"Shop's all closed up Amamiya-san," I say. It's a rainy Tuesday night and I'm glad Amamiya-san keeps his apartment warm. The man in question nods to me from his kitchen, leaning against a warming stove. "Why did you want to close up early?"

"One, Ann's been at an outdoor photoshoot all day. She deserves a hot meal so I'm making something special tonight," he replies. He then smiles and I'm put on alert for the challenges he loves to tease me with. "Two, I told Lavenza I'd show you want I know about the Third Eye, so it's time for your first lesson."

I smooth out my uniform skirt and sit at the kitchen island. "Okay... How do you practice using... this?"

I can't quite call my abilities the Third Eye yet. It's not that I don't believe that's what it is, Lavenza and Amamiya-san would certainly know better than me. It's more... Third Eye sounds like something Amamiya-san finds useful and helpful, and I've never found my abilities either of those things. They've only been trouble ever since I was a little girl. I can't associate something positive with a negative like that.

"Well... I should start by saying what we have is different. A False God gave me the Third Eye and it stuck around after we offed him. It's... I'm going to guess incomplete."

"Why do you say that?"

"Well," Amamiya-san turns to fill the rice cooker by the refrigerator. "I don't see barriers of the Metaverse the way you do, and I need the Metaverse Navigator to enter the Metaverse at all. I imagine there are more things you can do with the full power of the Third Eye that I can't."

"... So what can we both do?"

"We can both notice things, from the sounds of it."

"That... doesn't sound impressive at all," I say in a deadpan.

Amamiya-san chuckles. "You'd be surprised how important that skill is, and how much goes unnoticed in the world."

"You sound more like Sherlock Holmes than Arsene Lupin, Amamiya-san."

That elicits a barking laugh from Amamiya-san. "Ha, I suppose I do." He sets a cutting board out and places some vegetables from the fridge onto it.

"Let me explain," he adds with an odd little chuckle to himself. "The Third Eye, as I understand it, is a way to notice and understand more than you'd do on your own. It's got... shall we say a mind of it's own as it to what it shows you, but it can be trained with practice, just like our regular human observational skills."

Amamiya-san starts coring a bell pepper. "When I just started out, it showed me shortcuts mostly, ways out of dead ends, or paths that most wouldn't be able to travel. It also gave me information when I focused, particularly on shadow's strength. For me, that manifested as a... let's go with a tinting effect."

"Like... a filter on your phone camera?"

Amamiya-san nods, still dicing the pepper. "That's a good comparison. It might be different for you, I find the metaverse to be very... personal, in the way it does things. Beyond that... Well, let's just start small."

Amamiya-san turns around, leaning against the counter with his arms crossed. "The most important part of the Third Eye is to be open to more. If you're looking for something specific, it will only show you something specific. If you're open to what it will show you, you'll find it can point out things you not only didn't notice but that you didn't know were important."

I pause, trying to wrap my head around that statement but it just doesn't click. "Can you... explain that again?"

Amamiya-san smiles and nods. "Let's explain it this way. I need to prepare a pepper, lime, shallot, some green beans, and cilantro to prep for this meal. You've seen me cutting the pepper, and the rest are on the cutting board, except for...?"

I glance over at the board. "The lime?"

"Correct. Now you know that the Lime is missing, and you can focus on finding it. Give it a shot."

I close my eyes and take a deep breath, then open them and start to scan the cabinets and counter for the lime. Nothing pops out at me. I try scanning back and forth another time, but still don't spot it. I frown at Ammaiya-san in defeat.

"Don't try so hard. The Third Eye does most of the work. Focusing on it is a bit of a zen state, if you will."

"Okay..." I close my eyes again, breathe deeply, and open them. I don't search with my eyes. I just breathe in deeply again and there's a flash in the corner of my eye. I turn to see a blue shine in a corner cabinet with a glass door. Behind a bunch of spice jars is a hint of green. I point at it, and Amamiya-san smiles. He steps over and pulls out a lime.

