The Phantom Thieves were surrounded by numerous knights. Shadow Mitsuyo planned to erase the Phantom Thieves here and now, using the Cognitive Hifumi to do it, while the real Hifumi remained suspended in the air by strings. "Our guests have overstayed our welcome. Do escort them out."

The Phantom Thieves took their position, huddled together in a circle with their backs to each other, covering all their options. It was the best and only way to fight when the enemy got the jump on them like this. Joker took a quick look at their situation; surrounded on all sides, Hifumi suspended in the air, and the only way out…wait, there was a window on the upper left side. He had a plan. "Okay. Our goal is to rescue Hifumi and escape. Everyone ready?"

"On your signal, Joker!" Fox confirmed. The others were also ready to strike.

Ironically, Joker was remembering something Hifumi had taught him during a practice shogi session: a means to escape despite being surrounded. Escape wasn't his plan just yet, so he was putting a spin on it. Joker tossed a smoke ball down on the ground, filling the immediate area with smoke.

"Ah! They are attempting to escape!" Cognitive Hifumi remembered this from the last time.

"Far from it!" Panther stated confidently, the Phantom Thieves using the confusion and blindness from the smoke to their advantage. They all leapt in different directions, securing positions in numerous locations in the throne room. "We're just turning the tide of battle!" She then cracked her whip, igniting it with flames. Panther twirled around, slamming her whip along the ground, the resulting impact creating numerous pillars of fire that knocked down several knights and traveled towards Shadow Mitsuyo. "Let Hifumi go!"

Shadow Mitsuyo held her hand outward, a brief flash occurring from her palm before a beam of ice shot outward. "She is my daughter. My means for victory! I will not be letting her go anytime soon!" This blast of ice shot directly towards Panther, who could only block at the last second. It hurt a lot, but she was able to hold her ground at the cost of some hard damage.

Mona turned into a bus, rolling along to run over numerous knights. Fox was perched atop Mona with his hand on the hilt of his katana, eyes flashing open as he drew his sword. "Haaaaah!" Fox slashed the area in front and around him and Mona rapidly, quick flashes appearing in the air due to how fast he was slicing. There was no knight that could stand in their path without getting run over or cut to pieces; some were even frozen due to Fox adding a bit of ice into his slashes here and then.

Queen drove around on Johanna, making donuts around a group of knights, trapping them in a miniature cyclone. "Fist of Justice!" Queen propelled herself off of her bike, leaping into the air with a fist drawn back. She crashed down into the ground with a fierce punch, causing an explosion of Nuclear energy to erupt outwards, clearing a decent amount of the crowd. But the more they took out, the more knights came flooding in!

This was Oracle's time to shine. With Necronomicon floating out of reach from the knight's swords, she was able to support the ground while staying out of harm's way. "Leave this one to me! Attack up!" With the press of a button, Oracle was able to increase the strength of the Thieves.

As soon as Skull felt the increasing in power, he made a beeline for the throne, leaping into the air while raising his club high up. "HAAAH!" He yelled and swung at Shadow Mitsuyo, but she blocked it by extending her arm, a barrier appearing in front of her. Skull held strong, planning to crush that barrier.

"And what business do you have swinging at the Queen!?" Shadow Mitsuyo growled.

"I'm gonna knock some damn sense into ya!" Skull growled, narrowing his eyes "You keep sayin' that Hifumi's only value is her talent and image, but that's bullshit! She's your daughter and you're treatin' her like crap! She's our friend and that's plenty of value to us!"

Hifumi's eyes widened a bit. "Skull…"

Shadow Mitsuyo was unimpressed. "This is the company you keep, Hifumi? Your image would be tarnished if people knew you associated with boys like this." She then brought her free hand forward, slamming an orb of fire into Skull that sent him crashing into the floor. "What a vulgar mouth on this one…how DARE you talk to me that way!?"

"Agh…shit…" Skull was reeling after that hit. He was too stunned to defend himself from the incoming knight that was about to strike him down with its sword.

"Skull…!" Joker saw it coming, but he was too busy dealing with a few knights that just wouldn't let him past.

Just as the knights sword came down, it clashed with something else. To everyone's surprise, Cognitive Hifumi spurred into action…to protect Skull with her blade. "….!?" Even she was surprised at her own action.

"W-Wha…she protected Skull!?" Panther's jaw dropped. That was an unexpected action considering Cognitive Hifumi was itching to strike them down to begin with.

