Persona 5: The Phantom Files

by sithlorde1988

Will cover the events of both Persona 5 Royal AND Persona 5 Scramble/Strikers. What happens when in addition to Ren being sentenced to go live in the care of Sojiro Sakura for a year after being sued for assualt, his younger brother is also ordered to go and oversee him? How will this extra character change things? Read to find out! More info in chapter 1! Read and review! Enjoy!

22. Filler Chapter! Kitsune Artist part 10

A/N: sithlorde1988 here, with another chapter of Persona 5- The Phantom Files! Last chapter saw quite a bit get done, between the second calling card, second Palace Ruler fight and even the long-awaited school cleanup event that allowed for Ren's Faith Confidant with Yoshizawa to finally be forged. So that was all good stuff.

Now we come into the couple of chapters that serve as the bridge between the end of Arc 2 (Kitsune Artist) and the start of Arc 3 (Rebellious Queen) so we're at a point where we might be seeing a mix of filler stuff and some slight character development stuff. So it is what it is there. Hopefully people enjoy the story and before I forget, let's do the disclaimer!

Disclaimer: sithlorde1988 does NOT own the Persona series in any way shape or form, and the actual credit for owning the Persona series belongs to Sega, Atlus and Koei Tecmo so credit to them!

That said, on with chapter 22!

Chapter 22: Of Reveals, Bonding and Phantom Shenaniganry! The Kitsune Artist part 10

(In Inokashira Park during the cleanup, at the same time as Ren and Yoshizawa's one on one bonding, with Ryuji, Ann and Kusa)

"YES! That's one clean-up down! So what now?" Ann said with a smile as she caught up to Ryuji and Kusa after the groups were disbanded. Ryuji shrugged while Kusa spoke up.

"From what Mishima-kun said to me a bit ago, at this point people are free to do whatever they want within reason, including leaving if one wanted to. But I can say with relative certainty that Ren for one won't be going anywhere, especially if a certain Yoshizawa has her druthers about it. So I say the three of us make ourselves scarce so as to give Ren some semblance of privacy while he talks to his crush." Kusa said with a smirk as Ryuji spoke up.

"Ahh, so he's finally getting to talk to her? Hopefully he doesn't eff it up. Oh but wait, who has the cat?" Ryuji asked as Kusa frowned and spoke up.

"Ryuji! Morgana's not a cat!" Kusa quietly rebuked Ryuji before blinking in realization as he spoke up, groaning as he swore under his breath as realization set in as he spoke.

"Oh shit, that's right! Morgana-sensei's still napping in Ren's bag since Ren was carrying him earlier! Unfortunately though, Yoshizawa will have gotten to him by now so we'll just have to hope Morgana doesn't mess things up for Ren. But I trust Morgana-sensei to know when not to speak up. As for the three of us, we can do whatever we want at this point, provided it's not messing with Ren." Kusa said as Ann nodded and spoke up, smiling as she spoke.

"Sounds good. I needed to go see Shiho anyways since I was due to spend time with her." Ann said as she walked off towards the hospital as Ryuji spoke up.

"I suppose I could use this chance to do some solo training, unless you want to join me Kusa?" Ryuji said as Kusa thought about it before shaking his head.

"Nah, thanks for the offer Ryuji, but I think if I have free time, this might be a good time to check in on a certain friend of mine to see how she's holding up if she's awake." Kusa said politely as Ryuji nodded and spoke up, giving Kusa a knowing smirk as he spoke.

"Fair enough. Good luck with that." Ryuji said as he walked off to train, leaving Kusa by himself as he decided to make for the exit to follow through with his plan of checking up on Futaba. Unfortunately for Kusa, fate would have other plans for him as no sooner than he'd reached the exit of the park than he would hear someone calling his name.

"Amamiya-kun the younger? I didn't think you were also at the clean-up? At any rate, you didn't show up with your brother this morning so I was unsure if you'd be here." Kusa heard behind him making him wince as he recognized the speaker, but was hoping he was wrong as he turned around. But no, sure enough, as Kusa turned to face the speaker, he swore under his breath in recognition, as it was in fact Maruki. Kusa sighed and spoke up, giving Maruki a polite nod of respect as he spoke.

"Oh, hello there Doc. Nah, I was planning to show up regardless. However, stuff came up this morning that required me to show up separately from Ren. I can't say much more than that since it's not my place to go into details, at least not without Ren and Yoshizawa-san's approval, since it involves them just as much as it does me. But never mind that for now. Was there something you needed from me, Doc?" Kusa asked Maruki in what he hoped was a conversational tone. Maruki smiled as he spoke up.

"Actually, yes. I wasn't expecting to run into you like this, but it works out just as well since it occurs to me that out of all the people who were told counselling sessions with me are mandatory, you're the only one who's yet to come in for a session. I know this is a bit unusual and even a tad unorthodox, but maybe we could go get a meal together, or in this case have lunch together, and do an impromptu session just so you can say you've had at least one session with me?" Maruki said to Kusa who groaned but eventually sighed as he spoke up, not really wanting to do a session with Maruki right then, but also realizing this could be a good chance to get one in and not have to go out of his way for it too much. As such, he decided it couldn't hurt to humor Maruki in this case as he spoke.

"I suppose that makes sense, Doc. To be fair though, I did tell Ren I was planning on dropping in once my schedule loosened up some since I had a lot going at the moment and not much room for sessions in my schedule. However, things have opened up a bit now as of recent so I suppose you approaching me like this really is good timing, so if you really want us to do a session now, I have no reason to turn you away. Though I think I'm the only person I know who could probably get away with calling a shared meal of pork miso soup with a counselor as a session." Kusa said with a dry laugh as Maruki chuckled, nodding understandingly to Kusa as he spoke up, smirking as he spoke.

"That is true, you do tend to do things in your own way, Amamiya-kun. But nonetheless, I'm pleased you're agreeable to this. For a second, I was starting to worry that maybe you were avoiding me for whatever reason." Maruki said to Kusa who huffed as he spoke up, both impressed with how perceptive Maruki could be and surprised at Maruki catching him out at trying to stall his way out of doing a session as he spoke.

"Avoiding you!? Absolutely not, Doc! As I said before, I've just been rather busy of late with other stuff. Granted, to be fair, as I'm sure you've heard by now, you don't exactly give off the best first impression. I mean, come on! Headbutting your mic and making bad jokes!? Who does that as a first impression? I get you were going for making yourself come off as relatable and approachable, but you could've done one or the other, not both.

I'll give you the mic bit was kind of funny, but that financial problems bit was just terrible. But I suppose if I'm being honest, I do owe you an apology. I also was reluctant to come in because you gave me the impression you were a bit of a goofball who didn't take things seriously so that did somewhat make me unsure if you could take your job seriously. No offense, but that was the impression you gave me. But I can see that you do take things seriously so I apologize for unfairly judging you." Kusa said as Maruki smiled and nodded, giving Kusa an understanding look as he spoke up, smiling at Kusa as he spoke.

"No offense taken, and apology accepted. That said, shall we go find a place to sit and eat?" Maruki said as Kusa nodded.

"I suppose so. Although, I don't think my group leader ever grabbed the food for my group now that I think on it." Kusa said with a frown as Maruki chuckled and spoke up.

"Lucky me then that I thought ahead and grabbed two portions." Maruki said, offering his spare portion to Kusa who nodded, and accepted it with a smile.

"Lucky you indeed. Thank you, Doc." Kusa said politely as he grabbed some utensils and started eating the soup, savoring the taste of it as he ate. The two enjoyed the meal in silence until Maruki eventually spoke up.

"Not that this isn't enjoyable, because to some extent it is, but why don't you tell me a bit about yourself if you're comfortable with it?" Maruki said as Kusa frowned but nodded.

"Fair enough, I suppose it can't hurt to share a bit about myself. Hmm, where to start..." Kusa said as Maruki smiled and spoke up as he had a thought come to him.

"If you don't mind my speaking up here, why not tell me about your perspective of how you and your brother came to live in Yongen-Jaya? Way I hear it, you and Ren went through quite the ordeal with that." Maruki said as Kusa sighed but nodded, figuring it couldn't hurt anything to share that with Maruki, and perhaps if anything Maruki might have a unique perspective on it that Kusa hadn't considered, so he spoke up, his tone distinctly reluctant as he spoke.

"Fair enough. That was a doozy of a situation though, let me tell you. I'm sure Ren already told you of the specifics of what happened to him, so I'll give you the condensed version of that bit. Basically, Ren was walking home one night, hears a woman screaming for help, sees some drunken jackass trying to force himself on her, jumps in and pushes the drunken asshole off the woman.

After that, the drunkard stumbles and falls flat on his own freaking face, and then instead of owning up to his screw-ups, the drunken jerk looks right at Ren and then yells out, and I quote, 'Damn brat! I'll sue!', then basically strong-arms the chick he was attempting to force himself upon into siding with him when the cops showed up. Then one thing leads to another and Ren finds himself cuffed and thrown in the clink until his court date. And it was on that day that things took a turn for us both..." Kusa said with a huff as he recalled the day that his life was basically uprooted for the second time...

(Flashback to the court hearing for Ren, Kusa's POV)

"Why is it I'm expected to be at this hearing when Ren's the moron that got himself in trouble for sticking his nose where it shouldn't have been?" I asked my mother in my usual dry and snarky tone as we sat together in the courtroom, making her turn to face me with a reproving glare on her face as she spoke up, her tone clearly a rebuking tone.

"Hush, Kusa! You know full well we're here to provide moral support for your brother while he goes through this trial. The only reason Dad couldn't be here was because he had to stay home and man the restaurant since we couldn't close up today. Now behave." My mother rebuked me and I gave her a contrite look as I nodded.

"Yes, mother. Sorry. I just feel like this entire thing is a waste of everyone's time. I mean, it's not like Ren was actually doing anything wrong when he stood up for that woman. Yet he's being treated as if he were a piece of scum." I said huffily under my breath as Mother spoke up quietly but comfortingly.

"I know that, Kusa, but sometimes life isn't fair. Now let's hush and listen to the proceedings." Mother said as I nodded in time to hear the judge speak up to Ren, my eyes gradually narrowing as I heard the verdict the judge passed down, eventually gasping when I heard my name dragged into it.

