6/26

"E-excuse me, sir...?"

Kaneshiro looked up from the woman he was fooling around with on the spacious pink couch of his private booth at the suited man who'd approached him with a withering glare.

"...For your sake, this better be important!" he snapped, pouring himself a glass of whine before leaning back and resting his arms on the back of the sofa, his glare hardening at his lieutenant.

"Uhh..." the man stammered as he wilted slightly under Kaneshiro's dangerous scowl, his gaze turning to the red and black card he was holding in his hand that sported an emblem with a top hat and a domino mask with a flaming eye, the words "TAKE YOUR HEART" cut-and-paste on it in English. "...This, sir... we found it on the car. I-It's addressed to you and there's... um... something written on it..."

Kaneshiro raised an eyebrow in curiosity. "Oh?" he asked, leaning forward and taking a sip of his wine. "...Well? Read it!"

"B-but...!"

"I SAID READ IT!" Kaneshiro snarled, his tone sharp and threatening.

The lieutenant gulped nervously as he turned the card over. "Sir Junya Kaneshiro, the money-devouring sinner of gluttony..." he narrated, his voice trembling slightly as he read aloud. "...You indulge in scamming others with horrendous methods that target minors exclusively. We have decided to make you confess all your crimes with your own mouth. We will take your distorted desires without fail! Signed, the Phantom Thieves of Hearts..."

Kaneshiro gave no response as he sat back again and silently took another sip of his wine.

"S-Sir? Isn't this bad?!" the man in front of him asked nervously.

"...What of it?" Kaneshiro asked, looking mildly irritated rather then alarmed in any way.

"What if something happened to you?" the man asked. "What if we lose our protection?! I-If something does happen and the Kuzuryus find out...!"

"Don't waste your time worrying about this useless shit!" Kaneshiro snapped. "Just keep quiet for now. Our benefactor has the Kuzuryus by the balls so long as we keep 'em paid! We're not in any danger!"

"B-But sir, i-it's posted all over Central Street!" the man protested. "We looked, people're even talking about it online, too!"

In an instant, Kaneshiro had flipped from annoyed to completely outraged as he promptly slammed his empty glass down and rose from his seat, even his moll looked worried, now.

"All of you! Bring me your earnings, NOW!" he snarled, glaring at the other mobsters occupying the room and flinging open his briefcase. "Any of you who don't surpass your quota, I'll kill you!"

"U-Understood, sir!" the lieutenant stammered, rushing off to join the others as they hurriedly left Kaneshiro alone and seething with rage.

From the recesses of his Palace, Kaneshiro's Shadow gazed behind himself as the glowing light within his vault began to take shape.

"...Phantom Thieves? ...Don't make me laugh!" he sneered as the security alarm rang around him.

Kaneshiro shook his head, turning sharply to his moll still seated on the sofa. "Hey, we're leaving," he said sternly, gritting his teeth as he poured himself another glass of wine while barely holding in his anger. An investigation was pointless as his business was pretty much screwed, now! He was so close to having it all but now with his name all over town on a bunch of flashy cards, and outing his operation, to boot, his profits would see a serious dip and he'd be nothing but a liability to his benefactors... then the damn Kuzuryus would have nothing stopping them from coming to his doorstep to separate his head from his body! His only chance would be to get far, far away from Tokyo as soon as possible, somewhere remote to lay low for a while.

The others could be left to the crows for all he cared, now, but he was cunning, though. Way more then any two-bit excuse of a Han-gure. He'd risen in the ranks, made more profit then they'd ever see otherwise, dodged capture and consequences before with smart bribes... he'd do it again. Once the dust settled he'd eventually start over someplace else... Somewhere the Kuzuryus could never think to look or be able to stomp him out just because he didn't follow their "ethics" and "codes" and all that other old-school outdated bullshit, provided what he'd acquired already would last him until then... no, he needed all of it! Anyone still in debt to him... he had to gather every yen in Shibuya that was already supposed to be in his hands first before he could safely go into hiding and make the trail cold again! He needed more and stood to lose everything if he didn't play this carefully...

"...THEY'LL PAY FOR THIS!" he shouted furiously, flinging the bottle at the nearby wall with a loud crash as his moll watched him in confusion and worry.


"So, from the looks of it, our plan worked like a charm!" Makoto said with a smirk as she and the others watched the crowds below from the accessway. "Calling cards posted all over Shibuya and one stuck to that car they took me in, I figured the message was gonna get to Kaneshiro one way or another!"

"You've done well, Makoto," Kyoko said, folding her arms. "I saw the car leave earlier from my vantage point, Kaneshiro has likely seen it by now."

"Posting his name as well as the nature of his operation, people who have been hearing about the Shibuya blackmail scams on the news were intrigued, too. There's no way Kaneshiro won't be on high alert enough for his Treasure to appear!" Morgana said with a chuckle. "Pretty clever. You could learn a thing or two, Ryuji!"

"Uh, we forgettin' WHO was goin' around stickin' 'em everywhere?!" Ryuji protested. "Hell, I had to dress up a bit so they wouldn't recognize me!"

"We'll know for sure this worked when we go in, though!" Ann said. "This'll be it. We're going up against a truly horrible criminal this time!"

"True, we shouldn't waste any time. I trust we're all ready?" Kyoko asked, having already made preparations at the Velvet Room on her way over.

"More then ready to take that dick down! We got his ass out-numbered!" Ryuji cheered.

"They'll know the justice of the Phantom Thieves once Kaneshiro's heart is changed," Yusuke said with an approving smile. "You can count on me, Kyoko."

"I'll give it my all, Kyoko," Makoto declared, "...The old me's gone, I'm through being a sycophant to corrupt adults. For my father, for Sis, for me, for everyone else he's hurt, I'm plenty prepared to bring Kaneshiro down once and for all!"

"Let's go, then. Sooner Kaneshiro is stopped, the better," Kyoko stated, taking out her phone and leading the way to outside the accessway as reality began to shift and warp around them into Kaneshiro's distorted view of Shibuya, their metaverse costumes immediately materializing over herself and the others.

"I'd say we've made an impression alright!" Panther said with a smirk, noting the now turbulent skies and the red hue that had replaced the green.

"Perfect, then the calling card worked," Ace said, giving a faint, but approving smile. The Personas she'd acquired from her Velvet Room trip, one in particular having taken her interest during the fusions, she felt certain they'd pull this off, and hopefully get some clues as to who had been protecting Kaneshiro and who this black-masked assassin was.

Looking back at her fellow Thieves, Ace's smile faded to a look of stern determination. "...We have our infiltration route, it should be a clear run to the Treasure at this point. Let's go..."

Slipping past the security that was now focused at the front lobby, Ace lead the way down into the lower area, through the giant lock passage that had still been set in a straight path to the elevator leading to the vault below. Taking a breath, the young detective steeled herself as she pressed the button, looking back at her teammates once more before they all boarded the elevator together.

With a resounding hiss, the elevator came to a stop, the doors opening to reveal that the lower chamber was not the same as they'd last seen it.

"What the hell?!" Skull cried out.

"A giant safe?!" Mona protested. This wasn't here the last time we came! This place isn't called a bank for nothing..."

Where the Treasure had once been, was now a pair of gigantic steel vault doors with a massive combination lock with numerous spinning dials surrounding a small, barred hatch just big enough for a person to fit through.

Queen was livid, her fists clenched tightly over the spiked knuckle dusters firmly in her grip as she had her attention on who stood before the vault waiting for them flanked by the same men from that fateful encounter in the nightclub.

"Well, well," Kaneshiro's discolored, silver-suited Shadow taunted in a condescending tone as he and his men approached. "It seems the Thieves just can't stay away from my private city bank, can they?"

"I take it you got our message?" Ace asked sternly, folding her arms and glaring back at him.

"I have," Kaneshiro replied, turning his nose up at her and the Thieves. "To be honest, I'm surprised you made it down here alive in spite of that. It seems you're quite lucky..."

"Lucky? Don't be ridiculous," Queen snapped, her crimson eyes glaring with tranquil rage at him. "You simply underestimated us."

