While Akira and Shiho were talking about the other-worldly business, Ren and Ryuji just came out from the bathroom. They walked toward the elevator.
"Ughh, I'm stuffed…" Morgana groaned, walking back in Ren's bag.
"I totally panicked when I saw the 'Closed For Cleaning' sign at the bathrooms…" Ryuji sighed, stopping of the front of the elevator.
"You were talking big about eating until you puked, but you really did puke…" The cat cringed. "Are you some kind of moron?"
"Hey, same goes for you!" The blonde boy argued, glaring at the cat before turning back to the elevator panel. "What floor was that restaurant on..?"
"Second Floor," Ren answered, pushing his glasses. "I remember that."
"So lower than us." Ryuji nodded, pressing the down button of the elevator.
The elevator arrived about a minute later, the elevator arrived. However, a group of men wore in black suits suddenly shoved them aside. Ryuji gasped in surprise, staring the men in anger. Ren, on the other hand, noticed a man stood out in the group by his bald head and a pair of designer glasses.
"What the-" Ryuji was interrupted as the bald man suddenly turned to one of the suited men.
"There's still no update on the case?" The bald man asked coldly.
"N-Not yet…" Another man in suit answered, bowing his head apologetically. "Excuse me, but why are you so involved? It's not something you should be concerned with…"
"I don't care about your opinion, you incompetent buffoon!" He spat, glaring at the man. "When I say pick up the pace, you do it!"
Ryuji looking at the event unfold in front of him, finally unable to hold it anymore. "Hey, you're cuttin' in line!" He yelled.
The subordinate turned to the blonde boy unimpressed. "What do you want?"
Ren put his two hands in his pockets and staring darkly at them. "Apologize, to us."
The suited man looked at his watch and stated plainly, "We're in a hurry."
"Oh, I'm sorry." Ryuji spoke sarcastically, rolling his eyes in the process. "So you can butt in front of other people if you're in a hurry?"
The bald man glanced at them from the corner of his eyes. "It seems the customer base has changed since I was here last. Have they started a daycare?" He said dispassionately.
"What?" The two teens groaned in unison, narrowing their eyes darkly.
"Sir, we don't have time for this." The suited man spoke lowly, turning to the bald man.
He nodded. "I know."
The elevator arrived and sliding the door open. Ryuji tried stopping them by stepping forward, but one of the suited men shoved him away. Ren, on the other hand, can only stand there and clenching his hand into a fist. 'Piece of shit...' He thought darkly.
The bald man shouted at his bodyguard, "Don't bother with them!" Seeing the bodyguards nodding at his word, the group walked into the elevator, closing the doors behind them.
'Wait for a second... Is that voice...?' Ren clenched his eyes as a barrage of images suddenly flashes inside his mind. He quickly shook his head afterward.
Ryuji scowled, glaring at the spot where the men stood. "The hell was with that bossy guy?"
Morgana poked his head out from Ren's bag and looked at the two uncertainly. "Shouldn't we head back down?' He asked quietly.
"Yeah, but…" The blonde boy bit his lips, pressing the call button again. "That dick really pissed me off. He wasn't even hidin' the fact that he looks down on everyone!"
"Just... don't lose your temper over this." Morgana sighed, looking at him sympathetically.
"I just can't forgive shitty adults like that..!" Ryuji turned around with a frustrated look, "You agree, Ren?"
"Ren?" He noticed that Ren clenching his hands on his forehead and asked, looking at him worryingly. "You're OK?"
However, Ren didn't react to his word, just keep clenching his forehead. 'That man's voice...It sounded almost like the one from back then…'
Seeing no reaction from him, Ryuji's frown deepened. "...What's wrong?" He said, walking closer to him.
Akira shook his head. "I'm OK. Just a bit tired." He said reassuringly, smiling in the process.
The blonde boy's frown further deepened at his response. "Not feelin' good?"
"I always call him to sleep, but he never listens to me." Morgana stated, climbing to Ren's shoulder.
Sighing, Ryuji turned back to the elevator. "Ugh, that "sir" bullshit makes me sick...!" he muttered. "...Dammit!"
The elevator arrived, its doors sliding open, and they walked in and pressed a lower floor.
Back in the buffet area, Akira, Shiho, and Ann were waiting for the two boys to return. Akira was checking his phone for The Phantom Aficionado Website to see what others are saying about them. Shiho was laying back to the couch, taking a small nap. Ann, on the other hand, was still eating the desserts.
"Ahh, so good…" The blonde said in a sing-song tone, eating the final slice of the cake. "I have to go get more!" She grinned, getting up from her seat.
"Ann, you'll be fat from that," Akira commented plainly, still looking at his phone. "You're a model after all."
"Shut up." She glared at the brown-haired boy, pouting. "You're not my mom."
Akira merely shrugged at her response.
