Persona Trinity

by IIIIIIIIII

Six months have passed since the defeat of Yaldabaoth and the disbandment of the Phantom Thieves. Ren Amamiya now enjoys a normal high-school life, hard-won though it may be. For once, normalcy started to feel normal. However, the whims of fate would set the Wild Card User on another path. And he would be far from the only one fate would call on. Pairing: Pseudo RenxHarem YuxHarem

34. A Day at the Beach

A/N Hello everyone! Hope you enjoy the beach chapter as promised, and it's a damn long one, so hopefully that just means there's more for you to enjoy! The next chapter will be posted in 3-4 weeks, so with that out of the way...

Disclaimer: I do not own the Persona or any of its characters, and I make no money off of this.

Chapter 34

August 15th – Kamakura: Yuigahama Beach

The sun shined brightly in a near-cloudless blue sky as the gentle sound of waves crashing into the beach filled the air. By all accounts, it was a perfect day.

Beyond perfect, even.

Each of the male members of the joint team of Persona users were fast at work setting up the beach chairs, towels, and umbrellas while the girls were off getting changed. They were nearly finished, with just the volleyball net left to be set up fully.

"And… there!" Yusuke remarked. He stepped back, gazing at the perfectly spaced volleyball court he'd marked in the sand. With the pride of an artist, he exclaimed, "Perfection! Just as I'd hoped!"

"Good for you, Yusuke," Morgana said.

"It does look like a perfect rectangle from what I can see," said Ren.

"Thank you."

"Don't mention it."

"Well, speakin' of 'perfect' don't you think we got, like, a super nice spot?" Yosuke remarked.

"Can't argue with ya there," agreed Kanji.

True to the brunette's words, they were close to the water, close to one of the main entrances, close to the food stands, and had plenty of space to set up their volleyball court.

"Yeah, it's pretty great, ain't it?" Ryuji uttered with a chuckle.

The blond-haired teen looked out towards the sea, and almost immediately a wide grin spread across his face as he saw dozens upon dozens of women already out enjoying the beach.

Two of them in particular walked by not all that far away from where he was standing. They caught him staring and waved playfully, one of them even winking in his direction. He blushed and waved back almost timidly, earning a giggle from the pair as they continued to walk on.

"Dude, are the girls here a bit more mature or is it just me?" Ryuji asked excitedly.

"No, I think you're right. Most of them look like they're in college to me," answered Ren.

"Makes me think we outta come here more often," Ryuji said with a toothy grin. Another squad of what he'd immediately call bombshells walked by, catching his attention like a tractor beam. "God I love the beach."

"Oh please. You just love perving on girls in swimsuits."

Those words had been spoken by none other than Ann who walked towards the spot the boys had set up alongside the other female members of the Phantom Thieves as well as Sae.

At the forefront was Haru, who wore an elegant pink two-piece bikini with thin bow-like strings tying the area between her breasts and on the sides of her hips. She also wore a large hat with a bow tied around its top that matched the color of her swimsuit.

Futaba was next to her, sporting a green and black bikini top with a matching pair of short bottoms. Her swimsuit and the confidence she walked with were definitely a step up from last year, although that wasn't saying much given that last time she came out wearing a freakishly large cartoonish mask.

Then there was Ann, who was wearing a two-piece bikini with a pink outline and an inward pattern of yellow, red, teal, and orange. It wasn't a surprise that even if her swimsuit was simple, it still looked beyond perfect on her.

Lastly were Sae and Makoto, and though they clearly wore swimsuits, they'd chosen to keep them hidden beneath ordinary t-shirts for now.

"Took you guys long enough," Ryuji uttered. "Where're the others?"

"What kind of a reaction is that?" Futaba asked annoyedly. "No 'you look good today, girls' or 'wow, nice swimsuits'?"

Ryuji shrugged. "Meh."

Before any of them moved in to smack him across the face, Joker spoke up and may very well have saved his friend from a very painful lesson.

"I think you all look great," Ren stated with his characteristic charming smile. "Don't you think, Yusuke?"

"Yes, I should say so," he said with a firm nod. "All of you look fantastic, but that's of course to be expected, no?"

"Well, you're definitely right about that," stated Ren in agreement.

Even if Ryuji's earlier comment had each of them scowling, it was beyond obvious that Ren and Yusuke had managed to switch up their moods in a heartbeat.

"Aw, thanks," Ann replied. "At least some people know how to act like gentleman around here."

Haru nodded. "Agreed."

"To be fair, I wasn't sayin' you looked bad or nothin'," Ryuji said, rolling his eyes dismissively. "It's just a 'seen it before' kinda thing. But I guess if ya need to hear me say it, of course you all look good. There, happy?"

"How you can manage to compliment them and insult them at the same time is beyond me…" Mona sighed.

"Hm? Insult what now?" Yukiko inquired confusedly.

The sound of the heiresses' voice drew everyone's eyes, and many jaws nearly dropped at the sight of her. She wore a two-piece teal bikini held together by a set of three rings, two of which were near the sides of her hips while the third linked the area between her breasts together. Despite her appearance being far from flashy, she wore it with unmatched and effortless grace.

To her right was Chie, who like her best friend wore a two-piece bikini, though hers had a pattern of yellow and orange stripes going across each section, and instead of rings, her swimsuit was tied together by strings. Her bright, warming smile and unmatched confidence all but breathed through her choice of clothes.

Next was Naoto, who may have been the biggest shock of all. Her choice of swimsuit was a dark blue bikini with white stripes that partially matched both her eyes and her hair. Though that much was standard enough, the way her figure looked was beyond anything that anyone was expecting. Even Kanji, who'd certainly seen her in a swimsuit before, was slack-jawed. The fact that she was cutely embarrassed as eyes landed on her somehow only made her look even cuter.

Last, and certainly not least, was Rise. The famous redheaded idol wore a half-and-half yellow and orange patterned two-piece bikini. Its top half wrapped behind her neck in such a way that it emphasized the gap between her breasts, something that was difficult not to notice in the first place given her already generous God-given assets.

Although each of the four women were beautiful in their own way, it was almost impossible to deny that then and there, Rise Kujikawa was the peak of beauty by the standards of most. Whether it was her flawless skin, her beautiful, shining red hair, her ample chest, or her eye-catching hips—all of it was on full display.

While the male members of the Investigation Team had handled the stunning young women's entrance without looking like idiots, the same could not be said for most of their younger counterparts.

"…I really love the beach," Ryuji stated.

"Indeed," said Yusuke in a voice just above a whisper. He caught himself and cleared his throat before he continued on. "That's quite the outfit, Yukiko-san. Your effortless elegance never ceases to amaze."

"Aw, thank you, Yusuke-kun," Yukiko replied with a giggle.

"Oh brother," Futaba grumbled.

"You all look so amazing!" Teddie cooed. "And wow, Chie, have you been working out lately?"

Chie laughed a bit bashfully. "Well, I kinda have to. Ya know, being a police officer and all."

"Well, ya look good," said a smiling Yosuke. "Of course, that goes for all of you."

"Amen to that," Kanji stated with a firm nod.

"Y-You don't have to bring so much attention to it," Naoto stammered, a bit of red coming onto her cheeks.

"Although I notice a certain someone hasn't said anything yet," said Rise, her eyes landing on the silver-haired Wild Card among them.

She wasted absolutely no time in making her way next to Yu, after which she leaned into him playfully. Anyone with eyes watched silently in anticipation, but at the same time no one knew if she was actually making an advance or not. It was almost as if everything from the pose she'd taken to the look in her very eyes was meant to leave things ambiguous.

And of course, that was her intent.

Sae, however, eyed the interaction skeptically all the same.

"So, Yu, what do you think?" Rise inquired with a leading smile. "Not bad, huh?"

"About as far from 'bad' as you can get," he replied. "You look really great. All of you do."

Inwardly the idol was stringing together a series of swears since she hadn't wanted him to compliment anyone else with that sentence, but she kept it from showing.

"You know, I'd have been beyond shocked if you'd said anything else," Sae remarked, her voice playful but holding a bit of bitterness to it.

"Right?" said Rise.

"You know, I don't think I've ever felt so called-out for giving a compliment before," Yu remarked.

As the older of the Wild Cards continued to go back and forth with both Sae and Rise and other fringe conversations had started up, that left the female Phantom Thieves to stare at their teammates with bitter disappointment.

"So, we show up and they hardly bat an eyelash, but they show up and all of a sudden they lose their minds," Futaba grumbled, her eyes half-lidded and her lips fixed in a scowl. "Anyone else feeling kind of annoyed?"

"A bit," Haru admitted.

Futaba sighed. "It's like what are we, chopped liver or something?"

The fact that the orange-haired teen was right only made it worse. While it was definitely true that their fellow thieves were kind enough to compliment them just seconds ago, it was beyond clear that their reaction to Yukiko, Chie, Naoto, and Rise had been a night and day difference.

Yusuke looked like his jaw was about to hit the floor while Ryuji's looked like it was going to fall as deep as the center of the earth—and Mona wasn't much better than either of them. Even Joker of all people seemed to be a bit caught off guard; only a bit, though.

None of them could even smile to hide the bitterness that started to swell inside of them.

"Oh wow, Futaba-chan, I love that swimsuit!" Yukiko cooed.

Futaba blinked surprisedly. "H-Hm? Oh, um…"

"I was just thinking that!" said Chie in agreement as she too walked up to the younger teen. "And Haru-chan, yours is so classy! Ugh, and your figure is way too nice—you've gotta tell me your secret!"

"Yours looks amazing too, Ann-chan!" Rise stated in an upbeat tone of voice. "You've gotta tell me where you got it! And are you wearing sunscreen yet or does your skin just look that good?"

Any bitterness that the three young women may have started to feel evaporated in an instant. Less than that, even. It was honestly impressive how quickly their moods had turned around.

"By the way, Makoto-chan, why are you still wearing a t-shirt?" asked Yukiko conversationally. "Isn't it a bit too hot out for that? I can't imagine it feels comfortable."

"You know, I was wondering about that too…" Haru admitted, curiosity showing in her voice.

"No reason in particular," Makoto replied, giving off an almost nervous laugh as she finished. "But you're right, it is getting a bit uncomfortable."

Although she looked a bit hesitant, the brunette started to take off her t-shirt. No one was really expecting anything all that special, which is what made it beyond shocking when her swimsuit was actually revealed.

Makoto currently wore a two-piece green bikini with white and dark green leaf patterns strewn throughout most of the sections. The laces of the top section wrapped around a ring just on her upper chest while two separate sections wrapped behind her neck to form a bow. Though the lower half was plain by comparison, there were two noticeable slits on the side that revealed skin across each side of her hips.

While her appearance wasn't too flashy, it was definitely eye-catching. The way the swimsuit hugged her body and highlighted her figure gave Makoto such a mature and almost seductive appearance that quite literally no one had expected.

For the Phantom Thieves, it was hard to believe that the girl in front of them was the very same one they went to the beach with not even a year ago.

"Woah," Ryuji said, being at a loss for any other words.

"Woah…" Morgana uttered in agreement.

"Too much?" Makoto asked, a bit of blush highlighting her cheeks.

"Hell no!" Futaba stated firmly, shaking her head for emphasis. "Makoto, you look amazing! And your butt is like… bam!"

"Dial it back, Futaba," said Ann with a laugh. "But she's not wrong. I wouldn't expect you to wear something like that, but it looks great! You're really rockin' it!"

"I agree!" Haru chirped.

"Um, well…" Makoto trailed off.

She wanted to turn to Ren ask him what he thought of her bikini, however the moment the brunette teen laid eyes on him, she could tell how he felt by the way he was staring at her.

Of course, that was exactly what she wanted, but now that it was actually happening, she was too embarrassed to press the advantage and tease him even a little.

Luckily, she hadn't been the only one to notice.

Haru took on a devilish smile. "Ren seems to think it looks quite good on you."

The mentioned Wild Card blinked confusedly. "H-Hm?"

"Oh, my apologies," Haru said, her tone girlish and innocent despite the playful look in her eyes. "I must've just imagined how deeply you were staring at her just now. My mistake."

"Huh? No, I…!" Ren uttered defensively.

None of his friends had ever seen him caught so off guard before. Their teasing grins were almost immediate, and without him wearing his glasses, they could see the light blush creep onto his cheeks.

Seeing his reaction gave Queen a sudden and much-needed boost to her confidence.

"Is that so?" Makoto asked, doing her best to sound playful.

Judging by how Joker reacted, it seemed she was right on the mark.

"It just… it suits you," Ren finally stated, averting his gaze bashfully even as he spoke.

"Is that so~?" Futaba asked.

Without missing a beat, virtually all of his friends started to pile on. Ren just stood silently and let it happen. They almost never got the chance to mess with him like this, so no matter what he said or did, there was almost no shot they'd stop anytime soon.

Ann, however, didn't really join in. The blonde was too busy brooding over the fact that she couldn't remember a time when Ren had looked at her like that. She did her best to force a smile, but the truth was that deep down she was a bit annoyed.

Actually, 'jealous' was the right word.

"Okay, okay, that's enough," Makoto said with a laugh. "For now, at least."

"Yeah, we should save some for later," Futaba mused.

"Oh joy," muttered Ren sarcastically, though a smirk still marked his face.

"On that note," Yosuke began with a chuckle. "Who's for some volleyball? The net's all set up, and Yusuke-kun did a hell of a job on the court."

The young artist smiled. "Thank you."

"Oooh, volleyball sounds fund," Chie stated energetically. She raised her hand high, exclaiming, "I'm totally in!"

"I'm down," Kanji said.

"Me too!" said Teddie.

"Sounds like fun to me!" Ryuji added.

Futaba nodded. "Same here."

One by one, practically everyone in their party had voiced their desire to play. That of course left a very big problem: not all of them could. At least not at the same time.

Yosuke sweatdropped. "Gonna be honest here, I wasn't expecting everyone to say they wanted to play…"

"Wait a sec, I've got an idea!" Chie excitedly called out. "Since we all can't play in the same game, why don't we change it up? Maybe do a little two-on-two tournament or something?"

"Yeah, that could totally work!" Yosuke uttered in realization. He looked towards the group and started counting off everyone that'd wanted to play. "Seven, eight… yep, the math checks out! So, unless anyone has any objections…"

None were given and everyone started to splinter off into their separate teams. Yosuke immediately started to march over towards who he already knew was going to be his teammate. Ryuji was much the same, and both he and the brunette made their way towards Ren and Yu.

However, to their incredible surprise, the two Wild Cards had already formed a team of their own.

"Traitor!" Ryuji and Yosuke exclaimed in unison.

