Ichinaruko: That… is pretty spot-on. Not bad. Also, Nyar's name is spelt Nyarlathotep. Don't worry, I screw it up too, same with Yaldabaoth. Jesus, what is it with deities, mythological, and religious figures and their pain-in-the-ass to pronounce names?

I really hope I get this out sooner than I did the last chapter, because that long pause was absurd. Alright, I'm starting this… late March, so now we get to see just how long it takes for me to write just one chapter for this story.

"Mona, stay out of my bag," Akira ordered his feline friend whilst he was loitering around in his room, sitting on the worn sofa that had been there since he moved in.

"Hold on," Mona replied, continuing to dig through his friend's things.

"What are you looking for anyway?" The raven-haired boy raised an eyebrow. As far as he knew he didn't have anything that the cat wanted.

In response, Mona only returned a muffled "Got it!" before he slowly began retreating from the bag with a can in his mouth.

Akira glanced at the cat for a moment before widening his eyes slightly and directing his full attention to the feline. The cat managed to store a can of tuna in his bag?

"How… how did you…" Akira was too confused to even properly phrase the question, "and… no one noticed? Not even the guys who searched me? How…"

"Less talking, more opening!" Mona demanded, clawing at the can with his paws. It was at times like this that Akira was reminded just how much he took thumbs for granted.

"Fine, fine…" Akira muttered, grabbing hold of the can and slowly taking the lid off, being careful not to accidentally cut himself on the edge before putting it back down to feed his little friend.

Without uttering so much as a 'thank you,' Mona buried his face into the can and began digging into the tuna.

Where did they even get tuna anyway? Didn't most animals—fish included—die over the years from the sudden harsh conditions? Then again, there's a lot of the world he has yet to see and he was far from an expert when it came to fish and animals, so maybe he should just keep his mouth shut?

"I almost got in trouble because of you, you know," Akira sighed, leaning back into the sofa. "You do remember there are barely any—if any—cats left on the planet—or at least this side of it—right?"

"And?" Mona asked, lifting his face from the can. "What're they gonna say? You're under arrest for harboring a pet?"

"Would that really surprise you?" Akira shot back, shaking his head. No point in arguing over it, what's done is done.

Scooting over to the left and reaching between the sofa and his desk, Akira grabbed onto a large, black duffel bag and set it on his lap. Grabbing the zipper, he opened the bag to reveal last night's spoils—a few rounds for each of the various weapons they used, and, of course, the gems they managed to salvage. Over all, it was a good haul.

Now the question was what to use it for?

They can't go on too many raids too soon, otherwise they were going to screw up eventually and they'll be ready for it. Ryuji already has an injured leg that they can't heal without giving away what they are, and he managed to make numerous amounts of screw ups in just one mission.

Trying to be good really does suck, doesn't it?

"Hey, kid!" Sojiro's voice could be heard from downstairs. "One of your friends wants to see you!"

A surprise visit? It must be important.

Some time earlier

"Take care!" Haru waved a group of people away after presumably giving them some cards or some other important items to help them get by. She certainly was an anomaly in that, despite being from one of the better-off parts, she certainly was a giver.

As he was approaching her with her back turned to him, he couldn't help but wonder what her father must be like and what chain-of-events caused her to turn out so different. Perhaps even in the worst of times, the best of humanity still had those that could shine through it all?

"Hello," he greeted, nearly causing her to jump in surprise before turning around.

"My apologies," Akechi apologized with a small chuckled escaping his lips, "I didn't mean to startle you."

"O-Oh, it's nothing," she stammered, recovering from the shock. Not many people liked wandering around here, especially not alone, so what was he doing here?

He didn't look like he was another person who lived here; his clothes were well put together and well groomed, and he didn't look that thin so he was probably fed regularly. He looked about her age, but she hadn't seen him in school—an oddity considering his appearance marks him as one of the value citizens like her father.

Come to think of it, didn't her father mention someone similar to him before? She's had so many meetings with him that everything he told her tended to meld together and…

"Hello…?" he said slowly, keeping the smile on his face. "I didn't cause you to lose your voice, have I?"

"N-No," she answered immediately, recovering quickly as she thought back and suddenly had a familiar name her father had mentioned came to mind. "Excuse me, but would you happen to be Goro Akechi?"