Hmphing, Ann turned around and left for more desserts for her. Akira did want to ignore her to focus on the comments at The Phantom Aficionado Website, but a yelp from her caught his attention later.
"Watch where you're going, you hussy!" An older woman was glaring angrily at her, seeing the dropped plate at the ground, Akira quickly pieced everything together.
"How dare you make me drop my plate!" The woman shouted, earning more attention from the others.
Ann just gave her an odd look at her word. "What? You bumped into me. I was standing right here."
"Don't lie! You purposely walked into me!" The woman retorted, making Akira on the couch frowned.
With a sigh, he walked up to the two. "Ann." He whispered, standing between the two and tugging the blonde behind.
After a few coughs, he turned back to the woman with a fake smile. "Ma'am, please calm down. I think that it's all just misunderstanding."
"Misunderstanding?! Are you serious!" The woman just glared at him with an intense glare. "Do you know who I am?"
Trying his best to hold his emotion from overflowing, Akira observed the woman from top to bottom. "Actually, no." He answered, resting his hands in his pockets.
Feeling irritated, the woman pointed her finger directly at his forehead. "Then shut up! You have no right-"
"Um... Ma'am, don't you see the crowd who are watching us right now?" He plained asked with an unimpressed look, interrupting the woman. "You don't want to make a scene to embarrass yourself, right?"
The woman scrunched up her face, panicking eyes darting around at all the people who were watching intently. "Hmph. I suppose," she replied while trying to look composed. Then she walked away, leaving only Akira and Ann.
"Huh... Bitch." Akira murmured to himself before turning around to face Ann. "You're OK?" He asked with a worried tone, a huge difference from the irritating tone before.
"Yeah." She replied, still glaring at the woman. She grabbed as many desserts as she could on her plates, stomping back to the table.
Akira was back to his website checking after the two were back to their table, occasionally glancing at Ann, who was eating a cake with an angry look.
Sighing, he noticed the face Shiho made when napping and couldn't hold himself to not take a picture about this. Making sure Ann was too invested in the cake, he swiftly took a picture of her face while sleeping.
'She's so cute while sleeping!' Akira thought with a grin on his face, satisfied with the result.
Then he noticed the other two boys walking back to the table, both exhausted for some reason.
Ann glared up at them from the empty plate. "What took you so long?!"
Ryuji was taken back by her sudden change of mood, placing his hand out in front of him. "Why're you all pissy…?"
"Sorry...I had a run-in with some woman a second ago." Sighing, she slumped back to her seat. "She bumped into me, but then said it was all my fault when she dropped her plate."
"What a bitch..." The blonde boy replied, frowning.
"If not that I came out and talk her away, I bet Ann's mood would be even worse," Akira added, looking up from his phone. "I almost use my connection to Kijiro Group to scare that bitch off..."
Ryuji and Ren sat down, Morgana also poked his head out in the bag.
"The restaurant workers all looked at us with this disapproving expression…" Ann murmured, looking at the workers from afar. "I wonder if we're out of place here…"
"Maybe..." Ren sighed, leaning back to his seat. "And this sucks."
"During my last visit to this place, I got the same treatment as well." Akira nodded sympathetically. "Mitsuru-San later sent a complaint to Wilton's manager... But nothing has changed."
Suddenly, the phone in his hand buzzed and caught his attention. "Who is calling me right now?" The brown-haired boy looked at his phone and widened his eyes. "Ugh... excuse me, someone important is calling."
Seeing a nod from the trio, Akira got up and walked away toward the elevator, leaving the three Phantom Thieves and the sleeping Shiho.
Seeing that Shiho wasn't going to wake up, Ryuji looked at the cat in Ren's bag. "Hey, Morgana."
He looked at the blonde boy curiously. "What is it?"
"...Anyone could have a Palace, yeah?"
The cat nodded. "Anyone with a strong, distorted desire."
Nodding, the blonde boy leaned forward. "Same for them havin' a change of heart if their Treasure gets stolen?"
Morgana nodded again. "That would be the case."
Ann tilted her head. "Why are you bringing this up all of a sudden?"
"We had trouble earlier too. These selfish shitheads, who just looked down on everyone else..." He explained with a shrug. "I was just wonderin' if we'd be able to change those kindsa people too."
"You mean...you want to continue as the Phantom Thieves?" Ann asked hesitantly with wide eyes.
"I've been thinkin'...We put a lot of work into changin' Kamoshida's heart, but nobody believes in the Phantom Thieves." Ryuji nodded again, biting his lips. "Plus...those guys who had no other choice but to just deal with it are thankin' us. Us, of all people."
"There were many victims..." Ren answered, rubbing his chin as he was in deep thought. "And that's just the tip of the iceberg."
"I...I agree." Ann replied quietly. "If we ignore people who are in trouble, I'd go back to being the same as I was before..!"
