Persona Trinity

by IIIIIIIIII

Six months have passed since the defeat of Yaldabaoth and the disbandment of the Phantom Thieves. Ren Amamiya now enjoys a normal high-school life, hard-won though it may be. For once, normalcy started to feel normal. However, the whims of fate would set the Wild Card User on another path. And he would be far from the only one fate would call on. Pairing: Pseudo RenxHarem YuxHarem

2. Normalcy's End

A/N First off, thanks to everyone for the well-wishes on my return. Much appreciated fam!

Not much else I wanted to say at the start except that the next Chapter will be posted next Friday.

Disclaimer: I do not own Persona or any of its characters, and I make no money off of this.

Chapter 2

July 16th: Café LeBlanc, Early Morning

Ren walked down the stairs with Morgana in tow as if it was just any other ordinary day ending in 'Y'. Catching his nonchalant demeanor, Sojiro's eyed him from behind the counter.

"You're up a lot earlier than I thought you'd be, Ren…" spoke the bespectacled man.

"Am I?"

"For a kid that just witnessed a shooting and was questioned by the cops last night, yes," he replied, fighting the urge to shake his head at the teen's deadpanned response. He turned his back and started making towards the stove. "Anyway, I didn't make anything for you since I hadn't expected you to be awake. Gimme a few and I'll whip up some breakfast."

"Sounds great. Anytime I get to have your cooking, I consider myself lucky. Maybe I should witness shootings more often, huh?"

Morgana shook his head at his friend's humor as he jumped up on the chair nearest to him.

"Heh, don't be getting any ideas," Sojiro said with a chuckle. He continued to reach around for various cooking materials with brutal efficiency, not even batting an eyelash. "Still, I suppose if you're in the mood for jokes, I don't have to worry about the experience having a negative effect on you."

The shopkeeper shrugged it off and within a few minutes he walked towards Ren with his famous curry dish in hand. He placed it in front of him and took no short amount of pride in the smile that the aroma brought to the raven-haired teen's face.

"Thanks," Ren said, eager to start his meal.

"Don't mention it."

Almost absentmindedly, the middle-aged man reached for the clicker for the television before turning it on. The catchy but infuriating tune of the shopping channel started to play.

Anato no Televe ni Ji—

The channel was changed faster than you could even say 'TV'.

"That is the last thing I want to hear so early in the morning," Sojiro muttered with disdain. He landed on the one of the main networks' early news shows. "There. Now let's see what the talk of the day is…"

"In political News, a new President of the Liberal Democratic Party and presumptive Prime Minister has been selected. Representative Akira Kurisu had the following to say…"

Minister Kurisu:

"With this, we hope to put the infighting that resulted from the arrest of Masayoshi Shido behind us once and for all. We will work to rebuild the trust of the Japanese people, and reward their faith in the democratic process."

"The representative went on to stress that—""Ah, so they finally picked one out of the swamp," Sojiro dryly remarked.

With a smirk, Ren couldn't help but ask, "I wonder how this one will let us down?"

"Finding out is the fun part," he replied. "Jokes aside, I'm surprised this is still being talked about so regularly. I don't know how much you watch the news, but it seems every other day they're talking about the aftermath of the Shido incident."

"Well, I wasn't really joking… but I get why it's still being talked about. Shido couldn't have been as powerful as he was if his connections didn't run deep. Weeding out cancer like that is bound to take some time, even if Shido offered up everyone that conspired with him on a silver platter."

"Fair point, and I suppose—ah, but let's pay attention here. It looks like they're moving on to the next topic."

He quickly grabbed the remote and amped up the volume.

"A very surprising turn of events, don't you think, Hanako-san?"

"You can say that again, Arima-san. I certainly hadn't expected them to pick such a fresh face to lead the party into the future. My guess is they want someone with a guaranteed clean record."

"Yes, perhaps that was the intent."

"Certainly. But in lighter news, it's the App that's taking Japan by storm! The Jeanie App now has over 7 million downloads and counting—and it's only been a week since it went live here in Japan!"

"My wife tells me it's really amazing. Even I downloaded it this morning when I knew we were going to be covering it, and I have to say—just wow!"

"Even more interesting is that as amazing as its capabilities are, it's only live in Japan for its beta testing stage and it's completely free on all cellular devices and platforms!"

"How they managed to do that is beyond me, Hanako-san… but I guess the developer has plenty of money as is. And it's certainly good publicity going into the opening of their new Mega-Mall in Tokyo."

"I'm sure that was on the marketing team's mind. They want all eyes on them when it hits the date of the official opening. It's confirmed that they will be hosting a concert, and the rumor is that the featured performer will be—"

"Aaaand that's enough of that," said Sojiro, muting the television. He grabbed his cup of coffee and took a nonchalant sip. "Doesn't look like the shooting last night was even a footnote."

"That is a bit surprising," Ren chimed in.

"I just find it sad," remarked Sojiro. "Maybe it's just my age talking, but I remember a time when someone getting shot was more newsworthy an event than some App going… going 'viral' or whatever you call it."

"Can't say I disagree."

"You even heard of that App? That Jeanie thing?"

"Now that you mention it, yeah. I think I heard a few girls at school talking about it the other day… Er, I guess I should say squealing," Ren thought aloud, taking on a contemplative expression. "I have no idea what it does though."

"Not interested I take it?"

"I have a bad history with Apps on my phone, so let's just say I only put in what's necessary."

"Hmm, I guess I'll just pretend that wasn't a strange thing to say and nod along," replied the café owner with a chuckle. "Ah, but speaking of your phone… have you checked it yet today?"

"Hm? Uh, not yet, no. I—"

"Geez, for such a smart kid, you really do dumb stuff sometimes," Sojiro stated gruffly. He leveled Ren with his gaze. "Did it occur to you that your friends may have messaged you to make sure you're doing okay?"

"Yeah, I probably should've thought of that…" Ren said, hanging his head in an almost disappointed fashion.

The leader of the Phantom Thieves scrolled through his messages. One in particular caught his eye, and it showed on his face. Morgana had noticed though refrained from making a comment while Sojiro had clearly missed it if his continued speech was anything to go by.

"I bet you I can even guess the order. First would be Ann-chan, then Sakamoto-kun, and then Futaba and Kitagawa-kun."

"Wow, are you kidding me?" Ren muttered absentmindedly. His guardian chuckled in response. Having realized one tiny detail, he smirked and continued, "But I don't have a message from Futaba."

"What? I don't believe that. Let me see."

In a quick second, the teen's words were confirmed to be true, much to Sojiro's confusion. He cupped his chin as if he was putting some serious thought into how he could've been wrong.

"Wondering why that might be?"

"Yes, of course. Why aren't you?"

"I just know why she wouldn't bother."

"And why's that?"

"Because she's been listening to us this entire time."

"Yup!"

Sojiro's subsequent fear-induced shout and recoil were about what one would expect. He looked at the celling where the voice had seemed to come from, a hand reflexively finding his chest as if to confirm it hadn't jumped out of his body.

"F-Futaba, where is that—"

"Oh c'mon Sojiro, of course I have this place monitored at all times! Ren's a nice guard dog, but you just can't beat a guardian angel!"

"Guardian angels don't try to give the people they're watching over heart attacks," Sojiro replied, calming himself down. He looked over to Ren. "And you couldn't have given me advance warning?"

"But I did, didn't I?" He answered with a sly grin.

"Oh ha-ha, very funny. Anyway, are you gonna respond to your messages or just continue being a smartass?"

"Lemme guess, you're gonna go with 'I'm okay', right?"

Ren, having been in the middle of typing just that back to Fox, released an embarrassed sigh. The fact that Morgana and Sojiro both chuckled upon realizing this didn't help bring down his embarrassment.

"And btdubs, I guessed that without cheating! I can see you're typing that to Yusuke, but I didn't know that when I guessed!"

"Gotcha."

"Wait a minute, you bugged his phone? Futaba!" Sojiro exclaimed, his fatherly tone coming to bear in full force. He then looked at a suspiciously calm Ren. "And you knew? How can you be okay with that?!"

"…you get used to it."

"That's… I don't even know where to start."

"Just let it happen, Sojiro. Just let it happen."

"Look, that's not—Futaba, could you just shut down the voice connect for now or whatever this is? I don't want customers coming in and thinking that they're being spied on."

"Tch, suit yourself…"

"Haah… what am I gonna do with her? What is anyone gonna do with her?" Sojiro sighed, rubbing his eyes from underneath his glasses.

"Her heart's in the right place," remarked the black-haired teen.

"I suppose so. Onto more normal topics, your friends that graduated a short while ago are coming back from university for their first term break, right?"

"Yeah, this afternoon."

"And you… didn't mention anything that happened last night to them, right?"

"No, I haven't. I'm sure you can understand why," Ren said with a chuckle.

"Yeah, I can imagine that saying 'hey, I witnessed a man being shot yesterday' doesn't exactly create the best 'welcome home' vibe."

"You can say that again," Morgana muttered. "But you should hurry up and get ready! You wanted to go talk to Iwai, remember?"

"Yup," Ren answered. He turned back to the middle-aged café manager. "I'll be heading out now. Thanks for the food!"

"Glad you enjoyed it. Now stay out of trouble, got it?"

"Yeah, yeah."

Ren made for the door with Morgana jumping up onto his shoulder. Once he was out the door, Sojiro shook his head before looking back up at the ceiling. On a guy feeling, he spoke up.

"That goes for you too, Futaba."

"Please, I never get into trouble."

"Didn't I tell you to shut that off?"

"…d-dammit! You tricked me! So uncool!"

"If you want to see something really 'uncool', then just wait until I shut off the internet at our house."

"Y-You wouldn't dare!"

"Try me. One more word, and I'll make it a reality."

Dead silence ensued. A reflexive grin took its place on Sojiro's lips.

"…thought so."

Outside Café Leblanc: Streets of Yongen-Jaya

Joker walked the streets nonchalantly towards the train station. He took out his phone and opened the one strange message that he'd received overnight—courtesy of Iwai. It was a vague request to come see him when he got the chance so he could talk to him about something important.

'Something important, huh?' Ren wondered. His mind quickly arrived at the obvious answer, and so he responded with his signature curt affirmative response before closing the message window.

"Aaah, so that's why you looked at your phone the way you did," Morgana thought aloud. His tail wagged as he looked towards his partner. "You think this is about what happened last night?"

"I'd be amazed if it wasn't," Ren answered.

He then opened up the chatroom created for the non-collegiate members of the Phantom Thieves, believing that he ought to beat Futaba to the punch of telling them where he was headed.

Chat: Still Too Young

Ren: Hey guys, Iwai wanted to talk to me about something. Assuming it's about last night.

Futaba: […]

Ann: Want company? Me and Ryuji don't live far off so we could meet you at the station square with like no hassle!

Futaba: Aww, I was gonna ask! I don't wanna go, but still…

Yusuke: Then why offer in the first place?

Ryuji: Don't get her started, Yusuke. Also Ann, whaaat?! Why you gotta bring me into this?

