Chapter VII: Behind the Masks


One evening at Shu's home, Shu and Inori invited several of Funeral Parlor's members for a dinner gathering. Among the guests were Gai, Ayase, Tsugumi, Heath, Akiko, Argo, and Walter. Offering to help Inori in the kitchen, Ayase and Tsugumi assisted with preparing a salad and baking some bread.

Watching Inori taste testing some of her miso soup, Ayase cut up some carrots.

"Thank you for offering to help. It means a lot," Inori said.

"No problem-o! I'll make sure that bread comes out nice and toasty!" Tsugumi responded with a thumbs up.

"Hey, Inori. So, how's living with Shu been like?" Ayase asked the pink-haired songstress, who looked back perplexed by the question.

"What do you mean?"

"What's it been like staying with Shu and his mom?"

"It's been fine. Haruka has been kind enough to let me use her kitchen to make Shu and I meals."

"Heh, Shu must feel really spoiled, right?"

"I do what I can to provide him with the proper nutrition if he's going to perform adequately on missions."

"I see. Well, maybe you can show me some recipes? I'd like to learn to cook as well as you."

Inori handed Ayase a soup spoon. "Would you like to mix the soup for me?"

"Well, anyone can do that. I mean, show me what ingredients you use to make meals."

Upon hearing this, Tsugumi snickered. "Are you asking Inori to help you cook for a certain member in our crew? Does his name start and end with an 'H'. Hmmm?" This elicited an annoyed reaction from her best friend.

"Oh, stop it, Tsugumi!"

"Sure, I can show you what ingredients I use, Ayase," Inori smiled.

"Thanks."

As the ladies finished preparing the meal, they sat down with Shu and the others. They were blessed with beef stew, seaweed salad, miso soup, and over-baked Italian bread. When everyone tried the seaweed salad and bread, they were shocked to find out Ayase and Tsugumi helped prepare it.

"Damn, this is good stuff, Tsugumi!" Argo added, stuffing his mouth with bread.

"Hey, slow down, Argo!" Tsugumi chastised him.

"Man, this seaweed salad is delicious. You prepared it well, Ayase," Heath praised her culinary skills.

"Thanks, I try," Ayase responded, feeling proud of herself over Heath's satisfaction.

"Don't sell yourself short, Ayase. You were already a good cook for us. You, Inori, and Tsugumi truly outdid yourselves tonight," Gai graciously credited the three ladies.

"Yeah, you three put in the work and it showed," Shu nodded as Inori sat in the chair between him and Gai. "I'm glad we chose tonight for the dinner gathering. When Haruka told me she was going to be staying in at work for a couple of days, it was perfect timing."

"You chose well, Shu," Heath said.

"Hell yeah, you did!" Akiko energetically added.

"We're glad you invited us."

"Well, consider this a celebration of me, Heath, and Akiko being involved with the crew," Shu said, raising a water glass. Everyone else followed suit and lifted their glasses and toasted over Funeral Parlor's latest and successful endeavors.

As he looked over to Inori, Shu noticed her drinking her miso soup.

"Hey, Inori. I think you, Ayase, and Tsugumi should cook for us more."

"Really?"

"Yeah."

Inori patted her lips with a napkin and smiled softly. "Then, if that is what you want."

Tsugumi then playfully elbowed Ayase's side. "Heh, go on and say you want to make Heath some meals."

"Whoa, don't say that out loud, Tsugumi!"

"I don't mind. I'd like to see what else you, Tsugumi, and Inori can whip up together next," Heath broadened his smile toward Ayase, who felt flustered from his friendly demeanor.

"Leave it to us!" Tsugumi openly boasted.

"Well, you'll have to wait and see," Ayase modestly laughed. When she and Inori exchanged momentary glances, they smiled and nodded with acknowledgment of each other's culinary skills and companionship.


Around June 2039, Funeral Parlor were involved in a mission encountering the people of Meisei Academy and a mysterious fugitive named Overdose. Among the Meisei Academy students they encountered: Hinata Hiyori and her classmates Sakuma Misaki, Shinjou Yuna, and Kitazari Shuichi. Overdose was someone who was rumored to possess a mysterious power, which was confirmed when Shu extracted her Void. This event was known as the Princess of Deadpool.

In July 2039, a week before summer vacation for Tennouzu High School, Funeral Parlor was running out of supplies. They once again mentioned the OAU, so they decided to ally with the Kuhouin Group led by Arisa's grandfather, Okina.

Shortly after, Funeral Parlor met up at a party on a cruise ship, which Shu and Gai were involved with. At the party, Gai, dressed in a stylish white suit and posing, even summed up the event in a few words, "In a nutshell, yeah." Haruka was also involved at the party and interacted with Okina, presumably discussing each other's business matters. Haruka had mentioned a conference being set for her stepson's school Tennouzu High. Oogumo appeared and met Kurachi, a secretary of the Kuhouin Group. Kurachi also reunited with Haruka as old friends socialized to catch up on each other's lives.

Meanwhile, Daryl, Segai, and Rowan met up with Dan Eagleman with plans to shoot down the cruise ship with dragoon missiles. Gai lured Arisa to the upper deck, allowing Shu to extract and use Arisa's Shield of the Coward Void to stop the incoming missiles. With the threat removed, Arisa's grandfather agreed to help supply Funeral Parlor. Before leaving, Gai commented that despite Arisa's tough self-image, she was very shy when being doted on by others. However unaware, Arisa's first impressions of Gai became a possessive obsession in wanting to know more about him and escaping her strict reputation.


One morning at Tennouzu High, and a full day before summer vacation starts, an eventful conference was held for the students. All of the students, including Shu's class and their homeroom teacher, went into a full auditorium being hosted by Shu's stepmother Ouma Haruka. Upon seeing Haruka with the principal on stage, Shu was taken aback by her impromptu appearance. Of course, he remembered Haruka hinting at a big surprise a couple of days ago.

With their schools' last day of the semester ending early for summer vacation, Ayase and Tsugumi visited Shu and his friends. Ayase and Tsugumi came wearing their Tora High School uniforms. Tsugumi also came wearing two new hairpins she recently created that resembled Inori's Singer's Sword, which she put on the upper sides of her head's other hairpins.

Also being let out early for summer vacation, Walter came specifically to visit his friends Heath and Akiko. The three were briefly introduced to and interacted with Shu's other classmates Souta, Hare, and Kanon. They were wholly unaware Ayase, Tsugumi, and Walter are involved with Funeral Parlor. Afterward, they joined Shu's classmates for Haruka's conference.

"Good morning, students. Today, you're about to learn about a scientific breakthrough that will most certainly astound you. So, please welcome our honored guest, Dr. Ouma Haruka, the Senior Researcher of Sephirah Genomics," the principal opened up the stage for Haruka's conference. After leaving the podium, Haruka took the principal's place and genuinely greeted the Tennouzu High student body.

"Good morning, Tennouzu High. Yes, you're all looking bright this morning, aren't you? Well, I hope you're ready to open your minds to some science today! Now, not to bore you with the flagrant details, I'll just say that I am a researcher of Sephirah Genomics, which is involved with GHQ," Haruka chuckled while adjusting her microphone. "Excuse me. Today, this isn't about GHQ or Sephirah Genomics. Today, I'm about to unveil to you a scientific breakthrough that was once thought to be infeasible. But before I begin, I must acknowledge my sweet little boy sitting in the crowd watching his dear mom lecturing about science."

Without saying his name, Haruka already got Shu's attention. Having heard her acknowledge him, Shu's face turned bright pink, sinking into his chair with his classmates, Ayase, and Tsugumi grinning toward him. Inori said nothing and instead propped Shu back in his seat.

