A/N Another Friday another chapter—this time featuring a new cover image, so hopefully people like it. This one is a bit on the shorter end compared to what I've done up until this point, but mainly because it acts as more of a prelude to what comes next than anything else. It does hold at least one critical story piece to it at least, which should be nice for fans of Rise.
Next chapter will be posted Friday of next week. With that out of the way, enjoy!
Disclaimer: I do not own Persona or any of its characters, and I make no money off of this
Chapter 5
July 18th: Yongen-Jaya, Mid-Afternoon
Ann and Ren entered the doors of Leblanc and were given a friendly greeting courtesy of the owner as per usual.
"Ah, you're back," Sojiro greeted. "A few of the others are just upstairs."
"A few?" Ann though aloud, sounding surprised. "We're not the last one's here?"
"I don't think so, no."
"I'm sure whoever's left will be here soon," Ren reasoned, eliciting a nod of agreement from his blonde-haired friend.
They passed by a few of the friendly customers indulging themselves in the boss's curry. Ren was recognized by a few of them and exchanged brief greetings but the pair nevertheless quickly made their way upstairs.
When they finally arrived in the former-fugitive's room, they were greeted by only the female members of their group. Futaba was sitting on the bed surfing the web on her laptop while Makoto and Haru were enjoying some tea on the sofa.
"Oh, there you are!" Haru spoke energetically. "How was the mall?"
"Exhausting," Ann replied tiredly, taking her seat facing the couch along with Ren. "Where are Ryuji and Yusuke?"
"We're unsure since neither of them responded to Futaba's message yet," Makoto sighed.
"Inari's probably painting and Skull is… Ghh, on second thought, I don't wanna imagine what he does on his day's off," Futaba cringed.
"They'll be here eventually," reasoned Makoto. She then perked up and glanced towards the two fresh arrivals. "But really, how was the mall? Not too crowded, I hope."
"All the hope in the world couldn't downsize that crowd," Ren grimaced.
"W-Was it really that bad?" Haru asked.
"And then some," Ann said, her voice holding a pained undertone. "I almost got trampled! And I was almost late to the shoot!"
"But you had me with you, Lady Ann! So naturally everything worked out for the best!" Morgana haughtily remarked.
The feline made his way out of Joker's bag and stretched his limbs on the floor, purring all the while.
"Thanks Morgana, you were a big help," Ann replied cheerfully. She started to softly pet his back. "Whatever would I do without you?"
"M-Meoww~"
"Oh brother," Makoto muttered with an amused smile. She turned to the black-haired teen. "Since Mona's obviously too distracted to hear this, I assume then that you're the one that helped Ann make it there on time?"
"What gave it away?" he joked.
"Just a hunch," she replied with a giggle. "Remind me to request your services when I check out the new mall. I'm sure you'd save me an hour or two."
"Just name the time," Ren answered. "Oh, and I've already told Ann this, but just so that you know, I have a strict four bag maximum policy."
"G-Geez, just what did you think I was asking you? I can carry my own bags, you know…"
"Just saying you should be aware."
"Ugh, will you quit it with that?!" Ann exclaimed. She redirected her attention back to the humans of the group, much to the disappointment of Morgana.
"He's actually telling the truth, btdubs. It's not a joke," a bitter-sounding Futaba remarked from Joker's bedspread, not even turning to speak directly to the group. She continued on in a whisper as if to herself, muttering, "It'ssome BS is what it is… Makin' me try to fit computer parts and anime figures into four bags. Who does he think he is? If I had a…"
"I told you before that I don't hang out with you so you can carry my bags! That'd just be rude!" Ann stated pointedly. "And it should be at least six bags!"
"That's why you're annoyed?" Makoto sighed.
"Hehe, while Ann is maybe a bit too passionate about this, I do agree that four is a bit limiting," Haru chimed in, cupping her chin in thought. "I move for a vote on increasing the maximum bags carried to six!"
"Seconded!" Ann immediately spoke in agreement.
"Third-ed!" Futaba piled on, raising her hand high into the air.
"Well, more bags would be better…"
"Really? Even you, Makoto?" Ren asked, a bead of sweat dropping down his left brow. "And why don't I get a say in this?"