The pair only shrugged amusedly.

"Actually, hold on just a minute," Futaba said as she eyed the Fools suspiciously. "No, I'm callin' BS on that one. Even if it's funny to see Ryuji get denied—"

"Hey!"

"—a team with the two of you on it is waaay too OP," she finished.

"Girl's got a point," Kanji stated plainly.

"I'm not so sure about that," said Yu. "I haven't really played much volleyball before."

"Me neither," Ren added.

Despite the fact that everyone was still skeptical, they could at least tell that the two of them weren't lying.

"Well, I guess that's fine," Ryuji grumbled. "But dude, how could you? Like, for real?!"

"Don't worry, I still love you."

"Shaddup," Ryuji said with a reflexive grin. He turned around and sighed, his expression breathing out his disappointment. "Alright, Ann, guess that means we're teamin' up."

"As fun as it is to be your second choice, I already have a partner," Ann replied pointedly, her eyes narrowed at his more than obvious attitude.

"Huh?" Ryuji uttered confusedly.

Rise walked right next to the blonde to illustrate her point, once again to his complete and total shock. That marked both of his best friends bailing on him, after all.

He was literally at a loss for words.

"Oh, and FYI," Chie began, turning towards Yosuke. "In case you were going to ask, I've already partnered up with Futaba-chan."

The mentioned young man looked at her confusedly.

"Huh? Wait, you're not teaming up with Yukiko?" he asked in disbelief.

"I'm on a team with Haru-chan," said the Amagi heiress. "Honestly, teaming up with Chie feels like a waste of an opportunity. I mean, we would already do that normally, and since we're here with everyone in the first place, we may as well branch out, right?"

"…actually, yeah, that makes sense," Yosuke thought aloud. "Guess that means we're a team now too, Ryuji-kun. Ready to show 'em what we got?"

The blond perked up a bit.

"Hell yeah I am! And hopefully we get to play against a certain set of traitors to teach 'em a lesson."

"You read my mind," Yosuke replied.

In the final stretch, the teams became as follows: Ann and Rise, Yu and Ren, Naoto and Kanji, Teddie and Mona, Ryuji and Yosuke, Futaba and Chie, Haru and Yukiko, and lastly the Nijima sisters. A bracket had been created on one of their smartphones, leaving just one minor detail to be discussed.

"So, how many points do we want each game to go to?" Yukiko inquired.

"I suggest we keep it simple. How about first to three points?" offered Makoto.

Everyone seemed to nod, leaving the matter settled.

"Looks like everything's all set then," Sae mused. "In that case…"

The young lawyer took off her t-shirt so as to get ready for the friendly competition. However, the split-second she'd done so, all eyes perhaps on that entire section of beach were reflexively drawn towards her.

Unlike most everyone else in the group, Sae had a one-piece bikini—specifically a monokini—that was a light black in color. Several openings were present on the sides of her abdomen up until the point that it tied around her back, and though the entirety of her stomach was covered, it hugged her body so tightly that it was almost as if it didn't. From her slim, toned physique, to her ample chest, to her alluring hips, each and every part of her body was emphasized perfectly. So perfectly, in fact, that it was almost unbelievable.

To say that Sae looked stunning was an understatement. Perhaps the understatement to end all understatements. Even some random beach goers passing by stumbled at the sight of her, being both men and women.

Put simply, if Makoto's appearance had been eye-popping, then a new word would need to be created to describe how Sae looked.

It was clear that the silver-haired beauty knew that all eyes were on her, but she didn't care about most of them. There were a specific pair of eyes she wanted to keep tabs on, and upon taking a single glance at Yu's reaction, she couldn't help but smirk confidently.

His eyes were glued to her as if he were stuck in a trance, just the way she wanted them to be.

"Alright," spoke Sae plainly, acting as if she was unaware of exactly what was going on. "So, what game will be played first?"

"…game?" Yosuke uttered absentmindedly. He shook off his stupor a split-second later. "Oh, right, game."

Chie rolled her eyes. "Real smooth."

"Ehem," Naoto sounded off, clearing her throat as if to get everyone to come back to reality. "On the topic of our friendly little tournament, I've taken the liberty of creating a bracket. With everything randomized, the first match up is set to be Yu and Ren-kun against Kanji and I."

"R-Right, sounds good," Yu replied.

As the Wild Card walked towards the sand-made court, it was clear to anyone looking at him intently that his cheeks were marked with a slight blush. It was faint, but still noticeable.

And a scowling Rise most certainly noticed.

As Ren and the other two got into position to start the match, the Phantom Thieves were still in place recovering from what had to have been the equivalent of a bomb going off right in front of them.

"Um, Makoto," Futaba said quietly.

"Yes?"

"Why is your sister so unbelievably beautiful?" Futaba asked.

She didn't sound bitter; just amazed.

"I can't find it in myself to disagree," Haru remarked.

"Oh come on, can we please just move past this?" Makoto sighed.

"But how can we?" Futaba countered. "I mean, just look what seeing her in her swimsuit did to Ryuji."

The eyes of the four Thieves of Hearts turned towards Skull, who's reaction was about the baseline of what most ordinary people would've felt upon seeing something so unbelievably amazing. His jaw hung open, his eyes were wide, his pupils were the size of dots, and he couldn't even bring himself to say so much as a word. He looked like he'd just seen something that wasn't meant for the eyes of earthly men.

With a frown spread across her lips, Makoto smacked him on the back of the head, which had the effect of breaking him out of his daze.

"Thanks," Ryuji stated in appreciation.

"Wow, you seriously couldn't break yourself out of that?" questioned Ann in disbelief.

"I think so, yeah," Ryuji replied in a serious tone of voice. He looked off in the distance solemnly. "It's like I saw something so freakin' unreal that I think it broke something inside me for a sec."

"Keep in mind that is my sister you're talking about," Makoto stated with a firm glare. "So, unless you'd like something else broken inside of you, I suggest you keep any perverse remarks to yourself."

Of course, the blond chose to do exactly that since he knew for a fact that Makoto could end his existence then and there if she wanted to.

And if he said what was really going through his head, she probably would.

A Short Time Later…

"Okay," spoke Yu and he and his partner set themselves up on their side of the court. "You two ready?"

Both Naoto and Kanji nodded, all the while all of their other friends had gathered at the side of the ring. Practically everyone was watching with intense curiosity before the first serve was even fired off, each more curious than the last to see just how the match would go.

"Feel free to do the honors, Ren," said Yu with a smile.

The raven-haired Wild Card threw the ball up and gave his serve, and despite his earlier claim that he'd hardly ever played, his control and accuracy were certainly a sight to see. Almost immediately, Kanji had to scramble to save the ball from hitting the left side of the court opposite where he'd been standing. Albeit just barely, he was able to send the ball over towards Naoto so that she could return it to the other end of the court, which she did with expert precision and the poise of a veteran in spite of the fact that she herself had rarely ever played.

Sadly, Yu was more than ready for the detective's response. He jumped up into the air towards the apex of the net and readied to spike the ball directly into the opposing team's front court. Kanji moved in to at least get a hand under the spike so that he could prop it up for his teammate to recover, although to his great surprise, it never came.

The ball instead landed on the opposite side from where he'd been running, clearly a result of a fake-out on Yu's part.

Kanji blinked confusedly as he looked back over at the volleyball. "The hell? How'd you even…?"

"Nice job," Ren complimented, sharing a brief appreciative nod with his fellow Fool.

"Don't give me too much credit. You're serve was a good set-up, after all," Yu replied.

As the two were sharing brief nods of appreciation with one another, the peanut gallery was busy looking at them with deadpanned expressions and half-lidded eyes.

Clearly, they were unamused.

"What was it you two said before? Haven't played much?" Yosuke inquired.

"Yeah, so that was a lie," Futaba remarked.

"What?" asked Ren innocently. "I don't play often at all. I never said whether I was good or not though."

"Same here," Yu added on.

"That is such a lawyer's answer," Makoto replied, shaking her head in exasperation. "What? Do you think that a technicality makes it any better?"

"No, but technically-telling the truth is still telling the truth, right?" Ren answered with a small but cheeky smirk.

Ryuji sighed. "Dude, that really is a lawyer's answer. You've been hangin' around Yu-san too much."

"Either way," Yu began as he went to pick up the volleyball. "We've already set up the teams, so no sense in changing anything up now, right?"

"Fair point," Sae admitted. A cocky smirk crossed her lips. "And besides, it wouldn't be any fun beating you if you were actually a novice."

Makoto eyed Ren with a similar look, saying, "Yes, I agree."

"Damn, smack talk already? I guess someone's fired up," Yosuke commented, his voice laced with amusement. "I almost feel bad for whoever has to play those two in the first round."

---

The first match of the fun little tournament that the group had held ended with the result that everyone had expected. Although both Kanji and Naoto had fought hard, they were simply outmatched.

Now, the Nijima sisters had taken their place on the court to face of against their first opponents.

"Ah crap," Yosuke muttered.

"Took the words right outta my mouth," Ryuji uttered in agreement.

Just staring across at the Nijima sisters filled them with an impending sense of dread. Somehow, they knew that the match they were about to have was going to be hazardous to their health.

And for whatever it was worth, they were right.

"We're ready whenever you two are," Makoto stated, her voice calm. "Feel free to serve the ball whenever."

"R-Right," Yosuke replied.

He was almost nervous to actually do so on account of fearing what would happen the second that he did. However, the game had to happen somehow, and so even with a lingering sense of fear in the back of his mind, he threw the ball into the air and hit it over towards the other side. His serve was definitely competent, but it went without saying that the two women he was up against were more than ready to counter it immediately.

Without missing a beat, Makoto raced towards the landing area and hand out her arms in a V-shape to position the ball in the air back over towards the net. It was a perfect setup for Sae, who leapt into the air so high off the ground that it felt as if she'd jumped a hundred feet off of it. The silver-haired beauty then spiked the ball down towards the opposite side of the court, using so much strength that the impact sounded as if a bullet had been fired from a gun.

Sand erupted everywhere like a dusty cloud from a warzone, and it went without saying that all of this happened so quickly that Ryuji and Yosuke could hardly even bring themselves to react. They could only stand there with wide eyes that were fixed firmly on the newly-made hole in the ground.

Everyone in the peanut gallery wasn't much better. They didn't know what was more unbelievable: the fact that the ball was still in one piece, or the fact that the Nijima sisters were high-fiving one another as if what had happened was perfectly normal.

"I believe that makes it our serve now," Sae remarked.

"…we're doomed," Ryuji stated matter-of-factly.

Yosuke solemnly nodded his head. "My only hope is that we make it out of this without breaking any bones."

---

Some time had passed since the absolute demolition that Sae and Makoto had performed against Yosuke and Ryuji. Although images of the unbelievable ass-kicking were still fresh in everyone's head, they'd managed to make it through the next game of the friendly tournament without much issue.

Thus far, the Wild Cards, the Nijima sisters, and the heiress duo of Yukiko and Haru had advanced, leaving just one match remaining. As such, Ann, Rise, Futaba, and Chie stepped onto the court, taking up their positions exactly as the other shad in the three prior games.

"Good luck, you two!" Ann said cheerfully.

"Same to you," replied Chie. She looked towards her teammate. "You ready to give 'em hell, Futaba-chan?"

"I'm gonna give it my all," the orange-haired teen replied, albeit with a nervous smile. "Just, um… don't set your expectations too high."

"Aw c'mon, we've got this!" Chie stated energetically.

The brunette took the ball in her hands with confidence and waited only a few short seconds before sending a serve to the other side of the court. Almost immediately Rise returned it, and to the shock of most, she was skilled enough to fire it straight towards the far-left edge of the court just short of the out of bounds line.

Everyone was ready to see a surprisingly easy first point, but yet again they were met with another surprise. Futaba moved in faster than anyone would or could have expected and made the save. Although the ball shot into the air a bit haphazardly, Chie was more than prepared to back her teammate up. She leapt into action and shot it across to the other side.

Sadly, it seemed that the twintailed duo were more than prepared. Rise saved the point and propped up the ball, allowing Ann to lightly spike it onto the other side of the court which just barely made it past Chie to score the first point.

"Damn," Chie grumbled, giving off a disappointed sigh. Her smile soon returned as she looked back to her teammate. "Sorry, that was my bad, Futaba-chan. Nice save from your end though!"

Futaba laughed bashfully. "I-It was nothin' special."

Over by the audience, most couldn't hep but look on with light surprise written all over their faces.

"Damn," uttered an amazed Yosuke. "I didn't think Rise was anywhere near that good at volleyball. And Ann-chan can seriously play, too."

"I was just thinkin' the same thing," Kanji admitted absentmindedly.

"I'm more surprised by Futaba," Yusuke admitted, sounding genuinely impressed. "I had assumed that she was—"

"Don't you dare finish that sentence, Inari!" Futaba exclaimed.

"W-What?" Yusuke muttered confusedly.

"Whatever you were about to say, I know it was gonna be something super rude! So just put a sock in it!"

"Futaba-chan, on your left!"

"G-Got it!"

"…I feel quite judged," Yusuke said quietly, obviously not wanting to be heard by a certain orange-haired teen. "And here I was attempting to give her a compliment."

Ryuji again eyed him with suspicion. "And what exactly were you plannin' on saying?"

"That I had assumed Futaba to be incapable of strenuous physical activity, and so I was quite impressed that she's handled herself so well."

When no one said anything in response, he looked around to see his friends looking at him with half-lidded eyes.

"Would that not be considered a compliment?" inquired Yusuke, his tone betraying his genuine confusion.

"Well, you're halfway there," Ren said with a chuckle. "Maybe just leave out the first part next time."

"Hmm, I see. Duly noted."

The group watched the rest of the match in relative silence, save for a few exclamations at some nice moves made by both sides. However, despite a good effort by both Futaba and Chie, the final score was three to one in favor of Rise and Ann.

"Nice one, Ann-chan!" Rise exclaimed.

Both the blonde and the redhead high-fived one another as the final point was scored, leaving their opponents to absorb their loss for a few seconds. Neither Chie nor Futaba took it hard, of course. Both of them were just happy that it was a good match.

"Oh well," said Chie, her demeanor oddly cheery in spite of the loss.

At the brunette's side, Futaba was breathing a bit heavily and sweating quite a bit, but even so she wore a bright smile across her face. The truth was that she really had done her best, and she'd done better than she ever thought she could. To her, that was good enough to count the match as a win.

"Meh, you win some ya lose some," Futaba mused.

"That's the spirit," Chie replied. Her eyes shifted towards their opponents. "Good game, you two."