"So, back to what I was saying before," Amamiya-san drops the lime on the cutting board. "I told you the recipe just now, and you knew what was missing. You were looking for a specific thing. Make sense?"

"Yeah, makes sense."

"This could apply anywhere. Say you're in the Metaverse, and running from a shadow. You might think to yourself that you need a vent to escape through. It's a logical thought, but you don't want to limit yourself to that single solution. There might be a breakable window you can escape through, for example."

"O... Okay. I think I follow."

"The Third Eye is not limited by what you have thought of. As long as what you are looking for is a missing ingredient, or an escape route, it can provide it to you."

I interrupt Amamiya-san with a raised hand. "Wait, then how does the Third Eye know what to notice?" Amamiya-san gives me a look that says go on, so I do, "Like, if I'm looking for 'the ingredient instead of 'a lime', that could be anything, right? The Third Eye doesn't know the recipe."

Amamiya-san's smile is wide and Joker like, so I think he's happy with my question. "That's exactly the point, excellent deduction. The Third Eye knows things that you do not. It's supernatural after all, a power connected to humanity's collective unconsciousness and the manifestation of a soul. This is the most important point to understand with the Third Eye. If you're open enough to it, it can guide you to things you didn't even know you needed to look for."

"That's... okay, that's actually pretty impressive, I take back what I said." I pause for a minute, thinking. "So it could... show me the correct answer on a multiple-choice test? Even when I don't know which is the answer."

Amamiya-san chuckles and turns back to the cutting board. "In theory, yes. I was never able to get it to help though. It's like it knew that'd be cheating. But, you have the right idea."

"And running with that..." I think to the tune of Amamiya-san's knife pounding against the cutting board. "It could... highlight a part of my notes that will be on the test, even if I don't know what the test is on?"

"You got it. That's the power of the Third Eye." Amamiya-san turns, crossing his arms across his chest. "So, you know I'll need some cookware for all this. What is it?" I once again close my eyes and breath slowly, trying to find that same place of zen from before.

"When you find it, you'll feel like you're literally seeing through the Third Eye rather than your own eyes," Amamiya-san coaches. I nod, take another breath, and open my eyes and mind to the Third Eye.

"... Woah. Everything's so... subdued." I breathe out. It's like a dark blue filter was placed over my eyes. The lines between objects blur under the strength of the filter, making everything around me feel like it's one big object.

"Sounds similar to when I do it," Amamiya-san says. I turn towards him and gasp. Amamiya-san is in his Joker outfit, though the mask is absent. Even more so, he's glowing with a deep red light that emanates power from his entire being. His posture hasn't changed, yet just the... energy? The energy he's giving off causes me to nearly fall off the barstool. I stumble backward with a startled cry, concentration broken and the world returned to normal.

"Hey! What's wrong, you okay?" Amamiya-san is around the kitchen island so quickly I think he might have jumped it. Without that aura around him, I immediately relax, and I flash a quick smile and wave him off.

"Sorry, Amamiya-san. You just. Wow." He looks at me quizzically, so I continue. "I um, I think I was able to see your strength, like how you said you could with shadows? It was this full aura, and you were in your Joker outfit but without a mask. Your aura was just really, really intense and it startled me."

Amamiya-san looks me up and down as I fix the bar stool and sit down again as if waiting for me to prove I'm not okay. He eventually accepts, shifting back to his spot in front of the stove. "Do you want to stop here?"

"No, actually..." I say, my eyes already closed. "I... want to see if I can do it. This is pretty cool."

I steady my breathing, relax, and get into that same state of zen. The state comes to me again, and this time Amamiya-san's aura isn't so shocking. "You're... I'm going to guess really, really strong Amamiya-san."

"I wonder..." Amamiya-san says aloud. There's a glass-shattering sound, but not... in reality. I've heard it before around Amamiya-san, I think the Third Eye must be filtering into a separate... sound space? That idea sounds ridiculous, but I'm positive it came from Amamiya-san. "How's the intensity now?"