"You do," Ann replied with a knowing grin. "There's five of us and you get one vote. That's fair, right?"
"The system works," Futaba commented cheekily.
"Yeah, for the four of you," he quipped.
"We can't help being in the majority," Ann stated. "So then it's official! The maximum bag limit has been increased to six!"
"Huzzah!" Futaba cheered.
"Huzzah!" Haru exclaimed in with a giggle.
"You guys are having way too much fun with this," Makoto though aloud, albeit with an amused smile. "Sorry, Ren, but democracy has spoken."
"Fine, fine," he relented, unable to stifle his laughter even as he spoke. "Six bags it is."
"Six what now?" Ryuji's voice cut in as he walked up the stairs.
While the blond-haired teen was the one to speak up, it was Yusuke who was the first to actually step foot in the attic with Ryuji following shortly thereafter. They soon took their seats and joined the group at the table.
"It's nothing," Makoto replied sheepishly, hoping they'd move past it.
"By the way, you two are a bit later than I would've expected. Is everything okay?" Haru asked.
"Mostly. I mean, PT went by fine, but…"
Ryuji's downtrodden tone drew a few concerned looks.
"You'll have to excuse his dour disposition. The only reason he was even aware of this meeting was because I happened to run into him while procuring art supplies. He appears to have lost his cellular phone," Yusuke explained.
"Wait, really?" Ren and Ann asked in unison, clear surprise in their tones.
"Yes, really! W-Why are you two acting so shocked? It ain't that bad," he replied defensively.
"Well, it's just that this is the first time you've ever actually lost your phone. It's weirdly one of the only things your consistent about…" Ren stated. "You lose almost everything else all the time."
"Dude!"
"You're gonna tell him he's wrong then?" Ann countered knowingly. Her response was a begrudging sigh. "So when do you think you lost it?"
"The hell kind of question is that? If I knew that, then obviously I'd have my phone back by now!"
His curt response earned him a pair of narrow eyes courtesy of Ann, who crossed her arms as if to illustrate her annoyance with Ryuji's tone.
"As charming as ever," Morgana dryly remarked.
"Oh shut up! It was a dumb question!"
"How is that question any dumber than losing your phone in the first place?" Ann shot back.
"You—I—That's…!"
"Calm down, Ryuji," Futaba said, rolling her eyes. She got up from her laptop and turned to face everyone for the first time since Makoto and Haru initially arrived. "We've got more important stuff to deal with right now. I can always track your phone later and tell you where it is if you can't find it. It's no biggie."
"R-Really?! Thanks, Futaba! You're the best!"
With a prideful grin, she exclaimed, "I am, but that's not what we're here to discuss!"
"You're quite humble as well," Yusuke absentmindedly remarked.
"Quiet, you!"
The orange-haired girl then picked up her laptop and ushered it onto the table so that most everyone could see the screen. It appeared to be a map of Tokyo with various markers pinpointed, though its purpose was a mystery at a glance.
"Like I mentioned in my text, I've finished analyzing that app from Ren's phone. And get this—it has actual code in it! Verifiable, translatable code!" Futaba gushed.
Her joy for that fact was not shared by the rest of the group. Ryuji didn't even pretend to care, and although Ann and Makoto tried to act as if they shared even a modicum of her enthusiasm, it was clear that they too were indifferent.
"W-Well, that's really good news for us, okay?! I was able to determine that it does connect to that other world, and as best I can tell, it works similarly to the Meta-Nav."
"How exactly can you tell?" Yusuke asked curiously.
"That's where this comes in." She gestured to the map, continuing, "I'll admit, most of the app doesn't have actual code to it, but what code does exist translates into a map. And there's another functionality that causes certain coordinates of the map to light up."
"So you think that if we go to these highlighted coordinates, we'll be able to enter the other world like I did a few nights back at Leblanc," Ren mused.
"Precisely," Futaba replied, sporting a grin. "All of that is just a hypothesis though. Unlike the Meta-Nav, there isn't a keyword functionality. It just kinda goes in when you've arrived at a certain place… or so I think."
"Well, we won't know until we test it out," Makoto said.
