A/N: sithlorde1988 here, with another chapter of Persona 5- The Amamiya Files! Hard to believe this story's already going to be in the double digits on chapter count as of this chapter, but here we are! That being said, most likely this chapter (or next chapter at the latest, but probably this chapter) should be the final chapter of Kamoshida's Palace, though I anticipate that there'll be at least 1-2 more chapters after this one before the first arc (Phantoms Awaken) ends as a whole, and the second arc (The Kitsune Artist) begins.

I will go ahead and confirm right now while I'm thinking of it since it hasn't been touched on yet, YES Ren will get a Confidant link with Kusa, though I'm undecided on the specifics of the link hence why I haven't added it in yet. But that Confidant link will probably have a large chunk of their shared character development within it.

At this point, I've only decided on arc names for arcs 1 and 2 (Phantoms Awaken and The Kitsune Artist) but I will go ahead and confirm that the Royal section of this story has plans to have a total of 10-11 arcs in it (depending on if I have 1-2 side arcs for certain significant non-Palace events in the later parts of Royal that I won't get into since it borders on spoilers and I don't know if everyone who's reading this story has already played through Persona 5 Royal at least once or not.)

Meanwhile the Strikers/Scramble section will have anywhere from 7 to 10 arcs in it depending on if I combine some parts of Strikers together for arcs since it's kind of an open secret to anyone who's played through Persona 5 Strikers at least once that some of that game's dungeons are considerably shorter than Persona 5 Royal's dungeons, to the point where they'd almost be too short to have arcs on their own.

So in total that's minimum 17 arcs in this story, possibly as many as 21 depending on if I combine some parts of Strikers together for arcs and if I do side-arcs for parts of Royal or not, so it's a safe bet (hopefully) that this story will be both longer and have more chapters total than Digimon Story Cyber Sleuth: Hacker's Memory-The Amasawa Files did (and that story had 30 total chapters that reached a word count of just over 502k words for reference, and is up on my profile for anyone who's curious about it to look at though I will warn people right now who do decide to look at it that there's still parts in it that I need to go back and edit a bit so it's in need of some polishing but I plan to get to that eventually) but that's more of a long-term goal.

In the short-term, we're just now on chapter 10 and almost through the first Palace of Persona 5 Royal (which for reference has a total of 9 palaces in it) so we're kind of just now about to be 1/9th of the way through Royal, or at least through the main story of Royal. We've got a ways to go in Royal before we finish that section of the story though. But anyways, before I get distracted yet again, let's get the disclaimer done!

Disclaimer: sithlorde1988 does not own the Persona series in any way shape or form (aside from the OC Kusa/Draconis which he created and therefore DOES own), and credit for owning the Persona series belongs to Atlus, Sega and Koei Tecmo so all cred it to them.

That being said, on with the next chapter!

Chapter 10: The First Calling Card! A King's Downfall! Phantoms Awaken part 10

(At Leblanc, with Ren, Kusa and Morgana, neutral POV)

Kusa and Ren walked upstairs to their shared room, and both of them looked at the still cluttered-up pile of stuff against the wall on the right, and both exchanged a nod as Morgana spoke up.

"I see you two looking at that pile. Do you two feel like cleaning it up now?" Morgana asked Ren and Kusa who nodded as the former of the two spoke up.

"Yeah, might as well finish straightening the place up so we have more room, if for nothing else than to maybe put in a guest bed or two if need be for when or if we decide to host people overnight, unlikely as that may be." Ren said as Kusa nodded his agreement and spoke up.

"Agreed, plus who knows? Might come a time when either Ann or Ryuji need a place to crash, or any other ally we might happen to recruit to our group along the way. Either way, I don't see any real downside to cleaning this area up." Kusa said as the trio set about cleaning up the pile. After they were done clearing up the area near Ren's bed and down that side of the room, Morgana spoke up with an interested look on his face as he looked at the revealed books the trio had found during clean up.

"Politics, law, and philosophy...These all sound like some pretty difficult books...Take one at least. A little bit of effort will go a long way." Morgana said as Ren picked up a book called 'Social Thought' and pocketed, while Kusa shrugged and pocketed the philosophy book for himself, figuring it could be good to have as a read for when he finds himself bored and alone. Morgana then passed a smaller book called 'Yoncha Walker' to Ren as he spoke up once more.

"Take this, too. Should be an easy read, right? I wonder why this one is mixed in with all of these difficult books...Well, I suppose it doesn't matter. This is a good opportunity." Morgana said to Kusa and Ren as the former of the two shrugged and spoke up.

"Oh? How so, Morgana-sensei?" Kusa asked Morgana who smirked as he spoke up, his tail pointing towards the floor as he spoke.

"The floor over there is looking pretty messy, too. Let's just clean everything up while we're at it!" Morgana said as Ren and Kusa nodded, proceeding to tidy up the rest of the room, revealing a plant hiding under the remaining pile of stuff near the entrance of the room which Morgana blinked at before speaking up once more.

"Oh, look! That plant is still alive...We can decorate with it. Even a dreary room can be brightened up with a little green foliage..." Morgana said as Ren nodded before speaking up, smirking as he spoke up.

"Be that as it may Morgana, we're probably gonna need a lot more than one plant to brighten up this room. Especially given how dry and cynical Kusa can be at times." Ren joked as Kusa rolled his eyes before speaking up.

"Oh, ha freaking ha, Ren. You're hilarious. With a brother like you, I wonder why I'd be prone to moments of dry cynicism?" Kusa said dryly as Morgana spoke up again.

"Okay, let's try and get along you two. That said, this room feels a little more comfortable now...And just as I had predicted, we found a treasure. But, it's a CRT TV. We can't watch any broadcasts without a tuner. It'd be a waste to just let it sit here though. Is there a place where we can get home appliances for cheap?" Morgana asked as Ren shrugged while Kusa tapped his finger to his chin in thought before blinking as he spoke up.

"I don't know if they sell home appliances per se, but I do recall a second-hand shop fairly close to here having a DVD player for sale when Ren and I were walking here our first day in town. No clue if it's still in stock or not, however. But that could be a place to start?" Kusa suggested as Morgana nodded agreeably as did Ren before Morgana spoke up.

"Makes sense to me, Kusa. Anyway, good work. Let's take a break." Morgana said as Kusa and Ren nodded, both really tired now so they laid down and went to bed...

(The next day, on the way to school with Ren, Kusa and Morgana, neutral POV)

"I thought I'd get a girlfriend once I was in high school, but I'm not having any luck at all...This sucks! Is there something wrong with me?" Ren and Kusa heard a dull-looking student say to his friend who shrugged as he spoke up uncertainly.

"No clue. Maybe self-improvement is the answer. Try reading some books. You'll get more than just some Knowledge out of them, and it'll make you better in conversation. You'll be more desirable if you're more intelligent. It'll take hard work, though-won't happen overnight." The dull student's friend said calmly to the dull student who spoke up.

"Yeah, but books make me sleepy...Guess I can give it a go, though, if it'll make me more popular with the ladies! Uh, is the library where you go to borrow more books?" The dull student asked his friend as Morgana got Ren and Kusa's attention by speaking up.

"Nice! Reading books is an important way to expand your mind." Morgana said as Kusa and Ren both spoke up, Ren speaking up first.

"Books are great and all, but why should I do that?" Ren asked, ignoring Kusa's eye roll next to him at his question. Mona spoke up, giving Ren an unimpressed glare as he spoke, agreeing with Kusa's annoyance at Ren's stance on books.

"Diamonds don't start out beautiful. You need to polish them first. Similarly, you need to polish your intellect in order to really tap into your true talent. You can apparently read for free at the school library, so you should try and take advantage of that." Morgana said as Kusa spoke up.

"Good to know, Morgana-sensei. We'll give that a go when we can, or at least I will." Kusa said as Morgana nodded approvingly as he spoke up again.

"I know you will, Kusa. That said, I think there's also a bookstore over on Central Street..." Morgana said as the group headed to school...

(In class, with Ren, Ann and Morgana, neutral POV)

Ren sat in his Biology class in his usual seat behind Ann, but he was paying attention to the teacher, as he recognized him as being Kusa's homeroom teacher. Ann was also paying attention in front of him as well as the teacher spoke up.

"Hi there, everyone...I'm Mister Hiruta, your biology teacher. You must all be shocked by what happened with Suzui-san. It was a shock to me too...Although I can relate to how she felt. Her eyes were devoid of life as they looked upon this sad, hopeless world. Well, I suppose everyone views the world differently. Let's have a test." Hiruta said as he looked over at Ren and kept speaking.

"You there! Ren! Take a look at this." Hiruta said as he held up a picture of a triangle with two lines in the middle of it, line A and line B, as he kept speaking.

"Between A and B, which line seems longer...?" Hiruta asked Ren who frowned at the question, as this wasn't really a strong suit of his since Kusa was usually better than him at such questions, but he wasn't in his class unfortunately. However, Ren smiled as he recalled seeing Kusa looking at a similar picture while he was doing his homework so he knew the answer already and spoke up.

"This is it! That's a trick question, sir. They're both the same length." Ren said, drawing an impressed look from Ann, who hadn't expected him to know the answer to that question. Hiruta smiled and applauded Ren as he gave his answer, speaking up in respect and awe.

"You DO know! Heh, that's correct. It seems your eyes see the truth." Hiruta said as he pulled the picture up so everyone could see and kept speaking.

"This is an optical illusion. Some people see it correctly, and some do not. Isn't it strange that they view the same image differently? Humans don't see the world as it is. We simply process visual information with our brain." Hiruta said as mutters broke out among the class, most of whom were shocked at Ren knowing the answer.

"Wow, really? He knew that one?" A black-haired student asked their brown-haired friend who nodded and spoke up.

"Amamiya-kun the elder seems kind of smart, doesn't he?" The brown-haired student asked their friend who nodded. Morgana then smiled at Ren from inside his desk and quietly spoke up, not wanting his meows to be heard.

"Nice going! Wow, you must be really smart to be able to answer a question like that!" Morgana said to Ren who smirked.

"That, or I was lucky that Kusa happened to have that question on his homework recently. But sure, we'll go with I must be really smart." Ren said with a confident smirk. He then felt his Knowledge go up as Hiruta kept speaking.

"How you see the world is nothing more than a trick of the mind...It is all mere cognition. There is no proof the world each of us sees is the same." Hiruta said as Morgana spoke up, intrigued by what Hiruta had said.

"I see...How you see the world depends on your brain's cognition, huh...Optical illusions and the Metaverse might be more similar than you'd think. Also, I'm making it a point to advise Kusa to be more careful about letting you watch him do his homework so you can't just keep leeching answers off of him. You're not gonna get any smarter if you piggyback off of others for the answers. You have to put the work in in order to improve, you know." Morgana said to Ren who frowned but nodded as the class proceeded from there...