"Right back at you," Rise stated in a friendly manner.

"I'll say," Yu remarked from the sidelines. "All of you played really well. That was a hell of a match."

Ren nodded. "Especially from you, Futaba. That was pretty impressive."

"I completely agree," Makoto stated. "Your movements were a lot better than I would've thought. I guess you've gained a bit more endurance recently, huh?"

The orange-haired teen blushed a bit at the praise that was given to her, though judging by the look on her face, she more than enjoyed hearing it.

"I-It wasn't that impressive," Futaba replied, her voice a bit shy. "I was just doing my best, ya know."

"In any event, with this match concluded, Rise and Ann-san have advanced to the next round," stated Naoto as she marked it down on the makeshift bracket she'd created. "Meaning the last two matches before the finals will be our Wild Cards against Yukiko and Haru-san, as well as Sae-san and Makoto-san against Rise and Ann-san."

"That last one is not gonna be pretty," Yosuke grimaced.

"And what's that supposed to mean?" Rise asked, her arms crossed and her eyes fixed in a glare. "Ann-chan and I aren't exactly slouches, you know."

"I was just bein' honest," Yosuke replied defensively.

"I gotta agree with Yosuke-san here," Ryuji thought aloud, a bit of fear showing across his expression. "Speaking from personal experience, those two are straight up monsters."

The resulting glare from the Nijima sisters was almost immediate.

"I beg your pardon?" Sae asked.

"I'm sorry, I don't think I heard that correctly. Please repeat that again for me, won't you?" Makoto pressed.

"Um… I meant that in a good way?" Ryuji half-asked as if to check if his response was acceptable.

They just looked at him with the same annoyed expressions as if to say that it wasn't.

"Well, no matter how good they are, Rise and I aren't going down without a fight," Ann stated pointedly.

"You tell 'em, Ann-chan!" exclaimed the songstress.

"Good, I'm glad to hear it," Sae said with a smile. "I hope that means you'll give it your all."

"Don't worry, we will," Rise replied. Her brown eyes stared directly into Sae's crimson orbs. "You're not the only one that has a competitive streak, you know."

An odd tension shot between the two young women. It lasted for only an instant, but it was still long enough for most to pick up on it, if only a little. Ann and Makoto in particular saw it in full force and almost felt the urge to back away.

"Good," Sae simply said, her tone friendly enough. "In that case, I look forward to a good match."

"Feeling's mutual," Rise stated cheerfully.

---

Yet another game had ended by a score of three to one with Ren and Yu coming out on top. That didn't really surprise anyone, least of all their opponents who, though skilled in their own right, were just outmatched.

"Good game," said Yu.

"Yeah, you almost had us there a few times," Ren stated pleasantly.

"That might be a bit of an exaggeration," said Haru with a giggle. "However, that was a fun match. Good game!"

"Agreed," added Yukiko with a smile.

The makeshift sand volleyball court had nothing but a pleasant vibe to it when the four left the court. However, that ended the second that the next two teams stepped onto it.

Specifically, Sae and Rise.

When the two young women stepped onto their respective sides, there was a subtle but noticeable fire that seemed to breath between them. It was subtle enough that most had questions, but not overt enough that anyone would bother to ask questions about it.

More than anything, it just caught everyone's curiosity.

"Um…" began Ann, a bit of uncertainty in her voice. "Everything okay? You look a bit tense."

Rise sighed. "I'm fine. I just… never mind, it's nothing."

"It doesn't look like nothing," Ann pressed.

"Okay, maybe it's not 'nothing', but…" Rise began. She let out a sigh before saying, "I just really feel like winning this. That's all."

"You and me both," said Ann with a cheerful smile. "Come on, let's make it happen!"

The redhead and the blonde shared a high-five to light their fires prior to the start of the game. Each was highly motivated, and it was more than clear that they intended to give their best.

And of course, their opponents wouldn't have it any other way.

"Serve's up," Makoto announced.

With almost perfect control and poise, Makoto sent the ball to the far corner just short of the edge of the court. Ann managed to make it in time to set it up for Rise to return, which of course she did.

It looked like perhaps a steady back and forth may have taken place between the four. However, it was clear that the Nijima sisters had no intention whatsoever of taking it easy and letting something like that happen.

Makoto propped up the ball high in the air near the net on their side of the court, positioning it perfectly for her sister to shoot into the air and spike it towards the other side. It seemed as if Sae had jumped nearly twice her height, after which she shot the ball as hard as she could down into the other side of the court.

Of course, Rise tried to move in to stop them from going down one to nothing, but the spike came down with too much speed and force. She was closer that most were expecting, however, in the end, she simply couldn't make it in time.

The first point had gone to the crimson-eyed duo.

"Ugh," Rise groaned, her shoulders slumping. "Almost had that one."

"We'll get the next one for sure," Ann stated reassuringly.

With a firm nod, the blonde and the redhead got ready once more. Makoto then served the ball, and it seemed as if the same sequence of events was going to unfold again. Ann propped up the shot, Rise returned it, Makoto set her sister up, and Sae jumped into the air ready to slam it down towards the sand with the full fury and force of a meteorite plucked from the depths of space.

And a split-second later, that's exactly what happened. Although the end result wasn't the same as before.

Moving at a speed that surprised most, Rise managed to save just in the nick of time and put in in an absolutely perfect spot for Ann to make use of her height to leap into the air and gently tap it towards the opposite side.

The score was now tied at one point a piece.

"Nice work, Ann-chan!" Rise cheered.

"Nice work yourself," Ann replied with a smile.

"I agree," Sae stated as she eyed the redhead. "I didn't think you'd be able to react in time. I'm impressed."

"You ain't seen nothin' yet," Rise shot back playfully.

With the last point having been scored by the mode-idol duo, the honor of serving the ball went over to them for the first time in the game up until that point.

After a strong serve courtesy of Rise, a fairly even back and forth ensued. The ball placement from both teams made it difficult to set up a spike, which was clearly what both sides were trying to play around. After all, it seemed all four of them had surprising jumping ability, and each of them knew it.

Eventually, however, Makoto would be the one to break the trend. In a show of skill that had most going wide-eyed, she shot the ball towards the far back-right corner of the opposing team's side, managing to just barely keep it inbounds and just barely getting it by Ann who'd tried her best to stop her.

"Woah," uttered Ryuji in disbelief.

"You can say that again," Ren stated. "That was a hell of a shot, Makoto."

"I-It was nothing special," she replied in a display of humility.

Ann felt a bit of her previous jealousy creep up inside yet again as Sae set up to serve the ball. On some level she knew it was stupid to let herself get bothered by one completely meaningless compliment, but on another level, she didn't care.

The blonde became just as focused as her teammate as she took her spot just in front of the net, and what immediately followed shocked everyone even more than the first score of the game.

Sae had sent the ball heading to the right corner of the court, her serve being even quicker and lethal than her younger sisters had been just a minute ago. However, Rise was quick to react and positioned the ball perfectly for her partner to return it to the other side.

However, Ann instead chose to leap up into the air as high as she could before slamming the ball down towards the opposite side of the court as hard as she could. It happened so fast, and the hit came with so much strength that even Makoto could barely react in time.

The younger of the Nijima sisters managed to barely save it, but it was far from clean and didn't act as a setup for any counterplay. Sae then moved up to smack it over the net as best as she could. Rise, however, answered back by hitting the ball back towards the far-right corner where none of their opponents were currently standing. It was an incredible return that earned them a well-deserved point on the board.

When the dust settled, Ann and Rise high-fived one another with bright smiles on their faces.

"Yes!" Rise cheered. "Nice work, Ann-chan!"

"You too!" she replied.

Everyone watching was stunned. Most of them hadn't even expected the twin-tailed duo to score a point at all, but almost none of them had expected any points they scored to be so convincing.

"Damn," Kanji uttered, sounding genuinely impressed. "Looks like we've got a real game on our hands after all."

Judging by the fiery looks in each of the four girls' eyes, he was completely right. None of them a word as they got into position for the next round.

Tokyo – Central Shibuya

Akihiko sat silently in his apartment's living room area as he looked up a time zone difference on his smartphone. He took one last look at the time to confirm he was safe to call.

It was the fifth time in as many days that he'd made the attempt, however he wasn't all too surprised. After all, 'the boss lady' he was attempting to contact had previously told him she wouldn't always be available.

Even though the phone continued to ring for some time, eventually the call was picked up from the other end.

"Akihiko?" a firm but feminine voice replied on the other line.

"Yeah, it's me," replied the detective. "Can you hear me okay?"

"Yes, I can hear you fine. Although now isn't the best time for me."

"Then I promise to be brief," Akihiko stated. "I managed to track down the target, and it appears to be exactly what we were afraid of."

The person on the other line stayed silent for a noticeable amount of time. That was understandable, though. At least to him it was.

"You're certain?"

"Completely," replied Akihiko firmly. "I haven't been able to make official contact, but I've gotten close enough for Fuuka's tech to confirm the energy signature. I'm still working on getting a visual to confirm, but it's him, I'm sure of it."

"Do you know the target's current location?"

"Tokyo," Akihiko explained. "And before you ask, no, he hasn't given any indication of moving."

"I see. Hmm, while that's certainly good news, this entire situation presents a large problem…"

"That being?"

The woman sighed. "Sadly, our most experienced operatives are tied up on assignment with me at the moment, so we haven't any manpower to spare. I know this is asking a lot of you, but if the target attempts to leave Tokyo, attempt to slow it down as best as you can. However, under no circumstances should you attempt to—"

"Oh, don't worry. We won't have any issues on that front," Akihiko said with a chuckle. "As luck would have it, I happened to run into an old friend of ours. I won't bore you with the details, but to sum it up, he and pretty large group of experienced Persona users are somehow knee-deep in whatever trouble our big foggy friend is cooking up. Honestly, we might even deal with the target before you can actually show up."

"Assuming he stays down this time."

Akihiko hung his head slightly. "Fair point."

"Well, that's great news. However, I'm a bit confused…"

"Hm? How's that?" Akihiko inquired blankly.

"What 'old friend' are you referring to?"

"Ah," muttered Akihiko in realization. "I was talking about Yu. Yu Narukami."

What followed was a sequence of events on the other side that Akihiko couldn't really make heads or tails over. If pressed, he'd almost say that the phone was dropped and someone tried, and failed, to catch it.

How that would've happened, he had no idea.

"Everything okay?"

"Oh, everything's just perfect over here, Akihiko," a different female voice replied. "Did I hear you say you met up with Yu just now? Huh, now isn't that something~?"

"Yukari?" uttered the detective, his voice laced with confusion. "Uh, yeah, I—"

"No, Aegis, there's no need to—!"

"Are you certain? Such a fundamental examination would not require—"

"A what now?" Akihiko questioned, his voice now holding a clear element of concern to it.

"Ignore her for the moment. My apologies, Akihiko, but I really must get going. Continue to operate as you are and myself alongside the others will meet up with you in a few weeks' time."

"Copy that."

With those words being said, the call came to an abrupt end. That was perfectly fine from Akihiko's standpoint; he'd told them every key detail that he needed to anyway.

Still, he couldn't help but feel confused.

'What the hell was all that about?' Akihiko wondered. He shook it off as unimportant in a split-second. 'Well, I guess it doesn't matter. At least I was finally able to get ahold of her, and now all that's left is to continue on as is.'

Kamakura – Yuigahama Beach

After a hard-fought game, the match had been decided. Both Ann and Rise felt the bitter sting of disappointment for a few short seconds, though they quickly recovered and forced a smile if only so that they could face their former opponents with some amount of grace.

The vibe between Makoto and Ann as they exchanged post-match handshakes was clearly friendly, and compliments could be heard being exchanged between the two. However, with Sae and Rise, it was somehow the opposite.

Both the redhead and the silver-haired beauty were smiling and they looked cheerful enough, but there was a fiery aura that surrounded both of them as they stepped towards one another.

"Good game," said Rise, her smile ever-present. "Almost had ya at the end there, huh?"

"Yes, almost," Sae replied with a chuckle. "That was a closer match than I was expecting. I guess you weren't lying earlier when you said I was the only one with a competitive streak."

"What can I say? I just really didn't want to lose," Rise uttered, a steely look coming into her eyes. "Oh well, maybe I'll come out on top next time."

"Yes, maybe," Sae replied, her voice monotone.

For an instant, it looked like lightning shot between both Rise and Sae's eyes. Again, they kept up a mask that was friendly and cheerful, but there was just something about them that gave off a weird level of intensity.

Honestly, no one knew if they were even talking about volleyball at this point.

"A-Anyway, looks like our last match is gonna be our team leaders against Sae-san and Makoto-chan," Chie spoke up.

"Yeah, looks like it," said Yosuke. "Uh, but since these two just played, do we wanna take a five-minute break or something? It feels kinda unfair after an intense match like that that they should have to—"

"I'm perfectly fine," Sae interjected firmly. "And you, Makoto?"

"No issues here, sis."

"Then there you have it," Sae went on.

Yosuke sweatdropped at the almost forceful nature of her tone.

"We may as well just get right into it," Yu chimed in. "Trust me, it'll be a lot easier that way."

"Speaking from personal experience?" Chie joked.

"Maybe," replied Yu.

A silence ensued as the two teams took their positions on the court, and all eyes were glued to them as they did so. There wasn't a soul present who wasn't curious as to how their match would go, and for obvious reasons.

The first serve went to the Nijima sisters with Makoto being the one to send it across. She did so, and in so doing started off the first volley of an intense back and forth that had everyone on the edge of their metaphorical seats.

Hardly anyone could actually believe they were watching a game of volleyball.

"This feels like I'm watching a Shonen battle anime…" Chie uttered blankly.

Futaba nodded. "I was just thinkin' the same thing."

"I feel that you're being a bit overdramatic…" Haru remarked. She took one look back at the game. "Only just a bit, though."

Eventually, the first point was scored. Then the second. Then the third. Each time, the game had continued on as if nothing had happened at all. Each participant was going through the motions with mechanical efficiency and a fiery desire to do nothing more than win.

When the time came for the fourth point to be scored, it was done by none other than Yu. With the ball being perfectly positioned near the net by his partner, he jumped into the air as high as he could and spiked the ball onto the other side of the court.

Sae saw the move coming a mile away, but sadly she wasn't fast enough to make it in time. She dove for the ball but still came up short, and her bitter disappointment became clear by the scowl that then crossed her lips.

"You alright, sis?" Makoto asked.

She extended a hand, helping her sister up to her feet.

"I'm fine," Sae replied. "Just a bit annoyed, that's all. I thought I was fast enough, but maybe I am showing some signs of slowing down."

