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

3. Reunion

A/N Not a whole lot to add here, so let's get to it! Just an FYI next chapter will be on next Friday per usual.

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

Chapter 3

July 16th: Cafe Leblanc, Late at Night

Ren could only sigh as he closed the door to Leblanc, having just finished his second instance of police questioning in as many days. His annoyance was palpable, albeit understandably so.

"So, what's new with you?" Morgana asked jokingly.

"Oh ha-ha," Ren dryly laughed.

"So that was her, right? The girl that was kidnapped the other day?" Morgana asked. Receiving a curt nod, he asked the obvious. "Any idea why she'd be drawn here of all places?"

"I'm not really sure how or why she came to Leblanc inside the Metaverse. No way of knowing for now."

The door to the café opened, revealing a less-than-pleased Sojiro Sakura, who clearly had just finished being questioned by the officers outside. He calmly walked up to Ren, his arms crossed and his lips curled into a scowl.

"You know, when I heard the police sirens and told Futaba I was going to head out to see what had happened, I certainly didn't expect this of all things."

"I'd be shocked if you did."

His scowl deepened.

"And should I just guess that this is… that this is some kind of 'Phantom Thieves' stuff again?" Sojiro all but sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose.

"Good guess," Ren said, almost impressed.

"To be honest, whenever outrageously weird stuff happens around you, that's my default assumption," replied Sojiro. He groaned tiredly, though his expression did soften somewhat. "Weren't you kinda forcibly retired from all that? Well, I'll be the first to admit I know next to nothing about that Metaverse crap, so I won't ask what happened, just… Haah, just promise me that you'll be careful."

"Aren't I always?" Ren asked with a cheeky smirk.

"That cocky attitude of yours is what has me worried," Sojiro stated, though he couldn't help but smile a bit himself. "Anyway, I'll head back for now. Should I assume you don't want me to tell Futaba about all this yet?"

"She probably knows already…"

"Oh, I wouldn't bet on that. She's gaming right now and is probably so engrossed that an earthquake couldn't get her attention," Sojiro replied.

"Alright, I'll bite. How do you figure that?" Ren asked with a quirked brow.

"Just from experience," he replied. "After I start hearing her say stuff like 'get rekt kiddo' and 'eat shit noob', she'll start ignoring me whenever I try to talk to her. She tends to stay like that until she's had her fill."

'Yeah, I can totally see that…' Ren thought.

Sojiro made his way to the exit, opening the door and taking his leave. As he did so, he waved back at Ren.

"I'll be off now. I know it might be hard, but try to avoid any incidents that will bring the cops back here—at least for tonight."

"I'll try my best, but no promises."

"Heh, smartass."

Tokyo General Hospital: Some Time Later

Yu and Naoto presented their badges to the policeman stationed at Akane Kirio's room before calmly entering, the latter of the two doing so with a determined expression plastered on her features. They were quickly greeted by the physician, who walked up to them no sooner than they'd crossed the threshold that was the door.

"Ah, detective, special prosecutor—welcome back," he spoke. "Kirio-san is both stable and conscious. She seems intent so speak with you as well. Just… Hm, how to say it?"

His evident confusion was both curious and worrying. The gumshoe was the one to press further.

"What is it? Is there something wrong with her?"

"I don't believe so, no. However, she was clearly drugged and I've my suspicions as to whether or not her system has fully gotten rid of the aftereffects," he replied. "It seems to have had some residual impact on her eyes. A few instances thus far, they've turned to a pale gold for a short few seconds. Just be conscious of that, I suppose. Her vitals and bloodwork are fine, so I'm not overly concerned."

As the doctor walked off, the two law enforcement agents shared a concerned look. Now more eager than ever to speak to the girl, they walked toward her bedside. She greeted them with a polite atmosphere.

"You two must be the officers working on my kidnapping, right?"

"Yes and no," Yu answered. He gestured to his blue-haired friend. "She is Detective Naoto Shirogane and I'm Special Prosecutor Yu Narukami, so I'm technically not an officer. Either way, thank you for agreeing to speak with us so quickly. We really appreciate it."

"Anything I can do to help," she replied. Not missing a beat, she asked, "I assume the first thing you want to ask is what I remember after being taken, right?"

"Yes, please take us through what happened and omit as little detail as possible," Naoto requested.

The girl adopted a contemplative expression for a moment as if to get herself sorted. To the two's mild surprise, she began speaking with a sense of calm and elevated confidence.

"My boyfriend and I were out shopping in Yongen when we were suddenly attacked by this group of men. They wore white and black suits and all of them had these strange white masks on. There was a brief struggle that didn't go my way. My boyfriend tried to fight back too, but… h-he was beaten down pretty badly as I remember it."

Seeing her grimace at the memory, Yu attempted to reassure her. "He's perfectly fine now, by the way."

"Yes, I'm aware. Still, thank you for telling me," she replied. Her spirits less dampened, she continued, "A-Anyway, they started to drag me down an alleyway towards a van. My boyfriend followed and got the jump on one of them, then I heard a gunshot. There was a moment where they started to panic, and so I struggled instinctively to break free. That obviously didn't happen, though I did manage to grab one of their masks in the chaos and threw it on the ground. Soon after, they shoved me into the van, blindfolded me and then put me in restraints."

"Sorry to interrupt, but did you happen to see the face of the man whose mask you managed to pull off?" Naoto pressed, albeit as delicately as she was able.

"No," Akane replied, almost sullenly. "I was blindfolded before I could manage that. They drugged me shortly thereafter. However, before that I happened to hear a bit of their conversation."

"Oh?" Yu asked, perking up slightly.

"They probably thought I was totally knocked out, but I heard them argue about the shooting and then saying they would need to dump the van and dispose of what little evidence there was," she stated. Her expression fell slightly, as if she was somewhat ashamed. "After that, I'm sure the drugs they injected me with came into effect. I can't remember what happened after that at all. Well, outside of the hallucinations, of course…"

"Hallucinations?"

"Yes," she began, looking towards the silver-haired man. "I explained to the doctor what I saw and he mused that it was an effect of the drug. To be perfectly honest, I have no idea how I escaped or what happened in reality, but I'm just thankful I managed to make it out of this in one piece."

"If you don't mind our asking, what were the specifics of these hallucinations?" Naoto inquired.

"I don't mind at all," answered the young woman evenly. She adopted an expression of deep thought. "I can remember walking through what looked like a city—only it really wasn't one. It was… like a river? There was black and red flowing on almost every surface, but it was all solid. I felt like I was being chased by something constantly, and no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't lose it. Then I would hear a voice, and my head would feel like it was being split in two. It kept saying… what was it? Something about 'thou art I'. At least I think that's what it was."

Those words seemed harmless to the girl that spoke them, but Yu and Naoto immediately shared a look of great concern. Not wanting to worry the rescued kidnapping victim, they restrained themselves and focused on the task at hand.

"How did these hallucinations end?"

"Well, I ran into a what looked like a small shop and found a boy who was dressed… weirdly, now that I think about it. In my midst of my hallucinations, his clothing was less strange than what I thought was happening to me, so I begged him for help. That's… pretty much all I remember. The next thing I knew, I was waking up in an ambulance."

"I see. Well, that should conclude our questioning. Do you believe there to be any other relevant details that would help in our investigation?" asked the detective.

"I'm sorry, no. I wish I could offer you more, but…"

"The fact that you're safe is good news enough for us, Kirio-san," Yu said with a charming smile. "We'll do our best to catch the people that did this, alright?"

The young woman seemed to giggle at this and pass it off as just a line to make her feel better, but her demeanor was markedly improved as a result. The two investigators then bid their farewells to her and made for the exit. It wasn't until they were alone waiting for the elevator that they next spoke.

"Kirio-san was a remarkably put-together young woman. I was honestly impressed," Naoto began. She turned to her silver-haired partner, a stern look about her. "Still, what she just told us has me incredibly worried. Is it safe to say the same for you?"

"And then some," Yu replied.

The first pieces to the puzzle had started to crystalize in their heads. Firstly, the young woman that had been kidnapped and drugged had in fact been taken by the White Masks.

Secondly, she claims to have experienced hallucinations that bore an uncanny resemblance to the other world they were so familiar with.

Thirdly, Akane Kirio had managed to escape her captors and make her way back to the exact same area that she'd been taken from.

Lastly, the person who found her was the very same to witness the kidnapping in the first place: Ren Amamiya.

The elevator arrived, revealing no one to be inside it. They stepped in, heading towards the lobby before next either of them spoke up.

"Now we know for certain that the White Masks are involved with the other world. The descriptions she gave were too spot on to be a coincidence," Yu remarked.

"Agreed," said Naoto. "The circumstances of her escape are also odd. There's very little possibility she managed to do so on her own, making it more likely she was released by her captors. It could be similar to what happened with Adachi-san in Inaba where they were just transporting people to the other world in order to experiment on the results. However…"

"That doesn't explain how she ended up making her way to Ren Amamiya?"

"Ah, so you were thinking along the same lines as well," Naoto uttered, receiving a nod in response. "I'm unsure as to why that might have happened. But she specifically mentioned finding a black-haired boy in her hallucinations. I have a hard time believing that it was anyone other than him."