(After school, with Ren and Morgana, neutral POV)

"Sending the calling card is a make-or-break decision, so really think on it, okay? I'm sure Ryuji and Lady Ann are uneasy, too. Not to mention Kusa as well. So make sure you talk to them about it, okay?" Morgana asked Ren, who nodded as his phone went off to signify a message from Ryuji.

"Hey, where are you right now?" Ryuji sent. Ren rolled his eyes as he sent a response of his own.

"Well, given classes literally JUST got out Ryuji, I'm clearly still in the classroom." Ren sent, making Morgana blink at how dry his response was. But Ryuji sent a response before Morgana could comment on how dry Ren's response was.

"I'm still at school too. I'm by the stair case outside the classroom. Think we should head into the Palace today?" Ryuji sent. Ren blinked at this before sending a response.

"Head into the palace? I assume by that you mean send the calling card so we can head back into the Palace, since I believe Morgana said that was the next step. That said, I haven't really decided yet, since classes just got out. More than likely though we will go since I don't think there's much else to do that I can think of, plus the sooner we deal with Kamoshida, the better." Ren sent. Ryuji read Ren's response before sending another response.

"Hey, I thought of something the other day when we were running around the Palace. Maybe it's cause I haven't been moving around as much lately, but I feel like I'm getting weak. We're prolly gonna run into some pretty tough Shadows sometime. We should try to get stronger too. It's sunny outside. Perfect for training! So, you wanna get your blood pumpin'?" Ryuji sent. Morgana chose that point to speak up with a smirk.

"Wow! Seems like even Ryuji has a lot on his mind...It's true that training your body will let you be able to move when it counts. He went to the trouble of inviting you, so why not listen to what he has to say?" Morgana asked Ren who shrugged before he blinked as he saw a message from Ann as well.

"When are we sending the calling card? We found the Treasure, so I think we should get on this soon. Why not meet up with everyone if you're ready?" Ann sent. Ren and Morgana blinked as they exchanged glances. Morgana then spoke up as he looked at Ren.

"So, what will it be? Should we assemble at the hideout and send the calling card?" Morgana asked Ren who stroked his chin before replying.

"I haven't heard from Kusa yet, but I doubt he'll be that busy just yet, so I suppose now's as good a time as any to meet up at the hideout. So yeah let's meet up." Ren said to Morgana before he sent a response to Ann.

"I agree. The sooner we deal with that scumbag Kamoshida, and change his heart, the better. That said, let's go ahead and send the calling card to get it out of the way. The sooner that's done, the sooner we can finish off Kamoshida after all." Ren sent, hearing his phone go off to signify another new chat as he finished replying to Ann. Ann then quickly sent a response of her own.

"OK! I'll head to the hideout." Ann said as Ren closed the chat with her and saw the other chat he'd gotten was in fact from Kusa.

"Hey Ren, we gonna send the calling card today? Odds are Ann already asked you that, but I'm asking as well to cover the off chance she didn't. Also, Yoshizawa-san said to say hi to you for her. Apparently she saw I was messaging you and decided to pass along her greetings. You know, I think you might have made more of an impression on her than you think you did, Ren. She seemed quite lost in thought most of the day, even if she still paid attention in classes. Maybe she's taking notice of you or something?

That's something to consider for later. Also, I was hoping to have a chat with you, just the two of us, at some point. I think we need to air a few things out if we're going to be able to share a room together since I sense there's some slight tension between the two of us. But for now, our focus should be on that scumbag Kamoshida. He needs to pay for what he's done, and the sooner the better. So if you're sending the calling card, I'll be at the hideout." Kusa sent, making Ren frown in mixed confusion and intrigue at what Kusa wanted to discuss. Ren eventually sent a brief response back to Kusa, though.

"Yeah, we're sending the calling card today. The sooner we deal with Kamoshida, the better. As far as your request for a sit down, we can handle that after Kamoshida's dealt with. Also, you can tell Yoshizawa I say hi back. Maybe once things calm down a bit, she and I can hang out and get to know each other a bit more if she's up for that. Because I'll be honest, from what I saw of her on the train that day, she seems like a very kind, sweet and selfless woman who I wouldn't mind getting to know a bit better. So yeah, get to the hideout Kusa. I'll gather Ryuji, and he, Morgana and I will meet you and Ann there." Ren sent as he put his phone away, went to gather Ryuji, and went to the hideout...

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

"All right! All that's left now is to send out the calling card and take Kamoshida's heart!" Morgana said excitedly as Ryuji huffed and spoke up.

"Couldn't we have just sent one at the beginnin' of all this...?" Ryuji asked. Kusa and Morgana both frowned at Ryuji's question as the latter spoke up.

"It's not that simple. A Treasure won't stay materialized forever. Once the impression is gone, the Treasure will disappear. I think it'll last around a day, at most." Morgana said as Kusa nodded his understanding before speaking up.

"Ah, I see...so calling cards are somewhat time-sensitive then. Good to know. Though with how impatient both Ren and Ryuji can be, that might not be a good thing." Kusa joked as Ren and Ryuji huffed, the latter speaking up while the former discreetly flipped Kusa off where only Kusa could see, getting an eye roll from Kusa for his efforts as Ryuji spoke up.

"The hell...? That's like no time at all...and shuddup Kusa, I know I'm impatient." Ryuji said. He then sneered as he kept speaking.

"Anyways, we can send a callin' card right now, yeah? Let's do it and steal that bastard's heart!" Ryuji said as Morgana spoke up once more.

"Agreed. That said, the Palace will go away once you take the Treasure. Make sure you've done everything you need to before you send the calling card." Morgana said as Ren and Ryuji nodded. After a bit of quiet contemplation, Ren spoke up.

"I want to send the calling card, but I also need to make more materials since I do know of a couple of chests that we missed our first trip through the Palace. So let's send the calling card, but hopefully Kusa and I will have a chance to make more lock-picks tonight so we can get those chests when we go in to confront Kamoshida. I'd rather not leave them unclaimed if it can be avoided." Ren said, nodding his approval of sending the calling card. Ryuji smiled as Ren finished speaking and spoke up.

"I've been waitin' to hear you say that!" Ryuji said. After a bit, he kept speaking.

"Tomorrow's finally the day." Ryuji said as Ann nodded before speaking up.

"So we send the calling card in the morning... and carry out the plan by the end of the day, right?" Ann asked as Morgana nodded approvingly to Ann's question as he spoke up.

"Correct. The effect won't last that long." Morgana said before looking at Ren and Kusa as he kept speaking.

"...Are you two worried?" Morgana asked Ren and Kusa, the former of which shook their heads in the negative and the latter spoke up.

"Nah, not really. Moreso uneasy. That's not a large window of time to pull the plan off in, after all. But I think we can do it. Though if Ren wants to stop off to open those chests, that might cut things a bit closer than they otherwise would be. Otherwise, I'm not worried." Kusa said warily as Ann nodded and spoke up.

"Heh. Waited too long." Ann said eagerly as Morgana smiled and spoke up again.

"Perfect." Morgana said as Ann spoke up, a determined look in her blue-green eyes as she spoke.

"We're going to pull this off, no matter what!" Ann said as Morgana nodded and spoke up again.

"Agreed. So, who's going to write the card?" Morgana asked. Surprisingly, Ryuji smiled as he spoke up.

"Leave it to me!" Ryuji said excitedly as Ann frowned at his response, as did Kusa, but Ann spoke up before Kusa had the chance to do so.

"Why?" Ann asked as Ryuji blanched at the question.

"Why? Why wouldn't it be me!?" Ryuji asked. Kusa huffed as he spoke up.

"Why wouldn't it be you!? Did you really just ask that, Ryuji!? No offense man, but when was the last time anyone praised your writing style!? Much less called it provocative/noteworthy? If we're going to be making a calling card, it has to be bold and catch the attention of our target. Do you really think you can do all that with your writing style, Ryuji!? Remember, we only get one chance to send this calling card. If we let you write it and it fails to make the Treasure materialize, it's game over for you, me, Ren and Mishima-kun. So there's a lot riding on this!" Kusa said to Ryuji who blanched as Ann spoke up.

"Exactly. Kusa is correct, Ryuij. Also, this is important. Are you sure you can handle the pressure?" Ann asked as Morgana nodded in agreement of Kusa and Ann's points as he spoke up at that point.

"I must agree." Morgana said as Ryuji huffed and spoke up, frowning as he spoke.

"First of all, have you ever even SEEN my writin' style, Kusa!? I don't think you have, so you can't judge my writin' style unless you've seen it. That said, I really wanna get him good! Lemme write it... C'mon, please!" Ryuji said, looking at Ren as he spoke, who blinked before speaking up.

"You sure you can do it, Ryuji? I believe in you, but both Ann and Kusa raise very valid points with their comments. The stakes are VERY high at this point. One mis-step or wrong move, and not only is your future over, but so are those of myself, Kusa and Mishima. So I'll ask again: You sure you can do it?" Ren said to Ryuji. Ann nodded as she spoke up, frowning at Ryuji as she spoke up.

"Seriously, it'd better not have spelling errors in it, okay? The embarrassment would kill me. Oh, and make sure they won't be able to tell who wrote it." Ann advised Ryuji, as Kusa nodded his agreement before Ryuji spoke up.

"I know, I know." Ryuji said as Kusa spoke up.

"Having voiced my objections, I support Ryuji in making this calling card. However, let it be stated for the record he can have me look it over if need be to proofread it and correct any spelling errors he might make in the writing of the card, as well as be able to make it sound unrecognizable. I might not look like it, but I'm a fairly good writer and I was a spelling bee champ for my school back in elementary school so I do know how to spell relatively well." Kusa said as Ryuji smiled and nodded as he spoke up.

"Wait, for real!? You'll help me write it, Kusa? Thanks, man!" Ryuji said as Kusa nodded while Morgana spoke up.

"All right, then! Tomorrow it is!" Morgana said before looking at Ren as he spoke up.

"You'd better not slack off on this." Morgana said sternly to Ren who frowned as he spoke up.

"I get it, Morgana. I'll be sure to get it done. Now quite nagging me before I let Coffee Daddy throw you out." Ren said huffily as Kusa frowned.

"You most certainly will NOT let him throw out Morgana-sensei! He has nowhere else to go! Plus he's just trying to help." Kusa said with a huff. Morgana smiled and hopped into Kusa's lap as he spoke smiling as Kusa gave him a few pets for general principle while he spoke.

"Exactly, Kusa. At least you appreciate me, unlike Ren." Morgana said happily as he curled up on Kusa's lap with a content purr. Ann and Ryuji chuckled at the interaction between Kusa and Morgana as the group dispersed for the evening...

(Later on that evening, at Leblanc, with Sojiro, Ren, Morgana and Kusa, neutral POV)

Sojiro looked up as he heard the doors open, smiling slightly as he saw Ren and Kusa walking in, Morgana riding contentedly on the latter's shoulder. Sojiro then spoke up, looking at Ren as he spoke up.

