6/17
After School
As soon as school let out, Ren quickly made his way to Shibuya. He had already texted Ryuji who replied saying that he'd be there.
"Are you sure she's gonna be there?" Morgana asked from within his bag.
"I'm not sure but all we can do is wait." Ren replied, tensing up slightly. "By the way, do not mention Sumire. I don't want them to worry about more people knowing about the Metaverse."
"Got it." Morgana nodded.
After making it to the accessway, Ren stood at their usual meeting spot with Ryuji joining him a few minutes after.
"So why are we here?" Ryuji asked.
"Be patient Ryuji." Ren replied while scrolling through the Phan-site on his phone. Ryuji, who was slightly confused, trusted Ren as he took out his phone as well.
After around 10 minutes a girl's voice called out to them.
"Ren, Ryuji, Morgana." The voice said. "I'm sorry I took so long."
Ryuji and Morgana instantly shot their heads towards the direction of the voice while Ren smirked as he slowly lifted his face.
"You're right on time, welcome back Makoto." Was all Ren could say while flashing a smile. He then heard Lavenza's voice resonate in his head.
I am Thou, Thou art I…
Thou hast re-established a Blood oath.
Thy wings of rebellion hast been reborn
And break the yoke of thy heart
Thou hast regained the ultimate secret
Of the Priestess, granting thee infinite power…
"Good to be back." Makoto replied, tears formed at the corners of her eyes as Ryuji stood there in shock.
"Welcome... back?" He said as he walked towards her.
"I-It worked…" Morgana stuttered slightly.
"What worked!?" Ryuji asked before realising. "Wait… Is it the same as what happened to me?" he looked at Ren.
Ren nodded.
"Haha…" Ryuji tried to hold back a tear. "We're slowly comin' back together…"
"MAKOTO!" Morgana pounced off Ren's shoulder and into Makoto's arms.
"I missed you too Morgana." Makoto said as she petted him.
Ren patted Ryuji's shoulder. "If it goes well. We could have the whole team back before we know it. How about we do some requests? We'll talk more on the way."
"Hell yeah!" Ryuji exclaimed.
"That sounds good to me." Makoto added.
Ren opened up the meta-nav.
Navigating
"Alright, now we can talk without anyone overhearing us." Ren started.
"I've got to ask but why are you still meeting up in the accessway?" Makoto asked.
"It's mostly due to convenience but the hideout is currently bugged so we won't make Leblanc our hideout until we infiltrate Oracle's palace." Ren answered her.
Morgana transformed into his bus form when they reached the entrance of the subway, prompting the three thieves to get in, Ren at the driving seat.
"Oh right! Here's your weapons and gear you were using beforehand." Ren handed over the weapons and protectors Makoto had used in the previous life.
While driving through Mementos, Ren and Morgana brought Makoto up to speed on what happened.
"I see… so we all died fighting Yaldabaoth except for You and Mona… no wonder why I don't remember during the fight on christmas…" Makoto muttered to herself. "But this time we'll be more prepared to take him on."
"You said it!" Ryuji chimed in. "We'll give 'em' hell!"
"That being said Akechi will be joining us for the palace explorations, except Oracle's one." Ren stated. "That one will only be us."
"A-Akechi!?" Makoto replied with her eyes wide in shock. "Wait a moment, isn't this much earlier than normal?"
"Yeah, I'm keeping an eye on him but to make sure he isn't gonna step out of bounds but for now we have his help. He's strong, we'll need him." Ren replied.
"I don't trust him but I'll trust your judgement." Makoto responded to Ren.
"Thank you." Ren answered her as he reached one of the targets.
═════════•°• Take your time •°•═════════
Returning to the real world. Thank you for your hard work.
The synthesised voice called out as the group exited the Metaverse.
Ryuji stretched his arms after exiting. "Wanna go get some ramen? We have Makoto back n'all."
"That sounds like a great idea." Makoto agreed. "Ren?"
Ren nodded. "Sure, let's go. Is Ogikubo fine with you both?"
"Hell yeah! That place has the most bomb ramen shop!" Ryuji fistpumped. "Let's go!"
"That's fine. It's been a while since we've been there." Makoto said as she followed.
"Wait, you've been there before?" Ryuji asked. "Sorry if this comes out as off n'all but I didn't think you'd be the type to go to a Ramen shop Makoto."