"Which would likely make him a Persona user, if our assumptions about her hallucinations are correct. That said, I still don't know how that factors in with everything else…" Yu thought aloud.

"Neither do I," Naoto stated. The elevator arrived at the lobby, prompting the two to walk off. "However, I believe our next course of action is clear. We should pay a visit to Ren Amamiya tomorrow and see what we can gleam from our interaction."

Her choice of words came as a surprise to the silver-haired lawyer. As they exited the hospital, he turned to her and gave her a curious look.

"Do you suspect him in some way?"

"Why do you ask?"

"I didn't get the feeling you intend to be upfront with him about all this," elaborated Yu. "In my experience you only take indirect approaches when you're suspicious of others' motives."

"I'm naturally suspicious of the unknown, Yu," she replied with a chuckle. "All the more if they're a Persona user."

"Fair enough."

"So, shall we go first thing tomorrow?"

"That sounds—ah, wait," said Yu, his hesitation born of recalling something important on his schedule. "I have to give an update to Director Tachibana tomorrow morning on our current progress in the case. I can trust you to speak to him alone, though, so if you—"

"We'll both be going, and we can do so after your meeting with the director," Naoto replied in a tone of calm finality. Her words elicited a wayward grin from her silver-haired partner.

"Got it, and thanks."

July 17th: Yongen-Jaya, Café Leblanc, Early Morning

Joker sat eating his breakfast with Morgana at his side and Sojiro behind the counter at his front. It was a calm and quiet, something that was much needed in the wake of last night. There wasn't any conversation ongoing as the group instead chose to watch the morning news broadcast.

"Oh, hey, looks like they're talking about it," Sojiro remarked.

"Onto a bit of lighter news—police have found a college student that was taken just a few short days ago in Yongen-Jaya. In a crazy coincidence, she was found in a coffee shop right next to the area where she was initially abducted. We're told that her condition is stable and that she remains in good spirits."

"A very strong-willed young woman. I don't think many people would be able to wear such a brave face after experiencing something so dark. What's your take on that, Hanako-san?"

"It's commendable to be sure. I'm just glad the young woman is okay."

"And I as well. Our thoughts and prayers—"

"I guess now that she's been found, it's news they wanna cover," Sojiro thought aloud, muting the television as he did so. His attention shifted to his nearby cup of coffee. "I'll bet anything that they're only covering it because it makes the police look good that they've recovered a missing girl."

"Wouldn't surprise me," Ren stated with a shrug.

"More importantly," began Sojiro, placing his mug down on the counter's surface. "If any of your friends have been watching the news, they'll probably put two and two together. Better they hear it straight form you, don't you think?"

"Way ahead of you. I messaged our group chat earlier this morning. They'll actually be here shortly."

"Not letting Ryuji spoil it this time, eh?" Morgana asked jokingly.

"I don't mind if you all decide to hang around down here. That'll change if enough customers start to show up, although that shouldn't be for a few hours."

"Thanks, I appreciate it."

Ren then went about cleaning up his plate from breakfast and washing his dishes. Once he was finished, he took his place back at the counter and looked at his phone nonchalantly.

"So," spoke the black-haired teen. "You really just want to know what we plan on doing, right?"

"That obvious?" Sojiro wondered aloud, fighting back a sigh. "Look, I don't want to cramp your style as Phantom Thieves, but I'm watching over you, so of course I'd be curious as to what you intend to do going forward. I don't intend on interfering, after all I trust your judgment."

A respectful nod was all that was needed on Ren's part. Just then, they could hear an approaching group that consisted of several other members of the Phantom Thieves. He got up from his seat to go greet them, wanting to catch them up to speed as soon as was possible.

Tokyo SIU Director's Office

"…so, to recap," began Tachibana, eying the document in front of him curiously. "The victim of the kidnapping was recovered, but we have virtually no leads as to where she was taken. Further, the actual identities of her captors and their motives remain unknown. However, we now fully believe they are in fact the White Masks we've been searching for. Is my understanding correct?"

"Essentially, yes," Yu replied, hanging his head solemnly. "Outside of that, I've requested that Kirio-san be given police protection for the duration of this case."

"Makes sense. After all, every indication leads us to believe that these men are the real deal, so I can't imagine they'd be happy about losing a kidnapped victim. I'll see to it that your request is granted in a timely manner."

"Thank you, Director. I had a feeling you'd understand."

"Oh don't give me that 'Director' crap when it's just the two of us, Yu-kun. You've met my family for gods' sake," Tachibana said dismissively, a slight scowl on his face as he repositioned himself in his chair.

"Alright then, Tachibana-san," Yu began, sporting a small smile. "We currently have no concrete information that would lead us to the men in white masks. However, Detective Shirogane and I do believe that there is a path forward in this investigation."

"Very well. In that case, I'll leave you to it…"

As the director trailed off, the fresh-faced special prosecutor bowed his head before making his way to the exit. He was, however, stopped upon his boss calling out to him once more.

"By the way, Yu-kun… does that 'path forward' in your investigation involve a conversation with Ren Amamiya?"

The question was calmly asked, and while it showed no visible effect on Yu's outward appearance, inwardly he found it somewhat unnerving. He'd known Tachibana long enough to understand how he operated, and he could tell then and there that the question was being asked leadingly. So it was that he turned around and walked back towards the center of the room, knowing their conversation was not yet finished.

"Our intent was to question him, yes. Why do you ask?"

"Hmm…" Tachibana hummed in thought. "Do you recall the case regarding the Phantom Thieves? Sorry, of course you do; I should've asked if you recall that Ren Amamiya was a listed suspect in the case."

"Yeah, I do. Again, why do you ask?"

There was a long silence, though it was far from uncomfortable. It was clear that the director was contemplating how he was going to word his reply. In what was seen as somewhat strange, Tachibana got up from his chair and walked towards the large window that overlooked the city.

"Do you believe in the supernatural, Yu? In otherworldly phenomena?" Seeing that his inquiry seemed to be perceived as rhetorical, he clarified himself. "I am actually curious as to your answer, by the way."

"To be honest I'm not sure it matters much what I believe," Yu replied good-naturedly in an attempt to dodge the question.

"An answer befitting a lawyer," remarked the director dryly, shaking his head as a smirk crossed his lips. "Not that you asked, but for me… I thought it was a bunch of bull crap. That is, until the infamous Phantom Thieves changed the heart of one Junya Kaneshiro."

"The gangster that ran drug trafficking in Shibuya, if I remember correctly. He abruptly turned himself in and with him came a treasure trove of information."

"Yes, and you'll probably recall he targeted high schoolers thinking they were the easiest targets for him to use, abuse, and then throw away when they had nothing left. My nephew was one such victim." The director paused and shook his head. "Around a year ago to date, my brother came to me in a rush—not wanting to tell me over the phone—and told me everything. He begged me for my help, and while I did my best to press the Tokyo branch to bolster up the personnel on the investigation, their results were not as expedient as I had hoped. As luck would have it, a few weeks later, he'd turned himself in. It was inexplicable, but just like that, my nephew was free from the blackmail scheme."

In the midst of the ensuing silence, the director walked towards Yu, standing just over arms' length away. He looked at him with a friendly smile.

"I was beyond relieved, of course, however I was also curious. The only explanation I could come up with was that Kaneshiro had undergone a fabled change of heart. But how does one change the heart of another person? I had several working theories, although I didn't find out for sure until the first day I sat in this office as acting head of the SIU."

To Yu's surprise, Tachibana produced a USB drive from his pocket and held it out towards him. Taking it in his hand, he still needed to ask the obvious.

"Is this what I think it is…?"

"If you're thinking it's a detailed outlaying of the Phantom Thieves' means and methods, then yes. No names are mentioned though. Seems someone went through the files with a fine-toothed comb and made damn sure of that," replied the middle-aged man. He started to walk back to his desk nonchalantly. "I should warn you that it's highly classified information and I don't have the authority to let you look at it, so if you get caught with it or lose it, then it's your problem, got it?"

"…understood."

With that, the young man bowed his head before taking his leave. Tachibana resituated his chair and smirked at the door to his now-empty office.

"Glad you're so quick on the uptick, kid."

Outside the Office…

Naoto was on her laptop reviewing case files just outside the SIU Director's Office in the waiting area. There was no one even remotely nearby, so as one could imagine, she was rather fixed in on her screen. So much so, in fact, that she didn't notice the Yu walk right up next to her.

"Naoto?"

The blue-haired gumshoe was startled by his abrupt arrival. She stiffened and closed her eyes uncomfortably before looking up at him with a slight scowl and narrowed eyes.

"I do believe I've asked you not to sneak up on me like that."

"Sorry," Yu replied with a chuckle. He adopted a friendly smile as he placed the flash drive on her keyboard. "Maybe this will make it up to you."

"…and this is?" Naoto asked curiously, her brow quirked.

"Information regarding the means and methods of the Phantom Thieves, courtesy of the director."

Though Yu had expected this to be well-received news, it didn't appear that way whatsoever. In fact, the blue-haired young woman looked at him as plainly as was physically possible and said not a word. After a short while, he pressed further.

"Um, Naoto…?" he called out confusedly.

