CHAPTER 9:

PHANTOM THIEVES OF HEARTS

Thankfully, Sojiro's tip about a house being available for rent nearby proved to be right on the money. The landlord didn't ask too many questions, and they were within a few minutes' walking distance of Leblanc and the Sojiro house. Still too long a distance for Futaba, who was still grappling with her agoraphobia and enochlophobia, but Harry could still come to her.

It was with her help that Harry and Sirius purchased a pair of iPhones. It was a touch tricky getting them to work, if only because the internet was far less prevalent back home, but it helped. Now, while Sirius had a lot of money in reserve, and what Harry was given in Futaba's Palace would help supplement it, it might be prudent to find work.

Sojiro was a bit reluctant to ask Harry to work at Leblanc, if only because questions might be asked about why a school-age teen was working for him during school hours. Harry may not have been Japanese, but questions might still be asked. Eventually, they decided to claim, albeit not as a lie per se, that Harry was undertaking a correspondence course, and was working for Sojiro part-time. Meanwhile, Sirius was going to go job-hunting himself.

Harry wasn't going to serve coffee or curry, though, partly because of his lack of ability to speak Japanese without translation charms. He was going to be more of Sojiro's odd job man, fetching supplies, helping him with deliveries, and cleaning, with Akira also helping out. Harry did have Sojiro teach him how to brew coffee and cook the curry, and while he wasn't that great with the former, he did have a knack with the latter.

He also kept in contact with Futaba. After the last couple of times, she seemed content to remain in the Sakura house for now, mostly communicating with him for the next couple of days via text. However, on Monday, they learned some surprising news. The teacher from Shujin who had a Palace, Kamoshida, had suddenly broken down and confessed to his crimes during an assembly, assaulting his students and even raping one, the one who attempted suicide, Shiho Suzui. It was plastered all over the news that Monday evening, and Futaba sent a text to Harry, telling him to arrange a meeting with Akira and Morgana the next morning…along with Sirius…


Sirius waved his wand in certain patterns in the Leblanc attic, as Harry and Futaba looked on, before nodding. "Good, we can't be overheard."

Morgana looked at them, from where he was seated next to Akira. Thankfully, school was out for the day. They'd had just been told about Sirius and Harry having magic, on Sirius' suggestion, and they took it in their stride. "So, I'm guessing you saw the news?"

"More than that," Futaba said, before she fished a printout of something. It looked like a business card in black and red, with what looked like cut-out Japanese letters on them, like a blackmail or ransom letter from a TV series. "I found this printout on a forum for students of Shujin. For those of us who can't read Japanese, here is the translation: To Sir Suguru Kamoshida, the Utter Bastard of Lust. We know what a complete shitbag you are, and that you inflict your desires on helpless students, slaking your lust for their pain or their bodies. That's why we're coming to steal those desires away and make you confess. Pucker your asshole, as we're coming soon. From the Phantom Thieves of Hearts." She looked at them, raising an eyebrow. "A calling card? Really? I know it's a trope in fiction, but what kind of thieves warn their victims that they're coming IRL? Plus, who wrote this crap? Phantom thieves in fiction are meant to be stylish, not vulgar."

Morgana facepalmed, a funny sight on a cat, despite the seriousness of the situation. "Dammit, Ryuji," he muttered to himself.

Akira, however, cleared his throat gently to bring attention to himself. "The calling card was necessary, at least according to Morgana. Every Palace is formed around a core of warped desires, but it lacks form normally. The calling card is apparently needed to force that core to manifest itself as something tangible, what Morgana calls a Treasure."

Futaba blinked, before she looked down at the floor. "…I wouldn't have considered that. A change in cognition based on…stimulation of the sympathetic nervous system? Flight or fight? It seems to be a threat response," she muttered.

"Futaba, you can think about that later," Harry said, before he turned to Akira and Morgana. "So, why do it? Sorry, stupid question, you must've found out about his crimes somehow, and honestly, he deserves worse. So, how did you do it? Did you brainwash him?"

"…It's debatable whether it could be considered brainwashing, though it's certainly dangerous," Morgana said. "What we did by stealing Kamoshida's Treasure was taking away his warped desires. When we take away the warped desires, the knowledge of the crime remains, which is why Kamoshida had a Change of Heart and confessed."

"Explain," Futaba said.


And so they did. After the explanation, Sirius pinched the bridge of his nose. "And to think I have to be the responsible adult here, instead of Remus. James must be laughing his arse off. Look, don't get me wrong, I honestly think you kids did the right thing. Kamoshida deserved worse, a lot worse, than what he got. I would've killed the bastard myself, and I'm sure once he goes to prison, he'll become someone's bitch pretty quickly. Plus, expelling you guys to cover his arse, never mind driving that poor girl to try to kill herself…" His fist clenched. "But that method sounds dangerous on so many levels. Leaving aside the fact that the Palace is crawling with these Shadow things, it's still close to brainwashing. You changed his mind against his will. There's a reason the Imperius Curse back home is one of the three Unforgivable Curses, and this sounds more fundamental than that. What's more…I went after someone in revenge before, and it backfired spectacularly. I traded Harry for revenge against that rat traitor, and I paid for it with imprisonment for over a decade."