Shadow Mitsuyo glared at Cognitive Hifumi. "What do you think you're doing!?"

"I…I do not know…!?" Cognitive Hifumi said while swinging her sword at the knight to knock it back, allowing Skull to stand up. "Y-You started badmouthing the vulgar one despite him sticking up for her…" 'Her' being the real Hifumi. "But his words stirred something within my heart that I couldn't ignore!"

"W-What just happened…?" Fox asked.

"I think I know what's going on." Oracle said. "That's a cognition of Hifumi based on how her mother sees her, obviously. But that means this cognition shares the same feelings that Hifumi does!"

"Even if her mother only wants to see her as a means to an end, she knows Hifumi isn't just that." Queen nodded in understanding.

"…When she bad mouths you all in reality, I always come to defend you, because you are my friends. My mother still glares at me for small acts of 'defiance' that she doesn't like…" Hifumi mumbled, which explained what was happening. It was the same even in the Metaverse: Cognitive Hifumi simply could not ignore these feelings and act. "You guys are important to me, so I won't stand for her…attempting…to harm you…" She attempted to struggle within the string, but she wasn't making much progress. Still, watching her friends fight for her so strongly ignited a small fire in her; strong enough to at least make her mask return.

"Stop aiding the enemy and strike them down!" Shadow Mitsuyo yelled.

"Y-Yes Mother…!" Cognitive Hifumi nodded and lunged at Joker, who was already occupied with relentless knights. "Masked clown, I shall be your end!"

"Joker, watch out!" Mona yelled.

Joker saw it coming, but his options were limited. So he was prepared to dodge, and just as he moved, Cognitive Hifumi's blade went over his hair, slicing down the knight that was behind him. "Oh, thanks." Joker replied while sliding to a halt.

"G-Gah…w-what's happening with me…!?" Cognitive Hifumi was so confused at her actions. The Queen's orders were law, yet she was going against them to help these people.

"How ironic…the cognition reflects our friend's will to rebel against her mother." Fox said.

"The cognition only has as much power as the Palace Ruler wants." Mona reiterated this part. "Hifumi has a lot of power here, but it looks like her Mother sees Hifumi for what she really is, rather than what she would like her to be."

"Looks like Hifumi's teenage rebellion phase is our saving grace right now…" Joker wasn't going to object to this.

Shadow Mitsuyo was growing increasingly impatient at this turn of events. So she extended another hand out, wrapping string around Cognitive Hifumi to stop her movements entirely. "Clearly, you cannot be trusted to handle this simple task; you are being put on the bench!"

"Now!" Queen yelled.

Joker jumped forward, using a knight as a footstool to propel himself into the air. With his knife drawn, he spun around, slicing through the string that suspended Hifumi in the air. Hifumi wasn't prepared to fall, so she let out a quick squeal before Panther was the one who caught her. "Eep…!"

"I got you, don't worry!" Panther said with a firm nod.

"Alright, Mona! It's time to make a hasty exit!" Oracle exclaimed, leaping from Necronomicon and onto the ground. "The window on the left, we can get out from there!"

Is that all he was good for now? Just being the getaway car? Not even being able to drive himself! Well, those thoughts could wait, because they did need to escape. So with only silent complaints, Mona turned into a bus once more and everyone flooded inside. "Let's go!"

"Full throttle!" Queen took the wheel, putting the petal to the metal. Mona's engine roared loudly before shooting off to the window. They were stopped by numerous string wrapping around Mona's back tires, making progress slowly and cutting all momentum. "Huh!?"

"She's taken hold of us!" Fox reported, looking out the window.

"Did you really think I'd allow you to escape?!" Shadow Mitsuyo snarled.

Panther had quite enough of this controlling stage mother. "Will you let it go already?! Carmen!" Carmen appeared, placing her hand down on the strings to burn them away. The moment the strings burned off, Mona went crashing through the window and outside.

"Belle Star!" For added measure, Hifumi used up all the energy she could to summon her Persona, pointing a hand forward at the wall they just escaped from. By casting Megidola, a large explosion destroyed that wall and a small section of the castle; whatever led to the Throne Room through conventional means. She wasn't sure since they were on their way out.

"…Tch." Shadow Mitsuyo pulled her hands back, scowling for a moment before shrugging. "No matter. Hifumi's rise to stardom is already set. I won't be stopped now."