"And now we're gonna change your heart and make you confess to every rotten thing you've done!" Skull declared, his mace appearing in his hand. "Once that's happened, all those people who suffered from your shitty actions'll finally be free of you! The public'll believe in us for sure once you're locked up!"

"Those in power work the ones below them to the bone for money, you naive brat," Kaneshiro sneered. "Such is the hierarchy of the world, so just accept your fate as a source of my wealth!"

"Not happening," Ace said, taking a few steps forward as her knife appeared in her hand. "You've kept the police and even the most powerful yakuza from dealing with you for years, after all... you have very powerful friends who are really to thank for lasting as long as you have, I'm certain an insect like you wouldn't otherwise."

Kaneshiro's expression hardened from her words. "You have the nerve to undersell my influence, brat?! Maybe you're just oblivious to the golden rule: Whoever has the gold makes the rules! Not even old man Kirigiri's little circle of detectives ever got enough to look into my affairs!" A wide grin spread on his face. "...After all, everyone has their price!"

Ace's brow furrowed. The thought that trusted detectives of the DSC would readily look the other way when someone with money paid them to disgusted her deeply. She'd not worked alongside many unless out of necessity, but the thought that those she had might eventually abandon a case for free money didn't sit well at all with her. "...You'll find that's not the case with me," she said coldly, her gaze growing more tense.

"You think money is just the ultimate shield from consequences?! That it makes you automatically better then others or permits you to do whatever you want?! You're out of your mind!" Panther protested.

"Think? I know it! It was all forced on me, too, at one point, after all!" Kaneshiro snapped indignantly and spreading his arms. "Our society is split! The haves and have-nots! The elite and the nobodies! A society that tells you if you're not privileged with talent then you're utterly worthless to the world except to serve those who are! Establishments like Hope's Peak Academy, claiming their purpose is to better society? What a joke! Their real message is to make a point of who's got the talent and wealth to be allowed to succeed in life and who doesn't! It's such an absurd concept yet they eat it up so readily. As such, I went through nothing but shit, mocked by these so-called "elites" of my generation, until I crawled my way out of the dregs!"

He let out a cruel, hearty chuckle. "...And now it's my turn to profit on them, and take pleasure in seeing them cower in my presence! I know I have a few of these so-called "Ultimates" in my grip already with my phishing scam! No matter how "special" they wanna brag they are, they were still gullible enough and if they want any chance of seeing the inside of that academy, they're gonna do it on my terms, carrying out my wishes and passing the benefits of their success over to me!"

Ace exhaled sharply. Her life had been mapped out from the start, even if her grandfather didn't want her going to Hope's Peak, she was destined to be a detective among detectives. "...I won't deny you may have been dealt an unfair hand, Kaneshiro, but none of that excuses anything you've done!" she said coldly, glaring at him. "You're acting no different then those people you say wronged you. Maybe there was a time you deserved pity, but now you're just another criminal!"

"It doesn't matter if you're clean or dirty! Only the clever have any right to come out on top!" Kaneshiro snapped lividly. "I finally rise above what I was, and have the power to laugh at those who just get lucky in life and suddenly it's wrong?! The strong and the smart live to devour the weak! That, is the natural order of things! All I did was turn it in my favor!"

"It doesn't change the fact you don't even care you're going after people who've never done anything to you!" Panther protested.

"You're truly a pitiful man, Kaneshiro!" Queen hissed. "Know what I think? I think you just love making everyone else feel beneath you because it's the only way you can feel strong when you know deep down what a pathetic piece of shit you really are!"

Kaneshiro balled his fists, his gold eyes gleaming angrily as his brow furrowed in rage. "Spare me that sanctimonious garbage! Those little shits deserved to be knocked down a peg and see what's it like to be at the mercy of someone who didn't start off so easy! You damn brats who think you know everything about the world from the stuff you read on the internet will make the perfect prey as well!"

"You truly are hopeless, then," Queen said, frowning in disgust.

"It's always the fools who get tricked! Fools who have to pay for their foolishness!" Kaneshiro snarled. "...And if those fools don't learn, well they have to suck it up and stay as plain, stupid fools! And believe me, there's nothing that gives me a bigger charge then squeezing everything out of a foolish "Ultimate" for the fool they are, and leaving them no choice but to be a fool on my behalf for being so foolish!"

"Oh shut it already!" Skull shouted, already at the end of his patience from Kaneshiro's ranting. "We're here for that Treasure and we'll go through you to get it if we gotta, and honestly I ain't too against the idea!"

"-Tch!- I guess there's no point in saying anything else to you fools!" Kaneshiro scoffed. "...Therefore, this may as well be where my gracious lecture ends. I'll slip out of this little ploy you pulled, just as I did the last time someone thought they had me cornered, and you'll be working here as my slaves for the rest of your lives!"

"That's outrageous!" Fox declared, scowling at him defiantly as his own weapon appeared in his hands.

"You took my father from me, Kaneshiro!" Queen said, taking a fighting stance. "...Mark my words you're not getting away this time!"

"I think you have your answer from us, Kaneshiro," Ace stated, glaring.

Kaneshiro, however, did not appear intimidated at all. He exchanged a glance at the cognitions his gang, who sneered and chuckled amongst themselves before Kaneshiro let out a deep, sinister laugh. "You really think you stand a chance?! I'm gonna swarm all over you, and squeeze out every last coin!"

With a loud, sudden crack, Kaneshiro's body bent forward, his back swelling noticeably as red and black smoke began rising up around him. Kaneshiro let out a pained grunt as his shoulders suddenly jutted up and outwards with more loud, sickening cracks as his arms seemed to grow longer and his legs became bowed. His elongated arms bent as he clasped his hands together and began rubbing them repeatedly, chuckling deeply as black ooze spilled from the wide sneer on his lips.

"Boss?" one of the cognitions, the silk-shirted man, asked in concern as he approached.

Kaneshiro's chuckles suddenly deepened and distorted in an insect-like chittering as his head tilted down at the floor, his hands continuing to rub together repeatedly.

"What the..." The suited man's eyes widened behind his sunglasses as a large, writhing bulge rose up from Kaneshiro's back, as if something were trying to burrow its way out of him like a cocoon, black ooze pooling around where it pressed against his suit.

"Holy shit... WHAT THE HELL?!" the silk-shirted man cried out as the back of Kaneshiro's suit suddenly burst open, unfurling a set of large, insect-like wings that fluttered irritably with a loud, sickening, buzzing noise.

The three goons screamed in horror and fled for the elevator as Kaneshiro's head suddenly snapped up in the Thieves' direction, his eyes having transformed into bulbous red compound ones that practically took up the entire top half of his head as he rubbed his hands, slouched over like a fly grooming itself as he continued to buzz loudly.

Ace stepped back, the others with her as several thick black insect hairs tore their way out of the sides of Kaneshiro's sleeves, his tiny mustache becoming more bushy like fly feelers, a hideous grin spreading across his now deformed face as the smoke subsided and he stood himself back up.

"Ugh, gross!" Panther cried out, recoiling in revulsion.

"As revolting as he is inside!" Fox grimaced, crinkling his face in disgust at the hideous thing Kaneshiro had become.

"Useless trash! I can take care of this myself!" Kaneshiro snarled, his voice deeper and more guttural now in his transformed state as he looked past the Thieves at his retreating goons before turning his attention to the thieves and chuckling "...Whassup, yo? NOW COME GET SOME!" he taunted, taking on a crude urban accent and making a gang sign with his hand.

Queen touched her mask, Johanna appearing beneath her as she glared hatefully at the man who had taken so much from her. "You filthy fly on dirty money! GET THE HELL OUT OF MY FACE!"

"GYA HA HA HA! A'IGHT! HERE WE GO, YEH PIECES OF SHIT!" Kaneshiro shouted, letting out a mocking cackle as he spun on his heel and waved gang signs again as twin blasts of red lightning burst from them at the Thieves, causing them to scatter quickly as the crimson energy danced across the walls. "Tha's right! Cry all ya want, but I ain't gonna forgive yeh!"

"My thoughts exactly, Kaneshiro!" Queen shouted back, unleashing a blast of blue energy at the grotesque fly man, who swiftly buzzed into the air and hovered in place, snapping his fingers as another blast of red crackling energy fired at the group.