"Um..." His aura is still that crimson red and rolling off him in waves. "I can't really see any changes?"

The shattering sound happens again. "Any change?"

"No..."

"Oh, wait... I forgot I picked up this one," Amamiya-san says before the sound happens a third time. This time, Amamiya-san's aura dims drastically. It's now a hazy yellow, maybe even a yellow-green.

"It changed! What'd you do?" My surprise causes lose hold of the Third Eye, but that lets me see Amamiya-san's full Joker grin in regular color.

"Lavenza mentioned I can have multiple Personas, didn't she? I switched Personas," He says. The switching must be that glass-shattering sound. "This is Eligor, not one of my usual Personas. I picked him up during our last job. He's far weaker than Alice or Seth."

"So what I'm seeing is the strength of your Persona, not you?"

"I'm the exception," he replies. The glass sound happens again, he must have gone back to one of his usual Personas. I close my eyes to get back the Third Eye as he explains, "I have what's called the power of the Wild Card. Long story, but it's why I work with Lavenza and her Master in the Velvet Room. They help manage the Wild Card, it's kind of their... thing. Anyway, most people have a single Persona, and it represents their true self. Their Persona is very much their strength."

"Got it..." I say on a long exhale. I open my eyes to the dulled blue world again. Amamiya-san is back to his usual intensity, which is oddly comforting. I turn my eyes from him though, to the counters. "You... need the pan next?"

"You're a natural at this, aren't you," Amamiya-san confirms with a nod. He turns and begins cooking. I let my vision return to normal this time. "Ah-ha... It gives me a bit of a headache, is that normal?"

"Was at first. It gets better with practice," he replies over the sound of sizzling vegetables and the sound of someone on the stairs. As Amamiya-san isn't bothered, I don't say anything and a moment later Ann-san enters the apartment. She's in jean shorts with a flowing top and sun hat, every bit the perfect spring outfit if not for the rain.

"Welcome home Love," Amamiya-san says, leaning out of the kitchen.

Ann-san kisses him in return, then sighs. "We did the whole shoot despite the rain and they're probably going to want a reshoot, what a waste..."

"I figured it'd go like that. Would the curry you like help at all?"

"It absolutely would," Ann-san beams. "I'm going to go get into some dry clothes, I'll be back in a few!" Ann-san calls, tossing her rain jacket onto the floor. Amamiya-san chuckles into his cooking. I giggle myself, then grab the coat and hang it up in their coat closet.

"Thanks," Amamiya-san says. There are a few minutes of quiet, just us listening to the sizzling pan and Ann-san off in the other room.

"So what have you two been up to?" Ann-san says as she returns.

"Amamiya-san has been teaching me about the Third Eye!"

"Oh neat!" Ann-san replies, sitting next to me on the other bar stool.

There's a clink and Amamiya-san puts a glass of water in front of me. "For the headache," he says before turning back to the cooking pan. Ann-san reaches over to pat Amamiya-san's hand, saying some kind of Ann-san like phrase... But I'm distracted. Or I should say, I was distracted from the distraction? The Third Eye triggered and spotted something fall from Ann-san's hand into my drinks as she reached for Amamiya-san.

"Did... wait, did Ann-san just drop something in my drink?" I ask, looking between the two.

"Wow! You spotted that without like, any practice!" Ann-san says. She's grinning ear to ear. "Sorry, I mean, yes, I did, just a sugar pill. When Ren told me you were going to practice Third Eye I suggested we see if it'll umm..." She looks to Amamiya-san.

"Third Eye can act reflexively when it feels you 'need' to notice something. Noticing if someone is trying to spike your drink is one of those times."

"I.. I guess. It's just a weird way of triggering that reflex, isn't it?"

"If you know it's coming, it's not reflexive anymore. Sorry," Amamiya-san says. He sounds sincere, and I trust him more than anyone in the world, just...

"Yeah, this one was my idea too, so don't blame Ren okay?" Ann-san adds next to me. She takes one of my hands in her own. "This happens way more often than you'd think in the real world, so I knew it'd be a good test of your powers."