"Yep, I think so too," added Ann in agreement. "Are there any of these spots nearby that we could check out?"
"Hmm, if I'm looking at this correctly, there seems to be one in Shibuya," Haru stated, though she sounded relatively unsure of herself.
The heiress leaned towards the laptop to get a better look, but Futaba instinctively moved it away from her at a matching pace just to keep it out of range of her 'curse'. Haru was naturally a bit deflated, though she fully understood.
"She's right," clarified the hacking prodigy. She gestured a finger to one of the marked locations. "This is where we'll want to check out."
"Hey, Futaba, do you know why any of these locations are marked this way?" Makoto inquired.
"The part of the app that takes care of that functionality is beyond computer code, so… no, not really."
"I have a guess," Ren spoke up.
"And I assume it's along the same lines as what I was thinking as well," mused Makoto. "I take it you believe it's related to the kidnapped victims of those men in white masks?"
"It's the only thing I can think of that makes sense based on what we know," he stated. Looking to everyone else, he elaborated, "The app appeared on my phone when that girl that was kidnapped made her way to Leblanc's equivalent in that other world."
"But ain't they only kidnapped the one girl?" Ryuji asked confusedly.
"That we know of," Makoto stated. Her gaze shifted towards Ren and her eyes developed a serious look to them. "Do you remember those two that came to Leblanc the other day? This may seem off-topic, but what did you think of them?"
Although most everyone present was somewhat confused at the offhand request, Joker took it as seriously as he was being asked to.
"Well, they're certainly a night-and-day difference from any other cops or lawyers I've ever met before. Sae-san excluded, of course," Ren answered.
Bit by bit, the rest seemed to agree.
"Now that you mention it…" Ann muttered.
"That detective chick did seem super sharp," Ryuji admitted.
"She even realized Leblanc was under surveillance in like no time flat!"
"I agree," remarked Yusuke.
For a moment the group started to discuss how sharp the woman—Detective Shirogane—seemed to be. Joker's gut, however, went the opposite direction. He couldn't explain why, but the silver-haired young man gave off a different aura and actually captured his attention far more so. There was just something about him that made him seem extraordinary. Whether it was in his demeanor or something as abstract as a light emanating from his soul, Joker couldn't say.
"…Ren?" Haru uttered to the seemingly spaced-out Phantom Thief. "A yen for your thoughts?"
"It's nothing," he answered, knowing full well he couldn't explain his thoughts even if he wanted to. His sights drifted back to the red-eyed girl that started them off on the topic. "Anyway, it at least seems we all think that they weren't typical cops."
"I agree. And the name Detective Shirogane rang a bell with me earlier, so I did some digging, and…"
Makoto presented her phone to the group, showing an article describing the first coming of the detective prince. It very quickly got everyone's attention.
"The Detective Prince…? Wait, like Akechi?" Ryuji uttered in shock.
A noticeably bitter reaction was had at the utterance of his name by several present, but they quickly moved past it.
"Seems like it," Ann said. "Hmm, you know I remember hearing that Akechi was the second coming of the Detective Prince. That's gotta mean Detective Shirogane was the original."
"Naoto Shirogane appears to be her full name…" Yusuke thought aloud.
"Correct," replied Makoto. She retracted her phone, continuing, "This confirms that they have extremely big-name people on this case. Further, those two arrived at Leblanc after the kidnapped victim was found. If this was an ordinary kidnapping and not a part of some broader issue, not only would they not be on the case, they likely would not have come themselves to ask further questions when testimony had already been given."
"Did they really ask anything important though…?" Ryuji wondered aloud.
"I don't really think so, but that silver-haired guy had soft hands…" Morgana said, reminiscing pleasantly at the memory.
"Either way, I think Mako-chan is right. This probably is something that reaches farther than just one victim," Haru concluded.
"Which also means we need to take this as seriously as possible. We'll need to take the rest of the day to prepare ourselves before we try to go back into this new Metaverse."
"Agreed. Good thinking as always, Makoto," Ren complimented.
"That's our Queen for ya!" Futaba cheered.
"Hell yeah!"
"G-Geez, quit it you guys. I know you're just flattering me, but it's really not that big of a deal!"
