Ren: Hello guys and we're back! I hope all of you are enjoying Royal P5!

Ryuji: Now its time for us to get down to business!

Ann: So sit back, relax, and enjoy!

Shiho: Whoop!


Persona V: Reversing the Wheel of Fate
Chapter Twenty–Seven

"Wow…This place is as beautiful as I imagined it…" Ann whispered with stars in her eyes, alongside the starry eyed Shiho and Morgana.

Ryuji, Ren and Haru exchanged glances with one another but all had amused grins on their faces. It was now Children's Day and the excited duo of Shiho and Ann lead the rest of their group to the Wilton Hotel buffet, where there was so many delicious smells in the air, it made everyone's mouths water.

"Let's hurry up and pay so we can chow down," Ryuji said with excitement.

Once seated, Ann wasted no time in going to the sweets section while Haru and Ryuji went to the beef area, leaving Ren, Morgana and Shiho alone at the table. "I'm shocked you haven't gone with her," Ren commented with a smile on his face to his friend.

It had been a day since their kiss and the awkwardness had died away but there was a more affectionate look in their eyes whenever they looked at each other. "I decided to let Ann have first dibs before I clear it out," Shiho said with a grin on her face.

"Is that all?" Morgana asked teasingly.

Shiho smiled at him and said "Well…It does give me a chance to spend a little time with Ren-kun before the others come." Ren shot Shiho a smirk, which made her face heat up but her smile remained.

Moments later, satisfied Ryuji and Haru returned to the table.

"Back and look at this plate of meaty goodness," Ryuji said as he sat down at the end of the table with his large plate of meat. Haru sat on the opposite side of Ren and Shiho with some vegetables and shrimp on her plate.

"That's….a lot Ryuji-kun…" Shiho said with a blink.

Ryuji looked past the mound of meat and gave her a wide grin. "This won't even fill me up!"

"You couldn't be conservative like Haru-chan's plate?" Morgana asked.

Ryuji looked at Haru's rather small plate then laughed. "Nah. It's go big or go home baby!"

"While Ryuji starts his path to a meat coma…" Ren began as he turned his attention to Haru. "How was that trip you took with your dad?"

"Boring as usual," Haru replied with a sigh. "The only good thing that come out of it was meeting Togo Hifumi."

"Togo Hifumi?" Ren asked curiously.

"She's one of the best female Shogi players of this century," Shiho explained.

"Oh…" Ren said.

"So was she cute?" Shiho asked Haru, who blushed but smiled.

"She certainly lives up to her moniker," Haru replied. "It was nice to talk to her, despite it being brief…"

"Bif you geh her nummer?" Ryuji asked her with his mouth full of meat.

"Chew and Swallow Ryuji," Ann said as she walked past him and sat at the other end of the table, six slices of cake on one plate and a full apple pie on the other. She sat the apple pie in front of Shiho and said "They had your favorite."

Shiho squealed as she immediately cut a piece of pie and sat it on another plate before wolfing it down.

"So Haru, did you get her number?" Ryuji asked again.

"Whose number?" Ann asked.

"Togo Hifumi," Haru replied softly. "And I-I did not. Not so much because I didn't want to but because…Well…" Haru paused. "Its complicated."

"Complicated how?" Ren asked.

"I-I'm not too comfortable talking about it just yet," Haru admitted sadly.

"Don't sweat it then," Ren said with a smile.

"Oh! Before I forget, I saw the news this morning," Ryuji said. "Looks like the media circus is really kicking into high gear surrounding Kamoshida's arrest."

"I saw that as well," Haru said. "I saw them interviewing several students. They didn't show their faces but they seemed happy that Kamoshida was caught…"

"Yeah, a joint feeling for everyone at this table," Ryuji said with a smile but Shiho frowned.

"Well almost," Shiho said. "Some jerk recorded the majority of Kamoshida's breakdown and the news has been playing it. There have been news vans and everything in front of my place. Just getting here was a hassle for Ann-chan and I…"

Ren let out a groan of annoyance.

"Fuck, I should have known that changing Kamoshida's heart would have a drawback like that," Ren grumbled out. It also didn't help that if someone did record the majority, all of their names would be out in the open.

Something he didn't want. "Ah well, there's nothing we can do now…" Ren said with a sigh before a teasing grin appeared on his face as he added "Other than change their hearts."

Shiho giggled at this and bumped her shoulder with his. "We can't go changing hearts all willy-nilly Ren-kun."

"I know, I know," Ren replied as he shut his eyes and smiled.

"Whoa…" Ryuji breathed out, which caused the group to look at him. "Check this shit out," Ryuji said as he held out his phone.

The group stared at it in surprise but it was Morgana who read what they saw. "The Phantom Aficionado Website?" Morgana asked. "Okay, which one of you made it?"