"You're not wrong actually. I've only been there because Ren had brought me there once." Makoto responded.
"FOR REAL!? AND YOU DIDN'T INVITE ME!?" Ryuji shouted, causing passersby to stare at him.
"Ryuji! Be quieter!" Makoto sternly chastised him.
"Crap, sorry…" Ryuji apologised as he noticed the stares he had gotten.
Evening
"Is your sister gonna be fine with you going out?" Ren asked as they sat down.
"It's fine, the investigation of the Phantom Thieves picked up so she won't be home." Makoto replied as she and Ryuji followed suit.
After ordering their ramen, Morgana spoke up. "Now that we've finished infiltrating Kaneshiro's palace. We plan on sending the calling card around a week from now."
"Wait, you have already finished?" Makoto asked. "How did you even get in? Ah, thank you." they all received their ramen.
"Yeah, it took no time at all." Ryuji responded. "Now then, let's dig in!"
"Akechi was the one who got us in." Morgana added as they all started eating. "It seems he got into contact with Kaneshiro in reality which changed his shadow form's cognition."
"Yeah." Ren said after chewing some noodles. "Without him we would still be at the beginning."
"By the way Ren… how much money do you have?" Ryuji asked.
"Enough to live here for a year." Ren bluntly stated.
Ryuji quickly put his hands together and bowed. "Can you pay for my ramen today!" he pleaded. "It was my mum's birthday the other day and I'm short of cash."
Ren sighed before responding. "Fine."
"Great! Thanks Renren!" Ryuji quickly sat back up and started eating again.
Makoto giggled. "That's a nice nickname that you've given him."
"I know right!?" Ryuji grinned. "He doesn't appreciate it though."
Ren held the bridge of his nose as he shook his head causing the others to laugh.
"I'll pay for your one as well." Ren looked at Makoto after he had finished.
"Oh I can't do that. I have enough." Makoto tried refusing.
"Don't worry about it, let's call it a celebration for your return, yeah?" Ren smiled.
"Thank you." Makoto gave in as she returned to her food.
After they all finished, they went their separate ways. Ren dragged himself back to Leblanc with a full stomach.
"You sure ate a lot…" Morgana spoke up. "You gonna be okay?"
"I'll be fine, I won't go to sleep straight away." Ren replied as he entered unlocked Leblanc.
After locking the store again, he went upstairs and turned on the tv. Watching a small portion of the DVD that was already inserted for a good hour before changing and heading to bed.
═════════•°• Take your time •°•═════════
Ren opened his eyes and the first thing he saw was the colour blue. The sound of thi jazz band rang in his ears along with the singer. He felt the comfort of the velvet blue sofa where he was sitting as the sounds of cocktails being shaken were audible whenever there wasn't any singing.
"Trickster." A man's voice called out to him.
He turned his attention to where the voice came from to find Igor sitting there with Lavenza standing beside him.
"I'm not too sure how you have done it. But it seems as though you have re-established some bonds from your previous world." Igor stated.
"You're not too sure how?" Ren questioned him.
"It should have been impossible for them to regain memories of their past life." Lavenza chimed in. "You truly are worthy of the Trickster name. That being said, we have no idea about the method you used."
Ren took out the star that Jose had given him.
"Is that the tool you used?" Lavenza asked, intrigued at what Ren was holding.
Ren nodded as he brought it up. Prompting the Velvet room attendants to study it.
"I see…" Igor muttered to himself.
"Master, do you know what this is?" Lavenza asked him.
"No, but I sense a familiar power. Someone whose importance takes precedence over my own." Igor replied, closing his eyes.
`Familiar power?` Ren thought to himself as he listened in.
"Do you mean-" Lavenza started.
"Remember we are in the presence of the Trickster." Igor sharply cut her off.
"I'm sorry master." Lavenza bowed before turning back to Ren.
"Trickster," Igor spoke to Ren once again "while we are here to guide you, it's ultimately up to you to decide on how you'll go about your journey. I'm sure you know that, yes?"
Ren nodded.
"Excellent. We have called you here to inform you about a potential persona user amongst the people you know." Igor explained.
"A new persona user?" Ren asked.
"Only potentially. It's up to you to decide on if they ever awaken to their persona." Lavenza added.