"That information is without a doubt one of this nation's most classified pieces of information and is likely marked as 'for eyes only'. I spent the better part of half a year trying to get permission to see it, and yet you happen to have it conveniently on a flash drive that just fell into your lap. Is that about right?"

"I mean, if you don't want to take a look…" Yu trailed off leadingly, a telling smirk spread from ear to ear.

"N-No, no…!" exclaimed the detective. Clearing her throat, she recovered nicely. "There's something to be said about not looking a gift horse in the mouth. In any case, we can review this information later."

"Right," Yu replied. "Time to head off to see Ren Amamiya, right?"

"Yes, and best not to waste any time now that we've even more work to do with reviewing this USB drive," Naoto mused. She placed the drive in the pocket of her inner coat before looking back to her partner. "Shall we get going, then?"

Yongen-Jaya: Café Leblanc, Some Time Later…

Every member of the formerly known Phantom Thieves sat in contemplative silence in the wake of what their leader's story. They seemed to not quite know what to think of it all, though that was essentially what Ren had expected.

"Unreal…" Ann muttered, being the first to actually comment.

"Indeed," Yusuke added. He looked to their infamous leader curiously. "Are you certain that what you witnessed was in fact the Metaverse? From what you described, it seemed rather different than what we're used to."

"If the Metaverse reformed after Mementos disappeared, then it kinda makes sense it'd be different, right?" Futaba mused. "What's your take on that, Mona?"

"Um…" stammered Morgana, seemingly caught off guard by the abrupt question. "True. If the Metaverse reformed, it could take a different form. That makes sense, but…"

The distinct lack of confidence in the feline's answer didn't go unnoticed. Makoto was the first to point out exactly that.

"You seem rather uncertain…"

"Classic Mona not to have the info when we need it most," Futaba half-jokingly remarked.

"H-Hey, what's with that?!" Morgana exclaimed. "Look, it could be similar or totally different if it just vanished and then reformed! So, calling it Mementos like we know for sure that's what it is…!"

"Mona has a point, and it did feel a bit different from Mementos," spoke Ren, gaining everyone's attention. "It's like when you cut a rope in two and tie it at the point of separation. It doesn't go back to being exactly as it was before, and it won't no matter what you do."

"Exactly! And I also wasn't there, sooo~…"

"Mona not knowing stuff aside…" Ryuji began, eliciting a growl of annoyance from the mentioned cat. "One thing I don't get. If that was really the Metaverse, how and why did it show up here of all places? Ain't it only supposed to letcha go to Palaces?"

Some were actually in stunned silence at the rather insightful question that the blonde had asked. No more so than Futaba, who just couldn't help herself.

"To think I would live to see the day Ryuji asked an intelligent question…!" Futaba uttered in a tone of faux-amazement.

"Indeed. I'll need to check the internet for reports of flying pigs," remarked Yusuke.

"Oh bite me," he replied, rolling his eyes. "Question still stands, btdubs."

"If the other world reformed and changed its appearance, it logically follows that a change in how it operates is possible as well," Makoto reasoned.

"A visit to it couldn't hurt, right?" Ann suggested.

It was then that all eyes turned to their leader, who while under their expectant gaze, took out his phone. He showed them the screen, and gestured towards the application avatar that had appeared on his phone just the previous night.

"Everyone ready?" he asked with a smirk.

Determined nods were given all-around, prompting Joker to place his finger on the icon and launch them into the Metaverse. Well, that's what everyone had expected would occur.

In reality, quite literally nothing happened, leading everyone to deflate save for Ren who appeared content at having clearly just pulled one over on them.

"Dude…" Ryuji groaned.

"Time and a place, Ren. Time and a place," Makoto uttered, shaking her head. It actually seemed like her annoyance was more at herself for falling for it.

"Aw, and I had hoped we'd get to see something cool…" Futaba sighed.

"Sorry, couldn't help myself," Ren apologized with a chuckle, placing the phone back in his pocket. "I looked at it earlier this morning and noticed the icon was grayed out—different from the red and black it was the previous night. I tried pressing it out of curiosity, and when nothing happened, I figured that it went dormant."

"Meaning we're kinda SOL…" Ann thought aloud.

Abruptly, Futaba walked up to Joker and, without so much as uttering a word, grabbed his phone from her pocket. She then walked over towards a booth, opened up her laptop, and unlocked the phone. As this was going on, no one spoke so much as a word. Everyone simply watched with their expressions not even shifting in the slightest. Except for the actual owner of the shop and Futaba's legal guardian.

"You're not planning on doing or saying anything about that?" Sojiro uttered in a tone of disbelief.

"No, not really," Ren answered, not even bothering to shrug his shoulders even if his tone practically begged the action.

"She's probably just opening up that freaky app and trying to see what makes it tick. Ain't that right, Futaba?" Ryuji said with a gleeful smirk.

"Bold of you to assume I'm doing work right now," Futaba answered with furrowed brows. "I'm multitasking between memes and current events that interest me."

"Ah, 'course you are…"

"Futaba…" Makoto trailed off tiredly.

"What? I transferred the app on my laptop and I'm running a program in the background to—ugh, you guys won't get that explanation—to pick it apart, basically. That'll probably take a while though, so no use worrying about it now, yeah?" Futaba stated. She then crossed her arms and adopted a look of what could only be described as supreme confidence. "Unless one of you is also a computer science genius and also highly educated on the subject of cognitive psience that wants to take a crack at it."

"Nah, I think you got this," Ann said with a chuckle, her words echoing the sentiment of the other Phantom Thieves.

"So sassy," Ryuji muttered under his breath, addressing the other men near him.

"She tends to get like that from time to time," Yusuke solemnly commented. "So, who's for lunch?"

"He asks, having no money on him," Ryuji stated dismissively.

"How about you don't worry about that for now? It's been a while since you were all here, so I'll give you a meal on the house."

"You're the best, boss!" Ann exclaimed cheerfully.

"I appreciate the offer, Sakura-san," Haru chirped.

It was then that the young men and women started to make their way towards seated positions at the center of the coffee shop, be that a booth or at the countertop. The calm and serene environment was, however, interrupted by an outburst that came courtesy of the first member to actually get themselves situated.

"Oh my God!" Futaba exclaimed, her eyes wide and her face mere inches away from her computer screen. Needless to say, she quickly gained everyone's attention. "No way…!"

"What is it, Futaba-chan? Did your program finish running, or—"

"No, nothing like that. You know how that new mega-mall has this big concert planned for its grand opening, right? Well, it turns out the headline performer is gonna be Risette!" Futaba exclaimed giddily.

"Wait, really? I love her!" Ann said, leaning over the orange-haired girl's shoulder to get a better look at the article she was presumably reading. "Aw, yes! It looks like she's really back from hiatus. We should totally go! I've heard that Risette's concerts are super amazing!"

"They really are," the fluffy-haired heiress said in agreement, surprising several of those present.

"You like Risette, Haru…?" Makoto inquired.

"I do! She performed at a private concert at one of our company-wide celebrations to commemorate the opening of our two-hundredth store. I've been a fan of hers ever since."

"Plus, she's suuuuper hot," Ryuji remarked.

The reaction was as expected. No one was surprised, and each of the females was visible disappointed.

"Of course that's where your brain is…" Ann said in a tone of derision.

"For him, that's par for the course," added Makoto.

"And rather disrespectful of her as a performer and an artist," Haru chimed in.

"Actually, I agree with Ryuji," offered Yusuke. "Rise Kijikawa has very symmetrical features. From the perspective of an artist, she is rather beautiful."

"Pervert," Futaba said, glaring daggers at her computer as if not even deeming Fox fit to look at.

"Okay, Ren, back up your boys here. You gotta admit Risette's pretty hot, right?" Ryuji pressed.

It then became rather obvious that Joker had been trying to edge his way out of everyone's line of sight so that he could avoid facing the firing squad like Ryuji and Yusuke foolishly tried to do. All eyes were on him now though, so there really wasn't any way to 'escape' anymore. The girls' gazes were particularly heavy.

"Hmm…" he hummed in thought, cupping his chin. "I'd be lying if I said I didn't think Risette was beautiful."

The men, or at least Ryuji, were ecstatic, however the women were naturally the exact opposite. Ann and Makoto felt a particular disappointment, while Futaba was just more annoyed that he'd backed Yusuke up.

"See? I knew it!" Ryuji proclaimed triumphantly.

"I'm just being objective," Ren stated with a shrug. "Beautiful is beautiful. It's as true for Risette as it is for Ann, Makoto, and Haru. No harm in stating a fact, right?"

Predictably, the mentioned young women's cheeks grew a bit pink and their lips curled into grins that betrayed their emotions. Ryuji's expression betrayed his emotions as well, though his were more of a 'you suck how could you' nature.

"That's my boy," Sojiro thought aloud, his voice quiet but filled with pride.

"Aww, that's so sweet of you to say," Haru said cheerfully.

"You better not be lying! It's wrong to tell a girl she's pretty if you don't really mean it, you know~?" Ann said playfully, the red still very much present on her face as she played with the ends of one of her twintails.