"Ren Amamiya, the court has heard both sides of the story, and finds you guilty of all charges. You are hereby sentenced to one year's probation, to be served in the nearby town of Yongen-Jaya. Moreover, since it's been decided by the jury that you're a dangerous flight risk that can't be trusted to see this through alone, this court has no alternative but to order that your younger brother Kusa also move away with you as a court-selected overseer. However, he himself is in no trouble.

If you behave yourself for the year-long probation, you will then be permitted to return home. At that time, this court will re-convene and re-assess your case, and if at that time, you've been deemed sufficiently rehabilitated, this court may see fit to rescind your probation. But until then, you will abide by this ruling, and consider yourself fortunate we're not pursuing jail time or worse. Court is adjourned!" The judge said, pounding his gavel to seal the verdict, ignoring the horrified look on my face at his pronouncement. Mother then hustled me and Ren out of the courtroom and into the car, at which point I finally spoke up once we'd safely driven away from the courtroom.

"WHAT!? What the effing hell does he mean I have to move to Yongen-Jaya with Ren!? Is that judge for real!? What if I had important obligations here at home, like the martial arts team or my friends? Did that judge think of that? Clearly not! And now I get to be in charge of overseeing my older brother, all because his luck once again finds a way to screw him! Ugh, how typical. At least when we had to move when we were younger, that wasn't on Ren." I said huffily, crossing my arms in the back as I spent the rest of the trip pouting and sending texts to my friends as well as my teammates on the martial-arts team making arrangements for the second-in-command to take over the team while I was away. Once we got back home, Mother pulled me to the side and spoke up, seeing my frustration but giving me an understanding look as she spoke.

"Now look, I know you're not happy about having to uproot and move again Kusa, but it's only for a year this time! Once that year's over, you'll be able to come right back home and pick up where you left off. So try to keep your chin up, yeah?" Mother said to me as I huffed and spoke up, looking at her as I nodded while I spoke.

"That's true, but at the same time, quite a bit can change in a year, Mother. But I suppose I have no choice but to go along with it, do I?" I said dryly as Mother nodded.

"Indeed, but just put your best foot forward. And who knows, maybe you'll make new friends there that might change your life in ways you'd never expect?" Mother said as I pondered this and nodded, not expecting Mother to say that as I spoke up, or having any way of knowing exactly how correct her remark would ultimately prove to be.

"That's true, I suppose. You're right. I'll try to keep a positive outlook where I can." I said with a smile as Mother, Ren and I enjoyed our meal in peace. After he came home, Dad re-assured me that he was just as stunned and outraged by this as I was but that I should keep my head up and not let it get me down. He also then reminded me that a real man can adapt to any situation and make the most of it and that I should try to do the same.

Because who knows, maybe this seeming setback could end up in the long run actually being a blessing in disguise. I pondered that and nodded, realizing that he might very well have a point with his statement, leaving me to eat in subdued silence as the rest of the meal wound up passing uneventfully...

(End flashback, back with Maruki and Kusa, neutral POV)

"And after that, Ren and I moved here, transferred to Shujin, and I'm guessing you know the rest to some extent courtesy of Kobayakawa." Kusa said dryly as Maruki nodded and spoke up, giving Kusa an understanding, if slightly sympathetic, look as he spoke.

"I do indeed. If you don't mind my saying so, Amamiya-kun the younger, for as much of a rough and guarded exterior as you put up, you have a surprisingly gentle and sensitive interior if one can lower your guard long enough to get past your walls and defenses. But I can see why you'd be so guarded if you've had to uproot what you've built for yourself not once, but twice. Believe it or not, I know too well how it feels to have everything taken from you. It's not pleasant, but if you can overcome the pain and feelings of loss, you can come out that much stronger for it." Maruki said as Kusa gave Maruki an intrigued look at this, speaking up in mixed intrigue and curiosity, looking Maruki in the eyes as he spoke.

"Oh yeah? That a fact, Doc? Were you on the verge of being the captain who led your school's martial-arts team from near-last place to a championship, all while possibly drawing the attention of the most popular girl in school, only for your sibling's terrible luck to steal that all away from you in the space of one fateful day? Granted, it's not all Ren's fault, and I found out later that the aforementioned most popular girl in school was just shallow and selfish, but still the loss of the potential status as captain of the martial arts team stings.

But who knows, maybe Dad was right and this is gonna be a blessing in disguise. I guess only time can really tell if that'll be the case or not. And Doc? If we're gonna be having sessions together like this, I guess I don't mind if you call me by my name, but only when it's just us. When others are around, things stay as they are now. That fair to you?" Kusa said as Maruki nodded and spoke up, both surprised by the concession that Kusa had made and impressed by how reasonable Kusa could be as he spoke.

"I can agree to that, Kusa. And honestly, that's a pretty mature mindset for you to have. And to your question, no. No, I wasn't on the verge of greatness, though I DO know how it feels to lose out on a relationship. But I don't think I feel comfortable going into the details at this time past that. Just know I've been there before." Maruki said as Kusa nodded, giving Maruki an appraising glance before nodding once and speaking up.

"I see...that's fair." Kusa said as Maruki kept speaking, giving Kusa an approving look as he spoke.

"You know, Kusa, listening to you makes me realize something about you. You're a good, honorable man. However, I feel like you're trying really hard to make yourself seen as being important and needed because you seem to have a complex about not being recognized and needed. Could that have to do with the fact that at least your mother seems to see you as second to Ren? Because I do get that impression from you." Maruki said as Kusa huffed and spoke up, trying not to show how much Maruki's observation had unnerved and annoyed him as he spoke.

"First of all Doc, if I wanted to be psycho-analyzed, I'd ask for it. That said, secondly, even if you're right, I fail to see how that's any of your concern. Besides, I'd like to think my friends know I have their backs no matter what. So why would I need to feel needed/recognized? Sure, Ryuji can make some frankly tactless remarks at times that make me want to smash my fist into his face, but that's just how he is. But I guess you are right about one thing, Doc." Kusa said making Maruki blink as he spoke up.

"Oh? And what might that be?" Maruki said, giving Kusa an intrigued look, curious to hear what Kusa thought he might be right about.

"I am rather mature for my age. But then, who wouldn't be if they've had to uproot twice AND be basically forced into playing a sort of pseudo-older brother role for their actual older brother?" Kusa said huffily as Maruki chuckled and spoke up, nodding understandingly to Kusa's point as he spoke.

"That's true enough, Kusa. But I get the sense that's not all you deal with." Maruki said as Kusa blinked and spoke up, giving Maruki a surprised/annoyed look as he spoke.

"Even if you are correct, that's not my business to bring up so kindly don't pry." Kusa said simply as Maruki nodded as he heard the chimes of a clock nearby making him frown.

"Shoot, is that the time already?" Maruki asked as Niijima's voice could be heard dismissing the cleanup participants and thanking them for their work. Maruki then spoke up.

"Sorry, Kusa, but that's all the time I have for now. Maybe some other time, we can continue this in the nurse's office, but for now, I have places to be." Maruki said apologetically as Kusa shrugged and nodded, agreeing with Maruki's suggestion as he spoke up with a nod, looking Maruki in the eyes as he spoke.

"That's fair, Doc. I actually had stuff I needed to get done as well before you approached me. And no, I'm not mad at you for that. If anything, I'm glad. I had told Ren before this that once my schedule cleared up a bit, I was gonna pop in to do a session anyways so you approaching me made that easier for me, since if nothing else, I am a man of my word. So I thank you for making it easier for me to get that done, Doc." Kusa said sincerely as Maruki nodded.

"Oh, uh, no problem, Kusa. I guess I'll see you around then?" Maruki said as Kusa nodded and the two parted ways on that note, the latter dashing off to hopefully hang out with Futaba and the former off to do who knows what. Unfortunately for Kusa, such was not to be as no sooner than he'd returned to Yongen-Jaya, he found Sojiro waiting for him in front of the house as Kusa made to take the back way to see Futaba, making Kusa wince as Sojiro called his name, so Kusa sighed and walked over to Sojiro and spoke up, keeping the mixed horror, shock and surprise he felt in that moment out of his expression as he spoke.

"Oh, Sakura-san. I didn't know you were home already. I thought you'd still be at Leblanc." Kusa said in surprise. Sojiro spoke up, fixing Kusa with a surprised look as he spoke.

"I have Ren watching the place for me so I can get something from the house real quick. My question to you, then, is why are YOU here?" Sojiro asked as Kusa winced before he sighed and spoke up, deciding he couldn't really hide the truth from Sojiro anymore and looking Sojiro in the eyes as he spoke.

"Honestly? I was here to check in on Futaba-san, and make sure she was holding up well." Kusa said honestly making Sojiro blink at Kusa's response, not expecting Kusa to name-drop Futaba's name like he had and so spoke up in a mix of shock and surprise, giving Kusa a wary look as he spoke.

"And how do you know about her? I didn't think you and her knew each other." Sojiro said in surprise as Kusa spoke up with a shrug, smirking as he spoke.

"We didn't at first, but that night you sent me here to get some spices for the cafe and drop off that package, she happened to walk into the kitchen for a drink while I was grabbing the spices, and I couldn't exactly avoid her without drawing suspicion from her. That, and she's actually a rather sweet girl when you get to know her. Basically it was a chance run-in that led to us becoming friends, and we've been keeping in loose contact since.

I've honestly been trying to gradually help her break out of her shut-in tendencies since I was the same way when I was younger, but it's rather slow going. But I'm a patient man and can wait, especially if it's for a good cause." Kusa said to Sojiro who blinked but nodded as he spoke up, surprised at hearing this but also pleased that Kusa was trying to help Futaba even if he was disappointed that Kusa felt he had to hide it from him as he spoke.

"That's all well and good, but why not just tell me you two knew each other?" Sojiro asked. Kusa shrugged at that and spoke up, figuring Sojiro had a point and deciding to be honest with him as he spoke.

"Honestly, Sakura-kun? I wasn't sure if you even wanted people to know about Futaba, much less wanted her and I hanging out. So I was trying to keep our friendship on the sly so as to hopefully respect what I had believed to be what you wanted for the time being until I was able to get a sense from you one way or the other on if you wanted anyone to know about her, much less if you wanted people to hang with her.