"Aww, you're a mommy's boy," Akiko playfully teased Shu.

"Heh, don't worry. It doesn't look like anyone even notices," Tsugumi noted the student body not even bothering to notice Shu's presence.

"Lucky you, Shu," Ayase chuckled.

"Make sure you're sitting up so a teacher doesn't think you're sleeping," Inori advised him.

"Gee, thanks, 'mom'," Shu sardonically muttered, eliciting a soft giggle from the pink-haired songstress.

On the other hand, Haruka's appearance during the conference caused a lot of other unwanted attention as if being asked about his arrest by GHQ and the rumors spreading from it weren't enough.

"Pardon me. What you will see with your own eyes, you'll be left with so many questions. Many of you will be left in awe. Others will question us tampering with God's work. Others will try to suspend their disbelief despite what they'll see. And there will be others who will ask how we made what I will show you possible. Yes, I will agree that scientists shouldn't be trying to do God's work, but we've come so far as a species. With our advanced minds, we humans have become creative and scientific minds. We've become such a resilient species that we've managed to turn back the clock against time, extend our lifespans, establish agricultural societies that have brought us out of an archaic hunter-gatherer lifestyle, create social & political systems, develop new technologies, extend our talents through the arts & literature, and build healthier lifestyles to ensure our wellness. We, humans, are the only species to have accomplished these and gained a wealth of knowledge. Yet, I believe we humans haven't fully reached our full potential. I'm sure you're all well aware of the attempts and successes with animal cloning? None of us were alive when this happened, but in 1996, the first animal to be cloned was Dolly the sheep."

She turned toward a virtual screen that displayed a photographic image of the aforementioned sheep clone. "Now, this subject was successfully cloned from an adult cell. She is quite the cutie, isn't she?" When she pressed a switch, the next visual showed a closeup of a cell. "This is the mammary cell used to clone Dolly. You see, these cells were taken from a six-year-old ewe and fostered in a lab with microscopic needles. Afterward, they were implanted in several surrogate ewes. After nearly 150 days, one of them gave birth to Dolly. Of course, this scientific breakthrough caused a storm of controversy within the scientific community. Many saw cloning technology as a method to preserve endangered species. Others viewed it as unsafe and unethical, especially if it lead to the next logical step through human cloning. Well, sadly, it turns out the skeptics might've been right. A few years after Dolly's marvelous birth, and shortly after giving birth to four lambs, she developed arthritis in her hind legs, which raised concerns about genetic abnormalities that may have been caused by the cloning process. And then after a progressive lung disease, Dolly passed away in 2003. Her early death raised even more questions about cloning animals and humans."

Haruka then showed a visual image of a stuffed white sheep on display. "Today, we as scientists commemorate Dolly the sheep as an ambassador for animal cloning, and she is still on display at the National Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh." She then turned off the display and heard murmurs among the student body. "Yes, I hear the discussions. You're wondering where I'm going with this? Well, it's been over 40 years since Dolly was first cloned. Back then, she was considered a scientific breakthrough. Nowadays, it's rather common to clone a mammal species, or any modern animal today. We've been able to save many species from extinction, including the large mammals that were teetering toward extinction. We've been able to save the African & Asian elephants, the remaining rhinoceros & tiger species, and countless birds and insects. However, unlike 40 years ago, scientific technology has progressed so far in such a short time that even has me astounded. Since those 40 years, and with GHQ's aid, countless species that've gone extinct in historical times have been revived. How? Scientists have been able to revive dead cells within genomes. Allow me to show you an example."

Haruka then presented a visual image of a yellow-furred canine-like creature with black tiger streaks along its back. "Science has been able to bring back the thylacine, otherwise known as the Tasmanian tiger or Marsupial wolf. The last living species named Benjamin died in a Tasmanian zoo in the 1930s, and since there have only been unconfirmed sightings of living thylacines with no concrete evidence. In 1999, scientists at the Australian Museum began the Thylacine Cloning Project and it took many years but thanks to scientists who'd later form GHQ, used an extracted DNA from a female Thylacine tissue and cloned two Thylacine. A male and a female. That was over 15 years ago and since then a dozen thylacines have been bred and kept in captivity."

The scientist then shifted to the next talking point, showing a holoscreen powerpoint showing three pictures of an Iguanodon on the left side with a faint light green glow, a Megalosaurus in the middle with a faint light red glow, and a Hylaeosaurus on the right with a faint light blue glow first appearing in their Crystal Palace appearances when first discovered in the 1800s.

"Yes, now where am I going with this? Well, pay attention kids. First, yes I'm aware of how awfully inaccurate and outdated these guys look compared to how they're supposed to look today. Let me fix that with the power of science magic!" With that, she clicked on the screen as the three dinosaur holo-screen images evolved into their scientifically accurate depictions.

"Ahh, yes! Much better! That's more appealing to the eyes, isn't it, kids?" Haruka smirked as the student body murmured while others ridiculed the silly-looking outdated appearances from nearly 200 years ago. The holo-screen images from the powerpoint then related to Haruka's next topic of discussion concerning the three dinosaurs: a selection of four locations of formations showing selective species. These slides even showed what the natural habitats may have looked like during prehistoric times. "Now, what am I showing here? Not only are these not depictions of dinosaurs you often see in the movies, but these are the accurate appearances of dinosaurs. Now, you're probably wondering, 'Well, how do you know what they really looked like? You can't possibly know what color they were.' Well, you'd be right if we didn't know what dinosaurs looked like. But what if I told you we've found a way?" With a wink and a knowing smile, Haruka then heard the murmurings become louder among the students.

However, Shu and the other Funeral Parlor members, sans Inori who was unconscious and Heath & Akiko who weren't there when it happened, weren't surprised to see this after their encounter with the Fafnir rex. As far as they were aware, the GHQ monster that attacked them wasn't a scientifically accurate dinosaur either.

"If that thing we fought and Shu killed was proof, then I'm willing to believe anything," Ayase remarked, reflecting on her near-death skirmish against the Fafnir rex.

"Don't tell me mom had anything to do with that monster's creation," Shu muttered as he painstakingly watched Haruka's presentation.

"You mean that creature you told us about, Shu?" Heath asked him, who nodded in response to his inquiry.

Haruka then clicked on the screen and pulled up a new slide, which displayed the names of the four formations with the selective species and artistic depictions of palaeoenvironments featuring several dinosaur species on the single environment illustrations:

Ojo Alamo Formation
3 Dineobellator, 2 Ojoceratops, and 2 Alamosaurus

Elliot Formation
Plateosauravus

Lourinhã Formation
Eousdryosaurus

Yixian Formation
1 Yutyrannus and 2 Beipiaosaurus

"So, do you remember when I mentioned cloning as a way to save endangered species from going extinct? Science has been able to save several large mammals and countless other species. We've been able to revive historically extinct species. Now, thanks to myself, a few of GHQ's lenient scientists, and other scientists from around the world, we've been able to revive species that've been extinct for over 65 million years."

As Haruka turned away from the students, several GHQ scientists and international researchers walked on stage. One of these scientists is French from Eastern France and has an advanced technician's certificate in Nature's Protection and Management. The scientific parties then announced the idea of an extinct zoo to be built in Tokyo, which was conceived by a few of GHQ's lenient scientists and other interested international scientists from other corporations outside Japan. However, they've announced a few setbacks and neglected to mention Japan and its economy under strict dictatorship by GHQ and their main branch.

"After we put our brilliant and creative minds together, we thought if we could bring back historically extinct species, we could go several steps beyond and revive prehistoric species. It's already been tried and succeeded with the Woolly Mammoth, now reviving the non-avian dinosaurs is the next logical step. Now, wait there's more. Do you want proof? Well, ask no more."