"Maybe you needed that five-minute break after all, huh?" Yu asked cheekily.

Makoto immediately froze at the sight of the look that had taken its place on her sister's face. Even though most in the crowd couldn't see it, the aura of intensity that breathed off of Sae was enough to make many take a few steps back.

When Sae's eyes finally shifted over towards Yu, they were fixed in a firm glare, all the while a deep competitive fire burned within them.

"That man's got balls of steel to talk trash to Sae-san of all people," Yosuke muttered with a gulp.

"Either that or a death wish," Ryuji whispered in agreement. "Honestly, I didn't even think Sae-san could get more intense. Boy was I wrong on that one."

"I know, right?" said Futaba. "It's like she went full 'this isn't even my final form'!"

Regardless, back on the court the four players had taken their positions with Ren set to serve the ball. Yet again, there was a fairly intense back and forth, but unlike before, it took place primarily between two players.

While Ren and Makoto certainly weren't slouches by any means, the level of speed and ferocity that was brought to the table by Sae and Yu was simply on a whole new level.

It was as if a literal clash of the titans was taking place.

Even the random people walking by stopped in awe to watch match, and no one in the peanut gallery could bring themselves to so much as blink out of fear that they'd miss even a second of action.

For what felt like a thousand years, the back and forth between Sae and Yu went on. However, all goods things must come to an end, and so it was that eventually, the decisive moment had been set up.

In one particular instance, the ball headed towards the near-center of the net, effectively leaving it up for grabs for either side. It went without saying that both Yu and Sae went after it, and it then became clear that whoever would be the first to reach it would ultimately secure the win.

'Just a bit more!' Sae thought.

Her fingers moved to within an inch of the ball, and for a second, she thought she'd won. However, that's when she realized her mistake. She'd accidentally jumped a bit too forward, and she was set to fly straight into the net onto the other side and directly into Yu.

And that's exactly what ended up happening.

Both the silver-haired young woman and the Wild Card fell straight down towards the sand a split-second later.

"Ugh…" Sae groaned.

She half-opened her eyes and picked up her head, then realizing that it wasn't the ground that her body was laying up against; it was Yu. They were pressed so close together that she could practically feel every inch of his chest and abdomen against her body.

Of course, that's when she realized he could probably do the same, and given that her breasts were just about to pop out of her swimsuit, it was a safe bet that he could actually feel her even more so than she could feel him.

An embarrassed Sae quickly picked her upper body up, but in doing so she was essentially straddling his waist. Realizing that was actually worse, she practically jumped off the ground a split-second later.

Sae cleared her throat, her face clearly a bit flushed. "Sorry about that."

"It's no big deal," said Yu with a smile as he picked himself up. "I just hope you're not hurt or anything."

"I'm fine, thank you," Sae replied. She found it awkward to meet his eyes head-on. "I-In any case, let's continue with the match, shall we?"

"Um, actually…" Yu trailed off.

The silver-eyed young man gestured towards the ball that was just off to the side. It was planted on the ground on the Wild Cards' side of the court.

"I'm not sure I understand," Sae remarked confusedly.

"You managed to tip the ball onto our side just now," Yu explained. "That makes it your win, right?"

Almost everyone who'd heard this wondered if that was actually correct or not. It was clearly true one way or another that the ball fell on Yu and Ren's side of the court, but then again, so had Sae.

"I mean, that's gotta be, like, a foul or something, right?" Ryuji wondered aloud.

"Um, I wanna say that's yes, but if those two-keep going at it, I think Japan won't survive the fallout," Futaba remarked.

"You might actually be right," Yosuke sweatdropped.

"How about we make this simple?" suggested Haru. "Ren, Yu-san, do you think that counts as a point scored, or no?"

Yu nodded. "Yeah, I do."

"And I'll trust his judgement," Ren stated with a nod.

Clearly not satisfied with that outcome, Sae immediately turned to her fellow silver-haired lawyer.

"Wait, hold on, that's not—!" she protested.

"Looks like the match is decided then," mused Chie. "So anyway, who's for lunch?"

Yosuke chuckled. "How long ya been waitin' to ask that question?"

He received a light nudge on his arm from his fellow brunette, but it was clearly done in a friendly manner.

"Lunch sounds good to me," Kanji stated.

"Same here!" Teddie exclaimed in agreement.

"Food sounds lovely," Yusuke remarked.

As everyone started talking about whether or not to get food, Sae stood quietly in place as she was forced to come to terms with the match's sudden end. She couldn't keep a dissatisfied look from coming onto her face, and for one very specific reason…

She could swear she never so much as touched the ball.

And she could swear that Yu had prioritized breaking her fall instead of securing the win for himself.

'That certainly sounds like something he'd do,' Sae thought.

Her eyes shifted towards Yu, and in a split-second, she could tell that her instincts were right on the money. Just one look at the ever-so-slightly playful smile on his face and the almost knowing look in his eyes told her that much.

In a way, it was touching that he cared as much as he did. In another way, it pissed her off more than anything else because yet again she was denied the joy of a serious match against him.

"Something wrong?" asked Yu.

"…you're unbelievable," Sae sighed.

"So I'm told," he said through a laugh.

"—hey, wait a sec, I just realized somethin'," Yosuke began with a surprised expression. "We never did land on a prize for the winners, did we?"

"Oh yeah…" Yukiko muttered in realization.

"Well, since we're already talkin' about lunch, how about we just make it so the winners don't have to pay?" suggested Chie.

"That sounds perfect," Haru chirped.

"Yes, indeed," Yusuke said.

The aspiring artist stomach started to grumble loud enough for literally all of his teammates to hear. It earned a few amused looks, but it had the effect of sending Yukiko into an all-out burst of laughter.

"Pffft—hahaha!"

"Guess that's our cue to get moving," Ren mused.

---

Although the main dining area was packed full of people, the group of Persona users had gotten there at the perfect time. They'd managed to claim a long table near the food stands that was big enough for all of them to fit, and on top of that, they'd managed to get their lunches without much issue.

Most of them were already digging in, and most notably among them was Ryuji who was already on his third helping.

"Aw, man that hits the spot," Ryuji uttered pleasantly. "Guess all that volleyball really took a lot out of me."

"I wasn't aware getting your ass handed to you burned so many calories," Futaba jibbed.

Ryuji chuckled nervously. "I-I mean, that's a bit harsh, don'tcha think? Even Ren and Yu-san lost to those two monst…"

The blond stopped himself upon catching a half-glare from Makoto. He had no way of salvaging what he was about to say, though thankfully his best friend was ready to swoop in and save him from himself.

"Yeah, there's definitely no shame in losing to those two," Ren stated in agreement. He smiled over at the former Shujin class president. "Makoto's one hell of a player, after all. It took everything I had just to keep up."

Makoto averted her gaze, clearly a bit bashful. "I didn't really do anything all that impressive…"

"You don't need to be so modest," Haru replied with a giggle. "Honestly, I'm a bit jealous. You're so good at sports, and at the same time when it comes to academics, you're second to none."

"She's got you there," Ren added.

"Actually, on the topic of academics, how are the three of you doing at Shujin? Hopefully well?" Makoto inquired.

The truth was that she just wanted to change the subject because she sensed both Ren and Haru were about to join forces and tease her endlessly. However, her question drew a bit of nervous laughter from both Ann and Ryuji.

Needless to say, the former student council president was not pleased.

"I see," began Makoto with a bit of an edge to her tone. "So, I take it the both of you—"

"I-It's not that bad! Honest, it's not!" Ann exclaimed in a panic, taking notice of the brunette's growing scowl. "I mean, math is still hell on earth for me, but everything else I easily passed!"

Queen's wrath shifted to the other.

"And you, Ryuji?" she questioned, her voice demanding an answer.

"W-Well, I mean, I'm not—the thing is, I…!"

Makoto nodded along, clearly not impressed. "I see. And is that all you have to say?"

"Um…"

Mona sighed. "If she kills you, I'll cry at your funeral. Rest well, Ryuji."

"Don't worry, he passed all of his subjects" Ren chimed in, coming to his friend's aid yet again. "There were a few close calls, but he made it. Ann's actually been doing much better too."

Although it was clear that Makoto was skeptical for a moment, she seemed to accept what Joker had said. After all, she knew that he wouldn't lie to her about something like that.

Seeing Queen's intensity drop, Ryuji looked towards his raven-haired best friend as if he were his own personal messiah. If they weren't in a crowd of people, he might've actually shed tears of joy.

"Ren…!" Ryuji uttered in absolute relief.

"Keep it together, man," Mona remarked disappointedly.

"Well, in any case, I'm glad that your studies have improved somewhat," Makoto stated firmly. "After all, you've still got two whole semesters left, so if either of you takes your foot off the gas, you may not be there when the time comes for graduation."

The thuggish Persona user's demeanor turned around in an instant.

"Uh, that's… prolly not gonna happen," Ryuji said, almost as if to himself.

"Yeah, we'll all be graduating together!" Ann exclaimed. Her uncertainty became obvious as she turned to Joker. "R-Right?"

"Relax, we'll make it," said Ren reassuringly. "Even if I have to drag you two over the finish line with me."

"I take it that means you've been tutoring them?" Makoto reasoned.

Ren nodded. "Yeah, we studied with each other for the semester exams."

"Then I guess it all makes sense," Makoto said with a laugh. "I suppose with you teaching them, I don't need to worry all that much."

"My dude's smart as shit, that's for sure," Ryuji stated proudly as he threw his hand across his best friend's shoulder. "And as long as he keeps on bein' a super genius, then the three of us are graduating together for sure!"

"I don't think that's how that works," Ann muttered with an amused smirk. "But it definitely helps having him around when I study. He's always so good at explaining things… it's actually kinda crazy."

"I know, right?" said Ryuji.

"I'm not surprised. After all, last I checked, he was at the top of your class academically," Makoto thought aloud. "I assume that's still the case, Ren?"

"Of course," he replied, sporting a cocky smirk as he did so. "Although I admit, the materials are getting tougher and tougher, especially when it comes to math. It'll take a bit of extra effort to keep my spot going into graduation."

Makoto quirked a curious brow. "Oh? Anything in particular that's giving you trouble?"

"Integrals," Ren answered. "It was just the one question on the last exam since we haven't really started to cover them all that much in class, but I've got a feeling there's more to come."

"Well, there's no shame in finding integrals to be difficult. I know plenty of classmates that struggled with them in our third year," Makoto stated matter-of-factly.

"Myself included," remarked Haru with a sigh.

"Pfft, those things are so hard that I don't even know what an integral is," Ryuji stated.

"Why do you sound proud of that?" Mona inquired.

"Anyway," began Makoto, choosing to ignore the blond's comment. "I think I might be able to help you understand them conceptually. You see—"

The conversation that then took place between the two was so incredibly technical that almost no one around them could understand what they were talking about even if they tried. Most found it funny, but there was one among them that had to fight back a frown at the sight of it.

For Ann, watching them talk about something way over her head—smiling all the while—got under her skin so much that it actually surprised her. She tried her best to understand, she really did, but the truth was that she just couldn't follow along.

'Why is this bothering me so much?' Ann wondered, a bit frustrated with herself. 'It's not like this is totally new or anything like that, so then why…?'

The blonde-haired teen came to a painful realization after just a few seconds of thought. She remembered how just earlier that day, Makoto's appearance seemed to take his breath away, meanwhile he'd hardly reacted to how she looked—or at least she thought.

Now, she was watching both Ren and Makoto talk to one another as if they were off in their own little world, and try as she might, Ann felt like she just couldn't find her way to be there with them.

That's why seeing her speak to Ren like this bugged her so much. It was just another instance that made her feel inferior, and that bothered her more than she cared to admit.

"—got it. That makes a lot more sense," Ren said, cupping his chin in deep consideration.

"Glad I could help," Makoto replied with a bright smile.

"That more than helps, actually," Ren stated, appreciation showing in his tone. He laughed, adding, "You know, it's been a while since I've been reminded just how much of a genius you are."

The brunette blushed.

"Ugh, you know I don't like being flattered needlessly."

His devilish smirk made an appearance.

"Then maybe you should stop being amazing at so many things."

Her blush deepened.

"C-Come on, cut it out, would you?"

"Cut what out?"

Makoto saw his smirk deepen and could only sigh at the sight. It was at times like these that she could swear Ren had some kind of instinct that could hone in on her embarrassment like a shark would to blood in the water.

"Like you don't know," Makoto said with a wry grin of her own. She calmly stood up. "Maybe by the time I throw my trash away, you'll have wiped that smirk off your face and we can continue to have a normal conversation."

"Hang on, I'll go with you."

"Why? So you can keep—"

The crimson-eyed teen hadn't bene paying enough attention as she turned to walk away and managed to get one of her flip-flops tangled up with one of the table legs. She nearly fell straight to the ground, though she was predictably saved.

When Makoto was pulled back up, she was all but spun back into Joker's arms. She found herself just a foot away from his face, and it all happened so quickly that a high-pitched squeak nearly escaped her throat. He wasn't wearing his glasses, either, so seeing his captivating gray orbs and the subtle charm and confidence they exuded was almost too much for her to bear. She could feel her chest pounding so hard that she was almost positive that Ren could hear it too, but even so she just couldn't bring herself to look away.

"You know, you really should watch your step a bit more carefully," Ren said calmly.

"Y-Yes, well… thank you," Makoto muttered awkwardly.

Her friends could practically feel the heat coming off of her beet-red face even under the weight of the summer sun on a cloudless day. Thankfully, Ren didn't press any further and made sure she was good to stand on her own two feet before backing off somewhat.

"Wow, you've got some guts pulling out the Casanova routine after earlier," said Futaba with a cheeky grin. "You know, with the whole slack-jaw staring thing you had goin' on."

The Wild Card turned to the orange-haired teen in surprise, his own cheeks a bit reddened. It seemed he really hadn't expected her to take a shot at him.

"Aw, he's blushing again," teased Haru, fighting back her laughter. "How adorable."

"Isn't it though?" Futaba piled on.

"Ren is indeed adorable," Yusuke said in agreement, though it was unclear if he was actually joking.

Ann was ready to put a stop to the teasing if only for her own sake, but any words she was going to speak died in her throat when she saw how Ren was reacting. He was rubbing the back of his neck bashfully and he found it hard to meet anyone's eyes.

She couldn't recall a time he'd seen him that flustered before.

And it bothered her that she wasn't the reason for it.

Ann smiled and abruptly stood up from her seat. "You know what, I suddenly feel like getting some ice cream."

Most of the girls nearby had heard her announcement and immediately perked up.