So I apologize for overstepping your bounds this whole time, Sakura-kun. But I do NOT apologize for being Futaba's friend, since she's an amazing person who should have at least one friend she can confide in, if she should so desire to have one." Kusa said as Sojiro smiled and spoke up in a proud, approving tone, pleased at what Kusa had said and impressed that Kusa was already so fond of, if not outright protective of Futaba as he spoke.

"You misunderstand me, Kusa. I don't mind that you know about Futaba and are friends with her. If anything, I'm happy she's opening up to people. I worry about her. But be honest, are you the only one who knows about her? Because I somehow doubt that's the case." Sojiro said as Kusa sighed and shook his head in the negative to confirm Sojiro's suspicions as he spoke up with a slight wince as he spoke.

"No. Ren knows about her, along with Morgana as well as Ryuji and Ann, who are friends with myself and Ren. Though the latter two only know her name and that she has orange hair and is younger than me and has had it rough. Ren and Morgana know that she's your daughter because they may or may not have eavesdropped on a couple of phone calls between Futaba and I. But otherwise, I've kept her situation to myself out of respect for her and you." Kusa said as Sojiro sighed and spoke up, shrugging as he looked Kusa in the eyes as he spoke.

"I guess what's done is done, but try not to let that spread any further if you can, Kusa. After all, Futaba's not that outgoing of a person. But that said, I have no objections to you spending time with her if she approves since I think you'd be good for her. Just, please tell me you're not trying for anything more than friendship with her." Sojiro said as Kusa sputtered and spoke up, hoping as he did so that Sojiro hadn't noticed his face go slightly red with embarassment at Sojiro's question since he'd just got done having this discussion to a point with Ren not that long ago as he spoke.

"Wh-What!? Sakura-kun, why would I be doing that? Sure, I'll admit Futaba is cute, and easy on the eyes, but I also know full well she's not anywhere near in the right mind space to push for anything more than friendship right now. So you have nothing to worry about for now. I'll be honest and say though that once she's gotten more relaxed and used to me, if she brings up the subject of being more than friends, I'm not going to turn her away if she asks for more. I intend to abide by her wishes, whatever they may be. I respect her too much to do anything else." Kusa said honestly as Sojiro nodded approvingly as he spoke up, both surprised by and pleased with Kusa's response.

"OK, fair enough Kusa. As long as she approves it, I have no objections. Just try not to make her uncomfortable. That's all I ask." Sojiro said as Kusa nodded and spoke up.

"But of course, Sakura-kun. I have nothing but the purest and most noble intentions towards Futaba, those being to help her get out of her shell and lose her shut-in tendencies. I would sooner throw myself in harm's way than ever knowingly do anything to hurt her." Kusa said honestly as Sojiro nodded approvingly, smiling at Kusa as he spoke up, figuring that maybe this had happened for a reason and smirked as he spoke, enjoying the mixed shocked and stunned look on Kusa's face as a result of what he said.

"Good, I would expect nothing less from you, Kusa. I suppose that said, I should get back to the cafe and relieve Ren. Have fun with Futaba." Sojiro said as he walked back to Leblanc, leaving a gaping, stunned Kusa to blink before shaking his head with a shrug and a smile. Kusa then went back to what he was going to do, which was hopping the gate and walking over to Futaba's window, eventually getting let in after gently knocking. After spending some quality time with Futaba, Kusa made his way back to Leblanc, where Ren was already waiting upstairs. Ren looked over as he heard Kusa come up, giving Kusa a knowing grin as he spoke up.

"Ah, you're finally home, Kusa. Took you a bit, did it?" Ren said with a smirk as Kusa rolled his eyes dryly at Ren before eventually speaking up, nodding to Ren's question as he spoke.

"Very funny, Ren. If you MUST know, I've had a rather interesting day today. In a nutshell, I finally had a session with Maruki, AND Sakura-kun knows about me and Futaba, and is okay with it, much to my mixed shock, surprise and slight relief. But he asks we keep what we know to ourselves and not spread it any further for now. Though I can't guarantee that Ann and Ryuji haven't already spread it to Yusuke." Kusa said as Ren and Kusa both winced. Kusa then smirked as he had an idea and looked over at Ren as he spoke up.

"Hey Ren, it occurs to me that you still need more Charm, and I could use a chance to relax after this long day. What say you and I hit the bathhouse down the way and have a soak? We can leave Morgana-sensei here if he doesn't want to get wet." Kusa said as Morgana spoke up.

"I don't mind getting wet a bit, Kusa. And that sounds like a good idea. Plus it gives you two a chance to bond a bit." Morgana said as Ren nodded.

"Yeah, I'm down. If nothing else, the soak will let me process the day I had with Yoshizawa. So yeah, let's go." Ren said as he and Kusa headed to the bathhouse, Sojiro stopping them as they left.

"Hey, make sure you two don't get dragged into some weird mess, all right?" Sojiro said to Ren and Kusa who nodded. Once at the bathhouse, Ren paid the 1,000 yen for him and Kusa to go in and relax, Morgana waiting in the changing room in Ren's bag as the two went in to soak. Kusa then spoke up.

"Mmm, this is nice. Not only is the water the perfect temperature, the steam makes it so one can relax if they were so inclined." Kusa said happily as Ren nodded.

"Indeed. My mind and body do feel so relaxed..." Ren said agreeably as he and Kusa exchanged a nod before looking away from each other as they dried off and wrapped towels around themselves as they got out to use the changing room to change into their dry clothes after turning away from each other as they dried off, both ignoring Morgana as he spoke up with a smirk on his face at the sight of the steam coming off of Ren and Kusa.

"Whoa...It seems like you two have really refreshed yourselves. I think you two're even more handsome now!" Morgana said as Kusa winced while he got dressed and spoke up.

"Uh, thanks Morgana-sensei. I think that was a compliment, but considering you don't usually compliment us, I'm not sure?" Kusa said warily as Ren smirked as he got enough Charm from from the bathhouse to boost his Charm from rank 2 which was 'Head-turning', to rank 3 which was 'Suave'. After that, Ren and Kusa finished dressing as Morgana spoke up, looking at Ren and Kusa as he spoke.

"You two wanna head back? Come on, we should go home before either of you catches a cold." Morgana said as Ren and Kusa nodded approvingly as they headed back to Leblanc and went to bed...

(The next morning, between trains with Ryuji, Ren, Kusa and Morgana)

"Morning! Wassup. By the way, the exhibit's until the end of this week, huh..." Ryuji said to Kusa and Ren as he walked up to them. Ren and Kusa nodded as the latter spoke up.

"Indeed it is. Luckily we already dealt with Madarame, so all that remains is to await the result." Kusa said sagely as Ryuji nodded and spoke up.

"Truth! We did what we could, and now we wait for the results." Ryuji said as Ren nodded and spoke up, his words making Kusa quietly chuckle as he spoke.

"That's true...Want to head out? I'd ask if you want to study, but we both know the answer to that I think." Ren said with a chuckle. Ryuji nodded with his own chuckle as he spoke up.

"Heheh, true, it's important to take a breather after some hard work. But I fell like my body'll be weaker if I play around too much..." Ryuji said as Ren and Kusa nodded and the the three finished the trip to school together...

(Later that morning, in class with Ren, Ann and Morgana)

"Oh, yes! I've actually gotten into fishing lately, although it's just pond fishing form time to time. I can't go fishing because I get seasick easily. So much for my dreams of being a sailor. Oh right. When people think of sailing the high seas, they tend to think of pirates. Even though they're ruffians who plunder other ships and coastal settlements through force...For some reason, they ended up getting romanticized. Now then, Amamiya-kun." Inui said as Ren looked up to give Inui his attention.

"What is the answer? Do you know which peg-legged, parrot toting historical figure's appearance became visual shorthand for pirates?" Inui asked and Ren smirked, having seen the answer to this on TV recently and spoke up confidently as a result.

"This is it! The answer is John Silver." Ren said. Inui nodded and clapped as he spoke up.

"Very good! That is correct. The answer is Long John Silver, a character from 'Treasure Island.' The story of Long John Silver informed much of our modern view of pirates. Unfortunately, he only exists in fiction. In terms of nonfictional pirates, well...Captain William Kidd made quite a name for himself, I'd say. Maybe you're familiar with the story of his execution? How he declared that he hid all his treasure in one place?" Inui said as more murmurs ensued about Ren's intelligence. Morgana even chipped in to praise Ren's intelligence and mention that Ryuji should read about Captain Kidd, getting a chuckle from Ren by way of response as his Knowledge increased. After that, Inui kept speaking.

"Though research seems to indicate that he didn't actually have much...Still, several novels were written based on his legend, and people still look for his treasure today. By the way, I've heard that there's an island in Kyushu where Kidd's treasure is said to sleep..." Inui said as Morgana spoke up from inside Ren's desk.

"Yup! Kidd's secret treasure, huh...Regardless of its actual worth, there's still value in letting that many people dream about it." Morgana said as Ren nodded and the rest of class went without incident...

(That afternoon, in the courtyard with Ren, Kusa, Morgana and Ryuji)

"Hey, there you are!" Ryuji said as he walked up to Ren and Kusa who were sitting on a bench together having lunch. Ryuji then kept speaking up.

"I need your help with something..." Ryuji said as Kusa spoke up, giving Ryuji an intrigued look, curious as to what Ryuji could need help with as he spoke.

"Oh yeah? And what might that be, pray tell?" Kusa asked as Ren spoke up, also curious about what Ryuji might want.

"I'd like to know that myself, Kusa." Ren said as Ryuji spoke up, pulling something out and showing it to Ren and Kusa as he spoke

"I found this flyer stuffed in my mailbox." Ryuji said as he showed Kusa and Ren a pink poster with a picture of a female maid with cat ears in the bottom right corner making Kusa blink at the poster as Ryuji spoke up with a grin, mistaking Kusa's confused and contemplative look for an intrigued look as he spoke.

"Housekeeping Service! It says that a cute maid will do anything for you! A maid, dude! A MAID! Who'll do ANYTHING for us! Right? ...Right!?" Ryuji said as Kusa and Ren spoke up, the former frowning at Ryuji slightly before smirking as he spoke up.