"Listen up, Ren. Just 'cause you seem to be taking school seriously doesn't mean I'm not keeping an eye on you. Got it? I'll know what's what as soon as I see your grades. Wanna prove you're turning over a new leaf? Make studying your second biggest habit, after breathing." Sojiro said to Ren who nodded with Kusa as their phones went off to signify a group chat with Ryuji and Ann.

"Man, there's so much I wanna write on the calling card. It's kinda tough figuring out what to say." Ryuji sent. Kusa smirked as he sent a response.

"If you need help, don't be shy about sending me a private chat after this and I'll help you brainstorm what to put on the calling card. Keep in mind it has to NOT sound like any of us for the sake of anonymity so I can easily help with that since I think of us all, my writing style is the one Kamoshida is probably least familiar with, Ann's being a probable close second. Of us all, only maybe Morgana-sensei has a less recognizable writing style, but with all apologies to him, I don't think he can write much anything in his current form so I'd be our best bet for anonymity. But rest assured you get to write the card, Ryuji. I'll just give you some pointers on what to put on it." Kusa sent as Ryuji sent a quick response.

"Hell yeah! I'll be sure to do that! Thanks, Kusa!" Ryuji sent as Ann sent a response at that point.

"Are you sure you're really capable of this!?" Ann sent as Ren and Morgana nodded approvingly to her response as did Kusa. Ryuji then sent another response.

"Don't worry, I got it. I even made a logo for us." Ryuji sent, making Ren, Morgana and Kusa exchanged surprised glances at the mention of a logo. Ann sent a response that perfectly summed up the trio's thoughts and her own.

"...A logo?" Ann sent. Kusa frowned as he sent a response, Ren sending one shortly after.

"That's what he said, Ann. I personally am surprised Ryuji has any artistic talent though. No offense Ryuji, but you don't strike me as the artistic type. Not that Ren or I have room to talk, since neither of us is particularly gifted in the artistic ways either." Kusa sent as Ren sent his response.

"Kusa's right. Even if he is a good writer, he's not nearly so good at drawing things. And I can barely draw stick figures, which is the extent of my artistic talent. Unless Ann has some minor artistic ability, it's pretty safe to say art isn't a strong point for the group." Ren sent. Ryuji then sent a response.

"Egh, everyone's got somethin' they're not so good at. For me, it's a lot of things. And Ann, yup. You'll get to see it tomorrow." Ryuji sent. Kusa laughed as he sent his response.

"That's an understatement if I've ever heard one, Ryuji. Let's hope that your logo is at least decently good." Kusa sent as Ann chuckled at this before sending her response.

"Well, that's worrying..." Ann sent. Ryuji then sent a reply after rolling his eyes.

"Anyways, you guys should rest up. If we screw up tomorrow, we're totally done for." Ryuji sent as Ren shrugged and sent a response of his own.

"Leave it to me. I'll be sure to be ready for the battle tomorrow as will Kusa. That said, I'm counting on you guys." Ren sent. Ann and Ryuji smiled at this response before Ann sent a response of her own.

"Yup, I'm sure we can do this." Ann sent, making Ryuji scoff as he sent his response at that point.

"Just remember, we can't trust any shitty adults. That's why we gotta do this ourselves. Anyways, let's pull this off and surprise everyone!" Ryuji sent as Kusa huffed and sent a response of his own at that point.

"I assume that you're mostly referring to the likes of Kamoshida and those types of 'shitty adults' when you say that, Ryuji. I get a feeling that not ALL adults are 'shitty' as you put it. But that's just my opinion." Kusa sent as Ren chuckled and sent a response of his own.

"That, or that's you being insulted on Coffee Daddy's behalf on the off chance Ryuji was insulting him." Ren sent teasingly as Kusa huffed and sent a response.

"First of all Ren, no code names in this chat! That's for you-know-where only! We use real names here. But we leave him out of these chats for now. That said, let's get some rest for tomorrow." Kusa sent, putting his phone away as he rolled his eyes at Ren and walked upstairs ahead of him, Morgana riding shotgun on his shoulder as he left. Ren put his phone away and sighed as he followed Kusa up the stairs. Kusa glared at Ren as he came upstairs but just nodded politely as Ren walked in. Ren sighed as he spoke to Kusa.

"Look, I'm sorry I poked fun at you in the chat, Kusa. But you have to agree you were defending Sakura-san when you made that comment about not all adults being shitty." Ren said as Kusa turned to face Ren and sighed as he spoke up.

"Nah, you're probably right, Ren. I just get on edge a lot when I think people are dissing those I consider friends. And yes I consider Sakura-san a friend of sorts even if he doesn't interact with us much." Kusa said as he crossed his arms and looked at Ren who spoke up.

"I see. Well I apologize for my words before then. Thinking about it, I think maybe we should have that sit-down you asked for now. Though Morgana will probably be involved in it since he can't exactly leave the room until Sakura-san leaves for the night so we'll have to bear that in mind." Ren said as Kusa stroked his chin before nodding and speaking up.

"That's okay. I don't mind if Morgana-sensei sits in on this since I trust his discretion and think he'd keep anything we discuss here to himself unless we say otherwise, right Morgana-sensei?" Kusa said to Ren, looking at Morgana as he finished speaking for clarification and Morgana nodded.

"But of course, Kusa. As a gentleman thief, I don't betray my comrades' confidence. So anything I hear, I'm of course going to keep to myself." Morgana said as Kusa nodded.

"There we go, then. That said, Ren, I know I nag you a lot about things, but you have to realize I do it because I truly care about you and know you have the potential to be great if you apply yourself. Not to mention, I see the potential for real leadership in you. So I know you can be a great person if you put the effort in. To that end, I propose a deal with you.

You cut back on poking fun at me to the best of your ability and try to be nicer to Morgana-sensei, and in return I'll help you where I can with your homework and stuff, and also help you get better at managing finances since I see how you allocate funds when we have to go on supply runs, and I cringe since I know we can stretch our budget much much further than you've been stretching it. So can we reach a deal? You try to be nicer to me and Morgana-sensei, and I help you get better with money and with homework?" Kusa asked Ren who thought about it before smiling and nodding.

"Yeah, I can agree to that. No promises on progress happening right away, however, since I tend to react in the moment at times so I might say things I don't mean without thinking much of it, so I'll try to cut back on the making fun of you and Morgana, but it might still happen to some extent while I try to cut back on it, so bear with me, ok?" Ren asked Kusa who smiled at Ren and nodded as he spoke up.

"I can be patient, brother. And I'm sure Morgana-sensei can too. Let's get better at our deal, together." Kusa said as he extended a hand out which Ren smiled at and shook...

(Fast forward to the interrogation room with Sae and Joker)

"I see that the Phantom Thieves keep very meticulous records of their finances and can stretch a budget quite far. You must have had some help to pull that off, such as a financier or a person who's good at budgeting. Am I right? Answer me!" Sae said to Joker who just shrugged...

(Back in the present with Ren, Morgana and Kusa, neutral POV)

As Ren and Kusa shook hands to seal their deal, the ever-present voice spoke up in Ren's head.

"I am thou, thou art I...Thou hast acquired a new vow. It shall become the wings of rebellion that breaketh thy chains of captivity. With the birth of the World Persona, I have obtained the winds of blessing that shall lead to freedom and new power..." Ren heard in his head as another card appeared in his mind's eye, this one with the word 'World' on it and a 'I" on it to signify the Confidant was at Rank 1, though Ren frowned as he noticed that unlike his confidants with Igor, Ryuji and Morgana, this one only had five stars on the card, making Ren wonder if this was only a partial link or what the case was with this Confidant. After that, Ren and Kusa smiled at each other as the latter spoke up again.

"Well, I'm glad we had the chance to have this chat so we can try to gradually understand one another better, though as they say, 'Rome wasn't built in a day.' As such, I don't expect us to make a lot of progress right away on this, but if we work at it, we'll get there in time, I'm sure." Kusa said with a smile as Ren nodded his agreement and spoke up.

"Agreed. Well, it's late, and we need to get to bed, so let's lay down, Kusa." Ren said as Kusa nodded and the two laid down in their respective sleeping areas, Morgana choosing to rest on Kusa's chest for the night to Kusa's amusement as the three went to bed...

(The next morning, on the train with Morgana, Ren and Kusa, neutral POV)

Morgana spoke up as his head poked out of Ren's bag while he spoke, Kusa leaning against the wall nearby as Ren had lucked out and gotten a seat on the train.

"Ah, we were able to grab a seat for ourselves, Ren! Poor Kusa wasn't so lucky, but he said he didn't mind standing so it is what it is. But more importantly, and you have a book you haven't finished yet! Now this is nice. Why don't you read that book until we get there?" Morgana suggested to Ren, who nodded as he pulled out Yoncha Walker 04 and read it. It listed a bunch of travel spots in it as Morgana spoke up.

"Hmm...I wonder if it mentions Leblanc..." Morgana asked Ren as he absently nodded while reading. A bit later, Ren smiled as he flipped the book closed, having finished reading it from cover to cover. Morgana smiled and spoke up at this point.

"Oh! So, you've finished reading Yoncha Walker 04. It didn't mention Leblanc at all...They did write about the batting cages by the grocery store and the bathhouse in that alleyway though. With that much variety, living in Yongen isn't quite as bad as it seems, huh?" Morgana said to Ren who nodded as he found out he could now quick travel to the 'Bathhouse' and the 'Batting Cages' in Yongen-Jaya. Morgana smiled and spoke up once more.

"You should go see what those places are all about sometime. Oh, we're almost at the station. I'd say that was an efficient use of your time." Morgana said as the trio exited the train...

(On the way to the school, with Ren, Kusa and Morgana, neutral POV)

"Ugh, I spent way too much on new clothes this month. Now I'm broke..." One of the two girls walking in front of Ren and Kusa complained to her friend who was walking next to her. Her friend then spoke up.

"Guess you're getting yourself a job. Those job magazines they have at the train station are useful." The girl's friend said as the girl spoke up again.

"Maybe I'll swing by the Shibuya underground and pick one up after school. Then again, work's for losers. I hope I find something easy." The girl said as Kusa frowned at her attitude as the rest of the walk to school was uneventful...

(At the school with Ann, neutral POV)

"A calling card?" Ann heard a student say as a large group of students were gathered by the bulletin board where a lot of red cards were seen attached to the board. Another student spoke up.

"I heard it was already posted by the time everyone got here this morning." Another student said as Ann grabbed one of the cards and read it, frowning at what she read.

"Sir Suguru Kamoshida, the utter bastard of lust...We know how shitty you are, and that you put your twisted desires on students that can't fight back. That's why we have decided to steal away those desires and make you confess your sins. This will be done tomorrow, so we hope you will be ready. From, the 'Phantom Thieves of Hearts'." Ann read, wincing as she finished reading.