With that, Haruka beckoned the GHQ scientists to show a sample demo of cloning an Albalophosaurus. As if that wasn't enough to astound the students, faculty, and other guests, the demo showed a juvenile green-scaled Albalophosaurus with a body length larger than a housecat, a parrot-like beak, and tufts of feathered filaments on its tail. Every guest was left stunned at the sight of a dinosaur coming to life.

"What you just saw was the first real dinosaur to be cloned in history. Yes, you witness history in the making. Over 40 years ago, a sheep was cloned. Now, we made history and revived the first non-avian dinosaur. Now, why don't we bring out Murphy?"

As another GHQ scientist pushed a cart on the stage, the same Albalophosaurus was seen displayed inside a glass dome. Every guest, including Shu, was left in awe at the sight of the first non-avian dinosaur since the last ones died off over 65 million years ago.

"It's ok, Murphy. They're not going to hurt you," Haruka kindly assured the confused dinosaur. "If you haven't already noticed, I am Murphy's caretaker. Not only has he been under my care, but I've worked tirelessly to ensure he survives with no defects. I wanted to ensure he didn't share the same fate as Dolly did. For the record, Murphy is an Albalophosaurus, a member of the ceratopsians. That's also the family that includes the famous Triceratops. He's one of the earliest members and was an exclusive species living in Japan. Their remains were found in the Kuwajima Formation of central Japan."

When he heard his stepmom mention working tireless nights, Shu now understood why Haruka was away from home most of the week.

"So, this is what your mother's been committing her endless hours towards. This explains why we don't see her often," Inori addressed Shu, who nodded knowingly.

"I just can't believe she's been taking care of a dinosaur of all things. I'm just glad this one is docile compared to that monster we fought."

"B-But, this is… impossible?" Akiko was flabbergasted.

"Was it deemed impossible for man to land and walk on the moon? Yes, but we did it anyway," Walter said.

"But, this is an even bigger leap than the freaking moon landing, I think," Heath muttered, trying to comprehend the living dinosaur he and the others were seeing with their eyes.

"Well, if there's anyone with the technology to bring dinosaurs back, it's GHQ," Ayase gritted with frustration in her tone. "My legs and spine could be treated with accessible health care, and possibly healed, but they chose to bring back animals that had their time on this planet."

"Well, mom said it's just one group within GHQ. They wouldn't be involved with the medical division," Shu said. "Still, you have a point. How do we know dinosaurs could survive in modern times? Modern foods might not even be good for their diets."

"You've illustrated a great point, Shu. However, as your mom pointed out, the animals they've managed to revive from extinction haven't faced any health defects. Maybe these dinosaurs will fare just fine?" Walter asserted.

When Haruka opened the dome, she touched and caressed Murphy's face to calm the stressed animal down. After getting Murphy under control, she and the other scientists moved on to the next topic related to dinosaur cloning. They showed an image of the Fafnir rex on the holoscreen powerpoint, which elicited apprehensive looks from Shu, Ayase, and Tsugumi. Although she had been unconscious when the Fafnir rex was released against them, Inori had heard about her friends' survival battle against the GHQ creation.

"This is another way we've been cloning dinosaurs. Murphy is an example of reviving a species for conservation reasons. What you see here is what happens when you combine the genes of various species and create a new hybrid or a Frankenstein monster as I like to call them. The Fafnir rex was our first hybrid subject, which GHQ has taken for warfare use," Haruka tapped the screen, moving the Fafnir rex image to the side as she showed the next hybrid.

The second hybrid is a gray-scaled and lavender-spotted Triceratops-like ceratopsian with three ivory horns and frill spikes. On its back and tail are sharp yellow spikes, which would appear to be used for self-defense.

"This subject was called the Siegceratops. Allow me for you all to know what it may have sounded like," Haruka said as she asked one of the GHQ scientists to push a button, which came out of the school speakers.

The sound that came out of the speakers were low and deep breath-like grunts and soft bellows. Then, aggressive grunts and bellows came out of the speakers, startling most of the students who didn't expect more sound samples. When a loud grunt came out of the speaker near them, Tsugumi shrieked and jumped on Ayase's lap, eliciting some laughter from students.

"Those are roars of what may have been from a Siegceratops, but it was not to be. We scrapped the entire hybrid cloning experiments due to expensive costs and opted to go with the cheaper costs of cloning an animal such as the Albalophosaurus. And ultimately, we made the right call. Instead of creating hybrids as biological weapons, we wanted to preserve real prehistoric species for our proposed extinct zoo. Murphy has the distinct honor of being the first genuine dinosaur to be cloned in history and he will be an ambassador for our extinct zoo plans."

As Haruka continued her historical conference, the students and faculty members marveled at Murphy and over the proposed extinct zoo that will house endemic Japanese prehistoric species. Many became fascinated with the overall concepts but others questioned whether this is ethically right and if the zoo will be financially viable.

"Extinct zoo? Who are they kidding? How are they gonna hold big ass dinosaurs?" Akiko scoffed.

"People find a way," Heath shrugged. "Maybe your mom knows what she's doing, Shu?"

"I'd like to believe that. Haruka's always had good intentions and she's been taking good care of Murphy," Shu said with a meaningful smile.

"Even based on our interactions, Haruka's a well-meaning woman and a good caretaker. She raised you well, Shu," Inori added.

Other than Shu, his classmates, and Funeral Parlor members, other students had invested interest in the conference. Sitting several rows in front of Shu and his classmates is a teenage boy with short, neck-length light brown and black hair named Irino. Sitting several seats on Irino's right side is a delinquent teenage male named Kazama with wild orange hair and wearing his uniform shirt unbuttoned. Sitting two rows behind Irino and Kazama is a teenage boy with neck-length straight blonde hair and glasses named Yūki. Seated next to Yūki is a teenage girl with long light brown hair named Kana. With both being freshmen, Yūki and Kana are a grade below Shu and his classmates.

Seated two rows behind Yūki and Kana is a dark brown-haired male crossdresser wearing a female Tennouzu High School uniform named Hoshi. He has his hair worn in a long, back-length ponytail style coupled with a red bow tied at the end tail of it. Seated next to Hoshi is another teenage male with unkempt neck-length dark blue hair named Kenji. Both are boyfriends, and without anyone noticing the male couple held hands. Unbeknownst to the other students, Hoshi and Kenji weren't just a couple but had already gotten intimate with each other in sex.

Not far from the male couple is another homosexual couple: two teenage girls named Rika and Nanako. Rika has short, neck-length vermillion hair with a left nostril piercing. Nanako has long, back-length curled dark brown hair, ear piercings, and pink lipstick. Rika and Nanako prided themselves as rivals toward Hoshi and Kenji's relationship. So much so both ladies were jealous of Hoshi being more beautiful than either of them.

Following the hour and a half conference, the students filled out of the auditorium and prepared to head for their classrooms. Before leaving with his classmates, Shu tried to find Haruka to talk about her presentation, but she was already caught up being questioned by faculty members about her ambitious project. Knowing she was going to be bombarded with inquiries, Haruka wouldn't have time to talk to him.

After leaving the auditorium, Shu caught up with his friends. Then, Shu and his classmates took their time showing Ayase, Tsugumi, and Walter around the school. Along the way, they ran into one of the visiting guests: a middle-aged woman in her 40's with short, neck-length faded dark brown hair and tired eyes. She came dressed in a long-sleeved light yellow dress shirt with dark green, bright yellow, and gray stripes, a canary yellow long dress, and white dress shoes.

"Oh, pardon me, kids," the woman kindly addressed Shu and his friends.