`Who is it?` Ren tried thinking about who the person was. `Wait…` his eyes grew wide.
"I'm sure you already know who it is just from seeing your reaction alone." Lavenza remarked. "She has already been with you inside the Metaverse, no?"
`Shit…`
"Now that we have informed you, it is time for you to go back." Igor announced. "Until the next time, Trickster."
"WAI-" Ren tried shouting before his vision turned to black.
═════════•°• Take your time •°•═════════
6/18
Morning
Ren opened his eyes only to be greeted by the sight of rafters that held up the roof of Leblanc.
"Dammit." He muttered as he checked his phone. `6:30AM huh…`
He sluggishly got up and headed downstairs to wash up and start the curry.
After cooking the curry and changing into his school uniform, he prepared a plate for himself and Morgana as well as brewing a cup of coffee for himself.
"Let's dig in!" Morgana exclaimed as he started eating.
"Itadakimasu." Ren clapped his hands together before digging in.
Sojiro entered the store soon after he had finished eating, prompting him to get ready for school.
While Ren was minding his own business waiting at the platform in Shibuya. He was approached by a group of haughty first years.
"Oi, you're Amamiya right?" One of the first years jeered at him.
Ren didn't want to reply but he did so anyway. "Yeah, what do you want? He replied as he shot a glare.
"S-S-Stay away from Yoshizawa-san." he nearly wet himself from getting the brunt of the glare.
Another first year growled at him. "You aren't worthy of her, you damn delinquent!"
`What...?` Ren looked at them confused. `Are they talking about Sumire?`
"I think you've gotten something wrong here." Ren tried appealing to them. "Me and Sumire are just frie-"
"There! You said her name without any honorifics!" Another one butted in. "What gives you the right to call her like that!?"
`What the hell…`
"She should be hanging out with people like us!" The one who was seemingly the leader stepped forward. "You should do your part and stay away from her, you delinquent."
"You said it!" One of the followers cheered.
"You're so cool Kouki-kun!" A female follower squealed.
"Yeah! Get the delinquent!" Another follower boasted
`My head is hurting from this stupidity…` Ren rubbed his temples as he tried to process what was happening in front of him.
"Ah! Ren-Senpai!" a familiar voice called out to him.
Ren turned around to see Sumire walking towards him.
"Good morning." she greeted him with a smile.
"Morning Sumire." he replied.
"Do you want to go to school together?" Sumire asked while fidgeting slightly.
"Sure, let's go." he replied as they started to walk off.
"W-Wait a moment Yoshizawa-san!" The boy called Kouki called out to her.
"Can I help you?" Sumire said as both her and Ren turned around.
"Why don't you ditch this delinquent loser and hang out with the great me instead! An honour student like yourself should stick with the best!" Kouki boasted, causing Sumire's eye to twitch slightly.
"I'm sorry but do I know you?" Sumire cocked her head to the side slightly as she asked.
"Y-You don't know me!? We're in the same class! I'm Kouki Nobuhide!" Kouki was confused at her answer while his followers didn't know what to say.
"Doesn't ring a bell. Now if you'll excuse me." She bowed to him slightly before turning to Ren. "Let's go Senpai!" she smiled, causing Kouki to stand there, stunned. "Oh wait!" Sumire turned back to Kouki.
"Do you finally remember who I am?" Kouki swished his hair back with a cocky smile. "Of course you do. You're the only one qualified to go out with me afterall."
"Don't you ever badmouth Ren-Senpai again." Sumire ignored what he said and stood there, her face was smiling but Ren could feel something ominous behind that smile of hers. "Now then, the train is here Senpai!" she turned around and headed towards the open train doors
"Y-Yeah." Ren replied as he turned around looking back at the devastated Kouki before walking off.
"Why…?" Kouki muttered, the gossip around him started up.
"He sounded so confident as well. What an idiot."
"He got destroyed."
"That's Kouki Nobuhide right? I can't wait to tell the others about this."
"I never liked him in the first place anyway."
"That's what you get you asshole."
"He won't be able to show his face for a while hehe…"
"Wha-" Kouki couldn't believe what he was hearing. "Hey don't you th-" he looked around and saw that all of his followers were giving him looks of pity. He cursed under his breath "I'm the only one that deserves her. Not some stupid delinquent from the sticks." he clicked his tongue before heading to school.