"Heheheh... bein' young is such a crime!" he taunted as he buzzed about in the air, clutching the lapels of his suit jacket. "...It don't matter how special they think they are jus' 'cuz they got born lucky, they're always so naïve and reckless! An' on top'a all that, they don't even realize how stupid they really are! If I didn't come in n' cash in on those idiots, someone else would! I couldn't just sit back n' let THAT happen, riiiiight?"

"We'll see how that goes for you when you're in prison!" Ace seethed, taking aim with her new gun from Iwai's and firing several shots, managing to tag Kaneshiro and send him spinning out of control.

"Get 'em, Ace! This money-grubber's on a one-way ticket to redemption!" Mona cheered, whipping out his slingshot and firing away at him as well.

"Yo-yo-yo! Y'all are bein' real pests, yo!" Kaneshiro protested, spreading his arms and waving gang signs again as he flung several blasts of red energy at the group below.

"Everyone! Shoot him down!" Ace ordered, the others taking out their guns as well and firing at the airborne Kaneshiro, sending him toppling to the floor with an undignified thump.

"Corner him!" Mona shouted, the Thieves immediately surrounding their fallen foe.

"Heh, you brats're just gonna keep goin' at this till the bitter end, huh?" he asked. "No more games, then, I ain't forgivin' you punks!"

"Save it! You're all buzz and no bite!" Mona declared, his slingshot aimed at him, the others' weapons pointed at him as well.

"You ruined lives and never gave anyone mercy, Kaneshiro," Ace said sternly. "It's time we return the favor!"

"Don't get so cocky, girlie!" Kaneshiro gloated with a chuckle. "I haven't brought out the big guns, yet!"

With a snap of Kaneshiro's fingers, the giant lock's dials suddenly came to a sharp halt with a series of loud clicks and the small hatch door at their center promptly flew open. Kaneshiro thrust up his hands as red energy cracked from them, causing the Thieves to step away as he buzzed into the air and retreated into the door, it slamming shut behind him immediately after.

The ground rumbled violently as tremors shook the entire bank and the vault doors slowly slid apart, revealing what stood behind it.

"GYAHAHAHAHA! YEH READY TO DIE?!" Kaneshiro's mocking voice boomed from within what appeared to be a twenty-foot-tall, mechanical piggybank. Its ears sported a set of fans, cameras and a variety of gun turrets lay in place of its eyes, idle jet thrusters in place of legs, and the hatch Kaneshiro had entered served as its snout.

"What the... a pig?!" Mona cried out in shock.

"HEY! IT AIN'T A PIG, YO! THIS IS MY PALACE'S SWINE-MODEL DEFENSE MECHANISM! MY GUARDIAN ROBOT, PIGGYTRON!" Kaneshiro bellowed from within his machine. "GOIN' UP AGAINST ME'S A REAL BAD CRIME, YEH KNOW? IT'S TIME TO ROLL OUT AND SEND Y'ALL TO HELL!"

"And they say people don't look like the stuff they buy!" Skull said.

"I think that's pets, Skull," Panther said, glaring at the giant machine. "Either way, we can't back down, now!"

"Like hell we would! Whatever toys you throw at us, Kaneshiro, we're taking you down!" Queen shouted.

"Be careful, everyone! We don't know what it's capable of!" Mona warned.

"I second that. Stay on guard and keep a distance!" Ace ordered. "Hit it with everything we've got!"

"On it! ZORRO!" Mona shouted.

"CARMEN!"

"GOEMON!"

"CAPTAIN KIDD!"

"JOHANNA!"

The combined attacks of the Phantom Thieves' Personas struck the giant mechanoid, causing sparks to burst from it though it appeared to be rather resilient to them.

"STUPID BRATS! MY PIGGYTRON IS THE FINEST DEFENSE MONEY CAN BUY! THINK YOUR MEASELY ATTACKS'RE GONNA PENETRATE IT?" Kaneshiro cackled from within. "LOOK AT'CHA! TOO SCARED TO MOVE NOW CUZ'A HOW TOUGH MY PIGGYTRON IS!"

"We'll see about that, LEANAN SIDHE!" Ace cried out, touching her mask as the feminine fairy Persona appeared above her, tapping the metal hooks it held together as a dark blast of smoky energy surged from them, striking the Piggytron.

"Try again, it should be weakened, now!" Ace ordered.

"On it! RAM 'EM, CAPTAIN KIDD!" Skull shouted, his pirate Persona soaring through the air surrounded in electrical currents as it slammed hard into the front of the machine. The Piggytron shook violently from the impact, toppling back.

"YO YO! THE HELL?! MY PIGGYTRON'S BETTER THEN THIS!" Kaneshiro protested, and with a loud buzzing, the fly-like mob boss emerged from the coin slot in its back, rubbing his hands as he sneered down at them. "YOU WANNA GIVE YOUR TWO CENTS, HERE'S SOME CHANGE!" he declared, spinning on his heel as he stood atop it and raising his finger as the turrets that made up its eyes began to whir loudly.

"Uh oh... GET BACK!" Queen shouted, summoning Johanna and speeding off as the others immediately broke into a run, trailed by a stream of gunfire from the rotating turrets as they unloaded a spray of bullets at them. "TRY THIS, YOU BASTARD!" she cried, Johanna charging up another energy blast and firing at one of the Piggytron's turrets, Ace's earlier spell having weakened it, the machine staggered a little from the explosion as Queen's attack it, leaving a smoking hole where its turret was.

"MY PIGGYTRON! YOU DAMN LITTLE PUNKS! YOU KNOW HOW MUCH THIS THING COSTS?!" Kaneshiro cried out furiously, stomping his foot indignantly.

"Honestly, you wasted quite a lot on such a garish eyesore! GOEMON!" Fox shouted as he stood himself back up, his kabuki-themed Persona flying at the machine wreathed in frigid airs as it smashed its pipe into the other gun turret.

Kaneshiro fumed angrily, snapping his fingers as another turret emerged from the coin slot, this one loaded with what appeared to be...

"GET BACK!" Mona cried out as the machine launched several missiles at the group, causing a huge, fiery explosion that left them scattered.

"Shit, that burns!" Skull protested as he struggled to put out the flames licking his clothes.

"..." Ace grunted as she stood herself up, smoking as well and wincing from the burning pain from the attack.

"ASSHOLE! TRY SOME OF MY FIRE! CARMEN!" Panther shouted, unaffected from the blaze and getting back to her feet as she summoned her dancer Persona that proceeded to unleash a powerful jet of flames of her own at the machine's missile turret, causing it to explode violently and make the machine topple.

"I got you guys, ZORRO!" shouted Mona, summoning his swordsman Persona and bathing those who'd been caught in the blast and making the flames subside.

"Y'all are really pissin' me off, yo!" Kaneshiro shouted, jumping and hovering in the air as the machine staggered over from the explosion. "Callin' my Piggytron a pig?! Were yeh makin' fun'a me too when yeh said that?! I'll have to teach y'all a lesson for that! PIGGYTRON! SUPER VIP MODE!"

Kaneshiro's wings kept him aloft as he snapped his fingers. The Piggytron's jet thrusters levitated it into the air before its limbs and features all retracted into itself, giving it a perfectly spherical shape. Kaneshiro landed neatly atop it, folded his arms and began doing a mocking Hopak dance that caused it to roll in place.

Ace's eyes widened in worry. "Everyone, RUN!" she shouted as Kaneshiro let out a crazed cackle and broke into a dash, the spherical Piggytron suddenly launching itself forward at them at high speed. Ace leapt out of the way barely avoiding getting crushed under it as the other Thieves immediately fled in random directions as the Piggytron and Kaneshiro darted about, crashing into the walls of the vault and making it shake before bouncing off to another like a giant pinball.

"GYAHAHAHAHA! BETTER KEEP RUNNIN' OR I'M GONNA CRUSH YEH ALL!" Kaneshiro taunted as he danced about atop the rolling machine.