"You're not a teacher here. Otherwise, I'd recognize you," Shu addressed the woman.

"Yes, I would've seen you before. Are you new?" Hare queried.

"Oh, no. I'm just a visitor, but I do teach at another school. It's an academy with a higher academic status than either Roppongi or Tennouzu High. Since we got out early, I came by because I wanted to see the conference," the woman casually replied. "Pardon me, kids, but my name is Ms. Kawakami."

"What's the name of this academy?" Heath asked Kawakami.

"Shujin Academy."

"You mean that top elite prep school?!" Souta exclaimed.

"Yeah, I heard the education and academics are tougher there than most high schools, including ours!" Kanon said.

"I heard that school one had a bad reputation due to a sleazy individual but Shujin's gotten better since," Akiko stated.

"Wow, you kids know your stuff, but you two especially don't appear to be full Japanese," Kawakami said, eyeing Heath and Akiko specifically and noticing slight English accents through their speech patterns.

"Our mother is Japanese, but not our father," Heath replied.

"Yeah, we've been working on our Japanese much better than we used to."

Kawakami smiled. "I see. I had a couple of students like you, especially one about 20 years ago. She was quite beautiful. Her name was Ann."

"Ms. Kawakami? Don't mind me prying but you look fatigued," Walter noticed the woman's tired eyes despite wearing a peaceful smile.

"It's been a tough starting year for me. I had a lot more students in my class than usual, and we just had our exams. And of course, times have been kinda tough with the government hardly funding us. I work another job to purchase books and school supplies. You're not wrong though, Shujin Academy's academics are tougher than other schools."

"Geez, that sounds rough for you," Tsugumi said.

"Tora High isn't exactly an elite school like Shujin, but our school is good," Ayase stated.

"Neither is Roppongi High where I come from," Walter added.

"Well, I'm glad you kids are staying in school and not getting into trouble in your schools. Shujin's not a place for slackers."

Souta muttered. "Man, I don't think I'd survive a year in Shujin Academy, much less a few months. It doesn't sound like a place for me."

"You're a slacker here anyway," Kanon remarked.

"Looking at you kids, you remind me of students of mine from 20 years ago. They were good kids, but there was something mysterious about them. Almost like they were living double lives, and one of them was a young boy. He was a transfer student, and though he only attended for a year, he left an unforgettable impression on me. His name was Ren," Kawakami said. "I'm getting a similar vibe from you, kids." She then sadly sighed. "But sadly, there were former students from that time that died back in Lost Christmas. Ryuji, Haru, Shiho, and Mishima were among those who died… and it broke me learning about their deaths. At that time, they were barely students I knew. Now, they're no longer with us." She started breaking down into tears, leading Shu, Heath, Akiko, and Walter to console her. "Thank you, but it's tragic knowing kids you knew died some years later. They should've lived on to have long lives!"

"I'm sorry, Ms. Kawakami. What happened that day was horrific," Shu said.

Having heard from Kawakami's backstory, Shu and his friends wondered if there was a chance they'd find and meet these surviving Shujin classmates.

When she got a closer look at Akiko, Kawakami noticed the girl's hair accessory and gasped.

"Akiko, is it?"

"That's me."

"Your hair accessory looks familiar, sweetie."

"It does? This is my…"

"I remember a young woman wearing a similar hair accessory. Tell me, are you her daughter?"

Touching her hair accessory, Akiko slightly frowned. "My mom… yeah, this is her hair accessory."

Kawakami softly smiled in response. "I see, is she doing ok?"

"Yeah, she's still alive if that's what you're asking."

"Our parents are still alive, but we're living with grandparents at the moment," Heath answered.

"That's good. I apologize for prying into your personal affairs."

"No, it's ok, Ms. Kawakami," Akiko smiled.

Turning away from Heath and Akiko, Kawakami addressed Walter. "And you said you're attending Roppongi High?"

"Yes, Ms. Kawakami."

"I remember interacting with four teens. I remember them telling me they went to Roppongi High. They came to visit Ren and his friends' 2021 Shujin Academy reunion. They were good kids. I distinctly remember their names being Shinya, Owen, Reiko, and Li-Ming."

"I'm surprised you remember their names, Ms. Kawakami," Shu was taken aback by the woman's good memory retention.

"I'm good with faces and names. I hardly forget the good people I've interacted with. I try to forget the ones who've wronged me."

"Don't worry, Ms. Kawakami. We won't let you down," Ayase reassured the tired woman.

"That's right! We're going to do good and not fall into any trouble!" Hare openly vowed, evoking a shining beacon of hope to lift Kawakami's spirits.

"Well, well, what do we have here?" A condescending tone interjected into the conversation, causing Shu and his friends to put up their guards.

Everyone, including Kawakami, saw Nanba, Sudou, Ritsu, and Miyabi walking up to them. The four students sneered at Shu and his friends. Getting an off-putting vibe from this 'Pack' of four, Kawakami once remembered a similar 'Pack group' back in the aforementioned Shujin Academy 2021 reunion.

"Heh, well if it isn't 'Shoe' and his group of losers," Nanba chortled, getting right up into Shu's face, even mocking him with an insulting name.

"Who are you calling losers?!" Souta angrily retorted as Sudou stepped in his way.

"We're calling you losers, 'Soda'," Sudou mocked him.

"That's right. How can I forget that lame one-sided crush you had for me, 'Soda' boy! But, I'm not into soda, they're not good at sucking things," Ritsu cruelly smirked. "Besides, Sudou showed me he has a bigger cock than you, 'Soda' boy. Remember when I sent it to your phone? Hah, you should've seen your reaction!"

Sudou mockingly laughed at Souta. "You thought you had a chance with a hot babe like Ritsu. You?! Not a fucking chance, man!"

"Heh, right. You could never be twice the man Sudou is, 'Soda' boy," Ritsu said, pulling Sudou by his tie as she leaned over and made out with him right where Souta watched up close.

Miyabi sighed. "Do you two need to do that here?"

Nanba then approached Ayase and Tsugumi. "And the hell are you two? Ah, you're from Tora High. A piece of shit school for losers like you two."

Tsugumi scowled. "We Tigers are not losers!"

Ayase frowned toward Nanba. "Better being rejects than condescending pricks who prey on the weak."

"Wow, you two are so cool that you need to show us what you two do in your spare time in between classes," Akiko rebuked Sudou and Ritsu's makeout session. "Is that why I see you sucking lollipops a lot, Ritsu? You need that extra practice to suck your man's minuscule schlong?"

Having felt her nerves being struck, Ritsu growled. "You shut up! And how would you know Sudou has a small cock?!" When she said this, Sudou's face turned red.

"I don't know. You tell me. That's what Sudou told me."

"She's lying, Ritsu! I never told her anything!" Sudou shouted.

"Please, kids! Not here! Or I'll contact this school's principal!" Kawakami yelled out.

Sneering toward Kawakami, Nanba scoffed. "You're not a teacher here. So, I advise you to mind your business, woman."

"Don't you talk to Ms. Kawakami that way!" Shu quickly interjected and stood up for Kawakami's behalf. As Inori noticed a serious glare in Shu's eyes, she watched him exuding enough confidence in his body language and tone, which was enough to scare off the Pack.

"Come, my friends. We've made our point here," Nanba, slightly put off by Shu's confident stance, recalled his three colleagues.

"Hey, next time you look for your guy's pecker, don't forget the magnifying glass!" Akiko mocked Ritsu, who angrily walked off in a huff with Sudou trying to calm her down.

"And what about you? Got anything you want to say to us?" Ayase fiercely turned toward Miyabi, who shrieked and quickly ran off to regroup with the rest of the Pack.