Her protests did little to stem the flood of compliments she received. Whether they were genuine or simply being done to make her bashful past a certain point was entirely unknown. Morgana interrupted to bring the conversation back on track.
"Okay, so then we should all head out and get prepared for tonight. Does eight o'clock sound good?"
Everyone nodded in agreement and all seemed well. However, there was one loose end that was quickly pointed out.
"This may be a needless worry, but what if we have to change the time? Ryuji doesn't have his phone, so…" Haru trailed off, much to the embarrassment of the mentioned blond.
"I got it covered," volunteered Ann. She nonchalantly waved her hand, adding, "I'll just drop by his place to pick him up and we'll head there together."
A bitter Morgana was quick to chime in. "You better count your lucky stars you get to be escorted by Lady Ann, Ryuji. I guess losing your phone has one perk, huh?"
"I'd rather have my phone back, no question 'bout it…"
"And whose fault is that again?" Ann asked in an annoyed tone. She quickly ceased her reflexive glare. "Anyway, we should head out. I'll see you guys later!"
"Yeah, see you later," Ren said in response.
"I trust that your home is something you're actually capable of finding, Ryuji?" Yusuke spoke up.
"Yeah, I'm… what the—screw you, Yusuke!"
Amid the laughter, everyone dispersed, heading off to prepare for what was to come later that very night.
Tokyo: Sanshou Hotel, Naoto's Room, Later that Evening…
Seated in front of the ace detective's rather large televisions were Yosuke, Chie, Yukiko, and Yu meanwhile Naoto herself took a seat at her laptop which sat on a makeshift desk she'd created on one of the dining area tables.
Currently, they were going over the information that the encryption program had extracted from the stolen phone, which turned out to be such a treasure-trove of information that it was truly astounding.
"Half of this stuff is going right over my head…" Chie groaned.
"I know what you mean. It feels like I'm back in school again," agreed Yosuke.
"Really? I think it's pretty straightforward."
Yukiko's remark drew a look of agitated disbelief from the two brunettes. Her words weren't altogether that surprising, but it still wasn't fun to be reminded that the inn-running heiress was effortlessly intelligent.
"While Yukiko may be exaggerating a bit, this information is more than anything I could have expected," admitted Naoto with a sense of wonder. She turned to her silver-haired partner. "The flash drive that Director Tachibana provided you seems needless in comparison. I feel bad saying this given what he likely had to do to get that information, but we could very easily have extrapolated their means and methods from this phone's message log alone. It's a miracle none of them were ever deleted."
"Better to have and not need, right?" Yu mused.
"True enough."
"Still, these are the Phantom Thieves?" Yosuke asked, his eyes glued to the screens with a blank look to them. "They're… just kids."
"Pfft, as if we're in any position to talk," Chie said jokingly. A knowing look donned on her features. "How old were we when we were solving murders inside the TV world? They're also not that much younger than us now."
"She's got you there, Yosuke," Yukiko piled on.
"Age isn't always a good measure of maturity or ability," Yu added.
"Geez, alright, alright, you've made your points," he chuckled. "Still—"
Whatever Yosuke was going to say was cut short courtesy of a characteristic buzzing that came from Ryuji Sakamoto's phone. Naoto then brought up the chat showing the message for everyone to see.
"Looks like they're about to head out," Chie muttered absentmindedly.
"Seems like it," said Yukiko. "Should we tell Kanji, Teddie, and Rise to meet us there?"
"I've already contacted them," the detective replied. She glanced briefly at her phone's screen. "They should be here very soon by my estimation."
A knock on the door interrupted the conversation.
"Come in!" Naoto called out.
On cue, the three missing members of the group entered through the door. Teddie, in all his energetic glory, shot to the forefront and was primed and ready to shoot over excitedly to their esteemed leader.
"Sen—Ooof"
The Shadow turned partial-human was stopped dead in his tracks by Kanji who grabbed him by the collar and prevented his charge.
"What'd I just say, Teddie?" Kanji tiredly asked.
"I know, but can you blame me?" he innocently responded.
Yosuke couldn't fight back a nostalgic smile. "Glad you're the same as ever, Ted,"
"Aw, I knew you missed me~."
