Act 3
Adventures in Babysitting
They were slowly making progress. Makoto wasn't sure how they were suddenly granted the ability to use more than one Persona, but she could hardly complain. It gave them additional strength, after all.
"Good job, Joker!" Futaba cheered after Ren had defeated the last Shadow. "Things are getting easier and easier, huh? And looks like that you're about halfway done with the second floor!"
"I must say that your abilities really have morphed, Oracle," Yusuke remarked.
"It's confusing the he…" Ryuji cringed as Anne suddenly glowered at him, "…ck out of me." He then huffed. "Stupid Kamoshida…"
"Kamoshidaman," Akechi corrected.
"Kamoshida… Kamoshidaman… who cares, Crow?!" Ryuji snarled out. "Either way, they're an a—"
"Skull," Anne growled out before looking pointedly at the twins.
"Sheesh, since when are you such a nag, Panther?" Ryuji grumbled.
Makoto coughed, before gesturing to the twins. "Skull, I think Panther has a good reason to want you to curb your… tendencies."
"…Why are you calling each other with those weird names?" Kaito asked.
"Huh?" Morgana turned to him.
"Yeah!" Miyuki nodded, before she pointed to Anne. "Like you keep calling Anne-san 'Panther'! And Ryuji-san's Skull!"
"Oh!" Morgana perked up at that, even as Ryuji grumbled at the honorific being attached to his name. "That's because we're Phantom Thieves. And what kind of Phantom Thief goes by their real name?"
"Ohhh, I get it!" Kaito exclaimed, eyes growing bright. "Like a game! That sounds like fun!"
"A game?!" Morgana sputtered out, gaping at Kaito. Then he snapped to attention, before his little paws clenched into balls. "It's not a game! Where did you get that from? This is serious business!"
"Games can be serious," Miyuki said, looking flatly at Morgana.
Her tone had a hint of are you kidding me? Ren had to stifle the urge to snicker.
"'Specially with Auntie Mina and Uncle Junpei. You should see Uncle Junpei's reaction when Auntie Mina beats him at Bash. With Princess Apricot!"
"This isn't a video game!" Morgana cried out. "Are you even listening to me?!"
Kaito leaned in close to Miyuki, but his 'whisper' was loud enough for everyone to hear. "He's taking this game way too seriously."
"Look here, you little—" Morgana began, his eye twitching.
"Mona, don't yell at them!" Anne reprimanded, hands on her hips as she stared down sternly at Morgana. "They're just little kids!"
"Y-Yes, Lady Anne," Morgana mumbled out, bowing his head.
Ryuji began to snicker at Morgana's sulking. Ren quickly elbowed him in the side, shooting him a look. Makoto just let out an exasperated sigh.
"But hey," Kaito piped up, "…what's Uncle Ken's special name?"
"We call 'im Ace," Ryuji said. "It's 'cause—"
"Like the playing card!" Kaito shouted, suddenly jumping up and down. "Right?"
"And Auntie Makoto's Queen so they match!" Miyuki chirped, the delight on her face clear as day.
Makoto felt her face flush at the implication. You could probably fry an egg on her face. "I-It's not that—"
"That's stupid, though," Kaito interjected, suddenly stopping jumping. "They should be calling him King then! Since he's dating Auntie Makoto!"
Morgana seemed to twitch as the twins happily broke the "codenames only" rule. To be fair, they were still kids…
Ren looked like he was smothering a grin. "Maybe I'll bring it up to him after we rescue him and Noir."
Makoto just shot him an irritated glare, though the look was probably ruined with how hot her face felt. "You're not as funny as you think you are, Joker."
"But his name is Joker!" Miyuki protested. "His jokes have to be good!"
Ren smirked in Makoto's direction—sometimes she wished she didn't have to be the responsible one because Ren was really asking to be punched.
Ren then pointed at Miyuki, looking smug. "You heard the little lady."
Makoto sighed in response.