"Thought so," Tsugumi smirked as she and Ayase fist-bumped.

"I'm sorry you had to see that, Ms. Kawakami," Heath apologized to the Shujin teacher.

"No, thank you. I was worried for you kids. Those four already gave me bad vibes before they opened their mouths."

Inori bowed. "Please, allow us to guide you to the front office."

"No, I'll be ok, but thank you."

"Say, you almost went full teacher mode there yelling at them like that," Walter pointed out.

"That's what happens when you've been teaching for over 20 years as I have!" As the woman gave a boastful laugh, Shu and his group slightly chuckled in unison.

"I hope those four didn't put you off from visiting our school again, Ms. Kawakami," Hare said.

"Nonsense, I think I'll be coming by for conference events. Besides, you kids remind me of Ren and his friends so much, I hope to see you all again sometime."

"We appreciate your visit and please be safe on your way out," Shu nodded.

"Thank you."

As they watched Kawakami leave, Shu and his friends were already making plans to visit the prefecture where Shujin Academy is during summer vacation. They also hope to find and meet the surviving students that once attended Shujin Academy and knew Kawakami personally.

"So, you guys want to go to Shibuya during our summer break?" Heath asked Shu and the others. "Well, we'd be willing to introduce you to our parents' friends."

"My folks may be there, too," Walter stated.

"Yeah, maybe even our folks if they bother to show," Akiko scoffed. "Especially mom." She then muttered condescendingly about anytime she mentioned her mother.

"We'd be happy to come," Shu openly accepted the Jones' invitation.

"Man, I haven't been to Shibuya since I was little," Souta said.

"What do you think, Ayase?" Tsugumi asked her friend. "Besides, you'll get to meet Heath's folks."

"Well, I guess I could if I'm not intruding."

"You're not, Ayase, and I'd be happy if you did come."

"Then, I'm coming," resolutely answered Ayase.

"That's great."

"What do you say, Inori?" Shu asked his pink-haired friend, who smiled and nodded.

"I'd be happy to come as well."

"Man, remember last summer, guys?" Souta asked Shu, Hare, and Kanon. "We were freshmen then. How could we forget our school trip to Tsushima Island? Who knew that was the place where those Mongols invaded?!"

"Yeah, and the same place we saw that Tsushima leopard cat? I'll never forget when a caretaker showed one to us. Wasn't it so cute?" Kanon added.

Hare concurred and nodded. "Yes, I even still have pictures from last year." As she took out her phone, she showed Inori, Heath, Akiko, Walter, Ayase, and Tsugumi photos of her, Shu, and the other classmates on Tsushima Island. She even showed a photo of her petting the Tsushima leopard cat. "Isn't it cute?"

"Awww, so adorable!" Tsugumi squealed jovially at the leopard cat.

"Yes, it is very cute," Inori examined the leopard cat.

"It looks almost like an ordinary house cat," Ayase added.

"Yes, but it's a wild cat. It doesn't make it any less cute," Hare said.

"Heh, I see a rabbit petting a cat," Souta remarked, jovially calling to Hare a rabbit.

"Very funny," Hare sighed.

"It's a shame. I wish we could go to Shibuya with you guys, but my family and I already have plans," Kanon said.

"Yeah, same here, but you seven have fun for us," Souta said to Shu, Inori, Heath, Akiko, Ayase, Tsugumi, and Walter.

"Take a lot of good pictures, too!" Hare encouraged them to take shots of Shibuya's sights.

"We will, guys. We'll take a lot of them," Shu reassured his classmates.

"And we'll take lots of selfies, too!" Akiko merrily chimed in.

"We'll make this trip worth it," Heath said. "Ayase, I hope you'll enjoy it."

"Well, I have nothing better to do and there's no missions lined up. Tsugumi and I are due for some relaxation."

"Ok then, it's settled. Shibuya, here we come," Shu stated.


A few days later into the summer break and it was early August. Shu and Inori already packed their belongings for the trip to Shibuya. Before heading out, they agreed to meet with Heath and Akiko on the train route to Shibuya. The summer vacation started with these four saying their farewell to their classmates, who all had separate vacation plans. However, even without his other classmates, Shu felt comfortable spending vacation time with Inori, Heath, and Akiko.

As she watched Shu and Inori leave, Haruka stared at a photograph of herself, a young Shu, a young blond-haired boy, and a salmon pink-haired girl from Shu's memories.

Haruka picked up the picture frame and smirked. "Shu, I'm sorry I haven't been home lately, but I'm happy to see you with more friends. I haven't seen you smile this much since Lost Christmas."


After meeting Heath, Akiko, and Walter on their way, the five students met Ayase, Tsugumi, and Argo near the train station. After less than an hour spent on the train, they got off at the Shibuya Station. Shu's group was shown around Shibuya's locations by Heath, Akiko, and Walter. The locations they explored included the Shibuya Underground Mall and Shibuya Central Street.

Scouring through Shibuya Central Street, Shu's group marveled at the sights. Moreover, just as Akiko wanted, they took many selfies. They took group photos outside Tokyo Cinemas movie theater, Protein Lovers gym, and Big Bang Burger. The group even went and ate inside Big Bang.

After exploring Shibuya, Heath, Akiko, and Walter took Shu's group to Yongen-Jaya. As they arrived outside a place called Café Leblanc, Heath turned toward the group.

"This is it, guys. Behind these doors, our friends' parents and the ones Ms. Kawakami mentioned are here," Heath informed them.

"Yeah, that's partly why we came," Shu nodded.

With that, Heath opened the door. As the group walked in, they saw six adults waiting for them. They stood and faced Shu's group.

"Heath, Akiko, Walter?" A man with a deep and somewhat gruff voice asked as the sound of his footsteps could be heard walking toward Shu's group. The first of these six individuals is a man in his 30's with short dark black hair with strands of hair hanging over his face. He is seen wearing a black suit with a red dress shirt underneath and a black tie, matching black pants, and dark brown dress shoes. "Are these your friends who learned about us from Ms. Kawakami?"

"Yes, uncle Ren," Heath referred to the man in the black suit.

Nodding, the man referred to as Ren faced Shu's group. "Hello, we asked them to bring you here, but we prefer a more enclosed location. I'm Amamiya-Takamaki Ren. And these other five are my colleagues and all that's left of our group. After hearing what you guys have been doing with Heath, Akiko, and Walter fighting against GHQ, you've earned the right to know who we were before. We are the former Phantom Thieves."

Upon hearing this, Shu's group was shocked to find out about the remnants of the Phantom Thieves. After introducing himself, Ren beckoned a beautiful part-Japanese and Caucasian woman with long back-length blonde hair with the sides of her hair braided in sections. She is seen wearing a white and red blouse with a bright red rose, matching white dress pants, and high heel white shoes. She also has a black long-sleeved coat and sunglasses.

"This is my wife, Amamiya-Takamaki Ann," Ren introduced the attractive blonde-haired woman, who greeted Shu's group with a friendly smile.

"Hi, kids. Go ahead and take some seats. Relax a bit," Ann casually encouraged Shu and the others.

After taking their seats, they were introduced to the other Phantom Thief remnants.

The third individual, an attractive woman with short, ear-length brown hair, cold piercing eyes, and wearing red lipstick. She has on a white t-shirt with a black long-sleeved, unbuttoned dress shirt, blue jeans, and black boots.

"Hello, I'm Kurenai-Niijima Makoto," the short brown-haired woman introduced herself to Shu and his group as she sat down with arms crossed and piercing eyes glancing over them.