"I see I'm beginning to gain a reputation," he answered, "why yes, I am."

Oh, this isn't good. If her father felt the need to mention him, then that meant he was someone important, and that meant that she couldn't afford any slip ups.

But why is he important? Was he a spy, silently reporting everything he sees amongst the populace? Maybe he's an in-training officer, looking for any excuse to conjure up favors with the higher ups?

"My, it would appear that my sudden appearance has you spooked," He continued smiling as usual before shifting into a slightly more serious demeanor, "Oh, of course, you're probably still on edge."

"On edge?" She repeated, unsure what he was referring to.

"From the recent robbery of rations," he clarified, making Haru feel slightly relieved, "I believe those were provided for by your father, correct?"

"Oh, yes!" She answered with a nod. Her Father worked as the head of one of the farms, not that she'd ever done so much as laid eyes on it as of yet. Still, this gives her a subject to bounce off of for now.

"It was indeed quite a shock," she followed up, "Father has been rather… incandescent since."

"It's no surprise," he said with a hint of worry in his voice, it might've even been genuine, "Shido isn't known for forgiving failures. If your father were to continue failing to protect his precious cargo, I fear what would happen to both him and to you."

"W-Why, yes…" She quickly went along with what he was saying, hoping that it didn't sound too forced. "I believe it would be most unfortunate for all parties involved if Father were to lose the Ambassador's favor."

"Of course, we already know who to blame for this, don't we?" He asked rhetorically, raising an eyebrow. "To be honest, I'm surprise the Phantom Thieves have lasted this long. Perhaps fortune truly does favor the bold."

Haru tilted her head at his choice of words, "You sound almost like you admire them."

"I suppose I do," He answered with a shrug. "I admire their spirit and audacity, but I'm afraid I cannot support what they're fighting for."

He cleared his throat and continued, "as imperfect as the current system may be, it is better than the alternative. Were we to eliminate it, we risk devolving into the hellish landscape that resides on the other side of the island."

"So you support their ideals, but believe that it's too risky?" She asked, trying to understand.

"I believe that they shouldn't be acting without some sort of end goal in mind," He explained as best he could. "Were we to forfeit Lord Yaldabaoth's protection without anything to fall back on, we would be easy targets for… him."

"I see…" she said weakly. As much as she hated to admit it, he did have a fair point. They didn't exactly have much of a big goal in mind currently. All they've done is robbed a few places and made the officers' jobs harder.

"Ah, but I came here to ask how you were doing," he laughed, "my apologies, I'm afraid I might have gone off on a tangent there."

Haru shook her head, "It's no trouble."

"You're too kind," he flashed another smile before taking his leave, and leaving her with another incoming group of the homeless and starving.

"Well," Akira bit his, slowly bobbing his head left and right, "that was certainly unexpected."

"He's got a point," Mona said, sitting by his friend's side. "What are we trying to do?"

"I dunno," Akira shrugged, leaning back into his seat and looking up. "Up until now, I've just been satisfied just helping people go to sleep with a full stomach. I never really thought about anything more."

"But we can't just continue robbing places blindly," Haru spoke up, taking a sip of the coffee that Sojiro had brewed for her. Even after the apocalypse and they started giving things at the lowest quality and quantity, the old man still new how to make coffee taste good.

"We should probably talk about with the others," Mona suggested, reminding them that even if Joker was leader, they never made a decision without consulting everyone else first.

"Right," Akira let out a long sigh that gradually became another groan. "So many headaches all in the name of trying to do the right thing; being good sucks."

"It wouldn't be worth it if it were easy," the feline said, trying to sound wiser than he really was.

Akira shook his head, "Mona… please don't; you're not Sojiro, words of wisdom just aren't for you."

"What?!" The cat shot up, glaring daggers into the boy. "I'll have you know that—"

"Hey, Futaba, I take it you hear that," Akira asked, reaching beneath the seat and feeling around before pulling up his hand to reveal a small little disc that had been place there. Leave it to Futaba to bug the whole place.

"She's placed bugs here?" Haru asked, not used to living so close to Futaba and the… lack of privacy that entails.

"I'm pretty sure everyone's bugged," he replied tossing the disc somewhere he wasn't paying attention to. "Well, minus Ann, but that's only because she started going insane after hearing her talking in the mirror."