"Please don't encourage him, Miyuki-chan." She shot Ren another irritated look, but he just smiled innocently in response. "He's terrible enough as it is."
Miyuki chewed on her lip. "If you say so, Auntie Makoto."
Morgana let out a little growl. "Will you please use the codenames?"
Kaito just stared flatly at Morgana—somehow, Makoto got the feeling that both Arisato twins had learned that unimpressed stare from someone. "You're so bossy."
"But he said please, Kaito," Miyuki pointed out.
"But he's using the grumpy tone," Kaito argued. "It's not nice! Mommy doesn't let us do it so he can't either! It's not fair!"
"Taken down by two six-year-olds," Futaba said solemnly. "Can I get a F in the chat?"
"Do not start with that," Anne groaned, rubbing her forehead.
Akechi shook his head. "We shouldn't be idle when we could be moving forward."
Miyuki just puffed out her cheeks. "Yeah, yeah—" then she wavered. "…What was your name again?"
Akechi laughed. "It's okay. My, ah, superhero name is Crow."
"That's a stupid name," Kaito said flatly.
"E-Excuse me?" Akechi took a step backwards. "There are other animal names here…"
He gestured to both Yusuke and Anne.
"Hey, don't drag us into this!" Anne huffed out.
"They make sense, though," Kaito said. "Anne-san has a cat mask and Yusuke-san has a fox mask! Your mask doesn't look like a crow."
"And crows are black," Miyuki chimed in. "You're wearing white and gold and red! Nothing close to black! And your mask looks like a… a…"
Her eyebrows scrunched together for a moment as she struggled to come up with the word she was looking for. Then her eyes lit up.
"A woodpecker!" she declared proudly. "That's what you look like!"
"A-A woodpecker?" Akechi stammered out, all but goggling at Miyuki.
Makoto had to bite down on her lip so she wouldn't start smiling. This, she did not mind. At all.
"Don't be stupid, Miyu," Kaito scoffed.
"Why thank you—" Akechi began, a look of relief on his face.
"It looks like a tengu!" Kaito finished, his voice bordering gleeful.
Makoto forced herself to cough so she wouldn't start laughing at the utterly confounded look on Akechi's face. She had honestly forgotten how blunt the two of them were. And the fact that Akechi was floundering with them was just… the cherry on top.
"It's totally a woodpecker!" Miyuki argued, hands on her hips.
"Nuh-uh! It's a tengu!" Kaito retorted.
"WOODPECKER!"
"TENGU!"
"You're being stupid, Kaito!"
"Nuh-uh, you are!"
"AM NOT!"
"ARE TOO!"
"Are we seriously talking about this…?" Yusuke sighed, shaking his head as the twins continue to loudly argue over Akechi's mask. "Takeba-san must truly have the patience of a saint."
"Forget her!" Ryuji huffed. "Ace must've babysat for 'em before! How does he not go crazy?!"
"Probably that he learned how to deal with their… quirks," Makoto sighed, before she bit her lip. "…I hope he and Noir are okay."
"C-Come on, think positively, Queen!" Futaba squeaked out.
Makoto just smiled at the apparition of Futaba. "…I hope you're right."
Anne clapped her hands. "Okay, guys, break it up. We'll get the attention of Shad—er… bad guys if you keep this up."
"Okay!" they chorused together.
"Ugh, that was it?" Ryuji groaned before he hung his head. "Seriously, you wouldn't have me babysitting even if you paid me..."
"You'd be a bad influence anyways," Futaba snickered.
"Ugh, shut the eff up, Oracle!" he retorted.
"…Why do you say eff instead of fuck?" Kaito asked.
…What.
"W-Where did you learn t-that kind of language?" Makoto stammered out.
Kaito just shrugged. "Uncle Shinji has a pottery mouth."
Ren shifted on his feet nervously. "I think you mean potty mouth."