"...Wow." Ann said as she walked over to where Kusa, Ren and Ryuji were waiting with Morgana riding shotgun in Ren's bag. Ryuji saw Ann walk up and spoke up as she joined them.

"Not bad, eh? I looked up a bunch of similar stuff online for reference, mainly after Kusa never got back to me with that private chat he said he'd set up." Ryuji said as Kusa winced and spoke up.

"Shit, my bad man. I was so tired, I fell asleep pretty well as soon as Ren and I laid down, so I probably didn't hear your message if you sent one. Sorry, Ryuji." Kusa said apologetically as Ryuji waved it off with a smirk and spoke up.

"No worries, Kusa. I got it figured out in the end." Ryuji said as Ann winced and spoke up.

"Um...Yeah...I know what you WANTED to say, but it sounded like an idiot trying to be an adult." Ann said as she handed Kusa the card she'd grabbed so he, Ren and Morgana could see it for themselves, both Kusa and Morgana groaning as they read it and Kusa spoke up.

"Fuck, I should've stayed up to brainstorm with you, Ryuji. I could've helped you make it sound WAY better than this. My bad, man." Kusa said as Morgana spoke up.

"You can't help that you were tired, Kusa. That said, Ryuji, your logo's a little lacking, too." Morgana said warily as Ryuji huffed and spoke up.

"Kusa, you're fine. I'm not mad at you man. As for YOU Morgana...okay, y'know what? Th-That ain't true!" Ryuji huffed, but before anyone could reply to him they heard a female student speaking up nearby.

"Did Mister Kamoshida do something wrong?" One female student asked as her friend spoke up in a worried-sounding voice.

"Does this mean the rumors are true!?" Another female said as a male spoke up.

"Wait a sec... Is someone gonna take something from Mister Kamoshida?" The male asked as another male frowned and spoke up.

"What's with this logo? And who're these 'Phantom Thieves of Hearts' people?" The other male asked as Ryuji smirked and spoke up.

"It got everyone excited, so it's all good, yeah?" Ryuji asked as Kusa glared at Ryuji's glib attitude, but before he could speak up, Kamoshida marched up and spoke up angrily as he saw the calling cards with his name on them.

"Who's responsible for this!?" Kamoshida asked angrily as Morgana smirked and spoke up.

"Look at that. A predictable reaction for someone who knows what we mean by distorted desires." Morgana said as Ryuji smirked and spoke up.

"I think it's hittin' him pretty hard." Ryuji said as Kusa rolled his eyes but then blanched with the others as he heard students dispersing as Kamoshida started yelling and throwing swings in the air.

"Did you do this!? Or was it you!?" Kamoshida asked, swinging at various students as they fled from his anger. He then walked over to glare at Ren, Kusa and Ryuji, ignoring Ann and Morgana for the moment.

"...Was it you three!?" Kamoshida asked Ren, Kusa and Ryuji as Kusa and Ren spoke up.

"Sir, with all due respect, I have no idea what you're talking about. You just walked up to us all pissed off, AFTER swinging at several students rather angrily, might I add. Maybe these 'Phantom Thieves of Hearts' are right about what they said in that card? I sure hope not, sir, since you do contribute so much to this school with the volleyball team and all." Kusa said respectfully as Ren huffed and spoke up.

"And what if it was us? You already said we're expelled, so not much more than that you can really do to us. So I don't see how bothering us is going to solve anything, Mister Kamoshida. And I think you have a PE class to get to, or maybe a volleyball team?" Ren said as Kamoshida huffed and scratched his head before speaking up.

"What garbage...Eh, it's not a problem. You'll be expelled soon enough anyway." Kamoshida said as the shot flickered briefly to show Ren looking at the Metaverse version of Kamoshida who was staring at Ren, looking past an oblivious Ann to do so.

"Come...Steal it, if you can!" Kamoshida's Metaverse counterpart snarled as the security level jumped to 100%, and back in the real world, Kamoshida strode off without another word. Morgana smirked after Kamoshida left and spoke up.

"Judging from Kamoshida's response...I'm sure we had an effect on his Palace!" Morgana said as Ann gasped and spoke up.

"Does that mean the Treasure's appeared!? We'll be able to get it today, right?" Ann asked as Morgana frowned and spoke up.

"It's not just 'today.' It's ONLY today. The impact of seeing a calling card doesn't last long, and it cannot be repeated. This will be our ONE chance to steal the Treasure." Morgana said as Ryuji smirked and spoke up confidently.

"One day's more than enough for us!" Ryuji said as Kusa frowned and spoke up.

"Be that as it may...both you AND Ren are idiots! You practically made your involvement with the calling card obvious to anyone with a brain and Ren didn't help things by egging on Kamoshida! Luckily he didn't take the bait, or who knows WHAT could've happened!?" Kusa said huffily. Morgana nodded in agreement.

"I agree with Kusa, but luckily it all worked out for the best. Now let's go get that Treasure!" Morgana said as the group went into the Metaverse...

(After school, in the entrance of Kamoshida's Palace, with Mona, Joker, Draconis, Panther and Skull, neutral POV)

"Well then...let's go! Keep your guard up!" Mona said to the others who nodded and kept moving, making tracks towards the Treasure room. After finding as many chests as they could find, the group eventually found their way back to the throne room, which was surprisingly open and empty. Skull huffed as he spoke up.

"Come on, man! What the hell's goin' on here? The door's just sittin' open, and there aren't any soldiers around..." Skull said as Mona spoke up calmly.

"This place is probably undermanned now that they all got assigned elsewhere. Either way, we win as long as we can steal the Treasure! Let's keep going!" Mona said as the group kept moving. A short time later, the group was back in the Treasure room. Mona jumped up and down happily as he spoke up while looking at a sparkling gold crown that hadn't been in the Treasure room the last time the group had infiltrated the Palace.

"Aww yeeeaaaah! The Treasure has appeared!" Mona said as Skull gaped at it and spoke up.

"Man, it's huge!" Skull said as Joker chuckled at Skull's word choice only to be silenced by a dry glare shot his way by Draconis who spoke up, glaring at Joker as he spoke.

"I know what you're thinking Joker, but is now REALLY the time to crack a 'that's what she said' type joke!?" Draconis said huffily to Joker who frowned but nodded.

"I was just trying to live up to my code name." Joker said as Mona spoke up with a smile on his face.

"What do you think!? It's just as I said! Now we can steal it! Ahh...this shine brings tears to my eyes..." Mona said as Draconis blinked.

"You can cry in that form, Mona-sensei? I didn't think felines could cry?" Draconis said in surprise, as Panther huffed and spoke up.

"...It kinda pisses me off." Panther said as she glared at the Treasure. Mona looked at Draconis and spoke up.

"Yes, cats can cry, Draconis. However, don't forget that I am NOT a cat. And why does the Treasure anger you, Lady Panther?" Mona asked Panther who huffed and spoke up.

"Why's it so pretty? Isn't this Kamoshida's desires?" Panther asked as Mona ignored the question, his eyes going glinty as he gazed rapturously at the Treasure and spoke up.

"T-Treasure..." Mona said happily as he gazed at the Treasure. Skull frowned as he spoke up.

"Uh, the cat's acting awfully excited." Skull said as Draconis huffed and spoke up.

"He's NOT a cat, Skull! That said, I got this." Draconis said as he lightly slapped each of Mona's cheeks.

"Snap out of it, Mona-sensei! We're in the middle of a job here, remember!?" Draconis said to Mona. Panther then spoke up.

"What's wrong? Is something..." Panther said as Mona hopped on top of the treasure and started cuddling it happily as he spoke up.

"Meeeeeooooow! Mrrrrroooooow!" Mona said happily as he played with the treasure, making Skull and Draconis both blanch as Panther and Joker blinked while the latter spoke up, looking a mix of mortified, disturbed and worried as he spoke.

"Uh, Mona? That's not catnip, so you know. And I thought you always made it a point to point out how you're NOT a cat? You're acting an awful lot like a cat right now." Joker said. Mona looked at Joker with wide innocent eyes as he spoke up.

"...Meow, meow! Mewwwww!" Mona said as Panther and Skull facefaulted at Mona's behavior, Joker just shook his head in exasperation, and Draconis smiled as he looked at Mona before speaking up.

"Aww, how cute. Look at Mona-sensei acting like an adorable little kid who's enjoying their favorite toy! Is it bad that I find this really really cute and want to take pictures of it?" Draconis asked, a huge grin on his face as he spoke. Joker and Panther laughed as they shook their heads and the former spoke up.

"Hell no it's not bad, Draconis. If I could get away with it, I'd be doing just that to upload the resulting pictures and/or video online since maybe we could make a fortune off the views this would get. Am I right, Skull? Wouldn't this be a good cash grab?" Joker asked Skull who laughed.

"Absolutely! But unfortunately, we can't do that as much as we may want to." Skull said reluctantly before walking over to Mona and speaking up.

"All right, that's enough, you stupid cat!" Skull said as Draconis rolled his eyes and was about to remind Skull yet again that Mona is NOT a cat when Mona blinked, came to his senses and jumped off the Treasure, to Draconis' surprise, and spoke up.

"Oh, um, ahem...yeah...forgive me for displaying such an insolent sight in front of a lady..." Mona said as Draconis chuckled and spoke up.

"Insolent!? Mona-sensei, what're you talking about? That wasn't insolent, it was freaking adorable! I had to literally restrain myself from petting you while you were like that, you looked so cute. Plus I'm sure Panther was enjoying it to some extent as well even if it did unnerve her a bit." Draconis said, subtly winking at Panther as he spoke, making her nod and speak up.

"Agreed, Draconis. But Mona, you were completely out of character too. What was that about?" Panther asked Mona who sighed as he spoke up.

"Thank you for trying to cheer me up, Draconis. But I was very much insolent in my behavior. That said, I couldn't stop it either... To think, I'd be drawn to human desires this much...Doesn't that prove that I'm human!?" Mona asked as Skull huffed and spoke up.

"How should we know!?" Skull asked Mona as Draconis spoke up, frowning slightly at Mona as he spoke.

"Not necessarily, Mona-sensei. I've read stories of non-humans being drawn to human desires too, even if they're rare. But it does lend credence to your claim of being a human, at the very least." Draconis said sagely. Mona nodded sheepishly as he spoke up.

"Fair enough. A-Anyway, you guys need to carry it!" Mona said as Skull frowned and spoke up as he moved towards the Treasure, speaking up as he walked.

"All you do is bark orders...Still, that was easier than I thought! I thought for sure there'd be some insane trap or something." Skull said as Joker and Draconis winced at Skull's comment before giving Skull an unimpressed glare as he spoke up.

"Skull, you DO know what Murphy's Law is, right!? Or do you just tempt fate like that naturally!?" Draconis said uneasily as Joker nodded his agreement as Panther spoke up.