"First of all Ryuji, try not to sound so excited about this. Odds are none of us are even old enough to make the fullest use out of these maids. That said, you do remember that Ren here is on probation so depending on how on the level this is, you'd be putting him at risk if this goes pear-shaped. You do realize that, right?" Kusa said sagely as Ren nodded and spoke up, giving Kusa an approving look as he spoke.

"I agree with Kusa. But to be fair, let's at least hear you out. What do you want us to do, Ryuji?" Ren said as Kusa blinked at Ren's use of 'us' as Ryuji spoke up with a grin.

"You're a guy, right? You know what I mean! Let's give it a try. Yeah? Yeah!" Ryuji said as Kusa gave Ryuji a disgusted look as he spoke up, also giving Ren a disapponted glare as he spoke.

"First of all, excuse you!? Secondly, you do realize that costs money, right? And last I checked, none of us were exactly rich. Besides, I'm sure Ren and I could easily find girls our own age to hook up with if we were really that hard up, but neither of us is in a hurry for anything like that." Kusa said huffily as Ren sweatdropped as Ryuji spoke up, ignoring Kusa as he spoke.

"Luckily, some guy on my floor just moved out so there's a vacant apartment in my complex. The key is behind the mailbox, so we can get in anytime. The landlord seriously doesn't care. The place is all set, so..." Ryuji said as Kusa huffed and spoke up, unsure of what to think about how seemingly uncaring Ryuji's landlord was.

"Yeesh...if they're THAT easygoing, maybe people shouldn't be renting from them. On the other hand, I can see how that'd be convenient, but for real Ryuji, please tell me you're thinking about Ren's fate should this go wrong." Kusa said to Ryuji, however before Ryuji could reply, another voice cut in to Kusa's annoyance.

"HEY! I heard that!" Mishima said as he walked over, making Kusa and Ryuji's eyes go wide as the latter spoke up.

"What the hell!?" Ryuji said as Mishima spoke up, ignoring the mix of surprised and confused looks he was getting from Ren, Kusa and Ryuji as he spoke.

"Um, can I, uh...get in on this?" Mishima asked, as Kusa's jaw dropped while Ren and Ryuji smirked, and the latter chuckled as he spoke up.

"Oh-ho! You mean you're into this kinda stuff? Wow! Okaaay..." Ryuji said as Mishima's eyes widened as he spoke up.

"I-I'm not into it! It's just for research!" Mishima said as Kusa spoke up, giving Mishima an unimpressed look that indicated how much he believed Mishima was interested in the poster from a research perspective as he spoke.

"Uh-huh, for research. Riiight. And next you'll be saying you want to make Ryuji an honor student. Oh wait, that's right, there's only one honor student around here that I know of, and my brother already has dibs on her." Kusa said with a smirk as Ren huffed, giving Kusa a slight glare as he spoke up, not amused by Kusa's mention of Yoshizawa as he spoke.

"Very funny, Kusa." Ren said as Mishima spoke up, seemingly not noticing the slight banter between Ren and Kusa as he spoke.

"I'm serious! And what does it mean that they'll do 'anything'? And do the maids look exactly as they're advertised? We need to determine whether or not this company just pretends to offer housekeeping services!" Mishima said as Kusa spoke up.

"Yeesh, this went from one of Ryuji's crazy ideas to a potential effing train wreck in the matter of about 2.5 seconds. If you want in on this Ren, that's your lookout, but I'm gonna pass on this. I have no interest in ideas that will probably end up getting all three of you into a mountain of trouble." Kusa said with a frown as Ren spoke up.

"I agree with Kusa on the fact that this seems a bit much. However, I suppose there's only one way to know for sure. And in that spirit, I guess we have to, then." Ren said as Kusa sighed, frowning as he gently lifted the sleeping Morgana into his bag and gently laid him down in said bag, careful not to wake him as he frowned at Ren and spoke up, his expression making his disapproval of Ren's decision to partake of Ryuji's inane shenanigans plain to see as he spoke.

"I knew you'd say that, Ren. Just leave me AND Morgana-sensei out of it." Kusa said as he walked off, careful not to jostle Morgana who was asleep in his bag as he walked off. After Kusa left, Mishima spoke up, his words making Ren blink as he frowned at Mishima when he heard what Mishima had to say.

"Heh, who know your brother was such a prude, Amamiya-kun the elder? Also, right!? And if it's a scam, then we need to punish them!" Mishima said. Ren huffed.

"Kusa's not a prude, Mishima. He's just the more cautious of the two of us." Ren said as Ryuji spoke up with a grin.

"Yeah, we gotta see it with our own eyes. Every...little...detail. We'll hafta do this at night, so let us know when you're ready." Ryuji said as Ren nodded and Mishima spoke up.

"So what's the code name for this operation...? Hmmm...Since we'll be watching them, it should be something like...'Operation Maidwatch'!" Mishima said as Ryuji grinned and spoke up, giving Mishima an impressed and approving look at his choice of code names as he spoke.

"Nice! I like that!" Ryuji said as Ren sweatdropped, wondering what he was getting himself into...

(After school, with Kusa, Ren and Morgana)

"Well then, The pollen's bad today...If lots of people are suffering from pollen allergies, it could be affecting Mementos too...Oh yeah, something happened to me the other day. I almost got kidnapped!" Morgana said as Kusa's eyes went wide as he and Ren spoke up.

"Who would kidnap a cat?" Ren asked, surprised at that turn of events as Kusa spoke up, frowning at Ren's referring to Morgana as a cat as he spoke.

"Good question, Ren. Mind you, he's NOT a cat. That said, I'm just happy he's safe." Kusa said as he gently patted Morgana on the head comfortingly. Morgana glared at Ren as he spoke up, also annoyed at Ren for calling him a cat as he spoke.

"WHAT!? I'm not a cat, Ren! ...That said, I don't have a clue why I was targeted. And thank you, Kusa. At least you were concerned for me." Morgana said happily as he kept speaking, purring slightly from Kusa petting him as he spoke.

"Some girl had this crazy look in her eyes, and she was chasing me around, calling me a 'snowball' or something...I wonder if she's been going after other cats and snatching them up like she tried with me...Try checking the Phan-Site and see if anyone's saying anything about it." Morgana said as Ren and Kusa checked, but both shook their heads as they were unable to find any relevant posts. Morgana huffed as he spoke up, clearly disgusted by the lack of progress and the clear and present danger the lady posed as he spoke.

"Hmm, maybe it's just not a well-known problem yet? The only victims are cats, so I suppose that could be the case...Let's try asking around in Yongen and see if we can find the culprit." Morgana said. Ren and Kusa nodded as they got a request titled 'If Cats Disappeared From The City', making Kusa frown at the title. Ren glared at Morgana as he opened his mouth.

"If you're about to ask if I'm going to fill the others in on that Mementos target, don't bother. I already told you, not until we have more targets." Ren said firmly. After a brief check-around, Ren went to Yongen with Kusa and Morgana to ask around about the cat abductions as Morgana spoke up from inside of Kusa's bag.

"Hey, hey! We haven't gathered any info on the cat abductions, have we? Let's try asking people around town." Morgana said as Kusa and Ren nodded. The trio then gathered info from people around Yongen. Ren and Kusa ducked around a corner as they heard a mother and daughter talking.

"That lady looks really happy! Is it because she's got a bunch of cats?" The daughter asked as the mother frowned before speaking up.

"I suppose...I personally think it's a bit too much. With that many, it gets so loud I can't sleep at night..." The mother said as Morgana spoke up.

"A bunch of cats...? Hey, she must be talking about that catnapping case. Let's ask her for more information." Morgana said as Kusa and Ren nodded, the former approaching the mother and daughter as the mother spoke up, giving Ren a wary look.

"C-Can I help you...?" The mother asked as Ren and Kusa spoke up.

"Sorry, my brother and I couldn't help but overhear what you were just discussing. You mentioned cats...?" Ren asked as Kusa rolled his eyes.

"Ignore my brother, ma'am. He means well, but tact isn't always his strong suit. That said, we've been hearing about cat abductions that have been happening recently, and as cat owners ourselves, my brother and I are concerned too." Kusa explained to the mother. The mother looked over and spoke up.

"Ah, I see. So you two are concerned about that household as well? She suddenly brought home a massive number of cats. I wasn't sure if she was all right...It's terribly noisy at night and they shed everywhere! I'm worried that it's not the healthiest environment to raise those cats." The mother said as Ren and Kusa exchanged a glance before speaking up.

"That is worrying, I agree. Both that that might not be the healthiest environment for pets, and about the sheer number of cats..." Kusa said as Ren spoke up.

"That said, there's more than likely a reason for it." Ren said. The mother spoke up with a nod, agreeing with Ren as she spoke.

"You might be right, young man. But even so, I agree with your brother. I'm concerned for those cats. I even told the landlord about the situation at Aino-san's home, but it looks like nothing's changed..." The mother said as Kusa and Ren exchanged looks as Kusa spoke up.

"Aino-san, you say? Do you happen to know her full name, by chance? Not that it's that big a deal, but maybe my brother and I can look into it a bit more if we have her full name." Kusa said after a bit to think. The mother gave Kusa a confused look as she replied.

"Huh? Her name? I'm not sure...I only say hello to her every now and then, so I don't know her that well." The mother said as Morgana spoke up.

"Hmm...Doesn't look like we can learn anything else from her. Let's get out of here and go over everything we know so far." Morgana said as Ren and Kusa nodded as they walked off in a different direction as Morgana spoke up, looking at Ren and Kusa as he spoke.

"So here's what we learned from that mother and child...This 'Aino' lady suddenly adopted a lot of cats. There's concern about the noise at night and shedding. The cats might be acting that way because they're stressed. Okay, we might be able to find some more clues. Let's keep investigating around Yongen!" Morgana said as Ren and Kusa nodded and the trio kept investigating. After a bit more walking around, Ren and Kusa found some elderly people talking and leaned off to the side to listen in.

"Hey, have you been to Shibuya lately?" The old man asked the woman with him who nodded and spoke up.

"Yes, I went to see Madarame's exhibit. They were talking about it on good Morning Japan." The elderly lady said as the old man nodded and spoke up once more.