"B-But what if they come back…?" Cognitive Hifumi meekly asked. She was incredibly embarrassed about what just happened on her end.

"If the Phantom Thieves know what is best for them, they won't step foot into this castle again." Shadow Mitsuyo stated before turning to her daughter. "But as for you…clearly I've been far too lax…"

.

.

They reappeared outside of Hifumi's house, all panting due to the hasty escape. "Is everyone alright!?" Makoto asked, looking to see if anyone was injured. Physically, it looked like everyone made it out of that incident unharmed.

"I think we're all good." Ryuji stood up…only to recall that Hifumi probably was the only one not fine after what they experienced. "Ah…you good…?"

"Ryuji…! Try to be at least a little more gentle about it." Ann lightly scolded before approaching Hfiumi carefully, placing a hand on her shoulder. "Hey…Hifumi. Are you okay…?"

"I…um…" Hifumi's downtrodden gaze was directed towards the ground. Despite her slight act of rebellion during their escape, it was safe to say that Hifumi was not, in fact, okay. But that was understandable considering what she learned from her own Mother. "…I think…I want to be alone for a little bit…I'm sorry. I'm suddenly very tired. I'm going to go take a nap…"

"That's understandable. You learned quite a bit today…" Yusuke nodded. He of all people could understand how Hifumi felt. It was very similar to when he learned the truth of Madarame…

"What should we do, Ren?" Futaba asked, pushing her glasses up.

"It's your call." Morgana said.

"Let's head to Leblanc." Ren suggested. "It's probably best if we give her some space."

"I'm sorry." Hifumi repeated, feeling like a burden for how useless she was during the conflict.

"Hey, don't worry about it." Ann said with a reassuring smile. "It's not your fault, okay? You didn't do anything wrong. Just…text me, or the group, when you're feeling better."

"I will." Hifumi managed a weak smile, but it failed to reach her eyes. She gave the group a slight wave before heading back into her home, where no one was waiting for her…

Ann frowned. She wanted to be there for Hifumi, but she did need the space. "…."

.

.'

It was a rather quiet train ride to Yogen. Everyone walked into Leblanc, which had a few customers at the moment. Sojiro was glad as ever to see Ren and his friends stop by, but he noticed a few things when they walked in: the slightly downtrodden expressions on their face, and that they were missing one person. "Is everything alright?" Sojiro asked.

"Huh? Oh, yeah." Ren nodded.

"Hifumi just…heard some pretty unfortunate news and she wanted to be alone to digest it." Futaba explained. Unfortunate news was putting it lightly, but they couldn't afford to explain everything to Sojiro.

"Oh, I see. Well, I hope things turn out well for her soon." Sojiro nodded. He didn't need any more information than that either.

"If we bring her back again soon, katsu curry cheers her up." Ann told Sojiro.

"…I'll keep that in mind." Sojiro just nodded from Ann's not so subtle hint.

Now they went upstairs to Ren's room and gathered around. It felt a bit empty holding a team meeting when they were missing one person, but… "Alright, so when are we goin' back in there?" Ryuji asked the others.

"You wish to go back already?" Yusuke asked, a bit surprised at how hasty Ryuji was about this."

"Course I do! We owe it to Hifumi to change her mom's heart!" Ryuji said. "If things go badly for her dad 'n all…and her mom is the only family she has left, and she keeps gettin' treated like that, it won't be good, we all know that. So that's why we gotta act fast to help her!" Ryuji's feelings about this were bubbling for a while, ever since they heard about the truth of Hifumi's situation. Ryuji did have a point, everyone felt the same way. But the thing about Ryuji is that he always acted on his impulsive first thoughts, which is why he got in trouble so much.

"Ryuji, I understand how you feel…" Makoto ran her hand through her hair. "But we can't just rush back in there so quickly."

"And why not!? The sooner the better, right!?" Ryuji said.

"There are people downstairs, be quieter." Ann scolded Ryuji and his raising voice. "Besides…did you forget? Every target we go for has to be unanimous. Everyone has to agree…" Her gaze wandered to the seat Hifumi usually took. It was odd…her, Ren, Makoto, Morgana. Yusuke, Futaba, and Ryuji…it didn't feel like a full group anymore now.

"Yeah…we can't do anything until she wants to." Ren leaned back in his seat. That was the rule they made when creating the Phantom Thieves and they couldn't turn back on it now.

"Damn it…we really gotta sit and do nothing!?" Ryuji hated that more than not getting any recognition for being a Phantom Thief.