"I see Ryuji is as cooperative as ever…" Morgana dryly remarked.

Ann: What do you mean? Are you saying you don't wanna go with him?

Ryuji: I mean what for? Emotional support?

Ann: Sure, why not? Do you really not wanna go that badly or something?

Ryuji: It ain't that I don't wanna, more like…

Yusuke: Like what?

Ryuji: That Iwai guy scares me, alright?! He's waaay too intense! Like seriously, what's the hell is his deal?!

Ann: Oh grow a pair.

Futaba: Seconded.

Ren: It's fine. I can go talk to Iwai on my own.

Yusuke: Although I believe the suggestion of Ryuji growing a pair still stands.

Ryuji: I ain't lettin' that one slide Yusuke!

Futaba: Fight on your own time. We still have to settle on a plan for our reunion with Makoto and Haru! And find a gift!

Ren: True. Do you guys want to meet up in the Underground Mall ~11? I should be done with Iwai by then.

Ann: Works for me!

Ryuji: Same.

Futaba: Then everyone's decided!

Yusuke: I'll ignore that, Futaba. That time works for me as well.

Placing his phone in his pocket yet again, Ren entered the grounds of the train station. He motioned for Morgana to hide in his bag before they were stopped. That having been done, they boarded the train towards Shibuya. He took one of the open seats and made himself comfortable.

"It's nice that you were able to get a seat," remarked Morgana.

"And me without a book… I feel like I'm just wasting time," Ren though aloud.

"Wanna make some infiltration tools instead?" joked the cat in response.

"In front of all these people? Sure, let me take out my hammer and screwdriver. I'm sure no one will think anything of it."

"Says the guy talking to a cat."

"Fair enough," Ren said with a chuckle.

There was a brief but comfortable silence between the two until they'd reached the train stop. They deboarded without incident and headed towards the station square. Once they'd reached it though, they realized that the quiet train ride in was the polar opposite of how Shibuya currently looked. Out on the roads, they could see truck after truck carrying construction materials down the road. Local traffic officers filled the area ensuring that no accidents occurred, although that was seemingly to little if any avail.

"Was it this busy the last time we were here…?" questioned Morgana, sounding in awe of the sight before them.

"Not that I can remember. It has been a while, but this is a bit much," Ren admitted. He looked at the corporate logo on the sides of the trucks, recognizing its name from the morning news broadcast. He quickly put two and two together. "It must be for that new mall that's going up."

"They're not messing around, are they?"

"No, doesn't seem like it. Hopefully it doesn't make getting to Iwai's more difficult than it needs to be."

"Relax, you've got plenty of time. It's only 10:10," stated Morgana confidently.

A quick glance at his phone proved the feline to be near-correct.

"Close enough—it's 10:07."

"As expected of me! I have a great inner sense of time!"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Ren said with a light smile.

The duo headed off to the shopping district. They managed to navigate through the intense traffic with surprising ease. They rounded the street corner and passed the bookstore and continued down the street in comfortable silence for a time. That was until they encountered a moderately large crowd outside a local clothing store. Ren tried to quietly and carefully get around them without incident. Although he couldn't help overhear the voices in the crowd.

"See, you just take the picture and… tadaa!"

"Woah, that's freakin' awesome!"

"Damn, that's really something. How does it do that?"

"Dunno. But isn't that, like, totally, like, amazing?!"

"The vocabulary of today's youth is the stuff of legend, don't you think?" Morgana said in a tone dripping with sarcasm.

"Nice one. Still, aren't you a little young to be talking like that? You were only born less than two years ago…" Ren shot back.

"That's a year and a half in Shadow years, so it's different!" Morgana protested.

"Not seeing how."

"A-Anyway, Iwai's shop is just down that alleyway. Be sure not to miss it."

The raven-haired teen didn't point out the blatant attempt at changing the subject and just soldiered on. He took a pause as he walked down the alleyway leading to the airsoft shop, finding the sight strange for some reason. It didn't take long for him to realize that it was the absence of the doorway to the Velvet Room at the L-shaped turn that led to the airsoft shop.

'I don't come around here very often anymore, so I guess it's still weird that it's not there. I still feel like I can see Caroline sitting on top of the door,' Ren thought. He then winced slightly at the recollection of what would always follow when he actually used said door. 'I think I can feel my ass getting sore at the memory…'

"—ker… Joker…?"

"Hm?" Ren muttered.

"So, uh… how long are you just gonna stand there?"

"R-Right, sorry about that… I was just busy reminiscing."

"No big deal. It happens to everyone, right?" said the cat reassuringly. "But still, better you make sure your head is clear before you talk to Iwai, yeah?"

With a nod, Joker entered the airsoft shop. At first the curmudgeonly owner didn't take his eyes off of the paper in his hand and just muttered a curt greeting. He perked up once he realized who it was.

"Oh, hey kid. Uh… didn't expect to see you so soon," Iwai remarked. He put his paper down on the case in front of him. "You make it over here okay? Traffic's been a real pain in the ass lately with that mall in its last phase of construction."

"Mostly, yeah," Ren began as he walked up to the counter. "So, you said you wanted to talk to me about what happened last night?"

"Why do you say that? I never said what I wanted to talk to ya about."

"It's an assumption on my part. I think it's a safe one given the timing, and also Sojiro mentioned you were acting a bit weird after we took that man to Dr. Takemi."

With a sigh and slumped shoulders, he muttered, "So, Sakura-san ratted me out, huh?"

"He said you looked like you'd seen a ghost."

"Well… that's not entirely inaccurate."

Joker quirked a brow, and suddenly Iwai stood up and motioned for him to come with him into the back room. Ignoring the wave of nostalgia, he followed, and once they were inside the former Yakuza shut the door and seemed to get noticeably more serious.

"How familiar are you with the Yakuza factions?" Iwai abruptly questioned.

"Hardly at all," Ren admitted.

"Then I'll keep the explanation quick. There are four main factions of Yakuza, and of those four factions, one of them alone makes up more than half of all Yakuza here in Japan. That's the Yamaguchi Yakuza—the group I used to be a part of. They run most everything in Japan from a crime perspective, and although they're pretty calculated, they've been known to crush any other criminal organization that gets in their way with brutal force. Think using a boulder to swat a fly."

"Got it. But… why tell me this?"

"Because it's important you know just how big and powerful this particular segment of Yakuza is. Now onto my story…" Iwai stated. He took the toothpick he had in his mouth and cast it aside. "A few months back, I went out with a buddy of mine for drinks—also a former Yakuza, just not quite as 'former' as yours truly. After we pounded back a few, he told me he heard some serious shit had gone down recently. And when Yakuza mean serious shit…"

"They mean swords, bullets, and guns?"

"Oh my!" Morgan jibbed.

"Exactly," replied Iwai with a nod, ignoring the cats meowing. He continued, "Naturally I asked him what the hell had happened. He went on this whole story about how after Shido went down and everything started to go belly up, there was a new group of criminals that got ballsy enough to start eating up the property, resources, and manpower on the fringe of the Yamaguchi's territory. They even had the gull to dress up in white masks, too, like they were some kind of circus act."

"I can't imagine they took that well," Morgana remarked form inside Ren's bag, stating the obvious.

"At that point, I immediately told my buddy he was full of it. No one'd be dumb enough to try that, let alone add any kind of theatrics to it… but he swore it was true. After this started happenin', he said the head honchos got together and decided it was time to make an example out of these clowns. They were ready to throw everything and the kitchen sink at 'em. Thing is, by the end of it all, they just dropped it. The bosses decided they were just gonna… leave 'em alone."

"Seriously?" a surprised Ren muttered. "There any truth to that?"

If these Yakuza were anything like Kaneshiro and his group, he couldn't see any scenario where they'd just back off. Unless it turned out they were outmatched or outgunned, neither of those two possibilities being comforting to consider.

"I didn't think so at first, but some time later I ran into an old friend of mine that's still in deep and he swore by it too. Now this kind of stuff is probably a bit puffed up, but there's some truth in everything, even crap like this. So the men in white masks are definitely real, and they're not to be fucked with—my buddy's words, not mine." Iwai stated.

Joker couldn't help but feel 'reassured' at that minor technicality.

"Still," Iwai began, interrupting the teen's thoughts, "if a hardened Yakuza is saying stuff like that, you damn well better take it to heart. Thing is, Yakuza ghost stories travel quick from top to bottom, so it's likely every criminal, their mother, and their 2nd cousins know about it by now. You catch my drift?"

"You're saying anyone could've put on the white masks just to take advantage of the appearance," deduced the raven-haired young man.

"Yeah, exactly. I can't say whether or not it was the real deal or just some punks, but… if it was real, I just wanted you to know what you'd be getting into."

"Beg your pardon?" Ren asked surprisedly.

"Y'know, like if the Phantom Thieves were gonna take a stab and changing their hearts or… whatever it is you do."

Ren couldn't stop himself from chuckling slightly. Iwai could tell by his reaction that it didn't work that way and found himself mildly embarrassed.

"L-Look, like I said, whatever it is you're gonna do, just be careful, okay?" Iwai said, crossing his arms.

"You don't need to worry. The Phantom Thieves aren't really a thing anymore, so it's more I couldn't even if I wanted to. I won't get into why, but…"

An understanding Iwai nodded his head and smirked somewhat. It gave away the slight amount of relief that he felt upon hearing Joker say those words. Without adding anything more, he opened the door and stepped back outside with Ren in tow.

The teen waved Iwai goodbye before heading towards the entrance, taking out his cellphone as he did so.

Chat: Still Too Young

Ren: Finished w/ Iwai. I'm headed towards the station square now.

Futaba: He tell ya anything good?

Ren: Define good…

Ann: Oh c'mon! You know what she means.

Ryuji: But for real, he tell you anythin'?

Yusuke: Perhaps it can wait for later? Makoto and Haru are returning shortly.

Ren: Actually, I was gonna suggest just that. It'll be easier that way.

Ann: Sounds good. We'll head to the underground mall now.

Ren: Gotcha.

"Hey, Ren…" Morgana abruptly spoke up as the two walked down the sparsely crowded street corner.

"Yeah?"

"Are you… serious about just letting this be?"

"That's a strange question," Ren muttered. He stopped at a crosswalk before giving his full attention to his companion. "And yes, I am. I don't see what we could do. It's not like we have any leads, and with the Metaverse gone now…"

"Yeah, yeah, I get it already! It's just… strange to hear about something weird like that and not somehow wind up right in the middle of it."

The crosswalk light turned green as Ren chuckled.

"I get what you mean. The police do have jobs for a reason though, even if most of them aren't any good at it."

The raven-haired teen whispered the last bit of his sentence under his breath as he noticed a nearby officer acting as a traffic controller. It seemed that his feline friend shared his opinion on the subject, but he had no reservations with how loudly he'd say them.

"What good have they ever done for us?! They're… t-they're like totally useless! I mean, I get what you're saying, it's just…!" Morgana caught himself mid-rant and took a second to clear his throat before he got even more heated. "I do suppose there's no choice other than to let it be. I just… get a weird feeling about this is all."