"Yeah, that!" Miyuki nodded. "Though I dunno why Mommy gets mad at Uncle Shinji when he says that in front of us. And Auntie Mina always just tells him to run."
"It's… well…" Yusuke coughed. "…It's not a polite term. It's unladylike, so you should refrain from using it."
Miyuki tilted her head quizzically. "Re-rain?"
"Refrain," Akechi repeated. "It means you should stop yourself from doing something."
"But if it's not ladylike, that means I can use it, right?" Kaito asked.
"NO!" Anne shrieked out.
"That's it, we're not talking about this anymore," Makoto announced. "We're dropping the subject."
"But—"
"…Am I clear?" Makoto ground out. "We. Are. Dropping. It."
"Y-Yes, Queen."
Ryuji shifted on his feet for a moment. "Uh, since I'm not on the main team right now… Who wants a piggyback ride?"
Kaito shouted, "ME! ME!"
"Ladies first, Kaito!" Miyuki argued, hands on her hips.
Kaito just scoffed at his twin. "What lady?"
"Why you…!"
"Annnnd here we go again," Ren sighed.
This was really a vicious cycle…
"Hey, hey, welcome back!" Futaba greeted them. "But sheesh… You guys looked like you could use some revival items. Or food."
"Food would be nice," Anne groaned out before she plopped down on a seat. "Some popcorn… soda… I need something!"
"I'll prepare you some!" Theodore called out from the concession stand. "You must be simply famished."
Ren sat next to his girlfriend, and she responded by laying her head onto Ren's shoulder. He slid an arm around her waist, pulling her close.
"I'm hungry too!" Miyuki announced. "I want popcorn… candy!"
"Don't forget soda!" Kaito chimed in, bouncing up and down on the seat he chose.
Makoto sighed. "We need to limit the junk food you eat."
"But the only things movie theater have are junk food!" Miyuki protested.
"That's—" Makoto opened her mouth, only to shut it. "I suppose you're right. But you're eating unsalted popcorn. And I'm going to ask Theo to put a lot of ice in your soda. That will water down the sugar content at least."
"Fiiiiine…" they whined in unison.
Makoto just shook her head, before walking over to the concession stand to speak with Theodore.
"This must be hell for Makoto," Anne murmured to him. "Not a healthy food in sight."
"Forget her, just imagine if Shinjiro-san was here," Ren snickered. Then he turned his head to examine his girlfriend more closely. "But hey… how are you feeling? That Shadow hit you pretty hard back there."
"I'm fine, Ren, really…" Anne just sighed contently before snuggling closer to him. "I just need some time to relax a little…"
And then there was the sound of someone clearing their throat. Anne sat up before Ren turned around to see that Makoto was holding a bag of popcorn, which she handed over to the twins. Theodore then gave them a small cup of soda.
"Ren, Theodore-san would like to speak with you," Makoto said. "It's about… his guest."
…Oh.
Ren reluctantly pulled away from Anne before he rose to his feet. "Let's talk, then."
He followed Theodore and Makoto back to the concession stand.
"Are there really no whereabouts to her?" Theodore asked, frowning anxiously.
"We've only searched most of the second floor," Makoto said. "We'll find Minako-san, Theodore-san, I promise."
Theodore gasped. "H-How do you know my guest's name?"
"Ah…" Makoto winced. "One of our team members… he worked with her in the past."
"I see…" Theodore nodded. "That makes sense. I do hope that you locate her as quickly as possible. She's been separated from her friends, so I worry for her…"
"We'll do our best," Ren promised. "We can do no less."
"Thank you…"
Makoto sighed softly as they walked away. "We have no clues about where Ken and Haru are…" she said glumly. "And we have to worry about Minako-san too."
"Hey… chin up," Ren said, giving his friend an encouraging smile. "We'll keep searching."
Makoto just grimaced. "I'm just… a bit frustrated over how slow the search is going. I felt that we were stronger when I had first awakened."
"This place has different rules from the looks of it," Ren said. "Just be patient, Makoto."