"I agree with Draconis. But that said, his Palace will disappear if we take this back, right? And Kamoshida will change too..." Panther said as Joker and Draconis walked over to help Skull lift the Treasure up. Mona spoke up as they did so.

"...That should be the case." Mona said as Skull smirked and nodded before speaking up.

"Good. Now's our chance then." Skull said as Panther walked over to help lift the crown, but even the four of them couldn't lift the crown that easily.

"It's heavy..." Panther said as Mona hopped up and down as he smiled to himself and spoke up.

"To think it'd go so well...I've even found four Persona-users in the process...My judgement was correct. I made the right choice in making a deal with you! Nyahaha!" Morgana said as Ren felt his bond with Morgana deepen. At that point, the 'Magician' card from before showed up in Ren's mind's eye, and the 'I' turned into a 'II' to signify it had reached rank 2. After that the group started carrying the Treasure out of the Palace, only to be stopped short by a familiar voice reaching their ears.

"Go, go! Let's go! Ka-mo-shida!" The voice of Panther's Metaverse counterpart could be heard cheering on Kamoshida, making Panther frown as she saw another duplicate of her as Kamoshida did one of his spikes, knocking the treasure from the clutches of the surprised group. Skull spoke up.

"Uwa-!" Skull said as Kamoshida did a spinning jump into the room to face the group as he spoke up, easily hefting the Treasure in one hand as he spoke.

"I won't let anyone take this!" Kamoshida said as Panther's Metaverse counterpart could be seen giving a vapid sort of smile to Kamoshida as she hung off his arm as he kept speaking, a smug smirk on his face as he spoke up.

"This proves that I am the king of this castle-it is the core of this world!" Kamoshida said as Panther and Draconis both frowned at what they saw, the former speaking up.

"That rat bastard...That's how he sees me, isn't it!?" Panther said angrily as Joker and Mona nodded while Skull spoke up, Draconis glaring at Kamoshida as Skull spoke.

"Yo, pervert. Were you waitin' to ambush us?" Skull taunted Kamoshida who spoke up.

"I just made it easy to find you. I'll dispose of you myself. Right here, right now." Kamoshida said as Draconis huffed and spoke up, glaring at Kamoshida as he spoke.

"Oh? I wasn't aware you actually had the balls to face us yourself, Kamoshida. Usually you hide behind your guards and anyone else you can sic on us. But it's nice to see you actually show you have some semblance of manhood in that twisted body of yours. Even if it's just a despicable scumbag of a man who views his students as little more than playthings to hang off his arms in his twisted fantasies. You disgust me, Kamoshida." Draconis said to Kamoshida before frowning as he kept speaking to correct himself.

"No, I take that back. You don't disgust just me, Kamoshida...you disgust us all. So if you're ready to settle this, then let's do this!" Draconis said, his voice taking on a rare edge of venomous hatred and anger as he called out Kamoshida, ignoring the impressed looks Joker and Skull exchanged nearby as well as the concerned looks Mona and Panther exchanged at this slightly edgier side of Draconis coming out. Skull nodded to Draconis' words as he spoke up to add his own two cents to the discussion.

"That's OUR line, you sexually harrassin' d-bag!" Skull said as Draconis nodded and crossed his arms in agreement with Skull's words. Kamoshida huffed as he spoke up.

"What a selfish misunderstanding..." Kamoshida said with a sneer as Panther spoke up angrily.

"HOW is it a misunderstanding!? You were doing things that you kept a well-hidden secret from others!" Panther scoffed as Kamoshida up, cutting off the snarky comment Draconis was preparing to make.

"People around me were the ones who kept it secret. Adults who want to share in my accomplishments, students who have the drive to become winners...They willingly protect me so we all may profit from it." Kamoshida said as Skull gaped as he spoke up.

"Profit!?" Skull said in surprise as Kamoshida huffed and kept speaking, his words further irritating Draconis as he spoke.

"There are too many imbeciles who don't understand that! Including naive brats like you and that girl who tried to kill herself!" Kamoshida said as Draconis spoke up at that point, his glare one full of venom and hatred as he spoke.

"How was what Suzui-san did imbecilic OR naive, you disgusting son of a bitch!? If anyone here is an imbecile, it's YOU for thinking you could get away with telling people what to do and thinking you could get away with doing whatever you damn well please forever! Too bad for you but that's all about to come to a screeching end!" Draconis snapped, his tone dripping how irate and frustrated he was with Kamoshida, earning surprised yet impressed looks from Skull, Joker and Mona for his words as Panther spoke up after smiling appreciatively at Draconis for standing up for Suzui-san as she glared at Kamoshida before she spoke.

"Exactly, what Draconis said! But more importantly, yeah, it's true, she's a total idiot... letting you manipulate her, trying to commit suicide...And I'm even more of a dumbass for not realizing that! But no matter what kind of fool someone might be...They don't need YOUR permission to live their lives!" Panther said as Kamoshida scoffed at Draconis and Panther's words as he spoke up with a sneer, unfazed by their words as he spoke.

"Drop the attitude, you mediocre peasants! There's nothing wrong in using my gifts for MY gain! I'm a cut above all other humans!" Kamoshida said as Panther scoffed as she spoke up, also getting irate and frustrated listening to Kamoshida as she spoke.

"'Above'? You mean beneath. You're a goddamn demon obsessed with your sick desires!" Panther scoffed at Kamoshida who started laughing as he glowed with an ominous aura as he spoke up.

"That's right. I'm NOT like you...I am a demon who rules this world!" Kamoshida said as he proceeded to change forms, right in front of the eyes of the very shocked Thieves. Skull then spoke up, summing up the group's thoughts in one sentence.

"Wh-What the hell!?" Skull said as the camera panned to show that Kamoshida had transformed into a demonic four-armed, pink-skinned being with a long tongue that was wearing the Treasure on his head, three of his hands holding blunt force objects and the fourth holding a glass of wine as it taunted the thieves.

"Hahaha! Gyahaha! I'm allowed to do whatever the hell I want!" Kamoshida said as Joker frowned at this and spoke up.

"Is that what you think!? I got three words to say to that, Kamoshida: Bull. Fucking. Shit! That said, let's finish this!" Joker said, making both Skull and Draconis gape in slight surprise at Joker dropping a rare F-bomb as he spoke to Kamoshida. Kamoshida snarled at the group as the battle began at which point he spoke up.

"You goddamn, no-good, shitty brats! Haven't you been taught not to point at people!? Huh!?" Kamoshida taunted the group. Mona blinked as he noticed what was on Kamoshida's head and spoke up.

"Look! The Treasure's over there! We should catch him off-guard and steal it!" Mona said. Mona then kept speaking from on Draconis' shoulder.

"Let's attack him and wait for that opportunity!" Mona said as the others nodded and took battle-ready positions.

"Finally, it's time. We can take on Kamoshida himself! Let's do this guys!" Mona said from a distance as the group nodded. Draconis cringed as he saw Kamoshida pull out a chalice full of what looked like legs and eat some of the legs before licking his lips and speaking up.

"Mmm. Mmm. Mmm. That hits the spot! Come at me, you pieces of shit! I ain't lettin' you sleep tonight!" Kamoshida said as Mona blinked and spoke up.

"He healed himself? Is it from eating one of those...things in the trophy?" Mona asked, as Draconis nodded and spoke up.

"Seems that way to me, Mona. So my guess is we want to take out the trophy first before he can keep healing himself infinitely?" Draconis suggested as Mona and Joker nodded and the former of the two spoke up.

"Then we should destroy that first!" Mona said as the battle resumed. Joker hit the trophy with a Bufu to gauge its effectiveness, which was neutral, but it pissed off Kamoshida who gasped and tried to stab at Joker with the golden knife in his one hand as he spoke up.

"Hey! You don't know what this is worth, so stop touching it anymore! Don't do it anymore, got it? I warned you!" Kamoshida said as Mona smirked and spoke up.

"When someone tells us not to do something, it makes us want to do it even more!" Mona said as Draconis nodded and added his two cents on to Morgana's quip.

"ESPECIALLY when that someone is a self-centered, piece of shit scumbag like you!" Draconis said with a smirk as Mona nodded his agreement. Eventually, after the group focused on it, the trophy was destroyed by a well-placed Eiha from Agathion, making Kamoshida cry out in anger.

"..Ack! No way...This was from when I won the national." Kamoshida said as Mona smirked and spoke up.

"All right!" Mona said as Kamoshida glared at the group held up Kamoshida as he spoke up.

"You think that you can get away with doing such a thing? Do you realize who I am!? I AM KAMOSHIDA! Don't you get it!?" Kamoshida said as Draconis and Joker exchanged smirks and both spoke up, Joker speaking up first.

"Oh we get it, all right. But so what? It's not like there's anything that's a big deal about a lowlife like you, Kamoshida!" Joker said as Draconis spoke up.

"Exactly! No one's going to respect a disgusting creep like you who thinks his students are his sexual playthings and who abuses the team he's supposed to be coaching and nurturing! And before you try to give us any of that 'tough love' bullshit, save it! What you did went FAR over the line of 'tough love'! We saw the bruises on most of their faces, and even the bandages on some! Not to mention how much you had them scared to even speak out against you! You disgust me, Kamoshida!" Draconis said bluntly, crossing his arms in a glare as Skull, Mona, Panther and Joker nodded their agreement next to him. Kamoshida gasped at Draconis and Joker's responses as he spoke up.

"Huh!? Like I keep saying- I. AM. KAMOSHIDA! I'm the king!" Kamoshida said as Skull spoke up in an unimpressed tone.

"I always saw you as a condescending hotshot, but right now... you're just a pathetic loser." Skull said as Panther spoke up at that point.

"We came all this way to steal that! Will you just give it up and hand it over?" Panther said, her gun pointed at Kamoshida as she glared at the crown on his head. Kamoshida growled as he spoke up once more.

"SILENCE! I won't let the likes of you have this!" Kamoshida huffed defiantly as Mona spoke up.

"You still have the energy to say things like that!? Then we're gong to up OUR game as well!" Mona said from on Draconis' shoulder. At that point, the group did an All-Out Attack. After that, Kamoshida spoke up, not particularly fazed by the attack as he spoke.

"I'm the king! If I'm not, then who is!? How dare you keep defying me...Looks like I gotta bring out the big guns! SLAVES! Bring over you-know-what!" Kamoshida said as the chained up beings ran to bring the requested item to Kamoshida who spoke up as they ran to do his bidding.

"Time for my killshot from when I was active and rockin' it! Killshot...as in I'll make the kill!" Kamoshida said only to frown as he noticed there was no balls present and spoke up again, frowning as he spoke.

"What's the holdup? Where's my ball!?" Kamoshida said as, to the horror of Joker, Draconis, Skull and Panther, a very familiar blue-haired male ran out with a volleyball in hand.

"I-I'm so sorry, King Kamoshida! I-I have it right here!" The cognitive version of Mishima said as Kamoshida huffed and spoke up.