"Me too," Ren admitted solemnly. "Still, not like it can be helped, right?"

Morgana nodded in understanding. After all, neither he nor anyone else would or could blame him. Ren had just gone through and ordeal and a half in prison to take down Shido, but then about half a year later managed to get his record expunged and catch up on all of his schoolwork. To top all that off, two of his closest friends were returning from collage to do anything but dress up and fight Shadows and it was bad enough he had to tell them about the shooting the previous night.

It was definitely true that the scant details of recent events made it impossible to act meaningfully. Then there was the fact that a good portion as to why Ren was so uninterested was because his life seemed like it was becoming somewhat normal, and a happy form of normal at that.

The two talked no more on the subject and continued down the shopping district towards the mall. They just hoped they wouldn't be kept waiting for too long.

Streets of Yongen-Jaya

"It should be right around here, right Naoto?" Yu inquired.

"Yes, just down the street."

The lawyer-detective duo was in search of the clinic that Shinji Inazuka had been brought to post-shooting. After exiting the train station, they took the path directly down a few of the local shops. They walked in comfortable silence, but those they passed did not.

"Seriously, it's amazing! You gotta DL it right now!"

"It can't seriously do all the stuff you say it does…"

"Nah, she's totally right! It's, like, so amazing! The app is totes off the rails!"

Naoto could not help but roll her eyes with derision, which did not go unnoticed by her partner. He couldn't hold back a slight chuckle, which earned him a surprised look.

"W-What?" asked Naoto. "They were going 'totes crazy' over an app! How am I not supposed to—"

"Nah, I get it, I get it," Yu replied, trying his level best to wipe the smirk off his face.

"You don't seem like you get it," said the detective, her lips forming a slight pout. "This entire generation is far too obsessed with technology, and useless technology at that! The internet contains a treasure trove of information and most would rather use it to look at… memes, or something!"

"Hmm, memes are pretty great though..."

"I beg your pardon?"

"Nothing. Just keep in mind we're really not that much older than these teenagers. I'd argue not a lot different, too."

He received no response, but they came across a group of teens that were goofing around as they walked up the street. It was an odd bunch for sure, and definitely quirky if their bickering was anything to go by. Needless to say, it hit both of them with a wave of nostalgia.

"Wouldja cut it out already?! I was kiddin'! Well, sorta… you could maybe have tried a bit harder on your makeup today."

"Shut it, Ryuji!"

"I believe this is what they call lack of tact."

"Like you're one to talk, Inari… you weirdo."

"And just who are you calling a weirdo?!"

The group of four headed towards the train station and were soon outside of earshot. Yu gave Naoto a knowing stare and a smirk that gave 'smug anime girl memes' a run for their money.

"See? Not so different, right?"

"Alright, alright, you've made your point," Naoto said with a smile, averting her gaze and giggling slightly. "Anyway, the clinic is just up ahead. It should be… Ah, the Takemi Medical Clinic. Keep in mind that she declined to answer questions earlier last night and put this off, so she may end up being a bit uncooperative. Given her background, I can understand why. Just be ready for it, okay?"

When they entered, they saw neither patrons nor the doctor herself. The exam room wasn't marked as in use, so they looked around for a sign to see where she might have gone. The door to said exam room soon opened, giving way to the very person that they needed to speak to. Naturally, the blue-haired detective was the first to walk up and speak to her.

"Dr. Tae Takemi, I presume."

"Hm?" Takemi muttered, somewhat shocked upon seeing the young woman walk up to her so soon after she'd entered the room. "Um, yes, that's me. If you're here to receive treatment or a diagnosis, I'm sorry to say that—"

"Apologies, but that's not why we've come to see you. My name is Detective Naoto Shirogane and I'm working with local authorities regarding the investigation of the shooting that took place here last night. I was hoping you'd be willing to answer some questions."

A rather unamused Takemi crossed her arms and leaned against the doorframe, her eyes still fixed on Naoto.

"You know, it's rude to interrupt people, detective. And I was about to say that I have an appointment to make with the director of the hospital I work at. If this could at all wait until later this afternoon…"

"We're sorry to be a bother," Yu chimed in, striking a friendly tone. "I know you've had bad experiences in the past with local police harassing you. This is all voluntary questioning, so if you'd really prefer that we do this later, I'm sure we can accommodate that."

It was then that the good doctor's eyes first landed on Yu Narukami. Her slight frown and icy aura softened noticeably, although that was just about par for the course when it came to him.

"So you know about that, huh?" Takemi asked, almost leadingly.

"It was well documented in Shoichi Oyamada's confession. I heard about the case from a friend of mine that worked on the prosecution team. His vendetta against you aside, bringing that poor girl into it was just unforgivable."

And just like that the ice had melted almost entirely. A coy but very clearly present smile curled onto the young woman's lips. Her hands dropped to her side and she walked up to him with a glint in her eyes.

"Well, well… polite and he does his homework. What's your name?"

"Yu. Yu Narukami. I'm an attorney with the Special Investigations Department," he introduced, extending his hand.

"A pleasure to meet you," Takemi responded. She eyed his figure amply. "And might I say, you've got quite a nice physique. You seem to exercise daily, and I can tell just by your grip you've got good muscle tone. If I were still in need of a sturdy test subject, I'd be asking you to volunteer."

"Thanks, I think," Yu replied, his charming smile still ever-present. "Anyway, we should be leaving, right, Naoto?"

"No need," Takemi replied, a slight blush on her cheeks. She turned heel and headed towards the exam room. "I can stand to be a few minutes late. The exam room is more comfortable, so please follow me."

"Gladly, and thank you," Yu replied.

A deadpanned Naoto followed the two inside, feeling more like a third wheel at this point than anything else. She didn't dwell on it much, and quickly got situated in the exam room with the now cooperative doctor.

"So," began Takemi as she took a seat on her characteristic stool, "what did you want to ask me?"

"Taking us through what had happened in the first place should be enough," Naoto said.

"Fair enough," she said with a shrug of her shoulders. "Last night, just as I was about to pack up and leave, a group of kids came through the doors of my clinic carrying a man that was clearly bleeding heavily."

"I can imagine you were surprised," Naoto thought aloud.

"Putting it mildly, yes. I had them put him in the exam room, gave him some painkillers, and went to work. I could bore you with the step by step, but that information was already given to the ambulance personnel that picked him up as well as the officers that spoke to me last night. I at least told them that much…"

"Have you ever treated anyone for a gunshot wound before?" Naoto asked.

"Yes, once before as a paramedic. That was ages ago, and it was nowhere near Yongen-Jaya if that's what you're asking. This area is fairly quiet, and it's no small exaggeration to say that a fresh gunshot wound is by far the worst injury I've had to actively treat here," Takemi stated pointedly.

"And you did a damn good job of it, too. You're probably the main reason that young man is alive right now," Yu remarked. "Even the hospital staff spoke highly of his treatment, saying it was flawless. I can see why people regard you so highly as a doctor."

"My, my, you really are quite the charmer," Takemi replied coyly. Her eyes shifted back to a still stone-faced Naoto. "Was there anything else that you'd wanted to ask me?"

"No, actually," spoke the detective calmly. "Unless that is you feel you can offer some additional insight?"

For a short while, Takemi thought on what else she might've been able to offer. However, her demeanor didn't give off that she had anything groundbreaking to add.

"I can tell you the gunshot occurred at close range and was consistent with a panicked shot. Even with my comparative lack of experience fixing up gun wounds, I could tell that much just from looking at the bleeding pattern and angle of the projectile. Other than that…"

"Good to know, and that's at least one piece of new information," Naoto said politely, mustering a small but friendly smile. "We'll be getting out of your hair now. Thank you for speaking with us."

"No problem at all. Really, I should be apologizing since I feel the two of you wasted a trip," admitted Takemi.

"This was really just a formality that the local police offered to take care of, but I insisted… There really isn't a substitute for your own work, after all."

"I can respect that," replied Takemi. "Well, I wish you luck in catching whoever did this."

"We'll find them, I'm sure of it," Yu said in a stern voice.

"If you say it like that, I almost believe it's a certainty," Takemi thought aloud, a small smile spread across her lips. "Take care, and if you need anything else, please feel free to come visit. I don't mind lending a helping hand if it's in my power to do so."

"We'll keep that in mind. And good luck with your meeting, I hope you don't miss it on our account."

In no time at all they were outside the clinic's doors with Naoto almost immediately looking at Yu with half-lidded eyes and her hands crossed underneath her breasts.

"What?" Yu asked, his voice holding genuine confusion.

"Nothing," she said through a sigh, fighting the urge to roll her eyes. "Sadly, it seems our trip here was more or less uninformative."

"But you were right when you said she was a bit uncooperative, so it's better we're here instead of the local police."

"I think the only thing that made her talk was you," Naoto said almost bitterly.

"Oh c'mon, the good-cop bad-cop routine went pretty well I'd say."

"S-Sure, yeah, that was my intent, naturally… let's just go with that," Naoto replied. She cleared her throat, "Anyway, let's head to the local police precinct. We can get up to speed on where they stand from there. I suggest that—"

A ringing phone cut her off, and she quickly reached into her pocket and answered.

"Hello? Yes, this is she. Yes… right. We're on our way." When the phone had hung up, Yu looked at her expectantly. He needn't even ask before she stated, "We might have some good news. They found the van they believed was used in the kidnapping last night abandoned nearby."

"Then let's get going."

Aoyama-Itchome: Underground Mall

Ren and Morgana stood by the flower shop, waiting patiently for their fellow Phantom Thieves to arrive—at least most of them. His phone abruptly started vibrating, and he figured it was a message from his friends saying that they'd arrived. It came in the form of a direct message from Ann.

Ann: I see you!

"Ah, they're here?" Morgana asked, his tail starting to twirl about from within Joker's bag.

"Yeah, looks lik—"

"Gotcha!"

Ann had suddenly spawned out of nothingness like a Shadow and attached herself to his left arm. It jolted him, but Ren seemed more or less unaffected. It was clear in her tone that she wanted a more significant reaction.

"Trying to startle me?" Ren asked, unable to hold back a slight smile.

"Maybe," she replied.

"She was and clearly it didn't work," Ryuji stated as he and the other non-collegiate Phantom Thieves members walked towards them. He gestured a finger at Panther, adding, "Which means you owe me 100 yen."

"Nuh-uh! I totally got him! J-Just a little bit!"

"I dunno," Futaba said skeptically. She took a good, long look at her pseudo-brother's face. "Yeah, he doesn't look startled at all."

"I would have to agree," Yusuke chimed in.

"I-It never shows on his face! C'mon, Ren, back me up!"

"Well, yeah, of course it did. It was only a bit so not like it gave me a heart attack, but still…"

"Whaaat?" Ryuji groaned.

"That's weird. Must be a bug in his programming," Futaba stated with a wide grin. Joker just rolled his eyes.

"Bug or not, you heard it, Ryuji! Pay up!"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah… Also, bro, you're such a traitor," Ryuji muttered. He gave over a one-hundred-yen coin grudgingly.