The tension leaves my shoulders and I smile at Ann-san. I get where they were coming from, even if it was an odd choice. "I'm a little young for bars though, don't you think?"

"It's not just bars," Ann-san replies. There's a fire in her eyes, like when she took on that creep photographer. "Makoto and I teach a day course on this kind of thing every month at my agency, and we make all the new hires attend. As the Phantom Thieves we've changed the hearts of so many dirtbags, yet they keep popping up..."

Ann-san looks away for a moment, taking a deep breath. "Was that too intense?" She laughs awkwardly. "It's a bit of a personal issue to me."

"No, I... Thanks for worrying about me, Ann-san."

Ann-san's smile lights up the room, at least before she wraps me in a hug and I can't see her face. I return it best I can on the other stool.

"We're about ready here, you want to get plates?" Amamiya-san calls, prompting Ann-san to release me.

"On it!" Ann-san reaches for plates in a cabinet and passes them off to me, transitioning the conversation to a much lighter topic of her last photoshoot.

Deep breath in... I crack my eyes open. The garish gold of the sprawling castle down the hill is muted by the blue of the Third Eye, which is a relief. I glance over at Joker, checking his equipment with Mona. Both of them are that deep crimson red, though I'm sure Joker's aura is more powerful.

We're here because Amamiya-san gave me a call as I left school and told me to meet him at a recent Jail the Thieves had dealt with that's still functioning. After yesterday's Third Eye training I was pretty sure this would be day two of it, and that was confirmed as soon as I showed up.

...I'm starting to wonder if Amamiya-san even makes money with his Cafe, given he closes it all the time. Wait, shoot, focus... I look over in the other direction, before I lose Third Eye. Fox is here with us too, and I wanted to see where he stacked up on the power aura thing. He's sitting in front of an easel he brought with him, his sword leaning against that.

His Phantom Thief outfit explains why Futaba-san kept calling him Inari, with the fox mask and tail. The puffy sleeves feel like a very Yusuke thing, if that makes any sense. His mask is lifted over his head, probably for better vision. It's funny, I thought those masks were a sort of... Metaverse thing, and not a physical mask. Joker's is to the side as well, so it's not just Fox.

Yusuke glows with that same dangerous red aura that Joker and Mona do, which I suppose isn't really surprising. I lose my grip on the Third Eye, color returning to the world.

"You don't have to be at your gallery today Fox?" I ask, stepping up behind him.

"I have spent enough time away from the metaverse thanks to the Gallery, I shan't miss this opportunity," Fox replies without looking at me.

"That makes sense. I guess you'd want to visit more often since it's such an inspirational place for your works."

"It is also my duty as one of the Phantom Thieves to support Joker and the rest, a responsibility I've been slacking in," Yusuke adds, sounding pretty down about it. Is he clenching his fist?

"Relax Fox," Mona interrupts. I can't tell him or he'll be mad at me, but he's incredibly cute as a mascot. "We had it handled."

...Since that was all Mona apparently had, I add, "Plus, everyone wanted your gallery opening to go well!"

"That's right," Joker says from behind me. "We know we can count on you anytime Fox."

Fox looks over to Joker, a wry smile on his face. "Thank you, Joker. It appears I was caught in my own mind once again."

Joker only replies with a smile of his own, then turns to me. "So, ready for this?"

"What exactly is... this?"

"Basically, we'll take you on a walking tour of the Jail. We'll have you look for all of the shortcuts as we go and practice your extended focus."

I glance behind him, nerves fluttering in my chest. "But what about the shadows?"

Joker puts a hand on my shoulder reassuringly. "Between Mona, Fox, and myself? Won't last a few seconds. The former Ruler of this Jail didn't have a very strong congition, so the shadows here are weak. It's a perfect setup for you, honestly."

I glance over to Fox, then Mona, the latter of which gives me an adorable thumbs up. With a deep breath, I turn back to Joker and nod. "Let's go then." It earns me a trademark Joker grin and the group of us make our way down the hill towards the gaudy Kingdom below us.