"Try and knock him off that thing!" Queen ordered, skidding to a halt on Johanna as she'd just barely dodged being flattened again as the Piggytron rebounded off the wall again, summoning her revolver and firing several shots up at him. Kaneshiro's Piggytron spun around, sparks bursting around it as it skidded against the metal floor

"GOEMON!" Fox shouted, summoning his Persona as he unleashed a blast of cold at the floor, causing the Piggytron to swerve out of control before it could crash into Queen and bounced harmlessly off a wall.

"ZAP THIS BUG, CAPTAIN KIDD!" Skull cheered, his pirate Persona appearing and its electrified ship ramming into Kaneshiro.

Ace closed her eyes, clutching her own mask. "It's time... IZANAGI!"

A glave-wielding, knight-like Persona in a flowing overcoat that Ace had claimed from her trip to the Velvet Room rose up from behind her, lunging forward and striking Kaneshiro. The gangster cried out as the blade struck, electrocuting him in the process as he lost is footing and tumbled forward, the Piggytron immediately rolling over him as he'd wound up in its path and squishing him flat.

Unmanned, the spherical machine crashed into the adjacent wall where it had originally been kept, toppling over sideways as sparks burst from its orifices. The flattened Kaneshiro's wings suddenly popped up, letting out a weak buzz as they fluttered a few times and Kaneshiro rose back up, took a deep breath and plugged his mouth with his thumb, instantly inflating back into normal shape with a popping noise.

"I can't believe this! You brats thought that was pretty funny din'cha? Think bustin' up my Piggytron means I'm done?! Well let's see how you busters handle me when I'm gettin' serious, and usin' the power of cold hard cash!" he snarled, snapping his fingers. The Thieves jumped back in surprise as a pair of solid gold vault doors popped into existence with a loud clang in front of Kaneshiro before sliding apart, revealing him now flanked by two new fly-like accomplices. Each had four arms with fly-like heads and wore black two-piece suits, but the similarities ended there. The one on the left was slightly shorter then Kaneshiro and hovered in the air, wielding a bo staff, and the one on the right stood a good seven feet tall with a very top-heavy, muscular build and two blood-stained, full-body riot shields strapped to its massive upper arms.

"The hell?! Where'd these guys come from?!" Panther protested, surprised.

"Ain't it obvious? I paid 'em off handsomely to clean yeh punks up! Yeh like that?" Kaneshiro cackled, rubbing his hands together eagerly.

"You can this dealing with us yourself?" Ace scowled dryly.

"I wouldn't sell these guys short!" Kaneshiro said with a sneer. "They're both super-duper powerful and super-duper fly! Observe!"

Kaneshiro raised his hand as a thick red fog suddenly engulfed the group, causing Ace to feel disoriented and unable to think straight, her eyes turned just in time to see the smaller bodyguard suddenly lunge at her, swinging its bo staff into her hard and sending her flying off her feet. The young detective cried out in pain as she tumbled across the floor, everything blurred as she could barely focus for some reason.

"Where... wha..." Skull muttered, rubbing his head in confusion before suddenly getting blindsided and smacked across the room by the larger bodyguard who'd done a spin attack and swatted him with his shields.

"C...C..." Panther stammered, trying to summon Carmen but her mind feeling too muddled to focus before she felt herself lifted off the ground by the smaller bodyguard who proceeded to punch her in the gut with its free hand and toss her at Skull.

"PUNKASS!" the smaller guard buzzed as it spun and swung its bo staff striking Queen from behind before she could see him in the mists.

"YOU AIN'T SHIT!" the larger one taunted, dropping between the disoriented Fox and Mona and smacking them both to the ground with its shields.

Ace struggled to breathe from the violent beating she'd received as Kaneshiro and his bug-like bodyguards cackled at them. She reached for her mask, only for the larger guard to suddenly leap forward and slam his foot down on her hand.

"Geheheheheh! Ya see?" Kaneshiro sneered, "There's no problem the right amount'a cash can't solve, yo!"

"No... can't end like this! Ace!" Mona cried out, leaping at the guard and swinging his scimitar at its head.

The guard, however, did not appear more then mildly annoyed as it turned and smacked Mona aside and sending him flying.

Seeing a chance to escape as the guard took its attention and had moved its foot to attack, Mona, Ace quickly rolled out of the way, recalling within her murky mind something that could help.

A small box appearing in her hands from her coat, Ace found the Mental Floss she'd ordered and with nothing else to lose, ran the strand between two of her teeth. Instantly, her mind cleared as she stood up. "SKULL!" she cried out, throwing it to her friend as he turned and caught it, taking a strip as well and giving it a try as he stood himself back up and swung his spiked mace into the side of the smaller bodyguard's wing.

"Made'ja look!" Skull said with a grin, tossing the Mental Floss past him to Panther. "Go long, Panther!"

"Thanks!" the red-suited Thief cried out as she caught it, using some herself. "CARMEN!"

The dancer Persona did a twirl as it gestured at the downed Mona.

"Thank you!" the catlike Thief cheered as he leaped back up, his mind now cleared as well. "ZORRO!"

Fox and Queen stood back up, feeling their minds refreshed and a little stronger, the bodyguards looking confused as they stared at the Thieves slowly recovering while the mist Kaneshiro had summoned subsided.

"THE HELL!? WHAT DO I PAY YEH IDIOTS FOR?!" Kaneshiro protested angrily as his bodyguards buzzed over in front of him protectively as if daring the Thieves to try after the thrashing they'd received.

"It's no good, those guys'll slaughter us if we attack!" Queen said, summoning Johanna again as her teammates were bathed in a blue light.

"What then? How can we get to Kaneshiro?" Fox asked, gripping his katana, glaring at the grinning mob boss.

"Yeh DON'T! This is what I call an "Invincible Wall"!" Kaneshiro taunted. "I took out your dad the same way fer gettin' in my affairs, Niijima... with the power of my cash!"

"SHUT YOUR MOUTH!" Queen snarled, firing a blast of blue nuclear energy at him, only for the larger bodyguard to leap in its path and block it with its twin shields, the blast fizzling out with no effect on them.

"BOOYAH! What part'a "invincible" din'cha get?" Kaneshiro said with a laugh from behind the towering bodyguard as the smaller one buzzed above him, glaring threateningly at the Thieves. "...That one was free, but try again n' see what happens, yo!"

"There's gotta be a way to get past them!" Mona protested. "If Kaneshiro's this confident his money guarantees protection, then his cognition's making them unstoppable in a straight-up brawl!"

"Is there another way we can neutralize 'em?" Skull asked.

Ace brought her hand to her chin in thought, recalling the new Personas she'd acquired and an idea came to mind. "...Maybe there is. Panther, back me up!"

"Hm?"

"Just wait and see!" Ace ordered. "SANDMAN!"

A gaunt Persona in a red jumpsuit with a smiling face in the shape of a crescent moon appeared above her, toting a large sack. The Persona grinned at the confused guards before swinging the sack open, and a mist sprayed out of it at them. As it engulfed them, the guards staggered a moment, looking noticeably dazed as they swayed about.

"I see! CARMEN!" Panther cried out, her dancer Persona appeared as a mist billowed out from it, engulfing their foes as well. This did the job, as both guards promptly collapsed to the ground on their knees, propped up against one-another and letting out buzzing snores.

"It worked! Nice job, Ace!" Mona cheered.

"Wh-wha-wha?! This can't be! WAKE UP, YOU IDIOTS! PROTECT ME!" Kaneshiro screamed indignantly but the guards were unresponsive.

"Now's our chance! Get him!" Ace shouted.

"Gladly! JOHANNA!" Queen cried out, her motorcycle Persona charging forward and ramming Kaneshiro head-on and rebounding off him, the gangster crying out in pain but barely having time to turn as another foe engaged.

"CAPTAIN KIDD!" Skull yelled, his pirate Persona looming over Kaneshiro and firing a blast of lightning at him.

"GYAAAAAAAA!" Kaneshiro screamed out as he was violently shocked, spasming just long enough for Fox and Mona to take their turns

"GOEMON!"

"ZORRO!"

A swing of an icy blade followed by a giant boxing glove struck the staggering Kaneshiro from both sides, causing him to tumble on his back.

"IZANAGI!" Ace cried out, the knight Persona in the billowing coat once more appearing as it unleashed a blast of lightning of its own at the toppled Kaneshiro causing him to cry out again.