"I was just being honest, and isn't that why you love me?" Ren jibbed back.

"Aw shut yer' trap," Ryuji said with a chuckle.

"And don't beat yourself up about it, Ren! I'm sure the next software patch will get that glitch wiped right off your system!" Futaba exclaimed cheerfully.

"Oh ha-ha, very funny," he dryly remarked. "Anyway, are we going to go searching for their present anytime soon or did you want to sit here and mess with me for another half hour?"

"We can get to shoppin' right after Ann decides to let go of your arm," Ryuji stated with a cheeky expression plastered across his features.

Ann quickly realized she was still clinging tightly to Ren's left arm and jolted backwards, reflexively clasping her hands together behind her back. Her cheeks went red as she started to awkwardly stare at the ground.

"So, shall we?" Ren offered.

Yongen Jaya: Unassociated Parking Lot

The lawyer-detective duo walked up to the perimeter the police had created and addressed one of the officer's present.

"I'm Detective Naoto Shirogane and this is Special Prosecutor Yu Narukami. We're here to take a look at the scene," Naoto stated firmly.

"ID's, please."

The two presented what was requested and after a curt nod from the officer, they were allowed to pass through the caution tape and approach the scene. Before actually being able to see the abandoned vehicle, they had a good idea of what they were in for upon smelling the charred scent of the air. Seeing the burned van a few short seconds later served only to confirm the obvious.

"Looks like they burned it… and thoroughly at that," Naoto thought aloud.

Upon their arrival at the scene, a well-dressed member of the investigation team, likely a detective, walked up to greet them. He was fairly tall, his height being at least that of Yu's, and had short, well-kempt black hair. He appeared to be middle-aged, but on the younger end to be sure. When the man finally got up to them, he extended his hand as a greeting and introduced himself.

"Good, I've been expecting you. I'm Detective Ryu Saiba, I'm to be your contact working this case for the local precinct."

The trio shook hands and exchanged names, but it quickly turned into a business-first pleasantry-later setting.

"So, what have you been able to find so far?" inquired Naoto.

"Well," he began with a sigh, his tone foreshadowing a disappointing answer, "I'll be honest when I say not much. We gather from talking to people that live nearby that the fire started between 3:00-5:00 in the morning. The plates have been removed, the contents are all but burned to ash, and since this parking lot's security footage was centrally stored in the main building just over there…"

"Let me guess: they broke in and took it," Yu said blankly.

"Yup, and there wasn't a nightguard, a backup digital copy—nothing at all that coulda seen what actually happened, and that's where we stand. 'Course I had the local officers start a search in the surrounding three-mile radius for anything else that might've been dumped, but so far nothing's come up. I've also had the boys at the precinct pull local traffic cameras footage for our review, which should be ready soon."

"And there wasn't anything you were able to gather from inside the van in time?" Naoto pressed.

"Sadly, no. But—"

"Detective Saiba, it's the chief on the line for you!" One of the officers exclaimed.

"Haah… sorry, I gotta take this. Feel free to stick around as long as you want, but sorry to say you probably won't find anything."

"Thanks all the same, and good work," Yu replied politely.

A brief nod was given before the raven-haired man walked over to the officer, effectively leaving the pair to go about their business.

"Hey, you alright?" Yu asked, noticing the rather sour look on his friend's face.

"It's just… frustrating," Naoto all but hissed. "The dumping of this van is all but perfect to the point it feels as if they're professionals at disposing evidence. This lot is several miles away from any residential area, meaning the fire wouldn't be detected for some time after it started. They pulled the plates off so it couldn't be traced, and they knew how to get access to the security footage, which leads me to believe this was a known dumping area in the event that anything was to go wrong. As a result of the aforementioned points, we know absolutely nothing more than we did last night after nearly half a day's work. So yes, frustrated is a very good word for what I'm feeling right now."

There was an awkward silence that resulted clearly from the silver-haired young man wanting to give her a short period to calm herself down. Still, he did have at least one thing to offer her that he believed might cheer her up.

"Well, there's a small silver lining to all of this, right?" Yu mused, receiving a confused look from his partner.

"And how do you figure that…?"

"If they're this cautious, then that means we can now safely assume this is the real deal. And to date, this is the first mistake they've made," Yu answered.

As the blue-haired woman was about to respond, she paused and realized, rather quickly, that he had a very good point. Her agitation died down as if a wave of good news had just landed at her feet.

"You're… right. How could I lose sight of that…?" Naoto whispered as if to herself. Her fists balled and she pinched the palms of her hands with her nails in a fit of self-deprecation. "And you're very right in saying this is their first mistake. It's up to us to capitalize on it."

"Exactly," said Yu with a reassuring smile. "How about we head over to the precinct? We can hopefully review the traffic footage there."

Shibuya: Shopping District, Some Time Later…

The group of teens formerly known as the Phantom Thieves gazed at the crowded shopping district with chagrin. Futaba almost had a panic attack just starring at the huge number of people that were out and about.

"Holy crap that's a ton of people…!" Ryuji exclaimed.

"Was it this bad when you went to see Iwai-san?" Yusuke inquired.

"Nowhere near," Ren answered. Someone rudely bumped into him from behind, though he let it slide as the man waved back in apology. "To be honest, I have no idea how it got this crowded after just half an hour…"

"Oooh, I know why," Futaba stated.

The orange-haired teen quickly got everyone's attention. The turned to her, seeing that she was presenting her phone to the broader group. It was an article detailing a large number of promotional events that would be taking place all that week.

"Sponsored by the Omnia corporation…" Yusuke read curiously. "Well, if they're behind such crowded masses in our shopping district, I'd say we're better off without—wait, they're having a sale on paint?!"

Ever the self-absorbed eccentric, Fox took Futaba's phone and started to read the article more closely. Most everyone else just watched it happen, but Futaba quickly sprang into action.

"Hey! Use your own phone!" Futaba exclaimed, trying to snatch it back.

Yusuke used his superior height to put the phone out of reach as he read on without a care in the world. Futaba jumped as high as she could and reached with all her might, but to no avail. While it was adorable to watch, she couldn't even come close to grasping her phone.

"Yusuke, give Futaba her phone back…" Ann sighed.

"What…? Oh, right, my apologies," Yusuke said in a monotone voice.

She grabbed it with an indignant huff, doing her best to keep her face from going red with embarrassment.

"I would've gotten in back eventually, by the way…!" Futaba proclaimed indignantly.

"Hmm, that's rather unlikely given your short statu—Ow!"

Without warning but with extreme justification, Futaba smashed her booted foot right into Yusuke's shin. He looked her with an expression of immense shock and saw not a shred of remorse in her eyes.

"But… why?"

"You deserved that one," Ren said with a shrug.

"Thank you," Futaba said, appreciating the backup. "And you better not steal my phone again!"

"Guys, focus!" Morgana remarked.

"Mona's right! We don't have a whole lot of time until Makoto and Haru get back!" Ann exclaimed.

"Yes, regarding that…" Yusuke began in a blank tone. "I believe we should divide and conquer… d-due to the crowds. Yes, the crowds. The odds are that one of us will find a suitable gift and we can communicate as such in our group chat."

"Actually, that's a great idea!" Ryuji stated energetically.

"I agree," Ren said. He gave Fox a sly smirk. "And you wouldn't happen to be suggesting this because you wanted to slip away to get art supplies, now would you?"

"…n-no."

"Aaaand there it is," Ann muttered, shaking her head. "Take this seriously, will you?!"

"I still like the idea. We'd cover more ground," Futaba chimed in. "I can go with Yusuke and cover the shopping area on the right. Whether you guys wanna split into groups of two or not can be up to you."

"Huh? There's only three of… Ah, I gotcha. Mona doesn't really count tho," Ryuji replied.

"What'd you say blondie?!"

"Calm down," Ann said with a chuckle, patting the cat on the head to placate him and in turn eliciting a pleasant purr. "Ren, Ryuji, Mona and I can take the area up ahead on the left. Just remember to message the group if you find anything!"

Everyone seemed to be in agreement, but a certain black-haired Phantom Thief couldn't help but feel a sense of worry. The target of said worry seemed to pick up on that.

"Ren?" Futaba asked curiously, noticing his gaze.

"Are you sure you're okay walking into a crowd of so many people?" he asked.

"Hehe~ Yup! I'll be totally fine!" Futaba answered, smiling brilliantly. "Besides, I'll have Inari with me. His natural weirdness will repel the crowds no matter where we are!"

"You know, I'm starting to take personal offense to that label…" Yusuke remarked, although he was ignored by the one person he intended to address.

"Alright, as long as you're okay with it."

The eccentric duo started to head off side by side. However, not being able to help himself, Ren called out to them just so that he could make one thing known.

"Hey, Futaba! If you find any deals while you're checking out the tech sale, let me know!"

Even if she didn't outwardly say it, her body language screamed just one word: busted. Ann giggled and Ryuji just shook his head. Soon they too walked down the left section of booths.

"So many options…" Morgana uttered in amazement.

"And people," Ryuji groaned. His stomach grumbled, only adding to his annoyance. "Great, so now there's that to deal with…"

"Looks like somebody's hangry," Ann remarked.

"I'm not—you know what, bite me. I'm hungry, so what?" Ryuji shot back, crossing his arms with a slight blush on his cheeks.

"We can get food after we find a good present," Ren stated.

"Can't be soon enough."

"Okay, I know you've got your panties in a bunch because you're hungry, but…"

Ann paused mind-sentence, or mid-burn depending on how you look at it, and abruptly pointed at one of the booths just a short distance away. The smile on her face made it seem as if she'd found exactly what they were looking for.

"The Takoyaki stand?" Ryuji asked.

"Oh, for the love of…! Get your mind off of food!" Ann exclaimed. "The one to the left of that."

"The one that says 'Digital Photobooth', right?" Ren asked.

"Yes!" chirped Ann. She looked at her two friends energetically. "Why don't we get one of our group photos developed and put in nice frames for both Makoto and Haru?! Isn't that, like, the perfect gift?!"

"Hey, that ain't a bad idea!" Ryuji said, his tone laced with excitement. He nudged Ren with his elbow. "So, whatcha think?"

"I think you just want food," Morgana jibbed with a chuckle. "But it is an amazing idea. As expected of Lady Ann."

"I agree. It's perfect," said Ren, a genuine smile showing on his features.

"Then what're we waiting for? Let's go!"

Shibuya Shopping District: Izakaya Family Restaurant, Some Time Later…

"Please sit right here. A waitress will be with you shortly," said a cheerful attendant as she gestured to a nearby booth.

Ann, Ren, and Ryuji took their respective seats, the former two sitting on one side and the lattermost sitting on the other. It took no time at all for the most hunger-stricken among them to pick up a menu and mull over it as if his very life depended on it.

"The menu's not edible, you know," Ann joked.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, you're hilarious…" Ryuji muttered uncaringly. "Seriously tho, I could kill for some fried chicken right about now! I hear it's amazing at this place!"

"A sushi restaurant would've been better," Morgana stated in a tone of derision.