"Oooh, that sounds amazing!" Rise exclaimed.

Yukiko nodded. "Count me in."

"Actually, ice cream sounds heavenly right about now," agreed Haru.

"Amen to that," Futaba stated.

"Looks like you read our minds, Ann-chan," Chie laughed. "Think you can lead the way?"

"Oh, um, sure," Ann replied, forcing as genuine a smile as she could. "Anyone else feel like coming along?"

"Meh, I could go for some ice cream," Ryuji casually spoke up.

Mona eyed him curiously. "Beg your pardon?"

"What? I can't feel like gettin' ice cream or somethin'?"

"I mean, no, but… you know what, never mind," Moan replied. He immediately looked up with a bright, prideful smile. "Of course, I will accompany you, Lady Ann."

"Yeah, that's definitely not gonna happen," Ren immediately stated.

Mona's eyes shot wide open. "Huh? Why not?!"

"Do you remember the last time you had ice cream?"

The feline shivered uncomfortably and his fur stood up on end as if he'd been hit by some kind of static shock.

"Ugh, just remembering that stinging sensation in my head is…!" Mona shook himself free of the painful memory. "B-But I can still go with them!"

Ren looked at him disbelievingly. "Okay, close your eyes and picture any kind of ice cream."

"Huh?" Mona uttered confusedly. Nevertheless, he closed his eyes and did as the Wild Card had said. "And what's this supposed to—K-Khh!"

Again, the feline started to shiver and he quickly realized what Joker had been trying to say.

"You see my point?"

"Sadly, yes," he said, deflating visibly.

"Aw, don't feel bad, Mona," Rise cooed as she bent down to pet the cat's back. "We'll be back soon, okay?"

Just the sight of the idol's bright smile had the typically proud Phantom Thief acting about as meek as anyone had ever seen him. He just nodded slowly, earning a few laughs from those around him.

A number of the Persona users started to walk away, leaving a majority of the men behind alongside Naoto and Sae, who seemed completely indifferent to the idea of getting ice cream in the first place.

"Don't feel like going, Yusuke-kun? Ren-kun?" Yosuke asked, having noticed they were the sole members to stay behind outside of Mona.

"Ordinarily I would, although I'm so full I don't think my stomach could handle it," replied Yusuke, grimacing a bit as he held a hand to his stomach.

"I'm just not really in the mood for it," Ren stated. "Sweets aren't really my thing to begin with. Not that I dislike them, just that I don't crave them."

"Understandable," Yosuke nodded along. "Partner's the same way as you, actually. He's not a huge sweets guy."

The brunette looked over to Yu with a small grin, though that quickly faded when he noticed that the Wild Card was in deep thought for reasons he couldn't understand. It seemed so out of place that it actually made him wonder if he'd said anything he shouldn't have just now.

"Uh, somethin' wrong, partner?" Yosuke questioned.

"I just noticed you're still using honorifics to address everyone still," Yu stated. "After everything we've been through the past month and a half, it feels a bit weird, don't you think?"

It didn't take much thought on the part of anyone present to realize that he was right. In fact, most were surprised they hadn't considered it sooner.

"True," Naoto uttered absentmindedly. "We've nearly died alongside one another multiple times by this point, so it's only natural to drop something as stiff as honorifics."

Yosuke chuckled. "I mean, I totally agree, but that's a pretty weird way to think about it."

"Can't argue with ya there," said Kanji with a shrug. "But that's all a part of being a Persona user, don'tcha think?"

"Couldn't have said it better myself," Yu stated with a smile.

"You're right," Yusuke chimed in with a solemn nod. "Perhaps it is an odd way to think about it, but the truth is…"

When the aspiring artist suddenly trailed off, most looked towards him with concern. His eyes were wide and his expression was blank, almost as if he'd been utterly and completely captivated by something.

Now more curious than anything else, Ren and the others followed his vision to see what on earth could've been so eye-catching, only to then see a man wheeling a stall with a fish tank full of lobsters.

It made absolutely no sense whatsoever. In fact, it made even less sense than that.

However, that didn't change the fact that it was both there and that Yusuke was so enamored by it.

Ren sighed. "Oh boy…"

---

Ryuji stood in place, awkwardly eating the shaved ice he'd recently gotten from the ice cream stall. The reason for that awkwardness was simple…

It was Ann.

The blonde-haired beauty sat in absolute silence with a scowl across her lips and a bitter look in the pits of her typically cheerful blue eyes. She continued to spoon away at her medium-serving of chocolate and vanilla mixed ice cream, giving her the stereotypical look of a depressed girl if ever there was one.

"So…" began Ryuji, trying to speak as naturally as he could. "How's it goin'?"

She didn't respond at first and instead took another spoonful of her ice cream.

"I'm fine," Ann replied defiantly.

"Uh-huh…" Ryuji uttered, clearly not believing her. "So, shot in the dark, but… is this somehow about Makoto?"

The thuggish Persona user was a bit hesitant to ask that question since bringing up that topic would only worsen her mood if it wasn't what she was already upset about.

However, judging by the spoonful of ice cream that soon made its way into Ann's mouth, it seemed like his guess was right on the money.

"I don't wanna talk about it," Ann grumbled.

"Well, you might feel better if you just say what's buggin' ya out loud, but it ain't like I'm gonna force ya. Don't think I could even if I tried," Ryuji replied with a shrug. "But Ren? He's a different story. He'd make you spill your guts whether you want to or not."

"Your point?"

"Just that if I noticed somethin' was buggin' you, what do you think the odds are that he does? Maybe you got lucky and he didn't notice cuz' we were bagin' on him for that whole thing with Makoto, but the second we walk back there, you really think he won't see how you're feelin' and get all concerned?"

Although she hated to admit it, Ann knew that Ryuji had a point. He was especially right when he said that Ren would find her out and probably make her speak her mind whether she wanted to or not.

And that was something that she wanted to avoid at all costs.

Ann let out a deep, frustrated sigh. "Do you ever just have one of those days where you just feel defeated in every possible way?"

"Oh c'mon, it ain't that bad," Ryuji said as reassuringly as he could manage.

"Is that so? Let's go over everything then, shall we?" Ann began, an undertone of defeat in her voice. "For starters, the second all of you saw Makoto in her swimsuit, you lost your minds—and that includes Ren, by the way. I've barely even made him bat an eyelash, and that was the most I've ever seen him react to anything ever. Then when we sat down for lunch, I ended up with a nice view of Ren and Makoto off in their own little world talking about stuff I don't think I'll ever understand. Then, as a nice bright-red cherry on top, I got a front-row seat to a nice little 'Casanova' act that ended with a friendly reminder that he couldn't stop staring at her earlier."

Ryuji was at a loss for words. Try as he might, he really couldn't find anything comforting to say.

"I mean…" he trailed off.

"That's what I thought," muttered Ann. She practically hung her head between her arms. "It's not like Makoto even likes Ren like I do, right? But honestly, that just makes it worse. She got his attention so easily in ways I don't think I ever have and maybe never will. I'm not mad at her or anything, but… it just sucks. It's like, if he's not going after her, then why would he ever stop to look at me?"

Ryuji visible winced when he heard her say that. Although Ann was clearly trying to hide it, even he of all people could hear a bit of hurt in her voice.

"W-Well, it's not like Ren's never checked you out before, ya know," Ryuji said, doing his best to offer a silver-lining.

"Not like that," Ann replied. She let out another deep sigh. "I guess even I was surprised by how good Makoto looked, though. She's got such a mature vibe now… and is it just me, or is her ass way nicer than mine?"

Ryuji nodded emphatically. "Totally, yeah. Like ten times nicer."

The aspiring model looked up at him in both anger and disbelief, her eyes forced into a deadly glare. He held his hands up defensively.

"S-Sorry, it just kinda slipped out," Ryuji replied. "And it's not really ten times nicer. Just… ya know, nicer. It's like impossible to stare at it and not think—"

"You're. Not. Helping," Ann said slowly.

"In my defense, you know I'm bad at this kinda stuff," Ryuji pointed out. "And I'm just bein' honest."

She just glared at him angrily before digging into her ice cream yet again for another large scoop.

"Cut me some slack, will ya?" Ryuji went on, clearly a bit guilty on account of his own lack of tact. "I mean, look, just cuz' a guy checks a girl out doesn't mean he's in love with her or anything like that. It's just something guys do, ya know? And just cuz' Makoto is smart and she can talk to Ren about shit you and I ain't ever gonna understand, that doesn't mean you can't talk to him about anything. You two talk about shit all the time when you're hanging out with or without me there, right? So, it really shouldn't be a big deal."

"…yeah, I know," admitted Ann.

Despite her words, it was beyond obvious to Ryuji that her mood really hadn't improved at all. She'd perked up somewhat, but it was still more than obvious to anyone with eyes and a working brain that she was sulking.

However, he knew he'd done all he could do.

"Anyway, I'm gonna head back now," Ryuji abruptly stated. "You wanna come with?"

"Nah, I'll stay here a bit longer, maybe wait for some of the others to get out of line before I walk back," Ann stated with a shake of her head.

"Suit yourself," Ryuji replied. He gave her a tasing grin. "Oh, and try not to go back for seconds, 'kay?"

Ann's eyes narrowed. "I would so throw this ice cream at you if it didn't mean I wouldn't get to eat it."

The thuggish Persona user didn't want to press his luck by joking with her further before he walked off. In the mood she was in, she might actually toss it right in his face.

---

A frowning Yusuke Kitagawa slumped back into his chair, having been denied the joy of purchasing a set of lobsters. Most of the others had already gone back to the beach, leaving him to stew in his bitterness alongside Ren and Mona, both of whom looked as if they didn't quite know what to say.

"Cheer up, Yusuke, there's always next time, right?" said Ren.

"Yes, you're very right. I suppose there will be other opportunities," Yusuke replied. His frown deepened for a brief moment. "Still, if only those lobsters in particular weren't so expensive…!"

Mona sighed. "I still don't get the obsession."

"It's not so much an obsession as it is inspiration," Yusuke stated pointedly. "As best I can explain it, their aesthetic beauty simply catches my eye, and that's all there is to it?"

"Aesthetic beauty?" asked Ryuji, catching the tail-end of the artist's words as he approached the table again. At first, he was confused, but his brain eventually made the translation into 'normal person' speech. "Wait, as in stuff that looks good, right? Are you talkin' about girls? For real?!"

"Lobsters," Ren plainly replied.

"…ah," Ryuji uttered, deflating as he took his seat across from his best friend. He looked around, asking, "Where'd everyone else go?"

"They headed back to the beach," Ren explained simply.

"Gotcha," Ryuji muttered.

It looked like the blond was about to say more, but his attention was torn away by a pair of girls that happened to walk by. He did a good enough job of hiding it from them, but to his friends seated at the table, it was more than obvious he was checking them out.

"Get your mind out of the gutter, Skull," Mona remarked tiredly. "I know it must be hard for you to resist the urge to stare at every girl that walks by, but at least try to be a gentleman."

Ryuji glared lightly at the feline. "Big talk from someone that practically fainted when the girls were showin' off their swimsuits earlier. Your eyes were stuck on 'em like glue for who knows how long."

"W-Wha—Hold on, I wasn't staring, I was…!" Mona stammered.

"You totally were, dude," Ryuji chuckled. "Not that I blame ya though. I mean, just between us guys… those older girls, am I right?"

"Why am I not surprised you've managed to gear the conversation in this direction already?" Yusuke wondered aloud. He blushed at the recollection from earlier, clearing his throat as he almost begrudgingly added, "Although… I can't find myself to disagree."

"…Amagi-san, right?" Ryuji asked with a toothy grin. "You were checkin' her out the most, am I right?"

"T-That's a bit of a crude way to put it," Yusuke protested. "I was simply admiring her effortless elegance."

"Dude, like I keep sayin', there ain't any shame in it," Ryuji stated reassuringly. "Cuz' let's be real, all of 'em looked like bombshells. Here's the real question though: who'd you think was the hottest?"

"Well," muttered Mona as he cleared his throat, clearly trying to sound more composed than he actually was. "It's difficult not to admit that Rise-san and Sae-san were rather… y-you know."

"Right?" Ryuji asked, having a rare moment of agreement with the Phantom Thieves' mascot. "Honestly, I don't even know who to go with between the two."

"I would cast my vote for Amagi-san, personally," Yusuke remarked.

"And with that, we've only got one left," Ryuji commented. He turned towards the Wild Card, almost laughing as he said, "Actually, do we even need him to say anything? The way he was lookin' at Makoto earlier today kinda gave it away, right?"

Yet again, the raven-haired teen was stuck with a rare look of embarrassment. The laughter that followed from his friends only added to it, which led him to avert his eyes with a light blush coating his cheeks for what felt like the hundredth time that day.

"Like I said before, it's not like that," Ren stated almost tiredly.

"Okay, dude, it's just us guys here, so you may as well just come clean," Ryuji replied, rolling his eyes at his friend's denial. "You saw how hot Makoto looked and you got caught staring. It ain't a big deal, and no one's gonna blame you."

"I keep telling you, I wasn't…!" Ren began. He released a heavy sigh as he gathered himself. "Look, it's not like I was staring at her 'like that'. She looked great, obviously, but I just wasn't expecting her to wear something so mature and it totally caught me by surprise. You get what I mean, right?"

"…well, yeah, I kinda get that," Ryuji admitted, albeit begrudgingly. "It was a real shock for sure. I mean, she scares the shit out of me, and even I couldn't stop looking. It was like a 'holy shit, she looks so different from what we're used to' kinda vibe."

"She did indeed look rather stunning," Yusuke remarked.

"The others still looked good, too. Lady Ann especially," Mona meekly said, lacking his usual confidence.

"I mean, sure, they all looked good. But I don't think any of 'em had anything on Makoto," Ryuji uttered, his response almost automatic. "And with Ann, yeah, even if she was rockin' her swimsuit, like I said before, it ain't like she was all that different from the last time we were at the beach like Makoto was."

"Hmm, that's actually an interesting point now that you mention it," Yusuke thought aloud. "Perhaps Makoto appears all the more eye-catching to us compared to the others because she seemed far more 'mature' or 'daring' than we're used to."

"Like a 'prisoner of the moment' sorta thing?" Ryuji guessed.

"Yes, exactly. I couldn't have said it better myself."

"I didn't even know you knew what being a 'prisoner of the moment' meant," Mona commented, sounding almost impressed.

"I'll ignore that," Ryuji said with a momentary glare. "But maybe Yusuke's right. The others not lookin' so different from last year may be screwin' with the curve a bit."