"Like a bad rash, but yeah, in my own way."
Soon enough, Rise moved past the restrained Teddie and Kanji, sporting her trademark cheerful smile. She was soon greeted by Chie who got up and wrapped her in a hug, which she returned in full force and with equal energy.
"Glad you could make it, Rise!" Chie greeted. She pulled her hands back from the embrace and peered over her friend's shoulders at the other fresh arrivals. "You guys too! Sorry if it's a bit cramped."
"Meh, we'll manage," replied Kanji in a nonchalant manner. He took a nearby seat for himself. "Still, you got a nice setup in here, Naoto."
"It is a pretty happening spot," Yukiko remarked in jest.
"Seems so," began Rise. Her smile grew, but a dark undertone seemed to surface. Her tone growing icy, she continued, "I hear some people have been spending quite a bit of time in here. Quite the 'happening' spot indeed."
No one said so much as a word. They just awkwardly sat in place and neither moved nor blinked. It didn't take long for her to take notice of their awkwardness.
"What?" Rise uttered confusedly.
"O-Oh, uh, nothin'…" Yosuke trailed off with the rigidity and grace of a piece of plywood.
The air grew somewhat tense very quickly with everyone thinking along similar lines. It was then that Yu internally sighed before getting out of his seat, knowing full-well what needed to happen.
"Hey, Rise, do you have a minute? I wanted to talk to you about something… in private," Yu said evenly.
Eyes darted from their leader towards their navigator, their reflexive hunger for drama all too evident. To their disappointment, Rise's body language and expression didn't betray her emotions in the slightest.
"Sure," Rise answered cordially.
"Great, my room is just down the hall."
A nod was received in response and the two were out of the room in a flash. Almost immediately after their departure, the group collectively gathered with the voracity of a group of gossiping high-schoolers.
"Did you see that?!" Chie exclaimed with wide-eyes.
"I did, but I still don't believe it. To think I'd live to see the day Rise would be giving the cold shoulder to him of all people…"
"Right?! It's like the sky turning green or somethin'!" Kanji added.
"You guys!" Teddie suddenly cut in, his voice filled with urgency.
Everyone went silent and gave the half-shadow their undivided attention given his tone. His deadly-serious expression even made a few of them nervous.
"W-What is it, Teddie…?" Yosuke asked hesitantly.
"What we just saw… it all but confirms it. Rise-chan… Rise-chan has been replaced by an imposter!"
"…what?" Naoto sighed out in disbelief.
"Teddie, that's a bit—"
"Think about it!" he protested. "Why else would Rise-chan act that way towards Sensei? Unless it isn't Rise-chan!"
All eyes, half-lidded and deadpanned, shifted to Kanji.
"So let me get this straight," began Chie. Her pointer finger shifted from person to person as she continued, "Yosuke told you, I got him to tell me, I told Yukiko and then we both told Naoto."
"Yeah, so?"
"That means you were supposed to tell Teddie."
"Do I even gottaexplain why I didn't?" Kanji countered.
It took all of two seconds for everyone understand.
"Tell me what?" Teddie uttered anxiously.
"Okay, we'll tell you, but you gotta be cool about it for now," conditioned Chie.
"I'm totally cool at all times, so no problem!" Teddie cheered. An instant later, his energy evaporated as he recalled something he believed more urgent. "Ah, but after you tell me, we should really do something about that imposter Rise-chan!"
Half of the group face-palmed while Yukiko broke out into a fit of laughter.
Sanshou Hotel: Outside Room 714
Yu Narukami and Rise Kujikawa had walked down the hall to just outside the former's room in complete and total silence. Oddly enough, it was perhaps the longest either had gone without talking while in one another's presence since they'd met all those years ago in Inaba.
"Here we are."
The door was soon unlocked and the two entered. As the lights were turned on and he took several steps into the room, Yu quickly realized that Rise had stopped walking shortly after entering. He turned to see her standing in place like a statue. Her arms were crossed, almost aggressively so, but her expression was plain by contrast.
Yu gave neither a preface nor an introduction, and Rise in turn didn't bother to lead with pointless questions such as 'why did you call me here?' or 'what did you want to talk about?' and the like.