A bashful Makoto stammered, "C-Cut it out, will you? Beautiful? That's a bit…"

"True," Ren said confidently, finishing Queen's sentence. He turned over to Ann. "And like I said, just stating facts."

"Hey!" Futaba abruptly explained, glaring at the raven-haired teen. "What about me, huh?!"

"You?" Ren asked confusedly as he walked towards the booth. Placing a hand on her head, he patted her head. "You've got Risette beat when it comes to cuteness. Not a doubt in my mind about that."

Once again, his words had the desired effect and Futaba started giggling and grinning like the rest.

"Hehe~ and don't you forget it! Especially you, Inari!" Futaba exclaimed.

"What?! But what did I…?!"

As the two most eccentric members of the group started to bicker, Ren walked back to the counter next to who he would readily call his best friend. He in turn was giving him a sideways glare.

"I think I'm gonna puke…" Ryuji said bitterly.

"What'd I do?"

Just then, the characteristic chime of the bell for Leblanc's entrance sounded off, directing everyone's attention to two rather eye-catching individuals. The first was a tall silver-haired man with well-styled hair dressed in a suit, and the second was a not-so-tall woman with long blue hair and a set of ballistic assets that drew the attention of Ryuji almost immediately.

"Oh, sorry, are we interrupting something?" Yu asked.

"No, not at all. We're open for business as usual," Sojiro stated. He then noticed that the cat was sitting on the countertop. "Ah, Ren could you take Mona upstairs while I take their orders? I'm sorry, normally he's not allowed down here during business hours, but—"

"It's fine, I don't mind," Yu said with a friendly smile.

He walked up to the countertop next to Ren and started to pet the cat gently under its chin. A gesture that Morgana clearly appreciated if his reaction was anything to go by.

"M-Meooow~ Yeah, that's the spot! A little higher…!"

"He seems to like you already," Sojiro stated with a chuckle. "So, what'll it be?"

"Actually, we're here on official business," Naoto began. She produced her badge rather quickly as they walked up towards the counter. That immediately put everyone on edge, which did not go unnoticed on her part. "We're currently handling the kidnapping case for Akane Kirisu. I'm Detective Naoto Shirogane, pleased to meet your acquaintance."

"And I'm Yu Narukami, a Special Prosecutor at the SIU here in Tokyo," introduced the silver-haired man.

"Same as sis used to be…" Makoto thought aloud, gazing at the young man analytically.

"Is that so? Then I'm really confused as to why you're here given that both of us gave our statements last night."

"Yes, well, given the unique circumstances of this case, there were a few burning questions in my mind that I was hoping to ask. Provided you don't mind, Amamiya-kun," Naoto spoke.

"No, I don't mind at all," he replied good-naturedly.

"Thanks, we appreciate it," Yu said. He then addressed the shopkeeper once more. "And if it's all the same to you, I'd actually like a cup of coffee, taken black."

"And I as well," Naoto stated.

"…Coming right up."

The two then sat down and were served their drinks rather timely. They then turned to Ren, who seemed rather calm and relaxed prior to any questions being asked.

"Before we start," said Yu, placing down his cup, "I'd like to at least tell you that Kirisu-san has made a full recovery. She's also been given a number of officers for personal protection in case her kidnappers attempt to fix their mistake of letting her slip free."

"That's great news," Ren thought aloud, sporting a genuine smile.

"Indeed, it is. She seems to have shaken off whatever drugs they injected into her system. When we had interviewed her last night, she went into great detail about the hallucinations she experienced," Naoto stated, her expression emotionless. "She spoke at length about a world that flowed like a river while something was chasing her."

"Seems really unnerving," Ren commented.

"So, she thinks her experiencing the Metaverse was just a hallucination, huh? If they really believe that though, then all the more reason we should take care of this ourselves," Morgana mused. "Since this is now official Phantom Thieves business, no one slip up and talk about the Metaverse, got it? That means you, Ryuji!"

"Freakin' cat…" Ryuji grunted, his fist balling at his side.

Ann nudged him in his ribcage and gave him a slight glare given that his comment was far more audible than he likely intended it to be.

"Hm? Is its meowing bothering you?" Yu asked, quirking a brow.

"N-Nah, I'm good. S-Sorry to interrupt."

"Yes, well, to my question then," Naoto began. "How did Kirisu-san seem to you when she found you? Was she lucid? Was there anyone you could see following her? The working theory is that amid her drug induced hallucinations, at least a portion of it could have been founded in reality. Our hope is that you perhaps saw something that could tell us how valid that theory is."

"Sorry, can't say that I saw anyone chasing after her…" Ren said, brushing the back of his hair with his hand. "When I found her in the café, she was already unconscious. I called the police immediately."

"I was worried that would be the case," Naoto replied with a sigh. Her expression neutral, she turned to the shop's owner and continued, "Sorry to have troubled you. Before we leave, might I use your restroom?"

"Of course. It's just over there," Sojiro answered, gesturing towards the staircase.

"Thank you."

The detective made her way through the parting crowd of teenagers, though she bumped into Ryuji along the way as he was slower to move. His posture stiffened awkwardly.

"O-Oh, sorry 'bout that," Ryuji said politely.

"It's fine, really."

As Naoto went about her business, several of the girls present glared at Ryuji. It was obvious that he was too busy staring to move in the first place, and having been caught all he could do was chuckle nervously.

"Sorry I couldn't be of more help," Ren abruptly spoke up.

"Don't worry about it. Investigating is part of the job, after all," he replied in a friendly manner. "If nothing else, at least I got to taste some really good coffee."

"You like it, huh?" Sojiro said, a smirk of pride showing on his features.

"Yeah, definitely. I can't honestly remember having better." He then started petting the black cat under its chin gently. He added with a smile, "Maybe it's all the more enjoyable with this little guy here."

"This guy gets it~," Morgana said, leaning into the hand cutely.

"Mona-chan seems to like you," Haru remarked.

"I can tell," Yu said with a chuckle as the cat's head practically buried itself into his hand.

Just then, his cell began to ring. He quickly took out his smartphone, glancing at the caller identification as one typically does before answering.

"Sorry, I have to take this," he said respectfully. "Hello? Yes… got it."

The phone call ended rather quickly, somewhat to the surprise of those present. None of the Phantom Thieves spoke up to question it though. A split-second later, Naoto exited the bathroom, and Yu immediately met her with his gaze.

"Something wrong?" she asked curiously.

"Duty calls, I'm afraid," Yu said. "Sorry, but we're needed at the local station, so we really have to get going."

"Don't stay on our account," Ren stated evenly.

"Thank you for your time," Naoto abruptly spoke up, turning back to face the group. She alongside her partner were nearly at the entrance and no one expected her to say anything more. However, she stopped in place, looking back before saying, "By the way, Sakura-san… are you aware that your cafe is being bugged? If not, we'd be happy to investigate—"

"Not necessary, detective…" Sojiro said, his voice strained with a hint of embarrassment.

She seemed to understand that he knew about the bug and thus nodded before they finally headed off. In the wake of their departure, the Phantom Thieves were almost in stunned silence.

"…how'd she figure that out so quickly?!" Futaba wondered aloud, almost pouting.

"The woman clearly wasn't someone to be taken lightly. I'm just thankful that they went about their business so quickly," Makoto remarked.

"Maaan was she hot though."

"We know what you think," Ann said with derision breathing through her tone. Glaring heavily, she continued, "And don't think we didn't notice you staring."

"Tactless as ever," chimed in Morgana.

"Will ya quit judging me? She was really hot."

"Wow, you really can't help yourself, can you?" Makoto said disappointedly.

"Actually, I would say the silver-haired man had the more striking appearance," Yusuke thought aloud. "His features were rather handsome if I do say so myself."

On cue, most everyone looked at him with varying levels of concern. Ren and Ryuji were the exception, the former because he didn't mind the remark and the latter because he was just thankful the heat was taken off of him.

"You're super creepy sometimes, Inari," Futaba remarked, almost bitterly.

"I beg your pardon?!"

"Oh c'mon, Yusuke's an artist, yeah? He looks at everything like that," Ryuji said dismissively.

"He wouldn't be Yusuke if he was any other way," Ren added.

"Thank you."

"Not sure that was a compliment…" Futaba mumbled.

On the Subway, Shortly Thereafter…

The lawyer-detective duo sat silently on their train headed back to the station nearest their hotel. Neither had said so much as a word since they left Leblanc, though it was clear that there was something they wanted to speak about.

"Yu… how do I put this…?" Naoto muttered uncomfortably.

"Talking cat?"

"Oh thank God, so you heard it too," she sighed in relief. "If we both heard it, I'd wager it's something from the other world. Perhaps even similar to Teddie."

"Very possible," Yu replied. He donned a contemplative look. "And all of them seemed to hear what the cat was saying, too. Or at least the two blond-haired ones did. I take it that's why you went for the one's phone?"

"Indeed, and the fact that the cat named him out as being loud-mouthed made him an ideal target," she explained. Naoto then produced a smartphone in her hand that she had evidently pickpocketed off of Ryuji. "Honestly, I wasn't sure you noticed. I'm quite confident in my skills, you know."

"If I didn't know you, I wouldn't have been looking for it," Yu replied with a friendly smile. "Besides, when you called me from the bathroom, I figured it meant you got what we had come for."