═════════•°• Take your time •°•═════════
6/25
After School
"Dude, I can't believe you left me behind in Shinjuku with those guys AGAIN!" Ryuji expressed his frustration while they were waiting at the accessway. "I feel like I lost something more than I did last time…"
"I refuse to get involved with those two…" Ren shuddered when he thought back to how the two people that caught Ryuji talked.
Makoto appeared not long afterwards. "Am I late?" she asked.
"Nah." Ryuji answered her. "We're still waitin' on effin' Akechi."
"You called?" A voice called out to Ryuji.
"Geh, he's here." Ryuji grunted.
"Like I want to be here." Akechi hissed back before noticing Makoto. "I swear you fools multiply everytime I turn my back."
"Don't worry about it." Ren said. "How's the investigation going?"
"They're doing horribly, they have no idea how the `Change of heart` works and are just sitting there twiddling their thumbs." Akechi sighed. "Anyway, we are going to send that calling card, yes?"
Ren nodded. "Yeah, meet here around 1PM tomorrow. We'll deal with the stuff we know."
"Suit yourself." Akechi said as he turned around. "Tomorrow it is."
"I know you said we can trust him but he sure doesn't hide the fact he doesn't like us." Makoto said as Akechi walked off.
"Don't worry, I know." Ren replied. "Let's get these calling cards ready for tonight. I'm counting on you two to get it to Kaneshiro." he looked at Ryuji and Makoto.
"We're doing what we did last time, that alright with you Ryuji?" Makoto asked.
"Fine… let's get this over with." Ryuji replied as they all headed to Leblanc.
═════════•°• Take your time •°•═════════
"Excuse me, sir, but..." One of Kaneshiro's lackey'sentered the room where Kaneshito sat. "Uh, I found this on the car. There's something written on it…" he shakily reported.
"Hmm? Read it." Kaneshiro sat up, intrigued.
"Umm, but…" the lackey panicked.
"I said, read it!" Kaneshiro snapped.
The lackey cleared his throat before cautiously reading out the contents. "Sir Junya Kaneshiro, the money-devouring sinner of gluttony. You indulge in scamming others with horrendous methods that target minors exclusively. We have decided to make you confess all your crimes with your own mouth. Thus, we will take those distorted desires without fail. From The Phantom Thieves."
Kaneshiro looked down and began thinking.
"I-Isn't this bad?" The lackey spoke up.
"What of it?" Kaneshiro played it off.
"I-If something happened to you…! I mean if the higher ups found out about this…" The lackey trailed off.
"Don't waste your time worrying about this useless shit." Kaneshiro sighed. "Just keep quiet for now."
"B-But it's… posted all around the city…" The lackey started shaking. "People're already talking about it online too..."
"Grr." Kaneshiro scowled before he stood up. "All of you, bring me your earnings! If you don't surpass your quota… I'll kill you."
"Y-Yes sir!" The lackey replied before walking off to tell the others.
"Hey," He turned to the woman who sat next to him. "We're leaving."
The woman was confused but still complied.
"They'll pay for this…" He muttered.
═════════•°• Take your time •°•═════════
Ren felt the security level in Kaneshiro's palace spike up to maximum as they were waiting at the accessway.
"Alright, the calling card has been sent." Morgana explained.
"So you posted it all over Shibuya…" Akechi looked out the window and saw calling cards everywhere. "Given how secretive Kaneshiro is. It's a good idea."
"I can't believe I had to dress up like that again…" Ryuji sighed.
"Now Ryuji, we don't have the time for idle chit chat, Ren?"
"Are you all ready?" Ren asked, they all nodded in unison as he took out his phone. "It's Showtime!"
Navigating
When the group reached the treasure room, they were greeted by Shadow Kaneshiro and three of his lackey's
"So he's here again." Makoto said as Kaneshiro came into view, the treasure itself was behind a massive spinning lock vault door.
"Greeting Thieves." Shadow Kaneshiro called out to them "Welcome to my private city bank. I'm surprised you made it here alive, it seems you are quite lucky."
"Lucky?" Makoto taunted him. "Don't be ridiculous."
"We're gonna change your heart and make you confess everything you've done!" Ryuji stomped down. "That'll save all those people who're suffering 'cause of your shitty actions."