They both knew exactly why they were in that room in that moment. She looked at Yu expectantly, waiting with evident patience for what it was that he would have to say.
"I owe you a long overdue explanation," Yu started off, admitting the absolute and unequivocal obvious. It was so much so that the redhead couldn't help but blurt out a response.
"Ya think?" Rise asked.
"Yes."
Although he still wasn't quite sure what he was going to say, he looked directly into Rise's eyes with a stern, honest look about them that only he and a select few others could manage. The weight of his gaze nearly made her falter in her patient stoicism, if only a little.
"I know an apology isn't enough, but for what it's worth, I am sorry I turned down the interview with your agency. I hadn't realized how much work you likely put in just to set that up, and at the very least I should have called you personally to let you know about my decision."
She appeared unfazed by his words.
"And," he continued, his gaze downcast. "I should have gotten in touch with you after Inoue-san called me to let me know how you took the news. I don't want to give you an excuse. It shouldn't have taken me this long to talk to you about this, and I am sorry."
Again, she appeared unfazed. The closest thing he got to a reaction was, at first, her dropping her hands at her sides, though her features remained unchanged.
'Well, that's good, at least,' mused Yu in thought. 'She seems a little bit less—'
Without any warning whatsoever, Rise had rushed forward and captured Yu in an embrace. Her hands wrapped tightly around his torso, and he was so shocked at first that he just stood in place stupefied.
Her face buried in his chest, she shouted, "Idiot!"
It didn't hold any venom to it, much to the silver-haired young man's relief. With a slight smile, he returned her embrace. He'd never been so glad to be called an idiot in his life, that much was certain.
"Yeah, I can't really disagree with you there," Yu admitted.
"And you shouldn't!" Rise stated pointedly. "Such an idiot! To go almost two years without so much as a message from you is just…!"
A great deal of emotion started to work its way into her voice, and Yu could swear he felt small wet spots on his chest. She valiantly held back her tears, though.
"And you should've known that I'm too proud and stubborn, so I wouldn't have been the one to…!" Rise continued. Her grip on him tightened and her face buried ever-deeper into his chest. "Idiot! Stupid! Moron…!"
Though Yu wasn't entirely certain, he could have sworn that at this point she was more berating herself than she was him. He assumed given her words that she was just as mad at herself as she was at him.
With a melancholic smile, he gripped her tighter. Almost on instinct he brought a hand up to the back of her head and gently caressed it to comfort her as best he could.
"I'm sorry for being a bad friend," Yu said.
There was more that he could have said, but now was not the time. For a short while, they held their embrace. Regardless of how comfortable or comfortable it may have been on Yu's part, when they would break it was entirely on Rise's shoulders. He was willing to give the redheaded songstress as long as she needed to gather herself.
"You know," Rise began, peeking up from his chest, "In my own way, I did try to send out flares. I was hoping after my last album dropped, I'd at least get a text or something from you…"
Although he was not prone to being taken by surprise or being at a loss for words, Yu's expression became that of a deer caught in headlights.
"Was it not obvious? A-At least tell me what you thought of it," Rise said.
It was clear that just broaching the subject inspired a bit of emotional vulnerability on the part of the redheaded beauty. Her self-conscious tone was more than evidence enough to illustrate that much. This, however, made it all the more painful for the man she currently clung to.
"Well, um… about that…" he trailed off.
Any emotional sentiment seemed to vanish in that instant as Rise robotically pulled herself back from his chest, broke the embrace, placed her hands on her hips, and looked at him with accusing, narrowed eyes.
"Seriously?" She asked, her voice holding nothing short of stunned disbelief. Along the same lines, she ranted, "It was my best-selling album so far! It stayed at the top of the charts for months—not weeks, months! Even if all you do is listen to radio, there's no way you wouldn't hear at least a few of the songs on it!"
"I haven't really gotten chances to listen to music lately," Yu stated.
His honesty only added to her frustration.
"Please tell me you at least know the album name!" she all but begged.
"Sapphire," he answered, almost immediately. She couldn't help but be pleasantly surprised, and it showed. He flashed her a charming smile, "C'mon, at least give me some credit. It wasn't like I'd forgotten about you. There's no way I could."