"Maybe next time," Ren said, scratching the feline's chin playfully.

"Meow~"

The waitress soon came over, smiling brightly as she asked what they'd like to order. They quickly placed their orders after which she bowed her head respectfully and took off.

"Okay… and with that done, now I gotta go to the can," stated Ryuji as he got up from his side of the booth.

"Hey, can you take me with you? I have to go too," Morgana remarked.

"Uh, you're a cat."

"I know how to use a toilet, Ryuji."

That line actually got the appropriately named Skull to stop in his tracks and look confusedly at Ren. When all he received in response was a nod, he looked back down at the feline.

"But you… how can you even…? Since when did you even—you know what, never mind, just give me the damn bag," Ryuji said.

When the two frenemies were off, only Ann and Ren remained at the booth. The former looked cheerfully a the latter and attempted to make pleasant conversation.

"Nice place, don't ya think?"

Her smile dropped slightly when she noticed Joker's mind was elsewhere, and from what she could tell, that wasn't a change for the better. With a nudge, she broke him out of the deep thought that he found himself in.

"You okay?" Ann asked.

"Y-Yeah, I'm fine," Ren answered. "And yes, it is a nice place."

"Liar…" Ann muttered.

"Hm? What do—"

"You know exactly what I mean. You. Are. Lying," Ann stated pointedly. "So, you gonna tell me what's on your mind or do I have to force it out of you?"

Though her tone was harsh, the look in her eyes and her expression of concern gave away her true feelings. She was truly worried on his account, and that realization guilted him into speaking his mind.

"It's just about what happened last night. Not what happened, specifically, just that…" Ren trailed off. A part of him hoped he wouldn't have to clarify, but the determined model wasn't going to let him off the hook.

"Go on," Ann pressed.

"We saved a man's life, and I'm proud of that. But a bunch of criminals got away after shooting a man, and we can't do anything about it. It just feels… weird to see something like that happen and then not be able to go after the people who did it."

"Feeling nostalgic for our days as the Phantom Thieves?" Ann said with a teasing smile.

"Yeah, maybe," he began with a chuckle, sheepishly rubbing the back of his head at the admission. "Still, the truth is that I'm happy right now with the way life is going, even if it is perfectly normal. That may even be the reason I like it so much. Even so, it was strange… feeling that urge to go after the people that shot that guy the other day, I mean."

Though his tone was more or less even and his expression ever-unchanged, Ann could feel the underlying conflict in his words. She offered him a friendly smile and a comforting hand placed atop his own. It caught him by surprise but it quickly got his attention.

"I understand, more than I want to admit," Ann said, now retracting her hand. "And it is weird, right? We're no longer the Phantom Thieves. I'm sure last night was the first time you realized exactly what that means. And honestly… it's the same for me."

"Hm?" Ren muttered curiously.

It seemed random at first, but Ann then gestured her index finger towards the area just under her eyes. The raven-haired teen quickly realized that there was a loosely defined dark circle underneath it. He hadn't noticed it until that point, and probably wouldn't have in his current state of mind because of how well hidden it was underneath her makeup.

"I had a lot on my mind last night so I didn't end up getting a lot of sleep," she admitted. Under the pressure of her friend's close gaze, she felt somewhat embarrassed and averted her own. "I-I just couldn't shake the feeling, y'know? Of not being able to get after those guys."

"Sorry to say I didn't really have that problem. Did you… at least get some sleep?" Ren asked hopefully.

"A few hours, yeah. That jerk Ryuji had the nerve to say I did a horrible job on my makeup and that it was super obvious! I got paranoid and reapplied on the train!" Ann exclaimed.

"You look as pretty as you always do to me," Ren commented absentmindedly.

At first, she couldn't help but blush, but quickly found her confidence and grinned widely at the compliment.

"And it's that charm of yours that's why you'll always be more popular with the ladies than he is," Ann stated.

"I'll have you know my charm is maxed out," Ren joked.

In the midst of the blonde-haired girl's laughter, the waitress returned with the food. She placed it down in front of them, recalling their orders easily.

"Thanks!" Ann chirped.

"My pleasure," she replied. "And will there be anything else? Perhaps a dessert menu?"

Ann looked to Joker with the clear intent of wordlessly asking him to be her partner in crime. He gave no indication one way or another, either because he didn't care or because he just wanted to mess with her.

"W-Well, I really shouldn't. And the extra money would be kinda…" Ann uttered.

"That shouldn't be an issue. After all, meals this lunch hour are free."

"…w-wait, what?!" Ann exclaimed.

"Yes," replied the waitress with a giggle. "The Omnia company has fronted the bill at all local restaurants in the shopping district during lunch hours as part of their promotional event."

"So, in other words… free food!" Ann said in an excited tone. "I-In that case, a dessert menu would be great!"

"Here you are, and please let me know when you've decided."

It took no time at all for the sweet-loving model to read over the menu. At her count, there were at least twelve things that she wanted to try, but she could only have one per the limitations she placed on her sweet consumption.

"Hmm~ It's so hard to decide…!" Ann thought aloud.

"I think I'll get the strawberry crepe," Ren said, pointing his finger at the menu.

"Wha?! You're seriously getting a dessert?!" Ann all but shouted, unable to contain her shock.

"Why not? It's free."

"What's free now?" Ryuji asked as he sat back down on his side of the booth.

It took no time at all for him to digging into his food, which ended up being to his detriment given what happened after his question was actually answered.

"The food. The waitress said that because of the Omnia corporations' promotional event, everything is free during the lunch hours," Ren said.

"F-For *cough* *cough*…! For real?!"

"Yup!" Ann chirped. "Ren and I are looking over the desserts as we speak!"

"Aw maaan! I shoulda gotten more food," Ryuji groaned.

"No one is stopping you from ordering more," Morgana pointed out in a deadpanned tone.

"Aw hell yeah I can!" Ryuji shouted. "And I don't know who or what Omnia is, but I wanna give 'em a big ol' hug!"

"Honestly me neither, but free sweets make you okay in my book!"

"Ah, I see you've fallen for their wiles just as Yusuke and Futaba have," Morgana commented. He rose his head condescendingly. "And to think that all the commercial businesses in this area will suffer once their mega-mall project is done. How could you forget that?"

"The free food applies for sushi restaurants too, by the way," Ren stated.

"M-Maybe they aren't so bad after all. Also, we should totally confirm if this is true and then, if it is, order one of everything."

"Thought so," chuckled Ren. "Well, I don't know about ordering one of everything, but we'll stop by one of the shops and pick something up for you on the way."

"You're the best!"

"Yeah, yeah, sure, but let's make sure we eat our fill here!"

"I'm game. Um, excuse me! Yes, we're ready!" beckoned Ann.

Yongen Jaya: Local Police Precinct – Conference Room

Yu Narukami knocked on the door to alert his companion that he was returning with their beverages from the vending machine. Sadly, said companion was in equally as foul a mood as he'd left her in. He almost didn't want to speak up given just how upset she looked.

In Naoto's defense, she had every right to be annoyed. The traffic footage was taking forever to be compiled, and at this rate they'd not be getting it until well into the night. They were relegated to looking over various documented questionings of Yakuza over the course of the past several months for any mention of clues on the men in white masks or their activities in the local area. To say that was like looking for a needle in a haystack was an understatement, although it was far better than sitting in place and doing nothing.

"Thanks," Naoto said as the silver-haired young man took his seat. She glanced at him sideways, a glimmer of hope in her eyes. "Any news on the traffic tapes?"

"Their compiling it now. I'm told it'll take around five more hours to do so," Yu replied, eliciting a deep sigh. "Any luck while I was gone in looking over those interrogation reports?"

"None whatsoever," said a very disappointed ace detective. "It seems to be one thing after another today…"

"You know what they say: when it rains, it pours," Yu stated as he went back to viewing his case files.

"True… but thank you all the same for helping me go through these files. Pointless though it may be, you never know with these kinds of things."

"I don't mind."

"And might I say I'm very impressed you're able to keep pace with me. My reading speed is one area where I thought I had an edge over you…" Naoto remarked.

"I didn't used to be this fast. But I read a book about speed-reading in high school and it doubled my reading pace."

"T-That's impressive… and highly abnormal," Naoto thought aloud, stealing a surprised glance at her newly-minted colleague.

"Really? I don't think it was all that impressive. It was a pretty short book, ironically enough," said Yu.

"That's not what I…" Naoto trailed off. She then found herself smiling and shaking her head. "You know, I suppose I shouldn't be surprised that you of all people found it that easy."

"I will admit though that studying law in college probably had me go through three lifetimes worth of books, so I probably got faster at reading just out of necessity."

The friendly conversation was interrupted by an officer coming in and presenting a file to the blue-suited detective. Her sour demeanor lessened just at the sight.

"My apologies for the delay. The officer didn't file the report properly so it was harder to track down," the man said with a bow of his head.

"That's quite alright, and thank you," Naoto replied.

He quickly vacated the room, but the blue-haired woman started going through the file before he took his first steps.

"I take it that's the witness report?" Yu mused.

"Exactly so," replied Naoto, still skimming through it. "It's nothing we didn't already know, except… Hmm, that's strange. Look at this here."

Naoto gestured the papers towards Yu, her finger pointed at the name of the person that was questioned on the scene.

"Ren Amamiya…" Yu spoke. It took him a less than a second to recall the significance of the name. "The one from the Shido incident, right?"

"And a major suspect in the Phantom Thieves case. The details thereof remain for certain eyes only, so it's difficult to say if there was ever any merit to the accusations," Naoto answered. She adopted a pensive look. "While I was not involved in the investigation, I have a feeling that the Phantom Thieves case is of the same ilk as the incident in Inaba all those years ago."

"I thought the same thing," Yu admitted. "I tried to dig deeper into it, but I ran into a clearance wall that I couldn't get past. To be honest, I was lucky enough to learn his name and potential involvement in the first place."

"That aside, what are the odds that just after his life regains a semblance of normalcy, something like this happens…? A strange coincidence, no?"

"We both know you don't believe in those," Yu pointed out with a smirk.

"True, although a connection between him and these men in white masks is without merit. The earliest rumors of their activity started while he was in a juvenile detention facility shortly after the downfall of Masayoshi Shido. Any relation at this point would be circumstantial at best."

"That's a long way of saying you don't think there's anything there," Yu said teasingly.

"I-In any case, the report doesn't seem to have anything new to it," Nauto said with a blush, thrusting the paper in the direction of the silver-haired lawyer.

"I'll take your word for it," he replied, placing the folder down neatly on the table. "Anyway, how about we take a break? You look like you're getting a bit tired."

"Do I?" Naoto wondered aloud. She shook her head of worry and redirected her focus to the document in front of her. "I-It would be best to just continue on with this work until the traffic footage is ready."

"Then how about this," began Yu, "why don't we finish going through what we can in the next few hours and then have dinner so we can catch up like we'd talked about?"

The hardened detective perked up with a rare glow to her eyes and face that showed her youth.