"I'll try." Makoto gave him a tiny smile. "…However, we do have to deal with something else regarding Minako-san."
Ren frowned in confusion. "What are you talking about?"
"Think back to Theodore's description, Ren," Makoto said. "Auburn hair pulled up in a small ponytail… bright red headphones. That matches her appearance as a teenager."
…Oh. Ohhhhhh…
Shit.
"So you think that the twins would instantly blab," Ren said.
"Yes." Makoto nodded. "They're very sweet but… they don't exactly have a filter. And…"
She fidgeted for a moment.
"They refer to me as aunt already. And Minako-san is their aunt by blood. They would instantly recognize her."
"So what do you propose we do?" Ren asked. "They had to beg us to let them come. We can't just say 'okay, we changed our minds! Stay here!' They'd probably riot on us or something…"
"Well… they're young but maybe if we explain to them why they can't call her Aunt… they'd understand."
"…You have a lot of faith in them," Ren said, shaking his head. "It took them several times to stick to the codenames."
"They're not dumb!" Makoto quickly objected, glaring at him for a moment. "Give them more credit…!"
"Aww, someone's getting attached to their new niece and nephew," Ren teased, snickering as Makoto's face turned bright red.
"Ren! Stop it!" Makoto protested. "It's—Don't—Just knock it off already!"
"The Shadow Operatives do have a history of marrying their high school sweetheart." Ren couldn't resist the temptation to keep teasing her.
Teasing Makoto was just hilarious. Embarrassing her about Ken never got old.
"What's stopping Ken from doing the same?" he asked innocently.
"REN!"
"Ren-san, are you bullying Auntie Makoto?!" Kaito demanded, as he and Miyuki stomped up to him.
"Is not nice," Miyuki said sternly, planting her hands on her hips. "Don't you have any manners?!"
Ren held up his hands as both twins stared him down. "All right, all right, calm down. It's just teasing."
"Teasing's not nice either," Miyuki said firmly. "Mommy doesn't like it when Uncle Junpei teases her, so you shouldn't tease Auntie Makoto."
Lectured by a couple of six-year-olds, huh?
"Okay, okay, I'm sorry," Ren said. "But this is good timing because… we need to talk to you two."
"Whatcha talking about?" Kaito frowned at him.
"Okay…" Ren crouched down to their level. "You know how we told you that Ken's in trouble? And our friend, Haru."
"Uh huh…" Kaito said slowly.
"Get to the point," Miyuki said flatly, folding her arms over her chest.
"Bossy, bossy…" Ren teased lightly. "But anyways… they're not the only ones missing. You see… the man running the snacks place is friends with your aunt Minako. And he knows that she's missing somewhere in the city we've been exploring."
"Auntie Mina's here?!" Miyuki's eyes grew bright with excitement as she started to bounce up and down. "What about Uncle Aki?!"
"We don't know about Akihiko-san, sorry," Makoto said with an apologetic smile.
The twins immediately drooped at that. Makoto bit her lip before speaking again.
"But there's… something you need to know though," Makoto said gently. "From the looks of it, she's a teenager. Um, around our age."
"From before you were born," Ren said. "And most people don't have kids when they're that young. So… we don't want to freak out your aunt with you calling her 'aunt'."
"So um… just refer to her as you do with everyone else but me," Makoto said gently. "Call her Minako-san. Can you do that?"
They exchanged a look. Ren had to wonder if twin telepathy was an actual thing. He had thought it was a thing in media, but… they seemed to be on a similar wavelength constantly.
"Well… if you think it's for the better," Miyuki said quietly.
"Yeah…" Kaito agreed. "Maybe… we shouldn't even get too close to her…"
"There's no need to be that extreme," Makoto said. "Just call her Minako-san, okay?"
"Okay," they chorused.
Ren smiled at the two of them before patting Miyuki on the top of her head. "Thanks, you two."