The light but visible blush on her cheeks betrayed her internal happiness at hearing him say that.
"G-Geez, I'd almost forgotten how sweet you can be," Rise said in a whisper, clearly as if to herself. "I still can't wrap my head around how you haven't heard any of the songs though! Do you live under a rock or something?!"
"Kinda," admitted Yu, half-jokingly if his chuckle was anything to go by. "It sure felt like that at least when I was in Iwate."
"…fine, it's water under the bridge. Just listen to it if you can," she sighed in relent.
"It'd be my pleasure."
"Oh, and one more thing," Rise said in realization. The pleasant smile that crossed her lips had now become menacing. "If I find out that you've listened to Kanami's last album, I'm jumping out of that window over there and taking you with me. Got it~?"
"Don't worry, Kanami's albums don't sell under rocks either," Yu said reassuringly.
The superstar idol couldn't help but laugh and smile, her icy demeanor of earlier that day showing no signs of remaining.
"Good, I'm glad to hear that," she replied.
"Anyway, we should probably get back."
Yu made for the door and no sooner than he opened it for Rise to pass through did they come face-to-face with the rest of their friends standing just outside with all the grace of a child that was caught with his hands in a cookie jar.
"Um… hey," Yosuke awkwardly greeted.
"I got this," Teddie said reassuringly. He continued on as if telling a ghost story to a child in the most cliche manner possible, wailing hands and all. "What you're seeing right now is totally a dream~. You've fallen asleep, and you'll only wake up when you close the door and wait five whole minutes before opening it again!"
"Smooth, Teddie. Reeeeal smooth," sighed Chie.
"Thanks!"
"Why did I bother explaining sarcasm to you?" Kanji groaned.
"Ehem…"
The sound of Rise clearing her throat alerted the group that, as one would expect, the famous idol was not pleased that the group had clearly been trying to listen in on her and Yu's private conversation.
"Are you catching a cold, Rise-chan?" Teddie asked good-naturedly.
"All in favor of sacrificing Teddie and running for the hills?" Yosuke posited to the group.
"Seconded," Kanji immediately answered.
"Will you guys knock it off?!" Rise exclaimed, crossing her arms and glaring at the group icily. "You were eavesdropping, weren't you?!"
"Well, I mean… attempting to, yeah," Yosuke admitted. The redhead's glare intensified. It seemed honesty would get them nowhere, though it was worth a shot. "B-But we didn't really hear anything!"
"It's true. Naoto wouldn't let us use a glass, so we couldn't really hear anything all that well," Yukiko added.
"Although I notice she didn't try to stop you outright," Rise pointed out.
Just as all eyes turned towards Naoto, the esteemed detective was quite literally saved by the bell. The phone she'd taken off of one of the Phantom Thieves' members started buzzing once more. She pulled it out and gestured to it frantically.
"T-That's rather irrelevant for the moment. Right now, this should be our priority. They're on the move, so we need to go over everything with you, Kanji, and Teddie if we're to head out soon."
Although the skeptical stare that Rise gave to her did not go unnoticed, she didn't press further.
"Alright, let's head back to your room, Naoto. I can manage with the abridged version," she replied.
"Yes, of course."
At the tail end of the line headed towards Naoto's room, Yosuke tapped his quintessential partner on the shoulder.
He leaned in closer to his ear, whispering, "So did it go well?"
"Yeah, it did," he replied.
"Phew, that's a relief."
"You're telling me," Yu chuckled. He recalled something from his moments-ago conversation that perhaps his friend would have specific expertise on and thus he asked, "By the way, Yosuke… have you listened to Rise's latest album at all?"
"Sapphire?" Yosuke uttered, sounding as if the question itself was insulting. "Uh, yeah dude, it's like impossible not to have heard most of its songs even if all you do is listen to radio. What's with the random question?"
"She said that some of the songs in it were meant to be her way of reaching out to me. I wanted your take on that."
"Huh? That's…" Realization seemed to strike him after just a few seconds of thought. "Oh… Ooooooh, that makes so much sense now that I think about it. Damn, I didn't even see that connection. I guess that gives 'Thinkin' about you' a whole new meaning."