"WHY?! WHY WON'CHA JUST STAY DOWN?!" he shouted furiously, his wings buzzing and lifting him clumsily into the air as he flailed his arms indignantly before holding his chest in pain. "Fine! Yeh want me to take yeh myself? Then it's time for my last trump card! I'm gonna make it rain, an' PARTY DOWN, ya dig? TAAAAKE THIS!"

"LOOK OUT!" Mona shouted, the Thieves barely having time to shield themselves as a downpour of gold coins suddenly rained down on them from above, looking up just in time to narrowly avoid being crushed by a giant golden piggybank that along with the fallen coins promptly exploded in a burst of flames.

Ace flinched, ached, but the pain told her she was still alive as she staggered back up, glaring back at Kaneshiro in defiance as the others slowly stood themselves back up as well, similarly roughed up as well by the onslaught.

"Oh, yeh want more, yo? Well if at first yeh don't succeed..." Kaneshiro grinned, his bodyguards now regaining consciousness as well as he snapped his fingers again as... a single, tiny coin plopped down unceremoniously at Ace's feet. "Wha?! Oh NO! I'm all outta cash!" he protested. "But it's fine, yo! FINISH 'EM OFF, BOYS! THEY CAN'T TAKE MUCH MORE!"

The guards, however, simply stared down at the coin a moment before it vanished, then silently glanced back at Kaneshiro a moment before shaking their heads in disapproval and buzzing away to the elevator.

"Wha... wait! No! C'mon! Come back, yo! I-I'm just a little short on funds, right now!" Kaneshiro pleaded desperately as he watched them depart, staggering from the abuse he'd taken already.

"Money..." Queen began to approach, clenching her knuckle dusters as she glared furiously at him. "Everything you had depended on money, Kaneshiro! Without it, you've got nothing! You ARE nothing!" she snarled.

"W-wait!" Kaneshiro begged, putting his hands up anxiously as he struggled to stand, "...W-We can still work somethin' out, yo! Y-you don't gotta do this...!"

"I do... for my father... YOU SON OF A BITCH!" Queen cried out with all the fury she could muster as she slammed her fist into his face, then promptly spun on her heel and delivered a fierce roundhouse kick to his chest, sending Kaneshiro screaming as he rocketed into the hatch snout of his downed Piggytron that lay behind him with a loud crash. Sparks burst from the impact as Kaneshiro toppled to the floor and the busted, dented hatch promptly fell open, several gold bars spilling out on top of him like a flowing river of bricks as he lay in a crumpled, dazed heap, smoke pouring off his form as he reverted back to normal partially buried under the bullions.

"Kaneshiro..." Queen was seething as she approached, the others followed behind her.

"S-stay back!" Kaneshiro pleaded, climbing out of the pile and cradling the bullions protectively. "I won't let anyone have it! It's mine! My money! It doesn't matter how, I still earned it!"

"This was all that's ever mattered to you! You took innocent lives for it!" Queen snapped, her tone sharp and livid.

"F-Fine! I'll call off the debt! I'll call off all of them!" Kaneshiro stammered, gritting his teeth angrily in protest.

"..."Fine"? You still sound pretty condescendin'!" Skull snapped.

Kaneshiro trembled, as if trying not to weep as he looked at the Thieves before him. "Y-You're right... I-I'm a poor... ugly idiot... I always have been! How was I ever supposed to live a normal life, or have any kind of future that way?!" he protested, his gold eyes beginning to wetten. "All because of this goddamn society where the haves take advantage of the have-nots and laugh at them! Any of you got a shot at getting scouted Hope's Peak or buying your way in? That damn place just exists to look down on people like me! Weak people who can't lead a happy life no matter what they do! I'm a victim of that, you know! How's it my fault when I never had a shot at something like that otherwise?!"

Ace opened her mouth to speak, but sighed, surprised she couldn't find the words to counter that. Shaking her head, she approached him with what came to mind. "...You blame everyone but yourself for crimes you chose to commit of your own free will, regardless. That's awfully pathetic of you after what you've done."

"You're not even listening to me!" Kaneshiro snapped, clutching the bullions in his arms tightly. "I just wanted a place to belong for once in my life! Somewhere people couldn't look down on me for a change! Who the hell are you, anyway?! How can you not get something as simple as that?!"

Ace paused, a moment of silence passing as she was once more unsure how to answer.

"Enough excuses!" Panther interjected. "All you did was surround yourself with people you could use, just for some easy money! Ace is right, it doesn't matter! You chose to be a criminal and do all of this yourself!"

"Believe me, Kaneshiro," Queen stated sharply, "There's nothing that could ever make me forgive you after what you put me and my sister through... but you'll finally have a place you belong, where you'll be able to make amends for the rest of your life..."

"They're not wrong," Ace said, glancing back at the fallen mob boss and pushing back her hair. "...Though I'll concede I've learned things aren't so black and white, no matter how it may look. You're not the only one who's been hurt by someone else who didn't have to fear consequences for it. The reason we do what we do is to fight against that and bring justice to the kind of society you describe..." The girl folded her arms as she gazed down at him. "...It's my duty... as a Phantom Thief..."

"Oh yeah?" Kaneshiro said, chuckling as he looked her over. "...How adorable. You think you got a total understanding of the kind of power you got so lucky with? Why do you squander it on pursuing some naïve sense of what you see "justice" as when you could do so much more with it?"

"Because we're nothing like you!" Queen stated firmly, folding her arms as well.

"We'll be taking this Treasure from you regardless," Fox explained. "Return to the real Kaneshiro and atone for your crimes."

Kaneshiro smirked, tsk-ing as he shook his head and let the bullions spill from his arms as he lay back on the pile behind him, his form slowly starting to glow and fade. "No tact at all. You should realize these Palaces can net you loads of cash! You can do whatever you want with peoples' hearts... like the other one does..."

The Thieves paused, Ace's gaze narrowed with intrigue as she stepped closer. "..."Other one"?"

"That's right. There's someone out there taking full advantage of what Palaces have to offer," Kaneshiro explained, smirking widely. "You wanna know who neutered the Kuzuryus and kept them off my back?" he asked with a chuckle. "...I'll let you in on a little something: There's a criminal, using other peoples' Palaces to accomplish whatever they damn well please! They don't care about consequences! Psychotic breaks? Mental shutdowns? Anything goes!"

"Someone in a black mask, yeah?" Skull asked.

Kaneshiro's smug nod affirmed everything Ace had suspected. "...The same person Madarame's Shadow mentioned," she mused. "You're saying this person used the Metaverse to threaten the Kuzuryus into leaving you alone?"

"...And with this kind of power, all it took from me was an annual cut of the profit to make sure it stayed that way," Kaneshiro said, folding his arms as he lay back against the gold pile.

"Who is this person? You must've seen them!" Ace snapped, her patience running low. "Where is this money going? Who is it going to?"

"You gonna go after them?" Kaneshiro said with an amused chuckle, running his hand through his disheveled black hair as the light emanating from him glowed brighter and his form faded even more. "...Don't bother. You Phantom Thieves may think you're becoming pretty hot stuff, but you're nothing compared to them! I'd watch yourself if I were you, though... This whole thing, it goes way beyond me, and if you kids keep digging, you may pay for your foolishness with a fatal chance encounter with them..."

In a flash of light, Kaneshiro's Shadow was gone.

"...Way beyond him...?" Ace mused, bringing her hand to her chin in thought, only to be harshly interrupted by sudden tremors that began to shake the entire vault. The young detective glanced at the gold pile then at her fellow Thieves. "...We need to go."

"Let's grab the Treasure, quickly!" Fox said.

"How're we supposed to carry all this?!" Skull asked, gesturing to the mound of gold bullions where Kaneshiro had been.

"Mrrrooooowwww!" Mona yowled, now suddenly nuzzling the mound affectionately and completely distracted from the matter at hand. "Treasure! So cooooool! This must be what being human is like!"

"We don't have time for this!" Ace sighed in annoyance, prying the catlike Thief from the mound and tossing him over her shoulder. A loud poof was heard behind her, Mona having assumed his bus form.