"Too slow, Mishima! Worthless chump!" Kamoshida sneered as Skull gaped at the cognitive version of Mishima in front of the group and spoke up.

"M-Mishima!?" Skull asked as Panther gasped and spoke up.

"Wait, what!? Why's he here?" Panther said as Mona spoke up, seeing Draconis about to speak up and cutting him off before he could.

"Calm down. That's only Kamoshida's cognitive version of him! It's not the real Mishima!" Mona said as he spoke up once more.

"Looks like he's about to attack! Everyone-on your guard!" Mona called as the group assumed defensive poses to brace for the impending attack as Kamoshida spoke up.

"Good, Mishima-now pass it to me! Don't tell me you can't even do something as simple as that!" Kamoshida said as Mishima nodded.

"O-Okay, here goes..." Mishima said as he tossed up the ball and Kamoshida smirked as he spoke up.

"Now, behold my greatness!" Kamoshida said as he did a powerful spike attack that severely damaged all the Thieves as Kamoshida spoke up again.

"I knew it...I can't go all-out with Mishima providing the backup. Hey, shit-for-brains! Get off my court!" Kamoshida snapped at the cognitive version of Mishima who ran off the court while speaking.

"I-I'm sorry, King Kamoshida!" the cognitive version of Mishima said as he left the room while Kamoshida spoke up again.

"Next slave, get out here! Hurry up with my damn ball!" Kamoshida called as the next slave ran out, and if seeing a cognitive version of Mishima was a shock to the Thieves, the girl who ran out onto the field next was an even bigger shock, specifically for Panther, as it was a raven-haired female that she not only knew but was quite close to, eliciting a gasp from Panther as the girl spoke up, while Draconis and Joker sneered at the bunny ears and skimpy outfit the girl had on, visibly disgusted at the sight.

"King Kamoshida, I've brought you your ball, just like you asked." The cognitive version of Suzui said to Kamoshida who smiled as he spoke up.

"Now there's a good girl, Suzui." Kamoshida said as Panther and Draconis gasped as Kamoshida called the cognitive girl Suzui. Kamoshida ignored this to keep speaking, and when he did, both Panther and Draconis were horrified and outraged by what he said next.

"Yeah, all women should obey my orders like this-ain't that right, sweetheart?" Kamoshida said. Panther blanched as she spoke up. *1*

"N-no way! What's Shiho doing here!?" Panther said in horror as she looked at the cognitive version of Suzui as Mona spoke up.

"Panther, calm down! That's not the real one!" Mona said as Draconis huffed and spoke up at this point.

"No offense, Mona-sensei, but there's a difference between telling us to calm down when we saw that cognitive Mishima, and telling Panther to calm down when she sees a cognitive version of her best friend, and possibly even someone she likes more than that, but that's not for me to comment on past what I already have so I'll leave it at that." Draconis said as he gave an apologetic look to a red-faced Panther for what he'd said. Panther eventually nodded and spoke up.

"It's fine, Draconis. I don't think it makes a difference if they know or not at this point about my feelings for Shiho, even if that's not the real Shiho standing there. And Mona, Y-Yeah, you're right...But, this is just..." Panther said as Draconis picked up her sentence for her.

"...Just sick and wrong! It's one thing to make a cognitive slave of our friend, but to make a cognitive slave out of the girl Panther has a crush on!? That's just fucked up, Kamoshida!" Draconis said angrily, giving Panther another apologetic look for outing her feelings for Shiho, as well as ignoring the gaping Skull and Joker who were shocked to hear that Panther liked girls, possibly in addition to guys. Eventually, Skull recovered enough to speak, but he was visibly shaking with anger as he spoke.

"Dammit, even Suzui too!? You've gone too far, you piece of shit!" Skull said as Draconis nodded and spoke up.

"Exactly, Skull! We need to finish this scumbag off here and now before he can do any more harm to others!" Draconis said resolutely as Kamoshida spoke up.

"Ah, I get it! You want to see my killshot again, don't you?" Kamoshida said as Joker blinked, getting an idea as he spoke up.

"Guys! If we keep focusing our attacks on Kamoshida while he's focusing on the killshot, we might be able to stop him!" Joker said as the others nodded. Draconis frowned as he spoke up, an idea of his own forming.

"Or, and I apologize in advance to Panther for suggesting this, what if we destroy that cognitive Suzui so she can't set up the killshot!? If he has no slaves, Kamoshida can't kill shot! And given that this is a cognitive/fake Suzui, attacking it shouldn't have an effect on the real one, SHOULDN'T being the key word there." Draconis said. Mona spoke up.

"What do we do?" Mona asked as Joker stroked his chin as he pondered before speaking up, also giving Panther a regretful/apologetic glance.

"Sorry to say it Panther, but we'd have an easier time destroying that fake Suzui than stopping Kamoshida directly right now. Please don't hate me for this but we should focus on the fake Suzui." Joker said. Mona and Skull nodded as the former spoke up.

"All right, let's do this!" Mona said as Panther reluctantly nodded her agreement and spoke up.

"I don't like it, but you're both right. Let's take her out quickly." Panther said. Kamoshida glared as he looked at Suzui and spoke up.

"Suzui! Toss it over here! If you do a good job, I'll reward you later..." Kamoshida said, ignoring the disgusted looks on Panther, Joker, Draconis, Mona and Skull's faces as Suzui nodded and tossed up the ball.

Joker and Skull nodded as they combined their Lunge skills to take out Shiho before Kamoshida could do more than one kill shot, making Kamoshida glare as he spoke up.

"Hmph, even Suzui was useless. Looks like I'll have to give her some special instruction later...One-on-one!" Kamoshida said as Panther winced at Kamoshida's word choice.

"Kamoshida...I'll never forgive you! How dare you speak so crassly of the woman I love!?" Panther said, brazenly admitting her feelings for Suzui to Kamoshida and the other Thieves, who smiled at Panther's words. Skull spoke up next, snarling as he spoke.

"Sorry, Suzui...I swear we'll beat that bastard's ass!" Skull said as Draconis nodded his agreement as Kamoshida cracked his whip.

"What's the matter, slaves!? Hurry up and bring me more volleyballs! I can't serve up my killshot without any balls!" Kamoshida said as he blinked as no slaves came out.

"Huh!? Did I just... Am I really out of slaves!?" Kamoshida said, looking shocked at this turn of events, and missing the exchanged looks of relief that Joker and Draconis shared, both grateful that his slave list didn't include a certain red-headed honors student that Joker liked and that Draconis shared a desk with. Mona spoke up grimly as he looked around.

"We won't get anywhere with brute force...What do we do!?" Mona asked Joker who frowned as he stroked his chin before blinking and speaking up.

"What else!? We go for the crown! He seems to idolize that thing!" Joker said. Mona nodded and spoke up.

"I see...In that case, time for Plan B! Look over at that terrace!" Mona said, smirking as he kept speaking.

"While the others are drawing Kamoshida's attention, have someone go there! Let's steal the Treasure without him noticing!" Mona said as Skull nodded his agreement while speaking up.

"Let's take that crown from him!" Skull said as Joker spoke up to himself.

"We need to steal Kamoshida's Treasure...Should I send someone to do it..?" Joker mused before nodding...and then grimacing as he realized his only option at the moment was to send Skull since Draconis and Panther were downed, and as Mona was a reserve, he couldn't go. Joker turned to Skull who nodded.

"I can go whenever you want." Skull said agreeably. Joker nodded.

"I don't like it, but go. I'll have to do my best to not die alone while you go take that crown, Skull." Joker said as Skull nodded.

"Gotcha. Keep him distracted by attacking him!" Skull said and Joker nodded.

"Won't be easy since the others are down, but I'll do my best." Joker said. After a bit, Kamoshida spoke up once more.

"Now listen up. This school exists because I'm around. You're the only ones who don't respect me, you know!" Kamoshida said as Mona spoke up.

"It's all going as planned." Mona said as Skull nodded from his hiding place. Mona then spoke up once more.

"Time to use this opportunity to take the Treasure!" Mona said quietly to Skull from on his shoulder where he was riding shotgun. After some more damage, Kamoshida spoke up once more, his words causing Mona and Draconis to cringe in disgust as they heard them.

"You're misunderstanding it all! I haven't sexually harassed anyone! They came on to me because they wanted to get on my good side!" Kamoshida said to Joker as Mona spoke up to Skull.

"He hasn't noticed a thing here. Good. Just a little more to the Treasure!" Mona said. After a few more rounds of battle, Kamoshida blinked as he spoke up.

"Is there one less of you?" Kamoshida asked. He frowned as he realized that he was correct. He spoke up once more.

"I knew it! They're missing! Where'd they go!?" Kamoshida said as Skull spoke up with a smirk.

"Took you too long to notice, moron!" Skull said as he flew forward and attacked the crown on Kamoshida's head, knocking it off of his head. Kamoshida screamed in rage at this.

"NOOO! My... my precious..." Kamoshida said as Mona smirked in satisfaction and spoke up.

"Good, Kamoshida's shaken up!" Mona said as Panther smirked and spoke up.

"I think we can do this!" Panther said. After a few more rounds of attack from Skull and Joker, Kamoshida fell in defeat, screaming in rage as he fell.

"NOOOOO! DAMN YOU!" Kamoshida said as he collapsed to the ground, ending the battle. As a result of the EXP gains, Draconis, Joker and Skull all hit level 11 while Agathion hit level 6. As a result, Agathion learned Rakukaja and Captain Kidd learned Headbutt. In addition, due to the level up, Smaug learned Agi, which didn't surprise Draconis given that dragons and fire usually go hand in hand. And due to passive EXP gains, both Panther and Mona hit level 11 as well and Carmen and Zorro gained Tarukunda and Media respectively. Draconis smirked as he spoke up.

"Hell yes! Power-ups for everyone!" Draconis said with a smirk. After the battle, the crown rolled away from Kamoshida who grunted in shock as he fled towards the balcony.

"Nngh..." Kamoshida said as he made to flee as Panther spoke up tauntingly.

"What's wrong? Not running away? Why don't you run? Aren't you a great athlete?" Panther mocked Kamoshida. Kamoshida frowned, turning around and speaking up.

"It's always been like this... all those goddamn hyenas forcing their expectations on me! I'm doing this all for them! What's wrong with demanding a reward for that!?" Kamoshida said as Skull and Draconis both huffed at this and Skull spoke up, perfectly voicing his and Draconis' thoughts in a single sentence as he spoke.

"Now you're makin' excuses?" Skull said as Draconis huffed and glared at Kamoshida.

"Wouldn't surprise me one bit if he was, the gutless coward he is. Certainly not so high and mighty anymore." Draconis said with a smirk. Skull nodded and spoke up.

"I agree. And as for you Kamoshida, we'll do something about that distorted heart of yours." Skull said as Kamoshida shuddered in fear.