"We do not have much choice." Yusuke said.

"It might take her a while to bounce back from that, too." Futaba pulled out some yakisoba noodles and slurped them down.

"It is Hifumi's mother. So she should be involved in this. She has more of a right than anyone to tell us if we should pursue this or not." Makoto was being the logical one, but that didn't mean she felt differently than Ryuji or the others. They just had to approach this situation carefully.

"Man…for real…?" Ryuji let out a defeated sigh.

Morgana didn't really have a lot to add at first. Everyone was covering the points they needed, but something about this situation did irk him. "This is the first time you've all hesitated to take on a target…" That indecisiveness bothered him deeply for a reason he couldn't explain. Whenever they had a target, a brief discussion was all it took to get going. But this was the first time they hesitate.

"I know you want to go back in there too, but it can't be helped…" Ren shrugged. Although Morgana's tone did sound a bit off…he could only assume it was the frustration of what happened to Hifumi speaking. He didn't know if anything else was bothering Morgana, even though he did ask from time to time.

"…Yeah." Morgana said. Between that and Ryuji backing down instantly when being opposed, he felt like this team meeting was going nowhere.

"I suppose all we can do in this situation is wait for Hifumi's input." Makoto surmised. In the end, this meeting was rather fruitless, but this was their best solution for the time being. "I guess this meeting is over."

"Man…" Ryuji was pretty upset, but he understood.

"…." Ann was the quietest. The idea of not being able to help her friend at the moment…reminded her all too much of how she felt with Shiho. It felt like it was happening all over again, but she refused to let that feeling of helplessness take over a second time.

.

.

A few hours passed. Hifumi wasn't sure how long; all she knew was that she fell asleep faster than expected. Groggily lifting her head up from her pillow, her vision needed to focus before she could get moving. How she was hoping that everything she learned was a dream…but no. Her house was still empty, her mother and father weren't home. It felt lonely. Maybe deciding to stay home was a bad idea. "Mmm…" She checked her phone to see if there was anything she missed. A few texts from Futaba, surprisingly. "Hm…?"

Futaba: So, I know you're probably sleeping right now. But you should probably check your name online. Dunno if you'll like it…

That wasn't a good omen. "Oh boy…" Hifumi was about to check, but that's when she saw another text…from Mika. Right, they did exchange contact information before she went to the beach, she nearly forgot about that. "What's this one say…?"

Mika: Are you home right now?

It was fairly recent too. Shrugging, Hifumi decided to respond.

Hifumi: Yes. But mother is not here if that's who you're looking for.

Hifumi was about to check online as Futaba suggested, but the doorbell rang. No way was Mika already here. Shuffling out of bed, Hifumi walked to the front door and opened it. Surprisingly, it was Mika. "Oh, Mika-?"

"I came as soon as I heard. Your mother asked me to drop by in case you were home." Mika said with a nod, stepping inside.

"Um…heard what…?" Hifumi tilted her head. For some reason, she didn't like where this was going.

"About your dad." Mika explained. "It was just leaked in an article online."

"What…!?" Hifumi's eyes went wide and she finally checked her name. Just as Futaba mentioned…

"Rising Star Hifumi Togo's Father has been hospitalized. How will the undefeated queen of shogi respond to this development!?"

"No….way…" Hifumi couldn't believe it. Was this how her mother planned on sharing the news?! If Hifumi found out like this, she wasn't sure if it would be more or less devastating. Either way, the fact that her mother was planning to hide this from her until now was…painful. Even as much as her Shadow claimed she cared for Mitsurugi, she was using his condition as a popularity stunt! Hifumi couldn't believe her mother was willing to go this far…

"It must be hard, I'm sure. But don't worry." Mika said with her usual smile. "Like I said, I'll be here to help you whenever you need it. It's the least I could do." And what Mitsuyo would prefer rather than Ann be there. But Hifumi was a bit too distraught to really think about that right now.

"I…I see…thank you, Mika…" Hifumi flashed a weak smile. Today was emotionally draining and Hifumi was just…tired.

.

.