"Hey, kiddos. I'm Sakura-Kitagawa Futaba, owner of Café Leblanc," she greeted Shu and his group. Gone was her long and bright orange hair, which is now short, neck-length, and black. She is seen wearing a black and green striped sleeveless shirt with a green cooking apron, slim dark blue jeans, and black & white tennis shoes. Hanging around her neck are neon green earphones and a pair of thin glasses framed her face.

"What do you serve here?" Tsugumi asked her.

"Curry and coffee! Want me to whip you kiddos some curry?"

"Sure, we'd like that," Ayase answered.

"It's gonna cost you though."

"What, but we're guests though," Shu added.

"Ah, but I still have a business to run here, and it's been rough," Futaba nonchalantly said.

"Fair enough, I guess. Do you guys want curry?" Shu asked the others.

"I'll pass. Remember we just had burgers," Argo reminded them.

"Yeah, I'm still full from the burger," Ayase added.

"Big Bang Burger? Did you try the challenge?" Ren asked them.

"No, we just dined in," Shu frankly replied.

"Man, y'all should've gone for the challenge. Ren here completed it after a few tries," Futaba reminded him of their past times.

"Anyway, let's get the introductions out of the way," Ren turned over to a man with a tired expression on his face and long, back-length brown hair with a small ponytail.

The man is also seen wearing a dark gray suit with a coffee brown coat over it, matching dark gray dress pants, black gloves, and dark brown dress shoes.

"I'm Akechi Goro. It's refreshing seeing bright young faces who've already faced their own share of battles lately," the tired man addressed Shu and his group.

"Hello, kids. I'm Yoshizawa-Lambert Sumire. Please, make yourselves at home," a sullen-faced woman with long, shoulder-length red hair greeted them. When she rubbed her face, she forced a smile to conceal her true emotions. She is seen wearing a white blouse under a long-sleeved dress shirt, a dark red mini-dress, shin-length black stockings, and red dress shoes. In the back of her hair is a black ribbon bow, and adorning her eyes are thin-framed glasses. "You're safe with us and so nice you're friends with our sweet Heath, Akiko, and Walter."

Akiko chuckled and rolled her eyes. "C'mon, Auntie Sumire, we're not all sugary and sweet here."

"It's a distinct honor to meet you, Phantom Thieves. We're Heath, Akiko, and Walter's classmates. I'm Ouma Shu," the Void user bowed.

"I'm Yuzuriha Inori."

"My name is Shinomiya Ayase."

"You can call me Tsugumi!" The hacker introduced herself while striking a pose and throwing a peace sign.

"And I'm Tsukishima Argo."

As Shu, Inori, Ayase, Tsugumi, and Argo glanced over the Phantom Thieves, they didn't see a group of energetic and charismatic vigilantes that fought against the injustice of the system. They saw older, tired, and broken shells of their former selves. The gloominess of the café matched their current mood and demeanors. Of the five remaining Phantom Thieves, Makoto appeared to be the most distant from her peers and didn't stop staring at Shu's group like a hawk. Ren, Ann, Futaba, and Sumire appeared to be the most approachable. Akechi stood his ground without saying a word but kept his eye on Shu and his group.

"So, this is all that's left of the legendary Phantom Thieves? I'm sorry," Shu said.

"It's been 10 years since Lost Christmas. Yes, since we lost our friends and other Phantom Thieves. Sakamoto Ryuji, Kitagawa Yusuke, Okumura Haru, Morgana, Sakura Sojiro, Niijima Sae, Suzui Shiho, and Hasegawa Zenkichi were among those that died. It was a horrific day and a major blow to the Phantom Thieves' legacy. Injustice returned in the form of GHQ. All our hard work to prevent a tyrannical government from taking root fell into pieces. That event destroyed an era of hope and left us remnants to dwell in the tragedy," Ren delved into their backstory and the losses they suffered following Lost Christmas."

After hearing the losses of their loved ones, the Phantom Thief remnants lowered their head and eyes toward the floor. Turning toward the Sayuri painting, Futaba cried over her husband Yusuke and her foster father Sojiro. Hearing Haru's name caused Makoto to cry and grit her teeth. Ann cried for all their loved ones, especially Ryuji, Morgana, and Shiho.

"Though not everyone was lost. Sumire here still has her husband Eugene. They also have a daughter that survived Lost Christmas," Akechi said. "However, their third partner, Eugene's secondary wife Yoshimura Megumi, along with her and Eugene's daughter died in the event."

"Though the Apocalypse Virus doesn't affect and infect animals, and Morgana had a cat form, but he wasn't technically a real animal and since his existence was tied to human bonds and desires, he succumbed to the virus, crystallized, and…" Ren sadly muttered, stopping himself as not to delve into Morgana's death and make his wife Ann cry more than she already has. Having said that, losing Morgana was a devastating blow to their team, especially for Ren, who had been close with him since the start of their Phantom Thief days.

"Makoto and Haru's husband, Leonard Kurenai, along with his sister and her friend, also died. Makoto and Haru's daughters, which they bore with Leonard, were also killed in the outbreak," Ann said as she heard Makoto audibly gritting her teeth.

"After Yusuke and Sojiro passed, I took over this Leblanc. Every time alley cats come by, I feed them. Ren here sometimes visits me and we'd feed the cats as a way to remember Morgana," Futaba said, sadly smiling while reminiscing about her lost loved ones.

"By the way, Heath and Akiko here are the children of two friends of ours that also survived the outbreak," Ren said. "Their names are Togo-Jones Hifumi and Skyler Togo-Jones."

"Yeah, and our grandparents that we're currently staying with are our mother's parents," Heath also revealed to Shu and the others.

"Our parents were in Sakai outside Tokyo when Lost Christmas happened. That's where we lived before our exchange program," Akiko said.

"My father, Jacob Robertson, and my mother, Madeline Rossignol are survivors, too. Their friends Rachel Kirsch and Ryūzaki Kaito are also alive and well, though they've been devastated since Leonard's death," Walter added.

"I was the SIU Director for a time before and during the Lost Christmas event. I still am after my sister passed away," Makoto finally spoke up. "But, losing Leonard, Haru, my daughters, my sister Sae, and her husband… out of all of us, I lost everyone I loved. Ren and Ann's son, who had a crush on mine and Leonard's daughter, became devastated when she died. Thankfully, Ren and Ann's boy is safe at home and attending Shujin Academy."

"I couldn't be any happier that my precious boy is still with us. I wouldn't give him up for anything," Ann said with the utmost love for her and Ren's child. "It's funny that you kids met Ms. Kawakami. She just happens to be his homeroom teacher now. What a small world, huh?"

Ren smiled proudly. "Yeah, and he's been quite an honors student."

"Yes, and mine and Eugene's daughter is in a relationship now with Ren and Ann's son," Sumire revealed, giggling. "I think it's rather cute they're together."

As Shu's group and the Phantom Thief remnants continued their conversation, they started to learn more about each other. When Tsugumi learned about Futaba's prodigious hacking skills, she and Futaba quickly became fast friends and openly traded each other's hacking secrets.

"Heheh, don't worry, you're gonna learn from the master of hacking, Tsugumi," Futaba wore a mischievous grin. "Man, you're helping revive my hacking spirit. You remind me of myself when I was your age."

"Teach me, ol' wise one. Show me your tech guru ways!" Tsugumi eagerly added as the hackers shared a good rapport through their similar interests. Tsugumi learned Futaba and Yusuke had a daughter, who survived Lost Christmas.

"To think, I turned out like Sojiro. Not only am I running this place, but I'm raising my daughter as a single parent. Just the same way Sojiro raised me himself," Futaba smiled. "Ok, here's a hacking code you can use that'll come in handy, Tsugumi."

"Thanks, Futaba."