"Talking in the mirror?" The fluffy-haired girl repeated.

"Yes," he nodded, "her acting is what it's like practiced. Yes, you should be very afraid."

Very…

Very…

Very afraid…

The man in blue stifled a cough, sitting in his seat with his hood up and gaze directed at his watch as time continued to pass by.

The place he was in was—for lack of a better word—a dump. By the standards here, this would be a tavern or an inn, or hell, maybe even a bar considering how much alcohol they serve here. The town was small like most places now, but almost all of the seats were filled and the people were ready to be served. Of course, everyone at least took a few moments of their time to stare at the blue-haired outsider, but that was the norm nowadays; you can't trust anyone, especially those you don't know.

It was quite amazing really. Even after the end of the world, everyone still had this infatuation with alcohol, even the dreadful spit they serve now. Although, perhaps it's less of the drink itself and more of the moment of intoxication that comes with it; a time to forget how screwed up the world is, and even have some fun and being happy, if only for a little while before passing out.

But, of course, with any place during any time period full of desperate human beings, there's another thing they turn to in order to forget everything for a short period of time. There were a number of scantily clad people scattered throughout the place, most appearing to be female to the untrained eye. Indeed, most just see a means of satisfying their urges or just a way to have fun for a night.

To the trained eye however, well…

"Do you even hear me?" A man spat in the hooded figure's face, ranting about how outsiders weren't welcome and maybe a threat or two; he didn't know. He started blocking the poor bastard out after his first three words.

The hooded man sighed and looked at his watch. "Yeah, I got time," he said, standing out of his seat.

"Time for—" the man was cut off by a sudden jab to the throat, quickly doing the world a favor and silencing him.

To be sure there wouldn't be any more retaliation from him, the hooded man grabbed him by the back of the head and slammed him face-first into the wall, leaving a small splatter of blood—probably from a broken nose.

Letting the annoying man go, he dropped to the floor too delirious from the sudden and quick beating that he took to function normally. He'd probably be fine in a few hours… probably.

The bluenette looked back up to see everyone staring at him again; some shocked at what he'd done, some looking a little afraid, and a few fueled by liquid courage and recklessness were ready to start another fight.

Before that could happen, however, another person walked in. This one was another scantily clad feminine figure, possessing blonde hair with strange almost unreal curls and dazzling blue eyes.

When she walked in, she looked somewhat bewildered at the silence in the normally deafening place. But when she followed their gazes, she let out a gasp.

The hooded man chuckled, "Hello, Catherine."

Before he could do anything else, she ran out the doors as quickly as she came, leaving the bluenette to let out a long sigh.

"Of course," he groaned, flipping the table out of his way and pursuing her, noting the glares from the feminine figures behind him. Oh, this was going to be fun.

Stepping out of that slum, he saw her continuing to run away as quickly as she could, but what she failed to take into account was that unlike the cities that Yaldabaoth has, the roads aren't properly cleared.

"Jack, do your thing," He thought, and suddenly pillars of ice were erected from the snow, cutting Catherine off and leaving one choice—to face him.

She turned around and glared daggers into him, biting her lip in contempt as he continued to approach.

"Well," she finally began to speak up, "if it isn't the Blue-Oni himself, Minato Arisato."

"Hmm?" He tilted his head slightly to the side, "Blue-Oni, is that what they're calling me now?" he mused, "Huh, you know, I kinda like it. I'm surprise they used actual Japanese in that name through. Don't Nyarlathotep and Yaldabaoth both hate it when it's used?"

"We like to think it shows just how futile your efforts are," she replies with a hiss. "No matter what you do, you're just another relic clinging to a time that'll soon be forgotten."

"Are we gonna fight or what?" He asked, rolling his eyes. "I swear, you daemons talk too much."

"Your funeral," she said, smirking when she saw more of her sisters leaving the building behind him, but he didn't do so much as give them a quick glance.

Suddenly, all the feminine figures transformed into a black mass that quickly changed its size and shape to reveal what these 'women' truly were: succubi brought to this world by Nyarlathotep, and thus taking owing complete fealty to him.

Meh, pretty low on the power scale really; he's only after Catherine for now. Minato glanced back the daemons ready to come to their sister's aid.