"Hey! Don't throw animals!" the cat-bus protested. "Load up as many as you can and let's go!"

Seconds later, the Thieves were now packed within the bus, Queen in the driver's seat and the back filled with as many gold bullions as the other Thieves could carry in the time frame they had before speeding into the elevator.

To their collective surprise, the elevator instead launched them on to the roof of the bank outside.

"Go!" Ace ordered.

"But look! The road's gone!" The Mona-bus protested, his blue headlights shining down at the edge of the island where the metal ramp was now conspicuously absent.

"Doesn't matter! Let's go!" Queen shouted, flooring the pedal and the bus launching itself from the roof, clearing the island's edge as it soared through the sickly green sky before suddenly being engulfed in light...


"Destination deleted!" The Meta-Nav stated helpfully from Kyoko's phone.

"Oww..." Ann scrunched her face in pain while she nursed her lower back as she stood herself up on the pavement she and the others had found themselves on after what felt like a very harsh landing.

"That was... admittedly unexpected," Kyoko muttered, brushing back her hair and folding her arms, doing her best to maintain her dignity despite the pain she was also in from said landing and Makoto doing the same as the brunette stood next to her.

"I think I cracked my ass!" Ryuji groaned as he struggled to stand back up as well.

"Ann, are you alright?" Yusuke asked, seated on the pavement in a crabwalk position before standing himself up. "Is yours cracked as well?"

"Of course not!" the blonde snapped in annoyance.

"But isn't it supposed to be, though?" Makoto asked, a small, playful smile on her face which Kyoko responded with an exasperated, silent pinch of the bridge of her own nose.

"Not what I meant!" Ann protested.

"To be honest, perhaps it's best we stop making a scene," Kyoko pointed out, thumb and index finger still applied between her eyes. "...We're gathering an audience."

The others immediately looked around. Being back on the sidewalks of a crosswalk in Shibuya in the afternoon there was no shortage of people and plenty of them now had their attention on the group of teenagers, causing them to blush a little.

"...Hang on, where's Morgana?" Makoto asked, trying to change the subject and noticing the cat was nowhere to be found.

"Oh! Over there!" said Ryuji, pointing behind the others out into the street where Morgana lay sprawled out on the road, along with something else...

"That briefcase..." Kyoko pinched her chin in thought as she walked over to him, relieved there was a red light, and picked up a shiny, immaculately polished golden briefcase that had been laying on top of the cat.

"...Indeed, it appears to be the cause of Morgana's untimely demise," Yusuke observed in a somber tone as he joined her.

"We'll do the funeral later," Kyoko replied dryly, noting the unconscious Morgana was still breathing before looking the briefcase over again and taking in its weight that indicated it was not empty, either. "...Judging from our past experiences with Kamoshida and Madarame, I would assess this is Kaneshiro's Treasure in reality."

"Uh, guys? Maybe let's get out of the street and find somewhere more private? The light's about to change," Ann called from the sidewalk. Using her free hand, Kyoko scooped up Morgana as she and Yusuke rejoined the others, making their way back to the kiosks near the subway entrance.

"So, there's something inside, right? Anywhere we can open it that's a little less public?" Makoto asked as Kyoko set Morgana down on the pavement and held up the briefcase, eyeing it with intrigue.

"How about the Karaoke bar?" Ann offered.

"They'd have security cameras," Kyoko replied. "A group of teenagers gathered around a briefcase of this quality would be very suspicious."

"We probably would look like we did in fact just rob somewhere," Yusuke remarked.

"Meeooowww... someone get the number of that train?" Morgana muttered as he began to stir, standing himself back up.

"Rise and shine, cat! Check it out!" Ryuji said with a wide grin, gesturing to the briefcase in Kyoko's hands. "...By the way, on where to open it, how 'bout your place, Kyoko?"

"Hm," Kyoko stroked her chin in thought. "I don't see why not. Boss probably won't mind if we stay upstairs, and now is probably as good a time as any for you to see the place as well, Makoto..."

"If I may, perhaps we could have some coffee a well. I'm rather in the mood for it after our heist," Yusuke said with an eager and hopeful smile.

"In that case, I'd say it's settled. I would like to see your place, actually," Makoto said with an approving nod and Kyoko promptly led the way to the Yongen-Jaya train.


"Hm, I have to admit, this place is oddly calming, and your guardian seems very nice," Makoto said as she looked around the attic room before glancing over at Kyoko, who was currently busy studying the briefcase while Ryuji relaxed in a nearby chair as Yusuke sipped some coffee and Ann tended to Morgana's injuries.

"From the look of it, it seems to be protected with a rotary lock," Kyoko explained, examining the dials only to flinch from a sudden yowl of pain from Morgana as Ann disinfected a scratch on his paw. "...We'll need the combination to get it open."

"Well, you're a detective, right? Can'tcha figure it out?" Ryuji asked, looking over at her.

"Solving crimes is different from deciphering lock combinations," Kyoko sighed. "...Especially if there's so little to go on, there's nothing I can think of for a total of six digits from the three on each side..."

"Can I give it a try? I may have an idea," Makoto said, approaching and turning the briefcase towards herself and after a moment of pondering, started moving the dials. A second later, the briefcase's locks clicked open.

"It worked! How did you..." Ann asked, wide-eyed.

"Luckily I remembered the first and last numbers when I saw it open in his club since I was near enough to the table, then I thought of something money-related that could use that many digits if translated into numbers that would have G and D," Makoto explained. "7-1-5-1-2-4, or, more accurately... 7-15-12-4."

"...Gold," Kyoko replied, folding her arms and smirking faintly in approval. "Simple, yet effective."

"Heh, like I said, a lot of it came from the good fortune of seeing some of the numbers back then."

"Still, pretty good memory ya got there!" Ryuji said with a grin.

"Ugh! It still burns!" Morgana grumbled. "Well, let's open it up and see what's inside!"

A collective gasp filled the attic room as the group was treated to the sight of numerous, thick, bundled stacks of yen within the briefcases velvet cushioned interior.

"H-How much is this, exactly?!" Ryuji shuddered, eyes wide with shock.

"By the looks of it, each stack would be worth about a million yen," Yusuke observed, his voice trembling from astonishment.

Kyoko reached in, taking one off of the visible six on top and revealing another underneath, finding each column consisted of about five bundles each before putting them aside. "It would appear there's about thirty of these total in here by my count."

"S-So... thirty million yen?!" Ann gasped, her mouth hanging open in disbelief.

"Thirty... million... yen..." Makoto stared, barely able to get the words out. "Even if we split it, that's still like five million yen each!"

"Holy shit!" Ryuji squeaked with joy. "It's gonna be deluxe pork soup combo for me from here on out!"

"Oh come on!" Morgana protested, "You're getting five million yen? You have to think bigger then that!"

"Hm?"

"What's up, Yusuke?" Ann asked.

"...As much as I hate to be the bearer of bad news," Yusuke interjected, looking over one of the stacks Kyoko had put aside. "...Something looks off about this money."

Kyoko promptly took up another stack, raising an eyebrow in curiosity as she noticed something was indeed off about the portrait and removed the band, quickly getting her answer.

"...Children's Bank?" she stated, reading the insignia aloud then closing her eyes and letting out a sharp sigh as she dropped the open stack on the others, the yen notes bearing the face of Kaneshiro's Shadow sporting an expression of attempted toughness and the damning words inscribed next to it. "...I suppose I can't be too surprised..." she muttered.

"F-For REAL?!" Ryuji protested, grabbing up some stacks and tearing them open, his expression falling into a look on the verge of tears when he saw they, too, bear the same face and insignia.

"It must represent how everything he did was all part of his act to make himself seem tough?" Makoto offered as Ryuji sobbed loudly in dismay.

"Well, um... hey, at least it feels like we "totes" busted this "case", right?" Ann replied with a cheerful smile.

"...The Phantom Thieves reward for all that trouble is having "totes"... "busted the case"...?" Makoto suddenly burst into a fit of giggles at the blonde's puns.