"Peer around the corner, and focus on the shadows," Joker says quietly. We're crouched at a corner, Joker basically hovering over me like we're in a Scooby-Doo episode. I do my short ritual of a deep breath with my eyes closed and do as he says.

"The... one on the left is a like, yellow-orange while the one on the right is a light red?"

Joker makes a hand signal and stands straight. Mona and Yusuke dive down from a chandelier, eliminating the shadows in one fell swoop. Joker offers me a hand and I take it. All this crawling around is rough on my knees. Would have been nice to have a costume as well, if only because everyone seems to have pants.

"That confirms one thing," Joker says as we start walking. "I've had a hunch based on what you've identified the last dozen shadows as, but I'm positive now."

"What is it?"

"The Third Eye doesn't show you the strength of what you're looking at, it shows you their strength relative to your own. At least, in regards to the aura."

"Does that mean what you're seeing is different Joker?" Mona asks as he joins us.

"I haven't seen a single shadow that wasn't light blue."

"And that means...?" Fox adds, echoing my own thoughts.

"Fodder. Mona usually runs them over."

I brush my hair behind my ear, "But I saw them as most reds and yellows..."

"Which means relative to you, they're pretty deadly."

"..."

"What's on your mind?" Mona asks, noticing my pause.

"Oh um. The shadows have an outline of sorts, with the colors we were talking about... But when I look at the three of you, you have an entire aura of energy around you. I wonder why."

"It sounds magnificent," Fox says. I smile wryly. Now that I've figured him out, the fact that he's always thinking about art is kinda endearing.

"Two possibilities. One, An aura a 'tier above' an outline, or, Persona users appear differently," Joker theorizes. His arms are behind his head as he walks, which makes him look like he's not alert but I can tell nothing would surprise him right now.

"The only way to find out would be to take her to a section of the metaverse with more powerful shadows..." Mona adds, his little paw on what would be his chin.

"No," Joker cuts him off. "There's negligible risk with this scenario, but I don't intend to be dragging someone without a Persona into anything that would be a real threat."

Mona nods, "I agree."

"Anyway..." Joker spins on a heel as we step into a new room. Down the hall is a shadow, though it looks like we're obscured thanks to some potted plants. "Third Eye time."

"Right," I say with a nod. "It's... Reddish again."

"We're not only here for shadows, remember? Keep your mind open to what the Third Eye can show you."

Okay... I read online last night that focusing on your breath can help your thoughts not wander as much so...

...ha...hh...ha...hh...haaa...hh

It comes into view like I just didn't notice it before. There's a blue highlight, like the ones on the ingredients yesterday, surrounding a flag pole. I hadn't noticed before but now that I'm looking there's a ledge up there that I bet the Thieves could use to avoid the shadow entirely.

"That flag pole?"

Joker claps a few times. "Nice work, That's exactly it." As if to demonstrate how it's useful, Fox and Mona both use the flag pole as a grip to flip up on the ledge. They make their way down and destroy the shadow without it ever seeing them.

Joker motions me forward, "After you. Keep your eyes peeled as we walk."

"Right!"

"Okay, I see that vent on the left..."

"Great work-"

"And the false wall behind that painting?"

Joker turns around to look at the painting I'm pointing at. "I... don't see that."

I look between him and the painting, Third Eye already lost to me. "You... don't?"

"No..." Joker trails off. He moves his mask to his face proper, the leaps a top of the bookshelf that rests below the painting. He investigates only for his hand to slide through the image. "How..."

"Woah," Mona chimes from beside me.

"Is this... a good thing?" I ask hesitantly.

Joker hops back down and nods, though he leaves his mask on. "Absolutely, I'm just surprised. You really do have the true version of the Third Eye then, I can't see anything special about that painting until I'm right next to it."

"And what is... behind the painting?" Fox asks.

"A corridor. We'll check it out together," Joker says, before turning back to me. "You have to stay close, got it?"