"Two, five, seven… that's it?" And here he thought they'd at least be able to overwhelm him. Best to make this quick then.

"Daisoujou," he muttered and summoned the mummified monk to aid.

Before the daemons behind him even had a chance, the persona rang its bell and they found themselves within a brightly lit circle. They hardly even had a moment to scream before they were left vaporized when the circle changed into a ray, killing all of them immediately.

"Must be a real drag being weak to light attacks, eh?" Minato chuckled before turning back to Catherine, who at this point was on her knees begging for mercy.

Well, that was certainly anti-climactic…

"That was just sad," he shook his head, walking closer to the lone succubus. "I mean, I didn't think I could even be disappointed anymore, but that? I don't even have words."

"W-Wait," she begged, getting on her hands and knees with what looked like tears in her eyes. Looks like daemons really can feel fear. "I'll do whatever you want! I'll never—"

"Can we skip this?" He asked, rolling his eyes, summoning a sword with its tip pressed against her throat. "We both know your stalling."

"Stalling?!" She screamed, tears running down her face. "For what?! Some hero to save me?"

"Nope, you're stalling for—"

A loud wail pierced the air, and the chill in the air suddenly began to feel a lot colder. Yup, there she was.

"… For mommy," he finished his sentence before shoving his blade into her throat, quickly killing her and causing her to fade away into a black mist.

Minato turned around and saw another feminine looking daemon. This one was larger than its succubi children, and was also completely lacking in any clothing, keeping its body completely bare, with nothing but a viper wrapped around it covering its body.

"I take it your Lilith?" He asked, letting out a small yawn.

Daemons always have some sort of head somewhere, directing everything they do. Succubi are pretty simple: they just had to go out and please whoever is willing to ask for their services and carry on, so they were pretty widespread. Others like Angels, however, tend to be a bit more concentrated.

Killing the head won't really do much in the long run, but it'll through the daemons into disarray for a bit and (at least temporarily) keep new ones from spawning.

Of course, in this case, he'd just pissed off the daemons' mother.

"You," she hissed through her teeth, "you murdered my children!"

"Really? I would've said slaughtered," he shrugged before thinking. "Or maybe massacred? Brutalized? I've killed a lot of succubi, you have to forgive me."

"Y-You…" Did he really just… "You dare!"

"Dare…?" He repeated, waiting for her to finish the sentence. "Tell you I go through your children like a child does candy? In my defence, Catherine attacked me first when I met her. I just came here to finish her off; not my fault the others wanted to get themselves killed."

"I… I… I'll…"By now the daemon was so distraught and filled with anguish that it couldn't even make any more idle boasts like usual.

"Kill me?" He assumed. "Listen, I've been trying to kill me for the past four years, and you can see where that's gotten me. So can you kill yourself and save me the effort?"

No verbal response was given, only more hissing, screams of anger, and more angry noises that he stopped keeping track of ages ago, and just wondered when she was going to do something. Maybe maternal fury wasn't all it's cracked up to be? That, or maybe she's been trying to some of ailment spell and is getting pissed none of it works on him? Eh, who cares if nothing's happening?

"Alright, I've run out of patience," he shook his head and leaned against the pillars be made before looking up at the rooftops. "Red, you're up."

Lilith followed his gaze and for a split second saw another figure diving downwards before it collided with her.

Black blood splattered all over the daemon's porcelain skin as dual swords were buried into her shoulders and in turn the viper wrapped around them.

Her assailant placed one of their feet between her breasts before kicking themselves off, bringing their swords with them and causing her wounds to bleed profusely.

"This is bullshit!" The redheaded boy complained to the bluenette. "You get a moniker and I get nothing!?"

"Sorry, Sho," Minato shrugged whilst throwing his hands up. "I didn't ask for it," he pointed out, lowering his hands and walking closer to the bleeding daemon. "Maybe we should work together more often, that way maybe the fame will rub off on you too?"

Sho scoffed, "oh, shut up."

"Die!" The daemon screamed, sending a torrent of ice crystals towards the man who dared to attack her.

Before they could reach their target, Minato intercepted the attack, standing in front of the redhead and summoning another persona to protect them.

This time, a cartoonish looking figure vaguely resembling some kind of snow creature in a blue hat appeared, absorbing all of the ice harmlessly.