"In any case, many pieces to the puzzle are coming together. How the Phantom Thieves are related to this, we still need to find out. Hopefully breaking into this phone will give us those answers."

"So, back to your hotel room?"

"Yes," she replied. "I've got some equipment there if need be."

In next to no time at all, they'd gotten off of the subway train and were outside on the streets leading up to their hotel. They entered without incident and walked right up to the elevator.

"By the way, did you—"

Naoto's would-be question was destined never to be asked. The second that the elevator doors opened, both she and Yu stopped dead in their tracks as both looked ahead with evident shock on their respective faces. Although the same could be said about those they were staring at.

"…bro? Naoto? Is that seriously you?" a very surprised Yosuke Hanamura abruptly asked, being the first to speak up.

It was rather surreal for Yu to see his friends for the first time in at least two years—roughly since he'd graduated college. Outside of Chie's hair being a bit longer, Yosuke's being a bit shorter, and Yukiko not being bathed in the color red, they hadn't changed all that much as far as appearances go.

That this was reality seemed to hit everyone all at once. Among them stood five members of the investigation team, being Yu and Naoto, Chie, Yosuke, and Yukiko. At that point it took all of five seconds for Chie to envelop two in a big bear hug.

"Oh my god, it totally is you two!" Chie exclaimed. Knowing that at least Naoto wasn't a hugger, she quickly released her grip and back away, smiling brightly at the two. "I can't tell you how great it is to see you guys!"

"She never greets me that enthusiastically," Yosuke muttered under his breath.

"Don't you start," she snarled. A cheeky grin then took its place on her features as she looked back at the as-of-yet silent duo. "So what? I don't get a hello or anything?"

"Heh, sorry about that," Yu replied. His characteristic charming smile made its appearance. "It's good to see you too, Chie."

Almost as if a callback to their days as teenagers solving murder mysteries, Chie became somewhat taciturn. Her bold confidence momentarily faded as a slight blush crept onto her cheeks.

"W-Well, yeah, I'd be mad if you said otherwise…"

"Glad to see you still haven't changed, partner," Yosuke said with a chuckle. "But you may wanna tone it down. Unless you two aren't with each other right now because you're an item…"

"W-What?!" Naoto immediately exclaimed, her eyes wide. She cleared her throat, realizing full-well how she sounded just now. "No, n-not as such. We are most certainly not an item."

"We ran into one another by happenstance through our jobs. We're currently working on a case together," Yu clarified, seemingly unphased by his friend's prior insinuation. "Naoto is actually staying at this hotel while she's in Tokyo, so we came back here to go over a few aspects of the case."

There seemed to be a bit of both disappointment and skepticism on the part of Chie and Yosuke respectively, but Yukiko, as was typical, just moved right past it and couldn't help but address what was just said.

"A case? Oooh, that sounds interesting!" Yukiko excitedly spoke. She looked off to the side of the lobby. "There's a bar just over there in the next room. Would you two like to go in for a few drinks and catch up? I'm really interested to hear what you've been up to!"

When the two shared a look, it became quite apparent to their friends that they had been in the middle of something before bumping into them.

"Unless you don't have the time. We'd understand, of course…" Yosuke said with a forced smile.

"Actually," began Yu evenly, "we should be able to swing that. Right, Naoto?"

"I can't see the harm," she replied.

"Yes!" Chie jumped for joy. "Well then what are we waiting for?! C'mon, let's get going!"

It took no time at all for them to get situated at a large table in the bar area. It was thankfully a less busy time, but that should have been the case at just after noon. Yosuke had been the one to get actual drinks for everyone and sat down at the table with the tray.

"Aaaand here's for you two," Yosuke said, pushing two drinks towards the esteemed law enforcement agents.

"Thanks, but we probably shouldn't," Naoto replied.

"Relax," he said reassuringly. "They're non-alcoholic. Hmm, although maybe that's a problem for you, partner."

"As long as we don't play the king's game, I think I'm good," Yu replied with a chuckle.

"Oh god, don't remind me…!" Chie groaned, hiding her face in the wake of the memory-induced embarrassment.

"I thought it was fun," Yukiko remarked.

"A-Anyway," Naoto said, not wanting to dwell on the memory of the night in question, "What are the three of you doing here?"

"Well," Chie began with a beaming smile. "I'm here because I was recently accepted into one of the Tokyo Police Departments precincts!"

"Wow, congrats! That's a pretty big deal," Yu commented, sounding genuinely impressed. "Although Inaba is surely losing one of its finest."

"That's just it though, they don't need me!" Chie exclaimed. She then crossed her arms and huffed. "Inaba is just too safe. I wanted to make an impact as an officer of the law and really help people. So, once I graduated from the academy, I sent my applications to the big cities and there you have it."

"They'll be lucky to have you, Officer Satonaka," said Naoto.

A sheepish grin crossed Chie's lips as she nodded graciously in the wake of the compliment. It was clear that she felt a great deal of pride in her accomplishment, and rightfully so.

"As for me, I'm here for much the same reasons," Yosuke chimed in. "I was tapped to run one of the local Junes' after earning my degree."

"He undersells it," Chie stated in a tone of faux-annoyance. "He's the youngest manager of a Junes chain in the company's history."

"That true, partner?" Yu asked.

"Eh, maaaybe," Yosuke replied cheekily. "I mean, it's not that amazing. I did get lucky that the store had an accelerated program for college students who managed to work part time and all that. It's still pretty impressive, yeah, but…"

While the brown-haired young man's nose continued to grow and grow as his ego was stroked, all eyes turned to the remaining member of the trio that had yet to speak up.

"What about you, Yukiko?" Naoto inquired.

"I'm actually here on business. A non-profit corporation interested in maintenance of designated cultural areas of Japan wanted to speak with me about making a contribution to the Amagi inn," she replied.

"That's great! Provided it's the real deal," Yu thought aloud.

"That's what I'm here to confirm. The meeting is sometime next week, and I figured I could spend a mini-vacation up here with Yosuke and Chie for the time being."

"Anyway," said Chie, looking back to Narukami. "I know Naoto is still a roaming detective, but what're you up to these days, Yu?"

"I'm actually acting head of the SIU Tokyo branch's third division," Yu replied. "I got placed in Tokyo directly after my period of legal studies in the SIU Iwate's division. I do have an apartment here in the city, but it won't be ready for another month or so. I'm actually staying here in the interim."

"…he says it plainly, but it's quite unprecedented," Naoto said, looking at the silver-haired man with a sideways smile. "He even passed the bar while still attending university. It's very likely it would be newsworthy were it not for the tumultuous times we've had recently."

"Oh c'mon, it's not that big of a deal," he replied, almost playfully.

Watching the interaction was a very suspicious Chie, who very quickly got up and grabbed both Yukiko and Naoto by the arm.

"Hey Yukiko, Naoto, let's head over to the bar for some girl talk, yeah?"

"Hm?" Naoto uttered confusedly, only to be whisked away before she could even actively protest.

When they headed away, Naoto looked back at Yu for some kind of an explanation, but he appeared just as confused as she was, if not more so.

"…what was that about?" Yu wondered aloud.

"That's just Chie being nosy," Yosuke said in a tone of mild derision, rolling his eyes. "Anyway, what's going on with your personal life? Any romance brewin'?"

The suggestive nature of his tone elicited a chuckle.

"No, sorry to say there's not really anything to report on that front."

"Oh c'mooon," groaned Yosuke. He gestured a finger towards his friend as if lecturing a child. "I seriously don't get you bro! I mean, for a while I thought maybe you were into Yukiko, then maybe Chie, and now it's not even Naoto…? Geez, all that's left is Rise, but that one was so obvious that there's no way I thought it'd happen!"

The mere mention of the sensational idols name seemed to get a rare response from his partner. He instantly picked up on this and his suggestive visage returned in full force.

"Ohoo~," cooed Yosuke leadingly. "I sense a story. So, you and the superstar idol, huh?"

"Nothing like that," Yu replied, averting his gaze. "Actually, it's kinda the opposite…"

His choice of words was met with natural confusion. It was then that Yosuke realized that his friend's reaction to his prior remark was more of a pained one, or perhaps guilt was a better word.

"…something happen between you two that I don't know about?" Yosuke asked in a serious tone. "It's cool if you don't wanna talk about it, but know that silence just makes me more curious."

"And you called Chie nosy," he joked.

"It's like they say: two things can be true."

"Fair enough," Yu said. He sighed, looking at his friend dead in the eye. "It's… complicated."

"I figured that," he said with a chuckle. "Details partner, details. You got this far so you may as well spill it!"

"Well… you know how the last time we were all together was a little before I took the bar in my last year at Tokyo University, right?"

"Yeah, I remember. She was all over you and you were unphased by it as per usual. Maybe even a bit more than usual now that I think about it," Yosuke muttered. His eyes wide, he practically jumped out of his chair. "W-Wait, don't tell me! Back then, did you two…?!"

"No, nothing like what you're thinking right now," Yu stated pointedly, his eyes somewhat narrowed. "Look, this'll go a lot quicker if you don't jump to conclusions faster than the tabloids do."

"…okay, point taken. Continue."