"There've been some scary accidents recently, so try to be careful." The Old man said as the elderly lady nodded and spoke up again.

"Oh, you're right. The one back in April was terrible. I hope that sort of thing won't happen again." The elderly lady said as Kusa and Ren both nodded and kept moving, as Kusa blinked as he heard another old man nearby speaking to himself.

"...Is the cat not here today either? Maybe that woman really did take him..." The old man said as Morgana spoke up.

"A woman...? Hey, he might be talking about that catnapping case. Let's ask him for more information." Morgana said as Kusa nodded and approached the old man.

"Excuse me sir, were you just talking about a woman taking cats? My brother here and I have been hearing about that happening around here lately. As you can probably guess, we're naturally concerned about it, being cat owners ourselves." Kusa said to the old man who turned to him and spoke up.

"Hm? Did you want to listen to the radio?" The elderly man asked as Kusa and Ren spoke up.

"Maybe some other time sir, but right now we wanted to ask you something." Kusa said as Ren spoke up.

"About that cat..." Ren said. The old man blinked and nodded as he spoke up.

"Ah, yes... There's this woman who nabs all the cats around here and calls 'em 'snowball.' A few people I know have been victims. The same thing probably happened to the cat here..." The old man said as Kusa and Ren spoke up.

"That's terrible, sir. I'd hate it if that happened to me and my brother since we're quite close to our cat." Kusa said as Ren spoke up.

"Have you gone to the police?" Ren asked the old man. The old man nodded as he spoke up.

"Yep, 'course I have. They turned me away because I didn't have any proof though. But I did get her name. It's 'Ryoko Aino.' I made sure to ask while I was there, so there's no mistake. The police just treat cats like objects. ...Those little guys are family to me. I wish there was something I could do about this mess." The old man said as Kusa smiled and spoke up understandingly.

"Just keep the faith, sir. I'm sure things will work themselves out eventually. But I respect that you consider cats family, since it shows you have a kind heart. And I can empathize since my brother and I consider Morgana, our cat, as family of a sort." Kusa said honestly, reaching a hand over to pet Morgana gently as he spoke. The old man nodded as he spoke up.

"Much appreciated, young man. You and your brother ought to be careful too, since you're both toting that cat around." The old man said as Ren and Kusa nodded. Morgana then spoke up so only Ren and Kusa could here.

"Ngh...Not only are other cats suffering, but she's hurting innocent people, too...The Aino household was the one that suddenly got a lot of cats, right? that's got to be our target. We should discuss this with everyone at the hideout." Morgana said as Kusa and Ren nodded. After a quick nod, Ren and Kusa headed to the hideout, the latter shooting off a group text to have everyone meet Ren and Kusa at the hideout. His message was greeted with a chorus of affirmative responses as Ren and Kusa headed for the hideout...

(At the hideout with Ren, Kusa, Ann, Ryuji, Morgana and Yusuke)

"There's pollen in the air? They've been saying everyone should be extra careful about pollen today." Ann said as Ryuji and Kusa nodded. After a bit, Morgana spoke up.

"Alright. Do you guys remember the most important step the Phantom Thieves need to take before they can steal someone's heart?" Morgana asked as Ryuji spoke up with a frown.

"What?! C'mon, just tell us..." Ryuji said, his grin contradicting the blunt tone he spoke with. Ann then spoke up with a gasp.

"Oh... do you mean the calling card!?" Ann asked as Morgana nodded so she kept speaking.

"But wait a sec... did we send one the last time?" Ann said, making Kusa blink before he realized she meant when they changed Nakanohara's heart.

"The Treasure materializes when we change the target's subconscious with a calling card. That's the rule when dealing with a Palace. But in Mementos, it seems like we can just go for the target immediately." Morgana said as Ryuji blinked before speaking up.

"Wait, what? We don't need a calling card or nothing?" Ryuji asked in surprise, getting muted nods of agreement from Ren and Yusuke. Morgana nodded and spoke up.

"Something else already exists that fulfills that role." Morgana said. He then kept speaking before anyone could venture a guess as to what he meant.

"Fortunately for us, Mishima put a comment up in the forum saying the Phantom Thieves are coming. For a small target, that's enough of a calling card. That alone will put some fear in them for a while. Even that Nakanohara must have seen Mishima's comments about him on the Phan-Site. And that's why the Nav picked up on him." Morgana said as Ann gasped and spoke up.

"Can we really leave something that important to someone else!?" Ann asked. Morgana spoke up.

"The desires of the Mementos Shadows are nothing compared to those of the Palace rulers. Still, we need to unanimously agree on our target. No ignoring the rules, even for smaller ones. Anyway, let's get to discussing the intel we've gathered! We'll start with this one first...This intel is on an arrogant brown-haired bully. He's a student at Shujin Academy. Things have gone a little too far for just bullying though. He's abusing and blackmailing kids." Morgana said as Kusa and Ryuji both growled at this as the latter spoke up.

"I'm gonna make him pay! He's the perfect target! C'mon, let's take him down!" Ryuji said as Kusa spoke up.

"I agree. Scumbags like this guy need to be dealt with ASAP." Kusa said huffily. Ann spoke up with a teasing smirk.

"Are you two sure you're not just excited to go to Mementos?" Ann said as Kusa sputtered before speaking up.

"Of course we're not just excited! Or at least I'M not excited! I can't speak for Ryuji though. If anyone here would be excited presumably to see Mementos, it'd be Yusuke here since he wasn't with us when we went the last time." Kusa said as Ryuji nodded agreement as Ann spoke up again.

"Then again, we can't really leave a guy like that be... We should go." Ann said as Ren and Yusuke nodded as Morgana spoke up again.

"There's still more. This intel is on the cat abduction incidents occurring in Yongen. Our target is Ryoko Aino, who lives in Yongen. It sounds like many cats have fallen victim, and the neighborhood's residents have already made complaints." Morgana said as Kusa huffed and spoke up, fixing the not-cat a pointed look as he spoke.

"You say that like you weren't almost a victim yourself, Morgana-sensei." Kusa said in irritation as Ann spoke up with a gasp.

"For real!? You almost got abducted too, Morgana? It seems super dangerous...And I heard the police aren't willing to do anything about it either...We've got to help out the cat owners in any way we can." Ann said as Ryuji nodded and spoke up, frowning as he spoke.

"Yeah. But there is somethin' that I'm confused about...Why the hell would anyone call Morgana a snowball? He's barely got any white fur." Ryuji said as Morgana and Kusa both facefaulted, the former landing on the latter's head, as the latter gently lifted the former off his head and onto his shoulder. Kusa then looked at Ryuji.

"For such a stupid question Ryuji, that's actually quite insightful of you. But I assume that our target is just senile to a point and calls all cats 'Snowball.' for whatever reason." Kusa said as Morgana nodded and spoke up, giving Ryuji an approving look as he spoke.

"I was wondering that too, Ryuji. We may be missing a piece of the puzzle here, but...I've already sent out the calling card, so we're all ready to go. Let's solve this one for all the cats in Yongen-AND for the owners!" Morgana said before frowning as he glared at Kusa.

"And Kusa, count yourself lucky I didn't yell at you earlier when you said you and Ren were cat owners, since you were clearly referring to me when you said that and I'm NOT a cat!" Morgana huffed as Kusa winced and nodded, giving Morgana an apologetic look as he spoke up, conceding that the not-cat was right to call him out as he spoke.

"Sorry Morgana, I was just saying that for appearances' sake." Kusa said apologetically as Ren and Ryuji laughed at the banter between Kusa and Morgana. Ren then spoke up.

"Ordinarily, I wasn't gonna do this until we had at least five targets, but since one of our own is being targeted by one of our targets, I'm making an exception in this one instance to that rule, but from here on, until we have at least five Mementos targets, we only gather here for big targets, agreed?" Ren said as the others nodded and he spoke up once more.

"That said, let's go ahead and hit up Mementos and knock these two targets out." Ren said as Ryuji nodded and spoke up.

"Yo, how many targets we got? 2 of 'em, yeah? Let's do this." Ryuij said as Kusa and Ren nodded.

"Let's go!" Ren said as Kusa nodded and spoke up.

"Let's do this thing! Time for the Phantom Thieves to not only spread their rep, but also hopefully get richer in the process!" Kusa said as Ryuji smirked and high-fived him.

"Truth, man!" Ryuji said. The group then went into Mementos...

(Inside Mementos with Joker, Draconis, Skull, Mona, Panther and Fox)

"Achoo! Achoo! The pollen's out of control today...It'll definitely have an impact on Mementos..." Mona said as Draconis nodded before Skull spoke up.

"Huh? Whaddya mean?" Skull asked. Mona then spoke up to answer Skull's question.

"Well, Mementos is affected by the emotions of the public." Mona explained as Panther blinked and spoke up.

"Wait, so you're saying... weather changes people's feelings, and that in turn changes Mementos?" Panther asked as Mona nodded and spoke up.

"Yup, but not just Mementos. The Shadows inside too. The type of change will depend on what kind of weather it is. This might turn out to be useful." Mona said as Skull spoke up.

"Hey...What happens when there's a ton of pollen?" Skull asked. Mona looked at Skull and spoke up.

"I'm not too sure...but the impact on Mementos is determined by how the public is feeling. How have other people been seeming to you?" Mona asked as Panther spoke up.

"Hmm...Come to think of it, some of the kids in my class have bad allergies. They all seem really out of it. Apparently the medicine makes them feel sleepy..." Panther said as Mona spoke up.

"I see...There might be a similar effect in Mementos then..." Mona said as Skull spoke up again.

"So it'll prolly be easier to beat Shadows or ignore 'em completely. C'mon, let's go find out." Skull said. After a quick fast-travel, the group was back where they'd left off the last time as Skull spoke up.

"Hey, this is where we came last time, right?" Skull asked as Mona nodded and spoke up.

"Yeah. And just as I expected, the path ahead is still open. All right, time to check it out!" Mona said as Joker spoke up.

"Fair enough. However, given this is a new area coming up, I propose we shuffle out our backups. Since Draconis and Panther were most recently backups, I move that this time Skull and Mona be the backups since Mona's our ride and Skull hasn't been on the bench that much of recent." Joker said as Mona and Skull shrugged before tagging out with Draconis and Panther so they could get on the front lines with Fox and Joker. The group then kept moving. After going down to the new area, a familiar voice greeted the group.