"Pft, ice try, lady!" Sho shouted making his partner bit his lip and fight the urge to hit him for that pun.

"I'll go left, you take the right," Minato ordered before they both took off as fast as their legs would allow them to.

Lilith wasn't going to die by such a simple maneuver, and summoned walls of ice to block the both of them off, directing them to a single point where she could easily exact vengeance for her children.

Against anyone else, that might've worked, or at least been enough to make the attackers stop and waste valuable time to think.

Against them, however, she did just what they wanted—blinded herself.

Lilith felt a sharp pain her back as she felt another sword pierce her flesh. Screaming and glancing behind her, she saw the same redhead that had attacked her moments ago, but this time, his expression was calm and almost emotionless in contrast to his childish attitude just seconds before.

But he was just in front of her, how did he…?

"Daemons, your kind truly are sickening," Minazuki whispered, stabbing his sword between her spine and left shoulder blade. "You're like a disease with no cure. Your only purpose is to contaminate this word until you're eradicated."

"I'd move if I were you, Minazuki!" Minato warned, having another persona by his side.

Before Lilith could move to attack the human that had dared to attack her not once, but twice, he disappeared, seemingly into thin air.

When she looked back at Minato, she saw the redhead standing next to him, wiping the blood from his blades while his friend waved to her, mocking her as his persona attacked.

"Ragnarok," Minato ordered Surt, and Lilith soon found herself engulfed in an inferno, burning away at her flesh and leaving what remains a black charred mess.

When the attack was over, the daemon didn't even have enough strength to keep itself floating in the air.

"Two outta ten," Minato cast his vote, approaching the barely alive daemon.

The redhead lowered his head for a moment before raising it and shaking his head, "Huh? What happened?"

"You tagged," Minato answered, "and as I was saying, two outta ten."

"Meh, I'd give it a three," Sho shrugged, "at least she managed to make me switch for a moment."

"Eh, true enough," Minato agreed, putting his foot down on the daemon's head as he tried to crawl away. "So before I send you off to hell, by any chance have you heard of Takaya? Tall guy, really pale, weird eyes, and a really smooth voice?"

"D-Damn you…" Lilith croaked out.

"What about Ikutsuki?" He asked, "old man, terrible puns, likes experimenting on kids? Any bells?"

"Kill… you…"

"Of course not," Minato clicked his tongue before taking his foot off the daemon only to cleave its head clean off. Just like its children, the daemon faded away into a black mist.

Minato yawned, having his sword de-materialize and leaving the streets with only himself and his redheaded friend.

"Well, I think I'm heading west from here," the bluenette said, "I'll hit the nearest town, maybe go south from there."

"Hmm…" Sho hummed to himself for a second. "I'll go…" he paused looking around before pointing in a random direction, "that way!"

"… that's west, Sho," Minato pointed out. Their working together here was only due to them meeting by chance, and while they're on decent terms, both preferred going their own way. Otherwise, they'd probably end up killing each other.

"Uh, that way then!" Sho said as he began walking in the opposite direction. How the hell does he get by?

"Suit yourself," Minato raised no objections, but took a moment to notice the terrified looks on everyone's faces from the slum he was in. Now, the question was: were they terrified that they just encountered two persona users, or that most of them had spent more than a few nights with a succubus? Who cares, it was hilarious either way.

For now, he had a search to continue.

Takaya? Small fry, really. He was just some Nyarlathotep nut that needed to die.

Ikutsuki was another story. Another… personal story.

"I'm gonna find you, old man," Minato thought, smiling to himself.

"I will find you…"
"We will find you…"

Well, got to show off a bit of Minato this time. Co-author might say this was too soon, but considering that I gave you that tease, I figure I'd show what he's up too.

And yes, he vastly outclasses Akira. By, like, a lot. Kinda comes with having Death and years of experience on hand when compared to a mostly ordinary and inexperienced Wild Card. Don't think he's immortal though. He doesn't have, say, DFW Makoto levels of durability.

Oh, and Sho exists here. Actually, pretty much everyone is accounted for here. Well, minus P1 and P2 because I know nothing about them. And yes, that includes the P4 team… sorta. You'll see.

If you got any questions, I'm sure you all know what to do… imma nap for now.

Zzzzz….