I nod quickly, it's not as if I was going to do anything else in a place like this. Joker scoops me up into his arms and uses his grappling hook to launch us the 15 feet into the air to reach the top of the shelf. Fox and Mona just hop after us. ...These palaces would definitely be more fun with a Persona.

We step through, Fox holding up the rear while Mona and Joker lead. There's a short passage that opens up to what looks like a new studio. There's a green screen, a desk, camera equipment everywhere.

"Nothing out of the ordinary yet," Fox comments.

"We'll see..." Joker replies quietly. He uses his knife to slice a gash through the green screen. Behind it is a rusted over door with what must be a hundred fliers on that read nothing but "Confidential" on them. It definitely doesn't belong in a news studio, but everything in a Jail is weird to me so I don't recognize it as anything special. Joker certainly does though, he whistles like he's discovered a treasure chest rather than a door and Mona hops over to him.

"This looks like a Will Seed door. Haven't seen one of these in a while," Joker comments to Mona.

"None of the Palaces have been large enough. But the bigger question is this is a Jail, why is there a Will Seed here?" Mona continues theorizing, pacing back and forth. "Will Seeds are the condensation of a Ruler's distortions. Jail Rulers are forced into this state by repeated trauma, why..."

Curious as to what they're talking about, I close my eyes and focus on activating the Third Eye. Maybe it can explain.

"We don't know there's a Will Seed in there. Hell-" As soon as I open my eyes I see Joker whip around, shouting at Fox. I turn, feeling like I'm in slow motion, to see Fox's sword drawn and blocking a blow from a... four-armed blue monster with a wheel on its back and a ring of fire around its waist. I scream, falling over backward in a scramble. Joker's already past me, as is Mona. There's a flurry of shouts from the three Phantom Thieves, each summoning a Persona.

"Gorokichi!"

"King Frost!"

"Diego!"

For all intents and purposes, I watch a blizzard consume the shadow, hurricane-force gales coming from Mona's persona while Yusuke and Joker's swirls hail and freezes it solid. Yusuke reaches for his blade, stands perfectly still for but a moment, then slashes through the ice sculpture. It shatters into a million pieces as Yusuke sheathes his blade, which is by far the coolest thing I've ever seen.

"Nice instincts Fox," Joker says with a clap on his teammate's shoulder.

Fox preens a little under the compliment. "I am glad to see I haven't lost my edge, so to speak. But more importantly, are you okay?"

Realizing he's talking to me and I'm still sitting on my butt, I hastily nod. "Yeah, thank you, Fox."

"You want to head out?" Joker asks as he gives me his hand. I take it, then give myself a little shake. "No, I'm good. Nothing the three of you can't handle here, right?"

Joker reads my expression for a few moments and I half expect him to say we're leaving anyway, but he eventually settles on a wry smile. "Nope, nothing we can't handle."

"So," Joker continues, turning his attention to the door, "That must have been a guardian which means there's something worth taking in that door. Time to find out, Will Seed or not." He nods to Mona and Fox before slashing through the confidential papers with his knife. Once he reveals the lock, he turns it and pushes his way inside.

The room is... empty, small, but pulsing with an energy I haven't felt before. It's a bit overwhelming, honestly, so I stay in the doorway. The air seems thick with... haze, miasma, something that sounds vaguely poisonous. There's nothing in the room either, asides from a pedestal in the center. The energy seems to emanate from the... ew.

"What is that thing?"

"A tick, I think... But it looks like a Will Seed, sort of," Mona replies. He's hopping next to the pedestal to get a proper view.

"I think Mona is right," Joker confirms. "It's some form of Will Seed." Joker picks up the tick, is it made of bone, ew, and holds it aloft. The strange energy in the room starts to fade at first, but then it condenses rapidly as a garbled voice echoes through the room.

"The people of this country do not understand the danger we are all in! Our military, emasculated as it is can't protect us should we be challenged! Make them understand that we are at war!" The voice cuts out and the energy is completely gone from the room.

"What..."

"Was that?" Mona completes my thought.