"Hey, good job. That one closed-up door's finally opened. Are you the one who did that?" Jose asked the group as he approached them. Joker looked over and spoke up.

"What are you talking about?" Joker asked Jose. Jose just smirked and spoke up.

"I can tell when you're playing dumb. Mementos doesn't lie...But thank you. I should be able to find more flowers deeper down. Well, I should get going. Good job!" Jose said as he kept moving. After he left, Skuill spoke up.

"Uh, we bumped into that guy again. Uh, what was his name..." Skull spoke up.

"Oh, you mean that quirky little guy Jose? I didn't think we'd bump into him again so soon honestly." Draconis said as Panther smiled and spoke up.

"You mean Jose, right Skull? He's such an adorable little kid, isn't he?" Panther asked with a closed-eye smile that made both Fox and Mona squirm a bit as they looked at it as the latter sputtered and spoke up, looking offended at Panther seemingly noticing Jose as he spoke.

"A-Adorable? Panther!? I'm adorable too, you know!" Mona said as Draconis spoke up softly, giving the not-cat a sympathetic look as he spoke.

"True, but you're also not a little kid, Mona. And need I remind you, you're also not Panther's type." Draconis said. Panther chuckled at Draconis' response to Mona as she spoke up, gently giving Morgana a placating pat on the head as she spoke.

"Yeah, yeah, Mona. Anyway, Jose said he was looking for flowers and wanted our help, right? Sounds like he'll reward us too. Doesn't it seem like helping him would be worth it?" Panther said. Skull shrugged as he spoke up, deciding it couldn't hurt to help Jose as he spoke.

"I guess. I am kinda curious about what we'll get... Why don't we go look for him? He's probably still around here." Skull suggested as Draconis spoke up.

"Not a bad idea, Skull. I don't expect him to have much to offer, but it's still worth a look just to see what he does offer." Draconis said sagely. Mona spoke up with a frown.

"Mmm...Looking for him is fine and all, but remember that it's risky to stay in one area for too long. There's this one really fearsome Shadow in Mementos... If we hang around too long, it'll hunt us down." Mona said as Skull's eyes got huge as he spoke up, giving the not-cat a horrified look as he spoke.

"FOR REAL!? Huh!? The hell're you talkin' about!? Why didn't you tell us this before!?" Skull asked as Mona spoke up.

"Let's go! We should be fine if we find him quickly. All right, let's get going." Mona said as he turned into his car form, to the surprise of Fox as Joker got behind the driver's seat. After driving around a bit (and taking out some Shadows along the way) the group reached a cavern near the back of the current area where sure enough, Jose was waiting and spoke up as they approached him.

"Hey, good job. Huh, whatcha got there? That's really neat..." Jose said as he looked at the Crystals of Lust and Vanity and kept speaking,

"Wow, this is amazing. i recognize it from my studies! I'm feeling strong human desires coming from this accessory...But, it still hasn't reached its full potential. May I see it? I won't do any damage to it, I promise." Jose said as Joker nodded. Jose then muttered to himself.

"If I just do this...and this..." Jose said as he started hammering on the Crystals of Lust and Vanity. After a bit, he spoke up again.

"Done! Here you go, mister! Now that accessory can use its full potential." Jose said as he handed over what were now the "Ring of Lust" and "Ring of Vanity" to Joker who looked at them with a wide eyed Skull and Draconis as the latter spoke up.

"No way...you were able to make those crystals into these?! That's pretty impressive, Jose. Good job." Draconis said as Jose nodded.

"It was nothing. Let me know if you find any others like them, okay?" Jose said as Joker and Draconis nodded. Jose kept speaking.

"Learning about desires also teaches me more about humans. Oh, that's right-here, before I forget." Jose said as he handed Joker a 'Stamp Book', to Joker's confusion. Jose saw Joker's confusion and spoke up.

"Remember when I told you I'd come up with a fun game for us to play in Mementos? I thought of this after seeing the subway in the other world. This'll also prove that you're checking for flowers in all sorts of places here. The stamps have different rewards than the flowers, so try to get as much of both as you can! So, got any flowers for me, mister?" Jose asked as he kept speaking.

"If you do, let's trade! I've got some really good stuff." Jose said. He then kept speaking.

"First off...I can change Mementos for you in all sorts of ways." Jose said as Joker and Draconis looked at the now-visible options behind Jose, the latter's jaw dropping as he spoke up after looking at the available options for changing the 'cognition' of Mementos, blinking in surprise as he spoke.

"No way... Joker, if I'm reading this right, we can trade stamps to boost the amount of items, EXP and even yen we can get from Mementos! In theory, we could get loaded if we collect enough stamps, plus it would make training our Personas much easier." Draconis said in a mix of awe and shock. Jose nodded as he spoke up.

"Correct, and if you have enough flowers, I can reset the points for you if you mess up when allocating your stamp points, but use this feature wisely as it costs flowers each time you do it." Jose said as the group then looked at the flower shop as Jose spoke up.

"I'll trade you great stuff for some flowers! However be warned that if you leave Mementos, any flowers you haven't traded in that you've collected will be lost so be sure to use up as many of your accumulated flowers as you can each visit, okay?" Jose asked as Draconis and Joker nodded. Joker then exchanged 15 of the 19 flowers he had on hand for a 'Soul Drop'. After exiting the shop, Jose spoke up once more.

"Speaking of...Oh, right! I should mention something about those flowers you're collecting...For some reason, you can't leave Mementos with them-they'll disappear on you! It's weird. But it'd be so sad to collect flowers just to have them disappear on you. What a waste, am I right? So, don't forget to bring them to me before you leave Mementos, okay?" Jose said as Joker nodded. Jose spoke up once more.

"That should do it. Good job!" Jose said as Joker nodded and the group kept moving. After a bit, the group reached a platform with some stairs marked 'DOWN', making Joker guess they'd found the way to the next area. After that the group approached a nearby stand as Panther spoke up.

"Hey, this stand here..." Panther said as Skull spoke up.

"Hey, looks like there's a stamp thing here. Might be that stuff Jose was talking about. Just lookin' at it's making me want to get stampin' like crazy." Skull said as Mona winced and spoke up.

"Skull...you're such a caveman. He said to look for these as well as the flowers. Let's stamp it down, Joker!" Mona said as Draconis laughed and spoke up.

"Skull's about as much of a caveman as you are, Mona-sensei. That is, not at all. Granted, you do have your more primal side come out around a certain Lady Panther." Draconis joked as Mona and Panther both facefaulted at Draconis' quip as Skull laughed and fist-bumped Draconis, grinning as he spoke up.

"Truth, man! Mona does get extra macho around Panther! I get he's crushing on her and all, but still! He has to realize by now he's got no shot with her!" Skull said as Mona huffed and spoke up, both pissed off at Draconis basically throwing him under the bus and at Skull for agreeing with Draconis as he glared at the two as he spoke.

"I realize that, Skull! And Draconis? I do NOT act like a caveman, much less like Skull!" Mona protested as Joker rolled his eyes and stamped the Stamp Book Jose had given him with the Stamp on the stand. He then looked at the group as he spoke up, fed up with the bickering and wanting to keep things moving as he spoke.

"If you're done arguing, can we keep moving? The sooner we find these targets, the sooner we can get back to our well-earned relaxation while we wait for Madarame's change of heart. I don't see Fox acting a fool after all." Joker said as Mona, Panther, Skull AND Draconis all sputtered at Joker's rebuking of them but just nodded as the group kept moving. On the next section, Panther spoke up again, smiling as she looked around as she spoke.

"You know, this Palace's security level doesn't seem to change, even if the enemies spot you." Panther said as Mona nodded and spoke up.

"That's because Mementos is different. While other Palaces exist because of just one person, this one's from the public. From that perspective, it'd take more than a few intruders to make a mark on the security level. You'd have to do something so bad that the entire public sees you as an enemy. So... be careful, okay, Skull?" Mona said as Skull huffed and spoke up, glaring at the not-cat for seemingly singling him out as he spoke.

"Hey, shut up!" Skull said huffily as Mona blinked and kept speaking up, seemingly ignoring Skull's rebuke as he spoke.

"Hm!? Then...I can sense our target somewhere in this area! Let's scour this floor for them!" Mona said as the group nodded and kept moving. After a bit of driving Mona spoke up again, frowning as he spoke.

"Hm!? I can sense the target up ahead!" Mona said. He then spoke up.

"Do you want to head in?" Mona asked as the group nodded and Joker spoke up, giving the not-cat turned bus a nod as he spoke.

"Let's go." Joker said as he drove Mona through the portal and the group was ejected from the Mona-mobile while Mona turned back to his not-cat form as they saw the Shadow awaiting them and Mona spoke up, blinking in surprise as he spoke.

"That's Takanashi's Shadow, huh?" Mona said as Skull spoke up, nodding in agreement as he spoke.

"This guy's bullyin' is really bad. From what I hear, it's mostly blackmail, takin' money from people, that kinda thing." Skull said as Panther spoke up.

"If we don't make him have a change of heart, his bullying might get even worse." Panther said as Skull nodded and spoke up.

"Let's go." Skull said. As he and the others approached, Takanashi's Shadow spoke up, glaring at the approaching group as he spoke.

"It's not my fault! It's theirs for not standing up for themselves!" Takanashi's Shadow said as Skull huffed and spoke up, not amused by Takanashi making excuses as he spoke.

"WHAT WAS THAT!? That's no reason! How's it their fault when you don't give them any choice, huh?" Skull said as Panther spoke up.

"You're the lowest of the low. Bullying people weaker than you, knowing they can't fight back!" Panther said as Draconis huffed and spoke up as well.

"Not only that, but a scumbag like you has no concept of honor." Draconis said huffily as Takanashi's Shadow spoke up once more.

"Come at me, bros! The hell!? You're all ganging up on me, too! Are you phantom thieves some kind of gang!?" Takanashi's Shadow said as Draconis sputtered and spoke up.

"EXCUSE YOU!? We are not some sort of gang! We Phantom Thieves are a team dedicated to justice and protecting those who can't fight back!" Draconis replied in annoyance. Takanashi's Shadow huffed and spoke up.