"Actually, I disagree," Ren abruptly remarked, earning a few curious brows. "That the others don't look any different, I mean."

"Well, yeah, I mean they all a little different, I guess. I mean, Futaba's a bit taller, and maybe Haru's gained a little wei—"

"Ryuji, for the love of god, do not finish that sentence," Mona immediately interjected.

The blond's eyes immediately became the size of dots as he turned around in a panic, fully expecting to see Haru standing right behind him with a sadistic smile showing on her face and an axe already in her hands. He was ready to run for the hills if Haru had actually been behind him, but thankfully, she was nowhere to be seen.

"Dude, please don't do that again! You had me thinkin' she was right behind me!" Ryuji exclaimed. He took a deep breath and sunk into his chair, saying, "That scared the shit out of me! Ugh, great, and now I can't stop thinkin' about the last time the four of 'em beat me up!"

"I believe this is what they refer to as PTSD," said Yusuke.

"Well, if they kicked the crap outta you, you'd have it too!"

"You're lucky they didn't do worse after what you said last time," Mona remarked.

"Whatever," Ryuji scoffed. "Anyway, back on topic—my point is, they ain't changed all that much at all."

"Again, I think you're wrong," Ren replied casually. "Take Futaba for example, don't you think she was walking around a lot more confidently this time around? And don't you think Haru seems a lot more like Haru and a lot less like Noir?"

It didn't take long for each of them to recall last year when the orange-haired teen had quite literally come out of the changing rooms wearing a giant mask on her head. Ignoring that obvious details, it was also true that Futaba looked way more comfortable in her own skin.

In Haru's case, it was even more obvious. Though it wasn't the heiress's fault, after they'd met her was when the 'final chapter' of the Phantom Thieves had started. Their entire lives were basically running from one fight to the next, and though it was only obvious in hindsight, that meant they hadn't really gotten to connect with the fluffy-haired heiress as much as they'd have liked.

Now, however, it was the exact opposite. They knew each other even better as the people they were rather than by their codenames, and Haru was a prime example of that.

"That's true," said Yusuke with a thoughtful nod. "Futaba even seems less agitated by the crowds in spite of the fact that there are significantly more people here than when we went to Odaiba."

"And shit, I hadn't even realized that about Haru. When we first met her, it was right before crap started to hit the fan big-time, so everything felt all 'business as usual' whenever we'd get together," said Ryuji, scratching the back of his neck as if he were surprised he hadn't realized it sooner. "Damn man, you think about shit a lot deeper than I do."

"That's why he's our fearless leader!" Mona exclaimed with a smile.

"Well, no doubt about that," chuckled Ryuji. He then took on an expression of deep thought, eventually saying, "But I gotta say, I still don't know what you think is different about Ann."

Mona rolled his eyes. "Typical Skull."

The disdain in the feline's voice hit a bit of a nerve in the blond-haired Persona user.

"I'm sorry, do you notice anything different about her?" Ryuji asked pointedly. "Cuz' if so, then be my guest and enlighten us, oh-great Mona."

"U-Um, sure. That's, uh…"

"Can't come up with anythin', can ya?" Ryuji mockingly went on. There wasn't any response given, making him more than sure he was right. "Pfft, thought so."

Although everyone could practically feel Morgana's blood pressure rising, the truth was that try as he might, he couldn't actually deny that Skull was right. And he was really trying.

"Actually, I think Ann's changed pretty significantly," Ren commented.

There wasn't a one among the three of his friends who didn't look at him curiously. They understood what he was trying to say with both Futaba and Haru, but when it came to Ann, no matter how deeply they tried to think on it, they were all at a complete loss.

"Um… okay, I'll bite. What the hell are you talkin' about?" Ryuji asked, his confusion more than making its way into his tone. "She basically looks and acts the damn same. Okay, maybe, she's slimmed down some, but, like, that's it."

"Well, yeah, but it's a bit more than just that, don't you think?" Ren asked.

He seemed to think Ryuji would know what he was talking about, though clearly he didn't, and neither did Fox or Mona.

"Ya lost me," Ryuji stated in a deadpanned voice.

"Well, like you said, she's slimmed down a bit, and she's more toned than she used to be. It might not be as 'in your face' as wearing a new swimsuit no one was expecting, but for her, that's…"

It was clear by the look on the Wild Card's face that whatever he was about to say, he felt a bit awkward about it. It was almost as if he was a bit embarrassed to say it out loud.

Of course, that only made his friends all the more curious to hear him say it.

"C'mon, you've already started. No point in chickening out now, right?" Ryuji prodded. His eyes drifted past his friend as he quietly said, "Uh, actually—"

"True," Ren muttered to himself, clearly having not heard Skull's last few words. "I was just going to say that for Ann, looking that way is a result of a lot of hard work she's put in. She's probably had to stick to a strict diet and exercise routine, which isn't easy, and it takes a lot of motivation and effort to keep that up. Basically, it's not as simple as saying she's more toned or that she's a bit thinner since those small changes mean more than you'd think. They show just how passionate and serious she's gotten about her modeling."

The raven-haired teen paused as he gathered his thoughts. After what he'd said so far, it went without saying no one interrupted him.

"Ann already looked great before, and it's true she doesn't look totally different… but when I look at her, that's what I see. And I just think it's pretty amazing," Ren stated.

There wasn't a one among Ryuji, Yusuke, and Morgana that didn't have their jaw dropped. It wasn't anything new to hear Ren talk like that, but the way he sounded as he did so was what really stunned them. There was true admiration in his voice for such small details that hardly anyone else would've noticed that it was beyond what anyone had expected him to say.

"Holy shit…" Ryuji uttered quietly, at a loss for other words.

The other two didn't even really have a response to give. They were just staring blankly at him.

'Yeah, that's about right,' Ren thought with an inward sigh.

The main reason he hadn't wanted to say that in the first place was because he'd expected them to react that way. He didn't regret speaking his mind, but even he had to admit it was embarrassing to say something like that out loud.

He was just glad that they were the only ones to hear him say it.

That, however, turned out not to be the case, which Ren soon learned upon realizing that his three male friends weren't quite looking at him.

They were looking directly behind him where obviously someone was standing.

'…please don't let this be who I think it is,' Ren thought, now getting a sinking feeling in his stomach.

The raven-haired teen turned around, seeing his worst fears come to life as he saw Ann, alongside Futaba, standing directly behind him.

And it was clear by the look on their faces that they'd heard every word he'd just said.

Ann in particular was more stunned than Ren had ever seen her before. She seemed to snap out of it when he'd turned around, and almost out of reflex, her eyes locked with his. Ren lasted only a few seconds before he couldn't handle it anymore. He turned his head away in embarrassment, his face starting to go crimson.

The blonde wasn't much better, either. Her face was getting redder and redder by the second too, but he was too caught up in his own embarrassment to notice.

"H-Hey there," Ren stammered awkwardly.

That moment might've been the first time that Ren Amamiya was at a literal loss for words. He tried his absolute best to come up with literally anything to say, but his head was so out of it that he was drawing a complete blank.

Ann, of course, was no better.

"H-Hm? Oh, u-um… hey," she awkwardly replied.

Then there was silence. Neither Ren, Ann, or anyone watching could bring themselves to say so much as a word. Everything about the interaction became so painfully embarrassing that the Wild Card simply did the first thing that came to his mind to put it to an end.

"Anyway," Ren began as he suddenly stood up from his chair. "Yu said he needed me for something back at the beach. I really should get going."

Ryuji snapped back to reality to give him some additional help. "Y-Yeah, we were just talkin' about that. Right, Yusuke?"

"Hm?" Yusuke uttered confusedly. "I don't recall—"

A foot planted itself into his shin hard enough to get him to stop talking.

"Read the room, dude!" Ryuji quietly berated. "A-Anyway, we'll come with ya, Ren."

What followed was perhaps the fastest retreat in the history of the Phantom Thieves, whether that was in the Metaverse or reality. The two young women were left on their own, each still at a loss for words.

"Holy crap…" Futaba muttered. "Where do I even start? I mean, just… holy crap."

Seeing Ren embarrassed was one thing, but seeing something like that was entirely something else. Of course, Futaba couldn't blame him. If she had been in his shoes, she'd have just had a panic attack, passed out, and then woken up several hours later just to do the same thing all over again when she remembered what'd happened.

"Ehem," said Futaba, clearing her throat as she turned towards her friend. "So, um, are you…?"

When her eyes landed on her friend for the first time since the awkward moment had started, the orange-haired went silent. Ann's cheeks were a bit flushed—which of course she'd expected—but then there were her genuine smile and the soft look in her eyes. They held such strong feelings and emotions in them, and while Futaba couldn't recognize exactly what they were, she started to get an idea very quickly.

'W-Wait,' Futaba thought, her eyes widening. 'That's gotta be—"

"There you guys are," Chie said energetically as she and the other girls returned to the table. "Hm? Hey, where are the others?"

The sight of their friends broke Ann out of her trance. She greeted them with a friendly smile.

"Hey guys," Ann said. "Um, I'm not entirely sure, but I think they all went back to the beach. Ren, Ryuji, Yusuke and Mona were here a second ago and just headed back."

"They mentioned something about going to help Yu-san with something," Futaba added. She noticed a few people absent, then asking, "So then where'd Rise-san and Chie-san go?"

"Back to the beach," Yukiko explained simply.

"Rise-san had said she wanted to… Hm?" Makoto uttered curiously as her eyes landed on Panther. She looked at her face closely. "Ann, are you okay? Your face is really red right now."

"I-Is it?" Ann replied, doing her best to feign innocence.

"Actually, yes, it is," Haru remarked, sounding a bit concerned. "Is something wrong? Are you feeling unwell?"

"Is the heat getting to you?" pressed Makoto.

As the aspiring model struggled to come up with a good explanation that didn't involve the truth, she received a timely and unexpected assist from Futaba.

"That one's my bad," said the navigator with a shrug. "We were talking about video games and I happened to mention an eroge I've been getting really into recently. She got all embarrassed about it…"

A few of the girls who knew what that actually was turned a bit red themselves. One of them, however…

"Oh? Which one?" Yukiko inquired with a pleasant smile.

Everyone looked at the Amagi heiress in disbelief, which of course was exactly what she'd wanted them to do. Her deadpanned expression broke almost immediately.

"Pffft—hahahaha!"

"Yukiko-san's humor aside, please refrain from bringing up discussions 'like that' in a public place, Futaba," Makoto sighed.

"I'll consider it."

While everyone else was busy looking at Yukiko wondering if and when she'd stop laughing, Ann looked towards Futaba. She obviously had no idea why her youngest friend had covered for her the way that she had. Not that she didn't appreciate it, of course, but her confusion remained all the same.

"Um, Futaba," Ann whispered.

"Just helping out a friend," she replied, knowing exactly what she was going to ask. Her lips curled into a reassuring smile. "That would've been waaaay too awkward for you to explain, and let's just say no one sympathizes with that more than me. So don't sweat it, 'kay?"

"…yeah, thanks," Ann said, her voice quiet but holding clear appreciation.

They shared a meaningful look with one another, only to have their moment ruined by the continued sound of a certain raven-haired young woman's laughter.

"Hahaha!"

Futaba looked at the heiress in disbelief. "…how is she still laughing?"

---

Most of those that had headed back to the beach were enjoying their time in the calm, relaxing ocean water. Yu and Rise were already swimming around casually while Sae was relaxing on an innertube. On the shore, Naoto and Kanji looked off into the waters while Yosuke and Chie were busy making sandcastles.

The blue-haired detective abruptly placed her foot in an oncoming wave to sample the water's temperature, though the fact that she shivered a little afterwards made it clear it was too cold for her tastes.

"Come on in, Naoto!" Rise exclaimed. "The water's great!"

Naoto forced a smile. "N-No, thank you. I'm just fine standing here."

The songstress pouted cutely before she made her way back to the shore. She stood directly in front of Naoto and gave her a look that she was all too familiar with. It was the look Rise gave her whenever she knew she was lying.

"Is that so?" Rise asked disbelievingly.

"Well, it's not as if I don't want to go in. T-The water's just a bit too cold for me, is all," Naoto replied.

"You'll get used to it super quick though!" Rise countered.

"She's right, ya know," Kanji chimed in.

"Be that as it may, i-it's just my preference to stay here and just get my feet wet," Naoto answered.

"…so you really don't want to go swimming?" Rise pressed.

"Yes, really."

The detective believed that there would be more of a back and forth, but to her surprise, Rise nodded her head in understanding.

"Well, if you say so," she said before walking back into the ocean.

'Phew,' Naoto sighed internally, closing her eyes to take a relaxing breath. 'I didn't think she'd give up so easily, but—'

A big splash of water washed over her. It was so sudden and so cold that she yelped cutely, even making Kanji blush given just how adorable her reaction was.

"W-What the…?" Naoto muttered confusedly.

She glanced forward to see Rise looking back at her with a taunting, mischievous smile spread from ear to ear. Naoto didn't need to be a world-renown detective to figure out that she'd been the one to splash her.

"Honestly, I should've seen that coming," said Naoto with a chuckle. "Am I correct in assuming your plan was to taunt me into coming after you in some petty, childish act of revenge?"

"Maybe."

"Well, you'll be pleased to know that it worked."

Naoto wasted absolutely no more time in running into the water directly after Rise. Although it was clear she certainly intended to take her 'revenge', she did so with a bright, beaming smile spread across her face.

The redhead just ran deeper into the water, and the two were splashing each other back and forth within seconds.

'Heh, that girl's got a real talent for getting what she wants, huh?' Kanji thought amusedly. He took another look at the former Detective Prince. 'But I guess that ain't always a bad thing.'

Kanji was just happy to see Naoto having fun, but sadly, as he was appreciating the moment, he'd made the same mistake that the blue-haired beauty had just moments ago. A large splash of water slammed into him, though he was surprised to see that it had actually been Yu who'd done it as opposed to either of the two girls.

"I felt left out," Yu said with a cheeky smirk.

"Oh, you are so dead!"

With Kanji storming the water, a two-on-two battle between him and Naoto against Yu and Rise had started.

"Ya think you're funny, huh, Yu? Well take this!"

"Missed me."

"Wha—stop movin' around!"

"Come on, Naoto, is that all you've got?"

"You wish!"

The four continued on and one without a care in the world. Yu and Kanji got so into it that they constantly went back and forth with one another until finally the Wild Card had cornered his prey.

"Any last words?" Yu asked, barely managing to stifle a laugh as he spoke.

"Go ahead and do it if you think you can actually hit me," Kanji taunted.

