Now that Morgana had returned, Akira rested better. He had missed the cat terribly, having grown used to his presence. "So, what will you do today?" Morgana felt some urgency in exploring the spacial station/sweatshop, knowing that Haru's future depended on their success, but Akira had the last say. "I planned on going to Big Bang today." The cat cringed. "Are you going to subject yourself to that...?" Well, if the teen was a glutton for misery, he wasn't going to stop him.

The trip to the fast-food joint was uneventful, save for some messages from Ryuji asking if they'd tackle the Palace. Once he arrived there, a shock of yellow and orange had attracted his attention, it was that attorney/psychologist. "Going to take the challenge too?" Kokone smiled at Akira. "Sí, I'm a Second Mate right now, and you?" He was in the same tier. "What about a little competition?" She smirked at his smug look, she'd school this cocky brat! "Défi accepté!"

They sat down together and the waitress brought two Gravity Burgers, startling both with the size. "Joder, and there's a bigger one...?" Akira felt his stomach cry at the sight, even his arteries groaned at the amount of cholesterol he was about to eat. "Not going to back off?" At her refusal, they called for the waitress. "Hey, can you start counting our times together?" They grabbed the burgers and began chowing down at the signal.

"All this meat makes sense for a challenge of such cosmic proportions...!" While they tackled their burgers, the competitors stopped minding their opponent. Morgana watched from the bag, already feeling queasy from the sight. "Don't be hasty, work at your pace and you'll manage it." Still, the cat hoped the teen wouldn't end up hurling again. After they were done, the competitors felt overstuffed. "I somehow ate the whole thing...!"

Kokone: around 25 min. Akira: almost 30 min.

Both got the First Mate badge, but the teen felt defeated by the peppy lawyer, she was way faster than him and didn't look as sick. "Where does she pack it?" He held his mouth, feeling his stomach churn. "Don't feel bad, I got to this level because of my friend." At his quizzical stare, Kokone showed him the photo of a brunette girl his age. "She can tuck in way more than me... and she somehow got to Admiral." It made him feel worse, the girl must be a goddamn monster. "You might see her at night, the challenge is cheaper then."

~m~

Akira needed to burn off the Gravity Burger, so a dive into Mementos should be a good exercise. "Urk... At least I didn't puke..." After sending a mass IM to the other thieves, it was time to steal the hearts of their targets, both from the Phan-site and some names Joker got from Takemi and Kawakami. The teens met with a joyful Shade hugging Geist like a plushie, the cat looked resigned to his fate. Noir bowed respectfully to the adults, having heard of them from the cats.

"Because you don't have a proper awakening, we'll have you watch, okay?" The girl nodded, she wanted to learn how to be an effective ally in this realm. "Time to go, get in the cat." Mona transformed and Joker took the wheel. "Isn't Queen coming along?" The newcomer then saw her teammate summon Johanna. "Your orders, boss?" The women were all ready to roll out. "We got two Navis, so it shouldn't be a problem to split." Oracle and Muse could contact each other if the need arose.

The leader had the group separate between the MonaCar and motorbikers, divvying the targets among them. "Good luck, don't get yourselves beaten!" Shade and Queen got fired up at the taunt, facing Skull's smug grin. "Somebody is underestimating us..." The girl revved up the Persona, ready to make the thug eat his words. "Alright, let's finish our targets ASAP." Mona shuddered at the scary grins the women sported, feeling pity for the Shadows they'd hunt.

Most of the targets were easy, about the only snag they hit was the cheater. "Ain't no matter what you throw my way, you won't put a scratch on me!" Joker had gotten pissed off at the leopard, he was untouchable and forced the thieves to turn tail. "Tch, 'nothing can wound you'?" There should be a way to influence the cheater's perception and make him vulnerable. Then he recalled some rumors about a Game King at Shibuya's arcade. "He might know a trick or two."

Shade and Queen had acted a wee bit smug, as their group had managed to deal with all the targets given. "An untouchable cheater, uh? That must have been a kick to the pride, no?" At least they had wrung out a lot of money from the Takase couple, serves them right for abusing Kawakami's guilt. As they got ready to wrap up for the day, the boss found himself facing one of the detectives. "Yo boy, hold up." The raven had cornered her leader against a pillar. "Hand over the silver and those stones."

Joker turned his body away, he intended to sell the loot to Iwai. "Why should I?" Shade tilted her head and Geist began signaling the teen he should give up. "I'm a jeweler by hobby. I'll turn those trinkets way more valuable. 'Sides, I can even make something for ya, when you get a girlfriend, 'kay?" The male thought over it. "What's the deal?" The woman flicked her hair, glad that he was open to negotiating. "Any precious metal or stone is mine. In turn, I'll give you the money from the sales."

"And how'd I know you're telling the truth?" She huffed, he wanted proof? "I'll wait for you to change your mind." Joker caught a paper she flicked his way. "Look it up, then you decide if you'll take the deal, 'kay?" It had a website address and a username. "Hn, I'll see how good your stuff is." If she made crap, there was no way he'd give up the easy cash from selling the junk. "Haa? You got guts sayin' that to my face, punk!"

~m~

Haru had just broken off her group to go home when she got accosted by her fiancé. "You made me look everywhere for you..." The well-dressed man was angry at how she was out this late, not picking his calls. "Out late with guys- That's it, isn't it?" She tried to defend herself, but he wouldn't listen. "C'mon, let me have some fun too, will ya?" When he grabbed her arm, she struggled to escape. "You're hurting me..." Morgana had heard her cries and arrived first, clawing at the lowlife and hissing angrily.