"Stairs!" Futaba exclaimed. "Okay, ready to go downstairs—"
But Futaba was suddenly cut off by cheering.
What was going on…?
"What on earth…?" Yusuke questioned, voicing Makoto's thoughts.
Anne looked around, back and forth, before she gasped. "Look!" She then pointed up at one of the buildings. "On the screen!"
Kamoshidaman seemed to stand in a square, with a garish bronze statue in the background. A crowd had gathered in front of him, as if he was addressing them.
"Who's the guy in the goofy costume?" Miyuki asked.
"Miyuki-chan, shh!" Anne quickly hushed. "This has got to be a news bulletin…"
"Citizens of Kamo City!" Kamoshidaman's voice boomed through the air. "I have some good news! For you see… I have captured two of the thieves who threaten the utopia of Kamo City!"
"Utopia…" Ryuji then scoffed. "What a load of bull."
"Ryuji, be quiet!" Morgana hissed out.
But then the camera suddenly panned to the right, showing a tied up Haru. But her jaw was set, and she stared down the camera. And then the camera moved to the left, revealing Ken, who was also tied up. He just stared stonily back at the camera.
"Kamoshidaman, you're so amazing!"
"You're our hero!"
"Nothing but lip service," Akechi said grimly.
"Never mind that!" Anne cried. "Noir and Ace… What's Kamoshidaman gonna do to them?!"
"I know we have captured just two of the dastardly thieves…" Kamoshidaman continued. "But worry not! We will capture all of them." The screen then showed several wanted posters, each of them having one of their faces. "We must hurry though, because two children have been spotted with them. We must save these two innocent children before they're corrupted!"
"You're the jerk…!" Miyuki cried out.
"Yeah, what kind of hero ties up people?!" Kaito glared up at the screen.
"However… we will take our first step with these two…" The screen showed Ken and Haru once more, and Kamoshidaman extended his hand to them. "Come and witness their punishment exhibition at the city square! We will execute them and show these thieves what will happen when they ruin the peace."
Then the screen went black.
"Punishment exhibition?" Makoto repeated feebly, as her pulse started to race.
Kamoshidaman wanted to kill them?!
"This explains a lot," Yusuke said grimly. "Kamoshidaman's capture made them incapable of answering Oracle's attempts to contact them."
"Who cares about that?" Makoto snapped at him. "Did you miss where Kamoshidaman says he wants to execute them both?!"
"Queen, calm down…" Morgana said placatingly. "We're making progress as fast as we can. We'll just have to keep exploring."
"Oracle, is there any way you can determine where the city square is?" Ren asked.
Now that she thought about it, Futaba had been awfully quiet… Maybe she was trying to scan?
"Hmm… nope," Futaba said. "Sorry, guys… You'll have to keep exploring."
"Ugh, figures," Ryuji grumbled, glaring down at the ground. "This whole place sucks."
"We should make haste though," Yusuke said. "While it doesn't seem that Kamoshidaman will touch Noir, I'm still concerned due to what Kamoshidaman had said."
"Yeah, we have to save them from being executed!" Miyuki cried, both hands balled into fists.
"…And how do you know what execute means?" Akechi asked.
Miyuki scuffed the ground with her shoe. "Umm, I dunno what it means exactly. But! Uncle Aki always looks like he'd rather die than be executed by Auntie Mitsuru."
"Is she truly that frightening?" Yusuke asked.
Kaito nodded vigorously, his eyes round. "Super scary! Like Mommy yells at Uncle Junpei if he makes her mad but Auntie Mitsuru is on a whole 'nother level!"
"Noted," Ren said with a chuckle, before his expression grew serious. "But anyways… let's move out!"
"Be careful, Joker," Futaba warned. "I can sense a huge Shadow reading down those stairs."
"We'll just power through then," Makoto said firmly. "We're ready, aren't we, Joker?"
Ren nodded. "Yeah. Let's do this!"
Minako felt hopelessly lost. The Shadows just kept pouring from who knew where. But she had to power through… She needed to find everyone!