"That'd be great!" Naoto exclaimed. Her excitement, however, was short lived. "Ah, but… I still need to go over the traffic footage. I intended to do so in my hotel room for most of the night. Oh, wait! Perhaps we could have dinner and go over the security tapes afterwards?"

"Sure, why not."

"R-Really?! Er, I mean… thank you. I appreciate the extra set of eyes. And the company too, of course," Naoto said, regaining her composure in the aftermath of what could only be described as girlish joy.

Aoyama Itchome: Giza Line from Tokyo Station, Some Time Later…

"Okay, sooo… is it that one?" Ryuji asked, gesturing to a train that was stopping off to their side.

"For the tenth time, no," Ann said, a glare of daggers now being directed at the blond. "We're looking for the Number 8 train. Now keep an eye out or we'll miss it!"

"Actually, I'm pretty sure it's that one coming in right over there," Ren stated.

"Wha?! Y-You're right! C'mon everyone, let's go!" Ann exclaimed.

"Alright! And don't drop my bags, Inari!" Futaba said as she zoomed on ahead.

An indignant Yusuke was about to give a presumably sharp response, but the girls were off to the races. Ryuji, Ren and Yusuke took a more leisurely approach and started to walk over at their own pace. After all, the train hadn't even come to a full stop yet.

"Is this still about my taking her cellphone without permission?" Yusuke wondered aloud.

"Definitely," Ren answered.

"Hundred percent, my dude."

"Unbelievable," Yusuke said evenly. "How can someone so small in stature manage to harbor such a vendetta over something so trivial?"

"Yusuke, buddy, let me let you in on a little secret," Ryuji said, placing a comforting hand on his shoulder. "Girls can hold a grudge over just about anything and it's anyone's guess how long it'll last. Just be glad Futaba will be over it after today."

"Could that be wisdom coming from the moronic Ryuji…?!" Morgana uttered in a horrified voice. "T-The world must be coming to an end! Joker, get us to safety at once!"

"Why you son of a…!"

"Relax you two," Ren said with a smile as they neared the train's exit. "No more bickering, okay? It looks like they're here."

As if on cue, the two remaining members of what was formerly the Phantom Thieves exited the train station with bright smiles etched on their faces. They were almost immediately tackled by Ann, who squealed out their names as she went in for a big hug.

"Makoto, Haru! I missed you guys!"

"Hey, I missed them too y'know!"

Even Futaba found herself joining in on the group hug, though the boys of the group decided not to spoilt the moment. It was a precious sight to be sure.

"I missed you too," Makoto said, beaming with joy.

"As did I," Haru said, giggling as the group parted.

"So? How is college? You gotta tell us all about it!" Ann stated conversationally.

"It's an experience to be sure," Haru replied.

"You can say that again," added Makoto with a chuckle.

"Hey, guys…" Ren abruptly called out.

He quickly got their collective attention, though once he'd done so he chose an action to illustrate a thousand words. His finger pointed directly behind Makoto and Haru, and it was at that point that they turned once more to see a group of passengers patiently waiting for them to move out of the way.

"S-Sorry!" Ann apologized.

With that, the group quickly got out of dodge and walked over to a far less populated bench area. It took no time at all for them to resume conversation after that.

"Well, that was embarrassing…" Makoto admitted, her face turning a bit red.

"Indeed," remarked Yusuke, only to receive an elbow to the ribcage courtesy of Ryuji.

"Dude…!"

"What?"

"It's called tact, Yusuke," Futaba said, rolling her eyes. "Also, you guys should've said something sooner if you saw that! Ghh, that was so awkward! And Ren, you know I hate being in awkward situations like that…!"

"True. He definitely could've spoken up sooner," Makoto thought aloud.

"I would have, but I couldn't bring myself to break up your group," Ren replied. He then took out his phone and flipped the screen towards them, showing a picture that he'd evidently snapped in the moment. "Don't you think? Pretty cute, right?"

"Awww~!"

The girls cooed in unison, much to the amusement of Morgana and the annoyance of Ryuji, who voiced exactly that as they were fawning over the photo.

"Even when you mess up, you don't. It's unreal, and totally unfair…"

"It's a fine art to be sure," Yusuke said with a bemused smirk.

"O-Okay, it definitely is a cute picture," Ann admitted with a cheerful smile. "I might even make it my new phone background!"

"Same! Send it to me and all is forgiven!" Futaba said, grinning madly.

"Gladly," Ren answered. He quickly sent it to the main group chat as an attachment and placed the phone back in his pocket. "So, where do you guys want to head out to?"

Naturally this question was posed to Haru and Makoto, the latter of whom looked at him curiously.

"Oh? I assumed you guys had something planned and already decided on a place to eat…"

"We were gonna," began Ryuji, "buuut then we decided that since you guys were the ones coming back, you should get to pick where we head off to. It's only fair, right?"

"Hmm… Well, I don't know about you Mako-chan, but I could actually go for some sushi right about now," Haru said.

Morgana was all but weeping tears of joy.

"Haru, I truly missed you…!"

"Aw, thanks, Mona-chan," Haru replied, giggling at the ever-dramatic feline. She turned to the brown-haired young woman expectantly. "So, how about it?"

"Sushi sounds great, actually. Although to be honest I'm happy just spending time with everyone," Makoto stated.

With that the group headed off in unison. Well, more or less in unison. The way things shaped up after just a short distance, it seemed that the girls were all over one another talking one another's ears off while the boys followed in tow. They would occasionally join in on the conversation, and periodically receive verbal clap backs in Yusuke's case because Futaba seemed to do so just about every time he spoke. He did deserve it, though.

After some time, they arrived at a local sushi restaurant and were seated rather quickly at a large booth. Ryuji, Yusuke, Joker and Ann took up one side while the remainder took the other. They soon placed their respective orders and got back to making conversation.

"So really, how is college?" Ann inquired.

"I think it's truly an amazing experience from an educational perspective. Although, you'd be surprised by how much less stressful it is than High School…" Haru answered.

"Well, I get that. After all, how can you top navigating the Metaverse? College ain't got nothin' on that, I'm sure," Ryuji said.

"Not what she meant," stated Makoto, chuckling at the admittedly funny joke. "I've had a similar experience as well. It's almost like getting in was tougher than the actual curriculum. Not that I'm complaining, mind you."

"Exactly," Haru muttered.

"And what about the fun stuff? Are college parties as crazy as I've heard?" Ryuji pressed with a grin plastered from ear to ear.

"While I don't know what you've heard, there certainly are ones that get out of hand. Just the other week after finals, the local police had to break up one such party. I'm told the amount of alcohol present could have filled up a swimming pool…" Haru stated, a touch of awe in her voice.

"Woah…!"

"I've heard that too, but I'm sure that was an exaggeration… probably."

"Probably?" Ann uttered with a quirked brow. "You mean they actually get that crazy? Have you ever been to one that was, like, off the rails?"

The eldest members of the Phantom Thieves shared a look almost as if wondering how much they should say.

"N-No, not really," Makoto finally replied.

"Not really, indeed," Haru added.

"Nice to see your both still bad at lying to us," Ren remarked.

Seeing the sly smirk on his face and the assured nature of his tone made both of them blush. It didn't help that virtually everyone present was laughing at their expense as a result.

"Spill it!" Ann exclaimed cheerfully.

"One party, okay? We went to one party the first week…" Makoto began.

"Which may or may not have been broken up by local authorities and I may or may not have needed to carry Mako-chan back to our apartment because she had too much to drink!" Haru added.

The groups' reaction was about as expected.

"You didn't need to add that part in, Haru!" a red-faced Makoto exclaimed. She turned to see Ann and Ren getting the biggest kick out of that and immediately defended herself. "I-It was my first time drinking anything and I thought the vodka was water, okay?! I'd like to see the lot of you do any better!"

"E-Ehem… no need to be embarrassed, Makoto," Ren said reassuringly, still fighting off residual laughter.

The youngest of the Niijima sisters just huffed and slumped back in her chair, wanting nothing more than to temporarily disappear. Feeling somewhat guilty, Ann spoke up and attempted to change the subject.

"It's nice to hear you two are at least having a bit of fun. We've had our share of craziness here, too."

"You talkin' about that shooting thing Ren saw last night?" Ryuji absentmindedly asked.

The blond didn't realize what he'd just said until seeing Ann glare at him and Ren pinch the bridge of his nose. Yusuke and Futaba just shook their heads in unison.

"…w-what was that?!" Makoto exclaimed in a shocked tone.

"You're kidding…!" Haru practically shouted.

"Aw shit," Ryuji muttered with chagrin.

"Ren, what is he talking about? Is he serious?!"

Predictably, both Haru and Makoto were extremely worried. With a sigh, he readied to fill them in on the details.

"I'd have preferred not to bring this up until later on, but yes, he's mostly right."

"A shooting?! Are you—"

"Before you freak out, would you please do me the favor of letting me finish telling you what happened first?" Ren calmly requested.

The two almost in perfect synchrony realized that they were on the brink of making a scene and calmed themselves—at least outwardly. It remained to be seen whether or not they'd keep it that way.

It was then that Joker conveyed the whole of the other night's events to the two collegiate Phantom Thieves. Thankfully, the full picture seemed to give them some semblance of relief.

"Ryuji-kun, I'll thank you not to summarize things in such a way that gives the wrong impression," Makoto stated in a lethal tone of voice.

"Definitely," Haru said.

The collective glare that he was receiving from the beautiful young women made Ryuji more than uncomfortable. It seemed he wouldn't be getting any help from Ann or Ren, but an unlikely guardian angel came to his rescue.

"Still, Joker managed to save a man's life and he's totally fine. It's weird, but nothing to worry about overall, yeah?" Morgana chimed in.

"Yes, I suppose."

"When you put it like that, it actually sounds quite amazing."

'Mona, you're my hero…!' Ryuji internally screamed out of joy.

"But on a lighter note, we may as well give this to you guys now…" Ren began.

He reached into his bag and took out two small, rectangular-shaped boxes and handed one each to the girls across from him. They looked at it curiously before actually opening them. Their reactions were just what you'd expect.

"It's the picture we took just before you guys went off to college," Ann stated with a beaming smile of her own.

"You guys…!" Makoto said, her voice almost shaking with emotion.

"This is one of my favorite pictures," Haru said. She clearly had tears start to well in her eyes, but held herself back given they were in a public place. "This has to have been Ann-chan's idea, right?"

"Guilty!" she replied.

"I'll treasure it always," Makoto stated.

"Speaking of pictures…" Futaba trailed off.

The orange-haired teen got up from her seat and leaned on the table while extending her hand as high as she could, her phone primed and ready for a picture. Everyone saw exactly what she was doing and bunched slightly closer so she could snap the picture.

"Say cheese!"

Shibuya: Sansou Hotel, Naoto's Room…

Naoto Shirogane could be described in many ways, but antsy and nervous were not words oft used to describe her. She was as calm, cool and collected as they came, and yet here she was walking in place in her hotel room glancing at the clock every so often. She chided herself every time she did, and yet she couldn't stop herself from doing it.