"What the- Goddamn cat!" The posh bastard swung his leg and sent Morgana to a wall as Haru cried out in shock. "Mona!" The ruckus attracted the attention of a dangerous person. "Not so fast, punk! What'cha doin' in MY turf, ah‽" The slimeball turned tail at the sight of the Yakuza(?), abandoning his fiancée to her luck. "Pfah- Trash... Hey girl, are you uninjured?" Haru cringed when he stepped in her direction, untrusting of his rough features. "Alright, I'll give you space."

Rou huffed, there was no reason for her to be this scared of him. "Haru!" The other teens rushed into the scene, having seen the werewolf scare off the man with expensive clothes and were ready to pick a fight despite his menacing figure. "Your friends?" Haru ran and took cover in the herd, the wary looks made him sigh. "It's getting late, good pups should be home by now." The man sported a lupine smirk when he recognized one of them. "Hey, pup."

Akira felt a chill at the bared teeth as the man closed in. "Hope we can talk some other day, 'kay?" The spectacled teen winced at the heavy slap on his shoulder as the man walked away. "Be a good pup and send my regards to Birdie." Why was the wolf acting like this? "I should ask Mikumo or Naoto about him..." They took Haru to Leblanc, it would be a safe spot until she came down from the scare. Morgana was still pained, having hit his back, but nothing seemed to be broken.

The thieves were skeptical that their friend was engaged to such a scummy man after listening to her worries, it was a match solely to help her father enter into politics, her feelings mattered nothing to Okumura. "At first, I just accepted the engagement, I thought that because my father set it up, it was the right decision." But now she knew better and wanted nothing with this sham. "I can't stand that creep!" She sighed, confessing her true feelings felt liberating.

~m~

Mikumo was chewing on some jerky as she walked alongside Naoto. "Did they get anything about the mastermind?" Sissel was snoozing in the rookie's arms, barely paying attention to the convo. "Not yet, but I did tell them who's my most likely suspect." The older detective hummed at this, wondering if they'd manage to obtain conclusive evidence. "Hope Okumura gives us hard proof." Sissel snorted. "Save him first, stop counting the chicks before they hatch."

~m~

Akira was exploring Akihabara while he waited for Mishima. Once the admin arrived, he asked the thief if he had considered getting some gadgets. "Like what?" He humored Mishima, Kirijo had already supplied some stuff and the cameras were almost completed, soon Ryuji would have his Jackass experience. "The ice ramp was a bad idea... at least the bike survived." He'd be nursing a sore back for trying to get a stunt on video. "And Makoto got set off..." The senior student had nagged the blond for getting Yusuke involved in his act.

"Wouldn't it be super cool to do missions with top-secret technology?" The rogue held back a snort, the SO filled that spot pretty well. As Mishima gushed over his suggestions, Akira noticed someone familiar. "Hmm? Kurusu? What are you doing here?" The admin got surprised, recognizing the woman as the famous fortune-teller Chihaya. Then the penny dropped for Mishima, his friend knew yet another pretty lady. "I knew you were amazing!" The ruckus attracted attention. "Kurusu?"

The group saw a petite woman approach them. "Yamagishi?" Fuuka greeted Akira. "What a nice coincidence. Is Futaba doing well?" Mishima felt a bit jealous, the guy had hotties all around him, nevermind the drunk reporter. "He even took one home..." The fixated stare was making Akira a smidgen awkward. "Do you know where they sell TVs?" Chihaya asked the spectacled teen for help. "My CRT stopped working..." This made Fuuka interested. "You have one?" Chihaya was a little wary of the stranger.

"Is she your friend?" Akira nodded. "No... She seems more like a sponsor than a friend..." Both Persona Users sweated, the woman had a scary intuition. "But why do I sense that sort of relationship...?" They needed an excuse ASAP. "He finds old electronics for me to tinker with, then I pay him for his help." Akira just nodded, it should do as a cover story. "So you're good with appliances? Could you suggest a new TV for me?" Fuuka didn't mind lending a hand. "I'd be glad to help."

~m~

A group of prosecutors was gathered as Lala served their drinks. "That foolish CEO is out of his inane mind by taking this stupid plunge into politics!" Karuma slammed down her cup, rattling the table and making Ichiyanagi flinch. "Hn, I wonder what he desires from this shift..." The former inmate had his arms crossed, mulling over possible motivations. "I feel bad for his daughter, I heard that her fiancé is the unpleasant sort." The blond drank some beer and ordered some snacks.

"... I hope I don't let the Chief down, he entrusted this case to me..." The brunet fidgeted with his glass, having barely taken some sips from nerves. "Fool!" Karuma hit the table again. "Are you idiotically insinuating that my foolish little brother was mistaken in expecting a good performance from you?" The other prosecutors leaned away from the crossfire, thankful for the space being whip-unfriendly. "Boy, she's sparkier than usual..." "Good grief, he just had to light the fuse..."

The age gap was merely three years, but it was like Karuma was scolding someone a decade younger. "Ichiyanagi Yumihiko, raise your head with pride, you're a prosecutor, correct?" Her little brother had drafted some plan with the SO, Ichiyanagi had received the task to watch over Okumura's ongoing investigation and keep it hidden from those vultures. They had to perform impeccably so as to stay ahead of the curve, considering how closely the SIU gnawed at their heels, vying for more influence and clout. "... I'll try..."