"Joker! It's her!"
A voice pierced through her mind. No… It felt… like Fuuka when she communicated with her and everyone during the Tartarus explorations.
But then a group of teenagers her age—and a couple of little kids—came charging forward. Weirdly enough they were dressed in… hm, it was actually kinda hard to describe.
"We're here to help!" the dark-haired boy declared.
"What—who are you?!" Minako demanded.
"We're friends, don't worry!" a blonde girl exclaimed.
Minako couldn't explain it, but she reminded Minako of her best friend, Yukari.
"Just stay back, okay? We'll deal with these Shadows!" she said.
And so, the dark-haired boy—who seemed to be the leader—jumped into the fray with three of the teenagers, along with a… cat? A couple of them lingered back, probably to guard the kids. Minako just stared dumbfounded as they tore off the masks on their faces and summoned Personas. Personas! And they didn't need Evokers…!
Mitsuru-senpai would have kittens at that.
Due to their teamwork, they were able to defeat the Shadows much faster. Minako couldn't help but feel a little jealous at that. Her progress had been crazy slow because it was only her fighting the Shadows.
"You guys were amazing!" she exclaimed, approaching them. "And you're Persona-users too?!"
The brown-haired girl winced. "Yes… that's right."
"But… you didn't seem surprised." Minako couldn't help but frown.
"It's because your friend Theodore-san informed us of you." The explanation came from a blue haired boy. "Though I do concur that we do look… outlandish."
"No, no, they're awesome!" Minako insisted. "They're full of personality!" She then gestured to the blonde girl. "I can't believe you've got the confidence to wear something like that!"
She blushed at that. "Well… It was a bit overwhelming at first, but I did grow to like it."
"But anyhow, we're all pretty worn out," the cat said. "We should go back to the theater—"
"Huh!" Minako walked up to the cat, looking at him curiously. "You really do talk!"
"You saw me fight!" he cried. "How can you not notice that?!"
"Don't be rude, Mona!" The blue haired little girl suddenly latched onto his cheeks, pulling at them.
"Me-owchhhh!" he yowled.
"Miyuki-chan, that's enough!" the brunette girl chided. "That's not polite!"
The little girl huffed. "He's a meanie…"
"How am I mean?!" the cat cried out.
"Do you want a list?" a boy with bleached blond hair asked.
"Nobody asked you, Skull!" he retorted.
"You literally just asked."
Minako tuned out their argument, in favor of looking at the two children. They were both blue haired and from the looks of it, were twin siblings. And… the little boy…
He looked just like Minato… save for the eyes.
Minako's heart started to ache. She tried her best to not think of her twin brother. While her parents' deaths had been awful, but the fact that Minato had been pierced by shrapnel and not her… always haunted her. Why had fate spared her and not him? She asked this question every day…
Would her childhood have been more tolerable if Minato had survived?
The brown-haired boy cleared his throat. "That's enough, you two." He then shook his head. "Honestly, for two thieves, you two are so rowdy."
"He started it…" they grumbled out in unison.
Minako just giggled softly. They kinda reminded her of Akihiko-senpai and Shinjiro-senpai. Though the brown-haired boy… He kinda reminded her of Ken. She couldn't put her finger on why, though…
"But anyhow, Crow is right," the black-haired boy said. "We should head back and get her up to date."
And so they led her back to what was… actually a theater. Minako was honestly surprised.
It was a relief to be reunited with Theo… The others were kind but… they couldn't replace SEES. It was nice to see a familiar face.
"So… you've been trapped here too?" Minako asked, before taking a sip of her soda.
"Yep!" Anne nodded, but then her expression faltered, suddenly frowning. "But… like you, we've been separated from a couple of our friends…"
"R-Really?" Minako gasped. "We'll have to find them as soon as possible!"
"Unfortunately we already know of their whereabouts," Akechi (the others called him Akechi, so Minako followed suit) nodded, his expression grim. "They've been captured by the 'hero' of Kamo City."