"Protectors of justice, my ass! Don't act high and mighty with me when you don't know anything!" Takanashi's Shadow said as it shifted forms into that of a Jack Frost. Skull huffed and spoke up.

"You're the one who doesn't know anything! Let's get 'em!" Skull said as Draconis and Joker nodded before Panther tagged out for Mona and the fight began. As the fight started, Takanashi's Shadow spoke up.

"I already told you, I didn't do anything wrong...Listen to me, dammit!" Takanashi's Shadow said as the fight started! Near the end, Zorro scored a Critical with Lucky Punch, knocking down Takanashi's Shadow and getting a nod from Joker who spoke up.

"Let's do it guys! ALL-OUT ATTACK!" Joker called as the group pelted Takanashi's Shadow with attacks until Mona flipped on-screen and landed in a spinning chair, a cigar appearing in his hand which he flicked at the screen as he said 'Clean-Up Complete!' as the caption 'MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!' popped-up behind him inside a pawprint as the battle ended and the ensuing EXP gain brought Skull to level 20 and Panther to level 19. After the battle, Takanashi's Shadow shifted back to normal as he spoke up.

"B-But if i don't do it, they're gonna hurt me. I don't want people taking my money from me anymore!" Takanashi's Shadow said as Skull frowned and spoke up.

"What are you talkin' about?" Skull asked as Takanashi's Shadow spoke up.

"If I don't go after him, I'm the one who's gonna get bullied! I can't take it, I just can't!" Takanashi's Shadow said as Panther spoke up.

"OH, I get it now. There's an even bigger bully-ordering this guy around-who's behind all this." Panther said as Draconis huffed and spoke up.

"Of course there is. There's always a bigger fish to fry." Draconis said huffily as Skull nodded before frowning at Takanashi's Shadow and speaking up.

"Hey! Didn't you just saw it's people's own fault for not standing up for themselves?" Skull asked Takanashi's Shadow who blinked as he spoke up.

"That's...er... Please, help me!" Takanashi's Shadow said as Joker spoke up, fixing Takanashi's shadow with a stern look as he spoke.

"All right, we might as well help you. After all, that's the Phantom Thief code-to help those who're suffering and in need." Joker said as Mona and Draconis nodded approvingly. Takanashi's Shadow smiled happily as he spoke up.

"Thank you! Oh thank you, you wonderful phantom thieves!" Takanashi's Shadow said as Mona spoke up.

"This guy...fickle fellow, isn't he?" Mona said as Draconis nodded and spoke up.

"Agreed. But he did ask for help, so we can't really turn him down." Draconis said sagely as Takanashi's Shadow spoke up.

"I'm counting on you... You guys promised." Takanashi's Shadow said as Skull huffed and spoke up, not wanting to help but conceding that there wasn't a choice to be had in this instance.

"Fine, but you better apologize to those people you bullied!" Skull said as Takanashi's Shadow nodded and faded away leaving the bud of a Treasure behind making Mona smile as he spoke up.

"All right, we got a Treasure!" Mona said. Joker seized the mini-Treasure, getting a 'Protein' for his troubles. After that the request titled 'The Bark and Bite of a Bully' was marked as COMPLETED. The group then made to leave as Fox spoke up for one of the few times since the group had arrived in Mementos.

"Impressive leadership... Well, what's next? Do you want to continue exploring?" Fox asked as Mona spoke up.

"How many targets left in this area? 1? Okay, then what's our next move, Joker?" Mona asked as Joker spoke up.

"We keep moving, obviously. We came in here with two targets so we might as well deal with both while we're here." Joker said decisively. Fox nodded and spoke up.

"Let's do that. There must be more places to explore." Fox said as Joker nodded and the group kept moving. After moving down a few sections, Panther spoke up.

"Huh...? Those are...They're people... right?" Panther asked as Mona shook his head and spoke up.

"No...Well, I'd say they're most likely Shadows..." Mona said as Skull spoke up.

"What're Shadows doin' here? It's not like they're gonna be catchin' a train or-" Skull said only to be cut off as a train pulled up right at that moment and stopped making Skull blink as he spoke up.

"Hm!? I-It stopped...?" Skull asked as the Shadows boarded the train which left with all of them onboard, making Panther gasp as she spoke up.

"They got in..." Panther said as Skull spoke up.

"C'mon man! Hey...Where's that go?" Skull asked. Mona frowned as he spoke up.

"Hmm...If I had to guess...I'd say into the deepest part of Mementos." Mona said as Skull frowned and spoke up.

"What? This place seriously don't make any sense..." Skull said as Mona frowned and glared at Skull. Skull then turned to a nearby booth and spoke up.

"Also, what's that on the platform?" Skull asked as Panther blinked and spoke up.

"Isn't it a waiting room? I didn't expect there'd be one here too..." Panther said as Draconis spoke up with a laugh.

"Why wouldn't you expect that? Mona-sensei DID say this place is based off the real-life subway, so it'd track that there'd be rest areas in here. After all, this place has to have safe rooms somewhere, am I right?" Draconis said as Mona nodded approvingly as he spoke up.

"Well put, Draconis! That's exactly right, these are Mementos' answer to a Palace's 'safe rooms'. It looks like we'll be able to use this to take a break. Make sure to utiilize it well, Joker." Mona said as Joker nodded. After heading inside to take a quick breather, Skull spoke up once more.

"But seriously... what's up with this place? Shadows ain't gonna attack us here?" Skull asked. *1* Mona shook his head as he spoke up.

"Mm...It seems like this is some kind of safe zone separate from the other areas, like Draconis said before." Mona said as Draconis nodded as the group rested and then kept moving. After going down to the next section, Mona spoke up to get Joker's attention.

"Oh, Joker. I almost forgot to mention...In Mementos, sometimes the road will be unnaturally blocked. The walls are pretty weak in those spots. I should be able to break through them no problem. If you see any while we're exploring, try busting right through them!" Mona said as Panther blanched as she spoke up.

"Uh, just let us know before you do that...Don't go crashing into any walls before we can buckle up." Panther said as Draconis chuckled before speaking up.

"Yeah, especially Fox. We only just got him added to the lineup. It'd be a real shame if your crazy driving were to mess him up before we got to really break his skills in all the way." Draconis said jokingly as Fox rolled his eyes and spoke up.

"Very funny, Draconis. But I do concur that it would be a waste of my talents if Joker's driving were to cause me grievous injury." Fox said as Skull and Draconis both fist-bumped him with a smirk as Joker huffed.

"Oh shut up, Draconis. And very well, Panther. Now let's keep moving." Joker said. After a bit of driving around, the group eventually found the next target on the sixth section of their current path, driving through the portal as Mona spoke up.

"There! That's Ryoko Aino. Let's change her heart for the sake of all the cats in Yongen!" Mona said as the others nodded, and as they approached Aino's Shadow, Skull spoke up.

"Ryoko Aino? You're gonna let all the cats in Yongen go!" Skull said as Aino's Shadow spoke up.

"NO! Without me, Snowball and all the other kitties won't be happy and safe!" Aino's Shadow said as Mona winced and spoke up.

"Other kitties...?" Mona said in an almost fearful tone as Draconis huffed and spoke up, gently giving the not-cat a reassuring pat on the head as he spoke.

"Ma'am, with all due respect to you since you are my elder, can't you see what you're doing is harming those kitties? I'm sure you mean well, but you're causing them all so much stress that they shed everywhere out of fear. And to be honest, your actions are giving us responsible cat owners a bad name! So if you have a shred of decency, you'll stop what you're doing and change your ways." Draconis said as he crossed his arms huffily. Mona nodded as he spoke up, giving Draconis an approving nod as he spoke.

"What Draconis said. Also, what are you talking about, other kitties!?" Mona asked Aino's Shadow who blinked as she saw Mona and spoke up.

"Snowball!?" Aino said to Mona who blanched with Draconis, only for the latter of the two to frown as Aino smiled at Mona and spoke up.

"C'mere kitty! You've gotta come over, too!" Aino's Shadow said as Draconis frowned and spoke up with a very harsh edge in his tone, making Fox, Panther and Mona all give him concerned looks which he ignored as he spoke to Aino's Shadow.

"ABSOLUTELY NOT! Even if Mona here wanted to come to you, I'd not let him since you're clearly out of your mind, lady! Especially if you think for one moment I'm going to let you go ANYWHERE with him in your state of mind! He might be an annoyance at times, but dammit he's still basically family to Joker and I, and even to Fox, Panther and Skull to some extent. So you'll have to go through ALL of us before you even think about taking off with him!" Draconis said fiercely, his eyes narrowing with protective instinct as he spoke, either not seeing or ignoring the grateful/appreciative look Mona gave him. Aino's Shadow then shook as it turned into the form of what appeared to be a cat-girl as she spoke up, giving the Thieves a challenging look as she spoke.

"Let's dance! I'll be the one to protect the snowballs! I won't let anyone stand in my way!" Aino said as Draconis huffed and hefted his bo staff as he spoke up.

"You will try! But as I said already, you'll have to go through US first before you get to go ANYWHERE near Mona!" Draconis said protectively as the fight began. After some trial and error, the group eventually figured out that Aino's Shadow was weak to Wind, and Mona scored a knockdown as a result, causing the group to go into a Hold Up as Aino's Shadow spoke up.

"No! Stop it! If I'm gone, there won't be anyone protecting the snowballs!" Aino's Shadow said as Mona frowned and spoke up.

"Joker, it seems like there's something going on with this one. Maybe we should try talking to them. Okay, here's what we know about her. She's calling the cats she catnapped 'snowballs,' the catnapped cats are 'stressed out'...And lastly, 'the pet owners are giving up'." Mona said as Aino's Shadow looked at Joker and spoke up.

"What do you want!? All I want to do is protect the snowballs. I have to protect them, I just HAVE TO PROTECT THEM!" Aino's Shadow said as Joker spoke up.

"Calm down." Joker said as Aino spoke up at that point, sounding marginally calmer.

"I am calm... Of course I'm calm...I need to stay calm for the snowballs." Aino said as Mona frowned and spoke up.