"It reminds me of touching the birdcage, in a way," Fox says.

Joker nods in agreement. "Agreed Fox." Joker pockets the bone tick and makes for the door. "We'll bring it up with the whole team later. We've gotten a little off track of our original mission here." Joker steps out of the tick room and there's a rumble that perks up all three of the Thieves.

"Wouldn't that be..." Fox says with apprehension in his voice. I move closer to him and Joker, expecting trouble.

"Mona, we need a bus, asap," Joker calls. Mona scampers forward, through the entrance painting as we follow at a run.

"What's happening?!" I cry as I try and keep up.

"The Jail is collapsing!"

"I thought only Palaces did that!"

"So did we!" Joker skids to a halt at the top of the bookshelf, catching me as he uses his grappling hook to swing us down without a lost moment. In the main hallway, Mona... has turned into a bus. It's his coloring and tail and face but it's a bus. Joker pulls us inside and jumps into the passenger seat. Fox is in the backseat already and Joker takes the... Mona bus, out through a few doors towards the hill we entered on.

"Sorry Fox, we're ditching the easel!" Joker calls behind him as he floors it up the hill.

"It is an acceptable loss!" Fox shouts back.

"This is going to be rough, hang on!" Mona shouts from somewhere and I take the advice, grabbing onto whatever I can. We launch over the crest of the hill and fly towards the barrier between the Metaverse and reality. I realize at that moment we're not going to stop before we hit the barrier. It's at that point I feel very justified screaming like I'm on an out-of-control roller coaster.

"Ugh..." I groan. I blink rapidly, trying to focus my vision. We're... in the alley we entered the Jail from... Amamiya-san and Yusuke-san are slumped against the brick wall next to me, Morgana apparently rebounded off the wall into a pile of trash nearby... Oh. I think the two of them put themselves between me and the wall. I...

Wait there's no time to be thinking!

"Amamiya-san, are you okay?! Yusuke-san?!"

Yusuke-san groans and Amamiya-san attempts to crack his neck slowly, so that's something.

"Morgana?" I say as I slide over to his cat form.

"I would like fatty tuna with a side of fatty tuna..." He replies groggily.

"I'm so glad you're alright!" I grab Morgana off the trash heap and hold him tight.

"Hey... Hey Hey, I'm a Phantom Thief, don't c...coddle me..!" Morgana musters out. I give him one more squeeze then have mercy. I know he hates being treated like that a cat, but...

"We're all good, don't worry," Amamiya-san says from behind me. He and Yusuke-san have stood up, each stretching out in their own way. "Not... the first time that's happened. The escape part anyway. Jail collapse is a new one."

"Is that... bad or...?"

Amamiya-san gives me a bemused look. "Why would that be bad? We already freed the victim."

"I... just wasn't sure, since I had found the tick thing..."

Amamiya-san mocks surprise. "Oh, that's true. There's one bad thing, you've given Futaba new Metaverse logic to study. She'll want to interview you for about a week."

"Wha..."

Amamiya-san turns to Yusuke-san, "I assume you haven't eaten? Let's go for something nice, I'll tell Ann to meet us." Yusuke-san nods, while Morgana hops into Amamiya-san's bag.

"Amamiya-san, were you... were you serious?" He keeps walking, sunlight overtaking him as he leaves the alley with Yusuke-san and Morgana in toe. "Amamiya-san, a whole week?!"

Hello again! As always, every comment honestly brings a tear to my eye, thank you for all the kind words 3

This is effectively a side story or Omake chapter, as it's not focused on an introduction between MC and someone in the Phantom Thieves's circle. That said, you could consider it an extension of Yusuke's chapter, as he plays a significant role in the latter half of this chapter, so I've decided to include it as part of the main story here. I have quite a few ideas for chapters like these, though my priority is introducing the rest of the PTs before we go off on other adventures.

Good news too, when I said "The next chapter is already outlined" last time, I wasn't talking about this one! So with any luck, the next PT should be making their way into town soon ^^