"None of us," Ren said. "Wait, there are posts…"

Ren took Ryuji's phone and began to read them out.

"Well done Phantom Thieves."

"Now I can keep going too."

"Thank you for giving us hope."

"I knew you guys existed!"

"Pretty cool right?" Ryuji asked with a large grin. "Someone posted about it on my facebook wall so I had to check it out."

"Man…It's so weird," Ann said. "I really did all of that to avenge what that pig did to Shiho and I…But seeing people saying all this is odd to me."

"It feels nice," Shiho admitted.

"It really does, doesn't it?" Ryuji questioned with a wistful smile. "But it makes me wonder what we will do now."

"We should still have plenty of time on the food Ryu," Ren told him.

"Thank god, I may have all this beef but I am nowhere near down tasting all of the meat specials," Ryuji said before he took another bite of meat and nearly let out an orgasmic moan. "Awww it's so good and tender and juicy….It's like a meaty explosion in my mouth."

"That's what she said," Ann said with a smirk.

Ryuji gaped at her as Ren and Morgana let out a laugh.

Ann cooed as she used her fork to cut at the three slices of cake, one strawberry, the second a tiramisu and the third a tuxedo cake, that was stacked on top of one another before she placed the large cut slice into her mouth. "I'm so, so, so, happy," she whined.

"Hey, calories," Ryuji teased with a wink, which caused Ann to pause and give him a pout.

"Shuddup!" Ann exclaimed, which caused Shiho and Haru to giggle as they ate. "How much do you think one of these costs?! I'll never get the chance to do this again!"

She then let out another pleasant whine as she said "The Wilton Hotel cake buffet. I'd heard rumors but I never thought it'd be so amazing. Oh god, the strawberry cake had cream cheese in it!"

"It sounds like she's having sex with it," Ren whispered to Shiho, who was just about to take finish off her pie.

Shiho blushed and laughed at this while Morgana let out a whiny meow. "Ren…I'm huuuuungry," Morgana groaned in pain.

Ren chuckled and got up from his seat and said "I'll be right back. One large plate of fish and fish accessories coming up."

"Thank you, Hank Hill," Ryuji said with a blank face.

Ren smirked as he walked towards the buffet but he was joined by Haru, who asked "Want some company?"

"Of course I do," Ren replied as the two walked around with plates towards the fist table.

"I gotta say, I'm glad things turned out somewhat well…I was truly concerned that we would get expelled. While my father would certainly pay to keep me at Shujin, I couldn't say the same about you and the others," Haru told him with a small smile.

"Same here…I would be in Juvie if it had gone through," Ren said with a relieved sigh. "But that is all in the past until proven otherwise so let's just sit back, relax and enjoy our reward feast."

The two friends found the fish table but as the pair were putting fish on their plates, the duo heard the stuffy voice of an rich woman across the table from him. "Honey, have you heard the news about that Kamoshida fellow? It was absolutely dreadful."

The woman beside her let out a haughty laugh as she replied "Ah yes, that teacher from Shujin Academy. Caught doing indecent and lewd acts. What a shame."

Ren narrowed his eyes as the woman continued on with "And they still haven't managed to solve those horrible psychotic breakdown episodes, have they? I wish they wouldn't let themselves be so distracted by this tawdry scandal."

"Perhaps it's a sign of how peaceful Japan is. I do pity those students at Shujin though," the haughty woman said as she picked up some fish and placed it on her own place

"He really is the talk of the town," Ren grumbled to Haru.

"I sincerely believe he would have enjoyed this if you guys didn't change his heart," Haru said with a frown on her face.

"Hey guys," Shiho said as she walked up to Ren and Haru with her plate full of fried rice. "Figured I'd grab some shrimp and meat and check up on you since Morgana is getting super whiny."

Ren rolled his eyes but motioned to the fairly large plate of fish in his hand. "Morgana will never want to eat again after this."

"Despite being a cat, I bet Morgana could eat more than that," Haru said.

"You think so?" Ren asked.

"I know so," Haru replied with grin on her face.

Shiho opened her mouth to add onto this when they heard the rich woman from across the table scoff beneath her breath. "Tsk, how did children like this end up here?" they heard the haughty woman as her stuffy rich friend. Haru and Ren glanced at each other, their frowns deepening at the insulting tone the woman had.

"I hope these two didn't bring any of their hooligan friends. I prefer my meals to be rift-raft free," The rich woman said. "Let us go away from these children."

The two women walked away, leaving the trio staring in annoyance after the pair. "What's so bad about us kids coming to enjoy a buffet?" Shiho huffed out. "We paid our money just like they did."

Haru's shoulders lowered as an upset expression appeared on her face. "How undignified…"

"Don't sweat them," Ren said with a smile to the two girls. "However, I am curious to see if anyone else is talking about the Kamoshida thing…" Ren handed Shiho Morgana's plate and said "You guys finish up and go back to the table. I'm going to do some sleuthing."