As Shu, Inori, Ayase, and Argo listened to the others' stories, Ren and Ann revealed that Ryuji and his wife Miyako had a son, who was placed in an adoptive home after the couple died, and that same son is in a relationship with Futaba and Yusuke's daughter.

"Hmm, yeah. Ryuji and Miyako's boy is a good kid. I trust him with my girl," Futaba said, brewing some hot chocolate for the kids.

"I'm glad to know that your kids are staying in touch with each other. It helps keep your bonds together," Shu said.

"I agree, but sadly not everyone is on the same page," Ann muttered, quietly leering toward Makoto, who stood isolated near the front door.

"I feel for poor Makoto. She lost everything," Inori said with a melancholic look on her face.

"We've been trying our best to help her cope with the losses," Ren whispered so Makoto wouldn't hear them.

However, Makoto deeply sighed, managing to eavesdrop on their conversation. "I don't have these ears for decorations, I can hear everything you're telling these kids, guys. And yeah, I lost everything. What's it to you all? At least some of you still have your fucking kids and families."

"Makoto. Listen, we didn't mean…" Ann spoke up, causing Makoto to whip around and scream.

"DON'T GIVE ME YOUR FUCKING CRAP!" Makoto screamed while punching a wall beside her. Her action startled everyone, prompting Futaba to scold her.

"Hey, if you damage anything in my place, you pay for it! I don't care if you're my friend, Makoto!" Futaba berated the SIU Director. "Besides, we have guests. So, don't scare these kiddos off with your tantrums. We all lost loved ones, not just you."

"Yes, you're right, Futaba. Sorry," Makoto apologized as she sat down. "And kids, I'm sorry for lashing out like that."

Having seen Makoto's reaction, Ayase couldn't feel anything but empathy for the woman's devastating losses. She found herself relating not just to Makoto, but the Phantom Thief remnants.

"I know what it's like losing your loved ones. I lost my parents, especially my mom recently," Ayase said, reminding Heath, Akiko, Shu, Inori, Tsugumi, and Argo about her mother's death during her campfire story.

Nodding knowingly, Heath could relate to Ayase as he had lost a few childhood friends. Knowing this, Heath and Ayase started understanding themselves better than before.

"We're all here because we've endured tragedies beyond our control. Some for different reasons, but it all comes back to GHQ and the Apocalypse Virus," Shu stated the common reason that brought them together.

Later, while Futaba showed Tsugumi a hacking program on her laptop, she pulled up a news report and clicked on a video related to it. The online news broadcaster reported on strange occurrences in Shibuya at night. It was then confirmed that the prefecture was under attack by a beast-like creature. Shu and his group questioned whether this creature was linked with GHQ. However, one person among them keenly listened to the report without batting an eye: Makoto.

Quickly getting out of her seat, Makoto stormed out of Leblanc without saying a word.

"Makoto, where are you going?!" Ann called out to her.

"You don't think she's going to find whatever's attacking these people," Sumire wondered.

"Whatever the case, she's being a fool if she doesn't have back-up from us or her department," Akechi sighed deeply in exasperation over Makoto's reckless action.

"So, can you guys turn into Phantom Thieves?" Shu asked them.

"That's the thing. We can't. Not since we lost connection with the Metaverse," Ren verified, bringing down Shu's hopes.

"You want to scope out whatever this GHQ creature might be?" Walter asked Heath and Akiko.

"I'm down for some investigating!" Akiko merrily replied.

"Let's be careful out there," Heath said.

"Then, let's hurry out there and find Makoto before this creature does," Ren declared. "We may not have our abilities anymore, but that doesn't mean we should stand idly by."

With a determined glare, Shu nodded. "We're ready. Let's hurry."


It is nightfall in Shibuya. A normally tranquil evening was interrupted by a string of attacks by this mysterious creature, which had escaped from GHQ. In the wake of its rampage, the creature hadn't left dead bodies, but instead mortified and violated male victims. Scurrying through the streets, the creature dashed through the shadows huffing with deep breaths. It stopped and sighted a male police officer, who was performing nightly duties alone.

When he heard a rustling near some bushes, the officer whipped out his flashlight to scope the bushes.

"Who's there?" He asked as he heard soft girlish giggling.

"Over here! Heheh, you're a cutie!"

"Who's there? Show your hands…!" The police officer yelled while anxiety overwhelmed him.

"Come closer. I've got something to show you," the girlish voice seduced the officer toward her.

As he got closer, he saw a shadow figure pop out of the bush. When he turned the flashlight forward, the light exposed a humanoid girl with short, neck-length brown hair, which was the length Makoto had when she was in high school. However, that's when the human-like features vanished. Beyond her humanoid form, she is revealed as a bipedal, anthropomorphic female Japanese raccoon dog. Her hands, feet, and a patch on her face are dark brown while the rest of her body is light brown just like a real tanuki. When getting a glance at the humanoid raccoon dog woman, the officer nervously stammered.

"...Y...Y...You're…a furry..."

"It's ok. Do you think I'm cute?"

"Uh…"

"Come here," she seduced the pathetic officer toward her. As he walked forward, she pulled him into an embrace and looked into his eyes. "Kiss me."

"Wh-Who are you?"

"I'm Miss-danuki! C'mon, play with me. Kiss me. Make love with me," she leaned over to kiss his lips. As the officer had fallen for her seduction, their lips locked and they kissed passionately. After tongue kissing, the officer and the furry started to have intercourse alongside their embrace and kiss. With his tongue inside her mouth, Miss-danuki caressed his face and started working her way down.

"I love you," the humanoid raccoon dog giggled incessantly as she undid his pants.

As the night progressed, a loud cry from the officer disturbed a few bystanders, who ran toward the scene and found the semi-nude male officer lying unconscious. He was neither killed nor injured, but he was left behind by Miss-danuki, who had vanished into the night.

Having arrived and now watching from a rooftop, a figure wearing a black and white panda mask covering the top part of the face coupled with dark blue panda ears adorning the individual's head stood idly by. The masked vigilante also wore a long white scarf, a mostly black full-bodied leather outfit coupled with a white and black spotted abdomen armor.

Using digitized goggles to scan the crime scene, the vigilante cursed under her breath. "Fuck, I lost it again. Where the hell has it gone now?!"


A/N: I'm sure none of you expected guests from another series, or a cliffhanger involving some tanuki girl, right?

I will explain the reasoning and roles of the Phantom Thieves in AnGC.

First of all, the other big revelation: Haruka's science conference and revealing her dinosaur revival project. Even by modern real-world standards, it's feasibly impossible to revive animals who've been long extinct for over 66-65 million years. The DNA that could've been extracted to be used for fertilization would've been dead. Scientists have only managed to extract DNA from the frozen remains of baby Woolly Mammoth carcasses. Even that will take time to replicate those ice age fauna. Moreover, and using Dolly as a real world reference in the narrative, scientists have only been able to create clones of modern animals. Creating clones of extinct animals is a whole different thing.

However, in the sci-fi fantasy world of Guilty Crown and with how GHQ & Da'ath operates, they have the "sci-fi fantasy" tech to make anything possible. Some genetic splicing and modifications became essential through the cloning process. Yes, even cloning long-extinct animals and creating hybrids from a myriad of various species by extracting DNA remnants from fossils that modern real-world science can't even do. This also offers a reasonable explanation of the Fafnir rex's creation, as well as the other GHQ beasts.

Having talked with my story collaborator, since this has Jurassic Park/World influence, he compares Haruka to Claire Dearing. Murphy is a nod to Tim Murphy from the first Jurassic Park film.

All and all, this cloning & extinct zoo concept is what differentiates AnGC from the canon GC.