"Hrrgh..." Kamoshida said fearfully as Panther chuckled and spoke up.

"Scared? Right now, you're seeing the same view that Shiho did. I'm sure she was scared too...except she had no choice but to jump...What will YOU do? Will you jump? Or would you rather die here?" Panther asked Kamoshida, summoning Carmen to help her, something Kamoshida noticed fearfully.

"N-Ngh..." Kamoshida said as Joker, Skull and Draconis scoffed in disdain at the sudden show of cowardice from Kamoshida as Mona spoke to Panther.

"Do you want to finish him off? It's your call." Mona asked Panther who glared at Kamoshida hatefully as she contemplated her answer making Kamoshida whimper in fear.

"No, please wait! I beg you... Just forgive meeee!" Kamoshida said pitifully as Draconis and Panther huffed and the latter of the two spoke up.

"Shut up. I bet everyone told you the same. But you...You took everything from them!" Panther said as Draconis crossed his arms and spoke up.

"Whatever Panther decides here, your days are numbered, Kamoshida! So you better pray that she's feeling merciful towards your sorry self. The only reason I'm not punishing you is because if anyone here has the right to do so, it's Panther given you've hurt the people closest to her with your sick actions. So you better pray for mercy now." Draconis said sagely to Kamoshida who shuddered as he saw a fireball come sailing towards him...only to sail over his head and singe the wall above him, making small amounts of debris rain down next to him, making him shriek in terror and sigh as he prostrated himself and tossed the Treasure towards the group, which Joker deftly caught one-handed.

"I accept defeat... You want this? Take it. Go ahead and finish me off...You do that, and my real self will go down too...You have that right since you've won!" Kamoshida said as Draconis and Skull spoke up at the same time, the former's yell drowning out the latter's.

"Ann!" Skull said at the same time Draconis spoke up.

"DON'T DO IT, PANTHER! HE'S NOT WORTH IT, EVEN FOR SUZUI-SAN! She wouldn't want you to sink to his despicable level." Draconis said, both drowning out Skull's words and covering up his inadvertent usage of Panther's real name instead of her code name, getting Skull a glare from Mona as a result. Panther glared at Kamoshida as she aimed another fireball at Kamoshida, but missed again and hit the wall next to him to scare him as she spoke up.

"You're right, Draconis. Shiho wouldn't want me to get my hands dirty over this worthless piece of scum. Besides, if his mind shuts down, he can't admit his crimes. So I'll spare him so he can face up to what he's done in the real world." Panther decided as Mona spoke up at that point.

"You're kind, Lady Ann..." Mona said as Draconis' eyes widened as he spoke up.

"Um, didn't you insist we be thorough about using our code names in the Metaverse, Mona-sensei? I can see Skull forgetting from time to time, but you!?" Draconis said in shock. Joker chuckled as he spoke up.

"Heh, look at that. For once I'm not the one scolding Mona. Kinda nice to be on the listening end of it." Joker said with a laugh. Kamoshida then shocked the group by kneeling down and actually weeping, his tears hitting the ground as he spoke up.

"I've lost. You're through when you lose...What am I-What am I supposed to do now?" Kamoshida asked as Draconis scoffed at this before he and Joker spoke up, the former speaking up before the latter as he crossed his arms while he spoke.

"If you ask me, I'd say throw yourself on the mercy of the courts and own up to everything you've done! But for the sake of clarity, you should atone for your sins, if you're even capable of atoning." Joker said as Draconis nodded and spoke up.

"I agree with Joker. You're pitiful, Kamoshida. At one time, I might have looked up to you because you were a star, but after hearing all you've done, all I can feel now for you is indifference and a hint of disappointment, which for the fact I was all but ready to tear you limb from limb earlier is a pretty marked improvement. But the fact you admitted defeat of your own power and didn't struggle further does earn you a minimal measure of my respect.

However, respect alone will not absolve you of what you've done. Only by going back, confessing all that you've done, and repaying your debt to society, can you possibly begin to walk the path towards redemption and potential absolution of your sins, though I doubt that's entirely possible. But if you can take strides to right your wrongs, maybe you'll at least earn some small measure of forgiveness from the man upstairs when the time comes for you to meet your maker. But in the meantime, heed Joker's advice and atone for your sins, if you're capable of remorse, much less owning up to what you've done.

But this is your chance to prove you're able to change, Mister Kamoshida. So what will it be? Will you atone for your sins?" Draconis asked Kamoshida, earning impressed/shocked looks from Mona, Joker and Panther as he finished speaking. Kamoshida nodded as he looked at Panther, Draconis and Joker before speaking up again.

"All right...I will leave now and return to my real self...I'll make certain that I-" Kamoshida said as he disappeared in a flash of light, leaving just the thieves in the room as the area started shaking and Mona spoke up.

"Just so you know, we don't have time. This place is about to collapse!" Mona said as the group started fleeing.

"RUN!" Skull said as the group kept running while Joker grappled from point to point.

"We're all going to die!" Panther said as Skull frowned at Joker.

"You jerk!" Skull said as he and Panther kept running with Draconis while Mona deftly leapt onto Joker's shoulder, right as Skull tripped and fell, making Panther frown.

"Skull!" Panther said in worry but Skull waved her off as he got up.

"It's all right, I've had worse." Skull said as the group managed to escape the collapsing Palace...

(Back in the real world with Ryuji, Morgana, Ren, Kusa and Ann, neutral POV)

"That sucked..." Ann said as she panted from the effort it took to run out of the Metaverse. Ryuji frowned and pulled out his phone only to blink and look at the others.

"Look at the nav!" Ryuji said wide-eyed. Ann, Kusa and Ren all did as asked and blinked as their phones spoke to them.

"The destination has been deleted." The phones said to Ann, Kusa and Ren as Ann blinked and spoke up.

"It's true. We can't go there anymore." Ann said as Kusa huffed and spoke up, crossing his arms as he spoke.

"Just as well, in my opinion. Good riddance to bad memories and equally bad rubbish." Kusa said huffily as Morgana blanched and spoke up.

"What about the Treasure!?" Morgana asked as Joker smirked, whipping it out of his pocket, only to blink with Ryuji when he realized it looked different. Ryuji frowned and blinked as he spoke up, shocked by the change in form the Treasure underwent outside of the Metaverse.

"What the..." Ryuji said, as Ann spoke up, also seeing that the Treasure had changed from a crown to being...

"A medal? Wait, where'd that crown go?" Ann asked in confusion as Ryuji crossed his arms and spoke up, also confused.

"What's going on?" Ryuji asked as Kusa shrugged and spoke up.

"I'd have to hear Morgana's take on this, but if I had to guess, this is another case of distortions at play. Probably this is what that crown looked like in the real world, but in the Palace, the distortions morphed it into what we saw there, which was a crown." Kusa surmised as Morgana nodded and spoke up.

"Precisely right, Kusa. Also, I'm glad you were able to lose that brief moment of hatred and darkness you were having near the start of the fight with Kamoshida. That scared me honestly, but back on topic, this means that this medal was the source of Kamoshida's desires. To him, this medal is worth as much as that crown we saw in the Palace." Morgana said as Ryuji spoke up.

"An Olympic medal...So, that perv kept clinging to his past glory and couldn't let it go..." Ryuji said, trailing off angrily as Ann spoke up with a smile.

"But...this means that Kamoshida's heart might have changed, right?" Ann asked. Morgana spoke up uncertainly.

"Probably." Mona said as Ryuji and Ren frowned as Ren spoke up.

"Probably!? What do you mean, probably!?" Ren asked in disbelief as Ryuji spoke up.

"Our expulsion's on the line here!" Ryuji said as Kusa huffed and spoke up.

"Will you two cool it!? I'm as worried as you are, but we have to be patient here. You have to keep in mind, this is probably Morgana's first successful infiltration too, since there's only so much he could do on his own in the past." Kusa said in Morgana's defense, getting a happy smile from Morgana as he spoke up.

"Exactly, Kusa. What he said. This is the first successful example for me too." Morgana said, hopping up onto Kusa's shoulder with a slight purr as Ann and Ren chuckled. Morgana kept speaking at that point, ignoring Ann and Ren as he spoke.

"However, there's no doubt that this has affected Kamoshida's personality quite a lot. The entire Palace disappeared, after all." Morgana said sagely as Ryuji huffed and spoke up, frowning as he spoke in annoyance.

"Ugh, I feel all antsy! Ain't there a way to check now?" Ryuji said as Ren and Kusa both spoke up, Ren speaking first.

"I'm worried too, Ryuji. If we didn't get this right, both our futures are done, and I might end up homeless as a result." Ren said as Kusa huffed and spoke up.

"Will you quit the worrying, Ren? You're not gonna end up homeless! If worse comes to worse, I can sneak you into Leblanc at night after he leaves so you can at least sleep in there, but it'll be on you to get out without being seen the next morning, and after that you'll have to figure out where you go during the day, but I won't let you be without a place to sleep, brother. So never fear that." Kusa said comfortingly as Ren smiled and nodded while speaking up.

"Thank you, Kusa. Truly. Let's hope it doesn't come to that." Ren said with a smile as Kusa shrugged.

"Egh, it might, and it might not. All we can do in my opinion is wait, and we'll know for sure one way or the other if we succeeded soon enough." Kusa said sagely. Ann nodded as she spoke up.

"I agree with Kusa. But at the same time, we'll just have to wait and see Kamoshida's next move..." Ann said uneasily as Mona huffed and spoke up.

"Come on, why the gloomy faces? Be happy! We completed this with great success, you know." Morgana said as Kusa spoke up.

"We did, but you have to realize Morgana-sensei, just because we beat that distorted Kamoshida and erased his Palace, that doesn't instantly guarantee that Ryuji, Ren, Mishima-kun and I are all in the clear in terms of our potential expulsion from school. I can only consider ourselves blessed with the good fortune that Ann wasn't also caught up in that threat as well." Kusa said simply as Ryuji nodded and spoke up, his tone much softer than usual.

"Exactly. We just don't know if everything's okay yet..." Ryuji said as Mona smiled and spoke up again.

"I'm pretty sure it'll be fine. Remember how Kamoshida's Shadow said he's returning to his former self in reality?" Morgana asked the group. When they nodded, he kept speaking, sneering as he spoke, his words impressing Ryuji and Kusa both.

"We all know Suguru Kamoshida is scum. Still...He did seem to regain his conscience somewhat before he disappeared." Morgana said as Ren and Kusa nodded and Ren spoke up, after briefly stroking his chin in thought.

"That's true. He did seem to gain some semblance of humanity at the end. Or at least it seemed so. In any case, I'm sure it worked." Ren said warily. Kusa spoke up with a nod.

"Of course it did! Have faith in Morgana-sensei! Has he been wrong or led us astray yet, Ren? Not counting his display in the Treasure room, of course, since that was out of his control. I'm sure we've all had weak moments from time to time, am I right?" Kusa said with a weak sort of chuckle. Morgana nodded and spoke up.