"Those in power work the ones below them to the bone for money. Such is the hierarchy of the world." Shadow Kaneshiro's face warped. "Just accept your fate as a source of my wealth!"
"Cut the bullshit." Akechi cut in, prompting everyone to get in formation.
"Haha… All of this was forced on me too, you know! I went through shit until I crawled my way out of the dregs! Now it's my turn to profit on everyone else!" Kaneshiro hissed, visible anger on his face. "The strong eat the weak! That is the natural order of things! You damn brats who think they know the world through the shit they read online will make the perfect prey."
"Looks like there's no getting through to him, like last time." Makoto sighed. "Joker!"
"Right, let's take him out!" Joker called out.
Kaneshiro snickered as his body contorted. "I'm gonna swarm all over you… and squeeze out every last penny!" he spat out blood as bulges appeared on his back, the lackey's around him started getting scared then all of a sudden bug wings came out, creating holes in his suit's back. Red eyes of a fly appeared as he rubbed his hands together.
"Holy shit!" A lackey started running for his life.
"What the hell is this!?" Another one started running with the third one following not long after.
"AAAAAHHH!" They all ran past Ren, their screams piercing the air. Ren's expression didn't change as Kaneshiro faced the group.
"I can take care of this myself." he pointed at himself with his thumb. "Wassup yo!? Now come get some!"
"You damn money grabbing fly. GET THE HELL OUT OF MY FACE!" Makto shouted, remembering what he tried to do previously.
"Gyahahahaha! Aight, here we go, yeh pieces of shit!" Kaneshiro instantly flew upwards, the vault door opened up, allowing him to fly in.
"What the hell!?" Ryuji shouted. "This didn't happen last time!?"
"Last time?" Akechi questioned them.
"Shut up and focus Skull!" Makoto chided him.
"Crap! Sorry!" Ryuji noticed Akechi was looking at them.
The doors opened revealing the Piggytron Kaneshiro used last time.
"Gyahahahaha! Are you ready to die!?" The loudspeaker unit on the machine rang out.
"We can talk about this later." Ren called out. "For now, let's beat this thing!"
"""Right!""" Ryuji, Makoto and Morgana responded.
"Crow, you're up first." Ren ordered. "Debilitate."
"Fine, let's get this over with." Akechi clicked his tongue as he used Debilitate.
After dealing the final blow to Piggytron, Kaneshiro was flung out, visible confusion plastered across his face. "Wha- My Piggytron!" he instantly faced the thieves with, seething with anger. "That's it! I'll deal with you busters myself-through the power of cash!" he clapped. A huge golden door dropped down and once it opened, it revealed two new enemies that also looked like flies. One smaller flying one with a long baton and one huge bulky one with a metal shield strapped to each arm.
"Hah, wassup! I paid these guys off, and now they're gonna clean you up! Ya like that?" Kaneshiro boasted. "They're super duper powerful! And super duper fly! Heheheh… A totally invincible wall!"
"Invincible? Yeah right, you're wide open!" Ryuji exclaimed as he summoned his persona, shooting a Ziodyne towards Kaneshiro.
Before Ryuji even realised, the bulky fly entered the firing range of the lightning and held up his two shields, blocking nearly all of the damage.
"What the eff!?" Ryuji exclaimed after his attack got blocked.
"They blocked that!?" Morgana yelled.
"C'mooon, I told you they're an invincible wall, right? Welcome to the power of cash! Booyah!" Kaneshiro taunted them.
"Focus the big one." Ren called out. "Crow, this is your speciality. Do it."
"HAHAHAHA, FINALLY!" Akechi let out a maniacal scream. "PEERRSSOONAAHH!" Akechi summoned Loki, "LAEVATEINN!" a giant sword came crashing down onto the fly with two shields, instantly cleaving him in half.
Everyone except Ren was shocked at what they witnessed as the corpse of the giant fly dissolved into the ground.
That's his true self. Strong, right?
"For real!?" Ryuji exclaimed.
"He's strong…" Makoto muttered. "Too strong…"
"I agree with you there." Morgana added. "I'd hate to be on the other end of that."
Akechi basked in the euphoria of killing an enemy before Kaneshiro spoke up. "W-What the hell was that!?" he asked, while slightly fearing for his life.
"Oh?" Akechi looked at Kaneshiro. "What happened to that so called `Invincible wall` that you boasted soooo much about?" He slowly walked towards Kaneshiro. The other fly started shaking but flew towards Akechi, trying to attack with his baton.