"Man! What does she mean by snowballs? That's so weird. Are all cats snowballs!?" Mona asked huffily. Aino's Shadow looked at Mona and spoke up.

"Snowballs are snowballs..." Aino's Shadow said as Joker spoke up once more.

"Are there a lot of snowballs?" Joker asked Aino's Shadow who nodded as she spoke up.

"That's right...They're all snowballs. I have to protect them. As long as I protect them, the snowballs will be happy..." Aino's Shadow said as Joker and Draconis spoke up.

"But what if this isn't what the snowballs want?" Draconis asked as Joker nodded and spoke up.

"That's right. They're unhappy like this." Joker said. Aino's Shadow blinked as she spoke up.

"W-Well, that's...But if I don't keep an eye out for the snowballs, they'll die too..." Aino's Shadow said as Mona blinked in confusion before he turned to the other Thieves and spoke up.

"They'll die 'too'?" Mona said as Draconis blinked in realization as he spoke up, internally groaning at not figuring this out sooner.

"Wait...have we been overlooking what could be an obvious piece of the puzzle? Could Mrs. Aino have had a cat of her own at one time that she named 'Snowball' that passed away, hence her 'they'll die too' comment!?" Draconis asked as Joker and Mona blinked at this, realizing Draconis might be right as Mona spoke up.

"So the real Snowball is already gone? Okay, I think we've got this. She's calm enough for us to talk to her now. Go for it, Joker!" Mona said as Joker nodded and spoke up.

"Listen to me, ma'am. The cats want to go home. And I think Snowball would want you to let them go as well since you're not doing them any favors keeping them against their will. I respect that you want to save them, but sometimes the best way to save someone is to let them live their own life." Joker said as Draconis nodded his agreement as Aino's Shadow spoke up.

"You're...right." Aino's Shadow said as the battle ended. As a result of the EXP from the battle, Mona, Draconis and Joker all hit level 21. Joker smirked.

"Power courses through me!" Joker said as his stats went up from his level up. On top of that, Zorro learned the healing skill 'Me Patra' as a result of Mona's level up. Mona chuckled as he spoke up, his words making Joker and Draconis blink as he spoke.

"Now I'm even more charming!" Mona said as Skull and Draconis winced as the latter spoke up.

"That, Mona-sensei, is a matter of opinion. But sure we'll go with it for arguments' sake." Draconis said agreeably. After the battle, Aino's Shadow went back to normal.

"I'm sorry. I suppose I owe you all an explanation. The truth for why I'm like this is because...I found this white kitten and took it home, but it wandered outside while I wasn't looking. And then...I saw it get run over by a car. The car just kept driving, even after it ran over the kitten...Since then, I see that kitten in every cat. I always think 'I have to protect it this time'...!" Aino's Shadow said as Mona spoke up.

"It's brought you a lot of suffering, huh..." Mona said as Draconis spoke up, now considerably calmer and with a more understanding tone in his voice.

"As it should. Seeing such an innocent life be taken away in front of someone would be devastating to just about anyone. And before any of you says a word to try and contradict me, I ask you to consider this. Would you all or would you all not, myself included, be brokenhearted if that were to ever happen to Mona here?" Draconis said as the others all just mutely nodded, knowing Draconis was right. Aino's Shadow nodded to Draconis' response as she spoke up.

"No...The people who really suffered are the owners and their cats." Aino's Shadow said, clearly now filled with remorse as Mona spoke up comfortingly.

"It's all right. You realized your mistake...Just don't do anything like this again." Mona said as Aino's Shadow nodded and spoke up.

"Yes. Thank you, Mr. Kitty. Um...I have a lot of cat food at my place. So please come over sometime." Aino's Shadow said as Draconis spoke up.

"While it IS his choice if he takes you up on that or not, I hope you won't be offended if I say that he's not doing that alone, just to be sure you don't accidentally get tempted into trying to keep him if he were to make his way that way, Mrs. Aino. No offense to you or Mona, but that would be awful if you tried keeping him for yourself. Mind you, he's NOT a cat!" Draconis said honestly. Mona blanched as he spoke up.

"What!? NO! I am NOT a cat! And thank you, Draconis. It's nice to know you care." Mona said as he smiled and gently nuzzled his head against Draconis' leg, making Draconis smirk as he gently petted Mona as Skull and Joker laughed at Draconis' embarrassment while Panther and Fox just smiled at the adorable sight. Mona then spoke up once more.

"But... that sounds nice. Though I agree that I'd want Draconis or one of my other friends with me if I did that just to be safe." Mona said. Aino's Shadow nodded with a smile as she spoke up.

"Wow, thanks! And thank you all..." Aino's Shadow said as Joker grabbed the treasure that appeared, or the 'Cat's Brooch' as it was called. After that the request called 'If Cats Disappeared from the City' was marked as COMPLETED. After that, Joker spoke up.

"Even though that was our last target, I say let's keep going since we're probably close to the end of this area, meaning we'll probably hit another rest area soon. And that would make a good stopping point for now." Joker said as the others nodded and kept moving. After a bit more navigating, the group eventually came upon an area marked 'END' as Mona spoke up once more, frowning at what appeared to be a solid wall blocking the group's path forward as he spoke.

"Hey, that wall..." Mona said as Panther spoke up, frowning as she looked at the wall as she spoke.

"It's the same type of wall we opened up last time...Does this one open, too?" Panther asked as Mona spoke up.

"Let's check it out, Joker!" Mona said as Joker nodded and the group kept moving. The group moved forward to examine the wall only for it to stand firm and cause the group to frown as Draconis spoke up.

"Seems like this door isn't gonna open..." Draconis said sagely as Mona frowned and spoke up.

"I didn't expect this wall to still be here." Mona said. Skull frowned as he spoke up.

"The hell? I thought we got all this shit open 'cause we like, influence the public or whatever." Skull said as Mona nodded and spoke up.

"The first wall, yes. However, it looks like we won't get this one open without expanding upon that. ...I think." Mona said as Draconis spoke up, an idea occurring to him.

"Could these doors opening be linked to us changing big targets' hearts? After all, if I recall right, the last door was opened only AFTER we'd confirmed that Kamoshida's heart had changed so it would track that this one will then likelier than not only open once we confirm that Madarame's heart has been changed." Draconis mused as Mona blinked at Draconis' theory as Panther spoke up, having a theory of her own come to her as she spoke.

"Mona, you said influence comes from people believing in us, right? Maybe this one would open too if we can get more people to accept us." Panther suggested. Mona nodded as he spoke up, giving Panther an approving look as he spoke though also nodding to Draconis as well.

"Perhaps, Panther...though I'm more inclined to lean towards Draconis' theory just because he has a pretty good track record of having his theories proven right with time. But you're probably right as well to be fair." Mona said as Panther and Draconis nodded before Skull huffed and spoke up.

"Why're you bein' so goddamn vague about all this...?" Skull asked Mona as Panther spoke up before Mona could answer Skull.

"It's fine. In any case, it doesn't change our goal. We'll just have to work hard enough to open this wall!" Panther said. Skull nodded and spoke up.

"Then I guess we're gonna be holdin' off on whatever's past there 'till then." Skull said as Mona frowned but didn't say anything as the group kept moving. After running into Jose once more, Joker swapped his flowers for a Snuff Soul and a Soul Drop and his stamps for two boosts to item drop rate and an EXP boost. Jose then spoke up.

"You want me to change Mementos? Sure." Jose said as he dug around on the ground before speaking up.

"Here we go." Jose said as Joker blinked and spoke up.

"What's up?" Joker asked as Jose smirked and spoke up.

"Just watch. I've learned all about this. You see, the cognition flowing through Mementos...It's got these things similar to what you humans call 'pressure points'. So if I do this...Hah!" Jose said as he smacked the spot he'd found with a hammer that had appeared in his hand right before that. Joker gave Jose a confused look before the area rumbled and Jose spoke up.

"There. That should've changed it for you. Don't believe me? Just take a look for yourself." Jose said as Joker nodded. Once he returned to the end area, he fast-traveled the group to the entrance before he stopped off at the Velvet Room to do some Persona-based shenanigans. After a bit, Joker returned with the Faith persona, 'Phoenix' in hand and a satisfied smirk on his face as he looked at the group.

"All right, now that we've done what we came here to do, what say we get back to the real world and enjoy the rest of our brief respite while we wait on Madarame's change of heart?" Joker said to the others who nodded as they left Mementos, and by extension, the Metaverse, to return to the real world...

(That evening, at Leblanc with Morgana, Ren and Kusa)

"Hey, hey! Did you notice on the way home? The cats are back in Yongen! Also, I overheard the owners talking...It sounds like Aino turned herself in. Once she pays for her crimes, apparently she's going to volunteer to take care of stray cats." Morgana said as Ren and Kusa nodded as Ren spoke up.

"Good for her." Ren said as Kusa spoke up.

"Hopefully things work out for her." Kusa said simply. Morgana nodded as he spoke up.

"I agree! I doubt she remembers me, but maybe I'll go visit her someday. I made a promise after all." Morgana said as Kusa frowned and spoke up.

"Not alone, you won't. Either myself or Ren will go with you so we can have your back if needed." Kusa said so only Morgana could hear, getting a satisfied nod from Morgana. At that point, Ren and Kusa exchanged nods as they went to go relax as they'd earned it...

END OF CHAPTER

A/N: And boom, another chapter done and dusted! But quite a bit got into it! So I guess that slightly makes up for the not as long length compared to the last couple chapters. Sorry about that. That said, we're really close to the end of the second Arc. Next chapter should be the final chapter of the second arc, and be prepared because that ending is a doozy to be sure! So there's something to look forward to!

So there's something to look forward to. So yeah, hopefully you enjoy the story and if so, either leave me a review with your thoughts/opinions/feedback on it (or send me a PM though I'm okay with both as well), I appreciate the support and input regardless. And until next chapter, sithlorde1988 out!

NOTES

*1*- And here is a rare typo I caught in the game script when typing this chapter. Even though I correct it in this line, in-game Ryuji says 'Shadow's ain't gonna attack us here?' when I'm quite sure that was meant to say 'Shadows ain't gonna attack us here?', but it is what it is. Either way, it's a minor typo so I'm not going to complain about it too much. But I felt like pointing it out regardless.