So for the next five minutes as he gathered his own plate, he overheard what some of the adults were saying and when he was done, he came back with his own plate of assorted food. "That's a good looking plate you got there leader," Ryuji said with a grin. "Whaddya think about comin' up against such ritzy food?"

"I'm shaking with excitement," Ren replied happily.

"It's cute hearin' that from someone like you," Ryuji said with a laugh. "Just don't get too excited."

"You're the last person I want giving advice about that, Ryuji," Morgana said with a skeeved out look, which made Ren snort.

"But thank you for calling me cute," Ren joked.

"So, you hear anything interesting from sleuthing?" Shiho questioned.

"Yeah, it seems like most of the adults aren't very interested in the news about Kamoshida but seem to enjoy the sensation nature about it," Ren answered. "The vultures."

"Well I hope they enjoy messing up people's lives for amusement," Shiho muttered angrily. "It's bad enough that person recorded it but now I'm being harassed more."

"Same here," Ann said. "My folks somehow found out and they are flying home to check on me. Bleh."

"I doubt my folks care to be honest," Ren said with bitter tone. "If anything, they'd think its my fault."

"I know that feeling," Haru said.

The entire table took on a gloomy atmosphere before Morgana said "Hey come on guys. We're supposed to be celebrating."

"Yeah, Morgana is right," Ryuji said with a nod. "We probably don't have a lot of time left so let's continue celebrating by chowing down!"

"Yeah!" Morgana exclaimed.

"You're right…" Ren said. "Let's chow down and be down later."

The group nodded and began to eat in earnest, allowing themselves to ease back into a happy air. As Ann left the table to get more sweets, a couple that was walking past their table stopped to stare at them..

"My…Look at that table," the woman said.

"Don't pay them any mind," The man said. "I'm sure they must not normally have the chance to eat such exquisite food."

"I can only imagine what their parents must be like," the elegant woman replied.

Ren could feel the anger rising off of everyone at the table, himself included, at the words but it was Ryuji who growled out "What was that?"

"God, what dicks," Morgana said with a frown.

"It seems like every adult in this place hates kids..." Shiho murmured with a frown.

"This is what the elite do," Haru said softly. "Make fun of those they feel are beneath them. It makes me ashamed to be among them…"

"Don't be ashamed. You're not like them," Shiho said to Haru.

"Yeah, if anything, you're the total opposite!" Ann exclaimed.

"You stuck your neck out for us when we barely knew you," Ren said.

"The three of us wouldn't be here without you Haru," Ryuji told her with a small smile. "Hell, that alone shows you're not like these stuck up idiots."

"Thank you guys…" Haru said with a smile.

Ann came back a few moments later with an pensive look on her face, which Shiho noticed immediately.

"What's wrong Ann-chan?" Shiho asked.

"I had a run-in with some woman before I got over here. She bumped into me, but then said it was my fault when she dropped her plate," Ann explained sourly.

"What a bitch," both Shiho and Ryuji said in unison.

"Yeah…Thanks though. Both for you," Ann said with tiny smile. "But it's not just her. All the restaurant workers were looking at me with this disapproving expression…Makes me feel out of place here."

"It always feels like this…" Ren said with a sad smile.

Ryuji scowled while both Shiho and Haru frowned.

"Hey Morgana-kun?" Shiho asked.

"Yes Lady Shiho?" Morgana asked with a tilt of his head.

"I've been thinking. Since Kamoshida had a palace, anyone can have one. Right?" Shiho asked.

Morgana nodded and clarified with "Anyone with a strong, distorted desire can have a palace."

"And anyone with a strong desire and a palace has a treasure that can be stolen to change their heart…Right?" Shiho asked.

Morgana nodded then replied "Correct-o. Why do you ask?"

"It seems like everyone we've seen today have been snobby, arrogant adults," Shiho said with a frown on her face. "I-I guess I was wondering if we were able to change those type of people a-as well."

The group's eyes widened in surprise. "What are you saying Shiho-chan?" Ann asked.

"I-I want to continue being the Phantom Thieves…" Shiho admitted softly.

"But why?" Haru asked.

"Ren-kun, Morgana-kun and Ryuji-kun…Later Ann-chan, you and I…We all put in so much work to stop Kamoshida's r-reign of terror for not just me but the entire school yet these adults don't believe in us…But those that we did save thanked us for saving them. For being their voice when they f-felt they had none," Shiho said.

"I agree," Ryuji said with a grin to Shiho. "We put in a lot work savin' our school but it's like today made us realize that there are dozens of people like Kamoshida out there…If we kept going, we could make this world a better place."

"I see…" Ren said. "Ann…Haru…What do you two think?"