"It still worked," Morgana said, though he looked anxious. "Don't get me wrong, I get where you're coming from. Not only is it dangerous to anyone traversing the Metaverse, but it's potentially dangerous to the Rulers of the Palaces."

"Because it might cause something like a Mental Shutdown?" Futaba asked.

"Possibly. Keep in mind, we did manage to talk down Shadow Kamoshida, albeit after beating him to a pulp," Akira said. "But Morgana warned us that if we removed too many desires, it might include the desires needed to keep yourself alive. After what happened with Shiho, we decided it was worth that chance, because that bastard…" He gritted his teeth. "You didn't see what it was like in that Palace. The tacky décor, the Cognitions of female students treated as his sex toys…I can't blame Ann for nearly killing Shadow Kamoshida. Don't get me wrong…I don't believe in the legal system, but I believe there are good people working for it, good police officers, lawyers and judges. But there are people they can't touch or won't touch. I don't know about Ryuji or Ann, but there's worse people than Kamoshida out there. I don't care if I'm on probation, I will not look the other way again while other people get hurt! I didn't then, and I won't now!"

As Akira's fist clenched, Sirius sighed. "So, it's like that, huh? Kid, you remind me a lot of how my friends were. Back at school, the four of us formed a group of pranksters. The Marauders, we called ourselves. In hindsight…too much of what we did crossed the line into bullying, especially what James and I did. True, we often targeted the deserving, but…let's just say once, I nearly knowingly got someone killed, even though one of my best friends probably would've been executed for what I did. And then, James and I, along with the other Marauders, we joined what was pretty much a vigilante group, to fight back against Voldemort, a terrorist warlock attacking us in our world. The Aurors, the wizarding police, did all they can, but either it wasn't enough, or they became as bad as the Death Eaters they fought."

"Sirius…" Harry began, but Sirius waved him off.

"My point is…I get why you want to do it, Akira. Like you, I got framed for a crime I didn't commit, and you should be thankful you've never had to partake the dubious pleasures of Azkaban. Honestly, I'm cheering you on. But as the adult here in the know, I'm playing devil's advocate here, trying to make sure you don't make the same mistakes I made, that we made. Because I know my godson is probably going to end up embroiled in what you do, no matter what, and it's past time I acted like a godfather to try and help him stay safe. And try not to let that power go to your head, either. The power to change people's hearts is not a trivial one. It's ridiculously dangerous."

"Yeah, I get it," Akira said. "But your point is to be careful, not to stop doing it altogether, right?"

"Right," Sirius said, giving a smirk. "Honestly, there's so many evil bastards in the world deserving a Change of Heart. Plus, given what happened to Futaba, maybe you could help other people the same way. After all, she didn't need her Treasure stolen to resolve her Palace."

"True enough," Morgana said. "Though Sirius, I need to ask…do you have any spells that can change me back into a human?"

"One or two. Here." Sirius cast a spell, and Morgana was briefly outlined in deep blue light, which had Sirius frowning. "Huh. That's…odd."

"What do you mean?" Harry asked.

"Morgana's definitely not an Animagus…but neither is he a normal cat, I can tell you that much. I'm not sure what that shade of blue means, though," Sirius mused. "I don't think any reversion charms would work on him, though."

"Well, worth a try, I suppose," Morgana muttered morosely, before looking serious again. "Anyway, Harry, Futaba, hell, even you, Sirius, I'd like to make a proposal to you. If you're willing, and the others are too, I'd like you to join us. We don't have any leads on any further Palaces, but I was going to take the others on an expedition into Mementos, introduce them to it, and do some exploration. It could be a good teambuilding exercise. If we're lucky, there might be a means for you guys to travel back to your own timeline somewhere in Mementos, just as I am sure there's a means for me to become human again down there. What's more, you three will be great assets to the team. Harry, Sirius, both of you can use magic we can't, even outside the Metaverse. Futaba, your knowledge of Cognitive Psience and IT is an obvious boon, you might even be able to figure things out about the Metaverse and Palaces that I can't."

Harry and Sirius shared a look. Sirius eventually shrugged, seeming to indicate he'd leave the decision to Harry. Harry then turned back to them.