"And he's planning on killing 'em!" Ryuji scowled fiercely at that. "That asshole!"
"Don't worry, Ryuji," Ren said. "We'll save K—er, Ace and Noir."
"Hmm?" Minako frowned.
They had no problem giving their real names. What was up with that? Eh… might not be a big deal. But the fact that they were captured was concerning.
Minako leaned forward. "Oh, um, I was wondering if you had any pictures of them? I'd like to see the faces of who I'm helping to rescue!"
"Ah, um…" Makoto looked uneasily to Yusuke. "Do you still have the sketches, Yusuke?"
"I do," he admitted, before pulling out a sketchbook. "Here you are."
Minako took in the image of the fluffy haired girl. She was rather pretty. Yusuke really was a talented artist… taking the time to draw her so well and detailed.
But the boy… Minako couldn't help but stare at the sketch of him. Something nagged at Minako. Why did she feel that he looked so familiar?
…Must be the bangs.
"Huh, I didn't realize more people had bangs like that!" Minako said, before giggling. "I guess Ken-kun isn't the only one with that kind of bangs!"
Yusuke stiffened at that, only to cough. "Ken?"
"Oh, sorry!" Minako handed the sketchpad back to Yusuke. "Ken-kun is one of my companions… the ones I've been separated from. He's a bit of a standout since he's eleven while the rest of us are in high school. He acts really mature for his age, but he does some of the cutest things! Like, he's a big fan of Feathermen! I asked him if he knew where I could get my hands on an action figure, and he looked so anxious when he showed me that he had it! He was really eager when he suggested that I watch the show with him some time! Oh, and he tries to drink black coffee because he thinks it's mature! Oh and—!"
"He sounds very… endearing," Makoto cut in.
Ren snickered, smirking at her for some reason. "Of course you'd say that."
Makoto just glared at him.
…She felt out of the loop.
"So, uh…!" Their scanner was a young girl, Futaba.
She was a bit shy with Minako, but Minako could see that she was attempting to get over it.
"You like music, right?" she squeaked out. "What kind of bands do you l—"
"Excuse me, Amamiya-san, here are the weapons you've requested," Theo announced, holding a spear and an axe.
"What are these for?" Minako couldn't help but ask.
"They're weapons for Noir and Ace," Morgana explained.
Even though they had Koromaru, Minako couldn't help but find it weird that the Phantom Thieves, as they called themselves, had a talking cat with them.
"Ren thought it'd be a good idea to have them ready so they can join the fray when we free them," he stated.
"Oh!" Minako nodded. "That makes sense."
She then tilted her head. Kinda funny that they had weapons like two of her teammates.
"So the axe is for Ace and Noir gets the spear, right?" she asked.
"Yep!" Anne's voice suddenly cracked as she nodded vigorously. "That's totally it…!"
Ren suddenly sunk low into his seat. "I am so dead," he grumbled out.
"Huh?" Minako blinked at them. "What are you talking about?"
Ren then stiffened. "M-Me?" He pointed at himself. "Who's talking?!"
"Ren, that was a total Anne moment," Futaba said flatly.
"What's that supposed to mean, Futaba?!" Anne cried out.
"Dude, you totally know, Anne," Ryuji huffed.
"What was that?!" Anne glowered at him.
A bickering fest quickly broke out, but Minako couldn't help but smile slightly. Their bickering… it reminded her of Yukari and Junpei.
…God, she hoped they were okay. And everyone else.
But she wasn't alone anymore… She had to focus on their first goal… to save the Phantom Thieves' comrades. And then hopefully she'd be able to seek out her friends afterwards.
I was a bit stuck on the next update for Ace in the Hole, so I decided to work on this! And the words just kept flowing. So update time.
But I hope this explains Minako's situation in this version of PQ2. And don't worry, we will get some aunt Minako and the twins interaction next chapter!