"Exactly, Kusa. In any case, there are definitely those who have been saved thanks to what you've done." Morgana said as Ann nodded and spoke up, a look of relief on her face.

"Yeah..." Ann said, trailing off as Ryuji crossed his arms and spoke up once more with a sigh.

"Anyways, I guess we gotta wait. It all boils down to what's gonna happen to Kamoshida...or if we're gettin' expelled for real..." Ryuji said as Ren smiled and spoke up.

"Basically. For now, all we can do is be patient. But I don't know if any of us wants to go home just yet with our nerves on edge so let's be patient." Ren said. Ryuji nodded.

"Right. C'mon, let's go home." Ryuji said to Ren who nodded with Kusa as the group left to go home...

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

Sojiro looked up as he saw Ren and Kusa walk into the store and nodded to them as he spoke up.

"Ah, you're back." Sojiro said casually as Ren and Kusa nodded, the latter speaking up.

"Indeed we are, Sakura-san. Thank you for noticing." Kusa said politely. Sojiro nodded as Ren and Kusa's phones went off, signalling a three-way chat from Ann.

"Thanks. I finally got to avenge Shiho because of you guys...I'm pretty sure there's no way I'd have been able to do anything on my own. So seriously, thank you. I owe you both so much." Ann sent as Ren smiled and sent a response at the same time Kusa sent a response as well.

"Aw, it was nothing, Ann. You helped too. And besides, you were incredible out there. The way you stood up to Kamoshida at the end and put the fear of God into him was absolutely inspired! Not gonna lie, you even scared me and Ryuji a bit too, and even if they won't admit it, you had Ren and Morgana-sensei on edge too." Kusa sent as Ren rolled his eyes at Kusa before sending his response.

"His untrue statement about me and Morgana aside, I agree with Kusa. You helped out too, Ann. Don't sell yourself short." Ren sent. Ann smiled as she saw the replies before sending another reply of her own.

"You think? I'm glad to hear that...and thanks Kusa! Glad to know I achieved the effect I was going for! To be fair though, you scared me too when you had that borderline-Batman moment during the battle where you looked ready to punch Kamoshida out when he brought out that fake Shiho. Glad to know you're that protective of her, and of me. Anyways, that cognitive world was pretty crazy, huh?" Ann sent, making Ren and Kusa nod as the latter sent a response.

"Absolutely. Luckily Morgana-sensei was there to guide us through everything, so shout out to him for being such an amazing teacher on this infiltration. Thank you, Morgana." Kusa sent, as Mona smiled from over Kusa's shoulder where he'd been reading the chat.

"You're welcome, Kusa. At least one of you appreciates me." Morgana said happily as he turned back to the chat as Ren sent his own response.

"Anyways, now that we've given Morgana his due amount of kudos and credit for his huge role in our success, which is well-earned incidentally, can we talk about what Ann said during the fight with Kamoshida? You know, the bit where she all but outed herself as having feelings for Suzui? I know we said we wouldn't judge Ann for it if she was bisexual, but I didn't actually think that was the case. I thought maybe she was bi-curious or lesbian honestly." Ren sent as Ann smiled and sent a response.

"Honestly, Ren? I'm not sure what I am right now. All I know for sure is Shiho's been there for me a great deal, so in turn I'm there for her, and somewhere along the way what started as mutual respect turned, at least on my end into admiration and even a deep-seated affection. Though I haven't told her yet since I don't know that she likes girls at all, and I wouldn't want to put her on the spot or risk our friendship if she doesn't feel the same.

So I'll ask you to keep what I said to yourselves for now if you can. I'll have the same discussion later with Ryuji, but I think he'll keep his mouth shut. But anyways, back on topic...What a mysterious place. I can't believe we actually stole someone's heart...Speaking of mysterious, there's also the matter of Morgana's transformation. When we were escaping, didn't he turn back into a cat even though we were still in the Metaverse?" Ann sent. Morgana smiled as he spoke up from on Kusa's shoulder.

"Lady Ann sure is sharp! I'm impressed." Morgana said. Kusa chuckled.

"Yes, well, just remember that 'Lady Ann' also said she's unsure which way she swings right now, so I'd wait to make any moves until after she decides if she's even still attracted to men at all. And if she isn't, I wouldn't blame her one bit given what that scumbag did to her and Suzui." Kusa said as Morgana nodded and kept speaking.

"Got it. That said, basically the Treasure changes the shape of things. Once that's gone, that power no longer works." Morgana said as Ren and Kusa blinked, and the former spoke up, a thought occurring to him.

"So does that mean the Treasure is also partly the reason our outfits changed as well in the Metaverse, or was that not related to the Treasure?" Ren asked. Kusa frowned as he spoke up after thinking about it.

"I don't think so, Ren. I feel like if that was the case, all of our outfits would've gone back to normal while we were escaping, not just Morgana-sensei's. But I could be wrong." Kusa said with a shrug. Morgana nodded as he kept speaking up with a smirk.

"No, you're basically right, Kusa. Though the real reason I changed quickly back then was because I'm so incredibly skilled! How's that? Isn't that amazing!?" Morgana asked as Ren huffed.

"Yeah, you're incredible, Morgana." Ren said with a shrug. Kusa smiled as he petted Morgana.

"Ignore Ren, Morgana-sensei. You know I at least think you're amazing, even if you do have a lot of unanswered questions about you. But what's life without a bit of mystery? Am I right? And regardless, I quite enjoy having you around, Morgana. You're probably one of the coolest people I've ever met at least. And whatever your real form turns out to be, you'll always be my Sensei unless you don't want to be." Kusa said respectfully as Morgana purred from Kusa's touch as he smiled.

"Thank you. Nice to know I have your unconditional support, Kusa. If only Ryuji and Ren were like you more." Morgana said as Kusa blanched before speaking up.

"Yes, well, you probably haven't fully earned their respect yet. Keep at it and you'll manage it in time. As for Ann, just focus on staying her friend, and even then you know she'll always care for you to some extent, Morgana-sensei. So don't stress out so much." Kusa said wisely as Morgana nodded. Ren shrugged as he sent a response to Ann.

"Weird observation, Ann. But you're not wrong. Also, he said he's amazing. Can we not stroke his ego more than we have to? Kusa strokes it enough as it is by petting him and complimenting him. At least Ryuji helps me keep him somewhat grounded in his own way." Ren sent. Kusa frowned as he sent a response.

"OI! Just because I happen to really respect and admire Morgana-sensei a lot does NOT mean I'm stroking his ego, Ren! Also, need I remind you he can read these, in this case over my shoulder!? You know he's probably offended by what you said about keeping him grounded, Ren." Kusa sent as Morgana nodded approvingly to Kusa's response as Ann giggled and sent a response of her own.

"Oh yeah that's right. I forgot Morgana is reading these messages too. And I think it's adorable how well you and he get along, Kusa. If not for the fact you get along with us, I'd wonder if you only get along that well with animals, or animal-like beings." Ann sent as Kusa huffed and sent another response.

"RUDE! I do so get along with people! I just take awhile to warm to them in some cases. Not with you or Ryuji, though, you're both chill as can be and I like you both. In a purely platonic way, of course. That said, I can make friends just fine if I want to. I just haven't really met anyone that interesting at school yet. Granted, I do find Yoshizawa quite enjoyable to be around even if she seems like she's starting to be quite interested in Ren over here. Granted, I don't know if it's an academic sort of interest, or if maybe she might be curious to get to know Ren, but either way she's definitely curious about him.

And I can say with confidence she doesn't buy into the rumors about you, even if she was slightly shaken after Kamoshida called her into the office the other day, she was much happier when she got back to the classroom. I'm guessing that's because she ran into Ren outside the guidance room. Which on that note...REALLY REN!? You chose to basically talk to her in front of both Kawakami AND Kamoshida!? No wonder he was probably trying to poison her against you. Too bad for him it didn't work. If anything, it made her more interested in you. So joke's on him, heh heh." Kusa sent. Ann laughed at Kusa's response, as well as the one from Ren.

"Seriously!? She's interested in me? Are you for real, Kusa? Thanks for the tip. And that's actually quite reassuring she didn't buy into what Kamoshida said about me. Even if I did still want to punch his lights out when he called me, and I quote, 'a worthless piece of delinquent trash that has no place at this school.' But who cares what that scumbag thinks? He's no longer our concern, more than likely. But for real, thank you for that information, Kusa. If you see her at school, you can also tell her I thank her for her interest, and maybe if the opportunity presents itself, she and I can go hang out somewhere and possibly get to know one another." Ren sent as Ann smiled and sent a response.

"Aww, that's so sweet that you're sweet on Yoshizawa-san, Ren. For what it's worth, I think you and her would be really adorable together. Now if we could just find someone for Kusa and for Ryuji, we could all have a special someone in our lives. And before you get any ideas Ren, NO, I will not date any of the males of our group. I see you all as brothers to some extent, though I will admit there was a time I had a brief crush on Ryuji but then that quickly went away when I met Shiho. But back on topic, I think I feel a little better after talking to you two. Thanks. We still haven't seen any results, but it feels like a weight's been lifted off my shoulders." Ann sent as Kusa smiled and sent a reply.

"Glad we could help, Ann. Just so you know, Morgana-sensei, Ren and I, or at least Morgana-sensei and I since I can't really speak for Ren, are always here for you if you need to talk to someone, or just want a sympathetic ear to vent into, so don't be afraid to reach out if you need to." Kusa sent. Ren sent a reply right after.

"I agree with Kusa. The same goes for me as well, Ann. I'm here if you ever need to talk or just vent." Ren sent. Ann smiled as she sent a reply right after.

"Thank you both so much. You have no idea how much this means to me. I hope you don't mind talking to me too much. Well, see you tomorrow." Ann sent as Ren and Kusa put their phones away before heading upstairs, deciding to take it easy for the night since they'd just got done with a long trip into the Metaverse, but a worthwhile trip since they'd cleared out their first Palace. Ren and Kusa both smiled, hoping this was a sign of great things to come for the group as a whole...

END OF CHAPTER

A/N: And boom, another chapter done and dusted! And with it, we're finally past the first Palace more or less! Granted, it's not all the way done yet but at least the first boss fight is done and dusted so that's good. Also, there was a lot of character development to a point in this chapter. Next chapter, if I'm right, should be the events leading up to, and possibly past, the official formation of the Phantom Thieves as a full-fledged group. So hopefully everyone's enjoying the story so far, and until next update, sithlorde1988 out!

NOTES

*1*- For the record, I disagree strongly with this remark by Kamoshida. It was only recently as I was playing through that boss fight for the story that I noticed Kamoshida had said this potentially sexist remark about how he thinks all women should obey him and stuff which I not only do not agree with, but I find it patently offensive and sexist. Probably why the first Palace is easily my least favorite Palace honestly.