"I want to continue as well," Ann said. "If we ignore those in trouble, we would all go back to who we were before…And that would be selfish on our part."

Haru was silent for a moment then said "I may not t have the powers like you guys do but you all count me as a Phantom Thief so…I say we keep going. After all we've been through, I can't turn my back on you guys and I can't turn a blind eye to anyone suffering. I say we do it."

"My stance is simple," Morgana said. "You're all under my tutelage. There's nothing we can't accomplish as Phantom Thieves so I strongly suggest we keep going."

"Well leader?" Ryuji asked. "What do you think?"

"I didn't even think of such a possibility," Ren admitted softly. "But it's true that with this power, we may be able to help people. Sure, we'll have to keep fighting Shadows but we can manage it." Ren looked at his friends slowly and removed his glasses then opened his eyes, revealing the seriousness of the situation.

"I've always thought of myself a shield to protect others…That mindset ruined me and yet, that feeling has remained deep inside my soul," Ren said to the group. "If I turned away now, I would be throwing away who I am and I refuse to let that happen. I'm in."

The group smiled.

"Heh, Even if you guys are still just fledglings, this means we're an actual organization now," Morgana said proudly.

"Fledglings?" Ann repeated before her smile widened. "That's actually pretty fitting for us."

"Then it's settled," Ryuji said. "We're gonna catch all these shitty adults by surprise and make ourselves known to the world as the voice of the voiceless."

"And with Ren being our leader, we're bound to succeed," Shiho said with a smile to Ren.

Seeing the group nod and smile in agreement, Ren felt his eyes water. "You guys want me as leader?" Ren asked.

"Dude, you've been leading us since the start of all of this," Ryuji said. "If anyone deserves the spot, it's you. Besides, I can't handle all that responsibility hehehe."

"If not for you Ren, none of us would be here," Ann told him with a warm smile. "All of us would be dead without you at the helm."

"You have the makings of a good leader along with already being a good person," Haru said.

"Hey, don't I get a say?" Morgana asked jokingly before he looked up at Ren and said "You're damn good at what you do Ren so I'm going to ask, would you like to lead our merry band of thieves?"

Ren was touched by everyone having faith in him and for a second, he allowed a small tear to fall from his right eye before he smirked and said "Then I accept being leader of the Phantom Thieves of Hearts and all that it entails."

The teens cheered loudly as Ren let a gentle smile appear on his face.

"I hate to ruin our celebration but Ann, how long do we have left?" Ryuji asked Ann.

"We have forty-five minutes left Ryuji. Why?" Ann asked.

"I'm gonna head to the bathroom quick before we assemble our last plates and get out of here," Ryuji said as he stood up from his chair.

"Actually I was just about to go too," Ren said as he stood up as well. "You guys hold down the fort. We'll be back."


"Man that was close. I damn near had a panic attack when I saw that "Closed for Cleaning" sign at the bathrooms," Ryuji said as the two walked up to the elevator. "You know what floor the restaurant was on?"

"We're on the fifth floor right? So it should be the third floor?" Ren answered with a questioning tone.

"So anyway, I see you and Shiho have been chatting. You two get over that near kiss thing?" Ryuji asked.

"Yeah…We have a better understanding of each other and where we stand now," Ren said with a smile. "How was your date with Ann?"

"It was…" Ryuji blushed a bit and said "It was nice…I wasn't to have such a good time with her. I was planning on asking her out again."

"You want me to do some sleuthing?" Ren asked with a waggle of his eyebrows.

"Please do," Ryuji replied with a thankful tone.

"Consider it do-" without warning, Ren was interrupted as a well dressed man with a face mask bumping both him and Ryuji out of the way. "Hey, what the hell?!" Ryuji exclaimed but a cold look from the masked man stopped Ryuji's oncoming tirade.

Moments later, more men in well dressed suits and masks walked up to the elevator but it was then Ren saw him.

A bald man with a goatee, orange glasses with black frames, a button down shirt a black blazer and brown leather shoes. The world seemed to die away, leaving only him and the man alone.

He knew that face anywhere.

"I don't care about your opinion, you incompetent buffoon. When I say pick up the pace, you do it."

He knew that voice.

It haunted his dreams.

It haunted his every thought.

He could see Ryuji and a man talking but all he could see was the bald man.

"It seems the customer base has changed since I was here last. Have they started a day care?"

As the man began to walk away into the elevator, Ren saw him turn around and they locked eyes.

"Damn Brat! I'll Sue!"

And just as the elevator doors closed, Ren felt all of the rage that had built up in him skyrocket to a level he had never felt.


Rain: And that is the end of this chapter. So this chapter was the official birth of the Phantom Thieves of Hearts and just general bonding of the team. The Madarame Arc is coming up next so until then…

Joker: Stop the show!