Ryuji was far too busy grieving over the fake money, Yusuke simply stared in confusion, and Morgana and Kyoko both exchanged a glance in silent agreement that though seeing Makoto in such high spirits after having avenged herself against Kaneshiro was an otherwise uplifting consolation, neither would dare dignify such a groaner of a joke with any kind of response.

"...That all said," Yusuke remarked, inspecting the briefcase. "...Even though the contents were indeed little more then trash, the case itself is actually incredibly nice..."

"So... we can still get a nice heap'a cash if we sell it?" Ryuji asked, hopefully and quickly. "Then let's do that! Glad we got that settled, yeah?"

"By the way, have any of your memories returned with the destruction of that Palace, Morgana?" Yusuke asked.

"No, not at all," the cat muttered, his ears drooping shamefully.

"Oh come on! Did that hit to your head make you forget even more or somethin'?" Ryuji asked, irritated.

"It's easy for you to talk! You're not the one who lost your memories!" Morgana scoffed.

"So... you have amnesia?" Makoto asked, concerned.

"As far as we know, yes. He only seems to remember searching for Treasures, and having some idea how the Metaverse works," Kyoko explained, standing up and scooping out the useless play money.

"Well, I hope, then, your memories can return to you!" Makoto said with an assuring smile. "So, we beat Kaneshiro's Shadow and took his Treasure, then his Palace disappeared... what happens, now?"

"Next, we wait for Kaneshiro to have a change of heart," Morgana explained.

"...Have you received any new messages from him?" Kyoko asked, putting the fake money in a trash bag and closing up the briefcase.

Makoto glanced at her phone, blinking in surprise as she noticed there weren't any. "...No, actually... interesting, he's usually very punctual about how much time we have left," she mused. "...You think that means it worked?"

"It's possible, yes!" Morgana said.

"After the stunt with the calling card, one would think he'd have sent something else after, but if he hasn't, and considering everything else, I'd say there's a decent chance we'll be in the clear," Kyoko stated with a faint, approving smile.

"When his heart changes and he's behind bars, it's gonna be huge this time!" Ryuji said with a grin, his mood drastically improved. "Given all the shit this guy's done, people're gonna make a real big deal outta it for sure!"

"There's another, more serious matter, however," Kyoko said, sitting back down in her chair and folding her arms, her smile fading to a contemplative frown.

"...What Kaneshiro said back there, right?" Ann asked.

"Exactly," Kyoko replied, bringing her hand to her chin as she pondered his words again. "He talked about how this criminal was the reason the Kuzuryus left him alone, and how Palaces and the Metaverse as a whole allows those like us to... "do whatever we want with peoples' hearts". Then there's another matter... you recall what he said last?"

"This whole thing is "bigger then him"," Makoto stated, folding her arms as well. "He was paying someone, someone this criminal in the black mask is presumably tied to that has power so it "stays that way"."

"Which leaves the question... did this person do something to endanger one of the immediate family?" Kyoko asked. "Something serious enough, something they'd be utterly powerless against..."

"Normal people are powerless against tampering through the Metaverse," Morgana replied.

"And it's unlikely they'd know anything of it. To them, a sudden mental shutdown or psychotic break or whatever else would seem almost supernatural and utterly untraceable, like these incidents are," Kyoko explained. "I've no doubt this person, or whoever they're connected to, would want the Kuzuryus' cooperation on other things. The most powerful functioning crime family in Tokyo? Would anyone discard such an ally, reluctant or otherwise, so quickly?"

"There's a lot of questions to this," Makoto sighed. "And none of them we're likely to get answers to right now..."

"All we can do, 'least for right now, is wait for Kaneshiro's change of heart," Ryuji said.

"Agreed. When Kaneshiro's in prison, then we can relax a little more, and figure out where we go from there on whatever it was he was involved in," said Makoto.

"Yeah... guess we gotta lay low, till then!" Ryuji muttered.

"Didn't expect to hear you of all people say that, Ryuji!" Makoto teased, shaking her head before giving a serious look. "...Still, you're right. We don't know who Kaneshiro may have been making a deal with the devil with to keep his operation alive this long..."


The sun had set in Tokyo that day, but city activity was far from resting. Most notably, in the office of the Special Investigations Unit Director.

"...About my request... how long is it going to take?!" the elder director growled in annoyance into his phone. "This incident happened at the school you're supposed to be presiding over!"

The director shook his head, scowling as he listened, before he heard a knock at his office door.

"Excuse me, sir?" a younger male voice the director knew to be that of the public prosecutor asked.

"What is it?!" the director snapped, not even bothering to conceal his irritation as he covered the speakers on his phone.

"We need to speak to you at once regarding the phishing organization that's been operating out of Shibuya!" the prosecutor explained.

"Very well," the director sighed, before turning his attention back to who he was on the phone with. "...You'd do well to remember who it was that gave you that position you have to begin with!"

The old man paused, listening. "...Our other operative gave us a list of candidates without delay! How different from a certain someone!" he stated, his tone stern and harsher, now, his fingers drumming impatiently on his desk as he listened again. "Yes, of course. Please, by all means do continue your investigation!" he said, though making it clear in his response he had little faith in who he was talking to before hanging up abruptly to deal with the next matter that was waiting right outside...


Kyoko had set her newly-purchased thrift store laptop on her work desk, plugging it in and switching it on. Relief came over her as she saw it had been set to factory setting and she knew her way around a computer thanks to her grandfather when he permitted her to use his, albeit under supervision and only for case information compiling and analysis purposes.

Setting up an account name and password, Kyoko immediately pulled up the writing document program and began typing away at everything she'd mentally stored away up until this point.

"I think Ms. Kawakami was right. This was a good buy after all!" Morgana said as he watched from the bed. "Does it have internet access like your phone?"

Kyoko paused a moment, glancing in the bottom corner of the screen. "It does. It seems to have latched on to the cafe's."

"Well that's good, maybe we can browse for that TV shopping network's online show later!" Morgana suggested.

"Perhaps," Kyoko replied as she continued typing and sat back in her chair, reading what she'd written so far...

Mental Shutdowns/Psychotic Breaks - Linked - Potentially not random(conceal motive?)

Cause: Premediated assassination - 2 years active - identity of assassin unknown

Mental shutdown COD: Death of Shadow Self in Metaverse

Psychotic break cause: Unknown - affliction performed on Shadow Self?

Unknown culprit - benefactor mentioned by Kaneshiro

Culprit acting alone or on another's behalf - Benefactor of Kaneshiro payroll cut?

Benefactor motive - unknown. Use of Metaverse for wealth/power?

Benefactor identity/reason for money - unknown

Kuzuryus pressed by benefactor. Metaverse assassin - cause?

"We still don't have much to go on, do we?" Morgana asked.

"Unfortunately," Kyoko replied as she closed the file under the name "Main Case", preparing for her other cases regarding Kasumi, Sojiro, Kawakami, the case regarding the models in the agency Ann was with, the case around Yamauchi and the track team, Iwai, and Mementos.

"This certainly is convenient," Morgana said as Kyoko finally finished and saved the files on the USB that had come with it and slid it under her pillow before getting changed. No sooner had she finished putting on her cloth gloves for sleep after applying the salve Takemi had given her did her phone chime.

[Well, we did all we can!] Ryuji's message read.

[Think he's gonna turn himself in once his heart changes?] he added.

[That would be my guess. I hope he spills all he knows.] Makoto replied.

[There are lingering worries, but I believe we did well] Yusuke answered.

[Right? We did just go up against a real criminal after all!] Ann messaged.

[Yes, a very notable lawbreaker above the level of Madarame's crimes.] Yusuke replied.

[This'll make that Akechi guy eat his words for sure! I can't wait to see that!] Ryuji responded.

[What matters most is us being able to give people hope and courage from this news.] Ann replied.

[Even then, we still have the matter of this criminal using the Metaverse] Makoto answered.

[It's so terrible, the idea someone doing that to commit these crimes. Unforgivable.] Ann responded.

Kyoko's gaze grew more tense.

-We'll find and catch this person. Despite Kaneshiro's words, we'll eventually be able to take them on. she replied.

-I'm also curious about this benefactor, Kaneshiro did say it's bigger then him, so if our culprit is simply the muscle, it leaves the question of what person or people signs this assassin's checks. she added.