"Well...that's true." Morgana looked up at her and the others hesitantly. "You're under my tutelage. There's nothing we can't accomplish as phantom thieves!"
"Shouldn't we be able to help 'em out?" Ryuji asked, looking at them with hesitation.
"If we don't stand up to fight, who will?" Ren said with a grim look, determination leaking through his eyes.
"But…" Ann hesitated. "That means we'll have to fight Shadows again, doesn't it…?"
Morgana nodded. "Indeed. That can't be avoided."
"Eh, I'm sure we'll manage. Right?" The blonde boy asked, looking toward Ren hopefully.
"Yeah, we can manage it." Ren answered, smirking faintly.
Everyone nodded determinedly. The Phantom Thief was official now.
In the Meantime, Akira walked to the elevator area and looked at the person calling. It was Mitsuru calling. He put the
"Mitsuru-San? Why calling me now?" He asked, leaning the wall behind him.
"Akira... It's about that teacher in your school." Mitsuru sighed. "I read the news."
"Oh, Kamoshida...He's going to rot in prison, right?"
"Yes..." The woman sighed again, this time out of guilt. "I'm sorry for... not helping you back then."
"It's OK, Mitsuru-San," Akira said, smiling reassuringly. "The Phantom Thief of heart helped us, after all."
"The Phantom Thief of Heart..." She paused for a short while before suddenly changed to a grim tone. "Let's be honest, you're one of them, right?"
"Wha-" He interrupted himself mid-sentence, trying to play it cool. "No, of course. How could I?"
"You don't need to deny that. Narukami already told me everything."
"...So you know now." Knowing that he didn't need to tell lies anymore, he nodded. "Well, I know who are they and how they did it-"
"They have one person who can hold multiple Persona, right?" Mitsuru interrupted him. "I don't want to cut corners, but I know about those Persona and otherworldly things."
"You know...?!" Akira exclaimed with wide eyes. "How did you kno-"
"I used to be in a team of Persona users, I am one as well." She interrupted him again. "Remember the time when you're living with me in the dorm?"
"O-Of course..." He shuttered, memories of the strange encounter back in seven years ago. "Those weird nights, right?"
"Yeah, the dark hour..." She sighed. "I had to put you away from our business for your safety. But now you have a Persona of your own as well..."
After a brief pause, she continued. "I think I should send Ken over to Shujin to look after all of you, just in case."
"NO! You don't need to bother him for me." Akira quickly denied Mitsuru's suggestion, shaking his head. "I can handle it myself, or with Shiho with me."
"I'll only be more worried about you when you said that!" Mitsuru shouted back, causing him to put his phone away for a bit. "I don't want you to risk your life like how I used to."
"But if I don't stand up to fight, who will?" He retorted back. "You don't need to go that far, Yu-San also doesn't need to solve the murder case, then why did you do this?"
"..." Taken back by his word, she stayed silents for a moment before speaking again. "Maybe... you're right. But I'll send someone to help you with your journey anyway."
"...Fine... later, Mitsuru-San." With a sigh, the two cousins cut the call. Akira walked back to the table, overhearing the three thieves conversation in the process.
"So our name will be 'The Phantom', that's official now!" Ryuji exclaimed, pumping his fist.
"And we'll only choose our target with every one of us agree to." Ann said, a faint smile on her face. "I like that unanimous decision part! It's like we're making some kind of pact!"
"Now then, this is the official formation of the Phantom Thieves organization!" Morgana declared.
Seeing them finishing their conversation, he walked back and sat down. "Sorry about that, Mitsuru-San just called me."
"It's fine." Ann answered, noticed the clock on the wall. "Oh no! Our time for the buffet ran out…"
"I guess we'll just have to talk more tomorrow." Ryuji snorted, rubbing his neck.
Seeing everyone started to leave, Akira quickly woke Shiho up. "Wake up, sleepyhead, we're leaving."
"Huh...?" Finally waking up, Shiho rubbed her eyes for a moment before finally realizing what happened. "I slept through a lot, right?"
"You didn't sleep that well last night, right?" He asked, smiling faintly as she nodded in response.
"Too excited for today." She laughed for a bit before turning back to others. "Let's go, shall we?"
With a nod from everyone, they left the hotel together.
[6th May, Afterschool, hallway]
The 'Person to help him' didn't come today, how surprising. Knowing that it'll be a while before anyone coming, Akira picked up his bag and ready to leave. But the sudden appearance of Mishima stopped him in the track.
"Hey, Ichijou." He whispered, looking refreshed after the Golden week break. "Have you heard of the Phan-Site?"
"Phan-Site?" It took Akira a moment before realizing what Mishima was talking about, The Phantom Aficionado Website. "Oh! Your talking about that Aficionado Website."
"Well..." Mishima noticed that knowing look on his face and sighed in relief, leaning close to him. "I am the one who starts this website, and the admin."