"Anyway," said the young attorney, attempting to get back on track. "At the time, Rise had mentioned talking to her agency to see if they had an opening for me to be her agent. I thought it was just her being her, but lo and behold once I graduated and passed the bar, I got a call from her agency expressing interest in bringing me in—as her primary agent no less. I had already decided that I was going to head to Iwate to do my legal training at the local SIU division, so I respectfully declined the interview."

Yosuke couldn't help but grimace. He all but knew what would happen next.

"So, what happened next?"

"Well, about a week later, I got a call from Inoue-san, her manager. He was desperate to understand if I'd said or done anything to upset her because—his words—she was about as angry and depressed as he'd ever seen her."

"Let me guess," said Yosuke, "she was like that because you declined the offer, right?"

"Yup," replied Yu. "My first thought was that it was an overreaction, then I thought about it for a bit and realized I'd… well, messed up a bit. I confirmed this with Inoue-san, but it seemed that Rise had put a lot of effort in getting her agency to seriously consider hiring me. Regardless of how impressive my credentials were, that's the only way they'd even consider hiring a freshly graduated student to represent one of their biggest clients."

"True. Top of your class, passing the bar while still during school—those things can't really make up the gap in experience between you and the people they'd typically look for in a job like that," Yosuke mused. "And you just turned that down outright. Like, not even an interview. And you didn't even give her a heads up. Partner, I just gotta say… ouch!"

"Yeah, thanks for that," Yu replied, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

"I mean, hindsight's 20-20, but you probably made her cry."

"Again, thanks partner. That's really what I needed to hear."

"Sorry, sorry," he said, unable to prevent himself from chuckling. "But seriously, what happened next? Judging by how sour you look, I take it your apology didn't go over too well?"

"…I guess that's not technically wrong."

Yu's words were met with a look of tentative concern. His mind quickly went to the unthinkable.

"You still haven't talked to her about it, have you?"

"…no, I haven't," he admitted, ashamedly hanging his head, albeit briefly.

"…dude."

"…yeah."

"…duuuuude."

"Yeah, yeah, I know."

"But seriously, duuuuuuu—"

"Ya know, you're really making me not want to tell you things," Yu said, unable to hide the amused smirk that crossed his lips.

"Well at least for this, I can see why you were hesitant to talk about it. I mean bro, that's probably the dumbest thing you've ever done in your life."

"Hmm. I'd have to think about whether that's true…"

"Sarcasm, bro," Yosuke clarified, rolling his eyes. "But uh, out of curiosity… why didn't you talk to her? I assume you had a good reason."

There was a moment where Yu's expression faltered, though his longtime friend failed to notice. The reason was because he knew he was about to lie. Although it would be out of what he deemed to be a necessity, it still stung that he needed to do it.

Thus, he sank back into his chair and gave a deep sigh.

"You know, I've wondered that myself from time to time," he replied. "When I graduated and started working in Iwate, I had practically no time to myself. Before I knew it, a year had passed, and now we're here."

"Yeah, I get that," remarked Yosuke, clearly sympathetic to the situation. He looked over his shoulder as if to confirm that Chie was still far, far away. "Dealing with women can really be a pain when you have to give your all to work. That's why none of my relationships worked out while I was still in school and training as a manager at Junes. The only equivalent I can think of is if I had tried to do something with Chie, because that… hooh' boy would that not have ended well."

"Probably with her throwing you in a jail cell," Yu joked.

"Yeah, it probably would've ended like that," he chuckled.

"Oh, don't sell yourself short. It still might."

"Good thing I know a good lawyer."

"My hourly rates are pretty high, just so you know."

"Anyway," Yosuke began, sporting a grin. "We're talking about your lady troubles, not mine. Did Rise ever try to get in touch with you, or…?"

"Nope," Yu answered evenly.

"T-That might not be all bad." The brown-haired young man patted his friend's shoulder in what was a failed attempt at reassuring him. "I mean, it's been so long that it's probably water under the bridge for her. Plus, she's super busy too, right? I mean, Risette is bigger than ever right now. Movie deals, top of the charts on her latest album—the works!"

"Yeah, my thoughts exactly," Yu replied evenly. "Life just kinda gets in the way sometimes. By the time you stop and realize just how much it has, it feels like a year's gone by and you haven't seen the people you care most about."

Though his expression was deadpanned and his tone plain, Yosuke could sense a bit of underlying hurt in Yu's words. It hit a bit too close to home for him personally as well. After all, this had been the first time that he'd so much as seen or spoken to Naoto and Yu in almost two years, and they were supposedly two of his best friends. He shook off the momentary gloom and shot up from his chair, the sound of the wood scraping the floor echoing as a result.

"Man, this mood's gone south worse than I thought it would. I for one need a real drink. You?"

"I think I'm good, thanks," Yu replied.

With that, Yosuke walked off towards the bar to get himself a drink. His closest friend watched on as he did so, a reflexive smile gracing his features. It turned almost bittersweet a moment later as the young man sighed as if conflicted.

'What are the odds of running into those three now of all times?' Yu wondered in disbelief. It still didn't seem real, and given the imminent danger of an otherworldly variety he presumed he and Naoto were delving into, he almost wanted it not to be. 'Still… it's nice to see them.'

He allowed his cheerful smile to return, unable to hide his joy even in spite of the conflicted feelings he had regarding the sudden reunion. He saw Yosuke walking back, waving to him with two drinks in his hand—obviously having ignored his lack of desire to have one. He chuckled in turn, and simply gave in to the happiness he felt in the moment.

Streets of Tokyo: Some Time Later…

A majority of the Phantom Thieves was currently walking the aptly-codenamed Queen back to her sister's apartment building in Tokyo after a day of enjoying the shopping district in Shibuya. Yet again this was dominated by Yusuke and Futaba, who made it a priority to procure supplies of art and computer parts respectively. The former of the two had already parted ways with the group, while the latter was carelessly leading the pack with her arms extended and wobbling about as if roleplaying an airplane.

"Futaba, you really shouldn't mess around like that," Makoto said, albeit ending with a chuckle.

"Naah, it's cool. Like no one's out here right now," replied the teen matter-of-factly. She then turned to face the group, flashing them a devilish smile and clasping her hands behind her back. "Besides, it's been a while since we've walked around together as a group like this, so I can't really help it!"

"It has been longer than I'd like," Haru admitted.

The rest of the group seemed to agree in silence.

"Right? And yet Yusuke ran off with his art supplies a short while after we ate. The nerve!"

"He probably figured after shopping and food we were done for the day," Ryuji stated nonchalantly.

"He didn't have to run off the first chance he got though!"

"Meh, it's just like him though…" replied the blond-haired young man.

"Maybe he just didn't want to carry the bags all over the place," Makoto reasoned.

A certain someone immediately scoffed at the would-be excuse.

"Pfft, what a lame reason," Futaba muttered, rolling her eyes and crossing her arms. "Who can't carry bags?"

Just then, Ren smirked. He held up his left hand clasped the back of his head, emphasizing his left forearm. He did this for the very reason that a bag holding recently-purchased computer parts was currently hanging off of it.

"Yeah, you do have a point there, Futaba. Well-said."

A number of laughs could be heard from the group, although it was clear Morgana and Ryuji found it the most comical and Futaba the least. She marched up to Ren with a pout and her cheeks reddened from embarrassment.

"T-That's different and you know it! Besides, you're strong, so it shouldn't matter to you! A-And one of those upgrades is for you too, ya know?!"

"Relax, it was just a joke" said Ren with a relaxed smile. Putting a hand on her head and patting her, he continued, "And I do appreciate you picking something out for me."

Although she huffed, the pampered brotherly treatment Futaba had just received immediately made her about as threatening as a small fluffy puppy. Haru couldn't stifle a giggle.

"I missed this quite a bit," stated the heiress. "But sadly it seems we're at our stop."

The group paused in front of the rather ritzy apartment building where Makoto's elder sister lived. Given that Haru didn't live that far off, it was decided in advance that this would be where the group parted ways. Recalling what happened the other day at the train station, they formed a semi-circle away from the entrance so as to give their goodbyes without creating any awkward situations.

"Thank you all for such a wonderful first few days back you guys. I had so much fun that I didn't even realize how late it's gotten," Makoto said.

"Hm? It's not that… O-Oh my…!" Haru muttered, having only just looked at her phone and noticed that it was nearing midnight. "I hope that your sister doesn't get upset with you."

"I'm sure she'll be fine," Makoto replied, smiling with confidence. "Sis has actually loosened up a tiny bit, and she even told me she was fine if I got back super late tonight but to enter quietly if I did."

"How is she doing by the way?" Ren asked curiously.

"She's doing good actually," she answered. "At least she seems to be… I'll admit to not always able to tell when it comes to her."

"I get that. She seems like a real ice queen for sure…" Ryuji muttered, ending with a lazy yawn. He received an elbow in the ribcage from Ann. "Ow…!"

"Well, I really should be getting home as well," Haru said offhandedly, putting her phone back in her pocket. "Do any of you have plans for tomorrow? Otherworldly or otherwise?"

The first to chime in was actually Futaba.