Now, we get to the other big reveal: Yes, your eyes don't deceive you, readers. Those are the same Phantom Thieves of Hearts from Persona 5/Royal. And you're wondering: 'How and why does P5 exist in the AnGC reality?' To simply put, the P5 are guest characters specifically for this story. With P5 being more popular (in terms of relevance and marketing) than GC nowadays, the characters could lend themselves to help enhance the AnGC world and being a set of heroes who've seen their glory days fall to the wayside and witnessing the corruption they've fought against continue to gain a stranglehold over society. They're also victims of the Lost Christmas event, and as a result, they lost a lot of their friends and loved ones. None of the former Thieves have recovered completely, but some have taken the losses worse than others (especially Makoto). The P5 characters are also in this to draw more audiences to this world, especially for general readers who might be fans of the game.

However, despite P5 being in this story, this won't mean AnGC suddenly becomes a long-term crossover fanfic. Quite honestly, the P5 characters are only going to be featured in a small handful of chapters, including this one and the next. Then, they're gone until the final arc. They also won't overtake the narrative and overshadow the GC characters. Beyond P5, nothing else is going to crossover with AnGC. No other Persona series will be featured. This story will remain a stand-alone reality.

And no, this is not us losing faith in GC carrying this story. P5's presence will help enhance the AnGC world and Funeral Parlor's experiences.

And others will ask if we'll change the categorization to Guilty Crown & Persona Series? The answer is no. We're keeping it Guilty Crown because GC is the central narrative. Shu, Inori, Ayase, Heath, Akiko, Gai, and the other GC cast are the central characters (more so Ayase & Heath and Shu & Inori). For future readers that haven't read up to this point, we want the readers to be surprised to see the P5 group and then read our explanation as to how & why we've incorporated P5 into AnGC.

Most importantly, the P5 group, especially two unforeseen characters (Heath and Akiko's parents), are linked to Heath, Akiko, and Walter.

Also, take note Akane no is also part of the title name of another fanfic we've worked on. That story is Akane no Mai (a Persona 5/Code Vein crossover with Kakegurui and Nioh guest elements). To clarify, Akane no Guilty Crown is not a sequel, has any connection to, and is not an AU of Akane no Mai. AnGC and AnM are separate realities with P5 being the only common in-universe element.

Look at the chapter title. 'Behind the Masks' is a nod to the Persona 5 song 'Beneath the Mask'. This chapter reveals the mask behind the ex-Thieves' lives 20+ years after their last big adventure and 10 years since their tragic losses from Lost Christmas.

Lastly, we have the next GHQ Beast/MOTW. Any early thoughts on Miss-danuki? We have a sexual deviant running loose. And what about the panda-masked vigilante? Let's hope Funeral Parlor and the ex-Phantom Thieves can find Makoto and stop Miss-danuki.

All There in the Manual - Chapter VII

-The Princess of Deadpool event happens in the GC continuity. It involves another Power of the King user named Overdose, and is the first female 'King' user. She gains her power at the same time Shu does.
-First part of the Siegceratops' name was based on Siegfried, that it would have been a counterpart of the Fafnir rex. This is another loose Norse myth (and Wulf-Edda/Lazarus) tribute. Furthermore, the Fafnir rex and the scrapped Siegceratops are loosely based on the Scandic rex and the Scaniaceratops, two dinosaur fauna from my Norse Mythological stories.
-Siegcertatops would have had the DNA traits of the Eotriceratops (as the base genetic template/genome), Navajoceratops, Xenoceratops, Diabloceratops, Machairoceratops, Medusaceratops, Regaliceratops, Typothorax, Diplocaulus, sika deer, Reeves's muntjac, Japanese giant salamander, Eurasian tree sparrow, house sparrow, Sumatran rhinoceros, and Javan rhinoceros.
-The two sparrow species DNA tributes to Siegfried (Sigurd) talking to sparrows.
-Hoshi's appearance is inspired by Astolfo from the Fate series.

All There in the Manual - Persona 5 related lore

-Ann would've been a model that led her into acting before the GHQ takeover. Besides being the owner of the café, Futaba might've also worked with anything related to computers (computer engineering maybe; but when GHQ takes over, she becomes a hacker for hire). Sumire, I could've seen her have an athletic career before some injury forces her to settle down and become an instructor. The dystopian setting might've pushed Ann from her spotlight and become a housewife (or a low-end job to keep her low profile)).
-Would Futaba have used her hacking skills in looking at GHQ stuff? Possibly. I don't see why she couldn't.
-Akechi would've escaped his supposed 'death' at the end of P5/Royal and there was a belief he died and/or went missing. His crimes with Shido and setting up the Phantom Thieves turned him into a high-profile criminal. He would've also been excommunicated from Japan. Returning to Japan would have him pursued as a criminal again. To reunite with the Phantom Thief remnants after over two decades since the end of P5/Royal, he had to go incognito to avoid government (and GHQ) detection.

Fates of other Persona 5/Royal and Strikers characters
-Deaths: Yoshida Toranosuke, Mifune Chihaya, Ohya Ichiko, Lala Escargot, Anastasia, Tokiha Miyako (Ryuji's wife), Fujita Hojo (Sae's husband), Nakanohara Natsuhiko, Nakaoka, Takeishi, Takao Eiko, Tsukasa (Eiko's boyfriend), Mika (Ann's rival), Angel and Julian, Rumi, Hiiragi Alice, Kamoshida Suguru, Kaneshiro Junya, Sugimura, Shido Masayoshi, Owada Jyun, Yamauchi, Isshiki Youji (Futaba's uncle), Politician Ooe, the Former Noble, the TV Station President, the IT Company President, the Yakuza Cleaner, and the Pack of Shujin Academy (Hamada, Tomoyuki, Minami, and Kimiko) are all killed by the virus back in Lost Christmas. Madarame actually died of natural causes before Lost Christmas.
-Survivors: Maruki Takuto, Oda Shinya, Hanami Reiko (Shinya's wife), Iwai Munehisa, Takemi Tae, Kaoru (Iwai's adopted son), Sophia, Ichinose Kuon (Maruki's wife), Yoshizawa Shinichi (Sumire's father), Coach Hiraguchi, Hasegawa Akane (Zenkichi's daughter), Kaburagi Miyako, Natsume Ango, Hyodo Mariko, Konoe Akira, Nadia, Owen Kirsch (Rachel's younger brother), Li-Ming Xiuying (Owen's wife), Rebecca Lin (Kaito's wife), Rachel/Shiho's adopted daughter, and Kaito/Rebecca's son.

All There in the Manual - Miscellaneous Chapter VII notes related to the Persona 5 deaths and survivors

-The following also pertains to and references comparisons/contrasts of the P5 characters and OCs from my Akane no Mai fanfic. This does not confirm that AnM and AnGC share the same continuity because they don't.
-Hifumi, Skyler, and their friends first met Anastasia and Nadia in AnimeJapan (instead of Hifumi/Skyler's dreams and the Advent Eight chapter in Akane no Mai Book II). Anastasia and Nadia (AnGC) are native humans that are from Greece instead of elves from originally another dimension. At some point in between AnimeJapan and Hifumi/Skyler's marriage, Hifumi/Skyler/Anastasia/Nadia had a foursome/four-way kiss in their experimental one-night stand. Anastasia and Nadia once reunited with Hifumi, Skyler, and the others in the Christmas Eve celebration in Tokyo in Dec 2029, that's when Lost Christmas happened and Anastasia was killed by the virus. Nadia survives and keeps contact with her friends, but being left alone without her partner (Anastasia) makes her distraught.
-The officer that Miss-danuki has sex with is a version of that same young unnamed officer back in Book II of Akane no Mai.

Until then, leave a comment and review! Later, readers!