"Oh...Kay." The brown-haired boy nodded, raising an eyebrow. "Then why are you telling me this?"
"I've talked to Amamiya as he was the Phantom Thief." The blue-haired boy continued to whisper, a grim on his face. "And I believe that you are also one as well!"
"No, I'm not one of them." Akira deadpanned. "And you're not going to expose them, right?"
"Of course! I'll support you guys, no matter the cost." Mishima exclaimed, giving him a thumbs up. "And since you saved me back during the rally, you can see this me paying you guys back!"
"Well... Thanks." He smiled, placing a hand on his shoulder.
Mishima left Akira alone after that, and Akira was planning to go to the library for the upcoming exam. But then, a loud yell from the classroom of class 2-D caught him in the middle of walking down the hallway.
"Wait, Oh CRAP!" It was from Ryuji. "D-D-Don't we have an exam comin' up?!"
"Jesus... He's loud..." He murmured to himself. "Typical Ryuji, I guess." With that said, The brown-haired boy continued his walk toward the library.
Once he entered the library, instead of the usual whispers about his 'sexual assault', he heard some whispers to compliment him.
"It's Ichijou Senpai!"
"So he's studying for the mid-term..."
"He seems happier after Kamoshida's gone..."
Overhearing those good whispers about him, he can't help but smile faintly. 'It seems like that my reputation finally getting a revive.' He thought happily.
With that faint smile still on his face, he sat at an empty table and start studying.
[7th May]
"I hate subway..." Akira murmured to himself while being squished by the other passengers on the train. But then, the voice of the news caught his attention.
"Today's headlines are…'Volleyball Beating Investigation!' The school claims to have left teaching methods up to its staff. It has denied once again that it had any knowledge of the beatings."
'Kobayakawa is now in full damage control now...' He sighed at the news, looking down at the bag in his arms. 'Maybe Shiho and I should find another target, but the exam is coming up after all... '
After a painfully long train ride, Akira finally arrived at the Shujin. Even though not that much had changed, but it just felt weird that he's no longer had to worry about Kamoshida. Everyone just seems happier now, the atmosphere just felt more lively.
He went to the classroom and sat down at his seat. Hearing a pair of footsteps approaching, he turned toward the sources and saw Ann approached him with an embarrassed look, for some reason.
"Ann...?" He asked with a confused look. "You're OK?"
"No! I'm perfectly fine!" Ann quickly changed back to her usual attitude, shaking her hand in front of her. "It's just that... can you help me with the mid-term?"
"So my theory was correct..." The brown-haired boy couldn't help but smirk wat her request, covering his mouth to hide his laughter. "You're bad anything other than English!"
The blonde's look instantly darkened at his word, replaced by a furious one. "Say that again and I'll personally screw you up!" She shouted, getting some attention from other students.
"But that's a fac-" Akira interrupted himself mid-sentence with a sigh, knowing that she would just use his crush on Shiho against him. "Fine, so when and where?"
Ann pondered for a moment before answering. "How about The family diner in Shibuya tomorrow! I can also call Shiho and others to come too!"
Even though he had never heard of a family restaurant in Shibuya. but noticing the chilling look of her, Akira couldn't say 'no' to her. "Tomorrow, fine..."
[Afterschool, the Shibuya atation]
"So where is that god damn family restaurant..." After a few unsuccessful runs across the whole central street, Akira walked back toward the station. However, the sight of Ann, Ren, Ryuji, and Morgana stopped him mid-track and quickly hid somewhere else, overhearing their conversation.
"'I don't know what to do about my ex who's stalking me. His name is Nakanohara Natsuhiko.'" Ann said, seems to be reading out the request on the Phan-Site. "It says he's a teller at City Hall."
"A government worker's stalkin' someone..?" Ryuji exclaimed, looking disgusted at the word on the Phan-Site.
"That should be a suitable target." Morgana nodded. "All right, now get the Meta-Nav ready."
However, their conversation quickly quiets down, only a sentence from Morgana can be heard. "Actually, we don't need a location this time. Just enter exactly what I say. The keyword is…"Mementos."
After a few more exchanges, Ryuji tapped the phone and the four thieves disappeared in thin air.
"Another Palace?!" Akira quickly rushed to the spot they disappeared and pulled out his phone. "So 'Memento'... But this is who's palace."
With a confused face, he typed the keyword and tapped the button.
"Memento... Begin navigation."
"Wait, what?" Before he can react to what's going on, the vision around him distorted and transported him to the metaverse.
With that, the tenth chapter of P5: Another Thief conclude! Thank you for reading!
Next Chapter:
Now both The Phantom and Le Fool had found the Palace of everyone- Memento, not only they discovered another potential big target to steal his heart on!
And the next member of The Phantom Thieves... approaches.
I hope you would enjoy this story so far, reviews are welcome!