Even though the group disbanded for the day, that didn't mean they were entirely out of options. Ren had one person he could turn to when it came to medical matters. There was a good chance Takemi would at least know what sort of sickness Hifumi's father had…maybe even a chance she could help where the hospitals couldn't. It was worth a shot and as far as he was concerned, Takemi was the best doctor he knew as well. Ren sat in Takemi's office while she sat at her desk, legs crossed. "Two favors in one month? You're lucky I like you enough." Takemi's tone was a bit of a playful one, though. She didn't mind helping Ren out since he was doing so much for her research. Just a bit more and she could save that girl… "Want an apple? It's from one of my elderly patients. She gave me a lot. Too many, actually."

"Sure. And thanks in advanced." Ren nodded, reaching out to take an apple and had a bite. It wasn't bad. "So, I needed your expertise on something. A friend of mine's dad is real sick, so I was wondering if…"

Before Ren could finish, a man practically barged into the room. He was a older man clad in a suit, carrying a briefcase with him. Takemi's expression soured but also had a bit of surprise within it. "Chief Oyamada…"

"There was a medical conference nearby, so I thought I'd check up on you." The man known as Oyamada said, gaze slowly turning to Ren. "Who's this? He doesn't look like a patient."

"He's a part timer." Takemi explained. "I've been having him do some things for me. But did you have some business with me?"

"I heard you stole one of my patients. Oyamada said, glaring. "A girl with bronchitis. She came here with her father."

Oh yeah, that girl. Takemi did take great joy in treating Oyamada's patient, but it wasn't like she was willing to at first. "Well, I had no intentions of taking her from you. I certainly didn't encourage her to visit my clinic either."

"She didn't." Ren added. Whether his input was appreciated by Oyamada or not didn't matter to him, he was here to support Takemi.

Oyamada, however, didn't seem to care whether Takemi wanted to treat them or not. "Now there's talk that the care at a university hospital is inferior to that of a general practitioner! 'Original medicine'. Ha! What you're doing here is simply absurd!"

Well. Takemi couldn't fight that one. "…You're right."

"I would've turned a blind eye if you had just rotted away out here in this little town…But this is your final warning. Shut this place down and resign your medical license." Oyamada was making a heavy demand.

Ren wasn't going to stand and watch this. He stood up, giving Oyamada a defiant stare. "She's a great doctor. Please be quiet."

"What did you say!?" Oyamada turned to Ren.

"Heh…it's fine, don't worry about it." Takemi appreciated Ren's support. The slight smile on her lips said it all.

"You seem rather fond of this woman…" Oyamada scoffed. "Perhaps I should reveal this woman's true identity. She is a monster who tortured a patient with unregulated medicine! Terrible, isn't it? She was such a brave girl, always smiling."

Takemi's smile faded. "…Was..?"

"She passed away." Oyamada said calmly and glanced at Ren once more. "Perhaps you'll suffer the same fate? She is the Plague after all…"

No. No no no no. This was not real. Takemi refused to believe this. "Don't you dare lie to me! She should still have some time! She was slowly recovering! Her condition couldn't have deteriorated that quickly!"

"But it did. You must've misjudged." Oyamada said. "It wouldn't be the first time now would it? Now, back to the reason I came here. Don't ever take another patient from me again. …You don't want to make me angry. This is your last warning." He then left, letting his words hang heavy over Takemi's head.

As soon as Oyamada left, Takemi collapsed to her knees, her heart dropping along with the rest of her body. "Miwa-chan's…dead…?" Everything Takemi was doing was for that girl. "Everything I was working for….curing her was my only…"

"Hey, Doc…don't lose hope…" Ren said.

Takemi didn't respond. Her despair made her deaf to Ren's words. "What have I been doing all this time…what was even the point…?"

"…Hey, anything I can do…?"

Somehow, that snapped her out of it. Takemi appreciated his offer. "No…I'll be fine. Thank you." She composed herself, standing back up and managed a smile. How embarrassing that was now that she thought back on it. "I wish I hadn't shown you that side of me…"

"It's fine…I'm glad you did. Means you trust me, right?" Ren asked.

"…You are? Well…I suppose that's fine." Takemi closed her eyes. She was feeling a tiny bit better, but this was mostly a front so Ren wouldn't have to worry. "Go on home for today. We'll continue this another time."

"Right…see you later." Ren nodded and made his exit from Takemi's office. Even he was starting to feel emotionally drained from today's events. First Hifumi, now Takemi, all of his friends were getting plagued with terrible news. What made it worse? There was hardly a thing he could do for them right now. Even as a Phantom Thief, there were still moments of helplessness he couldn't overcome. What an irritating feeling…and of course, this left him at a loss as well, with only one question on his mind.

What was the next step?