[We'll worry about that later, Kyoko!] Ryuji messaged back.

[One step at a time! For now, we'll just wait till Kaneshiro's heart changes!] he added.

[Yes. Nicely done everyone! I'll see you all at school!] Makoto responded.

"Well, just gotta wait for the results to come rolling in!" Morgana said cheerfully, before noticing Kyoko's expression deepen a little, despite him having become used to her usual poker face he'd come to identify when something was wrong. "What's wrong?"

"Something else Kaneshiro said, before and after we faced him," she said, climbing into bed. "As unforgivable and evil as everything he did was, he felt like being exceptionally talented or wealthy are the only ways you can get anywhere in life..."

"You believe the same?" Morgana asked.

"They are assets, yes," the young detective replied, "Hope's Peak's major requirements are being scouted for the former, or having enough of the latter to make it in. I was born from a line of respected detectives, my grandfather is the best of his generation like his father before him, hence his DSC ranking and I was personally trained by him with a bloodline inclined for such a career... yet now that's all hanging by a thread thanks to what happened." She closed her eyes, letting silence pass for a moment. "... I suppose I can see how all of those things, myself and Hope's Peak... now that I think about it... can so easily affirm the way Kaneshiro saw the world. Dr. Maruki also talked about it once... how people who don't have, or don't at least have access to things they feel could get them somewhere in the world can have a bad effect on them, mentally and emotionally."

"But why?" Morgana trotted across the bed to where Kyoko was facing. "...Isn't a place like you hyped up so much, if it's giving this message you're totally worthless without those things or like you're only meant to toil for people who are really just... I dunno... luckier, maybe... just gonna breed more distorted people like Kaneshiro?"

Kyoko gave no response, but her silence confirmed Morgana's question nonetheless.

"Humans are so interesting, but... something like that sounds like it's helping cause the problem. Like there's this belief already but a place like that is there because of it," the cat said. "When public opinion skyrockets for us after Kaneshiro's in prison, I wanna believe the Phantom Thieves can show everyone that's not true!"

Kyoko gazed at the ceiling a moment. "Maybe it's given me another reason to keep being a Phantom Thief..."

"Well, no matter his reasons, that Kaneshiro was a truly evil stain on society, just like Kamoshida and Madarame! All of them hurt and exploited innocent people just to satisfy their own desires!" Morgana said sternly, though looking away after, his ears drooping a little. "Still... there were people around them who noticed and knew about the horrible things they did, weren't there? Why didn't they try to help? Why turn a blind eye to it?"

"I think they're afraid," Kyoko said, continuing to stare at the ceiling. "They think they're powerless against people like that, that they won't be stopped anyway and will only pay for it themselves. It's why sometimes witnesses are silent in investigations, they never know how far a criminal's reach could be and don't want to test it in the name of a futile act of opposition."

"It's back to the elite versus not elite, huh?" Morgana asked sadly. "The ones who have it all... Kamoshida had his fame from his glory days, Madarame had his unearned status and connections, Kaneshiro had his extorted wealth, they abused these to bend others to their will so they could continue to feed their desires... never feeling a shred of guilt for it, or sympathy for those they hurt when they did."

"Very few crimes can be solved or prevented simply by trying to appeal to morality, unfortunately," Kyoko answered, a hint of bitterness in her otherwise neutral tone.

"it really does sound like that whole elite thing?" Morgana asked. "They just think they're better in some way so that makes it okay to do those things? You think if I became human I'd risk being that way... so... weak to desire?"

"Why?" Kyoko asked, glancing over at the cat, now.

"When I touched the Treasure, some memories came back," Morgana explained, "...I tried to force myself to forget, but... it makes me wonder if I may not be human, or ever have been..."

"Should I add that to the files to go over on my new laptop?" Kyoko asked dryly as she turned and faced him.

"Nah, it can't be the case, pardon the pun," Morgana said with a chuckle. "There's no way. I gotta be human, being the core of the Phantom Thieves and all!"

Kyoko couldn't help but smile a little at Morgana's spirit and sense of hope for himself and the society they lived in, despite the overall mood the conversation had her in earlier, and the sound of a chain link shattering rang within her mind.

"At any rate, school's tomorrow, so we probably shouldn't stay up so late," the cat said, curling up next to her as Kyoko could feel herself drifting off to sleep as well in her darkened attic room.


Kyoko felt the all too familiar cool dankness once more before her eyes fluttered open, and as she'd suspected, she had once more awakened in the panopticon prison.

"Our master wishes to speak with you!" Caroline said in her usual sharpness as she gazed back at the young detective with her one good eye. "Heed his words!"

"Welcome back," Igor stated, his impossibly wide, bug-eyed grimace unmoving on his face as he drummed his fingers on the wood desk before him, his bloodshot gaze following Kyoko as she rose from the old cot of her cell and approached, feeling the weight of her shackles as she gripped the bars of the door. "So it has come to pass that you have now overcome the repulsive fiend of gluttony this time," he said with a chuckle. "Well done. I am glad to see you have devoted yourself so thoroughly to your rehabilitation."

"I cannot say you are worthy of these kind words, Inmate, so I advise you treasure them," Justine said softly from the opposite corner of the cell door. "That said, you made wise choices on the Personas you were granted prior to your battle with him.

"That special one in particular, call it a concession, but know you're gonna be paying us back good very soon!" Caroline snapped harshly, though her tone offset with a smug smirk.

"Much is on your mind, I see... most notably the whispers about that strange man," Igor said.

Kyoko blinked at Igor's words, one stood out and her gaze furrowed. "The other Metaverse user..."

"Indeed," the warden said. "I speak of the other with powers similar to your own."

"So you do know something," she said, noting Igor had described the culprit as a male. "...Are you implying you've seen this person? He's behind the incidents, that I'm sure of, now. What else can you tell me about him?"

"You don't get to demand all of this, inmate!" Caroline snapped, smacking the bars with her baton in warning.

"To answer your question, very little, I'm afraid. I have seen but glimpses, and I have been made known of this: your pursuit of him is far from fruitless nor does it stray you from rehabilitation," Igor explained. "In fact, if you are to complete your rehabilitation, you may encounter him eventually... yet another thing for me to look forward to!" he said, giving a low, guttural chuckle.

"...For this reason it would be greatly troubling if you were to not strengthen your abilities," Igor continued. "Have a care, though... despite what set of skills you may pride yourself on, this person does not play by the rules of your society any more then you or your allies now do..."

Kyoko gazed down at the stone floors a moment, frowning before glaring up at him. Something about him still irked her, like there was still much being kept from her but she could do absolutely nothing about it. "...Then what will you have of me?"

"Manners, inmate!" Caroline declared, smacking the bars again and getting an annoyed glare from the teen.

Igor's fingers drummed in precision. "Continue on becoming stronger and following rehabilitation, it is necessary if you are to have any hope of emerging triumphant against him when the fated time is upon you. Your growth, and the strength of your bonds will give you the power you require to do so, as well as aid in answering the mysteries surrounding you," he explained. "Never underestimate the value of such things, nor assume so many of them unnecessary as you once did..."

Another chain link shattered within the recesses of Kyoko's mind, and a surge of power passed through the recesses of her heart.

"It's time, Inmate!" Caroline stated as the sound of an alarm clock went off.

"Now, return to your world. We shall contact you again soon," said Justine as the Velvet Room and its inhabitants slowly began to fade around Kyoko once more.


0 - The Fool: Rank 6

I - The Magician: Rank 5

IV - The Emperor: Rank 1

V - The Hierophant: Rank 4

VI - The Lovers: Rank 5

VII - The Chariot: Rank 6

VIII - Justice: Rank 2

XI - The Strength: Rank 3

XII - The Hanged Man: Rank 3

XIII - Death: Rank 4

XIV - Temperance: Rank 3

XVIII - The Moon: Rank 3

XIX - The Sun: Rank 3

1 - The Councillor: Rank 4

? - Faith: Rank 2

Kyoko's Personas: Shiisaa, Nigi Mitama, Suzaku, Flauros, High Pixie, Leanan Sidhe, Orthrus, Sandman, Phoenix, Izanagi