He hesitated for a moment, before he said, "I can't speak for Futaba, she has to make her own decision. But…back in my own world, I used to get in a lot of trouble. Sometimes, it'd seek me out, and other times, I'd go looking for it. Even last year, when so many people thought me to be insane or worse, I tried to help teach other students how to defend themselves, because the teacher teaching Defence Against the Dark Arts was not only a total bitch, but she was deliberately stopping us from doing so. The government of Magical Britain was weak at best, the Minister of Magic a bribe-taking cowardly idiot. But even so…Hermione told me I have my saving people thing. If being a Phantom Thief helps people, then I'm all for it. Especially if our targets are the worst kind of person."

"Same here," Futaba said. "I'm not sure whether I'm up to joining a mission in the field, so to speak. I'm still trying to work on my social anxiety. But I reckon someone had my mother murdered for her research. I think those people are behind the Mental Shutdowns. Plus, taking on rotten adults is going to be fun and satisfying. At the very least, you've got my support on the IT side of things. Hopefully, I can work up some courage to join you guys in Mementos at least. TBH, I feel more up to dealing with Shadows than I do with people."

"Great. But don't force yourself, Futaba," Akira said gently. "I know it must be hard for you."

"Thanks, but I don't intend to force myself. Resolving my Palace has gotten rid of the worst of my problems, not all of them," the petite redhead said. "Besides, what you're doing is Mom's research in action, a vindication of her work. I…after what happened…even if it wasn't as bad as I thought it was, I was still a bit of a selfish brat. I owe that much to her memory to find out what it truly meant, to her, and to those who stole it from her. I don't care if I don't 100% it, that's the main achievement I intend to unlock."

Akira chuckled, even as the others stared at her in bemusement. "A unique way of looking at the world, really. Anyway, I think we'd better wrap that up here for now. Sojiro wanted me to help him out in Leblanc today a little. I'm guessing he's hoping it can help with my…rehabilitation." The last word was spoken in a bitter and morose tone.

Harry went over to Akira and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Akira, you're far from the only one in this room who got dealt a shitty hand in life. We all have."

"Exactly, kid. But you know what you should do?" Sirius said. "You know what the motto of the Marauders is?" He grinned. "I solemnly swear I am up to no good."

Akira looked at them all, before giving a grin. "I solemnly swear I am up to no good? Yeah…words to live by…"

CHAPTER 9 ANNOTATIONS:

So, Harry, Sirius and Futaba have learned the truth, and are going to join the Phantom Thieves…or rather, the new Marauders.

Now keep in mind, Morgana is more enthusiastic about having Futaba join than he was in canon because of a few things. Firstly, he's not yet struggling through his existential crises that began during the Futaba arc. Secondly, Sirius and Harry have taken him in their stride, which helps matters, and Sirius' spell has at least assured Morgana that he's not just a sentient cat (I chose the colour of the result very carefully: it's the blue of the Velvet Room, for those who know of Morgana's origins). Thirdly, at this point, he's eager for more recruits to help him regain his true form. And finally, while he's still a selfish little braggart, he also recognises Futaba needs to do this to get closure about her mother, and Morgana does genuinely want to help Futaba and the wizards with their own quest, and not just out of mutual self-interest.

On a more personal note, I've burned myself out on Persona 5 Royal for now, while going through Sae's Palace. I'll go back to it at a later date, but I decided, for a change of pace, to play the sequel/spin-off, Persona 5 Strikers. Honestly, I had to laugh at the Playstation trophies. 93% of people have gotten the first trophy, with the Showtime attack, but less than 40% have done the next story trophy.

Review-answering time! Aust Sakura Kryzor: Indeed. I make it a theme in many of my stories where Harry is isekai'd or ends up in another country, he doesn't want to go back, at least permanently. Unlike some authors, who have Harry leaving Magical Britain to rot knowingly, I do have it so that he would go back to save people and stop Voldemort, but it'd usually be a temporary arrangement.

ZLC genesmith: I'm not sure, exactly, as my familiarity with the series is admittedly minimal. I get the impression that, while they share a lot, especially monster designs, Persona's relationship to the mainstream Shin Megami Tensei games is the same that Tsukihime and Fate are to each other in the wider Nasuverse. I could be wrong.

Darkepyon: I have plans in mind for the Nijimas. Canon for them is going to go right off the rails by the time the Kaneshiro arc comes around.

Kyugan: He'll get his own Persona. The big reveal is in Chapter 12, during the expedition into Mementos.

XenoBlaze: I try to write multiple chapters for a story prior to publishing it. Before I finally decided to publish it, I had 14 written. I now have 16, though I intend to keep the 16th aside for my December update, unless I write further chapters for this fic in the meantime. As for Hedwig talking in the Metaverse…well, you're in for a surprise… ;)

The Protector of the Universe: I am aware of Thieves Can Be Heroes!, and it is certainly one of the best Persona 5 crossovers out there. But there are plenty of other Persona 5 fics that need more love, and I'm happy to offer my own recommendations…

No numbered annotations this time.