"Meh, we'll put a pin in that otherworldly piece for now. I'm still taking apart that app and I'll need to run some diagnostics, so…"

"That means it'll be a while, yeah?" responded Ryuji plainly. He received a nod in response. "Works for me. If we're gonna end up doin' anything though, I won't be able to make it until the afternoon. I got PT in the morning."

"Sorry, but since when have you been going to physical therapy?" Makoto asked, the surprise in her voice echoing Haru's feelings on the matter as well.

"Ah, it's not for any injury I got recently or nothin' like that. It's for my leg. I just… well, y'know, wanna see if I can get it back to running shape," Ryuji answered, sheepishly rubbing the back of his head. "A-Anyway, it's not a big deal, so I don't really mention it all the time."

"Well, good for you," Haru chirped.

The sentiment was shared by Makoto, and while everyone was incredibly happy for Ryuji to be giving the effort due to what it meant to him to be able to run again, they chose not to press the subject so as to not embarrass him.

"Anyway," Futaba began, interjecting in an attempt to steer the conversation back to the previous topic, "bottom line is it'll be purely goofing off tomorrow!"

"Yep!" Morgana said, popping his head out of Ren's satchel. "And of course, you should feel no guilt about getting together early since only Ryuji won't be there."

'Damn cat…!' Ryuji hissed in thought through gritted teeth.

"Aw, actually I won't be able to either," spoke Ann, looking at her phone with a neutral expression. "I've got a photoshoot tomorrow, so looks like I'm in the same camp as Ryuji."

"Well, that changes things entirely. Better to plan something for the afternoon."

The black-haired feline was immediately given a death glare by Skull.

"Where's the shoot?" Makoto inquired conversationally.

"At the new mall," came the cheerful answer. "The magazine it's for is actually gonna be using this shoot as a feature in its next issue!"

"Nice," Ren commented. "You'll have to let me know how the new mall looks. I'm kinda curious after we saw all those people swarming the commercial district."

"Why don't you come with me and see it for yourself?" Ann quickly offered with a friendly smile plastered from ear to ear. She leaned into the raven-haired young man's left arm. "C'mon, it'll be fun. Plus, I'll enjoy the company."

Ren was contemplating the innocent offer, but everyone else was having their own isolated reactions. Morgana's seethed with jealousy while Ryuji seemed to grin devilishly. Makoto, however, stayed oddly stoic, almost as if she frozen in place.

"Yeah, sure thing. That actually does sound like fun," Ren answered cheerfully. He turned towards the rest of the group. "Hopefully after her photoshoot is done, Ryuji will be done with his PT and we can all meet up."

"Sounds like a plan to me!" Futaba said. She soon latched onto Joker's right arm. "But for now we gotta get home! Those PC parts are dying to be put into my baby, and momma ain't waitin' no more!"

"…so she says," Ren chuckled.

"Indeed. See you all tomorrow then," Makoto said with a genuine smile.

Several huge were exchanged before Futaba began literally dragging Ren away like a small child would its parent. In the background, Ryuji turned to Haru as Makoto entered the apartment building.

"You sure you're good to get back on your own?"

"Yes, I should be. Thank you for asking," Haru replied in a friendly tone.

With that, the rest of the Phantom Thieves parted ways, with Haru heading to her own apartment building while the two blonde members of the group moved to catch up to Ren and Futaba.

"Smooth," Ryuji abruptly spoke.

"H-Hm? Not sure what you're talking about," Ann replied in an attempt to feign innocence.

"Uh-huh, sure you don't," he muttered in turn, his grin and tone betraying his disbelief. He looked on, donning a subtle but genuine smile as he nudged her side. "Glad you're taking my advice to be a bit more aggressive."

Ann bashfully averted her gaze and it became unclear if she was going to

"…w-well, maybe it was just well-timed advice. So, thanks."

"Anytime."

The tender moment of friendship came to a halt when Ren and Futaba stopped walking a short distance ahead and shouted out at them to keep up.

"C'mon you two! Pick up the pace or else we'll leave ya in the dust!"

Looking at one another, they smiled before rushing up to join them.

Tokyo: Sae's Apartment…

Makoto quietly unlocked and opened the door to her sister's apartment, entered, and closed it just as gently. The lights were still on in the living room area, although she noticed that oddly enough her sister was nowhere to be seen. She removed her shoes at the door and walked up to the couch before slumping down tiredly.

Makoto rested her head on the back of the couch and shifted her head to the ceiling, staring at it with a frown. She'd had such a wonderful day and by all accounts she should have been happy, but she found herself dwelling on something she'd rather just pass off as nothing.

'What happened with Ann back there… there wasn't anything to it, right?' Makoto wondered.

There was absolutely no reason for her to suspect otherwise. None whatsoever. It was one of her very attractive female friends hanging out with another mutual friend and the two happened to be Ann and Ren respectively. She had no reason to worry or fret over it whatsoever, and yet every fiber of her being screamed out the opposite.

It had been nearly half a year since Makoto had left for college with Haru and Ren had 'left' Tokyo to return home. It was only around that time that she had come to terms with how she felt about Ren in the first place, and yet now as a result, a perfectly normal interaction had her head out of sorts. Such a feeling of needless, petty, and unfounded jealousy, however slight, was new to her.

She couldn't stop herself from releasing a frustrated sigh.

"…long day?" a smooth-sounding voice abruptly spoke.

Caught by surprise, Makoto's posture stiffened and she directed her sights towards the leftmost corner of the room where she saw her sister in her nightwear leaning against the kitchen counter.

"S-Sis? Oh, uh…" Makoto stammered. Clearing her throat, she continued. "It's nothing, really. Just a long day."

"I see…" Sae trailed off. She then walked up to join her sister on the couch, sitting a short distance next to her. Smiling, she asked, "So, did you enjoy your first full day back with your friends?"

Makoto's demeanor loosened upon realizing her sister didn't intend to press her on her sigh. She returned the former-prosecutor's smile with equal force.

"Yes, I did. It was great to actually get a chance to see everybody in person."

"I'm glad to hear that. What did you end up doing?"

A very welcomed conversation between two sisters ensued. Makoto herself seemed to lose herself in it, and somewhat to her surprise, so did Sae. After some time of going over the day's events, the conversation turned towards more serious subjects.

"And I take it your final exams went well?"

"Need you even ask?" Makoto asked with confidence, much to her sister's liking.

"Good," Sae simply said. Reaching for her glass of water on the table, she calmly continued, "So if you're time together with your friends went over great and your grades are impeccable… then that must mean your sigh was due to boy trouble."

"W-Wha…!"

A flabbergasted Makoto just starred on as her sister casually took a sip of water before casually continuing the conversation.

"So, boy trouble, right?" pressed the former-prosecutor.

"W-Well, I really wouldn't say boy trouble…"

It was clear that she was struggling with how if at all she should articulate her thoughts to her sister. She had good reason to hold out, but naturally the silver-haired beauty had no intention of taking her foot off the gas.

"Ah, you're right. I should've been more specific. I should have said 'Ren Amamiya' trouble, right?" Upon seeing the shocked expression of her sister, she in turn just gave her a cocky know-it-all expression that only an elder sibling could. "What's with that look? I am you're sister, Makoto. Of course I'd notice something like that. Call it sisterly intuition."

Given her choice of words, Makoto eyed Sae with suspicion. Not that she didn't think her sister was brilliant, but to say she had some kind of familial intuition at all was far-fetched to say the least. After all this was coming from the same person that was completely unaware that Makoto was masquerading as a Phantom Thief right under her nose for a majority of the previous year.

"…that, and also this came for you in the mail."

Sae produced a self-help book that Makoto had ordered regarding how to increase the intimacy of male to female relationships and take them to the next level.

"G-Give me that!" Makoto exclaimed, snatching the book and holding it into her chest with reddened cheeks. "Why did you open my mail?!"

"It was addressed to me you know," Sae replied plainly. She then smirked teasingly. "Which should teach you to double-check the information before you have anything shipped."

She groaned, "I knew I should've just ordered it when I got back…"

"Anyway," began the eldest Niijima, "why bother ordering that book in the first place? If you wanted to talk and ask for advice in that regard, I'm more than willing."

Although Sae's tone was serious, it was not received as such by Makoto. She giggled, placing the book down on the coffee table at her front.

"Good one, sis," Makoto remarked. She turned and quickly noticed by her sister's expression that she misunderstood. "O-Oh, you were serious…"

Sae's eyes became razor-thin.

"And why wouldn't I be?"

"No disrespect sis, but we've never really talked about this kind of stuff before. You haven't exactly been open about your past relationships, so I assumed you either prefer not to talk about it or that you've never had one."

"And what has that to do with anything?" Sae asked, her arms now crossed. "If you were in need of treatment for a broken arm, would you only accept treatment from a person that had also had their arm broken before?"

"…fair point," Makoto admitted.

"I know," said the silver-haired beauty. "So, since we're this far, you may as well ask me for advice formally."

Inwardly, Makoto felt as if she was about to ask a school teacher about romance. However, she understood that in spite of her abrasive approach, her sister's concern came from a good place.