In one strong motion, Yu sent a wave so large that he was sure it'd smack into Kanji's side even as he was moving away. He, however, had not counted on Sae being behind him when he'd done this, which put the silver-haired beauty directly on the path to a hell of a wakeup call.

'Aw crap,' Yu grimaced in thought.

A massive downpour of water washed over an unsuspecting Sae. Even as this happened, she remained perfectly calm. She just continued to sit quietly in her innertube, though the scowl on her lips made it clear that she was not happy.

Everyone stared fearfully as the elder Nijima sister got out of her tube and stood up in the water. She looked towards Yu with a prickly aura, her hands crossed and her eyes fixed in a firm glare as she waited for an explanation.

"Sorry, that was my bad," Yu apologized.

To the surprise of most, Sae dropped her glare and nodded as if all was forgiven. However, a split second later she then dropped an arm into the ocean and sent a splash straight into Yu's face that was really more like a flat-out wave.

"My bad," Sae stated mockingly.

The Wild Card's side-parted hair fell over his eyes and he spit out a bit of water. That that he somehow remained stone-faced through it all only added to how funny the entire thing was.

Rise couldn't hold back her laughter. "Wow, she really got you there, huh?"

"Yeah, she did," admitted Yu.

He fixed his hair slightly before he turned to his right and surprised Rise by drenching her with water at point blank range. She was beyond shocked if her dropped jaw was anything to go by.

"You did not just do that," Rise said.

"Funny, I think I just di—"

The Wild Card's smartass comment was cut off courtesy of a little payback that came from Rise. His hair felt onto his forehead and he spat out a bit of water yet again.

"H-Hehe," Sae chuckled, fighting back outright laughter. "Honestly, I'm starting to think that's a good look for y—"

Now it was Sae turn to be caught by surprise as Yu returned the favor from earlier and hit her with one powerful wave. Needless to say, her glare and scowl were back so quickly it was almost impressive.

However, instead of immediately going after Yu, her gaze shifted over towards Rise. The two of them locked eyes, greatly confusing everyone else around them.

They, however, seemed to know exactly what was going through one another's head.

"Truce?" Sae asked.

Rise nodded. "Truce."

The two young women instantly assaulted the silver-eyed young man with everything they had. It wasn't long before Yu found himself in an all-out splash war against both Sae and Rise.

It went without saying that the Wild Card was quickly outmatched. In fact, he was getting pummeled so hard that Naoto and Kanji hesitated to pile on. Of course, they still did, though they felt a bit guilty about it.

From the beach, Yosuke and Chie watched everything play out with amused smiles spread from ear to ear. After all, they were getting a rare chance to see Yu Narukami being outmatched. They didn't hold it against him, though.

"This is the closest I've ever seen him come to getting his ass handed to him," Yosuke joked.

Chie giggled. "Ditto. I'm pretty sure he doesn't care, though."

"Yeah, you're probably right," Yosuke mused.

In a brief exchange, Rise had playfully latched onto one of the silver-haired young man's arms to prevent him from fighting back while Sae took the other as if mimicking the idol's actions. However, Yu then used that to his advantage and dragged the two of them down with him into the water. When they finally came back up, each were smiling and laughing, even if there were clearly a few taunts shared as they did so.

"Looks like all of 'em are having fun, huh?" Yosuke said with a chuckle.

"I think it might go beyond just 'fun' for Rise," Chie replied. She gave off a nostalgic sigh, shaking her head as she added, "No way we'd see a smile like that otherwise."

Yosuke nodded. "Seems that way for Sae too."

There was a comfortable silence, during which both of the brunette's were thinking the exact same thing. Neither of them wanted to be the one to say it first in case the other didn't know, though.

"…we both know those two are down bad for Yu, right?" Yosuke asked quietly.

"Oh yeah," Chie said with a firm nod. "Bad-bad."

"So then do you think he's just an idiot or that he's ignoring it on purpose?"

"Speaking from personal experience," Chie began, averting her eyes a bit bashfully, "I'd say he's more than stupid enough to not know."

Yosuke hummed skeptically. "I'm not so sure about it. Then again, I guess the alternative is that he's just stringing them along, which…"

"Wouldn't be something he'd do," Chie stated firmly. She was quick to amend her words. "W-Well, not intentionally, at least."

"Right."

The conversation came to an abrupt end and the two went back to quietly building up sand castles. One of them, however, still had a burning question on their mind.

"So," began Yosuke casually. "What'd ya mean when you were talking about 'personal experience'?"

Chie just blushed and looked away.

"N-Nevermind that, it's not important."

"Is that so~?"

Some Time Later…

"Man, the day sure flew by quick, huh?" Ryuji abruptly stated.

Most of the others that were helping pack up their beach spot nodded along, per usual finding that the blond-haired teen was saying exactly what they were thinking.

"Time flies when you're having fun," Ren replied.

"Very true," said Yu.

It didn't take much time for them to be ready to go. They did one final sweep to make sure they hadn't forgotten anything, and then as one unit they started to go back towards the beach entrance where they'd parked.

"So, how does Kamakura compare to Odaiba?" Chie asked conversationally towards their younger counterparts.

"Both are great, but honestly? I gotta say Kamakura takes the gold medal in my book," Futaba replied with a noticeable grin.

"I must confess that I agree," Yusuke said with a nod. "Although the extra travel distance is a bit bothersome."

"The crowds are also a bit annoying," Ann admitted.

As if to prove her point, a swarm of people came out of nowhere and caused each of them to scramble a bit to ensure no one bumped into the. It passed after a few seconds, but towards the tail end of it, Ann was nearly hit by a pair of extremely airheaded girls staring at their cellphones. She tried to get out of their way but stumbled a bit on account of the baggage she was carry, though at the last second Ren had pulled her closer to him and out of their way.

"You good?" Ren asked plainly.

"Yeah, thanks," replied Ann with a smile.

It was an interaction they'd probably had about a dozen times before, but this time around, Ren couldn't keep his head steady once they made eye contact. He turned away, a light blush on his cheeks that was perfectly clear on his glasses-less face.

Seeing him still so embarrassed brought a smile to Ann's lips that she just couldn't stop even if she wanted to. She didn't press him on it, though; she just wanted to enjoy that little moment to herself.

"The crowd's aside, I'd have to say this beach does beat out Odaiba in my opinion," Haru chirped, getting back to their previous conversation. "Though I'm just happy to have gotten the chance to come here with all of us as a group. It would've been a wonderful time either way!"

"Totally!" Rise chimed in.

"I enjoyed it here as well," Sae spoke up as they continued on. She laughed, adding, "Although perhaps my perspective is skewed since I haven't been to a beach in years before today."

"Well, we're glad we could make it a good experience for you," Ren said with a laugh. He was clearly about to say more, but something caught his eye. He squinted off into the distance ahead, muttering, "Is that who I think it is…?"

It was obvious that the Wild Card was staring at a simple table where a lone woman with long, straight blonde hair currently stood. She seemed to be a fortune teller, and as they approached, the young woman took notice of Ren in particular. She started to wave energetically with a bright beaming smile spread from ear to ear.

"Hey there, Ren, Yu-san," Chihaya greeted pleasantly. "Fancy seeing the two of you here."

A number of people immediately started to stare suspiciously at Ren while others did the same to Yu. They didn't seem very affected by it though, however they more than noticed the looks they were getting.

Ren cleared his throat, saying, "Chihaya is a fortune teller and a good friend of mine. As for how I know her, long story short: Mementos stuff."

Each of the Phantom Thieves nodded along for the most part. Some of the Investigation Team members had no idea whatsoever what he'd meant, but then again, they were far more interested about how she knew the other Wild Card.

"And how'd you meet Yu, Chihaya-san?" Yosuke asked politely.

"I happened to run into Ren in Shinjuku a few days ago and Yu-san was with him," she explained. "Are the rest of you friends of theirs? Even if not, it's nice to meet you! Are all of you hear for a group beach day or something?"

"Right on the nose," answered Yu.

"I hope it was as fun as you'd all hoped," she stated.

"For sure!" Chie exclaimed cheerfully.

"That's good to hear," Chihaya said with a giggle.

"So," began Ren, "What brings you here today, Chihaya? Did you just feel like a change of scenery?"

"The beach is much nicer than Shinjuku," she admitted. "However, I'm actually here on business. Well, sort of. I'm going to be a part of the upcoming festival! I'm kind of a part of the marketing campaign… B-But it's nothing sketchy, I promise!"

The looks of confusion she got in response more than told her that they had no idea what she was talking about. That, in turn, only confused her.

"You… don't know about the festival?" Chihaya asked almost in disbelief.

"…should we?" asked Ren plainly.

The blonde pointed over to a large billboard that was quite literally in plain sight. In bright, impossible to miss letters, it said 'Kamakura Light Festival: A Night Under the Stars'. Even the artwork was difficult to overlook, being a beautiful stary night with blazing meteorites flying through the sky.

Upon giving it a closer look, the billboard wasn't even the only advertisement they could see. There were people handing out flyers nearby, advertisements on plasma screens in front of buildings, and posters lining the streets.

"How the hell did we miss all that?" Kanji wondered aloud.

"It's all anyone's been talking about around here lately," Chihaya went on. "There's supposed to be a meteor shower here two night from now, and the city decided to throw a festival to coincide with it. They're even going to cut all non-essential lights for the evening to make sure the sky is perfectly visible."

"Wow, talk about going the extra mile," Chie commented.

"Heheh, well, the mayor is very 'all-in' on the idea of making the festival as popular as it could be, and so they're pulling out all the stops," Chihaya explained. "Although since you clearly haven't heard about it…"

She took out a few flyers she happened to have on-hand and gave them over to a few people among the group of Persona users. They crowded around and started to read over them curiously, and by the looks on their faces, their interest was definitely captured.

"Wow, you weren't kiddin' when you said they were pullin' out all the stops," Kanji muttered as he continued to read about the event.

"You're tellin' me," Ryuji said in agreement. "I mean just look at all this stuff!"

"I wish I could," Mona quietly grumbled from his position on the ground.

"Aw man, it's been ages since the last time I've gone to a festival. Wearing a yukata, playing festival games, visiting the food stands…" Rise sighed wistfully. She immediately perked up. "We should totally go! It sounds like a lot of fun!"

"I agree," Haru said with a nod.

"As do I," Yusuke remarked with a small smile. "I would also relish the chance to view a meteor shower."

"You're not the only one," Chihaya stated with a giggle. "The festival is expected to be super crowded based on what I've been told. Especially amongst younger tourists to the city, and specifically couples."

"Hm? Why's that?" asked Naoto.

"If I had to guess, it's got something to do with the whole 'destiny written in the stars' part," Ren spoke up, taking his eyes off the flyer and staring back at the headband-wearing blonde. "Right?"

"Yes, that'd be it," Chihaya replied, rubbing the back of her head a bit bashfully as she spoke. "There's a local legend here of two people who met under the shooting stars and had their fates bound together for all time. So, the marketing for the festival is centered around the idea that couples who witness the meteor shower will be tied together by the red string of fate. N-Not that there's any truth to that, of course…"

Although it was obviously a puffed-up myth for the purposes of selling the festival to tourists, the romantic idea of it was hard to resist. Most of the women in the group couldn't help but be reeled in, if only just a little. The image of standing side by side with the man of their dreams as they watched a sea of shooting stars pass them by was like something out of a fantasy.

"W-Well, I get how some people could get caught up in something like that," Chie thought aloud.

"True," said Yukiko with a nod. "It does sound pretty romantic if you think about it."

Ryuji shrugged. "Personally, I think it sounds kinda lame."

"Shocking," Mona remarked with a roll of his eyes. "And yet he still wonders why he's single."

"Wanna say that again, cat? Maybe a little louder?" Ryuji asked, giving the feline a threatening glare.

"I-Is the cat's meowing really bothering you that much?" Chihaya stammered a bit worriedly.

It didn't take long for Skull to remember that to the perspective of anyone within earshot, he was just glaring angrily and yelling at a cat. He collected himself, but was clearly a bit embarrassed.

"Hm? Oh, um… n-no, its nothin'," Ryuji replied.

"Anyway," said Ren. "Are you here as part of that marketing stuff? For romantic fortune readings?"

"Yes, I am," Chihaya replied with a smile. "The mayor personally sought me out after one of his staffers told him about me. I agreed to do fortune readings along the main area of the festival, but I stopped short of letting them use me on their posters for reasons I'm sure you can understand. Either way, it's a great opportunity to get my name out there all the same!"

"Good for you, I'm glad you got the opportunity," Ren stated. He then turned to the others. "Chihaya is actually the real deal when it comes to fortune telling. Her predictions aren't set in stone, but they're as close to accurate as you're ever gonna get from a fortune teller."

Judging by how shy the fortune teller in question became at his praise, most just thought he was exaggerating. However, it quickly became apparent that he wasn't.

"Oh, you were serious," Makoto uttered curiously.

"Completely."

"Wait, for real?" asked a surprised Ryuji. "She's 'for real' for real?"

"You realize you say that way too much, right?" Ann asked with a deadpanned expression.

"Bite me."

Chihaya giggled. "Well, I'm not sure what your definition of 'for real' is, but I'm no slouch. My vision varies depending on the person and the reading I'm performing, however I can to a degree predict the future."

"You'll forgive me if I find that rather difficult to believe," Sae bluntly remarked.

Yosuke leaned over towards Kanji, whispering, "Damn, she really doesn't hold back, does she?"

The fortune teller nodded pleasantly as if she understood where Sae's skepticism was coming from. It wasn't as if she'd never heard that before, after all.

"Well, I'd be happy to give you a demonstration. However, I'm just about done packing up and I really do have to get back home to Shinjuku," Chihaya replied. "However, if any of you would like to get a reading from me at the festival, I'm more than happy to!"

"We might just take you up on that," Haru said cheerfully. She looked over towards the rest of the group. "Provided we plan to go to the festival of course."

"It sounds like a ton of fun to me," Chie chimed in.

"Same here," said Rise.

"Agreed!" chirped Ann.

"Looks like everyone's thinking along the same lines," Yu said with a chuckle.

With that, they bid their farewells to an amused Chihaya before they went their separate ways. Even though they were leaving what had been a near-perfect day at the beach, it didn't' feel bittersweet—at least not anymore. Now, they had something even more exciting to look forward to.

"Man, the more I read about this stuff, the more excited I get," Yosuke said with a toothy grin.

"And I trust we'll be wearing yukata for the occasion?" Yusuke inquired.

"I mean ya kinda gotta, right?" Ryuji said conversationally. "For real though, it ain't a festival unless there's yukata involved!"

