The bell... Time to go home." Like always, she had a car waiting to pick her, going straight home. "At least now I have them to make company for me."
The ride home was silent, she could only watch the cityscape flit by until they arrived. But unlike in the past, she had something waiting for her. A pair of enthusiastic meows greeted her, two felines rubbed themselves on her calves, Haru was amazed at the loving cats and smiled. Her father always ignored her, he didn't even notice when she brought the animals. She had found them in a strange place, the kitten was nursing the bruises of the tuxedo and mewled pitifully, touching the heart of the young heiress.
"What happened then? Everything looked too sterile." The blackie had given her a glare of suspicion, but it soon faded when she showed that she had no ill intentions. After getting the tuxedo checked and treated by a vet, she took the cats home. The tuxedo begged for attention. "Pick me up!" She held him and began petting the silky fur. "Can I tell you something?" Their ears perked up. "Papa wants me to marry the son of a politician... but he's a bad person..."
As Haru confessed what the rotten fiancé promised to do with her once they were married, Morgana almost let his claws show, another lass was in danger before his eyes. "This is unacceptable! We must change his heart!" Sissel hummed at what the girl had revealed. "Miss Haru, don't worry. We are here now." The felines shared a look of determination, nodding in a silent pact. Okumura Kunikazu should watch out.