"Okay… clearly you know I happen to like Ren. However, I'm…" Makoto struggled to find the right words, but ultimately sighed and spat out what she felt was the truth. "I'm pretty hopeless when it comes to matters of the heart. In high school my priorities were elsewhere, but with Ren, I… w-well, I don't think I need to explain."

"I see, so you're struggling with how to make the first move or to get him to do so," Sae mused. Cupping her chin in thought, she continued, "Work your way towards it piece by piece and build up your confidence. Try to figure out exactly how he feels, and if you have even the slightest inkling he may feel the same way, discuss it with him directly. Having the courage to make that happen is on you."

Thinking on it, Makoto seemed to understand what her sister was getting at. It wasn't world-shatteringly great advice by any means, but it certainly was something that she needed to hear. In fact, she had a feeling reading the book she'd purchased would probably have yielded the same advice to some degree.

"Oh, and by the way," she continued. "There's nothing wrong with prioritizing things other than a relationship. Success in life is not without sacrifice, and if youthful romance is one of them, you should feel no shame for it."

There was a bit of an awkward silence in the room with Makoto not knowing quite what to say. After all, it was an extremely bitter-sounding tirade from her sister that was six years her elder.

"Then you've never…"

"Never what?"

"You've never dated anyone… r-right?" Makoto asked, the uncertainty in her voice palpable.

"This again?! Like I told you, if you had a broken arm—"

"No, no, your advice was good! Honest!" Makoto said reassuringly, doing her best to tread carefully. "It's just that I'm curious. We've never talked about this kind of stuff before, and you've never spoken about dating anyone before."

It was difficult to describe the demeanor of the eldest Niijima sister at that point. She didn't appear bitter, but she didn't appear happy either. Even Makoto was at a loss as to whether or not she'd overstepped her boundaries. It could have something as embarrassing as a salacious streak or as awful as heartbreak, and naturally she didn't think it was her right to know which.

"No, I haven't."

"…w-wait, never? Really?!" Makoto asked. Her inability to hide the incredible surprise in her voice earned her a rather venomous glare. She quickly explained herself. "Sorry, I just was shocked. After all, you're incredibly gorgeous, sis, so I'm sure guys are fawning all over you constantly."

Naturally she left out the part where her standards were far too high and she could be a bit cold, callous, and shrill. That was because she'd prefer not to be thrown out of a window that night. Leaving it at the fact that Sae was beautiful proved to be the correct decision given that her demeanor softened.

"Any man that peruses you solely for your looks is only after one thing, and I've no intention of giving that away so readily," stated Sae pointedly. "I've also devoted myself to my work for as long as I can remember. To be honest, this is the first time I can recall in my adult life where I've had leisure time. This will be the first weekend in who knows how long that I'll only be working one of the two days."

Makoto nodded at that. It made absolute sense given that her sister's priorities were always advancing herself forward. Still, there was a lingering sense of doubt.

"So… no one? Really?"

"Since you're so keen on having me say it, the answer is no. I have yet to formally date someone," Sae said, once again becoming somewhat annoyed.

"There's nothing wrong with that," Makoto clarified. "And just to be sure…no flings either?"

"Do you really think I'm that kind of woman?" Sae grumpily shot back. "And was I not clearly enough of my stance on that?!"

"Alright, alright… I was just asking," she replied defensively.

"Good grief…" sighed the silver-haired former prosecutor. "Things like that have always been trivial to me. And you know I have no time for anything I view as trivial."

"Yeah, that's what I figured," said Makoto. She chuckled before playfully adding, "Ever had a crush though?"

The reaction she got actually surprised her. Sae averted her gaze, and Makoto could have sworn that she saw a tinge of pink on her porcelain skin.

"…wait, really?"

"Well, that's not really something I…"

"For real?!" Makoto asked excitedly, harnessing her inner Ryuji. "Don't leave me in suspense like that! I have so many questions now!"

"Come now, Makoto, don't be ridiculous," Sae replied, regaining her composure for the most part. She waved her hand dismissively. "It's not even worth discussing at this point. I'd almost forgotten about it completely before you brought it up."

"Okay, okay…"

A disappointed Makoto then got up from her seat and made for her old room. She glanced at her sister briefly and made to speak.

"It was great talking to you, sis. I think I'll go ahead and turn in for the night."

"Goodnight," Sae replied, a genuine smile spread across her lips.

After her sister had left the room, she stretched her limbs before she too headed to her bedroom to grab some shuteye. After she got back into her room, however, she couldn't help but think back at her conversation with Makoto regarding romance.

The undeniable truth was that Sae had incredibly mixed feelings regarding her sister's romantic interests. Not on the subject thereof—Ren Amimiya was an outstanding young man if ever she'd seen one. She merely questioned the necessity of having a romantic relationship at that age at all.

'Should I have encouraged her the way I did?' Sae wondered contemplatively. 'If she does end up dating, would it be a distraction for her or could she handle it? When I was her age in college, if I had…'

Sae shook her head of such thoughts and sighed. There were very few things in her life that she would consider regrets, and her stance on dating was not one of them. Given the hordes of men that her policy had kept her away from, she couldn't consider it so.

She concluded that it was up to Makoto and that her role was merely to support her wherever she could.

Tokyo: Sanshou Hotel, Some Time Later…

Yu entered his room and gently closed the door before flipping on the lights and stretching his limbs. He looked at the clock and almost groaned at the sight of the time being half an hour past midnight.

'I didn't think we were hanging out all that long,' Yu thought.

Still, he couldn't help but smile. It had been a few years since he'd even been in the same room as more than one of his closest friends, so having the opportunity to see so many of them all in once place was a small miracle in retrospect.

His unexpected heart-to-heart talk with Yosuke earlier that night was still fresh in his mind. The truth was that he very easily could have avoided even brining up Rise as part of the conversation. But in his heart of hearts, Yu knew that a lingering sense of guilt that had been stuffed away for years made that almost impossible.

It was maddening that he knew it was all necessary in the long run, but that didn't ease the emotional pain.

'Maybe I should…' Yu thought.

Almost absentmindedly, the silver-haired young man brought out his phone and looked up the contact for Rise Kujikawa. He stared at it blankly at first, but ultimately shook his head of such thoughts and closed out of his phone.

"What am I thinking? At this hour she's probably asleep, and if she's not then she's probably super busy with showbiz stuff…" He mused, almost disappointed in himself.

Suddenly, his phone actually started to ring. Weirdly, he had hoped that it was Rise, but quickly realized it to be Naoto. In retrospect, that really should have been the person he expected a call from.

"Hey, Naoto, what's up?" answered Yu.

"Just calling to check up on you and go over a game-plan for tomorrow," she replied. "Naturally, I'll be running a program to decrypt the phone I lifted off of that blond-haired boy. It should finish by tomorrow morning, so we can meet up then."

"Yeah, sounds good," he replied. "Oh, and by the way, Naoto… try to get some rest, okay?"

"Where is that coming from all of a sudden?"

"I don't think I need to explain that," Yu said with a chuckle. "I think we both know you're debating getting more work done tonight because we ran into Yosuke, Chie, and Yukiko. We've been working on this non-stop for a few days, so I just want to make sure that you don't push yourself needlessly. I worry about that."

"…W-Well, I could say the same for you," she countered an as even a tone as she was able. "I take your point, though. I'll get some rest, and I expect you to do the same."

"Right. Goodnight, Naoto."

With that, she gave a response in kind before he hung up and proceeded to get ready for bed.

A/N Alright, and with that we're done. Next Chapter will be posted next Friday, so look forward to it!

Outside of that, this came out as another long one. A bit of setup, but now the pieces are starting to come together. We've got Yukiko, Yosuke, and Chie here too! When will the others show up? Hmm, dunno. Maybe soon? Maybe not? Who knows?

Explanations:

Next Chapter: You can probably guess it'll be a bit between Ann and Ren primarily, at least at the start. So if you happen to be a fan of the two, look forward to it.

Makoto: Yes, Makoto will be the second girl for Ren. I view her as one of the two 'main girls' of vanilla P5, so naturally she had to be in there somewhere ^^

Yu, Naoto, and Morgana: I just envisioned the two would have the wherewithal to keep a calm face after hearing a talking cat. Morgana effectively pulled a Ryuji here as a result of assuming the two couldn't hear him, which you can bet there will be a payoff for that later.

Naoto Stealing Ryuji's Phone: She's slick, we all know this. Be honest, how many of you suspected that was happening when she 'bumped' into Ryuji? Brownie points if you guessed.

Yu Narukami: Obviously he's a bit conflicted here, and there is meant to be more to the group becoming a bit out of touch in the past two years than 'life got in the way'. That is part of it, but remember that you have to consciously let things like that slip away, it doesn't really just 'happen' to things you hold close to you. Why he chose to do that as well as why, specifically, he let things be with Rise is not something I can reveal. It's something, obviously, so it's not just him being a dumbass. A lot of that stuff is deliberate, I just can't/won't say why because the story will do that for me :P

The Mall Concert: Shocking, I know. Rise would be the headline performer, who woulda thought? When will she actually show up? Soon? Not so soon? Keep wondering.

Ryuji and PT: Just a nod to his character at the end pf P5. It's implied that he wants to try to really run again, even if he's unsure as to whether or not he'll manage. Just a small little detail, may become more relevant in the future.