'Get your head together, Naoto. It's just a dinner… alone… w-with Yu…' Naoto thought. Needless to say, she failed to actually calm herself.

A firm set of knocks on her door caught her attention. She called out to the person on the other side, assuming it to be her dinner guest.

"Just a minute!"

As she walked to the door, she dipped into the bathroom and looked at her hair in the mirror. She fiddled with it slightly until she was satisfied with her appearance before walking on.

"I was starting to think you'd be late," spoke Naoto.

Sadly, the person on the other side was not who she was expecting. It seemed to be an employee of the hotel, which both disappointed and embarrassed her.

"Apologies ma'am. I'm just making the rounds on this floor and checking to see if all of our guests' needs are met. Would you be needing anything?"

"No, I'm quite fine, thank you."

With a respectful nod, the man was off and Naoto stepped back into her hotel room. She was about half-way down the hallways before she heard another knocking. This time she assumed it was the same man who perhaps forgot to tell her something, and so she answered with that mentality.

"Yes, did you need something else?"

In what was effectively a zero-for-two scenario, Yu was at her door with the food she'd requested him to get from a local restaurant she was fond of. However, she was saved the trouble of awkwardly explaining herself.

"Sorry, you must've thought it was that employee that's checking on the guests," Yu mused. He then lifted up the bags holding the food containers. "I guess in a way, I'm kinda like room service right now though."

"True enough. Please, come in. Make yourself at home!"

After a short while they were seated and their plates were ready. Before they ultimately started eating, Naoto seemed to be struck by realization and walked over to the bottle of wine she'd kept on the counter and brought it over to the table she'd set up.

"Almost forgot," Naoto said as she uncorked the bottle.

"I wasn't aware you drank," Yu thought aloud in a lackadaisical tone.

"Only on special occasions, and this most certainly counts," she replied. After pouring her glass, she turned to him, simply asking, "Would you like some as—actually, no, that's probably a bad idea. Your ability to handle alcohol is nonexistent from what I recall."

"What? I'm fine with wine."

"…if you say so. But I'll be watching you closely, and I won't hesitate to grab the glass from your hand if you start to… y-you know!"

"I promise I'll be fine."

It didn't take too long for the two to start eating and conversing. A comfortable atmosphere soon developed, even more so than was typical between the two. That likely had to do with the fact that it was the first time they were speaking to one another outside of work.

"So, how have you been? Really?" Yu asked, his friendly smile coming in even fuller force courtesy of the wine.

"I've been good. Busy, but good," Naoto replied, taking a sip of her own glass. Clearing her throat, she continued, "I just recently got back from Europe. A serial killer in Germany was stringing up swaths of police officers. I correctly deduced his identity after two weeks on the case, and ironically enough he turned out to be a local officer. They wanted to award me a medal for tracking him down so quickly, but I turned them down—you know, my desire to stay anonymous and all. G-Geez, look at me, I'm rambling, aren't I?"

"Not at all. It sounds really interesting, actually," Yu replied. "Still, I was more asking about you on a personal level. I see you've grown out your hair a lot more since the last time I saw you. It looks great, by the way. It really suits you."

"D-Does it? Well, thank you," Naoto replied, her cheeks heating up at the genuine compliment. "I've been good on that front as well. Although I don't think I've changed all that much in the years it's been since last we saw one another…"

"Really? I don't think that's entirely true…"

His words caught the blue-haired detective off guard. She looked at him confusedly and asking the obvious question.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean that you seem so confident now. Not that you didn't before, but… Hmm, I guess I should say you walk around proudly and you just look comfortable in your own skin," Yu elaborated. He looked at her with a sense of happiness showing in his eyes. "That's a pretty big change as far as I'm concerned, and I have to say I'm really happy to see it."

"S-Stop, you're making me blush…"

She reflexively tried to hide her face and out of habit reached for her cap in order to do so. It only made her more embarrassed when Yu chuckled, which dashed her initial hopes that he hadn't seen her attempt to do so.

"Anyway," Naoto said as firmly as she could. "How are you doing? Last we spoke, you were at Tokyo University studying preliminary law. And now three years later you're already a lawyer for the Special Investigations Division here in Tokyo… that's quite a feat."

"Is it?" Yu asked blankly.

"You see, I don't know if you're kidding or not," Naoto all but huffed, taking another sip of her wine. "I'm not sure if you're aware, but most people finish college, go to an actual law school, and then take the bar exam. That would put you at least three years ahead of schedule."

"Well, I did graduate early, and I took the bar during college because I felt I could pass, and I happened to. I was recruited by the SIU and ended up doing my legal internship at the Iwate division and got pulled into Tokyo after I was finished."

The total apathy for his accomplishments made Naoto stare at him blankly for a time, but she soon found amusement in it. Nobody but him could believe such levels of success were ordinary, although perhaps she wasn't one to talk.

"In any case, congratulations on all of your success," Naoto stated. She then began to broach a subject that she'd wanted to get at for quite some time. "And… have you happened to hear from any of the others recently?"

Although it was an innocent enough question, it quickly put a dark cloud over what was a pleasant conversation. The silver-haired young man's charming smile was replaced, albeit temporarily, with a bitter frown.

"I talk to Nanako and Dojima-san at least once a week. Everyone else though? Not really, no… not for a while, at least," Yu admitted. He took another sip of his wine, larger than any prior. "The last of them that I actually talked to in person was Kanji about a year and half ago when I was finishing up university. He was here in Tokyo at a fashion conference and we met up to have lunch."

"I see…"

"And what about you? Have you…?"

"Not particularly, no," Naoto replied. The self-disappointment was evident in her tone. She somewhat perked up as she continued, "But I have been keeping tabs on everyone, more or less. Kanji for example seems to have found great success as a fashion designer."

"Yeah, and I know Teddie models a lot of his clothing. He actually visited with Kanji," Yu added. He seemed to adopt a thoughtful expression. "I know Yosuke was finishing up a managerial program. Chie should be shortly graduating from the police academy back in Inaba, and Yukiko took over managing the Amagi inn."

"And Rise is as popular as ever. In fact, she seems to have spring-boarded even higher recently," Naoto remarked.

"…yeah, seems so."

There was a rare hint of emotion in Yu's voice that Naoto couldn't quite make out. She thought that the subject of conversation had perhaps gotten too depressing and opted to switch it to a lighter note.

"At least everyone seems to be doing well," Naoto stated.

"True, but I just wish I could see that firsthand. After I graduated two years ago—maybe even a bit before that—I'll be the first to admit that I fell off visiting Inaba," Yu uttered in a tone tinged with regret. "I had my reasons, but still…"

"I can tell you feel guilty about that… that you feel like the fact we haven't been as close recently is a bit your fault, right?"

"Yeah, something like that."

"I share that feeling as well," Naoto began. She took another sip of wine, following her friend's example as bitter feelings started to swell. "I want to emphasize that I'm not trying to place blame, but… when you stopped visiting Inaba as often, it started to feel like the place we called 'home' was no longer that. I started to take cases that I knew would take me away from Inaba for longer and longer periods of time, saying that it was all for work. However… the truth is that whenever I was there and you weren't, I found myself missing you desperately. It was a feeling I wasn't fond of."

Realizing exactly what she'd just said, the blue-haired detective placed her glass firmly off to her side and decidedly out of her own reach.

"Okay, t-that's enough wine for now," Naoto declared, her cheeks flushed. "Don't think too heavily on what I said, okay? I was just… you know…"

"No, don't worry about it. I understand what you were trying to say," Yu said reassuringly. It seemed that he'd recovered somewhat, even in spite of what was just said. "And for the record, Naoto… I missed you too. It may be under less-than-ideal circumstances, but I'm glad we're here together right now."

The red tinge in Naoto's cheeks deepened, and while she wanted to avert her eyes, she couldn't manage to do so. Yu's rare charming smile, likely brought out in full force courtesy of the wine, was simply too hypnotizing.

'I'd forgotten what it's like with him. He always throws me off my game…!' Naoto thought.

With a brief silence, the two finished their meals, after which Naoto got up and took their containers to the garbage can. She tried to do so, at least. Yu insisted he take care of his own and she relented. When all was said and done, they lined up by the series of large-screen TV's that the ace detective had lined up for viewing the security footage.

"…where did you get the extra TV?" Yu asked, having noticed the setup for the first time since walking into the room.

"Don't worry about it," Naoto replied blankly. "I'll take the one on the right, yours will be the left."

"Got it."

Yongenjaya: Café Leblanc, Some Time Later…

Ren entered the door of the quant coffee shop with Morgana in tow. He announced his presence casually, getting Sojiro's attention who greeted him in turn.

"Welcome back. I take it you managed to have some fun with your friends and forget about last night a little bit?"

"Mostly," Ren replied as he took a seat at the counter. "Ryuji kinda brought up last night without thinking and put me on the spot at one point. We moved past it though. It was a lot of fun."

"Loudmouth…" Morgana uttered with derision.

"Well, all the same, I'm glad that you had fun." Sojiro looked at the clock and continued, "I'd love to stay and chat with you, but it's getting pretty late. I think I'll lock up—you can go upstairs and just get ready for bed. I'm sure you've had a long day."

"I have, and thanks," Ren said with a smile.

Waving the shopkeeper goodbye, Joker went to his room and started to get ready for bed. Morgana beat him to the punch and propped himself on his bedside, yawning and sprawling out his limbs.

"Comfy?" Ren asked in a good-natured tone as he finished changing into his sleepwear.

"Always," Morgana replied haughtily. "You know, if possible, I still want to become human at some point… but I gotta say, this form isn't without its conveniences. I can't imagine how annoying it must be to have to spend a whole five minutes to get ready for bed."

Ren just nodded his head as he flipped through his phone messages one final time. When he saw that there was nothing outstanding to respond to, he closed all his chats and walked over to the charging cord by his bedside. However, during that short, almost negligible trip, his phone started to display a strange static screen. It immediately stopped him dead in his tracks.

'What the hell…?" Ren wondered confusedly.

"Everything okay, Joker?"

"Yeah, it's just my phone. The screen is all static. Let me try to…"

Without warning, the raven-haired teen went silent and stared at his phone wide-eyed. The static gave way, if only for a moment, to a strange symbol that was eerily similar to the Metaverse Navigation App. It vanished before he could get a really good look at it, but what he had seen was more than enough to send him into shock.

"No way…!" Ren uttered in disbelief.

"J-Joker…?" Morgana called out, his voice holding a touch of concern. "Umm, is it still the static, or—"

"I could've sworn that I just saw the icon for the Metaverse app on my screen," Ren stated.

"Wait, a-are you serious?! But that shouldn't… I mean, I don't even…"

With a sense of urgency, he started flipping through his phone's applications. Unlike a year and a half ago, it wasn't actually there on his phone for him to delete.

"I don't see it anywhere," Ren thought aloud. He triple-checked it to be sure, and then again on top of that just for good measure. "Yeah, it's definitely not there. That's… weird."

"Are you sure you didn't just imagine it? I mean, I do find that hard to believe, but it is possible, right?"