"Futile attempt." Akechi instantly beheaded the fly that flew at him, the corpse fell and slid on the floor before dissolving.
"Holy shit…" Ryuji let out a whistle.
"S-S-Stay away!" Kaneshiro yelped as Akechi once again walked towards him.
"Crow." Ren called out.
Akechi looked back to see Ren standing there. He noticed the glare in Ren's eyes before sighing. "Don't worry, I won't kill him." Ren backed off after he said that.
Kaneshiro looked through his pockets to find money to hire more goons. "W-Wait!?" Where's all my money!? If I don't have money…" he then had a sudden realisation. "Wait! There's money inside of Piggytron! Gotta get back in there!" The door to Piggytron opened as Kaneshiro flew inside. "Whew… cash… cash really does calm my nerves…"
All of a sudden Piggyton started shaking, sparks were flying all over the place. "Wait-what's wrong Piggytron!?" explosions started erupting inside the machine, Kaneshiro shouted as the vault door opened, gold bars the size of humans emptied out onto the floor before he himself rolled out, laying facedown on top of the gold bars. He instantly got up and started hugging the gold.
"Kaneshiro…" Makoto made her way towards him.
"I'm not gonna let anyone have it… it's my money…" Kaneshiro's voice shook.
"You stole it all from innocent people!" Makoto raised her voice.
"How am I supposed to live a normal life like this? I'm a poor, ugly... idiot… It's all because of our society! Weak people can't live a happy life, no matter what they do! I'm a victim too, you know!? Yeah, none of this is my fault!" Kaneshiro spouted.
"Hah." Akechi scoffed. "You are really pathetic, you know that?"
"I just wanted a place where I could belong! You get that, don't you!?" Kaneshiro held onto the gold tighter.
"All you did was surround yourself with people you could use, just for some easy money, yes?" Akechi berated him.
"You think you're the only one who has to deal with bein' labeled?" Ryuji chimed in. "Me… and all these other guys… we're all fightin' against that!"
"Don't worry though, you'll finally have a place where you'll belong. Somewhere you can make amends for the rest of your life." Makoto added.
"We're going to be changing that heart of yours." Ren finished.
Kaneshiro looked at them, eventually giving in a slumping down.
"Return to your true self and confess your crimes." Makoto ordered him.
"Seriously? You guys don't have any tact. Especially with that incredible power… These Palaces could net you loads of cash! You could do whatever you wanted to people's hearts!" Kaneshiro went off.
"We're not like you shitty adults!" Ryuji raised his voice.
"Hmph…" Akechi crossed his arms as he watched them.
"Where do you find meaning in that naïve sense of justice?" Kaneshiro asked them. "That one over there." he pointed at Akechi. "You're different from these fools right?"
Akechi scoffed as he turned away.
"Hehe… you should watch your backs when you're with him." Kaneshiro said as he disappeared, the palace started crumbling.
"Mona!" Ren shouted.
"On it!" Morgana instantly transformed into his car form.
"What the hell.." Akechi was stunned at what Morgana had turned into.
"Stop starin' and help us load the gold in already!" Ryuji barked.
Akechi said nothing and helped them load the treasure before getting on the bus. Makoto at the wheel. "Hold on tight!" She exclaimed she slammed the pedal.
She knew that they wouldn't make it to the entrance in time so she decided to do what they did last time and drive off the flying bank.
"ARE YOU CRAZY WOMAN!?" Akechi screamed as they fell.
Ren instantly took out his phone and opened up the Meta-nav, tapping on the exit button as fast as he could. The world around them distorted, before they all found themselves in the middle of Shibuya on the ground.
Ryuji groaned as he got up. "I think I cracked my ass…"
"Everyone quiet down." Akechi hissed at them before smiling at some passersby. "Sorry about this. My friends here walked into each other by accident."
The bystanders soon lost interest and went about their days.
"Wait where's Morgana?" Ryuji asked. "Wait a moment…" Ryuji looked at the road, prompting the others to do the same.
Morgana, was laying in the middle of the road with a golden briefcase on top of his head.
Ren quickly ran over and picked up both Morgana and the briefcase. "Come on, let's go." He said as they made their way to Leblanc, Akechi going off on his own.