"Again with the 'for real'," sighed Mona. "Lady Ann's right, you do say that way too much."

"Pfft, no I don't."

"Yeah, guys. For real, he doesn't say it that often," Ren said, now sporting a cheeky smile.

"Do you mean that, like, 'for real' for real? Or just for real?" Ann piled on.

"Guys, for real, I…!" Ryuji began.

He caught himself immediately and grunted in frustration while just about everyone else laughed.

"It's like he really can't help it," Futaba uttered through a laugh.

"Okay, okay, you've made your point," Ryuji uttered tiredly. "I'll say it less from now on. There, happy?"

All of the Phantom Thieves shared a look before speaking up all at once.

"For real?"

Ryuji slammed his hands over his ears. "Okay, I'm not lightening anymore. La-la-la-la~!"

Although he actually couldn't hear what anyone was saying, Ryuji noticed Ren put his phone in front of him. On reflex he looked at it, only to see the following text typed out: But really, for real?

"You know, I wanna be mad, but that's actually pretty clever," Ryuji admitted. "Also, if you say 'for real' one more time, I'm punching you in the shoulder."

"Noted," Ren replied.

Tokyo – Shibuya: Upscale Apartment Building, Some Time Later…

Sae stepped out of her room after having taken a much-needed shower and changing into what were basically her pajamas. She adjusted her hair as she approached the couch where her sister currently sat on her laptop.

"Haah~," Sae sighed as she took her seat. "Much better. I think I managed to get the smell of the ocean out of my hair, at least."

"Glad to hear it," said Makoto, fighting back a laugh. "Thanks again for letting me wash up first, by the way."

"You're very welcome."

In the following seconds of silence, the silver-haired beauty peered over at Makoto's laptop. With how seriously she was focusing on the screen, she couldn't help her curiosity.

"Looking at anything in particular?" Sae inquired casually.

"Just looking up a few things about the festival," Makoto replied with a smile. She shifted the screen towards her sister so she could get a better look for herself. "Evidently it really is everywhere. That we didn't know about it is a bit shocking if I'm being honest."

"Well, we have been busy lately."

"True. Still though," Makoto uttered. "I was even checking on a few online message boards for Tokyo U and all I see is talk about this festival. There's so much hype around it that it's kind of freaky."

Sae nodded along. "Meteor showers of this size are quite rare. There's also the marketing campaign around the festival to consider—so perhaps all thing's considered, it's not too surprising."

"Right, the whole 'destiny written in the stars' thing…" Makoto trailed off. She looked away a bit nervously, almost hesitating as she asked, "Do you… do you believe in any of that stuff? L-Like fate, or destiny, or… you know."

"Absolutely not," Sae immediately answered.

Makoto almost laughed. "Yeah, I figured you'd say that."

"I should hope the same can be said for you," Sae continued, her arms crossed. "Because if you believe a shining series of rocks flying through the sky are going to magically put you together with Ren, then you're in for a rude awakening."

"I-I never said I did!" Makoto exclaimed, her cheeks instantly becoming flushed.

"Good," Sae plainly replied. "After all, there are much better ways to get together with Ren that don't involve something as idiotic as 'promised destiny', you know."

The brunette's blush intensified.

"Y-You don't have to keep harping on that!"

"Why are you getting so embarrassed?"

"Because you're clearly teasing me!"

"I am most certainly not," Sae replied. She took on a bit of a mischievous smirk, adding, "If I'd wanted to do that, I'd just bring up the way you were staring at Ren today at the beach."

Makoto's face went so red a tomato would have been jealous. She opened her mouth to deny her words, but no more than a quiet high-pitched squeak came out. That, of course, only made her even more embarrassed.

"W-Well," she finally stammered, her voice still somewhat shaky. "You were totally doing the same thing, so like you're one to talk!"

"I've no idea what you're talking about," Sae replied, keeping her composure remarkably well.

"Oh, is that right?" asked a disbelieving Makoto. "Guess I must've just imagined you staring at Yu-san all day. I guess I also must've imagined you hanging all over him when we got back to the beach. Huh, my mistake."

Even Sae started to blush slightly, but in a back and forth like this, there was no way in hell she was going to let her younger sister get the better of her. She crossed her arms and leveled Makoto with a slight glare.

"I was most certainly not staring," Sae shot back. "And even if I was, at least I know for a fact I was less obvious about it than you were!"

"I didn't make it obvious!"

"Please," scoffed Sae, rolling her eyes visible. "I've fired off megidolans that were stealthier than that. And don't even get me started on the other day while we were at the gym."

"W-Well…!" Makoto said. "I heard you moaning Yu-san's name a few nights ago!"

After blurting out what she had, Makoto almost immediately slapped her hands over her mouth. She knew she'd just launched a nuclear weapon in a fist-fight, and her sister's reaction more than showed exactly that. Sae's eyes went wide, and her face was redder than Makoto had ever seen it before.

"Sorry," Makoto apologized. "That, uh, just kind of slipped out."

Although Sae was clearly not happy, she more than wanted to move past it as soon as was physically possible. She collected herself as best as she could, standing tall and looking her sibling directly in the eyes when next she spoke.

"It's fine."

"Gotcha," Makoto awkwardly muttered. "I… I-I'm gonna go head back to my room and get my yukata ready for tomorrow. See you at dinner?"

A still-prickly Sae nodded in response before she started to awkwardly slip away. When Makoto was just inside the hall towards her room, however, she hesitated for just a moment. She looked back, unsure of whether or not to speak up.

"Um, actually, before I do…" Makoto began, earning a curious glance. "I just realized that this is the first time we've ever even talked about… you know, 'you and Yu-san'."

"Circumstances aside," Sae practically growled, "You're right, it is."

"So, you want to…" Makoto trailed off leadingly. Her eyes went wide and she started to shake her hands frantically. "N-Not that I'm saying you want him like that! Um, well, obviously you do, but—"

"Makoto, please, for the love of god, stop," Sae firmly interjected, pinching the bridge of her nose. "The sooner you quit bringing that up, the better."

"…right," Makoto replied, her expression still a bit nervous.

Sae sighed. "And before you start tripping over your words again, let me make this simple: Yes, I have romantic feelings for Yu, and I have for quite some time. Let's just leave it at that."

Even if she spoke quickly and to the point about it, Makoto knew better than to believe Sae looked at it that simply. After all, those words would go down in history as the first time in Makoto's life that she had ever heard her older sister say she was interested in anyone. That only meant that her feelings were serious. Incredibly serious.

It was beyond obvious that Sae intended to pounce on the Wild Card the second the opportunity came up, and the truth was that Makoto still had some anxiety deep within the pits of her mind when it came to her sister dating. However, at the same time, if Sae's feelings for Yu were anything like hers were for Ren, then there wasn't anything else to think about, anxiety or not.

Makoto smiled softly, saying only, "I'm happy for you, sis. Yu-san's a great person, and I think the two of you would be good together."

"W-What's with that response?" Sae muttered, averting her gaze awkwardly as she spoke. "It's not like you need to give me your approval or anything."

"I know," Makoto said through a slight giggle. "Anyway, I'll see you later, sis."

Even if they'd just had a relatively sweet moment, Sae couldn't stop her instincts as an older sister from rising up. She was never going to let Makoto get away with what she'd said earlier, after all, so it was best to just get even right away as opposed to letting it sit.

"Oh, and Makoto," Sae stated, a devilish smirk crossing her lips. "The walls between our rooms work both ways, especially at night."

"Huh? What do you… mean…?" Makoto uttered slowly as realization struck.

Her face went so red that it looked like steam was about to shoot out of her ears. She ran off without saying so much as a word, though of course even if she tried to speak up, she probably wouldn't have been able to get out a real sentence.

Sae huffed. "That's what I thought."

Tokyo – Shibuya: Fukishima Towers

Rise Kujikawa stood in front of a large mirror at the side of her incredibly large bedroom. She currently wore the swimsuit she'd had on earlier that day, and after observing herself for a few minutes, she went back to the countertop where she'd put out several of her other swimsuits that she'd considered wearing for their beach trip.

"No, this was definitely the right one," Rise thought aloud.

She crossed her arms and scowled, and it would've been obvious to anyone with working eyes that the idol was frustrated. As for the reason, it was two simple words: Sae Nijima.

Just remembering the way Yu had eyed her up when she was showing off her swimsuit made Rise's blood boil. However, the question that really mattered was whether or not that's what Sae was trying to get him to do.

'What if she's really trying to go after him?' Rise wondered.

Just the idea of that happening did fill her with a bit of worry. Even if Rise hated to admit it, Sae Nijima was beyond just gorgeous. She was also smart, driven, and if earlier today was any indication, a lot more devious than she appeared to be.

A concerned look showed in Rise's eyes as she looked into the mirror yet again. She did a few poses, at the end of which she appeared to be a bit relieved.

"Well, my boobs are bigger than hers, and my waist is a little thinner," Rise pridefully remarked as she stared into the mirror. "But as true as that might be… she definitely outdid me earlier today. Whether she's interested in Yu or not, I'm not letting that slide by."

With that, she walked back to her closest, knowing she had plenty of work to do before the festival just two days from now.

Tokyo – Shibuya: Residential Area

"…he really said all that?" a stunned Shiho asked.

"Yep," replied Ann. "Every last word."

The blonde was casually laying in her bed with her phone eagerly held up to her ear while her best friend stayed silent on the other line. After what she'd just told her, she couldn't blame her, of course.

"Oh my god…" Shiho muttered quietly. "Just… wow."

"I know, right?!" Ann exclaimed. "Things did get kinda awkward after though. When Ren turned around, I just stood there with a blank look on my face for who knows how long. After hearing all that though, I had no idea what to say! It was like my brain stopped working…"

"I can imagine," Shiho said in understanding. A laughed escaped her lips on the other end of the phone as she added, "I'll bet your face was bright red though."

"I-It wasn't just me!" Ann replied defensively. "Ren was super embarrassed too! His face was just as red as mine was! Actually, his might have been even worse!"

"Ren can blush?"

"Apparently," Ann giggled.

"You learn something new every day, I guess," Shiho remarked amusedly. "Anyway, you mentioned earlier that you were going back to Kamakura for that festival tomorrow, right?"

"Yep! It looks like it'll be a lot of fun," Ann chirped excitedly. "Speaking of, do you think maybe you'd want to come?"

Shiho sighed deeply. "I wish I could, but my volleyball pre-season camp starts tomorrow."

"Are you sure you have to go to that?" Ann asked, her voice almost pleading.

The blonde put on her best puppy-dog eyes, and even though it went without saying that Shiho couldn't actually see her, she somehow knew.

"You can make that look all you want; it doesn't change the fact that I can't go."

"Ugh, fine," she grumbled. "If you change your mind though…"

"You'll be the first to know," Shiho said through a laugh. "More importantly though… I seem to remember something about the festival. What was it again? Oh, right—they say that if you watch the meteor shower together with someone, then the two of you will be tied together by the red string of fate."

"I mean yeah, but I don't really think there's any truth to that," Ann replied.

"Is that so~?" Shiho asked, her voice heavy with sarcasm.

"I-I totally don't!"

"Sure."

"I'm being serious!"

"I know. I was agreeing with you."

Ann sighed. "You're even worse than Ren sometimes, you know that?"

"Must be why you like both of us so much," she joked. "But legend or not, don't you think it would be incredibly romantic if you had the chance to watch the meteor shower next to Ren under the night sky? It'd be like a dream come true for you, right?"

Ann blushed. "Well, yeah."

"That's all I was trying to say," Shiho stated cheerfully. "And I'm sure you wouldn't mind getting some 'quality time' with him either way."

"You're not wrong," Ann admitted with a shy laugh. "Although if we do end up getting some alone time, it'll be a rocky start, that much I'm sure of."

At first her friend was confused, though she then started to piece together her meaning by imagining the most airheaded scenario she could.

"Wait, hold on," Shiho began in a serious tone. "Did you not clear things up with him afterwards? Like, I don't know, maybe saying 'it's all good', or 'don't worry about it, I know what you meant'?"

"Hm? Oh, um…" she stammered awkwardly.

"…Oh Ann," Shiho sighed hopelessly.

"W-Would you look at the time? Gotta go, Shiho!" Ann quickly replied. "Love you, good luck at your camp!"

A brief 'I love you too' was said in response before the blonde hung up. She placed the phone at her side before falling back down on her bed with a loud, frustrated sigh.

"Don't worry about it, it's all good, huh?" Ann repeated tiredly. "Ugh, why couldn't she have been there to remind me to say that?! Now I just feel stupid! Not that it matters all that much, I guess… but still!"

Her mood improved as she remembered the rest of the day outside of her stupid mistake of not clearing the air. It was the most fun she'd had in the past few weeks, that much she knew. Being around everyone on the beach, swimming in the ocean, enjoying a meal—all of it made her want to smile the more she thought on it.

Of course, just hearing Ren say what he had would've made the day great no matter what else had happened.

Ann grabbed one of her pillows on reflex and held it into her chest, smiling softly as she remembered his words over and over again. She could feel her heart start to race and her face heat up, but she was too happy to care.

"…that might've been the sweetest thing anyone's ever said about me," Ann whispered to herself.

The blonde-haired teen felt the unstoppable urge to turn flat on the bed and start kicking her feet against her mattress. She dug her head into her pillow, squeezing it tightly as the butterflies in her stomach started to fade bit by bit.

'I really just can't help it,' Ann thought, her smile never fading. 'I mean… after today, maybe… just maybe…'

She couldn't even finish the sentence in her mind without feeling an odd tingling in her stomach yet again, but she knew deep down what was going through her head.

For the first time, Ann believed that if she were to look Ren dead in the eye and tell him how she felt, there was a non-zero chance he'd tell her he felt the same.

And that non-zero might just be enough for her.

A/N Aaand with that, we're done. Next chapter will be a around 3 weeks away, maybe 4. It'll depend on how good the new God of War game is, to be honest :P. Hope you all enjoyed this chapter though!

Explanations

What's Next?: Festival under the stars, complete with more slice of life stuff, and a bit of development starting to kick along in the pairings. The festival will be a 2-parter as well. Will it be World War III Persona girls edition? Maybe yes, maybe no. Tune in next time to find out :P

Akihiko's Call: So at this point we've got four, sort of five, of the Shadow Operatives that'll be in this story already revealed. Those would be: Akihiko, Fuuka, Mitsuru, Yukari, and Aegis. Just wanted to sum that up for now. As for when they'll show up? Like I've said before, it'll be a while.

Futaba: She does have an idea as of now that Ann likes Ren as more than just friends, but she's got no idea how Makoto feels.