Ren nodded his head. It was definitely possible with the day he'd had. It felt too vivid though to be his imagination, and as a result he couldn't shake the sinking feeling in his gut. He walked over to the nearest object and started to mess around with it, trying to confirm that it was still in the real world. He did this several times over, a stone-cold analytical expression about him as he went about doing so.

"…you're startin' to freak me out."

"I was just making sure we're not getting sucked into the Metaverse right now."

After a minute or so, he was convinced they were in the real world. There were no distortions to reality, and his phone was perfectly normal once more. The app was still not present, too, and so he carefully placed the phone on its charging station before getting into bed.

Every indication pointed to one conclusion: everything was fine and perfectly normal. And it was for that very reason that only one thing was on his mind.

'Yeah, there's no way in hell this is over,' Ren thought.

All the same, he closed his eyes and drifted into sleep. Whether it would be interrupted by a long-nosed man remained to be seen, though he sorely hoped it wouldn't. It didn't take long for him to fall into a deep sleep.

Eventually, he returned to the realm of the conscious, or so he thought. He opened his eyes, and upon doing so, he was met with exactly what he had expected, at least more or less. Ren found himself clad in his Joker outfit within a black and scarlet room that was akin to a storage house, otherworldly though it may be.

"Yup, called it…" Ren sighed.

Upon closer inspection, Joker realized that the surrounding area wasn't quite what he was used to. It gave off the same feel as the Metaverse, but this world—literally—wasn't as well put together. Even the walls of the eerie room he stood in were flowing like a sea of black and red. It felt malleable and unfinished. Further, there were no Shadows to be seen whatsoever. Of course that part he had no problem with.

'Wait, there's a window right over there…' Ren thought.

He walked up to it and opened it, however upon doing so he gasped, albeit slightly, in surprise. It was far from perfect, but everything around him resembled a barely-constructed version of Yongen-Jaya. The buildings themselves were shabby and still unrefined in terms of shape, but the layout of the streets was a dead giveaway.

"What the hell? Wait, then this has to be Leblanc…" mused the teen. He then turned around and examined the room a bit further. "And no Morgana… so it's just me. And is this supposed to be my room or something?"

It was then that he took out his phone and searched it for a new app on it just on a hunch, however he saw nothing of the sort. With a sigh, he started to walk around the room albeit with a sense of caution.

He crouched down by one of the walls where the very structure seemed to flow like a river of red and black. Finding a pencil on a nearby desk—or at least what looked like one—he pressed it into the surface. It acted just like a normal wall.

"Hmm…" Ren hummed in thought.

He stood up and looked around once more, even more questions starting to form in his mind. The young man even started to entertain the possibility that this was merely a dream. He hadn't the time to dwell on that any further as a slight but audible thud echoed from downstairs tore him from his train of thought.

Carefully, the black-clad teen made his way down the stairs, seeing nothing out of the ordinary once he'd done so. Well, outside of the room's scrambled appearance, at least. The café itself was about as well-put together as his room, the glowing flow of red and black still dominating a vast majority of the surfaces.

'Nothing's here though…' Ren thought as he walked to the center of the room.

Looking around the practically empty space, he failed to see anything that could've fallen to the floor and made the sound that inspired him to come down in the first place. But as he was searching, he heard it again and far more clearly. Only this time around, it was far more unnerving.

An audible bang could be heard on the shop's door, alongside a pained groan. He could tell it was that of a woman, and on instinct he moved towards the entrance. Upon seeing her silhouette in the frame, he made to open it, but hesitated at the last second, not knowing quite what to make of this turn of events.

"H-Help…! Help…! I—ghhhh!"

The pained cry all but forced Ren's hand, quite literally, as he then reached for the door and opened it to check on the state of the woman. To his surprise, she came crashing towards him as if she lacked the ability to stand on her own. He caught her, and once she was in his arms, he attempted to guide her back to her feet. To his relief, she at least managed that much, though he kept his arms around her shoulders just in case.

Getting a good look at her, Joker could tell this was a young Japanese woman, no more than a year or two older than himself. She had short but silky black hair and rather nice clothes. In fact, it looked like she had dressed herself up for a date. She looked at him desperately, fear shooting out of her eyes.

"O-Oh thank God! Please, you have to help me!" she exclaimed.

"Hey, it's alright," Ren said, doing his best to reassure the girl. He held her shoulders firmly in an effort to calm her. "What's going on? Who are you and why are you here?"

"I-I… I don't know…!" she admitted with a frown. She inched closer to Joker and held on tightly to his vest, frantically looking behind her as if something was about to lunge right at her. "There were these men, and now that… t-that thing is chasing me! A-And, and…!"

"Hey, calm down. I'll keep you safe. Just tell me—"

Ren was interrupted by the woman suddenly breaking free of his grip before slamming the entrance shut. She held her hands against the handle in a desperate bid to keep whatever she was seeing out of the café.

"Stay back! S-Stay back…!" she shouted into the glass slots that framed the door.

Not knowing quite what was going on, Joker eyed the woman confusedly. He looked through the glass sections of the door and saw nothing. He made to speak, but the woman suddenly started grabbing her head and shrieking.

"Aaaaah!" sounded her bone-chilling wail.

It was then, however, that Joker saw something begin to form almost right at his feet, or at the very least directly behind the woman. From what he believed to be her shadow, a dark, twisted creature started to sprout up. Still malformed but vaguely taking the appearance of a human, it made to grab her leg.

"Look out!"

In an instant, Joker sprung into action, grabbing the girl and preventing her from so much as coming into contact with whatever was still sprouting from the ground right in front of the door. He whisked her to the other side of the room, and it seemed the further away they got from the entity, the less pain she experienced.

"T-Thank you…" she whispered weakly.

"No problem, now I need you to get as far back as you possibly can, okay?" Joker sternly replied.

"But will you—"

"I'll be more than fine, so just stay behind me, got it?"

The girl nodded in understanding, but Joker paid little mind to that. He was far more focused on watching every spasm of the black tar-like creature that was still forming before his eyes. It gradually began to take humanoid form, its features becoming more and more defined and the obsidian coating giving way to skin, cloth, and metal.

"…m… thou… thou… art…!"

Although he was surprised to hear those oh-so-familiar words, the screams of the woman echoing once again snapped him out of it. As if reacting to her voice, the seemingly malevolent entity began to move towards them.

Joker almost couldn't believe what he was seeing. He sensed extreme malevolent intent coming from the Shadow-like being. And so it was without any hesitation, that he made to take it down.

"Arsene!" Joker exclaimed.

The mythological trickster that was his Persona appeared in a blaze of blue and fiery glory, dashing towards the Shadow and extending its clawed hand. In an instant, the claws thickened as they shot into the torso of the malevolent entity, causing it to writhe in pain. It whimpered weakly before fading away in a black mist, just as the infamous Phantom Thief had hoped. Once it had vanished, he turned his attention back to the young woman.

"How're you holding up?" he asked evenly.

"I… think I feel better…" she replied, a hand still held to her forehead as if she still wasn't used to experiencing anything less than throbbing pain. "I don't know what that was, who you are, or what's even happening, but thank you."

She offered Joker a friendly smile, which he would have returned in kind were it not for the fact that she then started to fall forward. Yet again she was caught by a momentarily panicked Joker.

He managed to catch her yet again, but no sooner than he had did he register a flash of bright light. An instant later, he found himself in Café Leblanc's first floor. While he found that sequence of events incredibly strange, the more urgent matter at hand was ensuring that the girl in his arms was still alive.

"Oh thank God…" Ren sighed out of relief.

It took only a moment for him to see that she was still breathing. While unconscious, she was alive.

"Um… hey…"

The voice that spoke up from the staircase caught his attention. He turned his head to see Morgana giving him a concerned look. At least as concerned as a cat could give.

"So, uh, am I interrupting something, or should I be calling the police, or… what?" Morgana uttered confusedly.

"I… it's a long story," Ren said, picking the girl up and letting her rest on one of the nearby booths.

"Yeah, I coulda guessed that the second after you vanished out of thin air upstairs," Morgana replied.

As the feline walked up to his closest friend, Joker in turn took out his phone expecting to find something that would offer the quickest explanation. Be it bad luck or good, he found exactly what he'd been looking for.

"Well, it doesn't tell the whole of the story, but this is a start," he spoke.

When the phone was gestured towards Morgana, his response was an audible gasp. There were truly no words that he could muster to describe his shock at seeing a metaverse navigation app on the teen's phone yet again.

"W-Wait, but that's…!"

"Yup," Ren plainly responded. "And before you ask the obvious, I haven't got the slightest clue as to how or why."

"Then let's move on to me asking who she is…" Morgana uttered. He gave a confused look at the resting woman, not recognizing her in the slightest. "And also getting to know what just happened to you would be preferable."

"We can cover what happened later. As for who she is…" he trailed off. Looking at the woman's pants, he noticed the outline of her wallet. He helped himself and took a look at her ID, almost immediately putting two and two together. "It says her name is Akane Kirio."

"Wait, so is she…!" a surprised Morgana murmured.

"It'd shock me if she wasn't," stated Ren. He looked back at his feline companion. "And it looks like I'll need to take back what I said before."

"…what about?"

"About not sticking our noses into those men in white," Ren answered. "If I'm right, I don't think we have much of a choice anymore."

A/N Alrighty, so with that the intro is more or less donezo and the "New" Metaverse will become more prominent going forward. This chapter ended up being a bit longer than I had thought it'd be, I'll be honest. I didn't post last week so I guess this makes up for it. Also, I didn't want to split it up or cut out any of the get-togethers or in-between pieces so it just ended up this way xD

Again, next Chapter will be posted next Friday. Outside of that…

Explanations:

The New Metaverse: Obviously it won't be the same as the P5 Metaverse, and you've more or less seen that already since Ren was at Leblanc and not in a Palace or anything. Its mechanics will be revealed as time goes on.

The Investigation Team: Obviously they've grown a bit apart in recent years, in large part because they've all got their own lives to live. Don't worry though, the band will eventually get back together.

Kanji: He is a fashion designer per the convo between Naoto and Yu. I could have had him just take over his grandma's shop in Inaba, but I didn't want to keep that group together for reasons I won't get into at the time. I also think it works for him since I think he has a talent for that kind of stuff but in his younger years it was self-repressed.

Minister Akira Kurisu: Yes, that's a nod to what I see as the unofficial name of P5 protag. Apologies if you hate Ren and prefer Akira, but I go by the anime name, obviously, since that seems to be how Persona works with its official MC names.

The Chat Groups: I kinda like how I made them work here. Unsure how others will feel about them. Edit: yeah idk why the doc manager does this, but in word I have is formatted a lot differently and it looks like that gets lost in the upload. Oh well I guess TT

The Concert at the Mega-Mall: Gee, Freddie Foreshadowing, I wonder who it could be…?

Makoto and Haru: Yes, the two are roommates and attend the same college. Just a fun fact ^^

Anato No Televi Ni: Yes, that is the intro song for the P4 shopping channel. Just a fun easter egg