"So then—"
"Sorry partner, all I can say is that you should listen for yourself," Yosuke stated, cutting him off. His expression became somewhat unsure. "Although now that I think about it, some of those songs are a bit… racy."
"Racy?" Yu uttered in surprise.
"Just listen for yourself," Yosuke replied. He added in a bitter, hushed tone, "You lucky pretty-boy bastard…"
"Huh?"
"Just listen to the damn album!" He groaned.
Tokyo: Shibuya Central District, Some Time Later…
Outside the central park in the Shibuya, most of the Phantom Thieves stood at the ready. Luckily there were few passersby and no police officers as far as the eye could see, something Makoto took a thankful note of.
"Apologies for the late arrival," greeted Yusuke as he walked up to the group.
"Not a problem. Besides, Futaba, Ren, and Mona still haven't gotten here yet," Makoto replied conversationally.
"What's takin' them so long anyway?" Ryuji groaned tiredly.
It was obvious the blond was getting antsy. He kicked the ground to upheave a few stray rocks just to see how far he could kick them, earning a curious look from Yusuke.
"Have you somewhere else to be?"
"He just doesn't like standing around waiting," Ann explained, eliciting a nod from the referenced teen in response.
"What can I say? I'm a man of action," Ryuji said with a cheeky smirk.
"I'd say you're just impatient," Futaba's voice cut in.
The navigator's words heralded the arrival of the three missing members of the Phantom Thieves.
"Ah, there you are," greeted Makoto.
"Our train was a bit late, sorry about that," Ren uttered.
"It's all good, we haven't been waiting too long," Ann reassured with a cheerful smile.
With everyone now in place, the raven-haired wild card user pulled out his phone. He looked at the ominous app on his screen and noted the appearance to be exactly the same as the last time he found his way into the new metaverse. It glowed an eerie red and black, and with his thumb pressed down against the icon, he turned to the rest of his teammates.
"Looks good," Ren said.
"Finally," Ryuji uttered with excitement.
"I take it everyone's ready?" Makoto asked.
As the leader of the Phantom Thieves readied himself to enter the other world, he took brief but scrutinous look at his closest friends as they too readied to embark alongside him.
A part of him thought they'd be all business—just wanting to get this trip over with so they could return to their normal lives for a normal summer. However, he knew that was a distant likelihood.
Each of them was, as he had expected and hoped, brimming with excitement and anticipation. Their eyes glowed in a way that perhaps he hadn't seen in quite some time.
'It looks like I wasn't the only one,' Ren thought with a small smile. With soft-spoken determination in his eyes, he looked down at the app and simply said, "Alright, let's do it."
A/N Sorry to cut it off right before the arrival in the Metaverse, but next time for sure :P. With that, the baseline for the story is nearly complete. The Phantom thieves are headed to the new Metaverse and the now-complete Investigation Team is right on their heels.
Again, next chapter will be posted next Friday. Until then!
Explanations:
Rise: I failed to mention this in the last section, but yes, Rise is one of Yu's love interests. Shocking, I know. I feel there really isn't much I need to say here, but hopefully fans of the series that have played P4 are also behind this pairing.
Yu and Rise's Reunion: Honestly, I don't think I could have made Rise give Yu the cold shoulder any longer than I did without it seeming entirely too OOC. The reconciliation would naturally happen almost immediately after they meet up.
Kanami's Album: That joke is based on a character from Persona 4: Dancing All Night. For anyone that hasn't played it or has no idea what this is, Kanami is basically another idol like Rise.
Sapphire: This is an easter egg from the P5 game. Rise's latest album canonically is actually called Sapphire, and there is a news broadcast where it's described as having a theme of 'a mature love', hence the 'racy' comment made by Yosuke.
Ryuji's Missing Phone: I want to address this here and now for anyone wondering why Futaba wouldn't have already tracked it for him immediately after realizing it was missing. 1) They have more important things to do at the moment 2) Ryuji losing anything seems par for the course and they have no idea it was actually stolen off of him, hence no need to treat it with urgency 3) Even if she did track it, and although this is implicit, she wouldn't be able to find it. Naoto's cracking of the phone's security software would have accounted for something like that.